Hi,

Has anyone tried to connect a bluetooth GPS unit to the SGS in order to boost the signal, has it worked?

I used to have a bluetooth GPS unit back in the day when windows mobile was in its infancy and tomtom had just released a sat nav for mobiles. It worked okay back then, after hearing of everyones GPS issues I wondered if anyone has tried connecting a bluetooth unit, is it compatible? If it was it would be a good solution much like the tomtom cradle for the iPhone.

Hi,

Yes, just yesterday I connected my Blumax bluetooth GPS receiver. But only after I found a small bluetooth GPS program. It works super! Quick respons and strong signal reception. So yesterday I have asked the tec. sup. of Sygic to tell me how to connect a GPS receiver to their program. No answer yet.

Hi fcpiek,

Thanks for the re:

Sounds promising that you can connect the BT receiver to the phone, which 'bluetooth GPS program' did you download and why did you need this inconjunction?

In the windows mobile edition of copilot/tomtom I remember that you can select within the program which GPS source to use either bluetooth or otherwise, maybe Sygic has the same in settings?

I'm looking to buy a good SatNav program for the SGS which can use the bluetooth GPS data. I would be interested to know if Sygic say that it's possible with their software :)

Hi Laney,

Unfortunately Sygic10 has no way of setting the GPS to external. It finds the internal GPS and uses that. Normallly it even does not show the satelite reciever "radarscreen" like Mcguider did. This option is completely blocked in he Android version. I have asked Sygic it it is possible to activate this part of the menu so you can set your external GPS. No answer yet. To test I used "bluetooth GPS" from the Android app market ( I found only one).

Thats a shame, I did a search the other day and I found an old forum post from over a year ago (A general android OS forum) and someone mentioned that changes need to be made in Android OS itself for apps to use a bluetooth GPS signal not sure how true that is. Surely this is a known, I hope Froyo 2.2 addresses this particular issue, as it would boost Androids status against iphone for sure.

Hi Laney,

someone mentioned that changes need to be made in Android OS itself for apps to use a bluetooth GPS signal
If that were true, the Andoid app "Bluetooth GPS" would not work either, but it does!

yeah, that's true, perhaps then its up to the SatNav developers to take advantage of that option. I mean copilot for iphone can take advantage of the tomtom cradle? So why not copilot or Sygic give an option for other GPS sources other than the poor aGPS on the SGS.

Hi
I to have been having problems with my gps with a very inaqurate signal on my copilot, I have an old bluetooth gps from my old nokia n95, I am still trialing it but i may have found a solution on how to conect the gps and use with copilot and other map software
I downloaded Bluetooth GPS Mouse from the android market the free demo which works as full version but automaticallly disconnects after 10 minutes
I paired the bluetooth gps with my phone on bluetooth settings it was paired but not connected
I turned off the Use GPS Satellites and Use Wireless networks in the location and security menu
I then ran the gps mouse app started it up and connected to my bt gps, I left it running and pressed the home key and started copilot
on startup the gps icon lit up in the notifications bar and copilot asked if i wanted to activate gps which i pressed cancel as the copilot must have detected my bluetooth gps so didnt need internal one , i placed gps outside and within a minute had 8 satellites on copilot gps which is the most I have had
I must stress i have not tried the copilot with bluetooth on a trip yet but so far it as detected the external bluetooth gps so will I update when i have tried it on a trip in the car , if it works then u can pruchase the full version of gps mouse for $1.99 from the android market
hope this is of some help

cheers dunc

Hi Dunc,

Sounds like you might have found a way, I guess if Copilot is picking up satellites when inetrnal aGPS is disabled, it must mean its getting them from the BT unit. I will have to try this also.

Would be interesting to know how it performs during a journey and if it's any improvement. Look fwd to your results :D

Hi Dunc,

Sounds like you might have found a way, I guess if Copilot is picking up satellites when inetrnal aGPS is disabled, it must mean its getting them from the BT unit. I will have to try this also.

Would be interesting to know how it performs during a journey and if it's any improvement. Look fwd to your results :D
Well, I will try copilot tomorrow, but if it doesnt have a specific setting to connect a external BT gps, I think that our friend just got lucky with the internal one....cause it does get fixes sometimes....

iGo my way and motonav wont work with BT either.... Can't wait for Garmin Mobile for android....
I dont use a-GPS, dont have data account and don't even have APN configured (on purpose)

And indeed, that small, free app. from the market: "Bluetooth Gps" works like a charm....

You can try Qstarz BT-Q818x. It is the best in my experience. It gets 8-10 satellites locked even under heavy foliage or canyon. You can pair easily with the phone but you may need a 3rd party software to lock with the map like ' Bluetooth gps mouse' from android market. I am using it with Viewranger mapping software, works excellent.

I also have a external bluetooth gps receiver from almost 2 years ago: the Nokia LD 3W, and it got evrything you need:

- A SirfstarIII chipset
- A large (replaceable) battery
- Low price (including a car charger)

Here is a video showing the combination - Galaxy S + Nokia LD 3W + Bluetooth GPS Mouse app + iGo Motonav - in action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BM2gm5DAOjM

The video clip is a bit long, just FF after a while......

« »

Just got my bluetooth gps receiver, but until now it's just a waste of money. Google Navigation just won't work with external receivers for it validates on the internal receiver on startup. Sygic also only searches for the internal receiver (and doesn't even find it!). iGo is nowhere to be found, or very old versions for they have chosen to only support iPhone (how I hate the iPhone). Plus, I don't want to spend another 80 dollars / euro's to just download some map!!! For that price, I can buy a full working new navigation system and I'm already spending more money on my mobile contract.

Can anyone please tell me what's the use of an external gps receiver on the SGS? This thread is a bit outdated, so I'm trying to push some new life into this for all the software that's discussed here is not available or outdated.

But for the record, I only wish that google navigation would use my external gps receiver...

You need the right software installed and to enable "allow mock locations" at settings / development.

See my first video "galaxy s gps solutions part 1 on youtube" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BM2gm5DAOjM

Btw I dont use google navigation, just the more reliable "onboard" nav progs like iGo or navigon but many other
google nav. users did test it with a ext gps receiver ( with a SIRFSTARIII chipset) and no probs.

You need the right software installed and to enable "allow mock locations" at settings / development.

See my first video "galaxy s gps solutions part 1 on youtube" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BM2gm5DAOjM

Btw I dont use google navigation, just the more reliable "onboard" nav progs like iGo or navigon but many other
google nav. users did test it with a ext gps receiver ( with a SIRFSTARIII chipset) and no probs.

Allow Mock Locations was already enabled. Google still asks to turn on my internal GPS. You claim many other users did test it with Google Navigation. Are you mixing it up with Google Maps? Because I thought it was compatible, until I read some other threads again and came to the conclusion that Google Maps can use the external gps receiver, but NOT the navigation software.

But maybe and hopefully I am wrong. Could you please post a link to information about these users who have tested it sucessfully?

You also mention iGo and Navigon. iGo is outdated! Can't find it anywhere. Can you post a link to iGo??
Navigon is way too expensive.

Thanks for your reply!

Did you watch my video or not?

Are you using the App Bluetooth Gps Mouse unlimited or alike?

WITHOUT these kind of software, you can allow mock location as much as you want
but it wont work.

For the rest...it was long ago...I dont even use a external gps receiver any more
Just go for JPY with a speedmod kernel

For the rest google these words: Motonav 480x800 ... you will find it
But first get needed software....

I do have some experience with devices and gadgets, so I already got all the programs needed. Running bluetooth gps, allowing mock locations and all that stuff. Got Glympse to work without turning GPS on. Got Google Maps (not the nav!) working without turing GPS on. But when I started Google Nav it forced me to start the internal GPS.

Now I found another third party navigation software and got it to work with the bluetooth GPS. So success. And proof that Google Nav won't work with bluetooth GPS. How else would other navigation software work without turning the internal gps on, and Google Nav won't?

But could you explain to me or post a link about installing JPY with a speedmod kernel? Is there a risk involved? Will my warranty expire when I do this?

For other users with a bluetooth gps:

After I got Navigon to work with bluetooth gps, I got googlemaps nav also working! The thing is, when activating and connecting your bluetooth gps you HAVE to have your internal gps receiver activated. In my case, when I don't do that, my phone crashes when I activate mocking location.

So its like this (when all settings we discussed above are set right):

1. activate your internal gps
2. connect to your bluetooth gps (with bluetooth gps provider app, or alike)
3. start google maps navigator
4. after it's started, then you can turn of your internal gps otherwise it whines about activating it. still, you can activate it when google asks for it and then turn it off again. Google Nav then still receives GPS location information during your route.

For others here, I still hope to know if it is possible to install another kernel without affecting your one year warranty...

For others here, I still hope to know if it is possible to install another kernel without affecting your one year warranty...

Its best to say, It will affect your warranty. If you modified your phone system via 3rd party you take the gamble; ie: Rooting, Firmware, Custom Rom, Kernel. As if your phone broke, they could just say 'It wouldn't of happened if you didn't modify it'

Hi all,first post. I am having trouble trying to pair my BTGPS74R with my Galaxy s. I have tried two versions of GPS Provider with no success, mock locations enabled and my internal GPS on. I would welcome any help . My GPS dongle works fine with my Axim51V but the Galaxy will not detect it.

Is it possible to just connect with it just with bluetooth? So without a 3rd party application? Not that this will solve the problem, but it could give you some information about wether the gps is compatible with the SGS. Don't know if it's possible that certain bluetooth gps receivers won't connect because of incompatibility, but it wouldn't surprise me.

But the first step in solving this problem, I first would check if I can just establish a simple bluetooth connection with the device.

Next, when connecting, keep your internal GPS on at all times. When you begin navigating, you can disable it.

Tried it with just Bluetooth and had no luck,I also tried with GPS on and with it off. Think my Bluetooth is a copy of the Holux BT321. I'll probably have to try it with my friend's Galaxy and see if his detects it but it is most likely not compatible with the Galaxy. Thanks.

Strange, I have a bluetooth GPS from freecom, keychain 2000. Worked like a charm! But since the last official update from Samsung my galaxy S is not accurate anymore with the bluetooth gps unit. Worse than the internal gps...

Is there a setting from the galaxy s I should turn on (not the mock locations, i have that on already).

Thanx

Maarten

Strange, I have a bluetooth GPS from freecom, keychain 2000. Worked like a charm! But since the last official update from Samsung my galaxy S is not accurate anymore with the bluetooth gps unit. Worse than the internal gps...

Is there a setting from the galaxy s I should turn on (not the mock locations, i have that on already).

Thanx

Maarten

1)Which update / firmware ?
2) Which nav. software are you using?
3) Which bluetooth gps tool are you using (Gps bluetooth mouse, gps provider, etc)
4) Details of you external gps receiver for instance: Does it have a sirfstar3 chipset? Replaceable battery?

You need to provide more info, when asking for help

Cheers

Hi there
, I am also very frustated with the samsung galaxy navigation program as it cannot seem to find a satlite and keeps sending a message, "Searching for GPS" Its seems to set the map and find the destination in the house before you set of on the journey, but once on the road, it cannot find the GPS ???? I feel that if we can find a program to accept via a bluetooth for the samsung galaxy a satilite receiver, then we should have a fantastic Navigation system !!! Has anyone been able to do this?? if you have succeded please let me know,
thank you
, manikurian.

I have an Tomtom wireless Navigation GPS Mk11 satilite receiver which is a self contained unit with internal rechargable battery, I am not sure if it has a sirfstar ??
I do not have any program installed in my samsung galaxy, to accept the external receiver via bluetooth. any comments??

Fantastic !!! I found a GPS program on the net which i downloaded to my samsung (a program to run a external TomTom GPS via the bluetooth, I had to pair my SGSII and the TomTom Wireless GPS Receiver, and now the navigation from my Samsung works, I spoke my destination, and said that I wanted to go to Austria, and wala, 826 MILES AND 15. hours and 25 minutes to get there. No more sign saying , CANNOT CONNECT TO GPS. Good luck. GK.