Former Alltel users and GPS problems

[galaxsat]

digi- you're not in SW FL, either. I'll take one jelly, please. I deleted those registry keys and tried it- no love. I am running the great MightyROM, but had no GPS on stock either. Radio is stock.

Alltel refugees with Verizon hardware from Naples and Tampa, it seems, do not have GPS regardless of their plan. It's a Verizon authorization problem from what I can surmise, perhaps to do with the PRL, IDK.

[galaxsat]

I'm going to return four phones late next week under the 30-day WFG and go to Sprint if this Alltel - Verizon - SW FL - GPS problem is not fixed by then. It's amazing how tight-lipped Verizon is being about this problem. They're gonna take a bath on returned phones and lost customers, and won't even acknowledge an issue. I'd stay if they would at least admit to the problem and commit to fixing it. All I've gotten from VZW support is a canned response to check my settings. Gawd I miss Alltel!

[clueless25]

Technically you are still nan Alltel customer. You have to switch your plan to get full verizon. Problem is is it worth it to loose your cheaper plan. You can't switch back once you do.

When I had spoke to a tech it will be sometime 2010 when accounts are fully merged to verizon. Your current plan is grandfathered in but like I said, if you ditch it you loose it.

Originally Posted by csper

Alltel user now under VZW. Upgraded to a TP2 without changing to a VZW plan and still have plenty of problems getting locks. Works sometimes, sometimes not at all. Yes Location Service is on; yes I've run QuickGPS. Even after I get locks, getting subsequent locks later still is hit or miss. I thought flashing to new ROMs helped, but not really, though I should go back to the Verizon stock available here (that was a slight version downgrade) to say so with absolute certainty, since somebody here told me that it improved their GPS locking.

Based on everything I read here, I either have a defective phone or you're onto something. However, if the locks are non-assisted I can't quite understand how VZW/Alltel would make any difference.

Probably should be asked in that stickied GPS thread, but has anybody with instant VZW locks actually run QPST to see if there are actually nontrivial agps settings there?

I run GPS everyday to and from work, out at lunch, etc, trying to find a pattern, but not seeing it.

[galaxsat]

Originally Posted by clueless25

Technically you are still nan Alltel customer. You have to switch your plan to get full verizon. Problem is is it worth it to loose your cheaper plan. You can't switch back once you do.

When I had spoke to a tech it will be sometime 2010 when accounts are fully merged to verizon. Your current plan is grandfathered in but like I said, if you ditch it you loose it.

Furthermore, switching to a Verizon plan does not fix the GPS issue. I know- I did it thinking it would. And you're right, there's no going back...

[galaxsat]

I just forced my TP2 to roam. A warning that I am registered to a voice service only network keeps popping up, which I have to acknowledge to make it keep trying, but the GPS works- first time ever on my 2-week old TP2! Unfortunately, once I set it back to standard setting and reboot, no more GPS. This is definitely the Alltel refugee problem! Now VZW just needs to fix it...

Here's a snippet from another forum which led me to try this:

A VZW support agent said "the problem is that my phone number is still linked to Alltel somehow and that it needs to be migrated so it will look 1st to the Verizon towers for authentication."

[galaxsat]

Anyone following this thread will be happy to know that Verizon silently fixed this issue yesterday. No need to update my PRL or anything, it just worked when I checked it last night and still works this morning.

[csper]

I noticed quick locks today too (and I try just about everyday on the way to work). It locked near my house and then picked up again after a long drive and warm start, which usually causes it to take as long to lock as a cold start (minutes for me). I've had times when it seemed to work better than others, so I'll keep checking it for the next week or so before I jump for joy (though I very much hope you're right).

I still don't understand how any network issue would cause a GPS problem without using aGPS (requiring PDE server authentication). Maybe there is a feature in gpsOne that can require some type of authentication from the network, but in that case what happens when you're out of network or in airplane mode? Maybe that's not the use case GPS is there for on your phone, but it seems limiting anyway.

Edit: I don't need a week. Something's definitely changed for the better. It works reliably now. Hallelujah.