I'm in Tampa with a Altell based phone and actually have been connecting fairly consistantly as of late. Not perfect but something......
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Apparent GPS Failure
- Thread starter Narsil
- Start date
spalding12
Member
hmmmmmmm
the plot thickens
maybe a lot of the phones are just BAD....
rushed to market... with bad gps chipsets
maybe
the plot thickens
maybe a lot of the phones are just BAD....
rushed to market... with bad gps chipsets
maybe
And they were all sent to Fl?
It's pointing to the idea that there are areas of the country, like SW Florida, where for some reason the cell connection isn't sending the file that the phone requires in order to allow the GPS to lock on. Let's not confuse the "coarse" location given by wireless tower triangulation with the whole of assisted GPS. With assisted GPS, the phone gets a "jumpstart" from data sent by cell, identifying where the satellites are and which ones to use and handshake with. That's what we're missing, the programming for that file to work properly in most instances. That's why ONE of the explanations points to the former Alltel customers as having issues. Something got lost when the new phones were set up for them as far as the handshaking on the aGPS. But obviously it's not confined to the Alltel people. I'm theorizing that this was an early explanation from Verizon based on preliminary data, and now they know that the situation is more widespread. We'll probably see a software fix soon.
canyoufindben
Member
Really, I drive through Tampa a lot, and my Alltel Touch never had problems with Locking on, even with the aGPS turned off.
Granted, I always had GPS issues no matter where I was until I followed the directions on this page Alltel GPS with A-GPS - super fast lockon - PPCGeeks
After that, my Alltel Touch always locked on within seconds, just like my Droid does now. There maybe a faulty chip issue in play, but I'm glad to report that my Droid worked flawlessly in Tampa and St Petersburg last week.
Has everyone called Verizon and let them know about their GPS issues? When I talked to the tech support people, the guy did a ticket search and couldn't find any similar tickets in the Tampa area. They need to have tech support tickets made in order to see and fix the problem.
Btw..my phone was shipped from PA (44/09 model) and it didn't work, the phone I replaced it with is from an earlier batch and it doesn't work either.
Btw..my phone was shipped from PA (44/09 model) and it didn't work, the phone I replaced it with is from an earlier batch and it doesn't work either.
Can you please explain to me what an ALLTEL Droid is? The only thing that is ALLTEL about my Droid is that the phone number was originally issued by ALLTEL. The ALLTEL issue only makes sense if the phone itself was purchased from ALLTEL prior to Verizon buying them out and converting all ALLTEL stores to Verizon. If your phone doesn't say ALLTEL on it, and does say Verizon on it, isn't it a Verizon phone?
Also, GPS Status does not show ANY satellites available when I run it in the Tampa area. All I get is the "please wait" spinning circle, forever. Yet, when I drive an hour north and spend the week in Leesburg, my ALLTEL Droid (whatever that actually is) works flawlessly until I get back within an hour of Tampa. What does this have to do with ALLTEL?
I'm not back to, I've never left, the belief that is has something to do with the AGPS in the Central/Southern Florida area and nothing to do with ALLTEL former customers. That is, at least until someone can provide a technical answer to the ALLTEL issue.
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crankygypsy
Member
how can you JUST blame the AGPS when you can't get any GPS signals with your GPS STATUS app?!?! correct me if i am wrong, but the systems should function independently.
my GPS STATUS also just sits spinning. i am former-Alltel in Tampa.
...it seems 90% of the problems are related to ALLTEL# Droids in this area. i would THEN assume the other 10% to be actual bad hardware since there is no way that ONLY the tampa-based, former-alltel customers received glitchy droids. there is a former alltel/droid owner in tampa that received their first from PA and it did not work. it is not our "batch" of phones.
"ALLTEL DROID" - although i may not think this is the best way to refer to it, i think this is self-explanatory for you.
crankygypsy
Member
i am going to go into the Citrus Park store tomorrow just to make sure they are aware. from what i understand, if i get a new phone, the google server will auto-load all my settings, apps and the app settings - can anyone verify this? if so, i'll try another Droid, although i've heard of people trying 5 different handsets with no luck.
ALSO: it would be a big help if those with the issue would post up in this thread AND add their location to their UserCP AND add ALLTEL or VZW to their signature as i did so we can see/verify the patterns easier.
ALSO: it would be a big help if those with the issue would post up in this thread AND add their location to their UserCP AND add ALLTEL or VZW to their signature as i did so we can see/verify the patterns easier.
I was being slightly sarcastic about the ALLTEL Droid.
My point is that there is absolutely nothing about my Droid that is ALLTEL besides who originally issued the number.
As to the AGPS issue, the entire point of AGPS is to assist the chip in knowing "where" to look to find the satellites. Since neither of my Droids saw or see any satellites in the Tampa to Ft. Myers area but do see and lock onto satellites in other areas, I believe the chip is very, very dependent on the AGPS for finding satellites.
If anyone can give me a technical reason why my phone number has anything to do with my Droid and GPS, I'll be happy, no, make that ecstatic, to listen. However, all I'm getting is hearsay, speculation, and answers from Verizon reps who never saw a Droid until three weeks ago and who are still using the same stock "ALLTEL GPS" answer they were using six months ago for ALLTEL-sold phones.
That's why I continue to blame the AGPS. We have no answers and that is the only supposition which makes any technical sense to me. Until an actual answer or technically-valid supposition is provided, the ALLTEL issue remains, to me, a very fascinating correlation. Especially since there are previous posters in this thread who were never ALLTEL customers who are having the exact same problems we are having. The vast preponderance of problems do seem to be centered around previous ALLTEL customers but not all of them. If it were an ALLTEL phone number issue, then it should affect every single former ALLTEL Droid owner and absolutely no Verizon-only customers and that, simply, is not what the data indicate.
Yes, when I swapped out my original Droid for this one due to the GPS issue, everything came over to the new phone automatically (including wallpaper) except for the files on the SD card and my customized layouts for the desktop. You will need to recustomize your apps but it should reinstall all of them automatically. I was quite happy not to have to go back and reinstall them all; very pleasant surprise.
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crankygypsy
Member
okay, i will take the time to write down my settings before going in there. thanks.
...i'll let you know what they tell me at the citrus store.
Highly unlikely changing phones will help your GPS problem. However maybe after enough of us have changed phones in the central FL area(I am on #3 with absolutely no change in gps performance). Verizon will get the hint and find a fix. After reading and reading I am still down to two choices: change my telephone number and switch to Verizon billing (from Alltel) or just return the phone.
spalding12
Member
that guy was crazy
i've called 10 times
there are tickets
he was just too lazy to find them
in my office today
2 guys came in a different times
both with new droids
both VERIZON customers for years
BOTH GPS WORKING 100% PERFECTLY
mine.... right next to theirs.... NEVER WORKED AT ALL
spalding12
Member
the whole thing is ridiculous
2 verizon customers phone working
and my phone (i'm the former alltel customer) droid NOT WORKING
just today in my office
this is, quite frankly, maddening
I went to the Citrus Park store to exchange my first Droid when the GPS failed. BTW, I'm NOT an Alltel inductee. I was assisted by a tall blonde named Michelle, IIRC. She works at the back counter. I suggest anyone with a GPS issue in the Tampa Area go to this same store and speak to Michelle, she's definately worth the drive :icon_eek:. A common point of reference might be helpful.
You are correct, all your apps and contacts are synced with the Google Account. You will not have to do anything but rebuild your home screen. Everything will download into the new phone, but the appearance of the Home Screen will be default.
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