9790 - poor GPS performance - is it only me?
 

Hi!

well, I extensively use the feature of geotagging my pictures, really need it for my work. All previous phones with GPS - 8900, 9700, 9780 were finding the GPS satellites within seconds after powering the camera. 9790 is not the case. I can wait up for TWO MINUTES to get the geotag, and sometimes it doesnt come at all. When I go to google maps to quickly check it says "GPS temporarily unavailable".

Is it that I have a faulty phone, or all 9790s are like that?

Re: 9790 - poor GPS performance - is it only me?
 

I've always had problems with GPS in BlackBerry devices. My 9700 and 9900 both took minutes to lock on.

Re: 9790 - poor GPS performance - is it only me?
 

I have noticed that lately even my Garmin has some delay in locating the satellites. If I were a conspiracy theory subscriber I would think either the GPS or cell companies are trying to make more sales by degrading the software.8-):razz:

Re: 9790 - poor GPS performance - is it only me?
 

Nope my 9790 is 1000% quicker at finding my location than my 9780 which I upgraded from.

In fact I previously despised the geolocation feature on the 9780 simply because it would slow everything down until the gps tracked the location which 60% of times froze the phone

Re: 9790 - poor GPS performance - is it only me?
 

Remember, for GPS to work properly, you need to be outside with a clear view of the sky for it to get a good location fix.

If it has been 7 or more days since you last used GPS, the device needs to download the ephemeris table first so it knows where to look for which satellites.

If you have moved a considerable distance from the last use, it also takes a few minutes to locate the satellites and determine your position.

Re: 9790 - poor GPS performance - is it only me?
 

I never knew that. Any idea how long that should take, and where it downloads it from? Do dedicated GPSs do this, e.g. Garmin with no SIM?
I didn't know that either. If both these things are correct then it sounds like irregular users of the GPS function should plan to use it at least until it gets a fix the day before they need it, and perhaps daily if they're travelling.

My 9800 is usually ok, can even get a fix indoors sometimes, but is occasionally erratic. I don't use it regularly, so this might explain some of its behaviour.

Re: 9790 - poor GPS performance - is it only me?
 

They all need the ephemeris table to find the satellites. Non-cell GPS units have the table loaded.

Re: 9790 - poor GPS performance - is it only me?
 

Yes, but you said it needed a fresh copy after 7 days. How do non-cell GPS units get a fresh copy?

Re: 9790 - poor GPS performance - is it only me?
 

Because the cell phone only keeps a 7 day subset due to memory limitations.

Non-cell devices have the complete version stored in the device. When you do a map update or connect the GPS to the Internet, the ephemeris is also updated if needed. It isn't something that is constantly changing. Time and location are the primary variables. The orbits are known and fairly constant as is the trigonometry to figure it all out.

Re: 9790 - poor GPS performance - is it only me?
 

Memory limitations? These phones come with 4GB! Do you have any references for this stuff that I can read?

Re: 9790 - poor GPS performance - is it only me?
 

The datanis not stored on the memory card it's on the internal phone memory and as such is limited.

Google for info on GPS devices.