Samsung Blackjack II GPS... ACTIVATED!

[Guest Miguel Ocque]

I did exactly what SeanH has done, Installed app_unlock, installed hack then googlemaps. Tried com4 but never worked, uninstalled hack, gps magicly works on google maps!... I will try on windows live maps later.

the main reason why it does not work for some people is because you need to leave the gps settings in Set by Windows. Otherwise it does not work. Google maps does not work in com 4.

also after u set it and click on USE GPS wait at least 2 mins for it to work.

[Guest svenson]

I have downloaded and installed but I can not find the com4 on the phone (samsung Blackjack II) where do I find the com4? I also do not see a GPS setup or anything. Can anyone give some details? Thanks! :(

[Guest creyentededios]

hey yall

i JUST got my blackjack today

and i love it!

but im such a noob

how do you reboot the blackjack?

i tried to install a program but you have to have the unlock program on which you have to reboot after

ive googled it and can not find it ANYWHERE

so how do you reboot the blackjack?

thanx

[Guest smallfry]

ok... interesting update.

two things:

1. initially, i could only get gps to work with WLS and not Gmaps (my suspicions were that because i installed gmaps before the patch, it would not work)... I am from the midwest but was in NYC for a week. I noticed that while WLS worked great in my home area, it did not work at all in NYC, which makes me think that as some people suggested, the a-gps antenna is more cell-tower related than i initially thought. no matter what i tried or how long i waited, it never locked on.

2. also, my phone completely locked up while searching for sat signal one day in NYC and never was able to come back to life. i had to do a hard reset. so after the hard reset, i installed the patch BEFORE both gmaps and wls. still could not lock on in NYC with either app. however the minute i got back to my network in midwest, it worked great again, for both apps this time.

so... i am thinking the patch definitey has to be installed BEFORE any app that uses it, AND that the reliability of the AGPS antenna is going to be limited and not something you can count on for travel... maybe more for just novelty. but it still is a cool and fun novelty.

I will be traveling more this winter and will try it out in several different markets. see what happens.

[Guest Scott K]

Hello,

My wife and I own BJ II's and I tried the cab file and can confirm it works on com4 at 19200 baud with Google Maps. In fact is connects and locates satellites much faster than factory new. It used to take about 3-4 minutes to locate satellites. Now it only takes a matter of a few seconds. I installed the cab file from the device itself because the over air option only returned a bunch of garbled code on the browser.

Anyway...works fine for me on two BJ II's.

[Guest kawa900stx]

sorry for this dumb question, but just want to make sure. With google maps, you arn't downloading the maps to the phone right? I mean you are using a data connection to update the current location's map, versus if you were to use something like Garmin XT, the maps are preloaded on a memory card and you don't have to have a data plan? Is my thinking right?

[Guest svenson]

Telenav plays no part in the operation of the GPS (or not) AFAIK!

P

Same thing happened to me...it took several days and then all of the sudden I tried it and it worked. Now it works very well with Google maps.

[Guest Scott K]

sorry for this dumb question, but just want to make sure. With google maps, you arn't downloading the maps to the phone right? I mean you are using a data connection to update the current location's map, versus if you were to use something like Garmin XT, the maps are preloaded on a memory card and you don't have to have a data plan? Is my thinking right?

I'm using GPS to update my location on the Google Map's program I downloaded from Google. I've never used GPS before this so I dunno what Garmin XT is.

[Guest Vogtster]

I've read and followed the directions, suggestions, and experience of every post in this thread and this is my experience, after working with my Samsung BlackJack II for days now. The GPS works fine in GoogleMaps and gpsVP --- but only after I log into TeleNav. If I don't use "Exit" on any of those apps the battery goes dead in a few hours. The phone has locked up several times and the GPS won't work in GoggleMaps and gpsVP until I log into TeleNav.

Any suggestions?

It looks like the ACTIVATOR is not the complete answer to get the BJII to work with anything but TeleNav.

I'm wondering if AT&T is detecting the modifications and disabling them?

[Guest Sed8ed]

Seriously starting to panic. Wonder if this phone will be any good now (purchased but not yet recieved). I havent read of anyone using anything but WLS and GoogleMaps with this device. surely other tests must be being made. I refuse to think that it has to be fully cell tower connected to get good GPS readings. Is someone able to delve deeper under the hood to take a look...I would have thought the hacking had begun. Damn christmas break...ruins everything (LOL). If it's a surf III chipset it should be as good as my Holux 236 bluetooth reciever....Does it use plain NMEA Data..if so it should be fine for use on it's own! Without any cell tower info.

The posts on this phone are slow..I would have thought it got better news, reviews...etc. God after having a TYTN for a while I just cant think about using a slide out keyboard again...just to get a fully unlocked GPS solution by having to buy the TYTN II. In fact I dont want too. I really want the internal GPS to be totally independent of any cell tower at all times. Can someone explain the GPS unlock hack and what it does. From what I can gather from Internet reports it does nothing.....except app unlock. Many have used Gmaps and WLS without issue with zero mod/hack applied....so what have we achieved here? SO hope it doesnt turn out to be like the N95 with crippled GPS...FOREVER, no TOM TOM or thirdparty apps for GPS.

I really want this phone to get opened up...there's just nothing on it. Anywhere...except initial news releases about it's debut and a few whinges carrying on about how much better the Q9 is from Moto....

End rant!!! LOL.

Can we get a thread running with installed apps..where you got them and how much etc etc....wanna exploit this puppy bad. I am new to smartphone edition WM6 so dont know where to start as most of my apps wont work on this device or need to be the smartphone edition.

[Guest nickcornaglia]

The Q9h is a US phone...not much use in the UK. But I keep looking into it and now Paul has his. After the holidays, he should be digging deeper.

[Guest BlackJack2Rocks]

Well I thank you fellas for all the info but I'm afraid I'm stuck like some of the others...I've tried everything in the forum to get Gmaps and Windows Live to work to no avail. I was using TeleNav and it worked great...I just refuse to pay AT&T $10 a month for something I'll seldom use.

<_<

[Guest thelostsoul]

Okay, got this on Christmas and spent all of from then until now (the 29th) working on getting the GPS to work, and properly. Here is my final verdict:

In order to get it working, do a hard reset on your device. Get rid of everything. (turn it off, hold UP arrow key while powering it up and follow the instructions). Now after the reset, create a shortcut on your startmenu for the GPSTest application (ALREADY ON YOUR DEVICE! - make a txt file with notepad, and type 23#"\Windows\GPSTest.exe" save it as "GPSTest.lnk", go into your folder options and uncheck hide file extensions and make sure it is only GPSTest.lnk, not GPSTest.lnk.txt. Now put that in your /windows/start menu folder on your device) Launch that application and press menu-option. Set Operating type to standalone, session to nevigation, and start type to Cold. Press Done and then Menu - Start. Give it 5 to 10 minutes to acquire a signal. Let it sit near a window or stand outside with it. IF IT DOESN'T ACQUIRE A SIGNAL: START ALL OVER AGAIN! If no signal, hard reset your device and do everything all over again until it gets a signal! IT WILL EVENTUALLY!

Once you get your first signal, DO NOT CLOSE THE APP! Let it run for as long as possible. I left mine overnight! After that, install the Modaco Hack to enable the COM4 (it won't affect the actual GPS device, it's just useful). Now I strongly recommend you use GPSTest before launching anything. let it run and try to acquire a signal. It seems to take my phone 3 to 5 minutes to acquire any signals no matter what. So before you go anywhere, fire up GPSTest and let it run while you get ready to go.

That's how I did it. Now I'm convinced this is just how you sort of "break it in." Without breaking it in, it won't seems to work. I went two days of no GPS on my device until I did this. For the first night, I left the GPS test app trying to connect over night and it didn't connect. Now it always gets a signal within 3-5 minutes.

After all of that, you can install any apps and it should work fine if you launch GPSTest and start it first. I use Garmin XT with it and no problems. Gmaps, WLS, and GPSvp also work fine.

[Guest AviBJii]

After trying every possible way to get my GPS to work I had to resort to downloading and subscribing to telenav, although its a killer app I cant see myself paying 10$ a month for something I rarely use (other than to impress friends).

So I'm wondering if setting up the telenav somehow "turned on" the gps in my bjII. Has anyone else had to do the same??

Did google maps work once telenav was unsubscribed?

The same is my case. I got my BJII, installed gmm/wls, gps did not work. i tried all sort of locations, did not work. before thinking it is faulty, i signed up for trial telenav. gps works wonderfully in telenav. surprisingly, after i use gps on telenav, gps on both gmm/wls works fine too w/ no setting or hack applied. I tried the modoco bjii gps app, but it did not work for me. dunno what is going on but my time on the trial is running out, i m looking for a solution here ... hate the locking bs...

[Guest aggie98]

I know you can use the GPS with maps on the phone, but is it possible to tether the phone to a laptop and use the GPS with Streets and Trips 2006 or Topo?

Thanks,

aggie98

Edited January 3, 2008 by aggie98

[Guest Paul (MVP)]

No aggei98, it's not.

P

[Guest jyalexop2003]

A few things regarding unlockiing the GPS device.

Ok. I downloaded the Live Search utility on my Black BJ2

and ran the application. I chose the 'Intermediate Driver' and 'Getting GPS position'

and in 1 minute I got the 'red' arrow (which I presume means satellite locked)

on my exact location. There were multiple options for the com port including com1 through com9

available within Live Search. When I tried com4 I got a message saying that the GPS could not communicate

with com4. There was no modaco.com hack or anything. It worked out-of-the-box.

I then got in the car and drove to Home Depot and the red arrow moved in perfect sync turn-for-turn while on the trip via interstate.

Can I assume that the GPS on my BJ2/Black is unlocked and that I can use any mapping software with the GPS (in an attempt to get real GPS, without the need of a data plan)?

But I'm still somewhat confused re: the com4 and the hack/unlocking.

When I run Live Search and select 'com4' I get GPS can't connect with com4.

What does that mean?

Does being able to just see the com4 port option while using Live Search

confirm that the GPS is unlocked and that the modaco hack is not needed?

If the GPS was locked (as are many apparently), would the com4 port option

have been available as an option setting within Live Search?

Does the hack activate the com4 port and/or allow you to see the com4 port

option as well?

In howardforums.com, someone states that just because I can use Live Search and real GPS does

not necessarily mean that the GPS is unlocked and any mapping app can used.

He says the following:

"You can't use the COM ports without the Modaco hack but that's what the intermediate driver is for. It's a DLL or something that sits between the OS and the GPS chip. The software communicates with the driver and the driver communicates with the chip. COM ports communicate directly with the chip. Within Live Search the COM ports are there but the modaco hack allows them to be used. The hack opens the communications to the COM ports. GPS hardware communicates on various ports so Live Search just has all of them listed so you can choose the one that matches your hardware."

Is this true???

[Guest teladog01]

Can I assume that the GPS on my BJ2/Black is unlocked and that I can use any mapping software with the GPS (in an attempt to get real GPS, without the need of a data plan)?

No. You have not applied the GPS hack, so it is not "unlocked".

But I'm still somewhat confused re: the com4 and the hack/unlocking.

When I run Live Search and select 'com4' I get GPS can't connect with com4.

What does that mean?

It means that WLS cannot communicate w/ the GPS hardware on com4. From my research and experience, the BJ II GPS hardware can only be accessed through the Windows Intermediate driver. The GPS Activator hack may or may not "unlock" the com port access. I myself have not had any luck with it, but others apparently have. Since you have not applied the hack, of course you get an error when you try to access the GPS hardware via com port. And the same reasoning is why it DOES work when you select "Intermediate Driver".

Does being able to just see the com4 port option while using Live Search

confirm that the GPS is unlocked and that the modaco hack is not needed?

No. Those options are there for devices which allow access to GPS hardware, either internal or external, via com port. This in no way implies that your GPS is "unlocked". (As stated above, you have not applied the hack, so of course it cannot be "unlocked".)

If the GPS was locked (as are many apparently), would the com4 port option

have been available as an option setting within Live Search?

Yes, they would still be there. Again, WLS (and GMaps as well) has those options available for devices that can use them. The BJII is not one of those (at least not unhacked).

Does the hack activate the com4 port and/or allow you to see the com4 port

option as well?

The hack purportedly makes the GPS hardware accessible on com port 4. But as stated above, those options are always available in WLS and Gmaps.

In howardforums.com, someone states that just because I can use Live Search and real GPS does

not necessarily mean that the GPS is unlocked and any mapping app can used.

Yes! This is absolutely correct...because WLS and Gmaps make use of the Intermediate Driver to access the GPS hardware.

He says the following:

"You can't use the COM ports without the Modaco hack but that's what the intermediate driver is for. It's a DLL or something that sits between the OS and the GPS chip. The software communicates with the driver and the driver communicates with the chip. COM ports communicate directly with the chip. Within Live Search the COM ports are there but the modaco hack allows them to be used. The hack opens the communications to the COM ports. GPS hardware communicates on various ports so Live Search just has all of them listed so you can choose the one that matches your hardware."

Is this true???

In a nutshell, yes that quote is true.

[Guest jyalexop2003]

I got Google Maps to work on my bjII with the patch, but was only able to use the "set by windows" my location setting under Google Maps mobile. Below are the steps I did to get it to work for me.

* Uninstall google maps.

* Apply patch.

* Restart bjII.

* Reinstall google maps.

* In google maps go to menu => options => gps settings.

* Make sure "Set by Windows" is checked (I tried com4 with a 19200 baud rate and could not get it to work for me).

* Go outside or in your car and from google maps select menu => use gps (I pulled out my hair trying to get this working from inside a house).

* From there you should be able to use "my location" and establish a route. You can even see the flashing dot move as you go on your route (or off).

Really, I think the main key here is being outdoors or close to it.

I'm having similr issues. My WLS and GMaps worked out of the box, no hack, using the

'Intermediate Driver' in WLS and 'Set by Windows' in GMaps.

After the hack they both worked with the same settings, but

they both won't work on com4. I presume that since they don't work on com4 means the hack did not work and my GPS is still locked with only WLS/GMAps/TeleNAv working working. Why is com4 not allowing the connection to the GPS??

[Guest jyalexop2003]

Install the hack, Run GPSTest on COM4, Then run Google/WLS - works almost every time for me and very quickly! The key is using GPSTest first. It must do something to "warm up" the GPS that Google/WLS can only successfully do like 5% of the time. I swear Google/WLS worked for me within seconds 9 out of 10 times doing this method and before when I didn't have GPSTest they worked like 1 out of 10 times.

But is it with working on com4 aftert the hack, or just with the Intermediate Driver (WLS) or Settings By Windows (GMaps). The key to hack working/unlocking is if the GPS works via com4.

[Guest jyalexop2003]

Guys IM VERY HAPPY. after 3 days of fighting with the phone and hack i got it to work. Here is what i did:

Hard reset my phone (Shutdown and power back hold the dpad up button)

installed the Modaco gps hack.

installed gmaps (no reboot)

Started gmaps ( PLZ leave gps settings alone to SET BY WINDOWS)

click on USE GPS. it will say "seeking gps satellites (0)" in about 10 secs you will have yor location.

GUYS i hope this really helps. I was frustrated for the past 3 days but its finally working.

PS: i even tried again. did a hard reset installed everything back and it worked.

GPS GPS GPSSSSSSSSSSSS.....nice!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!!

If com4 is not being used then I'm not sure the hack worked.

I thought the hack enabled com4 to work only.

[Guest Miguel Ocque]

If com4 is not being used then I'm not sure the hack worked.

I thought the hack enabled com4 to work only.

well my gmaps works with the widnows settings but the WLS works on com4. so i dont know why but gmaps only works that way!

[Guest digitaldon37]

Well still testing and it still works on Google Maps, Windows Live Search and CamerAware...all using com4.

Still can't get mapopolis to work and I've tried all of the options for Baud. Tinkers some more.

Having troubles connecting via Effica GPS Tools as well. Tinkers some more.

Did anyone get this combination to work? I just purchased a BlackJack II and would like to run Mapopolis on it. I installed the fix and Google maps works OK, but Mapopolis can't find the GPS on port 4.

Thanks, Don

[Guest AGM]

What is a good GPS program, other than TeleNav, that has voice guidance? I can't seem to find any that don't use touch screen.

Edited January 7, 2008 by AGM

[Guest Wizkid69]

Well.. I just got my BJ2 from ATT store this Saturday - 1/7/08. I installed the Modaco GPS activator, then installed Google Map and Live Search. I did not have any luck getting the GPS to run. I changed the GPS setting on both Google and Live to use COM4 and it would not load GPS position.

Is there something I need to change in my BJ2 or is it a defective handset?

BTW, right out of the box, I still can't get my ActiveSync to work with BJ2. So perhaps, it has something to do with that?

Without the ActiveSync working, I can't even get Chartcross GPS tester to work. I called Samsung and AT&T support level II. They are just idiots. I have installed ActiveSync 3-4 times and even try to connect via Bluetooth or disabled Windows Firewall and Virus Protection etc. Nothing works. The tech support asked me to call back tomorrow to escalate the support to level 3 - whatever that means.

I went to Cingular/ATT forum - a lot of people are having the same problem with ActiveSync on BJ2. If anyone finds any post that has this fix, please let me know.

Well... at least, I got my Internet dial-up networking to work with BJ2 Modem on my laptop. The rest are still questionable...

I've heard a lot of good things about BJ2 device and I would hate to return it for something else. Please help...