Fix Your Mediatek GPS Once and For All!

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How To, MediaTek, Tablets, Tech, Tutorials

The most common complaint I see with Mediatek phones, specifically the MTK6589 and MTK6589T is to do with weak GPS. There are many fixes that have been made available with mixed results. For those of us that need a reliable GPS but haven’t been able to fix the problem it leads to all sorts of frustration. I was one of those people that could never fix the issues and my GPS remained completely unusable. The solution I found was simple but so effective and will work on any device.

The magical solution is a Bluetooth GPS receiver. There are many types and they range in price from $25-$100. The model I have had great success with is the Qstarz-BT818XT and it cost me around $75. These devices take the place of your GPS antenna to get your signal. They feed the signal straight into whichever GPS app you prefer to use. The great thing about this method is that whether you have a phone with GPS issues or perhaps a tablet that doesn’t even have GPS, it will still work regardless of brand.

To get it to work with your device is a very easy process.

1) First thing is to check the box for “Allow mock locations” which can be found under settings>developers options. gps1

2) Then download the free app “Bluetooth GPS” by GG MobLab from the play store. gps2

3) Make sure your phones GPS is off.

4) Turn the phone’s Bluetooth on

gps4

5) Turn your Bluetooth GPS receiver that you purchased on and pair it to your phone like you would any other device. gps5

6) Open the Bluetooth GPS app and select your Bluetooth GPS receiver from the drop down menu. gps6

7) Make sure to check the box labeled “ Enable Mock GPS Provider” gps7

8) Hit connect wait for GPS information to populate in the app. gps8

9) Start your navigation app and enjoy high quality, worry free GPS navigation! gps9

All of the screenshots shown are from my Pipo M9 tablet which does not have stock GPS capabilities.

The signal in the last screen is an indoor GPS lock. As you can see, it connects to many satellites and holds a strong SNR.

I have enjoyed this solution over the last 6 months and I have to admit it is very nice having a 10.1” tablet as your GPS. Hopefully this can help some of the GPS frustrated Mediatek owners start navigating the streets with a new found confidence.

Comments

29 responses to “Fix Your Mediatek GPS Once and For All!”

March 15, 2014

frank

Hi Paul
This is reallt not a fix, but a workaround…..All MTK device I have tried out during the last 6 month has had good or acceptable GPS….I believe bad GPS for MTK devices are history now.

Reply
1. March 16, 2014
  
  Paul
  
  Hi Frank,
  Very true it is a work around but for the Mediatek MTK6589T phones that I tried it was also the only way to get a working GPS. I agree, the new Mediatek processors are far better yet there are still many people that are using and buying the MTK6589 and MTK6589T products. Hopefully this can help those people if all else fails.
  Cheers.
  
  Reply
March 20, 2014

joe computers

mt6592 (1.7GHz) gps is OK

Reply
1. September 23, 2014
  
  Tom
  
  Hi Joe,
  
  I do not agree. MT6592 GPS experience is still poor. I have got an iOcean X8 featuring MT6592 and have just did a long field test with it during the last days. The worst moment was when I was on the top of a hill, pure nature, great view. Switched GPS on, started GPS status app, took out a few snacks and waited … No lock for over half an hour. Downloaded latest A-GPS data … no lock, either. Tried rebooting the phone … no lock. Took my Huawei reference phone (qualcomm GPS) out of the pocket, switched GPS on, got a lock within around 30s (with outdated A-GPS data & no data connection).
  
  So, how could one claim the MT6592’s GPS was actually working? I’d propose to remove “GPS” from the feature list of all MTK based phones.
  
  Yes, in engineer mode, with data connection, A-GPS and EPO, I instantly get a lock after the usual procedure. But this never lasts for long.
  
  Reply
  1. September 23, 2014
    
    Damian Parsons
    
    Sorry you’re having issues there. I’ve tested many mt6582 and mt6592 phones… Both with and without data on, locking is no problem. Normally lock right of the box. No tweaking required.
    
    Reply
    1. September 23, 2014
      
      Tom
      
      Yes, Damian, you are completely right, I am having issues here. Great for you, if your phones’ GPS modules work great – mine does not. Of course, I can only talk about the single unit I got hands on. However, from the number of hints pointing to hardware and software hacks google finds I suspect that my experience is not really that exceptional … As for the X8, rumours are that its GPS antenna is especially bad. Sometimes I guess the deviating opinions result from different approaches in using GPS. If you rely on your GPS device telling you where you are whenever you ask it, you might concentrate more on the occasions where the device does not have the slightest clue where you are, while others might be satisfied with a single “switched-it-on-got-a-lock-never-used-it-again” event.
      
      Reply
      1. October 17, 2014
        
        Damian Parsons
        
        All I can tell you tested many many phones. I’ve rarely had any issues. People complain often about GPS in mobiles. Its nothing to do with MTK specifically. Samsung and any other major brand phones have similar issues. Google “Samsung GPS problems”. If you need 100% reliable GPS at all times buy a standalone GPS unit is my suggestion.
March 21, 2014

Paul

While the MT6592 GPS function seems to work better as a whole there are still some phones that I don’t think have good signal. The H9008 had amazing GPS functionality while the Newman K2S that I tested had ok locks on the test app I used, but very poor results when actually used to navigate. Even the Zopo ZP998 that I’m currently testing is not good. If the GPS is not right up front practically against the windshield, it struggles. For me that is far too fine of a line to call it good.
I guess what I’m saying is, just beacuse it has a MT6592 in it don’t expect it to be amazing. It seems to vary by company and model so it’s always nice to have options on how to deal with it.

Reply
April 8, 2014

Porky02

Hello,

I am actually using the same bluetooth GPS receiver with an iNew V3 (good fix but unusable while driving).
It seems that the default 1 Hz mode is not good as my position is not fluid (while driving, my position in app pause for 5secondes then for 2 seconds, the app follows and pause again). I have to use the 10Hz (I may configure the receiver tu use 5Hz mode also) and my position on Waze is ok.
Do you have the same problem or is it ok with 1Hz mode ?

Reply
1. April 8, 2014
  
  Paul Koutras
  
  1 hz mode has always worked perfectly for me. I simply connect using the Bluetooth gps app and put the receiver on the dash.
  
  Reply
  1. April 15, 2014
    
    porky02
    
    Ok, thanks for your answer.
    
    Reply
September 24, 2014

John from Portugal

I’ve bought a THL 5000 with MTK6592 and the GPS in useless… if you’re driving it keeps going through the grass, rivers and so on while constantly trying to recalculate the route! Impossible to use… will try Paul’s workaround with my Holux GPSlim236 i had lying around from the old times of my QTEK 2020i PDA (later called HTC).

I’ll let you know of the results.

Reply
1. October 17, 2014
  
  Mark
  
  Unfortunately I ordered a THL5000 before I had read your post about GPS. I use GPS a fair amount so I would like to know if you managed to get it working with the BT receiver.
  
  Reply
  1. October 17, 2014
    
    John from Portugal
    
    Yes, it worked out fine following the above instructions. Please inform me if you have the same problems with your THL5000 or if it works OK (my problem could be due to assembly/hardware rather then a model problem).
    
    Reply
2. October 19, 2014
  
  Rimas
  
  John, I can confirm every your word: my THL 5000 GPS also traveling meadows
  
  Reply
  1. October 19, 2014
    
    John from Portugal
    
    Thanks for the info. That’s the confirmation i was looking for (that it was a “feature” and not a malfunction… Following Paul ‘s instructions you should have no problems.
    
    Reply
    1. November 8, 2014
      
      Dimitar
      
      Hi guys,
      with my thl 4400 I have a good accuracy by navigation BUT only with sygic not with google maps. I have used faster gps to fix the server. If you want you can delete mtkgps.dat and epo file also.
      
      Reply
  2. September 9, 2015
    
    Magnus
    
    I am quite happy with my THL 5000 phone even if I recently have experienced the GPS performance degrade from perfect to not getting lock any more. I’m guessing this might be an overheating issue since the phone got really hot when using the GPS over extended periods (1 – 2 hour car trips). I have used the soft rubber protective case delivered with the phone.
    Will check with the place where I bought it.
    One further wish is that THL release an Android 5 update. When checking the THL site and OTA update I get nothing.
    
    Reply
October 15, 2014

Milan

I have Voto X6, bought in 9/2014 with MTK 6592 GPS is a tragedy. Still off and is absolutely useless, I’m thinking about buying an external GPS Nokia LD-3W, that I always worked perfectly, but I do not have settings in your phone developers do not know if the phone connects to the GPS, my old Nokia N95 was perfect in this respect. Do you think it will work ???

Reply
1. October 15, 2014
  
  Milan
  
  I have kitkat 4.4.2 ROOT
  
  Reply
October 23, 2014

Garlo

Thank you for the tip. Been trying to fix the GPS of my ZLR a.k.a Star i6 (MTK6852) since May but I got no GPS fix until now. I didn’t realize the solution was right under my nose :) I already had an external GPS receiver that I had used with my Palm a while ago and since then forgotten it in the drawer. Great!
Muchísimas gracias y saludos desde Finlandia

Reply
October 29, 2014

JJ

Mediatek GPS is rubbish.
I had the MT6589T, the mt6582 and the newer mt6592 and all have terrible GPS fix time. or none at all.
tried every possible article that is on the internet to fix it(really dozens about thsi subject) and it helps a bit, but not
enough for stable GPS SatNAV.

Last week my father in law’s real Samsung Galaxy S4 had a GPS within Sygic as soon as the phone is outside in clear sky.
With mediatek it sometime took 20 miles of driving before a fix came.

Today the BT1818 (old model) arrived i bought for 15 euro’s online. and WOW….what a relief this.
After pairing it with bluetooth with the mediatek phone the BT1818 locks in at about 10 sats. navigation is instant.
I had to use the other playstore app “Bluetooth GPS Provider” by mobile-j.de. With the one above Sygic would not get the data fast enough for smooth map navigation. the Bluetooth GPS Provider runs perfect!!!.

I can sleep again after countless days of onboard Mediatek GPS hell.

Reply
1. October 29, 2014
  
  Damian Parsons
  
  Not sure which models you’ve been using, but recent MT6582 and MT6592 branded models have been excellent with GPS. Fixes within seconds always. Depends on the model though. Cheap clones generally don’t do as well.
  
  Reply
  1. October 29, 2014
    
    JJ
    
    I had star S6 with MT6589T which was ok.
    I had HDC S5 mt6582 which is terrible with GPS
    I had HDC S5 mt6592 which is also terrible with gps.
    
    I think its just a question of how well they attach the external solder of the GPS antenna. ;-)
    So it’s not the MediaTEK chipset to really blame, it’s the piss-poor job some of the the chinese builders do in making it a working phone. ;-)
    
    Reply
    1. October 31, 2014
      
      Damian Parsons
      
      The HDC S5 are generic clones and dubbed “HDC” by the seller. As you’ve mentioned, it’s mainly due to antenna placement — both location and how it’s physically affixed. Most recent China phones I’ve reviewed and owned were quite good with GPS. Indoor locks in just a few seconds, no problem.
      
      Reply
      1. October 31, 2014
        
        John from Portugal
        
        I think that’s kind of a random question… i bought a THL5000 which is not an old phone nor a low cost one and it performed miserably. I agree it may greatly have to do with the assembly/placement of GPS Antenna but also think there has to be something wrong with the software… as i think all these phones work more or less well in china… but here at europe work very badly. Could it be a question of localization?
        
        Also another thing… these phones usually lock GPS signal when you’re standing still… but put it inside a car and try to use Waze as navigation and you’ll see what i’m talking about!!!
October 30, 2014

Milan

As I said, I bought for $ 10 an older GPS Nokia LD-3W, paired because the instructions and everything runs quite well. I wanted to throw the phone, because my job to navigation need every day, but thanks to this manual I have a great and functional mobile Voto X6
The author thanks:-)

Reply
October 31, 2014

John from Portugal

I haven’t thanked Paul for the useful info, so i’m doing it right now. This solution is a life saver !!! THANKSSSSSSSSS!!!

Reply
August 19, 2018

g toth

i just bouth a mediatek gps with all kind of shit on it for kids i tryed to put in a destination allways come up no mecht found all i wanted is asimple gps witch canbe operated simpli i need an instruction how to do it the owners manual is an onather garbage

Reply