Why does Samsung use the worst GPS chips in their smartphones?

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ManSnake

ManSnake

Diamond Member
Oct 26, 2000
4,749
1
0
I got an Epic to try to see if I would like the phone since I cracked the screen of my Evo. What annoys me is the GPS. It can hardly ever find my location and it often says the signal is weak. It reminds me of my Samsung Instinct, which had the same GPS issues. I never had any GPS problem with my Evo. It seems like all the GPS issues happen to Samsung branded phones. What is the deal with that?

I think I am done with the Epic and I'll return it tomorrow.
 
Bateluer

Bateluer

Lifer
Jun 23, 2001
27,730
8
0
I know the GPS was broke in the Vibrant and Captivate, but I thought they'd fixed it in the Epic and Fascinate? Maybe they're still having problems. Samsung needs to step up their game if they want to play with the likes of HTC and Motorola.
 
K

kaerflog

Golden Member
Jul 23, 2010
1,899
4
76
The GPS issue is a very curious one.
I do love their Galaxy S line of phones.
I had the Captivate and the GPS didn't work.
I'm wondering why there isn't a bigger outcry about this issue.
I think this is a bigger problem than the reception issue with the ip4 and we all that what a big deal that was.
Samsung need to come clean about this.
Either say a software patch will fix this issue or recall the phone.
Realistically, since its under a 1 yr warrranty, you should be able to return it and demand a working GPS phone.
 
S

Suspicious-Teach8788

Lifer
Feb 19, 2001
20,155
23
81
Bateluer said:
I know the GPS was broke in the Vibrant and Captivate, but I thought they'd fixed it in the Epic and Fascinate? Maybe they're still having problems. Samsung needs to step up their game if they want to play with the likes of HTC and Motorola.
Click to expand...

I'd like to point out that the Nexus One's GPS is one of the best out there. It outdoes my Nokia N82 and Motorola Milestone by far.

And I tested this using a Nexus One WITHOUT SIM.

My Nokia could not lock indoors w/o SIM, and my Milestone could not lock without the bad SUPL server because it's a Telus Milestone. So essentially the Milestone performs like a SIM-less phone and it can only pick up 2 satellites tops. Yuck.
 
S

Strk

Lifer
Nov 23, 2003
10,197
4
76
The GPS issue has basically made me hold off getting one of the phones. I want to switch to At&t, but I want a working GPS. I hope they get that LG Optimus phone (the Q, not the WinMo7 one)
 
Bateluer

Bateluer

Lifer
Jun 23, 2001
27,730
8
0
Strk said:
The GPS issue has basically made me hold off getting one of the phones. I want to switch to At&t, but I want a working GPS. I hope they get that LG Optimus phone (the Q, not the WinMo7 one)
Click to expand...

Uh . . .
 
M

MrX8503

Diamond Member
Oct 23, 2005
4,529
0
0
I guess one of the benefits of owning an iPhone is that any problems it has it is magnified several times. Problems like the GPS on the galaxy and the FPS cap on the EVO goes unnoticed. Is there even a fix out yet for the cap from HTC? It was the sole reason I returned that piece and voted with my wallet.

I say vote with your wallet an get a different Android device. Samsung isn't gonna do anything about it unless there is a big outcry.

So far the only android phones without glaring problems is the incredible and the droidX. Unfortunately it's on verizon which is probably as evil as AT&T.
 
W

weeber

Senior member
Oct 10, 1999
432
2
81
Trust me, there's enough of an outcry, you just need to go to places that cater more toward Android, like androidforums.com. A lot of people have returned phones because of this screw up.

Anyways, Samsung knows there's a problem, and they said that they're releasing a fix this month. Samsung's been pretty consistent about saying this. Whether the carriers approve and push the fix this month is another story. From what I've read, it's not a hardware problem, but a driver problem. The GPS chip in the Galaxy S is made by Broadcomm, and is a newer variant than what's in the IP4. Samsung messed up writing the driver, they know it and they said they're going to fix it.

Also in the rumor mill, the GPS fix will be released with Froyo.

Another rumor, someone with the T-mobile variant was told that the GPS fix would be pushed out Sept. 18 <link>.

I know Samsung doesn't have the best reputation when it comes to supporting their phones. But considering the popularity of this phone, I think the GPS problem is going to be fixed this month. We'll see; I know I'm eagerly waiting for it on my Captivate. I love everything about this phone, except this one flaw.
 
Pliablemoose

Pliablemoose

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
25,195
0
56
The GPS issue is unfortunate and does nothing for Samsung's reputation. They really screwed the pooch on it.
 
Oyeve

Oyeve

Lifer
Oct 18, 1999
22,055
880
126
Pliablemoose said:
The GPS issue is unfortunate and does nothing for Samsung's reputation. They really screwed the pooch on it.
Click to expand...

Agreed. They screwed me on the Behold 2. I got the Vibrant and knew the GPS was borked, but hopefully sammy comes thru.
 
Deeko

Deeko

Lifer
Jun 16, 2000
30,213
12
81
The GPS works on the Epic, but its not as good as my previous phones.

It does seem like a software issue. If you load up the SpeedView app, it will say "9 satellites found"...that's more than enough to get a GPS lock. But the GPS software still can't find it.
 
AstroManLuca

AstroManLuca

Lifer
Jun 24, 2004
15,628
5
81
The Moment had a shitty nonfunctional GPS when it was released too. They fixed it... eventually. But it still doesn't work that well. At least it's capable of locating me.

The Moment also suffers from a "data lockup" or "airplane mode" bug. Mobile data will occasionally stop working, normally when you're using a lot of mobile data at once. Sometimes you can recover by letting it sit for a while, other times you have to reboot the phone or even pull the battery. For others, the phone will sometimes put itself into airplane mode at random. The Moment hacking community has learned that the only sure-fire way of preventing it is to severely underclock the processor.

The bug was "fixed" in the Moment's successor, the Samsung Intercept, by giving it an older and slower CDMA radio.

I have to say I'm concerned about ever getting another Samsung phone. I have an opportunity to get an upgrade on Sprint soon, possibly this weekend. If it comes down to the Evo vs. the Epic, it'll be a hard choice. I've heard of problems with the Evo as well, but I really don't trust Samsung at all.
 
fuzzybabybunny

fuzzybabybunny

Moderator<br>Digital & Video Cameras
Moderator
Jan 2, 2006
10,455
35
91
The gps works ok as long as you have the "use wireless networks" option selected to help assist the regular GPS in getting a lock. Without this, good luck. Googlemaps will lock up and crash and require a restart of the phone to get location working again.
 
Raduque

Raduque

Lifer
Aug 22, 2004
13,140
138
106
It's not the GPS chip, it's the fact that Samsung sucks at writing drivers for GPS chips.

There's a leaked firmware out for the Vibrant and Captivate that fixes the GPS. It's working on-par with my old MT3G now. It's not a Froyo rom, it's still 2.1u1, but it's faster, the Media Scan isn't as obnoxiously slow as before, and the stupid "Battery Full" pop-up window is gone now!

samfirmwares found it on samsung's firmware site, it just hasn't been pushed out to Tmo or ATT yet (or hasn't been approved by them yet).

More info here: http://forums.t-mobile.com/t5/Opera...Nofficial-T-Mobile-Vibrant-update/td-p/469275

Oh, and Media Hub is up and running.
http://raduque.com/images/android_screenshots/Vibrant/mediahub.png
http://raduque.com/images/android_screenshots/Vibrant/mediahub/

Edit: Link to the XDA-Devs topic, if XDA ever decides to go back online: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=780906
 
Last edited:
D

dougp

Diamond Member
May 3, 2002
7,909
4
0
What release are you talking about Rad? Because I haven't seen anything older than 3 days that actually fixes the GPS. I'm running the most recent JH3 from Samsung on my Captivate.
 
PhoKingGuy

PhoKingGuy

Diamond Member
Nov 15, 2007
4,685
0
76
My friend just got a captivate, I gave up trying to use google navi after it said searching for GPS for 30 minutes straight and drained the entire battery. He's going to return it apparently.
 
Rottie

Rottie

Diamond Member
Feb 10, 2002
4,795
2
81
now you guys tell me about GPS problem with Samsung Galaxy S that means I cant buy a Vibrant phone....I don't see any GOOD Android phone for Tmobile????
 
Deeko

Deeko

Lifer
Jun 16, 2000
30,213
12
81
Rottie said:
now you guys tell me about GPS problem with Samsung Galaxy S that means I cant buy a Vibrant phone....I don't see any GOOD Android phone for Tmobile????
Click to expand...

In some ways, the Nexus One is still the best T-Mobile Android phone. Frankly, while smartphone technology has gained a much wider penetration in 2010, it hasn't really advanced very much. The top of the line phones today are barely better than the tech in the HD2 or the Droid from last fall.
 
Kabob

Kabob

Lifer
Sep 5, 2004
15,248
0
76
My wife and I both got Fascinates on Saturday and discovered the GPS glitch. Samsung does say they're working on a fix so hopefully it'll be made right soon.

Not nearly as annoying as having to use Bing search...grrrrr.
 
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