Related
Its really barely there though and super light weight and doesn't interfere with anything
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using xda premium
When lying back-down, does the case keep the camera lens raised off the table to protect it (and I assume it does not cover it, i.e. there's a cutout)?
Nice to see someone tried out the silver one.
I put up some pics of the black one i got in this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1299029&page=3
I like those cases, but they are too nice for me. I would feel bad using it. Bought myself this instead:
http://www.case-mate.com/Samsung-Ga...te-Samsung-Galaxy-S-II-Barely-There-Cases.asp
$14 Shipped http://www.thecellguru.com/Products/33461
Case feels great, it has that matte plastic feel. Slips in and out of pocket perfect too.
I have the Aluminum case and I love the look, but I can really tell it hurts the GPS signal. I might keep it just for when i dress up.
poofyhairguy said:
I have the Aluminum case and I love the look, but I can really tell it hurts the GPS signal. I might keep it just for when i dress up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not to hi-jack this thread but I also have the Aluminum and dont have the GPS issues that have been reported. I tried out GPS last night and everything seems to be working fine. The little GPS icon flashes on my notification bar and my navigation keeps what looks like accurate lock on my position, orientation, directions, etc. May I ask how you know your GPS signal is degraded? As for as I know, there is no GPS strength indicator on our phones?
tboooe said:
Not to hi-jack this thread but I also have the Aluminum and dont have the GPS issues that have been reported. I tried out GPS last night and everything seems to be working fine. The little GPS icon flashes on my notification bar and my navigation keeps what looks like accurate lock on my position, orientation, directions, etc. May I ask how you know your GPS signal is degraded? As for as I know, there is no GPS strength indicator on our phones?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are apps like GPS Status & Toolbox which determine the signal strength of the phone's GPS. I was ready to jump on the Aluminum case but this issue may be a deal-breaker for me. Try measuring your signal with and without the case and see if there's any noticeable difference.
I just sent back my Barely There Brushed Aluminum case. Loved the case, but it definitely screwed with GPS reception. It could hardly get a lock on GPS and Google Maps was failing over to using cell tower location, which is obvious when it happens because it becomes very inaccurate (large circle around your "location") and the GPS indicator flashes for a long time trying to get a lock. Eventually, it would get a lock, but only briefly then go back. Too bad, I liked the look and feel of the case, but I guess totally plastic will be the option for me.
jjsoviet said:
There are apps like GPS Status & Toolbox which determine the signal strength of the phone's GPS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GPS Status shows me it locks to fewer sats slower.
Honestly the best place I can tell is in Google Maps. With the case on, the me indicator has a radius as big as my complex. With the case off, there is no radius- just a triangle on me.
I decided to keep the case for when I dress up (it is that fancy), but otherwise I am using a $6 black TPU case.
Same here.I.have used GPS to get to and from w/o any issues Signal is fine as well
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using xda premium
shoitz said:
I just sent back my Barely There Brushed Aluminum case. Loved the case, but it definitely screwed with GPS reception. It could hardly get a lock on GPS and Google Maps was failing over to using cell tower location, which is obvious when it happens because it becomes very inaccurate (large circle around your "location") and the GPS indicator flashes for a long time trying to get a lock. Eventually, it would get a lock, but only briefly then go back. Too bad, I liked the look and feel of the case, but I guess totally plastic will be the option for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup, I just went to radioshack and my gps fails. It can utilize the cell towers to triangulate but that isn't exactly accurate 100% of the time. Oh well I really liked it too.
poofyhairguy said:
I have the Aluminum case and I love the look, but I can really tell it hurts the GPS signal. I might keep it just for when i dress up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same case looks fantastic. I can't see where it affects the signal in anyway. I have even thought it may improve the signal.
Updated list of compatible cases
I updated my list of compatible cases...added seidio
http://www.traemcneely.com/2011/10/...i777-samsung-galaxy-s2-sii-cases-covers-sgs2/
I picked up this case today and I honestly can't tell if it is screwing with my GPS or not. It takes forever to get a lock without the case on, and then it is hit and miss how many satellites it finds and connects to. I ran a couple of tests each with the case on and off and at most with the case on I am finding 1 or 2 less satellites. But my worst off case result is the same as my worst on case result, so like I said, I can't be sure.
Adelaide. said:
I picked up this case today and I honestly can't tell if it is screwing with my GPS or not. It takes forever to get a lock without the case on, and then it is hit and miss how many satellites it finds and connects to. I ran a couple of tests each with the case on and off and at most with the case on I am finding 1 or 2 less satellites. But my worst off case result is the same as my worst on case result, so like I said, I can't be sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here...have you tried the GPS mod that has been floating around? It essentially involves editing a gps.conf file. Supposedly it will help with GPS. I am going to try it this weekend.
No I haven't. I've never actually needed to use GPS so I haven't been too worried about it.
I am sure most people on here would have noticed that the WiFi signal on the htc amaze is drastically affected by the use of a phone case...
This was a dreaded problem for me up until now...I found a way to boost my WiFi signal without sacrificing protection....
All I did was cut a little piece of aluminium foil and attach it to WiFi antenna located on the inner back panel of the phone.....The antenna is located next to the camera lens....
Once the foil is attached to the antenna, replace the back cover and you should have improved WiFi signal that instant.....Fill free to put on any phone case while surfing the internet at blazing fast speeds using WiFi....
Questions are welcomed if the procedure is not fully understood..
I noticed this when I put a d3o dual case on mine.. can u post pics of what you did?
Sent from my T-Mobile G1 using xda premium.. haha the amaze is at HTC getting a new screen..
I have attached a pic of the foil and its location on the back panel of the phone...
Wifi Signal and Cases
Anyone else try this?
Now that sucks, I bought this phone because of the luxurious look and feel (high class build quality). This is like putting rabbit ears on my 65 inch plasma (Ghetto). Just when I thought I was out they pull me back in (into the projects lol).
Don't forget that no one else knows the foil is there except you... A rabbits ear on a 65inches tv can't be hidden..
darll said:
Don't forget that no one else knows the foil is there except you... A rabbits ear on a 65inches tv can't be hidden..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha so true!
that is pretty ghetto but its hidden so if it works i guess you could consider it hardware hacking
Yeah mine is about 5mbs difference
Sent from my HTC Amaze 4G using xda premium
I have the d30 case and I never had a problem with wifi signal... have you ever thought that it was your internet provider or maybe your router?
iGoOsE76 said:
I have the d30 case and I never had a problem with wifi signal... have you ever thought that it was your internet provider or maybe your router?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Perhaps your router is not far from your phone that why... If there are few walls between your phone and router you will notice the problem..
This has nothing to do with internet provider or router..
Try covering the top of your phone when the d30 case is removed and see if your wifi signal drops... If it dosen't then you are too close to your router to notice the problem...
All the fol does is boost your wifi signal .. I have been using it for while and I have consistently got full wifi signal even when there are few walls between my device and the router,,,
Makes a difference, thank you
Bluetooth
I've also notice the same problem with the bluetooth radio. With a gummy cover on (silcone I believe) my moto bluetooth headset SD9-HD doesn't work worth a F*&k but without the cover it's all good.
Which is the BT antenne?
How about cell signal???
This trick reminded me of the old product called cell phone signal booster sticker. Here's a YouTube video http://youtu.be/Elgx7lp7YMc if you are not sure what I'm talking about.
If we can boost cell signal using your method, it would save battery as well (without spending too much money on this sticker). Any thought, guys?
Might be a contact issue, not a "this piece of aluminum foil is a better antenna." I'd posit that the two gold colored contacts are not making a solid electrical connection to the rear cover's antenna contacts and that the aluminum is helping by acting as a shim. But I could be wrong. For those of you with Wi-Fi issues, ever so carefully bend the little gold colored metal contacts on your phone upward to ensure solid contact with the rear of the case.
verkion
verkion said:
Might be a contact issue, not a "this piece of aluminum foil is a better antenna." I'd posit that the two gold colored contacts are not making a solid electrical connection to the rear cover's antenna contacts and that the aluminum is helping by acting as a shim. But I could be wrong. For those of you with Wi-Fi issues, ever so carefully bend the little gold colored metal contacts on your phone upward to ensure solid contact with the rear of the case.
verkion
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well the foil also helps the wifi signal retain its strength... Try covering the back of your phone using your hand and you will see that you loose all wireless signal unless you are close to the router..
Try the same procedure with the foil on and you will see that the wireless signal remains strong regardless of position
Wow, this little piece of aluminum actually works. However, it doesn't work 100% for me. My WiFi signal strength fluctuates quite a bit. But at least I can actually stay connected to my WiFi now.
Thanks. This is a great tip
Edit: this also fixed the problem my amaze had when connecting to my router at work. It would always say connected but data would never be exchanged.
Sent from my HTC_Amaze_4G using XDA App
I thought you were punking us. I was hesitant to even try, because I just KNEW this was a joke. But... it really does work!
I have had nothing buy buyers remorse since buying two of these Amaze phones (full retail price at a TMO store) - on a prepaid plan. They give you about 3 nanoseconds to return - and even then charge a $50/phone restocking fee.
Service is very poor in my home - which I knew before I bought. But, I assumed the Wifi calling would circumvent that problem. I was so disappointed with the jitter, stutter, lost packets, and overall piss-poor wifi call quality, that I upgraded my router, and installed a corporate-rated access point. There was some improvement, but nothing that rivaled a good cell call.
Best DL speeds were around 8-9mbps, and very erratic. With the foil, consistently 20mbps! I am completely dumbfounded.
If such poor wifi performance could be remedied by such a simple fix, why on earth does HTC not do this from the get go? It just doesn't make sense.
So, what have you guys done to keep the foil from shifting, or falling out when changing the battery?
OP, I luv you...
hooutoo said:
I've also notice the same problem with the bluetooth radio. With a gummy cover on (silcone I believe) my moto bluetooth headset SD9-HD doesn't work worth a F*&k but without the cover it's all good.
Which is the BT antenne?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly my issue too. Maybe it'll work if we know which antenna it is.
I can repeat these results over and over again on my Prime. A good distance from my router (through 2 indoor walls, 1 outside brick wall) I get the top 4 throughputs on Photo 1. I cannot stream video without an awful lot of buffering and everything else is slow. With some testing I found if I put that little piece of foil on the face of the tablet(Photo2) then I get the bottom four throughputs and I can stream video until the cows come home with no buffering. It seems simple and works well on my unit. And again, I can repeat the results. I've been using this for three days now and am really happy with the improvement. I'd be real interested in knowing it this affects anyone else's unit the same way. If it does let everyone know and this may be a quick and easy way to help with your WiFi without having to result in disassembling your Prime or doing an RMA.
I'm planning on painting it black and taping it the the face.
See post 99 for details of my installation.
That is quite impressive. I'm game to give this a try. How far down the back of the Prime does the aluminum foil go?
I remember the little antenna earlier model iPhone users stuck on their phones. Perhaps something like that can simply be stuck on the Prime's glass? But, in your situation, the foil going over the top and down the back may also have an influence. I'm going to see if this improves GPS, too! My wi-fi is decent, but my GPS in non-existent at this point.
Thanks for the post...
PolishPoet said:
I can repeat these results over and over again on my Prime. A good distance from my router (through 2 indoor walls, 1 outside brick wall) I get the top 4 throughputs on Photo 1. I cannot stream video without an awful lot of buffering and everything else is slow. With some testing I found if I put that little piece of foil on the face of the tablet(Photo2) then I get the bottom four throughputs and I can stream video until the cows come home with no buffering. It seems simple and works well on my unit. And again, I can repeat the results. I've been using this for three days now and am really happy with the improvement. I'd be real interested in knowing it this affects anyone else's unit the same way. If it does let everyone know and this may be a quick and easy way to help with your WiFi without having to result in disassembling your Prime or doing an RMA.
I'm planning on painting it black and taping it the the face.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Holy Crap. I'm going to try this when I get home -- I've got a dead spot in my house where my WiFi drops off almost completely. If this works, I'm going to 1) laugh, and 2) think about all the physical damage that some people have done to their Primes in the hardware modding thread, and then 3) be sad for them, and then 4) laugh again, but bitterly.
Keeping the fingers crossed.
Next thing is foil hat!
On a serious note, quite interesting to see results.
Sent throught the wormhole from my CoinInserted Sensation OG.
PolishPoet said:
I can repeat these results over and over again on my Prime. A good distance from my router (through 2 indoor walls, 1 outside brick wall) I get the top 4 throughputs on Photo 1. I cannot stream video without an awful lot of buffering and everything else is slow. With some testing I found if I put that little piece of foil on the face of the tablet(Photo2) then I get the bottom four throughputs and I can stream video until the cows come home with no buffering. It seems simple and works well on my unit. And again, I can repeat the results. I've been using this for three days now and am really happy with the improvement. I'd be real interested in knowing it this affects anyone else's unit the same way. If it does let everyone know and this may be a quick and easy way to help with your WiFi without having to result in disassembling your Prime or doing an RMA.
I'm planning on painting it black and taping it the the face.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also, have you tried putting your prime in a portfolio-type case (like the Minisuit) with the foil on it? If so, does it still work? If so, that would be excellent, because the case would hide the foil.
tinky1 said:
Next thing is foil hat!
On a serious note, quite interesting to see results.
Sent throught the wormhole from my CoinInserted Sensation OG.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
[email protected]#[email protected]$ , I have verified that it works. My dl speed went from 3xxx to over 15000 using speedtest.net app. I will post screen shots......
delete delete
Wow so cool! Even though we shouldn't have to do this lol. Brings me back to the days of my modded wifi dongle with tin foil upgrades to "borrow" my neighbors connection haha.
Damn I'm out of tin foil, I'm gonna run to the store and report back! Even though my new C2 serial get almost identical speeds in my living room in my apartment. Let's see how far I can go!
What about some copper conductive tape? A thin strip of it.
Interesting......simple yet effective, it seems
What happens to your GPS signals if you move the foil over to the left a wee bit (above the GPS antenna)?
I don't have a problem with Wifi, but I certainly do with GPS, so I'd be interested to see.
tinky1 said:
Next thing is foil hat!
On a serious note, quite interesting to see results.
Sent throught the wormhole from my CoinInserted Sensation OG.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
[email protected]#[email protected]$ , I have verified that it works. My dl speed went from 3xxx to over 15000 using speedtest.net app. I will post screen shots......
screen shots taken just now...
lol very cool. Looks like you are reflecting your wireless signal into your primes antenna. Forcing it down the throat so to speak
Cool Parabolic effect. Aluminum foil is great for that.
Even seems to work somewhat with anti-static bags.
WTF!!!
If this is really true then i'm even more glad i returned my unit. So for my 600€ toy to work i gotta get a 1€ foil-roll, ASUS are you kidding me?
tedr108 said:
That is quite impressive. I'm game to give this a try. How far down the back of the Prime does the aluminum foil go?
I remember the little antenna earlier model iPhone users stuck on their phones. Perhaps something like that can simply be stuck on the Prime's glass? But, in your situation, the foil going over the top and down the back may also have an influence. I'm going to see if this improves GPS, too! My wi-fi is decent, but my GPS in non-existent at this point.
Thanks for the post...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't have to go down the back. I have it taped on now nd it goes from the top edge of the screen down. You have to move it from side to side to get the best signal. Again it does not need to go down the back, but to find the best location I originally had the foil going over the back.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
PolishPoet said:
It doesn't have to go down the back. I have it taped on now nd it goes from the top edge of the screen down. You have to move it from side to side to get the best signal. Again it does not need to go down the back, but to find the best location I originally had the foil going over the back.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very cool PolishPoet. Yes I imagine if you had it in some sort of Parabolic shape. You could increase / direct the signal even more.
hahahah i love this.
Make a plastic frame with aluminum in it and you can clip on top of prime. Sell them and you will be rich!
It appears to block/degrade GPS signal. I'm getting 0 now instead of 2-3 by the window with the foil on. But wifi definitely improved.
Works particularly well holding a DVD in place. I guess they are super smooth and reflective so it makes sense.
Mixed result for me. 1.2MB/s with the foil then 5.8MB/s without the foil and then 6.4MB/s with the foil again.
If I use Wifi analyzer as soon as I hold a DVD in place I suddenly see about four other networks that disappear as soon as I take the DVD away. Happens every time without fail. Signal goes from ~70dB to ~55dB
READ THIS POST AND POST 74 AND FURTHER
Have you ever seen such quality in the GPS signals and the fixes? (picture 1)
Ever since I got my TFP in early January I have been trying to find a way to enhance the GPS and the Wifi. I read just about all the threads on these subjects and tried every tweak. Even the crazy ones ;-) But because of the form factor I wasn't going to drill holes and put antennas on the back (respect guys, awesome work)
It started with a poster that got flamed straight away. He put a phone on the top right hand corner and got a better GPS. I felt sorry for him because everyone treated him like a retard. Just for the sake of being able to put the flamers in their spot I gave his idea a chance.
And it worked!!! But it was not practical. I can't walk around with a phone pressed against my TFP. But it was a start. Something started happening.
Next came the screwdriver trick. Even better result. Then I discovered the paperclip trick. Again improvement. But still not good enough and certainly not stable. It was difficult to reproduce. It became clear to me that positioning was very critical.
On the Wifi side people started enhancing their signal by placing foil the right Wifi antenna. Then they started using beer cans. It worked for some. But for others it didn't work. Theory was that somehow the Wifi signal got shielded forcing the other Wifi antenna to kick in. Tried it. Worked sometimes and at other moments didn't work. But there was something. And again it became clear to me that positioning was very critical.
Furthermore I started fooling around with grounding to the back plate. It had a dramatic effect on Wifi and GPS. As soon as something touches the back plate the signals die. I got the impression that the Wifi and GPS antenna were to close to each other and with all the RF signals they were screwing each other.
But all together there were things happening. I started documenting exact positions and sizes of the tweaks I was applying. Wifi was reasonable for me as long as I had a good base signal. GPS had my attention. I could get an external GPS, I could tether from my phone, I could buy a map, I could ask directions.
But NO!!!!
I wanted the GPS inside the Prime to get a reasonable fix.
It has cost me a lot of hours of trying, tweaking, adapting, and documenting.
But......
I FOUND THE 10 CENTS SOLUTION!!!
You only need to buy a 1 mm stainless steel cable.
Instructions (also see diagram):
1. First get yourself a beer. And drink it (this is the best part)
2. Then cut yourself a square 15x25 mm from the can (carefull)
3. Stick it in the right place onto the glass
4. Make sure it is isolated with electical tape on the topside
5. Place steel cable across the isolated square (I don’t know if this matters but I used 9,75 mm length = 0,5 x wavelength of GPS)
6. Fix it in place with electrical tape
And ......
ENJOY A GOOD GPS (better than my HTC Sensation)
Up to now this is the best result I can get.
Probably sizes and locations can be optimized.
However my experience is that the cable has to extend outside the plane of the TFP. Either vertical or horizontal. As long as it is inside the confines and flat on the glass of the TFP the signal dies instantly
And the electrical tape on top can be exchanged for something better looking.
Customize it like a sticker of a mouse with the tail being the steel cable.
Or a droid sticker with antenna ears upwards.
Outside and in the car I get a 4 second lock and after 10 seconds 15 sats and 10 locked. Inside has improved but not really good enough.
I have reset the prime before testing, cleared AGPS and Wifi off.
I hope you guys enjoy and appreciate my solution.
And if someone finds a better or more elegant solution please post.
Have fun
Oh I forgot to mention. The trick also works with the paperclip. Use a small paperclip. When straightened the length is 95 mm. Also works. I turned to the steel cable because I wanted something flexible.
very cool.
I currently have a beer can piece myself on my prime
-not as precise as yours, but it improves my wifi
not a beer, but after this j i shall try!
You guys are awesome....I've been looking for this all day..... a reason to drink beer tonight ^_^ oh and a possible gps solution without opening my TFP
Does yours maintain GPS lock while moving at highways speeds?
wynand32 said:
Does yours maintain GPS lock while moving at highways speeds?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll test that. Drink beer and going high speed on the autobahn
wynand32 said:
Does yours maintain GPS lock while moving at highways speeds?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
YEP
Perfect turn by turn navigation.
On the highway about 10 locks and in urban area a minimum of 6 locks.
And all the time average 14 sats in sight.
I have not tried it yet in an area with very tall buildings.
I think the highest buildings during my tests were 6 floors.
If this can be independently verified (and sounds like it can be), then someone could definitely make a little money with this. Not enough to retire on, but a little spending money.
A question: could this be made into something that could clip onto the Prime and so be easily added/removed? While I wouldn't tape anything to my Prime, I'd clip something on it if I were to want GPS to work (which I don't actually, but being speculative here).
wynand32 said:
If this can be independently verified (and sounds like it can be), then someone could definitely make a little money with this. Not enough to retire on, but a little spending money.
A question: could this be made into something that could clip onto the Prime and so be easily added/removed? While I wouldn't tape anything to my Prime, I'd clip something on it if I were to want GPS to work (which I don't actually, but being speculative here).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes can be done.
I have been trying some solutions myself.
But the positioning turned out to be a critical factor.
Had to work that out first.
Wanted to share those results first.
But some sort of minimized and customisable clip on device would be nice.
Either pimped or just simple
I'm thinking you could use a simple clip like we use at home for potato chip bags. Line the inside of one part of the clip with the require metal, add in the wire, and then you could simply clip it on when you need GPS. Those clips aren't particularly strong, either, so no worries about damaging the Prime.
I might give this a shot myself this week, if I get some time.
The 12 Steps to ruin.... and a Hangover
My attempt (not really but could be fun)
1. Drink one can, cut open and place on screen.
Tape was too old. Can kept falling off.
2. Get another can and drink then place on screen again.
New tape stayed on but can didn't work.
3. Get yet another beer. Had a brainstorm idea to try doing the same for Wifi... got another beer.
Drank beers, needed a pee. Wife threw out the empties.
4. Got another two beers. Rang friend to ask if he had a beeter metal cutter....
5. Got two more beers then forgot what I was doing.
6. Glot two more bbers. Needed another pee.... Came back stood on berr cans. They were hiding on the floor.
7. Grot a new crate of beers in from the sheller hic! Drunk clan cut finger with can opener. Oh Eck...
8. Opened nudder bleer. Got drill out and dilled lotsh of oles on can.
Bol*x.... need a pee.
9. Sloped can wid whisky bottle... Poored whiskey on wire... Sh1t.. where da fcuk did wire come ffrommm???
10. Passt hammmmer to schreen. Bloke grass an spong at glue.
11. Glue noo worrrk. Need beeerr. hic!
12. Shud not put fingerss in live lectric shockket!
Fin............. Dont work.
zzzzZZzzZzzzzZzzzzzz
So I guess the prime as a glorified beer coaster wasnt too far off since it can improve signal strength.
hey guys come on.
I'm trying to start a serious thread and now you are turning it into something hilarious.
Well they always say 'keep on smiling'.
Had a great laugh.
Great story.
Let's see if thereś any beer left.
Cheers guys
Jesus.. you couldn't pay me to do this.
BTW, I got better than you without this nasty hack. I have screenshots of 18ft right in my backyard. No tin foil, no duct tape, not guitar/bike wire.
But none of it matters... AS YOU CANT DRIVE AND GET IT TO WORK
Lock-N-Load said:
Jesus.. you couldn't pay me to do this.
BTW, I got better than you without this nasty hack. I have screenshots of 18ft right in my backyard. No tin foil, no duct tape, not guitar/bike wire.
But none of it matters... AS YOU CANT DRIVE AND GET IT TO WORK
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
VVVVVVVV
dingdonggggg said:
YEP
Perfect turn by turn navigation.
On the highway about 10 locks and in urban area a minimum of 6 locks.
And all the time average 14 sats in sight.
I have not tried it yet in an area with very tall buildings.
I think the highest buildings during my tests were 6 floors.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually just got 18 ft in my brother's front yard Same place I kept getting nada for a couple weeks. No mods, but not stable either. Soon I'll have external antenna and be done with it
*EDIT: Obviously with data on, but I was getting 1 bird in and out of view with the same setup pre-.15. That is not to say .15 in any way helped this.
**EDIT:
PM'd you
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Buxtahuda,
So what antenna will you be using?
dingdonggggg said:
Have you ever seen such quality in the GPS signals and the fixes? (picture 1)
Ever since I got my TFP in early January I have been trying to find a way to enhance the GPS and the Wifi. I read just about all the threads on these subjects and tried every tweak. Even the crazy ones ;-) But because of the form factor I wasn't going to drill holes and put antennas on the back (respect guys, awesome work)
It started with a poster that got flamed straight away. He put a phone on the top right hand corner and got a better GPS. I felt sorry for him because everyone treated him like a retard. Just for the sake of being able to put the flamers in their spot I gave his idea a chance.
And it worked!!! But it was not practical. I can't walk around with a phone pressed against my TFP. But it was a start. Something started happening.
Next came the screwdriver trick. Even better result. Then I discovered the paperclip trick. Again improvement. But still not good enough and certainly not stable. It was difficult to reproduce. It became clear to me that positioning was very critical.
On the Wifi side people started enhancing their signal by placing foil the right Wifi antenna. Then they started using beer cans. It worked for some. But for others it didn't work. Theory was that somehow the Wifi signal got shielded forcing the other Wifi antenna to kick in. Tried it. Worked sometimes and at other moments didn't work. But there was something. And again it became clear to me that positioning was very critical.
Furthermore I started fooling around with grounding to the back plate. It had a dramatic effect on Wifi and GPS. As soon as something touches the back plate the signals die. I got the impression that the Wifi and GPS antenna were to close to each other and with all the RF signals they were screwing each other.
But all together there were things happening. I started documenting exact positions and sizes of the tweaks I was applying. Wifi was reasonable for me as long as I had a good base signal. GPS had my attention. I could get an external GPS, I could tether from my phone, I could buy a map, I could ask directions.
But NO!!!!
I wanted the GPS inside the Prime to get a reasonable fix.
It has cost me a lot of hours of trying, tweaking, adapting, and documenting.
But......
I FOUND THE 10 CENTS SOLUTION!!!
You only need to buy a 1 mm stainless steel cable.
Instructions (also see diagram):
1. First get yourself a beer. And drink it (this is the best part)
2. Then cut yourself a square 15x25 mm from the can (carefull)
3. Stick it in the right place onto the glass
4. Make sure it is isolated with electical tape on the topside
5. Place steel cable across the isolated square (I don’t know if this matters but I used 9,75 mm length = 0,5 x wavelength of GPS)
6. Fix it in place with electrical tape
And ......
ENJOY A GOOD GPS (better than my HTC Sensation)
Up to now this is the best result I can get.
Probably sizes and locations can be optimized.
However my experience is that the cable has to extend outside the plane of the TFP. Either vertical or horizontal. As long as it is inside the confines and flat on the glass of the TFP the signal dies instantly
And the electrical tape on top can be exchanged for something better looking.
Customize it like a sticker of a mouse with the tail being the steel cable.
Or a droid sticker with antenna ears upwards.
Outside and in the car I get a 4 second lock and after 10 seconds 15 sats and 10 locked. Inside has improved but not really good enough.
I have reset the prime before testing, cleared AGPS and Wifi off.
I hope you guys enjoy and appreciate my solution.
And if someone finds a better or more elegant solution please post.
Have fun
Oh I forgot to mention. The trick also works with the paperclip. Use a small paperclip. When straightened the length is 95 mm. Also works. I turned to the steel cable because I wanted something flexible.
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Looks like it close to the location for the Easy Wifi Improvement Mod only with the added wire.
PolishPoet said:
Looks like it close to the location for the Easy Wifi Improvement Mod only with the added wire.
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I think that's the point.
Kill the primary WiFi (if that's what it does... and I think it does) with the aluminum, then use the wire as a conductor for the GPS signal, just kind of funneling it to the right area for the internal antenna to get a concentrated blast. Per RF theory I've seen around here, the signal then doesn't need a hard line to the antenna, it'll travel that little gap from covered wire to antenna easily.
hey! That crazy asian with the phone on the corner was me! I've been meaning to post my further investigation on this and this is what I did.
1. Bought a Moco case on Amazon for like $12.
2. Put Prime in case.
3. Cut a 5 inch speaker wire. The tiny ones, not monster cable but them average size wire about 22 gauge (?).
4. Place the wire under the case but above the Prime in same location as yours. It stuck out so I bent the end and tucked it into the headphone opening.
5. Went for a drive. I drive a bronco and with the case set up to stand the Prime up, I was able to watch GPS test as I drove. Kept very steady GPS lock with no less than 4 at a time. Tried Google maps with Bluetooth data tethering to my phone to draw map and now I have a 10.1 in screen gps !
I think getting a case (any case) is a good investment for your Prime. It can also very casually and discreetly hide any of these " additions" to your Prime to enhance certain features like those with the foil wifi "mod".
So I didn't get to drink any beer but I sure will not drink scotch out a can!
OMG beard, too funny ...lmao....
From http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=44929981#post44929981
plaster said:
What lg could have done, was put an aluminum heatsink that had a thin fin that spread to all four sides of the phone that would dissipate the heat from the center. Then again, I haven't ripped my phone apart. It may have that already.
Sent from my Optimus G using Tapatalk 2
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[r.]GimP said:
I've ripped it apart a few times, no fin, but there is enough clearance to do so, I might give that a shot just because.
Not sure of the potential interference to cell signal though..
Good idea regardless, even aluminum foil at that close proximity with maybe thermal compound or a pad would do more than nothing, in theory.
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(edit - all that tape covers areas i didn't want to short, antenna connections mostly. )
View attachment 2220069
So I actually went for it. This is 8 layers of aluminum foil stacked, by folding on of the precut sheets on top of itself until it almost exactly matched the internal dimensions of the LGOG.
This picture is slightly dated, The red+blue borderd box indicates more material I had removed and is no longer present in the rear cover of the phone. The WiFi antenna is located in the backplate for our phone, I thought it wouldn't be affected by the foil but there were two seperate issues.
1.) The contacts themselves didn't always make contact, effectively leaving no antenna.
2.) wireless signal sucked
Also, directly under that area on the opposide side of our mainboard is the LTE antenna. Again *should* is the key work that in theory it would run with no issues, able to radiate out the front of the device.
1.) LTE signal was dramatically impacted. Disabling LTE and using 4g showed fantastic signal. So if you don't use LTE or have LTE in your area this foil can stay, maybe increase the cutout around the contacts so WIFI antenna reattaches correctly.
Also note the cutout area on the bottom. That is our main antenna block attached to the speaker.
1.) Every part of the antenna areas has to be taped to try and use this area.
2.) Foil by itself with no thermal interface material is very unlikely to be sponging or collecting any heat at this relative distance from the hotspots anyway.
3.) Overall signal sucked, not worth it.
Take note of the two metal shims on the top and right of the battery. There is an almost entirely metal "basket" that houses every bit of our phone on the front side.
1.) This is in place to transfer some of the heat that the foil picks up from the transceiver module (metallic thing that is NOT taped over above the top right corner of the battery)
2.) This yeilds a very nice increase in thermal "density" overall. It is a much increased area over which has to heat to reach thermal equilibrium.
In the end I've been running this for about a week now. Placebo effect over and done, testing here and there and I can report.
It makes a dramatic impact on overall temperature regulation of the phone. It does not completely eliminate the hotspot on the back but it does spread it very effectively.
The phone can still reach "thermal saturation" as it were, and will given enough time. There is a weird tradeoff now involved, and I'd have to go back and test this separate to draw any definite conclusions, thusly;
1. You now have more material that can eventually heat up to the point where the phone throttles, this naturally takes much longer to occur (which is good)
however, in theory, this added material still has to find a way to radiate its heat, which might take LONGER to do so.
However, however: ..You also have a greatly increased the surface area that this material can dissipate heat over, so it could take LESS time.
Needs to be tested, but subjectively I can say it is better overall.
Most dramatic increases I get for my personal use case that made this worth it,
repeated restarts from multiple flashes and validating startup tweaks, voltage settings, governer advanced settings properly all taking and setting, etc. Much cooler overall, verified by constantly checking CPU and Battery temps during and after.
Running the phone on LTE, with bluetooth and GPS on, while actively navigating with maps, while actively streaming audio to my car stereo via bluetooth, while hooked up to car charger.
Does NOT hit the point where the screen is impossibly dim and refuses to charge because of how hot the phone gets doing this.
If you've used your LGOG as navigation while docked to a stand on your dash you know exactly how hot this phone can get. It also cools itself insanely faster after this.
Ultimate tradeoff: I have slightly less signal for LTE overall, and it's very slight. I could continue customizing my cutout, and will eventually, but this is working very well for now. It's almost much cleaner than the picture indicates, as once I finalized what worked I trimmed all the edges and cutouts around the backplate fasteners, etc.
Good luck and have fun if you're feeling adventurous.
Much cooler overall, verified by constantly checking CPU and Battery temps during and after.
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Could you share a few sample temps for comparison?
2.) Foil by itself with no thermal interface material is very unlikely to be sponging or collecting any heat at this relative distance from the hotspots anyway.
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Did you end up using thermal compound, and if so, where?
Ultimate tradeoff: I have slightly less signal for LTE overall, and it's very slight.
Click to expand...
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Could you share a decibel amount of what you're used to getting, with regards to LTE signal, and what you are getting after the mod?
It's almost much cleaner than the picture indicates, as once I finalized what worked I trimmed all the edges and cutouts around the backplate fasteners, etc.
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Would you mind sharing an updated picture?
Overall, this is awesome! Great idea and I would definitely love to give this a shot myself.
ousoonerchase said:
Could you share a few sample temps for comparison?
Did you end up using thermal compound, and if so, where?
Could you share a decibel amount of what you're used to getting, with regards to LTE signal, and what you are getting after the mod?
Would you mind sharing an updated picture?
Overall, this is awesome! Great idea and I would definitely love to give this a shot myself.
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Yes to all these things, except thermal compount, not yet anyway. I wouldn't mind updating and trying to do with comparisons, but in my ADHD world right now I'm trying to get ubuntu booting under chroot on my phone to see if I can compile source, for the hell of it.
dont feel like opening my phone up at this exact moment but I will, eventually.
lol, awesome. I'm too poor to take my phone apart, but if it needs a battery replacement before 2015, I'll definitely try this out. If you could machine a solid piece of aluminum, or even better, copper, it would work even better. :good:
plaster said:
lol, awesome. I'm too poor to take my phone apart, but if it needs a battery replacement before 2015, I'll definitely try this out. If you could machine a solid piece of aluminum, or even better, copper, it would work even better. :good:
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I've humored the idea of taking the much cleaned up foil template i made out, tracing it on paper, and getting a copper shim machined to the same size and similar thickness, believe you me
Wish I had the balls to do this
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Definitely gonna do this if i need to swap the battery anytime soon.
I remember you mentioning his on the BeanStalk thread. Didn't think you'd make a post. Well as an update for you, I go my dad to re-solder the battery connector, so it's like new i'm thinking i'll give this a try. I keep LTE off due to battery drain anyway.
You must live with spotty lte service. I get plenty of battery on lte with excellent signal strength. Your drain likely stems from frequently switching between lte and hspa
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,
Tesy
Qq
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