Incorrect and inconsistent location [murena S9]

/e/OS Devices Samsung
1

Incorrect and inconsistent location [murena S9]

Before I start, I will note that

  1. Advanced privacy location and hide real IP address are turned off.
  2. I have reset the “Wi-fi, mobile and bluetooth” settings.
  3. I have wifi scanning on, and have the microG location services activated.
  4. I moved to a different city about 8 months ago, and I am using the same wifi router.
  5. I have a Pixel 5 with /e/OS that I bought after I moved, and I have not detected any location problems.

And here are the problems:

  1. Often, when I open an app that requires location, it will initially show that my location is at my old address. Surprisingly, the location accuracy is reported as being good. If I wait long enough (from seconds to many minutes), eventually my location will jump to my correct location. This problem exists for all apps, including Magic Earth, Google maps (firefox PWA), Organic Maps, and ownTracks.

  2. Often, different apps will show inconsistent results at the same time. For example, Magic Earth might show my correct location, but another one will show the wrong location of my old address.

  3. Some apps consistently do not show the correct location, such as ownTracks or the official Google maps application.

Ideas

  1. I originally thought that the mac address of my wifi router was in the location services database with the wrong location. However, since I have another /e/OS phone that shows the correct location, this probably isn’t the case.

  2. I then thought that when a location was not found, that the phone would fall back to some kind of “frequently used” location. However, after 8+ months, any such “favorite” location should have since disappeared.

The only conclusion that I can come to is that there is a problem with murena S9, but I have no idea what that problem is.

I would like to open an issue on the gitlab, but I was hoping to debug this more beforehand. Does anyone have any idea on how to proceed?

Regain your privacy! Adopt /e/ the unGoogled mobile OS and online servicesphone

2

You can start with checking GPS reception using https://f-droid.org/packages/com.android.gpstest.osmdroid/.

3

What should I be checking? I know that the GPS works (at least sometimes). I use it for things like hiking.

4

We’v got a similar problem with our Fairphones since /e/OS 1.5 or 1.6, if I remember correctly. I do not believe it is a hardware problem, because if using HERE WeGo app the devices are located much more precisely. There are a couple of tickets opened at gitlab concerning GPS/localisation problems with FP3 and FP4 and other devices. I assume it has something to do with Advanced privacy.

5

Start with getting a 3D fix (lock sign at top left), how fast it was to get it, the number/providers of satellites you have.