1. 0xcb's Avatar
    Yet another GPS issue for me. I was traveling to east coast, was trying to drive to the hotel from the airport, the GPS wouldn't work. I thought it might be because I was inside the indoor parking lot. However, even as I started driving it didn't work. Luckily, I decided to get the directions as I exited the parking lot.

    None of the GPS applications on my Tour worked - Telenav, Google Maps or Amaze. The cell network was ok, the data and voice calls worked fine. After reaching the hotel, I restarted (battery pull via QuickPull) and GPS started working again.

    Just to share my experience with others.

    Thanks
    09-08-09 06:00 PM
  2. i7guy's Avatar
    Yet another GPS issue for me. I was traveling to east coast, was trying to drive to the hotel from the airport, the GPS wouldn't work. I thought it might be because I was inside the indoor parking lot. However, even as I started driving it didn't work. Luckily, I decided to get the directions as I exited the parking lot.

    None of the GPS applications on my Tour worked - Telenav, Google Maps or Amaze. The cell network was ok, the data and voice calls worked fine. After reaching the hotel, I restarted (battery pull via QuickPull) and GPS started working again.

    Just to share my experience with others.

    Thanks
    Same thing happened to me. Voice was fine data wasn't. After battery pull hasn't happened since.
    09-08-09 06:33 PM
  3. Blammo79's Avatar
    Yet another GPS issue for me. I was traveling to east coast, was trying to drive to the hotel from the airport, the GPS wouldn't work. I thought it might be because I was inside the indoor parking lot. However, even as I started driving it didn't work. Luckily, I decided to get the directions as I exited the parking lot.

    None of the GPS applications on my Tour worked - Telenav, Google Maps or Amaze. The cell network was ok, the data and voice calls worked fine. After reaching the hotel, I restarted (battery pull via QuickPull) and GPS started working again.

    Just to share my experience with others.

    Thanks
    I have had this issue more than once, and I have noticed it for me when I have used multiple programs at the same time that access the GPS. I don't have the problem when I make sure only one program uses the GPS at any given point (Google Maps, Amaze, VZNav, Nav4All, BeWeather, BBweather, Google mobile app, etc). When I do a battery pull, its fine again, but if I use more than one app for GPS the GPS freezes for them all?

    Is anyone able to multi-task the the GPS (use more than one GPS app)?

    Is this a limitation on a VZW tour, the OS, or is it a defective machine?
    09-08-09 06:39 PM
  4. FF22's Avatar
    What is the "location aiding" aspect of the gps? Might that affect how the gps works? Does it depend on data or towers?
    09-08-09 07:46 PM
  5. RegE's Avatar
    What is the "location aiding" aspect of the gps? Might that affect how the gps works? Does it depend on data or towers?
    Location aiding is based on cell site triangulation. It's not pinpoint accurate. It's designed to give you a general fix in the event GPS is down. You can't navigate using this method - it just gives you a general idea of your location on a map.
    09-08-09 09:01 PM
  6. theanswer3's Avatar
    been there done that. 2 diff tours we have issues with gps not locking at all, and now working on and off. And I only have one app trying to use the GPS. BBmaps.
    09-08-09 09:52 PM
  7. i7guy's Avatar
    I have had this issue more than once, and I have noticed it for me when I have used multiple programs at the same time that access the GPS. I don't have the problem when I make sure only one program uses the GPS at any given point (Google Maps, Amaze, VZNav, Nav4All, BeWeather, BBweather, Google mobile app, etc). When I do a battery pull, its fine again, but if I use more than one app for GPS the GPS freezes for them all?

    Is anyone able to multi-task the the GPS (use more than one GPS app)?

    Is this a limitation on a VZW tour, the OS, or is it a defective machine?
    I just tried using GMAPS and BBMAPS at the same time with no issues. But in my mind the GPS should be single threaded, only one app has control of the GPS at one time. But I was able to switch back and forth and go GPS things.
    09-08-09 10:58 PM
  8. SplinterCell's Avatar
    I found that when BerryWeather would update a GPS Location I was no longer able to get a GPS Fix with any other GPS apps. And BerryWeather was set to Cell Location First (GPS fallback) I deleted my BerryWeather GPS Location and all is well. So far, I will keep trying other apps to see if it happens again.

    I hope this helps someone it took me awhile to figure out my problem!
    09-13-09 09:05 PM
  9. SplinterCell's Avatar
    Still having issues, however I can recreate the GPS issue with BerryWeather. I just keep having the problem and it's random no ryme or reason? I dont remember this running 4.7.1.40 or 5.0.0.191 after the media player issues with 5.0.0.191 I reverted back to 4.7 based radio and chose the leaked 4.7.1.42 now this is where the problem started.

    Going back to 4.7.1.40 this sucks! Anytime RIM fixes one thing they break another. Why in 5.0.0.191 would the media player not play sound after the track changes? WTF? Why? I would've kept that OS, but it made media impossible to deal with! Ok, I feel better and will feel great if GPS works again on 4.7.1.40!
    09-13-09 10:33 PM
  10. livingaboard's Avatar
    the same issues on my Curve with sprint. I learned not to rely on my phone as a gps unit. It comes in handy searching for businesses and such but when there is a problem, you have to pull the battery and wait several minutes for reboot.

    I solved this problem by purchasing a Garmin Nuvi 265wt that boots up in like ten seconds and doesn't really give me any problems.
    09-14-09 02:27 AM
  11. kaediil's Avatar
    I had exactly the same issues on my Sprint Tour. Things would work for a few hours on all the GPS apps, then all of a sudden it would not lock in any. I think it is the gps in BBWeather causing a problem. I turned BBWeather to use cell site instead of GPS and in the last two days have not had it happen again.

    I initially thought it was just multiple apps, but this morning on the way to work, I used the GPSLogger and the Sprint Navigation together just to test the theory and I had no problems with either.

    -frank
    Last edited by kaediil; 09-14-09 at 08:29 AM.
    09-14-09 08:26 AM
  12. SplinterCell's Avatar
    Well, you don't have to rely on your phone for GPS, but I do. Simply saying it's a "Sprint issue" and giving up is not an option for me. I had GPS problems with my USCC 8330 and the "A Real Fix for Your GPS Issues - Guide v1.0" fixed the GPS and made it 100% reliable!

    I use AllSport while running and I listen to Slacker or BBMedia Player, PodTrapper for a book. I talk on the phone if I need to so I am not about to carry multiple devices on my runs. I run as much as 35 miles and no less than 20 per week usually 10 at a time. GPS is important to me and I will not just give up and carry multiple devices! It's sad to hear you are; when we figure this out, you'll have a perfectly good BlackBerry.

    Anyone able to get a GPS fix over and over again without rebooting for a whole day? This is random and just happens I'll run BBMaps get a fix 10 times in a row then all of a sudden no GPS fix like someone flipped a switch.

    Seems a few are having this issue so if we use process of elimination I'm sure someone will figure it out? If I cant get a GPS fix one more time I'll give 5.0.0.140 a try and hope the media works like it should unlike .191.

    When I was running 5.0.0.191 I did not have this problem. It is better on .40 than the leaked .42 and I can recreate the problem with BerryWeather "GPS Location Update" so I'm sure it's software related.


    Never quit,
    Chris
    09-14-09 06:08 PM
  13. 0xcb's Avatar
    I don't face GPS problems too often and I cerrtainly don't need to reboot every day. As as was suggested, I do run BerryWeather with GPS option. I will turn this off and see it makes any difference.
    09-14-09 06:41 PM
  14. kaediil's Avatar
    Well, unfortunately BBWeather is not the problem and neither is Google Maps, Turned both off. It is just a broken GPS it appears. I rebooted at around noon today and it was working just fine until about 5PM tonight. Then I did not check for 3 hours and then it stopped working again. Oh and I am running the stock OS 4.7.40 since I just got a new one yesterday I did not want to replace the OS if I am sending it back.

    This is already my sceond Tour I really don't want to send it back again. This sucks. I used to love my rock solid Curve 8330, it just was too slow and had too little memory. But it did work. This is so frustrating.

    -frank
    Last edited by kaediil; 09-14-09 at 10:17 PM.
    09-14-09 08:53 PM
  15. SplinterCell's Avatar
    Ok, here's the deal...for over 12 hours I've been running the leaked OS 5.0.0.140 and with no reboots; I'm still getting GPS fixes with BBMaps and AllSport. I don't want to say it's fixed yet or the problem is gone with the 5.0 OS's, because as soon as I do I'll lose GPS and have to pull the battery!

    As I've said before while running 5.0.0.191 I never had a problem with GPS, it always worked. I just couldn't handle the media bug with .191. So far 5.0.0.140 is working well media is playing right, etc...again, now that I've said it I'll get a random reboot and/or my BlackBerry will just explode or something!

    Lets see what happens in the next 12 hours?
    09-15-09 09:38 AM
  16. kaediil's Avatar
    Cool. Please let me/us know. Now, I think I understand that the 5.0.0.140 does not run facebook?

    -frank
    09-15-09 01:46 PM
  17. SplinterCell's Avatar
    Wow, I had a random reboot right after my last post, but GPS held strong for over 12 hours. I can say that even running the 5.0 os GPS still failed me, but only when I forced MoosTrax to update. For that first 12 hours I wasn't running MoosTrax so that may be the issue I'm having.

    I'm still going through process of elimination. I can recreate a GPS failure by updating a "BerryWeather GPS Location" and/or forcing MoosTrax to update. Of course MoosTrax automatically initiating my GPS chip may have had something to do with the randomness. Moreover, it's only when MoosTrax hangs, if it updates right away when I press update it's OK.

    Frank, are you running MoosTrax or anything that auto updates? All I know now is that if I don’t run MoosTrax which I had set to auto update every 5mins and don’t use the GPS Location Update for BerryWeather my GPS so far is reliable.

    And FaceBook won't work with this OS, but I had a GPS failure with 5.0.0.140 so it probably wont help you. Granted, I had to cause it with either BerryWeather or MoosTrax to get GPS to stop working.

    It can be stressful, but sooner or latter, we'll figure out how to stop random failures to get a GPS fix without a reboot. I'm trying it out now with no GPS Location for BerryWeather and I deleted MoosTrax for now, until I'm sure on the problem. I have no GPS apps accept for BBMaps and AllSport. I'm going to see how long I last on 5.0.0.140 and then go back to 4.7 I'm scared of random reboots now.


    Stick with it,
    Chris
    Last edited by SplinterCell; 09-15-09 at 02:28 PM.
    09-15-09 02:18 PM
  18. kaediil's Avatar
    I turned off all the continuous GPS applications. Loopt does not run on the Tour and Google Maps also won't work for latitude so I turned that off. On BBWeather, I have it set to Cell Tower only instead of GPS. So, it should not be using the GPS I do not think.

    Now over on berry review there was a great article on how to test parts of the system. Next time I have a failure I am going to try it:

    FAQ: How to Test Your BlackBerry Hardware – BlackBerry Tour Trackball | BerryReview.com �

    This was supposed to be for trackball, but it also checks other aspects of the Blackberry. Essentially, if you go to the Options->Status and type the word test, a diagnostic window shows and you can test the GPS. I assume it will fail as all other apps do.

    -frank
    09-15-09 02:28 PM
  19. SplinterCell's Avatar
    I tried that "TEST" a few days ago and it was unable to get a GPS fix if BBMaps or AllSport couldn't. Of course it worked after a reboot or when other apps could get GPS.

    I'm thinking and only thinking that maybe it's the apps that are hitting the GPS on auto pilot that obviously cause our random GPS failure. Maybe someone really smart will chime in and explain whats happening here? However, I'm sure someone will just say "It's Sprint" "Buy a Garmin" and/or "Get a Timex Gps Speed And Distance Watch, if you want to run."

    For now I'm just patiently awaiting my random GPS failure. If GPS never fails to get a fix again, it was the auto pilots.


    Time will tell,
    Chris
    09-15-09 02:48 PM
  20. frenchykarl's Avatar
    I am using a Tour on VZW and have had no luck getting my GPS to work EXCEPT when roaming in Guatemala!?! I am on my 2nd device now and have gone through all the settings, wiped the device, pulled the battery and am having the same issue with all apps.. Google Maps, Blackberry Maps etc... the best I can get is a location on Google Maps within 250m based on Cell Towers and not GPS.

    Any suggestions?

    Thanks
    09-16-09 11:53 AM
  21. mkurz12's Avatar
    I didn't read all the posts but I am having GPS issues as well. Berry Weather regularly fails on attempting an update. VZ Nav sometimes says I am in Arizona or Nevada. I am in New Jersey.
    Can't even DL google maps. BB Maps hasn't come close to finding my position with in a few hundred miles let alone feet.
    09-16-09 12:17 PM
  22. Evermore707's Avatar
    I'd say this is a general software glitch and can be fixed by a OS update. I have not had some of the trouble other posts expressed but sometimes it won't "fire up" when using google maps or geotagging pics. I fix this by running BB maps and forcing GPS on. After bb maps gets a fix everything works quickly. Sometime GPS can take a while to get a fix as I have seen this on other car GPS and such- espically if you haven't used it in a while.

    I also use blackstar app with geocaching.com and have over 100 finds with my Tour.
    09-16-09 01:28 PM
  23. SplinterCell's Avatar
    I have run 4 different operating systems, like a dumb I never tried a true process of elimination from the start. It would have saved me loading up 3 different leaks.

    After not using BerryWeather GPS location and deleting MoosTrax I've been able to get a fix every time I try for the last 20hr's. I am now running 4.7 as it is stable with no random reboots.

    I just wonder why I never had this problem before? I went from 5.0.0.191 to 4.7.1.42 and that's when this started. Maybe MoosTrax and BerryWeather just needed to be uninstalled and reinstalled. All I know is it is working now and I will see how long it lasts?

    So it seems the "auto pilots" were responsible for my random GPS failures. My GPS has always locked in my house everywhere from 3 to 11 Satellites. I need more time to see if it is going to keep working without having to reboot at some point to get a fix.

    Frank, how is yours working with out any GPS apps auto updating? And for "frenchykarl" I would make sure you have nothing else using GPS like MoosTrax, BerryWeather, etc... delete Google Maps, or whatever else you have that uses GPS for now, and restart, make sure GPS is enabled and try BlackBerry Maps after you launch it hit the BB key and select "Start GPS Navigation" see if that helps? If it does then reload what ever apps you want one by one untill GPS breaks again...and theirs your problem.
    Last edited by SplinterCell; 09-16-09 at 05:39 PM.
    09-16-09 05:04 PM
  24. kaediil's Avatar
    I have had two days now where the GPS has not locked up. I reboot automatically at 3AM with Quickpull so it has not been 48 hours straight. I turned off google maps and any other constant GPS app. I made BBWeather use cell tower rather then true GPS for location.

    I did use TeleNav today for about a half hour at 10AM and it did not lock up and the GPS is still working now. So, I think we can be reasonably certain the auto GPS apps are a big part of the problem.

    So, to test it, I am going to run an app that continuously hits the GPS tomorrow. I am wondering if something like this is happening:

    1) run app that hits GPS every 5 minutes.
    2) At some point GPS loses satellite lock
    3) Many, many requests from this app back up waiting for GPS fix and then overflow some buffer causing the GPS software to fail and not get a lock again until a reboot.

    -frank
    09-16-09 06:11 PM
  25. SplinterCell's Avatar
    Glad to hear that Frank! I've been running for over 20hr's and every time I request GPS it locks in fast and strong. And I've been constantly launching BBMaps and leaving it on and AllSport. I've been running them both at the same time quite often today, leaving AllSport up for hours just testing. Driving around with BBMaps even when I know where I am. Every time I check my e-mail I check my GPS

    So far so good I'll let you know if I get the disappointing unable to acquire satellites and have to restart.

    1) run app that hits GPS every 5 minutes.
    2) At some point GPS loses satellite lock
    3) Many, many requests from this app back up waiting for GPS fix and then overflow some buffer causing the GPS software to fail and not get a lock again until a reboot.
    When I would force MoosTrax to update and it would hang thats when I'd lose GPS for everything same with BerryWeather. Sometimes they would update and get their GPS fix just fine, but when they didn't crash went my GPS. I wonder if some of these apps are just not fully compatible for the Tour?


    Gotta' have my GPS fix,
    Chris
    Last edited by SplinterCell; 09-16-09 at 06:39 PM.
    09-16-09 06:31 PM
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