Help GPS Fixed With Extended Battery Cover Antenna

[swiftarrow]

Before and after the OTA, with or without GPS Status and GPS Test Plus, I had the usual problems which made my GPS essentially useless: inaccurate location, taking a long time to lock, poor tracking, etc.

I recently read in another forum that someone noticed that his GPS worked perfectly after he installed the extended battery. When he compared the inside of the stock and the extended battery covers, he discovered that the extended battery cover had a GPS antenna which spread from the contact leads in the upper right hand corner across the top and down the right side of the cover. The stock battery cover didn't have a GPS antenna.

So I ordered an extended battery. After I installed it, I tried out the GPS. It locked instantly and accurately. To me, this means that many of our stock battery covers are missing a GPS antenna. In those cases, at least, the GPS problem is a hardware problem, and won't likely be fixed by the Gingerbread update, whenever it comes.

Hopefully, Verizon and HTC will give us new stock battery covers which include the GPS antenna.

 

[skinien]

Before and after the OTA, with or without GPS Status and GPS Test Plus, I had the usual problems which made my GPS essentially useless: inaccurate location, taking a long time to lock, poor tracking, etc.

I recently read in another forum that someone noticed that his GPS worked perfectly after he installed the extended battery. When he compared the inside of the stock and the extended battery covers, he discovered that the extended battery cover had a GPS antenna which spread from the contact leads in the upper right hand corner across the top and down the right side of the cover. The stock battery cover didn't have a GPS antenna.

So I ordered an extended battery. After I installed it, I tried out the GPS. It locked instantly and accurately. To me, this means that many of our stock battery covers are missing a GPS antenna. In those cases, at least, the GPS problem is a hardware problem, and won't likely be fixed by the Gingerbread update, whenever it comes.

Hopefully, Verizon and HTC will give us new stock battery covers which include the GPS antenna.

This is wrong. Also, the leaked GB update did fix GPS issues.

 

[swiftarrow]

This is wrong.

Really? Well, it sure worked for me, and I don't have the GB update.

 

[Puppa]

I haven't had the GPS issue, and I have the stock battery cover, but--my stock cover DOES have some sort of antenna in it.

 

[swiftarrow]

I haven't had the GPS issue, and I have the stock battery cover, but--my stock cover DOES have some sort of antenna in it.

I got my TB as soon as it hit the market. If your TB is a fairly recent version, maybe the antenna problem had been corrected.

 

[jreed2560]

Could you possibly post some pictures to show the difference. It could very well have been added to later models/accessories as a fix. I'm not doubting you in the least, just want to see what your talking about

 

[swiftarrow]

Could you possibly post some pictures to show the difference. It could very well have been added to later models/accessories as a fix. I'm not doubting you in the least, just want to see what your talking about

Take a look at http://i51.tinypic.com/30ievf8.jpg. The left picture is the back of the extended battery cover, just like mine. I believe that the GPS antenna is the broad black strip along the top and upper right side. The right picture is the back of the stock battery cover, just like mine. No broad GPS antenna.

 

[Puppa]

Had mine for only about 9 days now. Here's a picture. I have no frame of reference to judge whether this is different from the original stock door or not...
Notice the black patch on the left. That is, I believe, a patch antenna.

 

[swiftarrow]

Had mine for only about 9 days now. Here's a picture. I have no frame of reference to judge whether this is different from the original stock door or not...
Notice the black patch on the left. That is, I believe, a patch antenna.View attachment 18714

I think you're right. My stock battery cover, which I suspect is the original, looks just like yours, except that there's no black patch on the left. Which suggests that sometime between the time I got my TB and you got yours, Verizon/HTC realized that they needed to put a GPS antenna on the battery cover.

 

[swiftarrow]

My stock battery cover, which I suspect is the original, looks just like yours, except that there's no black patch on the left.

I looked at my stock battery cover again, and there is a black patch/antenna on the left, just like yours. Sorry about that. But no black patch/antenna along the top and right side, like the extended battery cover.

Just to be sure, though, I put the stock battery back in, along with the extended battery cover. GPS locked quickly and accurately. When I put the stock battery cover back on (with the stock battery), the GPS problems returned.

In my case, at least, GPS will only work properly when there is a black patch/antenna along the top and right side of the battery cover.

 

[skinien]

Really? Well, it sure worked for me, and I don't have the GB update.

Sorry. I wasnt clear. I meant I think thr part about it being a hardware issue may be wrong. People are reporting that the GB leak is fixibg their GPS problems.

To see if this has validity, it would be interesting to see signal strengths of those with and without the black patch. If you care to post, youcan use GPS status or GPS test. Run the test outside.

Black patch, 10 locks, 5 in the mid 20s and 5 in the mid 30s.

 

[swiftarrow]

To see if this has validity, it would be interesting to see signal strengths of those with and without the black patch. If you care to post, youcan use GPS status or GPS test. Run the test outside.

Black patch, 10 locks, 5 in the mid 20s and 5 in the mid 30s.

Good idea. I did the tests with both GPS Test Plus and GPS Status. Both results were similar.

With the extended battery cover, I quickly got results identical to yours: up to 10 locks, half 20s and half 30s. With the stock battery cover, I got no locks (stopped trying after 5 minutes). This would appear to explain why the larger patch/antenna on the extended battery cover works much better for me.

If the GB update can make the smaller stock battery patch/antenna work as well as the larger extended battery cover patch/antenna, that would be great. I'm not rooted, so I'll have to wait and see. The only explanation I can think of is that maybe the GB update somehow amplifies the weaker GPS signal generated by the smaller patch/antenna in the stock battery cover.

It seems like it would have been a lot easier if the stock battery cover had been built with a larger patch/antenna in the first place. Which is probably why Verizon/HTC corrected the error when they got around to making the extended battery cover.

 

[Ramrod152001]

Wow I noticed this too. My stock cover Thunderbolt takes forever to lock on!!! I was stunned that it worked instantly when I put in extended battery cover.

 

[EgoDogg]

I got my Thunderbolt on launch day, and I had TERRIBLE GPS problems until the Gingerbread leak came out. After that, I would (and still do) get intant lock-ons.

 

[swiftarrow]

I got my Thunderbolt on launch day, and I had TERRIBLE GPS problems until the Gingerbread leak came out. After that, I would (and still do) get intant lock-ons.

Hopefully, when the rest of us get the Gingerbread update, we won't have to use an extended battery cover to get the GPS to work right!

 

[EgoDogg]

Hopefully, when the rest of us get the Gingerbread update, we won't have to use an extended battery cover to get the GPS to work right!

It should be fine after the update. It fixed everyones gps problems from what I saw