Palm Pre Plus GPS issues

[stephndudb]

b8b: Is your friend's Pre on vzn or sprint? I wonder if this is some sort of mod vzn put into the software? FWIW, mine is still working now with Google Location Services off.

[MotionxxUSxx]

After having lots of trouble getting a lock on google maps, I disabled google services and turned gps off and restarted my device. I than just activated gps and I got a lock in google maps in 5 seconds. If I have google services turned on I never get a lock, no matter how long I stand outside.

What does google services do? If its turned off what am I missing. I was about to get my pre replaced for the gps, but once I found this solution it seems like there is a software issue.

I have a palm pre plus on verizon.

[Andreas]

Originally Posted by MynTi FreSh

Everytime i go into google maps it shows that my location is about 1/2 mile away. Im inside right now so idk if thats efffecting it in anyway. Just wondering if its a problem or not

Yes, it will affect the signal and give a false reading.

[digink]

With Google Services it takes me hitting the lock button like 5 times to get a GPS lock, and it is annoying but ya turning it off helps.

[Dieter Bohn]

Threads merged. I'm also having these issues - but strangely Google Maps seems to do a better job getting a fix than other apps. Weather Channel, Foursquare, etc hang on trying to get GPS position. Toggling the various location services sometimes helps, sometimes does not.

[MotionxxUSxx]

Originally Posted by Dieter Bohn

Threads merged. I'm also having these issues - but strangely Google Maps seems to do a better job getting a fix than other apps. Weather Channel, Foursquare, etc hang on trying to get GPS position. Toggling the various location services sometimes helps, sometimes does not.

Dieter,

1. Turn off gps and location services
2. shut down your device
3. power back on
4. Turn on gps only

Give that a shot. It works great for google maps. Does anyone have a clue what google services does.

[Tiddlekins]

Google services just let Google anonymously monitor your location to improve search results. Turning it off doesn't really cause you to lose anything at all in my opinion.

[streetskooler]

so turned my gps on for the 1st time today (new +) and using google maps i'm unimpresed. with gps on and background data colletion on i get to about 100 yards, but without the background services on it's about a mile away. kinda iffy & not real sure what's going on...

edit: also what exactly is ##gps## ? and where and why would i do this?

thanks everybody

[floridarandy]

Ditto MotionxxUSxx. I only use GPS....leave Google Services off. Haven't found anything that doesn't work so far.

[Bjarne]

Guys, Yesterday I drove to San Francisco, around 50 Miles from my house, and when I got there I tested to see if the Sprint Navigation and Google Maps knew where I was. It placed me on the correct corner of an intersection. So I have to agree with GenericMusings that you may not have GPS turned on.

Open the Location Service application that you have on your Pre and be sure that the Auto Locate is ON.

Hint: Turn off the Geotag Photos on daily use, this way you can share photos from your home without giving away where you live. Then when you go on a trip or vacation remember to turn it on again.

[Iancarr27]

try doing this its from a thread someone posted for their pre:

How I tested Standalone GPS:
Turned on Airplane mode.
Ensured all radios were disabled (bluetooth and WiFi).
Powered the Pre off.
Powered the Pre on.
Went and got a sammich.
Pre's finally on, launched the default GPS application via ##GPS#.
Verified results recieved.
Moved about 250 feet away.
Refreshed the GPS information.
Verified results changed.
Launched Go To Lite.
Set waypoint.
Moved about 250 feet away.
Verified Go To Lite pointed at the waypoint, showed correct distance, speed, etc.
Looks like it works to me!
(Note: I also tested this by disabling all modes except Autonomous, and saw the same results.)



How I tested AFLT:
In QPST disabled all modes except AFLT.
Powered the Pre off.
Powered the Pre on.
Launched the default GPS application via ##GPS#. (Note: At this point I am inside a building with fairly poor signal.)
Verified results recieved. According to ##GPS#, the accuracy is within 2,797 meters (9,176.5 feet, or 1.7 miles). Notice also the lack of an altitude.

Launched Google Maps. Notice the blue circle showing the area that the accuracy is not extremely close.

Moved about 250 feet away. (Note: At this point I am outside the building with full signal strength.)
Refreshed the GPS information.
Verified results changed. The accuracy is basically dead on. The altitude also shows, which is also correct. (Wikipedia lists this area at 421 meters, so even if 400 meters isn't exactly correct, it's accurate enough. We're not flying a plane here. )

Launched Google Maps. The accuracy is basically spot on (under a hundred feet).




How I tested Cached GPS:
Disabled all modes except the cached options.
Powered the Pre off.
Powered the Pre on.
Launched the default GPS application via ##GPS#.
Verified results recieved.
Note: This test is only going to work if the cached information is fairly recent. The device only caches a certain period of information. I'm not sure how long the Pre's is but it is over 1 week, as I've had only AFLT enabled for over a week, meaning my cached GPS information is at least a week old. If the cached information is too old or if you have moved too far away from the location where you downloaded the cached information (as the cached information is location specific), then it's useless and the device will not be able to find the satellites. So if you download the cached information then don't use your GPS for over a month, you will need to fall back on one of the other options. If you have your GPS off and drive 600 miles away, you will need to fall back on one of the other options.




Speed and accuracy:

This is only my personal experience with the speed of acquisition and the accuracy of the location. Your results may differ.

Speed:
All Modes
Cached
AFLT
aGPS
Standalone

Accuracy:
All Modes
Cached
aGPS
Standalone
AFLT

Note: Standalone ranks low on the accuracy based on the initial acquisition. The device will continue to search for sats and pull down more information, meaning if you give it time it will become more accurate, and seems to (eventually) become more accurate than pure aGPS. Standalone is actually surprisingly fast, this is possible one of the fastest acquisition times for pure standalone that I have seen. It is still noticably slower than the other methods, however.

AFLT ranks so low for accuracy because of the variations it goes through. If you have full signal strength, the accuracy is spot on. But if your signal strength is less than half, or if it is spotty (jumping around a lot) your accuracy falls off rapidly. While an accuracy of less than 2 miles is better than nothing, it's certainly not as good as the other options.

Cached of course only applies if the cached information is valid. Move the device too far away, or wait too long, and the cached mode will not work for you at all. But when it works, man, it works.

All Modes is of course cheating somewhat, as you get the best of all the different modes.

[WOPR]

is anyone else having issues with the VZW palm pre plus GPS? Google maps and even just the ##gps# from the dialpad are inaccurate. Until of course i turn on the wifi switch then it works (without connecting to any Wireless access point). Just turning it on wakes up the gps aside from the triangulation locator.

So weird, and annoying, otherwise moving from blackberry, i love this device.

But the GPS is huge for me, and it's incredibly inaccurate, even after i turn on wifi it eventually moves me to a more distant location. But when it does work which is about 3% of the time, it is dead on.

I worked with palm support for hours over the last few days trying multiple things, then went to the vzw store, got a replacement, and guess what? yep, same exact identical thing.

Any thoughts?

[Buzzard Jr]

the first two pres i had did the same thing and i purchased them a few months apart. my third one works fine.

i would take it back and swap it. from my limited knowledge it will not fix itself.

[gtstang462002]

I am having the same issues with mine. I haven't had time to contact Verizon about it yet though. I am also having issues trying to send picture messages. I can receive them just fine though.

[skohcl]

Originally Posted by gtstang462002

I am having the same issues with mine. I haven't had time to contact Verizon about it yet though. I am also having issues trying to send picture messages. I can receive them just fine though.

Yeah I can't send pic messages either, ***?! And my GPS is working then not working...

[WOPR]

installed gpsdashboard free version. Never could lock on. Said signal too weak.

this sucks. Love the device.

[Dieter Bohn]

Merged a bunch of GPS issue on Palm Pre Plus threads, this is definitely 'a thing.' I'm adding this thread to the roundup now.

Let's try to be rigorous in diagnosing this, everybody. Try to post exactly what doesn't work and exactly what you're doing to try to fix it and how those fixes worked or didn't.

[Jonathan I Ezor]

Be aware that the instructions to test the "standalone GPS" apply only *after* one uses QPST and the other tools discussed in that thread to enable the GPS modes that are off by default in both the Pre and Pre Plus. I've done it on my Pre with great success; when/if I get the Pre Plus (which may be soon), I plan on doing that as well.

I also encourage s/w vendors to start building standalone GPS turn-by-turn direction s/w for the PrePlus, now that VZW is charging for it. I used Mapopolis quite happily on my Palm T|X, and would love to see a similar product as a backup to my car GPS on the Pre and Pre Plus. {Jonathan}

[m0sim]

Hey guys, I'm not a regular poster but I'm a HUGE pre lover (and user). I wanted to share my semi-success story with this. And see if I could get other people to test this out.

So I've been having the exact same issue, but I found a workaround... I think.

Anyways, let's cut to the chase - whenever you guys have a chance give this a shot.

1. Open up VZ Navigator
2. When you get to the screen that explains the 9.99 and asks "Buy/Decline" put the app in card mode and throw it away.
3. Open up Google Maps, and give it a minute or so. It should lock on!

If I could get some people to test this out, I think we could confirm whether this really is a workaround. Let me know what everyone finds!

PS - As a side note, once I do this I find the VZW GPS to be extremely fast and reliable.

[m0sim]

One quick thing I might add regarding my workaround - it's extremely quick and easy. No rebooting or anything like that, so it maintains the WebOS experience as much as possible... just a little annoying.

Thanks guys!