yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Captivate General] slider2828:
Hey Truthfully whatever works for you.... I think the key is the accuracy in the end. I don't care what other settings, SUPL.GOOGLE.COM or AUTO I think have SECURE SUPLE off, SKYHOOK=ON (I debat whether this works or not), and using GPS Test should give you some really good results....

I try a few times a day with GPS Test in different areas of San Jose, Ca.... sooo really it comes down the to the accuracy settings....

Note though, I work in an office building with flourescents and that really destroys the signal it seems like.....
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
You are on to something because that made a world of difference. 100 didn't work but 150 did. I didn't even restart. I noticed that on initial lock it starts at 100 and then get closer to my position so anything over 100 should have a fast lock. It makes sense. I will try in a few hours and see if that still works.
[Captivate General] grmcgee:
Here's another anecdote from AT&T. Went to local store to upgrade a family plan phone to replace a dead BlackBerry. I asked the rep about the Captivate (my phone) GPS situation, and she had not heard of the problem. She checked for Captivate updates, and her system said that a software update is scheduled for 1-2 weeks from August 4. No details about what the update does. It may or may not be a GPS fix, but I have not heard of any other pending updates for the Captivate, other than Froyo which would not be this early.
[Captivate General] jmreed97:
It's all snake oil and placebo... I've tried every setting and get mixed results from day to day. There is no "fix" and since the problem is intermittent it is easy to change something, see it work and believe you fixed it. I thought I fixed my GPS several times only to have it stop working again in a few hours or the next day.

The fact is we all have the same device and we all have the same firmware/kernel and GPS satellites send down the same 1.5Ghz signal everywhere in the world. The best settings should be universal (as long as you test them outside with an unobstructed view of the sky) and the results still vary widely from person to person, phone to phone, day by day.

No settings under any circumstances allow you to lock onto a satellite with an SNR<20 and no settings allow you to lock on to more than 8 satellites no matter how long you wait.

Until a fix can do that... The intermittent problem will remain.
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
So far no ATT store or Best Buy has already known about the GPS before I told them.

But here is some more food for thought,

http://www.androidcentral.com/adobe-shows-flash-running-droid-2

What do you think, maybe this is a combined froyo update, wouldn't that be something, but it seems to line up with what you where told.
[Captivate General] eitan123:
GPS not shutting down completely

I've noticed the GPS indication sometimes still indicating GPS is working (steady of flickering) even though I've exit the application (whatever).

If I force GPS stop (from locatin settings->use gps (off)) the indication goes off but the GPS won't work well from now on (after re enabling the GPS).

I believe this is the reason GPS works well after reboot.
[Captivate General] halfhp:
Local rep here told me it had something to do with a MS Exchange vulnerability and had nothing to do with gps. Who knows tho, this was a couple weeks ago.
[Captivate General] gk527:
Here is what's in my wife's HTC Aria for her GPS config file. The Captivate doesn't have anything past the XTRA_SERVER_3 setting. Could this be anything?

(I had to put spaces in between the HTTP letters so I could post this.)

NTP_SERVER=north-america.pool.ntp.org

XTRA_SERVER_1=h t t p://xtra1.gpsonextra.net/xtra.bin

XTRA_SERVER_2=h t t p://xtra2.gpsonextra.net/xtra.bin

XTRA_SERVER_3=h t t p://xtra3.gpsonextra.net/xtra.bin

SUPL_HOST=FQDN

SUPL_PORT=7275

SUPL_TLS_HOST=FQDN

SUPL_TLS_CERT=/etc/SuplRootCert
[Captivate General] iamamp3pimp:
My wifes Aria is spot on , tracks her walking with ease.

perhaps you are on to something?

i couldnt really say.
[Captivate General] smashpunks:
for a quick lock.

try a app called GPS STATUS. Run this app and find some satellites. Then go into maps and find location... It should be alot more accurate and fast..

Atleast for me it does..
[Captivate General] cotr:
instead of trying to fix it ourselves and failing, why dont we just pester the sh*t out of att/samsung?
[Captivate General] smashpunks:
I honestly think were on our own with this one. Samsung seems to be ignoring the issue. Although mines not bad and I never use GPS, still, id like for them to fix whatever is happening, or just plain and simple let us know if its Hardware or software...

I think its software from a. the fixes work and b. the app a few posts up help immensly in getting a lock.
[Captivate General] cotr:
Agreed. Its blatantly a software issue. The att mark the spot app gets a lock in under 20 seconds while gmaps takes infinity.
[Captivate General] smashpunks:
try the GPS status App and see if it helps you in any way...

If I try from a cold start in maps itll keep locating (gps icon blinks, no lock yet) then I open the app, run it, find a lock in like 10 seconds, then go back to google maps, and within another 10 seconds it will jump to your position....

I think it works well, just spreading the word on finding a lock...

I just want Samsung to fix this or speak up, I love this phone to death and thats the only issue I have (not really a big one for me), but if this is how they act, they will definently not get my business in the future as I will know that they wont do **** about it..

hell The nexus one had a update in a week or 2 wasnt it? to try and fix that 3G switching issue.....

Common Samsung... We have the best phone out, with a issue that needs addressed. Fix it and get your REPUTATION TO CHANGE>>>
[Captivate General] gk527:
Does anyone know if all Galaxy S phones are experiencing this, or is it just the Captivate?
[Captivate General] mi04se1:
Even the Euro versions have gps issues.
[Captivate General] iamamp3pimp:
thus far all SGS phones released have this issue.

it seems to have been patched on the T-mo side by a local dev though.
[Captivate General] gk527:
What was done?
[Captivate General] iamamp3pimp:
it's posted here somewhere, something about eugenes fix being ported over from Tmo to our captivate.
[Captivate General] mongstradamus:
samsung just cares you bought the phone i am sure they will get around to putting out a fix eventually, just look how they are pushing the accessories out for the phone but not addressing the phones issues. Right now i am under the impression that samsung should stick to making tvs ,
[Captivate General] cotr:
just sent these knuckleheads an email and got back:

Thank you for your inquiry.Samsung Mobile is aware that under certain conditions, the GPS on our U.S. Galaxy S devices may not be meeting performance expectations. We are diligently evaluating the situation and will provide an update as soon as possible.

We are unable to speculate when/if this software revision might be available due to the fact that this might lead to inaccurate information and confusion.

Should this become available, it will be posted on our website in the Samsung Download Center.

Please feel free to check back with us periodically for updates.

Thank you for choosing Samsung.

Anybody feel like telling them that in this case its all conditions?
[Captivate General] smashpunks:
Still don't work right ...
[Captivate General] cjpp78:
I couldn't get a gps lock at all but then I found these settings and tried them. now I get a fix quick. even locks on indoors now. stays locked on when driving also.

SUPL Secure Soket: OFF

SUPL Sever: supl.google.com

SUPL Port: 7276

Operations Mode: MS Based

Sky Hook: On (I turned this on by accident, and never turned it back off)
[Captivate General] iamamp3pimp:
tried that awhile ago

lasted about 15 minutes.
[Captivate General] cotr:
That's not gps. That's the network assisted location service
[Captivate General] Lukew@bellsouth.net:
Distressing response from Samsung

IT IS LOOKING WORSE FOR A SOLUTION.

This is the response I just received from Samsung. Note that "when", which was in a previous response from Samsung, has been replaced with when/if. This is not good. Also, "should this become available" adds no level of comfort.

We are unable to speculate when/if this software revision might be available due to the fact that this might lead to inaccurate information and confusion.

Should this become available, it will be posted on our website in the Samsung Download Center.

Please feel free to check back with us periodically for updates.

Thank you for choosing Samsung.

.
[Captivate General] cotr:
I spoke with At&t, they said the gps issue has been known since July 29th.
[Captivate General] dark_sith:
issues started when I switched from JF3 stock to JG5 ...

on the Galaxy S
[Captivate General] mongstradamus:
I know this isn't a popular decision but i returned my captivates , and will revisit the situation when/if froyo comes out to see if there were gps improvements
[Captivate General] foxbat121:
FYI: A new firmware (JH2) for Captivate has leaked out. Check out the Captivate Dev section.
[Captivate General] smashpunks:
Didn't see it ill check again
[Captivate General] foxbat121:
You can't miss it. It is on the top right below all the stickies.

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=751518
[Captivate General] smashpunks:
Lol found it.. seems people are reporting its fixing their gps... keeping fingers crossed.
[Captivate General] slider2828:
Death grip theory for gps. Can you guys test something. Using gpstest get a lock then put your hand covering over to half of the back cover. It seems that I gradually lose all signal. Is this what you guys experience too?
[Captivate General] chvybeatsford:
I.duno about y'all but all of a sudden my gps locks from cold start(after power cycle) in roughly 35 sec at 10m. Cold start in about 10sec. I changed nothing and installed nothing. Why i duno but i was having 245sec cold start locks when it wanted to lock .

This is with a cloudy sky tonight. Baton rouge,la.

May just be luck.
[Captivate General] jhego:
Here's proof guys, I made this video after I flashed it with the new firmware. Finally we can put it to rest :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ65sS8nbRE
[Captivate General] smashpunks:
How about the compass? The video looked like it was working fine also?
[Captivate General] chvybeatsford:
Just did another cold start right after power cycle and took 50sec with 8 sat. This is from within my house nearest window 16ft.

Stock flash and all.
[Captivate General] jhego:
I was so excited that I could care less about the compass:D I'll check it out in a bit since i'm making a backup right now. I'll also update you guys if it stays locked while driving since i'm going to my gf's house.
[Captivate General] smashpunks:
Awesome. Thanks again. This will put my mind at ease and I can sleep well.lol
[Captivate General] chupacabrachus:
Think we can expect this OTA soon or does ATT have to bastardize it first?
[Captivate General] rajendra82:
The firmware has all AT&T apps and restrictions in it (in fact, some of the restrictions on USB tethering were tightened). There is nothing for them to bastardize. They'll probably take their sweet time releasing though, as this appears to be a full image for them to flash on new hardware and will have to be somehow made into an OTA update for kernel, PDA, and modem. Not sure why Captivate got this update before i9000, but it's sure nice not to be the last platform waiting for a fix or tweak.
[Captivate General] jhego:
I just got to my gf's house and used the GPS all the way. I'm happy to say that it works:D There was satellite lock throughout my entire trip and everything was spot on. There was probably one time where it lagged but it quickly got back on track. Other than that, this is a solid update. Now I'm just looking forward to Froyo.
[Captivate General] smashpunks:
Awesome thanks for this update.. one last thing if ya could... check google maps street view in compass mode... no hurry just wondering.. may be a seperate fix but still interesting to know...

Thanks again for your testing...
[Captivate General] jhego:
Man, that's sick! I haven't used that mode before. I can tell you that it works :)
[Captivate General] smashpunks:
Very very sweet ... thanks again bro...
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
How is USB tethering affected? I really need that. Can you try it? Thanks.
[Captivate General] smashpunks:
is it nice n smooth? Think Maybe you could do another video on that? That would be a huge thing if it was as smooth as it should be.
[Captivate General] foxbat121:
It is completely removed as an option in USB mode selections.
[Captivate General] foxbat121:
This is the track I recorded this morning using the new JH2 firmware. It is now completely useable as navigation device. Not 100% perfect, still a few bumps when I make turns and lost signal one time. But overall much better track than I had before.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=105427637963454571567.00048da12f30ffd62fbf4

EDIT: fixed the URL
[Captivate General] cotr:
when you flash the ROM, do you loose all your stuff? Kind of like reverting to a better factory setting?
[Captivate General] foxbat121:
This firmware is currently only for new devices. Hence you lost eveything (wiped clean). If you want to keep your settings, wait for OTA update.
[Captivate General] slider2828:
I also confirm, the new firmware helps GPS a lot....

Samsung Kies is no longer available to connect to the phone for this version.

Other than that its great...
[Captivate General] boomerbubba:
As I commented on one of the other forums where you cross-posted this, I don't find the accuracy of this track to be very good.

5-15 meter accuracy is not that great, IMHO. The Broadcom GPS chip in the Galaxy S is supposed to be capable of 2-meter accuracy.

As for the quality of the actual tracking, I don't find anything to be sanguine about in the lapses in that driving track. There are several place where the track veers far from the road, or gets lost entirely and the GPS has to reacquire. I get similar performance on driving tracks with a T-Mobile Samsung Vibrant -- with only the MS Based configuration tweaks applied --which underperforms my trusty old G1 for accuracy.

Others can form their own opinions. I suggest following the link to the map track, zooming in, and inspecting it closely.

Yes, it is "usable" for navigation. But I would not pronounce it fixed based on that test. You say this is an improvement on the accuracy you got before? That must have been poor indeed.
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
That is terrible hopefully we can add it back in or maybe the OTA update won't affect it. GPS or Tethering that is a terrible decision to make lol.
[Captivate General] foxbat121:
It is no supprise. Otherwise who will pay $20 extra/mo for tethering.

Not only the UBS tethering is removed, the dial-up modem no longer functions either(the one supported by Kies).

It is purposefully done by the request of AT&T, so no, OTA will not preserve that.
[Captivate General] foxbat121:
It depends on what you compare to. My prevous accuracy is 30 to 50 meters. 5 - 15 meter accuracy is certainly much better, but not perfect.

Also, keep in mind, I did this recording while my phone is down deep in my center console cup holder with a closed sunroof as its only sky view. If I were to mount it on the dash board, I'm sure the track will look much better shape.
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
So was it a mistake that it was working on the initial release?

Do you think we will be able to "hack" it back in?

Maybe after the OTA is released we should wait till its taken apart and see what it does.
[Captivate General] larryccf:
damnnnn boomer - just as i was arching my eyebrows with a cautious optimism, you got's to pee on the parade

i do agree with you though
[Captivate General] foxbat121:
Certainly is a mistake.

Don't know. There is no guarantee given that we still can't find a hack to enable HSUPA in the original firmware.
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
A good one lol. They must of been rushed to get it out the door.
[Captivate General] lillejord:
I had seen somewhere (probably in this thread) that all these fixes work because they suggest restarting the phone and that its is actually the restarting of the phone that fixes the problem. I decided to to test this out. Since I have never had a problem locking on to satellites--no mater what settings I used--I decided, after reading that comment, that it might be because I often reset my phone. I intentionally avoided restarting my phone for a few days. Yesterday I was seeing 11 satellites and connecting to 5-8 while sitting inside, but then last night I could see 9 but couldn't connect to any while out side. This morning the same thing- could see but couldn't connect. After restarting my phone I could see 11 and connect to 8. Seems to me that the settings don't matter much and the restarting (refreshing data?) is the actual fix.
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
I totally agree with you, i felt the same way. I stopped restarting after making changes since it seems to take effect right away.

I hate restarting because it takes forever, unlike when I first got it and it was instant. I don't if it us cause I have to much installed or what. The scanning media takes forever too because I have a lot of data. I put some of the .nomedia files to speed it up. Helped a little.
[Captivate General] slider2828:
In terms if USB tethering, just use googles wifi tethering and call it a day. Its not that big of a deal....
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
I can't I use it for my carpc since my extra sim card is in my netbook. Plus Wifi tether will kill your battery before you could even do anything.

I hope we figure something out. I might have to start playing with the android insides... I have messed with the SDK but that is it.
[Captivate General] foxbat121:
I wish I could call it a day. I tried it and that thing crashes all the time (requires battery pull). And can't properly terminate the tethering. After I clicked End Tethering for half an hour, my friend's iPhone still reports my ad-hoc network is available but no internet connection. I've to reboot the phone to kill it.
[Captivate General] halfhp:
I got the chance to compare my captivate with this new fix today against the HTC Aria and the Droid Incredible. I was getting ~16 foot accuracy while they were getting ~40 foot accuracy. And yes I do mean feet, not meters. One interesting thing I noticed was that I got a more accurate fix with fewer satelites locked compared to the other 2 phones.

It might not be great, but it doesnt seem like other phones are doing any better, so I'll live with it.

EDIT: Results were captured on all 3 devices using GPS Test, while I was driving down the freeway @ ~70mph.
[Captivate General] foxbat121:
Although the GPS chip is more capable, working inside a cell phone with virtually no GPS antenna and slower refresh rate (1Hz vs 2Hz supported by the chip), this is probably best you can get out of most cell phones.

16-foot is the same as 5-meter accuracy. Yes 2.5 meter could be better. But you're looking at the resolution where you can identify yourself in exact lane (2.5-meter) vs which road you're traveling (5-meter). In previous firmware, my position often jumped to another road nearby (30 to 50 meters).

I'm fine as long as it stays on my current road.
[Captivate General] bugmenotatall:
Uhmmmm no, 2m accuracy IS RIDICULOUSLY GOOD. Even standalone GPS navigation devices like a Garmin handheld using a Sirfstar III chipset capable of pulling in a WAAS signal almost NEVER get more than 3m accuracy. 3-5m accuracy is about as good as it gets in a phone based GPS and is pretty much identical to the performance of an iphone 4. The 3GS for comparison would almost never get better than ~15-20m accuracy. So long as this performance on the Captivate holds up for a couple days, this truly is a real fix for the problem.

forums.groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=253049

I would still like to see a report on compass performance though.....
[Captivate General] slider2828:
There were different releases. Try pre6, I seem to have good results with it. I heard that pre7 was iffy and pre8 just came out..... try pre6 and pre8... See if that helps.
[Captivate General] foxbat121:
I'm using pre8 and wasn't very impressed. But there is really no other *free* options right now.
[Captivate General] halfhp:
So you got it to work? It prints a failure message when I initiate the tether with either wifi or bluetooth.
[Captivate General] foxbat121:
Pre8 is the only version I tried. Yes it does sort of worked after I pulled battery and rebooted the phone. Prepare to reboot your phone a lot: once before you use it, once after you use it.
[Captivate General] exparrot:
how about starting a separate thread for the tethering discussion?

I'm getting confused when you are talking about different builds and features working/not working, when all I care about is the GPS.
[Captivate General] techspy:
Hey guys, I have a Vibrant that I am using on ATT and have tried many different GPS fixes (Waiting on the real fix from Samsung) but recently thought about the imbedded TMobile (agps, server etc) settings that may be causing me extra issues. So I have changed the agps to the google address (in the customer.xml file) and changed the supl to the google address. I can't say for sure now but it seems to have helped get a quicker fix, but no matter what settings I use the most I have ever got a lock on was 3, and most of the time is only 1. Even though there are very good db reading (40+) on other sats, it never locks on to them and seems to lock onto sats that are very low in the horizon instead of the ones directly overhead. Also, I noticed that the local time in the GPS test programs is always off by being 5 hours fast. I have made the change to the ntp servers to what is posted but it is still the same. I have verified my handset region, date and time settings but nothing seems to help the wrong GPS time. I can only imagine that this has something to do with what sats it tries to lock onto.

Anyone have any idea what setting I need to look at tweaking to get the GPS local time correct?

Thanks
[Captivate General] ewingr:
The new rom improved but did not fix the GPS problems. Myi 30 days are up this weekend. I just returned it. :(

Here's a link to my post about the 100 mile road test if you are interested.
[Captivate General] halfhp:
What timezone are you in?
[Captivate General] slider2828:
If you can get your hands on pre6... I don't have any problems with that....
[Captivate General] techspy:
I am in Eastern US time zone. and it is 1251pm and the gps status test shows local time as 1751.

Edit, I just had something weird happen. Went outside, got a lock, left the program running and came back inside where I do not have a signal. Left the phone on my desk to type this and it just black screened. It is like the os crashed and restarted. Not a full reboot though. Seems this was caused by the gps and the lack of any signal...
[Captivate General] slider2828:
Yeah I updated to JH2 stock rom and there definitely has been some tweaks. Before I couldn't see past 10 satellites and now I can see at least 11.... Before I could only lock onto 5 at a time, but now I can lock onto 8+ satellites....

I did change my supl settings to:

SUPL.GOOGLE.COM

7276

With SECURE SOCKET OFF....

ACCURACY 30.... seems to be working well for me.....

So there are some improvements and it does lock under 20 secs for me, but maybe I am easily satisfied as I am ok with 30 sec lock times....
[Captivate General] techspy:
What exactly does the "Accuracy" field adjust?
[Captivate General] slider2828:
I use GPS Test and at the beginning I thought it was the sensitivity of the satellite reception dB's as I just took the average of dB's shown on the screen..... some people say its how accurate your telemetry is....

All in All playing around with the Accuracy level makes the biggest different in my observations.
[Captivate General] lillejord:
From @GalaxySsupport on Twitter: