GPS issue solved, and possible bluetooth music as well - Verizon Galaxy S 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Yeah, I know the title said GPS, I'll get to it in a bit.
I got a Verizon S5 early on and I have a 64G card that I use for music storage. I Bluetooth a lot to my car in a my 1 hour commute. Almost since I got this thing, the music has skipped semi-randomly. Seems like it did it at a specific spot in the road, but most likely it was just random. Some days were way worse than others. Research indicated this was not an uncommon problem with android. Tried lots of things, but like prayer, who knows if it worked or not. some days maybe yes, some days maybe no. This same memory card worked flawlessly in my AT&T S3.
Then I noticed the GPS was wonky. I got a GPS test program and determined that only pulling the battery out would fix the weak reception, and then only temporarily. This went on for a week, so I called Verizon and a "tech" recommended I do the dreaded factory reset. Did it..nada, nil, zippo.
During the frequent removal of the battery to do a soft reset, I damaged my "KLIX Hard Case" by Empire, so i ordered another one. I used the phone with no case for about a week and had no GPS issues, but did still have BT music issues when played from the SD card.
I got the new case 3 days ago, snapped it on and the next day noticed GPS was out again. I kept removing the case, slowly snapping it down and confirmed GPS went away only when the case was all the way on. During this testing process, the power button finally quit working. A reboot via battery removal revealed it was hardware related (couldn't turn the $#@ phone on). I gave it a thought, and opened the back and pressed on the plastic near the power button and it started working. I then, after some experimentation and a few beers to get my fortitude up, placed the phone, screen down on a hard flat surface and began pressing down on the plastic near the power button with some force. I heard something snap into place.
No more issues so far, with BT music or GPS with or without the case installed. Pretty sure GPS is fixed, but need another week to verify BT music.
My best theory so far is that because the phones chassis is made of plastic, and the buttons and antenna are in that plastic chassis, and the main board sandwiches between the screen and the chassis, that the very rigid tight fitting phone case was slightly deforming the chassis, causing it to bow upward slightly, aggravating an already bad contact situation between the mainboard and the chassis. I other words, the phone case was squeezing them apart. There is a possibility, that I will not pursue, that the main board was not snapped down properly at the factory. Since there are many touch only connections (antenna, buttons, card slots) between the main board and the chassis, A poor snap fit would make this a possibility. You can see how the phone is assembled here in this tear down pic.
http://www.techinsights.com/uploadedImages/Public_Website/Content_-_Primary/Teardowncom/Media_Resources/Marketing/Samsung_Galaxy_S5/Si36811-teardown-8.jpg
Anyway, I thought I'd post this for folks trying to track down a similar problem. Hope this helps someone. Don't crack your screen on my account. :crying:
EDIT: Bluetooth music is dropping out again, both from the card and the internal storage on the phone. So bad this afternoon, I turned it off, It was fine this morning, so none of this fixes BT streaming. GPS still works though.

Related

8525 shutting down on its own

guys - severe problem here
had my 8525 for 2 years or so and have had it insured thank goodness - two trips to the shop have been done already, one for the RED LED problem that i thought ruined my device.
now out of the blue yesterday the phone started shutting off on its own. seemingly randomly, at no specific times, it will just turn off, as if i held the power button down for 5 secs and hit ok.
it will only come back on if i hit the soft reset button or hold the power button and then it reboots. it is making life very frustrating as i'm missing calls and messages often because i have to constantly watch for the green LED to be on to know that the phone is still working
i have three accumulated three batteries over the years so i know thats not the problem, it occurs with all three.
anyone suggest anything before i send it back in? not excited to pay another deductible as i've already doubled the price i paid for the phone in insurance fees!!
My advice would be to do a complete backup, and then hard-reset. Assuming that the issue disappears after the HR, then restore from your backup. Hopefully, you will not restore the issue as well. If you do, then HR again, and DON'T restore from the backup ... install everything fresh.
HTH,
-pvs
There have been a few reports that the battery contacts can become less firm against the battery - causing random switch offs. This was easily solved by having a thin strip of card between the battery and the casing on the side opposite the contacts. Thus pushing the battery a little more firmly against the contacts. (Also make sure the contacts are clean)
Something easy to try at least.
Remember to search - here's one example:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=315591
Mike
thought of that halfway through the day today when i was fidgeting with it and realized there was a little bit of play in the battery compartment. actually put a thin piece of paper on the opposite side of the contacts and the phone has stayed on for an hour so far!!! sure hope that was the fix - would make me pretty happy - keeping my fingers crossed!
i had done a hard reset last night hoping for a fix but to no avail. thanks for the suggestion though.
the weird part is no jarring or dropping took place so i am surprised this issue arose out of the blue??
thanks for the help - and i did search but will look more thoroughly in the future
Hope it works long term - I wonder if thin paper is enough, we'll see.
Sorry about the search comment
Cheers
Mike
the weird part is no jarring or dropping took place so i am surprised this issue arose out of the blue??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, those spring contacts can get a bit tired and maybe a little oxidised and they loose the spring in their step - a bit like me really. I'm stuffing in the cream cakes however not slips of paper but I still randomly switch off from time to time, in fact more and more often!
haha - yea i suppose same goes for me!
however it stopped working =\ worked for about an hour and a half then i bent down to pick something up with phone in pocket and it died. seems like slightest movement would make a difference, but then later on it died at my desk again =\ thought i had found the culprit too
on the gold prongs, on the phone part, there is a tiny bit of evidence of melting on the black plasting holding the prongs. on either side of the black plastic where it meets the green board of the phones interior, there is a silver weld. on one side, it looks like the black plastic melted a bit and the silver weld is barely visible. the plastic is rough and not the same edge as the other side. that's the only noticeable difference
thought i had found a quick fix, but i suppose the last option is the old $50 deductible for the third time =\
Mmmm.. not good. However it seems it is a contact problem and there have been reports of that complete battery contact assembly coming off. Some have been successfully re-soldered, but in one case the contact was broken inside the mult-layered board.
I'm slightly puzzled about the melting - almost as if someone has previously been re-soldering it. (seems a little improbable that a poor contact at that ampage could cause enough heat to melt it - but I could be wrong)
Mike
mine was doing this and nothing fixed it apart from a reflash, its been working fine since i reflashed two days ago
hope this helps

AT&T powers off after drop

I have been using AT&T 8525 for about 5 months now. Dropped it in office a week back and it was on an uncarpetted surface. No external damage but it powered off. I had to try for a while to power it on but eventually it did power on.
Since this event it just powers off on its own. Right now, even minor jerks cause it to shut down. When you pull the phone out of your pocket after a while, it has already shut down!!! Took it for repair to a local cell phone repair assuming it might have some connector damage but they could not figure out the problem. They opened it, cleaned the interiors (as it had dust build up) and according to them everything appeared normal.
What would you guys recommend? It is running Schaps 4.30. I see that HTC has a repair service in US.....had anyone tried that?
Sounds like battery might be a little bit loose... Jam something in behind the battery to make sure of constant connection... You're not the first with this complaint. The battey terminals may have been bent back just enough to cause this intermittant problem, especially when it gets jolted, the battery disconnects from the teminals causing an automatic shutdown due to no power.. Just thank god you didn't break the terminals off. Sometimes can be fixed but if the break is at board level, you may as well sell it off on ebay for parts because its just about impossible to fix then.
Cheers...
Very smart ultramag!! Your reply made me think what I did after it fell down. At that time I did think that the battery was loose as it was running when on active syn (powered by laptop) but not when I removed the cord. I did turn the terminals a bit and it powered on after few attempts (the drop must have given the circuitry some shock to recover after sometime).
I have jammed a paper on the side of the battery opposite the battery terminal. Will report back in a day or two if it still gives any problems. That should help others with the same problem.
Also this event has taught me that invisible shield (the plastic shield that we stick on) perhaps may not be the best protection. Case is a must to absorb the shock!
ok the problem still continues despite sticking a paper on the battery side (opp the terminal). I do believe that the battery was part of the problem. Before sticking in the paper, it used to give me a Red LED for few seconds when I attempted charging and then turned to amber. Now that problem is not there....it turns to amber right away on plugging in the device.
So part of the problem is addressed but the Hermes still powers down on its own when subject to minimum shock (in your pockets and you are walking around in the office or driving a car). What do you suggest? Should I send it in to HTC? Are they good about addressing repair issues?
... and yet I think it probably is the contacts as suggested above. It may be that it's a little more than just the contacts not pressing firmly on the battery though. There have been cases where a fall has actually broken/cracked the solder joints between the contacts and the board. A trickier thing to fix unless you have some skills in that direction.
Mike
AT&T powers off after drop - HTC's take on the situation
Ok so here is HTC's evaluation of the situation.
They want to change the main board (mother-board I guess). In addition, though the phone is just 4 months old (was purchased refurb from AT&T) and has barely any scratches, they would replace the casing, the keyboard and the structure that holds the keyboard and LCD. And they would ONLY charge me $272. Isn't that ridicuously amazing??
To me it seems they can't figure out what the hell is going on, so lets just go ahead and replace a bunch of things and one of them should be a hit.
I have asked them to send the phone back. Mike, do you think the main-board could be the issue? Any recommendations of who I could try for repair.....or what I should ask the repair guy to look into to find out if the main board is the issue or not?
Only $272??? Good God! That lot would cost you around $450 if it were fixed at HTC UK!!
If the drop caused cracking internally then that may be why they want to replace the rest. if there are known defects that are not repaired, they cannot guarantee the repair and so will not do it at all if you do not agree to the whole thing.
of course, you could be right and they have no clue and simply want to replace everything and hope something gets fixed....
Don't PPCtechs also do repairs on that side of the pond?

replacing G1 speaker

Hey guys,
The earpiece speaker on my G1 has developed a fault, the fault being it doesn't appear to work, how easy is it to source a replacement for it and how easy is the repair itself? is there any guides as to how to do it around? (i looked but i couldn't find anything).
I've tried flashing the rom and doing a hard reset but its still faulty.
The loud speakers working fine though so atm all my calls have to be done on the handsfree kit or via loudspeaker which can get annoying.
any help is much appreciated
regards
Streather
Are you using a ROM where sound works?
What ROM are you using?
Tried it with cynagen and the stock tmob one, same results.
Same problem
I'm using CyanogenMod 4.2.5. I dropped the phone about a foot (it fell out of my shirt pocket as I was tying my shoe!), and the earpiece stopped working. Everything else (speaker phone, etc.) works fine.
I've seen a number of similar cases in other forums, so I'm thinking that this is a weak point. I'll attempt disassembly and see if the speaker contacts got moved or something simple. Fortunately, replacement receivers/earpiece/speakers are available over the net.
Meanwhile, I'd love to learn of others' experience with this. The tech manual makes it look like you have to just about completely disassemble the phone to get at the earpiece, even though you can easily access 3 screws on the back of the lcd. Is there a shorter route to the receiver than a complete disassembly?
[update] I found some good info (including a technical manual) by Googling "g1 phone disassembly". And searching for "g1 speaker" on eBay gave some decent looking results.
[update 2] I disassembled my phone, took out the receiver, cleaned its contacts, replaced it, and and reassembled everything. That was a pretty serious chore, and it demonstrated that a nearly complete disassembly is required to access the receiver (yes, including all the stuff at the opposite end of the phone). I don't know how to test the receiver without being in cell range, which my house is not. But at least nearly everything else still works, except the camera--I need to tear back into the phone and make sure I fully seated the FPC. I think finding a replacement receiver will be a challenge--most of what turned up on eBay is actually the main speaker on the back of the phone, and I have yet to find a vendor that sells receivers.
Sadly, you will almost have to tear down the whole unit to get to it. It's not extremly diffucult, but you will need to be steady and gentle. Good luck.
Success!
I haven't seen many report back after tearing apart their phones to address issues with a bad receiver, so here goes. My simple-minded approach of opening it up, cleaning the receiver contacts with a pencil eraser, and ensuring good alignment before reassembling WORKED. I did not have to buy a new receiver.
Now if I can just get my camera to work again (I think I didn't get the cable well seated).
[update]: camera works! Seating that FPC took some nimble fingers--I got it on the 3rd attempt. I hope this proves useful to others who, like me, do not have the warranty option for various reasons.
I dropped my phone once, by accident, same thing happened. The speaker you use to put your ear up to when making a phone call doesn't work, but the speaker phone speaker works as does a bluetooth headset. Called HTC lied said that it just stopped working out of no where, they said its covered under warranty. Luckily the phone is under warranty until March and will be replaced.
I ran into the same problem. I was having intermittent problems with the earpiece. Yesterday I was able to take out the battery and put it in and it started working again. Today that didn't help either. I saw this thread and I thought that I'd try blowing really hard on the earpiece to see if that helps. It seems to be working again! I hope it continues to work.
dirtprof said:
Now if I can just get my camera to work again (I think I didn't get the cable well seated).
[update]: camera works! Seating that FPC took some nimble fingers--I got it on the 3rd attempt. I hope this proves useful to others who, like me, do not have the warranty option for various reasons.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you post details on how to do this?
My camera stopped working too.
I personally found it easier when disassembling the phone to carefully lift the entire camera and IMEI sticker as a whole unit and remove it as part of the motherboard. That way you dont need to mess with that hard to reach connector. So from where you are at, lift the board back out, reattach the camera assembly, and reassemble as a unit. I think you will find it is MUCH easier
Seat the camera FPC fully
RueTheDay said:
Can you post details on how to do this?
My camera stopped working too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had to lift the motherboard up and away from the hook that held it down in order for the FPC clip to open fully. Then I inserted the FPC *fully* before closing the FPC clip (my failures resulted from not being able to fully seat the FPC because the FPC clip could not fully open as long as the motherboard was in place). Then the trick was to get the motherboard back under its hook without accidentally pulling the FPC back out again. What I did was to press it gently straight down, using my fingernail to ease it past the hook.
Good luck!
bump...
Yeah looks like all there is on Ebay for speakers is the back one, the one for the receiver earpiece looks like it has two wire connections at each end while the one for the back speaker has them right next to eachother.
So if anybody had this problem, it is very odd and might have to do with the spring connection maybe.
Still I had this problem before and it fixed itself randomly, but this problem came out of nowhere because 12 hours earlier I had dropped my phone on its back and it continued to work fine. Than on my way driving randomly it would not work and I barely set it down in my car.
Once again hopefully somebody has found a part for this because ebay only has back speaker parts.
Best bet is to blow on it and massage it or tap it until it works, damn this sucks because it is basically the very last step to get to after dissambling your phone. So much work to get to such a common problem for many people.
I almost wanted to try to shortcut it and undo the two screws on the screen section to move it around to make connection. Now I am the deusche bag with the bluetooth in his ear all the time.
I almost wanted to try to shortcut it and undo the two screws on the screen section to move it around to make connection.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That was what I tried at first. It didn't gain me access to the speaker.
Taking the phone apart is a pain. You really need nimble fingers and faith that you're not breaking the phone when you're levering apart the *very* tightly held together plastic parts. HTC did not make this thing with servicing it in mind. Just be sure to have the right tools (including light and a good magnifying glass if you're over 40) and patience.
Removing the 3 screws that are accessible without disassembling the entire phone will get you in there if you are VERY careful. Unfortunately the one I tried this on did not work differently with a known-good speaker in it. You can delicately dig out the old speaker with a knife (Xacto) and drop the new one in. Takes patients, but not nearly as hard as disassembling the entire phone (been there, done that x10)
I have at least one spare speaker. Maybe more, gotta check my stockpile!
Hey,
My phone got dropped in a rum & coke on Saturday, so i soaked it in 90% rubbing alcohol and let it dry in a rice bath. after 4 days in the rice, it looked dry, so i turned it on. IT WORKS! The screen looks a little trippy (the pattern is even changing throughout the day) but the touch and accelerometer work great. The only real problem is the speakers sound like crap. the receiver is so quiet that it sound like they're wispering, and the back speaker is all crackely.
I found a replacement receiver speaker, but as i haven't taken it apart yet, i was hoping one of you could tell me if this looks correct.
http://www.tvc-mall.com/details/Replacement-Speaker-Earpiece-Receiver-for-HTC-G1-HTCO-G1/photos.htm
If so, i guess i'll order both speakers and attempt to replace them.
That looks about right. Bear in mind, of course, that those pictures are greatly magnified. If you haven't taken apart a G1 yet, you're in for a bit of nerve-wracking prying. Just go slowly and be patient. Getting all the way to the receiver speaker means taking the phone most of the way apart.
Thanks!
I have taken apart a phone before, the Dash (excalibur). I had to replace the screen, it involved removing almost every component.
I think i'll go ahead and order it, and cross my fingers. right now the phone isn't much more then a tiny computer, since i can't hear anyone and i don't have a Bluetooth.

[Q] [ help ] external speaker not working

received my dell venue pro late may 2011
i'm currently stationed in the Philippines so I had my unlocked Dell Venue Pro 16g shipped to me by a friend.
it is now June 12 and i've had the phone for less than a month. yesterday the external speaker stopped working out of no where. it was working fine earlier.
the internal speaker works fine. i can make phone calls hear perfectly. i can also insert a headset and all the application sounds work fine such as Zune
my problem is the external speaker. regardless of what volume it is on [ 0 - 30 ] there is no sound coming out
OS VERSION : 7.0.7392.0
My problem is I am stationed in the Philippines and Dell has the worst Customer Service. the last time I had a problem using my credit card JUST to order the phone and I spent over $100 USD just on international calls.
I can't imagine what it's going to cost me to talk to another customer service rep or even safely ship this back to dell and receive a new phone.
If anyone can help me with a solution. please. please do so.
I had a similar problem before I received my replacement. Try removing the battery cover and pressing down on the back in the large area above the speakers. If it's a short (like mine was), pressing down might restore the connection to the speakers and give you sound. Load up the Zune hub and try playing a song to test it.
i also had a problem like this. i restored the conection by pressing down hard just below and on the space bar on the keyboard.
ok. this is weird but the two methods actually worked. i tried both. the sound came back.
what in the world caused this problem in the first place?
i appreciate the replies. thank you very much to the both of you.
I have this problem too, I dropped the phone in its otterbox case at a significant height. I did what you guys said and I heard a clicking sound when I pressed the the area below the space bar. Sound was restored, but I noticed when I took off the otterbox case the phone loses sound unless I press hard.
The sound disappears when there is no pressure on the back of the phone, so when the battery cover is removed this problem is most noticeable. Now I would send this in for warranty, but I am in Canada and I had the phone shipped to a relative in Seattle, I doubt Dell will let me warraty this in Canada.
To save my self the long drive and hassle with dealing with Dell I would rather find a better solution. Im guessing the area where the speaker connects is loose. Is it possible if the screws came loose in that back area? Would loosening them and tightening them work. Or is something else wrong? Is there perhaps a tear down instruction manual for this phone? Can I fix it myself? Otherwise I have to leave the phone in its case for its whole life and I'd rather not do that...
Big thanks to the two helpful posts. Clicked thanks button twice for that
Anyhow, just wanted to mention that mine came loose just from plugging in and out the USB charger. The car charger has a springy cable and might be the culprit as I tag on it.
Which version did you get? Pcs or aws. Pldt uses pcs, right? My company has an office in manila and we were thinking about sending a few dvp out there.
Sent from my Venue Pro using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
I was having the same problem and tried the solution mentioned (pressing down hard) and it also restored the sound! I think this is a sign of a poor build quality.
I too was having the same issue. I had been without sound for the last week and only today, without doing anything in particular, the sound came back. I am not sure for how long though! I was going to hard reset the phone this weekend to see if it was the Mango update that caused the problem (it only happened after the update). I guess I will wait it out and see.
My DVP has the similar problem after 10 days. Actually it is not completely soundless. But the volume is too low to hear 10cm away from my ear. It may not be hardware failure. The problem is I lost my backup point at 7392 and I am in China. Any one can help me to restore to 7392?
leonardli said:
My DVP has the similar problem after 10 days. Actually it is not completely soundless. But the volume is too low to hear 10cm away from my ear. It may not be hardware failure. The problem is I lost my backup point at 7392 and I am in China. Any one can help me to restore to 7392?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are out of luck...Backups are device specific
MJCS said:
You are out of luck...Backups are device specific
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds my DVP is dead. Getting it back to Dell may be the only solution. I am thinking of buying a second-hand palm pre while the DVP away from me.
Hi,
I'd like to thanks for the solution of pressing below the space bar. It worked for me. Strange problem... Thanks !!!
edmichel said:
Hi,I'd like to thanks for the solution of pressing below the space bar. It worked for me. Strange problem... Thanks !!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
a less physical solution is simply blow air into the microUSB port. keep doing it and the speaker will come back. if you have compressed air, a brief shot would do.
pressing corner helped me too, not sure for how long
Had a similar problem. If you tear down the DVP as if you are replacing the screen
Once you get the two halves separated, remove the keyboard. Below the keyboard is the "speaker" it has two small progs if memory serves if you take a small screwdriver and pry them up and reassemble all will work well .
The "pressing" solution (if it works) effectively bends the back of the cover and forces the contact.
I will try to post a teardown of the DVP with screen replacement (ALL THE WAY.. current video on Youtube stops before you have to replace the screen itself.. as it assumes you have the more complete part (with is no longer available, only the glass is now)
cdgoin said:
Had a similar problem. If you tear down the DVP as if you are replacing the screen
Once you get the two halves separated, remove the keyboard. Below the keyboard is the "speaker" it has two small progs if memory serves if you take a small screwdriver and pry them up and reassemble all will work well .
The "pressing" solution (if it works) effectively bends the back of the cover and forces the contact.
I will try to post a teardown of the DVP with screen replacement (ALL THE WAY.. current video on Youtube stops before you have to replace the screen itself.. as it assumes you have the more complete part (with is no longer available, only the glass is now)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might not want to pry up the speaker pins too hard though as they're spring loaded but has a small clip stopper that restrains the pin from over bending the wrong way. If you get it pass the clip, you have to make sure to put the pin back into the loop clip. It'll be more clear when you have it in front of you.
I usually just clean the contacts (pins and board side) with a screw driver/sandpaper and it'll be all good.
And a teardown will always be awesome cdgoin :good: Peeps might want to seal the LCD to the glass part with a little glue gun glue too to avoid dust getting into the screen. I find sealing the top ear piece part does the trick (bottom part helps too).
This is a strange solution but works!
Shoot2ill said:
I had a similar problem before I received my replacement. Try removing the battery cover and pressing down on the back in the large area above the speakers. If it's a short (like mine was), pressing down might restore the connection to the speakers and give you sound. Load up the Zune hub and try playing a song to test it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This worked with my Samsung Galaxy S (Mark I) too!
Thank you. After being without sound for months and wondering if I messed up the OS or needed a hardware fix ($$$) - this worked.

[Q] Screen Repair - only backlight works (can't pinpoint the problem)

Mods, sorry if I should've posted this in another sub-forum. Just getting to this quickly as I've gotta head out, but would like to know/get any advice on what to do.
My T-Mo G2 just stopped displaying data on the screen one day, but the backlight still worked. It wasn't dropped at the time it stopped working (it was dropped previously, but was inside an Otterbox Commuter case at the time... thought that may not be saying much). At the time this happened, I was working outdoors, had the phone in my pocket, and was sweating while doing somewhat heavy lifting. When I attempted to use my phone, I noticed that only the backlight would turn on when I powered it on.
I could still answer calls by using the touchscreen slide-to-answer thing (purely by memory), so I know that component works. Sliding the keyboard open did nothing.
I disassembled the phone to check for any components that could've gotten twisted, burned out etc..., but this didn't appear to be the case. Any ideas?
I've attached a video on what happens when I power on my device. Any advice would help. Replacing the LCD seems to be the cheapest fix, but I don't want to buy one and realise it could be something else. Thanks!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvDRnVq6vB8

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