Evo 3D GPS is no longer accurate

Question

I have an HTC Evo 3D from Virgin Mobile, about six months old. Until yesterday, the GPS worked great, tracking my exercise in RunKeeper very accurately.

Since yesterday, RunKeeper shows my walking route as a random zig zag line, jumping left and right of my actual location, and reports my 4 mile walk as 10 miles. This has happened three times, on trails that have always been reported accurately in the past.

In Google maps, my location also jumps around.

GPS Test showed that I could see 10/10 satelites, but the accuracy was only about 30 feet.

Any ideas what may be causing this? The phone has never been dropped or got wet.

Answer 1

Based on my experience, GPS always loses its accuracy after a few days. Its data becomes stale.

What I would normally do is:

• Use FasterFix to make sure I am connecting to the NTP servers nearest me. Refer to this XDA list for suggested NTP servers. You can also use FasterGPS if you like; I have no issues with either apps.
• Use wireless networks (Wi-Fi or mobile network) to help fix my location. In my Samsung Galaxy S4, this is in: System settings > More > Location services > Use wireless networks.
• Reset GPS data with GPS Test Plus (or its FREE version). When you do this, make sure you are outside the building, where are are no obstructions (trees, etc).
• After some time, I check Google Maps and see if my position has updated.

More often than not, this will improve the accuracy of my GPS location. When I notice that my position is off, I check those items I listed above. Also, when you are inside buildings, do not expect to get an accurate reading, unless your phone has a really awesome (i.e. POWERFUL) GPS.