I recently bought a Fascinate. Like many others, my unit's GPS performance was terrible. Standing outdoors with a clear sky, GPS Test would report only 1 satellite In View, and 0 In Use.
I read various threads and tried fixes (different kernels, prying up the antenna contact), but to no avail. However, while doing these tests, I
stumbled upon a surprise. If I left the battery cover off, GPS performace increased dramatically. Indoors, I could get 8 to 12 satellites In View, and 6 to 12 In Use within 60 seconds from power on. Warm start locks in 5 to 15 seconds.
I believe my battery cover is Samsung OEM. It is made from black plastic. The interior is matte black, while the exterior is glossy black with a fine checkboard or mesh pattern underneath. I took a piece of sandpaper to the exterior finish. Beneath the glossy layer I found the mesh checkerboard pattern to be made of a silver-colored material. I sanded the exterior down to the base black plastic.
I snapped the sanded battery cover onto the Fascinate. Sure enough, I continued to get good GPS reception. As a bonus, wifi and cell signal strenth improved as well.
In summary, the battery cover on my Fascinate seemed to act as a RF shield. Sanding off the finish improved signal strength dramatically.
Also, a big Thank You to all the developers working on ROMs for this phone. Great work and much appreciated.
Related
This may sound silly, but I have recently bought a TyTN to replace my SE P900 but one thing that I took for granted on the SE was that when i put it down on a surface or on a machine that i'm working on then it wouldn't slide off or be knocked off easily. THis is largely due to the 2 small rubber feet on the back. The P900 rests on the back on these two tiny rubber feet and also on part of the camera mounting. This is just enough to stop any careless sliding/knocking accidents etc.
I have noticed that when i put the TyTN down on a flat shiny surface, and it rings with the vibrator on, it does move considerably. I am concerned that it may one day vibrate itself onto the floor :shock:
Does anyone know of a solution that I could try with this - maybe even just to stick some kind of small rubber feet on, or a self adhesive non slip rubber? Is anything actually designed for this type of thing?
HI, I'm not sure abut rubber feet, but I recently ot the invisible shield kit for the TyTN it seems to stick ut farther than the two little tabs by the battery door opening, so it helps the sliding a little bit, but its a shame there wasnt a piece to cover the black circle around the camera lens, the kit had a piece that didnt really fit this model, and there is a line in the screen shield one review I read had the same line issue.
I dunno if i can really recommend this product, due to quality issues, but it does help the sliding.
The silicone skin which I bought from www.ids.hk seems to help a lot. It's basically a protective cover for the bottom half of the phone (when it's lying flat on a surface with the screen facing upwards), with a small overlap around the top and bottom edges.
i was going to get one of those silicon skin. problem is i dont think it'll fit in the docking station i have bought.
It slips in and out of the skin in no time at all.
I have the Casemate Barely There Aluminum and while I love it, I just cant deal with the signal loss which then impacts my battery life. The area which I work and live does not have the best signal. I rarely see full bars. For example, at my desk, I get maybe 1 bar with the case on but with the case off I get 3-4. My gps signal is also weaker as though this is not as much as issue for me since I rarely use gps.
So, my question: is there any hard case out there that wont impact signal strength? I really dont like TPU or soft cases.
Thanks in advance.
The Taurus bumper case is a metal case the doesn't seem to hinder your signal. Check out the review on this forum here and see if it suits your needs. The downside is that it doesn't have a back since its just a bumper and not a full body case. On the upside, it still gives you access to the battery compartment unlike full body cases.
I'm considering getting this case if i can't find a good soft TPU case like i had on my captivate.
Bought this case for my better half's white SG2 - when we fit the case the phone signal drops all the way down to zero bars.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0088UWTJ4/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00
I have a black SG2 which has always been better for signal strength and if I fit the case my signal drops to about 0.5 bars. I have a casemate tough I use and it causes no problems with the signal, despite covering more of the phone surface than this new one.
It's a plastic case with leather (not sure if it's real leather?) and the inside of the case has a chrome finish.
Anyone got any ideas?
scoobydoo99 said:
Bought this case for my better half's white SG2 - when we fit the case the phone signal drops all the way down to zero bars.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0088UWTJ4/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00
I have a black SG2 which has always been better for signal strength and if I fit the case my signal drops to about 0.5 bars. I have a casemate tough I use and it causes no problems with the signal, despite covering more of the phone surface than this new one.
It's a plastic case with leather (not sure if it's real leather?) and the inside of the case has a chrome finish.
Anyone got any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WAY...to girly.
That chrome finish thing could be messing with your signal. Shouldn't but it could.
scoobydoo99 said:
Bought this case for my better half's white SG2 - when we fit the case the phone signal drops all the way down to zero bars.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0088UWTJ4/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00
I have a black SG2 which has always been better for signal strength and if I fit the case my signal drops to about 0.5 bars. I have a casemate tough I use and it causes no problems with the signal, despite covering more of the phone surface than this new one.
It's a plastic case with leather (not sure if it's real leather?) and the inside of the case has a chrome finish.
Anyone got any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think its way too thick tbh but I agree with the other dude shouldnt get metal/chrome cases
it is the crome finish which acting a reflector to the antenna which is located at the bottom of your phone.
most cases leave the back bottom lightly coverede or exposed for better cell reception.
But you all agree that's too girly, right? lol
Forgot I posted this....thanks for the replies - more girly the better, it is my wife's phone. I'll maybe look at scraping off some of the chrome that's near the antenna and see if it make any difference - she does like the case.
I'm on my second skin for the Pixel from dbrand. I was wondering if anyone else had issues with the corners ? The fitment I'd say for the skin is about 95% accurate. Once you start from the bottom and roll it over slowly it fits for the most part. There are some half millimeter offsets around the sim card tray and buttons, but that's not a huge deal. The issue I have had twice are the corners. My last skin, the top corners had issues. This most recent one, it was one bottom and one top. Some areas almost seem like the skin has to even be stretched ever so slightly to fit. For example, the bottom where you start fits fine, but I had to tug it several times to stretch it to fit the camera 100% perfectly. If I did not it would have been slightly off. The sides are also ever so slightly off and I could not tug it b/c I'd have to set one side down to pull. I speculate the skins are cut 100% accurate, but since it goes on top of the phone, there is some slight shortage. For example, if you made a case for a phone, it may give a bit to fit snug, but when the skin if you just roll it over you'll see it.
Overall it looks fine, I think the first skin I had fit better due to the fabric being more pliable and I'd say both skins came out about 95% and quite frankly its not noticeable unless I point it out., but I was wondering if others ran into the same issue.
I can't even get any now shipped to canada
Yeah I bought one....great stuff but its like you said the corners and around the sim area it's not a perfect fit but its manageable and not too bad...but I also switch between covers and the constant pulling in and out of the phone made the sim area of the skin to peel off and now it just sits there like loose skin.
I have the Le Max 2 X820. It's about 14 months old. Tonight I noticed light seeping from under the screen. It's then that I realized that the screen was separating from the frame.
I powered it off, used very thin tweezers, dipped super glue on the tip of the tweezers, and ran glue along the length of the frame of both the back of the screen and the frame. I then used a flat book to apply pressure to the screen to make the best seal possible. Unfortunately, a glass screen protection won't make a tight seal over the screen now. Everything is working mechanically though with the screen.
Hopefully, it'll hold. Has anyone else had the same issue with the screen separating on the Le Max 2?
Yes. But I doubt your solution to be helpful in the longtherm.
In my case it was the battery pressing the screen out of the frame, because of the cells inside inflating.
Maybe you should be thinking about changing the battery or starting with a battery health check.