Build-in SiRF III GPS receiver for Blackjack II

[Guest sb0611]

My GPStest settings are as follows.

Operating type:

Standalone

Session Type:

Nevigation (yes, thats a spelling mistake)

Start Type:

Cold

This is all I used. The GPStest should work without anything installed. My friend and I bought ours together from ebay U.S (we are in Australia). I had my GPS running before he was even using the device. We met up last weekend. He has nothing else installed. I sent him the GPStest shortcut via bluetooth.....it had a sat lock in 2 minutes..standing outside.

The device was not application unlocked yet and had nothing else installed. No hacks...no unlockers. Stock AT&T BlackjackII....

My Garmin XT software fires up in only 2-3 minutes (thats fully running with GPS lock) Sometimes much quicker..(if I am leaving where I just navigated too the sat lock is very fast)....

I am not sure what to tell you. You appear to be running all the right stuff...

I would do the hard reset. Paste the GPStest shortcut into your start menu folder. Install the unlocks one by one and reboot after each one. Dont install any hacks (I.E the MoDaCo or the GPSID). Stand outside and wait. Give the GPS ten minutes to get a lock (ten is an overkill but some have waited this long). The text of GPStest should flash a little (like a flicker)..sorta like a page refresh. This is when the GPS is ON!!! If there's no flicker from the text NO gps is running. You'll have to wait for it to initialise....give it time to work. I know it's frustrating..hang in there.

*EDIT* After having a quick read of some posts further up make sure you dont have the GPSID installed....If you stuff the settings in there it kills GPStest app for me...I have hard reset twice mucking around with the GPSID settings. If you do have it installed I had mine set to:

Program port: None

Hardware port: None

Baud Rate: Highest (whatever the highest setting is)

Manage Automatically. "ticked"

To be honest I dont use it. (GPSID)...Nor the Modaco hack. It got me familiar with the GPS and how it works etc but the GPStest (BJII) built in "IS" the On and Off switch...There's no need for anything else for me.

Everytime I played with the GPSID settings GPStest failed to respond and I had to Hard Reset to get it all working again...something I got tired of quickly. I do believe this is something "thelostsoul" can also

attribute to...I believe he has his set up the same way as once it's working it's a case of leave it alone

On the topic of unlockers here is something very interesting: http://www.sems.org/entry.asp?ENTRY_ID=157

Even after all the unlockers used and discussed earlier my BJII was still on a tier-1 security level. After doing that hack though all security locks (at least most of them) a gone for good now.

[Guest danzer]

Does anybody know if the GPS Tester requires any data use? I dont have a unlimited internet or anything thats why i was wondering. I was also using it outside to test it out and wow what an amazing application, it showed my exact locations and when i moved while driving it still showed my position. technology is amazing!

Edited January 28, 2008 by danzer

[Guest Karnivore]

Does anybody know if the GPS Tester requires any data use? I dont have a unlimited internet or anything thats why i was wondering. I was also using it outside to test it out and wow what an amazing application, it showed my exact locations and when i moved while driving it still showed my position. technology is amazing!

No, it will work just fine even if you remove your SIM card.

[Guest thelostsoul]

GPS Breaking News! Certain Applications Break It!

Yes, that's right. Using certain GPS applications on your Blackjack II will cause the GPS to stop functioning properly, or, in some cases, stop functioning at all. Why? I haven't the slightest clue! But I've tested it, and it's true. Certain applications, for whatever reason, once executed, seem to cause the GPS to stop functioning. The ones that do not cause it to stop functioning result in a slowed GPS load time system-wide. Windows Live Search is my prime example. After a hard reset, I had Garmin capable of obtaining a signal in less than 30 seconds! Then I tried WLS, and it started taking as long as 5 minutes. So I hard reset again, and was back to under 30 seconds! I tried this a couple times (with hard reset in each interval) and it turns out it's true. Now, the ones that cause the GPS to fail have also been tested a couple times. These, once installed, will cause, at a maximum, an inability to obtain a signal using any application.

Tested applications which will likely result in a non-functional GPS unit:

Microsoft GPSID Configuration Utility

Nav4All

Tested applications which will likely result in a damaged GPS unit:

Windows Live Search

UNTESTED applications which MAY result in a damaged GPS unit:

Google Maps

How to solve it?

If you have executed the above applications and have noted that it is taking longer than 2 minutes to obtain a signal outside on a clear day, then you likely have a damaged GPS. If your GPS is not working, then you have a damaged GPS.

THE ONLY SOLUTION IS A HARD RESET

Unfortunately, you'll have to backup and of your precious data, turn off the device, press and hold the UP key, then turn the device on. Once the on-screen instructions appear, release both keys and follow them (1 to continue, y to confirm). ALL DATA WILL BE LOST AND YOUR SYSTEM WILL BE RESTORED TO ITS DEFAULT SETTINGS!

Now I have a list of applications which have not resulted in problems:

Garmin Mobile XT

Modaco GPS Hack (not to be confused with the Microsoft one)

Route66 for Smartphones (NOTE: I couldn't get the navigation to calculate a route, but the GPS does work, and it does not cause problems)

I'm still waiting for AmazeGPS...no idea when, or if, they'll ever get that one out, but I'll test it when it's out and post the results.

If you have any other applications you can confirm do or do not cause problems, post!

[Guest shutter13]

GPS Breaking News! Certain Applications Break It!

Yes, that's right. Using certain GPS applications on your Blackjack II will cause the GPS to stop functioning properly, or, in some cases, stop functioning at all. Why? I haven't the slightest clue! But I've tested it, and it's true. Certain applications, for whatever reason, once executed, seem to cause the GPS to stop functioning. The ones that do not cause it to stop functioning result in a slowed GPS load time system-wide. Windows Live Search is my prime example. After a hard reset, I had Garmin capable of obtaining a signal in less than 30 seconds! Then I tried WLS, and it started taking as long as 5 minutes. So I hard reset again, and was back to under 30 seconds! I tried this a couple times (with hard reset in each interval) and it turns out it's true. Now, the ones that cause the GPS to fail have also been tested a couple times. These, once installed, will cause, at a maximum, an inability to obtain a signal using any application.

Tested applications which will likely result in a non-functional GPS unit:

Microsoft GPSID Configuration Utility

Nav4All

Tested applications which will likely result in a damaged GPS unit:

Windows Live Search

UNTESTED applications which MAY result in a damaged GPS unit:

Google Maps

How to solve it?

If you have executed the above applications and have noted that it is taking longer than 2 minutes to obtain a signal outside on a clear day, then you likely have a damaged GPS. If your GPS is not working, then you have a damaged GPS.

THE ONLY SOLUTION IS A HARD RESET

Unfortunately, you'll have to backup and of your precious data, turn off the device, press and hold the UP key, then turn the device on. Once the on-screen instructions appear, release both keys and follow them (1 to continue, y to confirm). ALL DATA WILL BE LOST AND YOUR SYSTEM WILL BE RESTORED TO ITS DEFAULT SETTINGS!

Now I have a list of applications which have not resulted in problems:

Garmin Mobile XT

Modaco GPS Hack (not to be confused with the Microsoft one)

Route66 for Smartphones (NOTE: I couldn't get the navigation to calculate a route, but the GPS does work, and it does not cause problems)

I'm still waiting for AmazeGPS...no idea when, or if, they'll ever get that one out, but I'll test it when it's out and post the results.

If you have any other applications you can confirm do or do not cause problems, post!

I'm curious on a couple of points.

1) How are you starting your GPS? Are you simply using the programs to start them, or are you jumpstarting them with another application? For example, I use the builtin GPSTest.exe utility (in the windows folder of your blackjack II) to get a satellite lock, then launch whichever GPS application I want to use, like google maps or Garmin XT. I've never gotten Garmin to lock by itself (although in all fairness, I've never tried more than a minute or two and have only had it loaded and working on my phone since yesterday morning).

2) If it really does damage (or render it non functional) how does a hard reset fix it? My point here is it's got to be a software/driver issue if the reset fixes it, and if so, won't restoring your information via a back up just put the problem right back in place?

[Guest thelostsoul]

I'm curious on a couple of points.

1) How are you starting your GPS? Are you simply using the programs to start them, or are you jumpstarting them with another application? For example, I use the builtin GPSTest.exe utility (in the windows folder of your blackjack II) to get a satellite lock, then launch whichever GPS application I want to use, like google maps or Garmin XT. I've never gotten Garmin to lock by itself (although in all fairness, I've never tried more than a minute or two and have only had it loaded and working on my phone since yesterday morning).

No, the requirement of a jump-start is also another result of a 'damaged' GPS (driver). Good point, forgot to mention that. I've previously had to do the same in order to get my GPS working, but now I no longer use anything to start the GPS. Garmin will sometimes launch and take a little bit to find the GPS unit, but once it does, it gets the signal anyway. The whole thing rarely takes longer than 2 minutes.

2) If it really does damage (or render it non functional) how does a hard reset fix it? My point here is it's got to be a software/driver issue if the reset fixes it, and if so, won't restoring your information via a back up just put the problem right back in place?

No, you're right, it doesn't exactly damage the GPS chip itself, but it seems to damage the GPS, possibly the GPSID, driver. You'll have to excuse my laziness, but it's a lot easier to say damaged gps as opposed to rendered non-functional gps.

Whether it modifies something in the registry, reconfigures the dlls, or whatever, I don't know. But restoring everything using a hard reset restores what is necessary. I suppose it would be possible to make a GPS fix... I might investigate that possibility when I don't have much work to do.

[Guest Sed8ed]

No, the requirement of a jump-start is also another result of a 'damaged' GPS (driver). Good point, forgot to mention that. I've previously had to do the same in order to get my GPS working, but now I no longer use anything to start the GPS. Garmin will sometimes launch and take a little bit to find the GPS unit, but once it does, it gets the signal anyway. The whole thing rarely takes longer than 2 minutes.

No, you're right, it doesn't exactly damage the GPS chip itself, but it seems to damage the GPS, possibly the GPSID, driver. You'll have to excuse my laziness, but it's a lot easier to say damaged gps as opposed to rendered non-functional gps.

Whether it modifies something in the registry, reconfigures the dlls, or whatever, I don't know. But restoring everything using a hard reset restores what is necessary. I suppose it would be possible to make a GPS fix... I might investigate that possibility when I don't have much work to do.

I would agree, I have played with the GPSID settings a few times only to find it has stuffed the GPS driver...nothing works as a consequence. Hard reset is the only solution.

My main objective at the moment is to figure out (now that i have no control over the baud rate due to removing the GPSID GUI) how to actually control the rate of data coming in

from 7-8 satellites. Basically I want to know wether or not the baud rate will make any difference to the map update on Garmin XT. The half second delay when the map updates is somewhat annoying....not that bad but still compared to my AT&T 8525 it cant compete in terms of smooth map panning in three dimesional mode..The AT&T 8525 has an ATI graphics chip on board so maybe this is why it's a lot better....maybe the Blackjack II has some physical hurdles that control this issue....

Can anyone shed some light on this?

[Guest thelostsoul]

Based on how long it takes to actually refresh the entire Garmin XT interface, I would guess it's actually more the device and it's processor that cause the delay, but I can't confirm that.

Interestingly, R66's interface is very speedy. It loads everything perfectly, but it can't seem to calculate a route. I'm waiting for a newer version...or maybe my friend just never updated his (I had tested his on my BJII).

[Guest shutter13]

I would agree, I have played with the GPSID settings a few times only to find it has stuffed the GPS driver...nothing works as a consequence. Hard reset is the only solution.

My main objective at the moment is to figure out (now that i have no control over the baud rate due to removing the GPSID GUI) how to actually control the rate of data coming in

from 7-8 satellites. Basically I want to know wether or not the baud rate will make any difference to the map update on Garmin XT. The half second delay when the map updates is somewhat annoying....not that bad but still compared to my AT&T 8525 it cant compete in terms of smooth map panning in three dimesional mode..The AT&T 8525 has an ATI graphics chip on board so maybe this is why it's a lot better....maybe the Blackjack II has some physical hurdles that control this issue....

Can anyone shed some light on this?

I don't know, I run several performance enhancing tweaks on my blackjack II; overclocking, system cache moved to sd card, sped up data transfer from the sd card and I get the delay. It's workable, but it is annoying, When I have used the GPS function in google maps, there was no turn by turn but the gps was dead on accurate where I was at all times, provided the map wasn't reloading. If you get it figured out, I'd love to here about it. I wonder if people using garmin BT receivers with this program have the same delay?

[Guest thelostsoul]

System cache to SD card would likely be much slower btw. That tweak is designed in the case of devices with little (memory) resources. The blackjack II has too much memory to even think about it. Be careful of which tweaks you apply. They may say "speed up your device" but will in fact slow or damage the device. The device was designed to function specifically how it was made. Modifications of random settings, or application of random tweaks, especially ones designed for other devices, will cause problems. Overclocking is a huge risk for little pay off. You get maybe 5% increase in device speed at the sacrifice of a huge percentage of power and risk of stability. Unless you're running applications which specifically state they need a processor faster than 260mhz, I strongly recommend you do not overclock, or only overclock when running those applications.

[Guest Wizkid69]

Well... here is my observation and you can use your own judgement to get your GPS to work:

I hard reset the device, but did not unlock the device. Using the Chartcross GPSTest to initialize, I got the GPS to work on Google Maps, but never on WLS. However, the GPS location is off by 1000-1500 meters.

After unlocked the device, and couple of hard reset... I got my GPS to activate within 30 seconds using either the build-in GPSTest or the Chartcross GPSTest - either one are the same to initialize the GPS driver. Personally, i prefer to use Chartcross GPSTest as it provides more information on the lat/long info page... Now my GPS location is pretty accurate.. perhaps off a bit by 2-3 meters.

I also tried this - I exit out the GPSTest program completely, after I'm done for the night. In the morning after, without using either GPSTest, I ran Google Maps or Live Search - within 30 seconds Google Maps get a lock on GPS signal and there I have it, but not WLS. Some occasion, I opened both GM or WLS - the GPS failed to load miserably, even though I started GPSTest (build in or Chartcross) none of these are working. WLS will only work when either GPSTest is running. strange??

So, I think, based on thelostsoul's assumptions. He is right. The GPS driver got corrupted some how when you are trying too many things at the same time. So a combination of hard reset and unlocking the device should just work perfectly with GPSTest running.

Hope this helps.

( I will try to write a small Google Map program on my laptop to communicate with BJII via bluetooth COM port. Anyone want to join the discussion here?)

[Guest Wizkid69]

Well... here is my observation and you can use your own judgement to get your GPS to work:

I hard reset the device, but did not unlock the device. Using the Chartcross GPSTest to initialize, I got the GPS to work on Google Maps, but never on WLS. However, the GPS location is off by 1000-1500 meters.

After unlocked the device, and couple of hard reset... I got my GPS to activate within 30 seconds using either the build-in GPSTest or the Chartcross GPSTest - either one are the same to initialize the GPS driver. Personally, i prefer to use Chartcross GPSTest as it provides more information on the lat/long info page... Now my GPS location is pretty accurate.. perhaps off a bit by 2-3 meters.

I also tried this - I exit out the GPSTest program completely, after I'm done for the night. In the morning after, without using either GPSTest, I ran Google Maps or Live Search - within 30 seconds Google Maps get a lock on GPS signal and there I have it, but not WLS. Some occasion, I opened both GM or WLS - the GPS failed to load miserably, even though I started GPSTest (build in or Chartcross) none of these are working. WLS will only work when either GPSTest is running. strange??

So, I think, based on thelostsoul's assumptions. He is right. The GPS driver got corrupted some how when you are trying too many things at the same time. So a combination of hard reset and unlocking the device should just work perfectly with GPSTest running.

Hope this helps.

( I will try to write a small Google Map program on my laptop to communicate with BJII via bluetooth COM port. Anyone want to join the discussion here?)

[Guest adam.smith1]

I have installed the Modaco hack, the GPS Tester, the GPSID Settings, and Garmin XT and I cannot seem to get the GPS device located. I can't find the intermediate driver setting which could be part of the problem because I don't know what that means, or maybe that I downloaded the torrent of Garmin XT and installed the wrong file. Any help to any of these issues would be greatly appreciated.

Edited January 30, 2008 by adam.smith1

[Guest ice5192]

i have done step by step and it wont work :D

i need some help thanks i have a big trip coming up and i want to be able to use it :)

Edited January 31, 2008 by ice5192

[Guest PASchmitt]

Okay, call me crazy, but after reading this entire thread I'm still content to use my OnCourse BT with my new GPS enabled BJII. Sure, I have one more thing to carry with me, but it WORKS when I turn it on!!

Just another reason to overthrow the carrier regime and get to the point when devices do what they're intended to do without requiring users to become device engineers. 'Cuz once I figure it out, I have to to do if for everyone I know <_<

[Guest Sed8ed]

Seriously it's not that hard.....If you follow the thread properly it will show you what does and doesnt work..........just keep to what works. For some the GPSID setting works fine. For others it's the COM port 4 Modaco thread. With Garmin XT as your navigation it works without any hacks. It really depends on your software...

[Guest Matt13]

I've had my BJ II for a few weeks now and have tried all the methods on this site, and a few others, for getting the gps to work but have had no luck. I downloaded the 30 day trial of telenav today and it didn't work either.

I called telenav support and was told that the gps chip needs to be reset and the only way to do that is to pull the battery and leave it out overnight. The tech told me if this doesn't work then the gps is probably defective and I'll need to return the phone. I'm not thrilled about my phone being down for 6+ hours but I'm going to try it.

The reason I'm posting now instead of waiting to see if it works is to give others a chance to try it as well. I'll post back tomorrow with my results.

[Guest Matt13]

No luck. Still doesn't work. I'm returning it as defective.

[Guest Matt13]

I returned my BJII today. I insisted on testing the gps before I left the store so the salesperson fired it up and it picked up 4 sats from INSIDE the store. I went outside, restarted the phone, and started google maps. 7 sats in 40sec. So if you are having a lot of problems with your BJ II gps I recommend exchanging it.

[Guest JDMinPDX]

Ive given up on the GPS in this phone. I am waiting for the Samsung i780 to come down. I have read that this device is VERY solid and there are no issues. Thanks for butt f*****g the rest of us ATT. And yes, in case you missed it, I am pissed about buying a device that is crippled. Having to hard reset countless times, having to install certain apps to make the test is pure BS.

[Guest Sed8ed]

Just wanted to mention something a friend and I did on a flight home 2 days ago...

Fired up Garmin XT...sat lock before boarding flight. Window seat....recorded top speed of 586 Klm/h...before losing lock!!!....this was after 17 minutes of flight. Probably not to accurate and probably illegal....phone was in silent mode and turned of after childish experiment. Great laugh though. Top speed stays in phone until you either reset it or you gain a new top speed...Aircraft was a Boeing 737....Basically if my son says "how fast have you gone dad?" I can definitely say "well look at this" and his reply will be..."WOW!! COOL!!!"

Zoomed out and watched us crossing ocean and then land...was going to plot a course to next airport to see estimate time of arrival as predicted by Garmin.....Lost lock though. Would have been a laugh if the voice went "turn left in 600m" LOL. I could imagine people sitting around us going "what tha"....I know I'm not the first to do this and probably not the last but my old bluetooth reciver never picked up the sats in the plane...BJII did though!!! Maybe a little more sensitive than i thought.

[Guest horsius]

[Hi,

Does anybody manage to make this app possiblle on HTC dual touch with Garmin XT app?

If yes please explain a little how you make it. I didn't manage. Does anybody know what is the combination of buttons to press for hard reset on HTC DUAL TOUCH?

[Guest Mike Y]

There is one, all blackjack IIs have one. By default, it's hidden though. You either need to locate it using ActiveSync's explore on your PC and create a link, or get a new file manager that'll let you show hidden files.

But to help ya out, attached is a zip containing a shortcut to the GPSTest program. Just c/p it to your /windows/start menu folder and you can run it with that.

Thanks for the shortcut. Works. I wonder why Samsung had to hide the GPSTest like this.

My BJ2 GPS now works without any hacks. If LiveSearch is slow getting a fix, I run the test and less than 30 seconds later I get some reading. When I re-launch LiveSearch, the fix is immediate.

[Guest PrettyPistol555]

tried all this s*** a million times, was pissed at the world and satellites/samsung/att/radioshack/god/etc....

did hard reset, installed windows live search, didn't work, used gps unlocker, restarted, used wls, still no work, installed gmaps (no reset) and wtf do u know, it worked, the only thing different was the hard reset. then i tried wls again and it worked too. i was about to give up. btw, my mgm is letting windows determine connection, i can only hope others finally get theirs to work too. and that mine keeps working,

before now i have had 0 connections, and when it did work io was getting 4 sats right away, with up to six sometimes. it is off by about 30ft, but whatev.

YIPPPEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

sory, needed to let that out, the BJII is not goin back. yet...... still love SE better. can't wait for the w760i.

good luck all!

[Guest Dispatch]

I'll post my experience too.

I received my BJII on Friday 04/04/08 and stumbled across the MoDaCo forums looking for the GPS business. I had/have no interest in paying for TeleNav so the first thing I did was download Google Maps to see if the GPS worked or if I still had to use the cell tower triangulation. No luck with the GPS at first.

So I app unlocked the phone and installed the MoDaCo GPS Activator (http://www.modaco.com/content/Smartphone-Standard-News/262074/Samsung-Blackjack-II-GPS-ACTIVATED/), restarted, and tried Google Maps. Still no luck.

So after reading post upon post it really started to seem like most of the problems people have been having with the GPS stems from it not "initializing" properly.

I performed a hard reset and installed both Live Search and Google Maps. Both worked (and still do work) with the GPS without the activator (so presumably both using the GPS intermediate driver). **CAVEAT**: the first time I tried the GPS which was after the activator and unlock were installed I was probably not as patient as I should've been nor was I outside, so it is possible (albeit improbable) that it would've worked with the activator and unlock in place.

So in my experience I think the GPS implementation is still pretty flaky with the i617 but it can work if you're patient and are willing to jump through some hoops such as initializing the GPS with the GPSTest program (built in) before you start up your Google Maps or other apps.

Good luck.