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Hey peeps,
Just received my TFP on the 23rd from a Gamestop pre-order and I've had a few issues that I'm not seeing in other threads. Namely, the foremost glass panel of my prime is loose in the bottom right corner but also the wifi has unique issues which I will describe below. Out of the box I also had a scratch on the back which I wouldn't have minded but these other problems just seem like too much.
I read lots of reports of wifi problems, supposedly caused by the dual antennae in the prime, but I seem to have an issue which other users have not reported (to my knowledge. please correct me if I'm wrong.) My wifi connects and reaches the correct speeds in speed tests (15-18mbps). Yet, it disconnects every 10 seconds. I tried disabling the "Wi-fi Disconnect Policy" but to no avail. This is especially annoying since each time it disconnects it pops up a small notification saying it has disconnected and "weather information will not be availible."
To summarize:
- Scratched out of the box.
- Loose glass panel on the front.
- Wifi disconnecting constantly. (DL/UL speeds are fine)
If you are an owner of the prime: Do you have any of these issues?
I'm really wanting to RMA, return, or get a new unit at this point. Such a hassle...gotta travel into NYC to return to GameStop.
Only have the loose glass panel issue
sorry to hear the issues. that wifi one you described is a new one. since I received my prime on the 22nd, it has stayed connected to my wifi nonstop. hasn't disconnected once. I'd say reset the prime and reset the router or wifi connection and see if that resolves the issue. if it doesn't, just exchange it. good luck
It could be because it has been reopened to add/replace the second antenna and has not been closed properly? Would also explain the scratches.
thatguych4rlie said:
Hey peeps,
Just received my TFP on the 23rd from a Gamestop pre-order and I've had a few issues that I'm not seeing in other threads. Namely, the foremost glass panel of my prime is loose in the bottom right corner but also the wifi has unique issues which I will describe below. Out of the box I also had a scratch on the back which I wouldn't have minded but these other problems just seem like too much.
I read lots of reports of wifi problems, supposedly caused by the dual antennae in the prime, but I seem to have an issue which other users have not reported (to my knowledge. please correct me if I'm wrong.) My wifi connects and reaches the correct speeds in speed tests (15-18mbps). Yet, it disconnects every 10 seconds. I tried disabling the "Wi-fi Disconnect Policy" but to no avail. This is especially annoying since each time it disconnects it pops up a small notification saying it has disconnected and "weather information will not be availible."
To summarize:
- Scratched out of the box.
- Loose glass panel on the front.
- Wifi disconnecting constantly. (DL/UL speeds are fine)
If you are an owner of the prime: Do you have any of these issues?
I'm really wanting to RMA, return, or get a new unit at this point. Such a hassle...gotta travel into NYC to return to GameStop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mine doesnt disconnect totally but it does studder sometimes for a second i notice when running speedtests the progress bar just hangs for a second and then continues it def seems like some quality issues with the wireless they stuck in these things
demandarin said:
sorry to hear the issues. that wifi one you described is a new one. since I received my prime on the 22nd, it has stayed connected to my wifi nonstop. hasn't disconnected once. I'd say reset the prime and reset the router or wifi connection and see if that resolves the issue. if it doesn't, just exchange it. good luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So disappointing too. I've really been looking forward to using it and despite being a joy in my life...I think getting back $500 and just holding out for CES or a new desktop PC might be in order.
How are you enjoying yours? Any issues to speak of?
JoeyLe said:
It could be because it has been reopened to add/replace the second antenna and has not been closed properly? Would also explain the scratches.
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Click to collapse
Oh. Hmm. I hadn't thought of that. I hope they didn't do that. So cheap.
Only is issue i have is GPS not locking any sattelites but no bigdeal, For the gps i used blutooth over gps it works flawless just incase want to use navigation, wifi works now for me since i disconnected one of my router upstairs., for now i used one router for whole house, so far so good.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
erick0423 said:
Only is issue i have is GPS not locking any sattelites but no bigdeal, For the gps i used blutooth over gps it works flawless just incase want to use navigation, wifi works now for me since i disconnected one of my router upstairs., for now i used one router for whole house, so far so good.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
I've never heard of GPS over BT. Must look that up sometime. Although, I do have the GPS-not-locking-onto-satalites issue as well.
thatguych4rlie said:
I've never heard of GPS over BT. Must look that up sometime. Although, I do have the GPS-not-locking-onto-satalites issue as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He gave up on the internal Bluetooth and is using an external Bluetooth receiver. Certainly an option but it's an extra device to carry around and keep charged. You really shouldn't have to resort to "plan B" for a new $500 device.
thatguych4rlie said:
I've never heard of GPS over BT. Must look that up sometime. Although, I do have the GPS-not-locking-onto-satalites issue as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh my bad i meant i used a blutooth gps reciever and pair with my prime
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
^ +1. Exactly, if you're paying $500 for a brand new device then it should be 100% functional.
Sorry to hear that. I would just go ahead and get a replacement at this point you've paid good money for something that should work properly. I was fortunate in that I received a working prime. Scary at first when they shipped it to me with the battery completely drained
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
On second thought u guys are right..lol ill exchange this then
@OP
Two quick things to try: Google on your router's model and apply any available firmware update. Try again. If issue still occurs, try setting your router to 802.11g from its (presumably) present N mode. Some older routers, especially those still on draft-N 1.0, and may have incompatibility issues with N adapters in auto mode.
thatguych4rlie said:
So disappointing too. I've really been looking forward to using it and despite being a joy in my life...I think getting back $500 and just holding out for CES or a new desktop PC might be in order.
How are you enjoying yours? Any issues to speak of?
Oh. Hmm. I hadn't thought of that. I hope they didn't do that. So cheap.
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Click to collapse
I'm enjoying my device very much. my prime, along with others, doesn't exhibit the issues some people are speaking of. I have yet to test my GPS though, by itself.
the only main issue I have is not being able to put down this device haven't touched my Ipad since I got this. that says alot considering how much I used my Ipad before.
demandarin said:
I'm enjoying my device very much. my prime, along with others, doesn't exhibit the issues some people are speaking of. I have yet to test my GPS though, by itself.
the only main issue I have is not being able to put down this device haven't touched my Ipad since I got this. that says alot considering how much I used my Ipad before.
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Even with my screen issue this tablet hasn't left my hands I love it so amazing and gaming on it is hands down the best wish we had some infinity blade though
ok im waiting for agent @ newegg to chat and explain my issue
e.mote said:
@OP
Two quick things to try: Google on your router's model and apply any available firmware update. Try again. If issue still occurs, try setting your N to G.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll def try that out. My router checks for firmware updates weekly so that shouldn't be an issue. Maybe changing frequency will help. I'm not quite sure what you mean by setting N to G though.
demandarin said:
I'm enjoying my device very much. my prime, along with others, doesn't exhibit the issues some people are speaking of. I have yet to test my GPS though, by itself.
the only main issue I have is not being able to put down this device haven't touched my Ipad since I got this. that says alot considering how much I used my Ipad before.
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Click to collapse
I'm glad you're enjoying yours! I definitely enjoyed mine before I started having these wifi issues more frequently.
tylermaciaszek said:
Even with my screen issue this tablet hasn't left my hands I love it so amazing and gaming on it is hands down the best wish we had some infinity blade though
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Click to collapse
What about Blood and Glory? https://market.android.com/details?id=com.glu.gladiator
I just got my RMA # today for an exchange. My tablet had scratched screen, scratched/dented metal bezel face all around, and power connector area was dented.
_jws said:
I just got my RMA # today for an exchange. My tablet had scratched screen, scratched/dented metal bezel face all around, and power connector area was dented.
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Who is administrating the RMA? Asus or your retailer?
So I have been waiting for the upgrade to the transformer since I got the transformer. The GPS issue is irritating, but the speakers on these devices blow by design, so I always have a trusty pair of bluetooth headphones with me that I can't use with my device as it destroys the wifi connection.
Now that I have my beautiful manufacturing mistake, I wonder what's next. What tablet is most likely to capitalize on the market share left open by the **** design that is the FULLY aluminum ATP back panel. I am a fan of the device but I'm worried that after they washed their hands of the GPS issue, they might do the same thing to the bluetooth issue. Currently I've been e-mailing Gary Key at ASUS who has thus far been unable to reproduce the issue. I can't get them to fix it if they can't track it down. Unless some of us have been saddled with substandard radios, I can't see how this problem can't be present in ALL ATPs.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1423180
They can't wash it as bluetooth and wifi is a standard on all devices. Plus most people have said that their GPS worked before the first firmware update (one that came out in December) so I believe that it is both h/w and s/w related. The wifi and bluetooth should work no matter what, which again worked before the first firmware update. So I believe they need to release new firmware, which might come out with the ICS update next week, to get GPS partially working and wifi/bluetooth simultaneously working together.
I'm unsure. From what I've read the ALL-ALUMINUM back will cause problems for everything. They tried putting antennas near the glass but that doesn't work if you look at the GPS performance. It works a little better for WiFi due to the technology but currently, at least for my BBO Grey 32GB ATP, BT + WIFI = Death.
I recall someone making a stray comment about HC not being tested and that ICS will solve this. I will hold on to my ATP until ICS. If the problem persists I'm packing it up, sending it back and waiting for the next great Android Tablet to replace to Original Asus Transformer.
I like the performance of the ATP. The Flash performance(which I use 80% of the time) is loads better than the already acceptable Original Transformer Flash performance. And ICS on my Samsung Galaxy Nexus is better still than both Transformers due to ICS being so much smoother so I look forward to a Tegra3 Tab with ICS.
The problem seems to be that EVERY OTHER COMPANY has some sort of plastic bit to free the RF from their tablets. ASUS decided to forgo that altogether and we are paying the price for this I think. It's too bad they didn't find a way to make the back into an antenna.
EDIT: And no, for me the BT killing WiFi issue was there from the original rootable shipping ROM. It has, however, gotten exponentially worse with each update. Originally the problem took 4-5 minutes.. or 60ish megs of data. Then it went to about 2-3 minutes at 20-30ish megs and with the latest revision I get less than a minute at like 8 megs . By the time ICS comes out turning on bluetooth while streaming Netflix on WiFi will make my tablet spontaneously combust.
When will ASUS provide us a fix for our poor WIFI instead of ignoring the issue? They have all these new devices but fail to take care of our issues. Is this how they treat their early adopters? How can you sell a Wifi only device with poor wifi? They need to replace the back cover or replace new hardware or just have a recall. This is unacceptable. If you buy a car and you only get 5 mpg when you should get 30mpg, i'm sure they would recall that car. My luck, first ASUS device and i get first reboot issues and poor GPS & Wifi.. I love the device as far as looks and game performance but, what what good is that if i cant get online to read my emails and browse?
While I agree with you I think Asus put themselves in a tough spot. Short of taking every Prime sold and doing hardware changes of whatever type, they can't fix this problem. Someone mentioned that they probably did the gps dongle and quick because a suit was filed against them for it. It was a universal problem with probably every unit. I could be wrong but I don't think they have admitted a problem with the internal gps, just the metal backing possibly blocking the signal.
This wifi/bt thing, it technically works. It may not function ideally but it functions. They may not be under the legal pressure as the gps, it being advertised, etc. It would be great for a solid solution to be found for this but I'm not going to hold my breath over it. The company knows the f* up exists.
Don't take this the wrong way... But speak for yourself. I have no issues with my Wifi. Its just as strong as my Galaxy Tab 10.1 using Wifi analyzer. I am also an early adopter SN#BC
jjdevega said:
Don't take this the wrong way... But speak for yourself. I have no issues with my Wifi. Its just as strong as my Galaxy Tab 10.1 using Wifi analyzer. I am also an early adopter SN#BC
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Click to collapse
So you say... I thought the same thing also before going thru the WiFi/BT fallout thread.. pair some bluetooth headphones with your TF201, play some music or run netflix and run speedtest while its going and I dare say you'll be disappointed..
NeoMagus said:
So you say... I thought the same thing also before going thru the WiFi/BT fallout thread.. pair some bluetooth headphones with your TF201, play some music or run netflix and run speedtest while its going and I dare say you'll be disappointed..
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I've been through this before I even created a video just to prove Wifi/BT works fine when both are used for streaming. Just check out my Youtube video.
I did this late at night. Didn't want to wake the wife so I'm pretty quiet. My internet connection is caped at 10mbps
What was a little strange about the Speed test was that when I ran the test for the first time it yielded only 1mb but after running the test several more times after that it coincided with the wifi strength of it having full bars so I was getting 7mbps and more. I made the video on the second floor in my bedroom. The router is located on the first floor opposite corner of the house.
Edit: Besides. The OP is talking about Wifi and I was responding to his claims of everyone having weak wifi which is false since I have no problems with wifi.
jjdevega said:
I've been through this before I even created a video just to prove Wifi/BT works fine when both are used for streaming. Just check out my Youtube video.
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Click to collapse
Seeing how no one has posted a video showing anything but a huge dropoff in bandwidth Id be willing to watch if you link it - but yours is probably like everyone elses including mine. If it isn't then feel lucky its adequate to you.. going from 30m/b down to 2m/b is not to me
**from what I'm seeing its just like mine most of your tests your losing half your bandwidth when its on ..2-4mb occassionally with a spike ..2mb really is all you need to stream both so if it works for you great but I wouldn't say theres no issue we should not be losing that much bandwidth (its alot more for me personally)
Nothing will be done because nothing is wrong.
Welcome to the wireless spectrum and the laws of physics. Inconsistent speedtest results? Drop-offs? Turn on a microwave, kill your stream? Yeah, welcome to wifi.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2387493?start=0&tstart=0
Deal with it.
Whats also important to note, the prime is not at all the only Tablet that is in this "wifi situation". Especially the best known Tablet on the world, the ipad, suffers from about the same issues.
Wifi is a radio signal, its the same thing with FM radio stations... In one room you always get interference with Station X while in the other room its perfectly clear. One day it might work well while the next one you cant hear a thing. Its similar with wifi and there are alot of factors involved.
As for me i did several "tests" with wifi analyzer and speed test and my tablet and 2 smartphones (DHD & SGS II) all around my house and in the garden. There is simply no consistancy in one spot the prime has the best signal and the best throughput in another it has the worst, in the end all devices performed more or less the same.
But thats just my situation, there is always the possibility that your device is defective in some way and if you feel somethings wrong i suggest you try RMA or just buy a wifi repeater But i guess thats about the only things you can do.
Btw: there was an intersting article i read a while ago about a Parisienne Hotel where some nerds (some of them actually invented wifi) had a convention/meeting. Everyone was using the wifi heavily and soon the system wouldnt work at all. They started talking to the tech guys of the hotel and... The wifi was set up totally wrong, all routers and repeaters worked on the same channel with wrong settings. The guys then shut down half of the repeaters changed the channels and tweaked the settings and voila wifi was amazing. I thought that was a pretty funny
Can someone with more technical experience chime in on this. Its obviously clear that the wifi signal on the Prime is subpar, which is a shame because we paid a pretty penny for this device, and the reason for this sub performance is due to a blatant oversight by the manufacturer. Which, has been resolved, but only in the new tablet model, which in my opinion is even more of a slap to the face, especially (again) considering how much the tablet costs. Now, I am not complaining much about this because while a crappy old phone can get 70mbs a wifi connection my Prime can only get, usually, around 30mbs, though I have seen it hit 70.
But here is my main concern, and I am sure ALL OF YOU can feel the pain of this. It appears that due to the weak signal, the device overly excerpts its resources to try and attain more signal, HOWEVER because of this it seems like the battery suffers quite extensibly, which is what leads me to believe the reason my battery usage shows wifi usually 100% as the top most used butter sucker-upper and it's usually by a landslide. This, if it is the case, really upsets me. Because, while I can live with an average 30mbs wifi connection (because cmon thats more than the ISP even provides), I would not be happy knowing that due to this manufacturer oversight the battery drains an addiotal 20-30% quicker than it would if this were not the problem.
Am I wrong here? Is wifi really not a problem for the battery? It is just odd to me that wifi shows up as using sometimes 50% of the battery!... And OMFG im NOT even joking, just checked battery usage and wifi is showing 94% of the battery.. that seems like a bug there is no way that could possibly be correct! 94%! lol wtf!
Jep i've been seeing that as well. It started with .21 when ever you use wifi the battery drains noticably faster. I also wrote a PM to Gary about that with screenshots and everything, i really hope they can change it back to the way it was before .21 because my wifi didnt improve, but my battery life did get worse.
robproctor said:
Can someone with more technical experience chime in on this. Its obviously clear that the wifi signal on the Prime is subpar, which is a shame because we paid a pretty penny for this device, and the reason for this sub performance is due to a blatant oversight by the manufacturer. Which, has been resolved, but only in the new tablet model, which in my opinion is even more of a slap to the face, especially (again) considering how much the tablet costs. Now, I am not complaining much about this because while a crappy old phone can get 70mbs a wifi connection my Prime can only get, usually, around 30mbs, though I have seen it hit 70.
But here is my main concern, and I am sure ALL OF YOU can feel the pain of this. It appears that due to the weak signal, the device overly excerpts its resources to try and attain more signal, HOWEVER because of this it seems like the battery suffers quite extensibly, which is what leads me to believe the reason my battery usage shows wifi usually 100% as the top most used butter sucker-upper and it's usually by a landslide. This, if it is the case, really upsets me. Because, while I can live with an average 30mbs wifi connection (because cmon thats more than the ISP even provides), I would not be happy knowing that due to this manufacturer oversight the battery drains an addiotal 20-30% quicker than it would if this were not the problem.
Am I wrong here? Is wifi really not a problem for the battery? It is just odd to me that wifi shows up as using sometimes 50% of the battery!... And OMFG im NOT even joking, just checked battery usage and wifi is showing 94% of the battery.. that seems like a bug there is no way that could possibly be correct! 94%! lol wtf!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you do bring up a great point but wifi will always be the biggest battery drainer. along with display brightness. its a good theory THST if wifi was so poor, it would waste extra power trying to maintain or always look for a signal. Thing is, I don't consider wifi performance THST bad across devices to warrant that. what you saying is like if wifi barely even had a signal and was always connecting and disconnecting the signal. then yeah, extra power is being used to try to maintain it. but that's not the case with majority of primes. some primes have great wifi strength, others have decent strength, others have huge dropoffs in speeds after moving so far away from the router. But i haven't heard of anyone not being able to really pick up their home signal or even barely. wifi in prime good enough across the board to properly see and maintain signal. some peoples issues are when you move far away from the router and the dropoff in speeds.
like I said before, wifi will always be biggest battery drainer. I leave my wifi on 24/7 and I'm overclocked and I still get great battery life. maybe in last update Asus did increase the power signal output of wifi. but nothing so drastic to drain battery dramatically faster. we have an update coming so we will have to see how battery life is after it. whether it improves, gets better, or gets worse.
---------- Post added at 06:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:32 PM ----------
DONT make duplicate threads of exact same question. I will request for the other one to be closed if it hasn't already.
@ OP, there is no need for duplicate threads posted within a minute of each other. I have deleted your other thread named the same. If this was done in error, please contact a Mod to request correction.
Also, if this thread starts to turn into another complaining/whining thread, it will be locked. Almost everyone is aware of the limitations of this device (or lack there of), and there are more than enough threads already posted discussing wifi/gps issues.
My battery drain is only when Im docked. The wifi kills the battery in the dock pretty fast as it's constantly trying to charge the tablet. If I set wifi to turn off during sleep then theres no drastic drain and acts normal. Just like if it was undocked. When undocked even with wifi always on even on sleep it doesnt drain fast. Maybe 1-2% an hour. This issue has been mentioned before on another thread regarding battery drain during docked.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk 2
kabrutus said:
When will ASUS provide us a fix for our poor WIFI instead of ignoring the issue? They have all these new devices but fail to take care of our issues. Is this how they treat their early adopters? How can you sell a Wifi only device with poor wifi? They need to replace the back cover or replace new hardware or just have a recall. This is unacceptable. If you buy a car and you only get 5 mpg when you should get 30mpg, i'm sure they would recall that car. My luck, first ASUS device and i get first reboot issues and poor GPS & Wifi.. I love the device as far as looks and game performance but, what what good is that if i cant get online to read my emails and browse?
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Click to collapse
I consider myself a huge prime fanboy...with that said I'm also realistic. Short to the point answer regarding wifi and will they fix it? NO. They cant fix it, if they could have they would have done it by now. In fact they don't believe you even have a wifi problem but if you care refer to this link http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/ipad-and-tablets/asus-transformer-pad-infinity-700-review-50007211/ Also note the backplate on the infinity-thats your fix it will cost you to get it, sorry but it is what it is. If anybody on here tells you they can fix the wifi with an update think, why are they even attempting to fix a problem they wont acknowledge even happens?... Wifi performance among primes is not consistent, some may do well some may not. I knew this when I bought my prime but I can live with it. I had the original transformer and the prime cant hold a candle to the wifi performance it had. But overall the the OG transformer can't hold a candle to the prime.
Secondly, as far as reboots it's pretty much the same thing. They can't fix it and it's not just the prime simply google ICS and reboots and you will see. Again the performance will not be consistent some may reboot others may not. But whatever is causing the reboots up to this point is A: not exclusive to the prime and B seems to happen on devices updated to ICS or currently running ICS. I know these are bold statements but unless many people out there across a varying rage of devices are imagining reboots while running ICS then there must be an issue. That said I hope they fix both problems I just wont hold my breath. I am however very happy with my prime "limitations" and all.
My Prime was purchased the second week of February, C1 serial. My Wi-Fi is great actually. My router is in my office on the second floor, in the back of the house. If I am in the office, I actually top out my connection...as fast as can go. However, I'm in the basement 70% of the time (basically the living room) and I can still top out my speeds, or very close to it. That means I have the first floor between us, with 2 ceilings/floors between us also. There is one spot in the house ( basement, directly below the router) where I get maybe half my speeds, but I believe it's just a dead spot and not the Prime. It also works fine at work, and when running on my phones wifi hot spot. I realize all Primes are different as far as GPS and Wi-Fi, and I'm very lucky to have gotten a problem free device.
in my opinion to the wifi problem the problem isnt really the prime most of the time the problem is interfiernce or poor signal from the router, i have a c3 model and really cant complain about the signal if anything the only problem i can see with the prime is the stock browser, i find it impossible to browse through this forum with the stock browser at first i thought it was down to wifi connection but then soon realised that it was down to the browser as i have no problems with downloaded browsers.... so as to the will they fix it, i say you need something to be broke before you can fix it and i dont see anything broke, i just see sh*t happens so deal with it radio signal problems lol
jjdevega said:
I've been through this before I even created a video just to prove Wifi/BT works fine when both are used for streaming. Just check out my Youtube video.
I did this late at night. Didn't want to wake the wife so I'm pretty quiet. My internet connection is caped at 10mbps
What was a little strange about the Speed test was that when I ran the test for the first time it yielded only 1mb but after running the test several more times after that it coincided with the wifi strength of it having full bars so I was getting 7mbps and more. I made the video on the second floor in my bedroom. The router is located on the first floor opposite corner of the house.
Edit: Besides. The OP is talking about Wifi and I was responding to his claims of everyone having weak wifi which is false since I have no problems with wifi.
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Click to collapse
I may be missing it but don't see the bluetooth streaming part... I see that it is connected but are you actually playing something through a bt headset or bt speakers?
My wifi is ok enough, but for example when I play spotify over bluetooth speakers things start to crap out and stutter. Not right away, but give it a minute or 2 and it will. Which sucks... No bt streaming and it works fine. This is what people are referring to when they speak about the bt/wifi issue.
dagrim1 said:
I may be missing it but don't see the bluetooth streaming part... I see that it is connected but are you actually playing something through a bt headset or bt speakers?
My wifi is ok enough, but for example when I play spotify over bluetooth speakers things start to crap out and stutter. Not right away, but give it a minute or 2 and it will. Which sucks... No bt streaming and it works fine. This is what people are referring to when they speak about the bt/wifi issue.
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Click to collapse
Yes when I turned the bt on I also showed myself turning on my bt headset. Once it paired and the bt icon turned blue I started streaming then continued on with speedtest. I guess its a little hard to see it in the dark. Ill have to make another video during the day.
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
mikeyxb said:
in my opinion to the wifi problem the problem isnt really the prime most of the time the problem is interfiernce or poor signal from the router, i have a c3 model and really cant complain about the signal if anything the only problem i can see with the prime is the stock browser, i find it impossible to browse through this forum with the stock browser at first i thought it was down to wifi connection but then soon realised that it was down to the browser as i have no problems with downloaded browsers.... so as to the will they fix it, i say you need something to be broke before you can fix it and i dont see anything broke, i just see sh*t happens so deal with it radio signal problems lol
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Click to collapse
It is not a router issue or interference. For example, today i sat a coffee shop in China. I had my phone and laptop and Prime sitting on a table. My laptop and phone both showed 6 wifi connections available where I was sitting with signal showing a consistent 3 to 4 bars. My Prime got consistently just 1 connection, and that was only 2 bars for a pizza restaurant across from where I was. The tablet could not once sniff out the coffee shops connection, and only showed every 5 minutes for a second or two 1 of the other wifi connections available in the building. I've repeated and done this test in other places, the Prime struggles with wifi signals, it can't hold or them very well, runs slow, and drops connections. If I moved to a different seat I might have a perfect line to catch the signal of the coffee shop, but it is maddening the radio doesn't seem to be multidirectional in any way.
Btw, my wifi didn't used to be bad till .21. I attempted a factory reset, which did not improve things. I never had complaints about my wifi until then, so I am crossing my fingers a future firmware will improve it, but it seems rather hopeless.
In the market looking to buy a 2nd tab in the family.
Seen a lot of offers for used TF201 (some with dock) for the same price as a new TF300...
What do you guys recommend to get, is the WiFi signal issue present in all TF201s and if yes, is it that bad? Or should i just get a new TF300 and forget about TF201?
Does the GPS dongle improve also WiFi signal (indirectly i suppose)?
What advantages does TF201 have over TF300 that should make me choose it over the latter for the same price (or even less)?
Thanks!
I have a C3 serial and it's pretty good.. I think the later versions were better.
But you will get a whole load of people post that the TF701 is better. SDCard fits, Wi-Fi signal is stronger, GPS get's location quicker..
sjrixon said:
I have a C3 serial and it's pretty good.. I think the later versions were better.
But you will get a whole load of people post that the TF701 is better. SDCard fits, Wi-Fi signal is stronger, GPS get's location quicker..
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Click to collapse
TF700 is a different story with a different price, at least in Europe
In scope of this thread is an used TF201 vs a new TF300
There's no denying the TF201 has been plagued with support issues. I returned my first one for WiFi problems. My second one the WiFi is fine. I stream movies on it regularly with no issues whatsoever, for example. GPS has been very bad on both without the dongle.
If you get it from a place that'll take a return/exchange it's a good buy, if not though, I'd recommend looking at other options. It's a great device when you get a good one only caveat that is even for a good one, if you are buying specifically for a lot of GPS stuff don't bother.
zerozoneice said:
Does the GPS dongle improve also WiFi signal (indirectly i suppose)?
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Click to collapse
Dongle does nothing to help with WiFi signal. Strictly to help GPS.
GPS is unusable and is not an official feature anymore. Wifi works fine, however max throughput speed is not great, it's fine for streaming video's.
I think it's a great tablet _and_ the screen is great, very good outdoor use. The TF300 does not have this.
Personally.. my wifi was ok, GPS no good but the non-responding apps & powering off while sleeping were deal breakers for me.. I'd stay away from it especially used and unable to return. Luckly someone here found Best Buy willing to take the Primes back under manufacturer defect and I was lucky enough to have that happen for me. Delivering a TF700 tomorrow.
Just a few of my screenshot issues.. if ya want more I'd be more than happy to send them to you.. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1765997
Stay away. Stay far away.
nyijedi said:
Stay away. Stay far away.
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Click to collapse
you guys are scaring me
thing is i found a TF201 32GB with Dock, GPS dongle and case for less than a new TF300...guy says it's a C10 serial and has no wifi issues...
is there a serial# tracker that can verify if there is a wifi problem? were only few batches affected or it's a general build issue.
i got a TF300 today and playing with it but i can return it within 24h if there's something wrong with it...
I had a C1 Prime that I bought in Feb and exchanged for a 700 this past Friday. Wifi by itself was fine for the most part, but when I turned the B/T on using at the same time bandwidth plummeted (20 megs to about 2megs down), known issue.. my opinion I'd skip it for the 300, at least you know you wont have wifi/gps issues with it
zerozoneice said:
you guys are scaring me
thing is i found a TF201 32GB with Dock, GPS dongle and case for less than a new TF300...guy says it's a C10 serial and has no wifi issues...
is there a serial# tracker that can verify if there is a wifi problem? were only few batches affected or it's a general build issue.
i got a TF300 today and playing with it but i can return it within 24h if there's something wrong with it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wifi works fine on my Prime. Don't read into everything you see on the forums too much. People like to blow things way out of proportion and make big deals out of nothing. They will make it sound like wifi doesn't work at all on the Prime and/or will complain that the signal drops off when they are outside their house 50 ft away, or that they only get 2 bars while their laptop gets 3 when in the same location. It's all bs; wifi is completely normal on the Prime. As for those that do have legitimate issues (very few from what I have seen) they are in the minority and should be contacting ASUS for RMA.
GPS on the other hand is not a supported built-in feature so don't expect it to work out of the box without the GPS dongle.
jordache16 said:
It's all bs; wifi is completely normal on the Prime. As for those that do have legitimate issues (very few from what I have seen) they are in the minority and should be contacting ASUS for RMA.
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Click to collapse
LOL, be glad you got a Prime then that supposedly works 100%.
There are plenty of people here including myself who will disagree with you, and I'm no noob by anymeans, my router (Linksys E3000 "High Performance") is less than 5 feet away from me here buddy Its been reiterated over and over the metal backplate is a signal killer. I can't express how happy I was when Best Buy took the thing back.
jordache16 said:
Wifi works fine on my Prime. Don't read into everything you see on the forums too much. People like to blow things way out of proportion and make big deals out of nothing. They will make it sound like wifi doesn't work at all on the Prime and/or will complain that the signal drops off when they are outside their house 50 ft away, or that they only get 2 bars while their laptop gets 3 when in the same location. It's all bs; wifi is completely normal on the Prime. As for those that do have legitimate issues (very few from what I have seen) they are in the minority and should be contacting ASUS for RMA.
GPS on the other hand is not a supported built-in feature so don't expect it to work out of the box without the GPS dongle.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WiFi technically "works," but works like crap compared to other devices. This is not really debateable. I've tested my Prime on the same network in the same spot next to a Galaxy Nexus, iPad 1, and Nexus 7. Once you move a few feet away from the router (not exaggerating - a few feet), the Prime drops speed at a ridiculous rate. For example, next to the router, all devices, including the Prime, will get over 30 Mbps. As I move away from the router, in the same spot, my other devices will all pull between 15 and 20 Mbps, and the Prime will be lucky to see 3-5 Mbps. And then if I keep moving away, the Prime is always the first one to lose a signal, while the other devices will still download at about 1-6 Mbps. It really depends on your use case. If you'll be using it regularly in areas with good WiFi, you'll be fine. But don't say you weren't warned if you try and use it in areas with weak WiFi.
As for the GPS, just assume the Prime doesn't have it, because it is not functional. Hell, Asus admitted this much when they took it off the box. It does work with the dongle, but you also can't charge the Prime when the dongle is plugged in, so forget about keeping your Prime charged using the GPS on a long road trip.
jordache16 said:
Wifi works fine on my Prime. Don't read into everything you see on the forums too much. People like to blow things way out of proportion and make big deals out of nothing. They will make it sound like wifi doesn't work at all on the Prime and/or will complain that the signal drops off when they are outside their house 50 ft away, or that they only get 2 bars while their laptop gets 3 when in the same location. It's all bs; wifi is completely normal on the Prime. As for those that do have legitimate issues (very few from what I have seen) they are in the minority and should be contacting ASUS for RMA.
GPS on the other hand is not a supported built-in feature so don't expect it to work out of the box without the GPS dongle.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please speak for yourself ok?
The prime works fine for me when I'm close to the router, but degrades quickly as you move away. And I'm not talking about 50ft outside the house, I'm talking about the kitchen... 30 ft from the router with a door in between. Locations where other devices, such as my phone, have no issue keeping a decent connection...
Overall you can still browse pretty fine yeah and most of the time stream music. But for me there are hiccups, youtube videos (hd) pause and/or buffer regularly when not in the same room as the router, etc.
GPS is useless, but that is no issue for me as I have no need for it. IO is not great either, supposedly better with the TF700t.
So it' not useless but it is pretty weak and can (or will) cause issues in areas where your connection is not great... Just keep that in mind.
Other then these issues the prime is excellent, beatiful and sleek. The dock is awesome. But to be honest, I wish I could trade it in for something else or that there was some model like this on the market (a non-asus one in this case).
I love my Prime, but under no circumstance or influence could I possibly recommend it to anyone.
It's amazing when you have a model that works fine coupled with a good firmware version (or some custom ROMs I guess), but it's entirely too easy to get a bad mixture.
Mine is running fine after the mods in the development section (still haven't unlocked my bootloader), but WiFi is certainly dampened when compared to other devices. I've heard that certain channels and passcode encryptions are handled better than others. We're all still playing around to achieve optimal signal and it seems that messing with a bit of conductive foam inside the tablet helps to ground the antenna and improve reception. But that requires opening up (not hard) the tablet and technically voiding warranty (just have to be careful and clean).
The BlueTooth/WiFi complaints are completely true and valid depending on what (amounts of) data the BT is pumping out. I generally don't see too hard a hit with your average BT headset, but I think that using any actual stereo headset is going to cause your WiFi to become downright deplorable.
I can use my WiFi in most any room of both houses I spend most my time in *(where each house has 2 routers)*, and over most of my work-place *(which uses a pretty powerful commercial-grade router)*, and I only get a random reboot maybe once every few weeks or so (usually during heavy use, right after I've started bragging but just before the awesome game/app loads up lol). I can go anywhere between one and seven days on a single charge depending on use, that is my favorite part of the tablet/keyboard combo. Having a native setting to use the mouse pad for touch gestures is awesome. The two speakers located directly beside each other don't sound too bad, but are very uni-directional and lose against the outdoors. The screen is magnificent: I can use it any time, anywhere, and everything isn't over-saturated like many competitors' screens (arguably under-saturated though, depends on opinion, eyesight, and luck of the draw). Useful to have the extra mSD and SD slots though I never use the SD in the keyboard; I leave my mSD in at all times and have changed its mount point to within the /sdcard/ directory so that apps can actually access and make use of it. This is only possible because of the leather case I have, otherwise the mSD would long ago have ejected somewhere. /rant
Tl;dr:
It's a great, fun toy which tries to appear productive and savvy; it's entirely unreliable just like its manufacturer and will cause great embarrassment if "shown off;" and I absolutely would not recommend it to someone who does not want to dig down into fixing and patching and playing with the hardware and software.
*EDIT:
Also, as mentioned, GPS is not even worth mentioning
Which is why I do not recommend ASUS to customers regardless. They produce great PC components, they just have some serious quality control issues which are usually covered pretty well by warranty. But none-the-less, their inconsistencies in physical components makes them a general no-no for me.
zerozoneice said:
In the market looking to buy a 2nd tab in the family.
Seen a lot of offers for used TF201 (some with dock) for the same price as a new TF300...
What do you guys recommend to get, is the WiFi signal issue present in all TF201s and if yes, is it that bad? Or should i just get a new TF300 and forget about TF201?
Does the GPS dongle improve also WiFi signal (indirectly i suppose)?
What advantages does TF201 have over TF300 that should make me choose it over the latter for the same price (or even less)?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My Prime was fine, maybe even better then fine. But if $300 is about what you were going to spend on a used Prime, I would go get the new 300. WiFi was good with the one I played with at the store the other day. Put it in a case and no one will ever know it's not a Prime.
Seriously - either get a TF300 or better, a TF700.. just pretend the TF201 never existed.
IF you have no use for a GPS (and think very carefully about that - Google Now, for example, relies on both not-fine(WiFi - really - you can't say the opposite of fine that rhymes with course?) and fine (GPS) location for a lot of things it does... and more and more apps are location aware...) and if you don't mind subpar WiFi and Bluetooth, then it's a nice tablet.
Unfortunately, since the TF300 is cheaper and the TF700 is the same price - but with a higher res screen AND both have working GPS, WiFi and BT - you'd be nuts to go with the TF201.
And to be honest - given how Asus has bunged up the entire TF201 fiasco, I'm not even comfortable recommending a Transformer at all. I'd wait for the Samsung Note 10.1 in two weeks, or any of the growing number of Transformer like Android tablets coming out soon.
I agree with buxtahuda all the way. The only reason I can hand my prime to another person to play with without fear of mockery is that I have repaired the improper backplate grounding to the wifi and gps antennas so the both now work well. This required taking it apart (which I didnt mind since I got it so I could do that). The second part of the equation for not being embarassed by my prime is that I put one of the new Jellybean (actually I have tried them all) roms on it. There seems to be no game playing issues or lag with these but since they are prebeta they are missing some features of the hardware.
My boss asked me to recommend a tablet for her after she saw my prime with dock in action at a meeting. I told her to get an Ipad.
whycali said:
I agree with buxtahuda all the way. The only reason I can hand my prime to another person to play with without fear of mockery is that I have repaired the improper backplate grounding to the wifi and gps antennas so the both now work well. This required taking it apart (which I didnt mind since I got it so I could do that). The second part of the equation for not being embarassed by my prime is that I put one of the new Jellybean (actually I have tried them all) roms on it. There seems to be no game playing issues or lag with these but since they are prebeta they are missing some features of the hardware.
My boss asked me to recommend a tablet for her after she saw my prime with dock in action at a meeting. I told her to get an Ipad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Care to elaborate on the grounding issue? Are you talking those small spongy things?
dagrim1 said:
Care to elaborate on the grounding issue? Are you talking those small spongy things?
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Click to collapse
Correct. We figured out forever ago that they carry continuity, so they're essentially a wire going to the case for grounding.
Or so I gather.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using XDA Premium HD via my tethered HTC Vision
Hey all, I've had my Prime since Christmas, and I really haven't used it because of the WiFi issue. It was purchased from GameStop. The WiFi is horrible when I try to take it out and use it in locations that I have great WiFi signal with on my phone. The lack of GPS is also annoying, but those are really my only two plights with it at this moment.
So I guess my question is, what should I do? Is Asus doing anything lately to rectify the WiFi and GPS issues, or am I SOL? It's unfortunate, but in retrospect, I should have probably gotten an iPad.
Any help would be infinitely appreciated.
Smitherines said:
Hey all, I've had my Prime since Christmas, and I really haven't used it because of the WiFi issue. It was purchased from GameStop. The WiFi is horrible when I try to take it out and use it in locations that I have great WiFi signal with on my phone. The lack of GPS is also annoying, but those are really my only two plights with it at this moment.
So I guess my question is, what should I do? Is Asus doing anything lately to rectify the WiFi and GPS issues, or am I SOL? It's unfortunate, but in retrospect, I should have probably gotten an iPad.
Any help would be infinitely appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no, and will be no fix for the wifi issue.
Smitherines said:
Hey all, I've had my Prime since Christmas, and I really haven't used it because of the WiFi issue. It was purchased from GameStop. The WiFi is horrible when I try to take it out and use it in locations that I have great WiFi signal with on my phone. The lack of GPS is also annoying, but those are really my only two plights with it at this moment.
So I guess my question is, what should I do? Is Asus doing anything lately to rectify the WiFi and GPS issues, or am I SOL? It's unfortunate, but in retrospect, I should have probably gotten an iPad.
Any help would be infinitely appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can mod your backplate. Other than that, you are SOL.
Smitherines said:
Hey all, I've had my Prime since Christmas, and I really haven't used it because of the WiFi issue. It was purchased from GameStop. The WiFi is horrible when I try to take it out and use it in locations that I have great WiFi signal with on my phone. The lack of GPS is also annoying, but those are really my only two plights with it at this moment.
So I guess my question is, what should I do? Is Asus doing anything lately to rectify the WiFi and GPS issues, or am I SOL? It's unfortunate, but in retrospect, I should have probably gotten an iPad.
Any help would be infinitely appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I opened my prime and improved my wifi drastically (and gps depending on rom since I am unlocked)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1474391&page=108
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1474391&page=109
In this picture the x is on my wifi router (wrt54g) and the circle is where I downloaded dropbox so I could show my neighbor pictures of my kid flying a kite. Before I modded my prime I could not get connected on my back patio.
Nothing to do other than accept the fact that you've been screwed by ****ty Asus, like the rest of us.
whycali said:
I opened my prime and improved my wifi drastically (and gps depending on rom since I am unlocked)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1474391&page=108
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1474391&page=109
In this picture the x is on my wifi router (wrt54g) and the circle is where I downloaded dropbox so I could show my neighbor pictures of my kid flying a kite. Before I modded my prime I could not get connected on my back patio.
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Click to collapse
Interesting. whycali, would you mind indulging on the modification more? I'm having a hard time understanding exactly what you did. Also, how hard was it to pull the back panel off? I'd imagine that there's no way to retain the warranty at that point as well, correct?
delete.
delete.
Smitherines said:
Interesting. whycali, would you mind indulging on the modification more? I'm having a hard time understanding exactly what you did. Also, how hard was it to pull the back panel off? I'd imagine that there's no way to retain the warranty at that point as well, correct?
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Click to collapse
Of course the warranty is voided but thats up to somebody else to prove it happened and reversing this process is actually easier than doing it because the only thing holding it in is pressure.
I used the video here to open my prime.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1479664
I turned off the main power switch (internal dip switch)
I disconnected the 3 ribbon cables holding the screen to the backplate so I would have room to work. (there are instructions on how to do this in the above post)
I removed the gap between the 3 backplate ground points and the shell beneath them (pushed down the spongy stuff)
I cut 3 small pieces of braided desoldering tape. I laid them on the top edge of the ground points (as shown in the pictures)
I reconnected the ribbon cables.
I turned on the main power switch.
I carefully (so I would not disturb the new unsecured ground points) put the face plate back on (top edge slides in first the rest of the clips snap back into place).