GPS Performance

[Delvorak]

So I've got the GPS working on my Touch. I have to start up Holux GPS Viewer before it'll work with any other programs, but it does indeed work. So I can ignore the requirement to use something like GPS Viewer to "prime the pump" as it were.

So now the griping begins It can take up to 15 minutes to get a lock, and once it does, it doesn't get a very good one (under a completely clear sky). Usually it gets a lock on 3 or 4 satellites, although GPS Viewer will at times show up to 10 satellites (but doesn't lock onto more than 4 of them). Tracking the Touch GPS with google maps results in a VERY jerky, and delayed, map.

What's interesting also is that I've read several posts that say it works great, very smooth, and obtains a lock within a minute. Are these phones from another carrier? (Sprint here) Or is there perhaps different versions of the phone's hardware?

Now, to compare I have a cheap bluetooth GPS receiver. During the same and location that I was testing the Touch GPS, I tested it, and it gets a lock in under 30 seconds, and gets an average of 6-8 satellites. It works flawlessly with google maps (very smooth tracking), although it may be a few yards delayed.

I would really like to just use the GPS on the touch, and I guess it works in a nutshell... but it works badly.

Does anyone know (or have any guesses) as to whether this is caused by bad drivers, bad settings, bad antenna, or perhaps just a bad GPS chip/hardware in the phone?

I'm desperately hoping that it's bad settings or bad drivers, cause at least then it can be fixed.

FYI, I have a Sprint Touch.

[Vip3rV333]

Yeah exactly on the same boat here and wondering the same questions...
It might take 10 min to get a lock, but even after I reset the device a few time it will get a lock within a minute. But then the next day it takes another 10 just to get a lock.

Kinda pointless since the only real times when I need the GPS is when I get lost or Im trying to find something. But then you gotta wait 10 min, what a waste! Almost makes it worth carrying the GPS puck on my keychain all the time...

[Spencer_Moore]

thats waht i thought although i do not need a gps for me its a fun novelty but its so flakey its just more of a toy and less of an actual utility

[mixxy]

thats odd....my touch takes less than 30 seconds to lock onto about 5 satellites using holux gps viewer v1.5, and the lock is very consistent.. when using google maps it works flawlessly though it is slightly choppy (since its not meant for turn by turn, i never expected it), but with tomtom 6 it works perfectly, extremely accurate, not choppy at all and the signal is lovely in extremely clouded weather here in toronto right now, i can lock on to a minimum of 4 satellites from INSIDE my house where i usually only get 1 bar of signal...

[ddeflyer]

Well, I have just enabled the rev. A and gps on my sprint vogue and overall I am not quite sure on how to describe the GPS. At first it didn't lock on for about an hour (This was right after the update) but after I restarted it, it aquired signal faster and I think more accurately then my garmin etrex in the other hand. It also worked beautifully on google maps. (I started it with the gps viewer thing). I will try it later with after it has been running a while to see if anything funny happens.

[htcuser]

Ok.. I ahve Sprint and my gps works great. It locks in around 20 to 45 seconds. And google maps is very accurate and smooth and no delays. So I think its just you location? One thing is for sure. This sure does remind me alot of Moguls initial leak rom. Where it was not that greaT BUT WORKED. THEN ONCE sPRINT RELEASED THE OFFICIAL ROM , EVERYTHING WORKED FLAWLESSLY. so I AM EXPECTING THE SAME FOR THE TOUCH.

[Vip3rV333]

I dunno, like i said, first time takes about 10 to lock, then after even a soft reset it locks within a min. I tested that yesterday, and just did it now, and its the same. Arg, but yeah all this is still just hacked up, not official, so I'll be happy that we at least got something going before God know when Sprint will want to fix this.

[cortez]

i've had mixed results, too. i used Garmin Mobile XT to compare GPS on my Touch with the GPS on my Orbit 2 (Touch Cruise) and Samsung Blackjack II and the Touch performed worst. it worked, but the Sprint Touch took the longest to get a lock outside (3-7 minutes vs. 5-15 seconds on the Orbit 2 and Blackjact II) and it lost satellites 4-5 times (but quickly recovered) vs 0 lost satellites for the other 2 devices. once i have satellite locks, i consistently get 6-8 on the Touch and 8-11 on the Orbit 2 and Blackjack II. also, iGo 2006+ and CoPilot performed poorly on the Touch vs. my Orbit 2 and Blackjack II. my simple test was performed while driving 25 miles on a major highway. fyi, when using my Holux 1200 and Freedom Mini with the Touch, its performance is on par with my other 2 devices.

there is one "nasty" issue i'm experiencing with Garmin Mobile XT and the Sprint Touch: everytime i launch Garmin, it resets my clock and date to 7 pm and 4/19/2008, respectively. as long as Garmin is loaded, manually changing the time/date has no effect on the clock. now, once i get satellite locks, the clock will update (i'll have to check the settings to see if i can disable this feature).

maybe GPS on the Touch is not ready for prime time - which may account for the delayed release to the general Touch public. nonetheless, i'll continue to play with GPS until the "official" version surfaces. all of my other phone features are working without issue. in case anyone is interested, i'm using JD's 6.1 ROM.

[ajones7279]

GPS is working fine for me using just the alltel rom. And I get 2-4 sats while i'm inside

[Musicman247]

My guess is that since we are not using files made specifically for the Touch, that is why we are getting sub-par performance vs. other devices who have their GPS officially supported. Shouldn't be long before the official version comes out, though, same situation as the Mogul I'd guess.