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How to improve and calibrate your Android phone's GPS

Most Android smartphones come with an integrated GPS, which allows the device to use navigation applications. The problem is that not all GPS sensors are integrated in the same way. And especially on older smartphones, GPS may stop working properly. Below you will find a series of tips to improve your Android's GPS service.

How a Smartphone's GPS Works

GPS is a global satellite positioning service that the United States Army began to develop in 1973, and since 1995 it can be used publicly. The service started with 24 satellites, and now there are 31 in orbit. Our smartphones communicate with these satellites through an antenna embedded in the hardware.

This antenna is controlled through a driver that the manufacturer includes in the operating system. Therefore, the signal quality will depend on three main factors: the number of satellites that are connected, the quality of the GPS antenna and the update of the drivers in the system.

If your smartphone has a serious and accurate connection problem, you need to contact the manufacturer to have the hardware or software fixed. Now regarding the connection, we can optimize it manually.

Select "High Accuracy" mode

To have the best possible signal, you must take into account that the device consumes a little more battery than normal. Remember, therefore, to disable the "High Accuracy" mode when not using GPS.

  • V at Settings> Location and make sure that location services are enabled;
  • Then click on "Mode" and activate "High Accuracy". As said, this method will consume more battery, but will use all available wireless networks to get the best signal.
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Activating the GPS / AndroidPIT high-precision mode

Calibrate the compass

One of the issues that can affect the accuracy of your GPS is an unregulated compass. If so, it means that the device is receiving wrong guidance information, which can cause problems when using navigation apps. Fortunately the solution is easy: just calibrate your compass.

To do this, download an application such as GPS Status & Toolbox, pull the menu on the left side and then click Calibrate the compass. After rotating the device (slowly) twice around its 3 axes, click OK and the compass is calibrated.

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Calibrating your device's compass / AndroidPIT




GPS Status & Toolbox
Install on Google Play

Reset the GPS data

Sometimes your device may be attached to certain GPS satellites, even if they are no longer in range, and this can lead to a weak or even non-existent signal. A good solution is to erase your GPS data and start collecting information from scratch.

Again, the GPS Status & Toolbox application is a good tool for operation. Just go to Tools> Manage A-GPS status and click on Reset to reset the data, and then Download to start collecting location information. The disadvantage is that this solution is not permanent, and you may need to repeat the process from time to time.

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Erasing and restarting GPS / AndroidPIT data collection

Identify GPS satellites

With another application, GPS Essentials, you can identify the satellites from which your device collects location information.




GPS Essentials
Install on Google Play

After downloading the application, click me Satellites and you can see how many satellites are in range of the device and how many it actually uses. If you have no signal, the app also indicates if there is a software / hardware problem or if you are really out of reach at the moment.

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Identifying satellites within reach of your device / AndroidPIT

Do you know another way to make GPS more accurate?

. (tagsToTranslate) GPS (t) android (t) location (t) compass (t) calibrate (t) clear data