[Barend44]

Hi my beweather hd app not working and all the weather app on my plybook cant get gps

[Chaddface]

Originally Posted by F2

Maybe a gps tip. It generally will not work indoors. As a first test, download the FREE Compass app. Go to an open area without buildings, if possible, give it a good 15-20 minutes. Move it away from your body a bit. (The compass app does not provide much in utility but is a good app to test the gps).

More specifics: gps' need a good view of the sky. A gps which has been off for a while (days or week or more) or moved a longer distance will take a longer time to get a satellite lock. Once it gets a lock, it can hold it inside of a moving car. I can get a lock in the upstairs of my wood-framed, shingle-roofed home. I cannot get one downstairs.

This is an old post but still valid. You can also try an app called gps info. You need an app that will not give up trying to get info from satellites. One other note, the gps antenna is located in bottom right corner. It would be best to hold the PB upside down or just lay it flat outside. After you get your first fix, it will go much faster the next time.

[Mr_Bunny]

Hi my beweather hd app not working and all the weather app on my plybook cant get gps

It takes a long time for the GPS to connect if its the first time, best to go outside, download a free app that uses GPS if you don't have one and go for a little walk with the PlayBook it will connect faster that way, mine took over 30 minutes the first time to get a signal.

[BB_Bmore]

I go outdoors and launch bing maps first. I usually get a quick lock and then launch my paid GPS app and it locks right away. I then close bing and stay locked. I used magellan just the other day in the car via bridge and it worked beautifully. Magellan also caches maps for offline trips.

[Barend44]

how do i reload pb os or debric bay dat will help

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[Chaddface]

One other thing you can try if you haven't already. Reboot the PB by holding the power button down until it shuts off. Restatrt the PB and go outside before launching any gps apps.

The debrick:
Turn off the PB. Start desktop manager. Plug in the PB to PC with the USB cable. The PB will boot and you will see a popup with the option to update.
Be sure to perform a backup before because you will lose all data. I prefer to manually copy important files to PC. I have one backup file that refuses to restore.

[Barend44]

thanks will try for de help

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[Jamaicangirl81]

still havent seen anything out of any GPS app i got... bleh.. why does it seem so difficult to acquire a signal? 20-30 minutes outside? eeep .


i noticed someone saying "the first time" ... so does it mean that after you take the half hour to get it, it will work properly after that?

[Barend44]

do the playbook have its own gps on do it work from bhrige

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[Chaddface]

do the playbook have its own gps on do it work from bhrige

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The PB has its own GPS. It doesn't need any Internet connection and as far I know will not benefit from any other connection.
Magellan compass works well. They may have a free trial.

Once the GPS works for the first time it seems to go much faster after that. Magellan will locate my in my living in 1 minute or less.

[Barend44]

i have magellan gps and it takes a bout 10min to locat me

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[Chaddface]

I can't offer any other advice other then give it more time in view of the satellites and be sure your not covering the antenna(bottom right).
I don't recall exactly how long it took for mine to work well but I remember it wasn't the first few times I used it. I almost gave up.

[Barend44]

I am going to debric it today olso thanks

[FF22]

still havent seen anything out of any GPS app i got... bleh.. why does it seem so difficult to acquire a signal? 20-30 minutes outside? eeep .


i noticed someone saying "the first time" ... so does it mean that after you take the half hour to get it, it will work properly after that?

Chaddface quoted me and I'll do it again:

Maybe a gps tip. It generally will not work indoors. As a first test, download the FREE Compass app. Go to an open area without buildings, if possible, give it a good 15-20 minutes. Move it away from your body a bit. (The compass app does not provide much in utility but is a good app to test the gps).

More specifics: gps' need a good view of the sky. A gps which has been off for a while (days or week or more) or moved a longer distance will take a longer time to get a satellite lock. Once it gets a lock, it can hold it inside of a moving car. I can get a lock in the upstairs of my wood-framed, shingle-roofed home. I cannot get one downstairs.

...............

I think that the Free Compass app I refer to is gone from appworld.

[Barend44]

thanks wil try dat i hop it will get better on
os 2.1 hope so

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[Mr_Bunny]

i noticed someone saying "the first time" ... so does it mean that after you take the half hour to get it, it will work properly after that?

This is a good app to see what's going on with the the GPS ( GPS Test -->Android) when I use it I have a signal before the end of my driveway, 100 feet, once on a clean install this was the fist thing I tried just to see how long it would take to connect, I had a signal in less than 500 yards, the PlayBook seems to acquire a signal much faster in a moving vehicle, it only took so long the fist time because of the way I was trying it, I was inside the house.

( I just noticed that 1.2.8 is out, I'll download it in the morning, convert and test, I'll post it back here if it works ok.)

Removed attachments posted latest version 1.2.8 below.

[redk]

I recently got my playbook replaced by RIM due to the front camera not working. One thing I noticed its that on my previous unit the GPS lock took forever but on my current one it seems to lock within minutes. This is just testing witht the bing app by the way.

[dugggggg]

The advice about Bing Maps is key. Bing Maps assists the PB by downloading the latest GPS almanac and ephemeris data from the internet---rather than from the GPS satellite itself. Doing this via the internet is much faster. When RIM, in its great wisdom, decided to sever Bing Maps' bridge connectivity in the latest update, I lost all the great GPS functionality I had had since day one. Now I have to remember to run Bing Maps at a WiFi hotspot (McD's, etc) every now and then---otherwise the almanac and ephemeris data expires and I no longer have GPS capability unless I want to wait the 15-30 minutes for a satellite download.

[Barend44]

i will dev try dat thanks

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[Chaddface]

The advice about Bing Maps is key. Bing Maps assists the PB by downloading the latest GPS almanac and ephemeris data from the internet---rather than from the GPS satellite itself. Doing this via the internet is much faster. When RIM, in its great wisdom, decided to sever Bing Maps' bridge connectivity in the latest update, I lost all the great GPS functionality I had had since day one. Now I have to remember to run Bing Maps at a WiFi hotspot (McD's, etc) every now and then---otherwise the almanac and ephemeris data expires and I no longer have GPS capability unless I want to wait the 15-30 minutes for a satellite download.

Are you sure about that? I deleted bing 6-7months ago and haven't noticed a difference my my GPS functionality.

[dugggggg]

The ephemeris and almanac data only needs to be updated in its entirety the very first time---or whenever the GPS is relocated a big enough distance. I routinely move 200-400 miles a month and regularly lose the fast GPS fix unless/until I run Bing Maps.

[Mr_Bunny]

GPS Test 1.2.8 this is a great app for checking and testing the PlayBook GPS, it acquires a signal much faster than Bing Maps, Magellan Compass or MapDroyd, I know some people don't like android apps but give this one a try, GPS Test and MapDroyd are the only two android apps I run and they both work extremely well.
Just take a short walk around your yard with GPS Test running and you'll have a GPS fix in a short amount of time, if I go any distance from where I last connected I usually run this first, connects in seconds, and if you just want maps that work with the GPS off line try MapDroyd, maps are free and seem to be updated frequently.

[FF22]

V. 1.2.8 does not seem to install. I tried it twice. It does not appear on my pb (standard OS). Uninstalled, removed, etc. Tried again - no go. So I tried installing something else and it worked. Then I tried installing gps-test v 1.2.7 and that did work. Me or bar file?

[Mr_Bunny]

V. 1.2.8 does not seem to install. I tried it twice. It does not appear on my pb (standard OS). Uninstalled, removed, etc. Tried again - no go. So I tried installing something else and it worked. Then I tried installing gps-test v 1.2.7 and that did work. Me or bar file?

I downloaded the zip file and compared it with original I signed this morning using ExamDiff, ok there, deleted from my Playbook did a hard reset and reinstalled the downloaded one, I've opened and closed it numerous time and runs fine, I'm on 2.1 beta sorry should have mentioned that, I guess that's where the difference is, I did run 1.2.8 for about 2 hours this morning before posting , opening, closing, running with other apps, and everything was good.
But just in case here is 1.2.8 rar'ed this time and 1.2.7 , I my have been to hasty in deleting the earlier file.

Good luck.

[dugggggg]

Does GPS Test require WiFi to update the AGPS data? Do I have to sideload it, or is it available in App World? (I cannot tell---App World is yet another app that stupidly requires a WiFi connection.)