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Help GPS issue solved bad news

Asus may be trying to dodge the bullet until they figure out how to fix it without too much damage to the product's image. My cell phone is not a "professional" gps either but I get great service from Verizon gps with the phone on my belt while driving down the road under a steel car roof. Also no problems with it anywhere in Manhattan - city of the tall buildings!! Another thing, yes, it does have an aluminum back - but looks like most of the time the Prime would be used "face" up with the aluminum back on the down side -- ????
 
JimH1943 said:
Asus may be trying to dodge the bullet until they figure out how to fix it without too much damage to the product's image. My cell phone is not a "professional" gps either but I get great service from Verizon gps with the phone on my belt while driving down the road under a steel car roof. Also no problems with it anywhere in Manhattan - city of the tall buildings!! Another thing, yes, it does have an aluminum back - but looks like most of the time the Prime would be used "face" up with the aluminum back on the down side -- ????
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doesnt matter the GPS is on the backside of the circuit board facing the backplate it can get signal through the circuit board and screen but not enough to get a strong enough signal to function properly.
 
I can't wait to get mine, and it'll be my first tablet. GPS is important to me.

Let's say that it is a hardware issue, why can't ASUS design an external antenae to plug into the data port? Wouldn't that be a cheap and effective fix?
 
jdbaker82 said:
really i dont own one

androidforums.com/asus-eee-pad-transformer-prime/469927-got-2-without-pre-orders-thanks-gamestop.html

secondly i put it back together and now have a partially broken prime that wont charge now so i am not in the mood to take it back apart or pictures....

thirdly i am just trying to help and looks like asus is now telling customers exactly what i told them about the backing causing signal degredation. I honestly think I may have done their work for them and they are saying this because of me because someone from ASUS actually called me last night to confirm everything I told them earlier that day.

see this thread
forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1404646&page=58
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Ok, so it appears you do own the device. I think your nuts for taking your cover off, but you certainly did your due diligence it seems. I hope you didn't break a seal or something that Asus can tell you did that. Probably voided the warranty. You have my apology for being suspicious of you and doubting you then. As I've alluded to, I was suspicious because your posts have been negative for so long. But if you've got the device and GPS means this much to you, and you certainly have the right to that feeling, then I can understand much better your frustration. I will feel the same way if some part (like WiFi) isn't working sufficiently for me.

I do wish you the best in trying to get your device operational again.
 
JackG058 said:
Ok, so it appears you do own the device. I think your nuts for taking your cover off, but you certainly did your due diligence it seems. I hope you didn't break a seal or something that Asus can tell you did that. Probably voided the warranty. You have my apology for being suspicious of you and doubting you then. As I've alluded to, I was suspicious because your posts have been negative for so long. But if you've got the device and GPS means this much to you, and you certainly have the right to that feeling, then I can understand much better your frustration. I will feel the same way if some part (like WiFi) isn't working sufficiently for me.

I do wish you the best in trying to get your device operational again.
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no problem and I personally will be keeping the Prime because I love it however I am anxiously awaiting what ASUS is going to do.

so far it looks like they are removing GPS as a feature on their websites from the spec sheets and might try to advertise as aGPS however this will not help them because aGPS still needs a real GPS in order to function.
 
jdbaker82 said:
no problem and I personally will be keeping the Prime because I love it however I am anxiously awaiting what ASUS is going to do.

so far it looks like they are removing GPS as a feature on their websites from the spec sheets and might try to advertise as aGPS however this will not help them because aGPS still needs a real GPS in order to function.
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Did you get the power problem fixed so that it'll work for you again? And as for GPS, I still am not convinced that a software fix can't resolve the issue. It may come at the expense of battery life, but it seems to me they could boost the signal. Unless it is truly just because the GPS chip itself is too weak for this design. I know with WiFi sometimes the first gen device doesn't work very well because they lower output to the radio in order to conserve battery, at least I suppose that is the reasoning. A follow up software update will fix the issue typically. My iPad first gen is a good example of that. I had to reboot my router when I got it, just to get a poor connection. That's how I found the thread on Apple's forums that were full of complaints on WiFi. The thread quieted way down after the first major update.
 
newtech said:
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.
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It's quite possible mine is on the truck next to yours. Expecting it on Wednesday though...just a little further East.
Look out for me in my submarine if you're ever flying over NY. Hope my Prime GPS works down there.
 
doeboy said:
It is the same guy who created multiple threads on this while also posting in the GPS issue thread with the same info. But he felt that it was his advice or reasoning is deserving of a new thread after already posting in the original GPS issue thread. Many of the times he got immediate feedback and responded to people in the GPS issue and got basically the same feedback that this thread has given, but then decided he needed to create his own thread.
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hey buddy I'm everywhere also..lol I haven't been on this site in the longest. I saw I had a message back from may 2010 asking me if i wanted to be a moderator...mad I missed that opportunity..lmao.

I see our friend, JD is at it here on this forum also. I think he's trying to take too much credit for stuff or self praise. so he doesn't even own a prime but yet he took the back cover off of one and GPS worked. Asus engineers called him personally to confirm his findings..lmfao man he is very funny. I'm sure he means well but ways he is going about it is sketchy. funny seeing him get same feedback here in this forum/thread like in Xda one.

The Real Android users are everywhere JD, you can't hide from us...lmao. this thread did at least produce some useful and informative info also from other posters.

and for the record JD, yes you were right, to an extent. just as others said same thing before you. you want a cookie now? :p. just kidding man. you cool..definitely determined.
 
demandarin said:
hey buddy I'm everywhere also..lol I haven't been on this site in the longest. I saw I had a message back from may 2010 asking me if i wanted to be a moderator...mad I missed that opportunity..lmao.

I see our friend, JD is at it here on this forum also. I think he's trying to take too much credit for stuff or self praise. so he doesn't even own a prime but yet he took the back cover off of one and GPS worked. Asus engineers called him personally to confirm his findings..lmfao man he is very funny. I'm sure he means well but ways he is going about it is sketchy. funny seeing him get same feedback here in this forum/thread like in Xda one.

The Real Android users are everywhere JD, you can't hide from us...lmao. this thread did at least produce some useful and informative info also from other posters.

and for the record JD, yes you were right, to an extent. just as others said same thing before you. you want a cookie now? :p. just kidding man. you cool..definitely determined.
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I recall most people thinking their GPS's were either working or would work if they RMA it and get a new one or have it sent in for repair. Everyone thinks some magical software/firmware fix update or a magical reset might fix it I was simply trying to tell people in fact not theory that the aluminum casing was the culprit nothing else and now everyone can see that I was right all along.
 
jdbaker82 said:
I recall most people thinking their GPS's were either working or would work if they RMA it and get a new one or have it sent in for repair. Everyone thinks some magical software/firmware fix update or a magical reset might fix it I was simply trying to tell people in fact not theory that the aluminum casing was the culprit nothing else and now everyone can see that I was right all along.
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Were you right about the months of delays you were predicting for the prime?

How are people able to return and swap out a device I can't find in stock anywhere either online or in person.

My local best buys (3 of them) don't even have a demo unit and people are trading these in like they are ipads...
 
tmaxey1 said:
Were you right about the months of delays you were predicting for the prime?

How are people able to return and swap out a device I can't find in stock anywhere either online or in person.

My local best buys (3 of them) don't even have a demo unit and people are trading these in like they are ipads...
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There was technically no delay because ASUS decided to do nothing with the WiFi/GPS it would have cost them too much money and set them back too far if they would have produce all new casings for all the Primes.
 
Super simple to test GPS and wifi. If you have no issues, no harm no foul. If you have a tablet like the Flyer/View or Thrive that have good wifi and the Prime has weak a$$ reception like the A500. Not so good.

Now way to know until folks get em and try em' out. Seems common sense IF the reception is weak, there is no software fix- IF the issues are due to reception.

Pending something silly, BB and Office Depot should have some stock during the second weak of January.
 
Sould I cancel my order with amazon and wait for something else?

I may not use the GPS that much but if all the other tablets out there have a working GPS then why should I settle for anything less?
 
rushmore said:
Now way to know until folks get em and try em' out. Seems common sense IF the reception is weak, there is no software fix- IF the issues are due to reception.
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i'm no expert, but i believe software/firmware updates could have some effect. since my samsung 4g epic finally upgraded to gingerbread, my gps has sucked on it. not saying it will be an ultimate fix, but could at least improve it.
 
I think we have a combination of a very marginal GPS (on those that do work) and some buggy software.

Just moments ago, I was sitting on my deck with my prime, as many times before, hoping GPS would miraculously somehow start working as it should. I had GPS Status, GPS Test, and Google Maps running switching between the apps, noticing how they were all keeping a fix under perfect conditions, which I've managed a few times. I was starting to think maybe I will keep this thing if Asus will stop pulling the crazy stuff of changing specs and pretending there isn't a problem. Then for no apparent reason, sitting in the same place with the Prime in the same position, all satellites disappeared and all apps lost the fix. Several minutes later, no change, no sats and no fix. I then rebooted and everything came back up with a fix!

This sure seems like buggy software to me. Even though it is known we are dealing with a marginal GPS setup, it seems there needs to be some work on the software.

If Asus will get going with this thing, instead of hiding in a hole and pretending nothing is wrong, we may end up with a GPS system which works much better than the very little we have now. Will it be as good as we all expected originally? No, probably not. But it may be something we could live with. After all, no other company has this much to offer in a tablet at the present time.

This is just a though. If we don't hear something soon, I will have no choice but to return mine, as the 14 day time limit is approaching.
 
fuzzer said:
Just because GPS isn't important to you, doesn't mean it isn't to others. Maybe some of you can afford to buy the latest and greatest gadgets every few months, but Most will be using the Prime for a long time, and if they are paying to have gps included it should work. I for one expect a fully functional piece of equipment when I purchase it new.

You dont have to be tethered to use CoPilot, or Navigon or Sygic.
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I agree. It looks to be a deal buster to me. :(:mad:
I have a full posting of why....elsewhere in this forum.
 
The bad thing seems that in spite of multiple users having issues and even Asus backing off the feature, some people continue to spin that it works great.

I am testing one next week and have two simple tests of locations that failed on the Acer 500 (worst wifi of any device I have tested), but work great on my other tablets, lapdock and laptops.

If unstable or no signal like the A500, the wifi is weak on the Prime. If not, cool!
 
Seems Asus has sent an update for GPS and WiFi and some people
reporting good results on the transformer forums.

Try the update before sending it back
 
1. Didn't anyone at the Asus plant, step outside and try the GPS before giving the thumbs up?

2. Asus needs to make a new back cover with a piece of plastic that amazingly looks like brushed Aluminum!

3. All current owners should receive an expedited rma to replace current cover with the plastic one that amazingly looks like brushed aluminum.........free of charge or receive a $100.00 rebate to keep the peace!

I didn't buy the prime for it's GPS capabilities ....but I did pay for it!
 
rdalev said:
1. Didn't anyone at the Asus plant, step outside and try the GPS before giving the thumbs up?

2. Asus needs to make a new back cover with a piece of plastic that amazingly looks like brushed Aluminum!

3. All current owners should receive an expedited rma to replace current cover with the plastic one that amazingly looks like brushed aluminum.........free of charge or receive a $100.00 rebate to keep the peace!

I didn't buy the prime for it's GPS capabilities ....but I did pay for it!
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Don't know the answer to 1 but I definitely like #'s 2 and 3!
 
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