yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] wildpig1234:
actually i went to location and select by gps only, thinking that it might not even work. also put it in airplane mode. Went outside and it was able to pick up sats in like a minute. it still slower and pick up a little less sats that samsung s4 but it does work.
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] Chrisjjj:
I tried the foil fix a couple of times now, the second time I even removed the mesh but both times it worked OK for a week or 2 and then slowly started losing strength again. When the XDA community can't find a reliable fix for an issue you know the phone manufacturer has gone above and beyond on the design. Those c*^%$ at LG really know how to F*&% up a phone.

Anyway I tried to drop some solder onto those contacts on the back cover but I just can't get it to stick. I just cleaned it up and put thicker pieces of foil on top now, see how that goes. It is working amazing atm but it did the other times too.
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] Ultraman1966:
Thought I was going crazy but same here, the phone just loses it every few minutes then picks good signal back up... Infuriating if you need turn by turn navigation...
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] Chrisjjj:
Nah mine is crap again. I'm just about done with this phone. I've had it brand new for around 5 months now and had nothing but issues. GPS was good for about the first month and been crap ever since. Big warning to everyone, DO NOT buy a G5 no matter what the price, unless you don't need GPS.

I'll keep piling on a thicker piece of folded foil till either I fix the issue or the phone won't close properly. ;)
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] deathhilarious:
I think the reason the fix is temporary is that if the foil/copper you place in the device is too large it squishes and deforms the pin, making it lose its springiness.

Take a look at the pin and make sure it is still springy and that the head of the pin sticks out over the plastic wall beside it.

EDIT: maybe cutting off the plastic wall is the right way to go?
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] Chrisjjj:
I started very thin with the foil and slowly got large as to make sure I didn't damage the pin. The pin has always looked fine. I gave up on the foil. I always thought it may not be the best conductor for the job.

I ended up using Soderwick which is a woven copper thread used for removing solder off components. I added some solder to it so that it would hold together when cut. It by far gave the best GPS signal I ever have seen on one of the five G5s I have tested. I'm getting up to 3m accuracy and up to 40 sats in view while having up to 22 sats in use and that is inside my house where it isn't usually that good. The foil at the end wasn't even lasting 24hrs but so far this is just as good after 24hrs. I'll update after a week of monitoring.

I shouldn't get my hopes up as I've had many disappointments in the past but I have a good feeling this time.
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] ronybuzon:
Hi guys... My LG G5 H860 has same problem about GPS. I was following every suggestion here but no luck. But today the problem are solved. I will share to you all. Yes, the problem is because oxidated metal tape. But my way is, I ordered "Silver Conductive tape" at online store. This tape is exactly similar with the existing metal tape. You can buy it from ebay or amazon. The price is very cheap. I tested electrical conductivity of every existing metal tape on the back casing with multitester. You will find some of them has low conductivity indicating oxidated metal tape. So you need to replace it with the new one. You can peel off the metal tape, Clean ex-area at the casing with contact cleaner, and then put on new silver conductive tape at place. Ofcourse you need to cut it according the previously size. In my case, maybe the same thing with your problem is because at previously attemps is I missed to replace metal tape at the left side of the LCD frame, so the problem still exist. This one located at the sida of the LCD frame. When you put the screen at bottom, behind flexi connector to the logic board. I thing this metal tape is another antenna connection to the metal back cover. This is the problem. You will find another pieces of metal tape on the another side of the LCD frame. It's near the vibrate piece. Mine have low conductivity on the multitester, so I replace it as well. Actually I don't know which tape on the side of the frame gave me the good result but it's really solve my GPS problem.
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] deathhilarious:
Interesting. Can you post a picture?
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] Chrisjjj:
Yes hard to follow information could you please include a picture?
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] ronybuzon:
Sure... Below I put some pictures...

First picture is metal conductive tape... Second picture show location off side existing metal tape. And third picture is existing metal tape from another side.
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] Chrisjjj:
Thats odd I don't have anything conductive on the side in picture 2.
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] ronybuzon:
Really ? Okay... I sent you another picture. Maybe will make it more understandable.

On picture 1 & 2., pointed with red arrow. Is existing metal tape. Because the location is on the side, easy to accidentally peeled off when we insert flat tool like guitar pick and swift it along side off edge of LCD frame. What I done is cut some of existing metal tape with scissors. And put new one layering the old one.

Picture 3 the red circled one is small tab, it have to be touching the new metal tape from LCD frame like Picture 1&2.

Picture 4 the red circled one is another existing metal tape. I don't know the function of this metal tape. But when I test it. It has low conductivity. So I decide to cut it and put new one.
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] Chrisjjj:
I'll have to look at one of the other G5's in my family and see if they have anything in picture 4.
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] Chrisjjj:
I bought some thin copper tape off ebay for a few dollars and pretty much stuck it everywhere that looked as though there could be conductive issues. It been running quite good since then. The main thing is it has been well over a week and it hasn't lost any gps signal strength since the day I done it.
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] dulcificum:
What I don't get is how the GPS can work well enough to get dozens of satellites but still not even get a fix with A-GPS? My LG G5 has been dead for the last few months due to this issue :(
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] Chrisjjj:
Well my GPS died again and I had to open the phone up again. I've tried everything to fix this issue but haven't been able to find a permanent fix.
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] smileyint:
Please share the exact tape that you have bought. Thanks in advance.
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] :
I've put some aluminum foil on the metal back it works well for a week, but now the gps is super slow, like on Maps, it's always late, it makes me miss all of my exit and turn :D

I need to find something better
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] optionalmgrr.la:
Shx my g5 lost GPS again

What is the simplest yet permanent solution?
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] Chrisjjj:
Follow these directions and you'll never have to worry about the G5s GPS again.

1. Pull battery, sim holder then open phone.

2. Remove any foil or tape you've already installed.

3. Collect all parts of the phone and place in bottom of bin.

4. Put garbage out to be collected.

5. Never buy LG again.

This seems to be the only permanent solution at this stage.

---------- Post added at 06:01 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:56 AM ----------

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/5mm-Cop...e&pageci=2274f9ec-11ef-427f-a0c5-cce13bea6c39
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] optionalmgrr.la:
lol ok, any a bit less permanent solution then? :D
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] Z23:
I followed this thread from site one and read a lot of solutions from underfeeding contacts, cutting antennas off, soldering and drilling holes to conductive tape / foil. Everyone of those engineers told they have found the perfect permanent solution. I don't believe in any solution anymore until someone tells it works now over a year. And even then I will not believe it, because mine GPS became suddenly useable after Oreo update. So software does play a role, too.
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] Chrisjjj:
I'm not so sure software is an issue. I'm on Oreo now and hasn't seemed to make it any worse or any better. My wife is still on nougat and has an unusable signal. I do agree there is no current permanent solution though.

Just opening up your phone and closing it again actually may help for up to a month/week at a time for a while anyway. Replacing the silver mesh with some copper tape or another conductor might make it last longer too. You'll find info at the start of this thread.

Currently my GPS has been working for 2 weeks. Not great strength but does the job while I'm on the road and I'm using it to navigate. When I'm in my house it still gets a signal but one that isn't very accurate.

If you are prepared to open and fiddle a little with your phone every few weeks, you can manage to keep your GPS signal working.

Let us know how you go.
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] optionalmgrr.la:
ah ok thx a lot which "solution" did you use?
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] Chrisjjj:
All of them LOL. But I'd recommed starting off slow and just open your phone up and close it again. You'll see what a huge difference that will make.

If you get sick of doing that and it doesn't seem to help anymore I'd move on to removing the silver mesh on the top right corner of your phone and replacing it with something else that is conductive.

Once you get jack of that follow any other ideas in this thread that doesn't seem to have destroyed anyone's phone.

What ever you do don't **** with those 3 volume pins. It seems to be the main solution on the web but it has nothing to do with the GPS. People think it works but it is just pulling the phone apart which fixes it by reseating some contacts and that is only temporary.

Like I said there is no permanent fix, so just try and find a solution that works for you by trial and error. Remember start off with the smallest adjustment so you don't just destroy your phone on the first attempt. I ruined one G5 by somehow breaking off a piece of the motherboard that connects into the removable charging base of the phone.
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] optionalmgrr.la:
Thank you bro thank you bro
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] cyobane:
Replacing the mesh with foil has given me working gps for the last 4 months, it's not terribly accurate but the signal strength has been holding up for longer than I expected. not sure what has made it work this time but maybe making sure the foil was contacting the vertical edge, and applying some contact cleaner/protector helped. or occasionally squeezing/mechanically working the area of the phone where the contact point is has helped. maybe i'm just lucky. never had working gps for this long after it started to go bad
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] Z23:
Thank you for sharing. We need more long time experiences.
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] damabodi:
hello I am French, excuse me for the translation! What surprises me in view of the number of people who have these GPS problems with this phone is that LG is silent and communicates nothing and especially does not admit this design flaw! other brands like Samsung, would have assumed, and call the phones for replacement .... we should not repair itself, but if we send it to LG they will do what? I am not an engineer and can not prove this defect, and it's a shame otherwise I will have seized a consumer association to force LG to repair! thank you
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] Chrisjjj:
My suggestion is to never buy LG again. Their phone division is dying a slow death anyway. They used to have stand out phones with different features from the other companies out there but not anymore. They have unreliable hardware and very slow updates. Choose another brand.
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] Z23:
I sent mine to LG (on warranty). They "repaired" it and it lasted half a year before breaking again. There is no permanent fix, not even for LG repair service.
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] damabodi:
Hello

they have to be brought to justice it is not normal to put on the market devices that do not work, LG has made money on us! it would take a lawyer who would defend us for free that would do him some publicity

---------- Post added at 07:40 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:14 AM ----------

I found the solution to LG; I just read an article, in 2018 in the United States, a class action was filed against LG for bootloop problems and hardware problems on the G5 and other devices of the brand; LG has an arrangement with the cabinet of oicats, proposing the refund of the device .... it is necessary to do that also for Europe !!
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] Chrisjjj:
I bought mine on the grey market for the equivalent of around 170 USD so I'm not all that worried. Mine is working at the moment. I did find that the copper tape I used wasn't the best conductor though so I wouldn't recommend it. The best thing I've used is soderwick with solder melted on it.
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] optionalmgrr.la:
OK I removed the wrong fix (volume rockers) and after a few trials and errors so far I got something not too shabby, by stuffing the antenna connector (remember bros, the top left corner with the phone faced down) with as much solder wires as possible.

I'm not too comfortable soldering so I just wrap the connector with solder wire and insert the wire ends inside the connector

It's already been a few weeks and still working. Will report back how it goes if I remember later.

edit:

i guess the point is to find something (highly) conductive and wrap around the antenna to improve the signal.

what you'll need:

- small philip screwdriver

- case opener / guitar pick

- time & patience (30-60 min I'd say)

(the process can be found on YouTube)

- some conductive thing that'll hold for a relatively long time e.g. copper wires?

(not good quality) photo of my clumsy fix...
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] damabodi:
are there Europeans interested in a class action against LG, like what was done in the United States in 2018, for the defects of smartphone manufacturing including G5 ....?
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] optionalmgrr.la:
Happy to report that this is still working fine.
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] Ultraman1966:
I'm giving this a go too, thanks for suggestion!
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] Chrisjjj:
My new Pocophone F1 just arrive for $388AUD or $272 USD. The GPS, bluetooth, Wi-Fi and SIM signals are to die for. It honestly puts the G5 to shame. Also the screen looks much better even though it has lower resolution, battery life is amazing and so is the speed.

When you get sick of the G5 GPS BS I'd suggest a poco unless you are from the US (no carrier compatibility).
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] nizarp:
I did the exact same. My Poco arrived last week. I'm using the G5 as a paper weight now.
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] no_means_no:
I'm still staying with the G5 only because it's still one of the best performers with removable battery... AFAIK
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] Chrisjjj:
Yeah I'm feeling you that's why I went with something with great battery performance, to try and combat that. I haven't used it all day yet but I can tell by how slow the percentage drops that I shouldn't have a problem. Most work days I have to swap the battery towards the end of my work day with the G5.

---------- Post added at 02:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:29 PM ----------

How have you found it so far? Is it rooted yet?

Only annoyance with me so far is the notification bar/clock.
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] piomode:
Hi Shloms,

This mod was not easy for me. I desoldered the lug, then I couldn't get any solder to stick to what was under it. Now there is a gooey mess from presumably melting the surrounding pcb. Is there a contact point on the other side I could attach the wire to?

Thanks for your help.
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] optionalmgrr.la:
Still working :cool:
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] cyobane:
my GPS is still working 8+ months in, after removing mesh and inserting folded aluminum foil shim in place of the mesh.
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] Eye_of_Osiris:
Sholms, you are a life-savior!

Thank you very much for pointing out the real source of this long standing problem.

After reading your post, I applied a thin layer of souldering in the opposite side pf the pcb connector (at the contact point of the GPS antenna) and now I get the same accuracy as I get with other smartphones of mine, and never lose GPS signal.

Thanks again!

All the best to you!
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] Chrisjjj:
I've had to start using my G5 again since i have to send my poco for repairs so thought I'd give the GPS another shot. No matter what I did with that connection I could no longer get a signal at all. When I pulled the phone apart I notice the GPS connection that we fiddle with continued onto to other side of the motherboard were it had another connection between the screen and motherboard. It is located a little lower than the original connection. There I put little piece of flattened solder and screwed the motherboard back down. So now I have a piece of solder on both sides of the motherboard and signal is absolutely amazing. Been going strong for 2 weeks now.
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] rosso49:
gps issue solved

Hi, I want just confirm that the folded aluminum foil solve completely the GPS issue. In fact as first of us who wrote on this thread said the problem is that the inverted F antenna, very often used in cellphones rely HEAVILY on the ground plane that is in this case connected via the mesh. But in my telephone (and in many others I see) the mesh is short, just laid not fixed to the case (the ground plane, in fact) and subject to become dirty, as the position is near the edge of the case. So put on the mesh a folded aluminium foil as large as the mesh but 2-3cm longer, sandwiching it also in the back of the phone, and cut the part that comes out when you close firmly the phone and that's it. The small pin of the contact of the ground plane now make a good and lasting contact with the back
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] totalnoob34:
I don't understand where the spot to put the solder is. Is it on the right or on the left of the main board?
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] totalnoob34:
I've never had a reliable fix on the G5, but this did the job.

Just beside the headphone jack, you have the infamous mesh. After fruitlessly trying to fiddle with it, clean it and whatnot, I ripped it out entirely and replaced it with a folded piece of random aluminum foil.

Boom. Fixed it, one minute first lock with A-GPS, which is not bad at all. I didn't try car navigation, but Maps was responding like it neved did. I'm on LineageOS 16, by the way, so if I was to ever get back to stock I should expect more improvements.

Overall, after this fix and the 3600 mAh battery mod I want to say this is how the phone should've come out.

Since this has long turned into a "hate LG" thread, I want to post my rant too, so here you have it.

LG had really something going for them with this phone. They went full in and developed a promising first iteration of a modular mainstream phone. They engineered the device with contact points only, and those are what phones should be designed around IMHO, since they allow for just two screws to secure everything. Sure, you don't have ingress protection and modules don't really add much to the phone, but battery can be removed and the phone serviced easily.

They invested millions into this design and cheaped out on the QC, which was the real culprit for this device's failure, and that led to LG essentially starting to copy Samsung's design and losing their core audience, the tinkerers, which moved on to Xiaomi. What a shame.
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] Chrisjjj:
Ah forget it, it started running crap again. It's a **** phone with a poor battery and I've given up on it now. Should get my poco back within the week and I can put the G5 behind me for good.

If you are looking for a good cheap new phone look at the Xiaomi Redmi Note 7. Just got one for the wife and it's excellent value for money on eBay. Snapdragon 660 is the only downside but it runs snappy nonetheless.
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] totalnoob34:
I've never had a reliable fix on the G5, but this did the job.

Just beside the headphone jack, you have the infamous mesh. After fruitlessly trying to fiddle with it, clean it and whatnot, I ripped it out entirely and replaced it with a folded piece of random aluminum foil.

Boom. Fixed it, one minute first lock with A-GPS, which is not bad at all. I didn't try car navigation, but Maps was responding like it neved did. I'm on LineageOS 16, by the way, so if I was to ever get back to stock I should expect more improvements.

Overall, after this fix and the 3600 mAh battery mod I want to say this is how the phone should've come out.

Since this has long turned into a "hate LG" thread, I want to post my rant too, so here you have it.

LG had really something going for them with this phone. They went full in and developed a promising first iteration of a modular mainstream phone. They engineered the device with contact points only, and those are what phones should be designed around IMHO, since they allow for just two screws to secure everything. Sure, you don't have ingress protection and modules don't reallt add much to the phone, but battery can be removed and the phone serviced easily.

They invested millions into this design and cheaped out on the QC, which was the real culprit for this device's failure, and that led to LG essentially starting to copy Samsung's design and losing their core audience, the tinkerers, which moved on to Xiaomi. What a shame.
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] totalnoob34:
Well, I was about to get either the Note 7 or the Mi A3 (I would really, *really* like to move back to AMOLED), but then did the battery mod I linked and I'm now keeping this POS phone for a while longer. If the GPS thingy holds (and if it doesn't I'm drilling the damn hole of shame in the back and soldering a wire to the pin) I'm keeping it. The camera is still remarkable, I enjoy the wide angle and battery life is now decent.

I wish I went for the bigger LG cell, there is still some space in the phone, but QC, batteries, LG really don't go well together. How's the Poco, though? I wouldn't get a series 8x chipset phone personally.
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] toot-217:
I live in germany and due to the standard 2 year warranty i was able to send in my H850 to get it repaired.

This was one year ago and since them the GPS works absolutely flawless.

Unfortunately I'm not so interested into opening my device to check what exactely they changed, but it seems, there's a way to fix the issue permantly (without drilling holes ;) )

According to the service report they exxchanged some small parts and made a software update.
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] Z23:
You had better luck than me. Waited weeks until I got my phone back and after half a year GPS was broken again.
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] totalnoob34:
Reporting back a week later, still going exceptionally strong.
[LG G5 Guides, News, & Discussion] Chrisjjj:
I loved my poco but it had dead pixels. Not sure but think it was like that out of the box. Wasn't that noticeable though. Anyway just got it back today so I'll start installing a custom rom. Has a massive community behind it which is good.

The note 7 is unbelievable for what i paid for it and looks much sexier than the poco. Both have average launchers and camera software though. But both have a modified GoogleCam app that takes killer photos and i always use nova launcher anyway. Battery life is amazing on both. My wife used to charge g5 2 times a day but now once every 2 days.