[Q] Where is gps physically located - Verizon HTC One (M8)

Does anyone know where the gps and antenna or prongs are actually located inside the HTC One M8? Opened the case to replace a part and now gps wont lock. I've read of others who have opened the case and gps stopped getting a lock. Found this attached pic in another thread with no answers....

Hmm that's a tough one man. Spent a few minutes googling trying to come up with any type of hardware layout. Ifixit has a teardown but when I was reading the list where it shows where all the hardware is located, I didn't see anything about GPS. You might want to check it out cause it may have had some type of technical name that I wasn't able to identify as GPS. And I also saw people who had issues with GPS after opening the case.
Good luck!!

Hope this can help
http://forum.xda-developers.com/htc-one-m8/general/gps-harware-fix-teardown-t3023999

Related

FFC on vibrant, can we do it?

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=770854
^hes got a mod for the FFC on the vibrant, anyway this can be done on the captivate?
Short answer: No
Long answer: http://tinyurl.com/2vf43f3
ive searched on google and everywhere says its possible for the vibrant, so why not for us??? its the same hardware in both phones...
The answer is no. Why do you need to know why? Physically, the phone is different. The outer shell is different, the inner casings are different, search the forums on google. There are topics on this.
It's the same case as flashing a vibrant stock rom on your cappy. Basically it wont work and it is the proof for hardwares not being the same.
You guys/gals are a bunch of negative nancy naysayers.
I did it a while back and posted my pic to prove it.
Mod closed the thread as it was a dupe, but i think it should stay open to show everyone what can be done if you put your mind to it.
Just because our phone has no place for a camera inside, and no connections on the motherboard is no reason to say it can't be done.
Think Positive!
BTW - it could use a little improvement - I am thinking about using a sharpie to color the tape black so you won't see it. Maybe then add a belt clip on the back. Oh, and cutouts for the sensors.
Bwaaahhh!!! That pic cracks me up! Mainly because I hadn't seen it before, and was expecting an internal job when I first started reading your post.
In other news, I am thinking we can REALLY fix our craptastic GPS reception with an external bluetooth GPS receiver..... thanks for the idea to think external alphadog00! (or has someone already done that?......)
the.dude.abides said:
Bwaaahhh!!! That pic cracks me up! Mainly because I hadn't seen it before, and was expecting an internal job when I first started reading your post.
In other news, I am thinking we can REALLY fix our craptastic GPS reception with an external bluetooth GPS receiver..... thanks for the idea to think external alphadog00! (or has someone already done that?......)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think someone tried it and it worked. I have an external receiver somewhere - had it for my Moto Q - not sure where it is though. But yes it has been done. It would be interesting to compare the difference - is it the phone and some blocked thread, or is it the GPS receiver in the phone, software, etc.?
I need to see if i can find mine.....
When Froyo actually comes out for the i9000 - officially - we might get some answers.

[Q] htc touch pro GPS problem

Hi all
First time posting something some I hope it's in the right place...
Recently my htc touch pro raph 100 got some water damage, not a lot. It dried for about 3 days after that everything worked perfectly. But with all that a sticker pealed a little bit. And with opening the case the sticker broke at 2 places... I tought well no problem over here, just a sticker. But I saw a copper stroke at the other side of it.
Now I've noticed that my gps doesn't work He sees all the satellites but the signal is too weak I think to get a proper fix. (I've tried all the AGPS and quickgps etc. but no sollution so that made me think it was a hardware problem)
I don't know if it worked after the water damage.
After a bit of searching I've found someone with a similar problem (I can't post links yet so go to google and type "gps interferring htc sticker" the first link about the kaiser void sticker)
Is this true? And did that sticker probably pealed off?
Here is where the sticker is on my phone:
Where the word SLASH is, beneath the word "micro sd"
fill this in google images "battery htc touch pro slashgear" first picture (website is slashgear com)
Can you order this sticker or give it to htc so they can fix it?

[Q] Desire S GPS still not accurate after a myrad of fixes

Hi guys I'm having problems getting my GPS working on my Desire S.
My current environment is:
Kernel 2.6.35.14-uninity v9-gdfc9a05-dirty
OS: VirtUnity 2.39.0
Radio: 20.4801..30.0822U_3822.10.08.04_M
It's S-OFF, Rooted
* * * * * * * * * * *
When I bought it (second-hand) I've noticed that my gps was very slow and then when it would locate it would be with accuracy of 50m or so.
I started investigating and in the end ended up doing:
- Using GPSStatus app - refreshing the assistance data
- using the GpsFix app - the fix that changes the servers,
- AGPS PATCH
- Manually changed the gps.conf to spanish, german, europe servers, but with no luck...
- and few other fixes that were basically dealing with gps.conf
The result of all these tries is that GPSStatus fixes to 6 or 7 satellites, but then again in GMaps my accuracy is quite low (20m) which doesn't allow me to use the navigation really stably. For me the weirdest part is that it locks to 7 satelites and the accuracy is still 20m?
I remember my HTC Tatoo gps fixing in few seconds with accuracy cca. 0m
I had read that flashing the radio might help, I tried it (current vession), but with no major change...
Maybe I should try with another radio? Which one? I read it has to be newer than the current one? Where to find it?
Please, could you give me some hints what could be the problem or next steps to try...
I even spent one afternoon on my balcony pressing the phone case near the top part, near the low part, everywhere
to see if it was the antena connection problem or something
Thanks in advance,
Luka
Radio has nothing to do with GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, or anything of the sort.
If you tried SW solutions and nothing helped, guess what? Yes, the HW might be to blame. What HW exactly? GPS antenna, or actually its connections to the main board.
use the AGPS patch, works for me
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1442032
If you had read it, you'd know he had already tried that.
Are there people who have good working gps? My experience is that it takes ages for gps fix and it is never stable. The roof of a car is enough to cut off the signal.
HelixH said:
Are there people who have good working gps? My experience is that it takes ages for gps fix and it is never stable. The roof of a car is enough to cut off the signal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I found that applying an external case (e.g. TPU gel) absolutely crippled my GPS signal. I tried 2 different types of case, expensive Otterbox and a cheap chinese one, both had the same effect. Oddly, some people find the same problem, yet others say it makes no difference for them.
I am convinced that the presence of the case "de-tunes" the GPS antenna on my phone. Making the phone body predominantly out of metal certainly introduces chalenges for the antenna designers.
With no added case, my GPS performance is, well, "OK". It works OK for me in my car despite it having a metal roof (!) and the kind of athermic windscreen that is known to block GPS signals.
Suffice to say, if you are using a case, try removing it. Keep all objects away from the upper plastic panel around the camera lens and flash.
There are other threads with more in-depth information about the Desire S GPS, including mods for the antenna which have helped some people.
The antenna is molded into the plastic case panel, and makes contact with the main phone circuit board via sprung pins. If your GPS simply won't work properly despite all good software fixes, it is possible that there is a bad connection there.
fasty said:
I found that applying an external case (e.g. TPU gel) absolutely crippled my GPS signal. I tried 2 different types of case, expensive Otterbox and a cheap chinese one, both had the same effect. Oddly, some people find the same problem, yet others say it makes no difference for them.
I am convinced that the presence of the case "de-tunes" the GPS antenna on my phone. Making the phone body predominantly out of metal certainly introduces chalenges for the antenna designers.
With no added case, my GPS performance is, well, "OK". It works OK for me in my car despite it having a metal roof (!) and the kind of athermic windscreen that is known to block GPS signals.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is exactly my wife's experience. I was genuinely surprised to find out that a plastic case could affect GPS reception, but it seems too consistent to be false. Tried it right now, near the window. With case on, 2-3 satellites and no lock, taking off just the top of the case - within 10 seconds going to 8-9 satellites and quality lock.
I'm not sure if the effect is done by case pressure on the upper side of the phone (seems unlikely to me - this metal doesn't seem to bend even a slightest bit), or just by proximity of the plastic to the GPS antenna (likely). I'll try to cut a larger hole around GPS antenna area and see if it changes anything, in the worst case - I'll spend $4 on a new case.
---------- Post added at 12:29 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:23 AM ----------
I think I just figured out, where exactly is the antenna imprinted in the plastic, and what cut needs to be done in the case to allow GPS to function normally.
___
Auke11 said:
Have you read the topic where they are taping one of the connection in the plastic back cover. It seems to fix some problems.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1564000
Sent from my HTC Desire S using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my HTC Desire S using xda app-developers app
Tried, still can't decide if it helped any.
Jack_R1 said:
Radio has nothing to do with GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, or anything of the sort.
If you tried SW solutions and nothing helped, guess what? Yes, the HW might be to blame. What HW exactly? GPS antenna, or actually its connections to the main board.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It took me a while to get it that SW/HW were abbreviations for software/hardware
It seems it's case opening time
This was my last resort, but it seems that there's nothing else that looks promising... Thanks

[Q] GPS Still not working after fix

So, I'm planning a hitchhiking trip soon and going to use my nexus 5 for compass and GPS. While testing it I found GPS didn't really work very well, so I started looking online and found something about the antenna not making proper connection.
Opened up my nexus and carefully placed some pieces of thick paper in there, closed it up again...
Still no good signal.. I'm on the top floor of a building, close a big windows.... shouldn't be a problem right?
anything else that can fix/test my gps?
S.Phrenic said:
So, I'm planning a hitchhiking trip soon and going to use my nexus 5 for compass and GPS. While testing it I found GPS didn't really work very well, so I started looking online and found something about the antenna not making proper connection.
Opened up my nexus and carefully placed some pieces of thick paper in there, closed it up again...
Still no good signal.. I'm on the top floor of a building, close a big windows.... shouldn't be a problem right?
anything else that can fix/test my gps?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Test it outside in the open.
You are probably seeing the issue I have. My GPS has systematically gotten worse on my phone since I purchased it 10 months ago. It eventually got the point where it was unusable. Called Google, they sent a replacement. Not sure if you can still do that though, given the fact that you already cracked it open.

HTC M8 GPS problem (hardware issue)

Hello, I have a problem. Hoping someone has an answer. I have a Verizon HTC M8, yesterday I decided to disassemble the phone to just see what the insides look like, I didn't touch any other part, I tried to remove the top motherboard but I stopped because any further would damange the top board. Anyways, the GPS was working fine until I took the unit apart.
The problem: GPS location on Google map is at least a block off (tried different map apps, all are offset) and is facing the wrong direction. And GPS following is very very slow. Now I don't know if it has to do with an GPS antenna or what, maybe one of the prongs is not touching antenna, I've taken a photo of the phone from inside and I would like to know which area of the phone is exactly the GPS or maybe causing the problem . I've also attached a photo of the GPS problem, you can see in Google Maps navigation the pointer is wayy off the direction area. Please advise.
Question: What part may be causing the problem? (my guess is its the copper prongs from A-G).
Please help.
Thank you!
snanime said:
Hello, I have a problem. Hoping someone has an answer. I have a Verizon HTC M8, yesterday I decided to disassemble the phone to just see what the insides look like, I didn't touch any other part, I tried to remove the top motherboard but I stopped because any further would damange the top board. Anyways, the GPS was working fine until I took the unit apart.
The problem: GPS location on Google map is at least a block off (tried different map apps, all are offset) and is facing the wrong direction. And GPS following is very very slow. Now I don't know if it has to do with an GPS antenna or what, maybe one of the prongs is not touching antenna, I've taken a photo of the phone from inside and I would like to know which area of the phone is exactly the GPS or maybe causing the problem . I've also attached a photo of the GPS problem, you can see in Google Maps navigation the pointer is wayy off the direction area. Please advise.
Question: What part may be causing the problem? (my guess is its the copper prongs from A-G).
Please help.
Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my opinion, this phone has kind of wonky GPS reception anyway. It's hard to tell exactly what's causing it, but my guess is that it has something to do with an unwanted contact, or the antenna itself, touching the metal casing directly. Also, You may have possibly loosened the connection of the GPS antenna when you played with the motherboard a little.
I'll try to find some better board schematics from the motherboard, maybe tomorrow when I have time. I haven't really been able to find some good diagrams on the actual phone internals itself. This phone is really difficult to take off and not too many people attempt it.
I would try to make sure that the internals are properly shielded when you put the case back on, and try to keep all of those contacts covered as much as possible when you throw the case back on. See if you get better GPS lock or if it fixes it all together.
Edit: Actually I changed my mind, I think all those contacts are supposed to contact the case to amplify the signal. Try to get all the contacts to touch the case as much as possible when you reassemble it. I think it's either the connection from a-g area, or on the bottom half k-n or even the q connector. Is your WiFi or NFC giving you any issues as well?
BadUsername said:
In my opinion, this phone has kind of wonky GPS reception anyway. It's hard to tell exactly what's causing it, but my guess is that it has something to do with an unwanted contact, or the antenna itself, touching the metal casing directly. Also, You may have possibly loosened the connection of the GPS antenna when you played with the motherboard a little.
I'll try to find some better board schematics from the motherboard, maybe tomorrow when I have time. I haven't really been able to find some good diagrams on the actual phone internals itself. This phone is really difficult to take off and not too many people attempt it.
I would try to make sure that the internals are properly shielded when you put the case back on, and try to keep all of those contacts covered as much as possible when you throw the case back on. See if you get better GPS lock or if it fixes it all together.
Edit: Actually I changed my mind, I think all those contacts are supposed to contact the case to amplify the signal. Try to get all the contacts to touch the case as much as possible when you reassemble it. I think it's either the connection from a-g area, or on the bottom half k-n or even the q connector. Is your WiFi or NFC giving you any issues as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@ Badusername, Thank you for your reply . Yes everything else (wifi/nfc/bluetooth) works perfectly fine. The accelorometer seems to be fine as well. Only part I try to remove/touch was from A-G area motherboard but that was held with adhesive so I didn't touch it any further, I didn't touch any other part. My guess is it's A-G area but not sure exactly which one is the GPS antenna so I can try to adjust it (if possible).
I jave the exact same problem. Did you figure anything out yet?
Any Updates?
snanime said:
Hello, I have a problem. Hoping someone has an answer. I have a Verizon HTC M8, yesterday I decided to disassemble the phone to just see what the insides look like, I didn't touch any other part, I tried to remove the top motherboard but I stopped because any further would damange the top board. Anyways, the GPS was working fine until I took the unit apart.
The problem: GPS location on Google map is at least a block off (tried different map apps, all are offset) and is facing the wrong direction. And GPS following is very very slow. Now I don't know if it has to do with an GPS antenna or what, maybe one of the prongs is not touching antenna, I've taken a photo of the phone from inside and I would like to know which area of the phone is exactly the GPS or maybe causing the problem . I've also attached a photo of the GPS problem, you can see in Google Maps navigation the pointer is wayy off the direction area. Please advise.
Question: What part may be causing the problem? (my guess is its the copper prongs from A-G).
Please help.
Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same thing here had to pop the case to replace the volume button now gps will not get a fix, everything else working fine, any updates?
scotbott said:
Same thing here had to pop the case to replace the volume button now gps will not get a fix, everything else working fine, any updates?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you bend any of the copper prongs so that they no longer touch their antenna? That's usually the problem.
dottat said:
Did you bend any of the copper prongs so that they no longer touch their antenna? That's usually the problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure which prongs you speak of. I reopened it and all antennae look connected and right but still no go...
---------- Post added at 10:53 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:57 AM ----------
dottat said:
Did you bend any of the copper prongs so that they no longer touch their antenna? That's usually the problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can't find a schematic anywhere that shows which antenna or prongs are gps related so I don't know which prong or antenna to mess with. I'm surprised there are no basic schematics anywhere...
scotbott said:
Not sure which prongs you speak of. I reopened it and all antennae look connected and right but still no go...
---------- Post added at 10:53 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:57 AM ----------
Can't find a schematic anywhere that shows which antenna or prongs are gps related so I don't know which prong or antenna to mess with. I'm surprised there are no basic schematics anywhere...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe it's in the top board so make sure the ribbon cable is secured and not damaged. The metal prongs usually need to make contact with the case itself which often has the actual antenna stuck to it.
dottat said:
I believe it's in the top board so make sure the ribbon cable is secured and not damaged. The metal prongs usually need to make contact with the case itself which often has the actual antenna stuck to it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your help so far. Checked all prongs and ribbons on top left and they all look normal. They all still have a spring to them so that theyll touch the contacts on the back of the outside case. I'm out of options without finding exactly which part are gps related....
snanime said:
Hello, I have a problem. Hoping someone has an answer. I have a Verizon HTC M8, yesterday I decided to disassemble the phone to just see what the insides look like, I didn't touch any other part, I tried to remove the top motherboard but I stopped because any further would damange the top board. Anyways, the GPS was working fine until I took the unit apart.
The problem: GPS location on Google map is at least a block off (tried different map apps, all are offset) and is facing the wrong direction. And GPS following is very very slow. Now I don't know if it has to do with an GPS antenna or what, maybe one of the prongs is not touching antenna, I've taken a photo of the phone from inside and I would like to know which area of the phone is exactly the GPS or maybe causing the problem . I've also attached a photo of the GPS problem, you can see in Google Maps navigation the pointer is wayy off the direction area. Please advise.
Question: What part may be causing the problem? (my guess is its the copper prongs from A-G).
Please help.
Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey bud. Have you figured out the problem? I have a solution for you. Check this post http://forum.xda-developers.com/htc-one-m8/general/gps-harware-fix-teardown-t3023999 .
Macropoutsis said:
Hey bud. Have you figured out the problem? I have a solution for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi sorry for the late reply, fortunately I was able to replace it with HTC. I would still love to know the solution. Good to know for future reference
snanime said:
Hi sorry for the late reply, fortunately I was able to replace it with HTC. I would still love to know the solution. Good to know for future reference
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I edited my previous post. Check the link.
Macropoutsis said:
I edited my previous post. Check the link.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you Macropoutsis! Highly Appreciate it! :fingers-crossed::good:
snanime said:
Thank you Macropoutsis! Highly Appreciate it! :fingers-crossed::good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your welcome. Glad to help.
Is there any way to purchase the gold colored motherboard clips/pins that make contact with the case for the GPS module. While attempting to fix mine, the clip broke. I was looking to purchase this clip to attempt to solder it back to the board.
niv24 said:
Is there any way to purchase the gold colored motherboard clips/pins that make contact with the case for the GPS module. While attempting to fix mine, the clip broke. I was looking to purchase this clip to attempt to solder it back to the board.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm in the same boat. I don't think there's a way to replace the clip itself, only the board that has the clip on it. It shows up as a result for "HTC One M8 Motherboard Flex Cable". Here's the one I'm buying, it's around $60. You can see the little gold tab in the picture for it. Looking at that board's location on the phone, it looks like you'd probably have to remove the motherboard to get to it and replace it. Sounds fun. I had my phone apart for a relatively simple USB port replacement.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/271686259825
I know this is raising the thread from death but I too broke my tab off for the gps. I was able to fix it using a trimmed piece of thin sheet aluminum that I salvaged from an old Airport extreme. I trimmed it down to the size of the tab on the motherboard and used some conductive adhesive to stick it to the solder pad that the old copper tab was attached to. I then trimmed to down to length to touch the casing when the phone was reassembled. Its been working great now for a few months and its actually a much sturdier piece of metal. I can't say objectively since I don't have data to back it up but it feels like I get a faster GPS lock now.

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