yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] GernBlanston:
IMO, a GPS is a POS if it can't get a lock on my back patio with an unobstructed view of the clear night sky. Look, when a company stands up and in a public statement announces that a feature they built and advertised the unit as having is no longer worthy of being listed as a feature...well, it's like Butthead said: "You can't polish a turd, Beavis."
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] bimbobo:
I had the same issue, .14 was OK. With .15 WW signal is weaker using WiFi analyzer 5-10db..

My Prime is on repair now, let's see when I get it back (WiFi/BT issue).

Gary announced news and new update..., so maybe there is hope (again).
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] paulrod:
I also wish there was a UK or at least EU based Tech Rep on the forum!

No offence to you Gary, you're doing a great job! But you shouldn't have to deal with everyone's TP problems my friend.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] hoya68:
Gary:

I appreciate your posting. I am in correspondence with one of your reps (Rodel Roque) and am waiting for a reply which I expect early this week. I have a question, the answer to which will affect my decision on whether or not to return my Prime or to wait a few months for the solution. Will there either be a fix to the GPS problem

and

the wifi drop off problem or a clear upgrade path to a later Prime (i.e. Infinity) version that does not have these problems? Both of these issues are deal killers for me. If the answer is "yes" or just be patient and we will make you happy, I can certainly wait a few months. Otherwise I will seek a refund. Other than these two issues, I personally think the Prime is an awesome device.

I hope you will publicly post your answer as I think it would help a lot of folks make their decisions on what to do, and if you say just wait a few months (or preferably weeks) and we will make you happy, I think a lot of people would sit tight and not clog up this and other forums.

Thanks again.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] 131313:
@

I'd say you might just save all your private data and then you reset your Prime.

see thread http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1521349

This should probably help your problem

@

You sound like a great supporter to me.

@

see the last update of the OP!!

To me it sounds as if Asus has figured out where the initial problem is. It's probably as already speculated on XDA a motherboard-thing. And in summer we won't even remember it anymore. I think holding on to the Prime is worth it for a looooooooooooooooong time.

As for the exciting news Gary mentioned I hope also it will be the announcement of Atmel stylus support.

In my opinion that's all the Prime is missing when it's not missing ;).
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] wynand32:
I'm kind of hoping that as well. The ability to take precision handwritten notes would be a nice one...

---------- Post added at 11:06 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:01 AM ----------

I thought I'd toss into this thread the following request to ASUS folks: please take a look at how the Tegra 3 is optimized in terms of how long it spends at higher frequencies. I think it does a good job for most things (e.g., standby life is excellent, as is battery use doing things like email and ebook reading), but it seems to burn WAY too much battery life when browsing. Perhaps just tune that back a bit (although some people might disagree by saying browsing performance is already poor; I just don't think that's because of processor speeds but rather reflects a need for more optimization).
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] ClevaTreva:
Exactly the same with me. Wifi was great with .14 and is now abysmal with .15; range and download speed. My GPS has gone from 10-14 sats outdoors to no lock. Ever. I do hope .16 restores this. At least the re-boots stopped when I removed and re-installed the stock browser and flash.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] vdelab:
Hi,

Let's recognize it, that ASUS and Gary are one of the very rare (if not the only) company to officially use and communicate with XDA (as one of the most extensive user community)...

It was indeed one fo the thing that made choose this product...

So I'll keep on eye on Gary's announcement and Prime updates...

For me, it's all quite ok, except GPS... I manage without but I'd be happy if something improves.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] eliotah:
I Need a good working wifi!! the gps is my last problem on the prime

will we have any good news about the wifi?? i hope not another Extension Kit :confused:
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] SteveG12543:
I for one am excited about this. My wifi is fine, and I don't use bt so bt + wifi performance isn't a concern to me.

I'm very thankful for this.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] cbasse:
Again, considering how new this announcement is and that more details should emerge in the coming days, I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and maybe assume that those of us who registered previously will awaken one day to find an email from Asus Support in our inboxes telling us that they've shipped us a dongle and we should expect it in a day or two... :D Is that overly-optimistic, naive, or both?

Personally I'm happy with this news. More than I expected - definitely wouldn't have cared for Ubuntu...
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] NeoMagus:
Honestly as long as I get one with everyone else here my faith will be restored, GPS is whats dead on mine. If they tell us we missed the first batch or something though when we registered months ago I'm grabbin a pitchfork! :cool:
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] NeroDan:
Interesting solution.

Another positive note...instead of using that little plastic piece (which I, currently, have NO idea where I put it) this will protect the dock connector when it's not being charged.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] kidneysrgood:
So who here feels weird having one that's a C2 model, lol?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] junrider:
Personally Id wait till the C4, C5, C6 to come out before buying a prime again. Id rather have a working internal GPS and good wifi.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Sparky977:
I'm trying to register my Prime to take advantage of the GPS thing, but the website is saying that my serial number is wrong. What's up with that?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] junrider:
Server is busy just keep trying. That happened to me.. I called Asus support and they are escalating the case since my SN was verified by them.... Then I typed the SN again on the website.. and it accepted it.. then the free dongle for registering.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] adancau:
Had the same issue - take a look at the serial number under Settings > About > Status.

Most likely you are inputting C10 (C1 zero), as I did, when in fact it is C1O (C1 o).
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Sparky977:
Thanks! That was it! Thought for sure that was a zero...
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Eesu:
I just registered my Prime, did not take me to any extra pages aside from a short questionnaire about why I chose the prime. Guess I just wait for the official announcement.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] SteveG12543:
Same here, didn't get any notifications about the fancy dongle or anything. :( Oh well, it'll happen when it happens :) besides, the leaked emails are saying around mid April, so it's not like it's that long of a wait.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] PuroKaibil:
Never got a reply from him.... it is being 3 months since I pm the guy. Oh well..... life goes on.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] PuroKaibil:
Cannot delete this post
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] PuroKaibil:
Just registered mine about 10 minutes ago and right away took me to the free dongle shipment page. :)
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] g00ner:
GPS? Who cares about gps? Give us improved wifi. Mine is atleast 10 dbm worse than pc/htc desire/archos101it.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] oddbin:
clearly you weren't here when everyone was kicking off about the GPS.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Severion:
dongle

I registered i didnt go to the dongle thingie :(

im from the Netherlands anyone from there had any news about the dongle?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] maxcovergold:
Might be useful if people who are getting offered the dongle on the site state their shipping country. Might be restricted ATM.

I too was hoping for something that improved wifi but this is still a great effort by Asus IMO.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] bimbobo:
Agree!!

Who cares about the GPS, buy a Garmin or else, they are much better.

I bought the Prime like most of us for WiFi and BT use, aside the other things a tablet can/should do.

So now the give us this pill and all the noise is cut off?

No way! Is it more important to have a decent WiFi strenght and or use a BT device or a GPS? Really buying a tablet for GPS is like to buy a car for HiFi unit in it or for Climate inside of it. The motor not really a matter ...right? Come ON!
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] n8mack33:
I'm in the US and there was no way I could see when I registered to get the dongle page. So I don't think it is necessarily country specific.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Jersey732:
hope the wifi gets fixed
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Severion:
Lol seriously?, I bought my prime not BECAUSE of GPS, BUT i must say driving with a tablet as gps is lovely, had my collegues samsung 10.1 with sygic 2 days ago, and we drove to one of our other locations, and it was lovely to use as navigation, instead of his normal gps,
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] bimbobo:
Good.. happy for you then. Not for others.

I cannot use GPS in DK if I need wifi too, as it seems.

I have no WiFi in the car.. and actually, I do not care about GPS.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] epology:
Concerning this as the "big announcement", I think some people need to understand the scope of this move.

As far as I know, there is no precise definition of a device "having GPS", means that if the package says that "there is" a GPS module, the existance of it probably suffices to justify the label. During early developement in conception stages (of every product) people ask themselves WHO they design the product for and WHAT the customers might want to do with it. The outcomes are, aside from other things, "use cases". Using GPS navigation with a tablet on the road was probably not one of them- hence the repeated justification that the Primes GPS is "not a professional GPS device"- it simply was never meant to be one. Of course one could argue that this was a mistake and there seems to be no final answer as to if this should have found more consideration or not, but since the GPS module itself is of good quality the next step to improve performance would have been a redesign of the tablets back plate. Since the (nearly) unibody design of the Prime is a unique selling point for ASUS (I'm certain it has been viewed that way by ASUS management) the choice of sticking with the current solution is logical.

Also, if one thinks about this apparently existing GPS dongle, one must realize how huge and unprecedented this effort is. From my knowledge (having business studies as a major) the only measurable positive result of providing this device free of charge is customer satisfaction and avoidance of legal problems, although I doubt the importance of the latter. Coming from a capitalist background where the cost of every action is measured against its outcome, focussing on a "soft" aspect as costumer satisfaction despite the cost of thousands of dollars is a huge step. If the GPS will function in a way that will benefit the end user so that we can enjoy a good satellite connection and fast gps lock, I encourage everybody to tell ASUS how much they appreciate it. As always in business, the results of this project will be measured one way or another, and to show them that their goal has been achieved is what we want.

Even if it functionally is not exactly what you wanted you will have to give credit to ASUS for undertaking such efforts, just to keep customer satisfaction high. It seems clear, that post-launch the outrage about non-working GPS was huge, whereas the WIFI performance still was an issue but not as big and that the company henceforth choose to adress the thing that most people were complaining about.

From where I'm coming it is a good thing to simply accept that WIFI and GPS are subpar and then ask yourselves again if the Transformer Prime is still for you. If yes, great- if not, return it and don't try to get another one since resulty may vary, but probably not to the degree you want them to.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] andersonphotographics:
Posted 8 Feb:

Just a thought, but if the WiFi issue cant be sorted with firmware, would it not be possible to develop a plug in module for the USB or data ports? Got to be cheaper than a recall.

I always thought that was viable.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] The_Stranger:
I agree to this part, however having bought numerous asus parts in the past (practically my the whole of the insides of my desktop), the sub par quality of the prime was making me doubt buying more asus products, even though they are not really related (a gfx card is not comparable to a tablet).

If they do this dongle thing right (like in sending them free of charge to all prime owners all over the world), it really does boost my confidence in the company. So allthough it might be "extra" and "not really needed" when looking at it purely from a economics point of view, they will keep me as a customer buying other products of them.

Service is more important to me than low prices, so, again if they do it properly, this move is highly appreciated by me.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] bimbobo:
Yes, offer instead:

1) GPS dongle (for those who cares)

2) WiFi dongle. As I wrote in the BT/WiFi thread, ASUS US told me that the chip is the same for both. Then offer a dongle for WiFi so it does not interefere with BT

3)Trade-In option: get the new TF300 or 700 or whatever as replacement or with a fee of few € (in Europe)

I would call THIS an effort to solve the issues.

But these dongles requires dock too, so you cannot use the Prime as a TABLET, without dock, if USB is required. Keep this in mind too.

I respect Gary for the help, he is the only giving us help, info, actions.

But ASUS sold a device with major problems, and these problems must be solved.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] CekMTL:
Totally agree with your calm and logical point of view/analysis.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] green750one:
You should read posts properly. The dongle fits into the docking port on the tablet. Not USB!
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] CekMTL:
I think, for what I have read, that the GPS "solution" should be a stick in a similar shape to the keyboard docking mechanism, which makes total sense, but you shouldn't need to have the keyboard attached (would be dumb ugly solution).

I imagine they took the dock-hinge design, and used it to house the GPS chip (hopefully a very good one), and the antenna inside this said hinge, and I guess they used this kind of hinge, to try and put the GPS antenna as far away as possible from the ALUMINIUM shell/back plate, so as to avoid this interference.

To use the TF201/GPS DONGLE as a navigation device, one should only flip the device "up side down", and be merry with it.

Now... one nice ADDON solution would be to create this kind of "Stick Dongle" as an "Extender" for WIFI/BT/GPS... with everything housed there, and all connected to the ASUS connector (USB pins), and with some nice detachable antennaes.

You use it if you need extended range, or you are far far away, and detach it in normal usage, FOR THOSE THAT HAVE OK WORKING UNITS OF COURSE!

PS: I imagine it must have been hard for DEMANDARIN to test this "possible solution", and not say a word about it xDDD

Anyways, peace all, now flame me gently! ;)
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] federer:
please fix the wifi!
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] pnharrison:
It's pretty clear that Bimbobo has read the posts properly; he is pointing out that since the dongle fits into the dock; it would prevent the Prime being used with keyboard, and therefore prevent the use of the USB port, which might be important to some users.

I think he makes a good point; although we are working on assumptions, since we don't know the form factor of this dongle yet.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] master1988:
Why don't use the port from keyboard then?!
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] MysteriousDiary:
I think because there are also people without a dock they can only ship a dongle for the dock port. Or they could let us chose between a dock and usb version
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] bimbobo:
They should have taken care of the wifi issue long time ago.

I just tested with our IPad2 and the speed was quadruple than the Prime on our 34/34 mbit fibre.

This prevents also the BT usage at the same time, this is also causing for some wifi drop out for some.

The RMA they suggested did not help me and others.

This is a tablet, and WiFi is vital, not a secondary thing, which the GPS could be imho.

Anyway.... we have not seen the final result of this announcement.

I will keep fighting for the WiFi/BT issue... as long as I can.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Nickedynick:
I don't know about elsewhere, but I'm pretty sure you can only get the prime with a dock in the UK.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] GreginNH:
My 2 cents

As cool as GPS would be on my Prime, it would be just that, cool.. not a neccessity. Wifi however is way more important, its the only means of connectivity on the device really. I hope the answer to wifi is NOT " the newer models will have better wifi" because that really does not help me.

I dont have a huge issue with wifi its obviously not as good as my other Android devices but it works in my home and at work for the most part.

Happy to see Asus is still pursuing options to make the device all that it can/should be , but I guess we need to continue to be patient.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] davetwin:
When i was looking to buy mine, all the uk outlets were with dock only
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] -lukin-:
Right, WIFI is the day to day issue. I can't get good sigal outside the 20 foot bubble around my router.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] vtomadness:
Same here, I cant even be in my back yard and use my tablet effectively. This needs fixed... Or else i'm just going to sell my TF201 and get a TF700T. I've gotten no response from asus support in two months. I emailed the marketing director, CEO, President. Not even an acknowledgement of my problems.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] biggem001:
ASUS,

Its obviously you haven't been listening at all. While GPS is an issue, WIFI is the MAIN issue! We use WIFI every minute with this device, while GPS is a day-to-day kind of thing. And not only that, but why would I ever use GPS with my dock attached. Really? Am I going to make a mount in my truck that has a holder for the dock to? That's absolutely stupid. You couldn't have picked a worse "super secret surprise"
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] -lukin-:
Caus3

I don't mean to sound like an arse, because I feel the same way about TF700, but perhaps it's better to send a message of protest by stating we won't buy the TF700. Otherwise, what reason does ASUS have to fid the problem if they still get you to buy two tablets in the end? Just thinking out loud...
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] green750one:
Apologies. My bad. Read to me like he thought it was a usb dongle. But then I am from the UK!
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Severion:
Is this update thread or just complete whine thread?

people just wait for one moment, you dont know exactly what the fix will be so just calm the f down :)

thank you
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] gooser91:
Why would you ever want to use your dock while using GPS? The GPS would be used in a car or maybe walking. Carrying a dock while doing this? Noooooooo thanks,

I have a C3 model, I hate to say it my my wifi works flawlessly, handsdown the best device I own. So I'm so glad they didn't release a wifi dongle. A GPS dongle is all I need to have a perfect tablet!

Heck yes for this! Thank you Asus!
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] clouds5:
Yeah if you give them something they cry even more. No offense but here is my opinion.

Wifi is as good as it gets with such a beautiful aluminum device. All similar devices like the ipad have the same performance as the prime. Get real, deal with it and buy a wifi repeater or buy a plastic product.

I have a C1 and my wifi is the same as any other mobile device i own.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] czerdrill:
Just registered but didn't get redirected to a dongle request page either. Anyone found a way to access the page directly?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Moonshot1968:
GPS/WiFi issues to be solved

Just sent my Prime to be fixed as of April 2, 2012.

Issues are:

1. Camera green and grainy

2. Wifi weak

3. GPS weak

Talked to ASUS rep yesterday. He stated they are using extended pins/pegs to improve the wifi and gps issues. Didn't mention anything about a dongle but that these pegs are improving systems dramatically.

Hope to get my prime back next week.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] ahent:
I am not a hardware guy, but how hard would it have been for them to put a thin wire for use as a wifi antennae inside the gps dongle? They have usb wifi for desktops and they are small. Surely they would be able to put a little wire with some corresponding hardware in there to add to the wifi reception, isn't that what they are doing with the gps, just giving the unit an antennae outside the metal backing?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] junrider:
Umm yeah about that... I had sent an RMA (BCOKS) 3/26 i believe:

1. Screen has no display

2. weak wifi

3. No GPS

When it came back they fixed the screen and replaced pegs, sponges, flange, and what not.

2. still weak wifi

3. still no GPS

So dont be surprised if your prime's camera gets fixed and nothing else.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] bimbobo:
Bravo! Yeah... now we are all happy.

The Prime has not the same performance as IPad2.. I tested it as I have 1 too, you probably don't.

You do not seem to care, if you are happy with your Prime get lost from this thread. Bye!
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] junrider:
Have to agree with bimbobo. After the BCOKS was RMA for weak wifi, I tested it agaisnt an ipad2 and the new ipad. I went to the furthest point of the house with the prime still getting a signal and tested all three multiple times. New Ipad was slightly faster with download/upload speeds, while the prime either got stuck at the download or upload. Although, I hear that the newer C3's are better in wifi with only a few still weak..
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] bimbobo:
Let's state clear that I like the Prime, period.

So if somebody is thinking that I am never happy, well they are wrong and should read all my posts and threads I opened.

I fought to WiFi/BT, RMAed the Prime and so on, I never complained for the missing GPS..

How many people here in XDA forum are discussing WiFi/BT and how many GPS?

How many would buy the Prime without WiFi/BT? I believe NONE

How many would buy the Prime without GPS? I believe still a lot