Second S8 and still having problems with GPS
DesertRat96
Enthusiast - Level 3

This is my second Galaxy S8 since August. The GPS, even after several factory resets, is still very much off just like the previous one.

Google Maps is lagging. Using "my IP address" in Chrome shows me between 150 to 2500 miles away from my actual location. I started using Google Fit, and it sends me upwards of 1 mile off course when logging a walk.

I noticed on other online forums people have the same problem with S8.

I'm really disappointed in this phone. Yes, my location services stay on. I've done network resets.

I don't care how great the camera is when I need the GPS for travel and logging activities as well.

I'm stuck with this phone until August (which may finally be the month it gets Oreo?).

Any advice besides calling for a second replacement?

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Re: Second S8 and still having problems with GPS
vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

I’m sorry to learn that your phone’s GPS feature is not as accurate as expected, DesertRat96. We certainly want your phone to work as intended. Several factors can impact the devices’ GPS ability to provide the correct location for your phone. Please enable the WiFi feature on your phone and then use any location application (Google Maps or other), and test. You do not need to connect to any WiFi network. The reason to enable WiFi is to have your phone’s GPS use the nearby WiFi networks to provide a more accurate location, but there is no need to access any of those networks. Keep us posted.

 

AntonioC_VZW

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If my response answered your question please click the _Correct Answer_ button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!!

Re: Second S8 and still having problems with GPS
DesertRat96
Enthusiast - Level 3

Screenshot_20171122-193502.pngScreenshot_20171129-072830.pngI have all of the settings as you recommended before you suggested them. I still have the same problem 2 months later. I have over 1,000 screenshots in sequence, including one from Google Maps, that I am either home or within 20 miles of home...but web based location finding of my IP goes out as far as New Jersey when I am in California.

It is frustrating when store apps and websites, like Lowes and Home Depot, will not update my location even when I am inside of their stores with the wi-fi on. I am not using their store wifi but, like you said, the phone should be using the store's wifi IP to accurately locate me. But it doesn't. It will insist I am 150 miles away most times.

I am still waiting for a rational explanation outside of replacing the entire phone...again.

Re: Second S8 and still having problems with GPS
vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

DesertRat96,

 

I'm so sorry for the issues you continue to have with the GPS on your device. Has it always been this way? If not, when did it begin? Is your maps application updated to the most recent version? 

 

ChristinaB_VZW

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If my response answered your question please click the _Correct Answer_ button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!!

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Re: Second S8 and still having problems with GPS
DesertRat96
Enthusiast - Level 3

Yes, my due diligence is fine on my end: I do every Google Play app update the same day I get a notification.

The problem with location services being wrong has been going on across 4 different phones I have had on the Verizon wireless network (2 Motorola smartphones and 2 Samsung Galaxy). It's been the worst on the Samsungs because even factory and network resets do not resolve the issue.

May I remind Technical Support that Verizon's database was hacked in 2017 (yes, I did the PIN change as instructed) and that the Galaxy S8 was easily hacked during a 2017 Black Hat convention demonstration. I do EVERYTHING needed including the security updates Google sends monthly.

So, this has been going on for over a year, and during this time only 1 customer service rep did not dismiss my problem as being something I am solely responsible for happening. I have anti-virus/malware installed. I use a Yubikey for 2FA authentication to my Google account. I use a SIM PIN in addition to the lock screen PIN. Really...what more should I be doing? Maybe it's time to look at who has access to my VZW account?

Re: Second S8 and still having problems with GPS
vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

DeserRat96, we appreciate all the work that you've done on your end to try to fix the GPS on your Galaxy S8. Out of all the steps that you've completed, have you been able to reset the applications that use GPS https://www.verizonwireless.com/support/knowledge-base-211228/. Please complete this step and test out your GPS services. 

 

KevinR_VZW

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If my response answered your question please click the ?Correct Answer? button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!

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Re: Second S8 and still having problems with GPS
DesertRat96
Enthusiast - Level 3

Yes! I have done this step so many times I have lost count. That was one of the things the Samsung rep at Best Buy did when he witnessed my location services being out of whack and the CSR who authorized the return of the first Galaxy S8.

Question: when I sent back that phone with a note and a disc containing screenshots of where my phone showed me to be with everything maximized, cleared, reset, etc, did anyone send the phone to the fraud or security department to be analyzed for a possible bug that is not in any existing databases?

Other than changing my phone number...any other suggestions?

Re: Second S8 and still having problems with GPS
DesertRat96
Enthusiast - Level 3

I understand that Tech Support is doing is their best to rule out any phone misuse on my part, but after more than a year of dealing with this on my end, I've researched every possible way to fix this myself. I have tried everything possible and do not neglect updates. The November 2017 update to fix the KRACK problem worked for an hour before a spoofing text was sent, and my location services were screwed up all over again.

Re: Second S8 and still having problems with GPS
vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

DesertRat96, I appreciate your continued patience while we work with you to get these GPS errors resolved. Please follow the following steps and let us know your findings: Settings > Location > Locating method and verify that High accuracy is selected. Can you please elaborate on the spoof text? What did it say? Was it responded to?

 

 

MelissaP_VZW
Follow us on TWITTER @VZWSupport
If my response answered your question please click the _Correct Answer_ button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!!

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Re: Second S8 and still having problems with GPS
DesertRat96
Enthusiast - Level 3

Thank you for working with me on this issue.

Yes, the accuracy is set to high. I checked that too.

As far as the texts:

1) They are random, but always during the "app reinstall and updating" process...before the anti-virus apps are installed. I mean, every...single...time I have done a factory reset. I have done dozens of them. Some come from obvious spammers: cannabis spam, or they are numbers not in my address book asking how I am doing (i.e. social engineering). There is not always a hyperlink or image file. I do not reply. In fact, I block the numbers. It's only been in the past week that Signal has finally listened to customer input and intercepted texts from unknown numbers. It asks if I want to block, view and reply, or add to contacts.

2) I try to be quick during the app reinstall process, especially to disable the Verizon Messaging app. Signal will not activate until I re-authenticate my phone number. But that Samsung Messaging app...well...it's designed to not be disabled.

3) I disabled Verizon Messaging so that the text history is not available through my VZW on the web. I did that months ago. (Thank one of your customers for posting it on a support thread.)

I get a lot of spoof number calls, and found out from a persistent woman that my number has been spoofed. I block every one of them afterward, and do not answer the ones with the same area code and first three digits similar to my own number.

Basically, I am done doing factory resets on my phones. It is a lost battle on my part at this point. The last reset did nothing to fix the location services issue. Thanks to Samsung making it impossible to suspend receiving messages during the reinstall period, I will always get one during that time.

To answer this question in advance: I NEVER download apps from anywhere other than the Play Store. I update and scan my phone using anti-virus/anti-malware. I have even run scans while in safe mode. This is only effective if a program is in database. That much I've learned from prior PC and phone experience.

When I got this Samsung Galaxy S8, I was not informed that during activation I was auto-logged in to the My Verizon app. This should be a customer choice, not something done without customer knowledge or consent at the time of activation.