Help GPS issue solved bad news

[jdbaker82]

GPS units are not staying locked on and succesfully navigating from point A to point B because the signal strength it is getting to the satallites is very minimal if you want to think of it one way think of a radio station that you are just about to lose reception to and its cutting in and out and you move just a little bit and it might come back for a second.

The reason for the weak signal is the design flaw with the all metal backing on the Transformer Prime which is also the reason the WiFi signal is slightly worse then other electronic devices with WiFi ie Laptops, Smartphones, other Tablets. Don't believe me test it yourself on multiple routers and you will notice the Prime is always below other devices as far as signal quality to the WiFi networks. GPS signals are very sensative to begin with ever notice as soon as you pull into a parking garage or step inside your house GPS's will lose its lock on the satallites.

The misconfusion from all of this is coming because some people with the Prime thinks their GPS is working simply because it locked on to a Satallite and it found their location but these same people do not realize if they put in a destination and try to drive from point A to point B the GPS will go haywire as soon as you start moving towards your destination because again the signal quality is just enough to lock onto a satallite and nothing more.

If you have an iPad look at the plastic window Apple designed into it which is right where the GPS antenna is Apple figured out if they dont do that the GPS will not work properly unfortunately the people at ASUS did not figure it out before it was too late and they shipped the devices out anyway after their so called "delay" which was not really but a 2 day delay if they actually were replacing hardware on units it would have been a much bigger delay then 2 days. Look at any other tablets that have a GPS like the Samsung Galaxy that has a plastic backing metal is a HUGE interference to GPS RF signals.

In one way this could be a somewhat easy fix for ASUS and they are probably designing new covers as I type but I am assuming we will have to send the units in for the repair if and when they finally get around to it IF they even decide to come out and admit their huge design flaw mistake.

 

[rsarno]

this is good news for me since ill never be using my prime for directions.

 

[TheKricket]

^ Bad news for those of us who thought about how awesome it would be for the wife to be holding a 10" digital map in her lap as we explore...

If there really is a design flaw that renders the gps useless, I'm not sure I'll be keeping mine.

 

[tmaxey1]

So then how is the GPS issue solved as you put in the title.

I personally don't ever use GPS on a tablet. I've been using a 1st Gen ipad since launch and I honestly don't know if it even has a GPS chip.

 

[jdbaker82]

So then how is the GPS issue solved as you put in the title.

I personally don't ever use GPS on a tablet. I've been using a 1st Gen ipad since launch and I honestly don't know if it even has a GPS chip.

It is solved because people keep waiting for a magical software/firmware fix and or magical reset fix and beating their heads against the wall trying to figure this out or wait for answers from ASUS when really the bottom line is there is no fix for it unless ASUS is going to replace the entire design of the backing of the Prime.

 

[TheKricket]

I've been using a 1st Gen ipad since launch and I honestly don't know if it even has a GPS chip.

It doesn't.

 

[n11]

The OP on this thread is probably the same jdbaker82 that currently has an account disabled on xda. Duplicate posts, duplicate threads, misleading thread titles, conclusions that seem to be out of the mainstream and aren't very helpful.

I assume his intentions are good and he's just anxious to post, I'm just sayin...

 

[davidchsw]

Is the screen made out of metal like the back? Why can't the GPS signal pass through the screen? I am having a hard time wrapping my head around the back is all of the problem. I think there is more to this than has been explained here.

 

[jdbaker82]

Is the screen made out of metal like the back? Why can't the GPS signal pass through the screen? I am having a hard time wrapping my head around the back is all of the problem. I think there is more to this than has been explained here.

Metal significantly degrades and interferes with a GPS signal if you don't believe me go put your TomTom or Garmin GPS on your dashboard and hold your Prime directly over top of it you will lose your GPS Signal while trying to navigate from point A to B the GPS will get confused and not know exactly what street you are currently on (Can be dangerous I recommend not doing it alone lol). It cant pass through the screen because the GPS chip/antenna is on the bottom part of the board where the backing is not the topside where the screen is.

Also just got off the phone with the ASUS Engineering department and they are aware that the backing is whats causing the issue with the GPS signal I finally got to speak with an engineer after jumping through 100 hoops and explaining to them that I disassembled one of the Primes and it locked onto a GPS signal and navigated from point A to point B with no problems with the backing off of it. Regular reps at ASUS have been told to hush hush and are not allowed to say anything lets see if ASUS comes out and publically admits the problem anytime soon.

 

[rsarno]

Metal significantly degrades and interferes with a GPS signal if you don't believe me go put your TomTom or Garmin GPS on your dashboard and hold your Prime directly over top of it you will lose your GPS Signal. It cant pass through the screen because the GPS chip/antenna is on the bottom part of the board where the backing is not the topside where the screen is.

Also just got off the phone with the ASUS Engineering department and they are aware that the backing is whats causing the issue with the GPS signal I finally got to speak with an engineer after jumping through 100 hoops and explaining to them that I disassembled one of the Primes and it locked onto a GPS signal and navigated from point A to point B with no problems with the backing off of it. Regular reps at ASUS have been told to hush hush and are not allowed to say anything lets see if ASUS comes out and publically admits the problem anytime soon.

Not doubting you at all, but i doubt it would take you to call them and convince them there is an issue.

By now they have has more than enough reports by users and have had a ton of returns by now so they definitely ran it through their own QA departments and confirmed. They are probably waiting to see how many people actually care about having GPS on a tablet

If it turns out to be a major issue, they have a major issue on their hands.

 

[jdbaker82]

Guys think about this here is one of the original articles about the so called WiFi delay.

The company says that "the WiFi range on the TF201 did not meet our quality standards" and that it will not release the product until the wireless is up to snuff. In order to combat the issue, ASUS "will be implementing a new solution," though it declined to elaborate on what the solution would be. Naturally, no timetable for the Transformer Prime's release was provided either. So, if you jumped on the pre-order, let us know if you've heard the same song and dance from ASUS in the comments below.

[Thanks, George]

Update: We heard back from ASUS US and were told the Prime is still scheduled for release the week of 12 / 19.





Lets see how could they possibly had an issue with WiFi range and actually done something to fix it in the 2 days if that it was delayed on all these units? Simple they didn't the issue was not with specifically the WiFi signal (which is actually not on par with all laptops, smartphones, and other tablets on the 4 routers I tested on it goes out of range 10 ft on average sooner then other devices) they decided it was too late and there was nothing they could do about the GPS issue so they decided to send the faulty design with the metal backing of the case out anyway which is degrading both the GPS and the WiFi signal however the WiFi signal can still get by without too many issues where the GPS cannot because its more sensative then a WiFi signal. Bottom line is their so called "New Solution" was to do absolutely nothing and ship the units anyway.

 

[JackG058]

The OP on this thread is probably the same jdbaker82 that currently has an account disabled on xda. Duplicate posts, duplicate threads, misleading thread titles, conclusions that seem to be out of the mainstream and aren't very helpful.

I assume his intentions are good and he's just anxious to post, I'm just sayin...

I have been following the threads on the Prime for weeks now, and I commented before that jdbaker82 has seemed negative about the Prime all along. I know this person was arguing about people not getting their Prime's before Christmas, and then people began getting their shipping notifications. I'm not saying they are wrong on the GPS, because others who have more credibility are indicating problems, but I am saying anything this person posts will be taken with a huge grain of salt by me.

 

[jdbaker82]

I have been following the threads on the Prime for weeks now, and I commented before that jdbaker82 has seemed negative about the Prime all along. I know this person was arguing about people not getting their Prime's before Christmas, and then people began getting their shipping notifications. I'm not saying they are wrong on the GPS, because others who have more credibility are indicating problems, but I am saying anything this person posts will be taken with a huge grain of salt by me.

If you don't believe me try and find one person with a Prime that has been to actually navigate from point A to point B with the satallite staying locked. I see people on XDA talking about airplane mode, cold boots, software resets and thinking theirs works just because they can lock on satallites inside or outside your home doesn't matter the problem is that it will LOCK ON but the signal is so weak that it WILL NOT stay locked I do not understand why people cannot understand this on XDA.


Also if you really want to see the Primes GPS actually work take the backing off it works just fine (although this is not easy to do an voids the warranty so I would not recommend it)

 

[tmaxey1]

It is solved because people keep waiting for a magical software/firmware fix and or magical reset fix and beating their heads against the wall trying to figure this out or wait for answers from ASUS when really the bottom line is there is no fix for it unless ASUS is going to replace the entire design of the backing of the Prime.

So then you are saying you solved the GPS issue?

I appreciate your contribution to the forum and topic but your titles are misleading. You say its solved and then present your own personal theory as to why its faulty.

Are you the same guy that kept posting a website in all of your threads that said basically nothing real about this device being delayed for a long time?

Not arguing just asking.

 

[jdbaker82]

So then you are saying you solved the GPS issue?

I appreciate your contribution to the forum and topic but your titles are misleading. You say its solved and then present your own personal theory as to why its faulty.

Are you the same guy that kept posting a website in all of your threads that said basically nothing real about this device being delayed for a long time?

Not arguing just asking.

This is not theory this is fact I have taken the back off my Prime and navigated around staying locked from point A to point B with no problems.

 

[JackG058]

If you don't believe me try and find one person with a Prime that has been to actually navigate from point A to point B with the satallite staying locked. I see people on XDA talking about airplane mode, cold boots, software resets and thinking theirs works just because they can lock on satallites inside or outside your home doesn't matter the problem is that it will LOCK ON but the signal is so weak that it WILL NOT stay locked I do not understand why people cannot understand this on XDA.


Also if you really want to see the Primes GPS actually work take the backing off it works just fine (although this is not easy to do an voids the warranty so I would not recommend it)

I specifically stated that I wasn't saying you were wrong on this issue. I do stand by my stating that every post I've read from you is negative and has been from way back. You were arguing with Lock-N-Load about people not getting their shipments, and then he posted a little while later with his shipping confirmation. That one you had to eat crow on and back down from. I'm just saying when all one posts is negative stuff before the device even made it into the hands of users, one loses credibility.

 

[jdbaker82]

I specifically stated that I wasn't saying you were wrong on this issue. I do stand by my stating that every post I've read from you is negative and has been from way back. You were arguing with Lock-N-Load about people not getting their shipments, and then he posted a little while later with his shipping confirmation. That one you had to eat crow on and back down from. I'm just saying when all one posts is negative stuff before the device even made it into the hands of users, one loses credibility.

I understand that and I am not bashing the Prime in fact I am not even going to use the GPS function and love my Prime I am just pissed off that ASUS had the nerve to know about the issue and then ship them out anyway. This is the reason we had the whole WiFi delay articles in the first place that never really turned out being a delay because they released them anyway.

 

[davidchsw]

How do you know they knew about this " issue " before shipping? I don't think Asus would be the first company to discover a problem with a product after shipping.

 

[jdbaker82]

How do you know they knew about this " issue " before shipping? I don't think Asus would be the first company to discover a problem with a product after shipping.

This is how I know. If you read in between the lines the issue has been with the GPS all along and they never delayed it or did anything to fix it they shipped them out anyway.

ASUS delays Transformer Prime's release until WiFi fix is found (update: Prime to be released the week of 12/19)

By Billy Steele posted December 12th 2011 4:21PM

​

If you were hoping to get you hands on a Transformer Prime this month, prepare to be disappointed. After hearing rumors of the ASUS slate's delay due to Wifi issues, we've now received confirmation from ASUS Canada via one of our tipsters. The company says that "the WiFi range on the TF201 did not meet our quality standards" and that it will not release the product until the wireless is up to snuff. In order to combat the issue, ASUS "will be implementing a new solution," though it declined to elaborate on what the solution would be. Naturally, no timetable for the Transformer Prime's release was provided either. So, if you jumped on the pre-order, let us know if you've heard the same song and dance from ASUS in the comments below.

[Thanks, George]

Update: We heard back from ASUS US and were told the Prime is still scheduled for release the week of 12 / 19.

 

[KaneoheGrown]

I just wanted to add some input. GPS systems require quite a few things to be aligned in order to work properly.

First off, more so than antenna reception strength, line of sight is one of the most fundamental things required to allow a system to locate and track. Dependent on your location, if your GPS antenna fails to receive a minimum of 4 satellites within the horizon, your system will fail to triangulate it’s exact location. This will result in spotty / failed position marking. Operation close to or around high rise buildings, mountain regions, or any other place that would block a RF signal, will result in the GPS unit failing to orient itself. This is why you will lose signals in tunnels and parking garages, you essentially cut off your LOS to the corresponding satellites.

Line of sight also works hand in hand with atmospheric conditions. If cloud cover is too heavy, or there are other conditions bouncing the signal away from your device, you will again experience loss of satellite signal, causing spotty signal reception.

Though I don’t discount the possibility of the metal cover degrading your signal, the fact remains your antenna does work. The system is still able to locate you and track your initial position. I would attribute your position going in and out during travel to a lack of proper timing from the GPS unit. Normally a cell phone will use the satellite signals along with it’s cell signal to provide real time updates. Without the cell signal, the Prime is utilizing only the GPS satellites to compute it’s location. A timing issue with GPS reception can be fixed with a software update as stated by other users.

I’ve worked with Aircraft GPS units, and these are all installed in an aluminum cover to protect the antenna from damage during flight. Believe me, if those systems can work fine with a metal cover over it, the Prime shouldn’t have a problem receiving a GPS signal either.

Again, I'm not discounting your theory on the metal cover causing "some" problems. But I personally don't think that this is in fact the primary reason people are having problems with their GPS navigation.

 

[Arun01]

So you took the back off & it worked? This is interesting. So did it get better wifi also? Asus needs to ship out new backings for this thing if this is true & will solve all the issues.

 

[davidchsw]

I don"t see anything between the lines about the GPS.

 

[rsmin]

So then how is the GPS issue solved as you put in the title.

I personally don't ever use GPS on a tablet. I've been using a 1st Gen ipad since launch and I honestly don't know if it even has a GPS chip.

I had the wireless first gen ipad and it didn't have gps

 

[shinigamimai]

I just wanted to add some input. GPS systems require quite a few things to be aligned in order to work properly.

First off, more so than antenna reception strength, line of sight is one of the most fundamental things required to allow a system to locate and track. Dependent on your location, if your GPS antenna fails to receive a minimum of 4 satellites within the horizon, your system will fail to triangulate it’s exact location. This will result in spotty / failed position marking. Operation close to or around high rise buildings, mountain regions, or any other place that would block a RF signal, will result in the GPS unit failing to orient itself. This is why you will lose signals in tunnels and parking garages, you essentially cut off your LOS to the corresponding satellites.

Line of sight also works hand in hand with atmospheric conditions. If cloud cover is too heavy, or there are other conditions bouncing the signal away from your device, you will again experience loss of satellite signal, causing spotty signal reception.

Though I don’t discount the possibility of the metal cover degrading your signal, the fact remains your antenna does work. The system is still able to locate you and track your initial position. I would attribute your position going in and out during travel to a lack of proper timing from the GPS unit. Normally a cell phone will use the satellite signals along with it’s cell signal to provide real time updates. Without the cell signal, the Prime is utilizing only the GPS satellites to compute it’s location. A timing issue with GPS reception can be fixed with a software update as stated by other users.

I’ve worked with Aircraft GPS units, and these are all installed in an aluminum cover to protect the antenna from damage during flight. Believe me, if those systems can work fine with a metal cover over it, the Prime shouldn’t have a problem receiving a GPS signal either.

Again, I'm not discounting your theory on the metal cover causing "some" problems. But I personally don't think that this is in fact the primary reason people are having problems with their GPS navigation.

Thank you; i was just going to impart this exact info you posted, for i too have worked, installed and trouble shot many marine and aviation units.

 

[newtech]

My Prime is on the UPS truck coming from Fresno California. Supposed to get it Tuesday. I will be using it for navigation in my airplane; so I am banking on the GPS being solid. I will update with comparisons to my commercial Garmin aircraft GPS' as soon as the Prime arrives.