UNLOCKING CDMA I910 GPS - please help us!

[Guest dmk679]

Following this i900 thread , I removed registry values as follows:

My experience shows that the following steps seem to improve the time to get a GPS fix, without need to download XTRA data:

1. Go to Settings > System > Enhanced GPS and set both settings to "Disable"

2. Go to your device's registry, and see the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\GPS Intermediate Driver

3. Change the following string values to nothing (don't delete them, just edit them and clear the value): 

CurrentLogFile (originally \GPSID_log.txt)

OldLogFile (originally \GPSID_log.bak)

4. Soft-reset your device

5. With File Explorer, go to My Device, and delete the two GPSID_log files you see, and the file named xtra. If you don't soft-reset, you will not be able to delete some of them.

6. Check again the registry setting. Sometimes in rare cases it may revert the settings back - but that's a general WM problem.

I have not determined if this results in quicker initial gps locks on my device. Can people try it out and report back? I performed the reg mods on my i910 but have not had a chance to test it yet.

A newer version of gps_extra.exe is attached - this was posted many days ago on this forum and over at http://www.samsung-omnia.org. Placing this file on the i910 does allow the application to run and display a window allowing for user interaction - it also interacts with the registry settings in hklm/software/samsung/ril/gps and hklm/software/samsung/ril/gps/xtra. I am unable to download the xtra.bin file using this application however - receiving a "cannot connect" error. I manually downloaded the xtra.bin file from the xtra1.gpsonextra.net server (http://xtra1.gpsonextra.net/xtra.bin) and by placing this file in the ROOT of the device (under \My Device), gps_extra.exe does read the time stamps from the file.

Infrmation needed to allow for additional testing - can forum members help find this information?

1) i900 registry dump (from "stock" ROM)

2) i900 qpst settings for gpsone

GPS_XTRA.rar

[Guest Tim-H]

The thing that scares me,, remember when folks cracked the iPhone,, and Apple brought out an upgrade that bricked them all? (Or so the rumor went) I hope VZ doesn't try that. :excl:

Tom

This is why i dont get people that think apple is such a great company. They are one of the most money grubbing corporations around. That's another thread all together though.

[Guest Zabuza]

Hello, new user, first post. been reading up on this since i got my omnia. finally decided to flash my phone an hour or so ago. went smoothly, now i started worry. but my phone turned on and worked like a charm. i could make calls, and txt with no problems, and go online. i could even get the gps working. i did all of this without any more calls or anything, just worked perfect right after the flash. i was wondering should i do something else to the phone, or is it all set.

thank you :excl:

[Guest DeepBlueEditor]

Well, against really solid better judgment I gave it a shot last night about 2:30am (not really last night I suppose) and - Worked fine.

I did NOT do the hard reset before hand. I did backup with Active Sync and SPB Backup in case. I moved everything I could to the 8GB storage card and fired it up. One thing I hadn't heard mentioned here before is don't freak out if you haven't done this yet but the loader/downloader actually goes through several steps and doesn't clearly say "All Done" or anything. I sort of worried for a sec when it took about 10 seconds for the first stage thinking something was wrong if it takes everyone else about 10 minutes. Not a problem. If you keep an eye on the gauge on the handset, it's a decent judge of how far along you are.

I wen to bed after checking that I had a working phone and waited till this morning to test the rest out.

I did have some small panic when there were a few soft reboots that seemed to lock up the device. Even the hardware buttons froze and I couldn't turn it off so I pulled the battery. After doing that a few times, seems like it's all OK.

I reloaded the contacts from Active Sync and they all came back. Been setting it all back up like it used to be for a few hours now. Still need the dark dialer tweak - just don't like that white one for some reason...

So I suppose everyone want's to know about the sat stuff. Yeah, it's working. 5-6 sats baby! Palringo can place me on the map, Google has me too. Didn't do a thing except follow the PDF TO THE LETTER folks. Now note that in the PDF it mentions clicking a few buttons. The newer version of the application actually simply combines all those into a single button you click to find the img file. Hit "detect" (before you have your handset attached by the cable). Make sure your phone is OFF, not just a dimmed display, off. Attach the cable, turn on. It does the rest.

Now the above also assumes you have the USB drivers installed and I did this under XP (good old reliable XP).

I also had a moment of doubt when weather bug kept bailing out on me but I think it was calling home at the time for updates or something. It's working too. I can't find anything not working so I'm calling it a success so far, unless the hardware issue pops up again.

It's resting comfortably in the charging cradle now and once it's up full, I'll add back in my favorite apps like Net Browser, SPB Backup, Adobe Photoshop Mobile and GSPlayer. That will about do it. Oh, I have internet and e-mail in but I need to find the outgoing vzw mail settings again. That's the one thing I didn't write down. Incoming mail from Roadrunner is working fine though.

Time to play - again. And in a few weeks, unless they release this exact same ROM, I'll likely be doing the official update too. I know the vzw mail settings are here someplace. Anyone have them handy or remember the thread post number for that? Lots of posts here.

To stay on topic, once again, GPS, it's working for me. Just follow the steps and for heaven sake people, if in doubt, wait a few weeks and dont brick it.

S.

Edited April 10, 2009 by DeepBlueEditor

[Guest Tim-H]

Hello, new user, first post. been reading up on this since i got my omnia. finally decided to flash my phone an hour or so ago. went smoothly, now i started worry. but my phone turned on and worked like a charm. i could make calls, and txt with no problems, and go online. i could even get the gps working. i did all of this without any more calls or anything, just worked perfect right after the flash. i was wondering should i do something else to the phone, or is it all set.

thank you :excl:

all you should have to do now is load up any apps you want installed agian, and configure your buttons/ringtones. Everything works perfect if you do it the right way the first time.

[Guest azintegra]

BELL RELEASED A NEW ROM THIS MORNING

[Guest key5000]

My phone was 'bricked' and i called verizon today.

They are shpping me a new phone and im sending my old one back. Im not paying anything, its all a part of the warranty.

My replacement phone will arrive today because my current phone can't connect to internet (after flashing with new firmware), call IN/OUT still OK.

Will try flash it again with new phone when I get it today.

[Guest Tim-H]

My replacement phone will arrive today because my current phone can't connect to internet (after flashing with new firmware), call IN/OUT still OK.

Will try flash it again with new phone when I get it today.

Just make sure to keep those 2 check boxes clear. I think it erases the data permanently the first time.

[Guest WoZZeR999]

Just make sure to keep those 2 check boxes clear. I think it erases the data permanently the first time.

All you have to do is call VZW, they can update the PST settings. Just say you can't get internet, and they will de-activate/re-activate you.

[Guest Tim-H]

yeah but might as well avoid the hassle and possible problems if you can.

[Guest JDawg183]

Lol, hope you dont have bad luck. You would have a heck of a time explaining why it happened to you twice and you still loved the phone. Just make sure to follow the instructions exactly the first time. If i remember correctly you said you checked those 2 options the FIRST time, and it would correct itself after that. Most likely because if you dont update that it sticks with the version on it, which after the first time was bad, so you could flash it til doomsday :excl:

[Guest syrguy1969]

I managed to do it last night, and it could not have gone smoother!! I don't remember the official upgrades on my older devices being that fast and easy (once you learn all the tricks the CORRECT way)!!!! All is working great, I have GPS (takes a while, but I expected that), and no problems so far!!!

P.S. For all interested, I restored from an SPB backup file I did right before I upgraded the ROM, and everything works great, no problems at all that I have found!!! To be fair, I may be missing out on a tweak or two that I just don't know where to find it, but I have everything on my Omnia I had before this working + GPS!!! A win in my book!!!

Thanks guys!!

[Guest bornl33t]

After you lose something, you can always 'find' it again. :excl: It you 'lost' a functioning phone, hooray for $50 PDA. Otherwise you've got a nice spare screen laying around.

I frown on this idea. It's basicly stealing right? And it really doesn't benefit anyone....I however don't mind donating them to devs to help port software to the Omnia. The omnia seems to be difficult for standart software because of it's weird wqvga screen. Most apps fail to render correctly. I really want my warcarft 2 back....but as of right now, no dice, not even with the resolution fix.

[Guest aleis]

I managed to do it last night, and it could not have gone smoother!! I don't remember the official upgrades on my older devices being that fast and easy (once you learn all the tricks the CORRECT way)!!!! All is working great, I have GPS (takes a while, but I expected that), and no problems so far!!!

P.S. For all interested, I restored from an SPB backup file I did right before I upgraded the ROM, and everything works great, no problems at all that I have found!!! To be fair, I may be missing out on a tweak or two that I just don't know where to find it, but I have everything on my Omnia I had before this working + GPS!!! A win in my book!!!

Thanks guys!!

glad u finally got it bro!! :excl:

but my GPS sucks!

its sooo intermittent!

[Guest jeffreyd]

Has anyone been able to get iGuidance 2009 to work with the samsung omnia?

I can't get a lock with the gps signal. It just says waiting for gps signal.

Any thoughts?

Thanks.

Edited April 10, 2009 by jeffreyd

[Guest dtread]

I am glad there is so much success here in the topic. Ive been a lurker for a while here, but ive saw a lot of improvements from people here in not only this thread but several others that I follow. I have been contemplating doing this for a few days now and I keep coming back to see the success stories, etc. I like the omnia the way it is, I would just like the GPS option unlocked. So, that keeps me on the line because having no way to go back if this winds up having problems for me makes me ponder it longer. I know I can look to assurion to have my back in the instance my phone gets dropped into the pool or off a cliff as long as I have a 50 spot. Im just waiting on some of these guys to get this rom and rape it and maybe include a nice launcher and some bling bling to it first.

[Guest necosino]

Then keep your eye on Wozzer, he's already cooking, should have something out shortly (next week, maybe?) Also, I believe AznTegra did post the stock ROM back a few pages.. let's keep this thread going for 100 pages ,then it can be locked :excl:

[Guest blazingwolf]

I frown on this idea. It's basicly stealing right?

Now, that is a funny comment. :excl:

[Guest aleis]

*** HELP ****

i cannot be the only one having GPS issues!

my issue is, i cannot seem to get a lock!

sometimes it will lock but no image on the screen (live search)

and sometimes it doesnt even connect! (google maps, sometimes live search).

what i have to do is load google maps, then load live search for it to work.

now, that doesnt even work!

THE MAIN THING!

in the gps settings...they do not stick!!

i set the program port to 8 and the baud rate to 57600.

after i hit ok, and go back to the gps settins, they revert back to blank and 4800!

HELP!!!

[Guest szinski]

but my GPS sucks!

its sooo intermittent!

Same here. When I put my phone in standby mode (tap the power button) then awaken it, the GPS appears to have reset. This makes sense since the battery drain would be enormous if the GPS tried to maintain a lock all of the time. But, when my phone awakens it takes a long time for it to get a GPS lock again... even standing outside under a clear, unobstructed, sky.

When I awaken my phone, Garmin Mobile XT shows -zero- satellites, then, after approximately 10-15 minutes, it gets a lock on 4 or 5 satellites at once! Once a good fix is established everything works fine. It's great in my car when plugged into DC power, it behaves just as nicely as a couple of my dedicated GPS units.

So, my only complaint at this point is the incredibly long time my Omnia takes to get its initial GPS lock.

Edited April 10, 2009 by szinski

[Guest aleis]

Same here. When I put my phone in standby mode (tap the power button) then awaken it, the GPS appears to have reset. This makes sense since the battery drain would be enormous if the GPS tried to maintain a lock all of the time. But, when my phone awakens it takes a long time for my phone to get a GPS lock again... even standing outside under a clear, unobstructed, sky.

My Garmin Mobile XT shows -zero- satellites, then, after approximately 10-15 minutes, it gets a lock on 4 or 5 satellites at once! Once a good fix is established everything works fine. It's great in my car when plugged into DC power, it behaves just as nicely as a couple of my dedicated GPS units.

So, my only complaint at this point is the incredibly long time my Omnia takes to get its initial GPS lock.

yes!

maybe i do need to wait 15mins again like the first time i flashed my rom!

that would suck but...

god!

hopefully the official rom is different from this one and the gps works better!

[Guest blazingwolf]

It's taking awhile because we are not going through the assisted part of AGPS. Once we have the correct items to plug in to the ROM it should speed up. If a new release is dropped by Verizon on 5-11 then we should get all of that info. Unless, of course, someone figures it out before hand. :excl:

Edited April 10, 2009 by blazingwolf

[Guest aleis]

It's taking awhile because we are not going through the assisted part of AGPS. Once we have the correct items to plug in to the ROM it should speed up. If a new release is dropped by Verizon on 5-11 then we should get all of that info. Unless, of course, someone figures it out before hand. :excl:

so...please tell me you are having the same problems i am????

slow to connect sometimes dont connect??

[Guest szinski]

It's taking awhile because we are not going through the assisted part of AGPS. Once we have the correct items to plug in to the ROM it should speed up.

I don't know. I own a Garmin iQue 3600 (PDA/GPS running PalmOS) which gets a satellite lock very quickly... much quicker than my Omnia. And the iQue uses a standalone GPS (i.e., it's not a cell phone). For example, I can power-on my iQue, pop it in its dashboard cradle, and have a GPS lock in less than a minute (and see myself moving on the map). And my iQue is old technology compared to Omnia!

I hope Omnia's problem is with the beta firmware and not poor GPS hardware.

[Guest blazingwolf]

so...please tell me you are having the same problems i am????

slow to connect sometimes dont connect??

Yep.