Case that does not block GPS? - Desire HD Accessories

I'm after a case that will not interfere with GPS activity. I'm currently using 'case-mate pop' and after some tests it severely hinders GPS signal. I've read that 'barely there' case in silver has a lot of problems but what about in different colours?
I was also interested in the 'case-mate tough' but it looks like that has the same issues as the pop case blocking the signal.

I had a pop and now a tough. Have you got a rooted DHD? try the app called Fasterfix and set it to your location pool. You shouldn't have any problems then.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

ToneyEricsson said:
I had a pop and now a tough. Have you got a rooted DHD? try the app called Fasterfix and set it to your location pool. You shouldn't have any problems then.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
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Click to collapse
Did you notice any difference with GPS from pop to tough?

The Specimen said:
Did you notice any difference with GPS from pop to tough?
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Click to collapse
Would like to know that too

follow this guide and you will get improved gps even with a case. i did this and get a fix in 2 seconds in the car using co pilot.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1266525

I have a CaseMate Pop (silver) & Tough:
Pop - beautiful, but indeed blocks the GPS signal badly. DON'T buy one, other colours appear OK, tbh.
Tough - excellent case, been on the phone a year now, looks like day 1. Would recommend this.
HOWEVER, there is also a bit of a loss of signal. I did a test in the top floor of my house, and the Pop blocked almost all of the signal, and the Tough blocked just a little bit, compared to the naked phone.
I don't consider it to be a significant loss with the Tough case, I have the case on all the time, stick it in my bag & go mountainbiking for hours, and the track is always well recorded. Equally in the car, the satnav works perfectly.

breakbystealth said:
follow this guide and you will get improved gps even with a case. i did this and get a fix in 2 seconds in the car using co pilot.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1266525
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
works, thanks m8

I have an Otter Box Commuter case for my Desire HD, and it doesn't appear to block any kind of GPS signal that I can speak of. I am rooted and am running the latest Android Revolution HD as my current software on the phone, so I can't speak about stock GPS connectivity.

I too have an Otterbox Commuter case and it doesn't block the GPS signal at all.
Matt

Don't use a case when using GPS, the phones in the cradle on the HTC car kit, can't imagine using GPS elsewhere tbh
Otterbox commuter user here

The Specimen said:
Did you notice any difference with GPS from pop to tough?
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Click to collapse
In honesty I haven't noticed any difference with GPS with any of them cases GPS works the same.
Sent from my Desire HD using xda premium

I have beautiful silver Case-Mate Pop and I can say that it kills GPS on my DHD.

Bought this case, didn't notice any GPS troubles.

I bought this the other day, arrived today and thankfully no GPS problem.

I have just bought a case-mate barely there (black). No problem with GPS.
Sent from my HTC Desire HD A9191 using XDA App

A thin layer of plastic/rubber does not degrade signal enough to have any noticeable impact (not even half full db).
Shiny cases that sparkle have a very slight impact due to metal flake in the silicone/plastic/paint that makes it its sparkly/metalic color.
- The Fight Against Mis-information

The GPS from DHD is generally not so good. I'm geocacher and had many trouble with it. I recommend you an external bluetooth gps receiver, that's a very good, precise and powerfull solution, which also at very bad conditions works.

komigo said:
I have just bought a case-mate barely there (black). No problem with GPS.
Sent from my HTC Desire HD A9191 using XDA App
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I can confirm that GPS works fine with this case.

I've use google maps navigation for the last two days.
Normally gps and even the normal location thing (i guess that's agps?) are turned off.
When i turn on both and then start a navigation in google maps i get a gps lock within 5 seconds.
I did install some "gps fix" from this subforum (don't remember which one) but i haven't modified the hardware for the 5 second lock!
/edit:
okay so i forgot to mention: i'm using the otterbox commuter.....no problem with gps at all!

well, I use silicon case on my Inspire 4G and I suspected it is the reason for poor GPS performances. but then, i followed all possible threads from this forum related to Inspire 4G GPS issues and got my GPS to work. so I recommend silicon case, best choice there is for phone case

Related

[Q] Casemate Tough GPS issues - Where is my antenna situated

Hi Guys,
Got myself a Casemate Tough. Brilliant case & I love the feel of it. Makes holding the phone so much more easier. I always felt without the case I was going to let the HD slip
Anyways, as with some people I have noticed a real drop in GPS signal with the silicone part on. The hard back makes no difference. Without case I have maybe 20ft error, with the case this can rise to over 200ft error & it maybe loses half the sats.
I have read the reviews on the Tough & Pop, but must say I prefer my Tough.
My question is, does anyone know where the GPS antenna is situated in the phone. I am just going to take a stanley blade & trim some silicone out around the affected area. It appears to be mid to low down, but I want to remove as little as possible from my case.
Any gurus out there had one of these in pieces yet.
Cheers guys, Shane
I don't know where the GPS part is located but I have also a case-mate case and I have no problems to get GPS signal.
But I read that some people have the same problem with the metalic case.
Hi lilil
It is strange.
How long have you had your case. I wonder if it is a manufacturing date change or something equally weird.
Cheers, Shane
I have a case mate pop on my DHD since 3 months and no problems with gps signal strong and fast as ever...really weird problem!
Hi Guys,
I have just ordered a case mate Pop tonight, so I will see what that is like when it arrives.
Cheers, Shane
my casemate pop doesnt seem to have issues though.. I read that the gps is at the top of the phone too!
Glad you like the Tough case its my favourite case also.
Can't say I have noticed any issues with location, its dead on where I am and the case mate Tough is always on my phone.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
I was using this case before switching to the Otterbox commuter. As far as I remember I did not have any GPS problems with the Tough. I read that the GPS receiver is behind the rubbery part around the flash LED.
This is very weird. I have the Tough and I also have a great drop in signal with it on. Is it possible that the firmware version of the phone might have something to do with it?
Removing my case increases a faster gps fix.
Although the newest leaked radio does a great job too.
The gps antenna is situated at the bottom, I read somewhere
Doctor.Who said:
Although the newest leaked radio does a great job too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you be a bit more specific, please - a link would be even better Also, how's the battery life on that radio? Any difference?
el_commandante said:
Could you be a bit more specific, please - a link would be even better Also, how's the battery life on that radio? Any difference?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
04th April 2011: Radio_12.48.60.23U_26.08.04.07_M3
http://www.multiupload.com/LMGHQ26L1R
batterylife is a bit better in my experience
For info......
The GPS antenna is on the back of the SIM/Sdcard cover, remove the cover and you'll see it.
As for the radio, I agree with the above, Radio 12.48.60.23U_26.08.04.07_M3 is for me the best radio I've tested both for signal and battery life. Be aware though that different radios perform differently for different people and is dependant on location (country), carrier, etc. Try different radios to see which works best for you.
Hello,
just for infomration a solve doubts the GPS is in the backside of the Flash Leds.
Look this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfatoeWbMRk
Thanks
Gps antenna is under the flash cover.
I have a tough case, and yeah i realise that in certain places, my positioning is way off. But here in Trinidad GPS has no real functionality (sucky EDGE network), so not a big deal for me.

Speck candyshell cases kill GPS signal

If you are going nuts because of a problem with your GPS signal, make sure you remove the candyshell case because it masks the antenna. Inside with no case when I try to get the first fix, I can get 8 satellites in view with GPS test. It isn't enough that AT&T has to throttle your speed; they also have to kill your GPS.
Wow, I have a hard rubber /placstic two piece case from best buy and I have had the hardest time locking into GPS. In the car it can be very glitchy at times. Inside no signal at all. I started the gps test app and had case off and got perfect gps signal. Keeping phone in the exact same location I slowly slid on the case without touching the phone and it indeed killed my gps to no signal at all and did not recover. This was inside also. With the case on it must be perfectly placed in the window to get decent reception. That sucks. I hate taking my case on and off
I was wondering what the deal was. My buddy has a moto droid of some type from verizon. He was in the back seat of the car today and he has some case from verizon, I want to say its rubber or silicone and he was getting instant perfect gps fix while mine was struggling.
I have speck candyshell case and do not have this problem. takes at most 5 seconds to get signal.
This seems to be a problem after you flash a rom and are trying to get the first fix after reboot. Once you get the first fix, it works ok with the case on. So my advice is: for the first fix, take the case off. And if you have a case and you feel like you are getting substandard gps signal, try it with the case off and see.
simulatordos said:
This seems to be a problem after you flash a rom and are trying to get the first fix after reboot. Once you get the first fix, it works ok with the case on. So my advice is: for the first fix, take the case off. And if you have a case and you feel like you are getting substandard gps signal, try it with the case off and see.
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Click to collapse
For me it lasts after the first fix. Even after it has built a cache of all the satellites it stil give issues with the case on trying to get a fix in the car sometimes.
Same here. This is starting to feel like the Captivate. GPS on this phone is definitely flakey with or without a case, though that Speck case seems to make the issue worse.
I've already exchanged the original. The second one worked flawlessly for about a week and now rarely locks on straight away and usually with 30m accuracy.
OTOH, the Atrix would lock on instantly, indoors and accurate to 3m.
Strange things, these devices...
Wow. Thanks for the case tips. Took mine off and so far so good.
Fix for Speck GPS Problem
My HTC Desire HD GPS quit working when I installed a CandyShell case. The GPS signals virtually disappeared (using GPS Test app) when the case was on (or even partially on) but worked just fine with the case off. I only paid $5 for the case, so I thought I would have a stab at fixing the problem. I peeled off the rubber liner behind where the GPS antenna is located on the phone. That resulted in only a very sleight degradation of the signals!
I have always looked at Zagg invisibleSheild style cases... Now i know they dont have one for the DHD but i did buy an off brand one that i do like. The less bulk you add to the phone the better imo.
I've never had a reliable GPS signal on the two years of ownership of this phone.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using xda premium
Good to know, I wonder if this will be the same problem with the Otterbox Defender case
dfmalone said:
Good to know, I wonder if this will be the same problem with the Otterbox Defender case
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Absolutely not. I can not see any difference in signal strength between Defender on or off. I posted pics in a thread in accessories section. I still have pics but don't remember which is which.
Sent using the power of the dark side
Desire HD's GPS antenna is okay, the connection from the antenna to the motherboard is a piece of **** that is terrible.
Any case that covers up the plastic LED flash cover will degrade GPS signal.
This is pretty unrelated to cases, but I highly recommend this GPS fix. Worked like magic on my Inspire and now I get a lock in less than 30 seconds with or without my Otterbox.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1442032

[Video] HTC Desire HD case test GPS blocking

Hi there,
some time ago I compared some cases for the Desire HD and focused on the GPS signal. I uploaded a video to youtube.
Just search for 'HTC Desire HD case GPS test ' on youtube.
Comments are welcome!
Nice video,
Keep in mind the Case-mate Barely There Mirrored Silver case blocks the signal. This video and other people have noticed GPS does indeed work with the black case, but the silver case is bad news.
I've contacted case-mate about the mirrored silver model, and I'm hoping they send me a matte black version to compare. If they do, I'll be sure to post my findings!
interesting... I have a CaseMate Tough (silicone plus hard matt plastic)
I was sat in the attic of my house, underneath a skylight winidow.
I did get more satellites visible and locked without the case. I got 8 on average (max 10), whilst without the case I got mostly 4 (max 6).
The silicone skin did not make any difference.
Still acceptable, in an area of good-poor visibility of the satellites.
But should this really be a surprise since the GPS signal is very weak anyway, and it has difficulty passing though material?
The strange thing for me is the fact, that some cases do not block the signal, but others do. There are reports that not all silicone cases block.
Sent from my HTC Desire HD using XDA Premium App
GerdJ said:
The strange thing for me is the fact, that some cases do not block the signal, but others do. There are reports that not all silicone cases block.
Sent from my HTC Desire HD using XDA Premium App
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I forgot I had a Barely There which I don't use (since as cases go, it doesn't offer much protection )
Took the CaseMate Tough off, the signal went from 6 to 9 satellites locked.
Put on the Barely There - the signal dropped to JUST ONE in view/use (average 2).
So, this Barely There case doesn't offer protection, and stops the GPS function!
Sorry, black or silver bt?
Sent from my HTC Desire HD using XDA Premium App
good point - silver for the barely there case
paul c said:
good point - silver for the barely there case
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for grabbing the old case and testing it. I hope we can get some more input from people with the other color variations to see if it's something to do with the paint/material/finish...
Good idea. I will get some other cases for testing maybe. If so I will post the results.
Sent from my HTC Desire HD using XDA Premium App
A quick update with another case...
This case purchased off ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260746755524
It does block GPS, not as much as the case-mate mirrored silver, but enough that I won't be using it whenever I try to use GPS function.
paul c said:
interesting... I have a CaseMate Tough (silicone plus hard matt plastic)
I was sat in the attic of my house, underneath a skylight winidow.
I did get more satellites visible and locked without the case. I got 8 on average (max 10), whilst without the case I got mostly 4 (max 6).
The silicone skin did not make any difference.
Still acceptable, in an area of good-poor visibility of the satellites.
But should this really be a surprise since the GPS signal is very weak anyway, and it has difficulty passing though material?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's interesting. I also have the Case-Mate Tough and it seems to block a great amount of signal. While having it on and sitting inside a tram I can't get a fix at all. After taking it off and waiting a minute I do a decent signal. Same happens while using it inside a car. Sometimes I do get a signal with the case on, but very slowly and the signal is much weaker than with the case off. What ROM are you using?
very nice video
White Barely There Case
Hello,
Does anybody know if the white Barely there case causes the same reception problems as the silver one? I was just going to buy it when I've stumbled on this topic.
very nice vid i like it
internet4o said:
Hello,
Does anybody know if the white Barely there case causes the same reception problems as the silver one? I was just going to buy it when I've stumbled on this topic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, case-mate doesn't even officially offer the mirrored silver anymore, so that might suggest the white one is ok.
**** i have the silver one XD
totaly agree, had a white rubbery silicone case and GPS was virtually disabled.
SensationStyler said:
**** i have the silver one XD
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Click to collapse
Keep in mind, you can visit case-mate's website and contact them. They allowed me to RMA my mirrored silver case, and promptly shipped me a matte black case as replacement.
Case-Mate Pop case
Hello,
my black Pop case reduces the GPS signal of my Desire HD: the Error in the "Gps Status" app come from 3m (DHD naked) to 41m (DHD with Pop case) ..
I've also found this video, that exactly prove my test:
search for "Case-Mate Pop significantly degrades HTC Desire HD GPS performance"
Incredible!!!

Case-Mate Tough Case

So I read somewhere that some people were having connection problems with the Case-Mate Tough case on. Just wanted to verify if anybody else is, it doesn't seem that I am but I might test it without the case for a little while.
I'm not having any issues with it at all. Liking it so far.
Its the only case I've had and have no issues with it at all. Love it.
Sent from my HTC Desire HD using XDA Premium App
It affects my GPS and my reception here in Chattanooga.
Still, I use it most of the time. I like the feel of it, and it's not that big of a deal.
No problems here besy case i have had yet
I've been using the Tough Case since the second day I had my phone. I have had no issues with signal strength whatsoever, GPS or otherwise. I don't like making the phone a little bit bigger, but unfortunately I'm a dropper. Don't know how it would fare against a car like the recent posts about the Otterbox, but I can say that the only damage to my phone is from when I was trying to pry the battery cover off prior to first use .
Another vote for great case/no issues. I love this case! It's kept my Inspire so nice and protected, without incumbering it at all.
The person I got the phone from had it in one of these and I don't see much of a difference (if any at all) between case/no case. Now I just need a decent screen protector. The one that came on it is junk and/or put on poorly.
never thought about it...
Case back on full time.
I just got the case and installed it. Pretty easy to put on. So far it looks and feels great!
I've had the CM TC since I bought the phone and it's worked great, no connection or reception issues I've noticed. My only complaint is the case is starting to delaminate. I noticed this a few days ago, where the satin finish is starting to rub off. Kind of annoying. I'm hoping to get it warrantied from ATT when I go into a store this week.
last night I was talking to my neighbor before heading to wally world and left my phone on the trunk of the car upside down. Luckily, the rubber face kept the phone on the trunk the whole 5 miles to the store. Thank you Tough Case
I had GPS issues with mine...
Much slower lock times...
Sometimes no lock at all indoors..
I went with the seidio innocase..
No GPS issued at all....
sent from my Inspire 3G..
Any one of you guys dropped your phone with this case on it ? Any damages ?
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
zombieguy85 said:
Any one of you guys dropped your phone with this case on it ? Any damages ?
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
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Click to collapse
yeah, dropped several times. No damages so far.
Cool thanks I got it in the mail yesterday its so much better then my otterbox defender it was so dang bulky . I also have the ivisor-ag screen protector that you can wash and stick back on it works great. Picked it up from ATT
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
no issues here, got the CM Tough shortly after my phone, didn't notice anything then, still no problems.
I have the case as well, and absolutely no issues with it. I dropped it once or twice, but not from really high, maybe a table-top, and there was no physical damage to the phone or case.
Great case!
No issues with mine. Amazing case btw
Sent from a telegraph station somewhere in northern Russia
zombieguy85 said:
Any one of you guys dropped your phone with this case on it ? Any damages ?
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
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Click to collapse
I have dropped my phone at least 15 times, no damage to the phone and no damage to the case.

[Q] Capdase Alumor Case for DS

Hi,
I am wondering if anyone of you have tried the Capdase Alumor Metal Case for HTC Desire S?
I am really interested in this because it seems to be well built and at least it will have that aluminum feel when I hold my phone while it's still protected. I am concerned though if will it ever affect the phone's signal (network, wifi and GPS).
I haven't found any reviews about this on a Desire S, some phones have different antenna designs and the signal may or may not be affected.
Thanks in advance
Anyone?
From looking at the case it looks like it may cause the wifi signal to be reduced as it covers where the antenna is. It shouldn't affect the GPS signal though.
Sent from my Desire S using XDA
Thanks. I guess you could be right. Better stick to the jelly cases then
pcrepair said:
From looking at the case it looks like it may cause the wifi signal to be reduced as it covers where the antenna is. It shouldn't affect the GPS signal though.
Sent from my Desire S using XDA
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