There are some posts suggesting some hardware mods including foil e.t.c. not being to fond of this kind of tinkering I decided to read into the service manual (found on several different places, so not going to link it again) and came to the conclusion they were not targeting the correct location.
The following procedure is fairly simple (the g3 is actually fairly easy to work on), but requires bending two sensitive switches (other than that it does not even require removal of the motherboard).
WARNING: I am NOT responsible for ANY damage, problems or anything else you do to your phone, please ask someone to help you if you are uncertain or lacking experience!
Symptoms:
Long time to lock
Lock is intermittent (random signal loss)
No lock in crowded areas
Random location jumps
Inaccurate positioning
Fix:
Given that a GPS lock was possible and the problems occurred on multiple roms a hardware issue was the biggest suspect. For some time I held of opening the phone because previous phone's had proven quite difficult to disassemble and warranty still hadn't run out. Turns out it is nice and easy to open and look inside the g3:good:
Reading the D855 service manual on page 139 there is a section called "Checking GPS RF Signal path" (if you do not have a D855 please consult the correct manual, there could be differences between models), which points to a location on the top left side of the motherboard with some spring contacts. Given that these contacts are small my best guess was they were bent and would not connect properly anymore.
Get a small screw driver which snugly fits the screws beneath the cover (as a general tool tip always ensure the screwdriver (or bit) is the correct size)
Get a bowl/tray (or similar) to retain any removed items (this helps against missing screws/other small objects)
Power down the phone and remove the cover and battery
Remove all visible screws, take note of the one shorter screw by the camera (all other screws are the same length)
Open up the back plate
Bent the two connectors (see image below) slightly upwards away from the motherboard (DO NOT overdo this, breaking them would result in bigger issues, metal fatigue is easily triggered)
Reapply the back plate (should click into place quite easily)
Reapply the screws
Reinsert the battery
Add the cover (the cover contains the antenna)
Boot the phone
Test your GPS outside
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
This thread is cool!
One of the few posts about this topic which point to the correct (GPS) antenna. This antenna is also used for diversity reception on one of the LTE bands.
The only thing I can add:
It is also possible to fix the issue by modifying rear housing. You can carefully remove the glued plastic tape with GPS antenna terminals from the rear housing and re-glue it using some double sided electrical tape (or something similar). This way antenna terminals will be more firmly pressing against the mainboard.
This method is a bit safer as upon failure only the rear housing needs to be replaced (instead of soldering the terminals to the mainboard). Of course modifying rear housing leaves visible trace (so warranty will be void).
Related
to my opinion it must kill the signal
any experience at this issue ?
Yes there are post in here that state the likes of GPS dead or takes very long to lock on, once they take off the metal cover and replace original one its ok.
While GPS reception seems to be worsened by the metal back cover GSM/UMTS reception is not affected since the antenna is situated at the bottom of the phone. This is the actual spare part containing the loud speaker and antennas sitting underneath the bulge:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Further notice that not all covers are wholly made from metal. As you can see from theses photos some still have a plastic frame with a metal plate attached.
inquisitor said:
While GPS reception seems to be worsened by the metal back cover GSM/UMTS reception is not affected since the antenna is situated at the bottom of the phone. This is the actual spare part containing the loud speaker and antennas sitting underneath the bulge:
Further notice that not all covers are wholly made from metal. As you can see from theses photos some still have a plastic frame with a metal plate attached.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While I do not have any GSM/UMTS reception problems outdoors or in public areas, I did experience some loss of reception quality when I'm at home. I sometimes experience 'a circle with a cross' sign, no bars at all. Though this problem only recently happen to me after I upgraded to Gingerbread 2.3.4 just days ago. When I was on 2.3.3 and have the metal back on, I did not see any reception problem when I'm at home.
Anyone have similar problem with 2.3.4?
yup, i can confirm no signal degradation for me, stll not test the gps though...
Recently I received a metal battery cover from eBay seller "easytradingco" which I repeatedly tested for its impact on reception in three different locations (balcony, office room, kitchen).
My conclusion is that there's a slight impact on UMTS/3G-reception reducing signal strength by ~5dBm with the metal cover attached (I made sure the phone was always connected to the same NodeB, which is 2km away from me and - at least on the balcony - in line of sight)
Interestingly WiFi-reception seems to be slightly improved by 2-3 dBm with the metal cover attached.
However GPS becomes nearly unusable with the metal cover. On each test run I gave the phone 3 minutes to get a satfix with AGPS data updated immediately before. Even outdoors (on the balcony) I couldn't get a satfix with only a single satellite found after 3 minutes, while with the original cover it took 10 seconds to detect 9 satellites of which 6 provided a signal strong enough to determine my position.
That said I wouldn't buy a metal cover again as it renders GPS unusable and also impacts UMTS-reception slightly.
hi there,
I had spilled water on the top of my galaxy nexus this morning and it wiped out the ear speaker. so i decided to open it up and eventually after some tinkering around I managed to fix it, however, I hadn't realised when lifting the mainboard that the volume switch was soldered onto it, and ended up breaking the connection. you can see it from the picture below. how can I solder this back? its a very small connection. i cant seem to find any videos or guides on how to solder back connections like this.
any help would be grateful, thanks
everything else with the phone is working fine though, but i lost the ability to go to recovery or bootloader
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Can't be done, you broke 2 of the connections from the ribbon itself.
You'll have to either buy a whole new ribbon, or a whole new board with the ribbon already soldered on.
The picture also seems to indicate the pad being lifted from the other board. If that is indeed the case (feel the area of the board for a depression), your repair just got a lot more expensive - you may need to replace the board too.
Below point may be moot given the damage in question, but the actual soldering is best done with a high power but temperature controlled soldering station like the Weller WES51. You also need lead free solder, fresh tip, very steady hand, and quite probably a third hand (a tool that looks like two posable alligator clips, to hold your work piece).
motopig said:
The picture also seems to indicate the pad being lifted from the other board. If that is indeed the case (feel the area of the board for a depression), your repair just got a lot more expensive - you may need to replace the board too.
Below point may be moot given the damage in question, but the actual soldering is best done with a high power but temperature controlled soldering station like the Weller WES51. You also need lead free solder, fresh tip, very steady hand, and quite probably a third hand (a tool that looks like two posable alligator clips, to hold your work piece).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i assume you mean the pads where the connection was? its ok its just that the soldered bits are abit lifted. the board doesn't seem to have any damage.
I've contacted Samsung about this, i hope they get back to me in time. i can still use the phone though, just cant change volume or get any vibrations lol
IINexusII said:
i assume you mean the pads where the connection was? its ok its just that the soldered bits are abit lifted. the board doesn't seem to have any damage.
I've contacted Samsung about this, i hope they get back to me in time. i can still use the phone though, just cant change volume or get any vibrations lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never said the board need replacement because it isn't working , just that if the copper pad itself was lifted (or worse, torn) from the board, you will never be able to fully fix the connection yourself because you have nothing on the board to complete the circuit with, without going for more drastic measures.
Samsung may very well ask you to send the phone in, then I'm willing to bet that they'll swap the board as well. That is if they don't try to void your warranty.
yeah, so i ended up buying a faulty GN with a broken screen off eBay ill swap my screen with that one and sell mine too as faulty..
sad times, but ill be back
Hi,
A few weeks ago I had a broken LCD on my Desire. I've fixed that myself, it was pretty easy. First all thing looks great and I was very happy that the did the fix myself.
After a few hours I start calling people there I noticed a problem thats vey annoying. It looks the sensor for ending a phonecall is broken. Before when I ended a phonecall, the screen goes on again. Now the screen stays black. There arfe two situations.
1) when I want to end a call (for example when the called people are not at home) I can push the power button a few times, then the screen goes on and I can hang up. This is frustrating, but it works.
2) When the other side hangs the call earlier than me, I've a problem. The only way to get the screen on is to remove battery.
especially the second example makes the phone unusable. Hopefully any of you knows a solution of maybe what type of hardware is broken.
I've flashed two different ROM to the phone, in both the problem is there.
After a lot of Google searching I've found that the problems are from a broken proximity sensor.
I found a person who said that a vacuum cleaner on top of the screen will do the trick, not for me.
Can anyone describe how this sensor looks like? I've replaced my LCD, so I think done something wrong with assembling the phone again.
Today I've disabmled the phone to look at the proximity sensor. I can't find anything wrong.
I've look at the tips in this forum:
http://blog.bobpeers.com/2010/12/21/htc-desire-proximity-sensor-problem/#comment-370
Hello,
I found root cause of this problem;-)
Proximity sensor have two part- one is infra red emiter (TX), and another is IR sensor (RX). Inside arround sensor you will see glossy metal parts and little gap in plastic bariere between this two parts. Solution is: use dark isolating tape and cover glossy metal parts and fill gap between plastic and metal. After this modification all will works fine!
(Because glossy metal parts inside happends multi reflection and sensor is blinded with near IR emitter)
balki (croatia)
That comment of balki looks a lot of people saying that this is the trick, but I didn't understand what he's meaning. Can anyone help me? For example, the sensor looks like this part:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
I've cleaned the sensor and glass before the sensor, so dust isn't the problem anymore.
I've found the problem, fixed by the solution of Balki.
On this picture you can see what Balki means:
http://ordelman.org/tmp/desire_proximity_holder.png
That rubber part is mostly missing after replacing a lcd or digitizer. You can order that part at ebay, of fix it like Balki said with black tape. The holder (or tape) are there to be sure that the two parts of the sensor may not see each other.
Good find, GAEvakYD. Thanks for the details.
Hi guys. Sorry if this is in the wrong thread but thought I'd post up to show how I fixed my note 2 wifi problem,
So my specific model is the sgh-i317m and I'm in the uk, bought the phone recently as I've always fancied one, anyhow when I got the phone home and set it up I had very weak wifi connection, no signal at all up stairs (would disconnect) and even if I was in the same room as the router I wouldn't have any wifi signal bars (unless I was smack bang next to the router)
Anyway I Googled the issues and saw 5 hat it is a common problem, tried all the usual stuff and nothing worked so decided to get my tools out. Anyway here is how and what I did, I'm not sayo g this will work for everyone but it worked for me.
I recommend you have a professional do this unless you have the knowledge and skills base.
Things you'll need;
Small screwdriver set,
Small tweezers
Magnifying glass (optional but makes it somewhat easier)
patience is key here.
Any how,
Once you've removed the back chassis from your phone and mother board you will see these prongs
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
*this photo is from Google as I was doing this repair to my daily phone do couldn't use for photos* lol
Anyway on mine this prong had come loose and therefore wasn't contacting properly, I pinpointed this anyway as when you pressed on the back of the phone the signal would boost,
Anyway this is where you need your soldering iron, and a spare motherboard, you could possibly use something else but I had spare motherboards lying around so used one from a crapberry
So once you've let your soldering iron get up to temperature press it as close as you can to the underneath of this prong to liquidise the solder underneath, be patient, I held the soldering iron there for 10-15 seconds before it liquidised. you'll know when it's hot enough as the prong will move, I held it with small tweezers to make it easier.
So now you should have your old prong removed, move this away as not to get confused with the one your replacing it with. Repeat above steps for the one from your spare motherboard.
Once you've done that, if you have a flux pen lightly cover the solder pads, place your prong on them with the tweezers and hold it still, then hold your soldering iron on the prong for about 30-60 seconds to be safe, gently move away your soldering iron away from it and if it's tight on you've done it successfully.
I will post up some photos of the full process but this should be easy enough to follow. And I'm sure you'll be able to find a guide on you tube (if not I'll upload one)
Hope this helps. Feel free to comment with any questions etc.
Hi all, I have been lurking for a little while and apologize for my first post being a request for help.
I have been attempting to unlock the bootloader on my Fire 7" 9th gen. I managed to make the tablet unresponsive, so had to disconnect the battery. In doing so, I damaged the terminals on the main board (I didn't realize how delicate those pins are). So I had the idea to remove the pins and solder the battery wires directly onto the board (I know, I know...).
Anyway, I managed to destroy the pads (see picture).
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
So I started probing about to see where the non-damaged pads are connected to (as shown above). There are some things that aren't clear to me however.
1) What is the function of that third pad, I suspect it is also the ON trigger, but for a second cell?
2) The two positive pads go to VBAT, are these connected in parallel? Ditto for negative.
3) I can't quite work out from the traces if the labelled pads bypass the components in the photo, or if they are just additional connection points for diagnostics.
4) What is the circuit that these components form? Is it a BIM?
It looks to me as though what I have is a 2 cell battery, with individual positive, negative and control lines for each cell. If this is indeed the case, I'm thinking that I can "repair" my damage by connecting to these labelled pads instead. Of course, if these pads bypass the pictured electronics (a BIM/balance charging circuit?), then this is obviously not safe to do.
Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Well, you see how easy it was to damage them... what makes you think you can repair them?
Repair is much more difficult and tedious than simply unsoldering them.
You need a temperature controlled iron, tools, flux and most the skill level to do so.
You get that by practice and learn from failures.
Not being condescending but after doing this for decades I know how it goes.
Many times you get one shot at repairing it especially when you damage a trace or pad. Damaged plated through holes will need a fine wire inserted to replace the missing connection.
The foil traces and non through hole pads lift up very easily when heated. Multilayered PCBs can be damaged by excessive heat as well. Heat must be controlled, applied fast and accurately. To be soldered metal needs to be clean oxide free and tinned first, this includes fine wire jumpers. A lot of little skills are needed.
Solder tip must be completely tinned with lead based rosin core solder 63/37. Do Not use lead free solder. Wipe tip as needed and always keep it tinned and shiny.
Have extra rosin flux available and desoldering braid. Pad repair kits are available but hard to use and not as good as the original.
A skilled tech may be able to salvage it...
Hi, thanks for your input and advice on dealing with such delicate devices.
I have got another with a broken screen on eBay rather cheap, so I'll take the main board out of that.
Hi, thanks for your input and advice on dealing with such delicate devices.
I have got another with a broken screen on eBay rather cheap, so I'll take the main board out of that.