Slow day here at work, so I decided to see if there really is a difference between having a bit of foil over your wifi antenna contacts, or not. In the one phone I've had the foil there for a while, since I heard of the trick, and I thought I noticed a bit of improvement, but it was hard to tell. So, having the extra phone I decided to experiment on it to see if there are any gains to it.
Setup1:
Fourth bar 3.0 GB
Faux kernel
No foil
Setup 2
Iced Bullet ICS
Stock kernel
Has foil
Pic 1
GB phone on left without foil
ICS phone with foil
Pic 2
GB phone on left with foil
ICS phone without foil
See pics below, the GB amaze is on the left in both pics, and the ICS phone on the right has the foil to begin with. Phones were set up and left alone for 30-45 seconds, there were no changes in the signal strength. Changed between covers four times, every time was almost identical. The GB phone had more change between having the foil and not having it, and the ICS phone showed a change, but not as much. But still, there was a slight improvement every time. You may not notice it all that much day to day, but I've always wondered if having the foil did anything, so there's your proof
Now to kill the afternoon.
Why is your WiFi bars not on?
--------------------------------
It's Better To Fail At Originality
Than To Succeed In Imitation.
--------------------------------
because I don't need to be connected to a network to detect a signal. Wifi Analyzer detects all wifi channels available, connected or not
Might want to eliminate some variables in your experiment
I was just killing time dude, but what kind of variables?
The fact that I repeated it four times and got the same results every time eliminates quite a few variables
Out of curiosity, can you post pics of how you have the foil attached?
Awesome experiment btw, reminds me of watching old TV with tin foil antenna "extensions", haha
Please keep all question based threads in the Q&A section. Thank You.
Thread Moved.
"if you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice" ~N.P. Rush
Brought to you courtesy of my Galaxy Note (i717) using XDA Premiero!
Related
I was tired of my gps not working with the dreaded spinning circle so i decided to to try to fix it on the cheap. Take a little piece of aluminum foil and jam it between the 2 gold conductors on the right side of your bolt when the bolt is upside down looking from the back. This helps conductivity between the actual gps and foil amtenna on your battery cover. It now takes me 4secs to get gps lock with 10 satellites with gps test from the market. Hopes this helps you too!
FYI the other gold conductors on the top are for the antenna for 3g and lte...
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App
Can you take a picture of what you've done? Curious to see it, and this could probably be improved upon as a 'hardware hack' to improve reception and gps...
Also, grab the speedtest.net app, and do a few trials with and without. Does it make your data go faster?
It ain't pretty but it works for me...
Haha, slick!
The foil on the left in that picture might not be doing anything, as its about the same size and shape as the foil that's built into the cover (painted black). Nice work though, I'll try this out myself and see what happens.
Do any speed tests?
Tried this mod and walked outside and still **** gps.. can't even get a lock lol.
Try something better than foil, aluminum is not an ideal conductor....You know those $.99 stick on gold foil cell booster things? I wonder if one of those, modded to contact the contacts on the case, would make a difference.
...
If you want to get quicker GPS locks I suggest the steps in the following post.
http://forum.androidcentral.com/801754-post32.html
Also I haven't experienced the slow GPS lock time in newer roms.
Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk
I can repeat these results over and over again on my Prime. A good distance from my router (through 2 indoor walls, 1 outside brick wall) I get the top 4 throughputs on Photo 1. I cannot stream video without an awful lot of buffering and everything else is slow. With some testing I found if I put that little piece of foil on the face of the tablet(Photo2) then I get the bottom four throughputs and I can stream video until the cows come home with no buffering. It seems simple and works well on my unit. And again, I can repeat the results. I've been using this for three days now and am really happy with the improvement. I'd be real interested in knowing it this affects anyone else's unit the same way. If it does let everyone know and this may be a quick and easy way to help with your WiFi without having to result in disassembling your Prime or doing an RMA.
I'm planning on painting it black and taping it the the face.
See post 99 for details of my installation.
That is quite impressive. I'm game to give this a try. How far down the back of the Prime does the aluminum foil go?
I remember the little antenna earlier model iPhone users stuck on their phones. Perhaps something like that can simply be stuck on the Prime's glass? But, in your situation, the foil going over the top and down the back may also have an influence. I'm going to see if this improves GPS, too! My wi-fi is decent, but my GPS in non-existent at this point.
Thanks for the post...
PolishPoet said:
I can repeat these results over and over again on my Prime. A good distance from my router (through 2 indoor walls, 1 outside brick wall) I get the top 4 throughputs on Photo 1. I cannot stream video without an awful lot of buffering and everything else is slow. With some testing I found if I put that little piece of foil on the face of the tablet(Photo2) then I get the bottom four throughputs and I can stream video until the cows come home with no buffering. It seems simple and works well on my unit. And again, I can repeat the results. I've been using this for three days now and am really happy with the improvement. I'd be real interested in knowing it this affects anyone else's unit the same way. If it does let everyone know and this may be a quick and easy way to help with your WiFi without having to result in disassembling your Prime or doing an RMA.
I'm planning on painting it black and taping it the the face.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Holy Crap. I'm going to try this when I get home -- I've got a dead spot in my house where my WiFi drops off almost completely. If this works, I'm going to 1) laugh, and 2) think about all the physical damage that some people have done to their Primes in the hardware modding thread, and then 3) be sad for them, and then 4) laugh again, but bitterly.
Keeping the fingers crossed.
Next thing is foil hat!
On a serious note, quite interesting to see results.
Sent throught the wormhole from my CoinInserted Sensation OG.
PolishPoet said:
I can repeat these results over and over again on my Prime. A good distance from my router (through 2 indoor walls, 1 outside brick wall) I get the top 4 throughputs on Photo 1. I cannot stream video without an awful lot of buffering and everything else is slow. With some testing I found if I put that little piece of foil on the face of the tablet(Photo2) then I get the bottom four throughputs and I can stream video until the cows come home with no buffering. It seems simple and works well on my unit. And again, I can repeat the results. I've been using this for three days now and am really happy with the improvement. I'd be real interested in knowing it this affects anyone else's unit the same way. If it does let everyone know and this may be a quick and easy way to help with your WiFi without having to result in disassembling your Prime or doing an RMA.
I'm planning on painting it black and taping it the the face.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also, have you tried putting your prime in a portfolio-type case (like the Minisuit) with the foil on it? If so, does it still work? If so, that would be excellent, because the case would hide the foil.
tinky1 said:
Next thing is foil hat!
On a serious note, quite interesting to see results.
Sent throught the wormhole from my CoinInserted Sensation OG.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
[email protected]#[email protected]$ , I have verified that it works. My dl speed went from 3xxx to over 15000 using speedtest.net app. I will post screen shots......
delete delete
Wow so cool! Even though we shouldn't have to do this lol. Brings me back to the days of my modded wifi dongle with tin foil upgrades to "borrow" my neighbors connection haha.
Damn I'm out of tin foil, I'm gonna run to the store and report back! Even though my new C2 serial get almost identical speeds in my living room in my apartment. Let's see how far I can go!
What about some copper conductive tape? A thin strip of it.
Interesting......simple yet effective, it seems
What happens to your GPS signals if you move the foil over to the left a wee bit (above the GPS antenna)?
I don't have a problem with Wifi, but I certainly do with GPS, so I'd be interested to see.
tinky1 said:
Next thing is foil hat!
On a serious note, quite interesting to see results.
Sent throught the wormhole from my CoinInserted Sensation OG.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
[email protected]#[email protected]$ , I have verified that it works. My dl speed went from 3xxx to over 15000 using speedtest.net app. I will post screen shots......
screen shots taken just now...
lol very cool. Looks like you are reflecting your wireless signal into your primes antenna. Forcing it down the throat so to speak
Cool Parabolic effect. Aluminum foil is great for that.
Even seems to work somewhat with anti-static bags.
WTF!!!
If this is really true then i'm even more glad i returned my unit. So for my 600€ toy to work i gotta get a 1€ foil-roll, ASUS are you kidding me?
tedr108 said:
That is quite impressive. I'm game to give this a try. How far down the back of the Prime does the aluminum foil go?
I remember the little antenna earlier model iPhone users stuck on their phones. Perhaps something like that can simply be stuck on the Prime's glass? But, in your situation, the foil going over the top and down the back may also have an influence. I'm going to see if this improves GPS, too! My wi-fi is decent, but my GPS in non-existent at this point.
Thanks for the post...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't have to go down the back. I have it taped on now nd it goes from the top edge of the screen down. You have to move it from side to side to get the best signal. Again it does not need to go down the back, but to find the best location I originally had the foil going over the back.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
PolishPoet said:
It doesn't have to go down the back. I have it taped on now nd it goes from the top edge of the screen down. You have to move it from side to side to get the best signal. Again it does not need to go down the back, but to find the best location I originally had the foil going over the back.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very cool PolishPoet. Yes I imagine if you had it in some sort of Parabolic shape. You could increase / direct the signal even more.
hahahah i love this.
Make a plastic frame with aluminum in it and you can clip on top of prime. Sell them and you will be rich!
It appears to block/degrade GPS signal. I'm getting 0 now instead of 2-3 by the window with the foil on. But wifi definitely improved.
Works particularly well holding a DVD in place. I guess they are super smooth and reflective so it makes sense.
Mixed result for me. 1.2MB/s with the foil then 5.8MB/s without the foil and then 6.4MB/s with the foil again.
If I use Wifi analyzer as soon as I hold a DVD in place I suddenly see about four other networks that disappear as soon as I take the DVD away. Happens every time without fail. Signal goes from ~70dB to ~55dB
READ THIS POST AND POST 74 AND FURTHER
Have you ever seen such quality in the GPS signals and the fixes? (picture 1)
Ever since I got my TFP in early January I have been trying to find a way to enhance the GPS and the Wifi. I read just about all the threads on these subjects and tried every tweak. Even the crazy ones ;-) But because of the form factor I wasn't going to drill holes and put antennas on the back (respect guys, awesome work)
It started with a poster that got flamed straight away. He put a phone on the top right hand corner and got a better GPS. I felt sorry for him because everyone treated him like a retard. Just for the sake of being able to put the flamers in their spot I gave his idea a chance.
And it worked!!! But it was not practical. I can't walk around with a phone pressed against my TFP. But it was a start. Something started happening.
Next came the screwdriver trick. Even better result. Then I discovered the paperclip trick. Again improvement. But still not good enough and certainly not stable. It was difficult to reproduce. It became clear to me that positioning was very critical.
On the Wifi side people started enhancing their signal by placing foil the right Wifi antenna. Then they started using beer cans. It worked for some. But for others it didn't work. Theory was that somehow the Wifi signal got shielded forcing the other Wifi antenna to kick in. Tried it. Worked sometimes and at other moments didn't work. But there was something. And again it became clear to me that positioning was very critical.
Furthermore I started fooling around with grounding to the back plate. It had a dramatic effect on Wifi and GPS. As soon as something touches the back plate the signals die. I got the impression that the Wifi and GPS antenna were to close to each other and with all the RF signals they were screwing each other.
But all together there were things happening. I started documenting exact positions and sizes of the tweaks I was applying. Wifi was reasonable for me as long as I had a good base signal. GPS had my attention. I could get an external GPS, I could tether from my phone, I could buy a map, I could ask directions.
But NO!!!!
I wanted the GPS inside the Prime to get a reasonable fix.
It has cost me a lot of hours of trying, tweaking, adapting, and documenting.
But......
I FOUND THE 10 CENTS SOLUTION!!!
You only need to buy a 1 mm stainless steel cable.
Instructions (also see diagram):
1. First get yourself a beer. And drink it (this is the best part)
2. Then cut yourself a square 15x25 mm from the can (carefull)
3. Stick it in the right place onto the glass
4. Make sure it is isolated with electical tape on the topside
5. Place steel cable across the isolated square (I don’t know if this matters but I used 9,75 mm length = 0,5 x wavelength of GPS)
6. Fix it in place with electrical tape
And ......
ENJOY A GOOD GPS (better than my HTC Sensation)
Up to now this is the best result I can get.
Probably sizes and locations can be optimized.
However my experience is that the cable has to extend outside the plane of the TFP. Either vertical or horizontal. As long as it is inside the confines and flat on the glass of the TFP the signal dies instantly
And the electrical tape on top can be exchanged for something better looking.
Customize it like a sticker of a mouse with the tail being the steel cable.
Or a droid sticker with antenna ears upwards.
Outside and in the car I get a 4 second lock and after 10 seconds 15 sats and 10 locked. Inside has improved but not really good enough.
I have reset the prime before testing, cleared AGPS and Wifi off.
I hope you guys enjoy and appreciate my solution.
And if someone finds a better or more elegant solution please post.
Have fun
Oh I forgot to mention. The trick also works with the paperclip. Use a small paperclip. When straightened the length is 95 mm. Also works. I turned to the steel cable because I wanted something flexible.
very cool.
I currently have a beer can piece myself on my prime
-not as precise as yours, but it improves my wifi
not a beer, but after this j i shall try!
You guys are awesome....I've been looking for this all day..... a reason to drink beer tonight ^_^ oh and a possible gps solution without opening my TFP
Does yours maintain GPS lock while moving at highways speeds?
wynand32 said:
Does yours maintain GPS lock while moving at highways speeds?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll test that. Drink beer and going high speed on the autobahn
wynand32 said:
Does yours maintain GPS lock while moving at highways speeds?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
YEP
Perfect turn by turn navigation.
On the highway about 10 locks and in urban area a minimum of 6 locks.
And all the time average 14 sats in sight.
I have not tried it yet in an area with very tall buildings.
I think the highest buildings during my tests were 6 floors.
If this can be independently verified (and sounds like it can be), then someone could definitely make a little money with this. Not enough to retire on, but a little spending money.
A question: could this be made into something that could clip onto the Prime and so be easily added/removed? While I wouldn't tape anything to my Prime, I'd clip something on it if I were to want GPS to work (which I don't actually, but being speculative here).
wynand32 said:
If this can be independently verified (and sounds like it can be), then someone could definitely make a little money with this. Not enough to retire on, but a little spending money.
A question: could this be made into something that could clip onto the Prime and so be easily added/removed? While I wouldn't tape anything to my Prime, I'd clip something on it if I were to want GPS to work (which I don't actually, but being speculative here).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes can be done.
I have been trying some solutions myself.
But the positioning turned out to be a critical factor.
Had to work that out first.
Wanted to share those results first.
But some sort of minimized and customisable clip on device would be nice.
Either pimped or just simple
I'm thinking you could use a simple clip like we use at home for potato chip bags. Line the inside of one part of the clip with the require metal, add in the wire, and then you could simply clip it on when you need GPS. Those clips aren't particularly strong, either, so no worries about damaging the Prime.
I might give this a shot myself this week, if I get some time.
The 12 Steps to ruin.... and a Hangover
My attempt (not really but could be fun)
1. Drink one can, cut open and place on screen.
Tape was too old. Can kept falling off.
2. Get another can and drink then place on screen again.
New tape stayed on but can didn't work.
3. Get yet another beer. Had a brainstorm idea to try doing the same for Wifi... got another beer.
Drank beers, needed a pee. Wife threw out the empties.
4. Got another two beers. Rang friend to ask if he had a beeter metal cutter....
5. Got two more beers then forgot what I was doing.
6. Glot two more bbers. Needed another pee.... Came back stood on berr cans. They were hiding on the floor.
7. Grot a new crate of beers in from the sheller hic! Drunk clan cut finger with can opener. Oh Eck...
8. Opened nudder bleer. Got drill out and dilled lotsh of oles on can.
Bol*x.... need a pee.
9. Sloped can wid whisky bottle... Poored whiskey on wire... Sh1t.. where da fcuk did wire come ffrommm???
10. Passt hammmmer to schreen. Bloke grass an spong at glue.
11. Glue noo worrrk. Need beeerr. hic!
12. Shud not put fingerss in live lectric shockket!
Fin............. Dont work.
zzzzZZzzZzzzzZzzzzzz
So I guess the prime as a glorified beer coaster wasnt too far off since it can improve signal strength.
hey guys come on.
I'm trying to start a serious thread and now you are turning it into something hilarious.
Well they always say 'keep on smiling'.
Had a great laugh.
Great story.
Let's see if thereś any beer left.
Cheers guys
Jesus.. you couldn't pay me to do this.
BTW, I got better than you without this nasty hack. I have screenshots of 18ft right in my backyard. No tin foil, no duct tape, not guitar/bike wire.
But none of it matters... AS YOU CANT DRIVE AND GET IT TO WORK
Lock-N-Load said:
Jesus.. you couldn't pay me to do this.
BTW, I got better than you without this nasty hack. I have screenshots of 18ft right in my backyard. No tin foil, no duct tape, not guitar/bike wire.
But none of it matters... AS YOU CANT DRIVE AND GET IT TO WORK
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
VVVVVVVV
dingdonggggg said:
YEP
Perfect turn by turn navigation.
On the highway about 10 locks and in urban area a minimum of 6 locks.
And all the time average 14 sats in sight.
I have not tried it yet in an area with very tall buildings.
I think the highest buildings during my tests were 6 floors.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually just got 18 ft in my brother's front yard Same place I kept getting nada for a couple weeks. No mods, but not stable either. Soon I'll have external antenna and be done with it
*EDIT: Obviously with data on, but I was getting 1 bird in and out of view with the same setup pre-.15. That is not to say .15 in any way helped this.
**EDIT:
PM'd you
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Buxtahuda,
So what antenna will you be using?
dingdonggggg said:
Have you ever seen such quality in the GPS signals and the fixes? (picture 1)
Ever since I got my TFP in early January I have been trying to find a way to enhance the GPS and the Wifi. I read just about all the threads on these subjects and tried every tweak. Even the crazy ones ;-) But because of the form factor I wasn't going to drill holes and put antennas on the back (respect guys, awesome work)
It started with a poster that got flamed straight away. He put a phone on the top right hand corner and got a better GPS. I felt sorry for him because everyone treated him like a retard. Just for the sake of being able to put the flamers in their spot I gave his idea a chance.
And it worked!!! But it was not practical. I can't walk around with a phone pressed against my TFP. But it was a start. Something started happening.
Next came the screwdriver trick. Even better result. Then I discovered the paperclip trick. Again improvement. But still not good enough and certainly not stable. It was difficult to reproduce. It became clear to me that positioning was very critical.
On the Wifi side people started enhancing their signal by placing foil the right Wifi antenna. Then they started using beer cans. It worked for some. But for others it didn't work. Theory was that somehow the Wifi signal got shielded forcing the other Wifi antenna to kick in. Tried it. Worked sometimes and at other moments didn't work. But there was something. And again it became clear to me that positioning was very critical.
Furthermore I started fooling around with grounding to the back plate. It had a dramatic effect on Wifi and GPS. As soon as something touches the back plate the signals die. I got the impression that the Wifi and GPS antenna were to close to each other and with all the RF signals they were screwing each other.
But all together there were things happening. I started documenting exact positions and sizes of the tweaks I was applying. Wifi was reasonable for me as long as I had a good base signal. GPS had my attention. I could get an external GPS, I could tether from my phone, I could buy a map, I could ask directions.
But NO!!!!
I wanted the GPS inside the Prime to get a reasonable fix.
It has cost me a lot of hours of trying, tweaking, adapting, and documenting.
But......
I FOUND THE 10 CENTS SOLUTION!!!
You only need to buy a 1 mm stainless steel cable.
Instructions (also see diagram):
1. First get yourself a beer. And drink it (this is the best part)
2. Then cut yourself a square 15x25 mm from the can (carefull)
3. Stick it in the right place onto the glass
4. Make sure it is isolated with electical tape on the topside
5. Place steel cable across the isolated square (I don’t know if this matters but I used 9,75 mm length = 0,5 x wavelength of GPS)
6. Fix it in place with electrical tape
And ......
ENJOY A GOOD GPS (better than my HTC Sensation)
Up to now this is the best result I can get.
Probably sizes and locations can be optimized.
However my experience is that the cable has to extend outside the plane of the TFP. Either vertical or horizontal. As long as it is inside the confines and flat on the glass of the TFP the signal dies instantly
And the electrical tape on top can be exchanged for something better looking.
Customize it like a sticker of a mouse with the tail being the steel cable.
Or a droid sticker with antenna ears upwards.
Outside and in the car I get a 4 second lock and after 10 seconds 15 sats and 10 locked. Inside has improved but not really good enough.
I have reset the prime before testing, cleared AGPS and Wifi off.
I hope you guys enjoy and appreciate my solution.
And if someone finds a better or more elegant solution please post.
Have fun
Oh I forgot to mention. The trick also works with the paperclip. Use a small paperclip. When straightened the length is 95 mm. Also works. I turned to the steel cable because I wanted something flexible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks like it close to the location for the Easy Wifi Improvement Mod only with the added wire.
PolishPoet said:
Looks like it close to the location for the Easy Wifi Improvement Mod only with the added wire.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that's the point.
Kill the primary WiFi (if that's what it does... and I think it does) with the aluminum, then use the wire as a conductor for the GPS signal, just kind of funneling it to the right area for the internal antenna to get a concentrated blast. Per RF theory I've seen around here, the signal then doesn't need a hard line to the antenna, it'll travel that little gap from covered wire to antenna easily.
hey! That crazy asian with the phone on the corner was me! I've been meaning to post my further investigation on this and this is what I did.
1. Bought a Moco case on Amazon for like $12.
2. Put Prime in case.
3. Cut a 5 inch speaker wire. The tiny ones, not monster cable but them average size wire about 22 gauge (?).
4. Place the wire under the case but above the Prime in same location as yours. It stuck out so I bent the end and tucked it into the headphone opening.
5. Went for a drive. I drive a bronco and with the case set up to stand the Prime up, I was able to watch GPS test as I drove. Kept very steady GPS lock with no less than 4 at a time. Tried Google maps with Bluetooth data tethering to my phone to draw map and now I have a 10.1 in screen gps !
I think getting a case (any case) is a good investment for your Prime. It can also very casually and discreetly hide any of these " additions" to your Prime to enhance certain features like those with the foil wifi "mod".
So I didn't get to drink any beer but I sure will not drink scotch out a can!
OMG beard, too funny ...lmao....
Hi all. This is my first post and would like to thank the many posters and helpful threads I've read while going through my many previous phones.
After hours and hours of trying to figure out why I've been having Wifi issues, I came across a thread on XDA that helped me find a couple of simple fixes. I had to rule out the issue being with my Wifi router since all of my other electronic devices that used Wifi all worked. It had to be the phone. That and the latest software update never fixed the issue.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1688538
First off, a big Thank You to "bigoliver" across the pond who posted the :"Hardware Fault, Wifi Antenna Fault" thread in the HTC One X forum. I'll thank him here since I could not find the "thank you" button on the thread. Sorry, still a newbie.
Anyhow, after reading the thread and follwing the many helpful links in the post, I figure the probelm could be the same seeing how the Sprint version was not that mcuh different other than the Sprint only changes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-QrMgSvna4
After performing the "squeeze test" as noted in the One X thread and Youtube video above, I noticed the same issue with the EVO LTE. Seems like the springs for the Wifi and BT antennas were good or enough contact with the antenna on the inside of the back case. This can be done with the Wifi Analyxer app. by simply putting pressure on the screen and back cover between the camera and volume rockers, you would notice the Wifi signal increase or decrease as your remove pressure in that area. This is where the antenna springs make conact with the antenna just inside the back cover.
The few video's I found on Youtube showed a few ways to fix the issue. One was having to solder a few contact to the Wifi and BT antenna springs. This seemed a bit dangerous since the user had to take apart the screen to get access to the spring location and back cover. Seeing how the Sprint version had the simple back cover that allowed access to the antenna springs, I figured I give it a try without soldering.
http://www.techrepublic.com/photos/...=11&tag=siu-container;thumbnail-view-selector
The picture above shows the EVO LTE front facing down with teh back cover off. With the phone facing down, you will see the two antenna springs pointing to the left by the volume rockers and just above the kickstand. If you look at the inside of the back cover, you will see the yellow antennas. If you align the cover as if your were putting the cover back, you will see the two antenna contact points. This is where the Wifi and BT antenna contacts are found.
All that I had to do was pretty simple. I took a tiny flat head screw driver to gently lift the two antenna springs up. Just enough to give a better contact to the antenna with the cover closed.
Once the back cover was back in place, the Wifi analyzer showed the Wifi signal to immediately increase. The Wifi signal was as strong if not stronger that my previous Evo 3D. I even noticed Wifi hot spots around me that I never saw before. This also helped the BT seing how the antennas are located at the same spot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsUs2IVEU-c
The other simple fix I found above seemed a bit tacky but worked. The user placed a small coin underneath the phone cover in the area where the the springs contacted the antenna on the back cover. I tried this also and it worked. Just didn't dig the sight of the coin beneath the cover.
Seeing how this helped my Wifi issue, I figured it would help others having the same issues.
After reading the posting rules, I'd looked for a simliar thread before I posted. All other the Evo 4G LTE forum all listed questions but not a fix.
Hope this is helpful to some one.
Thanks.
Interesting fix with the coin method.
We talked about it here briefly, but the results were not consistent:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1710905
I tied this. Saw 4 pairs of contacts. One pair had a contact sitting very low. No way it was making good contact with cover. My WiFi has not been a problem - it was the bluetooth device. Hopefully this will help.
evoltesj said:
Hi all. This is my first post and would like to thank the many posters and helpful threads I've read while going through my many previous phones.
After hours and hours of trying to figure out why I've been having Wifi issues, I came across a thread on XDA that helped me find a couple of simple fixes. I had to rule out the issue being with my Wifi router since all of my other electronic devices that used Wifi all worked. It had to be the phone. That and the latest software update never fixed the issue.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1688538
First off, a big Thank You to "bigoliver" across the pond who posted the :"Hardware Fault, Wifi Antenna Fault" thread in the HTC One X forum. I'll thank him here since I could not find the "thank you" button on the thread. Sorry, still a newbie.
Anyhow, after reading the thread and follwing the many helpful links in the post, I figure the probelm could be the same seeing how the Sprint version was not that mcuh different other than the Sprint only changes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-QrMgSvna4
After performing the "squeeze test" as noted in the One X thread and Youtube video above, I noticed the same issue with the EVO LTE. Seems like the springs for the Wifi and BT antennas were good or enough contact with the antenna on the inside of the back case. This can be done with the Wifi Analyxer app. by simply putting pressure on the screen and back cover between the camera and volume rockers, you would notice the Wifi signal increase or decrease as your remove pressure in that area. This is where the antenna springs make conact with the antenna just inside the back cover.
The few video's I found on Youtube showed a few ways to fix the issue. One was having to solder a few contact to the Wifi and BT antenna springs. This seemed a bit dangerous since the user had to take apart the screen to get access to the spring location and back cover. Seeing how the Sprint version had the simple back cover that allowed access to the antenna springs, I figured I give it a try without soldering.
http://www.techrepublic.com/photos/...=11&tag=siu-container;thumbnail-view-selector
The picture above shows the EVO LTE front facing down with teh back cover off. With the phone facing down, you will see the two antenna springs pointing to the left by the volume rockers and just above the kickstand. If you look at the inside of the back cover, you will see the yellow antennas. If you align the cover as if your were putting the cover back, you will see the two antenna contact points. This is where the Wifi and BT antenna contacts are found.
All that I had to do was pretty simple. I took a tiny flat head screw driver to gently lift the two antenna springs up. Just enough to give a better contact to the antenna with the cover closed.
Once the back cover was back in place, the Wifi analyzer showed the Wifi signal to immediately increase. The Wifi signal was as strong if not stronger that my previous Evo 3D. I even noticed Wifi hot spots around me that I never saw before. This also helped the BT seing how the antennas are located at the same spot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsUs2IVEU-c
The other simple fix I found above seemed a bit tacky but worked. The user placed a small coin underneath the phone cover in the area where the the springs contacted the antenna on the back cover. I tried this also and it worked. Just didn't dig the sight of the coin beneath the cover.
Seeing how this helped my Wifi issue, I figured it would help others having the same issues.
After reading the posting rules, I'd looked for a simliar thread before I posted. All other the Evo 4G LTE forum all listed questions but not a fix.
Hope this is helpful to some one.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems like the architecture is slightly different with the EVO as this hasn't been an issue that I know of. This seems specific to a faulty cell you have but thanks for the write up and details.
Sent from my EVO using xda app-developers app
I've had issues on both stock and aosp roms with Wi-Fi connections bouncing up and down. I'll have to give this a try, thanks!
Be extremely careful when bending the antenna springs because it's very easy to break them.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using Tapatalk 2
still dont think this is an issue with our phones tbh...if it is, its unrelated to the OneX ones....hardware/shell's are different b/w the two....
regardless if you show it somehow.....take the crap in and swap the thing out!
So sick of watching WiFi come and go.. I'm rooted and with " WiFi fix " in the Rom I flash still same crap to point I just want my good ole og EVO back what a good solid phone that was
Sent from my EVO using xda premium
So i took my case off and i had NO and i mean NO wifi. I pressed by the volume area, and it shot to full wifi...... then i took case cover off and tried a coin, it still worked.
Good job on your first post!
leo72793 said:
So i took my case off and i had NO and i mean NO wifi. I pressed by the volume area, and it shot to full wifi...... then i took case cover off and tried a coin, it still worked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you need to put a coin in your cell, you should probably take it back for warranty replacement as that doesn't seem to be the norm, honestly. Just my opinion, either way, glad that worked for the time being.
Sent from my GT-P7510 using xda app-developers app
An alternative solution would be to put a piece of cardboard, just anything to keep it propped up. I advise against making it too thick though, it still needs room to flex.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using Tapatalk 2
Using a coin could potentially be bad. I'd use a piece of paper or cardboard myself. Shorting out a circuit in your phone could cause more issues. I'm saying this because the coin is going to touch more than just antennas simply from its size compared to the phone internals.
Ask me about my ability to annoy complete strangers!
Hello everyone i just bought htc amaze last week and i saw that there is a network problem with a lot of people and i heard about the aluminum foil trick so i said what the hell let`s give it a try it worked 200% and the funny thing is it also improve my WiFi strength so that is how i did it.
Tried, doesn't work. No improvement seen.
Sent from my HTC_Amaze_4G using Tapatalk 2
It does work (sometimes)
Petronoid said:
Tried, doesn't work. No improvement seen.
Sent from my HTC_Amaze_4G using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Putting aluminum foil on your back plate where the WiFi sensor is, is supposed to boost WiFi signal strength. I did a science project on it once, it actually worked. When you do it you need to make sure that the foil isn't crinkled or anything. It depends on everyone's phone, some get little to no improvement in signal.
I tested it again and it really improve the signal.
SuperAfnan said:
Putting aluminum foil on your back plate where the WiFi sensor is, is supposed to boost WiFi signal strength. I did a science project on it once, it actually worked. When you do it you need to make sure that the foil isn't crinkled or anything. It depends on everyone's phone, some get little to no improvement in signal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Isn't the WiFi antenna on the other side of the camera, though?
Maybe this will help
sam_conrad said:
Isn't the WiFi antenna on the other side of the camera, though?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
According to this thread, someone put the foil on the contact on the left of the camera piece and said they had significant improvements in WiFI signal.
We can infer that the WiFi chip is built into the back, and not the motherboard if WiFI doesn't work when the back is taken off. (Correct me if I'm wrong).
The foil is supposed to reflect the signal onto the contact piece, or motherboard. It doesn't really matter where the foil is as long as the trajectory leads to the actual wireless chip.
As Superafnan said, it improves Wifi signal, but you have to go the link which Superafnan mentioned.
You can't put the foil where you put in pictures. You should cover Wifi antenna
Off topic, if you cover your phone with the aluminum foil completely, you will lose operator's antenna
Good for fooling friends. You can tell them you were unreachable
antenna foil
antenna's in the back cover, thus loss of reception in removing it.
foil between the cover and phone body would either reflect signal to the antenna, or reflect it away, depending on the direction the antenna faces relative to the signal.
or cover your camera, or short the heck out of your phone or battery, depending where you put it.
How to Boost WiFi Signal with Aluminum Foil?
You could easily get better signals from your old router to your laptop using this life hack.
The steps are:
1. Find some Aluminum foil.
2. Find a small box (your router’s box will do the job).
3. Stick the foil on the surface of the box.
4. Create holes on the box to put the antenna in.
5. Put the box cover with aluminum foil onto the antenna.