yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Vibrant General] Andre Moraes:
Works fine with I9000B manufactured at 2010/11

Hi,

Living in Brazil. Just did it last night and get a fix after a cold start after the fix in less than five minutes, next to a big window on my home office.

This morning, I've tried the gps using GPS Test after leaving my garage and get a fix in less than 1 minute with the weather a little overcast. After that, I've tried Sportypal on route to my workplace: 5 to 7 satellites locked of 10 in view, no signal lost over 15 minutes and no more random spots outside the route. Yesterday, on the same route, there's no way to use the GPS since it was loosing signal every 15-30 seconds. The route follows an avenue with tall buildings on both sides. Thanks for the fix! :D

Just in case, these are the settings on my SGS:

Phone software

PDA: I9000BVJJPD

PHONE: I9000BVJJPD

CSC: I9000BZTOJPD

Build Info: 2010.12

GPS Settings

SUPL/CP Settings:

Server FQDN Type: Custom Config

Server: supl.google.com

Server Port: 7276

SUPL Secure Socket: Off

AGPS Mode: SUPL

Application Settings:

Session Type: Tracking

Test Mode: S/W Test

Operation Mode: MS Based

Start Mode: Hot Start

GPS Plus: On

Dynamic Accuracy: ON

Accuracy: 50

GPS Logging: OFF

Location Settings:

My Location:

Wireless Network: Off

GPS: On

Sensors: On

Thanks again: now I've finally got the phone I've bought!

Happy new year! :D
[Vibrant General] patriot1973:
When I was living in the States, GPS performance was mediocre. Took awhile to find and lock on the sats.

Now living in Brazil, and it's even worse. I've cleared my GPS data and redownloaded the info with GPS Status app. No really wanting to try to bend a fragile clip as I'd be hosed without a working phone here.

Is being in the southern hemisphere affecting this?
[Vibrant General] Ilmoran:
For the first piece, try this link:

http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&name=H11809CT-ND

All I did was put the same part number into their search function, but it returned 3 results, 2 of which have minimum quantity of 1.
[Vibrant General] regP:
Even if you broke the clip it would only effect the gps, nothing else.
[Vibrant General] dmacke00:
Vibrant LCD blank / dead after tear down

Had a HUGE holy $hit moment -- when I performed the GPS fix, reassembled the phone and powered up only to find the LCD not working!

After my initial heart stop. I realized the phone was working because the sounds and menu lights were coming on. So I yanked everything back out and disassembled the phone hoping to get lucky.

I got lucky. There is small clip for LCD panel that lost contact and was sticking up. I seated it back in place (it was really frail -- didnt always want to stay in place) I carefully and applied little pressure to get back into clip.

Re-assembled and happy to report phone is alive and kicking. I was so happy I didnt even check if my GPS hardware bend worked. I had to type this post and included screenshot in case some else experiences the same thing!

SIDEBAR: I cannot believe the things I have done to this phone. I mean its barely a few months old, costs big bucks and not insured. This site and everyone that supports it are PHENOMENAL! I am amazed I had the nerve to flash my phone. Experience a "soft" brick. Re-flash back to stock. Dive right back in and flash ROM and even apply the Voodoo lag fix. Finally I had the ballsack to crack open the phone and twist on GPS connector. XDA is greatest thing or the worse thing!! I can't decide. Right now I am LOVING my phone!!!

Vibrant - Axura 2.2.5, Voodoo Lag, GPS hardware fixed and newly resurrected LCD.
[Vibrant General] wolfsvein:
I bent the tab up slightly and it was a much better improvement and if you did break the tab you could use the solder technique to add the enough solder to contact the antenna. But I'm getting a cold start in 12 sec and warm in about 2 secs. but the accuracy is with in 30 ft which I'm ok with for road navigation. I wouldn't use this GPS for geocaching.
[Vibrant General] T313C0mun1s7:
Yea, they use the manufacturer part numbers, which exposes the packaging differences. Notice the two that are available as Qty 1 both have the same inventory available.

Did you at least wipe first? Seriously though, glad you got it working. Usually those types of connectors have a small lever to hold/release pressure on the ribbon cable. I could not see from the photo it that had one, but it is common of disassembly and reassembly to work with those cables. You learned a good lesson the hard way. before reassembly always double check all connections are still good.

Why not? It adds to the adventure. So which side of this wall should we look? Do you think it is up here at the top of this cliff, or down there at the base?
[Vibrant General] alex2942:
The bending of GPS pin seems to work for me. Thank you
[Vibrant General] regP:
Funny geocaching should come up. Just yesterday while talking to the GF she was like "we now that your GPS work you're finally gonna take me geocaching right??" :D
[Vibrant General] GibMcFragger:
Awesome! Thanks!:D

It's clear outside today (not cloudy and pissing rain like yesterday) so I will give it another try. It may have been a combo of that and the fact that I am inside when I tried it, because it was FINDING a bird instantly now inside at least (it never even did that before).

EDIT: Damnit! The GPSRestore app won't run on my Vibrant, says "GPS Cannot be restored on this model". I guess it only works on the T-Mobile Vibrants.
[Vibrant General] ^Sbk79^:
Great, my i9000 can now even lock indoors. You are officially my new Cristoforo Colombo. ♥
[Vibrant General] donalgodon:
Some thoughts on this topic:

Isn't just "moving" or "bending" the clip itself up likely to be a temporary solution at best, since the tension will eventually diminish and return to its former state?

What I'm wondering about is putting some kind of spacer (maybe a very small piece of styrofoam?) in the clip to continually, and gently, support the proper position.

How widespread is the problem? Does almost everyone have the issue and others just don't notice it?
[Vibrant General] KWKSLVR:
Possibly. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised at all.

I also wouldn't be surprised if Samsung just slapped the contact on there without any form of modification what-so-ever. I don't think these contacts were necessarily raised and then they settled on their own. I think that's the way they came from their supplier and that's the way the board manufacturer installed them. If the GPS Antenna (on the back plastic) was deeper/thicker on it's contact points, it probably wouldn't be an issue.

What I do know is that mine has been rocking fine for several weeks. If that changes and I determine that there has been settling, I'll report it.
[Vibrant General] Jeffizcool:
actually if its pure copper than it probably wont bend back. copper is highly mallable and has no memory unlike something like steel. that is why you wont see a pure copper spring. fyi :D
[Vibrant General] regP:
Just a thought... Since the contact on the is so fragile and many are breaking it, wouldnt it be a bit easier to drop some solder on the midplate contact instead of the mainboard contact? Would be easier to file and shape to proper size also.
[Vibrant General] Mannymal:
Thats a good idea, especially if the contact has not broken. If it has broken then I would think soldering the board itself will produce a better connection.
[Vibrant General] regP:
Ya I meant for those who still have the original contract unbroken. The way the mainboard contact is designed makes it look like only the hump part of it touches the antenna. So a sanded drop on the antenna would make more contact with copper on the mainboard and thus a better connection. Someone wana volunteer and give this a shot?
[Vibrant General] KWKSLVR:
The only problem with that is that you're applying a hot soldering iron pretty close to plastic and if that copper plating on the antenna is thin you may melt the adhesive that holds it into place.
[Vibrant General] regP:
Well there goes that.
[Vibrant General] T313C0mun1s7:
Yep, copper is highly malleable, which is why if it was copper people would not be breaking it.

Don't try to solder the antenna side. The antenna itself is made up of some rather small trace. You might melt the antenna itself. If you mess up on the board side you can just de-solder and do it again. You screw up the antenna however, and you are gonna be the one who is screwed.
[Vibrant General] lembocoug:
Worked - for a few hours

So I tried this last night and was pleasantly surprised to get a lock indoors, outdoors, and even used navigation on the way into work this morning. Then I lost it all. I re-booted my phone after getting to work to show the results to a coworker with a vibrant, and suddenly I dont get anything. 0 satelites 0 lock. After 15 minutes of open sky - nada. Anyone have any ideas? I even opened it back up and checked and the tab is still bent up as it should be. Nothing changed. I re-booted multiple times last night and it always re-locked in 4-8 seconds. Weather apps can't even tell which city I'm in. It's as if the chip is completely dead. Anyone know how to check that?
[Vibrant General] KWKSLVR:
Is your WiFi off? Did you reset your GPS Data and use the Samsung Restore App (if you have a Captivate or U.S. Vibrant)? What modem are you running? The reason why I ask is because modem may play an issue. For example, attached are two screens with GPS performance using two different modems. I'm running Nero v3 for reference and I'm indoors at my normal testing location.
[Vibrant General] g2tl:
First time I ever got a lock (had to go from jl5 to jl4), indoors, no less.

Horrible accuracy though (143 feet, lol) but I'll take 3/7 over 0/0 any day.
[Vibrant General] lembocoug:
Yes - Wifi is off, gps data has been reset and ran the restore app (a few times). Settings get restored, gps starts, but no position fix. Last night it gave coords in 8-10 seconds. Oh, and I too am on Nero V3. This really sucks. At least I got to see my phone work as it should have from day 1 for about 11 hours.
[Vibrant General] regP:
If you deleted your GPS data recently your phone could still be downloading data from the satellites. I was getting lock instantly, then I deleted my GPS data yesterday and it took about 10 minutes to get lock. After that it picks up pretty quick again. I believe thats called a cold start.
[Vibrant General] KWKSLVR:
In respect to GPS performance (not that ROM matters I suppose), JL4 on the leaked T-Mobile JL4 Deodexed ROM worked better than JL5 on Nero v3. JK6 is working the best for me in regards to speed of locks, total locks and accuracy. I have NOT tested navigation on JK6 yet but it was almost useless on JL5 (and I gave it a couple of days and conducted my own recommended steps ;) ).
[Vibrant General] regP:
Thats interesting. I've gotten opposite results. As far as GPS signal my average SNR on JK6 is between 24-28, but on JL5 its 28-38 and also locks on 2-3 more birds.

Gotta love the fact that we have different modems available for everyone to use what works best for them.
[Vibrant General] KWKSLVR:
It definitely helps explain why Samsung has issues getting it right. ;)
[Vibrant General] whitewindhtc:
Thanks OP for the fix.

I now lock in seconds, 11/11, and usually get an accuracy of 16ft.

Tips which have worked for me:

1. Put a small plastic spacer (made from clear plastic blister packs) in between the spring contact to reduce future deflection, and therefore increasing contact pressure. This may require some patience as the parts you are working with are very small (~1.5mm x 1.5mm)

2. Clean all GPS contacts with electrical contact cleaner to achieve the best possible connection.

Thanks again.
[Vibrant General] osugsxr:
GPS fix :) thank you! Came from a nexus one and was stuck on which phone, nexus s or the vibrant. Either $550 or the $160 I spent for the vibrant on craigslist. Well I'm liking the vibrant more and more, now that GPS is actually working, after this fix it should make my experience better. Plus my usb data connection is actually firm and not loose now.
[Vibrant General] KWKSLVR:
I'm glad to see that this is making a positive improvement for probably 95% of people out there. :cool:
[Vibrant General] donalgodon:
I'd be curious to see a poll on this topic to get an idea what percentage of owners are impacted.
[Vibrant General] KWKSLVR:
Great idea! Poll added. :D
[Vibrant General] donalgodon:
How about an option like:

"I didn't need the fix. My GPS works perfectly."

Is that something you can add to the poll? I'm curious to get an idea what percentage of vibrant users are impacted overall and require a fix as opposed to those who's GPS has worked and not required the fix.
[Vibrant General] samnada:
Did the fix and see a big improvement in both signal strength, lock time, and accuracy. The only downside for me is I now have a small warp in my bezel. Getting the plastic back off is precarious. But the improvement in GPS performance for me is well worth it.

What's so disappointing is what this demonstrates about Samsung's poor QA, and their lack of support by not offering to fix the problem on existing phones.

Thanks to all who figured this out and passed along the info.
[Vibrant General] MV10:
What are the chances of somebody without GPS problems even bothering to click the thread? Not that a forum poll is likely to give you anything approaching accurate information anyway, but your scenario is particularly likely to miss the mark.

You might, however, get a count of the people who just can't resist jumping into these threads to post, "Mine works perfectly, so I assume nobody else has real problems and the rest of you are just morons." (I removed the spelling errors and excessive drool from that example to improve readability.)

In other news, I flashed Nero v3 the other day and now my phone sees 11 to 13 sats instantly and locks on anywhere from 8 to 12 within just a second or two. Accuracy indoors is typically about 21 feet (to be fair though, our house has a lot of windows and some two-story rooms with windows all the way up). It was quite a bit slower and accuracy wasn't as good under stock Eclair.

Between this fix and Nero v3, my new phone feels like a new phone again! :D
[Vibrant General] osugsxr:
gps does work better BUT....I think I may need to put a spring of some sort to create more pressue. It did take a minute or so while driving to pick up the signal and navigation worked fine after that. Before though without the fix it wouldnt pick up at all, and currently I open my maps and Ill be off by about 200 meters or so.
[Vibrant General] Mithent:
Tried to do this on my I9000, and got as far as popping off one part of the bezel, but that thing is unreasonably difficult to get off. I had to give up for fear of breaking something (especially given that this contact is so fragile). I don't have any solder!
[Vibrant General] KWKSLVR:
It's very unsettling the first time around. I remember thinking, "Jeez, why do they even bother to use screws in the first place!?" ;)

What I found is that the key is patience, not force. If you keep just working it over and over again it will come off.
[Vibrant General] bladerunner0427:
I just tried this fix and now I can lock onto 8/12 satellites inside my apartment. I get down to about 25 feet accuracy and locks within 30 seconds. My may concern is whether this will fix the "freezes" whenever an application needs to access GPS. I hate when navigation locks up when I initiate the program. Pain in the butt. I have to pull out the battery and reboot. I've heard people say that navigation freezes when you are charging the phone at the same time. I'll test it out today when I head down to San Diego. Half the time I use navigation, the phone will lock up.

My phone is a Samsung Vibrant, build date of July 2010 with JI6, stock android.

Thanks for this fix.
[Vibrant General] kmfisher:
Just did the fix. I agree, very unsettling to pry the pieces apart, but patience is the key. Anyway, I bent the tab up just like the picture.

Before the fix, 0-2/10 indoors in 5 minutes. After the fix, 7/12 indoors in 5 seconds. 9/12 in 20 seconds. Outdoors, almost immediate lock on 10/12. Accuracy of 15'. Thank you for posting the guide and fix. It works great!

Too bad the compass still sucks. Seems to always point 180 deg in the wrong direction. I'm on stock JI6 so hopefully the impending OTA 2.2 update fixes it.
[Vibrant General] KWKSLVR:
I used to experience some freezing when going into Google Nav. After the fix, that problem went away.

Recalibrate your compass and that should clear up.
[Vibrant General] donalgodon:
I haven't received my Vibrant yet, so I don't know if I need this fix. I'm just preparing myself for the possibility.

Are there wires or cables connecting the back to the front section, or does just removing it gain free access to the clip in question?

I've been confused by the reports in this thread of people loosening their screen/data/etc. and I want to avoid that, if I need to venture inside the Vibrant. I watched the video and didn't see anything like that, so I was quite perplexed as to how it could happen. Are those other connections so easy to loosen by mistake in this process?

Any tips would be appreciated.
[Vibrant General] Cycleman:
Nice solution

Thx a lot for all the efforts, risks und information in this thread.

I'm a little bit afraid of pulling that little thing too much, as it could be broken. Do you think it's on the one hand possible and one the other hand usefull to invert any thin item to lower up the contact. What kind of item could that be, any ideas?

Much more important: Did anyone confront our lovely enterprise samsung with the results and the awareness und cognition?

I come from germany an in our rights it's a matter of course, that in case of warranty the manufacturer has to repair the defect and obviously there ist no doubt that it is a defect. I guess that's the same in the US in all western, northern and southern European countries and other places in the world.

Knowing that there is no danger in the defect of the GPS, I want to draw the camparison however with worldwide popular case of Toyota and the big recall of many cars on account of a heavy defect.

Didn't we (you) proved, that the wonderful Galaxy S I9000 has really an defect which has to be repaired at the costs of Samsung? The GPS is a central function of a smartphone and in my opinion Samsung should do an offer to repair, if they should accept, that there is a real defect. In dead, there is no evidence in a juridical way so far. But isn't it obvious meanwhile?

My suggestion: Let's build a group, a joint venture and let's contact Samsung and confront them with our issue and results (if noone did it before). But I don't know how to do that. An really easy way could be to link this thread an contact them by e-mail. I even do not know a good contact point from samsung. At first I want to be treated as a serious customer, a customer who paid a lot of money (and time) for a high tech product und that should be reason enough to get a qualified answer and information.

A better way could be a list if underwriters/signatures of all person concerned, but that will be also more difficult to organize.

Thx for your feedback and I hope you apologize my non-perfect english.

Best regards

Cycleman
[Vibrant General] KWKSLVR:
There are no wires that you have to worry about when you take the back off. Follow the original instructions and you'll be fine. The reason why some people lost data is because they accidentally unplugged their Cellular Antenna which is the white wire that runs up below the GPS contact. I believe the user that unplugged theirs did so because they tried to perform the fix without taking the back all of the way off and they didn't realize what they had done.

Cycleman - Samsung will never admit this defect. The only way to determine if your phone has the problem is to take the back off of it. Taking the back off technically voids your warranty. Since you have to void your warranty to determine if your phone is defective you essentially release Samsung from liability. And even if your didn't, its not worth going through the effort and the hassle of being without your phone for months on end while Samsung "fixed" it.

These problems are more than JUST hardware. A lot of us have performed the fix, are running the same ROMS/Kernels, but still find ourselves using different modems for best performance.
[Vibrant General] trevreds:
I just did this and it works 100%! You need to be very careful opening the phone as it does not come apart that easily. Also just be careful in general and go very slowly...baby steps all the way.

Read the instructions and follow them. I found that my antennae did not stay bent when I bent it up, so I cut a small piece off of a credit card and stuck it underneath to keep the antennae up. It was not easy to do because the parts are so small, but use patience and persistence and you will be rewarded.

I have one of the first Vibrants and my GPS sucked hard from day one. Now it sees 12 satellites in under 10 seconds and locks 8 indoors! *shedding tears of joy*
[Vibrant General] ZX3ZX4:
That sounds good, but I'll be interested to hear how it performs. I have an early Vibrant (June 2010 manufacture), but I haven't taken the phone apart to do the hardware fix since I've had good locks like yours since the JI6 update. However, I do get wandering when I am standing still, so I get occasional "re-routing" because Google Nav thinks my phone is moving; and I can sometimes get wandering from Google Earth when I am standing still in my yard (it looks like a drunken sailor is walking around with my phone).
[Vibrant General] donalgodon:
Can you post a photo of the kind of piece you used? I'm not asking you to pull your phone apart again (unless you are so inclined) just that I'd like to see how you engineered the small part you fashioned.

:)
[Vibrant General] GibMcFragger:
Mine is NFG I think. I see no difference before and after the fix. I can only see 1 Sat and it won't lock (SNR of 0.0, never changes). It SEES the Sat almost instantly inside or out (within 1 second), but won't acquire a signal.

EDIT: I just tried it on my wife's iPod Touch and her GPS won't lock either. Could there be only one Bird in view for the last few days?
[Vibrant General] g2tl:
plastic

So I decided to open it up for the second time and stick a little piece of plastic to keep the contact nice and firm.

Went from the quoted above to 8/13, 30ft accuracy, INDOORS!. I strongly suggest this "plastic surgery" :D
[Vibrant General] Vinsane:
How big was the plastic and what shape?
[Vibrant General] ZX3ZX4:
Unless you live at the bottom of a very deep and narrow canyon, there should be numerous birds in view. I don't think I've ever seen my phone find fewer than 9 birds at any time of day, and in any kind of weather, and the maximum has been 14. I believe the minimum number of birds needed for a standalone fix is three, and the more you have the more accurate the location is. Because of the many differing needs for global positioning, there are always quite a few birds above you at any time -- wherever you are in the world -- to allow for high accuracy and redundancy.
[Vibrant General] g2tl:
rectangular shape, slightly shorter than a microusb port.
[Vibrant General] GibMcFragger:
Yea, I figured that. No, I don't live in the bottom of a giant chasm lol. It's buggered. Now I just have to deal with Bell and their horrid customer service to try and warranty it. Other than that, I love the phone.
[Vibrant General] Vinsane:
Did the fix. It sees 11 birds around me... but will not lock in to any at all. I've done the gps reset... sgs tools... and everything I can think of. No lock still. Any suggestions?
[Vibrant General] trevreds:
Plastic insert into internal GPS antennae.

This is a recreation of the piece of plastic I used. Cut a small strip from a credit card and trim it so that it sticks through the gap in the GPS. The piece at the tip of the pencil will give you an idea of how small it has to be.