GPS Elevation inaccurate - Off by 5500+ feet

[neffite]

I have had my Droid Charge for about 2 weeks.  I noticed that the elevation reported by several different gps apps is not at all accurate.  I live at about 6200 feet above sea level, but the Charge indicates about 650 feet above sea level. 

Is anybody else experiencing this issue?  Any idea how to fix it?

Thanks,

[AntonioC_VZW]

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neffite wrote:

I have had my Droid Charge for about 2 weeks.  I noticed that the elevation reported by several different gps apps is not at all accurate.  I live at about 6200 feet above sea level, but the Charge indicates about 650 feet above sea level. 

Is anybody else experiencing this issue?  Any idea how to fix it?

Thanks,

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Hi neffite,

What GPS application are you using to determine see level?

Is this inaccurate only in a particular location?

Please provide more details and I am sure that we'll be able to better address your concerns.

[Skuzz]

I have the same problem, as do many other users in forums.

Doesn't matter what ROM build (ED1, ED2, EE4) you use, it's present in all of them. If you use a third party app such as Altitude, it will show the altitude is off by a factor of 10, but the app Altitude correctly shows your altitude based on a network lookup to a NASA database using your GPS coordinates. However this is useless if using the GPS away from the cell nets.

Thunderbolt, BlackBerry Bold, iPhone, and pretty much every other recent Verizon PDA phone correctly shows altitude. Only the Droid Charge's GPS is screwed up.

[Skuzz]

Screenshots of the glitch:

http://i.imgur.com/hbGrn.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/pZ97J.jpg

[JimSweeney]

I have had my Charge for about two weeks also, and I am encountering the same error using the Gaia GPS app.  I also saw references in a number of Android forums tothe same issue  using a number of other GPS apps, so the problem is not tied to a specific app but the phone itself.

[ksgjlg]

I am also having this problem.  I use several altitude reporting apps.  GPS esentials, Navzilla, Naviator, Fltplan, Flight Instruments and various others.  None report accurate GPS.  On the Motorola Droid, A855 all fo these reported accurately.  If this cannot be corrected I will be returning this phone and requiring a full refund.

[neffite]

Hi,

I was using GPS Test, GPS Status, and GPS Essentials.  All 3 reported inaccurate elevation.  I was unable to determine elevation without using a 3rd party app.

The latitude and longitude seem to be working fine.  Google maps and others track me just fine.  But location is 3 dimensional, latitude, longitude and altitude.

I returned to the store where I bought my Charge to see what they could do to help me.  The sales guy and I tried the apps mentioned above on the 3 4G LTE phones.  The Charge was the only one that did not report the elevation correctly.  We determined that the issues is either the Charge ROM build or the Charge hardware.  As a result, I was able to return the Charge and replace it with the LG Revolution.

I really liked my Charge, in fact I liked it better than the Revolution, but I use the GPS more than the phone (wireless coverage is not very good in Wyoming). 

I hope that between Verizon and Samsung, the altitude issue can be resolved.  Maybe in 2 years I will try Samsung again.

[rsparkyc]

I'm having similar problems with my Droid Charge as well. The "GPS Status" app usually shows my altitude at 0, but sometimes fluctuates between -1 and 1. Another app I tried (GPS Test), shows an altitude, but it's off by about a factor of 4-5 (for example, I live at around 800'-900', but it shows me closer to 190'). It does fluctuate more with changes in altitude, but it's still not right. A few notes: currently this phone is not activated so it's not using any aGPS data, I believe someone said (either in this thread or another thread), that sometimes the altitude will be picked up from the cell towers. Since I'm not connecting to any towers, all the data I'm seeing is coming from the GPS. I've done side-by-side comparisons with my Incredible, and the Incredible always seems to be spot on. Hopefully Samsung/Verizon will provide an update to fix this.

[annakopy]

I am having problems with Altitude as well.

I placed Samsung Droid CHARGER phone in Airplane mode Settings->Wireless&Network->Airplane mode CHECKED

I was seeing 8 Satellites which is great. 

Airplane MODE Forcing it to use GPS Satellites, otherwise you might be getting reading from traingulation from cell towers or others methods.

Several locations were tested

ie a 690' location read 158'

a 360' location read 128'

Garmin GPS and Verizon Iphone had correct readings for lat,long and altitude.

I tried the Samsung Live Chat Support first and asked if there was a GPS chip in the phone. Answer -> NO, that they used AGPS instead.   WRONG!!! they do use AGPS when they can as well as an internal GPS.

Then they made something up like it was a Google Problem.  In airplane mode (NO NETWORK) it's a software or hardware problem.

I called into Samsung Level 1 support and they were no help. They couldn't verify if that an ALTITUDE problem was a reported bug in their tracking system with the Droid Charge.

I asked for level 2 support

1) they confirmed there is a GPS chip in the phone.

2) there is an open ticket for Altitude readings.

3) Level 2 indicated that it was a software problem and not a hardware problem.

Altitude like Latitude and Longitude is a mathematical calculation based on the info received from the satellites.  Typically Altitude readings are about 1.5 less accurate than the reading for longitude and latitude do to the Satellite orbit positions.

If it's a software issue, it should be an easy fix it's an equation.  It should take someone about 10 minutes if they know the equation, apparently it's working on other Samsung phones.

Like most bug fixes those that get more callers to support eventually get raised to the top of the fixes and have a higher probability of getting fixed first.  Call Samsung Support if you are having issues so we can get this resolved.

[DionM_VZW]

Greetings to the Community!! So sorry about the GPS issue. I wanted to let you know that your feedback has played a major role in the elevation of this matter to our internal technical support for review. Thanks again!!

[MMFofCT]

Hopefully that means we will see a fix.  I registered for the forum just so I could add my name to the list of users with the same issues.  Every program I've tried is way off on elevation (I live at 120ft and everything says about 18 -20 ft).  I use "My Tracks" to track every cycling ride I do and was extremely disappointed that the recorded elevation data is so completely unusable from the Droid Charge.    Please do what you can to get a fix for this.

Thanks.

[DionM_VZW]

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MMFofCT wrote:

Hopefully that means we will see a fix.  I registered for the forum just so I could add my name to the list of users with the same issues.  Every program I've tried is way off on elevation (I live at 120ft and everything says about 18 -20 ft).  I use "My Tracks" to track every cycling ride I do and was extremely disappointed that the recorded elevation data is so completely unusable from the Droid Charge.    Please do what you can to get a fix for this.

Thanks.

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You're welcome! Enjoy your weekend and thanks again!

[rsparkyc]

It's awesome to see that this has recieved some official attention!  Hopefully we can expect a fix sometime soon!

[jboy78]

I would also like to add my name to the list of users experiencing GPS issues with the Samsung Charge.  I shuffled out a good chunk of change thinking I was upgrading from my Blackberry Storm 2 but the GPS on that device was far better than this Charge.   I thought the GPS was broken the first time I tried to use some of the navigation/mapping apps.  I was a VZ Navigator user on the Storm 2, and so I tried it on the Charge... it took quite a while to find the satellites and link up.  Google maps, even worse.  Downloaded GPS Test and GPS Status to compare with other phones here in the office, and sure enough everyone else with Motorolas and HTCs very quickly find and use 8+ satellites with an accuracy of <20 feet.  I find and use about 3-6 after several minutes of searching with an accuracy of 40-80+ feet.  The signal levels are also weaker.   It seems the receiver is very weak on the Charge or the antenna placement might not be right... I have to go outside to get any kind of decent signal, whereas my Storm 2 and the Motorolas and HTC we tested work just fine indoors. 

When driving I tested Google Maps, Navigation, and the VZ Navigator and the accuracy is a bit off, although I can likely get to where I need to go unless I'm in a large city and need to get right on my destination.  VZ Navigator on the Blackberry Storm 2 was spot on in most cases.  This is definitely a step back.  I've cleared and updated the A-GPS settings, but that doesn't help the speed of aquiring a signal..   The elevation data is useless, and the compass is close but not quite accurate enough to be of real use.

Hopefully Samsung/Verizon can get an update out to us quick.   After reading all the comments on the web it looks we bought an expensive smartphone with a GPS from the 1970s.  I'm cancelling Verizon's $9.99 per month VZ Navigator until they get the GPS issues fixed...maybe that'll be an incentive to work quickly.

Wanted to add my specs:

HW Version:  i510.06

Model number: SCHI510

Firmware Version: 2.2.1

Baseband Version:

i510.06 V.EE4

SCH-I510.EE1

Kernel Version: 2.6.32.9

Build number: SCH-I510.EE4

[Barleymasher]

This problem has been well documented, clarified, proven and reproduced yet the fix has yet to be delivered!

If a hiker were using altitude readings from a Droid Charge to help in topographic navigation they could be lost and die.  The rest of us are just stuck not having relaible readings for MyTracks and all the other programs that rely on the onboard GPS information.  My actual altitude is 600 ft and I get readings of 180 ft. A similar ratio is maintained as altitude is changed. Altitude is a function that does not get as much attention as the 2 dimensional position fix, but it is obvious that there is something wrong in the calculation of the reported number.  Isn't this embarrassing to SAMSUNG???!!!

Other than the blatant altitude error on the Samsung Charge, the GPS is weak in general.  I have found much less accuracy than Motorola equipment.  My tracks when I run with a MotoDroid are on the part of the street that I traveled.  With the Charge the tracks are laid down in backyards and gullys.

SAMSUNG - please give us information on exactly what is being done to address this grevious problem!

[Barleymasher]

Wow on the multiposting . .. .unintended

[Barleymasher]

Please update us on what has been done to correct the GPS altitude error on the Samsung Droid Charge.  My altitude is 600 ft and I get readings of 160 ft.

There is obviously a mathmatical software problem that should be fixed!  What gives??

[WCMack]

Dear Barleymasher,

Re the double-posting issue, other people on this forum have found that it may be caused by using IE as your browser. If you are using IE, go to the Tools menu and turn on Compatibility Mode. This may solve the problem.

Good luck.