GPS does not work on android 6.0 1. The tablet does not see GPS satellites

The geolocation feature in Android devices is one of the most used and in demand, and therefore it is doubly frustrating when this option suddenly stops working. Therefore, in our today's material, we want to talk about methods of dealing with this problem.

Like many other problems with communication modules, GPS problems can be caused by both hardware and software causes. As practice shows, the latter are much more common. Hardware reasons include:

  • module of poor quality;
  • metal or just a thick case that shields the signal;
  • poor reception in a particular place;
  • manufacturing defects.

Software causes of problems with geolocation:

  • change of location with GPS turned off;
  • incorrect data in the gps.conf system file;
  • outdated version of GPS software.

Now let's move on to troubleshooting methods.

Method 1: Cold Start GPS

One of the most common causes of GPS failures is moving to another coverage area with data turned off. For example, you went to another country, but the GPS was not turned on. The navigation module did not receive a data update in time, so it will need to re-establish communication with the satellites. This is called a "cold start". It is done very simply.

As a rule, after the specified time, the satellites will be taken into operation, and navigation on your device will work correctly.

Method 2: Manipulating the gps.conf file (root only)

The quality and stability of GPS signal reception in an Android device can be improved by editing the gps.conf system file. This manipulation is recommended for devices that are not officially shipped to your country (for example, Pixel, Motorola devices released before 2016, as well as Chinese or Japanese smartphones for the domestic market).

In order to edit the GPS settings file yourself, you need two things: and with the ability to access system files. It is most convenient to use .

  1. Launch Root Explorer and go to the root folder of the internal memory, it is also root. If required, give the application permission to use root rights.

  2. Go to folder system, then in /etc.

  3. Find the file inside the directory gps.conf.

    Attention! On some devices of Chinese manufacturers, this file is missing! When faced with this problem, do not try to create it, otherwise you may break the GPS!

    Click and hold on it to highlight it. Then tap on the three dots at the top right to bring up the context menu. In it select "Open in text editor".

    Confirm consent to file system changes.

  4. The file will be opened for editing, you will see the following options:

  5. The NTP_SERVER parameter should be changed to the following values:
    • For the Russian Federation - ru.pool.ntp.org;
    • For Ukraine - ua.pool.ntp.org;
    • For Belarus - by.pool.ntp.org.

    You can also use the pan-European server europe.pool.ntp.org .

  6. If there is no INTERMEDIATE_POS parameter in gps.conf on your device, enter it with a value of 0 - this will slow down the receiver somewhat, but will make its readings much more accurate.

  7. Do the same with the DEFAULT_AGPS_ENABLE option, which needs to be set to TRUE . This will allow the use of cellular data for geopositioning, which will also have a beneficial effect on the accuracy and quality of reception.

    The DEFAULT_USER_PLANE=TRUE setting is also responsible for using A-GPS technology, which should also be added to the file.

  8. After all the manipulations, exit the edit mode. Don't forget to save your changes.

  9. Reboot the device and check the GPS operation using special testing programs or. Geolocation should function correctly.

This method is especially suitable for devices with SoCs from MediaTek, but is also effective on processors from other manufacturers.

Conclusion

Summing up, we note that problems with GPS are still rare, and mainly on budget segment devices. As practice shows, one of the two methods described above will definitely help you. If this does not happen, then you most likely encountered a hardware malfunction. It is impossible to fix such problems on your own, so the best solution would be to contact a service center for help. If the warranty period for the device has not yet expired, you should replace it or return the money.

I will try in this post to systematize the information that I have collected on the topic of accelerating GPS on Android. I will say right away that most things are relevant if you have root and S-OFF (I immediately sewed custom RcMix 3d Runny firmware onto my smartphone). The post does not claim to be an absolute completeness of the coverage of the issue - I'm just sharing my experience.

Previously, I waited for 20 minutes - the satellites were not caught. Now, as a result of applying the tips described below, the coordinates are determined in 2-3 minutes with a cold start, and about 30-40 seconds with a hot one.

1) Use the ClockSync time synchronization program (requires root, found):


- before starting the navigator (or other navigator) through the ClockSync program, synchronize the time on the phone;
- after starting the navigator through the ClockSync program, synchronize the time on the phone.

2) Edit the file gps.conf(requires root): in parameter NTP_SERVER prescribe his location.

For editing it is convenient to use the FasterFix program.
For example, I had

NTP_SERVER=north-america.pool.ntp.org

and for Ukraine it was necessary to register

NTP_SERVER=ua.pool.ntp.org

Accordingly, for Russia

NTP_SERVER=ru.pool.ntp.org

Then reload apparatus.

3) Advanced gps.conf editing (requires root, found ).

In this case, it is convenient to use FasterGPS for editing. Described in paragraph 2, this program can also do.
You need to add the following to the file:

NTP_SERVER=ua.pool.ntp.org - if you did not do this in step 2, then be sure to do it now (as you understand, this is a setting for Ukraine)

INTERMEDIATE_POS=0
ACCURACY_THRES=0
REPORT_POSITION_USE_SUPL_REFLOC=1
ENABLE_WIPER=1
SUPL_HOST=supl.google.com
SUPL_PORT=7276
SUPL_NO_SECURE_PORT=7276
SUPL_SECURE_PORT=7276
CURRENT_CARRIER=common
DEFAULT_AGPS_ENABLE=TRUE
DEFAULT_SSL_ENABLE=FALSE
DEFAULT_USER_PLANE=TRUE

Then reload apparatus.

For good, you can edit gps.conf with your hands (for example, via RootExplorer), FasterGPS is just a frontend for editing. But it’s calmer with him, because. do not leave spaces at the end of the line and empty lines in gps.conf.

4) Use a program that contributes to the speedy determination of coordinates. Of the several I tested (GPS Status, GpsFix, GPS Test), the most effective and functional turned out to be GPS Status (no root needed). Turn on GPS, turn on mobile Internet, start GPS Status, and there:

Menu -> Tools -> A-GPS Data -> Upload

Lyrical digression:
when you watch how the GPS Status confidently catches satellites one by one
(engaged/caught: 0/1 …. 1/2 ….. 3/3 etc.),
waiting time is much faster.

By the way, this program also has the "Radar" function: you can mark the place where you are now, and then return to it.



Also remember the simple things:

  • After turning on the GPS, immediately turn on the mobile Internet - this way the smartphone will determine the coordinates much faster, after which the mobile Internet can be turned off.
  • GPS drains the battery, but the always-on screen drains the battery even faster. At the same time, if you block the phone, then the GPS is turned off. If you want GPS to work longer (for example, when walking around an unfamiliar city), reduce the screen brightness to the required minimum.
  • GPS in smartphones is initially weaker than in GPS navigators
  • GPS does not work indoors - only outdoors
  • Some smartphones have a GPS antenna located on the bottom of the device. You can try to speed up the search for satellites by turning the smartphone 180 degrees. Or do not hold it in your hands, but put it, for example, on a bench.
  • If you still need to use GPS indoors, you can go to the balcony or go to the window. The same trick works in minibuses - you just need to sit near the window.
  • In cloudy weather, the signal is caught worse. Among high-rise buildings, it is also caught worse. Sometimes it is enough to move 100-200m away from 16-storey buildings - and the result becomes noticeably better.
  • With a cold start on the move, the signal is caught worse than standing still. Force yourself to stop and wait for the smartphone to acquire satellites (launch the GPS Status and admire how cleverly it catches them one by one) - you will end up spending less time that way than trying to do it on the go.
  • In theory, you need to catch 3 satellites to determine the coordinates, and 4 to determine the coordinates and altitude. In reality, the GPS Status determines all parameters when 6-7 satellites are caught. The maximum that could be caught was 9-10.

PS - I also want to recommend a good review of GPS programs - Workshop: we use GPS on Android to the maximum - be sure to look, there are a lot of useful things there.

PPS - from what I use from this review myself, I want to recommend the excellent Llama profile manager.

Strictly speaking, it has nothing to do with GPS:

A feature of Llama is that it does not use GPS to determine coordinates, but relies on cell towers. Nevertheless, it was decided to include it in the review as an alternative to GEO-Tasker.

The program receives location data using data on the operator's towers, and, depending on this, is able to switch profiles. For example, at home - normal during the day, quiet from 23 to 6, leaving the house - loud, in church - without sound, at work - quiet, and so on. By combining zones and events, you can prescribe absolutely everything for yourself, and forget about manually switching profiles.

Accelerating GPS on Android - 2


In the first part of the article, I described programs and tricks that speed up GPS on Android devices. An example of an alternative file was also given there. gps.conf, accelerating the process of determining the coordinates. For comparison, earlier on my HTC Inspire 4G, satellites were caught for a few minutes, after using it - 30-60 seconds. Since then, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge, but I did not stop looking for an even faster solution. And today I can present you a new gps.conf file synthesized from several found on the Web, with which the process of determining coordinates takes 5-10 seconds. Those. by the time the launch of the navigation program is completed, the coordinates have already been determined. The file is adapted for Ukraine, but it is easy to remake it for other European countries - in the first few lines we change "ua", for example, to "ru" - we get a file for Russia, etc.

NTP_SERVER=ua.pool.ntp.org NTP_SERVER=0.ua.pool.ntp.org NTP_SERVER=1.ua.pool.ntp.org NTP_SERVER=2.ua.pool.ntp.org NTP_SERVER=3.ua.pool.ntp.org NTP_SERVER=europe.pool. ntp.org NTP_SERVER=0.europe.pool.ntp.org NTP_SERVER=1.europe.pool.ntp.org NTP_SERVER=2.europe.pool.ntp.org NTP_SERVER=3.europe.pool.ntp.org XTRA_SERVER_1=/ data/xtra.bin AGPS=/data/xtra.bin AGPS=http://xtra1.gpsonextra.net/xtra.bin XTRA_SERVER_1=http://xtra1.gpsonextra.net/xtra.bin XTRA_SERVER_2=http://xtra2 .gpsonextra.net/xtra.bin XTRA_SERVER_3=http://xtra3.gpsonextra.net/xtra.bin DEFAULT_AGPS_ENABLE=TRUE DEFAULT_USER_PLANE=TRUE REPORT_POSITION_USE_SUPL_REFLOC=1 QOS_ACCURACY=50 QOS_TIME_OUT_STANDALONE=60 QOS_TIME_OUT_agps=89 QosHorizontalThreshold=1000 QosVerticalThreshold=500 AssistMethodType=1 AgpsUse=1 AgpsMtConf=0 AgpsMtResponseType=1 AgpsServerType=1 AgpsServerIp=3232235555 INTERMEDIATE_POS=1 C2K_HOST=c2k.pde.com C2K_PORT=1234 SUPL_HOST=FQDN SUPL_HOST=lbs.geo.t-mobile.com SUPL_HOST=supl.google.com SUPL_PORT =7276 SUPL_SECURE_PORT=7275 SUPL_NO_SE CURE_PORT=3425 SUPL_TLS_HOST=FQDN SUPL_TLS_CERT=/etc/SuplRootCert ACCURACY_THRES=5000 CURRENT_CARRIER=common

04.10.2018

Mobile devices and tablets are characterized by incredible ease of use and the widest functionality, allowing them to replace many other devices with a narrower specialization. Thanks to the presence of a GPS module, the gadget is able to establish communication with special satellites, thanks to which it becomes possible to determine the location of the device, as well as navigate on maps.

Problems with GPS

Quite often you can encounter a situation where gps does not catch on android. This greatly limits the functionality of the smartphone or tablet and makes it less convenient to use.

Since there are two GPS connection technologies, it is useful to understand their differences. The classic version involves establishing a connection with satellites, with the help of which the coordinates of the device are determined. A GPS involves, in addition to connecting to satellites, also connecting to cell towers, which allows you to determine the user's location more accurately.

Despite all the differences, both of these technologies are characterized by the same reasons that prevent them from working correctly. These include:

  • Incorrect connection setup;
  • The GPS module is defective;
  • Surrounding objects are interfering with the connection or the user is indoors.

The last point is especially important, since novice users quite often forget about the features of a satellite connection, which certainly requires the absence of obstacles in the signal path.

Troubleshooting

Before checking the functionality of the module, it is recommended to check whether it is enabled at all on the device. Some users who are not familiar with the features of the operation of android smartphones quite often turn off the module itself or receive geo-data, which makes it impossible to establish a connection between the satellite and the gadget. Some applications remind you of disabled features, which allows you to quickly restore normal GPS operation.

IMPORTANT! If the module has lost its functionality, then the most reasonable option is to contact the service center, since it is not possible to fix such a malfunction on your own.

In some cases, if the connection settings are not configured correctly, you can solve the problem by . The same applies to situations when, after any changes in the settings, the device module has lost its functionality.

Some owners of Android smartphones often face the problem that the GPS module cannot catch or catches GPS navigation satellites for a very long time. This mainly happens with phones that were brought from China or bought from Chinese sites such as Aliexpress and they were not fully configured for Russian conditions.

The first thing we should do is go to the smartphone settings and go to the tab My location. Turn on the GPS and check the boxes against, By GPS satellites and By network coordinates. If you have more advanced settings, such as EPO options then put a tick in front of the item, go down to the bottom and press the button download.


Next, we need to go into the engineering menuhow to do this, you can learn from the article "Android engineering menu". In the engineering menu we pass location- Location Based Service - EPO and put on against parameters Enable EPO and Auto Download checkboxes, if you do not have these parameters, then they are by default and hidden from your eyes.


We return to location and go to section YGPS and on the tab INFORMATION successively press the buttons fuii-warm-hot-cold and AGPS restart this is done to reset the old almanac, and in order for us to record a new almanac, go to the tab NMEALOG and press start to record a new almanac.


Go to tab SATELLITES and see that we have several red satellites on the radar. After some time from 5 to 30 minutes, some of the satellites should turn green, and signal strength bars will appear below, which means that your phone has established a connection with these satellites. You need to catch satellites on the street and preferably away from houses, since the signal is extinguished indoors and it is almost impossible to catch them.


If, after the time has elapsed, the connection with the satellites has not been established, then the problem lies deeper and in order to fix it, you will need root rights on your smartphone. How to get a root we read the rights in the article "Opening root rights in Android". Rights root we need to edit the file GPS.conf. So using a file manager that works with root(I used Root Browser) go to the root directory of the phone and look for the file at the following address system-etc-gps.conf. Open the file with a text editor gps.conf and we look at what is there, this file stores the addresses of the satellite servers, and for some reason it turned out to be empty for me. If you also have an empty one or have some addresses of other countries, then we change the contents of the file to the settings we need, save, close and restart our smartphone.

NTP_SERVER=ru.pool.ntp.org
NTP_SERVER=0.ru.pool.ntp.org
NTP_SERVER=1.ru.pool.ntp.org
NTP_SERVER=2.ru.pool.ntp.org
NTP_SERVER=3.ru.pool.ntp.org
NTP_SERVER=europe.pool.ntp.org
NTP_SERVER=0.europe.pool.ntp.org
NTP_SERVER=1.europe.pool.ntp.org
NTP_SERVER=2.europe.pool.ntp.org
NTP_SERVER=3.europe.pool.ntp.org
XTRA_SERVER_1=/data/xtra.bin
AGPS=/data/xtra.bin
AGPS=http://xtra1.gpsonextra.net/xtra.bin
XTRA_SERVER_1=http://xtra1.gpsonextra.net/xtra.bin
XTRA_SERVER_2=http://xtra2.gpsonextra.net/xtra.bin
XTRA_SERVER_3=http://xtra3.gpsonextra.net/xtra.bin
DEFAULT_AGPS_ENABLE=TRUE
DEFAULT_USER_PLANE=TRUE
REPORT_POSITION_USE_SUPL_REFLOC=1
QOS_ACCURACY=50
QOS_TIME_OUT_STANDALONE=60
QOS_TIME_OUT_agps=89
QosHorizontalThreshold=1000
QosVerticalThreshold=500
AssistMethodType=1
AgpsUse=1
AgpsMtConf=0
AgpsMtResponseType=1
AgpsServerType=1
AgpsServerIp=3232235555
INTERMEDIATE_POS=1
C2K_HOST=c2k.pde.com
C2K_PORT=1234
SUPL_HOST=FQDN
SUPL_HOST=lbs.geo.t-mobile.com
SUPL_HOST=supl.google.com
SUPL_PORT=7276
SUPL_SECURE_PORT=7275
SUPL_NO_SECURE_PORT=3425
SUPL_TLS_HOST=FQDN
SUPL_TLS_CERT=/etc/SuplRootCert
ACCURACY_THRES=5000
CURRENT_CARRIER=common

Next, you will need to repeat again all the manipulations with the engineering menu and on the tab SATELLITES we watch how our smartphone catches satellites. All the above actions helped me and the phone immediately began to connect with 6-10 satellites.

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Many owners of phones on the Android operating system are faced with a problem when the built-in GPS module refuses to find gps satellites or finds them, but cannot connect. There may be several reasons for this behavior of the module, consider the main ones:

Incorrectly specified parameters for connecting to satellites in the settings file;

An A-GPS module is installed, which often does not find satellites on the phone on its own;

The module is not working.

I would like to sort out the problem with the A-GPS (Assisted GPS) module, since Chinese phones, on which it is installed in 98% of cases, are now very popular and are ousting global brands from the market.

How does A-GPS work?

The main difference from a standard GPS module is that it connects not only to satellites, but also to mobile operator towers, which significantly improves the quality of location determination. When this function is enabled, the phone often cannot connect to gps satellites on its own and it needs a “Full restart”, even if it was only turned on. This is not a problem of the Chinese phones themselves, but of the A-GPS module, which costs a penny compared to GPS, and therefore works accordingly. Let's figure out how to set up gps on android.

How to determine if A-GPS or GPS module is on the phone?

If you have a phone with two SIM cards and made in China, you have A-GPS with a probability of 99.9%. But to verify this, you can go to the engineering menu. The fix for the issue of a broken connection with satellites will begin with it.

To enter the engineering menu, you need to dial the following number on your phone: *#*#3646633*#*#. If the combination did not work, you can try to enter *#15963#* or *#*#4636#*#*, however, in this case, your menu may be different.

After entering the phrase, you will automatically enter the engineering menu and see the following window:

You need to move to the left, scrolling through the settings pages to the "Location" tab.

Now select the first item "Location Based Servise". If you have an A-GPS tab, then follow the next settings. Otherwise, this article will not help you much.

Setting up GPS on Android

If you have an A-GPS tab, go to it right away. You should have a window like this:

Compare the settings with yours, adjust if necessary, according to the screenshots:

If everything is spelled out correctly, you can go back one level before selecting the "Location" items and go to "YGPS".

Here you see that your gps module does not find satellites, or rather finds, but does not connect due to incorrect inclusion:

You need the "Information" tab. It will carry out the main manipulations.

As you can see, the status is "UNANVAILABLE", and TTFF hangs on an eternal search. No matter how long you wait, nothing will change.

The essence of fixing the eternal search is to do a full reset "Full", and then, after 2-3 seconds, click on "A-GPS Restart". Those. you reset the hung search process to zero, thereby overwriting all predefined settings, and immediately reload the module. Not having time to pick up the standard configuration (incorrect), the module finds all the satellites from scratch.

After 10-20 seconds, on the “Satellites” tab, you will see satellite signals, and after another half a minute, the module will successfully connect to them.

The search was done from the 1st side of the house, on the balcony, respectively, nothing was found on the second hemisphere. On the road you will find all the satellites.

Navigation applications installed on smartphones with the Android operating system enable users to create car, bicycle or walking routes, as well as monitor their own location on the map.

Mobile devices with installed GPS/GLONASS chips are in great demand among potential buyers. But, sometimes it happens that GPS on Android does not work. In this case, you should figure out what the main cause of the breakdown is and how to configure the modules so that they correctly fulfill the tasks assigned to them.

The main reasons for the failure of the GPS module

If GPS does not work on Android, you should check if the navigation module in the phone is disabled. This mistake is most often made by novice users who did not have time to fully understand the principles of operation of Android smartphones.

In order to cope with this problem, you should slide down the top curtain with your finger, which hides various shortcuts and notifications. Find the "Location" item in the proposed menu and activate it. When it becomes active, its color will change to green, bluish, and so on.


Activate GPS on Android to find your location

After the “Location” item becomes active, you can start launching the navigation program itself.

It is worth noting the fact that developers take into account the interests of users, so many popular applications report disabling geodata.

An example is the Navitel application, which informs users that they do not have a GPS module connection.


It may be that the user activated geolocation in the smartphone settings, installed all the necessary navigation applications, but there were no positive results.

In this case, the reason may be hiding in banal impatience. When starting GPS/GLONASS modules for the first time, you should wait at least 15 minutes. During this time, the smartphone will be able to process information about which satellites are active in the area. Other launches of the navigation program will be much faster.

A similar problem can also arise if you arrive in another city or country with your phone turned off and decide to use geolocation. You should wait 10-15 minutes for a smartphone running on Android to be able to calculate its location. This behavior is called a “cold start”.

So, the main reasons why GPS does not work on Android are listed above. But they do not limit the list of all possible faults. It should be noted a few more factors, in connection with which there may be no operability of GPS modules:

  1. The user tries to perform a “cold start” while the vehicle is moving. You shouldn't do that. You need to stop, get out of the car, preferably in the most open area, and try again to activate the GPS modules.
  2. GPS does not work on Android, not only while traveling in a car, but also inside buildings.
  3. There are certain areas where signal reception is difficult. This may be due to the presence in the immediate vicinity of rocks, tall buildings, and so on. In this case, you should find the highest possible area and try to find satellites by climbing on it.

If the navigation does not work after active attempts to configure it, then you need to seek help from professionals working in the service center. This state of affairs clearly indicates the presence of internal breakdowns. And yet, if there is no time to go to the specialists at the service center, then try resetting the phone to factory settings.

You can check the quality of satellite reception using the GPS Test application from Chartcross Limited. If the GPS chip is working and geolocation is enabled, then a sky map will appear on the screen indicating the locations of active satellites.


How to set up the GPS module on a smartphone?

Many users are interested in how to configure GPS modules on Andrid. There are no specific settings in this case. But, if you wish, you can experiment a little using standard detection methods. There are the following factors in the operation of location detection:

  • High accuracy. With this setting, location discovery occurs using all possible wireless modules. It uses not only GPS / Glonass, but also Wi-Fi, telephone network.
  • Economy mode. Location search occurs through mobile networks and the Wi-Fi module.
  • Only GPS modules. As the name implies, the search for a place occurs only with the help of satellites.

In order to specify the method used to detect the position of a person in space, go to the menu ”Settings-Geodata”. Do not forget to install functional and easy-to-use software to work with GPS navigation. To do this, you can download from the network or use the paid products of the world's leading companies.


Conclusion

In conclusion, it is worth noting that if GPS does not work on Android, you should not despair. You may be in too much of a hurry to prevent the app from communicating with the satellites.

If the problem is not resolved after the basic conditions are met, you need to contact the service center for help.

Modern gadgets are already so sophisticated that you can determine your location without resorting to the help of GPS navigators anymore. Sometimes this is necessary for the correct operation of applications, sometimes it is necessary to create the correct route. When GPS does not work on Android, this becomes difficult. What could be the reason for this and what should be done to solve this problem?

Any device does not catch well or does not catch a satellite signal at all if it is indoors. Therefore, it is better to engage in determining your location on the street. Ideally, the space should be free even from tall buildings and trees, so that the sky is completely open, so that nothing prevents the gadget from looking for a working signal and connecting to the necessary satellites.

Wrong GPS setting

All devices are endowed with two GPS modules. One is a standard receiver that can be enabled in the settings (General - Location - Mode). If you select mobile networks or Wi-Fi, the device will determine the location by towers without connecting to GPS satellites. This method is the fastest, but it does not always give an accurate result.

When you select GPS Only mode, your phone or tablet will connect to the satellites, but the device will take some time to do so. At the same time, it is desirable to be on the street in an open area, or at least put the gadget on the windowsill. It is for the operation of the second module that the correct configuration is needed. How to check if the device is receiving a signal? To do this, you will have to download and install GPS Test - a diagnostic application.

After starting the program, in the AGPS settings, select Update only, and in Settings - Keep Screen On. Now you need to return to the main program window, the GPS test will begin on your tablet or phone. It is important, however, that Wi-Fi and mobile data should neither be enabled in the Location settings nor be in use at the moment.

If the diagnostics showed that the device does not find satellites, then you should check whether the GPS settings on Android have been correctly configured. How to set up GPS? To do this, you must first download any application that can process the GPS signal. If it does not help, you need to check the settings of the communicator's COM port.

Unsuccessful flashing

After not the most successful attempts to flash a gadget or specifically a GPS module, not only the system, but simply its individual parts, for example, geolocation, may stop functioning. It is also common to see GPS stop working on a Chinese device.

To fix this situation, you need to enable AGPS in the location and GPS settings. After that, you need to enter the engineering menu through the dialing window (the combination is different for all phones). If you can’t enter it, you will have to use any special program, but already with root rights. Procedure in:

  • on the Satellites tab of the YGPS tab, check if there is a signal, i.e. whether the phone or tablet is trying to find satellites at all;
  • go to the Information tab and there, in order, press the buttons full, warm, hot, cold (this is necessary to reset the previous settings);
  • on the NMEA Log tab, click start;

Pocket geolocation is a fairly common and familiar thing lately. Now all models of modern phones have a GPS system. But often users have questions about it. For example, they are interested in how to improve GPS reception on Android or IOS so that they can get more accurate location information or play games that require detailed geolocation more conveniently. Let's analyze this problem and find out what can be done.

GPS is a system that allows your smartphone to use navigation applications and determine your location in order to build the best possible route to your destination. It is based on receiving data from satellites located in outer space.

Why is he to me?

GPS navigation is used by navigation applications. Together they help to get to the right place without a detailed study of paper maps of the area and polling others on the topic "Where to go next and where to turn?"

The most famous free "Yandex.Maps" or "Yandex.Navigator", GoogleMaps and MapsMe. You can also find a pirated version of Navitel on the Internet. But the program may be an old release year. In this case, it is able to lead you to non-existent roads and under the "brick". In addition, the program may be infected with a virus. Then there is a possibility that it will "break" the system of your smartphone, and you will have to change not only the navigator, but also the phone, or at least its firmware.

Now the most common and modern phone models are the IOS-based IPhone and phones supporting a different system ("Android"). They use GPS in a more advanced form - A-GPS. This is a function that increases the speed of the application during cold and hot start, due to other communication channels (WI-FI, cellular), and also improves positioning accuracy.

A situation where the phone cannot connect to new satellites when the application is turned on. In this case, it works autonomously according to the data transmitted during the previous switch-on by those satellites to which it was connected. Hot start - when the satellites are immediately included in the work. They appear on the application screen or in a special tab for tracking their work and receiving data.

The first option to improve the signal

There are a lot of ways to improve GPS reception on Android or IOS. Let's take a look at 3 of the most famous. The first and easiest way to boost the GPS signal is to turn on the appropriate mode in your phone settings. To do this, we perform the following steps:

  • Turn on GPS (geolocation) and go to the phone settings.
  • We find the section "Geodata".
  • Select the top button "Mode".
  • A window titled "Detection Method" opens.
  • Select "High Accuracy".

Your phone's performance will improve by turning on Accuracy. At the same time, its operating time without recharging can decrease several times. The thing is that the included navigator will simply "eat up" the battery.

The second way to improve GPS reception on Android

The second option is more complex. But it helps just as often as the first one. You need to download an app to clear GPS data. After updating the satellite information, the navigation system will work better than before. But this option may not be suitable for some phones due to app and model incompatibility, lack of space, etc.

The most difficult but reliable method

There is a third, most difficult solution to the problem, how to improve GPS reception on Android. It is more suitable for computer geniuses. Its essence lies in the alteration of the system file that controls the operation of the phone's GPS system. Let's take it in order:

  1. It is necessary to extract the GPS.CONF file, located in the system/etc/gps/conf folder, through special programs that give access to system files. Then we move it to the internal memory of the phone or to the SD card so that it can be opened on the computer in the future.
  2. Changing the GPS.CONF settings is carried out through the Notepad ++ program on a regular PC. And the phone is connected to the computer via a standard USB cable.
  3. Next, you need to change the settings of the NTP server, through which the time is synchronized. Usually they say something like this - north-america.pool.ntp.org. The entry must be rewritten - ru.pool.ntp.org or europe.pool.ntp.org. As a result, it should turn out like this: NTP_SERVER=ru.pool.ntp.org.
  4. It will also not be superfluous to enter additional servers without making any changes to them: XTRA_SERVER_1=http://xtra1.gpsonextra.net/xtra.bin, XTRA_SERVER_2=http://xtra2.gpsonextra.net/xtra.bin, XTRA_SERVER_3=http ://xtra3.gpsonextra.net/xtra.bin.
  5. Next, you need to decide whether the GPS receiver will use WI-FI to amplify the signal. When entering the ENABLE_WIPER= parameter, you must enter a number that will allow (1) or prohibit (0) the use of a wireless connection. For example, ENABLE_WIPER=1.
  6. The next parameter is connection speed and data accuracy. There your choice is the following: INTERMEDIATE_POS=0<—— (точно, но медленно) или INTERMEDIATE_POS=1 <—— (не точно, но быстро).
  7. In the type of data transfer use, knowledgeable people advise setting the User Plane, which is responsible for the wide transfer of subscriber data. Then DEFAULT_USER_PLANE=TRUE is written in the program line.
  8. The accuracy of GPS data is monitored through the INTERMEDIATE_POS= parameter, in the line of which you can set both taking into account all data without exception, and removing errors. If you put 0 (zero) after the "=" sign, then geolocation will take into account everything it finds, and if 100, 300, 1000, 5000, it will remove errors. Programmers recommend setting it to 0. But if you want to try, you can use debugging.
  9. The use of the A-GPS function, as mentioned above, is supported or automatically enabled on all modern devices. But if you still want the function to work exactly, then you need to set DEFAULT_AGPS_ENABLE=TRUE in the A-GPS enable line.
  10. The final version of the file must be saved and downloaded to the phone, and then reboot it.

An important point: if you do not want to do it all yourself for various reasons, for example, because of laziness, fear of breaking something in the system, etc., then you can find the GPS.CONF file with the parameters you need and simply copy it to your smartphone. It remains only to restart the phone and use the improved GPS.

Why is GPS still not working on Android?

The problem has other causes as well. It happens that GPS does not work on Android at all (it does not turn on, it does not search for satellites, etc.). Resetting the system to factory settings can help with this problem. This is done through the phone settings. In addition, the gadget can be reflashed or given to service center employees who will “dig into” the electronics and correct the defect.

The iPhone's GPS feature can't be overestimated - it makes it easier and easier to get to your destination using a software navigator, it's indispensable when playing Pokémon GO, and it allows apps to track the user's location. However, like any other system, GPS can fail.

Why did GPS on iPhone suddenly stop working?

The most common problems with GPS are:

  • No GPS signal;
  • GPS does not update current location;
  • GPS shows wrong location;
  • The compass points in the wrong direction;
  • Applications cannot determine the current location.

Of course, the list could go on and on, depending on how and where you use your iPhone. In addition, problems may occur due to applications that use the GPS function in different ways. Sometimes the error message does not appear at all, which makes it much more difficult to find and fix the cause of the problem.

  • "Find friends", or how to see the location of friends on the iPhone and iPad.
  • Orientation with iPhone: How to determine the bearing in the Compass app.

How to fix the most common GPS problems

Here are some solutions to the most common problems with iPhone's GPS function.

Check GPS Signal

For the GPS function to work properly in applications, a good radio signal is required. Problems with GPS can occur if you are in a building, basement, or some other place that does not pass the radio signal. In this case, you need to leave the building or move somewhere else so that the device can receive a signal from the satellite.

Check if apps have permission to use location services

Very often, users simply forget to activate the Geolocation function in applications. For example, you won't be able to see your location on Maps or other mapping services unless the app has been given permission to use the location feature.

To check if the apps have the appropriate permission, go to Settings –> Privacy –> Location Services.

You can prevent certain apps from using location services. You can also allow applications to receive location data always or only while they are running (including in the background).

Please note that some applications require permission to always use location services. If you select the option to receive data only when the program is open, the GPS function will not work correctly. Make sure that the correct settings are set for each application.

Turn Location Services off and on again

Sometimes the cause of problems with the GPS function is just a small glitch in the software. In this case, you need to disable and re-enable location services. To do this, go to Settings –> Privacy –> Location Services and move the switch to the left and then right again.

You can also turn all wireless services off and on by deactivating and reactivating Airplane Mode in Control Center.

Reset all location and network data

If none of the above methods work, then the problem is related to geolocation and network information. In this case, it affects not only the GPS function, but also cellular communications.

You can fix the problem by going to Settings -\u003e General -\u003e Reset and clicking on "Reset network settings" and "Reset geo settings".

Each time you click on "Reset" you need to enter a password, after which the information will be completely deleted. Next, you should reconnect to the Wi-Fi network and set all the necessary settings to access the wireless network.

Restart or restore your device in iTunes

In some situations, the only solution to the problem is to restart the iPhone. Even if the method described above did not work, all that can be done is to restore the device via iTunes (instruction).

The methods presented should help resolve problems with GPS. In case of failure, you should contact the service center, perhaps in your case there is a hardware problem.

According to yablyk