How does GPS work on a tablet?

sanggye

Member
Oct 8, 2012
1
0
Dear forum friends,

I just received my newly bought Freelander PD 10 (FreeLander PD10 3G GPS 7 Inch HD Screen Android 4.0 MTK6575 Cortex A9 Tablet PC 1GB/8GB Bluetooth WCDMA Coffee). The description said: GPS - YES. So, in my (naive?) thinking, I expected this gadget to provide me with my location and possibly directions while I am away from the WIFI. Now what happens is that when I run the pre-installed 'Navigation' application, it stays on "waiting for location" - for hours, no change. I've checked the settings: GPS is enabled, the icon on the homescreen shows it's on. So I downloaded GPS Test. Without really understanding how this app works, I think it 'sees' a few satellites, but I still don't get a reading on my location, altitude, etc. Then I downloaded mapquest and I do get a map and the locations, but only as long as I stay on WIFI.

I am a little helpless right now. Do I have to further troubleshoot the GPS, or is this what was to be expected? I wouldn't need a GPS to have Google Maps running on WIFI, do I?

Many thanks for any hints and suggestions.

Sang-gye
 

leeshor

Senior Member
Dec 27, 2011
6,330
1,037
Welcome to the forum

First let me say that not all GPS chips in tablets are created equal. Some are what's called assisted GPS, and they work best if you have a 3G tablet. But I'm not saying that's what's happening here. Most Android tablets with GPS will need WiFi to get any decent information on the tablet, but the maps are not generally set up to update on the fly as the only maps, say on Google Maps, update by way of WiFi.

Install GPS Fix and move around outdoors to see how many satellites show up.

The bottom line is that what you are seeing may be normal under the circumstances.

It is possible to create a route and it should still be able to follow the route, if you don't deviate from it but it does need a good unobstructed view of the sky.

If you want to really use it as a GPS you would need to purchase an app like CoPilot or Sygic that would allow you to pre-download the maps in advance.
 
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