[mpreece]

GOOD NEWS - BAD NEWS

EDIT: Based on further testing, it looks like "normal" GPS functionality may return on or about Nov. 8, if this is indeed a "date" issue. I was able to maintain operations with the airplane mode on and a manual date entry AFTER November 7. Firmware issue, perhaps?

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I have continued to fiddle with my CDMA Trea Pro (Alltel/Verizon) and have a probable workaround for this problem. It still needs to be tested for longevity (i.e., how long it works and/or is required) and it results in some loss of functionality in the phone although GPS is restored. THERE ARE NO REGISTRY TWEAKS NOR HARDWARE MODIFICATIONS REQUIRED. See if this works for you, too.

This may not be practical to do, but maybe someone out there will take the knowledge to come up with a real solution.

This is not strictly speaking, a hardware problem. It may/may not be a network problem.

BE SURE TO BACK UP YOUR PHONE BEFORE DOING THIS, just as a safety precaution.

The procedure I used to get the GPS working reliably again (and not timing out after a few seconds):

1. Go into settings and change the device date to October 1, 2009. (I did this for test purposes. Presumably, any date prior to the last part of last week would work.) I suspect, therefore, there is a date-sensitivity causing the problem.

2. TURN OFF the option for "get network time." This will prevent the network from updating your date/time on the device.

3. Go into AIRPLANE MODE. (Turn off the phone and data connections. Yes, GPS will still work!)

4. Soft reset.

5. Open your GPS software. Google Maps or something that requires a network feedback for maps, etc., will not work. I used GPS Test (freeware) for this. It will take many minutes for you to get a successful data lock, but you will eventually get one. Keep in mind, the device has no idea what the real time is. It literally has to hunt for all the satellites.

6. Once you have a 3D lock, you can exit AIRPLANE MODE. Your date on the device will continue to show the altered date, but once connected to the network you can go ahead and open Google Maps, etc.

7. During my tests, I then went in and corrected the date to where it should be, but DO NOT re-enable the network time check.

With this procedure, I was able to open 3 different active GPS applications at the same time and they all worked fine for at least several minutes. I did not try running them at length, because I felt the finding was important enough to get it out here on the forum so someone way smarter than me can take the ball and run with it to find a permanent solution.

A couple questions that came to mind were if there is a specific date that "killed" the operation, which could be discovered by trial and error. Also, if there is a specific future date where the problem will disappear (again, trial and error).

I hope this "solution" helps to come up with something permanent and that is much more acceptable.