Android how to calculate what turns on gps. Where to get cards. How to check the status of your GPS navigator using GPS Test

Built-in GPS is one of the standard functions of modern smartphones, thanks to which mobile users can use various navigation applications like Google Maps and receive precise coordinates, for example, of their own location, localize an object on the map, plot travel routes, etc.

However, different Android devices are equipped with different types of GPS sensors, which in turn differ in their technical parameters.

Accordingly, depending on the quality of operation of such sensors, the quality of the GPS signal that each individual smartphone model is capable of providing also depends.

Plus, the quality of the GPS signal is also seriously affected by other important factors, in particular the system settings of the device, the software used, the quality of the connection, and even the firmware version of the device.

In this article we have collected some useful recommendations, how to improve GPS quality in Android smartphones and tablets . So

First, you need to make sure that the GPS function is activated on your Android device. To do this, go to “ Settings" device (we use this Lenovo P770), open the section " My location"(Location Access) and there we enable (check the boxes) the options " Access my location data" (Access to my location) and " By GPS satellites"(GPS Satellites).

GPS Calibration
Often the reason for a decrease in the quality of a GPS signal can be a poorly calibrated compass in a smartphone, as a result of which the device incorrectly calculates coordinates, constantly producing incorrect data. You can set up a compass in Android OS using a special utility, of which there are many on the Internet. GPS Essentials, For example. After installing this application, you just need to launch it and press the button Calibrate. Next, the program independently optimizes the GPS settings in your smartphone.

If, after completing the calibration, the GPS quality remains unsatisfactory, then you can use the diagnostic function to try to find out the cause of the malfunction and figure out whether it is related to deficiencies in the installed software, or whether the problem lies in the hardware. GPS Essentials launches an additional test, based on the results of which the program will display a list of possible reasons for poor GPS performance; the process also determines, among other things, the number of satellites from which the smartphone receives a high-quality signal.

If it was not possible to improve the quality of GPS (or find out the reason for its poor performance) using the GPS Essentials utility (and this happens), then as a last resort you can reboot the GPS module of your Android smartphone. The fact is that sometimes the device “loops” on satellites that are out of range and stops receiving signals from available satellites. A complete reboot of the GPS module resets all current settings and restores the original ones. In our Lenovo P770, we rebooted the GPS module using the utility GPS Status & Toolbox, which was also downloaded from Google Play.

After installing and launching the application, you need to go to the A-GPS status manager menu ( Manager A-GPS State) and just press the button Reset Data. The program will reset all existing GPS module settings and restore the factory settings. This optimization method can also be used for preventive purposes, so to speak, when the quality of the GPS in the smartphone deteriorates again.

Reflashing the device
Another radical way to improve the quality of GPS on an Android smartphone or tablet involves flashing the device. However, only advanced users can use it effectively. Inexperienced users, on the contrary, may not only fail to correct the situation with GPS, but will most likely damage the device. However, with a competent approach to the matter, flashing can eliminate deficiencies in GPS operation and significantly improve the accuracy and quality of the GPS signal, as well as speed up the search for satellites. Of course, we don’t forget about data backup.

Traveling is an integral part of every person, be it a trip to another city or another country. But how to find your way in an unfamiliar area? You can ask people or use a paper map - but the option that they will tell you correctly and you will be able to navigate the area is not great. The most effective one today is a GPS navigator. This article offers several options for answering the question - how to install a navigator on your phone.

Option No. 1 – Navitel

Mobile devices on the Android platform have the ability to install a navigation system - Navitel, 2gis and iGo. These utilities allow you to use your smartphone as a full-fledged navigator. In Russia, Navitel has earned the greatest popularity, because... it was developed and focused on Russian territory. The relevance of this application is also due to the fact that navigators cost a lot of money, and installing the application is free. However, the 6-day trial version has (according to reviews on Google Play) a number of disadvantages. The first of which is the difficulty of installing cards. “The route is laid out poorly, it bypasses open roads with high-quality surfaces, and ends up on a country road.”

In order to install this utility on a phone with the Android platform, you must perform the following steps:

Navigator 2gis

There are a lot of flattering reviews about this program, so it’s not surprising that we decided to try it out.

After installation, the application took the bull by the horns and offered to download maps. This is really cool because we need a navigator to navigate the terrain. The beginning is good (although crooked fingers hit several other cities besides Moscow).

I was especially pleased with the coat of arms (we believe it is a coat of arms) of each of the cities. This way you can immediately study the heraldry of the Russian Federation. It's good that the cards are free. At first glance, the interface is no different from Yandex maps. You can create a route in any city from point A to point B. At first glance, the algorithm seems quite good.

The 2GIS database includes current public transport routes, and if necessary, the road is indicated for a personal car. In the latter case, the Navigator works.

I would like to add to this that this is a good competitor to Navitel. In a short period of time, I have collected some good reviews and recommendations. But the main advantage of 2GIS is that it is free.

iGo

The application was posted on the Play Market and was found without any problems.

The package is, of course, wonderful. See for yourself:

Advantage: this is the simplest and most visually convenient navigator for driving. Reminds me of some kind of computer game. We hope that driving with it is just as easy.

Where to get cards

If this application is not installed, although this program is built into Android by default, you can download the Maps utility from the network. It's pretty simple:

Option No. 2 – Mobile maps without a navigator

Modern devices are equipped with GPS sensors, through which you can use Internet resources. Connect your device to the mobile Internet using the standard settings of your cellular operator. Such settings come in the form of an SMS notification. Proceed according to the instructions.

Option No. 3 – external GPS receiver

Another convenient way to use the navigation system using a smartphone is an external receiver. In order to install such a device, you will need the following:

Installation instructions:

  1. Before traveling, purchase an external GPS receiver with Bluetooth functionality. Its price varies from 1500 to 2000 rubles.
  2. This equipment is equipped with its own battery (due to which your mobile smartphone will not consume energy). Charge it before use.
  3. Install any navigator on your phone. If your phone has unlimited Internet traffic, you can install Google Maps, Yandex.Maps or [email protected]. If such a service is not available on the phone, then the cellular operator provides free Internet use for the Yandex Maps utility.
  4. Synchronize your mobile device and GPS receiver. Proceed according to the instructions included in the kit.
  5. Turn on the navigation system. In the menu, select the “GPS Receiver Detection” tab. The screen will display a directory of devices within Bluetooth range. Click the icon that displays your smartphone.
  6. To check the operation of the devices, you should go out into an open area and make sure that the location is determined.

To avoid unpleasant situations, it is recommended to carefully study the functionality of the navigator and receiver before going on a trip. It is also necessary to study how path planning works, searching for the necessary addresses, how to create a shortcut and move around traffic jams. In the subsequent work of the duo - receiver + smartphone, it should be remembered that if problems arise on the part of the cellular operator, the receiver will automatically stop loading the necessary maps. Thus, the receiver is an extended version of your mobile device. You should also remember the need to maintain a charge on both the phone and the receiver, but the batteries are not connected in any way.

All modern Android smartphones and tablets are equipped with a GPS module. This allows these devices to be used as GPS navigators. In addition, the presence of a GPS module allows you to leave GPS tags on photos and use many other useful functions. In this regard, many novice users are interested in how to enable GPS on Android. In this article we will briefly consider this issue.

As a rule, Android devices have a GPS module enabled. But, if you previously disabled this function, and now want to turn it back on, then you need to open Settings and go to the “Location” section.

At the top of the “Location” section there is a switch that is responsible for disabling and enabling GPS on Android.

If this switch glows blue, it means GPS is turned on. In addition to simply turning on GPS, you can change the navigation mode. To do this, go to the “Mode” section. Based on device sensors."

In the “Mode” section, you can choose one of three modes for determining your location.

Consider these modes:

  • High accuracy. In this mode, all available information is used to determine location: data from a GPS sensor, data received using a Wi-Fi wireless network, as well as data received using a mobile network. If you turn on GPS in this mode, you will be able to determine your location with maximum accuracy.
  • Save battery power. The operating mode intended for the device. In this mode, the GPS module. Instead, data obtained via Wi-Fi and mobile networks is used to determine location.
  • Based on device sensors. In this mode, only information from the GPS module is used.

Also in the "Location" window, you can enable or disable the use of data about your location by Google services. To do this, go to the “Sending geodata” section.

In the “Sending Data” section there are two additional sections: “Sending Geodata” and “Location History”. Open each of these sections and turn off (or turn on) the use of your location data.

This is a universal device that serves not only for communication, but also for performing many other useful functions. One of the new features of the device is navigation. It became available thanks to the introduction of GPS sensors into the phone. How to choose and install a navigator on your smartphone?

GPS navigation on a smartphone

Most modern smartphones have built-in GPS sensors. This makes it easy to use your favorite device, for example, as car navigator to quickly find your way in unfamiliar places. It is very easy to take advantage of this opportunity.

Thanks to convenient applications install a navigator on a smartphone of any manufacturer possible in a matter of minutes. The only thing is that this process has its own nuances for different operating systems. Let's take a closer look, how to use a navigator on a smartphone, and what programs are best to use for this.

Useful programs and applications: how to choose a navigator

Using a smartphone as a navigator becomes possible thanks to the work of various programs and applications. They come in two types:

  • Online (Yandex Navigation, Google Navigator and others);
  • Offline (for example, Navitel).

The first option requires an Internet connection, so it is recommended to use them only with an unlimited tariff. A significant advantage of these programs is that they are regularly updated. In the basic version, these applications are free.

The second type of navigators can also be used when the Internet is turned off. All information is located in the internal memory of the smartphone, however, it takes up quite a lot of space. These programs are paid.

Setting up a navigator on the base

Setting up a navigator for your Android smartphone is very simple. You just need to download the desired program through the Play Market. The action plan is very simple and includes several actions:

  • The first step is to create a Google account. This is necessary to work with the Play Market;
  • Using your account login and password, you must log in to your smartphone;
  • Next, you need to launch the Play Market and select the desired application, for example Navitel. To speed up the process, you can enter its name in the search bar;
  • When the application appears in the list of found ones, you need to click on its name and in the window that opens, click the “Run” button.

To use the navigator, you need to make sure that the GPS sensors are turned on. For example, to do this you need to go to the “Settings” menu, select “Location” and configure the appropriate connection parameters.

Android supports the following navigation applications:

  • Navitel;
  • 2gis;

Selecting a navigator based on

Now let's answer the question: how to set up a navigator on an iPhone? The iOS operating system supports many navigators, including:

  • Navitel;
  • Navigon;
  • CityGuide and others.

You can download the navigator to your iPhone, like other programs - via the App Store. You also need to download maps, since the pre-installed application is not always accurate.

To enable GPS on your iPhone, you need to sequentially go to the “Settings”, “Privacy” and “Geolocation” menus. In this section, you need to move the “Location Services” switch to ON.

Navigation based on Windows Phone

As a navigator in smartphones based on Windows Phone, for example, Lumia 640 using the Here app. It allows you to view both a schematic map and a panoramic map with photographs of houses. But you can download another navigator through the Windows Store. Among the best options are the following:

  • Yandex.Navigator;
  • Navitel;
  • 2 GIS;
  • Windows Maps.

Knowing how to use a smartphone as a navigator, you can quickly get directions, find the nearest cafe or gas station, and determine the location of loved ones. And this is really a very useful and necessary function for any smartphone owner.

In this article you will learn how, with the help of simple manipulations, speed up the GPS connection several dozen times and increase its accuracy on smartphones and tablets running Android OS!

Theory

3. Computer

4. Install the text editor NotePad ++ (Windows) on your PC, for Linux users Gedit

Extract GPS.CONF file

The GPS.CONF file is responsible for the operation of the GPS module in Android, which must be extracted from the system partition. He's on the way /system/etc/gps.conf and move it to internal memory or SD card for later editing on a PC.

Editing GPS.CONF

To speed up the GPS connection and increase its accuracy, you need to change the GPS.CONF settings. Open it with Notepad++. Depending on the manufacturer, you may see different settings made.

Setting up an NTP server

Let's start upgrading the GPS.CONF file! The first thing you need to do is add or rewrite NTP_SERVER. NTP- This is a high-precision time synchronization server. Depending on your location, you need to change the main NTP server. As you can see above, the server is indicated on the screen north-america.pool.ntp.org, which obviously will not speed up your connection to GPS if, for example, you are in Belarus, Ukraine, or Russia. Therefore, it is necessary to register a “local” server:

For Belarus, the ideal NTP is: by.pool.ntp.org For Ukraine, the ideal NTP is: ua.pool.ntp.org For Russia, the ideal NTP is: ru.pool.ntp.org

You can also use a common server for Europe: europe.pool.ntp.org

An example of how it should be written:

NTP_SERVER=by.pool.ntp.org <-- Для Белоруссии NTP_SERVER=ua.pool.ntp.org <-- Для Украины NTP_SERVER=ru.pool.ntp.org <-- Для России

You can also additionally add another European server, in case of failure to work from one of the local servers

Example:

NTP_SERVER=europe.pool.ntp.org NTP_SERVER=by.pool.ntp.org

Some romodels of custom firmware introduce many other NTP servers, which is not true, since, on the contrary, the connection slows down, due to the fact that 5-6 servers may not work, and Android will still waste time on the connection.

There are also alternative XTRA servers; it is recommended to enter them and not make any changes



XTRA_SERVER_3=http://xtra3.gpsonextra.net/xtra.bin

To enable or not to enable WI-FI

To increase navigation accuracy, as well as increase connection to GPS satellites, you can use the WI-FI wireless data transfer protocol. To do this, you need to enter the following parameter:

ENABLE_WIPER=

A value of 1 will allow the use of WI-FI, a value of 0 will prohibit it.

For example:

ENABLE_WIPER=1<-- использовать WI-FI ENABLE_WIPER=0<-- не использовать WI-FI

Report of intermediate positions (GPS accuracy or connection speed)

This parameter is responsible for the speed and accuracy of GPS, if the speed is higher (cold and hot start), then the accuracy is lower

INTERMEDIATE_POS=

Value 0 - accurate data, slower connection.

Value 1 - less accurate data (the longer it works, the more accurate it will be during one session), but faster connection.

For example:

INTERMEDIATE_POS=0<-- точно, но медленно INTERMEDIATE_POS=1<-- не точно, но быстро

Intermediate Position Accuracy Threshold (GPS Accuracy)

This parameter eliminates errors

INTERMEDIATE_POS=

Value 0 - take into account all data

Value 100, 200, 300, 1000, 5000 - removes errors

For example

INTERMEDIATE_POS=0<-- все промежуточные позиции INTERMEDIATE_POS=5000<-- игнорируются менее точные

Enable A-GPS (speed, accuracy)

The parameter determines whether A-GPS will be enabled or disabled (if enabled, more precisely)

DEFAULT_AGPS_ENABLE=

TRUE - use A-GPS

Value FALSE - do not use A-GPS

For example

DEFAULT_AGPS_ENABLE=TRUE<-- использовать DEFAULT_AGPS_ENABLE=FALSE<-- не использовать

Connection to connection point (Supplicant)

Enter the following values ​​if not specified:

SUPL_HOST=supl.google.com
SUPL_PORT=7276

Type of data transmission usage in A-GPS

The parameter is responsible for the amount of information transmitted, service “Control Plane” or broad transmission of subscriber data “User Plane”. It is recommended to use "User Plane".

DEFAULT_USER_PLANE=

TRUE - use User Plane

FALSE - use Control Plane

For example:

DEFAULT_USER_PLANE=TRUE<-- User Plane DEFAULT_USER_PLANE=FALSE<-- Control Plane

The final version of the GPS.CONF file

NTP_SERVER=ua.pool.ntp.org
ENABLE_WIPER=1
XTRA_SERVER_1=http://xtra1.gpsonextra.net/xtra.bin
INTERMEDIATE_POS=0
XTRA_SERVER_3=http://xtra3.gpsonextra.net/xtra.bin
XTRA_SERVER_2=http://xtra2.gpsonextra.net/xtra.bin
DEFAULT_AGPS_ENABLE=TRUE
DEFAULT_USER_PLANE=TRUE
ACCURACY_THRES=0
SUPL_PORT=7276
SUPL_HOST=supl.google.com

Save the edited version of the GPS.CONF file and throw it back into Android and reboot it! Congratulations, you were able to speed up your GPS connection and increase its accuracy on your Android!

An easy way for the lazy

For those who do not want to experiment and want to rely on someone else’s experience, you can use a ready-made, modified file gps.conf. According to the authors BlackIce Team Connecting to GPS satellites occurs almost instantly.

All you need is to download gps.conf for your country and drop it into /system/etc, then reboot Android.

Download a collection of optimized GPS.CONF