So I was having a horrible time with my GPS constantly losing signal all of a sudden, to the point where it stopped getting a signal all together. I flashed it back to stock kitkat, and still the problem persisted!!!!! I had been on stock Lollipop and read some people thought that could be the issue. I've read a lot of other people having GPS problems on the G3.
This fix may not apply to all, but it was the ONLY FIX that worked for me, and it worked good.
I had modded my phone to put a copper shim under the CPU with some thermal compound, and this worked good at cooling my CPU, but over time, somehow it caused the GPS to lose signal. I found a service manual for the G3 and the GPS antenna runs right along the edge of the CPU, and was either causing the GPS signal to be shielded, OR, my copper shim was too thick and caused the contacts for the GPS antenna to have issues. As soon as I removed the copper shim, and made sure the screws in the upper left hand part of the phone (when looking at the phone from the back) were secure, very snug, but not too snug, then my GPS signal was fine!! I can post screen shots later, but I thought I'd write a fast post about how to solve this issue, for some at least. :good:
I can't be SURE if the copper shim was shielding the antenna from the signal, or if it was just causing poor contact for the antenna in the black plastic that makes contact with the board, (I'm NOT talking about the NFC antenna on the back of the case). I will test again later with a thinner copper shim, but when I had the shim removed, and had the phone together without screws, it still didn't get a GPS signal. As soon as I put a few screws in, the ones in the left upper corner, and snugly, the signal came back. I really want to be able to use a copper shim in my phone so when I have more time I will investigate this more but so far I've had ZERO luck getting the GPS signal to work again with the shim in the phone.
Ok, I have attached a picture showing the path of the GPS antenna from the service manual. The larger picture shows the main CPU, which has shielding all around it on the actual board, this is shown with no shielding. The top of the CPU is exposed of course, which is where people apply thermal compound and in some cases a copper shim to help with heating. The smaller picture shows the other side of the board completing the path of the GPS antenna. This is the upper left hand corner of the board, which, is where even without the copper shim, if I don't put the screws in the plastic part covering this corner, I get no GPS signal. So it's possible that the copper shim caused the plastic part to bulge just enough so that over time the plastic bent and lost sufficient contact with the GPS antenna contacts on the board and it could be that the copper shim does not directly interfere with the reception other than that. Especially considering the fact that it worked for about 3 weeks after I installed the shim and only GRADUALLY started having GPS problems. When I find my slimmer copper shims, I will try it again and post back.
I had the same problem when i tried a cooper shim. Drove me mad at the time case i tried so much diff rooms but it was the damn shim =/
Related
I greatly improved my GPS performance by doing this: First, a brief background: I was always curious about the two electrical contacts mating to the aluminum battery cover; if they were a ground plane or part of the antenna. For the heck of it I tried improving the connections by cleaning the small square contacts on the inside of the cover with a pencil eraser (they looked like they had a thin coating on them) and then gently, slightly prying up the contact on the right with a small screwdriver (the left is spring-loaded) and thats it. I was surprised to see an immediate improvement in signal strength resulting in locks within a minute and spot-on navigation. As a side note I noticed a better signal if I held the phone by it's sides vs cradled in my hand. It may be my imagination but I also seem to get a better signal (more bars) on the phone itself. This was probably an issue with my specific unit but I thought I would share.
Edit: Wow! Looks like many have had a similar experience. Still seems too good to be true, would like to know if you see sustained results. I'm curious if oxidation may eventually occur on the bare metal contacts in the cover, might be beneficial to re-clean with an eraser periodically. Be careful, as there has been a report of a broken contact, pry gently! Keep posting your results and thanks to those who gave me a thanks!
Could be - everyone tried to see if the contacts effected cell signal - But i don't remember anyone checking GPS signal with them.
Interesting. I will check this out tomorrow and see.
The thing is though, there are times when GPS would work great and some when it won't. It's usually in different areas though. For instance, around NYC area and where I live, it always works. When I went to Mass over Thanksgiving, I could barely get anything. This is without touching the casing and having a hard plastic case on.
can you post pics of what you did?
Interesting. Scratched some of that top layer off the contacts on the door and used a screwdriver to pry up the contact on the phone a bit. We'll see how it goes tomorrow. Got a much higher mobile speed test result than I usually do, but that can vary wildly so it could just be coincidence.
I am very much interested, please do provide more test results and pictures, please. Ever since reverting back to eclair (with the minor update that "fixed" tethering... I mean GPS signal, it was horrible. I needed it badly today and lucked out when I just had barely caught enough to get me to my destination. Thank you.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
jz3 said:
I greatly improved my GPS performance by doing this: First, a brief background: I was always curious about the two electrical contacts mating to the aluminum battery cover; if they were a ground plane or part of the antenna. For the heck of it I tried improving the connections by cleaning the small square contacts on the inside of the cover with a pencil eraser (they looked like they had a thin coating on them) and then gently, slightly prying up the contact on the right with a small screwdriver (the left is spring-loaded) and thats it. I was surprised to see an immediate improvement in signal strength resulting in locks within a minute and spot-on navigation. As a side note I noticed a better signal if I held the phone by it's sides vs cradled in my hand. It may be my imagination but I also seem to get a better signal (more bars) on the phone itself. This was probably an issue with my specific unit but I thought I would share.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how much did you pry up the contact on the right? A small paper clip works well as your can actually slide it into the rounded up portion and use leverage from the side to lift up. I lifted it a little bit but i mostly settled back down into original position..maybe slightly lifted from original position. I can tell they have been making connection because there are worn spots on the corresponding contact points on the door.
The coating on the contact spots looks possibly to be some kind of spray coating similar to a thermal paste only dry? Wonder if the connection would be better without it or if it was removed and replaced with a very conservative amount of quality thermal paste. (Also when you cleaned them with eraser was the white film removed or still present?). Mine is still present although there are small worn spots where you can see the metal from where the contacts were touching.
bames said:
how much did you pry up the contact on the right? A small paper clip works well as your can actually slide it into the rounded up portion and use leverage from the side to lift up. I lifted it a little bit but i mostly settled back down into original position..maybe slightly lifted from original position. I can tell they have been making connection because there are worn spots on the corresponding contact points on the door.
The coating on the contact spots looks possibly to be some kind of spray coating similar to a thermal paste only dry? Wonder if the connection would be better without it or if it was removed and replaced with a very conservative amount of quality thermal paste. (Also when you cleaned them with eraser was the white film removed or still present?). Mine is still present although there are small worn spots where you can see the metal from where the contacts were touching.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I pried it up just a hair worrying that it might break off. Mine looked like it was not making good contact as there was no wear marks. I first removed the film by scraping it with a knife then using an eraser. Underneath the film it is just the bare aluminum.
You could just move to Axura if you want great GPS without messing with the contacts.
adamholden85 said:
You could just move to Axura if you want great GPS without messing with the contacts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That assumes there is no hardware issue. Due to the huge variations in GPS success with people on the same software, there is probably more involved. One possibility is antenna, another likely culprit is "disk" IO blocking GPS functions.
If the contacts and antenna are an issue on a phone, changing OS or tweaking softrware will not make things better.
I think you stubbled on something here, I'm picking up sat. in my home, have not tried it on the road yet, but I am excited to test it out. I've been fighting this
GPS problem since day one. It is the only problem I have with the phone. Thanks for posting your discovery. Man, I think everyone should at least try this and post your results, because I am getting extraodinary results.
alphadog00 said:
That assumes there is no hardware issue. Due to the huge variations in GPS success with people on the same software, there is probably more involved. One possibility is antenna, another likely culprit is "disk" IO blocking GPS functions.
If the contacts and antenna are an issue on a phone, changing OS or tweaking softrware will not make things better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not saying Axura will help everyone but boy has it helped quite a few. Check the poll I put on the OP.
If you're gonna do this, use an INK (white) eraser. They work much better at cleaning electrical contacts.
adamholden85 said:
You could just move to Axura if you want great GPS without messing with the contacts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nm... I can't count.
I cleaned off the 2 contact points on the lid using my pocket knife. There seemed to be some white coating on it. My gps is working real well now.
1 sat in an office building (no lock but actually see's it) .. 5x5 bars 3g download 1889kbps/ up 517kbps (was lucky to get 900kbps before..) so yah it is both the Cell ant which is the spring loaded one and the other is the GPS. The coating isn't actually a coating just the oxidation at assmb. emery paper prob works the best just don't try to make it too shiny or remove to much metal.
Wow!! You may have really got something here. I just spent 2 minutes cleaning off and prying up the contacts and the results were instant! As soon as I booted the device back up my 3G signal strength increased by two bars! Not only that but I got a GPS lock in record time - only a few seconds. YMMV
Thank you for posting this!!
Long time browser here. Just made a forum account to post my results of doing this.
Let me first say that you might really be onto something here. I powered my phone down then scraped the white coating on the cover contacts to bare metal using a pocket knife. Then pyred the right contact up to about a 45-50 degree angle. About putting it all back together and powering the phone up and killing all the apps afterward I launched gps test ap. I got 7 sats and a lock under 10 seconds sitting here at my desk. Beforehand I would've been lucky to ever see 1 sat sitting here and even more luckier to get 5+ or a lock holding it against the window to my right.
Haven t tried this outside but I will on my trip to the phili airport this even.
Thanks a bunch!
+Getting 7-10 locks with 32-49feet accuracy here at my desk. Never ever got a lock here before!
+5:30 est. Just did a speed test on 3g. Usually getting around 600-700kbs here at my desk. Getting 1.5-1.7k+ Now...
Also should I be concerned about scratching up the back tabs while removing the coating. Looks like I took sandpaper to them. I mean the its aluminum so rust isn't a problem. And nothing will be touching or getting on them to cause any type of corrosion.
Wow, I normally have 5 bars where I'm at so I couldn't see any change in that obviously, but GPS is perfect sitting here in my house, can't wait to try it out on the road! By the way, I gotta say this again, when I say GPS is perfect, when I zoom in all the arrow is sitting exactly on the portion of the house that I'm in. I'm amazed.
Edit - Just did a speed test and WOW immediate speed increase, ping was 100 below normal, did 1mb/s up AND down! This is definitely a nice little trick you've found.
First time posting. I just tried this, and am getting a lock inside the house for literally the first time.
However, I also got a lock while driving this afternoon for the first time (my GPS experience has been exceedingly poor), before I cleaned the contacts. Maybe it's just a good.day for GPS signal in my neck of the woods today.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
After taking apart the GPS antenna module(led flash cover), cleaning the antenna contacts on the cover and spring clips on phone, and SLIGHTLY bending the spring clips out for improved contact with the cover the GPS lock was back to being less than 10 seconds for initial fix and instant refix.
With such an improvement I decided to do the same procedure to the other 2. The antenna under the battery cover(clean and bend spring contacts out alittle), and the one under the sim/sd card cover(clean and bend spring contacts out a little). My WiFi signal is definitely much better at distance! Bluetooth is better as well!
It is not difficult to do at all, and the results are immediate and VERY noticeable.
Search YouTube for desire hd/inspire 4g GPS antenna cover removal so you don't f it up. Hardest thing is getting GPS cover off, and it takes all of 5-10 minutes!
Good luck all.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA
Thanks. This actually increased the speed of my stock inspire and battery life.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA
GPS FIXED!
I wanted to bump this thread, as I ended up finding this solution on another forum. I have almost always had issues getting my GPS to lock. I tried all the software based fixes, but none of them seemed to really work. I opened my antennae, cleaned/bent the pins, and now I get INSTANT GPS lock (without any software fixes installed). I strongly urge anyone with issues to try this.
Another alternative is to solder a new antennae:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1318892
yes it is a good thing to clean the contacts and rebend them for additional contact force. That ghetto wire solder job that the person did in your link is only a hair above trying to get a gps signal while hopping on one foot. There is quite a bit of calculations that have to be done to choose antenna length and thickness in respect to the frequency it operates on. What this user did was just pick a random length of wire and connect it, and poorly soldered at that (they probably have a coat hanger coming out of their tv). This type of modification is a TERRIBLE idea and should be avoided at all costs.
But as I said, what the OP did in this thread with the cleaning, this is a good idea.
what did u clean it with?
Im looking at the silver led cover and im like how the hell you take that off I know like something needle nose pliers.
I basically just scraped the metal until it was shiny. A fine steel wool would work, or even sand paper. You just want to get any gray stuff off.
CYRAXDroid said:
Im looking at the silver led cover and im like how the hell you take that off I know like something needle nose pliers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You do it from the inside .
Summary: You are going to remove the battery and then It should reach back to where the plastic cover is. From there you can push (from the inside) the plastic peach and then slide something under it to keep it propped open.
1) Remove your battery
2) You need to prop the plastic piece up from the inside of the case. You could bend the tip of a knife, or whatever.
3) You slide the "prop" inside the battery slot and you want to line it up under the plastic piece around the light.
4) From there you can "push" it up and slide something under the edge to keep it lifted (I used guitar pics). You probably want to use a couple to work your way around.
5) Remove it from the battery facing side first.
Once you have it off it should be obvious where the metal pins are. Bend them upwards, and scrape/clean them off if there is any discoloration.
Putting it back together is a little tricky. Be careful to not break any of the snaps .
Thank me if this helps!
Well I didn't do it but still thank you for posting that info
Sent from my HTC Inspire 4G using xda premium
I have been having some problems with GPS recently - I can "see" satellites in GPS Status, but they seem to remain in the "ephemeris" (yellow) stage and with the signal bar being near-empty. I'm not getting a fix on any of the 16-22 satellites I can see. On the few occasions that it DID work (this was a few weeks ago), it was VERY spotty and only worked for a minute or two. I tried flashing CM10 (probably should've done that a LONG time ago), but it was to no avail and I'm having the same problem. GPS Status has been trying to get a fix while next to my bedroom window for about 45 minutes and it's getting ridiculous.
When closely examining the GPS Status "main" view, I see a fair number of satellites clustered at 0 degrees North.
Is my GPS fried?
Try the GPS patch from the aroma installer Boombah created in the dev section. It always locks with ease for me after flashing it
-------------------------------------------------
Sent from my Skyrocket i727 running MIUI v4.1
-----------Nexus 7 running AOKP M1-----------
Mike on XDA said:
Try the GPS patch from the aroma installer Boombah created in the dev section. It always locks with ease for me after flashing it
-------------------------------------------------
Sent from my Skyrocket i727 running MIUI v4.1
-----------Nexus 7 running AOKP M1-----------
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I already had that, it didn't seem to help. But, I'll humor you. Which build would you recommend?
hmmwhatsthisdo said:
I already had that, it didn't seem to help. But, I'll humor you. Which build would you recommend?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you mean by build? What rom combo or which agps patch? I haven't used agps patch from its original thread but used the one found in Boombah's 1.57 release from the aroma installer
This thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1732304
If that doesn't help I would take a look here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1438129
^^haven't used it from this thread because it was easy enough just to flash the one in aroma, so I can't note whether it was effective or not
-------------------------------------------------
Sent from my Skyrocket i727 running MIUI v4.1
-----------Nexus 7 running AOKP M1-----------
This is most likely a HW problem - might be as simple as GPS antenna contacts not touching well. Search for the solution, you should find it.
No amount of SW flashing cures a HW problem. All the "GPS patches" can only make it lock faster by providing better aGPS data (almanac and ephemeris) faster and get more accurate time. The "patches" don't influence signal strength at all. So if someone is writing that he has close to none signal strength - all the "patches" can be skipped.
hey OP, i think i have the same problem. my phone is unable to lock onto any satelites. when i have GPS status open, it's able to see some satelites, but it's never able to lock on to any of them and the status remains yellow. i've left GPS status on for over an hour and i have yet to lock onto any satelites. i've attached a screen shot of what I see on GPS status. like jack said, it's probably a hardware issue. did you find any clues on how to fix this yet?
I have a feeling this might be a hardware issue, seeing as how my mother's SR does just fine. I'd RMA it again, but... let's just say my experience with RMAs through AT&T have been less than stellar.
Is it possible to fix it w/o voiding the warranty?
since it's a HW issue, we're probably gonna have to open up the phone if we want to fix it ourselves, which would probably void your warranty. do you have any ideas as to what might have caused the issue for you? I'm not sure when mine stopped working, it was definitely working before though. I recently replace the lcd myself since it broke after dropping my phone, and my warranty was already up, so I'm not sure if I messed something up while replacing the LCD or if it was from the fall, or if it stopped working due to something else..
does anyone know what the GPS unit looks like?
i found this, but this is for the i9100, not sure if it will be the same for the i727
It's the same for I777, and this pin needs to have a good contact with this pad. Bending it outwards a bit and cleaning the pad with alcohol for better contact should do the trick.
Holy thread necromancy, Batman!
I just got around to opening the phone and trying to fix it. It works BEAUTIFULLY now.
I used these parts:
A small Phillips screwdriver - not quite sure what size, but a fairly small one should do.
A few lens wipes (the alcohol-soaked and foil-packed kind, not the microfiber ones)
A small flathead screwdriver
A thin, bevelled plastic card - If you have a guitar pick, these work MUCH better. Spudgers are awesome too.
Here's what I did:
Remove your case (if necessary), your battery cover, battery, microSD, and SIM.
Unscrew all 7 screws under the battery cover. 5 are on the top, two are just below the battery slot.
Use a guitar pick, spudger, thin non-PVC card, or other soft bevelled edge to separate the rear bezel from the rest of the phone. Do NOT use a non-bevelled-edge PVC card, screwdriver, or other metallic implement. You'll scratch something.
Once all the clips are popped, the rear housing should lift right off.
Open the lens wipe packet, and gently wipe ALL of the gold plates and springs in the housing and on the mainboard. I think there were a total of 5 or 7 plate/spring combos. Do NOT rub against the spring, only in the direction the spring points.
Use a jeweler's screwdriver to GENTLY bend the springs up just a hair. Put the screwdriver under the top end of the spring and lift SLOWLY and EVENLY across the left and right parts of a spring. You shouldn't go farther than 0.5mm (about 1/64th of an inch)
Once you feel satisfied, make sure all ribbon cables are seated evenly and put the rear housing back on. It should fit securely and no clips should be left un-popped.
Put all 7 screws back in. Tighten them AS TIGHT AS SAFELY POSSIBLE! Pay special attention to the screws next to the SIM and the top mic.
Put the rest of the parts of the phone back together, and use GPS Status from the Play Store to verify GPS is fixed.
hmmwhatsthisdo said:
Holy thread necromancy, Batman!
I just got around to opening the phone and trying to fix it. It works BEAUTIFULLY now.
I used these parts:
A small Phillips screwdriver - not quite sure what size, but a fairly small one should do.
A few lens wipes (the alcohol-soaked and foil-packed kind, not the microfiber ones)
A small flathead screwdriver
A thin, bevelled plastic card - If you have a guitar pick, these work MUCH better. Spudgers are awesome too.
Here's what I did:
Remove your case (if necessary), your battery cover, battery, microSD, and SIM.
Unscrew all 7 screws under the battery cover. 5 are on the top, two are just below the battery slot.
Use a guitar pick, spudger, thin non-PVC card, or other soft bevelled edge to separate the rear bezel from the rest of the phone. Do NOT use a non-bevelled-edge PVC card, screwdriver, or other metallic implement. You'll scratch something.
Once all the clips are popped, the rear housing should lift right off.
Open the lens wipe packet, and gently wipe ALL of the gold plates and springs in the housing and on the mainboard. I think there were a total of 5 or 7 plate/spring combos. Do NOT rub against the spring, only in the direction the spring points.
Use a jeweler's screwdriver to GENTLY bend the springs up just a hair. Put the screwdriver under the top end of the spring and lift SLOWLY and EVENLY across the left and right parts of a spring. You shouldn't go farther than 0.5mm (about 1/64th of an inch)
Once you feel satisfied, make sure all ribbon cables are seated evenly and put the rear housing back on. It should fit securely and no clips should be left un-popped.
Put all 7 screws back in. Tighten them AS TIGHT AS SAFELY POSSIBLE! Pay special attention to the screws next to the SIM and the top mic.
Put the rest of the parts of the phone back together, and use GPS Status from the Play Store to verify GPS is fixed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
..hahahah Seems unbelievable. But it works....)
Thanks a bunch !!!!! THANKS A BUNCH !! ! !
I decided to look into the GPS antenna issue since I was just not getting any lock... despite trying all sorts of software fixes. I also didn't fancy the idea of scraping anything :/
Anyway, too the back off the phone to have a look at the contacts, and below is a pic of what I saw.
You can see there are two contacts.
The top is signal, and touches the antenna.
The bottom is ground (continuity checked against the PCB ground plane) and as you can see that part of the antenna is painted.
I'm thinking we may be able to make use of this info.
Tried the app TopNPT, but did not work.
Tried AGPS Patch. Did not work as well.
I don't know if it is because of the new 4.3 version of Jelly Bean. I've tried a few 4.3 AOPK ROMs, but none of them gave me GPS signal.
I've tried installying UBER kernel to see if there is any difference, but not luck.
Now, I have no idea what to do. Maybe try to install 4.1 Roms but don't really know which Rom is good for my GPS to work, because I believe I saw the OP in the "AGPS Patch.." said Agps or GPS code is disable in CM.x roms...
:crying:
hmmwhatsthisdo said:
Tried the app TopNPT, but did not work.
Originally Posted by hmmwhatsthisdo View Post
Holy thread necromancy, Batman!
I just got around to opening the phone and trying to fix it. It works BEAUTIFULLY now.
I used these parts:
A small Phillips screwdriver - not quite sure what size, but a fairly small one should do.
A few lens wipes (the alcohol-soaked and foil-packed kind, not the microfiber ones)
A small flathead screwdriver
A thin, bevelled plastic card - If you have a guitar pick, these work MUCH better. Spudgers are awesome too.
Here's what I did:
Remove your case (if necessary), your battery cover, battery, microSD, and SIM.
Unscrew all 7 screws under the battery cover. 5 are on the top, two are just below the battery slot.
Use a guitar pick, spudger, thin non-PVC card, or other soft bevelled edge to separate the rear bezel from the rest of the phone. Do NOT use a non-bevelled-edge PVC card, screwdriver, or other metallic implement. You'll scratch something.
Once all the clips are popped, the rear housing should lift right off.
Open the lens wipe packet, and gently wipe ALL of the gold plates and springs in the housing and on the mainboard. I think there were a total of 5 or 7 plate/spring combos. Do NOT rub against the spring, only in the direction the spring points.
Use a jeweler's screwdriver to GENTLY bend the springs up just a hair. Put the screwdriver under the top end of the spring and lift SLOWLY and EVENLY across the left and right parts of a spring. You shouldn't go farther than 0.5mm (about 1/64th of an inch)
Once you feel satisfied, make sure all ribbon cables are seated evenly and put the rear housing back on. It should fit securely and no clips should be left un-popped.
Put all 7 screws back in. Tighten them AS TIGHT AS SAFELY POSSIBLE! Pay special attention to the screws next to the SIM and the top mic.
Put the rest of the parts of the phone back together, and use GPS Status from the Play Store to verify GPS is fixed.
:crying:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK. So I think I fixed the problem following this guide......