yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Captivate General] Jreitnauer7:
Has anyone tried to contact Samsung about the issue yet? I tried yesterday and was on hold for an hour and half and then my call dropped. I'm joint to try again today.
[Captivate General] TexUs:
SkyHook isn't a "feature" persay, it's a corporation: http://www.skyhookwireless.com/

Same one Apple uses. Not sure exactly how it works but they do wardrive and use WiFi and triangulation to pick up your position as well, so leaving that OFF will perhaps be better for calibrating your GPS settings, but you certainly want it back ON when in normal use.
[Captivate General] uberamd:
What kind of aGPS does the Nexus One use? I tried to dial the code and it didn't bring up the same menu on the Nexus (it may be different). My Nexus is great at figuring out where I am without a GPS signal.
[Captivate General] superscientific:
I changed all my settings last night and it seemed to fix the issue. I was getting a lock within 10 seconds or less. Now I cannot get a lock with the exact same settings and reboot. Has anyone contacted Samsung over this? Anyone get an answer from them? I love this phone but the GPS issue sucks.
[Captivate General] ttu98ss:
Every time I try one of these new fixes it seems to work but then when I go somewher else it is broken again :( they need to fix this asap. I use that feature a lot
[Captivate General] Jreitnauer7:
I just got off the phone with Samsung galaxy s support. They knew nothing!!!!!! Said I was the first one to call with the issue.

I'm thinking about returning the phone... GPS is the most important part of a smartphone to me... I'm very disappointed
[Captivate General] ttu98ss:
I don't know about most important but I agree, it's very important. This HAS to be fixed
[Captivate General] jhego:
Don't give up hope, i'm sure that guy doesnt know anything. Engadget and a few sites are aware of the issue and i'm sure Samsung took notice. i'm sure a firmware fix is in the works.
[Captivate General] JDM9499:
Location

I have tried all the settings. And I don't really notice any difference. I live in the heart of Manhattan, NY., so I am sure roaming around int he concrete jungle trying to get a lock surely has a lot to do with my GPS issue. I do however, get a lock in every setting that has been written up in this forum, and other forums. The difference to me is hardly any, since it always takes many minutes for me to get a lock. I never have used any other GPS device since living here in the city, so I would like to ask other who live in a large city if it is taking them several minutes as well? Because it seems as though people are saying it is taking them only seconds to lock on. Hmmm.....
[Captivate General] mi04se1:
I happened to turn bluetooth on for the first time yesterday and Ive been getting locks in my house, outside and at work constantly. It might take upto a minute, but gets a lock. I tried GN at work and the satellite view showed me in the exact spot (same side of building). Might be a coincedence though.
[Captivate General] shoeboxin:
Regardless of the settings I've tried, I haven't noticed any real improvement...but then again my problems don't seem to be as bad as others have reported. I can generally get a lock in about 2 minutes (which I don't consider good, but others have said they can't get any lock at all) and connect to about 5-8 satellites. The accuracy usually bounces from about 12 to 33 to 98 feet as it tries to stay connected, and that's as I'm walking around. I tried it out using Google Nav a few days ago and lost connection completely once, and the drive was only 10 minutes.

Edit: Right after posting this I decided to see how long locking would take today and went to the "Get Position Test" of the LbsTestMode and strangely, for the first time ever, was locked in about 2 seconds to 5-7 sats. This is the first time I started the GPS today, so it isn't from the hot start data or anything.
[Captivate General] rahlquist:
Thats been my experience with AT&T Mark The spot app, have you tried this app? I wonder if one of the AT&T apps his holding the GPS hostage and only releases it to AT&T apps easily?
[Captivate General] bird333:
The modifications in the OP (including modifying the GPS config file) got mine working. I just used it today so it may not be completely fixed but so far so good.
[Captivate General] halfhp:
That was addressed in the previous page (page 18). The short of it is that it's -very- unlikely because this fails to explain why TMobile's Vibrant and every other incarnation of this phone suffers the exact same problem even though no AT&T apps exist on them.
[Captivate General] shoeboxin:
I have not tried that particular app. I generally start up the test mode by dialing the numbers in the first post of this thread and that seems to get the fastest lock (one or two minutes), once that had locked everything locks very quickly for the next few hours. That is until today, as my gps is still locking within a few seconds regardless of what app is accessing it.
[Captivate General] rahlquist:
Then we should still find out what causes this to be important and significantly faster. Or am I just lucky?
[Captivate General] halfhp:
I dont know about lucky - others have reported that their phone works just fine after they make changes their config while some say the phone worked properly from day 1.

I'm still skeptical though that either config changes or running AT&T's mapping software is actually doing anything special. In the case of the mapping software, as others have pointed out, navigation programs "snap" you to the nearest road, giving a false sense of accuracy. It could be that the "snapping" algorithm it uses is written differently than google maps, which is what most people are using. To test this, you could run the AT&T program in the background and then run GPS Status to see what its saying about the fix you have. Knowing how the later program is retrieving it's data from the phone, this is the only data I would trust.

I'm not calling anybody a liar...running this software may very well do something - stranger things have happened.
[Captivate General] xetrev:
My phone snaps to my location very quick when not moving.. As soon as i get in a car its all over the place..
[Captivate General] foxbat121:
Getting phone to lock quickly isn't a big issue. I can do it most of the time (there is still some luck involved from one day to another). Getting phone to follow your location accurately while you're driving is whole another matter if you know how to check the accuracy of your phone.

If you are using Google Navigator, pay attention to any blue circle surrounding your arrow. That's the amount of inaccuracy of your GPS location. Idealy, you should see no blue circle at all.

You can also download the free "My Tracks" google app that will plot your GPS track on the map. You can easily spot how accurate or inaccurate your GPS is.
[Captivate General] lillejord:
Today I used Google Navigator and found that there was no blue circle but then later in the drive it appeared and then towards the end it disappeared. At first I thought it was the speed I was traveling but it disappeared before I got off the free way. It was a ~25min drive with the middle chunk (10-15min) having the blue circle. Of course part of that was on the lower part of a stacked freeway.

I'm using Standalone with GPSplus off rather than recommended settings. Also, phone is not rooted so config hasn't been altered.
[Captivate General] nammyczc:
So I tried the settings the OP suggested, I did not really see any improvements with GPS. However, I looked over at the vibrants forum, and they had the exact same method HOWEVER, in conjunction with the changing supl settings, they suggested deleting the gps data and running the get gps location test for 3minutes.

I tried that, changing all the settings and deleting gps data outside and letting gps location test run for about 10 minutes. after 7-8 locked satellites I just exited out and rebooted my phone. Now I get looks in google maps and copilot almost instantly

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=728894
[Captivate General] vintagephone:
Just returned my Captivate.

Had it 5 days. Worked great out of the box, used the GPS to navigate a few trips in the car. Then it started to get flaky. Could see Sats but wouldn't use them. Couldn't find location with a clear sky. I tried a bunch of things with not much effect. So I reset the phone, and everything worked again. Hmmm.

Loved the phone, but will wait for a fix from samsung. Wanted to return it before I scratched it. Since I bought it at best buy, the return was easy, no restocking and no silly questions.

If ATT gets it fixed, and it gets froyo, I'll run and get another one.

C
[Captivate General] mongstradamus:
I am probably going to do the same and return captivate and wait and see if samsung gets around to fixing the gps problem. I am not going to hold my breath tho its been 3 months and no fix in sight.
[Captivate General] oxymo:
This is a huge thread, so I've skipped a couple of pages. Incase it hasn't been noted before... I noticed removing my case (body glove from att store) increased my sat signal strength. Also, removing the battery cover increased the sat signal even more. Wondering if gps is weak because of the antenna being in a bad spot?
[Captivate General] halfhp:
3 months!? Wasnt the Captivate launched on July 2?
[Captivate General] mongstradamus:
galaxy s was released in june was it not ? whatever it may be its been it was released outside us first and they never addressed or fixed the problem
[Captivate General] RootPhisher:
The results are hit or miss - all in all the settings that have been suggested don't make that much of a difference, if at all.

I love this device, but the GPS has almost got me wanting to return it.
[Captivate General] larryccf:
believe the asian market release was june - but korean release was earlier. It was first displayed or announced Feb/March at CTIA
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
I can't agree with you more.
[Captivate General] Cobra302:
thats interesting, i might give it a try, i cant see how it would effect it that much though only being plastic.
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
If you are referring to the battery cover, its metal. Pretty much the whole phone casing is metal except for the outer screen.

The battery cover might be used as a antenna as there are contacts on it.
[Captivate General] bobaka:
In my area best results are using settings below

(Redmond, WA)

tried using supl.google.com

...not nearly as fast as when using Auto Config

note: i also cleared GPS data when changing to Auto Config

Using Auto Config I'm getting locks in 5-20 sec all over town

even after restarting device

(previously was taking 2-3 minutes.. if moving sometimes muuuuch longer)

Summary of settings changes from default:

MSbased

FQDN: Auto Config (default: spirent)

Accuracy: 100 (default: 50)

Skyhook: On (default: off)

Hope this works for you because it was annoying the crap outa me

and I really like this phone otherwise

.............................................................................

Update:

i've tried many locations around town.. turned phone off and restarting in between

with these settings I am getting fix in under 10 seconds after reboot just about anywhere

NOTE: at home with WIFI on it seemed to take much longer for initial fix ???

so I'm wondering WTF and decided to try turning wifi off and get a fix in seconds

tried this again at another location and same results.. wifi on 2-3 minutes.. wifi off 10 seconds or so

no idea why

so try turning wifi off

DEFINITELY makes a difference here
[Captivate General] ewingr:
I'm going to give your settings a try. I have to say I'm getting tired of trying all the different settings. I'm thinking it is useless.

I'm pretty bummed. I love this phone, and hate to take it back and wait. But I also don't want to be stuck with a cappy, uh, I mean crappy, GPS for 2 years. I tend to want to believe that Samsung must interest in getting a fix out. There are a lot of pessimistic folks out there re: counting on Samsung.

[LONG SIGH][LONG SIGH/]

[EDIT]

How did you clear GPS Data? Apps is a Long list, and I must be not recognizing it.
[Captivate General] foxbat121:
At the bottom of the GPS settings app that you need to use special dialing to get to.
[Captivate General] jwkicklighter:
I just tried Google Maps with GPS turned on. Locked in about 10-15 seconds (while driving) and kept my location very accurately. I'm using the stock GPS settings. I noticed that my Android software version ends with "update 1." Is this normal? I just got my Captivate a few days ago.
[Captivate General] halfhp:
If you are talking about the firmware version then yes - 2.1 update1 is what everybody has currently. (as far as I know)
[Captivate General] jswclw:
Affect of "Use wireless networks" setting

I've have my Captivate for a week now. Like most, I really love the phone, but was bothered by the GPS problem. Using the supl.google.com flavor of settings I have been successful for a while at locking onto a position accurately and quickly (less that 10 seconds).

However, no app would maintain the lock. After a minute or 2 the GPS would just turn off. Finally, I tried setting "Use wireless networks" location setting to OFF. I had seen this written, but there has been a lot written on the issue. I chose not to believe that particular tid-bit. I was wrong. While it does not affect the GPS lock time, it does have the ill effect of stopping the GPS after a short period of time. Beware.

Does this setting refer to the position approximation based on cell towers, or position approximation based on WiFi signals, or both? Anyone know? From my testing it would seem to turn off not cellular and WiFi based approximation. With it off, Google Maps just waits for the GPS and makes no guess prior to the GPS lock.
[Captivate General] caelestis2:
To poster above: Thank you!

I had a problem yesterday with GPS freezing every 2 min, and I ended up holding the phone while driving to keep restarting the application.

Beware, "Use Wireless" setting is dangerous.
[Captivate General] teatimest:
I called the samsung galaxy support 1-877-392-4252. they said they know this issue and are trying to fix it with software update. they told me that they don:t know if this is software issue or hardware issue. and they can:t guarantee to provide fix for this problem. i tried all the fix mentioned and still not working. I will exchange mine with iphone4 if this problem persist for another 2 weeks.
[Captivate General] jhego:
http://forum.androidspin.com/showthread.php?p=15337#post15337

Ahhh, could this be finally a fix that we've been waiting for??? It says it's for the Vibrant so i'm not sure if this could be used with the Captivate.
[Captivate General] Krad:
can this brick? can i reverse this? anyone try it?

I HAVE TRIED THIS AND THERE IS SUCCESS.

I got a lock in doors in 2 seconds (lbsapp) and it is about 10 feet off of where i am on google maps. For the past 3 days it took over 3 minutes to get a lock on google maps... now it got it in about 20 seconds. It got it real quick and much better accuracy.

I will try motonav tomorrow and google navigation and report back. I had my fingers crossed, and it appears to be good!

2nd update: i noticed that dbhz of satelilites is about 10 higher then it has been since i got the phone. I got sats in the low 40's and high 30's...

Maybe this fix, sends more juice to the gps chip?
[Captivate General] jhego:
Oooh nice, we need more confirmations. May I ask how you installed it? Step by step? Thanks.
[Captivate General] tytdfn:
I second the request. Please we are all waiting!
[Captivate General] psychrage:
I would guess you rename it to update.zip, throw it on the internal SD card, reboot into recovery mode and install it that way.

I wouldn't mind trying it, but I don't know what files to back up to ensure I can go back to uh, well, not working very well mode... now that I put it that way, I don't think it'd be all that bad of a idea to try it. BUT...I'm still going to hold off for more confirmations of it improving GPS.
[Captivate General] aloant:
Someone's porting it to Captivate. Follow this instead:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=748840

The one in Androidspin will overwrite some files with data for TMobile instead of ATT. Not sure if it matters, but just in case...
[Captivate General] Jaycdenton:
I just flashed this rom and so far it's working really well! I get locks in under 10 secs while indoors. This is how I installed it; however keep in mind my Captivate is rooted, can be mounted on my PC and has no ATT bloatware along with other custom fixes.

1. Nandroid backup in Clockwork Recovery-reboot.

2. Download GPS Fix (can't link)

3. Plug in phone via USB and mount the sd card.

4. Copy the ROM you just downloaded to the root of your sd card

5. Dismount sd card and unplug phone.

6. Open ROM Manager App and under ROM Management open "Install ROM from SD Card" then scroll down and select "Vibrant_GPS-Fix.zip"

7. Wait for it to finish and reboot system...done!

If I did something wrong I'd appreciate a heads up as I would consider myself somewhat of a noob. Having said that, this fix has made a huge difference in GPS lock accuracy and time and hasn't adversely affected anything I'm aware of.

Another thing to note is that I had applied the GPS tweaks as per the stickied thread. When I first flashed the ROM I didn't notice much of a difference but then I went into the GPS Options menu and changed Operating Mode from "MS Based" to "MS Assisted" which for me is what made this ROM work.
[Captivate General] foxbat121:
I did noticed a lot of T-Mo network specific settings in the zip file. I'd wait for AT&T vesion of it.
[Captivate General] halfhp:
Regarding Eugene's fix, I'm curious if anybody knows the answer to any of the following (I tried to find the answers myself but what I learned wasnt exactly positive):

-Has anybody seen a post anywhere stating exactly what it is that was wrong that this fix attempts to correct?

-Is there a thread of Vibrant users reporting that the fix is still working after several days of testing?

I have not personally checked, but going by the diff somebody posted in a previous post, it looks like it might just be a programmatic application of the old school fix (that doesnt work) everybody has been using all along, with a couple other minor changes. It would be awesome if the knowledge of what exactly this fix attempts to correct was more public, instead of "try this magic elixir, it will fix everything!".
[Captivate General] ewingr:
There's reference to the changes in the thread posted 2-3 posts above.
[Captivate General] halfhp:
Do you mean this one:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=748840#

Unless I'm blind, the closest that thread gets to answering my question is where another reader tries manually answering the question by way of diffing the patch. If that's really all that the patch modifies, I'm disappointed :( But I think there must be something more to it that hasn't been shared yet...somebody smart enough to create that patch is certainly smart enough to know that just changing those params wont do anything new.
[Captivate General] slider2828:
Did any of your try the gpstest application from the market place? This is probably the best tool you guys can use to diagnose your issues....

Firstly, I think the key setting is the Accuracy. This is NOT shot in the dark number. To get he correct number, use the GPS Test application (its free from market) and it basically locates ALL the available satellites for you guys. Then there are numbers on top of the bars and each bar is a satellite signal. The accuracy value corresponds with this number. I'd say the correct number is the average of the GPS Test Satellite Bar Values.

I eyeballed all the bars and average value turned out to be 30, this might be lower or higher in your area. So if the bars all average 30 or 40 or 20, enter this for your accuracy.

So what worked best for me that I changed are:

Accuracy = 30 based on my GPS Tests Results

Skyhook = ON

SERVER FQDN TYPE = AUTO Config

SUPL Secure Socket = OFF

Thats it... don't forget to reboot the phone! Anyways start the GPS Test get a lock and then start Navigation!

Hope this helps....
[Captivate General] cotr:
i used that same app and noticed that it could "see" about 6 to 7 satellites really quickly, but it couldnt "use" any of them at all.

so whats the prob? it can see but not use...
[Captivate General] cotr:
actually, i got it to work.

Someone should update the stick to show that Secure SPL needs to be off. that really helps.
[Captivate General] mrbilljerome:
GPS/Bluetooth connection

I've been trying different combinations since the thread started. Seems like the slight differences in what most are seeing is just being in different areas with different signal strength and some major metro areas will make using the Enhanced GPS and Skyhook settings better. I myself have seen all range of results (maddening isn't it! :) )

I have been using GPS Test and noticed whenever I lost the Google Navigator signal I could jump into the GPS and disable and reenable for a short time. Today I did a rebooted my Captivate and left my Bluetooth off and I have been getting a lock all day long with no problems. :) A very distinct change for me. :)

Please try this and see if your getting similar results. Maybe the bluetooth and GPS signals are cancelling each other out at times. At the very least if may help isolate the cause and speed up the fix. Not sure if this would be a power issue as I have mine plugged in in the car.

Thoughts?
[Captivate General] foxbat121:
Reboot is what caused your quick lock. I have tried BT on and off many times and can't see any difference. But I was have trouble getting lock in the past few days. Then I decided to reboot my phone and it locked on very quickly.

I think someone speculated that there is some kind of software/driver memory leak that a restart of any sort (reboot or re-flash to a new ROM) can cure the GPS locking issue immediately, for a while.
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
I agree, I always get a good fast lock after reboot, regardless of the settings, but after a few hours then it is back to the same.

I think that is why people have mixed resaults since they reboot after changing the settings. I believe that you can change the settings and not reboot and they still take affect.

The only way to test after making a change is to see if it still works a few hours or days later.
[Captivate General] phr00t:
I personally think setting the "Accuracy" setting higher is the solution.. setting it lower (e.g. to 30) makes the GPS software require a higher accuracy before saying it has a lock on that satellite. This will cause you to see satellites, but not use them -- because your threshold for accuracy is set so high (low accuracy setting means high threshold).

I use an accuracy setting of 150 (in LbsTestMode), and it locks onto satellites very fast. Of course, it "locks" onto them when they are not very accurate, but this only matters for the first few seconds until it "homes in" on your location. Once the GPS is accurately locating you, the low threshold (e.g. high accuracy setting in LbsTestMode) will allow satellites to stay in-use, even if they become inaccurate for a split second.

I'd try setting the accuracy to 150, and let me know if you see an improvement. :D
[Captivate General] wgarrido:
I was thinking the same thing just never tired it. I will have to give it a try.

This is so unfortunate but I guess no device is perfect the first time around, Someone at ATT/Samsung must of overlooked it since the address doesn't exist.
[Captivate General] foxbat121:
I totally agree. I've tested setting my accuracy to 30 and it caused me many drop out of GPS lock because from time to time the GPS just can't get to 30 meters of accuracy and after a while it will give up.