Galaxy S4 GPS Signal Lost

[GS4_Champ]

I travel a lot.  Recently (within the past month or so) my Galaxy S4 has been losing its GPS signal frequently. With the different cities that I visit, I need a reliable GPS to navigate the new environs.  To hear "GPS Signal Lost" is quite disconcerting.  I explored assistance with Samsung, and they immediately wanted to do a factory reset on the phone.  There has got to be another solution. Has anybody else experienced this problem?  Any solutions that can be tried before a factory reset?  I don't know if it is a phone, carrier or app issue.  I'm using the Navigation app that came with the phone (I believe it is connected with Google maps).  I has worked flawlessly up until the past month or so.

[joonhyuk]

Do you have your GPS settings to High Accuracy? Also if WifFi on as well? Having those two things may help sustain your signal better.

[Raffi_B]

Im also having the same problem. I'VE tried changing the settings to HI and  turned on the wifi. But it hasnt helped.

[BonitaMike]

Suddenly, late last year the GPS on my Galaxy S4 failed completely.  "GPS Status and Toolbox" sees no satellites, nor does anything else that uses GPS.  I've found a bunch of solutions including turning "Location" on and off in "Settings->More,"  tightening the screws under the back cover, pretty much everything I could find from goggling and I see that safe mode and a full reset do not help. Occurring after an operating system upgrade was shown to NOT be the problem.  One person said to disable "Google Now."  I never heard of Google Now and it isn't on my phone anyway unless it is "Now Cards" under Google+, but that was never enabled.

So what's going on?  Is this a hardware failure?  What can I do to get it working again.  HELP.  NEED MY GPS.

[vzw_customer_support]

BonitaMike,

I know how important GPS is! Let's see what we can find out about your device.  Is your GPS failing each time you open Maps or is it randomly? Do you have your Location settings on High Accuracy?  I know you stated you read Safe Mode may not help, but please test in Safe mode to check if there are any improvements; http://vz.to/1l9iig4

TrevorC_VZW

Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport

[BonitaMike]

Location Setting has always been set to “High Accuracy” and “Location” has always be turned on. It used to use GPS automatically when an application like Maps, GPS Status, NavFree need GPS the satellite symbol (icon?) used to come on at the top of the phone and all worked well. All have been on the phone for well over a year. Two or three months ago, that all stopped and I never saw the GPS symbol again…

…Until yesterday when I was messing around with it. I was in Google MAPs and tried it again and of course it did not use GPS in spite of the settings you mentioned being properly set. I turned location off and back on and “agreed.” I saw the GPS symbol again and GPS worked in MAPS for a while lasting for a couple minutes to over an hour and then quit. I had the same results with “GPS Status.” I also noticed that when I switched out of a program that uses GPS and went into another (using GPS or not) GPS would not come up in the second program if needed and not come up when returning to the first program, but the location off-on would make it work for a while. I just discovered that THIS "TRICK" ONLY WORKS WHEN I HAVE A WIFI LINK! When I am on the road and need GPS the most and try cycling "Location" off and on, I get the satellite symbol with an "x" indicating that it is not locating a satellite.

Even with a WiFi connection, It seems like whenever the GPS is stopped being used by an App it never comes back on and it doesn’t matter what app it is. Since this started only a few months ago, I wonder if it is the byproduct of an operating system update – maybe some sort of power saving “feature.”

In Safe mode, it appears that GPS also doesn’t come on even when turning location off and on, but it is hard to tell, since the GPS symbol doesn’t come on at all and the other Apps that use GPS aren’t available to test with.

Thanks!

[vzw_customer_support]

Great details BonitaMike! I know how important it is to have a reliable GPS connection when you need to use maps or other applications! Let's get some additional clues. Did you notice this GPS issue starting after installing a particular application or software update? What is your current software version please http://vz.to/1wEdaR0 include Baseband version and Build number. Please enable WiFi and test, no need to have a WiFi network connection.

AntonioC_VZW Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/VZWSupport

[BonitaMike]

I noticed it around December 10, 2014 when I was lost in a snowstorm (and needed it badly,) but I hadn’t used GPS for weeks before that, so I can’t pin down when it might have happened.

Android:  4.4.2

Baseband Version: I545VRUFNK1

Kernel 3.4.0 Tue Nov 4 23:03:49 KST 2014

Build number:  KOT49H.I545VRUFNK1

WiFi is always and has always been enabled on my phone.

Thanks!

>> Personal information removed by Verizon Moderator to comply with the Verizon Wireless Terms of Service <<

[vzw_customer_support]

BonitaMike,

Thanks again for the details. Unfortunately, if the device has all the correct settings enabled and there are concerns with other services in the same areas that we are having troubles with the GPS, it could mean that there would either be an underlying software issue with the device or there would be a hardware defect. At this time, while I understand it would not be the most favorable option, I would recommend performing the reset to be certain. If the issues persist after resetting the device, then we would most likely want to look at replacement options as that could a hardware issue. Take a look here to see how to reset the device and keep us posted with your results http://vz.to/1EmqZJe.

AdamG_VZW
Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport

[Raffi_B]

Hi.

Im also havung the same problem.  I spome with verizon tech support. hr had me troubleshoot the phone asked me to factory reset my.phone but the problem still exist. I'm in las vegas right now and i got lost several times because of this stupid GPS searching for signal. This is ridiclious,