A free Android app called GPS Status and Toolkit fixed my Samsung Galaxy S III GPS signal malfunction, saving me from getting lost on a recent trip.
I went to visit my son at university this weekend. On the way home, in the middle of the four-hour journey, we stopped in an unfamiliar town in search of dinner. I pulled out my Samsung Galaxy S III and did a voice search for a good Chinese restaurant and got there using the excellent built-in Android Navigation app.
My phone’s GPS signal kept dropping every few minutes and it made me a little lost.
In the past my Samsung Galaxy S III GPS worked fine. I’ve never experienced this. Thinking the culprit was the GPS coverage in the area, I took out my wife’s iPhone but it worked fine. After searching online, I found that sometimes Galaxy S III and other Android phones get out of control. The problem occurs when the compass on the device loses its calibration.
GPS Status is a free app that fixes compass calibration and makes GPS work as it should.
The app includes a compass feature that allows the user to calibrate the phone’s built-in compass, giving the user the current status of their phone’s GPS radio.
Notice below that the main screen of the app shows the current heading as compass degrees (top left number), direction in NSEW directions (top right of compass), accuracy grade (bottom left of compass) and number of GPS fix. Fixed satellites from 20 possible satellites (bottom right of compass).
Other figures show various details about the phone’s GPS fix. To calibrate the compass on the phone, tap the menu button and select and then select . It gives instructions on how to calibrate the phone.
The instructions say to rotate the phone in three axes, then tap .
Two other tools in the app allow users to calibrate their stride and roll as well as reset the GPS status by clearing the cache of GPS signals. I did all three of the fixes and then everything worked perfectly.
The app also allows users to share their current location via Android share menu.
this free app It worked fine on my Samsung Galaxy S III. For those experiencing GPS signal issues, it’s worth the time and effort to download the free app to see if calibrating the compass and/or resetting the phone’s GPS data works.
If you really like the app, key to remove adsbut I did not find the ads noticeable and all functions work in the free version.
