Asus official stance on WIFI is... well... more or less...."Prime's WIFI performance meets Asus standard".
So, this got me thinking. In my opinion, due to metal backplate in all Transformer Prime (even with the double WIFI antenna & few other design flaws)... we have more with WIFI issue/problem compared to those who don't. As in, I believe that those with WIFI issues are the majority... & not the minority.
However, considering that we all have different "standard" & expectation on WIFI performance.. and heck, it's difficult to exactly gauge the situation as the settings are different for everyone.....
I would like to know...
What exactly is the standard for WIFI performance for Asus??? What exactly qualifies "satisfactory" for Asus??
My WiFi in prime works perfectly but gps is working "not so poor and not so good".
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using XDA Premium HD app
The WiFi on my Prime works flawlessly.
By "flawlessly" I mean that it has greater range than my Galaxy S2 phone with faster speeds. The range of WiFi on my Prime is very close to that of my Dell laptop, and speeds are comparable. WiFi never drops off anywhere in my house, and has worked very well at several restaurants and 3 airports. I can be outside my apartment and sitting in my car down the street a ways (~150-200 ft) and I can still see and use the WiFi router in my 3rd floor apartment.
WiFi slows down a little bit when using bluetooth headphones, however WiFi speeds are still acceptable for web browsing or streaming Netflix or Hulu+ with no stuttering or drop in video quality.
I am pretty sure that these are the levels that Asus finds "acceptable." If you have a Prime and the WiFi doesn't work as well as mine, you should return it or send it to Asus for repair.
I also have no complaints about my wifi....
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using XDA Premium HD app
I am not questioning that there are Primes with "acceptable" WIFI performance. However, if I were to break it down in percentage.. it could be.. 51/49.. or 49/51.
AnandTech's review on Pad 300 for example.... on WIFI:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5756/asus-transformer-pad-300-review/5
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5688/apple-ipad-2012-review/18
For the record, my Prime is close to AnandTech's finding.. but slightly worse on most given day.
shinzz said:
As in, I believe that those with WIFI issues are the majority... & not the minority.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is absolutely no basis for this Large %age of people that bought the prime wont even realize that wifi on their prime might be different from other products And in my case (and i guess many others) it isnt different.
If i run into any problems with wifi reception in places where i cant optimize stuff like router settings (my bet is that router settings are what's causing most peoples problems with wifi - not only with the prime but in general), i just activate hotspot on my phone... Thats what i have my phone contract for
Also try moving your routers. Today i moved my router about half a meter around a corner and now i have perfect wifi on my balcony where I couldn't really get a signal before with none of my devices
I can stream youtube all over my place in HD without buffering. These are my "standards" in case of wifi signal strenght
[e] uh guess i'm in "smiley-mode"
clouds5 said:
There is absolutely no basis for this Large %age of people that bought the prime wont even realize that wifi on their prime might be different from other products And in my case (and i guess many others) it isnt different.
If i run into any problems with wifi reception in places where i cant optimize stuff like router settings (my bet is that router settings are what's causing most peoples problems with wifi - not only with the prime but in general), i just activate hotspot on my phone... Thats what i have my phone contract for
Also try moving your routers. Today i moved my router about half a meter around a corner and now i have perfect wifi on my balcony where I couldn't really get a signal before with none of my devices
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a lot of annoyance for one device. Btw, just an opinion.. but with some base..
1. metal backplate
2. 2 wifi antenna to overcome the metal backplate issue but with more design flaws that were found & ones that we might not know yet
We have no stats or breakdown of WIFI performance... so, I don't think we can assume that those with WIFI problems are minority either. So, in the end.. it is a toss up... & even if those with WIFI problems are the minority.. I seriously doubt it is 1 to 5% (industry standard).
Yeah thats what i'm saying. Its all just speculation. There are some people with wifi issues, thats all we can say.
I really dont mind optimizing my router placement/settings, as i said my phone didnt have steady wifi either on the balcony.
Btw its fascinating to me how people can take the one (minor - in my case its none at all) issue a great device has and call it a ****ty product because it, while the whole world is praising some other similar devices that are only half as good as the prime...
clouds5 said:
Yeah thats what i'm saying. Its all just speculation. There are some people with wifi issues, thats all we can say.
I really dont mind optimizing my router placement/settings, as i said my phone didnt have steady wifi either on the balcony.
Btw its fascinating to me how people can take the one (minor - in my case its none at all) issue a great device has and call it a ****ty product because it, while the whole world is praising some other similar devices that are only half as good as the prime...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it's sad that we have to speculate who the minority or majority is on WIFI performance/problem.
I have to guess that WIFI is a major issue to many (if they are having such problem) for WIFI only tablet. Tablets in general are luxury device & are used mostly for browsing & light gaming. Take out stable WIFI & you are left with a device to do WORK (those with dock) & for gaming/media.... but even for work, without stable WIFI, you lose the ability to email & etc... =/
Some have legit issues. Others just crappy routers and cable modems. My apartment is 1250 square foot. My router is on one corner on 1st floor. I get 2 to 3 bars from the other end of my apartment on 2nd floor corner bathroom. Yet I can stream hulu/Netflix with no issues while going number 2 in that same bathroom.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using XDA Premium App
square feet and making numbers in the bathroom... Americans..
But then they have netflix and i'm jealous again...
sorry for being pretty much offtopic
In areas where my signal drops, it drops with other devises too. It just drops a little more with the Prime.
In the bathroom going number 2 I sometimes have to tether to my phone to keep the WiFi going. It's the one spot in my house where I get the worst signal
Last night I downloaded a ROM for my Atrix and put the Prime side by side with my laptop so I could time the download to each device. Downloaded from dev-host on each and my Prime beat my laptop by 239mb to 108mb downloaded for my laptop in the same time. I think about 5 minutes but I forgot to time it. laptop is older dual core, 1.6 GHz, XP but was somewhat surprised.
Not to sure if it's a real test but it probably means I need a new laptop
@shinzz
Anecdotal evidence suggests satisfactory performance depends on the product at Asus with both the 101 and 700 variations having higher standards than the prime.
Good luck getting your question answered - fans and the blissfully ignorant will be more vocal and will far outnumber those with any real insight into your question.
Asus standards aside, my prime has the weakest wifi at distance from the router of any device in my household (2 smart phones, laptop and ipad2). I have stopped *****ing and bought a second router to enhance the signal for my prime, but the misalignment between Asus standards and my expectations means my next tablet will likely be branded differently.
jwe222 said:
@shinzz
Anecdotal evidence suggests satisfactory performance depends on the product at Asus with both the 101 and 700 variations having higher standards than the prime.
Good luck getting your question answered - fans and the blissfully ignorant will be more vocal and will far outnumber those with any real insight into your question.
Asus standards aside, my prime has the weakest wifi at distance from the router of any device in my household (2 smart phones, laptop and ipad2). I have stopped *****ing and bought a second router to enhance the signal for my prime, but the misalignment between Asus standards and my expectations means my next tablet will likely be branded differently.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Transformer Prime is becoming iPadish. Problem with WIFI.. purchase a new router or 2nd router... Problem with GPS (before the GPS dongle).. purchase Bluetooth GPS or tether to your Phone. Do you travel & have WIFI issues? Tether to your phone & use up your phone's data plan....
When you accumulate these cost just for tablet to function to your "need" (obviously, some don't at all as it meets their requirement).... it feels like I'm entering iPad territory & the ridiculous cost of iPad accessories.
shinzz said:
Transformer Prime is becoming iPadish. Problem with WIFI.. purchase a new router or 2nd router... Problem with GPS (before the GPS dongle).. purchase Bluetooth GPS or tether to your Phone. Do you travel & have WIFI issues? Tether to your phone & use up your phone's data plan....
When you accumulate these cost just for tablet to function to your "need" (obviously, some don't at all as it meets their requirement).... it feels like I'm entering iPad territory & the ridiculous cost of iPad accessories.
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Click to collapse
Agreed. I've owned two Primes and the WiFi on both was equally terrible. I have a TF300 on order right now, and when I get it I'm going to compare in equal environments. The screen and the sleek design on the Prime are both nice, but the fact is that I can't use it how I really need to use it because the connectivity is so poor that I lose over 90% of my throughput in some rooms of my 2-story house (where my laptop and phone both still get strong throughput). I shouldn't need a new router, and an external GPS accessory, and a cellphone hotspot to make a $500 tablet usable. I'm tired of making excuses and I'm tired of waiting for a WiFi fix that's never coming and I'm tired of being scared to RMA because of continued reports of damage and ineffective repairs that take a month or more. I'm sincerely happy for people whose experience has been better, but the fact is that many of us just haven't gotten the performance and usability that we expected when we first purchased this tablet.
shinzz said:
I am not questioning that there are Primes with "acceptable" WIFI performance. However, if I were to break it down in percentage.. it could be.. 51/49.. or 49/51.
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Click to collapse
I've personally used ten different Primes, across almost every serial number range and with different routers at different locations. Every one of the ten Primes outperformed or equaled the connectivity of my laptops.
While I've seen a few other issues with quality control that makes me a little disappointed with Asus, WIFI hasn't been an issue in my experience with the tablet.
My prime gets the same and even a little better range than my bionic, slightly less than my laptop (But hey I have an envy 17) the only difference is signal degradation (ie speeds) at those distances are lower on the prime after about 20-30' from the router.
My wifi sucks on my prime. I have a Xirrus WAP, 10 feet away from me and i still cant get full bars.... When i am away on business, i cant get a strong enough signal from hotels to even check my emails... i travel with the prime and an ipad. The ipad gets connects without issues. I'm not sure because the ipad supports 2.4 & 5ghz band and the prime only 2.4, but there is no doubt it has a wifi issue. Like i said, 10 feet from the access point and still no full bars.
That's it, I'm done! Lol, I'm cleaning the inside of my Prime out and getting it swapped for another by ASUS. That's too many comments in a row saying that WiFi is better than or on par with their laptops and other mobile devices, my Prime consistently does worse.
And yes, I've optimized my router settings and everything, my other devices will easily reach the road and keep decent connectivity (~-75 dBm) while my Prime can't even keep connectivity a handful of feet (a meter for you clouds? ) from the front door. And the closest router is ten feet from that door!
That being said though, I generally never need or want my Prime to connect all the way into me front yard
My prime gets exactly the same db reception as my sensation. Although it does show a bar less it gets the same throughput as well.
Related
I love this tablet and I REALLY want to keep it, but the WIFI is ATROCIOUS. It works fine in my small apartment, but it's clear to me that it is going to be a complete and utter headache using this thing while traveling. I'm getting about 3-6 Mbps down about 20 feet away from my router, while my Galaxy Nexus gets about 12 Mbps and my crappy iPad1 gets about 20 Mbps. I can't justify keeping this thing with such lackluster WIFI performance. It's just unacceptable.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
nyijedi said:
I love this tablet and I REALLY want to keep it, but the WIFI is ATROCIOUS. It works fine in my small apartment, but it's clear to me that it is going to be a complete and utter headache using this thing while traveling. I'm getting about 3-6 Mbps down about 20 feet away from my router, while my Galaxy Nexus gets about 12 Mbps and my crappy iPad1 gets about 20 Mbps. I can't justify keeping this thing with such lackluster WIFI performance. It's just unacceptable.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I started a thread regarding this but people blow it off because their Wi-Fi is probably working just fine and don't want to bother testing..... see here
forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1420886
nyijedi said:
I love this tablet and I REALLY want to keep it, but the WIFI is ATROCIOUS. It works fine in my small apartment, but it's clear to me that it is going to be a complete and utter headache using this thing while traveling. I'm getting about 3-6 Mbps down about 20 feet away from my router, while my Galaxy Nexus gets about 12 Mbps and my crappy iPad1 gets about 20 Mbps. I can't justify keeping this thing with such lackluster WIFI performance. It's just unacceptable.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did you run the updates today to see if you got any signal improvements?
nyijedi said:
I love this tablet and I REALLY want to keep it, but the WIFI is ATROCIOUS. It works fine in my small apartment, but it's clear to me that it is going to be a complete and utter headache using this thing while traveling. I'm getting about 3-6 Mbps down about 20 feet away from my router, while my Galaxy Nexus gets about 12 Mbps and my crappy iPad1 gets about 20 Mbps. I can't justify keeping this thing with such lackluster WIFI performance. It's just unacceptable.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I spent quite a lot of time in hotels while travelling, and I can say that would be the real test. You never know what kind of signal you'll get in a hotel. It can depend on what room and floor you have, and in many cases, you can be on the edge of reception. Some hotels are crappy all over, and you just don't know until you get there. If the device is sub-par with Wifi, that would not give me confidence at all while travelling.
I did install today's updates, and they made no difference. The WiFi is terrible compared to other devices. And it pisses me off to no end, because I want to love (and keep) this tablet.
And the hotel analogy is a great one. That's exactly what has me leaning towards returning my Prime.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Same issues here, TP has horrible WiFi performance, even standing 5 feet from router. I get 1.5Mbps down/1.75 up. On my iPad 2 I get 16Mbps down and 3 Mbps up.
I have other issues as well...this tablet is looking more and more like a dud...
I'm kind of afraid to buy this tablet now. I wanted to buy it (for the quad core performance and all) but this thing just seems like a bad deal with all the reports of things going wrong with it.
And with some tablets working and some not, the manufacturing quality and checking must be seriously bad.
How do you have your home wireless access point configured?
Have you attempted changing your settings, like switching between G and N, going G only, or N only, dual band, disable WEP/WPA and go woth MAC filtering, etc.
There's so many factors that can cause differences in bandwidth reads over wireless. But if you done all this troubleshooting, you may very well may have ended up with a dud and you should consider exchanging for another one.
on my laptop i get about 33Mbps down. Onthe prime i get 22. Sadly it`s the same on the original transformer. Should we expect similar speeds as laptops from tablets?
the_game_master said:
How do you have your home wireless access point configured?
Have you attempted changing your settings, like switching between G and N, going G only, or N only, dual band, disable WEP/WPA and go woth MAC filtering, etc.
There's so many factors that can cause differences in bandwidth reads over wireless. But if you done all this troubleshooting, you may very well may have ended up with a dud and you should consider exchanging for another one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly, I didn't mess around with my settings. This decision was intentional. My other devices perform MUCH better than my Prime with my current settings. Also, the performance difference gets worse as I move further away from my router, suggesting that the problem is caused by the WiFi radio in the Prime having weak reception.
More specifically, my main concern with the bad WiFi is getting a connection when I'm away from home, in places where I have no control over network settings. This is the real issue for me.
And I seriously doubt I have a faulty unit. It looks like the WiFi in all units is subpar, with many people not realizing it yet because they're using the tablet at home with a good signal.
I was worried that there was some truth behind those old rumors that the Prime was delayed because of WiFi problems. As usual, it looks like where there's smoke, there's fire.
Edit: I should also add that I tried the WiFi on 2 other networks at friends' houses. In both situations, as I moved further away from the router, the Prime signal seriously degraded more than my other devices, to the point where I got to a spot where the Prime had zero signal, while my Galaxy Nexus and my iPad still held a usable signal.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
nyijedi said:
Honestly, I didn't mess around with my settings. This decision was intentional. My other devices perform MUCH better than my Prime with my current settings. Also, the performance difference gets worse as I move further away from my router, suggesting that the problem is caused by the WiFi radio in the Prime having weak reception.
More specifically, my main concern with the bad WiFi is getting a connection when I'm away from home, in places where I have no control over network settings. This is the real issue for me.
And I seriously doubt I have a faulty unit. It looks like the WiFi in all units is subpar, with many people not realizing it yet because they're using the tablet at home with a good signal.
I was worried that there was some truth behind those old rumors that the Prime was delayed because of WiFi problems. As usual, it looks like where there's smoke, there's fire.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually noticed depending on router you have it will make a significant difference in range specifically my older b/g router works alot better then newer dual band N router. I agree with you though taking it on vacations and business trips is what I worry about too because the signal strength generally can be expected to be weaker.
This doesn't help per se with the Prime's wifi, but if wifi perf is a problem for on-the-go, you can use a repeater to boost the signals. The repeater's antenna are more powerful than those in mobile devices, and will help with marginal (or even non-functional) signals.
It's one more thing to carry, but if that's important to you.
For the techs, an old WRT54G retrofitted with DD-WRT firmware would be a capable repeater. You can find other more compact routers that can be retrofitted.
Testing from the same router, Prime gets 2 bars while the original TF gets 3 bars, signal is definately stronger and more consistent on TF1, download speed is slightly slower on Prime too. Assuming both tablets have the same wireless adapter, the problem most likely lies within the aluminum casing of Prime.
I just ran two speed tests each, using me evo 3D, nook and my Prime. The nook was the worst with 6.6 & 7.2 dl / 1.4 up. (I need to tweak something!)
The Prime and Evo 3D performed about the same. Prime 10.8 & 10.4 dl / 1.4 up, and Evo 3D 10.9 & 10.6 dl / 1.4 up.
I think was at a friend's who's router is in the back corner of his house. Deadzones all over the place. I lost wifi connection on the Prime but barely held onto it with the Evo. I've had to "foeget" and re-add on there on the Evo before so I did the same with the Prime. It didn't work. But when I walked into the room with the router and did it, it grabbed on and I've not lost it again in the same place I lost it before and in places my phone and others struggle. (back patio, etc)
Not sure if this helps but wanted to give my test results and what happened the one time I lost signal.
My original Transformer gets 1 bar (and loses connection constantly) in a room where a laptop gets 3-4 bars. (it's a room adjacent to the one with the router)
I thought it was normal and my router is poor until I checked with the laptop. It was the same with another router and with different settings. I hope Prime isn't worse than that!
WIFI is an ahole, he stole my gf kicked my dog and took all my money!
I am awaiting delivery of my Prime, have and seen isses on Wifi, and now the new Prime improving Wifi issues.
My question, might oughta be under Q & A, but put it here.
Our phones have dialer access codes to check wifi strength. Does anyone know if there is the same way to access on the Prime, or an alternative way?
Rather than complain and "what if", it would be nice to find a way to test the reception ourselves, obtaining real numbers, not a bar in a corner that varies from phone to phone to tablet.
Download WiFi Analyzer.
I have the prime....just got it yesterday. I downloaded wifi analyer and compared it to my galaxy nexus. My office gets horrible wifi reception because its a separate frame from my house. The nexus and the primes wifi signals are identicle. Conclusion, wifi is fine.
crooza172 said:
I have the prime....just got it yesterday. I downloaded wifi analyer and compared it to my galaxy nexus. My office gets horrible wifi reception because its a separate frame from my house. The nexus and the primes wifi signals are identicle. Conclusion, wifi is fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My Prime's WiFi signal is also comparable to my Galaxy Nexus. However, that's not a fair comparison. Laptops and tablets, in general, should have better WiFi reception than cell phones.
I can just as easily point to my iPad1 getting about 20 Mbps and my Prime getting about 8 Mbps at 40 ft away from my router at home and draw the conclusion that the WiFi is not "fine," or at least is not up to par with other comparable devices.
The app that nyijedi mentioned will tell you what you want to know about signal strength and can tell you plenty if you want it to.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
My Prime's WiFi signal is also comparable to my Galaxy Nexus. However, that's not a fair comparison. Laptops and tablets, in general, should have better WiFi reception than cell phones.
I can just as easily point to my iPad1 getting about 20 Mbps and my Prime getting about 8 Mbps at 40 ft away from my router at home and draw the conclusion that the WiFi is not "fine," or at least is not up to par with other comparable devices.
Thank you for the app suggestion, it is exactly what I want to do!! I hit the Thanks button.
I also have Ipad, I want ITunes gone along with no Flash Player. But I also use it for business, so wifi is a must, not a luxury, GPS no big deal. We have a vacation home with a distant shared modem, so my Ipad can strain, but I will not pay big bucks for something that is worse!!
This will give me a measurable number when I take both back there next week (mine doesn't get delivered till Friday), hopefully its not an issue, and mine works, but this way I know. I can live with my Ipad, wait for another tablet, there will be more. Have always appreciated Asus's quality, but if its not working right out of the box, repair by Tech Support won't get it.
I will have 2 weeks to test, if it doesn't work right, its gone, if its questionable and Asus offers to give us credit for a trade in, I will live with that,
Thank you for the app suggestion, it is exactly what I want to do!! I hit the Thanks button.
I also have Ipad, I want ITunes gone along with no Flash Player. But I also use it for business, so wifi is a must, not a luxury, GPS no big deal. We have a vacation home with a distant shared modem, so my Ipad can strain, but I will not pay big bucks for something that is worse!!
This will give me a measurable number when I take both back there next week (mine doesn't get delivered till Friday), hopefully its not an issue, and mine works, but this way I know. I can live with my Ipad, wait for another tablet, there will be more. Have always appreciated Asus's quality, but if its not working right out of the box, repair by Tech Support won't get it.
I will have 2 weeks to test, if it doesn't work right, its gone, if its questionable and Asus offers to give us credit for a trade in, I will live with that,[/QUOTE]
No problem. Good luck with the testing. From my testing, it seems that the amount of interference (e.g., other WiFi signals) also comes into play with speed, so hopefully if your vacation home doesn't have many signals around, you'll be okay. Either way, please keep us posted on your results.
nmoreman said:
My Prime's WiFi signal is also comparable to my Galaxy Nexus. However, that's not a fair comparison. Laptops and tablets, in general, should have better WiFi reception than cell phones.
I can just as easily point to my iPad1 getting about 20 Mbps and my Prime getting about 8 Mbps at 40 ft away from my router at home and draw the conclusion that the WiFi is not "fine," or at least is not up to par with other comparable devices.
,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not according to my tests. I have conducted a whole series of tests with laptop/tf101/ipad1/galaxy nexus/prime tf201.
Tf101 gets by far the best performance of them all...20% better than my laptop at longest range in house.
The laptop comes in second about 10% better than my prime.
The prime is in third place...maybe 5% better than ipad1
The. Nexus is last...sometimes losing the wifi at the farthest corners of the house.
This afternoon I fiddled with my router antenna and ran a test at 40ft...2walls in between. My prime scored 11Mbps DL. The laptop scored 12.5 Mbps and the tf101 scored 18 mbps. The ipad1 scored 10mbps. All of them scored higher than before my antenna fiddling.
I have just connected a higher gain antenna to the router I will post the results on my wifi test thread.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
My prime hits 0.5mbps where my laptop and netbook both hit 50mbps in exactly the same spot.
My conclusion is the primes wifi is utter crap.
Sokonomi said:
My prime hits 0.5mbps where my laptop and netbook both hit 50mbps in exactly the same spot.
My conclusion is the primes wifi is utter crap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The conclusion should be that YOUR prime's wifi might be crap...I would either return or RMA.
Mine, on the other hand, has wifi that works very well.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
1) If your wifi is pulling less than 1 Mbps, you likely have a defective Wifi radio. The preproduction ones that were defective had a problem where they wouldn't download faster than 3 Mbps, even when right next to the router, and would get less than 1 Mbps elsewhere. If you're suffering the same symptoms, exchange your Prime.
2) Someone mentioned in another thread that setting his router to 802.11g only instead of 802.11n noticeably increased his speeds. I finally got around to trying this, and it also helped my speeds. I went from about 4-8 Mbps to 12-15 Mbps at about 40 feet from my router. Anyone have any ideas why this is?
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
Could you tell me what app you are using on iPad to test, I looked thru apple market and cannot find anything to test wifi strength -I hate iTunes - so that I can compare reception to prime, ll use wifi analyzer unless there is a better app.
I do not feel iPad is strong receiver, but would like to see results
I don't mean to sort of "hijack" this thread, but it's a totally relevant question, I swear!
For those people with confirmed bad wifi. Is it that the signal fluctuates a lot (so sometimes you'll see 50mbps, but then the other half of the time, you'll only see 1mbps), or does it actually STAY at 1mbps or however slow it gets?
I'm just asking because I've seen my Prime pull 5 mbps sometimes... but then most of the time, it ranges anywhere from 20 to 50 mbps.
I received mine, decided to test before I loaded anything or tried to root (in case I needed to return it) which I do.
Used several different apps, best results came from Speedtest.
First, absolutely no GPS - no satellites seen, Ipad worked great, Nexus s4g saw 9
Tests ran in room directly above router, my office -
ping Download Upload
HP Laptop 38 11.87 1.43
Ipad 41 10.93 1.41
Nexus s4g 40 11.83 1.64
Prime 45 3.67 1.3
ICS loaded immediately - but had unresponsiveness on screen, and the slow download was very self evident when running same apps downloads next to the Ipad.
So its going back - I'm very disappointed, wanted my Ipad gone because I don't like Apple - but it works, doesn't do everything I want, but works flawlessly.
The Prime - I'm not going to rma, too many problems reported and I don't feel like being a $500 tester that I can't return. Its one thing to put up with issues when I hack and flash roms, that is my choice. But for this kind of expenditure,
I will not put up with something that doesn't run perfect out of the box.
Sad, Asus has always had such outstanding hardware, this is not how they operate. They need to do something across the board for early adopters, too
many that will remember this (I will) next time they purchase. Meaning a credit
toward the new 700 if we ordered early, before their announcement, and had to return. I just don't feel like ordering again, waiting, testing, and running to the store plus will be on vacation and could miss my return window and be stuck with gift card from BB
I've had my Prime for about 2 weeks and have been very happy with it.
I'm posting this because I'm sure there are many other potential buyers hesitating due to all the negative discussions recently.
Initially, I was reading about WiFi and GPS issues online. The stores I asked were telling me of WiFi and GPS issues... blaming it all on the metal casing.
Even so, I took the plunge and got it based on the following:
WiFi: Anandtech's testing seemed to show WiFi performance is comparable to other tablets in his tests after he got some new retail sample units from Asus.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5175/asus-transformer-prime-followup
GPS: Will be using it at home, so no use for GPS. Also, for comparison, Wifi only versions of ipad2 do not even have GPS.
After using the Prime on WiFi at different locations, I can confirm that it is no worse than the Acer A500 or my Nexus One phone.
Alsp, please also refer to this test image done at another forum.
http://attach.mobile01.com/attach/201201/mobile01-ca742e0578a2a417e2d4ffd597722681.jpg
Notebooks obviously will have better reception so that is not a fair comparison.
Therefore in my opinion, the whole WiFi issue was just blown out by the GPS issue.
There may also have been an initial small batch of engineering samples with broken WiFi that fueled the negative publicity, which is just bad luck for ASUS.
But I believe Mass Production units should not have this issue.
Also, people should be comparing the Prime with comparable tablets/ipad and not with notebooks.
who cares about tests done in perfect conditions? if the prime can't get a signal while my sgs2 and my girlfriend's galaxy tab have no problems at all, something is definitely wrong with the prime. put a couple of walls between the router and the prime, and the prime has a significant signal loss compared to other devices.
at least that is my experience so far. maybe some transformers get good wifi signals, even trough walls. but the two i had did not.
jemz0r said:
I'm posting this because I'm sure there are many other potential buyers hesitating due to all the negative discussions recently.
Initially, I was reading about WiFi and GPS issues online. The stores I asked were telling me of WiFi and GPS issues... blaming it all on the metal casing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's great that, under your conditions, you're pleased with Wi-Fi. From videos comparing the TF1 side-by-side to the Prime you can see the Prime struggles to maintain the continuity of its signal. It gets worse the further away from the router you are. Three of my friends that travel a lot returned the Prime because, on the road, you can't play with a routers settings just to please your device. Some people are happy with the Prime's Wi-Fi performance, some aren't. It's a big YMMV based on how and where you use it.
Here's what Anand said after he got a replacement for the first defective device he received. To get decent speeds, he had to change the wireless environment to suit the Prime. He didn't on the TF1.
At the same time, I had test data from both ASUS and NVIDIA that show the Prime is capable of reasonable WiFi speeds. Yesterday morning I received a replacement Prime which was tested prior to being sent my way. The good news is the 2Mbps cap and poor range are both gone, the new sample is much faster on WiFi. Clearly there was something wrong with my original unit and it's being sent back to ASUS today for an autopsy. The bad news is I was still getting numbers around half of the original Transformer.
Using Ookla's Speedtest.net web app I get a consistent 34 - 37Mbps on the original Eee Pad Transformer (our actual WiFi performance tests involve downloading a file from a local server, but Speedtest was a quick and easy way to verify the problem). My original Prime review sample averaged around 0.5Mbps, while the replacement Prime got around 10Mbps - all in the same test location. Fiddling around with location I could get the replacement Prime up to 16Mbps. My test area is riddled with challenging interference so I setup a separate test area in another room. Even after buying the same Netgear WNDR4500 wireless AP that ASUS verified 31Mbps+ operation on, I wasn't able to break 16Mbps.
I have four other APs covering my house, I turned all of the radios off as a last ditch effort. Boom - 36Mbps on the Prime.
Good that you are happy with WIFI under your condition. However, judging from my experience and few others:
1.) WIFI performance will vary on where you are, or your environment. For example.. My router is in the basement of my house, but if i take it to 1st floor, I lose about 1 or 2 bars depending on where I am. If I take up to my 2nd floor.... I either have one or none. Now, I did the same experiment at my friends house and at work.. depending on the structure of the building and thinness of the wall, WIFI performance of PRIME really varies (and much more noticeable over other devices I have or tested).
Now, I also travel often for work. Recently returned from a trip.... and I tested the WIFI performance at the Hotel I was staying. More or less, I was stuck in 1 bar with constant disconnect or no WIFI at all.
Considering that the appeal of "tablets" are for ease of portability... based on my experience, I cannot recommend Prime to those who travel often. Btw, mine is more or less a "perfect" prime without any issues.
PRIME's WIFI can certainly be adequate but it does have its issues with "range" (especially when the setting or environment changes often).
2.) Can we please stop comparing Prime to iPad 2? If you are comparing the overall performance (such as graphics, speed.. blah blah blah).. I understand.. but stop comparing Prime's GPS and the non-existent GPS of iPad 2.
I have used my prime in my girlfriend's house where the router is 20+ yards away and has to go through 3 walls, 2 of which are external because the house is U shaped, and have had no issues with wifi signal. Of course I get half bars, but the speed test is still good (sorry don't remember exact numbers) and I use YouTube and browsing consistently and without issue.
I must add that I am getting a good wireless connection from here at work where I normally got poor signals and had to rely on my mifi device.
To top that I'm at lunch watching X-Men over Netflix with my Bluetooth headphones paired, and the streaming haven't stopped. The quality hassn't depleted much either.
I would have to agree with the original poster, for my machine, the WiFi is a non-issue and works just fine. It works well for me in the following varied locations/conditions:
1. My home wifi with the router in the living room. Tablet works in every room of the condo.
2. Vancouver airport - Free Wifi
3. Narita Airport - Free Wifi
4. Haneda Airport - Free Wifi
5. Beijing Airport - Some strange pass-through wifi
6. Every hotel in the 3 countries I have traveled to since getting my prime.
7. WiFi at work whose main router isn't even located on my floor and browser pass through login.
8. Every coffee bean and starbuck's wifi that I've been to
9. The wifi hotspot on my verizon phone.
The list could go on and on as I always take my prime everywhere I go and there is usually free or cheap wifi wherever I go. I have never had a problem with my wifi signal not being great enough for me to surf the web, watch netflix, or log into/use my web dependent apps. It is not always full bars, but my suspicion is that the bars indicator on the prime isn't all that accurate.
At any rate, it works for me, but I understand that the build quality may not be consistent across all primes and that I just maybe one of the lucky ones.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
That's what I've always said OP. good post. my wifi strength,stability, n range has always been great. n I have one of the earliest batches from 12/22. Anandtech said it right. Said wifi on par with OG transformer. its all about people setups. they need to understand the various contributing factors that can cause wireless issues. Some are determined not to budge from 5Ghz N speed although its not supported by prime anyways and that frequency has been proven to be marketing b.s. because 5Ghz doesn't guareentee faster speeds and the range is alot less than 2.4Ghz range. here is an example of the debunked 5Ghz myth and some tips also if your network seeming slow for a particular device.
http://smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-basics/30664-5-ways-to-fix-slow-80211n-speed
For the record, I've had no wifi problems with my Prime, anywhere in my house or yard.
I must be one of the unlucky ones.
House: Large Bungalow (2000 sq ft)
Router: Cisco e4200 using 2.4Ghz
Router Location: up on a rafter in the basement (i.e. right up against the first level floorboard)
Internet Connection: 30Mbps
Test 1: Right below router in the basement - 29Mbps
Test 2: Main floor, standing right above the router - 20Mbps
Test 3: Great Room (approx 15ft from router) - 16Mbps
Test 4: Kitchen (approx 30ft from router) - 2Mbps
Test 5: Dining Room (approx 40ft from router) - 2Mbps
In the latter two tests, my kid's iPad still gets 16Mbps. I may RMA later in the year, hoping ASUS will have had time to decide on a fix.
This tablet is absolutely gorgeous and my wife would never let me return it.
jemz0r said:
Wifi only versions of ipad2 do not even have GPS.
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Click to collapse
Lmao this is the worst argument i have ever read on xda really.
Lol
I use my prime at work and home all the time. At home my router is in my living room and obviously there are no issues, but I also have a home gym upstairs and on the opposite corner of the house. I have no issues streaming Netflix during my runs, How I met your mother is a great distraction!
At work my office has the router through many walls and doors, I get 2 bars where my phone gets 3. Speedtest though is identical, and my phone is also on a custom rom that has its wifi tolerances increased. Stream music all day on my tablet with no issues/drops.
Also travel a lot for work around the country, no issues in the Indy Airport with free wifi or my hotel on a recent trip to Nashville. Will want to test it on some more upcoming trips but so far everything is coming up aces.
I've had 2 Primes, both purchased retail (not review units).
Prime 1 from the first batch made had fine WiFi with no signif drop when 20 feet away from Office N routers. It worked well.
Prime 2 (latest batch, C serial number, 64 gig) drops from 25Mbps next to router to 7 Mbps when 20 feet from router (one partial obstruction, interior wall of wood beam and sheetrock). At 30 feet, it gets 2Mbps. This is far worse than Prime 1 and most other devices in our office.
Variability between two Primes leads me to believe this is a hardware issue (antenna connection?). Neither have any problems streaming when also connected to a BT device.
I have a perfect example of the Prime's WiFi fail that I experienced just 20 mins ago at lunch:
-Parked right outside of a McDonalds
-My phone (a subpar LG Optimus T) picks up all of 3 of their public networks, connects to them all and maintains a stable internet connection
-My Prime can only see one and cannot connect to it... just gives me the option to "Save" or "Forget"
Prime wifi = fail.
I respect that the OP may not have WiFi problems with his specific use cases, but the WiFi problem is real. Take a look at my test results from this thread and explain to me how there's no WiFi problem in light of them.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=21413105&postcount=15
So after looking at the tear down images of the Prime, I decided to give mine a little flex (just a little) and press along the top edge where the two antenna contacts live (idiotic pogo pin connectors and copper tape contacts).
Result?
Prime 2, the wirelessly challenged tablet, now sees 15 to 20 db better signal over WiFi and does not drop throughput AT ALL 20 feet from router. Wow.
GPS under ICS was a no-show and now gets 13 sats in view with 8 in use outdoors in 20 seconds. Indoors it sees 4 or 5 sats but doesn't get a fix. Before the love-hug? Nothing nada, zip.
Screenshot please
Send the workaround to ASUS devs, so we can all be blessed.
Regards
+1
I was just about to ask for a screenshot of where you exactly pressed too. This would be awesome.
edit: Maybe this is why ASUS says they can "fix" the weak wifi?
I pressed, both front and back, along the top bezel area (black zone above display). I didn't squeeze the heck out of it, but put just enough pressure to see a little temporary light bleed.
I chose that zone based on the teardown phone that I think came from Annandtech and is posted in an XDA dev thread.
See the two pogo pins (spring-loaded push connectors that stick up a bit). That's the area.
bimbobo said:
Screenshot please
Send the workaround to ASUS devs, so we can all be blessed.
Regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hab1 said:
+1
I was just about to ask for a screenshot of where you exactly pressed too. This would be awesome.
edit: Maybe this is why ASUS says they can "fix" the weak wifi?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
pdagal said:
I pressed, both front and back, along the top bezel area (black zone above display). I didn't squeeze the heck out of it, but put just enough pressure to see a little temporary light bleed.
I chose that zone based on the teardown phone that I think came from Annandtech and is posted in an XDA dev thread.
See the two pogo pins (spring-loaded push connectors that stick up a bit). That's the area.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just sent Gary key a very detailed PM and link to that thread showing teardown n talk about the pogo pins. Said this is info he will want to pass along to Asus engineers asap as it could be a real fix made from this info. these pogo pins not having a good connection will influence wireless performance more than anything else including backplate. if issues are caused from loose connections then fixed, backplate really won't be an issue anymore.
I've been reading for a while trying to evaluate the different level of Prime problems. My return window for the prime closes tomorrow. I'm an android kind of guy and I also own a Samsung Galaxy S.
I'm trying to evaluate the degree of problem with my GPS, WiFi and Bluetooth.
WiFi
===
Running wifi analyzer on both the prime and the sgs the signal readings are almost similar the connection speeds vary greatly with the prime often connecting at faster speeds. I have several wifi routers in my house for coverage with the same ssid. The prime seems to have a little more problems switching from one to the other but not that much.
GPS
===
My prime gps does work but the reception is much weaker than my sgs. This is especially true from inside my house. My sgs is easily able to see and fix 5-8 sats while the prime is completely blind. Outside the house but not in the city, the results are more encouraging with the prime being able to fix almost the same number of sats than the sgs but I cannot see the exact signal strength. I haven't tested in a city with tall buildings all around.
Bluetooth
=======
I haven't found any tools to evaluate the BT signal strength. I'm able to pair a headset and it appears to work properly but no other tests were made.
Soooo, my questions are: Was there batches of primes that were more problematic than others? Is the unconnected antennas problems random or related to the first batches? Compared to other working prime; is mine as good as it gets or I should roll the dices and try to find a better prime?
My serial number begins with: C1OKAS0xxxxx
Thanks in advance for any replies.
JF.
Sounds to me like you have a good one. Your wifi works well compared to your other devices LR even better. You have a working GPS. despite being weaker then your other device it works. Asus removed GPS spec so consider yourself lucky on GPS side. Then for BT seems like you have no issues. I'd think your device was a keeper. As far as wifi antennae issues, that's very random and very small in numbers compared to overall prime users here in xda. The biggest complaint is GPS, not wifi. The other gripe is some experience slowdown of speeds when BT and wifi are both streaming data. But you have alot also that don't experience that. So I wouldn't be too pressed about it. If your device works well, keep it. Or you could gamble on a new device. It could be better. But it could also not be. All primes no matter the batch has the identical same hardware. I have an early batch one I purchased on 12/22. Its been working great for me. Had no issues with it at all. So it is a hit or miss but odds are in favor of finding a good one.
Good luck on your decision. I'd say keep your prime if it works well for you. Its not a matter of if its as good as it gets. What you described your device as is a really good working one. Why take risk n get rid of it.
I don't think there are any "good ones", specially if Asus has to make a physical hardware change. UNLESS they are already manufacturing this change into production already, but I highly doubt that. A company like Asus could never move that fast.
The WIFI will always be an issue to some, and not an issue to most people. If you happen to be near a router (less than 50-75 feet away) you will be in good shape. If you are in a place like a school or office building where there are many routers, you will be in good shape. If you are trying to hold on to the edge of your routers max range, you will be in bad shape.
for GPS,
people are trying to get a lock with out a data connection. These tablets use the same GPS chip a cellphone would meaning it needs data connection for an accurate lock. You will NOT get an accurate lock using the GPS outside with no data connection. This is how all mobile devices are.
Thanks for the replies. I will sleep on it and decide tomorrow. I also have hopes that Asus will eventually do the right thing and replace the back of the prime...
Prime/Tapatalk
jflaplante said:
Thanks for the replies. I will sleep on it and decide tomorrow. I also have hopes that Asus will eventually do the right thing and replace the back of the prime...
Prime/Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With what, plastic? That is probably what is going to happen....
I have owned (and still own) ONE Prime. It works great. Wifi is strong or perhaps even stronger than any of my other devices in the house. I own a Playbook, Slider, Evo 3D, Photon, and some other random wifi devices. I was not even aware that there *was* an issue with the Prime and wifi until I started reading posts here with all of these issues and blaming the backing..etc.
I still truly believe that it is environment over the actual device. Wifi is a signal that must pass through walls, etc. I can bet there are times that the overly paranoid Prime owner sees his bar go down one notch and immediately posts up here that he is experiencing the famous "wifi problem". I do not doubt there are some people out there with real problems (such is the nature of electronics manufacture), but I also do not doubt that people overreact when they *think* its a "known problem".
No, I really like the spun metal back, and I'll be pissed if it gets reduced to plastic because of some kind of nonsense. Actually, I won't be THAT pissed...as I already own it
@zektor,
I was thinking more like the current aluminium design which is rigid and resistant but with plastic "windows" at the right places for maximal signals reception. A little like the iPad's solution.
I'm also learning to live without 3G built-in with my sgs wi-fi tether but that another story.
MarcMaiden said:
for GPS,
people are trying to get a lock with out a data connection. These tablets use the same GPS chip a cellphone would meaning it needs data connection for an accurate lock. You will NOT get an accurate lock using the GPS outside with no data connection. This is how all mobile devices are.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, but this simply isn't true.
I very frequently use GPS on my Android phones for GPS navigation when traveling overseas, and most of the time I am not using mobile data due to the exorbitant cost when roaming.
This would not be possible without an accurate lock.
Regards,
Dave
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk
Assisted GPS, using a wifi or 3G signal to assist the GPS location only allows a slightly faster location fix. After the GPS gets a location fix, it's not used at all. GPS signals from the satellites are very weak, and metal and water will block them. If you're inside, you simply can't get a good GPS signal. Moving a few feet one way or another can make a big difference, but not always. Being outside is essential for getting a good GPS signal. It's also essential that you don't put your hand over the antenna, because the water in your hand can completely block the signal. Holding the tablet in any position other than horizontal, facing straight up, can also degrade the signal, since the metal case blocks it. Putting a metal case over a GPS antenna is a bad idea, and after Asus did it, they had to decide whether to keep the metal case or make the GPS more usable. Fortunately, IMO, they decided that the metal case was more important than the GPS, so they just dropped the GPS specs from the Prime. Asus does not guarantee that the GPS in the Prime will work at all. However, the latest update, .15, seems to help the GPS reception a lot.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
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..
Click to expand...
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)?
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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!
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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.
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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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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