yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Captivate General] dmshaefe:
Possible GPS fix

Da_G has posted some very good information over in the development section.

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=881941

I just put his fix on my phone so I am not sure how it does while driving, but it definitely helps indoors. TTFF is 10 seconds and I get around 30 meters. After about a minute accuracy goes to around 10 meters with 8 satellites locked. The procedure is not too bad and people seem to be getting good results.

Btw I am using Cognition2.3b8.
[Captivate General] mod777:
So much stuff to read.

All I ever did to get mine to work and keep working after numerous flashes, is to flash the GPS fix from my siggy after I flash a rom - then use lbstestmode to make sure I am using the spirent supl and I then delete the gps data (it never did anything but good things for me, op). I would always get locks within 3 seconds or so outdoors and locks in about 15 seconds indoors using GPS Test app.

recently to see if it helped I did the eraser to the white things on the battery covery (theres a thread about it somewhere) and raised the little gold springy thingy, but that didn't really do much. Maybe a little faster lock and an extra signal bar indoors. But that could be a coincedence.

I guess I could just be a lucky cappy owner.
[Captivate General] azhar230:
gps works perfect with this rom:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=882397
[Captivate General] Miami_Son:
Without having to read all 50 plus pages, can someone tell me why when I input the number string in the first post all I get is a blank dialer screen?
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
You probably need to use the new code if you have the official update. Also you can install SGS Tools from the market.
[Captivate General] Miami_Son:
What's the "new" code?

EDIT: Never mind, found it on page 60.
[Captivate General] PixelPerfect3:
I'm running Assonance 4.3 and the GPS on it is very good. Waaaaaaay better than the stock rom. I was relieved that it wasn't a hardware issue.
[Captivate General] Stevewmn:
For whatever it's worth my plain jane JH7 (Android 2.1) Captivate gets much better GPS reception with my new car charger. Fast GPS lock, no position lag, no problems at all. Which makes me wonder. Is it using the charger cable as an antenna or does Samsung underclock or underpower the GPS chip on battery power?
[Captivate General] jjtitus098:
Everyone seems to think that the GPS problem is due to software but I don't think so. I had to replace my phone due to the shutdown problem and the new one's GPS is absolutely perfect. It tracks my car perfect and never loses signal. This was using JH7 so then I flashed Cezar's ROM and the GPS works the exact same as it did stock. So I believe it is actually a hardware problem that new or refurbished phones are getting fixed. At least that's what I think and my two cents.
[Captivate General] aspexil:
I got a GPS dongle to pair with my Captivate. I just couldn't come up with another solution that worked for me. Now at least I can use it for navigation.
[Captivate General] hernan598:
Hi, i want to tell you my experience.

My gps never worked, i tried different fixes until i found the vibrant fix and installed.

I tried but it was useless. But yesterdey I tried again and i had a lock in 5 seconds!!! with 5m accuracy!!! I am from argentina...i don´t know why the first times don´t work, soo keep trying!!!!! I made it work!!!!

Thanks to all!!

Hernan

PD: Sorry my english....
[Captivate General] aspexil:
A quick lock means little. Try to use it in a car for navigation. I'm rooted & on Cognition v2.3b8 and while it is slightly better than stock it is still useless for navigation. It does not keep up. I arrived at my destination before the internal GPS did. I arrive at intersections and have made turns before the internal GPS did.

The dongle is the only thing that has made my Captivate usable as a navigation device. Path of least resistance for me.
[Captivate General] saint168:
What I don't understand with the GPS on my phone is I would be using a software theat access GPS and had a lock after maybe 2 minites. Then I open another software that also need GPS data, I would lose the lock and take another 2 minutes to get it again. None of the phones I had previously did that, if I had a GPS lock in one software I would still have the lock when I switch software.
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
I agree, I find that very annoying. It amplifies the already annoying GPS problem.

I was at CES and I couldn't resist asking the Samsung mobile guys about it. He put the blame on the people who made the GPS chip. I said you mean Boardcom, he kinda of ignored that and said we are waiting to get the fix. At least he knew of the problem but that is BS. I think Boardcom provided a updated driver already. Either way I am not counting on anything any time soon. At least I don't use it all the time, but its sad to have to use my GF's IPhone for nav.

I did flash Cog 2.3b8 and was able to use the GPS going to Vegas. It was good as my car's GPS which runs on a CarPC but usable, be nice if it was usable everytime I needed it.

Alright, just had to vent. Don't get me started about Froyo .....
[Captivate General] fldude99:
I've found that some software such as endomondo, keeps the fix, regardless of whether it's in the background. Google maps on the other hand doesn't. A workaround is to get a fix with LBS and then open maps or any other software that requires GPS. LBS keeps the fix, so maps, or whatever else doesn't lose it.
[Captivate General] Miami_Son:
It's Broadcom.
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
LOL thanks. I don't know what I was thinking... been a tiring week.
[Captivate General] RocketSled:
I manage an electronics Failure Analysis team for a computer storage hardware OEM. Have been doing so for dozens of years. A key facet of an effective FA process is the collection and analysis of data, before you dive in with an Oscilloscope and Multimeter. While I don't have access to the Captivate's circuit schematics, I do have access to lots of empirical data from this thread (and others) as well as experience with my own phone.

It's clear that there's a intermittent problem. The problem doesn't appear to be dependent on environment, time of day, temperature, even indoors or out doesn't matter. Contrary to what others assert, at least on my phone, it's not a mechanical connection - cleaning the battery cover contact points made no difference. The phone works exactly the same (=poorly) whether the cover is on, off, pressure is applied, or otherwise.

Sometimes the damn thing works exactly like you'd expect it to, sometimes it doesn't work at all. Sometimes it works perfectly for a little while and then stops working. You cannot judge your phone's performance based on a single data point, or even multiple data points. While some lucky owners might have a phone who's components are in the "right" corner of the parametric distribution that their phone works OK or works OK after a FW update or after cleaning the back cover contacts, the majority of users in this forum clearly don't fall in to that category. I get nearly instantaneous locks on my phone sometimes, other times the damn thing sees 8+ satellites and never locks.

This looks like a timing issue to me. GPS chips require very accurate internal clocks in order to work correctly. These clocks are driven by Xtal oscillators and PLLs (Phase Locked Loops, a circuit to help the oscillator stay on frequency). It's really easy to introduce problems in these circuits, problems that cause the clock to run at the wrong frequency, beat between two or more different stable frequencies, or drift. These problems can be subtle, they can change as the Xtal "ages" and can behave radically differently as a function of even small environmental changes.

It's impossible to say with any certainty whether the problem is due to the Broadcom chip or Samsung's implementation, but based on the observed behaviors, for my phone at least the issue is clearly a HW issue and I am not expecting to see any kind of FW update that'll fix it (I've tried the various updated drivers, too, to no avail).

I also bought one of those keychain bluetooth GPS thingys. It works great, locks in a few seconds even inside a steel frame building where I work, and while sub-optimal from a form-factor perspective is a totally acceptable functional solution. I like the phone enough otherwise that I'm probably just going to live with this until my next upgrade (at which time, you can be sure, I'll be wary of buying a Samsung).
[Captivate General] aspexil:
I'll report that using a GlobeSat GPS dongle & the free Bluetooth GPS app resolves the navigation problem for me. I know, not a solution for everyone but since I'm stuck with this phone for a while AND use GPS for navigation on the road all the time...
[Captivate General] photojunky:
You should check out the FireFly Rom, I am getting constant and quick fixes with that Rom. Adam really has figured it out. Hope this helps some of you.
[Captivate General] bpodz34:
most custom roms now come with a fix for gps
[Captivate General] foxbat121:
I doubt it. They include whatever crap is out there, not really a fix. True fix for the GPS has yet to be found.
[Captivate General] Saelee:
I really wish that wasn't true. I've tried out a few rooms and none of them had a "fix" for it. Some did better then others but still not usable especially when driving.
[Captivate General] Ebvad:
I agree some are better than others but still not what I would consider "working"
[Captivate General] opcow:
A true fix has been found. Return your phone to Samsung for repair.
[Captivate General] Miami_Son:
You want to expand on this a bit?:confused:
[Captivate General] MexicanAmerican:
Getting good results with Cognition 3.02, I9000 KP1 Modem, Firebird Kernel. I think having an HSUPA enabled modem really helps things out. Of course, it requires root and flashing and all that good stuff, so again, this doesn't address the fact that stock has horrible GPS functionality.
[Captivate General] richb500:
What do they do to fix it? I read they won't even take a phone back if the issue is just the GPS.
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
Yea I tired before the first official update was out and I would of had to pay the $30 fee. Lame!
[Captivate General] zeal2136:
helpful thanks!
[Captivate General] TheSopranos16:
Like most, my GPS never worked well no matter what rom/fix I tried. The best fix on this forum was Da_G's and it enabled relatively good navigation but only if the phone was by the windshield. GPS was near useless anywhere in the car except the windshield.

Last night I got a warrenty replacement and GPS is literally perfect. It locks in seconds and tracks perfectly (even when held inside the car, away from windshield). This is on stock JH7. I'm shocked because I didn't think that it would really do anything but it has. The big difference is that when I go to LBSTestMode, the signal strength is WAY higher on the new phone. Probably an average of 7-9 db higher across the board and since db is a logarithmic scale, that equates to almost twice the signal strength. So, the issue is definitely hardware related since no software fix can raise the SNR.

On a side note, when I first got my original phone, the GPS worked well and degraded over time. I will have to see if the same happens to my warranty replacement. If it does, then something is very strange. As I understand it, the warranty replacement phones are all refurbished so it should be "not brand new" hardware and the GPS should have already degraded. Unless there is something in the GPS firmware or somewhere else that Samsung has the ability to reset and we don't. Maybe that's why re-flashing rom's never restored the GPS to original condition for most of us?

Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself. For now, my replacement GPS works perfectly and I'm enjoying that. If the SNR's go down over time we'll have to examine the reason for that and a possible solution. They wouldn't let me exchange my phone for GPS (I had to lie and say I had the random shutdown problem) so if this one needs to be exchanged again, IDK what I'll have to say to them.

For those of you interested in doing a similar exchange, the process was pretty simple. Call AT&T tech support, tell them your phone randomly shuts-down and you want a replacement. They give you a few local service centers you can bring the phone to and exchange it. When I got to my service center, I asked the rep if he would mind looking through his stock of phones and giving me the highest build number they had (I now have 1010 from 1006). 2 minutes later I was out the door and my GPS worked fine.

Hope this information helps some of you who have suffered for months as I have...good luck!
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
Hmm the more people that post about exchanging their phones the more I am thinking about doing it. Before my 30 days the GPS wasn't enough for them to replace it but mine has shutdown on its own a few times but not since I am running Cognition ROM's. I just don't like the idea of a refurbished phone.... I can't understand why they do that for warranty replacements. I can see for insurance replacements but not warranty.

My GPS is okay with Cog 3.04. So far anyway, just flashed this weekend. Its not perfect though but usable. It's going to be coming up on a year and I don't know if Samsung is just buying time to replace the model or what.
[Captivate General] crawt1:
GPS - ROM's and Samsung Captivate

My GPS worked great on my new (December) Captivate with stock 2.1 and then flash to 2.2 Froyo. However when I flashed to a non-standard ROM it isn't nice anymore so I'll flash back to Froyo.... hope this helps
[Captivate General] zeddock:
Well put!

I have a suggestion. Let us decide upon a date in the near future whereon many of us will draw a line and return our Captivates if they have not been fixed via some flash or configuration fix.

This would allow Samsung to work to resolve the issue, but may also drive attention to one day we voluntarily commit to getting replacements.

Perhaps many of us would be turned back due to low supplies for replacement, but on the plus, it would focus attention to the problem and disallow Samsung from pushing us on to oblivion... and out-of-warranty.

And... maybe the best result would be the media picking up on this issue so that others can see how big the problem is and perhaps put a more appropriate level of PR pressure on them to fix the problems.

Who's in?

Anyone care to build a simple site to describe the problem and arrange for sign-ups.... like a vote counter?

Sincerely,

Zeddock
[Captivate General] mmarquis:
I also returned my phone for the shutdown issue hoping it would get me a better GPS. My original build was 1007, my replacement is 1009. At first I thought the GPS was improved because my SNR seemed marginally better, but now I'm am convinced it still is about the same.
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
I am in but I would only be able to exchange it. I have some hosting space I am not using so that is an idea.
[Captivate General] zeddock:
Let's see if there is real interest from posts here. Most want it fixed but it is hard to say how much effort one wants to put in.

Any others?
[Captivate General] Demonic240:
Not sure if this has any merit... but my pre-Nov 6th phone was replaced due to random shutdowns. Now at&t being the idiots they are sent me another phone that experienced random shudowns... however, the gps on that phone would lock instantly every time. I have replaced that phone again due to random shutdowns but the latest one also falls into the danger zone (though it has not yet shut down on me) but will NOT lock gps for more than 2 seconds every 10 minutes or so. I'd hate to replace again as it's a huge pain in the butt setting everything up.
[Captivate General] rbtconsultants:
I have a very similar experience to relate. I bought a captivate in September, and returned it within 30 days because the GPS never worked right. Fast lock, but very wobbly when navigating on the move. In return, I got a new captivate with VERY reliable GPS nav for 3 1/2 months. Then it went to hell overnight, literally.

I put up with it for a week to see if it was a fluke, factory reset, etc. and it was very unreliable, pretty much exactly like my first captivate. I took it to the ATT warranty center and told them the GPS wasn't working. They replaced the sim card and told me to see if that would help, and if it didn't help to bring it back and they would replace it. Of course, it didn't, so I brought it back today and exchanged it. I told them nothing more than that the GPS was unreliable when I was navigating.

The new one is an order of magnitude better than my second one was when new. It sees more satellites, has SNR in the 40s and so far has been solid like I've never seen when driving. It sees 10 satellites in my house, where my first captivate saw 1 satellite and my second saw 4 when it was working well.

We'll see what happens over time, but wow.

Bob
[Captivate General] zeddock:
Looks like there is not a whole lot of interest in putting pressure on Samsung for this via a dropdead date.

I know we all want this fixed, and it is WRONG for them to do this to customers, but without a group ready to press for what is right, it is largely an issue which will not be addressed... IMO.

zeddock.

PS. I was really hoping the responses of YES would be overwhelming and compelling, but I think the reality is that this is just a place to pop a post hoping to get some answers.
[Captivate General] joedoe:
As a matter of fact the GPS works just fine with new Froyo 2.2.1 custom ROMs.
[Captivate General] zeddock:
Please be specific in what you have used and seen?

I have noted in many forums here that new ROMS seem to work better for a short time then the performance falls away.

Please tell us which ROM you have had success with and what testing you have verified and for how long? This info would give us reason to hope we were not swindled as much as we were just victims of a slow-to-market promise of a Froyo update and fix.

Thanx!

zeddock
[Captivate General] spram:
I am using Andromeda 2.1 ROM, and the GPS does work better than the stock. I haven't run the tests to see how many lock-ons I get, but it does follow my location decently while driving. I don't have a holder for it in my car, so I keep in on my lap and check on it every few minutes. It's not entirely accurate (showing me a good distance off the interstate a lot of times) but it's much better than what I was getting on stock (would lock on, but never update).

Andromeda uses Da_G's fix in their build.
[Captivate General] jason531:
External GPS is the only way to go

Well, I got tired of trying different ROMs every week trying in vain to fix the GPS. Also, for various reasons, including crushing a Captivate in the hatch of my car, I have had no less than three different units. All of them had GPS problems.

I gave up and spent $40 for a Holux M-1000 external Bluetooth GPS. It works perfectly, locks almost instantly, and gives 2-meter accuracy. The unit is tiny, but I only use it in the car anyway. It was the best money I have ever spent since now I don't waste time tweaking and fiddling with my phone constantly. Sure, I'd rather have an internal GPS that works perfectly, but the external will do fine until I get a better phone -- it definitely won't be a Samsung, never again!
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
I thought about going that route, but lets see what happens after today, since I guess the official update is out.
[Captivate General] joedoe:
I'm using Cezars Continuum 2.2 ROM and GPS is flawless: quick fix and never looses the fix while driving. Tested with Aura, Copilot and Navigon.

Tracks recorded with My Tracks while walking also near perfect.

Tested during a couple of weeks and even more with previous versions of this ROM.
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
I have Cog 3.04 and its locks fast but not in GMAPS. Really annoying that Gmaps is like that. Once I go into lbs or gpstest and get a lock then gmaps will lock.
[Captivate General] woody1:
My GPS isn't perfect, but it works well enough. I would not want the hassle of using an external GPS.

As far as the idea that after installing a new ROM, the GPS works well for a while, then gets worse, that sounds unlikely to me. I think it's more likely that people obsess too much about the GPS function and then convince themselves that it's gotten worse (kind of a reverse placebo effect).

I do notice that my GPS seems to work better at home in the US and less well when I'm in other countries. That could be a matter of the satellite positions or maybe the positioning data being downloaded is optimized for the US. In general, I've found that performance increases the longer time I'm in a particular area.
[Captivate General] richb500:
Can you explain your setup and how it works?

I'm thinking you keep it in the car, plugged into the cig lighter?

Do you just keep it on?

When you get in the car, does your Captivate automatically connect to it?

Did you have to install anything or setup anything on the Captivate other than just pairing with it?

Does it have to be on your dashboard or does it work from anywhere in the car?

Thanks,

Rich
[Captivate General] jason531:
I keep it in the car and plugged in most of the time. I usually have it up on the dash while driving, then turn if off and stash it when I park. It has a hard power switch, so I've though about putting it up under the dash on a dedicated circuit.

Anyway, it's a bit of a manual process but I have all of the necessary shortcuts on one of my homescreens so I can be connected and ready to go pretty quickly. I turn on the Holux, then turn on Bluetooth and GPS on the phone (there is a quirk with the Captivate where it will reboot when starting the mock GPS provider unless the internal GPS is on -- this happened with two different Bluetooth GPS apps). The only remaining step is to start the Bluetooth GPS app (from Googoo Android) and hit the connect button.

I haven't tried it with the GPS anywhere else in the car. Sometimes if I stop for gas I will put the GPS unit in my opposite pocket from my phone just so it won't disconnect.
[Captivate General] Demonic240:
I noticed this exact issue as well and I'm running Andromeda 2.2. Lbs will lock satellites in seconds and stay locked if I turn on gmaps. As soon as I stop lbs my gmaps will only hold a lock for a minute at the most. Could this be an issue with gmaps?
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
Yeah its not even just this ROM the stock ROM was the same. I could always get LBS to lock faster and better than GMAPS.
[Captivate General] Tigana:
Don't do it!
[Captivate General] lack_android:
GPS settings hidden menu not working

Totally unclear why this would be, I have been able to access other "hidden menus" on my captivate via *#*#...#*#* numbers in the dialer. But the GPS menu *#*#1472365#*#* does nothing. As soon as I hit the last '*' in the sequence the entire number is cleared from the input area, but the GPS menu never appears.

Any suggestions? I'm running the stock rom with a couple minor changes: rooted, ROM Manager (clockwork mod) installed.
[Captivate General] askpcguy:
*#3214789650#

http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=10042549&postcount=601
[Captivate General] NascarFastcar:
Was wondering if these settings should be changed back to stock before the release of froyo? Or will the update do it itself?

And I was wondering if anyone can post the full list of stock settings.. ie

SUPL/CP Settings/SErver FQDN Type/Custom Config

Application settings/Operation Mode/Standalone

SUPL/CP Settings/Server/www.spirent-lcs.com

SUPL/CP Settings/Port/7275

But what about all the full application settings and sulp/cp settings?
[Captivate General] macguyvok:
The update will reset all of that.
[Captivate General] kevj:
Didn't reset after update. I had the google settings on a stock 2.1 - they remained after update to 2.2
[Captivate General] RGardner:
Deleting GPS data causes my phone to lock up, shut down, and restart.

Good times.
[Captivate General] jahfry:
Not unexpectedly, this doesn't work in the new 2.2 (KB1) stock ROM. Anyone found it for 2.2?
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
I just use SGS Tools. You can find it on xda as its not in the market anymore.