yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Pecata:
Front panel glass lifting

This is probably a little off topic but I am not sure who else I can ask so I will just do it here:

The front panel glass is lifting from the bottom on a couple of places. I've exchanged one Transformer Prime already but the new one has the same issue. Specifically in the area above the speker if I press the glass down it moves about 1.5mm. Is this normal? Is there a way to fix it? I sure hope it doesn't get owrse-that's my fear.

There is a thread opened about this issue in Q&A section but there is really no solution to it mentioned there. Here is the link to it: http://xdaforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1465

Thanks in advance! I am sorry if I have interupted the flow of the thread.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] newellj79:
No expert here but that definitely sounds like a manufacturing defect. I would take it back/send it in.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Pecata:
Thank you. I did that once and the new unit has the same issue. Others are reporting same problem. I have 14 more days to exchange this one. Will see if it gets any worse. You can't really tell unless you are actually looking for it-but I am not happy....
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] buxtahuda:
You shouldn't be either. Mine hasn't started to do anything like that and it's been about three months.

I'd try again, but that's just me.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Pecata:
I am the same way-it bugs me and I can't stand that something isn't right. I will try and exchange again. I wonder if I should wait a couple days until they get some more-I got it at Office Depot and they only had a couple left when I replaced it...

Thanks. It's nice to know that it's not suppose to do that!
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] quintaar:
Apple alike mod

I have been reading on this solutions and it seems like guys you come up with pretty decent solutions which are instantly killed by the idea of putting the metal lid back on the Prime!

I'm not a specialist in in this - but i have basic understanding of the electronic. Wouldnt be simply easier to cut the back plate in the same way as apple is trying to compromise the wifi reception with alu back plate?

There was short mentioned to this in one of the posts above - however it was called 'hardcore solution' and noone seem keen on it as much. Leaning more towards all sticking out wires solutions.

Am I terribly wrrong in thinking that cutting nice looking design (or square for less arty souls there) in the back plate - in positions close to originally build in WIFI/GPS and fill this in with plexi of the same shape.

I'm not 100% sure what would be interference from back plate but adding plastic side in ipad 3g helped to gain network connectivity and WIFI.

For performance boosts you could also make cut outs of copper and use them in cut out places for increased perception. As per how big the cut out has to be? Apple survives with side plastic panel so i think anything less than inch would actually made a difference.?

Is my thinking terrible wrong? Personally I care not for plastic backside of prime - and if kits were available - why not.. but since its alu.. I do care for sticking out bits as however cute looks prime with android aerials... I kinda would feel ashamed to expose my 500£ device to public hahah - i dont mean it in bad way - no offence - but we all know - if you spend so much money on tablet- you simply expect it to work - not to have 30h worth modifications added.

My penny to this discussion
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] buxtahuda:
Well, be sure to read Erusman's OG thread as well.

That's what they're pretty much doing with the Infinities and whatever the 300 is called, just putting a plastic strip. And that's fine, but I would be wary of a home-made job considering how much stress is put on the Prime from the dock. I could be paranoid though (definitely am lol).

I personally like Erusman's finished product the most and will likely go the same route after some time and maybe a replacement Prime if I can get one. Sadly though, there's no easy way to change out just part of the backplate or the whole thing. It would require total disassembly, then you'll be getting into that 30 hours lol, but something like Erusman's could be done in an afternoon given a good plan and crafty worker.

Let me say though, I understand what you mean, we paid good money for these things and they should work wonderfully. That being said, this is the cheapest device I've ever owned that chins up to such decently hardcore usage, especially as far as productivity goes with the right setups and apps. Once we start seeing full-featured laptops with touchscreens, maybe less egocentric than the Yoga's or whatever from Lenovo, then we'll be seeing similar devices albeit more beefed up for outrageous prices. Probably also going on some 3D crazes or something lol
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] quintaar:
Had read some more in suggested thread:

What is surprising - I think forum focus much more people who are programming keen than deal with electronic (obvious reasons) since conclusions are not clear why this thing simply does not work as it should.

The apple situation with WIFI and 3g version had me puzzled for a while and also

foil thread leads me to think ASUS overdone the device.

WIFI modules are tiny - they have been present in most of smartphones for ages now - this is something very hard to mess up. Especially when previous version of TF was ok. Clearly chasing ipad alu design got them in trouble - I highly doubt they would try new WIFI modules since specs is same on older device. Poting stuff around to shave off mm on thicknes and alu design has messed up the capabilities.

My device is 3 days old and i know it suffers BT/WIFI issues asus promised me swap within 30 days so i will wait 29 :) to see whats new out there and i wont play with my device. Wifi signal is at -60dB 3m from router which sucks (im on G) But speed is ok-ish (3-4.5MB - my internet is at 5MB most) and my flat is too small to actually suffer from described issues.

One thing I would try is to cut the plate to create wave alike design across back plate (thing long wavy cut to increase the length without scarifying the backplate strength. this would in theory break the cage structure of back plate and would allow to slot in a wire with multiple surface points ( i will add picture when I get ability to do so)

Goal is to break the closed structure and to have 20 -30 cm wire inside the back panel - but only covered with plastic panels not the original alu back plate. This would keep the size of the device, no extrenal modification would be done, or sticking out wires. and if done with patience could actually look pretty awesome as well.

My question is - if my thinking is correct - from what I seen on posts so far.. I cannot be really far from it!
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] rmsingh:
Have you opened your Prime?

What may not be as clear in the thread is the 'back plate' is actually the entire chassis. All the components is mounted to this plate, then the touch screen pops into it.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] flub:
One user did cut holes in back plate check http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=22625586&postcount=935

He dissapeared & never updated so don't know how he got on with it eventually
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Supersaiyan.IV:
Had enough of the WiFi reception and opened up my TF201 64GB today.

Pic1: Disassembled.

Applied pads of solder at where pogo pins connect - scraped the finish of the solder to bare an unoxidized and more conductive layer to attain better contact. Next I insulated all unused antennae connectors and taped the built-in antennas as well. This reduces external impact on signal. I'm currently also thinking about insulating parts of the pogo pins.

Pic2: Solder pads.]

The GPS will be a project for another day. The antenna simply can't be grounded to the back plate. Instead it should go to a purer ground - the one next to the GPS pogo pin, as the plate generates too much interference.

No pics of how it's insulated - simply insulate everything that might bias the signal, especially those unused antennae connectors.

Results? Went from -83dB, rather unusable up to between -65dB and -57dB. Web surfing works and that's all that matters to me.

Hope you find this useful and have a good day.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] tedr108:
Seems like a fix that even I can do! Can you give a little explanation of insulating? What exactly are you insulating with? And you are insulating exposed metal on and around the antennas, right?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Supersaiyan.IV:
So the TF201 64GB showed some more Wifi signal improvements.

I reopened the prime today to remove and flatten out the solder pads, as less height was required than previously thought. Their excess might stress the screen. Took some pictures while I was at it. If it was in the "-65dB and -57dB" range before now it's within -61dB to -56dB from same testing spot.

Note that the Wifi is still grounded to the Asus back plate the stock way.

Pics: Insulation

I'm insulating with black insulation tape - treating pretty much everything with it.

I know the insulation approach helps at least 3-4dB because I saw a significant improvement as soon as I insulated the antennas. After seeing improvement I proceeded with insulating all the things as seen on the pictures.

Grounded the GPS antenna to the board as a test without soldering, and I got 1 satellite indoor, which is tragic. A better ground cable might solve the problem.

Tried with soldering, and I couldn't tell if it was any better. It was bad to begin with. If anyone posts a good working way for a GPS fix I'm all ears. No pictures on GPS adventures as it was a total failure.

I've mailed Asus support regarding this and asked for their tips for mending these issues. If they provide a miraculously better way for doing this (except sending it in for repair) I'm going to shoot myself.

Result: GPS bad, Wifi better - very good. Stock antenna.

I hope somebody will find this useful.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Jesse6749:
Since I unlocked my bootloader earlier last week I too decided to open my prime and low and behold mine was one with the broken wifi connection on the pba next to the gps pba. I went ahead and soldered the connection and put also soldered some copper braid to try and make the wifi a bit stronger and it worked. But like you my gps is a no go. I am going to look for a small external antenna that folds down and may just drill one or more holes depending if I find the small enough antennas. I did not do a great job, I did flatten the solder spots where the pogo pins tough with a file and even put a dab of conductive paste then insulated the whole area with electrical tape (but not where the pogo pins touch ok LOL!!) before sealing the prime. Anyway here is a link to the pics: http://imgur.com/a/A3HkD#0

I used network monitor to check the signal and before I was averaging -65dBm to -85dBm depending how far I am from my router, now after the mod I get from -38dBm to 65dBm where I normally use the tablet at home. The Mobile Signal is always at a steady -85dBm. So my wifi did improve so I am happy!! :p.

Well one good thing I did properly tightened (barely tightened) the lcd scews and got rid of the little bit of light bleed that I had. :D:D:D
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Bulgarien:
A great website with wi-fi solutions :-)

Asus Prime is not the the first gadget with wifi problems!Google tells that some the best DIY wi-fi solution for our Prime (and others) could find here ;

http://repair4laptop.org/wireless_lan_antennae.html

Personally I first will make the original internal cobber antenna bigger/more of them for higher amplifying. This is proberly the simples and easiest way to fix the wi-fi - and that without cost, wires and holes

http://www.mercenary.ca/articles/r30_antenna.php

everything about DIY wi-fi antenna

http://www.digdice.com/14dbi-18dbi-...fi-antenna-for-24ghz-and-23dbi-for-5ghz-band/
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Supersaiyan.IV:
Attempted to fix the GPS today. This is how it went. Everything is soldered using tiny wires from USB 2.0 cables.

Attempt 1:

Tried soldering the wires directly between antenna, pogo pin and ground. Ground next to the GPS pogo pin was used.

Result: 0 satellites indoor. Disassebled Prime gave 4-5 satellites.

Pics of Attempt 1.

Attempt 2:

Everything done in attempt 1, except that the GPS back plate ground was removed.

Result: 1-2 satellites indoor. Disassebled Prime gave 5-6 satellites.

Attempt 3:

Complete change of approach. Creating an antenna similar to the, as somebody said "PCB faulted", left wifi antenna. Stock GPS antenna will be unused here.

I grabbed two long wires, soldered them to pogo pin and ground, upon which I twisted them and made sure the ends are close but not touching each other. Everything is fitted inside the case.

Result: 1-2 satellites indoor. Disassebled Prime gave 14-18 satellites.

Pics of Attempt 3.

Bottom line, it's hopeless - back plate eats the signal. However, as a side effect of disconnecting the GPS from the back plate ground, which is shared between all onboard antennas, additionally (and measurably) boosted the wifi by 2-4dB.

tl;dr: Wanted to fix GPS, improved wifi instead

Hope somebody will have use for this. Good night.

p.s. When I have time I'll try this AGPS Patch Transformer Prime v1.0 Final | Complete aGPS Solution in combo with ungrounded "Attempt 3". Post if you've tried and had improvement.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] c5satellite2:
Can someone PLEASE make this a stickie?

Awsome job! We thank all of you for sharing. Haven't decided if I will send mine in yet or just fix it myself. After reading this, I'm probably fixing myself soon. When I do, I will post my results.

PLEASE MAKE STICKIE!
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Jesse6749:
Got my TFP GPS to Work!!!!!!!

Update 04/10/2012: I decided to stop messing with the antenna boards and took 2 wifi antenna wires off an old broken HP DV2000 laptop and put them on the open antenna connectors on the motherboard and ran the wires along to top of the motherboard. I went from a non working gps to a working gps, I have tried several times and I always get a gps lock with gps fix and gps essentials with 1 minute. It's better than a non working gps. Here is link to a pic of the wires I connected before I insulated them and I did put a small bit of solder on the side of the connectors to keep them in place: http://imgur.com/3RHNI Also my wifi did improve significantly as well, my signal now stays between -42dBm and -65dBm which is good enough for what I do with my tablet.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] aznmode:
Now the question is...will it track you when youre driving? This is one of the things that I've yet seen work. GPS is pointless if you cant use it for turn by turn. I've tried a few things myself and ended up getting a unit with working gps as long as I dont move lol.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] master1988:
Can you plz upload more pics...

Where do your wires go?!
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Jesse6749:
OK Another update at your request: Here are a couple of more pics added, I ran out of electrical tape so for now I used some duct tape to keep the wires in place, I am gonna get some electrical tape to make the job much cleaner and maybe finally complete, the antenna connectors are on the left side of the screen and the wires end on the left corner of the screen. it's not the perfect gps yet cause of the back plate, but at least now it works 100% better than before for me :D http://imgur.com/a/rbVuM#0

When I finish the job I may post the final pictures.

Well here are some pics of the finished job, I ran the wires along the top of the motherboard and secured them with teflon tape as I do not have electrical tape. I had put the wires off the motherboard side and cause they way too close to the back plate I had lost my gps again anf my wifi signal dropped too, thus is the reason to tape the wires to the edge of the motherboard pcb and my wifi works good and the gps started working again, nit great signal but it works and i get a lock every time (outside only, inside I cannot get a lock still :-() but it works. http://imgur.com/spCLp,qLzTX#0

Update: Yeah the gps works kinda but it is still way too weak and flaky, at least I made it work from not working at all LOL!!!!!. Oh well I am going to just use my Acer Iconia A100 as my gps navigation device.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] MasterZen88:
After disassembling your tablet did you have a problem with touch screen?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] master1988:
Opend mine a few times now. No problems so far...
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Jesse6749:
No problems here: I have opened mine many times and have yet to have any problems at all not even with the touch screen :-).
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] benefit14snake:
Weekend project Inc. I just so happen to have a broken HP laptop too. Hmm wonder if that's common lol. I dont know why I didn't try this I've opened my prime 100x times.

Sent from my Axiom MAXX!!
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Jesse6749:
Yeah the HP died a couple years ago just when the warranty had expired, I wasn't ready to pay for new motherboard that was $475 LOL!!! (with 4 kids 8,12,14, and 16 years old) broken laptops and other things have been common in my house over the past 5 years LOL!!!!

So I am using it for parts for my other toys like the Prime.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] PoorCollegeGuy:
Hey there,

this thread is so full of win that I had to write about it for the XDA Portal.

You can find it here:

http://www.xda-developers.com/andro...ts-a-tear-down-along-with-wifi-and-gps-fixes/

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. This is gonna help a bunch of people as I hear WiFi and GPS is a big problem for a lot of you guys.

:)
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] buxtahuda:
Oh lawd, cool! Lol, I was about to say you need to correct it after reading the first two lines of the second paragraph, then I read the next few words about all the content being from users other than myself :D So good stuff!

I just put it all in one place :) And in fact need to come in and add some new info, with the "10 cent GPS fix" and all floating around, and I haven't updated for a while. Namely because the two posts I have there at the top are full and I hate slimming down content and code >.> Laziness lol
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] nonpaq:
I'd like to try the wire-fix, but I have a great fear of soldering electronics. I am afraid that too much heat will kill the circuit board. Any thoughts on using conductive glue instead of solder to attach the wire from the board to the antenna?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] whycali:
how did this die here?

nobody has anything else to add?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] webfrm:
Is it worth it?

Wow, well it all looks like bad things can happen. I've had my Prime's screen pop-out of the aluminum case but I just popped it back in. The wifi issue annoys me but I'm not sure I'd take the necessary risks to "fix it" with the soldering rather than just move my router, or tablet, closer to each other. The dongle (free from Asus) fixes the GPS issue if for some reason I need my tablet as some giant GPS, I'm good. Thanks for all your courage, but for the hardware modifications are not for the faint of heart or those without steady hands. If I change my mind about this I'll buy someone on this thread a beer and send them the tablet. :cowboy:
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] skarfreak:
Sorry if im out of topic, but does anybody open their prime to fix the rear camera? Green line issue... thanks...
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] pylorus:
I second that - I have the same green camera issue and due to the unlocked tablet - the czech ASUS wont RMA it :(
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] c5satellite2:
That is illegal in the us. Go to small claims court, you can easily win. Bad faith honoring warranty. Plenty of precedent. Courts have ruled already that you have a legal right to unlock or own your device. The auto industry has tried this same thing with modifying your car, changing your own oil, doing your own repairs etc and the courts ruled that unless they can prove 100% that what you did caused the exact issue that they have to honor the factory warranty.

---------- Post added at 06:16 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:11 PM ----------

Does anyone know if the rear cover from the TF300T(plastic) fits on the Prime? Would be an easy solution to the primes overall problem of the metal rear cover reducing signal levels. I have both here and the 300 crushes the prime as far as wifi and gps. If it does fit, I would order one for the Prime in a heartbeat.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] buxtahuda:
Don't know about the 300 and 700 (imagine they're no different really), but with the Prime everything but the screen, digitizer, and glass is attached to the backplate. Wouldn't be easy to do the swap even if they did fit, if it was Asus wouldn't have flopped (the 201) like they did.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] whycali:
Having had great success fixing my primes wifi/gps issue with a kind of intrusive method (but it does not show after). I can with confidence say that it is not necessary to replace any part of the prime to get acceptable wifi/ mediocre gps reception. I cant speak to bluetooth fallout but would love to tackle green camera if anybody in northeast ohio wants to let me try.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] sahilcc7:
How was wifi best improved? Was it pressing down on the bits of foam inside the prime?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] whycali:
By doing that and enhancing the connection between the foamy grounding material and the actual antenna ground points. I used desoldering material (flat braided wire) from radio shack http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/211/solderwick001.jpg/sr=1 I used this because there is not a lot of space there and it is flat. 12-15 db improvement everywhere.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] r_fung:
desoldering material

It would be great if you can have a pic of the placement of the desoldering material. Thank you. :o
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] whycali:
http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=29685066&postcount=1085
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] tshoulihane:
If anyone has their tablet apart, can you take some close ups of a couple of details that might relate to the screen cracking issue?

1) Location of clips securing screen support to backplate (particularly in relation to the ASUS logo on the front, and the clips in the hinge.

2) Mounting screws for the glass in the front panel.

I'm reluctant to dismantle mine in its current state, and so far as I can tell the photos in the thread so far are really focusing on the antenna issues.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] whycali:
There are some very nice high res pictures in this article http://www.anandtech.com/show/5286/asus-eee-pad-transformer-prime-teardown
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] r_fung:
This MOD has improved WIFI reception

I have tried this modification from whycali for a few days. It is improved WIFI reception on my Prime. If I were to give the improvement a score, from the scale of 1 to 10, 10 being MOST IMPROVED, my score would be between 6 and 7. Keep in mind that the WIFI issue a design flaw by ASUS. The improvement balances between functionality and ecstatic. It is a best mod that I can find so far.

THANK YOU whycali for the pictures:D. They are very clear, and better than a thousand words :o.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] pooblej:
Do you have any before / after wifi strength scores to share by any chance ???

How long did it take, was it hard?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] whycali:
for me wifi improved 12-15 db. It takes about as long as it takes to get your prime open and closed with a little time in between to place the wire very carefully try not to put it back together with any sticking out.