# May have chosen wrong phone to buy - lousy GPS



## rcinatl (Apr 5, 2015)

A few weeks ago when my trusty old flip phone finally died, I went to MetroPCS and bought 2 LG G Stylo phones, 1 for strictly personal use and the other for when I start Lyfting soon (I hope - will probably apply next week after getting new tires - vehicle qualifies for Lyft Plus).

I chose the LG G Stylo for what I thought were pretty sound reasons.

1. LG's reputation for quality products in general.
2. A fairly large screen which at my age is a good thing.
3. Running Lollipop so I probably would not need Android update for a while.
4. Comes with its own pullout stylus. I need to be able to use a stylus with whatever smartphone I end up with. My finger tap accuracy kind of stinks.
5. Plenty of memory to run driver app.
6. MetroPCS is selling them with a $100 instant rebate bringing the price down to $149.

But I have discovered that when using Google maps for navigating around Atlanta, each of the phones loses the GPS signal a lot. Driving 20 miles across town it is pretty much guaranteed that the signal will be lost multiple times, whether day or night. I really don't want that happening a lot while transporting pax.

From what I have been reading in the forums, it is my impression that Google maps is working better than that for most drivers.

Advice appreciated.


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## JMBF831 (Aug 13, 2015)

FWIW, My Galaxy S6 Edge Plus crashes Google Maps, a lot. And that's quite annoying. It crashes far too often and I'm not sure what it is. I hope Google Maps creates an update of some sort.


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## Justin12345 (Oct 6, 2015)

iphone 6 and the uber navigation system works like a dream for me. Uber nav only available on IOS.


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## rcinatl (Apr 5, 2015)

JMBF831 said:


> FWIW, My Galaxy S6 Edge Plus crashes Google Maps, a lot. And that's quite annoying. It crashes far too often and I'm not sure what it is. I hope Google Maps creates an update of some sort.


Thx for the reply. Has not crashed at all on me. Just announces that it has lost GPS signal about every 5-10 minutes. sigh.


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## rcinatl (Apr 5, 2015)

Justin12345 said:


> iphone 6 and the uber navigation system works like a dream for me. Uber nav only available on IOS.


Thx. I will give that some thought.


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## Digits (Sep 17, 2015)

And here I've been thinking that it's just me.. I put away my iPhone 5s in order to grab a mega screen HTC desire from metro pcs for very cheap,just to use it for the apps.(bigger screen keeps me from squinting and how am I supposed to afford the mighty iPhone 6s Plus with uber). I'm using Android for the first time in my life,and thought how bad could it be.. in one word "itsucksballs".on many occasions google maps keeps thinking which way to direct,and on other occasions if keeps changing every second from a left right and make a U turn to continue straight as you're on the fastest route.. it's quite overwhelming and at times embarrassing in front of the pax.seriously...


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## RamzFanz (Jan 31, 2015)

Digits said:


> And here I've been thinking that it's just me.. I put away my iPhone 5s in order to grab a mega screen HTC desire from metro pcs for very cheap,just to use it for the apps.(bigger screen keeps me from squinting and how am I supposed to afford the mighty iPhone 6s Plus with uber). I'm using Android for the first time in my life,and thought how bad could it be.. in one word "itsucksballs".on many occasions google maps keeps thinking which way to direct,and on other occasions if keeps changing every second from a left right and make a U turn to continue straight as you're on the fastest route.. it's quite overwhelming and at times embarrassing in front of the pax.seriously...


I have the 6s plus and it was worth every dime. Big ass screen, glitches rarely, and it was added to my phone bill with a huge discount. You have to put these costs into a pipeline because they deliver the discounts when they don't want to lose you.


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## Justin12345 (Oct 6, 2015)

Digits said:


> And here I've been thinking that it's just me.. I put away my iPhone 5s in order to grab a mega screen HTC desire from metro pcs for very cheap,just to use it for the apps.(bigger screen keeps me from squinting and how am I supposed to afford the mighty iPhone 6s Plus with uber). I'm using Android for the first time in my life,and thought how bad could it be.. in one word "itsucksballs".on many occasions google maps keeps thinking which way to direct,and on other occasions if keeps changing every second from a left right and make a U turn to continue straight as you're on the fastest route.. it's quite overwhelming and at times embarrassing in front of the pax.seriously...


I originally got the HTC Desire and had to return it the very next day due to navigation issues.

I hear HTC has issues with their GPS failing.


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## rcinatl (Apr 5, 2015)

Have not heard from anyone having good success with Google Maps. Anybody?


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## Oscar Levant (Aug 15, 2014)

rcinatl said:


> A few weeks ago when my trusty old flip phone finally died, I went to MetroPCS and bought 2 LG G Stylo phones, 1 for strictly personal use and the other for when I start Lyfting soon (I hope - will probably apply next week after getting new tires - vehicle qualifies for Lyft Plus).
> 
> I chose the LG G Stylo for what I thought were pretty sound reasons.
> 
> ...


I have an Android HTC m9 and people knock it but I swear I haven't had any problems with it it works great..


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## PyrettaBlaze (Jul 26, 2015)

I have the Galaxy S6 and use Waze 99% of the time. Never had an issue here in SLC


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## EpicBeard (Oct 11, 2015)

After my first night driving for Uber, I had phone issues, gps, app crashing, etc. The next morning, I went to look at phones, and I got a Samsung Galaxy Core Prime for about $139. 

So far I've only been using it for driving, didn't transfer anything to it at the cell phone store, no Facebook or games to clog up the hard drive or ram. It works stunningly well and it only added $5/month to my phone bill


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## RT Erwin (Oct 18, 2015)

Using a textnow phone with unlimited talk/text/data 18.99 /month. Great business phone. LTE phones $5 and up


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

rcinatl said:


> A few weeks ago when my trusty old flip phone finally died, I went to MetroPCS and bought 2 LG G Stylo phones, 1 for strictly personal use and the other for when I start Lyfting soon (I hope - will probably apply next week after getting new tires - vehicle qualifies for Lyft Plus).
> 
> I chose the LG G Stylo for what I thought were pretty sound reasons.
> 
> ...


LG is well known for GPS that does not work properly. LG G2 was specially bad for it, as was the G3. For some reason, they just can't make a GPS receiver that works properly in their phones. Try Motorola; much better.


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## New2This (Dec 27, 2015)

I use a non-exploding Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note 4. LOVE it. Big screen, fast enough for me and I like removable battery and storage.

Uber: Google maps, never a problem. Waze was glitchy with Uber.

Lyft (which I rarely drive now, just enough to keep my account active for giving out $20 passenger referrals): Waze runs well with Lyft. Google maps, ONLY on trips through Lyft, will lag and 'stutter' at intersections. Google maps on Uber is to the inch responsive.

It's weird since it's same phone, same network, same areas of town but Google maps has a discernible lag on Lyft.


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

New2This said:


> I use a non-exploding Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note 4. LOVE it. Big screen, fast enough for me and I like removable battery and storage.
> 
> Uber: Google maps, never a problem. Waze was glitchy with Uber.
> 
> ...


There's a new bug on Google Maps - when crossing through an intersection the whole map will rotate quickly 90 degrees to the left or 90 degrees to the right, and then rotate back again. It's as if Maps thinks the car is going to / has turned off onto the perpendicular street and then immediately realizes it hasn't. It does it every intersection. Hope they fix it soon.


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## New2This (Dec 27, 2015)

elelegido said:


> There's a new bug on Google Maps - when crossing through an intersection the whole map will rotate quickly 90 degrees to the left or 90 degrees to the right, and then rotate back again. It's as if Maps thinks the car is going to / has turned off onto the perpendicular street and then immediately realizes it hasn't. It does it every intersection. Hope they fix it soon.


It will do this when I'm sitting at a red light. Gotta love technology...


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## circle1 (Sep 17, 2016)

RT Erwin said:


> Using a textnow phone with unlimited talk/text/data 18.99 /month. Great business phone. LTE phones $5 and up


Where?


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## Fredo3469 (Nov 7, 2016)

Galaxy s7 edge, had an s5 before, both with Verizon, and every now and then would hear ,"gps signal lost" but corrects itself pretty well. It's more a Google issue I think more than anything


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## michael7227 (Oct 29, 2016)

I'm going to roll with a first gen Moto G! I am prepared to buy a new phone but if most other apps are off, no bluetooth and no wifi just data, then Google maps has been pretty good on the Moto G. I think you have to hit the bottom and have the route spelled out for you then keep it in your mind that you have to turn soon etc because it can get wonky sometimes but if you know what turn in 800 feet means its tough to screw up. You have to pay much more attention though. Lower Manhattan I will have to learn because it sucks down there.

TMobile has great coverage and I pay $30 a month for 5g high speed (I don't even have LTE) unlimited text and 100 minutes of talk. I rarely exceed the talk. Moto G going strong for 2+ years now.


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

michael7227 said:


> I'm going to roll with a first gen Moto G! I am prepared to buy a new phone but if most other apps are off, no bluetooth and no wifi just data, then Google maps has been pretty good on the Moto G. I think you have to hit the bottom and have the route spelled out for you then keep it in your mind that you have to turn soon etc because it can get wonky sometimes but if you know what turn in 800 feet means its tough to screw up. You have to pay much more attention though. Lower Manhattan I will have to learn because it sucks down there.
> 
> TMobile has great coverage and I pay $30 a month for 5g high speed (I don't even have LTE) unlimited text and 100 minutes of talk. I rarely exceed the talk. Moto G going strong for 2+ years now.


Slow processor on the Moto G combined with only 1Gb of RAM means that Uber's going to be sluggish. Especially the transition from Uber to Google Maps when you hit the Navigate button. Uber by itself, ok. Gmaps by itself, ok. But with both of them running, the RAM bottleneck shows.

I sold my Moto G for this reason, it was too sluggish to use. I'd sit there waiting to be able to see the route and with pax there waiting and expecting me to start driving. My advice - get a phone with a better processor and 2GB ram.


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## michael7227 (Oct 29, 2016)

Ok thanks, will look to upgrade then! That's a bad scenario for a new driver.


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