yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Captivate General] TexUs:
Are you guys freaking serious?

You expect satellite, which by its very nature relies upon line of sight, to work with sheetrock, insulation, wood, and shingles over your head????????

Holy cow. Maybe you guys have been spoiled by the iPhone's infamous ability to fake real signals but... GPS does not work indoors. Period.
[Captivate General] lizard.king:
hello everyone. i've read this entire thread and had mixed success with the different fixes. i decided to give the above idea a try and i located the system table in my settings.db file (using root explorer). the id #s for these parameters are different in mine, which i guess makes sense since they could have been updated/entered at a different time. anyway, the interesting thing to note is that the values reflect the custom info i entered in the LbsTestMode utility. i never altered the settings.db file manually. so it appears the test utility does in fact update this file (on MY phone, at least) and the changes are maintained after a reboot.

if i missed a post where someone already determined this, please disregard.
[Captivate General] tysj:
GPS always worked everywhere on my Tilt2. Even in the production plant where I work. Don't ask my why I was using it, that phone eventually became more of a tinker toy than a phone. :P
[Captivate General] Rizz67:
I expect the GPS to work within a car and have accuracy greater than within 60 meters. I had an ATT tilt, not an Iphone, for 2 yrs, and that phone had no problem triangulating my location between GPS and Cell towers. Navigation telling me to turn around on the highway because it cant figure out which direction im heading is piss poor and useless.
[Captivate General] rustic23:
I got my Captivate on Saturday before they released on Sunday the 18th. I currently have the fix above on the phone. I just checked sitting in my den and I have 9 sats in view and had 8 locked on momentaryly. It went to 7 then stettled on 6. I lock 6 of 7 in 6 sec. It took me 97 sec to get my first lock on when I got the phone with factory settings.

Having said this, I am still not sure that all this any of this means much. So many people with so many phone in so many locations.

One thing that does seem to be out of kilter is the altitude. With 5 sats locked, my altitude is off as much as 150 ft. Also, last Saturday, the GPS would not lock on in the car while moving, until I held the unit up well above the dash.
[Captivate General] dressanderc:
But how will we be reassured our homes are still, in fact, in the same location on a map? Gives me chills........i don't wana... i don't wana.........
[Captivate General] derek4484:
Well my Garmin Nuvi 250W gets a lock inside my apartment just fine. It gets 2 out of 5 bars of signal strength, and I can walk anywhere inside my apartment and it has a lock. So dont tell me that no gps will get a lock inside. My iphone gets one perfectly fine too. My old Samsung flip phone got a lock inside as well.
[Captivate General] TexUs:
I'm not saying the GPS might have issues (though I can't reproduce them).

But you guys complaining about getting signals indoors is just LOL... I also think many of you have been tricked by transparent Skyhooking and not true GPS, which makes your old phones SEEMINGLY work better. Turn those features back on the Captivate and I bet your results will be better.

It's just technically impossible for a GPS signal to make it into a house, unless you've got nearby windows or doors or something that it can get through.
[Captivate General] Donatron:
Techincally, next week is next month. :p
[Captivate General] tysj:
I have tried the features and the Captivate still puts me hundreds/thousands of feet away if anything whereas my Tilt2 seems to get my location exactly according to Bing's map.

I think a lot of people have windows in their homes :)

It works when I need it to like when I'm actually outside (although it takes a tad bit longer), it just bums me out to find that there's something my old phone can do better than this one. Albeit something minor.
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
It depends on what verison of the Starchip you are using. The star III is way more senstive and works great in some buildings. The older ones wouldn't. I have a garmin outdoor that doesn't work unless its perfect line of sight, but any of the newer gps like the phones work great in my apartment, granted I am on the 2nd floor. My HTC Fuze GPS works great, I am so ready to take my phone back if there isn't a fix by mid August.
[Captivate General] zoid_99:
That's all well and fine but my GPS never locks into more than 1 GPS sat period. Inside or out. Fix or no fix. It is broken.
[Captivate General] ranova:
I facepalm every time someone complains they lose GPS satellite signal when they walk indoors...
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
Yeah there is definitely a problem with the GPS, I was just replying to another post. Make sure correct info is out there.

Back before star III it was hard to even get a fix in your car.
[Captivate General] Anim8ED_1:
I know that most GPS products give you an elevation with reference to sea level.

I am not saying this is true for your (our) faulty, sometimes useless GPS though.
[Captivate General] derek4484:
I'm sorry but you're totally wrong. GPS can work indoors. It wont work in a concrete bunker, but as long as you have just a normal wood roof deck over your head it will work just fine. My Garmin Nuvi 250W gets a pretty strong signal inside and it doesnt have skyhook or any other form of network assistance. Even testing my Captivate with GPS Test or the built in test app it shows it receiving a signal from 8-9 satellites with a lock on to 4-6 sats. Although even if it didnt get a lock inside I wouldnt complain, GPS is not designed to work indoors, even if it does in certain conditions.

My main fault with it is and always has been, with it losing lock and not being able to reobtain it while moving, even at walking speed. I can walk outside and it gets a lock very quickly. As soon as I start to walk down the sidewalk out front it quickly loses its lock and then it starts placing me all over the place. Since it cant even maintain a lock while walking, trying to use it while biking or jogging is hopeless. This needs to be fixed immediately.

Other than the GPS issue, I've been pretty satisfied with the phone. Its not that big of a deal while in my car, it has in-dash navigation and I have an old garmin nuvi that I keep in the glove box, so there's no way I'm going to be navigating in my car using my phone. But I would like to use it while jogging or riding my bike to track me and maintain my route, avg speed, dist, etc.
[Captivate General] naplesbill:
Just wanted to post an FYI for anyone who is curious. I flashed my Captivate to the i9000 Euro ROM and my GPS is working a thousand times better. I've only tested for one day but I made three trips today and all had GPS in under 10 seconds and maintained a lock for the entire trip. The accuracy was pretty darn good too. I used the GPS test app outside my house and I'm connecting to 9 signals and locking 6-7. Because of this, I feel very confident that the GPS issue is definitely addressable via software!
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
That so great to hear! Makes me want to keep my phone. I love the Galaxy, everything is perfect, best phone ever, but GPS would be a deal breaker for me. What is the difference with the I9000 and ours?
[Captivate General] derek4484:
How did you flash it to the I9000 ROM, and after flashing the euro rom did you flash the Captivate kernel back over it? If not, how bad off are the buttons and the accelerometer?
[Captivate General] naplesbill:
There is a thread that covers the steps to flashing the i9000 rom. Yes you do have to flash the Captivate kernel after flashing the i9000 rom and before booting. It's really not that difficult as long as you follow the steps. Hopefully we'll have custom kernels soon enough.

By flashing the Cap kernel you avoid the button and accelerometer issues. Prior to this flash, I could almost never get GPS working on my phone. I tried every setting fix and none of them worked. I didn't have to do anything at all with the i9000 flash.
[Captivate General] caelestis2:
Can you post the GPS settings by dialing the number? I'm just curious as to what they are.

------------------------------

Even if GPS can work indoors it is not good to say "My GPS is crap because it doesn't work indoors". People should get outside before they complain. If you call any GPS manufacturer tech support and complain about inside GPS connection, they will hang up immediately after telling you the obvious.
[Captivate General] naplesbill:
I just checked and application settings are standard with standalone and skyhook is off.

Supl is: supl.google.com port is: 7276 and secure supl is off.
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
So far those settings work great. The test will be if they work tomorrow morning.

Thanks!

UPDATE:So far this morning it hasn't worked, I will try on my way to work. It seems no matter how I mess with the settings it works right after, but never stays working. A few hours later back to not locking. It sees over 6 sats but just doesn't lock so sounds like firmware to me for sure.
[Captivate General] TexUs:
Like I said... Windows and doors. GPS signal can bounce just a bit. (Why do you think it works under your metal roof in the car???). It'll even work UNDER your car, actually...

But these are all hit and miss situations that are not reliable at all.

Generally speaking though, GPS does not work indoors and to EXPECT it to is just stupid.
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
What I should of said is GPS can work indoors and you just have to try, but don't except it to work anywhere.

So I tired the GPS on the way to work and it wouldn't lock, but what I found it is the simple act of going in to the LBS app and exiting and restarting like if I had made changes and that worked. So make after you run that app and restart it restarts the gps from scratch. So what I am going to try if it doesn't work again is try cold start so its a fresh start. At least it will be a workaround till a patch is released, even if a fix takes longer.

Also the stock settings can't work, because the domain isn't registered to anyone. But the company does exist and they work on GPS technology. Someone else mentioned it as well somewhere.
[Captivate General] TMC_Sherpa:
GPS vs WiFi

I know this is going to sound stupid but I can repeat it on my phone so I'm going to toss it out anyway.

If I turn WiFi on, the GPS rolls over and dies, if I turn WiFi off it connects no problem (outside Chicago, Rooted but stock GPS settings).

So, can any one else who is having GPS problems try this? I'm wondering if its the cause of all the 'it worked when I got it but now it's broke'

Sherpa
[Captivate General] JoelParke:
HI, I have attempted every fix as reported. The fixes helped some. Ultimately I returned the first phone I had for a replacement. The replacement phone was much better and locked relatively quickly. The problem now is that while driving, the error range in Maps fluctuates a lot, enough so that while driving the phone repeatedly gives incorrect driving directions. I already have a Garmin that works well, but it's maps are somewhat inaccurate.

Samsung/At&t please fix this problem. I love the phone, but as a GPS it is a complete failure and is dangerous to use as a navigation aid.

Does anyone else see it jumping from 5,10 meter accuracy to 100-200 m on a regular basis? Does anyone else seen this behavior after applying the suggested fixes? THANKS

I don't want to return this phone, but it this is a hardware problem it might be prudent to wait a few months for a new model. DOES ANYONE KNOW that this is a software problem?
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
From what I have been reading and testing on my phone, it seems very much so a software/firmware issue and should be fixed with a update. (I hope)

Btw how did you get you phone replaced ATT store? Do they give you a new one or refurb?

Thanks, I dislike it when they give you a refurb as a replacment.
[Captivate General] rajendra82:
I have played around with all the fixes, and none of them has worked consistently, but I stumbled upon this one, and it seems to lock me into the satellites instantly everytime so far:

Dial *#*#1472365#*#* to get to the LbsTestMode Screen

Go to SUPL/CP settings and switch Server FQDN type to AUTO Config instead of the default of Custom Config

Don't touch any other settings. You don't have to reboot, either. Just making that chage improves the performance for me. I don't believe this is a placebo effect either, as it has locked on every time and place so far, when previously it would some times but not others. You try it and let me know how it works for you.
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
I think the best think is to make sure that any server that is in there actually resolves. The google one does so it is a real server unlike the stock settings. So the auto config could be a real server as well.

I tried it again and it wouldn't lock so I tired cold and it work. I am going to try again in a few hours and see if it works. If it does then the GPS has a bug when doing a hot start and works from cold start ie from scratch.
[Captivate General] rajendra82:
I am ignorant about all things GPS. What is the difference between a hot and cold start? Are you also saying that www.spirent-lcs.com was not a real server?
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
Hot is much faster as it start where you left off the last time you used it. Cold starts over looking for Sats, that is where Agps helps by downloading the sats available ahead of time.

www.spirent-lcs.com doesn't resolve dns and if you do a domain lookup no one owns it. It much be a configuration error as www.spirent.com is a real company.

Does that help?
[Captivate General] eatkabab:
Dude, it BARELY works in my car with all my windows rolled down on a clear sky sunny day. If the windows are up, there is zero hope...

Grabbing a signal from my back yard, then walking behind my all glass door (placing the phone up against the glass) visibly looses all signal on the GPStest app.
[Captivate General] skitpt:
Has anyone tried other settings?

I have the following:

Operation: Standalone

Start Mode: Hot start

GPS Plus: OFF (Don't really know what this is)

Dynamic Accuracy: OFF

Accuracy: 50

SkyHook: OFF

and SUPL/CP Settings is set to Auto

And I'm always getting 7 to 8 satellites fixed, accuracy from 5 to 10 meters.

Not bad considering what I started with.

Maybe it was changing the GPS Plus or maybe the Dynamic Accuracy ? I don't know.
[Captivate General] hmose:
Skitpt, if standalone means what I think it does, you have turned "Assist" off and the GPS initialization algorithms are not looking at the cell tower or any wifi for help. Is that so?
[Captivate General] skitpt:
I'm not quite sure but I believe so. Which means my SUPL settings aren't doing much, right?
[Captivate General] hmose:
Don't know about supl settings but I have long advocated the notion that the GPS chipset has been putting out the correct data sentences, but the "A" (Assist) part of A-GPS has been badly implemented. Restarting the Captivate with the "Assist" off gives dramatically different results in areas with no or marginal cell strength.

This whole Assist thing was apparently mandated by FCC so first responders (and presumably others) can find YOU whether you want them to or not!
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
It seems like it doesn't matter the settings, but after a few hours it stops working unless I go back to the lbstestsettings app and do it there first.
[Captivate General] foxbat121:
There appears to be two separate issues at hand:

1. GPS slow to lock on to satellites on initial launch. AGPS is suppsoed to help with this and change the SUPL settings seems to help.

2. GPS can't stay locked after initial lock. Using Google Maps, I can see the accuracy and location jumps all over the place all the time even though I can get a pretty quick initial lock. This is a bigger issue that Samsung needs to address. Not sure if it is a software issue or hardware issue.
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
I would add though that for me and others it doesn't lock at all. It sees good signal and plenty of SATs but never locks.
[Captivate General] foxbat121:
Unfortunately that theory is not true. I just did a test by turning on the "Standalone" mode and rebooted the phone and tested it on my way home from work. It is as bad as the "MS Based" mode, positioning all over the place and a few times I actually lost GPS lock altogether. So, apparantly, the GPS chip is not putting out 'correct' data. It puts out BS data or no data at all from time to time.
[Captivate General] foxbat121:
Did you change the SUPL to google and turn off the secure socket? That's how I got mine start to lock.
[Captivate General] kakalaky:
Looks like they finally publicly acknowledged the problem on twitter.com/GalaxySsupport
[Captivate General] rahlquist:
Want to share that tweet?
[Captivate General] kakalaky:
From the GalaxySsupport twitter feed:
[Captivate General] hmose:
How did you look at the GPS nmea sentences to see whether the data was valid or "BS"? It's the only way to know. You have to capture, save and examine the nmea sentences. If you are not doing that, you are only guessing what the GPS chipset is putting out. I have no idea and can only guess what the standalone or MS Based mode does or is supposed to do. Please look at the nmea sentences from the chipset and see if the data is correct.
[Captivate General] foxbat121:
I really could care less about what nmea sentences are. If Google Maps and Nagvigator can't properly use the information, it is broken.
[Captivate General] jhnstn00:
Best for me was server and port changes. Google maps takes 10 to 12 seconds to locate with GPS only (no network assistance) when outside. Fairly accurate to 1 house then fine tunes as it keeps tracking. Thanks for the detailed post.
[Captivate General] systoxity:
nice, now tweet leah back and ask for an io fix in the next patch!
[Captivate General] JiminSD:
I got this response

Dear ,

Thank you for your inquiry and 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.

For further help with regards to this concern, please call our Customer Support Center by phone at our toll free number 1-888-987-4357, between the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Saturday, Central Standard Time.

Thank you for your continued interest in Samsung products.

Sincerely,

Technical Support
[Captivate General] lillejord:
I used the Standalone/GPSplus(off) setup and it was pretty accurate google maps while moving on the bus today. Then later when a friend was taking me home I used the navigation app and it worked flawlessly.

It wasn't extremely accurate when indoors -- Some times within 30 or so feet, some times across the street. What I noticed is that it connected A LOT faster, but wasn't accurate. Then every few seconds it would update and get closer to my actual location. With MSbased/GPSplus(on) it would take a while to connect but would be more accurate once it did. Withe this method (MSbased), as I walked, it would be a bout 5-10 seconds behind. With the previous (Standalone) it was just a few seconds behind the bus. With this method, on navigation, it had us crossing streets when we were actually crossing streets.

Unfortunately each method was tested under different circumstances or with different combinations (Standalone/GPSplus(on) or MSbased/GPSplus(off) to see with setting was the combination or just one setting.

For both I used supl.google.com, 7276, Secure Socket (off).

I think I had Accuracy set to 50 for Standalone/GPSplus(off) and 10 for MSbased/GPSplus(on). So that may have had an effect.

So, to summarize, these settings worked perfectly while using navigation in a car:

Operation Mode: Standalone

GPS Plus: OFF

Accuracy: 50

SkyHook: OFF

Server: supl.google.com

Port: 7276

Secure Socket: OFF

I didn't root my phone so I couldn't change the gps config file.
[Captivate General] xetrev:
This locks in on my position real quick when i open the app but it dosent follow very well when i am moving in the car.
[Captivate General] boomerbubba:
The way I understand these settings, the SUPL Server address and Secure Socket settings apply only when the Operation mode is MS Based or MS Assisted. These settings are providing the network address for the AGPS service mode. When the phone is in Standalone mode (which inexplicably is the factory default), these network settings are irrelevant. In general, MS Based mode is recommended for applications such as navigation, which require rapid updates.
[Captivate General] tuxing:
another gps fix is given in general section here

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=740003

direct link

http://theandroidrevolution.blogspot.com/2010/07/android-tips-tricks-samsung-galaxy-s.html

it works great and gives an instant gps lock.

on gps test gets 8-9 satellites now , when previously i could max get 1-2, that too not connect.

the fix essentially involves changing custom config to auto config in supl settings.

outside this fix i also had operation mode as ms based and had skyhook on.
[Captivate General] foxbat121:
I'm using the automatic configuration right now. It is as good, if not better, as goolge SUPL settings. But I have to turn the Secure Sockey back on. I have no problem accquiring initial locks. The problem for me is it won't remain locked all the time and the precision jumps all over the place.

Yes, 'MS Based' is the best mode to use (for speeding up the initial lock). And Skyhook, from what I googled, is to enable positioning based on nearby wi-fi hot spots.
[Captivate General] saint168:
Can someone list out the configuration needed for a fast lock and the configuration for accurate positioning? Seems like we can only one or the other.
[Captivate General] okmft:
GPS works now:

I had tried every possible combination of settings for the past two weeks, and some would work great for a while and then would go back to crap after an hour or the next day. One time I'm not sure what happened, but the GPS maintained lock really well but wouldn't turn off, so I restarted and went back to the previous crappy state.

I took it back to the AT&T store yesterday and was going to get a Dell Streak when they come out (if ever), but they talked me into trying a different unit (what's the harm?), and now have a brand new one, which has locked on to at least 3-5 satellites within 5 seconds every time, and can lock in when inside and near a window as well. If this keeps up, awesome. Otherwise I will return it this week and wait for a unit that works (rather than hoping for good GPS via firmware at some future date).
[Captivate General] hokiemoto:
Can you tell us what the firmare version is on your replacement phone? (Baseband Version, under About Phone, in Settings) I believe the first ones out were I897UCJF6
[Captivate General] halfhp:
Good luck with that. I did the exact same thing and as soon as I walked out of the store the thing locked onto 10/10 satellites. Within a day though, I was back to the same old problems. My personal opinion: ust powercycling an old unit will give you the same effect as powering up a brand new unit for the first time. I myself an -VERY- skeptical that there is a single person with a Captivate that doesnt have this same gps problem. My own worthless theory is that most of the people saying they never had a problem probably dont know they are actually using cell tower and/or wifi triangulation.
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
Yeah I do, what I get is its locks and then searches and locks again. So it can't update my location continuously.