yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Captivate General] gpzjack:
wtf. My wife has the same phone...same firmare everything....for some reason her gps works perfect. I checked all settings and set mine to exactly the same as hers. My gps shows me nearly a mile away and hers shows my house.

Ah...figured it out....Her phone had wifi on. I love this phone but i will be selling it soon. I need the gps to work. Ive tried all suggested settings and it will not work right.

I may just go back to my aria
[Captivate General] ademarne:
I have not been able to get a GPS lock since loading the Assonance 3.1 rom. I am talking like in the middle of the day, no rain, in an open area with no trees above my head and still no lock in google maps or GPS test.

I changed the settings to the ones listed on the first post and even changed the gps.conf file to the ones listed. WHAT is left to do to make the gps on this phone work?
[Captivate General] psloan:
I recently had an issue with my phone where the retailer sent me a replacement. one phone is batch 1009. The other is a batch 1007 .

The code *#*#1472365#*#* does not work on the 1009 batch phone.

the 1009 phone has much better gps lock times on the 1007. I drove 20 minutes today and the 1007 only got lock once or twice the whole trip. The 1009 phone same rout, the other direction had a lock the whole way.

Seems to me that the 1009 batch is much better for GPS then the 1007 batch. Unless i just got a lemon for the batch 1007 phone.

--pat
[Captivate General] ulupinar:
supl.google.com does not work any more

My captivate's GPS was not working well when I got it. Based on recommendations on internet I changed the supl server to supl.google.com. Then it started working much better, not perfect though, when I compare it to a friends moto droid. But, at least it was working.

Recently it stopped working. I did a trace on the packets as the captivate tries a GPS fix, and found out that supl.google.com does not reply to the supl requests of my phone any more. When I first used the goole supl server, I did a packet trace, and the google server did reply properly. Did any one experience the same thing? Is anyone able to find an an alternate supl server?

Thanks
[Captivate General] ulupinar:
Replying to my own question. I id auto config in the supl menu. The autoconfigured ATT supl server does work. I confirmed it with a packet trace that it replies properly. One caveat, it needs to be connected via 3G not via WiFi. Through WiFi, the autoconfigured supl server of ATT is not reachable. It may be some firewall issue. This is not a problem, because, when GPS is needed, wifi would not be available anyways.

Thanks
[Captivate General] emuneee:
Everyone is changing SUPL settings. If you are using Standalone mode, then you are wasting your time because SUPL settings don't matter in that case. The GPS is getting almanac information from the satellites. just a heads up.
[Captivate General] maxjivi05:
I found out on my device when I enabled "Network Providers" instead of MS Based, in the GPS Settings I picked up sat's fast, and before I couldn't get 1 sat in 30 secs, now I'm getting 10+ in 5-10 seconds. Just a thought in case someone else wants to test it out. Also I changed from Hot Start to Cold Start.
[Captivate General] fldude99:
In the last few days I've also noticed a much longer time to lock..so I would concur that the supl.google.com is not working as it did previously
[Captivate General] AlsoNamedBort:
Has anyone seen or tried this?

So I was messing with my phone today while driving my son to school - had applied the SUPL/google fix and noticed drastic improvements getting a stationary lock and wanted to see how it handled tracking. I fired up Maps and kept an eye on the screen when it was safe to. Unfortunately it didn't do very well. On the way to his school, I dropped lock every 2 minutes or so and often took that long to pick up the lock again. Definitely useless for navigation.

Before I left the school, I went back into the test mode app and ran a Get Position Test - as before, I got a lock with 7 sats in about 8 seconds, after 10 more seconds I had 2-3 more sats locked as well. But this time, I didn't exit the position test - I just switched to Maps without "back"ing out of the test.

When I got to Maps, I still had a lock, and held it much, much better on the way home (dropped twice that I noticed, but only for a couple of seconds.)

I was all ready to come report this fantastic, tricky workaround, when after about 15 minutes I noticed that my GPS notification icon was gone. Not blinking, not steady, just not there :confused:. I hopped back over to the Get Position Test and it was running, but nothing was updating. I restarted the get-pos test and then everything worked well again, but I was almost home at that point.

So ... I figured I'd share this in case anyone else wants to see if their phone exhibits the same behavior.

TL;DR - with SUPL.google, using Maps alone I had horrible locking while moving, but having LBSTestMode "Get Position Test" running in background, Maps was far better about keeping and recovering lock... until GPS just disappeared (fixed by restarting Get Position Test).
[Captivate General] Nightbreed999:
This worked GREAT for my Captivate. Accurate to 10 meters. NW Indiana.:D
[Captivate General] rfarrah:
...while moving? Does it stay with you the whole time while driving?
[Captivate General] fldude99:
I would take a little issue with the skyhook thing. It has never helped me and mostly lags the entire device sometimes. Maybe it's useful in an urban environment with a lot of buildings..but out in the open I wouldn't activate it
[Captivate General] woody1:
The problem I've had is this:

At home, in Atlanta, the GPS works fine. I get quick locks and it stays locked when navigating using Google Maps.

Every time I go out of town, the GPS is flaky and just about useless. I tried it while walking around in Chicago last week and it took minutes to get a fix, then wouldn't hold it for long. I tried deleting data and that seemed to help, but it never seemed to work well.

Back home, the first fix took a long time, but after the first fix, it was back to normal again. Of course, the times when I need the GPS function the most are when I'm in a strange place, and that is exactly when I have the most trouble.

BTW, does anybody here live in Chicago? Do you have GPS problems in the city?
[Captivate General] Kanzeon:
This is my experience as well. I am in Seattle; I can get a reasonably quick fix here, and I don't really need GPS in my hometown, so I don't worry about it much. A couple weeks ago, I emerged from the subway in Manhattan, and needed directions. No lock for ten minutes. Now, this isn't tragic: google maps still worked and gave me a reasonable fix with towers, and there were people on the street to ask for directions. But this has been the case everytime I travel. GPS is fine, except when I'm in a place I might need it.

I shelled out $30 for a keychain bluetooth GPS on ebay. It hasn't arrived yet, but I hope it will fix the problems.
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
Which one did you buy?
[Captivate General] Kanzeon:
One of the fat ones that say "mobilemategps" on the side and all seem to hail from Taiwan. Not one of the sleek ones. There are always a half dozen on ebay, all between about $30 and $35.

The seller has good reviews, but I have no idea how bulky or effective the unit will be. When it arrives, I'll let you know.
[Captivate General] nbs11:
Skyhook simply uses your wifi access points location to obtain a faster lock. Will not help if you are moving.
[Captivate General] BoostedSR20:
Ive tried everything listed in this thread, and I still can't get a lock. Been sitting here trying for the last 30 minutes... meanwhile me N1 gets a lock in less than 30 seconds...

Ok finally got a lock after trying all morning, but in google maps it keeps moving my position all around where I should be, and I'm just sitting here.

I edited the gps.conf like posted, re-booted, and using gps status it took about 10 minutes to get a lock. But the lock isn't steady, it keeps fluctuating, it won't stay locked on. So in Google Maps, its locked on, then its not, it moves around, etc. Meanwhile my Nexus sits there rock steady with a perfect lock.
[Captivate General] BoostedSR20:
After sitting for 15 minutes. I swear I didn't have this problem when I first got the phone... rooting and removing AT&T software couldn't possibly have any effect on this right??
[Captivate General] boodies:
this picture really says it all. I am so pissed off about this whole GPS BS. Really? XDA members know how to get a fix for this stupid shi.. while Samsung does nothing? WTF It's been what, a month since the phone came out worldwide and no freakin fix? WTF Sammy!!!!
[Captivate General] bowtieguy:
GPS always on

Is it just mine, or is it normal for the GPS to stay on all of the time.

Before i made the changes posted here, the GPS would only be on while an application was set to use it.

My short term fix was to download a GPS On Off widget, I don't want it sucking down the battery when I do not need it.

Thanks
[Captivate General] BoostedSR20:
No, mine turns on and off when used. I was able to get a decent fix, accurate down to 5m only when I put the phone next to the window. I'm about to go try it outside with Navigation. (haven't used it yet on the Captivate)
[Captivate General] ewingr:
Lost my braggin' rights

Last night I was using it and was on a highway that had others running on each side, separated by about 75-150 foot medians (maybe more...not sure) , and it couldn't decide which one I was on. Bounded back and forth, and gave all kinds of crazy instructions.

But still getting a fast hook. Accuracy is the issue now for me.
[Captivate General] BoostedSR20:
Just tried it on a quick 2 mile in town trip, and it seemed to work fine...
[Captivate General] evancg:
I have two thoughts\concerns regarding this GPS issue. I have tried nearly everything people have posted regarding different configurations.

First - I really wish we had some kind of proof that the menu everyone is accessing and modifying is actually the internal GPS settings and not simply a GPS Testing menu. Based on the number of different settings people claim are "correct", and the number of people who see nearly no change at all, it's starting to feel more and more like a placebo effect.

Second - While the GPS certainly seems to be a little weaker than other phones (my phone always sees 2 - 4 fewer satellites than my friends EVO in the same spot), I am still able to see at least a few satellites even when indoors (with wireless assistance off). The biggest issue I see is it seems like the phone never wants to get a fix. Does the Signal Noise Ratio actually indicate strength of signal, or simply the quality of the signal (low signal\noise ratio but very weak link)? My SNR can range from 14 - 34 and it won't get a fix on four different satellites. Outside, or on my friends EVO, satellites with an SNR as low as 14 will lock.

Is the default software just expecting too strong a signal before considering the satellite locked? I really wish Samsung would speak up on this, or a site like Engadget would light a fire under them to get some more informabout about what's going on. I love everything about this phone EXCEPT the flaky GPS and GPS is a pretty important aspect of a Smartphone!

Edit: I do want to add I've used the Captivate for driving directions before, such as through town and from one city to the next - it DOES work - rooted and with default settings (not messing around with the GPS menu, whether it works or not), and it stayed locked the entire time, rerouted when I took a better direction, etc. It's not like it's completely broken or defective - it's just incredibly sensitive about locking.
[Captivate General] derek4484:
Mine locks great as long as I'm not moving, even walking or jogging and it loses all accuracy and ability to track me. So far the GPS is basically worthless. And for those of you surprised by Samsung's lack of acknowledgement of the issue, you're not experienced samsung users. Samsung almost NEVER puts out software updates or acknowledges problems. The way the phone is now is the way it'll be at the end of the year. Its going to take some smart developers/hackers to actually figure out the problem and fix it.
[Captivate General] dsjr2006:
Drove across the state today and wanted to use Google Navigation, but after giving it 15 mins to get a lock inside the car I was still getting "waiting for location.." so I ended up having to just read the maps directions which was pleasant since I was driving. I really can't wait for GPS to be fixed.
[Captivate General] acrodex:
I tried to use it yesterday and my finding is:

if I just let it sit on my lap, it always lost fix; but if I hold it higher it worked.
[Captivate General] kc9qix:
I think this is true - these settings appear to be for the test app only - when I change one of the settings and then reboot my phone, it goes back to the original settings.

But...I think I've found these settings in the settings database - when I was enabling sideloading I started looking at some of the other tables and found the settings. I suspect that changing them in the database will make them apply to all apps and will make them permanent.

Changing these should be similar to the process for enabling sideloading by changing the database values - copy the dbdata/databases/com.android.providers.settings/settings.db database to the SD card, transfer it to your PC and open it, select the "system" table (instead of the "secure" table used when enabling sideloading), make the changes, and copy the database back to the phone. This is explained in more detail in another thread.

The values are _id's 1353 through 1375. The names and values are:

SessionType = 1

OperationTestMode = 0

OperationMode = 0

StartingMode = 1

GPSPlus = 1

DynamicAccuracy = 1

DynamicAccuracyValue = 50

UseSkyHook = 0

UsePcTool = 0

ServerCustomUrl = (spirent-lcs URL)

ServerCustomPort = 7275

SERVER_MODE = 1

ServerUrl = (spirent-lcs URL)

ServerPort = 7275

SecureSocket = 1

AGPSMode = 0

Some of the values in the database are self-explanatory - for example the server URL and port values. Others are not - the mode values, for example, are stored as an integer - I don't know what values should be used or what corresponds to the options seen in the test app.

DISCLAIMER - I have NOT tried changing any of these values yet, so don't come whining to me if you brick your phone.
[Captivate General] AJerman:
Add me to the list of skeptical people. I'm fairly certain that the only settings that even MAYBE affect the phone outside of that menu is the SUPL server data.

That said, I've tried all different settings, and went on a road trip to the beach for the weekend. I was NEVER ONCE able to get a GPS lock. This isn't acceptable and needs to be fixed. Now we don't have GPS or HSUPA. This phone is quickly turning into a piece of ****.
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
Just wanted to say here is another phone that I am fed up with. I am have terrible problems with the GPS and about ready to return the phone.

None of the settings seems to help, when I do get a lock it works for awhile. If i go back later back to searching forever. Seems like if i mess with it enough i get a lock but only for awhile. I have seen all the problems listed, including locking and then searching again. Almost seems like it know where the Sats are but doesn't' want to lock on them.

I really don't want to return it and go back to WinMo (HTC Fuze), but this is very annoying. Almost makes me want to switch carriers and get a Droid X.

I will keep playing with it and see if I can't get it to work.

Rooting or removing AT&T apps shouldn't mess it up, i could put them back as I just renamed them. If I remember correctly when I first got the phone it seemed to work fine, that was before I enabled using wireless networks.
[Captivate General] TexUs:
I honestly don't get the problems with the GPS... It locked me on going 65mph within 10 seconds this weekend.
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
Have you made any changes to the phone? Are you rooted?
[Captivate General] TexUs:
Rooted and took off all the ATT apps, but other than that, haven't tweaked GPS at all.

Not sure if it matters but I pulled up Google Maps... Not the Navigation. Just to see if I could discover the same issues and nope, mine worked fine.
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
Hmm, do you have use wireless networked checked? It was unchecked out of the box for me.

Anyone else have it unchecked out of the box?

Do you think you can check your GPS settings and see if it using sprint-lcs out of the box?
[Captivate General] TexUs:
I honestly can't remember now. It's checked ATM but I can't remember if it's because I saw this thread and turned it on (obviously if you can acquire it via cellular triangulation that's faster than GPS) or not. I really never use my phone's GPS so the only time I fire it up is just to see if it works, really.

If I can remember I'll try it on the drive home today and see if I can't see any difference.

? Where do I check that?
[Captivate General] woody1:
The fact that the GPS always works well at home and never seems to work well away from home is puzzling. My guess is that Google Maps stores location data that helps it to get and maintain a fix and that it takes quite a while for that database to be built up. Maybe when I'm out of town, I never leave Google Maps running long enough for the database to build up. The other difference is that when I'm at home, I use it in the car and when I've traveled, so far, I've always been walking. I want to try this away from home in a car and see it works as well as it does at home.
[Captivate General] jz3:
I greatly improved my GPS performance by doing this: First, a brief background: I was always curious about the two electrical contacts mating to the aluminum battery cover; if they were a ground plane or part of the antenna. For the heck of it I tried improving the connections by cleaning the small square contacts on the inside of the cover with a pencil eraser (they looked like they had a thin coating on them); and then gently, slightly prying up the contact on the right with a small screwdriver (the left is spring-loaded) and thats it. I was surprised to see an immediate improvement in signal strength resulting in locks within a minute and spot-on navigation. As a side note I noticed a better signal if I held the phone by it's sides vs cradled in my hand. It may be my imagination but I also seem to get a better signal (more bars) on the phone itself. I don't want to get anybody's hopes up, but this worked for me. Give it a try and let me know!
[Captivate General] Jeffu:
Default settings work some of the time for me... pretty unreliable thus far. I get a lock most of the time at home with MS Assist, since I have a data plan. I tried switching to the other settings but far as I can tell it makes no difference at all.

Depressing when I gave up and used the girlfriend's Iphone4 because I couldn't get a lock :(
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
I agree! Very annoying to have to use my girlfriend's IPhone 4 to do something that mine should do out of the box. ARGH!
[Captivate General] patrickdo:
http://www.slashgear.com/nexus-s-review-14119387/

"Similarly frustrating can be GPS performance; we haven’t observed the dire positioning problems originally found on the Galaxy S, but at times the Nexus S proved simply incapable of getting a GPS lock: we drove for around 30 minutes of open, clear freeway and the handset continued to show “Searching for GPS.” The issue is intermittent, however, with the phone not liking it if you try to get a fix while moving."
[Captivate General] fldude99:
Anybody explain what MS Assist is really? How does it differ from standalone? I'm assuming that MS assist is the same as MS based?
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
I know there is a difference but I can't remember. There is a post somewhere on here that explains all the them. I am pretty sure that you want MS Based.
[Captivate General] GAMacky:
That just sad. So it's hardware and not software since even Gingerbread has problems with the Galaxy S GPS.
[Captivate General] nikolai.:
Taken from here. http : / / www . vzwdevelopers . com / aims / public / menu / lbs / LBSFAQ . jsp
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
I have also noticed that after awhile maybe a few days or more my network location stops working and I have to reboot to get it to work again. Anyone else experience this?
[Captivate General] nekrosoft13:
maybe i did something wrong, but i can't get into the GPS settings. I open phone app, enter the number and as I enter the last character the entire number disapears.
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
If you have the update then the code is different. You can install SGS Tools from the market that will jump you to the LBSTESTMODE.
[Captivate General] fldude99:
Or easier: dial in #*3214789650#

Edit: Correction: *#3214789650#...sorry
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
Not if you can't remember it. The first I had memorized, this one is I don't.
[Captivate General] fldude99:
^^^^So put it in your contacts...simple
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
Tried that.
[Captivate General] holeshot77:
mine said "Rejected"

:P
[Captivate General] fldude99:
whoops..sorry about that: its *#3214789650#
[Captivate General] Kanzeon:
It arrived, from Taiwan, and it has a Russian name with Russia lettering on the side.

It is about the size of the keyless entry for my car. Not small, but not hard to carry on the keychain or the pocket.

I downloaded "Bluetooth GPS Mouse" from the android market to connect it. Without the app, it wouldn't connect.

Seems to work perfectly. Per google maps, I'm getting a lock accurate to five meters (about 8 sats) instantly. I'll test it a bit more, but I'm pretty sure this is the way for me to solve my modest GPS woes. No more tweaking, no waiting - $30 to know I'll have accurate GPS when I need it (no thanks to Samsung, but at this point I don't much care).
[Captivate General] BetaRoc:
Made a definite improvement! Nice.
[Captivate General] opcow:
And it's pretty easy to remember the digits if you memorize it by the pattern of key presses. You start in the upper right and spiral around till you hit 5 and then jump to 0.
[Captivate General] 8526WM6:
What Ever Happened to Ephemeris Downloads?

I work with satellites and have some knowledge. When I had a WM6.5 phone, there was an option to dowload ephemeris. Ephemeris is updated satellite location data of the satellites. Even though satellites are in geosynchronous orbit (stationary orbits), they do tend wobble a bit (not perfect), enough to delay lock-on and have less accuracy. Therefore, the need for ephemeris.

Is ephemeris downloaded automatically in the background unoticed in Adroid?

TIA for any answers...
[Captivate General] RocketSled:
The GPS does download. It gets timing data from the Internet and rough location assist data from the Cell network. There are apps like FasterFix, and the built-in LBA test application, that control or modify this behavior.
[Captivate General] Miami_Son:
Not sure why you posted in this thread as it has nothing to do with the subject. I use Ephemeris on my WinMo phones and it is a moon phase program AFAIK. Nothing to do with satellites. Have yet to see an Android port of it.
[Captivate General] woody1:
Not sure why you didn't read what he wrote before posting this. He explained that the ephemeris data he was talking about corrects for satellite wobble. It has nothing to do with the Ephemeris app you mentioned. This is what he's talking about: http://www.how-gps-works.com/glossary/ephemeris-data.shtml.

Only took a couple of seconds for me to look that up.
[Captivate General] Miami_Son:
Well, since there is an app on the WinMo platform called "Ephemeris," it was an understandable mistake on my part. Excuse me for not thinking I needed to do a search just to understand a post.
[Captivate General] metaldood:
Hi,

I am eligible for an upgrade and looking at Captivate. Does the new firmware fix gps issues? I don't depend on it all the time but I do need it though.

Thanks