yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] mgawelek:
I have an RMA number in hand. Then I emailed them asking if they thought this was a firmware or a hardware issue.

Just got this from asus email support

================================

Dear Valued Customer,

Thank you for contacting ASUS Customer Service.

The ASUS Transformer Prime is made from a metallic unibody design, so the material may affect the performance of the GPS when receiving signals from satellites.

Please note that this product is not a professional GPS device and signal performance can be easily influenced by factors including, but not limited to: weather, buildings and your surrounding environment.

Please understand there are some limitations when using the GPS function.

Some scenarios you may encounter when experiencing weak GPS performance:

1. Using the GPS while traveling in a car: The roof of a car, the insulation, bridges and other factors can affect signal reception.

2. High density areas with large buildings and structures that can block line of sight communication with GPS satellites.

For more information feel free to refer to our self-help pages by clicking

the links below:

Troubleshooting -[asus url]

FAQ - [asus url]

Live Support - [asus url]

If you continue to experience issues in the future, please do not hesitate

to contact us.

Best Regards,

Jerry

ASUS Customer Service

================================

My iphone and my friends atrix will find a GPS signal within 5 seconds of putting our phones near a windows. Those too are not professional GPS devices.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] briant97:
Hey guys the idea that you need wireless for gps to work is false. I drove all the way home yesterday with no wireless and with gps status running. I go 0 locks until i reached my village. Once I hit my village satellite signals came in like mad. It was crazy like 13 satellites I had never seen that many and locked on to 11,12 at a time. This was all with no wireless. The only reason I can think it worked in my village is it is a low lying area that is watched heavy by weather satellites I know because it is a tornado area and its always making the weather forecast for bad weather. They always name my village in my little old town as possible area for bad weather. Now my friend that has his unit can barely get his to work at all but he never let gps fix run for full 15 min. Not sure if that helped mine or not. Here is the response he received from ASUS.

Thank you for contacting ASUS Customer Service.

The ASUS Transformer Prime is made from a metallic unibody design, so the material may affect the performance of the GPS when receiving signals from satellites.

Please note that this product is not a professional GPS device and signal performance can be easily influenced by factors including, but not limited to: weather, buildings and your surrounding environment.

Please understand there are some limitations when using the GPS function.

Some scenarios you may encounter when experiencing weak GPS performance:

1. Using the GPS while traveling in a car: The roof of a car, the insulation, bridges and other factors can affect signal reception.

2. High density areas with large buildings and structures that can block line of sight communication with GPS satellites.

For more information feel free to refer to our self-help pages by clicking

the links below:

Troubleshooting -

http://support.asus.com/troubleshooting/troubleshooting.aspx?SLanguage=en-us

FAQ - http://support.asus.com/faq/faq.aspx?SLanguage=en-us

Live Support - http://livesupport.asus.com

If you continue to experience issues in the future, please do not hesitate

to contact us.

Best Regards,

Jerry

Maybe they should explain that to people before they purchase them.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] BixBix78:
T minus 4 hours until media frenzy. This is going to be hilarious. :D
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] tylermaciaszek:
I write for an Android blog site might post this now
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] demandarin:
well at least Asus finally acknowledged that the metal design of the back is affecting reception of GPS. they could've easily used the metal backing to actually increase reception performance but instead it wasnt designed with that in mind. and now the metal is hampering performance.

they must be getting a lot of calls in. their replies are seeming to acknowledge the problem more. can someone post their customer service number or email address? ill hit them up also and see what they say. I wonder if a system update can increase the strength of reception on the GPS antennae. send more power through it or something.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] briant97:
Please do any questions please contact me.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] BixBix78:
Asus revised spec page for prime

GPS-yes (as long as you're not moving under a clear moonlite sky at elevations above 5000 feet)
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] demandarin:
make sure to leave that customer service rep name out of it. I think we can get in trouble for publishing an email that was sent to someone else in confidentiality of being between rep and original person. not sure. I thought I saw somewhere before someone got in trouble for that exact same thing. even if so, it could easily be paraphrased or something.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] tylermaciaszek:
I'm going to leave ask names out will post link for you guys to read after
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] demandarin:
slick bastards. they trying to cover their !#& now..lol. so they can always say it was listed on their site. I wonder if this follows under false advertisement? I love by Prime but would love to make Asus sweat n compensate all of us original owners with keyboard docks n such for the misunderstanding and inconvience we are experiencing.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] n11:
I think this thread needs to take a different direction now based on the Asus GPS response. There is not much question at this point that the TF201 GPS is working technically but is almost useless from a practical standpoint. You can't get in your car, tether to a cell phone, use Google navigation, and expect the GPS in the TF201 to get you to your destination. The TF201 is advertised as having GPS...from a practical standpoint it does NOT have GPS. I realize that if I'm standing in an open field and want to know where I am then the TF201 will assist me (if I hold the screen up like I'm worshiping the GPS sats). We need to let Asus know that this limited usability is not sufficient to market the TF201 as having GPS.

I believe these are the main points:

TF201 is marketed as having GPS

GPS works only in a technical sense

GPS does not work in a practical sense (i.e. in a car)

If you (like I did) planned on using GPS in a practical sense then you have been mislead by Asus

We would like Asus to provide a solution so there is real GPS (firmware, replacement plastic back, etc.)

At this point there is no sense in continuing to debate whether GPS works...it doesn't work for what is considered normal GPS use.

Thanks to all those who have contributed to this epic thread...very useful.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] tylermaciaszek:
heres the article if you care to read and share to get the issue out so asus will do something and don't think im trying to shamelessly advertise the blog site i write for i just want the issue to get out.

Article
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] BixBix78:
#Asusgate

Too bad a took a screenshot last night :D :D

Oh yeah I just checked the spec page for the prime and Asus has removed GPS off sensor row.

http://usa.asus.com/Eee/Eee_Pad/Eee_Pad_Transformer_Prime_TF201/#specifications
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] RussianMenace:
Personal blogs are fine and all. But what we really need are the big boys (Engadget,cnet,anantech,AC,etc.) getting the word out...put some pressure on Asus.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Magnesus:
As far as I know Google doesn't allow Android Market and other of their applications on devices without GPS.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] tylermaciaszek:
we have quite a large following to be honest over 1 million hits a month and growing every month we are certainly not a personal blog and have a full writing team and a full team of manufacturers who send us devices

---------- Post added at 09:26 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:25 AM ----------

do i have permission to use this pictures on my site?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] tshoulihane:
You need to remember that these customer service people have very little technical support - and are as likely to be quoting back things they read here as anything else. Yes, maybe the metal back doesn't help - but the problems people are having seem more go/no go than just bad signals.

We already know that most of the people on this thread are not inclined to be very technical in their investigations - trying to stir up press at this point is unlikely to be productive.

My SGS 2 has really poor GPS performance some of the time - it seems to have a state where it doesn't ever lock (just flashes up a few says detected then drops them), so software issues are perfectly possible - as are simple things like the antenna being incorrectly connected. You don't think they ever tested the GPS performance in the final caseworks?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] BixBix78:
tylermaciaszek Yes, Please do.

---------- Post added at 08:30 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:28 AM ----------

Why is gps removed off the sensor row overnight?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] tylermaciaszek:
thank you i gave you credit in the article and linked to your profile so you can have correct credit. Good catch
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] jzen:
Actually in the review i saw his first device had only 1 antenna and it was failing and getting horrible signals, his second device has two antennas but they were not working right and his third device had two antennas that worked but still not as good as the TF101 with its single antenna.

so please... with sugar on top, stfu.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] desert_mouse:
Hmmm, well if that's the case I apologize. You may be right I, it's been a while since I saw that review.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] arcticreaver:
after getting GPS essentials, the GPS locks on.

so it seems like the GPS is not broken but more than likely the software.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] nxp3:
This is good news....good signal strength...if so I'm on the way to pick it up. jzen, can you try the same software and report back?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] jzen:
That same guy also said that the signal he is getting from GPS is horrible (80meters), and another person said something similar and said he thinks it has to do with the metal casing (which makes perfect sense).

---------- Post added at 02:24 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:23 AM ----------

here is the actually post.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] arcticreaver:
i was able to get a lock on my location in google maps. however, when i tried google navigate, it would not lock. very weird.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] tdrussell:
so here is what i suspect the issue is.

On a smartphone, GPS (or AGPS) is heavily assisted in location finding by your data connection. It uses the data connection for both triangulation data and satellite data. On the prime, we do not have the luxury of a data connection. The shortcoming appears to be that the prime is lacking any of this correction data off the shelf, which is why the issue is remedied by either a wifi connection or by downloading any of numerous gps apps that support or contain GPS assistance data.

I just grabbed three smartphones from my household and tested this. Maximum accuracy with radios off, GPS on, and assistance data from GPS toolbox was 30 meters. Flip 3g on, 7 meters.

Or, i could be completely wrong.

DroidX | XDA App
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] BiGMERF:
so someone try tethering there phone then use gps?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] demandarin:
ActuallY, that myth has been been debunked, by a lot of those same initial reviewers. Wifi signal is just as strong,if not better than OG transformer. The links to info are found throughout general section. Most current news is wifi works fine and signal is at worst, on par with OG transformer.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Diamondback:
Nope that's wrong. They did NOT add a second antenna afterwards, it was there all the time.

Lol. It's not that you can connect a second one and it just works xD

You better get your facts right here.

Btw jfyi they can't even find out how many antennas there are... Asus said the thing with the second antenna...

It's not like testers are ripping the units apart to count antennas...

Gesendet von meinem Desire HD mit Tapatalk
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] techjunkie9194:
Are you referring to ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime Review Part II: Battery Life & More or a different review. I didn't see a reference to a review in your post and this is the one I had read.

I sure wish the GPS had been thoroughly tested by reviewers.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] demandarin:
No need to apologize as PeoPle Love to nit pick certain old info. The most current news shows wifi tests redone and signal strength and range is just fine ;)
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Diamondback:
You ARE right. Initial cold start can take up to 5 minutes even if you are outside. With AGPS this gets boosted to several seconds.

Gesendet von meinem Desire HD mit Tapatalk
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] jzen:
Please link a "new" review that says the wifi is just dandy please.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] tdrussell:
The anandtech review is from 6 days ago, using a production channel unit.

But i think this thread is about GPS.

DroidX | XDA App
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] demandarin:
Good point, as most of your info is correct. Makes you wonder though, how does Tom Tom or garmin perform so well then. Those devices are centered around gps so I'm sure they're gps is better/stronger/higher quality than those used in mobile phones or tablets.

Either way, if gps issue is real, Asus needs to release another update to remedy this. Some people will want to use device for navigation etc.. No big deal to me but I would want mines to work perfectly also. So I can understand some peoples frustration with issues. All this info on bugs/defects etc.. Needs to be relayed to Asus ASAP so it can be addressed promptly.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] shinzz:
So yea, any update on GPS?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] tdrussell:
There is roughly 4 different grades of GPS:

Recreational

Commercial

Survey

Military

A standalone, dedicated GPS device (Garmin) has an inherently more powerful GPS receiver(s) and is therefore capable of more accurate GPS location without assistance data. In addition to that, its a little known fact real-time GPS correction data is broadcasted on radio waves to some of these devices (though mainly survey grade) to further increase accuracy. There are thousands of these broadcast stations scattered around the world.

So while they don't receive a cellular signal, some can receive this radio based correction data. That, and mainstream dedicated nav systems don't typically publish accuracy, and furthermore don't require accuracy better than ~10 meters for functional navigation.

DroidX | XDA App
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] xGary:
My 3 year old Sony X10 can lock in a gps without a data plan.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] tdrussell:
With stored GPS assistance data. And at what accuracy?

DroidX | XDA App
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] tshoulihane:
Easiest fix to the problem is to drop support for it? Maybe this is their first response before investigating - it does sound like they have some serious QC issues with the build, and this is a way of trying to reduce the cost of returns?

Bottom line is they have noticed that there is an issue - but you might need to wait to see what the final response is.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] RussianMenace:
I wasn't trying to belittle your blog and I'm sorry if I came accross a bit harsh. But we really do need the big guys to start putting it out there since a lot of people get their information from them, which does not currently reflect serious QC/design issues, and use that misinformation to make their purchasing decisions.

For whats it worth, i dropped a tip to Engadget and pointed them to this thread.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] ubervince:
Well looks like their cure is to no longer advertise the GPS function rather than fix it... "All specifications are subject to change without notice."

So we return our faulty pads, and when we receive the replacement it has no GPS because they have changed the spec... CLASSIC!
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] tylermaciaszek:
i didn't take it as battling the blog im just saying it would be nice for endgadget to list just we reach to alot of people to and endgadget uses us a source once in a while so they might see it
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] demandarin:
I think its a good article. plus alot of times those big name sites get their breaking news and stuff sourced from smaller ones. this is a start. better than no one knowing at all. Asus removing the GPS spec from their page list of sensors show they know something is up and about to go down. maybe we will get compensated somehow. all of this is kinda exciting though...lol glad to be a part of it. we got a new root last night, then now this. we on a roll :cool:
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] tylermaciaszek:
we have had a very interesting few days and im glad and can see the development of this device moving forward

and thanks for the compliments on the article
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] dpwaters72:
So they removed the GPS mention from the specs but the video of the Prime on their site still shows the person riding in the car using GPS to navigate......LOL!!!
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] tylermaciaszek:
looks like Asus has alot of explaining to do lets see how this goes for them
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] RussianMenace:
They are still in the early stages of back pedaling. Give them time lol.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] dpwaters72:
True...LOL!!

I've been following this thread all week, now concerned what my Prime is going to be like when I receive it on Wednesday (1/4). Luckily I still have my Xoom 4G....
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Magnesus:
http://androidforums.com/asus-eee-p...03-gps-issue-solved-bad-news.html#post3731914 - interesting post. I had similar issues with TF101 (GPS signal sometimes turned off) and some update fixed it.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] dpwaters72:
GPS is still listed here:

http://eee.asus.com/eeepad/transformer-prime/specification/
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Doktaphex:
I don't get it, the specs list still has GPS listed in the sensor row. Am I completely blind or are you guys all on crack.

Don't get me wrong I realise that there's an issue with the GPS but it is still listed on that page.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] briant97:
Lets keep this one in the archives. I took a screen shot. Hey Asus you forgot to remove it from all pages :)
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] UPEngineer:
Nope, check this link out. GPS has been removed.

http://usa.asus.com/Eee/Eee_Pad/Eee_Pad_Transformer_Prime_TF201/#specifications
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] thomslik:
I'm sure ASUS is backpedaling, scratching heads, trying to cover up, or just think of something. Maybe they just need a little more time to straighten things out.

It would appear that they have upset thousands of customers. If they refuse to correct the problem, there is always the option of a Class Action Lawsuit!
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] daymz:
Wow. I'm astounded by this thread, and even more so that ASUS actually released a product with that kind of defect (although, they aren't the first)

I'm now pondering whether I should cancel my preorder and wait for another Tegra-3 tablet to come out... (Lenovo?)
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] slanford:
For what it's worth the GPS sensor is still listed (as of right now anyway) on the spec page of the HTML5 product page. Sorry, I'm new to the forum and unable to post the link.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Doktaphex:
On the 3 computers I just used to check, it is still listed on that link in the specs. I even cleared all browser data in case it was just showing me a cached page and it is still listed there.

EDIT: I'm not trying to be obtuse in any way, it is definitely still listed on every computer and browser I have just checked on, even one that definitely has never been to ASUS' website.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] GordonTGopher:
It appears they've deleted it from usa.asus.com spec, but not from the global site!

Gordon
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] demandarin:
interesting in the fact that the same OP is the one from here who his account was disabled...lol Jdbaker82. he was getting flamed in that thread also. I think he means well n all. he just very anxious to get out info without thinkn it all the way through. funny he was forced to leave and went back to that forum with same story/theory...lmao he even saying how the way people testing GPS here was fruitless or tainted.

---------- Post added at 10:27 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:22 AM ----------

this is still a great device. if you planned on using tab for GPS navigation then maybe hold off. if not then this is still a great deal. I'm still completely satisfied with my purchase and performance. even of they mislead me on GPS functions.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] nxp3:
Even if it's not listed on their website....we're not stupid. It shows up in the OS as GPS....if someone say something don't exist even though it's in front of your face do you still believe them?

Just like when asus say "stereo speaker" and we only see one speaker. We're not dumb, that's not stereo.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] aldrouin:
Here is the address of the escalation service at ASUS :

http://vip.asus.com/eservice/cus_suggest.aspx

I think that if everyone posts a message there, there is a chance that ASUS will make sure to keep us informed.

I'm pretty sure that if everyone coming here with a problem (even those who don't post) write them a little something, ASUS will have no choice to acknowledge the problem faster.

I think it's important that we make ourself clear with ASUS that it is not acceptable to have us pay to fix a unit that we just bought. If this was my fault in any way, I wouldn't fuss as much, but I think that for a premium price like that, the device should be fully functional. Ok, it's not as expensive as an IPAD and it's a great device, but quite frankly, it's their premium offering, over the original Transformer. It should at least be fully functional. It's supposed to be better designed.

Anyway, off with the complaining on this forum, lets make sure ASUS knows that we won't accept to be given defective units.

---------- Post added at 10:44 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:35 AM ----------

Also after deleting the cache, I went to visit the page again.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Lock-N-Load:
I got a follow up email to rate my tech support experince when I first called earlier this week and got an RMA number and the classic tech reponse (1) it is not a known issue (2) reset or (3) send back to us on your dime.

Well, I gave them super low marks - so you know it will get reviewed - and I pointed them to this now 61 page thread - and told them they have a serious issue and they better get on it.

Between people calling, emailing, posting on FB, twitter, etc there is no way they are not aware by now. I alone, in 4 different channels, have sent them this link so...
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] briant97:
If you go to just www.asus.com specs page it is still listed with gps. However when i go to usa.asus.com it is removed.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] doeboy711:
I sent them a message