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WANT!
Anyone know where I can get one for cheap.
Doesn't even have to be branded to work with it, as long as it does.
Oh and question, under the camera mirror, which antenna is that? I'm thinking wifi, but I have no idea xD
I sure do! I live in a remote area, so an external antenna comes in VERY handy. I bought mine from this guy - -> http://cgi.ebay.com/13dBi-External-...id=p4634.c0.m14&_trkparms=|301:1|293:1|294:30 .
The antenna works great, went from 2 bars to 4 sometimes 5. And everything is included (Antenna,Adapter Cable). Great shipping too. I got mine in 3 days.
You plug the adapter into the plug under the camera mirror. That is for the phone. Not sure, but I think that encompasses the WiFi as well. No experience with that, I don't have WiFi out here. I have it placed on my metal air conditioner because I think it needs a magnetic ground plane.
**Edit**
I used it when I went into town the other day. Placed the antenna on top of my car. Loaded up WiFiFoFum and got close to 50 WiFi Signals. Detached the antenna and had same amount, so not sure if the antenna helps with WiFi or not. I think if you are not within 300 ft. of a WiFi signal, you're not going to get it anyway.
has anyone noticed that when you take the batter cover of the evo there two holes on the right side of the handset that you can see two antenna connections. anyone think maybe you can use these antennas: http://cgi.ebay.com/Tyco-Universal-...-PCI-U-FL-/280359933530?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0 to boost signal or what are they for?
well, i think what you are referring to is the antenna connectors they use in the factory to test gps/4g/wifi. You would have to find the scematic to discover which one is for the wifi. Even then, since most likely the antennas that wrap around the outside of the back casing are connected to those ports, I am not sure if they would be powerful enough to make a difference in the reception.
But, you have me interested so I am looking around.
They look similur
elegantai said:
well, i think what you are referring to is the antenna connectors they use in the factory to test gps/4g/wifi. You would have to find the scematic to discover which one is for the wifi. Even then, since most likely the antennas that wrap around the outside of the back casing are connected to those ports, I am not sure if they would be powerful enough to make a difference in the reception.
But, you have me interested so I am looking around.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They look the same as the ones on my netbook internal wireless card thats why I think the antennas would fit. But like you said even they might of been for testing and might not even help and btw if you look closley thru two vent on the right side on back of evo youll see the connections are open and nothing seems to be connected!
I believe those are test ports. But you could connect an antenna to it, but you would have to make a matching/phasing array for the external antenna to properly couple. Otherwise your impedence will be out of whack, and you will probably get zero reception, as well as possibly damage the transmitter output. Since we are talking very low power you will also have to contend with line loss going to the external antenna. All in all I wouldn't bother.
Yeah I prob wouldnt was just curious if anyone had any ideas.
Anyone ever use one? If so, what do you think of this?
http://bestcelldist.com/htc_thunderbolt_antenna_combo_em_removal.html
Not interest in saving my brain, but in extending my 3G and 4G range.
I'm a little interested as well. For $50, it had better give great reception.
I heard my friend talk about this today. I hope it works.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA Premium App
I have used them from Wilson Electronics with great results...Don't know about these
Hold the (cell)phone - that one doesn't cover the LTE frequencies. Here's a nice indoor one that covers 700 MHz.
http://bestcelldist.com/htc_thunderbolt_all_bands_8db_panel_indoor.html
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA Premium App
I would like to see how they are attached to the Thunderbolt. (It says direct connect). There is no illustration of the antenna connection to the phone.
rtompkins3 said:
I would like to see how they are attached to the Thunderbolt. (It says direct connect). There is no illustration of the antenna connection to the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would think that it plus into that jack on the bottom back of the TBolt.
Looks to have a rubber plug in it now.
I thought that was covering a screw
Has anyone tried either of these or any other similar device? I recently moved and now my signal has gone to hell (I'm lucky if I get one bar), so I'm seriously considering one of these.
Any reviews/feedback?
rtompkins3 said:
I thought that was covering a screw
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Click to collapse
thats what ive heard.
i also would like to see how this thing connects..
Are we still unaware as to how this connects to the phone? All we've got is our USB port and our headphone jack... unless there's a secret antennae jack that I'm unaware of?
wgoeken said:
Are we still unaware as to how this connects to the phone? All we've got is our USB port and our headphone jack... unless there's a secret antennae jack that I'm unaware of?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know on the droid and several other phones, there are little Antenna diversity jacks so that you can plug in extended or high-gain antennas (usually underneath the battery covers). I have seen the metal connectors (but not in a standardized form) on the inside of the case that connect to the antenna leads inside the back cover. You could potentially solder some leads from those to a proper antenna connecter that you mount on the back of the phone or inside one of those rubber fitted screw-holes. Then you could plug in and unplug your external antenna. As far as standardized connectors for external antennas, I don't think the T-Bolt has one.
emailed that site. heres what they said:
The is a small plastic cover, about 1/4" in diameter, on the back
of the phone. You may remove, very carefully, with a needle, and
the antenna port will be exposed.
Notice, however, that we recommend using the ExtAntPro™ adapter
with the Thunderbolt, because of the very small antenna port. The
regular adapter, which comes with the antennas, falls off very
easily, although it does still work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
they seem to think that cover isnt hiding just a screw, even tho htc says its just a screw. i feel that htc rep might be wrong tho. i might just have to tear my cover off to figure it out once and for all.
edit: ok that htc person is stupid. ITS AN ANTENNA PORT FOR SURE. watch this vid:
http://youtu.be/zdPiT82gWKw?hd=1&t=2m48s pause at about 2:52. youll see its clearly an antenna port with contacts in the circuit board running from it.
gohamstergo said:
emailed that site. heres what they said:
they seem to think that cover isnt hiding just a screw, even tho htc says its just a screw. i feel that htc rep might be wrong tho. i might just have to tear my cover off to figure it out once and for all.
edit: ok that htc person is stupid. ITS AN ANTENNA PORT FOR SURE. watch this vid:
http://youtu.be/zdPiT82gWKw?hd=1&t=2m48s pause at about 2:52. youll see its clearly an antenna port with contacts in the circuit board running from it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello, I second that. I had these antennas for a couple years. I never found the antenna connection on the last couple phones I had, so I never even cared to pull the rubber plug, but it is indeed the antenna plug, these antennas work great, special during long drives, or for when I visit relatives who live in the woods, with a very weak signal. Thanks!
nope not covering a screw i double checked
I would never hook up an external antenna to a phone again. I did it once with my old Samsung Epix, and while it improved the signal when I disconnected the antenna I lost all service, so my phone was basically useless after connecting it.
What about a signal repeater, my office uses them and they work great! our corp office is outside of town so weak signal. Get to work and go inside you get full bars - kinda weird when you notice it. They are place on windows on every floor look just like the external antenna but only have a power cord coming off it.
avatar120 said:
What about a signal repeater, my office uses them and they work great! our corp office is outside of town so weak signal. Get to work and go inside you get full bars - kinda weird when you notice it. They are place on windows on every floor look just like the external antenna but only have a power cord coming off it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We have one of these at my work as well. Great signal outside, but not so much in the basement of the building. As soon as we moved into that building, getting one of these installed was a top priority of mine. It made a HUGE difference, although mostly for non-VZW!
external antenna
Search U.FL on wikipedia
That appears to be the connector under the rubber plug on a thunderbolt.
I cant find any that just go straight except ipx connectors at rfconnector.com
Does connecting an external antenna affect the internal one at all?
LAMPEY said:
Search U.FL on wikipedia
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The TB jack is not a Hirose U.FL. It looks more like a MS-156.
Wilson electronics makes an adapter that will plug into the external antenna jack under the back cover. I tried it, and it worked great... until I disconnected it. Then the internal antenna would no longer work. It's like the act of plugging it in destroyed the phone's ability to use its internal antenna. It would work when I reconnected the external antenna, but when I disconnected it, the phone would only get any signal strength when I was right under a cell tower.
Anyone else try one of their adapters with the Captivate? If so, what were the results?
-nfs
Sent from wherever I was when I sent it.
I had no idea that input jack was there until you said anything. What happens if you switch airplane mode on and off after the disconnect of the adapter?
nappent said:
I had no idea that input jack was there until you said anything. What happens if you switch airplane mode on and off after the disconnect of the adapter?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't remember if I tried it, but it was restarted many times. I would think that power cycling the phone would have essentially the same effect.
Sent from wherever I was when I sent it.
I saw this but never had the courage to try it. Did you pull the battery and try the 3 button fix?
photo please?
This should clarify things
TommyZee said:
photo please?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's the round gold connector at the bottom right of the SIM card. The adapter (FME on the other end) is available here:
http://www.wpsantennas.com/359919-samsung-captivate-galaxy-s-antenna-adapter-cable.aspx
After one BAD experience, I'm not eager to try again. I was sort of hoping that my experience was a fluke and that other people had been more successful.
Why?
capnoob said:
I saw this but never had the courage to try it. Did you pull the battery and try the 3 button fix?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never occurred to me to do that, since the phone booted and it would work when very near a cell tower.
This struck me as either a defect in manufacture, or a design flaw... either in the phone or in the connector. I suspect it was mechanical in nature, and that once the act of connecting the adapter disconnected the internal antenna, something caused it to stay disconnected.
I wonder if this might have happened?
Read the part under "How To Know If a Cellular Yagi Will Work With Your Phone"
http://www.ehelpfultips.com/how_to_use_cell_phone_yagi_direc.htm
capn1 said:
I wonder if this might have happened?
Read the part under "How To Know If a Cellular Yagi Will Work With Your Phone"
http://www.ehelpfultips.com/how_to_use_cell_phone_yagi_direc.htm
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello,
I was using a dual band antenna without an amplifier, so there should not have been too much SWR. I've used this antenna for years with another phone AND an amplifier without problems.
The evidence clearly indicates that phone's transmitter was not burned out due to too much SWR or anything else, because it would still work just fine when reconnected to the external antenna. Ditto for the phone's receiver section; it worked fine whenever it was connected to the external antenna. Once connected, thereafter the signal bars went to zero when it was disconnected. Also, as I mentioned, the phone would still function normally, if I was VERY near a cell tower.
The only conclusion I can make is that the connector was designed to disconnect the internal antenna when an external antenna is connected. Somehow the connector or the electronics failed to ever reconnect it when the external was disconnected.
Sent from wherever I was when I sent it.
try reflashing a modem
It's NOT a firmware problem
I know you guys are trying to help, but it's not a firmware problem. It's a hardware problem. I was just trying to see if anyone else had a similar experience. I just talked with Wilson Electronics, and the guy I spoke with acknowledged that the connector or board can be damaged on the Captivate. He also volunteered that they don't recommend direct connection with that phone. Well, that's kind of odd, since I only learned of the connector by calling them up and asking which one to use with the phone.
Even though I did not buy the adapters from them, I bought them on the recommendation of one of their people, so I have contacted them to get my money back. We'll see; they haven't responded officially yet. I suppose I can contact the vendor, but they were not the ones who told me it would work...
They have another way to inductively connect the phone. The only problem is that my old amplifier won't work for that. I'll have to get a model 801201 instead of my old 812201 which will run another $250 or so, with a cradle and/or velcro attached inductive connector.
comdei said:
try reflashing a modem
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well guess what!!?? You are in luck!!!
Theres something you can do with hardware problems..
CALL SAMSUNG
your phone is under 1 year old. you have a warranty. call them. flash to stock . and get it replaced then
Why don't you try reflashing the modem or rom? People are offering you solutions and you seem stuck on it being a hardware issue. A rom or modem re-flash takes a few mins of your time. Not to start anything but I do support for a living and it bugs the hell out of me when people jump the gun and won't try other solutions.
I am stuck on the evidence as to what the nature of the problem is. Did you read what I posted previously?
Let me tell you a little more. At the time I had the problem, the phone was still on the factory firmware. The phone had never been flashed.
All the available evidence points to a hardware problem. The fact that the phone worked when in close proximity to a cell tower, that as soon as there was any distance between the tower and the phone there were no signal bars, but if I plugged the external antenna in there was immediately good signal...the fact that the connector manufacturer has admitted that their adapter could damage the board... I don't mean to be unapreciative, but I do support, too (a well a writing the software itself), and I've learned to really think about the available information when trying to deduce the nature of a problem, and it seems to me that you are stuck on a conclusion that the evidence doesn't support.
Besides, I am not looking for help here. As I wrote previously, I was trying to find out if anyone has had a similar experience. If my experience was a fluke, then I would have been willing to try connecting the replacement phone. See, the problem has been solved, but I don't want to have it again.
Now that the manufacturer has admitted that their connector could damage the board, I have decided to get a different type of amplifier which allows an inductive connection. That should prevent further problems of this nature. It's an expensive solution, but an antenna with a bi-directional amp is really useful when you are in a remote area with a faint signal. When the signal is too weak for that, it's time to use the ham radio... but that's another topic, and yes, I have been known to take my jeep off road... way way off the road.
nappent said:
Why don't you try reflashing the modem or rom? People are offering you solutions and you seem stuck on it being a hardware issue. A rom or modem re-flash takes a few mins of your time. Not to start anything but I do support for a living and it bugs the hell out of me when people jump the gun and won't try other solutions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from wherever I was when I sent it.
nfs_phone said:
Now that the manufacturer has admitted that their connector could damage the board, I have decided to get a different type of amplifier which allows an inductive connection. That should prevent further problems of this nature. It's an expensive solution, but an antenna with a bi-directional amp is really useful when you are in a remote area with a faint signal. When the signal is too weak for that, it's time to use the ham radio... but that's another topic, and yes, I have been known to take my jeep off road... way way off the road.
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So samsung admitted it is a known problem? Are you sending it in for warranty then?
Trusselo said:
So samsung admitted it is a known problem? Are you sending it in for warranty then?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was referring to the manufacturer of the adapter, not the phone. Samsung was made aware of the problem when I was trouble-shooting the problem. The tech I was talking to blamed the problem on me for using third party accessories not authorized by Samsung. However, since I had been acting in good faith, he did authorize my sending the phone in for warranty repair. I don't know if they can be counted upon to always do that.
I am left wondering how often this problem happens. I used the antenna connector on the back of my Motorola V3xx thousands of times with no issues. It seems really odd to have just connected the Cappy once and suffered such a problem. One key difference is that I don't think that the V3xx disconnected the internal antenna when you connect the external one.
Sent from wherever I was when I sent it.
I've seen similar behavior when one of my foster kids mistook the antenna for a screw while disassembling a blackberry.
The antenna jack is a "normalizing " jack in that when you plug something in a circuit is disconnected and when you unplug it restores the circuit.
if there was a problem with the adapter and it applied too much pressure to the middle pin then it may not have normalized and you would only get signal if you sat under a tower.
This is exactly what happened with the poor blackberry.
Glad to hear Sammy is covering it with warranty, other wise you would have been the proud owner of the only door wedge that plays angry birds.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Interesting. Not sure I understand what you mean by normalizing nor"middle" pin, but it was pretty clear that the internal antenna was no longer connected. Of course the unit was not entirely useless as a phone, but the requirement of having to always have it connected to an external antenna to get it to work did make it a tad cumbersome to use...
pawadca said:
I've seen similar behavior when one of my foster kids mistook the antenna for a screw while disassembling a blackberry.
The antenna jack is a "normalizing " jack in that when you plug something in a circuit is disconnected and when you unplug it restores the circuit.
if there was a problem with the adapter and it applied too much pressure to the middle pin then it may not have normalized and you would only get signal if you sat under a tower.
This is exactly what happened with the poor blackberry.
Glad to hear Sammy is covering it with warranty, other wise you would have been the proud owner of the only door wedge that plays angry birds.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from wherever I was when I sent it.
I'd agree that it's a hardware problem, it may actually be that the internal antenna is burned out. I had a similar problem with the wifi on my old ipod.
I used an aftermarket charger which shorted something inside the device. Consequently, the battery would not hold a charge for longer than 15 minutes AND the it would not recognize a wifi signal, unless I held the ipod within inches of the router. Similar to what you experience with the cell towers, except on a smaller scale.
Good luck.
Burning out the antenna itself would require the kind of amperage generated by a lightning strike. Much more likely that even in your situation some circuitry connecting your antenna to the phone blew out.
In my case there was no overvoltage, just a mechanical connection. I think something just got bent beyond its ability to bend back from... I'm guessing here, but I can see a bar inside the antenna connector. When the center pin of the adapter is pushed into the connector, it will make contact with that bar (the bar is at the side of the opening at 90 degrees to the center pin of the adapter) and pushes it to the side to some extent. I am not sure, but I think that maybe it was pushed a tiny bit too far, and it wasn't able to spring back to its original position. I am assuming that when it is pushed to the side it causes the connection to the internal antenna to be disconnected and that its contact with the center pin of the adapter is the connection to the antenna. I am further concluding that if it doesn't spring back to its original position, that the internal antenna is never reconnected.
jwolfburg said:
I'd agree that it's a hardware problem, it may actually be that the internal antenna is burned out. I had a similar problem with the wifi on my old ipod.
I used an aftermarket charger which shorted something inside the device. Consequently, the battery would not hold a charge for longer than 15 minutes AND the it would not recognize a wifi signal, unless I held the ipod within inches of the router. Similar to what you experience with the cell towers, except on a smaller scale.
Good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from wherever I was when I sent it.
Hi,
Am having problems with my GNex after briefly using the external antenna port in the back when I was out in the middle of nowhere.
Before I used the port, I had good signal pretty much everywhere. At current (after using it) I get no bars (not even enough signal to receive sms) except for in extremely specific spots where it will jump up to full. There seems to be no loss of functionality in spots where I do have signal but I cannot find these without driving around for a while.
Are there any known issues to do with using the external antenna?
Thanks in advance for any help or advice.
Sorry, don't quite follow what you mean by 'external antenna port'?
What exactly did you do?
magnimus1 said:
Sorry, don't quite follow what you mean by 'external antenna port'?
What exactly did you do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On the back of SGN, under the cover there is a socket to which you can connect external antenna to boost reception. I think this is what OP meant.
OP: You did try to turn it off and on again, didn't you? Maybe try to take out the battery and live it for some time and turn it on? For some reason it seems to help for some wired issues
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
I hope I'm wrong but it sounds just like:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1273292
If you take the back cover off there is a small plug that you can use (it works because I used it for better or worse) with a standard external aerial plug (such as you might have in your car).
I plugged an external aerial into that port at the back so that I could check my phone in a place with very little service.
k_myk said:
On the back of SGN, under the cover there is a socket to which you can connect external antenna to boost reception. I think this is what OP meant.
OP: You did try to turn it off and on again, didn't you? Maybe try to take out the battery and live it for some time and turn it on? For some reason it seems to help for some wired issues
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I've turned it off and on and taken the battery out and stuff many many times.
spamlucal said:
I hope I'm wrong but it sounds just like:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1273292
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sounds bad. Will look into it. Thanks.
spamlucal said:
I hope I'm wrong but it sounds just like:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1273292
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah that thread is the FIRST thing i thought of. in summary to anyone else, on the other galaxy phones, hooking up an external antenna to the port permanently disabled the regular internal antenna by seperating a connection on the hardware. broken as in permanently and physically. needs to be sent for repair.
so i wouldnt attempt this with the nexus either!
I think that is what has happened. Damn.
Anyone know if this is covered by warranty? Otherwise I'll break out the soldering iron.
more than likely not, but it can't hurt to play dumb and try.
I use and external antenna on my galaxy nexus to get good service and i have not had any problems like that, i still get ordinary service most places without it
Which antenna you use? Can you show us where u bought it?
Yes. What model antenna? The proper antenna is hard to find.
Sent from my Nexus in Texas.
Please note that the antenna connector is ***NOT*** meant as an everyday-use port (and not built to withstand such use). This thing is for testing the radio in the factory when the GN is assembled.
If you plug in a cable every day, even with the correct connector, you will likely break the port sooner or later.
Valynor said:
Please note that the antenna connector is ***NOT*** meant as an everyday-use port (and not built to withstand such use). This thing is for testing the radio in the factory when the GN is assembled.
If you plug in a cable every day, even with the correct connector, you will likely break the port sooner or later.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Who said anything about unplugging it? Maybe we want to mod our phones for permanent installation.
Sent from my Nexus in Texas.
I'd like a update on this situation as well!
It would be cool to repurpose/extend the pogo pins and attach an external antenna to a desk/car dock.... I too got excited when I saw the connectors.
anything new ??
I am having the same problems with the galaxy s
I am having the exact same issue with a galaxy S
Am having problems with my GNex after briefly using the external antenna port in the back when I was out in the middle of nowhere.
Before I used the port, I had good signal pretty much everywhere. At current (after using it) I get no bars (not even enough signal to receive sms) except for in extremely specific spots where it will jump up to full. There seems to be no loss of functionality in spots where I do have signal but I cannot find these without driving around for a while.
Are there any known issues to do with using the external antenna?
Thanks in advance for any help or advice.[/QUOTE]
If you plugged in an external antenna then you permanently broke an internal connector to the internal antenna. So now you get poor service in all places except the most strong signal areas. I believe there is no way to fix the phone now, its hardware was permanently broke using the external antenna.