Does Anyone Have GPS Issues with The Samsung A20 Phone?

theBestBastion on 07/09/2019 - 11:31

Long story short, I just bought a Samsung A20 from the recent Big W deal for AA in my car. The phone is great, but the GPS doesn't seem to be working well. Sometimes it takes forever to get a GPS fix (the longest was over 30 mins), but sometimes it can get a lock in less than 15 seconds. When it happens, my Note 9 could get a fix in a couple of seconds.

I am no sure if it is just my phone or it is a common issue. By far, I saw at least 4 people asked about the GPS issue in the A20 deal threads. Not sure if I shall pay a visit to Samsung Customer Center (they now force customers to factory reset their phone before they can start working on it, which is very annoying).

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Comments

  • ItsMeAgro on 07/09/2019 - 11:47
    +1

    Original deal thread did say it was useless for GPS.

  • Any thing on 07/09/2019 - 12:25
    +2

    Yep, can confirm this phone is useless for reliable gps. I have intermittent issues with it. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't.

  • theBestBastion on 07/09/2019 - 17:58
    +1

    So sad, not sure if I can return it …

    • ruskiromka on 20/10/2019 - 20:37

      I have the same issue, what did you end up doing?

  • annarchon on 09/09/2019 - 12:41

    Plays Pokemon Go fine, but if you are indoors, it occasionally throws you off.

  • ruskiromka on 20/10/2019 - 19:31
    +1

    Absolute joke of a GPS on this phone. Is this across the board or just a faulty batch? I cant use it at all most of the time.

  • uk3000 on 01/12/2019 - 22:14
    +3

    I've got two if these (Vodafone-branded and then unlocked) for my in-laws and GPS is an issue with both. I however suspect this problem might be specific to Vodafone firmware, and here's why.

    If I turn on the Flight mode and reboot the phone, then run GPS Test (while still in the Flight mode), I always get a GPS fix in less then 30 seconds.

    Then I turn the Flight mode off and continue getting reliable fixes until I reboot or turn the phone off. This suggests the problem might be with Vodafone's AGPS servers, which might be used for the initial fix (unless the phone is offline). They might be unreachable if used with a non-Vodafone SIM.

    This is just a speculation of course. It'd be great if somebody with an unbranded, unlocked A20 could confirm or refute it.

    • uk3000 on 02/12/2019 - 08:57
      +1

      In this light, I also suspect if we used this phone with a Vodafone SIM, the fix would be instant. Can somebody with A20 on Vodafone network confirm this please?

      I'm going to try to change the country code of this Galaxy A20 SM-A205YN model from VAP (Vodafone) to XSA (Australia) and see if that helps with the GPS issues. Have to wait till the combination ROM A205YNDVU3ASK8 becomes available.

      • uk3000 on 05/12/2019 - 06:55

        It appears that changing CSC is no longer an option, I get "Please get the approval to use factory binaries (BOOTLOADER)" for A20, same as others have reported for S10.

        Also, I've activated a prepaid Vodafone SIM and that didn't solve the GPS issue. For now, the only reliable way to get a GPS fix with A20 is to reboot with the Flight mode on.

    • uk3000 on 05/12/2019 - 09:15

      So I've filed a bug report via Samsung Member App. Here is how to do it, recommended by Samsung themselves.

      Here is what I've put in there, feel free to copy/paste and submit with your own bug report. Perhaps, if they have enough complaints like that, they may fix it with a firmware update. It does feel like a software issue.

      On my Galaxy A20, GPS is not getting a fix with clear sky view. The only way I can get a reliable fix is to turn on the Flight mode, reboot the phone, then go to Google Maps while the phone is still in the Flight mode. In which case I always get a fix in less then 30 seconds. Then I turn off the Flight mode and GPS keeps working fine for a day or so, then it stops and I have to go through offline mode / reboot again. My guess is that there is a problem with AGPS/GNSS servers when Data/WiFi is on. I've done a factory reset and I have all firmware updates installed, with only stock apps.

    • mikec on 08/12/2019 - 11:47
      +1

      Legendary! I have my Vodafone A20 unlocked and the GPS doesn’t always lock on. It can only see up to 7-8 satellites when indoors and they then just disappear without locking.

      The flight mode restart method works like a charm! Using an Optus SIM card in mine.

      • uk3000 on 09/12/2019 - 12:38
        +1

        Glad it helped. I noticed as well, if you turn off WiFi and Data, it's also often possible to get the fix much faster, without going through the Flight mode and a reboot.

        Please file a bug via the Members app! They have dismissed mine with a canned response, but hopefully the more reports they have, the more attention they will pay.

        • Wilburre on 23/01/2020 - 11:06
          +1

          I've left a snarky post on their facebook page as well as contacted their facebook messenger account - they deleted the post and refused to take responsbility and had the gall to tell me I have to book an appointment at a Samsung center - I'm in Canberra and the nearest one is in Sydney.

          This is my first and last Samsung product - I won't touch them again with a 10 foot pole and I'll be warning everyone I know against them too.

          The motorola G series may be overpriced for what they are compared to these, but at least they arn't defective like this POS.

          • Arthur Dunger on 23/01/2020 - 11:09

            @Wilburre: You can return it for a full refund if it's still under warranty.
            https://www.accc.gov.au/business/treating-customers-fairly/c…

            • Wilburre on 23/01/2020 - 11:15
              +1

              @Arthur Dunger: Yeah I'm debating whether to do that or keep it as a spare phone. I bought it as a stop gap when my Moto G5s+ stopped charging as the micro usb connection got too flogged out (well and truly out of warranty). The a20 is still in warranty (pourchased Nov 1 2019) and unless there is a fix in the next couple of months (unlikely), I'll be returning it as soon as I buy a replacement.

  • happychappy1 on 07/01/2020 - 19:45
    +1

    I believe it's something to do with Google's location services being faulty in this phone, because as part of the troubleshooting process, I did a factory reset, and had a Google account signed, it didn't work. But after signing out, the GPS got a fix almost immediately. I've noticed that despite enabling location tagging in the camera, many of my photos don't have location information. Nevertheless, an Android phone with no Google account might as well be a brick, so this is a major fault.

    • happychappy1 on 07/01/2020 - 19:52
      +1

      By the way, the Samsung repair centre won't do anything except run 'standard tests' (i.e., diagnostics software) and will not test the Google Maps driving mode navigation with a Google account signed in, so they are absolutely useless. sigh

      • uk3000 on 14/01/2020 - 08:36

        Have your submitted a bug report via Samsung Member App? I did that from two different A20s and they've dismissed both reports with "everything is working as expected"

        • happychappy1 on 14/01/2020 - 18:40
          +1

          No I haven't but I took it to the Samsung store at a shopping centre, and they were extremely dismissive.

  • Oofy Doofy on 28/02/2020 - 16:19
    +2

    99% sure the latest Samsung a20 software update has fixed the GPS issues. No problems at all at my end, but I was able to fix the issues before this anyway, so I used my sister's a20 to confirm and it looks like GPS is solid and reliable now.

    Better late than never from Samsung. Gotta appreciate that at least.

    • uk3000 on 02/03/2020 - 08:14

      The latest update didn't not fix it for either of the three A20s in my family. Did you have to do hardware reset or any other tweaks?

      • Oofy Doofy on 02/03/2020 - 15:38
        +1

        https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.eclipsim.g…

        Try calibrating all the sensors with this app, clear mapping app cache and then restart the phone.

        • qian403 on 02/03/2020 - 15:55
          +1

          installed but no use…

        • uk3000 on 02/03/2020 - 18:42
          +1

          Tks, I've just tried that (again) but it's still a no-go for me. Rebooting in offline mode remains the only fix that works for the phones in my family.

          • qian403 on 03/03/2020 - 08:30

            @uk3000: Hi:

            Just want to confirm, is the latest update version published at 1 Feb?

            • uk3000 on 03/03/2020 - 18:46

              @qian403: Yep, that's the one.

              • qian403 on 10/03/2020 - 10:37
                +1

                @uk3000: I tested a20. I found if a20 lost the GPS just switch to air mode for a few sec and switch it back then the GPS will retrieved automatically. no need to change air mode and restart the phone to fix the issue. which is better than before. this method also works on my a 2017 but not on S8.

                I also recommond you change the phone holder/position too. as I do found that if my phone (s8, a2017) sitting on the a.c the GPS has higher chance to lost signal even I off the A.C. But if I use another phone holder and put the phone away from A.C then the chance of lost signal will reduce.. looks interesting but I monitored it for nearly 2 weeks and found it is… my car is camry. I am not sure why this happen, maybe there is magnetic field around the A.C? no idea…

                hope that helps.

  • qian403 on 02/03/2020 - 14:36
    +1

    Hi

    I have installed the new update two days ago. Just install and restart. no others.

    It looks samsung health (the steps counting) better than usual. Before the update, the steps counted 0 even I walked 30min+ outside, but these 2 days the steps number looks have sth. I thought the steps counting is related to GPS location so I am guessing the GPS model would be modified in that update.

    I haven't tested the GPS outside yet. But I used the GPS Status / GPS Test Plus indoor and it still cannot do the 3D Fix on A20, while my Galaxy S8 and A5 2017 do.

    I also noticed that my A5 2017 GPS is better than S8. Sometimes my S8 lost signal and took a long time to recovery (5-10min+, sepecially during the evening or rain weather in Sydney a few days ago) Does anyone have the samilir problem on S-series?

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