Not all, I never had (so far!) any GPS problems, and I use it fairly often (my phone is my go-to car navigation device).
GPS reception has always been pretty good so far (3D fix even indoors, near a window).
No problems here either.
Still encountering this regularly (once a week or more) where I cannot get a GPS fix until I open GPSTest and āInject PSDS dataā/āInject time dataā and/or reboot.
So, did they ever respond?
Iāve started to notice this as well. It takes Google Maps upwards of 30 seconds to find my location which sadly drives me insane.
Have you tried to check GPS reception (with a fitting GPS test app)?
Given this is not an isolated, yet not a standard problem either (for instance my GPS (still?) works fine), Iām wondering what the reason might be.
The only reason I can see, is the GPS chip (or its antenna connection) on the phone going stale, which should immediately show when testing satellite reception (bad/partial/intermittent satellite reception).
For a couple of weeks now my location has been quite unreliable. Either it is not found at all in the apps that use it, or is quite off. It used to be good in the past. Now GPSTest shows satellite information, but gives no location.
My assumption is that in some way the hardware has a problem (antenna?). Where exactly is the GPS module located and can I check further?
Fairphone 4
/e/OS, latest updates installed Android 13
No Play services
Moved your post here although you have e/OS installed
Beside refreshing time data and PSDS and rebooting
Have a look at this post
What exactly do you mean by āshows satellite informationā?
There are two possibilities, seeing satellites, and using satellites.
Usually itās something like āI see 18 satellites, use 5ā. The more satellites it uses, the more precise is the location. What is very important is reception quality (satellite reception barās length/color). Is reception overall good, or is it borderline?
Reception usually depends heavily on how high in the sky each satellite is: Low in the sky=usually bad reception, high in the sky= usually good reception.
If your phone sees a lot of satellites quite well, but doesnāt use any of them, it can be that it canāt recognize them (thinks it is somewhere else, and canāt find the expected satellites) , in which case refreshing PSDS data might fix it.
If your general satellite reception is bad (even for satellites currently right above you), you might have a GPS antenna problem, which should be trivial to fix. Just find out where the antenna is and clean (or fix) the contacts. You also might have locally some source of radio noise interfering with the GPS signal. Thatās easy to check, just test your GPS when somewhere else (work, shopping, friends) and compare.
Now if your phone shows a good sat reception, but still only uses 1-2 satellites, the problem becomes complicated. Something is amiss with the calculations, which means it could potentially be a GPS chip failure. You should contactsupport.
HtH
So I tried bending the connectors back on all positions as suggested above. It did not help and also my phone and wifi signal has hiccups regularly. Phone calls get close to impossible with breaks every couple of minutes.
Connectivity problems for Wifi and mobile phone connections got a lot better after disabling 5G, I also see some effects on the GPS fixā¦but must observe further,
Indeed, observe it for a week or two before drawing conclusions.
Correlation does not necessarily mean causation, it could be a simple coincidence (for instance, an electrically noisy motor in the neighborhood, which was disrupting your receptions, has been temporarily shut off).
I especially canāt see the relation between 5G and GPS, those are two completely different circuits, from the antenna to the chip processing the signal.
I also started having trouble with GNSS / GPS on my FP4 since a few months. There were a few times where a reboot helped, but lately not anymore (also, rebooting while driving is illegal, frustrating and potentially dangerous). I did a factory reset last week because started having a full memory and loads of little hiccups, but the navigation was not fixed. here is a typical view of GPS Test:
I have had GPS working for a little while last week (about five minutes during a twenty-minute commute by car) but the reliability is not enough to use the phone for navigation as intended.
Iāve tried to āclean and updateā AGPS but that did not help.
Since itās a company phone Iād happily swap a module if itās clear what is broken, but cleaning and bending contacts feels too much like a shot in the darkā¦
I use another GPSTest app so no idea about the app you show in your screenshots, but is the time correct
For me GPS currently works and already does since some time.
The SNR seems very bad (signal-to-noise ratio). This means bad reception.
Try to remove the rear cover of the phone, put pressure on all connectors youāll see, and carefully put the rear cover back.
Also, in what environment did you do the test? Was it outdoor with clear sky view?
And what type of phone case and screen protector do you use?
Thanks for the quick responses!
No, the time is all zeros with an occasional one. How do I correct that? I read other people were able to fix it but I didnāt see howā¦
Which GPS Test app did you use? I only found this one by that name, and āGPS Statusā, but that one shows basically the same info in another form, and I donāt find more options to fix or reset something
This one was in a street with trees and few-story houses around. Iād say about half the sky was visible. Anyway, it was a street where I would expect navigation to be usable in a car.
I have a simple plastic case/protector and Iām not 100% sure what material the screen protector is (Iāve had both for a long time and they did not hinder GPS before).
Thanks, Iāll try your suggestion, probably tomorrow when I expect to be in an emptier location then here
I use this, it seems it isnt maintained anymore and no longer available in the Playstore
Edit
The screen protector is not sold anymore by Aliexpress; the description was ā2.5D Tempered Glass for Fairphone 4 Screen Protector for Fairphone4ā
This is the case: Tienjueshi Scrub Pudding Soft Shell Tpu Silicone Beschermende Lederen Case Voor Fairphone 4 6.3 Inch Etui Skin - AliExpress 509
sadly cannot install it due to company policyā¦
And in the car, is the phone in some kind of holder so that it sees sky at least through the window?
Does the same happen outside a car?
In my experience, when sitting on the passenger seat having FP4 in my hands, catching GPS is quite tricky. But as soon as you put the phone as much forward towards the front glass as possible, it acquires position quite easily.