Having trouble with GPS accuracy and speed? Here's...

emilynicol2 · ‎06-01-2011

I noticed some complaints about the GPS accuracy and speed on various Android sites. I have a tip for people that are having this issue... When you turn on the GPS, turn on Wi-Fi as well and your location will be much more accurate and speedier. GPS alone will find your general vicinity, but for some reason or another the Wi-Fi signal pinpoints your location with (usually) perfect accuracy. I always turn on Wi-Fi + GPS before opening Google Maps and it works great.

budone · ‎06-01-2011

How is a WiFi connection going to work??? By the time the signal is found and connection, you are gone......

PJNC284 · ‎06-01-2011

budone wrote:
How is a WiFi connection going to work??? By the time the signal is found and connection, you are gone......

ha, I was wondering the same. Unless you're just playing around with it at home or whatever, you probably don't have wifi access the majority of the time you want to use it. That said, mine has been spot on without wifi since I bought it.

mdram4x4 · ‎06-01-2011

i found gps helper software, like gps status, speeds upt he lock time

never used wifi either, well eve if was on there non where i live

AZSALUKI · ‎06-01-2011

yeah....wifi wouldn't have helped me yesterday when it took about 40 seconds to lock in, and finally did, and told me to take the exit that i literally JUST passed.....lol. mine is very accurate and with most apps it's just fine.....but for whatever reason, it takes 30-60 seconds to lock in when i say "navigate to....." ironically, when i was in IL this weekend, i went to show my buddy what i was talking about, and, of course, it locked right in in about 5 seconds!!! lol

Ann154 · ‎06-01-2011

Whenever I feel like the gps is taking longer to lock then I am patient enough for, I always switch to GPS Test to see the number of satellites and if my phone is finding them.

I'm most definitely NOT a VZW employee. If a post answered your question, please mark it as the answer.

emilynicol2 · ‎06-01-2011

budone wrote:
How is a WiFi connection going to work??? By the time the signal is found and connection, you are gone......

Not sure how it works, but it works Oh and you don't have to connect to any particular Wi-Fi network nearby or enter a password or anything like that (that would take time if it worked that way, yes). You simply just have to turn the Wi-Fi on and it automatically works on its own. I use the little 'on/off' widgets for both GPS and Wi-Fi so I can turn them on/off quickly. Try it out!

emilynicol2 · ‎06-01-2011

P.S. I noticed that others have experienced this too and it does indeed work:

http://forum.androidcentral.com/htc-thunderbolt/86257-need-wi-fi-gps.html

http://forum.androidcentral.com/htc-thunderbolt/84194-gps-accuracy-wifi.html

http://forum.androidcentral.com/923526-post2.html

Anyway, just thought I'd post to offer help for anyone having issues!

AZSALUKI · ‎06-01-2011

emilynicol2 wrote:

budone wrote:
How is a WiFi connection going to work??? By the time the signal is found and connection, you are gone......
Not sure how it works, but it works Oh and you don't have to connect to any particular Wi-Fi network nearby or enter a password or anything like that (that would take time if it worked that way, yes). You simply just have to turn the Wi-Fi on and it automatically works on its own. I use the little 'on/off' widgets for both GPS and Wi-Fi so I can turn them on/off quickly. Try it out!

it will work fine IF you have an available wifi network. i don't believe that it will help if you just turn it on and there is no wifi network available to connect to? i could be wrong, but that just doesn't seem to make sense. but yes, i can see how it would work if you happen to be in an area with an open and available wifi network. i'll test it later though. when i leave i will leave wifi on (even though i will be driving and will not have access to any wifi) and try to use nav.

emilynicol2 · ‎06-01-2011

AZSALUKI wrote:

it will work fine IF you have an available wifi network. i don't believe that it will help if you just turn it on and there is no wifi network available to connect to? i could be wrong, but that just doesn't seem to make sense. but yes, i can see how it would work if you happen to be in an area with an open and available wifi network. i'll test it later though. when i leave i will leave wifi on (even though i will be driving and will not have access to any wifi) and try to use nav.

I don't believe you need to have any Wi-Fi network to connect to, no. Unlike using Wi-Fi for internet browsing, you definitely don't need to have an open network available that you connect to. In my experience it just seems to work wherever I've been - middle of the street, driving in a car, wherever. My assumption (correct me if I'm wrong, any experts out there?) is that it just bounces info off the closest Wi-Fi tower to pinpoint your location and doesn't need to connect to a specific network. I always turn on the switch on my wi-fi and gps buttons before using google maps navigation. Before when I only switched on the GPS it would take longer to find my location...

But yeah, test it out on your drive home, let us know how it goes!