yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Vibrant General] MMcCraryNJ:
Like others have said, this phone is worth too much to Samsung to just let it fail. A fix will come, either before 2.2 or with the 2.2 rollout. Patience is key.

On a side note, I hate Engadget. Since the Sammy was released in Europe, they've been doing some very biased reporting in comparing it to the Iphone 4. It's always something like "Well the Galaxy S does this very well, but the Iphone comes out on top in terms of ____." Especially when they were doing their screen and HD video playback tests. Such garbage. They are quickly becoming the Fox News of tech reporting.
[Vibrant General] jkcheng122:
I think there will be a lot of PR damage done if they roll this out with 2.2, this fix needs to arrive before September.
[Vibrant General] boomerbubba:
That assumes that the root cause is all software/firmware, and thus fully amenable to a software/firmware fix. There are indications and hope that this might be so, but nothing certain. And Samsung and T-Mobile have not issued official assurance that there is no underlying hardware problem.

As for "patience," the governing factor for individual customers is whether they are still within T-Mobile's 14-day return window. If that window passes, they are stuck with the phone and with their contracts.

I fully expect that there will be some firmware update someday. If it just fixes buggy firmware from the existing release, then it is reasonable to expect a complete fix. But if the new firmware just mitigates some more basic problem with the hardware, then a partial fix might be as good as it will ever get.
[Vibrant General] temperbad:
My GPS gets me where I need to go just fine. I can figure out where to go if I'm close so no biggie for ne and I rarely use it. I do understand some people's concern who uses it more, luckily I don't and I could wait all year... still hope its software for those of you who care and its fixed timely .
[Vibrant General] larryccf:
agree with the first part, but gratefully they aren't as bad as the CNN/MSNBC/CBS/ABC Media Matters group
[Vibrant General] Dougefresh91:
I had mostly stopped thinking about this gps issue until I read this. My gps pretty much never locks onto satellites, and is rarely more accurate than 1200 meters. Its not the "occasional" problem they claim it is.

Honestly their response is not very reassuring to me. I still have two days left to return, and I'm still torn. On the one hand I love the phone, but on the other I have buyers remorse for having a device that's not 100% functional, regardless of how much I use the gps.

I'm leaning towards returning this phone once again, and now my time to decide is about up.
[Vibrant General] larryccf:
there's more hope it's a software / driver issue

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=722476&page=35
[Vibrant General] speoples20:
I used the GPS over the weekend with no issues. Pulled up my location within 20 seconds and was able to search for a sushi place. Then used navigator to get there. While some people are having issues GPS on this phone its not completely broken. Engadget is a bunch of apple fanboys and its blatantly obvious.
[Vibrant General] reuthermonkey:
The difference being that more people bought a GalaxyS in a single month than bought the Behold 2 and Moment throughout their existence.

Pissing off a few thousand cheap customers to save money on development happens all the time in the tech industry.

Pissing off MILLIONS of customers around the globe on different carriers isn't something a successful business is going to do.

And really? None of you remember the G1's GPS issues when it first came out? Almost identical to what i'm seeing on the forums now. And then they fixed it with a software patch that made the GPS perfect. I have 0 doubt that it's simply a driver issue. Same goes for the accelerometer.
[Vibrant General] GameOver69:
Yes i have this happen to me as well?? Any fixes for this particular issue??
[Vibrant General] Keslynn:
A Factory Reset fixed the freezing issue for me. The GPS is still weird after the reset but it won't restart the phone.
[Vibrant General] tenbeau:
I emailed Samsung yesterday about the GPS situation. and following is the reply I received. I am not sure if they are saying they cannot duplicate the GPS problem or what the hell they are trying to say except "we will get back to you sometime later." I would appreciate any feedback on what your take is on this, Here is the reply:

If troubleshooting does not determine fault, relay this information to the end user. “At the current time, we are unable to isolate the condition causing the handset is to be unable to achieve a lock/or better accuracy. This may require a software update depending on results of further investigation into your inquiry. For the latest information on what software is available, please check here for official updates. If you want to follow us on Twitter, you can find update status when available @samsungservice. For Facebook, we can be found as Samsung service.”

I have no idea why they are asking me to relay this information to the end user.:confused:
[Vibrant General] boomerbubba:
Wow. So much for the meme that a software update can cure the problem real soon now.

"At the current time, we are unable to isolate the condition causing the handset is to be unable to achieve a lock/or better accuracy" means that Samsung expressly says it doesn't know the root cause of the problem!
[Vibrant General] israel941:
Yup. Glad someone else remembers the resolved G1 GPS issues. No doubt at all it's software. This will be really interesting to see the timeframe for a fix though.

Hoping to be impressed...
[Vibrant General] bryon13:
You mention a fix being properly tested, yet, almost everyone who has a Vibrant has GPS issues, lag, and a compass that is utterly useless.

For a phone they will "live and die by" I would have hoped they would have thoroughly tested the phone before releasing it.

This isn't just an isolated incident...it's WIDESPREAD. I wish I could get another Nexus, but my wife has mine, and everything else from tmo sucks right now.

People talk about buyers remorse...if I wouldn't have to downgrade SEVERELY, I would dump this phone in the nearest lake. I think there have been 3 days out of the past 12 that I've had no MAJOR issues with my Vibrant, and those would be days I barely used it. I love the PROMISE if this phone, but in practice, so far, I'm pissed. I will likely never buy another Samsung android again after this.

I'm sure some of you are pleased as punch with your purchase, and that's all fine and well, but a $500 piece of hardware that's broken doesn't give me warm fuzzies. I'm almost at my 14 days, and I'm GOING to swap, but the problem is: what will that fix? Likely NOTHING. So I wait patiently for a fix? What if it IS hardware? They gonna recall millions of phones for a chip? I doubt it. That's not cost effective. They'll probably send us all a free case. That doesn't sit well with me.

They acknowledge that there IS a problem, but they say they don't know what or why... "we are unable to reproduce the flaw" why can they not reproduce the flaw, when 90% of Vibrant owners can? Hell, one look at the compass should tell you it's WORTHLESS. I've seen my compass jump ALL OVER the place, just sitting on a table.

The problem is: they shipped a piece of hardware that doesn't function properly, and they sold it to people for $500.00 (some of us have to pay full price for every phone we get) they JUST the other day acknowledge a widespread issue we've all had since day one, and they say they can't reproduce the error. I call BS.

My Vibrant is looking a bit dim right now.
[Vibrant General] heygrl:
Why are you getting so worked up over something some anonymous person at Samsung said? These same email/chat support people said they weren't aware of an issue when we we're already told by Samsung that they we're. The chip isn't faulty, if it was we would be hearing about this in other phones that use the chip.
[Vibrant General] bryon13:
I'm not getting worked up over something they said. I'm getting worked up because everyone seems to be all flowers and roses that Samsung will promptly fix this, because they have a reputation to uphold, yet they shipped millions of faulty handsets. It's OBVIOUS they didn't thoroughly test it. If they had even LOADED the compass, they would know that it was completely broken. Either that, or they knew it was broken, and shipped anyway. In a restaurant, if you get a raw steak, you expect it to be fixed, AND your money back, AND additional compensation...for $30 worth of product. Why do we just ACCEPT a faulty $500 piece of hardware, and say, "oh, they'll fix it eventually."

Maybe it's a sign of the times: we are becoming used to throwing money away on products designed to wear out and break.

Maybe I'm just an idiot for caring about my $500 investment.

"HEY! THIS NEW CAR IS AWESOME! It will go 760 mikes per hour! Oh, but it has a couple minor glitches...it takes 20 minutes to get to 60 mikes per hour...oh, and the steering wheel doesn't work...but it's AWESOME!"
[Vibrant General] mjpacheco:
Or restated... "I have had no problems, It works. Until I try to use it and then it sometimes breaks".

Not to pick on you, but this is one of the noted problems.
[Vibrant General] Jon C:
With all of the locational services integration, this device is next-to-useless for me, as is.

I'm going to return my phone, return to the stone age, and wait for Samsung to fix the problem, one way or another. The day that happens, I will happily re-purchase the device. But hopefully, by then, there will be other phones to choose from on T-Mo.

Sadly, I don't think Samsung is going to do or say anything else until September at the earliest.

I'm so regretting waiting for this phone, over buying the N1 right now... :(
[Vibrant General] coolguy949:
Spoke to T-Mobile online today after having some billing questions. I took the opportunity to ask about GPS. Check the transcript below. I highlighted the key takeaways below.

Nothing conclusive but it does confirm they are getting complaints on it.
[Vibrant General] larryccf:
actually it's a brand new chip, just announced back in Feb/Mar - that is on Broadcom's news page, and we don't know what other mfgrs, if any, have used it besides samsung.

so we don't know if the issue is in the chip, the implementation, or the firmware/software. in some of the threads, the cause seems to jump from software, RF interference to unknown -

at least i haven't seen anyone conclusively rule out the hardware as the culprit
[Vibrant General] frankencat:
Maybe it's just me but my GPS seems to work as well as my old G1 for what I use it for which is mainly navigation while driving. I have no other issues, the phone is amazing and there is no way I am going back because of some GPS issue.
[Vibrant General] Mr_Tricorder:
I really do love my Vibrant and there's no way I could really go back to my G1 after using this phone, but this GPS issue is really starting to bother me too. Every so often my Vibrant thinks I'm in Houston (even when I don't have GPS turned on) and it takes some haggling with the settings to convince my phone that I am actually about 100 miles away from houston and don't want to drive for a couple of hours to find the "nearest" restaurant or store that I'm trying to get directions to or order a pizza from somewhere that's way to far away for delivery. I never had this kind of problem with my G1, but I wouldn't go back to it even for navigation because of the way Google Nav would crash and burn if I received a call or text while I was using it. That's the easiest and most annoying way to miss a crucial turn.
[Vibrant General] YellowGTO:
Some people using the new Arabic rom that just came out are reporting perfect GPS.

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=743820&page=11
[Vibrant General] jamesyl:
The problem is that you are simply not experiencing the same things everyone with a broken GPS is. If you were to swap phones with mine and tried operating your Navigator, I'm sure you'd be about as angry as I am right now.
[Vibrant General] southpaw773:
here's hoping my fac reset stops the freezing. what my (hopefully solved issue was) four square, maps, etc. anything opening gps connections would often cause my screen to go black, and the phone not unlock or respond. a while later it would finally unlock or be going bonkers with "searching" being on the screen instead of t-mobile, and media scanner going, etc. basically touchwiz/the device had a soft reboot after hanging for a long time.
[Vibrant General] usery:
"official" Samsung statement

<emphasis mine>

This is either corporate stone-walling/denial or standard containment spin. There have been users reports from Asia and Europe of defective Galaxy S GPS from as far back as April 2010.

Examples (thanks to all previous OP's who contributed):

GPS defect known before U.S. launch?

08-01-2010 09:48 AM

This post from what appears to be a UK-based forum was published July 6. That's

nine days

before the Galaxy S was launched in the U.S.

http://www.samsunggalaxysforum.com/samsung-galaxy-s-how-to/gps-problem/ ## must register to view

"GPS Problem

« on: July 06, 2010, 10:39:09 AM »

Guys, there are people (myself included) reporting problems with chronically poor GPS performance.

http://forumuk.samsungmobile.com/PostsList.aspx?ThreadID=200972

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=706907

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=707136

http://androidforums.com/samsung-galaxy-s/104872-gps-issues.html

http://forumuk.samsungmobile.com/PostsList.aspx?ForumPostID=200972

http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/topic/66080-help/

http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/topic/65669-samsung-galaxy-s-my-phone-freezes-the-gps-doesnt-work-it-won...

http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/topic/65197-samsung-galaxy-s-it-struggles-to-pick-up-gps-satellites/

I see others on this website have reported as much, but I ask those who have similar problems to start posting their experiences here..."
[Vibrant General] zzkamikazezz:
Thought I'd share my twitter reply from T-Mobile...

Me-

@TMobile_USA Any news on an update for the Vibrant so damn google maps and the GPS/compass work? About to return it for a refund!

Reply-

@xxxx As of right now we are working on an update for the navigation system. You can talk about it on t-mobile.com/forums ^DA

I sent the same to SamsungService and SamsungMobileUS, no reply though...

Confirms they are working on something, they had better be!!
[Vibrant General] nricci:
Like I said in another forum, you guys are brave.

You keep an expensive device without knowing, for sure, if Samsung will fix it.

I could not justify it and returned the phone for a full refund.

If, in the future, the problem is fixed, I buy the phone again. Simple.
[Vibrant General] down8:
I'd say that's a pretty big ****ing problem.

-bZj
[Vibrant General] down8:
From my *****ing on Twitter:

@Samsungservice @Down8 Sorry to hear that. One thing to try that might help: disable GPS & wireless ntwks, pwr off, in clear sky, reenable & try GPS. ^Leah

@Samsungservice @Down8 We're looking at reports of owners experiencing this behavior now & will keep you posted on it. Thank you for your patience! ^Leah

@Samsungservice @Down8 We do apologize. You can activate AGPS. Tap settings > Location > Check the box next to Use wireless networks. mel

Weak.

-bZj
[Vibrant General] Emama:
But I really like my vibrant, especially I dont want CDMA or IPHONE
[Vibrant General] Jon C:
Honestly, I'd sit in a corner and wait patiently, if Samsung just came out and said "We're going to fix this, no matter the cost."

But considering their track record, I think it's best that we return the phone and wait for things to be fixed. The fact that Samsung's corporate response was that they didn't know what caused the problem, and that only 'some' of their market was experiencing the issue is what worries me. I know I would instantly miss the device, but the idea of being stuck with a non-functioning GPS and Compass bothers me immensely.

The other option I was considering was registering as a dev and buying the Nexus One. But of course, it's near impossible to buy the accessories for that phone in the U.S. (thanks, Google).
[Vibrant General] larryccf:
to be frank, this is my 2nd vibrant - my return period on this one ends on the 13th (has to be "postmarked" or UPS'd no later than)

if i don't see this issue fixed by then, it's going back - i don't care who the mfgr was, bringing this to market without properly vetting the device is a bad first step, and doesn't give me confidence enough to put more faith in them
[Vibrant General] ConceptVBS:
This is a first generation product. Bugs are bound to happen.
[Vibrant General] air2k57:
Didn't think I've had an issue till I went helping my girl find an apartment, my GPS was useless. we used her my touch slide to find places, my GPS would constantly reroute, thinking I went off route, or kept on thinking that I warped 30-200 feet over... Lol
[Vibrant General] ttabbal:
I did find a sort of fix, but it chews the hell out of the battery. Leave the GPS actually running all the time. :D

Go into the lbsTestMode app via the "secret" dialer code, and tell it to find your location (I think it's the top button). When the black screen with white writing shows up showing you what satellites is can see and such, just hit home. The GPS icon in the notification bar will stay on. It's running in the background, so when you open maps or something else, it works nice and quick as the GPS is likely already locked on.

Treat it like a standalone GPS, which works better if you have it on frequently, and it actually works pretty good.

If you know you'll need GPS for a while, it might be worth trying. It's not ideal, downright irritating really, but it does seem to help. I think it's interesting that if I compare the SNR bars in GPS Test with the G1 sitting next to it, the actual RF performance is pretty good, even beating the G1 in some cases. I wish the driver were open source, I'd give a go at fixing it myself if it were.
[Vibrant General] larryccf:
in the analogy of automobiles, glitches in the radio, squeaks / rattles, etc are "bugs" - non-functioning GPS is like a non-functioning airconditioning in south texas - it destroys the car's functionality when you can only drive it in the cool of night

the existence of that GPS optional antenna MMCX socket next to the sim card makes me suspicious samsung was aware of this problem and that socket was included as a last resort solution to possibly prevent having to recall / replace the phones

GPS function is core to too many location based services in android, calling this a bug is like saying one of the digits on the dialpad not working is a bug, after all it works dialing as long as the number you're calling doesn't include that digit
[Vibrant General] PolishDude:
my gps on my 2nd vibrant is worse then the first one, it locks onto a place and refuses to think i left that location even though im 10 miles away, i have to restart the phone to get it to find it, luckily i bought my phone from costco so i have a 90 day return period :)
[Vibrant General] j0hnZ:
I have these same problems on my MT3G from time to time, using CM or any other rom. Talking about the lock on when using maps or navigation. I haven't done much testing on just the GPS locking. It has definitely taken a while to find me on the map though and sometimes it shows me in the wrong spot.

All of that was on the MT3G...
[Vibrant General] Mark271:
I called the Samsung technical support line. The Tier 1 had a script to read to me about how the GPS problem is known and how they're diligently evaluating the problem

She promised there would be an update as in fix for the GPS.

I then talked to her about my compass issues, which hopefully everyone did, because it is still a problem. She said she didnt have any news on that but it was notated into my account.

And to check samsung.com/us for updates, etc. Just called to let them know that many are having this problem and hopefully they expedite this 'fix'
[Vibrant General] tenbeau:
I become more and more disgusted with the device and its GPS or lack of it... Also the compass which is not really there either. I have tried all the fixes that have been posted here, which have helped it a little bit but not got rid of the situation. I have emailed Samsung technical support twice and called in once each time complaining about the GPS and the compass and the answers i get range from we cannot find the problem to we are looking into it and will advise when or if a solution is arrived at for the perceived problem. In the phone call and one email they used the term "perceived problem and not performing to expectation." IMO they are not actually admitting anything just beating around the bush. I still have my N1 and even though I would rather use the Vibrant I find myself putting it up during the day and going back to the N1. I really did not realize how much I depended on a functioning GPS and compass. I exercise on a daily basis and it is very discouraging to go out for a jog or a walk and cover 2-3 miles and the vibrant shows only .6 of a mile or less and sometimes nothing at all. Well enough of the venting, I just want to mention once again that the last email back from Samsung support indicated that they have not arrived at any conclusions for the perceived poor performance but will certainly advise once they do.
[Vibrant General] Mark271:
Their Tier 1 had a script to read me regarding the GPS issue for the Samsung Galaxy S models instantaneously. I didn't even need transferred. They have admitted to the problem several times already and said they're going to fix it.

That being said, the fix cannot come soon enough.
[Vibrant General] PhilSlater:
What is your point?
[Vibrant General] Mark271:
I think his point is that people are wrongly surprised at the inherent bugs all first generation products have. Quite a few are acting like this is a first time happening in electronic history and feel appalled that this is happening to them. We all want the bugs to be fixed, but to scrutinize a company for releasing a product with bugs is stupid. The perfect product will never happen, ever.

That being said, it is obvious the issue is being addressed and we will see the result of their dedication to their customers soon, whatever it may be.
[Vibrant General] larryccf:
sorry but strongly disagree

bugs are some lags, some FCs or software conflicts - if the GPS issue is a "bug", it's taken the meaning of bug to a whole new level

GPS is a strong part of the android system's functionality, and should have been discovered and corrected BEFORE release - i suspect it was a known issue, prior to release, as its too major an item and all model variations are demonstrating it. No matter how you look at it, if you give samsung the credit of "innocence", ie not knowing about it, that does not reflect well on them, and if they did know about it and still released - well, i'm not sure which is worse

samsung sells a helluva lot of electronic products, especially TVs, i know, i bought one - a 63" DLP - had it 6 years now, NO ISSUES, PERIOD - check the chat fourms on their TVs or blu-ray dvd players - they know how to do pre-production eval and testing

but to call it a bug, is like saying one or two of the digits on the dial pad not working is a "bug" - after all, you could still call or dial phone numbers that didn't include the missing digit(s)

at the very least, demontrating an attitude of acceptance toward an item of this nature and magnitude just raises the level or rather lowers the level of what is considered an acceptable product

this was supposed to be samsung's world class phone, targeting the iPhone' market
[Vibrant General] Mark271:
Regardless of how you feel, this is a bug. I almost sure I read this somewhere else, so I am not going to contribute new responses to a copy and pasted response.