[wungun]

every app I use that requires gps, it always tells me its searching, and never comes up with a lock...?

[shadow10z]

stand outside your home and wait and hope you can get a lock on satellites

[BerryClever]

It can take time to "warm up". Even inside my home I will get the GPS, but I tend to have to leave an app that uses it running for a few minutes while searching for a signal (sometimes up to 10 minutes). In my case I normally open up Bing Maps.

[mikeo007]

It's not A-GPS, so it takes a while to acquire and may drop signal more easily than a phone. Advice above is good for acquiring an initial signal.

[tarektoverso]

Even my garmin dedicated gps has a hard time to find a sattelite when i'm at home.

[Marty_LK]

From what I understand, it has assisted GPS (aGPS) rather than a full-fledged GPS chip that doesn't need a data signal to function. Either that or it uses data triangulation. But whatever it has, it isn't as strong as the more common type in Android phones and such.

[mikeo007]

From what I understand, it has assisted GPS (aGPS) rather than a full-fledged GPS chip that doesn't need a data signal to function. Either that or it uses data triangulation. But whatever it has, it isn't as strong as the more common type in Android phones and such.

It's the opposite, it DOESN'T have aGPS. That's what cellphones have, which uses triangulation to get an approximate fix, which in turn speeds up the actual location fix.

[Bold_until_Hybrid_Comes]

From what I understand, it has assisted GPS (aGPS) rather than a full-fledged GPS chip that doesn't need a data signal to function. Either that or it uses data triangulation. But whatever it has, it isn't as strong as the more common type in Android phones and such.

Blackberry also has a real gps in their phones not just android.

[Marty_LK]

For what it's worth, I have the Google Maps app sideloaded and it works about as fast as my Galaxy S3. It locked onto the route of the destination I typed in instantly. Raised my eyebrows how fast it did. Makes me think the GPS system of the PB is better than Androids. It just needs a good maps app to shine.

[shadow10z]

get "GPS Data Master" its in the app world and free.

[FF22]

As noted, even real gps' will have trouble finding satellites while indoors and it then depends on roofing and wall materials and what floor you are on.

To get an initial reading, give yourself 20 or so minutes in an open area with a good view of SKY. After initial acquisition, it is faster unless it is turned off for a longer period of time or has been moved a substantial distance between uses. Place it down as your hand/body can interfere with the VERY weak signals sent by satellites (again, even my hiking garmin can have trouble if I shield it with my hand or body.)

Many cell phones use radio towers to triangulate and those radio waves can penetrate indoor to anywhere you can use a phone. GPS signals as noted are very weak.

[peter9477]

Re F2's comment, specifically do not cover the lower right-hand corner (in the default landscape orientation) with anything while doing this initial 20-40 minute acquisition session. That's where the antenna is, and with the very weak satellite signals it's quite easy to block the signals if you're not aware of that.

[rkennedy01]

Also, sometimes a reboot helps, especially if you're using Google Maps. The other day, my normally reliable PB would not pick up signal, no matter how long I waited. So, I rebooted, restarted Google Maps and it picked up the GPS signal immediately.

Note: This was in a remote location with no wifi anywhere in range and no data connection of any kind. I had pre cached the entire region, creating the rough equivalent of a stand alone, offline GPS device. Worked like a charm. :-)

RCK

Sent from my A200 using Tapatalk 2

[jpash549]

Google maps on Nexus7 works offline and can find your location inside at least some structures. It is quick also.

[rkennedy01]

Google maps on Nexus7 works offline and can find your location inside at least some structures. It is quick also.

So then your recommendation is for him to dump his Playbook and buy a Nexus 7? How constructive...

RCK

[adadadad]

ya!! he may buy nexus7 if he need it. playbook is a fantastic device for many things. but the gps is a garbage ana browser is just fine, not bad. for me, it takes 30 min every time to fix my location even if I use it 5 to 10 times daily from the same location. browser is good with most of the sites but stutters heavily with heavy flash and javascript paves. for rest of things, its almost perfect. as a media device, its a beast. can handle 1080p videos like a champ. but for internet, its just so so. as a gps device, its terrible. I know, fanboys will jump at me for saying this. but that doesn't matter. its true.

[Sonic-NKT]

GPS doesnt work for me indoors at all. but well i live on the 1. floor of a five storey building builr of stone. googlemaps still gets my position indoors with a special google service that locates you through your isp i think.

outdoors ( car or walking arround) i usually get a fix within 1-3 min which is as good as every other devices i tried withour agps except more professional gps equipment..
it can of course take a bit longer with crappy weather...

but i really wonder who needs gps indoors? the position will never be accurate and in most cases you know where you are anyway :P
except if you have a huge hangover and wake up at a place you dont know or get kidnapped. well but i doubt the let you keep your playbook if the kidnap you :P

[Boight]

Who needs to get gps indoors?
Count me in. With no cell connection and wanting to plot a trip. It's really handy to get your current position while in a nice warm house vs. going out on the deck where it's 10 below and waiting for the fix.

Just sayin'

The OP has an unusual issue. Can't say I've ever had that problem.

[Sonic-NKT]

GPS is not made for indoors, just saying it..
The playbook sure has many points to complain about but not getting any GPS Signal indoors sure isnt one of them if you compare it with similar devices...
GoogleMaps or Nexus 7 findining position inside is because of WLAN connection and getting the location through the ISP. It works the same with the playbook and sideloaded GoogleMaps.

[AT_Nepal]

For what it's worth, I have the Google Maps app sideloaded and it works about as fast as my Galaxy S3. It locked onto the route of the destination I typed in instantly. Raised my eyebrows how fast it did. Makes me think the GPS system of the PB is better than Androids. It just needs a good maps app to shine.

Hi Marty, do you have bar file? I want to sideload also!

[Bakamushi]

I got a tiny Nokia 700 recently, and it's amazing how better it is to the PB. You get A-GPS and then Nokia Maps.

I comparison the PB looks so nineties...

[rkennedy01]

Whenever I load Google Maps I get a fix within 30 seconds. This is outdoors, on an isolated rock in the middle of the Indian Ocean, with no wifi of any kind and no bridge. Just this afternoon I fired up Maps inside my house. As expected, it couldn't lock on (six-inch thick CBS walls and reinforced concrete slab roof). However, within 1 second of stepping out my front door and hitting the compass icon, the PB had fixed my position and also my direction of movement.

Note: I've done this repeatedly, for months, in all kinds of weather. The PB's GPS indeed works reliably - at least on the units I've tested. And since I can cache the entire island, I have the equivalent of a full-blow offline GPS/mapping solution sans the navigation (which would require a data connection, though I can pre-load the route and it will still work).

All of which makes me question these reports of the PB GPS "not working." Either most users are idiots or RIM has a serious quality control problem with their manufacturing. But in my experience, across three PBs from various manufacturing lots/batches/dates, the GPS is fully functional.

RCK

[FF22]

I got a tiny Nokia 700 recently, and it's amazing how better it is to the PB. You get A-GPS and then Nokia Maps.

I comparison the PB looks so nineties...

UNLESS the device has a cellular radio (basically a cell phone or 3g or equivalent), it canNOT have a-gps. A REAL gps (not any cell phone type) only gets its signals from satellites way up in the sky! Those signals are weak. Even wet trees can block those signals. Newer REAL gps units can sometimes get signals in less ideal situations but they can only do so much.

Inside acquisition of signals is just hard. But I agree getting them inside, in advance of leaving the house, is very handy and warming. I do tend to fire up BB Traffic on my bb phone while still at home but, again, it is being ASSISTED in those conditions. Sometimes my Tomtom can get signals inside but often it cannot.

No one can fairly compare a cell phone with a-gps with a device that is solely a gps. You can fairly compare one real gps device with another - that is a fair comparison.

[dugggggg]

You can completely eliminate the "20-40 minute" wait by periodically running a "smart" app like google maps or bing maps while the PB has internet access.

Both of these apps use the internet to download the current GPS ephemeris/almanac data in way less time.

Bing Maps still requires a bit of perseverance, as it tends to time out too quickly. Just keep at it and it should get a fix in under 60 seconds.

[peter9477]

dugggggg, do you have any way we could prove that claim? I'm not aware of any API which is available to us as developers which would let us supply downloaded ephemeris data that way, and I'm not aware of anything that says the system will do that itself. I've never observed any behavior which suggests this actually occurs with those apps or any other, for that matter.