Samsung Galaxy Note 3: Android 4.4 (Kit-Kat) update

I personally believe that the developers or programmers at AT&T have come up with several beta releases of the the kitkat update for the Note 3 but upon testing they are finding out that it's not fixing the GPS problem.  This is more than likley why the update hasn't and may not be sent out for this phone.  I have several friends and family members who write code for CISCO and the like and have advised that more than likely they are finding that they have a much bigger problem on there hands then just a simple update.  The update for kitkat for the Note 3 is typically about 400 to 430 mbs.  I would presume that if and when they ever release an update for this phone the file will be much bigger only becuase of the massive change in the code that needed to corrected for this paticular phone on the AT&T network.  This is not a Samsung problem AT&T tampered with or manipulated the files on the phone once they recieved the phones 

The scary thing is that they have screwed up the phone so bad that when you plug it in you loose GPS reception.  No other carrier has tampered with the phone like this...hence thats why they are recieving there updates and we are not.  I don't know how much knowledge my friends who actually write code and do programing really know about this but a couple of them have played around with development of the android code which is basically glorified linux script and they say that the Note 3 on ATT has a much bigger problem to the point that it may be now a hardware issue that will be the fix.  I wouldn't hold my breath for AT&T to do a mass recall of there flagship phone. 

Now its even gotten worse because AT&T are continuing to sell the phone to unsuspecting customers knowing that the GPS is flawed due to there own manipulation of the files on the phone.  The ethical thing to do would be to admit the issue pubilically and pull the phone off the shelf and stop selling it until its fixed.   But this is 2014 and business ethics ara a thing of the pass...the almighty dollar is the bottom line and with T-Mobile expanding and basically buying AT&T's customers im sure they are starting to feel the heat and maybe actually starting to question there future in the phone biz once again...remember the whole cingular ATT mess?... uh...yeah.

What's funny is that my Note 3 doesn't at all have this issue with GPS.

I loaded an app called GPS Status & Toolbox which is an app that gives you a lot of technical GPS data.  I had the app open and the phone was connected to 18/18 satellites according to the app.  I then plugged in the USB charger into the bottom of the phone and I watched the GPS Status & Toolbox app as I plugged it in, no drop of the GPS signal was indicated by the app in question.

I even tested this in my basement (my computer is there) and I had a lock on 7 of 18 satellites during the test.  I plugged in the Samsung USB 3.0 charger into the phone and not once was there a drop of the GPS signal based upon output from the GPS Status & Toolbox app.

Yes, I have the AT&T version of the Note 3.  I just picked mine up about two weeks ago, manufacturer date of February 10th, 2014.

So, all in all... what does this mean for owners of the Note 3?  It means that the GPS issue that people have been experiencing is not a hardware related issue and that the issue is indeed a software issue and that it can be readily fixed by an OTA update.

As for when that OTA update will come?  Only AT&T, Samsung, and God knows that.

Hi @trparky

You seem keen to test?

Please see my latest two posts over at http://forums.att.com/t5/Android-Discussion-and-Support/Samsung-Galaxy-Note-3-GPS-Issue/m-p/3919514/highlight/true#M50908 (that link goes to the second).

On a factory refurbished / fresh factory reset Note 3 running 4.3 NB4, all I did was log into my google account, download My Tracks, update all apps (which included Maps among others).

Then I turned on GPS and hit Record in mytracks and drove around.

EVery single time I do this (which I did with multiple phones), only the Note 3 has issues with my track. a dashed red line and far less distance recorded than I actually travelled. 

I have my original Note 3 and an AT&T refurbished, both have the problem. 

Therefore I am sure yours has the problem too...... please run the test ... take some photos so we can see the results.

Also I dont think your GPS system was patched if you found at least one file that did not match the XDA fix version..... (that's the difference that could possibly matter?)

I am going to apply the fix to one of these phones and then rerun my parallel tests to see if it actually fixed the problem

Thanks for being involved in this.

@trparky

Also .. your signature says you have an S4? If so, this problem is happening on AT&T Note 3 .... not S4

Yeah... well, I have the Note 3.  I just failed to update my signature.  Silly me.

🙂 No problem .I too wish I had the AT&T s4 right about now..

The following two files match what the user on XDA Developers has in his GPS fix patch...

/system/lib/hw/gps.goldfish.so

/system/etc/gps.conf

The only one that didn't match was /system/lib/hw/gps.default.so.

I have also driven around my area using Google Maps to navigate and I have moved in and out of 4G LTE areas of my city and again, not once did my phone lose its GPS lock.