[dogatemycomputer]

Has anyone else had problems with GPS locking on the Blackberry Priv?

I am in Phoenix, AZ. The Priv can see for 50 miles in all directions. Flat land. Clear skies. 80 degrees out. 4G LTE with 5 bars. Note 3 and Note 4 lock immediately. Priv never locks.

Tried all combinations of GPS settings with the Qualcomm accelerated location service enabled or not. Current setting is High Accuracy.

Confirmed permissions are set correctly on all Apps including Runkeeper and Google Maps.

Rebooted the phone. Hard reboot and soft reboot.

The app does not matter.

Phone will get "close" when walking. Usually within about quarter mile but never locks.

Problem before and after the recent Lollipop upgrade.

Tested from 3 locations. Driving and walking. Neither affects the phone's ability to lock.

SVT-001 model. Unlocked from ShopBlackberry. Received after Nov 24, 2015.

If nobody else is having a problem then I will just order a replacement from Blackberry, migrate everthing to another device and return this one. I am not willing to give up my Priv over a GPS issue but it is annoying. If others are having similar issues then I will assume the problem is the Priv itself.

[paulbbp]

I've only used my GPS 3-4 times but have not seen that issue on my Priv. I've used Google maps and Here maps.

I will make a point to use it more often. If I experience an issue I will report back.

Posted via the CrackBerry App on Priv

[dogatemycomputer]

Thank you. I appreciate the fast response.

I received a suggestion to download GPS Toolbox and choose RESET AGPS. I am still testing this as a solution.

[Blackwidowman]

Just now indoors, no issue here.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

[dogatemycomputer]

If you have "High Accuracy" turned on then Google will use your home's WiFi signal to plot your location. "Location information" reported by Android includes GPS, cell phone triangulation and WiFi plotting in the results. I suspect that is why I can get a "near lock" because the phone is using Google's calculated position based on cell phone tower triangulation. If I roam away from WiFi (such as on a freeway or rural road) or I set the phone too DEVICE ONLY then everything goes to hell.

Are you able to get an instant lock when driving?

Do not mis-interpret my response. I appreciate your feedback.

[Media Warrior]

Just turned off my 'high accuracy' setting, and gps gets within 50 feet from inside my home. I live in a valley that is about 1/2 mile wide and a thousand feet deep. I probably have a limited number of satellites in the sky.

[dogatemycomputer]

Yes. My "near lock" varies by as much as a 2000ft but every so often I get lucky with a lock.

Lets see if anyone else chimes in with their results. I can't imagine there are not some Priv users who depend on or use GPS daily.

Thanks again for your help!

[tickerguy]

I use GPS daily and have had no problems.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

[Jamell Jordan1]

You are definitely not the only one. My gps sucks on my at&t Priv. I live in a big city and I cant buy a gps signal while driving! Super frustrating, if it's only me and you with this problem then I need to get a replacement!

[scott082801]

Mine has been locking okay. But im getting the location indicator in the status bar at odd times. It pops up every time i open the dialer. Can't think of any reason for it to do that.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

[destiny.seeker]

It should be due to the loose contact between your back cover and the phone body.

As i stated in the other thread of creaky back, the priv's back cover serves as a gps antenna. Therfore, if the back cover doesnt tightly contact the whole phone, it will not lock the satellites.

if you ever tried to open the back cover for any reason, you could bend the cover while doing so. And it makes the cover's contact does not touch the phone's one. This is what happened to me. or it is just loose from the factory as a defect.(the desihlgn is super wrong at first place by the way..)

Blackberry is so good at coming with new brilliant ideas, but is very poor at putting the idea together especially when it comes to the hardware.

Priv has creaky back cover issue due to its design flow, and you only make it worse by trying to fix it.

I am also was one of the first who found out about twisting passport body and lifting screen issue due to the twisting. I have exchanged two passports and sent one for the repair for the same reason. So i finally sold the passpott away since i was so.... anal to look at the twisted body all the times. And its when i saw blackberry released ATT with a different design to prevent twisting.

Now i see this creaky, clicky, back cover issue with possibility of gps signal loss due to 'hardware design' again...

Come on blackberry, i have used more than 9 of your phones since 2004 .... and i most of them had some hardware issues in comparison to galxy phones i had.(note 1,2,3,4, galaxy s1,2,4,6. and several Tabs)

The Pearl had a dirts gathering ball(pearl) design so that i had to regularly open it up and clean the ball and it's socket, the curve, storm, and bold's battery cover was loose and creaky so i had to put a piese of paper underneath the battery cover.and finally Passport's phone body was twisting, and light bleeded through its keyboard... i think Q10 was the only one i was fully satisfied with bbry. I really love the uniqueness and ideas of blackberry(thats why i keep coming back to bbry), but the hardware build quality is.... less than mediacore.

By the way, to test this possibility out, hold tight the both edges of the phone at the same level of camera (this is where the gps antenna on the cover touchs the phone's gps) while using google map or gps locker. If you see the gps locks while u are holding the corners like this, then let your fingers go... now you will see that the gps losses signals again.

Boom! Here you go. Now you need to replace the phone or take the cover out and bend it toward opposite way so thay the contacts gets closer to the phone's body. Now the problem is solved.!!

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

[dogatemycomputer]

I also reset the AGPS cache using GPS Toolbox. This seems to have improved the situation. I need to do some driving to test and see if this has improved or resolved the issue. I don't want to say the issue is fixed and it turns out to be a temperature or phone positioning issue.

I will also attempt Destiny's test to see if I can reproduce the problem while holding the phone as described.

[roundersfan]

Same problem here. When using Google Maps, my Priv always has a hard time getting a precise reading on my location, while my cheapo Google Nexus phone gets an accurate lock instantly....

[dogatemycomputer]

I found a solution that works for me.

I downloaded GPS Toolbox by MobiWIA which is free from the Play Store If you click on the main screen It will give you a menu. Click Manage AGPS then click RESET. This will reset your AGPS data.

I also went to GPS & Sensors. I set the app to download AGPS hourly.

My Priv now locks the GPS instantly. I have tested it a few times from different areas of the valley.

I should note this may affect your battery. I did not bother testing if simply resetting the AGPS data and downloading it once manually would fix the problem.

I hope this helps someone else.

[crackhd999]

I had a problem last week while driving in downtown Rochester NY. The GPS was tracking location OK, but the directional arrow was off. That is, I'm driving down a street, but the arrow is pointing to the side rather than in the direction of the street which confused me at a few intersections. This is really about the only time I have navigated with it.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

[dogatemycomputer]

I figured this one out. There is a N with an arrow indicator pointing north on the Google Maps screen. Press that compass arrow and it will track your location going forward. Press it again will "track North". Its a toggle button.

[sir.dangerfield]

My GPS stopped working a couple days ago on my ATT Priv. The GPS has worked a couple times since, but 99% of the time, I'm getting GPS errors on Google Maps and Waze (the only navigation apps I have). I'll be asking ATT for a replacement phone today.
I'm also unable to receive picture messages. If I receive any trouble getting a new replacement I will be returning the priv, since I'm within the first 30 days of being on ATT. Needless to say, I'm not having an enjoyable experience with this phone so far. I feel like I traded basic smart phone functionality for a couple apps I can live without.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

[dogatemycomputer]

Needless to say, I'm not having an enjoyable experience with this phone so far. I feel like I traded basic smart phone functionality for a couple apps I can live without.
Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

I do not want to change this thread from the primary purpose which was to discuss the GPS. I will say my experience when compared to the Note 4 has been phenomenal. I love my Blackberry Priv. This is despite the initial release issues (which have all been corrected for me) and the temporary GPS issue (which actually appears to have been a problem with how Android handles GPS, not a Blackberry issue specifically).

For the first time in 10 years I can say, "You can rip this Priv from my cold dead hands". It's glad to be home again.

[Mbeni007]

My phone is also having some issue with GPS lock. I've removed the cover and made sure to replace it properly again, no help. I feel like I initially didn't have this issue and suddenly it appeared. I'm hoping the update I'm still waiting for (ATT) solves the issue.

[Mbeni007]

Just tested my GPS again and it's definitely having issues. I'm so tired of the bs with this phone. Stupid little things are starting to add up.

[Mbeni007]

Just an update if anyone has more issues with the gps. Att says several people have complained this is a problem. So apparently there were issues when blackberry shipped some units.

[DetritalGeo]

I had a problem last week while driving in downtown Rochester NY. The GPS was tracking location OK, but the directional arrow was off. That is, I'm driving down a street, but the arrow is pointing to the side rather than in the direction of the street which confused me at a few intersections. This is really about the only time I have navigated with it.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

The arrow is the compass, it uses magnetic fields of the earth just like regular compass. In this case the metal in the car distorts the ambient fields deflecting the arrow.

If you were walking it should work as expected..

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

[dogatemycomputer]

The arrow is the compass, it uses magnetic fields of the earth just like regular compass. In this case the metal in the car distorts the ambient fields deflecting the arrow.

If you were walking it should work as expected..

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

He is referring to Google Map's ability to "track north" vs "track driving direction". This is called "Compass Mode" on Google Maps.

Just press the compass icon on the display to toggle between the icon pointing the direction you are driving vs pointing north. This is a known feature of Google Maps.

[peterfares]

My priv has terrible GPS. When I first got it it was OK but would sometimes cut out for a few seconds. Now it takes minutes to get a lock and does still cut out and take forever to get a lock again.

[chuckiev79]

GPS status and toolbox is a pretty useful app that may help you if your having issues with getting a lock. I've used it in the past with other devices. I must admit though I haven't used it with g maps on my priv yet, but I was able to get a lock in my living room with this app