Samsung Galaxy S3 GPS issue

**LXXIII** · 07-22-2012, 12:56 AM

When I first got this phone a few weeks ago, the GPS was fantastic. I'd get a lock of 3-4 meters instantly. Since a couple days ago, I can't get a lock at all. The phone uses mobile network triangulation to give me a 1-2km approximation but.... yea

I've done a full phone reset (thinking it must have been an app that I installed) and nothing.

Any ideas?

EDIT: I downloaded GPS Test and I easily get a solid lock onto 8-10 satellites each time, but the "Accuracy" stays at zero. This must be a software issue but... why..

**memoryguy** · 07-22-2012, 11:15 AM

Hm, I've only tried using maps briefly a couple of times so I figured the lack of accuracy was just that I didn't wait long enough. My previous phone (nokia n900) took ages to get the a lock.

That's disappointing to see it might be a software issue.

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**LXXIII** · 07-22-2012, 01:33 PM

Originally Posted by memoryguy

Hm, I've only tried using maps briefly a couple of times so I figured the lack of accuracy was just that I didn't wait long enough. My previous phone (nokia n900) took ages to get the a lock.

That's disappointing to see it might be a software issue.

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I disagree, I was hoping it was just a software issue (which can be fixed through updates) rather than a hardware issue.

**AndroidRootGuy** · 07-22-2012, 03:54 PM

Keep your WiFi on. It helps in triangulation even if you are not connected to a WiFi network.

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**canadiancow** · 07-22-2012, 06:20 PM

Originally Posted by LXXIII

When I first got this phone a few weeks ago, the GPS was fantastic. I'd get a lock of 3-4 meters instantly. Since a couple days ago, I can't get a lock at all. The phone uses mobile network triangulation to give me a 1-2km approximation but.... yea

I've done a full phone reset (thinking it must have been an app that I installed) and nothing.

Any ideas?

EDIT: I downloaded GPS Test and I easily get a solid lock onto 8-10 satellites each time, but the "Accuracy" stays at zero. This must be a software issue but... why..

An accuracy of 0 just means Samsung has probably done something stupid (once again). The GPS radio should be reporting back an accuracy that gets propagated up through the OS to apps that need it, like Google Maps, or Coverage Mapper.

I'm eagerly awaiting the day that Samsung can release a device without any radio bugs, or even that they'll fix the bugs in a reasonable amount of time.

**memoryguy** · 07-23-2012, 07:15 AM

Originally Posted by LXXIII

I disagree, I was hoping it was just a software issue (which can be fixed through updates) rather than a hardware issue.

Yes, good point. What I meant was that it's disappointing that there is a software issue at all. Given that there is an issue I definitely prefer it to be software rather than hardware.

Now here's hoping an update will come out at some point...

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**LXXIII** · 07-24-2012, 12:07 AM

Just an update... All of a sudden my GPS works perfect again... Fingers crossed it stays perfect.

**memoryguy** · 07-24-2012, 04:54 AM

Originally Posted by LXXIII

Just an update... All of a sudden my GPS works perfect again... Fingers crossed it stays perfect.

I was going to write that I ran GPS Test and it seemed to work, even indoors. Then yesterday I read somewhere that there was a problem on the Latitude servers at Google which was affecting gps on android devices. Maybe that's all it was...

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