[JoLLyRoGer]

Shadow-Tech speaks the truth!!!!

Best GPS upgrade technique I've found anywhere on the net!! No hacked ROMS, no bootloader troubles, no A-key, this key, that key, no unlocker headaches, no kitchens, and best of all no questions about mucking up my warranty! This is as straight-forward and simple as it gets folks!

Follow his steps verbatim and you simply can't miss. For me it went something like this.

1. Grabbed the latest Alltel ROM from HTC and installed it. No unlocking/relocking required (at least not for me since I am an Alltel customer)

2. Downloaded Shadow-Tech's .zip file (hint: you MUST cut and paste the web link in your browser like he said in the OP in order to get a download).

3. Follow the steps in the included readme. It does not matter where on the phone you copy the 4 unzipped files to so long as you install them all to main memory and in the correct order (and they're numbered 1-2-3-4 for nOObs like me!!)

Note: Files 1 & 3 may appear to do absolutely nothing when you tap them with the stylus but that's OK. Apparently they do what they need to in order to let files 2 & 4 install correctly.

4. Do a soft reset.

5. Enable Location under Setttings>Phone>Services

6. Verify GPS settings per the readme.txt file included in the .zip package

7. Install Google maps and set it to use GPS and Voila!! Wait a few minutes to acquire satellites and off you go!!!

And now some final notes about slow satellite tracking (GPS 101 if you will...):
All GPS units store information about the GPS satellite constellation. These are not geo-synchronous satellites like DirecTV or Sirius Radio. They are in lower orbit and are constantly moving.

Once locked on, the GPS satellites move in and out of visibility, the GPS stores a running log of when and where it last saw a particular satellite allowing it to more accurately predict when it will see that same satellite again and approximately where that satellite will be in orbit at that time. The more accurately a GPS can predict a satellites location, the quicker it will lock on to it.

Since the entire constellation cycles every few hours, I left my phone sitting docked on the cradle over-night running Google Maps in GPS mode in order to let the GPS unit build up a good solid almanac of the constellation. This morning I'm consistantly able to track 7-9 satellites at any given moment and it only takes seconds to lock on after exiting the program. This includes hard resets, soft resets, standby mode, etc.

All that said, the longer you let your GPS run, the better it will get. Conversely, since the satellites do shift orbit somewhat, the longer you let your GPS sit between uses, the more out of date your almanac becomes, and the longer it will take for that initial lock on.

Great streamlined solution and Kudos to you Shadow-Tech!
10/10!

-JR

BTW, if anyone is having problems downloading the .zip file or the updated Alltel ROM, I'll be happy to mirror.