Where is the NFC antenna? Couldn't tell from the ifixit
Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
From the Q&A that I cannot find anymore -and if my memory is correct- it is near to the camera
The literature included in the box circles the camera hump on the back and labels that "NFC." Assuming I'm not missing something, that means the NFC antenna is with the camera.
Hi
randman2011 said:
The literature included in the box circles the camera hump on the back and labels that "NFC." Assuming I'm not missing something, that means the NFC antenna is with the camera.
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Click to collapse
Absolutely spot on, it can be seen on the teardown images as well, it's a black sticker essentially with copper tracks, it isn't symmetrical around the camera area but that probably isn't noticeable in use.
https://d3nevzfk7ii3be.cloudfront.net/igi/LKmLDjCoZLJLj2Jk.huge
Regards
Phil
Hmm, this might make it tricky when trying to use the fingerprint scanner to authorise and HFC transaction as your hand might be in the way as you are trying to bump the phone onto the NFC reader. Guess we will see when people use Android Pay.
You don't have to be exactly on top of something to get NFC to work. Generally an inch away is enough.
Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
Related
I remember a few months back someone had a tpu case and they cut out sections on the back of the case to fix the problem of the case blocking the gps signal. I was wondering if anybody remembers this and could point me to where that was. They had instructions and pictures I'm pretty sure. Hope someone remembers this.
Thanks
The gps antenna is in the flashlight cover. There's a thread in here detailing a hardware mod that helped me. Think its "gps 1000000% working"
Sent from my Motorola 8500
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1101066
Thats the link to it .. Copied it for another post and forgot I saw this one
Sent from my Desire HD beatmod gingersense v1.2 using XDA App
leeston2379 said:
The gps antenna is in the flashlight cover. There's a thread in here detailing a hardware mod that helped me. Think its "gps 1000000% working"
Sent from my Motorola 8500
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Click to collapse
Thanks I just kinda want to start by modifying my tpu case and see if that helps before I dive in n start messing with phone hardware. If i remember correctly the guy who did the mod to his case also cut off a part on lower part of the case where the darker part of the Desire HD is. Is that where the wifi antenna is??
shaunjpeterson said:
Thanks I just kinda want to start by modifying my tpu case and see if that helps before I dive in n start messing with phone hardware. If i remember correctly the guy who did the mod to his case also cut off a part on lower part of the case where the darker part of the Desire HD is. Is that where the wifi antenna is??
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Click to collapse
The antenna is at the top where the flash is, as stated. There is a cable running down the side to the GPS module at the bottom of the case.
I cut my own TPU case around the flash cover and the improvement was not that great, In the end I took the case off without trying anything further.
I would suggest cutting around the flash cover with a few holes down the left side and then another larger cut out at the bottom directly in line with flash cover, but be prepared to waste the case
LondonTownGuy said:
The antenna is at the top where the flash is, as stated. There is a cable running down the side to the GPS module at the bottom of the case.
I cut my own TPU case around the flash cover and the improvement was not that great, In the end I took the case off without trying anything further.
I would suggest cutting around the flash cover with a few holes down the left side and then another larger cut out at the bottom directly in line with flash cover, but be prepared to waste the case
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I cut out a rectangle the size of the entire flash cover that pops out. It greatly improved my gps signal. I get a lock within seconds when near a window whereas before i either wouldnt get a lock or it would take minutes. I may try cutting out a part on the bottom on a secondary case to see if that helps even further but at the moment I am very satisfied with my fix. So if anyone is have gps problems try seeing if its your case before going the hardware route.
shaunjpeterson said:
I cut out a rectangle the size of the entire flash cover that pops out. It greatly improved my gps signal. I get a lock within seconds when near a window whereas before i either wouldnt get a lock or it would take minutes. I may try cutting out a part on the bottom on a secondary case to see if that helps even further but at the moment I am very satisfied with my fix. So if anyone is have gps problems try seeing if its your case before going the hardware route.
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Click to collapse
I don't see how this is remotely beleivable. No empiracal data has been collected just hearsay.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
akira02rex said:
I don't see how this is remotely beleivable. No empiracal data has been collected just hearsay.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
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Click to collapse
I used the GPS Test app and set my phone right beside a window and it would take about a minute to get a lock. I then took off my case and I got a lock within seconds so obviously something with my case is blocking the GPS signal. So I cut out a rectangle where the antenna is located. I then test using the app and get a lock within 15 seconds. Its not as fast as without the case but it is way quicker than before. If you don't believe me that's cool. It could be specific to my phone or my case, I'm just saying for the people that are having issues with GPS signal and you have a case, take the case off and see if the signal is better. If it is then your case is blocking the signal and if not then you might have to do the hardware fix that is covered in a bunch of threads.
Well, it's 6 am here and I decided to do a little experiment with my phone to boost my signal.
I simply placed aluminum foil over the signal connector thingy and it did happen to boost it up to 3 steady bars, when I would normally get about 1.
This may or may not work for you. Let me know if this actually worked for you.
Sent from my ADR6350 using XDA Premium App
Pictures would be great. There are two antenna connectors in the back cover, one near the bottom and one near the top.
Didnt work for me
arent you supposed to put toothpaste in the foil and wrap it good?
jesand83 said:
Pictures would be great. There are two antenna connectors in the back cover, one near the bottom and one near the top.
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Click to collapse
Yeah, that's exactly were I placed them and closed the cover. It molds right in.
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voxigenboy said:
arent you supposed to put toothpaste in the foil and wrap it good?
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Click to collapse
I don't know anything about that.
Sent from my ADR6350 using XDA Premium App
wouldn't that put both the ground and signal in contact with each other? possible to post a quick picture?
There are 4 contacts under the phone, and 4 on the back cover. 2 of them (next to the camera) are linked. I suspect the contacts next to the camera are the looped GPS antenna.
The other 2 contacts are separate radios. One is wifi and the other is mobile (they are not looped). These should not be bridged (this can cause problems, actually). I think the outer contact is mobile and the inner (has the longer yellow strip on stock back cover) is wifi.
I've been kinda studying the back cover antenna thing and I've come to a bit of a strange conclusion: I knew the yellow bit was conductive paint or ink, but I'm suspecting that the yellow bit is the entire antenna as I can't find any other connectivity, wires, etc.
I know I've been defending this device in terms of signal quality, but I'm thinking, now, that this can be improved a lot. I'm probably going to be destroying my back cover in the name of science this weekend. I know I can get a replacement back cover so no big deal!
nimdae said:
There are 4 contacts under the phone, and 4 on the back cover. 2 of them (next to the camera) are linked. I suspect the contacts next to the camera are the looped GPS antenna.
The other 2 contacts are separate radios. One is wifi and the other is mobile (they are not looped). These should not be bridged (this can cause problems, actually). I think the outer contact is mobile and the inner (has the longer yellow strip on stock back cover) is wifi.
I've been kinda studying the back cover antenna thing and I've come to a bit of a strange conclusion: I knew the yellow bit was conductive paint or ink, but I'm suspecting that the yellow bit is the entire antenna as I can't find any other connectivity, wires, etc.
I know I've been defending this device in terms of signal quality, but I'm thinking, now, that this can be improved a lot. I'm probably going to be destroying my back cover in the name of science this weekend. I know I can get a replacement back cover so no big deal!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a cover that's dented..if you need it for science...well..
sent from an under rated phone
nimdae said:
There are 4 contacts under the phone, and 4 on the back cover. 2 of them (next to the camera) are linked. I suspect the contacts next to the camera are the looped GPS antenna.
The other 2 contacts are separate radios. One is wifi and the other is mobile (they are not looped). These should not be bridged (this can cause problems, actually). I think the outer contact is mobile and the inner (has the longer yellow strip on stock back cover) is wifi.
I've been kinda studying the back cover antenna thing and I've come to a bit of a strange conclusion: I knew the yellow bit was conductive paint or ink, but I'm suspecting that the yellow bit is the entire antenna as I can't find any other connectivity, wires, etc.
I know I've been defending this device in terms of signal quality, but I'm thinking, now, that this can be improved a lot. I'm probably going to be destroying my back cover in the name of science this weekend. I know I can get a replacement back cover so no big deal!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cool! haha. look forward to hear back any conclusions or findings from your experimenting.
nimdae said:
There are 4 contacts under the phone, and 4 on the back cover. 2 of them (next to the camera) are linked. I suspect the contacts next to the camera are the looped GPS antenna.
The other 2 contacts are separate radios. One is wifi and the other is mobile (they are not looped). These should not be bridged (this can cause problems, actually). I think the outer contact is mobile and the inner (has the longer yellow strip on stock back cover) is wifi.
I've been kinda studying the back cover antenna thing and I've come to a bit of a strange conclusion: I knew the yellow bit was conductive paint or ink, but I'm suspecting that the yellow bit is the entire antenna as I can't find any other connectivity, wires, etc.
I know I've been defending this device in terms of signal quality, but I'm thinking, now, that this can be improved a lot. I'm probably going to be destroying my back cover in the name of science this weekend. I know I can get a replacement back cover so no big deal!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting. I will have to do some science as well, with FOIL!
anyone know where I can get conductive paint from? Maybe thickening the pre painted paint will make a better connection with the signal thingies?
And about the pics, sorry I can't post any, my phone is the only camera I have at the moment.
Sent from my ADR6350 using XDA Premium App
you could still take pictures with the battery cover off, no? isn't the foil on the battery door?
Avelnan said:
Interesting. I will have to do some science as well, with FOIL!
anyone know where I can get conductive paint from? Maybe thickening the pre painted paint will make a better connection with the signal thingies?
And about the pics, sorry I can't post any, my phone is the only camera I have at the moment.
Sent from my ADR6350 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Conductive ink is generally composed of a conductive polymer or contains metallic dust for conductivity. It's generally used as a cheaper method of bridge contacts between conductors. I've never seen it used this way before.
One thing I know about wireless signaling is length of antenna wire is important. I don't know the exact math for determining optimal length by frequency, but I do know the longer the better, preferably long enough to receive a full wavelength.
To be honest I'd be quite surprised if the conductive ink is being used as the antenna. However, I really can't find evidence to state otherwise.
nimdae said:
To be honest I'd be quite surprised if the conductive ink is being used as the antenna. However, I really can't find evidence to state otherwise.
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Click to collapse
I have to agree..since it only gets signal with cover on.
sent from an under rated phone
The inner contact is actually the mobile radio. I'm getting signal with bus wire but it's not a marked improvement. This is connected to the full 400' spool, though.
I've already damaged my back cover so I'm pretty much committed to this experiment. Going to do a little more testing before I commit to modification.
nimdae said:
The inner contact is actually the mobile radio. I'm getting signal with bus wire but it's not a marked improvement. This is connected to the full 400' spool, though.
I've already damaged my back cover so I'm pretty much committed to this experiment. Going to do a little more testing before I commit to modification.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have an extra. Where you live
sent from an under rated phone
knipp21 said:
I have an extra. Where you live
sent from an under rated phone
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Click to collapse
Eh, don't worry about it It's not gonna bother me to have to buy a new one.
After a bit of testing using a 1' length of wire (used solder to build a flat contact on the end and pressed it in, feeding the wire through the tiny hold...for testing) I've found the signal strength marginally improves, but the data speeds improve quite a bit. In one of my rooms I tend to get poor signal/speed (pipes? not sure) but was able to double my speeds. However, the connection was still pretty unstable.
The end with my homemade flat contact broke and I don't feel like making another one right now. I have a temporary solution that works, but is a bit fragile.
nimdae said:
Eh, don't worry about it It's not gonna bother me to have to buy a new one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok btw I got hulu plus to work
sent from an under rated phone
Very interested to hear your results, nimdae. I was almost going to play around with this the other day.
I do have a suspicion though that some of the antenna may actually be "hidden" in the cover. I managed to carve off and expose some metallic looking material where you open the case at. Not sure if it is indeed since I didn't go any further.
Foil worked for me!!! My signal just went from -125 dbm to 98 dbm!!
Sent from my Incredible 2 using XDA App
Hey all. I dismantled my Galaxy Nexus in hopes to fix my vibration squeal, and when I opened it up, I found tiny green stickers that are planted inside the housing. I attempted to remove one but they are stuck there pretty dang good. Check it out.
Plus, it's not a bad idea to take it apart just to clean it. Mine was dusty so I'm glad I did it. Make sure that if you do do this that you do it in an area that's safe from ESD, which electro-static discharge. That last thing you or I would want it to have your Galaxy Nexus be fried.
Anyway, what do you think these green stickers do and why are they there? To me it makes the phone kind of cheap because of this. But no bother.
Thanks.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
It's possible that they are water damage stickers.
Also, I do not recommend people start ripping apart their Galaxy Nexus phones. This voids warranty and it's possible that there are parts in the phone that get snapped or moved if user opens it that will be noticed by the tech support technician.
Dust is not a problem for mobile phones, since modern phones don't have ventilation systems that depend on flow of cool air. Your phone would have to be in use in bad conditions for a very long time to need any internal 'dusting'.
kristovaher said:
It's possible that they are water damage stickers.
Also, I do not recommend people start ripping apart their Galaxy Nexus phones. This voids warranty and it's possible that there are parts in the phone that get snapped or moved if user opens it that will be noticed by the tech support technician.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They're not liquid sensors. Take out your battery and you'll see a white sticker with 16 purple x's. That's the liquid contact indicator. The green stickers serve another purpose which I have yet to muster up a reason for. Taking apart your device for exploration is not a big deal if you know what you're doing. Obviously don't literally rip the phone apart, come on. Be smart about it. Also, there are no internal warranty void stickers inside, so you have nothing to lose if your hands are skilled.
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Possibly a refurb by some slight chance...maybe your particular phone didn't pass one of the tests and had to be fixed...NFC maybe...or IDK?
Also, lol you're posting from an iPhone.
Smokeey said:
Possibly a refurb by some slight chance...maybe your particular phone didn't pass one of the tests and had to be fixed...NFC maybe...or IDK?
Also, lol you're posting from an iPhone.
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Click to collapse
No way no how is this refurbished.i would be very sad if that were the case. I bought it back in November. Had the Samsung seal of greatness on it still intact. So I doubt it's refurbished. I took it apart to just check it out for myself, and it was toooooo easy to do.
Yeah ha, sending from an iPhone indeed. I have both units. Both I love equally. Haha.
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maybe since you got it open you can check to see what the rattle is behind the camera? or maybe it is the camera sensor itself? dunno, but I noticed it the first day I bought it and seem just slightly annoyed by it. If you hold the phone in your hand and tap your finger near the camera lens you'll see what I'm talking about. Would be nice to know what it is.
automaddux said:
maybe since you got it open you can check to see what the rattle is behind the camera? or maybe it is the camera sensor itself? dunno, but I noticed it the first day I bought it and seem just slightly annoyed by it. If you hold the phone in your hand and tap your finger near the camera lens you'll see what I'm talking about. Would be nice to know what it is.
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Click to collapse
It's the autofocus mechanism.
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It would be better if you would upload a better quality pic with both the plastic cover with the green stickers and the part on which is mounted.
maybe this is NFC transmit like on Blackberry Bold 4....
ztm.000 said:
They're not liquid sensors. Take out your battery and you'll see a white sticker with 16 purple x's. That's the liquid contact indicator. The green stickers serve another purpose which I have yet to muster up a reason for. Taking apart your device for exploration is not a big deal if you know what you're doing. Obviously don't literally rip the phone apart, come on. Be smart about it. Also, there are no internal warranty void stickers inside, so you have nothing to lose if your hands are skilled.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The GSM Nexus has no warranty void stickers or water indicators. The stickers may be tiny antennas
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
No clue what they're for, but yours isn't the only device with them (so I doubt it was a refurb, as previously suggested).
(via http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Samsung-Galaxy-Nexus-Teardown/7182/1 )
It looks like they are possible being used as a buffer to protect the way the case rubs on some of the components. Possibly like an antistatic protectant
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Nexus - Verizon 4G LTE.
It's probably electrical insulation.
lol as if they would be slipping refurbs back into the market as new phones! Not having a great pic to base it on these are either shorting or wear protection
Pacifik said:
It's probably electrical insulation.
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Click to collapse
This.
Look what's under the tape .. you can see metallic circuits under all of them.
-> http://guide-images.ifixit.net/igi/qqCnaRuXSHnMhDXJ.huge
Could someone explain to me how the hardware in the m8 works for NFC. Like what would cause NFC to not be able to get enabled after taking apart the phone.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
What did you do?
samisax said:
What did you do?
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I took the phone apart and replaced the main camera module, the battery, and the microusb board.
In the process I broke off the copper piece at the top of the phone that touches the case. That piece is used for the GPS and the compass, so now I can't get a GPS lock nor does the compass move.
I don't think that the NFC is controlled by that piece and even if it were I think NFC would be able to turn on but not work. I've checked all the wires and they appear to be plugged in... I think
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
Garridon said:
I took the phone apart and replaced the main camera module, the battery, and the microusb board.
In the process I broke off the copper piece at the top of the phone that touches the case. That piece is used for the GPS and the compass, so now I can't get a GPS lock nor does the compass move.
I don't think that the NFC is controlled by that piece and even if it were I think NFC would be able to turn on but not work. I've checked all the wires and they appear to be plugged in... I think
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So look at your rear housing. You'll see the NFC patch around where the main camera peeks through. There are a few copper contacts, which should line up with their counterparts on your mainboard. When I ordered a replacement rear housing, it came without the NFC patch, so I grafted it from my old rear housing. I never managed to get it to make contact, so my NFC doesn't work anymore. I wonder if anyone figured out a way to do this.
samisax said:
So look at your rear housing. You'll see the NFC patch around where the main camera peeks through. There are a few copper contacts, which should line up with their counterparts on your mainboard. When I ordered a replacement rear housing, it came without the NFC patch, so I grafted it from my old rear housing. I never managed to get it to make contact, so my NFC doesn't work anymore. I wonder if anyone figured out a way to do this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How does NFC function on yours though, does it try to turn on but goes back to the off position?
There has to be an answer somewhere.....
Garridon said:
How does NFC function on yours though, does it try to turn on but goes back to the off position?
There has to be an answer somewhere.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's exactly how it currently is.
A solution would probably be taping the NFC patch onto the motherboard, and letting the sticky bit find its place on the housing once you seal the device. The difficult part is doing this while ensuring the power button is in place (they always fall out of place during reassembly), and not smudging your camera lens.
I might try this if I do another housing replacement. For now, dis-assembly is a hassle that I don't really need and NFC is something I can live without. I also don't have a spare housing or front panels to use if something gets dented during dis-assembly, so I'm not going down that road for now.
If you do try the above, please let me know what happens.
Cheers.
Hello,
Does anyone know what this grey/graphite sticker is for on the inside of the back cover, picture attached...
mattyxkrist said:
Hello,
Does anyone know what this grey/graphite sticker is for on the inside of the back cover, picture attached...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A couple of speculatory guesses.
First is maybe a pad of some sort meant for holding down or stabilizing something.
Another possibility is it maybe for heat dissipation, but after looking at teardown videos I have doubts that is what it's for.
My guess is it is part of a separate water proofing "chamber" which houses sim/sdcard and probably the mics too....
Sent from my [device_name] using XDA-Developers Legacy app
Thx for replies, I forgot to mention that the exact same sticker is on the underneath of the battery behind in line where the fingerprint reader is, maybe it's shielding? I'm not sure if it needs it though, most of the glass back door panels sold don't have it on
mattyxkrist said:
Thx for replies, I forgot to mention that the exact same sticker is on the underneath of the battery behind in line where the fingerprint reader is, maybe it's shielding? I'm not sure if it needs it though, most of the glass back door panels sold don't have it on
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It needs it. Those ones don't come with it probably because you're supposed to keep your original one? Not sure. But the best bet is, if something is there, it's there for a reason and it should stay there. :good: