I updated with possible permanent solution HERE
Hi, I'm opening this thread in hope to make some order with the GPS issues many of us are having.
There is a lot of misleading information as to the cause and solutions that have nothing to do with fixing the GPS (the 3 pins which are for the volume rocker, for example).
My phone is H850 version, but relevant to all variants.
I would like to thank Rick Jones for putting me on the right track, you can read some on iFixit here
What are the issues?
GPS reception getting worse over time.
Not getting a fix.
Getting a fix but losing signal sporadically.
OK, let's start:
All the "magic" is concentrated in the very top - right of the phone (viewing from the front).
Digging through FCC site for documents, I found this:
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As you can see the GPS antenna is top left (view from the back).
It was thought that the antenna is on the metal back, but this is not the case.
In fact, it is on the plastic frame that holds the LCD, sandwiched between the LCD and it's frame.
Here is a photo of an LCD frame without the LCD:
The strip then goes to the other side and under the PCB:
And connects to the PCB here:
and here you can see with the PCB removed:
This is with the PCB in place:
Now, this is the metal back where the grounding mesh is:
Now, to elaborate, The Antenna for the GPS is of a "planar inverted-F antenna" type. (see Wikipedia here)
This is where the grounding part comes to light - It is part of the antenna plane, though not the antenna itself.
The pin(s) mentioned must make good contact between the antenna, PCB, mesh.
Problem is one or both pins do not make good connection to PCB/mesh. this can happen over time.
Adding some additional layer in the form of a conductive foil, yields better connection (see photos, they explain what to do).
I did this on my phone, and reception became very good, though not exceptional when I compared to other phones.
I usually get 5-10 meter accuracy outside. While certainly good, should be 3 meters or better with GPS+GLONASS+BeiDou.
And indoors close to a window, I get better accuracy and fix time with other phones.
A strange thing that might be software related, I get much better results both in fix time and accuracy, while using the diagnostic menu (*#546368#*850# on the dialer and "field test" then do "GNSS POS test")
when compared to apps like "GPS test"
Not satisfied with this, I decided to find a better solution for the pins, and found a suggestion to replace/solder on the pins a better connector in the form of a spring contact (similar to the springs on the vibration motor).
I salvaged from some faulty phone, (not G5), those springs an soldered on top of both pins, to make a hopefully long term solution. Also I removed the mesh, cleaned the glue residue as I suspect this is part of the problem.
While this did NOT improve the reception, it does work fine. However, it does have the risk that you can damage the pins/PCB, so unless you have good soldering skills, I suggest avoiding this and using the foil method.
Some extreme close-up photos of the springs soldered on the pins:
To summarize, the antenna is in 2 parts - 1. the flex strip to the LCD frame, 2. the ground plane to the metal back.
The pins, probably through stress, heat, lose good contact to their relevant mates.
The other solutions (such as the 3 pins which was PROVED to be the volume rocker) gives temporary, if at all, solution because all it does is lift the PCB and not even on the correct side - avoid THIS IS FALSE.
Yep. You're right.
I checked out the posts here where people where offering elaborate soldering of wires, or that volume rocker connection. I quickly found a post, or site, elsewhere that described the same as you and I knew that was correct almost immediately.
Actually it probably was that iFixit page you mention.
shloms said:
Hi, I'm opening this thread in hope to make some order with the GPS issues many of us are having.
There is a lot of misleading information as to the cause and solutions that have nothing to do with fixing the GPS (the 3 pins which are for the volume rocker, for example).
My phone is H850 version, but relevant to all variants.
I would like to thank Rick Jones for putting me on the right track, you can read some on iFixit here
What are the issues?
GPS reception getting worse over time.
Not getting a fix.
Getting a fix but losing signal sporadically.
OK, let's start:
All the "magic" is concentrated in the very top - right of the phone (viewing from the front).
Digging through FCC site for documents, I found this:
View attachment 4337847
As you can see the GPS antenna is top left (view from the back).
It was thought that the antenna is on the metal back, but this is not the case.
In fact, it is on the plastic frame that holds the LCD, sandwiched between the LCD and it's frame.
Here is a photo of an LCD frame without the LCD:
View attachment 4337810
The strip then goes to the other side and under the PCB:
View attachment 4337812
And connects to the PCB here:
View attachment 4337823
and here you can see with the PCB removed:
View attachment 4337822
This is with the PCB in place:
View attachment 4337821
Now, this is the metal back where the grounding mesh is:
View attachment 4337820
Now, to elaborate, The Antenna for the GPS is of a "planar inverted-F antenna" type. (see Wikipedia here)
This is where the grounding part comes to light - It is part of the antenna plane, though not the antenna itself.
The pin(s) mentioned must make good contact between the antenna, PCB, mesh.
Problem is one or both pins do not make good connection to PCB/mesh. this can happen over time.
Adding some additional layer in the form of a conductive foil, yields better connection (see photos, they explain what to do).
I did this on my phone, and reception became very good, though not exceptional when I compared to other phones.
I usually get 5-10 meter accuracy outside. While certainly good, should be 3 meters or better with GPS+GLONASS+BeiDou.
And indoors close to a window, I get better accuracy and fix time with other phones.
A strange thing that might be software related, I get much better results both in fix time and accuracy, while using the diagnostic menu (*#546368#*850# on the dialer and "field test" then do "GNSS POS test")
when compared to apps like "GPS test"
Not satisfied with this, I decided to find a better solution for the pins, and found a suggestion to replace/solder on the pins a better connector in the form of a spring contact (similar to the springs on the vibration motor).
I salvaged from some faulty phone, (not G5), those springs an soldered on top of both pins, to make a hopefully long term solution. Also I removed the mesh, cleaned the glue residue as I suspect this is part of the problem.
While this did NOT improve the reception, it does work fine. However, it does have the risk that you can damage the pins/PCB, so unless you have good soldering skills, I suggest avoiding this and using the foil method.
Some extreme close-up photos of the springs soldered on the pins:
View attachment 4337842
View attachment 4337843
View attachment 4337845
To summarize, the antenna is in 2 parts - 1. the flex strip to the LCD frame, 2. the ground plane to the metal back.
The pins, probably through stress, heat, lose good contact to their relevant mates.
The other solutions (such as the 3 pins which was PROVED to be the volume rocker) gives temporary, if at all, solution because all it does is lift the PCB and not even on the correct side - avoid THIS IS FALSE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you look over to the Antenna3 (top middle) and help me with my Cell reception problem? The phone's reception is horrifyingly terrible.
You are right , this helped me. I got this images from some forum post.]I tried the three contact one but that was just a dumb idea and broke my volume up
Don't try the three pin (those are volume contact points)method anyone who come here please read this
ChristopherXI said:
Can you look over to the Antenna3 (top middle) and help me with my Cell reception problem? The phone's reception is horrifyingly terrible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, I opened this thread for GPS antenna, but I'll try to help
Which model of the G5 you have and which frequencies? Also is the reception bad on LTE, 3G, GSM, which?
Any how take a look at those photos, to see where the contacts for ANT3, should you check:
View attachment 4340158
Great thread thanks alot Shloms!
that will be helpful to many people.
prannoytambe said:
You are right , this helped me. I got this images from some forum post.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats the wrong one!
it may work because it's the ground connection but the actual GPS antenna is the one above.
thetool said:
Great thread thanks alot Shloms!
that will be helpful to many people.
Thats the wrong one!
it may work because it's the ground connection but the actual GPS antenna is the one above.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh might be mine had ground issue, but will try the other one once i open it for the vol button fix.
Still please lets help boost this post , other are killing peoples vol button with no fix.
Hi, I'm using Rs988. I live in Ukraine and here the operators support only 2g and 3g. The phone does not catch the signal of all operators. I think that the problem is in the antenna. As I understand the antenna for wcdma, gsm is at the bottom of the phone. How to improve the signal?
Отправлено с моего RS988 через Tapatalk
spinoza_web said:
Hi, I'm using Rs988. I live in Ukraine and here the operators support only 2g and 3g. The phone does not catch the signal of all operators. I think that the problem is in the antenna. As I understand the antenna for wcdma, gsm is at the bottom of the phone. How to improve the signal?
Отправлено с моего RS988 через Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes for 2G, and some of the 3G it's the antennas on the removable battery "chin"
This is for your model.
However, as you can see some of the 3G are shared with Antenna 3 on the top.
You can check the Bottom removable part if the 2 contacts make good connection with PCB.
Do you get good signal with other phones?
shloms said:
Hi, I opened this thread for GPS antenna, but I'll try to help
Which model of the G5 you have and which frequencies? Also is the reception bad on LTE, 3G, GSM, which?
Any how take a look at those photos, to see where the contacts for ANT3, should you check:
View attachment 4340158
View attachment 4340159
View attachment 4340160
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Using the At&t version. the reception is bad on all LTE/3G/2G
Another post a while back used liquid nickel epoxy. Can be found on Amazon on the cheap to basically dab extra material which would harden creating a contact surface. This would be a lot more practical than soldering on new springs.
Genial hombre!
Enviado desde mi LG-H850 mediante Tapatalk
I have not yet managed to fix my gps permanently.
I took a copper solder-wick, cleaned it well with contact spray and put it at the gps contacts mentioned here.
At first it works well but after a few days gps intermittent again.
I removed the copper wire, and bent the gps pin so that it will have a good connection.
checked the connection between the board and the GPS pin (0.00 with multimeter = GREAT CONNECTION)
I suspect the problem is with the antenna inside the back-cover.
Bottom line: Maybe it's possible to improvise the gps antenna with thin wires?
thetool said:
I have not yet managed to fix my gps permanently.
I took a copper solder-wick, cleaned it well with contact spray and put it at the gps contacts mentioned here.
At first it works well but after a few days gps intermittent again.
I removed the copper wire, and bent the gps pin so that it will have a good connection.
checked the connection between the board and the GPS pin (0.00 with multimeter = GREAT CONNECTION)
I suspect the problem is with the antenna inside the back-cover.
Bottom line: Maybe it's possible to improvise the gps antenna with thin wires?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Inside the back cover? the antenna is the white flex and goes between the LCD and the main frame.
I doubt that the soft contact (I marked in green, because it was a response to some other post) is part of the GPS.
In theory, yes you could improvise an antenna, but I see 2 problems - 1. it would have to be a very specific length for the frequency (if I recall right 1750Mhz?) 2. the back cover is metal, and once it is closed, practically the inside is shielded to signals.
It is only the very top of the phone between the main frame and LCD that hosts the 3 antennas, including the one for the GPS.
I even thought about drilling a tiny hole in the back cover and connecting a GPS antenna (like you find in most other phones, can be bought as spare parts for many phones), through a thin shielded cable, and sticking it on the back cover from the outside, but so far the springs on the pins prove to be reliable.
What do you mean by "the antenna is the white flex and goes between the LCD and the main frame."?
I have managed to find a replacement Dead G5 to test it. (I'll need to buy it if I want to keep it)
I have replaced the back cover - Instant fix. (get 3m accuracy outside and 10m inside)
That was my thought - the back cover sometimes is the culprit.
Because I tried everything and nothing really works.
With my back cover (no mods) the signal is very bad.
thetool said:
what do you mean by "the antenna is the white flex and goes between the lcd and the main frame."?
I have managed to find a replacement dead g5 to test it. (i'll need to buy it if i want to keep it)
i have replaced the back cover - instant fix. (get 3m accuracy outside and 10m inside)
that was my thought - the back cover sometimes is the culprit.
Because i tried everything and nothing really works.
With my back cover (no mods) the signal is very bad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I mean this:
You can't access this part unless you heat the LCD/frame to separate them, the antenna is the grey flex strip/pcb that has the antenna trace etched on it. you won't see this part as it is between LCD/frame as I mentioned.
View attachment 4337810
Now, can you see the arrow? this is the remaining flex strip that has the connector that you are familiar with. And this connector, as you know, touches the metal mesh on the back case.
View attachment 4337812
What I did, if you read my original post, is solder springs on the connector, and removed the mesh because I suspected it was oxidized and/or the glue was not conducting well.
So far, so good.
My guess would be that your mesh has the same issue and the other case you tested has a good mesh.
If it's not too expensive maybe you should keep this back cover, although reading from other threads, some users bought a replacement cover with good results initially and the problem returned after a while.
From what I see, there is NO antennas on the back cover except the NFC antenna which is around the fingerprint sensor - this is even stated at the document LG submitted to the FCC .
The back cover is used as a ground plane for the antenna and is not in itself an antenna.
Thanks for your detailed reply.
My old back cover doen't have a mesh at all.
I played with it many times and put a cooper shim with a mesh beneath (exactly like you did here)
pulled the gps pin and cleaned every contact on the back with contact cleaner...
Sometimes it worked well for a day or 2... most of the time it was bad from the beginning.
You never know if it's really fixed, just after a few days. so annoying.
been working on it for way too many hours lol
(Picture of the original back and the copper I used, after cleaning well of course)
tried also using some silver wire I took from another phone... was very bad.
thetool said:
Thanks for your detailed reply.
My old back cover doen't have a mesh at all.
I played with it many times and put a cooper shim with a mesh beneath (exactly like you did here)
pulled the gps pin and cleaned every contact on the back with contact cleaner...
Sometimes it worked well for a day or 2... most of the time it was bad from the beginning.
You never know if it's really fixed, just after a few days. so annoying.
been working on it for way too many hours lol
(Picture of the original back and the copper I used, after cleaning well of course)
tried also using some silver wire I took from another phone... was very bad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is interesting indeed.
Ever since the "springs" fix I get a consistent good signal even when driving for hours and never lost signal, what's weird though, I never get less than 5 meter accuracy on any of the testing apps, but with the hidden diagnostic menu I get better signal and accuracy. I don't know, my model is H850 maybe my firmware V20c-ISR-XX. has something to do with it... for one thing, it only supports Quick charge 2.0, I checked the voltages with various certified QC 3.0 chargers, but that's not relevant to the GPS.
BTW, did you get a good accuracy (better than 5 meters) when using the original cover?
Anyhow keep us updated if it turns out the new cover is good long term.
My phone is Korean (rootable :victory
I got accuracy of 3m when using the copper mesh, but again only for a few days.
I will update. even now accuracy doesn't seem too stable indoors, but outdoors I get 3m.
indoors far from window I get about 10m-12m after stabilized.
I tested with iphone 7 - got 4-6m accuracy indoors almost instantly when far from windows
shloms said:
I mean this:
You can't access this part unless you heat the LCD/frame to separate them, the antenna is the grey flex strip/pcb that has the antenna trace etched on it. you won't see this part as it is between LCD/frame as I mentioned.
View attachment 4337810
Now, can you see the arrow? this is the remaining flex strip that has the connector that you are familiar with. And this connector, as you know, touches the metal mesh on the back case.
View attachment 4337812
What I did, if you read my original post, is solder springs on the connector, and removed the mesh because I suspected it was oxidized and/or the glue was not conducting well.
So far, so good.
My guess would be that your mesh has the same issue and the other case you tested has a good mesh.
If it's not too expensive maybe you should keep this back cover, although reading from other threads, some users bought a replacement cover with good results initially and the problem returned after a while.
From what I see, there is NO antennas on the back cover except the NFC antenna which is around the fingerprint sensor - this is even stated at the document LG submitted to the FCC .
The back cover is used as a ground plane for the antenna and is not in itself an antenna.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Strange. My GPS and cell signal dips low when i Touch the glass , and more strange, When i touch the glass part that's close to the notification LED the Cell signal increases from -113 db to -99 db
This this caused by bad Grounding? Because you speculated that the Cover it's just a Grounding plane
should i get a new back cover to test?
The covers you guys shows there is a patch near the LCD cable and the corresponding place it touches there is a Mesh that goes under the LCD flex cable, My cover and Midframe has neither of those.
the mesh that goes under the lcd cable : https://i.imgur.com/XOzFfQe.jpg
the patch that make contacts with the mesh :
https://i.imgur.com/BNjjvEb.jpg
GPS strength: https://i.imgur.com/btT9xtT.png
Touching the glass : https://i.imgur.com/xQ9K0rC.png
Related
Hi, I hope someone can help me.
I dropped my phone a couple of months ago and now I'm experiencing a problem. It appears to work fine for hours then suddenly starts losing signal strength to the point where it goes altogether. I can start a call with 5 bars and be cut off with no signal in a minute even though I've not moved. It will nearly always lose the signal when I'm on the phone but takes longer when just in other use. All remaining elements of the phone work fine. Please can someone suggest what it could be as it is getting me down...thanks
I'm sure it's a hardware problem.
have got the same problem.Did you already find the problem.In the beginning the signal just dropped but know i even cannot find any service at all.
gr
I've had some luck by raising all the contacts under the sim card but the signal still comes and goes when I use the phone ??
Snap!
I droppped my phone the other day and it is doing exactly the same thing. Mine is a Qtek S110. I used to 'lurk' on this forum ages ago.. but [email protected] BACK to seek help! If and when I get my phone fixed I WILL post and let you know what it is, if I havent already found the solution here!
I think it definately has something to do with the SIM holder, whenever the signal decays and vanishes, if I take out the sim and put it back in it comes back straight away. if I just take out the battery and replace it doesn't
ok.. next time i lose signal I will do that. maybe even run some isopropyl alcohol over the contacts to make sure they are clean.
I will keep you posted in my findings!
(oh.. i tried a makeshift external aerial last night to see if I could see if it was an internal aerial fault. It didnt make any difference, so either my homemade job was [email protected] or it isnt an aerial problem, I'm yet to find out!!)
Cheers!
oh poooop..
that unfortunately didnt work for me.. Oh well. i even tried cleaning the contacts and making sure the 'sprung' contacts were connecting with the Sim correctly.
I actually lost signal until it came back 15 mins later.. hmmmmmmm!!!
Can anyone advise where I can look on the circuit board to see if there is any damage. I am capable of doing this and making a basic repair !!
I had a look at the mda strip down guide on here, but I could see any reference to the aerial or anything. I think I'll have to send off for repair! Doh!
I emailed HPC and they wouldn't take mine back as apparently it was not sold in the UK.
I think I'll give xdarepairs.co.uk a go. a mate of mine said they were good n' quick.
merceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
no wurries!
the unit that sorunded in red (in the Attached picture) is connected to the main board with tiny connector, and this connector is a male to female connector. the male is solderd to the main board and the female to the unit. my guess is that one of the connector parts (the male or the female) was disconnect from its soldering, and you need to resold it. but it is just my guess based on my experience.
I was taking a look at the mda-jam.pdf guide to removing the case and it suggests that the aerial contact on the board you have pictured is with the front panel.
Can anyone confirm if indeed, the aerial for the phone is the metal casing? That would suggest that the dents in the front of mine could have affected that very contact.
Would still like an answer to my previous post.. but I think I may have fixed my phone temporarily.
Using the above information I got a flat bladed blunt instrument (in this case a normal dinner knife) and carefully placed it into the empty sd card slot. Using the diagram from the case removal guide I applied pressure with the knife to the area where the 'aerial connector' rests against the front bezel, inside, whilst at the same time pushing on the front outer casing with my thumb in the same position.
The thought process being, that it may have worked loose.
Sure enough I have noticed a vast improvement in signal yesterday and today. I am going to keep an eye on the phone today when I go out to see if the signal stays up!
YAY!
Okay.. latest update.
The signal did drop out a little bit throughout the day, So I have taken it upon my self to put my electronic training to good use.
Using the (now much read) case removal manual I carefully .. and I MEAN carefully took my phone to pieces.
I was convinced that the reason my signal kept dropping out was either that something had worked loose or that there were some contacts that needed cleaning or reseating.. as I was able to get a signal by squeezing the case at the top.
So.. Here's what I did (In reverse order)
Page 9 straightened and cleaned the 3 contacts on the RHS plastic plate with isopropyl alcohol. Also cleaned the corresponding contact points on the main PCB with alcohol and dried with a lintless bud.
Page 10 3 contact points, top right and top edge left are the contact points I refer to above. Also cleaned the 2 sprung contacts at the bottom of the PCB RHS page 10
Page 16 cleaned sprung 'Aerial Output' contact with alcohol.. also pushed connector outwards to make a betterr contact. Also cleaned 'contact to the antenna' area and dried thorughly with a lintless bud. Any other contacts I could see were cleaned and dried too.
Whilst putting the phone back together I was very careful not to touch any components. Battery contacts and Sim contacts were also cleaned.
One thing to note in the manula is that it it possible to unclip the connector for the camera prior to removing the plate in page 8. However, it is probably best to follow the guide, if you are unfamiliar with the type of connectors used. They can break easily.
My phone booted correctly and is currently on charge.. I am checking functionality at this very moment and can see that the signal is good and all other parts / hardware functions appear to be good. watch this space! It COULD be one fixed phone!!
I can't remember who on this forum wrote the mda-jam.pdf manual, but I would like to publicly thank you as you have helped fix my phone!
I hope its worked !!! Let me know !
OK!
Well so far I have noticed a dramatic improvement on how the phone was. I am sitting here with full signal, whereas on Saturday I had between 2-3 bars.
I lost a little signal earlier today but as soon as I held the phone up, the siganl came back. So, it's not perfect, but the phone is useable now.
As long as it lasts for the rest of my contract, I'll be happy!!
Dood.
First, it'd like to thank
MikeChannon
for pointing out something important that narrowed down my testing.
Now, onto the problem Symptoms :
- D-Pad, IE and Email buttons cease to work
- Screen fades to white or comes back from standby as white
- Display is slight disaligned to the side, 1mm of left appears on right side.
- Randomness in all above symptoms.
Cause : It is the D-Pad connector.
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Yes, the D-Pad connection DOES cause the whitescreen. It's odd and illogical, but this is the conclusion I have reached.
ALL the previous guides, such as sliding plastic between the screen and casing, were randomly moving things inside.
By CHANCE ONLY it'd affect the D-Pad connector positively. That is why such solutions only worked for a few people temporarely.
SOLUTION :
You will need to try variants of the following things :
- Tightness of the screws over the connector
- Disconnecting the plug and reconnecting it very carefully
- Pressure over the bibbon between the D-Pad connector and the screen.
- Pressure over the D-Pad connector itself
- Tightness of the screws over the D-Pad PCD
- Tightness of the screws closing the plastic casing of this part of the phone
To stress-test the variants, I ran a D-Pad intensive game (Skyforce) for 30 minutes or until the symptoms came back.
I've played around with all those, giving mixed results, but definitively making a difference.
My final and best result was by putting a thin foam piece over the blue parts in the picture below. (Ignore the red circles, original picture is taken from a website)
The foam I used was the typical foam sheets you find in packaging for fragile electronics such as motherboards, hard drives, graphic cards etc. It has to be super thing in other to close the casing without buldges.
There isn't a specific thing you can do that will make your D-Pad be reliable and the whitescreen to go away. You'll have to do several tests, so I recommend you keep your phone disassembled while testing. The connector is VERY VERY SENSITIVE. That is why I cannot be any more precise in how to fix this. However, you NOW KNOW what causes the screen to freak out and buttons to stop working.
What I did for testing :
I have tested my phone while it was completely disassembled. Meaning I had the back of the monitor open, as seen in the picture above.
That way, I could fiddle around and instantly test the result.
I've fiddle with the cables, the screen pressure, everything. Nothing returned the screen from being white or becoming white.
Putting pressure D-Pad connector's ribbon or actual pin caused the screen to either turn on white, or fade to white. (Results often noticed only after going in & out of standby)
It also caused my D-Pad buttons and the top 2 buttons (IE & Email) to either work or not work.
Oh and this is my testing setup. Elastic band to hold the battery in place, everything else opened. However, I had to place/remove the backcover of the screen part of the phone to test as it affects the pressure put on the connector.
wow. I don't have balls to break apart my 8525 like that.
mutantblack said:
wow. I don't have balls to break apart my 8525 like that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well this fix is for those who got a big enough problem and can't return it under warranty.
Anyhow, taking apart the TyTN is quite simple, and the thing is sturdy.
Only and only the D-Pad connector is tricky. The big ribbon connecting the two halfs of the phone is quite solid and never caused problems.
guys... what/where can i get the screw driver to open this mofo... it looks like a hex allen wrench but that doesnt work...
i have had this issue for months now and will try anything to fix it but i need to know where i can get this screw driver and fast!!!!
So it is a problem with the connector itself or cause by flex in the cable?
Also, where are you putty pressure on the connector? Are you saying if the screws are too tight this is a problem as well.
jwagman1 said:
guys... what/where can i get the screw driver to open this mofo... it looks like a hex allen wrench but that doesnt work...
i have had this issue for months now and will try anything to fix it but i need to know where i can get this screw driver and fast!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a TORX No6 screwdriver you need. Available online or from stores like Maplin who sell Phone screwdriver sets.
Check out links in the Wiki here or in my signature for internal pics, dismantling guides and to download the service manual (that also has a dismantling walkthrough)
Mike
Vasichko said:
So it is a problem with the connector itself or cause by flex in the cable?
Also, where are you putty pressure on the connector? Are you saying if the screws are too tight this is a problem as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems to me there may be a bit of trial and error regarding the fix. The service manual points out that the d-pad connector must be precisely inserted and absolutely level. So both under-tightening the screws or over-tightening could distort the connection. If you have it apart, take out and reconnect the push in connector several times This helps to ensure there is no oxidisation on the contacts.
(PS. this is not my fix so I cannot testify that it will work for you, though I believe it is on the right track, at least for some cases of this problem)
Mike
It's really intersting to know I'm not alone to have this issue ...
Do you have a site who describe how to open the Hermes ?
Thanks
mikechannon said:
It's a TORX No6 screwdriver you need. Available online or from stores like Maplin who sell Phone screwdriver sets.
Check out links in the Wiki here or in my signature for internal pics, dismantling guides and to download the service manual (that also has a dismantling walkthrough)
Mike
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THANK YOU!! amazon.com overnight!!! woooo
I tried this diy.
I didnt have a small enough phillips to remove the screws from the connector on the D-Pad.
Know where I can get one?
So I took all the connections, put some automotive electronic connection cleaner on a q-tip and cleaned all of the other ones.
I used some automotive light double sided adhesive that you can get at Auto Zone instead of form. I only used 1 side of the adhesive and didnt peal the other side off, if it doesnt work, its easily removeable, just wanted to make sure it stays in place when I re-assemble the phone.
I also added some in a place you didnt which I show in yellow on your photo.
So far so good after 5 minutes.
Mine PDA was also totally disassembled and atleast in my device the problem wasn't a faulty connector.. I had the front panel off and when I squeezed the Xilinx fpga-chip(black square on d-pad circuitboard) the the screen worked fine -when i took my fingers off it faded back to white. Earlier I also tried re-soldering the connector but it didnt work on my device.
marciton said:
It's really intersting to know I'm not alone to have this issue ...
Do you have a site who describe how to open the Hermes ?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dismantling guides and the service manual:
www.mikechannon.net
Mike
Hermes / TyTn / 8525 White Screen
Hey guy,
Nice write-up.
Good that someone has taken the time to experiment with different procedures.
I gave up on mine, after taking it apart time and time again.
-Reseating the cables and completely disassembling the unit was a tempereary fix, so I sold it on eBay for a parts / repair.
I just purchased another on eBay.
This time, instead of getting worked up about the white screen of death, I had purchased a warranty from www.squaretrade.com.
I am not an AT&T customer, so I unlocked the phone.
Neither AT&T or HTC can help when you dont have their service , or it's a branded phone.
Keep up the good work.
So far since my post before lunch today. No problems at all.
It used to white out when taking a picture with the camera, randomly when sliding out the keyboard, randomly when using the D-Pad.
No problems at all today after doing this fix posted here and adding the extra pad that I did.
im gonna have to try this when i get my new housing....anyone know where i can get a front camera?
Just giving another update. So far so good, no problems at all.
DPad no longer has the issue of not working here and there.
White screen issues appear to be gone.
Hopefully for good.
I will still post updates so you all can know the status.
Thx again for the right up. I will post some pics of the type of tape I used as well.
I have the rest of december left on my warranty. Do you guys think PPCtechs will know how to fix this? i don't want to send it to them and have it sent back with the same probs (like they did last time i sent it in to get my scroll wheel and camera lense repaired).
Miguel- said:
Mine PDA was also totally disassembled and atleast in my device the problem wasn't a faulty connector.. I had the front panel off and when I squeezed the Xilinx fpga-chip(black square on d-pad circuitboard) the the screen worked fine -when i took my fingers off it faded back to white. Earlier I also tried re-soldering the connector but it didnt work on my device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes indeed, re-aligning and reconnecting the connector works for many but will not work for all. There are, as you say instances where it is a chip connection that's at fault. There is little if anything you can do with that problem other than board replacement unless you have the correct tools - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=1724236&postcount=66
Mike
It looks to be a design flaw. I dropped my maybe 3ft on the carpet yesterday and got the white screen issue. I took apart and looked at the connector in question. Even with it screwed in you can unplug it half way. So I added some more padding.
I think part of the problem is that coming from the back of the LCD to the DPad board or whatever you call it, the angle of the ribbon cable declines.
EDIT: DISREGARD THIS. GO TO POST #3 and #4
Hello guys,
this is my first post so if I'm posting in the wrong section please bear with me.
I recently bought a T5388++ HTC diamond 2 clone. Everything was fine except that I couldn't get a GPS fix. (In the Start -> Settings -> System -> GPS Settings [Satellite State] I only had *red* satellites)
I used the "aluminum foil in the back side" fix, which worked well and I could get a fix.
Being an uneasy person I open the back cover of the cell phone to take a look (beware the headphone cables).
Now here is the good part.
On the left side (near the sd card and where the stylus ends) is probably the GPS antenna.
In the inside, on the board's side, there are two metallic "pins" which (when the cover is closed) touch the back of the antenna. What I did was to add some foil on the back side of the antenna so the contact with the pins would be more tight.
This worked like a charm and the signal is very good. I can even get a decent fix (3-4 *blue* satellites) from inside the house.
Sorry for the lack of pics, if anyone tries it, post a couple pictures and I can show you what I did exactly.
EDIT: DISREGARD THIS. GO TO POST #3 and #4
Pics!!!!
Here are some pics.
First unscrew the four screws, one at each corner of the phone.
Then slice the phone with the help of small flat screwdriver or some other tool. (there are some appropriate notches for that purpose)
**Beware of falling parts**
In the forth and fifth pic you can see where I install the alu foil.
Now you can close the phone and enjoy your newly found GPS!
[I also tried some solder, but the results where almost the same]
Congrats.
However, I can assure you that is not the GPS antenna. Based on the antenna size and shape (its a small inverted F antenna, see the black sticker that is attached to in on top of the stylus case) I am assuming it is either the Bluetooth or WiFi antenna.
The GPS antenna is a bit higher, it is the small pink 'cube' thingy on top of the phone, connected by the micro coax connector.
I had reported before the micro coax is loose in some devices, and I suspect you 'accidentally' fitted it better while opening and closing the phone.
But congrats on your successful operation anyway, being able to open and close the phone and still have a working one is already good, and often, just doing that and ensuring all connectors are clean and properly fit solves a all sorts of problems.
Yeap you are right!
I have read you saying this about loose connectors, so when i first opened the phone I refitted the micro coax.
In my defense I tried to see if this was the antenna. I disconnected it and opened the GPS. Seeing many satellites on the screen (red ones) I concluded that this was not the GPS antenna. (I thought maybe WiFi since I've seen this type of connector on my laptop's wifi)
But having read your post now, I tried a new experiment and found out that the "red" satellites appear, due to the A-GPS (with neither "my" GPS and THE GPS antenna).
Damn...
So could someone change the title to "OLD GPS reception fix"
I had the same problem with GPS. I have risked and have changed orientation GPS of the antenna - GPS perfectly works. BUT now the speaker in which I hear the interlocutor doesn't work for me. At other person after the assembly has broken touch the panel. Therefore it is better not to recommend to open phone.
onde consigo a rom do htc t5388+ idioma PTG ?
magicwolf said:
I had the same problem with GPS. I have risked and have changed orientation GPS of the antenna - GPS perfectly works. BUT now the speaker in which I hear the interlocutor doesn't work for me. At other person after the assembly has broken touch the panel. Therefore it is better not to recommend to open phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You changed the orientation of the antenna. In which way?
When I opened the phone to see if the connector is set right one cable to the speaker was dispatched (very bad soldering). I had to remove the old cable and solder another one because it was not only loose it was broken, too...grrrr...that's very bad.
But I was lucky and did't burned my phone
So, I also recommend to be VERY careful when opening the phone.
BTW: It is much simplier to open the T5388++ than my ASUS P535.
MicAlter said:
You changed the orientation of the antenna. In which way?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In a picture it is visible as I oriented the antenna.
cybermaus said:
Congrats.
However, I can assure you that is not the GPS antenna. Based on the antenna size and shape (its a small inverted F antenna, see the black sticker that is attached to in on top of the stylus case) I am assuming it is either the Bluetooth or WiFi antenna.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you please identify Wifi antenna? Look in attachment:
"C" is GPS antenna.
What is "A" "B" "D" ?
"D" - I see little piece of aluminum foil, but nothing else. Under this foil is place for stylus only and above foil is contact + Vibration Motor.
Somewhere I reed a tip not to hold the hand on the bottom of this phone during the phone call in order not to shield located there GSM antenna, so it means B is probably GSM. Are you sure C is BT and not GPS?
You're right. "C" is 100% GPS antenna. My mistake. (I've changed it now in original post.)
Well, my guess is B (at the bottom) is GSM, based on the fact it is larger (lower frequency) and seems to have two (one for the 850/900 MHz and one for 1800/1900Mhz), which leaves A and D for Blue and WiFi.
PS: Or GSM has two because it has 2 radio's? I wonder if they would share antenna or not, since it is a dual-sim dual standby, I guess the could share)
serak_hd2 WiFi probl.
If you have opened your phone already you can easily discover which one is wifi and BT. Just put a peace of paper on one contact (blocking connection), reassemble (screws are not necessary) and try connect to BT devise (compare to previous performance(distance)) if it is gone (or big performance difference), you blocked BT if not, it was WiFi. After you know which is Wifi, just try to ensure good mechanical contact from antenna till the board (bending contactors little higher or putting allufoil (aluminum can oxidize quickly, so it is not the best solution)). Try not to touch the board, some of the components can be sensible to static discharges. If you have not opened it yet, try to consider ones more the possibility to change it by your seller for new one.
problem with touch screen
t5388 + + touch screen does not work, but the image looks perfectly fine.
How to fix this?
thanks
cybermaus said:
The GPS antenna is a bit higher, it is the small pink 'cube' thingy on top of the phone, connected by the micro coax connector.
I had reported before the micro coax is loose in some devices, and I suspect you 'accidentally' fitted it better while opening and closing the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also had this problem, the connector was loose, now I have very good signal. No aluminium foil needed. Your post saved me!
My recommendation to other people trying to solve this problem: be VERY careful when you open your phone.
Prying the frame open wasn't such a problem although you should be careful not to force anything, it actually clicks open nicely when handled carefully. I ran into problems with the little bridge of the GPS, it broke of when I looked at it. Well actually I did help a little with a screwdriver but it broke on touch so to speak.
So there I was with a broken GPS and my sight isn't everything either so what to do. Well I found a solution. Have a seat. This is shocking.
I folded a peace of alu foil a few times and fitted it in the little space on the speaker just left from the gps and covered the broken bridge with it. I wont have to tell how difficult this is considering you have to avoid all contacts in this area. So if you try it it's your choice.
Result. A blasting fast GPS that indeed gives me never seen before fixes. This just must be my lucky day. Geocaches here I come. Time to put my external GPS aside again. Nothing beats a mad hatter.
So you kind of inadvertently upgraded the GPS antennae!
Thanks for posting, don't suppose you could post a picture?
Been checking this GPS thing myself.
I actually wonder how people manage to break that contact. You only have to bring it up a notch.
When checking the back cover you can see that there are 2 places that are contacts. i've checked with the multimeter and both are connected to each other.
Now there is one thing that is strange to me. The contact that is not the one touching the metal 'spring', well on the circuitboard there is this what looks like a piece of conducting foam that would make contact with the other one on the back. Measuring that foam it indeed conducts. It conducts to ground (measured between the coax connector and foam = 0 Ohms).
Now I actually dont know if it really touches the antenna but it would be odd to create a contact when it would not be touching.
So maybe there are 2 places that should make contact to the antenna.
Does anyone have an actual clue, or even better pictures, of the changes that were made on the models after October?
Hello guys,
following these steps solved my bad GPS as you can see with the screenshots.
for each GPS test i used "Gps status & toolbox" and i tested gps fix outside, on a balcony.
Starting situation: 6/24 satellites found.. no fix.. sometimes 8-10 satellites and then fix with about 80meters error
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the idea is that GPS antenna lies on the detachable module and LG did a mess designing it.
basically, if you take out your module sometimes out, probably you'll result in bad gps behaviour.
here a pic of GPS antenna's contact/hook
i taped it with electric tape in order to test if effectively it was GPS antenna
and, as expected, my gps signal went worst than first.
then i prepared a little square of aluminium foil by folding it about 4 times in order to get a certain amount of thickness
i also prepared a slice of adhesive tape by making a hole on the center
and finally i attached them to GPS antenna contact
after this i tested GPS in the same place and...et voilà!
which is exactly the same performance the phone had on the first weeks!
maybe this fix is not as elegant as possible but my aim is to make gps working before getting mad.. maybe you could simply change the module but i think that responsibility is of the other side of the contact, located on the frame. it's aluminium and maybe for warm and other reasons it loses his shape by making difficult communication between antenna on the module and phone.. take my theory as it is.. and enjoy!
albenex said:
Hello guys,
following these steps solved my bad GPS as you can see with the screenshots.
for each GPS test i used "Gps status & toolbox" and i tested gps fix outside, on a balcony.
Starting situation: 6/24 satellites found.. no fix.. sometimes 8-10 satellites and then fix with about 80meters error
the idea is that GPS antenna lies on the detachable module and LG did a mess designing it.
basically, if you take out your module sometimes out, probably you'll result in bad gps behaviour.
here a pic of GPS antenna's contact/hook
i taped it with electric tape in order to test if effectively it was GPS antenna
and, as expected, my gps signal went worst than first.
then i prepared a little square of aluminium foil by folding it about 4 times in order to get a certain amount of thickness
i also prepared a slice of adhesive tape by making a hole on the center
and finally i attached them to GPS antenna contact
after this i tested GPS in the same place and...et voilà!
which is exactly the same performance the phone had on the first weeks!
maybe this fix is not as elegant as possible but my aim is to make gps working before getting mad.. maybe you could simply change the module but i think that responsibility is of the other side of the contact, located on the frame. it's aluminium and maybe for warm and other reasons it loses his shape by making difficult communication between antenna on the module and phone.. take my theory as it is.. and enjoy!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome guide
Verification
Can anyone else verify that this is indeed a gps contact on the bottom module? I'm using the Hi-Fi module and it doesnt have a pin like the standard chin piece does.
I believe that this is unfortunately not the gps contact .
I have tried this fix now and it had no effect on me .
But let's wait on the experience of other users .
And thank you for your efforts, albenex!
AngryDad3 said:
I believe that this is unfortunately not the gps contact .
I have tried this fix now and it had no effect on me .
But let's wait on the experience of other users .
And thank you for your efforts, albenex!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
to be honest i'm not sure too..
i made this fix and noted so much differences on gps quality so i had to share it with you.
maybe this could be a starting point in order to understand why (in my opinion) every G5 at first has perfect gps and then after normal use get worst G# series GPS ever... any help/add will be appreciated
I've written to ifixit to get their impression. If I look at the teardowns for this phone, there is an antenna inside the bottom module and the lead does connect to the phone's metal back. But then again, there are multiple leads on the motherboard which does the same! As others have noted in other posts, opening the phone and raising these leads has provided positive results as well, so could it be a combination of both?
Will keep everyone posted on what ifixit says.
For me the Fix didn't work at all. I still get no GPS Connection....
GPS is NOT in bottom cover cuz camplus and hifi dont even have that + you would hold antenna in your hand ( doesn't make any sense ) , there are multiple threads overhere and no one even reads them... USE YOUR BRAIN GUYS
karendar said:
I've written to ifixit to get their impression. If I look at the teardowns for this phone, there is an antenna inside the bottom module and the lead does connect to the phone's metal back. But then again, there are multiple leads on the motherboard which does the same! As others have noted in other posts, opening the phone and raising these leads has provided positive results as well, so could it be a combination of both?
Will keep everyone posted on what ifixit says.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no it doesn't hook to the metal back.. it hooks to a while flat *Something* which is electrically conducive (tested with a multimeter)
you can note a black line which i assume is scratch made by detachable module contact when it enters and exits
Let me get this straight, the bottom part does contain a antenna, it is connect by the PCB that you see sticking out within the phone, the wide one is the connection for mic, speaker and charging, whiles the thin long one has 2 copper conductor is for the radio antenna, I have opened the bottom unit, but if people who has the hifi plus or cam plus, the manual does state it contains the anttena for the radio, meanning the GPS antenna is within the phone.
Hope this clears up any misunderstanding.
kms108 said:
Let me get this straight, the bottom part does contain a antenna, it is connect by the PCB that you see sticking out within the phone, the wide one is the connection for mic, speaker and charging, whiles the thin long one has 2 copper conductor is for the radio antenna, I have opened the bottom unit, but if people who has the hifi plus or cam plus, the manual does state it contains the anttena for the radio, meanning the GPS antenna is within the phone.
Hope this clears up any misunderstanding.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks
i tried again isolating the mysterious hook and got not gps signal at all for all day long.
reversing back lead to immediate gps fix.
maybe it's not gps antenna but definitively is a gps-related thing!
i guess gps signal is in such way interfered with that and maybe cleaning up the connecting spot on the white-thing attached to rear case would be a good fix. just try and explore yourselves!
interesting:
i tried some aluminum foil and I got about the same amount of fixed satellites (7) and same first fix time but there were only 16 satellites available instead of 22-28.
Just maybe there are different antennas in our phone, one for gps, one for glonass (russian) and one for bds (chinese) as they all use different frequencies. That by the way would support the fact that those 3 little pins are indeed for the positioning system
lolmensch said:
interesting:
i tried some aluminum foil and I got about the same amount of fixed satellites (7) and same first fix time but there were only 16 satellites available instead of 22-28.
Just maybe there are different antennas in our phone, one for gps, one for glonass (russian) and one for bds (chinese) as they all use different frequencies. That by the way would support the fact that those 3 little pins are indeed for the positioning system
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yep, surely both things are mixed.. little 3pins and wide white antenna hooked with module.. if you isolate one of them you'll break gps signal
On my G5 H850, I had a few cases where GPS was having a problem getting a position.
In all of these cases I used GPS Status and Toolbox to reset the A-GPS state.
GPS Status and Toolbox, "top left hamburger menu", Manage A-GPS state, Reset.
After doing this GPS Status was able to get a fix quickly.
Following this, the Google maps and navigation worked normally.
The H850 comes with the gps.conf file set up to use NTP_SERVER=europe.pool.ntp.org
If you are rooted you can change the gps config file to use NTP_SERVER to be something in your region. They are just commented out.
This obviously won't help if you have a hardware problem, but some might just have A-GPS issues.
daverup said:
On my G5 H850, I had a few cases where GPS was having a problem getting a position.
In all of these cases I used GPS Status and Toolbox to reset the A-GPS state.
GPS Status and Toolbox, "top left hamburger menu", Manage A-GPS state, Reset.
After doing this GPS Status was able to get a fix quickly.
Following this, the Google maps and navigation worked normally.
The H850 comes with the gps.conf file set up to use NTP_SERVER=europe.pool.ntp.org
If you are rooted you can change the gps config file to use NTP_SERVER to be something in your region. They are just commented out.
This obviously won't help if you have a hardware problem, but some might just have A-GPS issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for reply.. but g5 suffers from hardware problems.. further tests showed me that even cleaning the hook point between module and white antenna, helped a lot.. a g5 of a friend went from +-80m error to +-4m !
besides this i'll try this gps.conf thing
Hi all,
Thanks for this topic, just see it, after receiveing my G5 coming back from french LG'service (SBE by Allo PSM) for this problem
Default was : MKGF - GPS out of order. It takes 9 days to come back
Last time (I hope not) try first this solution
Mine wasn't rooted so warranty worked and pay nothing
See ya
Hello. The gps problem is a hardware issue, not software. I had the same problem, but it's now been gone for over a month and so far gps works like it should. There was a solution for bad gps on this forum, it included opening your device and pulling gps antena contact pins, located on the back of the display a bit up in order to make a better contact between the pins and gps antena contact pads which are placed on the inside of back cover, but people reported it only helped fo a day or two, probably because those fragile pins went back to their previous position, and that means bad connection with the antena pads. Now i took a bit different approach... If those f....ing pins are so fragile that putting the phone back together pushes them back down and gps gets broken again afted a day or two, why now make the antena pads a bit thicker. So i did.... I bought thinnest solder i could get (0.3 or 0.4mm wire diameter) to be able to be super accurate with the solder dosage, and i put a little solder on each pad, making them stick up about 0.1mm, maybe 0.15mm higher. I put the phone back together and voila.... Over a month later and no issues with gps at all. It connects to satelites quicker than my wive's G4 which does it super quick.
If you decide to do it with your device be very careful. Too much solder on the pads can cause a shortage in your device. Better to put less, then test, then put a tiny bit more etc. Than put too much and destroy your G5
Considering this phone is on warranty for most people, just SEND IT BACK! No point in finding weird ways of working around poor design from LG... They replaced the motherboard on mine and GPS locks just fine now. My Z force is still faster, but it's less of a pain than it used to.
Well... Weird or not, it works and about poor quality... I'd rather have a phone that needs a bit of tweaking done, than a device that can set my hands or trousers on fire without a warning