The GPS module does not find satellites on the phone. Why the navigator does not see satellites, and how to fix problems

Navigation applications installed on smartphones with operating system Android allows users to plot driving, cycling or walking routes, as well as monitor their own location on the map.

Mobile devices with installed GPS/GLONASS chips are in particular demand among potential buyers. But, sometimes it happens that GPS on Android does not work. In this case, you need to figure out what the main cause of the breakdown is and how to configure the modules so that they correctly perform the tasks assigned to them.

The main reasons for GPS module failure

If GPS does not work on Android, you should check whether the navigation module in your phone is disabled. This mistake is most often made by novice users who have not yet fully understood the principles. Android work smartphones.

In order to cope with this problem, you should use your finger to slide down the top curtain, which hides various shortcuts and notifications. Find the “Location” item in the proposed menu and activate it. When it becomes active, its color will change to green, bluish and so on.

After the “Location” item becomes active, you can start launching the navigation program itself.

It is worth noting the fact that developers take into account the interests of users, so many popular apps report that geodata is disabled.

As an example, we can note the Navitel application, which informs users that they do not have a connection to GPS modules.

It may be that the user activated geolocation in the smartphone settings, installed all the necessary navigation apps, but there were no positive results.

In this case, the reason may be hidden in banal impatience. When starting GPS/GLONASS modules for the first time, you should wait at least 15 minutes. During this time, the smartphone will be able to process information about which satellites are active in a given area. Other launches of the navigation program will occur much faster.

A similar problem may arise if you arrive in another city or country with your phone turned off and decide to use geolocation. You should wait 10-15 minutes so that your Android smartphone can calculate its location. This behavior is called a “cold start”.

So, above are the main reasons why GPS does not work on Android. But they do not limit the list of all possible malfunctions. It is worth noting several more factors due to which GPS modules may not work:

1. The user tries to perform “ cold start” while the vehicle is moving. You shouldn't do that. You need to stop, get out of the car, preferably into the most open area, and try to activate the GPS modules again.
2. GPS does not work on Android not only when traveling in a car, but also inside buildings.
3. There are certain areas where signal reception is difficult. This may be due to the presence of rocks, tall buildings, and so on in the immediate vicinity. In this case, you should find the highest possible area and try to find the satellites by climbing onto it.

If the navigation does not work after active attempts to configure it, then you need to seek help from professionals working in service center. This state of affairs clearly indicates the presence of internal breakdowns. And also, if you don’t have time to go to a specialist service center, then try resetting your phone to factory settings.

You can check the quality of satellite reception using the GPS Test application from Chartcross Limited. If the GPS chip is working and geolocation is turned on, a sky map will appear on the screen indicating the locations of active satellites.

How to configure the GPS module on a smartphone?

Many users are interested in how to configure GPS modules on Andrid. There are no specific settings options in this case. But, if you wish, you can experiment a little using standard methods detection. There are the following factors for the operation of location detection:

• High accuracy. With this parameter, location detection occurs using all possible wireless modules. It uses not only GPS/GLONASS, but also Wi-Fi and a telephone network.
• Economy mode. Location search occurs through mobile networks and Wi-Fi module.
• Only GPS modules. As the name implies, location search occurs only with the help of satellites.

In order to specify the method used for detecting a person’s position in space, you should go to the “Settings-Geodata” menu. Don't forget to work with GPS navigation install functional and easy-to-use software. To do this, you can download from the network free apps or use paid products leading global companies.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is worth noting that if GPS does not work on Android, you should not despair. You may be in too much of a hurry to allow the app to communicate with satellites.

If the problem is not resolved after fulfilling the basic conditions, you need to contact the service center for help.

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Good question. Today, many owners of Android smartphones are interested in this question. Once upon a time, when I bought my first Android device, I also encountered the same problem. I am a driver and the first thing I wanted from a smart device was, of course, navigation. I bought a phone, turned it on and immediately started looking for satellites. So what do you think? I waited for about thirty minutes and still nothing. I already had the idea that the phone was defective, without a GPS module. In fact, everything is simple, I poked around a little in the settings and this is what I found:

• the first thing you need to do is go into the settings of your smartphone and find the “my location” item there;

• then activate the GPS module and click on the “via GPS satellites” option. You don’t have to check the boxes next to “access to my geodata” and “by network coordinates”;

• as soon as you have entered the settings of your GPS, you need to check the box next to “GPS EPO assistance data”, then click on the “EPO parameters” item;

• Now check the box next to “autoload”. If you have access to the Internet, you can immediately download data on the position of the satellites.

That's all, now that the satellite location data has been downloaded, your smartphone will find them almost immediately.

What is EPO?

EPO (Extended Prediction Orbit) translated into Russian means a system for predicting the position of the orbit of satellites. EPO is the property of MediaTek one of the server's innovations in offline mode based on A-GPS technology. The system provides a satellite orbital position forecast for up to 30 days, which can significantly improve the user's experience during the first determination of the location of GPS satellites.

The settings that I told you about apply only to devices running MTK processors from MediaTek.

I hope the article was useful to you and you were able to set up your smartphone.

Modern gadgets are already so sophisticated that you can determine your location without resorting to GPS navigators anymore. Sometimes this is necessary for correct operation applications, sometimes to create the right route. When GPS doesn't work on Android, it becomes difficult. What could be the reason for this and what should be done to solve this problem?

Any device receives poorly or does not receive satellite signal in general, if it is located indoors. Therefore, it is better to determine your location on the street. Ideally, the space should be free even from tall buildings and trees, so that the sky is completely open, so that nothing prevents the gadget from searching for a working signal and connecting to the necessary satellites.

Incorrect GPS setting

All devices are equipped with two GPS modules. One is a standard receiver, which can be enabled in the settings (General - Location - Mode). When choosing mobile networks or Wi-Fi device will determine location from towers without connecting to GPS satellites. This method is the fastest, but it does not always give an accurate result.

When you select the “GPS Only” mode, the phone or tablet will connect to the satellites, but this will take the device some time. In this case, it is advisable to be outside in an open area or at least put the gadget on the windowsill. It is for the operation of the second module that you need correct setting. How to check if the device receives a signal? To do this, you will have to download and install GPS Test, a diagnostic application.

After starting the program, select Update only in the AGPS settings, and Keep Screen On in Settings. Now you need to return to the main program window, the GPS test on your tablet or phone will begin. It is important that Wi-Fi and mobile data should neither be enabled in the Location settings nor currently in use.

If the diagnostics show that the device does not find satellites, then you should check whether the GPS settings on Android are correct. How to set up GPS? To do this, you must first download any application that can process the GPS signal. If it does not help, you need to check the settings of the COM port of the communicator.

Unsuccessful flashing

After not the most successful attempts to flash a gadget or specifically GPS module Not only the system, but also simply individual parts of it, for example, geolocation, may cease to function. It is also common for GPS to stop working on a Chinese device.

To correct this situation, you need to enable AGPS in the location and GPS settings. After this, you need to enter through the dialing window engineering menu(the combination is different for all phones). If you cannot enter it, you will have to use any special program, but already with root rights. Procedure in:

• On the Satellites tab of the YGPS tab, check if there is a signal, i.e. does the phone or tablet even try to find satellites;
• go to the Information tab and there, in order, press the buttons full, warm, hot, cold (this is necessary to reset previous settings);
• on the NMEA Log tab, click start;
• return to the Satellites tab and wait from 5 to 15 minutes until the device finds the maximum number of satellites and the scales GPS signal will not turn green;
• go back to the NMEA Log tab, click stop.

This method is shown in more detail in the video.

Primary binding and calibration

It happens that the device is located in some remote area. In this case, it is advisable to long time put it in an open area and wait for the search and binding to take place.
Sometimes navigation may stop working because the compass calibration is incorrect. Such a phone or tablet will be oriented incorrectly, resulting in a problem with the GPS on the device. To calibrate you need to download special application,GPS Essentials. After installing and launching it you need:

1. Click on the compass icon.
2. Choose a smooth, flat surface, place your communicator on it and remove all electrical appliances from it.
3. Smoothly rotate the device around each axis 3 times.

After this, you need to try to connect again and, if necessary, repeat the calibration.

Problems with the device itself

If a gadget, tested and configured in accordance with all the rules, still does not pick up satellites, check GPS settings and only a service center will help you find the reason. It may be that the problem lies in the device itself.

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Navigation modules in currently manufactured Android smartphones are built in at the production assembly stage. As a rule, these useful additional devices not bad. Just turn on GPS using the settings menu and launch the downloaded “maps” application. In a couple of minutes the device will determine its location.

With GPS always on, determining coordinates will not take even one minute. However, sometimes this function does not work in android gadget. Most often, the problem lies in incorrect or completely absent GPS settings.

Required additional services

Data-lazy-type="image" data-src="http://androidkak.ru/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/EPO-Mediatek.png" alt="epo-mediatek" width="100" height="100" srcset="" data-srcset="http://androidkak.ru/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/EPO-Mediatek..png 150w, http://androidkak.ru/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/EPO-Mediatek-120x120.png 120w" sizes="(max-width: 100px) 100vw, 100px"> !} In order to determine your location, you use the satellite receiver in your smartphone, but it is recommended to set up auxiliary services. They are without special problems run on an Android phone:

1. a-gps (a service that additionally loads location data from the Internet, using the services mobile operators. The determination accuracy of this option is of course worse, but thanks to its operation, accurate satellite determination is accelerated);
2. wi-fi;
3. EPO (a service from Mediatek that pre-calculates the movement in the orbits of navigation satellites.

However, the pre-installed EPO data in phones is designed for Asian countries and may only work with glitches in Europe. During 2012-2014, Mediatek began producing chipsets with excellent characteristics, which currently use the brands Sony, LG, and HTC in their products. Thus, in Android smartphones with an MTK processor, there is a problem with navigation, which consists in the incorrect functioning of GPS).

The procedure for eliminating the causes of incorrect GPS operation in a phone or tablet

General settings

Modern smartphones are equipped with a GPS chip, which greatly simplifies our travels or searches for a specific address. However, there are often cases when GPS does not work well. And it's not always enough to blame good build smartphone. You can often improve the functioning of the navigation module by tinkering with the settings.

Many motorists have a full-fledged GPS navigator. Some of these devices have an antenna connector on the back wall or side. This allows you to enhance signal reception several times - you just need to get the appropriate antenna.

As for modern smartphones, we hasten to disappoint you. You will never find a special antenna connector in their composition. Improve GPS reception on Android you can only using software methods. If they don't work, then you will have to come to terms with the current state of affairs. As you might guess, budget devices work worst with GPS satellites. This is explained by the fact that they are equipped with the cheapest and oldest navigation chips that have low speed work and weak signal receiver.

Visiting the settings section

In many smartphones and tablets, the GPS chip is completely disabled by default. In this case, the device determines the location by cell towers and Wi-Fi networks. To enable the navigation chip, you need to configure the device. To do this, do the following:

Step 1. Go to the section " Settings».

Step 2. Here you should be interested in the item “ Location».

Step 3. On different devices This item may have a different name. For example, on Samsung tablets you need to select the “ Connections" and click on the item " Geodata", at the same time activating the corresponding switch.

Step 4. In this section, you need to enable high location accuracy. The device must use all sources for this - GPS satellites, Wi-Fi networks and data from cell towers.

It should be noted that in this operating mode, energy consumption increases. And if this is practically not noticeable on new smartphones, then owners of budget and older devices will definitely feel the reduced battery life.

Compass calibration

If it is impossible to strengthen the signal reception on smartphones, then improve the performance digital compass no one will interfere. The fact is that on some devices it is not calibrated, as a result navigation program cannot understand in time which direction of the world your smartphone is facing. At this moment it seems to you that the device does not pick up GPS.

To calibrate the compass you will need an app GPS Essentials. Download and install it, then do the following:

Step 1. Launch the program.

Step 2. Enter the mode Compass.

Step 3. If the compass works stably, then the problem is not with it. If the compass refuses to show the cardinal directions correctly, then calibrate it.

Step 4. First, rotate the smartphone around its axis with the screen facing up. Next, turn it over from bottom to top. Well, then turn it over from left to right. This should help. In some versions of the application, you must first select Calibrate in the section settings.

Viewing the number of visible GPS satellites

In the same GPS Essentials you can look at how many satellites your smartphone connects to. If it is large enough, then the navigation chip should not be blamed - the problem is in one of the programs. To view satellites, you need to select the item in the application menu Satellites.

Resetting GPS data

A common problem with some devices is that they take a long time to lock onto specific GPS satellites, even when they have managed to move out of sight. The application can help in this case GPS Status & Toolbox. It will reset the GPS data, after which the connection to satellites will be made from scratch.

Step 1. Download and install the utility.

Step 2. Run installed application, agreeing to the terms of the license agreement.

Step 3. On the main screen of the program you will see readings from various sensors, as well as information about the number of GPS satellites overhead.

Step 4. Click anywhere on the display, after which you can pull out the curtain with the main menu on the left. Here you can calibrate the compass if this was not possible using the application discussed earlier. But now you need to click on the item “ A-GPS state management».

Step 5. In the pop-up menu, click the button " Reset».

Step 6. After the reset is complete, return to this pop-up menu by clicking the " Download».

What to look for when buying a new smartphone?

Now you know the answer to the question “How to set up GPS on Android?” But all this will not help you very much if you want to use your smartphone as a GPS navigator on on an ongoing basis. It’s better to get a good quality one for these purposes. modern smartphone. When choosing it, be sure to read the full technical characteristics. In them you need to find a mention of support for A-GPS technology - it greatly reduces energy consumption. The ideal smartphone for you will be one that also works with GLONASS satellites. Fortunately, with the support of the Russian navigation system Almost all devices that have been imported into our country over the past year have it. But, again, you still need to look at the specifications of the device before purchasing it.