Develop Bugs

Where is GPS antenna

I accidentally bricked my new Rhod500 and bought heavy-used Rhod210 on eBay for parts. I replaced the motherboard, but the problem was with antenna pins, that are slightly different. I soldered wire (2) instead of one antenna and adjusted pins for second antenna (1). The GSM now works, but not the GPS. Probably, I did something wrong. Does anybody knows which one of these is GPS antenna? Thanks!
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I figured out, (1) is GSM antenna and (2) is GPS. Everything works now, please close the thread.

there appears to be a third antenna at the bottom of the phone. what one is that? i would have put money on that being the gps.

Indeed. Maybe CDMA? One thing I know for sure, my GPS doesn't work if I cut yellow wire (2) or change its length.

The Jack of Clubs said:
there appears to be a third antenna at the bottom of the phone. what one is that? i would have put money on that being the gps.
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Does the phone have a separate WiFi antenna?

99ff00 said:
Indeed. Maybe CDMA? One thing I know for sure, my GPS doesn't work if I cut yellow wire (2) or change its length.
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i have att, gsm.
stevedebi said:
Does the phone have a separate WiFi antenna?
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i forgot about wifi. thats probably it. i also forgot about bluetooth. no clue where that is. meh.

sTUPID QUESTION.....
IS the black vinyl like sticker on the back of the phone part of the actual antenna?
I ripped mine off, and now GPS no longer works.

Hi, you mind to make it briefly probable with more details picture as i open it to solve the no sim card problem and now the gps not work.
i might have remove some weld wire or what...
mind to show me details picture how the gps wire goes around?
htc sucks....1 year and all gone

A black sticker at the bottom is bluetooth antenna.

External Antenna

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.
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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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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?
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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The TB jack is not a Hirose U.FL. It looks more like a MS-156.

Antenna ports behind battery cover?

Has anyone else noticed what look like antenna ports behind the battery cover? The battery cover isn't supposed to function as an antenna like the Thunderbolt, is it? Mine definitely doesn't have any contacts.

I believe the NFC antenna is in the battery.

I'm talking about the things labeled G, L1 C2, C1, L2.

Bump, does anyone else see what i'm talking about?

mirkendargen said:
Bump, does anyone else see what i'm talking about?
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I see exactly what your talking about (pretty sure). Could it not be the barometric pressure sensor?

I dont have this...are you LTE?

Confirmed - LTE
My LTE has those antenna ports as well. I suppose you could plug in a laptop antenna and see what happens

I've got them on my lte
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

Its possible that they are ports for a wireless charging system that may come out for the nexus. I have noticed more phones are incorporating it in from beginning.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App

It does look like port for antenna, I don't think its for wireless charging back.

Those ports are used by the carriers to hook up their test equipment during the phone testing and certification process.

ITGuy11 said:
Those ports are used by the carriers to hook up their test equipment during the phone testing and certification process.
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This is correct those are not really intended to be used as external antenna/amplifier ports. Those of you who want a correct connector it may be found here: wpsantennas.com
WARNING: Those connectors are really fragile and I have had to resolder a new connector after one of mine got stuck 'open' (wpsantennas put up a warning for that adapter).

I'm curious given all the talk of poor signal issues with the GNex... Would it be possible / beneficial to connect to one of these ports and coil / attach something to the battery door? I am certainly not suggesting I go experimenting, but if after research it turns into, buy this adapter, cut here, buy this, solder, attach here... that would awesome. Even a little improvement would make many people happy I think.

I have the GSM version of the gnex and I only have 1 antenna port on the back of my phone.
I've tried connecting a wireless antenna but the connection is too small, the gnex connection is a bit bigger than your standard wireless connector plug.
I'm assuming you need something special to plug into it ')
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

What about the one labled "G"? Is that a GPS hookup? I have the airwave at home and it happened to have a gps antennae in the box. If i recall correctly.... one end of that cable looked like it would connect to this port...
If i were to experiment, could I damage my phone?

btate0121 said:
What about the one labled "G"? Is that a GPS hookup? I have the airwave at home and it happened to have a gps antennae in the box. If i recall correctly.... one end of that cable looked like it would connect to this port...
If i were to experiment, could I damage my phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could. I won't try it though.
Beamed from my Grouper.

Gnex connections
Based on my 1 yr. of robotics, I would say (just guessing ) that L1 and L2 stand for Line1(neg.) and Line2(pos.) and G(ground). As to C1 and C2, no idea. All these are probably intended for trained techs and could potentially turn your phone into a paper weight if used incorrectly. Just sayin'

btate0121 said:
What about the one labled "G"? Is that a GPS hookup? I have the airwave at home and it happened to have a gps antennae in the box. If i recall correctly.... one end of that cable looked like it would connect to this port...
If i were to experiment, could I damage my phone?
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Click to collapse
Once you attach an Antenna, it will open that port and it will be sick open meaning it won't ever work again without an Antenna. A friend of mine did this to the epic 4g
"best to be fresh"

dreamsforgotten said:
Once you attach an Antenna, it will open that port and it will be sick open meaning it won't ever work again without an Antenna. A friend of mine did this to the epic 4g
"best to be fresh"
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Click to collapse
I read that someone did the same thing with a AT&T SGS2
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

There was a thread around, if the antenna cable's pin diameter is too big, it will force the contacts open.
Beamed from Maguro

Signal Problems after Using External Antenna

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?
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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
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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
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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.

Disassemble and reassemble of galaxy nexus :)

I have a few pictures of my galaxy nexus broken down if anyone would like to ask me questions on how and where things go they can. I actually find this phone to be very easy to get apart and if careful can be reassembled in 15 minutes. I was actually replacing my speaker with some old parts I bought off a guy. No more crackling! Anyways in the process grabbed some pics
U can see the first three are the screen bottom speaker, main board, vibe, etc. The last pic she's all back together
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

Somehow I imagined a picture of me tearing down a smartphone where I was photoshopped out and replaced with a picture of a dog in a labcoat saying: "I have no idea what I'm doing"

Yep this phone is one of the easiest ive worked with. had to open mine to replace the earpiece. the only thing to take care of is the volume ribbon and vibrator wires, they can snap off really easily.

IINexusII said:
Yep this phone is one of the easiest ive worked with. had to open mine to replace the earpiece. the only thing to take care of is the volume ribbon and vibrator wires, they can snap off really easily.
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is the imei sticker that is attached onto the black plastic removable from the main board?

IINexusII said:
Yep this phone is one of the easiest ive worked with. had to open mine to replace the earpiece. the only thing to take care of is the volume ribbon and vibrator wires, they can snap off really easily.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes sir....I just stuck a razor blade between them and the housing and they come right off connected to a gel like glue. This was good because sticking them back in place they actually stayed. U also have to remove the vibrator motor and the long black wire running down alongside the battery compartment (it has connectors on each end) then of course your two ribbon connectors for main board then one ribbon connector for bottom speaker. Didn't touch cams no need to.....very very easy job in fact it was to easy.

I have to replace my USB board (my USB port was damaged) and I am a newbie doing this kind of service myself. I bought it on ebay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/OEM-Charger...ltDomain_0&hash=item35bc2f9280#ht_3392wt_1052
Do you think it is possible for someone with no experience to make it? I think I will try it myself, not in the mood to send it to some repair shop and wait 30 days..

juliano_q said:
I have to replace my USB board (my USB port was damaged) and I am a newbie doing this kind of service myself. I bought it on ebay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/OEM-Charger...ltDomain_0&hash=item35bc2f9280#ht_3392wt_1052
Do you think it is possible for someone with no experience to make it? I think I will try it myself, not in the mood to send it to some repair shop and wait 30 days..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes for sure...but if u do not feel safe doing it then take it in. I know to get to the usb the whole speaker and housing comes off of the top of that. Which is one screw then a ribbon fairly easy....then u just work something thin in between that and housing like a guitar pic or Mac card. I would go with guitar pic tho so u don't mess the corners of your card up. I know that once the speaker portion is off u see in my first pic the USB I think has its on board. I truthfully did not take that portion of it out thought it was kind of pointless. If u need help I will assist u if u decide to do it yourself

sarni84 said:
Yes for sure...but if u do not feel safe doing it then take it in. I know to get to the usb the whole speaker and housing comes off of the top of that. Which is one screw then a ribbon fairly easy....then u just work something thin in between that and housing like a guitar pic or Mac card. I would go with guitar pic tho so u don't mess the corners of your card up. I know that once the speaker portion is off u see in my first pic the USB I think has its on board. I truthfully did not take that portion of it out thought it was kind of pointless. If u need help I will assist u if u decide to do it yourself
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I think I will try it myself, just have to wait for it to arrive.

juliano_q said:
Thanks, I think I will try it myself, just have to wait for it to arrive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea dude pm me and I'll definitely help out

Thats pretty neat man, do you know where the GPS chip is?
I replaced my back cover and apparently I damaged the GPS chip cause I have NO gps lock, software side its ruled out (I flashed many diff ROMS, kernels and Radios and it used to work well before I opened up my Gnex)
Thank you.

where is the VZ LTE radio? maybe i can swap mine out for one that doesnt cause signal drops.

Sergio PC said:
Thats pretty neat man, do you know where the GPS chip is?
I replaced my back cover and apparently I damaged the GPS chip cause I have NO gps lock, software side its ruled out (I flashed many diff ROMS, kernels and Radios and it used to work well before I opened up my Gnex)
Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The battery cover? Hmmmm. I am pretty sure the GPS chip is on the opposite side of motherboard. Looking at ifixit photos it says right by rear camera on the opposite side of motherboard.
Edit...also if u look at first pic in my pictures look on right side of battery compartment . See the black wire with the connectors on each end? I wonder if the connector closest to bottom came loose or has something to do with it

10roller said:
where is the VZ LTE radio? maybe i can swap mine out for one that doesnt cause signal drops.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure I have GSM model. And dude good luck with that unless u know how to solder chips on to motherboards that is nearly impossible and I think swapping a lte chip for another lte chip won't solve your problem

sarni84 said:
The battery cover? Hmmmm. I am pretty sure the GPS chip is on the opposite side of motherboard. Looking at ifixit photos it says right by rear camera on the opposite side of motherboard.
Edit...also if u look at first pic in my pictures look on right side of battery compartment . See the black wire with the connectors on each end? I wonder if the connector closest to bottom came loose or has something to do with it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, appreciate your time.
I checked out ifixit, thinking that in the process of removing the cover I could of hit the GPS chip or something, but since you pointed out that its on the opposite side of the motherboard that's not a possibility. Since I have not removed the mother board.
I have not opened it again, afraid of ruining something else.
But I guess I will have to in order to check the wire you speak about.
Salutations

I sent my phone in for repair to Samsung via Expansys for a bad external speaker. Back when it went bad, phone was too new to have all parts available as spares on the net plus the phone was still under warranty so I send it back to Samsung via Expansys-usa. But what I think happened is that Expansys didn't send it to Samsung and repaired it inhouse. I can say that because all screws inside the phone had chewed up heads and the repair didn't look good however the external speaker was working. First thing I found out that external volume rocker was not working anymore. So I send it back again to Expansys and I just received it back today with a note saying that the volume rocker ribbon pins have come away from the main board and taken the pin with them.
Bottom line is that they didn't repair the phone. Any ideas on how I can get this fixed? Do I have to change the ribbon? if I want to do it myself or this sort of damage requires a new board?
Any ideas comments are appreciated.
Edit: Link to photo showing the pins that are separated from the board

sarni84 said:
I have a few pictures of my galaxy nexus broken down if anyone would like to ask me questions on how and where things go they can. I actually find this phone to be very easy to get apart and if careful can be reassembled in 15 minutes. I was actually replacing my speaker with some old parts I bought off a guy. No more crackling! Anyways in the process grabbed some pics
U can see the first three are the screen bottom speaker, main board, vibe, etc. The last pic she's all back together
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Sarni,
I accidentally snapped the ribbon (refer to attached pic, circled in red), and now my speaker is not working anymore. I guess that ribbon was for connecting the speaker and headphone jack? . What do you think i should do now, replace the whole piece?
I also intend to replace my damaged charge port, but not sure how to proceed for that.
Thanks,
Dennis