Where's the GPS fix for the Samsung Vibrant and Captivate?
By Chris Ziegler 
posted August 2nd 2010 11:44AM
posted August 2nd 2010 11:44AM
This isn't a low- or medium-priority fix -- this is something that Samsung, T-Mobile, and AT&T should've been working to get out immediately. Actually, let's step back a bit: this is a problem for which there's no reasonable explanation why it made it all the way to retail devices, and it raises concerns over just how well these products were tested (you might remember from our review just how many egregious examples of weird English we found, for instance). Put simply, all three of these companies should have these phones pulled from shelves until the problem's fixed, should be communicating tirelessly with customers and the press to make sure that everyone knows the status of the issue, and should have a fix available right this second. Android's ecosystem has proven just how important frequent, reliable firmware updates are, and Sammy's already working from a damaged reputation thanks to the Behold II debacle. Let's make this right, guys.
[Thanks, Steve]
Update: We've just received an official statement from Samsung on the matter:
Update 2: Several readers have pointed out that there are workarounds for the problem available -- we've got one linked in the More Coverage section below which points to an Android Central article. It's a good start, but not one that's practical for the average phone buyer, bearing in mind that most folks aren't power users (and, sadly, don't read Engadget Mobile). That still leaves the impetus on Samsung to get an official firmware update pushed out on the double."Samsung Mobile is aware that under certain conditions, the GPS on our U.S. Galaxy S devices may not be meeting performance expectations. We are diligently evaluating the situation and will provide an update as soon as possible."
I have yet to experience this issue...maybe I was fortunate?
@lp894
Sorry to hijack your thread, but I thought this should be somewhere high up.
Engadget, dudes, you gotta start checking xda much more often, especially if you're encountering problems with an Android phone, because chances are pretty high that someone else has already noticed the same thing and fixed it.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=732030
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=737276
@jroff Right, we'd added a homebaked fix via Android Central as More Coverage link. We know there are fixes out there, but it's still on Samsung to get an OTA out ASAP.
They demand this gets pulled off shelves, but the iphone dropped call thing is non existent.
@Chris Ziegler there is no fix yet, all those things are workarounds, and none of them worked for me. Samsung must release a reliable fix that is working. And thanks for the article - the Sammy official reply you quoted is the only official thing I heard from them in all this time.
@lp894 Me, too. Although admittedly, I've barely been out (got my Vibrant a day after being held up at gunpoint, beaten, and having my phone stolen - 2 days after the Nexus One sold out, to add insult to very real injury) in the week and a half since I got my Vibrant. Still, I started testing the GPS in my phone, and have had no problems in getting a fix with it. Generally under 30 seconds every time. Maybe that's because I've not been far from home, a couple of miles at most? But it's not a problem I've seen.
@mmaestro
Sorry about that man! That's rough. I've also been leary of being mugged for my N1, just because I can't replace it. :)
Where did that happen?
@hfm I live in Albuquerque, NM. It was a few blocks from my house. Could be worse, the phone they got was a Blackberry I was itching to replace anyway. With Google Latitude enabled. And location logging. It's only cell triangulation, but having 3 and a half hours worth of location data after it was taken, if the cops make good use of it (Lord knows if they will) will be worth having the phone taken, frankly. And T-Mo were really good about getting me an early upgrade given the circumstances (it helped, methinks, that the data plan was more expensive for the Vibrant).
@lp894 Where is the fix for the iPhone 4 antennae? Where is the fix for the iPhone 4 proximity sensor? Where is the fix for the iPhone 4 jackass CEO? Where is the fix for the iPhone 4s balls being cupped by Engadget?
@lp894 I have an international-model Galaxy S, it came with the JF5 firmware, and I upgraded it to JM2. Neither firmware had any trouble with the GPS :S
Wow, no AGPS - that's a huge problem. What is going on here?
Could it be a hardware problem? Hard to see why they haven't fixed it yet otherwise. Perhaps they are waiting to roll a bunch of fixed into one update - their own 4.01?
Before I buy one of these (and they do sound like amazing phones other then this problem) I would want to hear from Samsung that it can and will be fixed via a software update.
@Trufagus It´s a software issue... They are some firmwares out there who already fix the gps issue and bring android 2.2 on the galaxy s. The official update should be released in mid-september via samsung kies. After the update the galaxy s will be able to receive updates ota.
Shame shame Samsung......
It's prob a hardware problem it will be fixed soon with ota
@dhamp2g
They just need to make the GPS bars read more accurately. :)
This article took all of 30 minutes to write, required no actual journalism other than web and device confirmation, and is almost 2 weeks late.
congrats?
@meorah And the 30 seconds it would've required you to read it was apparently too long.
I noted from the outset that we mentioned this in our review -- and if you had read the review, you would've known that we mentioned it the very same day that the review went live. What's news here is that it's still not fixed after two weeks. Understand?
@Chris Ziegler
Get em banks!
@meorah
Yes this is 2 weeks old.... However I am grateful that this has finally gotten the attention of a site like Engadget to publicize this as it is extremely frustrating that samsung has yet to provide any kind of statement other than... we are aware and analyzing...
And actually there was some speculation on XDA-Dev that there was going to be an OTA patch coming today... So this article and its title are more than fitting...
While I appreciate all of the hard work the guys over at XDA have done in providing a band-aid to this problem this should definitely be addressed with an official OTA fix from samsung...
/soapbox
@Slug I agree. I'm glad they are blogging about this. I hope the future galaxy phone don't have this issue. I can't believe Samsung keeps releasing the phone everywhere with this problem.
"this is a problem for which there's no reasonable explanation why it made it all the way to retail devices, and it raises concerns over just how well these products were tested"
why they didnt add this for a certain fruit branded phone, and that was much more important than gps
I believe you haven't noticed the very sluggish accelerometer response...
It renders the maps and navigation feaures of android totally unusable.
The navigation app directed me to take wrong turns and had to exit the app to reach my destination!!!
I had a chance to play with the Vibrant at a TMO store last week... I had read about this issue, so I made a point of firing up Google Maps; and, indeed, both the units I used simply said, "Unable to find your location." (Meanwhile, another model of phone in the same store zeroed in just fine.)
I have read that not everyone is having this problem -- but the fact that even those display units didn't work is definitely not encouraging...
1. This isn't EVERY phone...a lot of them, but not all.
2. This is another reminder that a lot of reviewers in the blog-o-sphere's don't know how to review something. Same thing with the iPhone. Engadget gets units before anyone and they in such a hurry to say something they don't even test EVERYTHING.
GPS is a pretty obivious thing to check when you get the phone. It can show you the speed of the phone. Plus its ability to pull down data and update a map. Going to a web page...you only have to load stuff once then click through.
Thank you!!!
I hope to see a fix soon!
Hang on, these handsets should be withdrawn from sale immediately until a fix is out? Didn't hear that kind of outburst from Engadget when the iPhone 4 issues were discovered!?
"Put simply, all three of these companies should have these phones pulled from shelves until the problem's fixed"
Are you KIDDING?? Where was this statement when your precious iPhone4 was having issues making calls, ya know, that thing phones are made for.
@droom Big, big difference. No one I personally know with an iPhone 4 has been unable to make and hold calls -- the experience varies significantly from person to person. I wouldn't recommend against buying the iPhone because of the so-called "death grip." This, however, is a major piece of functionality that has shipped completely broken... there's nothing subjective about it.
@droom , Mr jobs used his sith powers to make them not think about saying that. Just change hands when making a phone call.
@Chris Ziegler Um, you mean "death touch" right?
@Chris Ziegler
Sorry dude, but I have to agree with the other guys here for two reasons. The first is that it appears to be a software issue as opposed to a hardware design flaw, meaning that even if 100% of the devices are affected, they can be fixed with an update that doesn't make your phone look ugly. Then there's the fact that the GPS is a secondary function of the phone, as opposed to the primary function of making phone calls. Suggesting that the phones be taken off the market completely because a secondary function works poorly is a little ridiculous, especially when a major hardware design issue is glossed over on another phone.
Speaking of that, does the GPS on the iPhone 4 suffer when the antennas are bridged or just the GSM connection? Also, doesn't Nilay's i4 drop the connection like whoa when the antennas are bridged?
@Chris Ziegler Chris, I'm a big fan of engadget and come to the site multiple times a day, but engadgets clear bias towards the iphone is getting ridiculous. I must have missed the article that you wrote about "shipping the iphone with a major piece of functionality that has shipped completely broken... there's nothing subjective about it."
@rj25725 gotta agree with everyone else. Even with the broken agps I was still able to use wifi location to travel across town using google navigation. Meanehile I havent dropped a single call and would argue that the call quality of the device is spectacular. If samsung wete to pull the device because of this it would just be a stupid move on their part ad the phone still functions splendidly as a phone amd the hardware has been superb. This article just seems like a huge overreaction that goes beyond reporting, almost to the point of attacking samsung for a very fixable glitch. I have to admit the whole time I spent reading this article, all I could think was "where was this sort of response to the iphone debacle?"
@reuterrat Wow, I'm still getting used to using the software keyboard on my Captivate. That post was atrocious :P
@reuterrat Sorry I have to vehemently disagree with everyone here. I'm guessing none of you have the Samsung Vibrant/Captivate. And for reuterrat, you are one of the lucky few who received a functional phone because I tried operating with my 30 feet accuracy lock using Google Navigation and it was teleporting me across streets telling me to make left turns, u-turns, right turns every few minutes when I was simply supposed to go straight on the freeway. And I'm not sure where you live, but it's impossible for me to navigate by WiFi.
This is a *huge* problem. The GPS is not a "secondary" feature on a smartphone. It's called a smartphone for a reason -- I use the data plan and GPS for dozens of apps, and I paid extra for this phone so that I could have a functional navigation system and geo-based app services to find local restaurants, movies, etc. quickly.
If I could simply hold my Vibrant a certain way and get a 3 ft. accuracy GPS lock like I could with my old Blackberry, I wouldn't even bother posting here.
Funny, have had the Captivate for a week. I used the GPS with Google Navigation to and from work and it was fine. Used it today and nothing but cell location.
Used the fix on the forums and now the location is accurate and the lock on is about 7 or 8 seconds.
Amateurs! This is exactly why Samsung will always be a second-rate cell phone manufacturer. When will they learn the proper way to deal with these issues when they arise?
1) Deny there is a the problem exists.
2) Recommend users hold the phone differently.
3) Hold a press conference stating that ALL phones have the issue that yours doesn't. Show neat little videos of other phones not getting a GPS fix.
4) Offer a band-aid fix that doesn't actually address the problem, just covers it up since your phone doesn't have the problem anyway.
5) Laugh all the way to the bank to the sound of obedient bleating.
@tedkord
LOL. Samsung a second rate company? lol Samsung probably makes more money than Sony and HTC combined.
That should read:
1) Deny the problem exists.
HAHA. I'm a 'tard.
The GPS performance was third on my list of primary reasons I returned the Vibrant after just 2 days, horrible reception being first, followed by a borderline sadistic unlock combination.
Between the reception, GPS, UI, and lag issues, Samsung managed to take a beautiful piece of hardware and render it unusable as a day-to-day mobile device.
If it's a time server issue (not a software glitch or hardware issue), as it seems to be, then there are plenty of reasonable explanations of why they wouldn't have caught it. One being, of course, that the problem didn't exist when they were testing it (I personally only had a problem with it today, so it's not even consistent with the same phone).
I don't mind the outrage at Samsung, just the double standard when it comes to the fruit phone (which, for the people who have the iPhone 4 "death touch" issue, can't be fixed by an OTA update unlike Samsung's GPS issue).
@ynp It's not a time server issue. A thread on xda exists with a "fix" modifying the time server settings, and it doesn't provide a complete fix, just another band-aid.
There is a problem?
I have never noticed
@Zgameguy
Correction GPS does not work
wireless network location does though
Thank you for reporting this. I was wondering if engadget were going to post ANYTHING about the Galaxy S phone's GPS problems. It needs to get out. People need to know there is a problem. A major one. Also Samsung needs to step it up and quickly find a solution to this.
Stop releasing the phones in every country with these problems.
No AGPS problem encountered with the Galaxy S i9000 in Western Europe ... it works just fine.
Issue seems to be known in US ... and solution has been proposed on XDA-Developers :
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=7332412
http://androidforums.com/samsung-galaxy-s/104872-gps-issues-4.html
@mc2hnu Well, I don't know about Western Europe, but here in Central Europe (Czech Republic) there's quite a lot of people experiencing very bad GPS localization with their i9000 (myself included) and Galaxy S is becoming rather infamous for it (and quite a few people are even opting for Desire instead). It's quite bad - sometimes the GPS is off by tens of meters. And it's really sad to see the mighty Galaxy S side by side with ie. a puny cheapo Vodafone 845 that is locating you with a pinpoint precision without a single hitch.
Also, those fixes you mention don't really fix all that much. Mostly, they just enhance the AGPS capabilities (so not the actual GPS, just the assisting service) and make the phone find fix faster. But the fix is off most of the time, as I've mentioned.
Samsung really needs to fix this ASAP, the rep they're generating with their flagship phone's major screwups (= lag and GPS inacurracy) is becoming really embarassing here. The sooner the better - for us AND for them.
I have experienced intermittent gps fix problems on my Captivate. Mainly while inside my house, it can't even get close to my location. During real world use while using google navigation it worked fine with only 2 hiccups lasting no more than 10 seconds
Huh, well, this has been an issue on the palm pre plus for Verizon since release and everyone blames them instead of palm. And no fix has been released. I wouldn't get my hopes up out there...