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DIY dock using three external charging contacts on bottom of N1.

I'm curious if anyone has a made their own dock that uses the three small charging contacts on the bottom of the N1 instead of using the microUSB port.
So far, I have not seen any 3rd party dock that uses those contact pads. Or maybe someone has figured out a power and/or resistor combination that touches those contact pads and tricks the phone into thinking it's in the Google dock.

Does anyone at least know which two of the three contacts is for 5V and Ground? I don't really care about the one that allows the instant BT sync with the Google dock.

Hi there, I am interested in doing myself as well. I found this on the net, please let me know how you go. I am still waiting for my phone from Google.

tedSmith123 said:
Hi there, I am interested in doing myself as well. I found this on the net, please let me know how you go. I am still waiting for my phone from Google.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's pretty simple if this is the case. I'm a bit concerned about trying it. What's the worst that can happen? I've got a 5V source right here.

So I got out my multimeter and I can at least confirm that the ground labeled in the picture does lead to the ground for the battery. The +5V does not seem to connect though, but it may only connect while ground is connected first. I'm not an electrical engineer or anything close. I think I'll test it out this weekend. Get an old USB cable, cut the one end off, use some test lead and try it. I'll update my finding later.

I would suggest we keep watching this thread. They are already talking about similar docks.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=628094

Just tried it. The diagram above is correct. Phone responds to connection and says "Charging..."
Nice

St.Jimmy! said:
Just tried it. The diagram above is correct. Phone responds to connection and says "Charging..."
Nice
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome, now I'll just have to hope that someone figures how to get the phone tricked into thinking it in the Google dock so that it goes into the clock automatically. I'm hoping it'll be something simple like a resistor, cause that would be easy to wire up. If not, then I'll have to go with my idea of cannibalizing an actual Google dock to make it work.

First let me say I am not trying to be a jerk....but...what would make anyone think that a resistor would be applied to one of the pins as a "signal"? This is 2010 not 1978...signals are digital not analog. I saw 3 pins and instantly knew: power, ground, digital data.
I am only saying this all as a warning to what seems like a growing group of people with no electronics knowledge that think it is a good idea to start jamming voltages through a resistor into a fairly expensive phone...granted it shouldnt hurt anything as long as it is 5v or less...but still.
So be careful and dont break your stuff :-/
Mike

mike105105 said:
First let me say I am not trying to be a jerk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fail, came across very jerk like to me
mike105105 said:
what would make anyone think that a resistor would be applied to one of the pins as a "signal"? This is 2010 not 1978...signals are digital not analog. I saw 3 pins and instantly knew: power, ground, digital data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The ipod/iphone dock connector uses exactly that setup to determine what type of device it's hooked up to. I know it's a dedicated pin and used for nothing else, but that kind of setup is still used to this day. It's simple and it work (KISS=Keep it simple stupid). I'm sure it won't be that simple in the case of the N1, but I did say I hope it's something "like" a resistor, which implies something that is equally as simple.
mike105105 said:
I am only saying this all as a warning to what seems like a growing group of people with no electronics knowledge that think it is a good idea to start jamming voltages through a resistor into a fairly expensive phone...granted it shouldnt hurt anything as long as it is 5v or less...but still.
So be careful and dont break your stuff :-/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If there is someone willing to try something no one else has, then that's their prerogative. Sure the internet has all the info one could ever need to be able to figure out how things work with out ever having to try anything for themselves, but where is the fun in that. I for one learn better by doing than by reading. But I also know my limits. I will be the first person to admit that I don't 1/1000th of the stuff there is to know about electronics and IC's and electrical engineering, etc. I will research and research and research until my eyes can't focus and my brain can't process anymore info because I don't want to brick my nice new phone. I am however willing to try something if it seems relatively safe.
So your warnings are heeded, but please just try to show a little respect for those brave and enterprising individuals who are willing try something just to see how it works. We wouldn't even have the custom software and hardware ROM/MOD scene if it wasn't for those people.

Folx,
I dont recall where, but there is a thread out there, where some1 with a scope collected the waveforms from the 3rd pin. There appears to be some form of (simplified) digital communication that happens between the "official" dock and the N1. Not sure if it is unidirectional or what, but it is a short pulse train, at about 100 Hz or so. May be it's sole purpose it for N1 to recognize the presence of the dock and to initiate BT communication and launch the clock app. Dunno.

Well sorry if I came across like a jerk.
As far as what the ipod dock uses, that sounds backwards just like apple. Today the way to keep it simple is digital communication not analog because all you need is one pin off of a microcontroller with minimal support circuitry.
I am all for people trying to figure things out, I was just trying to point out the danger of doing things without having a more advanced electronics knowledge, I dont think anyone wants to damage a $540 phone and just thought to warn you.
garfnodie said:
Fail, came across very jerk like to me
The ipod/iphone dock connector uses exactly that setup to determine what type of device it's hooked up to. I know it's a dedicated pin and used for nothing else, but that kind of setup is still used to this day. It's simple and it work (KISS=Keep it simple stupid). I'm sure it won't be that simple in the case of the N1, but I did say I hope it's something "like" a resistor, which implies something that is equally as simple.
If there is someone willing to try something no one else has, then that's their prerogative. Sure the internet has all the info one could ever need to be able to figure out how things work with out ever having to try anything for themselves, but where is the fun in that. I for one learn better by doing than by reading. But I also know my limits. I will be the first person to admit that I don't 1/1000th of the stuff there is to know about electronics and IC's and electrical engineering, etc. I will research and research and research until my eyes can't focus and my brain can't process anymore info because I don't want to brick my nice new phone. I am however willing to try something if it seems relatively safe.
So your warnings are heeded, but please just try to show a little respect for those brave and enterprising individuals who are willing try something just to see how it works. We wouldn't even have the custom software and hardware ROM/MOD scene if it wasn't for those people.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

rashid11 said:
Folx,
I dont recall where, but there is a thread out there, where some1 with a scope collected the waveforms from the 3rd pin. There appears to be some form of (simplified) digital communication that happens between the "official" dock and the N1. Not sure if it is unidirectional or what, but it is a short pulse train, at about 100 Hz or so. May be it's sole purpose it for N1 to recognize the presence of the dock and to initiate BT communication and launch the clock app. Dunno.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just searched for 5 minutes and couldn't find it. Could you please try to remember where you saw it? Or any keyword that might pop up?

Dock+Signal did the trick
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=631508

mike105105 said:
Well sorry if I came across like a jerk.
As far as what the ipod dock uses, that sounds backwards just like apple. Today the way to keep it simple is digital communication not analog because all you need is one pin off of a microcontroller with minimal support circuitry.
I am all for people trying to figure things out, I was just trying to point out the danger of doing things without having a more advanced electronics knowledge, I dont think anyone wants to damage a $540 phone and just thought to warn you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would also like to point out that the 5th wire in mini and micro usb cables can be used with a resistor to indicated device presence.
http://pinouts.ru/Devices/mini-USB_pinout.shtml
I will agree though that apple likes to do things backwards. They have a habit of bucking the trends, or making new ones, and even changing old ones to suit their needs.

What about current? What should the current on the +5V input be? Can someone with an original dock measure it?

5v .5a for a slow charge, 5v 1a for a normal charge
(think ebay charger vs htc charger)

Android In-Vehicle Infotainment

So I've had a project for the last few months getting Android running as an infotainment system. Here is a demo i thought i'd share with you guys..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNcDq9S8n3I
Basic features:
Android 2.1 (looking to update to GB)
7inch touch-screen (800x480)
3G modem
GPS
Reverse camera (backup camera to see what's behind you)
USB port
would love to hear some criticism or anything regarding the device.. its not perfect, its got a few bugs and glitches.. but is sort of ready for everyday use but is missing a few components to make it 'official' android device (wifi, bluetooth etc).. but i'm just wondering if anyone is interested in something like this? Is this worth developing further on?
This thing runs on Cortex a8 omap3530 board and is based off 0xdroid build.
apologies if im in the wrong forum

Wow dude, thats really cool! I'd love one of these for my car. If you could get Honeycomb on that bad boy it'd be sweet! Just wondering, how do you plan on setting up a rear view camera? Just connect a camera at the back of the car to the tablet itself, then run the Camera app? Seems like the simplest way to me..

Haha cheers love to see the honeycomb source once its out then we'll talk although I'd imagine i'd need better hardware...
currently camera is interfaced by usb (has a usb hub) so i got a cable running under the carpet through the boot then camera is mounted on the bumper. yup camera is called by any camera calling intent.. so any app can use it.
I want to get some proximity sensors (like parking sensors) and write a proper reverse cam app to complement it. But we'll see...

Very cool!
I've been wanting to do this for a while, but I was going to use MeeGo or maybe Moblin since I don't have the programming skills (or Android knowledge for that matter) to build my own computer around Android. I dig what you got so far though.
My suggestion for the reverse camera is one of two things, because it would bug me to have to find and open the camera app every time I needed to back up.
Keep your touchscreen (what model are you using BTW?) and use a bluetooth or wi-fi relay (I know they make 'em, but they are $$$) to provide an input from +12V signal from your reverse light wire to automatically open the camera app, then close the app. Of course, you'd have to program for that.
Or
Have you considered this touch screen? Lilliput 7" touch screen with auto-reverse input. (Needs a RCA camera though)
http://store.mp3car.com/Lilliput_629GL_70NP_C_T_7_VGA_Touchscreen_w_Aut_p/MON-016-0002.htm
This is the one I plan on using since it switches automatically to the camera input whenever you are in reverse. Once you go back to any other gear, the OS input shows up again.
Just a thought to make life a little more convenient (although you already bought your parts so you may be stuck.)

chjade84 said:
Very cool!
I've been wanting to do this for a while, but I was going to use MeeGo or maybe Moblin since I don't have the programming skills (or Android knowledge for that matter) to build my own computer around Android. I dig what you got so far though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot! It needs a lot of time and dedication but it's a real good learning curve. I had to learn a lot of things on the way.. especially c/c++ I wasn't great at but had decent skills with higher level programming.
If you are planning to work with MeeGo its a little fussy with the hardware requirements.. Correct me if i'm wrong, but I think you need an Intel Atom processor. These are a little pricey if you're after an evaluation/hackable kit! But I'd imagine it'll be easier to program as it's a lot more closey coupled with linux.
chjade84 said:
My suggestion for the reverse camera is one of two things, because it would bug me to have to find and open the camera app every time I needed to back up.
Keep your touchscreen (what model are you using BTW?) and use a bluetooth or wi-fi relay (I know they make 'em, but they are $$$) to provide an input from +12V signal from your reverse light wire to automatically open the camera app, then close the app. Of course, you'd have to program for that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just had a look at those relays, sounds like its something I really need! Is this how the standard backup cameras work? That was something I was confused about.. I wasn't sure how to detect if i'm on reverse.. especially with the parts I already had. I'd imagine once you implement it you just need a service running in the background to listen for the relay.
The touchscreen is a TFT resistive 4wire touch-screen. It's not something I want to keep as I really want capacitive multi-touch.. But this fits perfectly with the board and was easier to deal with
chjade84 said:
Or
Have you considered this touch screen? Lilliput 7" touch screen with auto-reverse input. (Needs a RCA camera though)
http://store.mp3car.com/Lilliput_629GL_70NP_C_T_7_VGA_Touchscreen_w_Aut_p/MON-016-0002.htm
This is the one I plan on using since it switches automatically to the camera input whenever you are in reverse. Once you go back to any other gear, the OS input shows up again.
Just a thought to make life a little more convenient (although you already bought your parts so you may be stuck.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice find! I wish I saw that earlier .. Quite pricey but would make life so much easierrrrr!
Cheers for the feedback! Best of luck for your project!

tknz said:
I just had a look at those relays, sounds like its something I really need! Is this how the standard backup cameras work? That was something I was confused about.. I wasn't sure how to detect if i'm on reverse.. especially with the parts I already had. I'd imagine once you implement it you just need a service running in the background to listen for the relay.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think most factory backup cameras use two inputs and switch between them. I don't have a lot of experience with them though.

chjade84 said:
I think most factory backup cameras use two inputs and switch between them. I don't have a lot of experience with them though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure what you mean exactly. I'll try the relays because it at-least gives me a standard interface to work with (bluetooth or wifi) so there isn't any work you have to deal with on the hardware abstraction.. Although it would probably be better designed if I had some sort of voltage input coming when the vehicle on reverse (the reverse light as mentioned). But I don't really have the electrical expertise to make it happen lol.

tknz said:
Not sure what you mean exactly. I'll try the relays because it at-least gives me a standard interface to work with (bluetooth or wifi) so there isn't any work you have to deal with on the hardware abstraction.. Although it would probably be better designed if I had some sort of voltage input coming when the vehicle on reverse (the reverse light as mentioned). But I don't really have the electrical expertise to make it happen lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well essentially what I was thinking was you'd have the bluetooth relay hooked up to your reverse light wire. This should allow your computer to monitor whether or not your car was in reverse. Relays are pretty simple - one input switches on/off another, usually one of a much higher or lower voltage. So in essence, it's a switch activated by voltage. (There used to be an electromagnet inside that physically moves a piece of metal to make a connection when a voltage is applied - now it's all transistors and whatnot.)
So, if you are in reverse and your reverse lights are getting power, the bluetooth relay should sense that and signal the computer (through a serial command it seems) which in turn could tell a background service to open the camera app. Once the voltage from the reverse light wire is lost, the relay should again tell the computer that you aren't in reverse anymore and the background service would close the camera app and re-open whatever app you were in.
*I should note this is all "in theory"... I don't know exactly how those wireless relays work/communicate and I don't know Android programming at all.

Thanks for the feedback. I was thinking what about using the GPIOs on the board and attach that to the reverse light? would that be possible? and using some resistors on the way to limit the voltages so i don't fry the board.. but we just need to detect some voltage input...
Not sure, will look into it. Right now, taking a pause on the development.. Got a lot of work to take care of but I can't wait to get back into it. I really want to port this to gingerbread.

tknz said:
Thanks for the feedback. I was thinking what about using the GPIOs on the board and attach that to the reverse light? would that be possible? and using some resistors on the way to limit the voltages so i don't fry the board.. but we just need to detect some voltage input...
Not sure, will look into it. Right now, taking a pause on the development.. Got a lot of work to take care of but I can't wait to get back into it. I really want to port this to gingerbread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could possibly do that, a real cheap voltage regulator would probably be better though. You could also use a cheap relay if the correct voltage is already somewhere on the car. Again, I'm not too sure how those bluetooth relays work, but it sounds like you are on the right track.

Great Job!
I was thinking of doing something similar myself.
I am looking at going with one of the tablets as it is just seems easier? I only really need internet, google maps(GPS) and wifi tethering. I would imagine you are running stereo sound from a 3.5mm? I would still have a seperate head unit to control volume and handle all the regular functions as well as inputs from a 3.5 to RCA cable.
How are you running sound off that setup? Are you running a head unit still?

The sound is running off a small amplifier. then RCA to 3.5mm.
Haven't had the chance to play around with the wifi tether as right now i don't have a wifi card.. It would make sense to have wifi tethering or just wifi reciever and use a phone to tether 3g to the system. Avoids having separate data plans.

Can we get a copy of your "AIVI Car Home" for our own DIY projects?

I don't mind releasing the source for it. Its just right now its a bit messy and quite a few things are hardcoded.

tknz said:
So I've had a project for the last few months getting Android running as an infotainment system. Here is a demo i thought i'd share with you guys..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice project. I gutted a Clarion Mind last year to do pretty much the same thing but am looking to upgrade. You said the software needs work but it's a real good start. Would you mind sharing your hardware list with us?

Nice work!

Something I was also interested in seeing is having vehicle manufacturer recommended service intervals and such available as reminders from your in car system or phone or both.

Stu_Gotti said:
Something I was also interested in seeing is having vehicle manufacturer recommended service intervals and such available as reminders from your in car system or phone or both.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could use 'aCar' which, if you are unfamiliar, you enter the make, model, mileage and all the pertinent service requirements. Battery every 3 years or 50,000 miles, coolant every year or 15,000 miles, oil every 6 months or 3,000 miles, etc. Then, every time you get gas you enter the current mileage as well as gallons/liters of fuel and the price. From that information you not only get your MPG but it will also trigger reminders to do the necessary maintenance at the correct intervals when they come up. You can do this for multiple cars as well. It's a very good program.
On a related note to this thread, I started my own 'carputer' project using an Archos 70 Internet Tablet and an unused articulating wall mount for TVs. It's still a work in progress as well since I don't have all the parts yet but will do everything I wanted (eventually... lol) except the rear facing camera. The video is obviously just of the media player.
I shot this late last night to show a friend. He wanted to know why someone would want a tablet/computer in their car, lol. Sorry about it being so dark.

Dude
I am keen as mustard on one of these beauties, I was considering running xp MCE but the android option would be much nicer..
Love ya work.

tknz said:
I don't mind releasing the source for it. Its just right now its a bit messy and quite a few things are hardcoded.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please do. Would love to play with it. No matter how clean the code is it's just gonna get better...
thanks for showing it..

[Q] Hardware Radio Issues with Nexus 5

I got a Nexus 5 off a friend for a decent price because he dropped it and bent it up a bit. After giving it a quick look, the only thing that seemed damaged was the black little coax wire that connects the main board to the board on the bottom (Assuming it goes to the antenna), The end simply got bent off. This was an easy fix, replace the cable no worries. The real problem is when I went to go test the phone after I fixed the cable, it doesn't get any cellular signal (Wifi/BT still works), draws a crazy amount of power and the 'Qualcomm WTR1605L' chip specifically gets extremely hot, to the point of overheating in like 30 mins. Rather than tossing a bunch of money into replacement components (or getting another nexus 5 with a bad screen or something) I'd prefer to narrow down the problem to one specific component. This leads to my question:
Does anybody have any ideas to how I can further troubleshoot and diagnose this problem, or knows what the problem exactly is?
I have tried a few things, like if I flash the LG G2 radio (A trick I learned I could do with my Nexus 4/LGOG, after backing up my EFS just in case), Wifi and Bluetooth still work while Cellular, GPS and most of the other sensors do not. This stops the big power draw and overheating issue, but doesn't really do anything to further identify the problem component. I noticed that the modem image could be mounted as vfat and you can mess around with the various parts of the image. I don't know which files do what, so I have thus far left it alone.
I know this seems like an odd question to ask here, half the time I see responses like "Send it into Google/LG and have them fix it for you" but that isn't really applicable in my situation
Also, I know that my SIM is good, it works in my Nexus 4, I know that my ROM isn't a issue, because I have multirom installed and tried many different roms. The Radio image shouldn't be an issue because I had updated the phone from 4.4 to 4.4.4/L Preview since I got it (Using the google images and flashall script). IMEI/Whatever the ESN equivalent shouldn't be bad, my friend had been using it before he dropped it.
Thanks in advanced for any ideas, and sorry for the long and comprehensive almost to a fault thread.

dtalley11 said:
After giving it a quick look, the only thing that seemed damaged was the black little coax wire that connects the main board to the board on the bottom (Assuming it goes to the antenna), The end simply got bent off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dropping a phone can sometimes cause invisible damage (like BGA solder joints failing). Visual inspection can only tell you so much.
dtalley11 said:
This was an easy fix, replace the cable no worries. The real problem is when I went to go test the phone after I fixed the cable, it doesn't get any cellular signal (Wifi/BT still works), draws a crazy amount of power and the 'Qualcomm WTR1605L' chip specifically gets extremely hot, to the point of overheating in like 30 mins.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used to build small electronic projects when I was a kid. When something overheated like that, 90% of the time it was a short or a the wrong value of component. It's possible the drop caused the antenna connector to short out. Try disconnecting the antenna cable and try again with the stock radio firmware and see if the radio continues to overheat.
(I'm not sure how flashing the radio would prevent overheating, unless the original firmware simply turned up the transmit power in an effort to contact the tower, but that's my first guess and should an easy thing to eliminate).

ScottyPcGuy_03 said:
I used to build small electronic projects when I was a kid. When something overheated like that, 90% of the time it was a short or a the wrong value of component. It's possible the drop caused the antenna connector to short out. Try disconnecting the antenna cable and try again with the stock radio firmware and see if the radio continues to overheat.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for replying! When I get home I will give it a shot and see if it still overheats, then update this with my findings.

If it is overheating then it must hardware issue. Worst case is that the PBC board has a crack somewhere because of the bent. Grab the service manual from the general forum and start mesuring the components to find out where is the problem.

bitdomo said:
If it is overheating then it must hardware issue. Worst case is that the PBC board has a crack somewhere because of the bent. Grab the service manual from the general forum and start mesuring the components to find out where is the problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, thanks. Something like that should be a sticky. For future reference/making sure we're on the same page, I found the thread here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/google-nexus-5/general/service-manual-d821-t2791303

dtalley11 said:
Ah, thanks. Something like that should be a sticky. For future reference/making sure we're on the same page, I found the thread here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/google-nexus-5/general/service-manual-d821-t2791303
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes that is it.

ScottyPcGuy_03 said:
I used to build small electronic projects when I was a kid. When something overheated like that, 90% of the time it was a short or a the wrong value of component. It's possible the drop caused the antenna connector to short out. Try disconnecting the antenna cable and try again with the stock radio firmware and see if the radio continues to overheat.
(I'm not sure how flashing the radio would prevent overheating, unless the original firmware simply turned up the transmit power in an effort to contact the tower, but that's my first guess and should an easy thing to eliminate).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems to overheat with our without the antenna cables on the stock radio. I noticed that it still gets warmer than it should with the G2 radio, it just takes a lot longer.
That service manual is really comprehensive but unfortunately, it is going to take me some time to actually get to looking it over closely.

[Q&A] WiFi stuck on turning on; MAC 02:00:00:00:00:00; G2 G3 G4 G5 Nexus5 Nexus 7 etc

[Q&A] WiFi stuck on turning on; MAC 02:00:00:00:00:00; G2 G3 G4 G5 Nexus5 Nexus 7 etc
Hi!
If you are reading this now, you are probably one of the unlucky fellows who's WiFi (and Bluetooth) stopped functioning, and if so, you are probably deperately searching for a solution/fix. I might have something for you, but first:
*** DISCLAIMER/WARNING ***
You yourself are exclusively responsible for whatever may (or may not) happen to your mobile device, to yourself or others. I am only giving hints/advices here that *MAY* help, but I will not take any responsability, nor will I provide any support, in absolutely *ANY CASE*, including, but not limited to: your problem not being solved or/and your mobile device becoming partially or completely broken. Let me be very clear: If you do anything to your device rendering it useless, destroying it, seriously or fataly injuring you or others, and then come blaming me or/and cry for help, I will point my index finger at you and laugh at you. Period.
If you are a impatient person and want to get straight to the point, jump right to section 6.
Table of Contents
0. Foreword
1. Description of the problem
2. Urgent advice
3. Things that didn't work
4. There is little hope
5. My most obvious advice
6. LET'S GET SERIOUS!
6.a Sellotape / Scotch tape
6.b Refrigerator / Freezer
6.c Oven
0. Foreword
Two or three months ago, one fine morning, the WiFi/BT of my LG G2 suddenly stopped working. Initially I thought this would be only one stupid annoying minor thingy, that I’d be able to solve it fast. I was wrong.
1. Description of the problem
When turning on the WiFi, it would just stay in "Turning on..." forever. Similar thing for Bluetooth: It would stay on for a few seconds and then turn itself off again after. (But then, who needs Bluetooth anyway, WiFi ist probably 100 times more important...). I have thoroughly searched the internet, and I found quite some videos with exactly the same problem (remove the two blanks from the links to watch):
h ttps://w ww.youtube.com/watch?v=fRGnQz1zUmw
h ttps://w ww.youtube.com/watch?v=4W8YJMDFM88
h ttp://w ww.dailymotion.com/video/x2cuyjt_nexus-5-turning-wifi-on-frozen-problem_tech
2. Urgent advice
I want to prevent you from wasting countless hours searching for a solution - I wasted so much of my time already, no need for you to repeat that. Therefore: *Please* be aware that there is a VERY HIGH PROBABILITY that this issue is being caused by a hardware defect. I can not speak for all devices of course, but keep in mind that the main reason I wasted so much time, was me beliving it was some software issue! See the next section for a glimpse of stuff I have tried without any success:
3. Things that *DIDN'T* work
01. Restarting WiFi/Bluetooth several times
02. Rebooting the phone
03. Turning airplane mode on/off several times
04. Slapping/hitting the phone (this was indeed suggested in a forum)
05. Using WiFi-Fixer apps
06. Resetting to factory settings
07. Upgrading to newest Android version
08. Fully drained the battery and left it uncharged for several hours
(Rooted the phone)
09. Deleting the /data/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf
10. Deleting the whole /data/misc/wifi folder
11. Creating a file named ".bdaddr" in /persist/bluetooth containing a MAC-Address in hexadecimal format
12. Creating a file named ".macaddr" in /persist/wifi containing a MAC-Address in hexadecimal format
13. Flashing several custom ROMs to it (CyanogenMod, ParanoidAndroid, ...)
14. Going back to stock ROM
15. etc. etc. etc.
16. Several combinations and permutations of the above
4. There is little hope
Again, as the cause of the problem is most likely a hardware issue, I don't recommend going through all the steps as described in the previous section; however, though none of the steps worked for me, this doesn't mean that none won't work for you neither; you might be luckier than I was. In that case, enjoy your restored WiFi and be happy.
5. My most obvious advice
You need to replace the motherboard (main board) of your device.
Honestly, if you can afford it and it doesn't cause too many inconveniences to you, you'll be better off by simply buying a new device. If you don't want to buy a new device, send it in for repairs. If you don't want to do that as well, you'll have to fallback to a DIY solution:
I. Buy a new main board for your device. Be careful to get exactly the right component for your specific model. If you dont find any shop selling those, there are plenty of individuals out there that own devices with broken displays. You dont need the displays, you need the motherboard. Buy one such broken device, and you'll have your main board replacement.
II. Replace your main board or let someone else do it for you
Continues below.

continuation
6. LET'S GET SERIOUS!
If you are reading this, you either didn't read or you decided not to follow my most obvious advice in section 5. So be it. If you want to carry on from here, be sure to re-read my disclaimer at the top of my post.
There are 3 DIY possible fixes for the WiFi problem - none is guaranteed. I will describe them from the most harmless to the most kamikaze/deadliest. All of them will require you to open your device; if you are not careful and damage any of the components inside, you will end up with a worse device than before - but hey, don't say I didn't warn you.
At this point we assume that the cause of the problem is a faulty solder joint of your WiFi IC. The goal is to try to restore that solder joint. To do that, you will have to:
I. Open your device
II. Find your main board and separate it from all connected plugs
III. Find / identify the WiFi IC chip on the main board. I recommend searching for a service manual for your device, or/and searching for a disassembly video for your device; you need to know which one of the chips on the main board is the WiFi one.
Once you have identified your WiFi chip, you have 3 options, which you may combine with each other, but I recommend to try them out one-by-one as follows:
6.a Sellotape / Scotch tape
You need to make sure that your WiFi chip is pressed against the main board (ideally, this ensures the broken contacts touch each other, solving the problem). The best way to achieve this, is to attach a series of tape strips on the top of the WiFi chip, causing it to be pressed against the main board by the surrounding cover/hull once you reassemble/close the device. The tape strips are just a suggestion, do whatever you find convenient as long as you ensure that the chip is pushed against the board at all times.
This method may solve the WiFi problem already. When you turn your device back on, give it some time (5-10 minutes) and reboot it a few times if the problem still persists. My own WiFi didn't function right away, but after a while it finally recovered - hurray!
6.b Refrigerator / Freezer
Instead of using the tape as described in 6.a, you may first try to put your motherboard in a fridge for a few hours/days. But make sure to put it there in a plastic bag, and avoid moisture as much as you can, specially when taking it out of the fridge. Make sure its completely dry before reassembling your device!
By the way, try the refrigerator option BEFORE you try the freezer option!
6.c Oven
If everything else fails, the oven might be your last chance. This is not a joke, but as you probably can assume, it is "All-In" i.e. highly risky. The theory behind this is that high temperature will cause defective solder joints to reflow, reconnecting and thus fixing the problem.
You should only try this as a matter of last ressort. Be warned that you may fully destroy your main board, and there is a high chance that you will. Also, you may cause serious injury to yourself or others. Make sure you make backups of your data first. DO NOT BAKE THE WHOLE DEVICE, ONLY THE MAIN BOARD. DO NOT BAKE THE BATTERY!!
If you are still reading:
I. pre-heat your oven to 385° Fahrenheit (196° Celsius)
II. put your main board in the oven, bake it there for 7 minutes
III. remove from the oven, let it cool down until every component of the board has room temperature
Finally, here is a video of a guy doing a similar thing, but with a heat gun:
h ttps://w ww.youtube.com/watch?v=A4n0j3uaS7E
Ok, this is all, I hope I could help you.
Good luck!

Summary
Hello all,
first of all, I want to thank brysclar and xbing6 for their valuable feedback! Thanks a lot guys! :good:
Now, in an effort to update this thread and in an effort of trying to summarize it in fewer words (my disclaimer above applies!):
- The described problem seems to affect mainly (all kinds of) LG devices
- The issue seems to be caused by a defective soldering of the Wi-Fi chip on the main board
- The defect seems to be induced by dropping or/and overheating the device; recharging the battery, big/long app or android updates or the flashing of custom roms could cause excessive heating
- brysclar pointed out that replacing the battery might solve the problem (I haven't tried this out myself, so I can neither deny nor confirm this)
- My recommended solution is 6.a - applying pressure on the Wi-Fi chip, pushing it against the main board, using tape stripes
- There is a video of a brasilean guy doing some similar, but using pieces of an old credit card instead of tape strips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJkdva2iOag BUT PLEASE NOTE THAT HE IS APPLYING THE PRESSURE ON A RANDOM SPOT, NOT DIRECTLY TO THE WIFI CHIP! It *may* work for you, but if it doesn't, find/identify your Wi-Fi chip and apply the pressure there
- If everything else fails, and only as a matter of last ressort, you may try what I have written in 6.c
So... this thread has over 500 views, but not one single reply.
Guys... what has your experience been? Have you tried anything out from the posts above, and if so, what was the result? Did it help you? Do you recommend anything? Has something else, not written here, worked for you?
There are a lot of people out there having the same problem. It would be great if you could give any feedback, share anything that helps the community.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I honestly didn't see this post before. You really covered every detail very well. So far, returning my G3 to stock and replacing the battery has fixed it for me. Weird. I know. I did try 90% of the things on your "things that don't work" list and you are correct. They don't work.

wlanmac 02/00/00/00/00, Bluetooth is OK

Hey, i just got an LG LS990 with same Wifi issue and i'm ready to try so WITNESS ME!
Thanks for an amazing and detailed post lml

Simply awesome.
I have similar issue with my Nexus 5x. It is QCA6174 hw 3.2 chip, lspci does not detect this chip any more. I am going to do a little bit investigation from device driver (cnss) perspective. It enables one GPIO to provide power to this WiFi chip, I will try read back this GPIO status to see if it is enabled. I do not have the schematics, I do not know how to check if power is supplied to this wifi chip.
lspci used to show below:
$ ./lspci
00:00.0 PCI bridge: Airgo Networks Inc Device 0300 (rev ff)
01:00.0 Network controller: Atheros Communications Inc. Device 003e (rev ff) (this is qca6174)
If kernel driver investigation does not reveal anything helpful, I will ask other guys to replace the chip.
I thought it is because of vendor partition is accidentally wiped out, maybe it is unlikely.
---------- Post added at 08:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:40 PM ----------
As Bluetooth can not be turned either, I am tending to think this is hardware related as well. As described previously, I will see if I can check that gpio status.

investigating
xbing6 said:
I have similar issue with my Nexus 5x.
(...)
I am going to do a little bit investigation
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi xbing, and thank you for your feedback! :good:
I am really curious and looking forward to hear the results of your investigation! I believe that in your case, too, the Wi-Fi/BT chip is not being supplied correctly due to a defective soldering. Note that I don't think that the chip itself is defective, only the contacts between the chip and the main board. So, before replacing the chip, I'd recommend to first try what I've written in 6.a (or check my update/summary above).
Keep us posted about everything you find out!

Sprint declined to fix my LS990 due to "water damage" being the reason for it not working, and wanted to charge me a $150 deductible for a $100 phone. Shimming the WiFi chip against the metal covering with some thermal pad I had lying around and adding a bit of sticky foam on top of the ribbon cable for the camera worked great! Much thanks!

Tomcat5 said:
Sprint declined to fix my LS990 due to "water damage" being the reason for it not working, and wanted to charge me a $150 deductible for a $100 phone. Shimming the WiFi chip against the metal covering with some thermal pad I had lying around and adding a bit of sticky foam on top of the ribbon cable for the camera worked great! Much thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any idea if thermal paste/grease could work?

unlikely
NavHur said:
Any idea if thermal paste/grease could work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi NavHur,
since the problem is mostly caused by a loose Wi-Fi chip, respectively a defective solder joint, using thermal paste or grease is unlikely to help; again, what you need to do is to have your Wi-Fi chip pushed against your main board. You can use your imagination on how to accomplish this; what Tomcat5 described he did ultimately led to exactly having his chip being pressed against the board.
Of course you are free to try whatever you want - if you find new solutions please post some feedback.
Good luck.

NimbleWeasel said:
Hi NavHur,
since the problem is mostly caused by a loose Wi-Fi chip, respectively a defective solder joint, using thermal paste or grease is unlikely to help; again, what you need to do is to have your Wi-Fi chip pushed against your main board. You can use your imagination on how to accomplish this; what Tomcat5 described he did ultimately led to exactly having his chip being pressed against the board.
Of course you are free to try whatever you want - if you find new solutions please post some feedback.
Good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks you so much, I placed a small piece of plastic above the wifi chip and one next to the camera lens. Now the wifi works fine. However my screen was pushed up so it bended a little. The faulty thing was my battery, not the added plastic. I compared mine with the one of a friend, mine was 1 mm bigger. (also with the battery of my friend's g3 the screen was fine)
I'll be changing it soon.

same problem as u but sometimes wifi works(mainly fully charged) and sometimes dont
i have lg g2 D802 model. It had a wifi problem as u shown in your videos,my phone also behaves same like yours but sometimes it works normally like while charging,works like 2 or 3 times a day(for 5-10 min).please tell me whether my phone got ic problem or software issue

Pratap94 said:
i have lg g2 D802 model. It had a wifi problem as u shown in your videos,my phone also behaves same like yours but sometimes it works normally like while charging,works like 2 or 3 times a day(for 5-10 min).please tell me whether my phone got ic problem or software issue
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Pratap94,
nobody, neither here in this forum nor elsewhere in the internet, will be able to give you a reliable answer without having a *physical* look at your phone. Nobody.
However, I can give you my opinion, based on the stuff you wrote: The fact that it works normally sometimes, specially while charging (probably it heats up in the process?), indeed seems to indicate a hardware issue. I believe you have a loose Wi-Fi chip i.e. a defective solder joint, like I had on my LG G2 D802 as well. I solved my problem by doing the stuff I described in 6.a.
Good luck.

Thank you so much
NimbleWeasel said:
Hello all,
first of all, I want to thank brysclar and xbing6 for their valuable feedback! Thanks a lot guys! :good:
Problem solved good bless you!! the problem is fix in that youtube video XD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Sadly step 6.a did not help me. Well, it worked for first 5-10 minutes and then back again.

Olzhas18 said:
Sadly step 6.a did not help me. Well, it worked for first 5-10 minutes and then back again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Olzhas18,
that might be an indication that your WiFi chip is still a bit loose and is not sitting tight enough on the main board. On LG G2, it is difficult to push the chip against the board because it's covered by a metal cover...
Also, did you check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJkdva2iOag ?
Good luck!

NimbleWeasel said:
Hi Olzhas18,
that might be an indication that your WiFi chip is still a bit loose and is not sitting tight enough on the main board. On LG G2, it is difficult to push the chip against the board because it's covered by a metal cover...
Also, did you check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJkdva2iOag ?
Good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you this tip and this whole thread. I have seen this video, but still the same effect. 5-10 minutes, I can rean some news and back to flashing. I'm going to buy Huawei Honor 8 soon, it was the last chance to recover my G4. I doubt I will purchase any other phone from LG.

Same boat
But bluetooth working
In cm roms also wifi tethring can be onn
But u cnt turn onn wifi

I had the same issue, can't turn on Wifi after factory reset.
I turn off my device off after one hour and reboot wifi was OK but when I want to upgrade some apps iwifi turn of again and my phone reboot with no SIM card.
I do "6.a Sellotape / Scotch tape" + a creedit card cut with this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_0jzp65eLY#t=73.319872
My LG G2 works fine

What,Why,and how can I tinkier with them

Ive noticed on many hand sets that Ive acquired over the years that there are what seem to be coaxialstyle or perhaps better described as ULF modules or connection points(like the ULF connectors that connect your antenna to your wifi card on your laptop) under the back cover near the battery some even have disguising rubber plugs inserted over them to cover the connector. theey are about a millimeter squares with small female type cylinder connectors that stick up with an insulative ring around the in side leaving a small point in the center where a pin would complete the connection. If anyone knows what these connection ports are, how they are used, what they are used for please do explain. Again if youve ever popped the ULF (Antenna) connectors off of the wifi card of your laptop youll have a good idea of what I'm talking about. This topic has intrigued me for years but I never dug into it. Ive got a couple older model phones that im tinkering with the Hardware on and figured I poll the audience so we can all benefit from a little more knowledge about our handsets. Developers thank you for all your hard work, Im learning, and hope to be able to contribute soon. For now Ill just stick to explaining that a root method or custom recovery/rom for a device depends greatly on the Version, region, OS and OS version and not just the model, and probably alot more. Anyway If anyone has some insight into this hardware query Id appreciate it, In the mean time I'll keep digging. Thanks every one