Improved GPS performance on Android. How to improve GPS signal on Android device. What does the blue dot mean?

Nowadays, it’s probably impossible to find a device without a built-in GPS module. With the development of civilization, we, as “humans,” are shifting more and more responsibilities to robots, in particular to green ones. Now it is no longer necessary to look for moss on a tree (which, moreover, is always growing on all sides) or to easily find the polar star in the night sky; it is enough to launch a navigation application on your smartphone. However, GPS not only helps you get out of the forest, it is quite in demand every day: from the same navigation, but around the city, and ending with geo-tags in photographs. However, it happens that the module does not work properly. This may be due to problems in the hardware, then only the service can help the user, or maybe with the system settings, in which case you should read the following few tips.

Let's start with, perhaps, the most “significant” tips. What will any technical support advise, regardless of what device the user is having problems with? Absolutely right, “Have you tried turning it off and on?” To paraphrase this life hack, first of all, you should make sure that GPS is turned on: Settings \ Location \ Use GPS.

Test run

To eliminate the possibility of the GPS receiver itself losing its functionality, you should use one of the special applications, for example GPS Essentials. Click on the satellite icon and the application will clearly show you where and how many satellites your smartphone is observing and which of them it communicates with. at the moment.

If the app shows that you are out of range of any satellite, try leaving the building or at least going to a window. Often, Soviet “anti-missile” houses block not only the GPS signal, but also the cellular network.

Sometimes the device can become stuck on certain satellites even when they are out of sight, resulting in a weak or no signal.

To solve this problem, you might want to try resetting all GPS data on your device and starting from scratch. The GPS Status & ToolBox application helps with this. To do this, press the “menu” key in the application, select “Tools”, “manage A-GPS states”, and then press “reset”. Then click “download” there.

One of possible problems, which may affect the accuracy of your location is an incorrectly calibrated compass. In this case, the device receives incorrect orientation information, which causes problems when using navigation applications.

You can calibrate the compass properly in the same GPS Essentials. To do this, launch the application, click on the compass icon, and then follow these steps:

choose a smooth surface away from electrical appliances to avoid the influence of electromagnetic fields, and place the smartphone on it with the screen facing up
Slowly and smoothly rotate the device 3 full circles around each of its axes. The direction of rotation does not matter.

The process is clearly demonstrated in this video:

Nothing helps

Some smartphone firmwares themselves are not very good at working with GPS, so flashing the firmware can sometimes solve this problem. But this solution is not for everyone, but rather for a passionate user, because in this case you will have to read a lot of specific discussions, most likely not on native language to choose the optimal solution for yourself. For everyone else, it might be time to simply upgrade your device.

Does your smartphone replace a GPS navigator? Or cutlets separately, flies separately?

Sometimes you may notice that your location on Google Maps is inaccurate or not detected at all (blue dot not shown). This article explains how to troubleshoot such problems.

Note. More precise location determination will help improve search results.

How to find out where you are

How Maps Determines Where You Are

The location is determined by the following data:

GPS. Signal from satellite (accuracy - up to 20 meters). Note. If you are in a building or on a subway, the information may not be accurate.
Wi-Fi. Nearest wireless network source.
Cell tower. Location of connection to the cellular network (accuracy - up to several kilometers).

How to increase geolocation accuracy

Follow these steps:

How else can you improve geolocation accuracy?

If your location is still incorrect, follow the steps below.

Calibrate the compass

If the beam from the blue dot on the map is too wide or points in the wrong direction, you will need to calibrate your compass.

What does the blue dot mean?

Your current location is indicated on the map by a blue dot. If Google Maps can't pinpoint where you are at the moment, a blue circle will appear around the blue dot. The smaller the circle, the more accurate your coordinates.

Notes

If there is no blue dot or you see a gray dot, then Google Maps doesn't know where you are. The gray dot marks the last saved location.
If there are obstacles between you and the cell tower, such as tall buildings, the location may not be determined accurately.

How to see your location on other sites and in other applications

To view your Google Maps location on other sites and apps, follow the instructions above. However, some things will be different:

A site or application other than Google Maps will be used.
The site or application you are using must first be granted access to geodata.
If you are using browsers Google Chrome or Safari, your location will only be displayed on web pages secured using the https protocol.

Your phone's GPS allows you to use navigation apps such as Google Maps and location services. And a good signal is crucial not only for navigation, but also for augmented reality games like Pokemon Go. If you are experiencing problems with this on your Android phone, then check out our tips to help improve the GPS signal on your Android device.

What is GPS?

To know how to optimize the performance of the GPS module, you need to understand how it works. GPS stands for Global Positioning System, that is, a global positioning system. It was developed by the military, but later began to be used for civilian purposes. GPS originally used 24 satellites orbiting planet Earth, but the number has now increased to 31.

Your smartphone communicates with these satellites through a special antenna that is part of the hardware in most modern mobile devices. Naturally, the hardware is controlled by software through the driver. Thus, there are three sources of error for the GPS signal in a smartphone:

Number of available satellites at current location
The quality of the antenna that is inside the smartphone
Driver implementation in operating system Android

Switch to High Precision mode

To get the best signal, you should be prepared for the battery life of your device to be lower than usual. It's a necessary sacrifice, but you can still change the settings back when you don't need to pinpoint your location. For example, when you play Pokemon Go. It's very simple, follow our instructions in the instructions below.

Open Settings, go to Location and make sure location services are turned on. If they are turned off, then click on the switch in the upper right corner.

At the very top, under this switch, there is a menu with mode selection. Tap on it and make sure that the “High accuracy” option is selected. This means that the built-in GPS, Wi-Fi and mobile network will be used to determine your location. This may increase power consumption, but the detection accuracy will improve significantly.

Make GPS always active

To save battery power, the GPS module can be turned off when not in use. If, for example, you are playing Pokemon GO and at that moment you want to read a new message, then the GPS will turn off for this time.

One way or another, you can force it to always be active, but this is not difficult to do. You need to install one application from Google Play Market, and it will do everything for you. We recommend Connected GPS because it's the easiest to use. Keep in mind that this can be a real blow to the autonomy of your device.

Why might GPS not work?

With GPS Essentials, you can diagnose the cause of a weak GPS signal. Problems may arise from hardware or software. On the main screen of GPS Essentials, find the “Satellites” item and go to it. The smartphone must connect to satellites available in Earth orbit.

If your phone hasn't found any satellites or can't connect to them due to a bad signal, then the reason for this may be interference from metal objects around you: the smartphone case or the module built into it simply isn't working as it should. If the satellites appear, but the GPS is still not working properly, then the problem is in the software and we recommend using the next tip on the list.

Clear GPS data

Sometimes your device gets stuck on some GPS satellites, even if they are not within range, which causes problems in the module's operation. This can be corrected using another application - GPS Status & Toolbox, which clears GPS data and the phone can reconnect to satellites from scratch.

Install this tool and then run it. Press the “Menu” button, where you need to select “Manage A-GPS state”. Next, you need to click the “Clear” button, and after completing this process, return to “Manage A-GPS state” and click on the “Download” button. That's it, after this the GPS module should work like new.

Buy an external GPS receiver

If the GPS on your smartphone still does not want to work or its accuracy is not enough for you, then you can try an external GPS receiver. It can be synchronized with your phone via Bluetooth and charged with the same charger, which comes with the smartphone. The only problem in this case is the cost of an external GPS receiver, since good model you will have to pay about 6,000 rubles.

Navigation systems on mobile devices () have recently become necessary not only for motorists, but also for pedestrians, due to their good ability to build walking routes.

But quite a lot of users have to deal with the fact that the GPS system on Android does not work or does not work well.

This may result in problems different types, depending on what exactly caused the breakdown.

Definition

What is GPS? This is a navigation system - strictly speaking, GPS/GLONASS is a navigation module that allows you to use many applications that use navigation.

Problems

But in some cases, certain problems may be detected in the operation of such a module. Their nature is different, but they equally interfere with working with the system:

Complete inability to determine locations;
Inaccurate location determination;
Slow data updating or complete lack of updating (for example, you move in space or turn around, and the pointer on the map does not change its position for a long time).

Most problems can disappear on their own when you restart or when you move to another area of the map.

But if this does not happen, then you need to know what causes them and how to eliminate them.

Possible reasons

There can be many reasons for this type of problem. But all of them can be divided into two large groups - hardware problems and software problems.

We talk about hardware problems when the defect is present in the physical navigation module itself, and about software problems when something is incorrectly configured in the software of a smartphone or tablet.

Important! Software type problems are enough easy to set up and fix yourself. When it comes to hardware failures, it is better to entrust the matter to a service center, since the repair process can be quite complicated for a non-specialist. And there is a risk of making the situation worse.

Hardware

One of the most common problems occurs when starting the module for the first time, that is, when you first launch an application that uses GPS on a new smartphone.

Within 15-20 minutes, geolocation may not work, nothing will happen, the location will not be determined.

This is a normal condition when you first start it, but this should not happen again in the future.

A similar situation may arise if you have traveled a significant distance, for example, moved to another country or region, with the navigation module turned off.

In this case, when he first starts in a new place, he will also need time to “think.”

The problem may also occur when starting at high speed, for example, while driving a car - in this case, the module will “slow down” for the first time after switching on.

Keep in mind that in buildings, indoor navigation will not be carried out.

Your approximate location in the building is determined using the location of wireless Internet zones and cell towers, but not GLONASS.

Software

The GLONAS module can be disabled through the phone settings; often on new models it is not enabled by default.

Therefore, many beginners who are not accustomed to using Android do not turn it on before starting to use navigation applications.

By the way, this type notifies the user that he needs to enable navigation.

Inaccurate location determination may be due to the characteristics of the zone. The system does not work equally well in all areas due to the nature of satellite operation.

There are “blind” zones that the navigator misses or does not detect accurately. It is impossible to fight this.

Elimination

Troubleshooting is usually quite simple.

But if after taking all the above measures the problem has not been resolved, it is possible that the problem is a faulty module and it requires replacement at a service center.

Hardware

There are no ways to “cure” the program freezing after the first launch of the navigation module.

The user just needs to wait about 15-20 minutes after the first launch of the application - during this time, the electronic components of the navigation device will adjust to the current operating conditions and the location will be determined.

That is why it is recommended to run this module for configuration immediately after purchasing a phone, so as not to wait in a situation where you need it urgently.

Software

Turning on navigation on your smartphone is quite simple. Most often, the application itself “asks” whether to enable navigation when it is disabled.

Then you need to click on “YES” or “OK” in the pop-up window, and the application itself will enable geolocation.

If such a notification does not appear, enable it manually, following the algorithm:

1 On the unlocked screen, on the desktop, pull out the menu, making a sliding movement from the top border of the screen down;

2 A menu with basic device settings will appear.– find the icon in it Geodata/Geodata transmission/Geolocation/Location determination or the like;

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We continue to review software for calibrating, tuning and optimizing GPS signals. Let us recall that in the last article GPS Test, AndroiTS GPS Test and GPS Data were studied, and according to its results, the first application was the optimal solution, although inaccuracies were found in it. The rest of the programs will help to check the functionality of the GPS module, and AndroiTS GPS Test is ideal for driving a car over rough terrain.

This time we'll talk about two interesting applications that can fully utilize your dormant GPS module. The first one will be GPS Status & Toolbox - another universal solution for testing the connection and finding satellites, with which, as expected, you will definitely not get lost.

Second test subject – GPS info – Russian program, which is still not very popular, but this does not mean that it does not deserve attention. We'll end with a summary of five applications for calibration, tuning, and optimization.

The test equipment used was a DEXP Ursus 8EV2 3G tablet (Android 4.4.2, MT8382 processor, 4 x Cortex-A7 1.3 GHz, Mali-400 MP2 video core, 1 GB of RAM, 4,000 mAh battery, 3G module, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n) and smartphone Homtom HT3 Pro (Android 5.1 Lollipop, MT6735P processor, 4 x Cortex-A53 1.0 GHz, 64-bit, Mali-T720 video core, 2 GB RAM, 3,000 mAh battery, 4G module, Wi -Fi 802.11b/g/n).