yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] dbtorreliob:
Thought this was the best post and most reassuring about a possible fix. Found it on: androidforums

asus-eee-pad-transformer-prime/473703-gps-issue-solved-bad-news.html#post3731914

Also, go to wikipedia to see how gps calculates one's position:

Global_Positioning_System#Basic_concept_of_GPS

KaneoheGrown posts, "I just wanted to add some input. GPS systems require quite a few things to be aligned in order to work properly.

First off, more so than antenna reception strength, line of sight is one of the most fundamental things required to allow a system to locate and track. Dependent on your location, if your GPS antenna fails to receive a minimum of 4 satellites within the horizon, your system will fail to triangulate it’s exact location. This will result in spotty / failed position marking. Operation close to or around high rise buildings, mountain regions, or any other place that would block a RF signal, will result in the GPS unit failing to orient itself. This is why you will lose signals in tunnels and parking garages, you essentially cut off your LOS to the corresponding satellites.

Line of sight also works hand in hand with atmospheric conditions. If cloud cover is too heavy, or there are other conditions bouncing the signal away from your device, you will again experience loss of satellite signal, causing spotty signal reception.

Though I don’t discount the possibility of the metal cover degrading your signal, the fact remains your antenna does work. The system is still able to locate you and track your initial position. I would attribute your position going in and out during travel to a lack of proper timing from the GPS unit. Normally a cell phone will use the satellite signals along with it’s cell signal to provide real time updates. Without the cell signal, the Prime is utilizing only the GPS satellites to compute it’s location. A timing issue with GPS reception can be fixed with a software update as stated by other users.

I’ve worked with Aircraft GPS units, and these are all installed in an aluminum cover to protect the antenna from damage during flight. Believe me, if those systems can work fine with a metal cover over it, the Prime shouldn’t have a problem receiving a GPS signal either.

Again, I'm not discounting your theory on the metal cover causing "some" problems. But I personally don't think that this is in fact the primary reason people are having problems with their GPS navigation."

Taking this info into account it seems maybe the complaints about ATF system clock being off by a few seconds could cause the "poor reception" everyone has. Who knows if adjusting the system clock might resolve the issue without having to gain root access.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] gogol:
That's true, but the Aircraft GPS unit might have much much better components, which requires more power obviously.

The GPS component on a tablet uses low power, and the performance is not on par with that from Aircraft GPS unit.

I think the metal back does not block completely, and I believe the signal can go through the front panel (glass).

But yeah, unless someone make a test by removing the back, we would not know.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Godswrath:
What about testing another GPS only device (tablet, tomtom, garmin) by putting aluminum foil around the entire shell, leaving only the glass exposed? Could that help prove or disprove the theory of the aluminum backing?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Eldarik:
When i put my Galaxy Nexus facing up on the windowsill (made of steel), switch to airplane mode and reboot, i get a fix within about 20 seconds with 10-15 satellites.

When i do the same with my prime, i get 1 satellite in 5 minutes and this one is not stable.

When i do the same with my old Xperia X1 (which also has got a metal body), i'm getting a fix within 5 minutes without any agps data.

So the metal back theory itself can't explain the non functional gps.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] flight777:
Please refer to this thread when you have something new that is usefull to know for others:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1423356
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] silverwings2008:
The BCM45711 is the same gps as built into the Samsung Galaxy Note which gets great reviews for accuracy and performance.

I'm 99% sure its software related. Gps.conf needs to be alterted once we have a root, plus I think the drivers may be playing up too.

If you look at the gps symbol on the bottom right corner of the prime, it stops flashing and looking for a signal very quickly. It will only start flashing again when you disable and enable again.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Col.Kernel:
Seems to be a new firmware downloading this morning

This might be a fix.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Ciddy:
I just received an email reply from Asus Support Germany asking me to manually/locally reinstall the Update 8.8.3.29.

I did and signal seemed to be a bit stronger and a fix was definitely obtained significantly quicker and held better.

Compass was also definitely less wonky. Could it be like there may be trouble with the OTA process being hit or miss?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Sokonomi:
For what its worth, someone on a dutch tech forum did some GPS tests.

He stuck his SGS2 underneath the prime and still got a lock on the GPS in it,

ontop of the prime he easily obtained a lock with only slight diminishing of signalstrength.

So the backplate, although (as expected) affecting signal strength somewhat, definitely does not kill GPS entirely.

This is leaning towards wonky software more and more imho.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] robomo:
As we've seen on the other thread - the orientation of the tablet could possibly affect reception. If it's in portrait mode, it wouldn't get nearly the same sky coverage as if it were in landscape. I believe most people are testing it in landscape however...portrait style could also cause the gps antenna to be covered by a hand
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Col.Kernel:
Maybe. But there's an update here in the US (I think) this morning to version 8.8.3.33. That may improve it as well.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] BAD_BOY_KIEV:
Guys. I think in terms of files, it is reasonable to check those from Galaxy Note - it has absoletaly the same chip, and on Note it even works with GLONASS support, which adds accuracy dramatically.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Ciddy:
That 8.8.3.33 update is scheduled to hit Germany tomorrow. Will report if it makes things noticably better. Reinstalling 8.8.3.29 from SD as per instruction of Asus support seems to already have made things a bit better.

http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=20935426&postcount=18
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] JCreations:
Mind sharing the files and instructions?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] gruntguy:
The latest 8.8.3.33 firmware update seems to have definitely improved things... For me at least anyway. I just updated and took the tab out onto my balcony (where it previously was unable to detect ANY satellites at all). Within 20 seconds it located 14 satellites and locked to 10 of them. The connection strength left much to be desired, but alas, I had achieved a lock.

The update also updated the GPS version from 5.8.12 to 5.8.13, so a change has definitely been made.

Sorry, I haven't done a full test, but given the firmware update, I think that this information is worth posting regardless.

Stepping outside onto my balcony gave me this, where previously it would not pick up anything. On my last test, a 45 minute drive, no fixes were achieved, with a maximum of 6 satellites detected.

Version numbers here. I did not take note of the WiFi version before this update, only GPS, so if someone could make known the 8.8.3.29 WiFi version that would be great.

Any others who are able to update and do a more comprehensive test, please do so.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Ciddy:
Find the updates here:

http://support.asus.com/Download.aspx? SLanguage=en&p=20&s=16&m=Eee%20Pad%20Transformer%20Prime%20TF201&os=32&ft=20&f_name=UpdateLauncher_DE_epaduserV8_8_3_29.zip#UpdateLauncher_DE_epaduserV8_8_3_29.zip

The link goes straight to the german version, although other versions are on the same page.

Download the zip file, extract it to the root of a microSD card and insert into the Prime. A notification will pop up informing you of an update available. As said, the german version of 8.8.3.33 all be released on January 3rd.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Lock-N-Load:
I have been saying this here since day 1 - many times. I have always felt this is way more of a software issue than hardware or material issue.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Wordlywisewiz:
Same here
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] nxp3:
I test before update no joy, and after not either.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] tdrussell:
i just find it so hard to believe that there would be such a glaring GPS issue with these things, after all they've been through.

Can someone tether to their phone, download and run GPS status, and then launch maps or nav?

Yes, I'm in denial.

DroidX | XDA App
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] BiGMERF:
I agree.. what the hell is going on?!!!! I really really hope this is not just a gamestop thing! anyone else reporting this from another store?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] nxp3:
You would have to have mapping programs stored on the prime because google map won't work without a data connection. You can use map cache but won't be able to enter destination unless there's a connection. You can use it as a map basically.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] xmtsystems:
I got mine from Amazon, so it isn't just a gamestop deal. I have a good feeling that this is a design flaw, but I hope it can be fixed by another firmware update.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] jzen:
Good news, after installed the google maps update from market my gps can now get a location reading accurate to 20meters.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] BiGMERF:
oo, ok... Asus really failed if this turns out to be a big issue
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] vincey2kr1:
Mine works
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] xGary:
Uhh 20 meters is good news? My 3 year old Sony X10 (no data plan) can pretty much do turn by turn.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] ericc191:
It sounds like it's a problem, but really, not the biggest issue. It would be if the tablet had 3G as well. And yes, you can hotspot in your car via a phone, but seems like a lot of hassle for a huge screened GPS.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] original G:
we went from not working at all to working with an app update. I'd say that's good and can be further corrected with an update. kinda proves it's not the hardware so much.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] BiGMERF:
It's also a matter of getting your full five hundred dollars worth

Sent from my GSM Galaxy Nexus
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] ericc191:
I agree. I'm simply pointing out that it's not completely ****ed without working GPS.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] xmtsystems:
I was optimistic when I read this, but it seems I already updated to the latest version of google maps, and mine still doesn't work. I walked around outside for 20 minutes, and my Prime just isn't feeling that gps love right now. :(
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] tdrussell:
Bingo. I wouldn't expect accuracy any better than that unassisted. Do you have the ability to tether and move around some?

DroidX | XDA App
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] andyxover:
so I just tested the GPS on my device,

sorry but it never occurred to to test this as I didn't think GPS is useful at all with a device without 3G. I mean sure you can tether your phone to do it, but then why not just use the phone? or a hotspot but it does seem quite a hassel. any his, I have good and bad news, when I was in my apartment, I wasn't able to lock my position at all, even with GPS essential. but as soon as I leave the apartment to go to an open parking lot. I got 15 satellite, 11 fixed for location. and accuracy up to 15 ft. But.. as soon as I walk back into the apartment its immediately down to zero satellite.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/72592707@N02/6552517253/
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] techjunkie9194:
I am no expert on GPS but I didn't think it worked inside unless you were by a window that was unobstructed. I know my motorcycle GPS does not lock satellites when its in the garage. It locks when I pull out, however.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] andyxover:
Ya.. but based on my previous experience, other devices that I've trusted, flyer, xoom, etc. The locking process requires clear sky, but once locked it maintained lock even after I entered my apartment. So in a way its saying the signal is weaker.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] techjunkie9194:
Ok. Gotcha! Hope this gets sorted out soon! I for one would use the GPS from time to time and would like it to work.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] jzen:
Forgive me for my mistake but yes, GPS is really not working. It must have had some data still saved from when I had wifi location active..

I rebooted and tried again and the gps couldnt locate me. Tried with the weather app and google maps.

sorry for the confusion.. Also i find the the web browser, even opera is a lot slower than any other tablet I have owned... Hopefully this gets fixed in ICS . Even my $100 HP touchpad runs opera smooth as butter but on the prime its a tad laggy.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Sokonomi:
The changelog for the latest update doesn't bode well though.

So basically they didn't do squat except now force enabling wifi?

Source: http://androidos.in/2012/01/asus-transformer-prime-getting-software-update/
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] gruntguy:
I don't trust their changelog. I think they made some other tweaks or fixes too. If you see my post on the previous page, you'll see that the update hugely improved my GPS. Before the update, even with WiFi assist turned on, I was unable to detect any satellites.

I think the update goes a bit deeper than just forcing wifi assist.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Lock-N-Load:
Honestly.. mine is operating worse now post the .01 GPS update :( At least, tests I did before 10x are now not having the same results.

That is, cold start test with no wifi are slower to acquire, I am getting less satellites indoors than I use to and outdoors is slower. Indoors I use to turn it on and as previous screenshots showed, I would get 8-9-10-11 satellites and 4-6 locks. Right now, it sees 4 and no locks. Outside - cold start with no wifi - it took like 3 minutes to get like 7-8 and only 4-5 locks. Point is, it seems slower and less satellites seen and locked. In my tests right now I am NOT using WiFi just FYI.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] BarryH_GEG:
And they'd keep that a secret because?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] the_game_master:
If this corrects the problem that people were getting no satellites even with aGPS then it's more than squat, it's a fix.

Some of you guys are wanting ASUS to include a full fledge 10.1" GPS, if they did you realize the pricetag of the unit would probably be $800 dollars instead $500.

Looks like the Prime GPS feature is in the same boat as Iconia A500 and the iPad 2 3G, it's all aGPS.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] gruntguy:
That not good news :(

We still need to wait for other users to jump on the update wagon and test their units to see what overall effect the update has had. Knowing ASUS and their recent track record, I wouldn't find it surprising if they f*cked up again.

Honestly, I don't know. However ASUS's communication hasn't exactly been the best over the last couple of months about the Transformer Prime and the surrounding fiasco so I'm not prepared to take their word 'as is'. Perhaps, if it was a fix, it was such a simple one that they wouldn't want to look like idiots by admitting they left out a very simple piece of code from the GPS config...for example.

That's just my view.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] tdp252:
This has not fixed the issue for me. I just made the decision to open an RMA today and will be sending it in for repair. I'm hoping to at least get one with marginal GPS functionality like some of you have. As it stands now I have zero satellite reception, wifi enabed or not. I'll update everyone with outcome.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] gruntguy:
Have you tried any of the 'proposed' fixes?

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1423356
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] BarryH_GEG:
At the end of the day, the Prime is always going to have GPS issues no matter how much s/w tweaking Asus does. GPS antennas are supposed to be omni directional and because of the metal back it's got a permanent 50% signal deficit compared to other tablets. The antenna discussion thread also talks about the reflective quality of the back potentially impacting what signal it can get. If you compare the FCC schematic of the Prime to the G-Tab it appears that the Prime actually has more and larger antennas. With that in mind, since it’s running on HC and using the same GPS s/w and config files as the TF1, what possible explanation could there be other than the metal back for it performing more poorly than either the TF1 or G-Tab? For the people who could care less about GPS none of this really matters. To those that it does, hoping for a s/w fix seems like a pipe dream. Asus might make it better but it’ll never be good.

And they already included the latest and greatest Broadcom chip and a GPS antenna so Asus isn't saving any money because GPS doesn't work (well).
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Sokonomi:
Utter nonsense, the broadcom receiver is more then capable of supporting "full fledged" navigation.

Asus just isnt using its full potential (yet).
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] brachiopod:
I don't like the dependence on aGPS. The reason is that if you use a wireless hot spot, the aGPS location can be WAY off. My TF101 has this problem, the aGPS position is some position that it got when I was on a trip and the position is hundreds of miles off whenever the TF101 loses lock.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] gruntguy:
Honestly though, I think the main gripe that users have right now is that the GPS just doesn't work well enough (if at all) to be functional. Software fixes are better than no fixes, and if it at least gets us a working GPS (albeit slower and less accurate than other devices), then I think most people should be happy with that. I don't mind having a device that isn't as good as a dedicated GPS unit, but when I've paid for a device that was advertised as having GPS, it should be a fairly reasonable expectation that it should be functionable as such. Even the GPS in the TF101 wasn't all that great compared to other devices, but as long as we can get into that ballpark with the Prime, then I would consider the case solved.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] BarryH_GEG:
I totally agree with you and think that a lot of others would be satisfied with what you described. Two constituencies won't: 1) those that plan on using the Prime for navigation ("close" doesn't count), and 2) those that are pissed off because a feature that was offered won't work to a competitive standard.

Keep in mind there may be some complex componentry in a tablet to make work, but GPS isn't rocket science. They all appear to have either the Broadcom 4751 or 47511 GPS chip, an antenna, and some s/w. Asus made that same combo work in the TF1. And other tablets don’t seem to have any of these GPS issues using the same combo either. So expecting more than a marginal improvement via s/w alone doesn’t seem realistic.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] clenz:
I think there are many possible reasons beyond the backplate and we need to have some patience until this is resolved. The TF1 and GT have been out for awhile and have a more mature f/w. The TP is a new quad core and may need some tweeking to operate efficiently. We're starting to see some config differences, and hopefully improvement with the update, so there is hope that this can be optimized with s/w.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Lock-N-Load:
Uhh... how about the fact this is a never before used in phone or tablet Tegra 3 quad core chip that has specific kernel needs and kernels - and what is baked into the kernel - can influence functionality on a phone heavily.

That = 1 massive difference
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] BarryH_GEG:
I'm not trying to piss on anyone's Cheerios or dash hopes, but no tablet launched, including those you mentioned, didn't have a fully functioning GPS day one. As I said above, it's not rocket science. Other than swapping one Nvidia SoC for another, there's not much that's unique when you compare the TF1 to the Prime. And after Asus Sweden finally made a statement, their position seems to be leaning toward positioning GPS as a "bonus." It still comes down to, if you depend on GPS for navigation, it's highly unlikely the Prime will ever provide that function as well as other tablets.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] the_game_master:
even if the chip could be a full fledged GPS it's full functionality is likely disabled on the cost to include it in a $500 tablet.

I see it as no different than Intel disabling pipelines, or cores on their flagship processor line of CPUs to sell an affordable lower cost version.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] BarryH_GEG:
The evidence pointing to the metal back cover is pretty substantial:

1) HC tablets including the TF1 have no issue with GPS navigation and use the same h/w and s/w as the Prime.

2) Asus Sweden's comments and the pulling of the "feature" off Asus' websites don't point to a quick and easy fix which, if s/w was the answer, they wouldn't have done.

3) Boiler plate communication from Asus support specifically calls out the "metal unibody" as causing GPS interference and that boiler plate changed as more complaints were received.

4) There were numerous posts from people (not JDbaker82) that obviously knew what they were talking about who were pretty confident the metal back played a role. There were articles about GPS signals being sensitive and discussion of the Faraday box effect which seemed logical.

There are only three things that will prove the metal back innocent:

1) A miraculous s/w fix from Asus.

2) Someone removes the back cover and GPS doesn't improve.

3) The Lenovo tablets with Teg3 have no GPS issues.

Until then, I personally find the metal back guilty. ;)

---------- Post added at 10:31 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:28 AM ----------

Huh? Asus pays Broadcom for the chip, it's not free as part of the circuit board. They also paid to include an antenna. So the cost is there whether GPS works or not.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] the_game_master:
But we don't know the cost, Broadcom could have sold the chips to ASUS at a cheaper price in a agreement that ASUS configures it with their Tablet so it doesn't compete with $300 dollar standalone GPS devices.

Broadcom could sold ASUS limited variants of the same chips programmed for just the functions that are needed for the Prime. aGPS.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Ciddy:
Ok guys, here's a small update of my experience. As instructed by Asus support, I manually reinstalled the 8.8.3.29 update from SD. After that, my ability to obtain a fix has GREATLY increased. The signal acquisition was definitely faster and reception quality also seemed a bit better (up around 5 points on GPS Test SNR scale, now reporting a maximum value of 32).

Accuracy was still pumping quite a bit, but it was way more accurate than before and actually somewhat usable.

HOWEVER the bizarre thing was Google Maps was NOT USING the GPS at all when WiFi was switched off, totally retarded. Switching between GM and GPS Test was really bizarre, GPS Test reporting a solid fix (solid for the Prime, otherwise mediocre) of 6 sats and an accuracy of 30-50m (while driving), while GM put me squaredly at my home address of its last known WiFi location.

Curious what the 8.8.3.33 update tomorrow will bring will bring...
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] unknown_owner:
So to update manually on top of the same firmware you have to do what?

Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201