I’ve been struggling with why my GPS quit seeing any satellites after the 9.4.2.11 update when I realized something looking at Anand’s teardown:
AnandTech - ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime Teardown
Perhaps the antenna connections are weak or have become slightly corroded. Based on his teardown the contacts are spring type “pogopins” which mate with the opposite face. With that thought in mind I decided to try and flex the tablet ever so slightly to clean the contacts. The idea being that the slight flex would cause the pins to scrape the contact surface rubbing a clean(er) spot.
Before the 9.4.2.11 update I had the typical poor performance from the GPS, getting locks but losing them on the move. I had given up on it [GPS] until this update which touted GPS improvements. After updating and wiping I tested the GPS again, but could not see even one satellite after letting it sit, more than once, for over an hour with Wi-Fi on and off.
I must stress I strongly suggest you do not try this on your tablet for fear of damaging it. I take no responsibly for damage to anyone’s tablet and am only reporting my actions.
After this procedure I am able to see several birds indoors, albeit with weak SNR. This has me convinced that part of the problem is related to these contacts, and may serve to explain some of the weak Wi-Fi reports. It may also help illustrate why only some users are seeing issues, and perhaps why some of the returns are functioning better. These contacts may be more robust in some units or possibly be able to be rectified via service.
I do understand there are other factors related to both the GPS and Wi-Fi, but this appears, at least to me, to be part of the bigger picture.
Please note that the amount of flex I’m talking about is next to nothing, enough to see a change in light bleed around the display, I was afraid to go too far.
*Mods, I'm not sure why this post was deleted before, please PM me if there is a problem with this post. I did not include the link.*
AnandTech - ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime Teardown
Perhaps the antenna connections are weak or have become slightly corroded. Based on his teardown the contacts are spring type “pogopins” which mate with the opposite face. With that thought in mind I decided to try and flex the tablet ever so slightly to clean the contacts. The idea being that the slight flex would cause the pins to scrape the contact surface rubbing a clean(er) spot.
Before the 9.4.2.11 update I had the typical poor performance from the GPS, getting locks but losing them on the move. I had given up on it [GPS] until this update which touted GPS improvements. After updating and wiping I tested the GPS again, but could not see even one satellite after letting it sit, more than once, for over an hour with Wi-Fi on and off.
I must stress I strongly suggest you do not try this on your tablet for fear of damaging it. I take no responsibly for damage to anyone’s tablet and am only reporting my actions.
After this procedure I am able to see several birds indoors, albeit with weak SNR. This has me convinced that part of the problem is related to these contacts, and may serve to explain some of the weak Wi-Fi reports. It may also help illustrate why only some users are seeing issues, and perhaps why some of the returns are functioning better. These contacts may be more robust in some units or possibly be able to be rectified via service.
I do understand there are other factors related to both the GPS and Wi-Fi, but this appears, at least to me, to be part of the bigger picture.
Please note that the amount of flex I’m talking about is next to nothing, enough to see a change in light bleed around the display, I was afraid to go too far.
*Mods, I'm not sure why this post was deleted before, please PM me if there is a problem with this post. I did not include the link.*