I have tried every program that is freely available to test the GPS on my 8830.

I have tried Google Maps, BBMaps, and BBTracker, all to no avail.

Google Maps cant even find a location at all, even though I have GPS enabled. It wont find it through mobile tower triangulation. I always get the "Your Location Is Temporarily Unavailable".

BBMaps keeps saying... "Searching For satellites..."
And it keeps doing that forever, with no message. Sometimes I get the "Try with a clear view of the sky message"

BBTracker says im tracking, but nothing ever shows up.

I have tried on 3-4 different sides of my town and nothing has worked. I have tried outside, inside, parking lots, all to no avail.

I made sure GPS Location was ON in the advanced properties, and I even did a battery pull and restart to make sure it was set right. And still nothing.



For info... I have some information in my Google Maps My Location from the Help, About menu. It says: myl: -1:1530:1:2763, i have no idea what that means, but it is getting some sort of information i guess.

Any ideas to help?

I'd be curious to see if the internal Blackberry Map application is showing that you're getting locked on to any satellites. It will show the number that it can see in the bottom menu bar. It can take 5 minutes with a clear view of the sky not moving around.

You should re-read the user's post. Specifically, this part:

BBMaps keeps saying... "Searching For satellites..."
And it keeps doing that forever, with no message. Sometimes I get the "Try with a clear view of the sky message"

Verizon cripples the GPS so that you have to buy the VZ navigator service. What cell tower/carrier are you connected to and getting service from?

Again, please read the user's first post. Specifically, this part:
GPS Not working on 8830, Alltel

im about to go outside and set my phone up in the grass and see if it gets signal with the BBMaps app

Here are some good troubleshooting steps:

GPS troubleshooting

"Checking the GPS Status

To locate details of the last time the BlackBerry smartphone achieved a signal, complete the following steps:

1. From the BlackBerry smartphone Home screen, click Options > Advanced Options > GPS.
2. The last time the BlackBerry smartphone was in GPS coverage will be indicated under Fix time.

Refreshing GPS

If the GPS is unable to achieve a signal, the GPS can be refreshed. This action will force the GPS to attempt to obtain a new fix.

To refresh the GPS, complete the following steps:

1. From the BlackBerry smartphone Home screen, select Options > Advanced Options > GPS.
2. Press the Menu button, and then click Refresh GPS. The screen will display Searching for Satellites and, after a short period, the screen should be updated with the new fix information.
"

I dont see any of those options under Options, Advanced Options, GPS when i push the menu button.

Maybe Alltel cripples it too?

EDIT: I dont see "Fix Time" anywhere in the GPS options at all.

Last I heard, you need to subscribe to Alltel's GPS app in order to initially enable this feature. You can then discontinue the subscription and still use GPS. I remember seeing a post about this a while back. Give that a try.

That may be the issue. I will continue to try it in different areas, as I am in a small town, but when i head to a bigger area ill try it again.

If that still doesnt work... Ill subscribe for one month, then cancel it.


I still can figure out why Google Maps My Location doesnt work through cell tower triangulation though.

Hello, new BlackBerry user here. I recently purchased a 8130 from Alltel. I've tried the preinstalled BB maps app several times with now luck acquiring satellites.

Today I spoke with their tech support and was told I needed to have the Telenav app installed for the GPS to function. So I purchased the $9.99 flavor and the device instant acquired 9 satellites via BB maps.

Supposedly I have 1 month free for the app, I'll probably cancel the subscription prior being changed and see if the BB map app still acquires.