How to get GPS to work?

ARM Plasma Mobile
1

I am trying to get GPS working on my PinePhone Pro running the latest testing branch from Manjaro ARM for PPP.

sudo mmcli -m 0 --location-status

and

sudo mmcli -m 0 --location-get

both give me the message:

error: modem not enabled yet

When I try to enable the modem with sudo mmcli -m 0 --enable
I get this error message:

error: couldn't enable the modem: 'GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.ModemManager1.Error.Core.WrongState: modem in failed state'

Note that I don’t have a SIM card inserted.

2

It is a known limitation of the hardware that the modem refuses to provide any location services if no SIM card is inserted. There is nothing the software can do about that.

1 Like
3

Ok, thanks, now I have inserted a SIM card.
mmcli -m 1 --location-status gives me:

  --------------------------------
  Location |         capabilities: 3gpp-lac-ci, gps-raw, gps-nmea, gps-unmanaged, agps-msa, 
           |                       agps-msb
           |              enabled: 3gpp-lac-ci, gps-nmea, agps-msb
           |              signals: yes
  --------------------------------
  GPS      |         refresh rate: 1 seconds
           | supported assistance: xtra
           |   assistance servers: http://xtrapath2.izatcloud.net/xtra3gr.bin
           |                       http://xtrapath3.izatcloud.net/xtra3gr.bin
           |                       http://xtrapath1.izatcloud.net/xtra3gr.bin

And /usr/lib/geoclue-2.0/demos/where-am-i gives me positions using 3GPP + WiFi with 10 meters accuracy. But flatpak apps like Pure Maps still show a very inaccurate position using the IP address.
Does anyone know how to solve this issue?

4

Looks like the geolocation libraries inside the Flatpak cannot talk to the modem. Not sure how this can be fixed. (Maybe someone has to develop a new portal for this?) I am also getting very weird geopositioning from Pure Maps.

5

Hi! As I understand it, you have to enable GPS first. Otherwise, those commands will only pull the network location. Look through the GPS commands here: mmcli: Control and monitor the ModemManager | ModemManager Commands | Man Pages | ManKier

6

It is already enabled for the original poster:

And besides, 3gpp-lac-ci (geolocation based on the cellular network cell) is enabled by default and should provide more accurate geolocation than whatever Pure Maps ends up using by default (which I suspect is a heuristic geolocation based on the surrounding’s WiFi networks).