DHD GPS issue fixed, 100% working
- Thread starter rakesh2002
- Start date
@Noblelox: What changes would you like to see? brief me and I will look into the matter. Thanks.
I'm gonna try this out.
Thank you VERY much! it works perfectly. I am amazed at how easily this thing has been fixed and how poor the original design is.
Also, the little cap thingy is higher towards the camera, it's no leveled with the rest of the phone. Any ideas on how I can get it back down?
Thank you VERY much! it works perfectly. I am amazed at how easily this thing has been fixed and how poor the original design is.
Also, the little cap thingy is higher towards the camera, it's no leveled with the rest of the phone. Any ideas on how I can get it back down?
Last edited:
Soldering has never been recommended in the main post. I would request every DHD owner with soldering in their mind to first use standard repair procedure which must work by the way. The alternative is to invest $5 on the antenna casing which could be found in Ebay or other popular E-shopping websites.
Only those with soldering expertise could take the extreme steps because extreme heat can burn the internal circuitry or adversely hamper the very intention of this post.
Yeah I've allready ordered a new GPS antenna, it's not that I lack soldering experience, probably just had the soldering station turned up to high and destroyed the thin layer of gold paint.
Tried to fix it yesterday but no luck.
It's rather embarrassing tbh, just the usual process of me trying to improve something which is allready working *just fine* and ending up breaking it in the process.
I never touched the circuitry, I was just messing about with the antenna.
Tried to fix it yesterday but no luck.
It's rather embarrassing tbh, just the usual process of me trying to improve something which is allready working *just fine* and ending up breaking it in the process.
I never touched the circuitry, I was just messing about with the antenna.
Brilliant!
I just did this on my DHD and I'm getting a 10 satellite fix in my room! That's never happened before. I used to catch satellites only when I stood in my balcony or next to my window, that too after quite a long time. Big thanks to rakesh2002 for this guide. Anyone who's having a GPS problem that doesn't improve no matter what they try on the software side, I advise them to try this out. It's the only sure shot way to fix it. I knew for sure it was a hardware problem on my DHD, because I used to get a crappy 3-6 satellite fix even when driving, but when I lightly pressed and held down on the GPS antenna cover, it immediately jumped to 10 satellites or more and went back to 2-6 satellites once I released the cover. Try this out first with your DHD to check if the hardware is at fault. If you're getting a good satellite fix normally, then no problem. Also, if you're scared of doing this, an alternative is to get a tight fitting silicone/hard case for the phone and putting that on when you want to use GPS (if you don't like using cases for regular use). The case will press down on the GPS antenna cover and give you a good satellite lock. I used to use a silicone case and never had a problem with GPS for more than a year since I got the DHD. I started experiencing problems only after I stopped using the case because it looked like crap.
Point to note - The bottom of the antenna cover has a strange clip. It's just a plastic projection unlike the standard clips on the top and right side. It's quite hard to put back into the phone because you can't just press it in like the other clips. You'll want to be careful with this to avoid breaking it. Mine broke as I was prying open the cover itself and is sort of dangling in its place now. I put it back into place and stuck it with super glue, but I was unable to put the cover back into the phone without breaking it again. So I gave up and just let it be. But it doesn't affect the result at all. I bent my spring contacts upward and even with this clip broken and the GPS antenna cover subsequently not having a tight fit at the bottom, I'm still getting a perfect 8-10 satellite fix in my room.
I just did this on my DHD and I'm getting a 10 satellite fix in my room! That's never happened before. I used to catch satellites only when I stood in my balcony or next to my window, that too after quite a long time. Big thanks to rakesh2002 for this guide. Anyone who's having a GPS problem that doesn't improve no matter what they try on the software side, I advise them to try this out. It's the only sure shot way to fix it. I knew for sure it was a hardware problem on my DHD, because I used to get a crappy 3-6 satellite fix even when driving, but when I lightly pressed and held down on the GPS antenna cover, it immediately jumped to 10 satellites or more and went back to 2-6 satellites once I released the cover. Try this out first with your DHD to check if the hardware is at fault. If you're getting a good satellite fix normally, then no problem. Also, if you're scared of doing this, an alternative is to get a tight fitting silicone/hard case for the phone and putting that on when you want to use GPS (if you don't like using cases for regular use). The case will press down on the GPS antenna cover and give you a good satellite lock. I used to use a silicone case and never had a problem with GPS for more than a year since I got the DHD. I started experiencing problems only after I stopped using the case because it looked like crap.
Point to note - The bottom of the antenna cover has a strange clip. It's just a plastic projection unlike the standard clips on the top and right side. It's quite hard to put back into the phone because you can't just press it in like the other clips. You'll want to be careful with this to avoid breaking it. Mine broke as I was prying open the cover itself and is sort of dangling in its place now. I put it back into place and stuck it with super glue, but I was unable to put the cover back into the phone without breaking it again. So I gave up and just let it be. But it doesn't affect the result at all. I bent my spring contacts upward and even with this clip broken and the GPS antenna cover subsequently not having a tight fit at the bottom, I'm still getting a perfect 8-10 satellite fix in my room.
Last edited:
I just did this on my DHD and I'm getting a 10 satellite fix in my room! That's never happened before. I used to catch satellites only when I stood in my balcony or next to my window, that too after quite a long time. Big thanks to rakesh2002 for this guide. Anyone who's having a GPS problem that doesn't improve no matter what they try on the software side, I advise them to try this out. It's the only sure shot way to fix it. I knew for sure it was a hardware problem on my DHD, because I used to get a crappy 3-6 satellite fix even when driving, but when I lightly pressed and held down on the GPS antenna cover, it immediately jumped to 10 satellites or more and went back to 2-6 satellites once I released the cover. Try this out first with your DHD to check if the hardware is at fault. If you're getting a good satellite fix normally, then no problem. Also, if you're scared of doing this, an alternative is to get a tight fitting silicone/hard case for the phone and putting that on when you want to use GPS (if you don't like using cases for regular use). The case will press down on the GPS antenna cover and give you a good satellite lock. I used to use a silicone case and never had a problem with GPS for more than a year since I got the DHD. I started experiencing problems only after I stopped using the case because it looked like crap.
Point to note - The bottom of the antenna cover has a strange clip. It's just a plastic projection unlike the standard clips on the top and right side. It's quite hard to put back into the phone because you can't just press it in like the other clips. You'll want to be careful with this to avoid breaking it. Mine broke as I was prying open the cover itself and is sort of dangling in its place now. I put it back into place and stuck it with super glue, but I was unable to put the cover back into the phone without breaking it again. So I gave up and just let it be. But it doesn't affect the result at all. I bent my spring contacts upward and even with this clip broken and the GPS antenna cover subsequently not having a tight fit at the bottom, I'm still getting a perfect 8-10 satellite fix in my room.
Thanks Sashank.
The mod doesn't work for me . It only work if the wire is hanging outside the case. Once the cover is closed, they is no signal .
Got a new antenna cover from ebay for $5 and it solve all my problem . For those who don't want to mess around with soldering . I will advise you change the cover instead . It save all the trouble on soldering and might even damage your phone .
Got a new antenna cover from ebay for $5 and it solve all my problem . For those who don't want to mess around with soldering . I will advise you change the cover instead . It save all the trouble on soldering and might even damage your phone .
I'm sorry but I can't believe this is a hardware issue. In my view, the GPS problem is a software issue.
Let me tell you about my HTC Desire HD. Google navigation worked fine on the stock ROM. I then decided to root it and to put CyanogenMod 7.xxx onto it. That's when my gps problems started. I would get a lock on very quickly but then it would hunt for satellites after about a minute.
I tried all sorts of solutions, none of which worked. I then put the stock ROM back on and the GPS worked flawlessly.
After a while I thought I'd try an experiment with an ICS ROM. I tried MIUI, Virtuous and PrimoS and the same GPS problem came back with all of them.
Sent from my HTC Desire HD using xda premium
Let me tell you about my HTC Desire HD. Google navigation worked fine on the stock ROM. I then decided to root it and to put CyanogenMod 7.xxx onto it. That's when my gps problems started. I would get a lock on very quickly but then it would hunt for satellites after about a minute.
I tried all sorts of solutions, none of which worked. I then put the stock ROM back on and the GPS worked flawlessly.
After a while I thought I'd try an experiment with an ICS ROM. I tried MIUI, Virtuous and PrimoS and the same GPS problem came back with all of them.
Sent from my HTC Desire HD using xda premium
Google navigation worked fine for me too because they use my Wifi/radio network to locate me. Even a Standalone GPS nav system takes minutes to connect sometimes. may be different kernels have different SNR thresholds to lock coordinates, stock rom could have higher threshold since HTC needs to ensure that the coordinates have smaller error margin for its customers.
High threshold requires larger antennas since length of the antenna is directly proportional to the wavelength of the signal. In the case of our phones, all we could do is ensure that the antenna and contacts are firm so as to allow more current to flow/to improve the impedance matching.
The GPS code is very simple and the possibilities of it to be bugged is extremely small. Ironically the custom roms offer more flexibility in terms of being able to change individual parameters for GPS. Kindly correct me or educate me if I'm wrong. Thanks.
I tried the hardware fix and it worked perfectly for me. I am getting 7 satellites from inside my apartment.
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"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while troubles will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn."
--------------------------+----------------------------------+------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------------------------------------------+-------------
Hi,
WARNING!!! ------>PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE POST BEFORE DOING ANYTHING WITH YOUR DESIRE HD
TO ALL THE DHD OWNERS: IF YOU HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE OF REPAIRING THEN PLEASE DO NOT MAKE ANY ATTEMPTS. KINDLY LOOK FOR EXPERTS/PROFESSIONALS WHO SHALL HAVE ALL THE TOOLS, WHO SHALL KNOW SOLDERING (WHICH I WOULD DEFINITELY NOT RECOMMEND) AND SO ON. JUST A GENTLE REMINDER: YOUR PHONE IS EXPENSIVE AND ISN'T SOMETHING TO BE PLAYED/MEDDLED WITH.
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TO THE MODS: I have tried my best to make sure the solution is genuine. I have requested the Desire HD owners to understand thoroughly the procedures of repairing . I presume that the readers are well educated and sensible. Despite that, if you feel that many are disappointed or not satisfied with the method i've described, you can terminate this thread. What I've mentioned is based on my true experience and my only intention is to help people.
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RECOMMENDATION: Install GPS apps such as GPS Status and GPS test and see if you happen to get a good fix, if not please proceed.
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After having searched for GPS solution, I literally gave up on this. Now, after the fix, I am so happy that I keep looking at my GPS software locking the coordinates even though i am not travelling.
You might have heard of the following:
a) GPS signal is low during rainy days due to clouds
b) GPS signal is weak inside buildings due to concrete walls etc..
I had the same issue and I thought I ended up with a hopeless phone, later that I realized that It is the best phone I bought.
I finally fixed my GPS issue, the results are:
a) My Desire HD got locked with all the 12 satellites, during the rain
b)I am in my bedroom and I get around 6 - 7 GPS signals.
What could the issue be: SOFTWARE/ RADIO -------> NO
The issue is------------------------------------------> HARDWARE
Procedure
[credit: waveking9 from XDA and knglaser from Youtube]
1. At the rear of the DHD is the camera Flash zone (A small Rectangular casing)
2. First, Turn off your DHD and remove the battery.
3. Then open the casing: You need sharp tipped tool to open it. Be careful, take your time: Place the sharp tip tool( like your screwdriver etc.) at the right side of the casing and pull it out.
4. Once you succeed, you notice that the casing has two gold contacts and your DHD has two spring contacts (gold).
5. Blow off the dust, if any, and mildly pull the spring upward so that the casing and the spring have a firm contact when you place back the casing.
6. Once done with the spring contact, clean the casing contacts properly.
7. Place the casing back: from left to right: pretty tricky but you can do it.
8. Thats it, power up your DHD, install a software called "GPS Test" and see the magic for yourself.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/4588147...7626706509210
[credit: lrm537]
Disclaimer: I am not responsible for any damage, do it at your own risk. It worked for me. I hope it works for you too.
Peace,
Rakesh
Latest Addition: Dated 4/16/2012
Soldering has never been recommended in the main post. I would request every DHD owner with soldering in their mind to first use standard repair procedure which must work by the way. The alternative is to invest $5 on the antenna casing which could be found in Ebay or other popular E-shopping websites.
Only those with soldering expertise could take the extreme steps because extreme heat can burn the internal circuitry or adversely hamper the very intention of this post.
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For those successful and unsuccessful in solving the GPS issue:
I stumbled upon this post and, to my astonishment, someone has already dealt with this issue. This post offers a clearer and technically insightful detail on GPS and it's working. The smarter readers shall make most out of it even though it is for Samsung phones. All the credit goes to this gentleman:
http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=878970
please thank him.
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I never gave a check on the SNR before the repair, but now I get around
[22dB-avg/32dB-peak/6-7 sat/15 meters max accuracy/3 min max hot fix/ 30 sec max cold fix] within the house(near the window).
under open sky, it comes to around
[25dB-avg/36dB-peak/11-12 sat/6 meters max accuracy/20 sec max hot fix/6 sec max cold fix]
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I totally agree with the point that it's hardware and it is not something to be messed up with. This is a delicate process needing surgical precision in repairing. For anyone planning to use this technique, please think twice and make sure that you are equipped with required tools. Watch YouTube videos on disassembling, or look for HTC tech support. I too am disappointed with HTC and I feel that HTC guys need to pick up with Apple guys when it comes to hardware testing. It's a shame that they are not able to rectify such issues. May be they will rectify this issue, but the future generation phone customers will benefit out of our disappointments.
The challenge is to make the GPS work without the support of WiFi and/ or data plan. In my case, I don't use data plan due to expenses, so I rely solely on GPS and not A-GPS. Apart from the radio signal for audio communication, the GPS uses extremely high frequency (around 1560 MHz) and other than the internal software performing complex convolution of Baseband signal along with the acquired GPS signal (could be weak) in order to triangulate our locations based on the radio stations nearby, I don't think they will be of any help for this matter. The issue arises when there are few radio stations or towers, specially in outskirts or country sides.
Internal GPS receiver module defect is like 1:1000 and GPS antenna contact issue, I believe, is around 20:100 due to mechanical wear/ vibration and hence the probability of making your GPS work, using the technique I mentioned, is pretty much high.
Like most of the posted messages: BE CAREFUL.
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Apart from the aforementioned solution, we also need to consider the external casing used for DHD and how it affects the GPS performance, following video shows one such test:
[credit: shishengsun from Youtube]
again, it is up to the user to decide the quality of the casing, not just in terms of their robustness, but also their affinity towards in-coming GPS signals. However, it is highly recommended for the DHD owners to use external casing so as to protect them from impact fracture, dust and scratches.
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My final quote is "being half-witted is worse than not being witty at all".
So study through various informations posted elsewhere in internet, understand the technical aspects of the device (for example: which material could affect the SNR of GPS signals (plastic, silicone, metallic etc..), circuital aspects of GPS receiver etc.
Good luck1If you want to try this fix WITHOUT taking the back off your phone then simply press firmly on the plastic cover, just below the flash LED's.
This will improve the connection between the GPS antenna and the phone. You can even wiggle the cover around very slightly to clean the contact area.
Start GPS status and see if your signal strength bars get taller or more numerous while you are pressing on the back.
If the signal increases while you are pushing on the back, then reduces when you let go, you need to flip the back off and bend those springs out a bit.1Λυπάμαι ρε καρντάσι. Μα και εσύ να πούμε τι το ήθελες να το ανοίξεις...
In english
I am so sorry listening that, especially when i hear that from someone that he lives in Salonika !!!
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