Replacing the GPS hardware? or external GPS? - Touch Pro2, Tilt 2 Windows Mobile General

So it was definitely a mistake on my part getting a used phone that had some incident on its rear. It seems like the entire cover melted away and thats why it didnt come with one and well now, i figured out the gps doesnt find any satellites.
So my question is: if i get a parts phone (say a broken screen but the rest intact) can i just take the two phones apart and replace the GPS component or is that impossible?
Pics:
BUT instead of that
I also started searching for an "external gps antenna" to just put into my car and leave it there since other than that my phone is awesome

I don't know the answer to your question.
But if I were you, I'd be very concerned about using that damaged battery!

Replace the Battery...
I also recommend replacing the battery. As for external GPS: As long as your bluetooth is working, try one of the Holux GPS receivers. I have one and it works perfectly with my Palm T|X and my Dash phone.

Related

Bluetooth not turning on consistently

Like many of you, I've been having some trouble turning on bluetooth and it's been getting more difficult to get the bluetooth turned on. I don't have any other problems with other features, like GPS or wireless connections, but more often than not, I cannot get the bluetooth to turn on unless I reboot and toggle airplane mode a bunch of times.
As the first step in trouble shooting the problem, I decided to go back to a stock ROM since that has seemed to work for others. I deleted all of my user data and formatted system, cache, data and davlik cache before each ROM load. I first tried the stock Gingerbread ROM but the Bluetooth was still not working consistently. I then tried the ICS stock ROM but again the bluetooth did not work correctly. On each ROM, I tested the bluetooth thoroughly by power cycling the phone, using airplane mode, and trying to toggle bluetooth repeatedly. I was able to turn the bluetooth on in each ROM but it would only come on about 10% of the time and there did not appear to be a pattern of reboots or software manipulation that I could do which would cause it to turn on. Nothing seem to work so I suspected there must be a hardware problem.
I opened up the phone tonight and on a hunch, I reseated the antenna (the white antenna on the right side of the phone when it's laying on its face) by removing it and reattaching it to the board by the two ends of the antenna but did not remove it from the middle clip. I'm not sure what happened, but when I restarted, I had no wireless service which made me think I was buying a new phone tomorrow :crying: but the bluetooth was working every time! I opened the phone back up and totally removed the antenna and reseated it. This time when the phone started, I had great wireless signal and the bluetooth worked perfectly. Granted, it's only been a few hours but it's never worked so consistently since I reseated the antenna. No idea if this will last but it seems like in my case, there was an issue with the connection to the antenna. I'm not even sure if that antenna is used for the bluetooth or not.
If this works for the next couple of days, I might try buying a new antenna. If you decide to remove the antenna, make sure that you use a needle nose pliers to remove the two ends of the antenna. You do not want to pull the antenna off by the wire. Also, if you reseat it, make sure there is equal slack on each side from the middle clip because the antenna needs to fit between the two golden lines printed on the case. Otherwise, when you put the case together, it will pinch the antenna. As with all hardware changes, THERE IS A CHANCE THAT THIS WILL SERIOUSLY DAMAGE THE PHONE'S ABILITY TO RECEIVE WIRELESS SIGNAL. I thought for a few minutes I would be at T Mobile tomorrow buying a replacement.
I'll report back if this works long term. Sorry if someone already mentioned this as a solution. I did quite a bit of searching and had never heard of someone trying this.
The attachments show the location of the antenna in the case and the close up of the antenna. If you remove the back cover and unscrew the panel from the back, the antenna is right there.
Bluetooth seems to be a reoccurring issue in a lot of custom roms...for some people anyway.
If you want it to work flawlessly, as well as everything else, there's always stock 4.1.2.
Sent from my Moto X cell phone telephone.....
I tried going back to the stock gingerbread and ICS. I knew that bluetooth worked when I had the stock gingerbread ROM but now in the stock gingerbread ROM, bluetooth no longer turned on consistently. I wiped everything on the phone when I went back to the stock ROM and it just did not work. That's what made me think that there was a hardware problem and possibly a poor or loose connection.
I'm not 100% convinced that reseating the antenna worked because I don't know if bluetooth even uses that antenna but I wanted to post my experience with it. I would go back to a stock ROM first to make sure that it doesn't work there before messing around with the hardware.

Possible fixes for very poor GPS signal

I have a One X which i have converted to the new layout. I was running Lollipop and i noticed that the GPS signal was very VERY poor. It never gets any fix and can only see 2 - 5 satelites, where as my Sone Z3 Compact in the very same spot can see over 20 satelites and gets a fix almost instantly.
I have tried a few things.
I have tried to do what is described in the following guides two guides:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1930094
and
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1239713
Which didnt work. Then tried to install the following rom for the new layout:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/htc-one-x/development/stck-rom-sense-5-debloated-4-18-401-4-t3111605
Both with the stock kernel and with the sweep2wake,doubletap2wake, etc. but same result.. Only getting 2 - 5 satelites and never get any fix
What can i do at this point? Should i try another Radio rom if such even exist and if so where can i get it ( I'm running 5.1204.167.31 now ) ?
Pulling up the tabs wont solve the problem permanently. The tabs will with time retard to their original position or lower because of metal fatigue.
Pulling them up again will make them break after off after ~ three times of bending. They are fragile.
My original solution for the GPS antenna some years ago was to cut a credit card to small rectangle pieces that fit right below the connector.
Carefully glued into place with Loctite 401. This prevents the tab to retard any further than the thickness of the card. I was lucky to find out that the thickness was just right. I got a lock in about 30 seconds after this mod being outdoor.
Some years later for the wifi antenna I instead soldered a thin cable from the board to the antenna. The wifi reception is as good as it can get.
If you have some thin cable that you can use. Must be around 3mm OD (outer diameter) or thinner. Or you wont be able to fit the case back again.
This would be the better option to solder cables between the antenna on the case and the board.
One X never had good gps ...don't expect it to compete with other devices.
GPS is working fine for me. But I have to say that I disassembled HOX (screen replacement months ago) so I put those GPS pins a bit higher. Other thing that might help is to enable all location services (google, GPS etc.) in settings, then reboot phone and use GPS Status & Toolbox app (first, delete A-GPS data and then download A-GPS data). First fix might take some time, but other are fast (I only leave GPS sensor checked after first GPS fix - so no Google Location services enabled).

Any way to test if my NFC reader is working properly?

I think the NFC reader on my phone might not be working. I tried scanning some NFC toys on it, and no matter where I placed them all over the back and front of the phone, absolutely nothing happened. NFC IS on and enabled, but I get no response.
Is there any way I can check to see if the NFC hardware in my phone is working properly? Or has anyone else had this issue?
NFC is working usually but it does have a small zone where is working. Is the area of the headphone jack, in that small zone between the camera and headphone jack, maybe a little bit of center to the left.
I also use the NFC for various things and I discovered there is working good, the worst part is when you want to do payments to find where is working
Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk
You are not alone with this problem.
Check this thread: https://forum.xda-developers.com/htc-10/help/nfc-reading-cards-t3372168
For me it never worked, too. But I don't need it, so it's not that important for me.
I already sent it to repair. They replaced some parts and it worked one time for me, but never again.
Yeah, I was looking through that post, but it seemed inconclusive. I do need NFC, but really want to make sure if it's a hardware problem first before I send it in for repair. I am not sure how to properly restore everything to a new phone exactly like it was if I do. Which is why I wanted to know if there was any decent way to test it first. Maybe a place I can get a cheap NFC sticker or some app that can test the hardware or something?
The "hardware" will be another phone with NFC, and the sticker can be an electronic passport or a credit card with "contactless" "(paywave)" option.
Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk
burleanu said:
NFC is working usually but it does have a small zone where is working. Is the area of the headphone jack, in that small zone between the camera and headphone jack, maybe a little bit of center to the left.
I also use the NFC for various things and I discovered there is working good, the worst part is when you want to do payments to find where is working
Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this I was moving my yubi key all over but somehow didn't discover this spot, but you're right it does work near the camera as you describe. Previously I thought it was my OS Lineage, or hardware.
cheers

Gps improvement (a weird solution)

So currently I'm having a major issue with my gps since it was so difficult to find any gps even outdoor, and even sometimes it didn't even found any gps at all. I've tried to reboot, change gps.config, change roms, reflash miui. Any of it doesn't solve the problem.
So I did some research a little bit about extending the gps antenna using wires. Then I peel the casing.
Before attaching the wire, I just try to test the gps. And surprisingly, the gps works very well. I even managed to connect to the gps indoor. The screenshot attached is the result of indoor gps test without the phone casing and antenna extension.
So what's the exact problem anyway with vince?
Does the metal casing interfere with the gps?
Do I need to use the phone without the casing?
In my case, yes I did found that that's the best solution. But it will not be practical to do so
Improvement workaround
Here is another method I used to improve the gps reception. The more practical way.
Simply take a small flathead screwdriver and scratch the contact point at the phone casing. I'm not sure which one is used for gps so just scratch every contact point in the picture.
Make sure the contact pin in high enough in order to make full contact with the phone casing.
Install the casing and the gps worked wonderfully just like without the casing earlier.
What definitive (and practical) solution did you find?
Actually, all you need to do is to press the case from behind, around camera 1 cm from top x 1cm from left/right + 3cm from top/1cm left/right.
My signal went from 0 inside, to 5 meters accuracy. Outside 3 meters. Device only. You can literally delete gps.conf and flp.conf file on redmi 5 plus, and it won't affect gps SNR ratio at all. It's like it isn't reading them. I've been messing around with fixing the issue for 3 days, read all possible posts on the subject, rooted my phone, experimented with everything available till this date. It's just upgraded version of what you have here
It seems there's a design flaw, because GPS antenna and contacts are on the back, and during time, that back seems to bend upwards, which is causing loose connection. One push restored everything in it's place.

GT-I9195: Where is the GPS antenna/connector?

Hi,
I have an old s4mini (LTE) which I have been using as car and bike GPS for many yrs. The GPS was always great but last autumn it stopped working. I put it in the drawer and have been using my old ASUS Z00ED since then which has a better performance, a larger screen and a perfectly working GPS.
Still, the ASUS is way too big to use it as bike GPS while the s4mini's size is perfect, so I want to revive it.
Currently, the phone sees some satellites (with a very bad signal strength or SNR or whatever it is) but is unable to use them, even after trying to get a fix for a long time. The screenshot was taken on my balcony outside where my other phones easily get > 10 sats fix. I am quite sure this is a hardware problem as there was no software update before the problem occured. The phone then was on the latest official LOS 14.1, now I have test installed AOKP 2019-10-25 with no change. It may be a corrosion problem as the phone lay in the mud and rain for an hour after a severe car accident, but after cleaning it, it had worked for 2,5 years without any issues...
So now my question: Where is the s4mini's GPS connector and antenna? I would like to try and fix these. I have a second s4mini with cracked screen which could serve as a spare parts donator.
Take a look at this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sOKKoxu3L4&t=275s
At about 2:40 and 9:15 this guy explaines the location. Maybe skip ahead a few seconds.
I had also an bad GPS receiption and I "cleaned" with a screwdriver the part at 2:40 in the video. Afterwards it was shiny again. Also I "cleaned" the part (of clips) on the board and I did also lift up the board a bit and put a piece of paper behind it so (I was hoping) I get an better connection between those two parts. I am pretening that that helped.
Godapol said:
Take a look at this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sOKKoxu3L4&t=275s
At about 2:40 and 9:15 this guy explaines the location. Maybe skip ahead a few seconds.
I had also an bad GPS receiption and I "cleaned" with a screwdriver the part at 2:40 in the video. Afterwards it was shiny again. Also I "cleaned" the part (of clips) on the board and I did also lift up the board a bit and put a piece of paper behind it so (I was hoping) I get an better connection between those two parts. I am pretening that that helped.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, at the moment I have it back working. I'm afraid the problem was more due to the GPS rollover than due to the antenna.
jdr_85 said:
Thanks, at the moment I have it back working. I'm afraid the problem was more due to the GPS rollover than due to the antenna.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've heard the GPS Rollover isn't an issue on most devices, and a lot of patches are softwrae based. The epoch is set entirely in software iirc.

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