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I am sure most people on here would have noticed that the WiFi signal on the htc amaze is drastically affected by the use of a phone case...
This was a dreaded problem for me up until now...I found a way to boost my WiFi signal without sacrificing protection....
All I did was cut a little piece of aluminium foil and attach it to WiFi antenna located on the inner back panel of the phone.....The antenna is located next to the camera lens....
Once the foil is attached to the antenna, replace the back cover and you should have improved WiFi signal that instant.....Fill free to put on any phone case while surfing the internet at blazing fast speeds using WiFi....
Questions are welcomed if the procedure is not fully understood..
I noticed this when I put a d3o dual case on mine.. can u post pics of what you did?
Sent from my T-Mobile G1 using xda premium.. haha the amaze is at HTC getting a new screen..
I have attached a pic of the foil and its location on the back panel of the phone...
Wifi Signal and Cases
Anyone else try this?
Now that sucks, I bought this phone because of the luxurious look and feel (high class build quality). This is like putting rabbit ears on my 65 inch plasma (Ghetto). Just when I thought I was out they pull me back in (into the projects lol).
Don't forget that no one else knows the foil is there except you... A rabbits ear on a 65inches tv can't be hidden..
darll said:
Don't forget that no one else knows the foil is there except you... A rabbits ear on a 65inches tv can't be hidden..
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Haha so true!
that is pretty ghetto but its hidden so if it works i guess you could consider it hardware hacking
Yeah mine is about 5mbs difference
Sent from my HTC Amaze 4G using xda premium
I have the d30 case and I never had a problem with wifi signal... have you ever thought that it was your internet provider or maybe your router?
iGoOsE76 said:
I have the d30 case and I never had a problem with wifi signal... have you ever thought that it was your internet provider or maybe your router?
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Perhaps your router is not far from your phone that why... If there are few walls between your phone and router you will notice the problem..
This has nothing to do with internet provider or router..
Try covering the top of your phone when the d30 case is removed and see if your wifi signal drops... If it dosen't then you are too close to your router to notice the problem...
All the fol does is boost your wifi signal .. I have been using it for while and I have consistently got full wifi signal even when there are few walls between my device and the router,,,
Makes a difference, thank you
Bluetooth
I've also notice the same problem with the bluetooth radio. With a gummy cover on (silcone I believe) my moto bluetooth headset SD9-HD doesn't work worth a F*&k but without the cover it's all good.
Which is the BT antenne?
How about cell signal???
This trick reminded me of the old product called cell phone signal booster sticker. Here's a YouTube video http://youtu.be/Elgx7lp7YMc if you are not sure what I'm talking about.
If we can boost cell signal using your method, it would save battery as well (without spending too much money on this sticker). Any thought, guys?
Might be a contact issue, not a "this piece of aluminum foil is a better antenna." I'd posit that the two gold colored contacts are not making a solid electrical connection to the rear cover's antenna contacts and that the aluminum is helping by acting as a shim. But I could be wrong. For those of you with Wi-Fi issues, ever so carefully bend the little gold colored metal contacts on your phone upward to ensure solid contact with the rear of the case.
verkion
verkion said:
Might be a contact issue, not a "this piece of aluminum foil is a better antenna." I'd posit that the two gold colored contacts are not making a solid electrical connection to the rear cover's antenna contacts and that the aluminum is helping by acting as a shim. But I could be wrong. For those of you with Wi-Fi issues, ever so carefully bend the little gold colored metal contacts on your phone upward to ensure solid contact with the rear of the case.
verkion
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Well the foil also helps the wifi signal retain its strength... Try covering the back of your phone using your hand and you will see that you loose all wireless signal unless you are close to the router..
Try the same procedure with the foil on and you will see that the wireless signal remains strong regardless of position
Wow, this little piece of aluminum actually works. However, it doesn't work 100% for me. My WiFi signal strength fluctuates quite a bit. But at least I can actually stay connected to my WiFi now.
Thanks. This is a great tip
Edit: this also fixed the problem my amaze had when connecting to my router at work. It would always say connected but data would never be exchanged.
Sent from my HTC_Amaze_4G using XDA App
I thought you were punking us. I was hesitant to even try, because I just KNEW this was a joke. But... it really does work!
I have had nothing buy buyers remorse since buying two of these Amaze phones (full retail price at a TMO store) - on a prepaid plan. They give you about 3 nanoseconds to return - and even then charge a $50/phone restocking fee.
Service is very poor in my home - which I knew before I bought. But, I assumed the Wifi calling would circumvent that problem. I was so disappointed with the jitter, stutter, lost packets, and overall piss-poor wifi call quality, that I upgraded my router, and installed a corporate-rated access point. There was some improvement, but nothing that rivaled a good cell call.
Best DL speeds were around 8-9mbps, and very erratic. With the foil, consistently 20mbps! I am completely dumbfounded.
If such poor wifi performance could be remedied by such a simple fix, why on earth does HTC not do this from the get go? It just doesn't make sense.
So, what have you guys done to keep the foil from shifting, or falling out when changing the battery?
OP, I luv you...
hooutoo said:
I've also notice the same problem with the bluetooth radio. With a gummy cover on (silcone I believe) my moto bluetooth headset SD9-HD doesn't work worth a F*&k but without the cover it's all good.
Which is the BT antenne?
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Exactly my issue too. Maybe it'll work if we know which antenna it is.
Sorry if this belongs in Q/A
I keep reading mixed reviews on the aluminum battery doors/covers for this and other devices. Some swear it destroys signal and others say it's unaffected. I'm also reading that phone signal is fine but GPS signal plummets. And then I'll read another that says GPS is fine. I really like the idea of an aluminum battery cover but I want to know if there truly is any loss of signal from peoples personal experience with this particular device. Reviews in other scattered treads have mixed claims and google results are even less conclusive.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using Tapatalk
I doubt it would cause much interference. But I'm sure it causes some... best way to know for sure it to get it and try... there are too many factors to say for absolute certainty without testing.
For me it absolutely destroyed my GPS signal. To the point of the phone being unusable.
AntwanL said:
Sorry if this belongs in Q/A
I keep reading mixed reviews on the aluminum battery doors/covers for this and other devices. Some swear it destroys signal and others say it's unaffected. I'm also reading that phone signal is fine but GPS signal plummets. And then I'll read another that says GPS is fine. I really like the idea of an aluminum battery cover but I want to know if there truly is any loss of signal from peoples personal experience with this particular device. Reviews in other scattered treads have mixed claims and google results are even less conclusive.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using Tapatalk
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i have both. Aluminum back maybe affects it a little but the aluminum bumper kills my GPS completely. I havent noticed much for other signals just GPS.
I take that back, the aluminum back makes it hard to get a GPS lock. When I removed the back I got a lock instantly
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using Tapatalk
Aluminum
Agreed the aluminum distorts the GPS signal
Since it's the aluminum back that's supposedly blocking the signal, one could theoretically cutout or punch some small holes over the wireless device akin to the speaker port. Then since the back is so easily stretchable, get a protective skin and put it over top.
Thoughts?
Erusman removed the back of his Prime and then installed antennae that go through the back in order to improve WiFi and GPS performance. However most people haven't found any value with the idea of cutting up the back of their Prime since there is no guarantee that WiFi will improve by a significant amount, however it is 100% guaranteed that cutting a hole in the back of the Prime will void your warranty.
There are plenty of Prime's out there that have pretty good WiFi performance. My Prime's WiFi is nearly as good as my Windows laptop and more than good enough for everything I would ever need to do on my tablet.
If your WiFi isn't working well enough to meet your needs, return or exchange your Prime for one that is working better.
I've had 2 prime side to side and one gets better speed than the other connected to the same router and test ran separately. So IMO there's either faulty hardware or bad connection. Have you tried getting an exchange?
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
Cutting little holes will not help. A metal mesh or grid reflects radio waves as effectively as solid metal plate - this is even used in some radio telescopes. In order for the radio waves to come through you would have to cut a hole with size comparable to the length of the EM wave. WiFi wavelength is about 12 cm...
At last some real info in a sea of misinformation.
The only thing which will fix this and the gps issue is a good window with a non-conductive cover, or maybe a plug-in or screw-in antenna.
I am sure, though, that some of the preproduction models had some hardware issues relating to antennas, as well as the oft quoted "metal back" issue.
I, too am finding the WiFi performance acceptable, and the sheer flexibility and neatness of the rest of the UK package (tab +dock) has made me a firm fan of the ATP.
Shame about the GPS, though, as there are many google and Android apps which work with phones and GPS which could translate productively to the Prime.
FG (confirmed fan)
Ok thanks for the insight everyone. I now believe my original concept wouldn't work.
I'm curious if there's has been any confirmation of an improved signal by simply removing the back. Someone had said it could be as much a hardware issue as it is the back design.
My wifi is acceptable, it's about the same as it is on my Nexus One which I'd feel bad complaining about. Though it's not as good as my Macbook.
I was just trying to brainstorm some possible solutions. Maybe I'll look into the antennea.
Felisek said:
Cutting little holes will not help. A metal mesh or grid reflects radio waves as effectively as solid metal plate - this is even used in some radio telescopes. In order for the radio waves to come through you would have to cut a hole with size comparable to the length of the EM wave. WiFi wavelength is about 12 cm...
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Click to collapse
So the plastic apple on the back of the ipad where the wifi is mounted is a gimmick? I find that a little hard to believe.
no, the apple cut out is big enough to let some RF through.
compact antennas and some serious amplification will do the rest. Look at the size of some of the antenna modules in other threads to see how small they are.
In fact look at how small the ipad antenna which is stuck behind the apple logo is.
the poster was right that a few small holes in a grounded plate would not let through enough juice to work.
That would amount to a Farady cage, which is used to screen RF signals, not let them through.
FG
So I recently discovered that the Rezound (and other phones) receive signal through the battery door. I did not previously know this. I was wondering if anyone had any information on how this works. The reason I want to know is because I am in a VERY low service area, and if I stand in certain areas or at a certain angle in my house, I can get service enough to make calls and send texts, but just the slightest move can ruin it. I know all about the Network Extenders and Boosters and all the external hardware you can obtain to help this problem, but I was thinking of a more direct way that one might possibly increase their signal.
What I was thinking is that old cell phones have antennas, right? So if the Rezound (and other smartphones) use a similar or at least some kind of antenna system (such as through the door of the phone) then maybe one could use a wire and rig it to attach to the door to increase signal.
I wanted to try poking a hole big enough to fit a small wire through the top of the door, but small enough to not be noticed, and then try and attach the wire to one of the pieces of the door that grabs the signal. I want to be able to remove it if I want to, but I would figure out how to do that part on my own.
I basically just want to know what part of the door is giving my phone its signal. I see that the door has what look like metal plates on it and I am guessing those have something to do with it.
Can someone give me a little more info on how this works so I can try to figure something out for myself?
Thanks a ton!
Btw I realize doing something like this (even if it worked) will increase the signal very insignificantly, but I figure that it might be kind of fun to at least try and see what happens.
TyWillems19 said:
So I recently discovered that the Rezound (and other phones) receive signal through the battery door. I did not previously know this. I was wondering if anyone had any information on how this works. The reason I want to know is because I am in a VERY low service area, and if I stand in certain areas or at a certain angle in my house, I can get service enough to make calls and send texts, but just the slightest move can ruin it. I know all about the Network Extenders and Boosters and all the external hardware you can obtain to help this problem, but I was thinking of a more direct way that one might possibly increase their signal.
What I was thinking is that old cell phones have antennas, right? So if the Rezound (and other smartphones) use a similar or at least some kind of antenna system (such as through the door of the phone) then maybe one could use a wire and rig it to attach to the door to increase signal.
I wanted to try poking a hole big enough to fit a small wire through the top of the door, but small enough to not be noticed, and then try and attach the wire to one of the pieces of the door that grabs the signal. I want to be able to remove it if I want to, but I would figure out how to do that part on my own.
I basically just want to know what part of the door is giving my phone its signal. I see that the door has what look like metal plates on it and I am guessing those have something to do with it.
Can someone give me a little more info on how this works so I can try to figure something out for myself?
Thanks a ton!
Btw I realize doing something like this (even if it worked) will increase the signal very insignificantly, but I figure that it might be kind of fun to at least try and see what happens.
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Click to collapse
Antennas are very complicated....a wire really wont help you....if you can pick some up id get paint with a hight metal content of gold or copper...prefferably gold...and go over where the copper paint already is...thats the antenna and a slight elongation of the paints design can cause alot of issues....ive tried aluminum tape and it really didnt do much justice in signal...i tried gold content paint as i had some laying around and had great sucess....although the cost would be just as much as building your own signal booster antenna....which i can dig up the guides for you on that as well
REV3NT3CH said:
Antennas are very complicated....a wire really wont help you....if you can pick some up id get paint with a hight metal content of gold or copper...prefferably gold...and go over where the copper paint already is...thats the antenna and a slight elongation of the paints design can cause alot of issues....ive tried aluminum tape and it really didnt do much justice in signal...i tried gold content paint as i had some laying around and had great sucess....although the cost would be just as much as building your own signal booster antenna....which i can dig up the guides for you on that as well
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Click to collapse
Hey thank you for the reply!
I would love the guides to making a booster. That will probably help me out.
Do you think if I got a copper wire, like the copper side of a speaker wire, I could strip it and close the door down onto it with the top sticking out? I mean, like I said before, I don't think the signal would be increased drastically at all, but could this help?
The gold paint you mean, is there an alternative or a cheap method of doing something like that besides what you had mentioned?
Thanks again.
TyWillems19 said:
Hey thank you for the reply!
I would love the guides to making a booster. That will probably help me out.
Do you think if I got a copper wire, like the copper side of a speaker wire, I could strip it and close the door down onto it with the top sticking out? I mean, like I said before, I don't think the signal would be increased drastically at all, but could this help?
The gold paint you mean, is there an alternative or a cheap method of doing something like that besides what you had mentioned?
Thanks again.
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Click to collapse
no....they have to match the antenna design thats already there....like i said you can use a better copper paint which is cheaper than gold but gold is much better because of how well it can conduct...sticking a wire in it will proobably give you even worse signal than what you have...the signal booster will still run you a little bit of cash and requires a little bit of knowledge to do so...guides can only go so far sometimes...and unlike old school fliphones or old brick phones with antennas the ones is this phone are designed and programmed a very certain way and is complex...hence why your best bet would be a signal booster...let me google around for the right guide and ill get back to you
REV3NT3CH said:
no....they have to match the antenna design thats already there....like i said you can use a better copper paint which is cheaper than gold but gold is much better because of how well it can conduct...sticking a wire in it will proobably give you even worse signal than what you have...the signal booster will still run you a little bit of cash and requires a little bit of knowledge to do so...guides can only go so far sometimes...and unlike old school fliphones or old brick phones with antennas the ones is this phone are designed and programmed a very certain way and is complex...hence why your best bet would be a signal booster...let me google around for the right guide and ill get back to you
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Click to collapse
About how much would the booster cost, and it'd work with other phones in the house too? Service is spotty in our house too for some of the phones.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
jagrave said:
About how much would the booster cost, and it'd work with other phones in the house too? Service is spotty in our house too for some of the phones.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
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you can buy one outright for around $150 or make one for about $50 to $75....also depends on if you want one band repeated or up to 3 bands...rezound on verizon only uses 2 though....and yes it will work for any phone that uses that band and or carrier...the cheaper alternative is the paint...which runs about $30 for the gold or $15 to $20 for the copper
Heck, I would really love a signal booster. I usually have one bar of signal, and I can't ever call or text out here
Sent from my Rezound using Tapatalk
tmanschuette said:
Heck, I would really love a signal booster. I usually have one bar of signal, and I can't ever call or text out here
Sent from my Rezound using Tapatalk
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when i lived in the woodland areas of massachussets i had to try whatever i could for better signal...im looking for a good thorough guide on building one but not having much luck....may just write my own as i know how and whats needed
Right? I have to drive to the end of the street to make a call. We live in a valley in the middle of Nm, so the mountains don't help.
Sent from my Rezound using Tapatalk
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
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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.
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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?
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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.