yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] romanmarlbo:
Wifi comparison - Prime vs. Laptop

Hey folks,

I need some advice on Wifi Analyzer/inSSIDer test results I got here.

Foreword: The router/repeater setup at the place where I live is pretty crappy... as is the Internet because too many people are sharing one access point. Therefore, in order to test my Prime's Wifi capabilities, I ran comparison tests between other mobile devices, the Prime, and my Laptop.

I tested the speed at my desktop, roughly 25ft away from the access point (a repeater), and directly in front of it.

The results were:

Laptop

-50dBm / -25dBm

Prime

-70dBm / - 35dBm

Samsung Galaxy W

same as Prime

Amazon Kindle

same as Prime

Now I'm unfortunately that much of a networking expert to make enough sense out of these data. Does that mean my Prime's wifi is actually ok (because it is on par with the other mobile devices) or does that mean my Prime's Wifi lags behind, because it scores 20dBm less than the laptop. I have no clue if laptop wifi antennas are so much stronger than tablets'. My laptop's wifi is all built-in without any external antenna.

Can anybody help me out? I'm still at deciding whether or not to keep the device. In general, I think my device's wifi is actually okay, but I'd rather trust numbers than my flawed impressions.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] good4y0u:
How do they fix the primes?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] buxtahuda:
That seems to be about average. Honestly, if it's the same as the other mobile devices it's working correctly IMO, laptops (especially newer ones) will generally have three antenna and a much more powerful wireless card. My brother's laptop now has two wireless cards with three antenna each so that he can pick up on multiple networks simultaneously with as good a connection as possible.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] romanmarlbo:
My laptop is almost four years old. So the only thing that's new are the drivers for my Intel WiFi Link 5100 AGN. So the question would be: Should I expect a state of the art tablet to get the same signal strength as a laptop in general, respectively a four years old laptop in specific?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] buxtahuda:
I mean, yes and no. Yes, because it is state-of-the-art and it is brand new. No, because it's a tablet "PC" and every single one of its internal components is easily half to a quarter smaller and more efficient than its laptop counterpart.

Would you also want your battery to last as long as your laptop? That's the trade-off we make. For the Prime to have WiFi comparable to pretty much any laptop, it would also have to consume that much more power and have that much more internal space available for the more powerful components and larger antenna.

It all comes down to you personally, but, IMO we are where we should be. I bought this because it's smaller, lighter, longer-lasting, and more versatile than a note/net-book. In return, it has flash memory instead of a SSD, pretty much a phone's WiFi card and capabilities instead of a PC's, and a lack of ports for removable media (even though it does have the mSD, SD, and USB - but it's only one). Seems fair, I mean netbooks don't have DVD drives right?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] romanmarlbo:
Yeah, given your explanation and comparable WiFi results from other mobile devices it makes a lot more sense to me now. I haven't tested my Prime extensively in other wireless networks, but I couldn't complain so far. However, the mere fact that I've read so many complaints about the Prime's WiFi made me highly susceptible of finding my WiFi reception bad as well. Damn psychology.

If there only were some tests and a fixed pricetag on the Infinity. If this thing goes out for not too much more than $500, it'd probably make sense for me to give the Prime back while I still can.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] buxtahuda:
I think that although the device itself isn't set in stone yet, the pricing has seemed pretty concrete to me. $100 more than the Prime.

The 300's are out now, and whatever WiFi results they yield should be almost identical to what a 700 will yield. We'll see plenty of comparisons soon, Anandtech has already done one but (IMO) with questionable results and testing practices.

No matter how you cut it, even the best Primes are indeed plagued with signal issues because of the all-metal body. Even though it is indeed comparable to other mobile devices, I believe it could be better. I'm okay with the Prime's reception but that doesn't mean anyone should be. Just like earlier, there are going to be trade-offs.

I'll take my inferior display and WiFi range in return for the battery savings they give me. In my life I'm never very far from a router, an HD screen would be nice but I've gone years without it (what's a couple more - if that?), and it is absolutely irreplaceable for me to be able to use my device for several days without a charge. Just like with my phone, I guess I'm settling somewhere kind of low in regards to certain spec's, but in return I don't have to plug my devices in every single night or generally have to worry about carrying a charger.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] romanmarlbo:
Again did a test. Walking with my Prime and a Kindle Fire in my hands away from the router. Up to a certain point, they were almost exactly equal. But as soon as I left the house (and closed the door), the Prime totally lost connection while the Kindle had a fair signal even until I reached the fence of the lawn.

Furthermore, the Prime scored a speed of ~5Mbps where the Kindle scored six times as much or more. (Results from Wifi Analyzer)

The Prime is definitely going back and I'll wait for the Infinity or buy a 300. Depends on the first tests of the Infinity and how good its battery is.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] newellj79:
For what its worth, my HP Touchpad and Nook Color have wifi reception equal to almost double the distance of my Prime. :(
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] buxtahuda:
Yeah, my Prime is lucky to get halfway up the driveway with my friend's Belkin N900 while streaming music. Can't even think about browsing or anything at that distance either. The same router keeps my phone connected all the way across the street and halfway into an empty double lot. So that's like an entire other house and a half that my phone can work in as opposed to my Prime.

But that's only until I do the Optimus Mod and get some actual WiFi antenna onto my backplate. The loss in battery life with both the 300 and 700 means neither would be able to take my Prime's place. Although I may still get a 700 just for the fun of it, and to directly compare the two.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] good4y0u:
Ok, I got my prime back did a wifi check it was better but I don't know if it dropped or not. However when I went to put my skinomi screen protector back on I noticed 1 a dent! A big ass dent on the side and 2 jelly from a sandwich or something like it on the back.... wtf?

I didn't send it like that! Its been chipped also.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] bologdl:
You should always take pictures as you are not the first. When I sent my Prime back for a refund I took pictures of every side to aviod this issue. This has been noted in multiple threads on this type of RMA issue. I would PM Gary and plead your case with him.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] good4y0u:
thank you , i did that. i have some that were being used to show my friends what it looks like so i guess those are my before pictures.

its just a bummer that the prime was handled this way. i packed it in alot of wrapping when i sent it and taped it down to the box ( i had it in the bag it came in)
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] good4y0u:
Sent the email, just waiting for a response
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] bimbobo:
Welcome in the club.. I have opened a big thread about the same issue.

ASUS repair centre tried to rip money from me, accusing me to have done that.

I had pictures and contacted all the managers in Asus Nordic and Gary...

After 3 weeks of fight I got it back, with no scratches. I think in my case they used a picture looking like yours.. because what I got back was MY Prime, I mean backplate all the rest was the same. I had things in the plate helping me to recognize it.

Complain and get it fixed at their cost, or ask a refund.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] HarnessTech:
Factory reset fixed mine

I recently purchased a TFP with a C3 serial number, thinking the wifi/bt issue would actually not be an issue. Upon initially opening it up and trying it out, indeed, there was a problem. I could not connect to my router from 20 feet away with a direct line of sight. Furthermore, connecting a bluetooth mouse cut off wifi completely.

At first, I had resigned myself to returning it. Upon doing some Google searching, however, I found a thread (I forgot to make note of it's location, sorry) where someone had simply done a factory reset to fix all of his wifi/bt woes. So, of course, I gave it a shot and sure enough, the wifi/bt issue is no longer an issue.

In addition to fixing the wifi/bt issue, the factory reset also seemed to make my TFP generally faster and smoother overall. So maybe that's the first order of business when purchasing a new TFP!

Just thought some of you may find this helpful.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] buxtahuda:
This was my experience.

My Prime's WiFi would not fallout with BT, but would completely and utterly stop dead in its tracks. After some resets and such, I do experience some fallout, but not that initial killing of WiFi. I still haven't had a great chance to extensively test but I should be able to order some new Sportsbands this next paycheck and I'll get to actually test BT audio streaming + WiFi.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] HarnessTech:
I further tested this at a local McDonald's with their free wifi, which is normally pretty slow, and experienced great results. Still no issues with bt mouse, so I think I'm good to go!
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] good4y0u:
Well my serial # is the same so I know they gave me mine back, I also know because of my case how where it was the parts are cleaner. However it infuriates me that my prime has a dent.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] buxtahuda:
Not related, but check out this poor soul's Prime :( Lol, totally bent, but that dent is atrocious.. And did you say jelly on the back?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] good4y0u:
Yes JELLY lol

Also mine did that to at one point but lesser I fixed it by nudging it...that obviously won't work there though ...I wish my tablet was in better condition it just is kinda not cool. I saved up for months to buy it, and when it came it it had bugs so I sent it back in . Then upon getting it. Back I find that it was beat up...ibcouls care less about the jelly I just don't like the dent. That should not of happened.

so who exactly do you recommend contacting about the dent...? ( I did PM Gary) I hope he can tell me what to do . Or advise a Next step.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] buxtahuda:
I know it sucks lol, but you'd just about have to call CS back and ***** them out about it, demand they pay shipping for you to return your now dented and dirty tablet that had obviously been mistreated in the repair center, and demand that you get a tested, properly working and undamaged Prime. Settle for nothing less, if they try that "We'll contact you within 48 hours" ****, let them know you know your rights as a consumer in "INSERT COUNTRY" and that you want to speak with a manager or advisor about it. Make a new thread or post your pictures and info into an existing RMA/Damaged thread and then link them to it. Not much else you really can do, you contacted Gary but be sure you left an email and all important/pertinent info or it may not get looked at quickly. They may even would refund you or something if you just brought up the countless other issues, who knows; that sucks but not as bad as that dent and being out-of-pocket for their consistently terrible repair shops.

And I greatly apologize everyone, this thread is for WiFi/BT fallout and not bad RMA's.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] good4y0u:
I'll do that, but you realize this is where I was posting my follow up to the post of me sending in the prime? I wasn't changing the thread topic. This has to do with a wifi /Bluetooth/ GPS issue. For which above I also said was fixed. ( as far as I could tell) however thank you for your advice .

Here is the thread

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1623645

Thank you for the advice .
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] buxtahuda:
Oh I know lol, just saying we don't want to turn it into two or three pages about damages though. You know how these threads are.

And that's good that it's at least working better in that regard, I know that has to hurt haha get one serious problem fixed to open it up to another.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] wynand32:
Been meaning to post these results, finally got some time. I remain convinced that the BT/Wifi fallout issue is not unique to the Prime--I'm pretty convinced that every device has it, and that the Prime will never see this issue fixed because it's inherent in mobile devices today.

I recently purchased a new iPad (that screen is just too good to pass up, particularly since 80% of my tablet use is text-based and text on the thing is in a class by itself), and it suffers from roughly the same Wifi dropout as my Prime, my Samsung Epic 4G Touch (SGS II on Sprint), my Motorola Photon and my original Transformer.

That is, on the iPad, I get about 10Mb/s down in my home office, which is the worst part of my house (and yes, that's about 10X what I get with the Prime in the same place). When I stream to my Motorola BT headphones, throughput drops to about 1Mb/s in the same place. Stop streaming, it jumps back up to 10Mb/s. Same with the Samsung, the Motorola, and the OG Transformer.

Really, the problem seems to be that because the Prime's Wifi is generally weaker, it just drops to a lower point than the others, and for some people low enough that things stop working (e.g., streaming video). However, the same thing happens with all of the devices--they all have problems at one point or another depending on over all network conditions.

So, I don't think this will ever get resolved, and this shouldn't be stickied as one of the Prime's unique issues. Just a recap of my own opinion on the topic, take it for what it's worth (which is likely very little)...
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] buxtahuda:
I'm inclined to agree, as at least most current mobile tech (read true mobile, no laptops) includes both wireless technologies/standards in a single chip over a single antenna system. We all know that wireless stuff all interferes with itself anyway (although the frequency changes between the two signals should be large enough for it not to?), and we pump them both through the same channels/currents and don't expect them to affect each other?

Soon enough I will be able to test actual WiFi streaming with BT audio stream, but I wholly expect to find it across the board on all our Android devices as well. So far though my fallout has not been so bad as much reported, from the file transfers I had tried. And you yourself say that the Prime meets a much more severe fate regarding this due to ASUS's design choice; of course we all love the design, but that does not change the fact that it is absolutely an ASUS-specific problem that our speeds become unusable whereas other devices can at least function: you said there was a 10 fold difference between all the other manufacturers/products/competitors (read it doesn't meet standards)!

They could have done something about it, especially earlier on: as in before they threw them all over for premature preorders. And a premature launch! Which was hilariously already delayed for such exact issues concerning WiFi reception even without BT! Show me another device that bombs signal exactly as much or worse as the Prime from ASUS and I'll say it's not an ASUS-specific problem that you can't sit on your porch and stream a 320p video over WiFi without BT even on. And I may, just may, say that it's not an ASUS-specific problem that you can't do the same with BT headphone's a meter from your router.

Now that that's all out lol, I really do agree. The issue will be fixed when we get individual chips for all these technologies small yet powerful enough to work with each other over different antennas without mutual interference.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] newellj79:
I disagree that "every device" has this problem. Just streamed music from google music to my motorola bluetooth headphones while working in the yard for 2 hours using my hp touchpad running ics. This is not possible with my prime, not even close. Further testing shoes no drop in wifi while streaming bluetooth. I go a step further. My g1, which I think is getting close to 3 years old, also does it with out problems.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] zummer22:
Today Asus Transformer Prime did release in Denmark so I did (ofc) ordred it. I know some people had some issues with their Transformer Prime but is this corrected? Or does people still have different issues like the screen blending?

Sent from a (soon) new Transformer Prime user !
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] good4y0u:
Yah i understand... it just erks me that I got it back in such a condition. Its almost a $600 tablet for Petes ssake...people don't want them dented!

My wifi issue was fixed on my prime and my atrix is fine so I have to disagree.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] good4y0u:
Ok, so for some reason my wifi dropped today, it was strange. It showed 1 bar ( dropped from 3) and then everything internet related just stopped working... dolphin and Skype were the two programs I was using..
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] bimbobo:
Is there anybody in direct contact with Gary, who can ask him why there is no update from him about WiFi/BT?

It seems all the "efforts" are on GPS, but for many (maybe the majority) the WiFi/BT problem is far more important.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] barryflanagan:
Just to follow up on this. I actually do not think it is an IO issue. I can be doing heavy IO and my BT mouse is fine. However, if I am downloading my BT mouse freezes, yet the trackpad works fine. This does point to it being a BT/Wifi issue more than IO
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Kidd_Funkadelic:
I second that. My mouse freezes frequently when using high BW apps, namely remote desktop sessions (where the mouse is most useful sadly). At the same time the wifi signal degrades to the point it shows no signal on the indicator... Really kind of a fatal flaw :(
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] bimbobo:
Waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting.....

Why is Gary no longer commenting this thread?

Why nothing is happening on this matter? and if they are doing something, they should let us know.

Why are all excited with the GPS dongle and forgot this "unforgivable" issue, many of us is having.

Not even people who RMA'ed their Prime has got it fixed.

I received the dongle and just use it 1 time for testing. The WiFi/BT is VITAL for a tablet. :mad:
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] magic55:
Gary, when we can expect upgrade WW to improve wifi, browser and stability ?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] good4y0u:
I believe I read somewhere that Gary goes on here as part of his job... and that he is sick or not feeling well. I'm still waiting for a response to my pm's and an email to Asus . If you look back in this thread you will see a link to my tablet. And the story.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Coderedpl:
I think what they saw a bunch of people *****ing about non-existant GPS, so they fixed that, but since the wi-fi is somewhat there then it's not such a big issue.

In my opinion it would of been smarter to create a dongle that would improve GPS AND Wi-Fi, then at least the size of it can be justified.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] blaxican25:
gps fix that works

Dont know if everyone has tried this but it really works i use to get no gps locks in my house now i get a lot and i dont have the dongle yet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgx2Kpfi-Ps

Uploaded with ImageShack.us
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] bimbobo:
You are in the wrong thread, this is not the one for this dongle or GPS.. there is another one for it.

This is for issues with WiFi and Bluetooth.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] vvveith:
I don't think you watched the video through.

If you watched the video, this method improved their WiFi throughput so it is related and could possibly help with the BT/WiFi fallout. It may not fix the problem but it may make it a little more manageable.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] bimbobo:
This video is months old and the method did not work for the majority who tried it, so yes I watched the video. Next time instead of a working GPS screenshot, would be better with a screenshot of working WiFi and BT, which is the subject of this thread. :-)
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] CrazyKoala:
Completey, tired of those GPS blabla. Let's get more excitement about a possible Wifi solution.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] newellj79:
I think the work problem will always be a problem. Asus has went on record saying because bt and wifi use the same antenna blah, blah, blah. Why am I going to let myself try the infinity in the hopes it actually works Right?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] good4y0u:
wifi drop

i rma'd and my tablet came back broken (see post above) and it is still dropping wifi. no response from ASUS
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] bimbobo:
Gary forgets this thread completely.

Asus believes that with the Gps dongle now all the rest is forgiven and forgotten.

We need a fix for this issue. No fix? replacement with a model working C4, C5, Dynamite, Plastic, TNT just something that has good WiFi and BT together.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] newellj79:
Agreed.........
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] rushless:
I am glad I did not keep the Prime, since my compulsive nature would have me ranting on a very fequent basis. GPS was not a factor, but wifi cutting out in my basement where even my 3DS would have good signal was an issue.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] fsured:
As I expected, a run around to get the refund which was offered to me. One person from Asus email support (I used the email address offered by Gary in his sticky) offered me a refund and said scan a copy of my receipt and email it in. Week went by with no response. I decide to call and representative really had no clue what I was trying to explain and said to just send an email to a different group. So I follow that and get a response asking for my service number and a new scan of the receipt since they were having difficulty trying to open the image. I resend the information again.

All they had to do was scroll down and see the original email response offering the refund, see my service number, and my issues with wifi/bt/reboots/gps. It is the wifi/bt playback that is my biggest complaint with the device. I'm glad I've kept every email response I have as they can't say I was never offered a refund. I even asked if the refund offer was valid after the gps dongles were shipped and got a response of yes from the original person who offered the refund.

Four days later I get a response saying we have received your receipt and your product is within warranty, contact support (gave the general number) for RMA to have the product serviced.

I wonder if the upper level of Asus support are aware of the customer service issues that are happening with primes. I've called in 3 times in the last 2-3 weeks and it feels like the rep had no clue what I'm talking about, they are just checking off boxes on the computer screen for checking address etc, then ding the egg timer goes off and they hurriedly said "contact asus_cc@asus.com" (something like that). Are they on a quota to answer a certain number of calls a day and give each call 2min?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] DeBoX:
Hi

What's the status of the whole wifi / Bt fallout issue.

not that keen on reading through 100++ pages of posts.

any real fix? any update that sorts it out etc?

I apologise if the issue has been asked and answered....

Cheers!