Still Waiting for Verizon to Unlock the aGPS on HTC and Samsung

People are still waiting for Verizon Wireless to unlock the aGPS on the HTC Touch Pro, the Samsung Omnia, and the Samsung Saga. Even though the XV6900 (or HTC Vogue) also has an internal aGPS chip, Verizon won't be unlocking that. So, if you want to use the GPS on that device, you'll need to do some adventurous ROM flashing. I'm still lucky to have the XV6800 (or HTC Titan, Sprint Mogul, PPC 6800) that has an internal aGPS that works really well once you load a custom ROM and apply a few tweaks (or apply a few tweaks to the MR1 or MR2 ROM released by Verizon).

It's so handy to have a phone that has an internal aGPS. The safety implications of having a GPS device are also huge. In fact, I'm surprised that Verizon hasn't faced any significant lawsuits from people who may have sustained injury that could have been avoided if the aGPS on their device had not been locked or disabled by Verizon.

Well, fortunately Verizon won't be crippling future smartphones that have a built-in aGPS. However, there are many current customers who are waiting for that software upgrade!

Getting the aGPS to work on the XV6800 MR2

The release of MR1 and MR2 for the Verizon XV6800 has complicated things quite significantly. I had to install an older Verizon ROM, then update the bootloader, then install the new radio ROM, then install the new device ROM. Once you do that, then you need to run QPST and change a few settings to enable the aGPS.

Valhalla Legends GPSServer.cab and GC Verizon aGPS.cab

These are essential components if you'd like to enable the aGPS on your XV6800:

Valhalla Legends GPSServer.cab
GC Verizon aGPS.cab

Installing Custom ROM All Over Again to Enable the GPS

I wasn't planning on this, but the 4-way navigation buttons on my XV6800 have failed. Therefore, it's time to go through the circus again and install a new BootLoader, a new radio ROM, and a new custom ROM so that I can use the internal GPS that's disabled by Verizon Wireless.

I'm debating whether I should attempt to install the beta version of Windows Mobile 6.5. I don't have the luxury of spending too much time on this. I mainly need a dependable working phone. I tether and I use the aGPS (assisted GPS) for driving. The aGPS allows for super-fast satellite acquisition.

Working Assisted GPS (aGPS) on the XV6800

The folks at XDA Developers have found the "fix" to get the assisted GPS (or aGPS) working properly on the XV6800. Get to this fix by going here

It's great to get an instant GPS lock now. In the past, it may have taken up to a few minutes to get a GPS lock. Now, it's practically instant. This is because the GPS lock is assisted by location data collected through the phone's data network. So even if the sky is cloudy, you'll get a fast GPS lock using the "fixed" assisted GPS chip on the XV6800.