yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Vibrant General] mrxela:
Prefix:

Postfix:

Couple of important notes. Baseband JL1, ROM Nero 1.

Phone manufacture date July 10.

GPS performance prior to fix was decent, not as good as G1 or Droid X, but good enough for a phone. What always seemed weird to me was longer than average lock on times and signal levels jumping all over even when phone was stationery.

Post fix, slightly better signal levels. MAJOR difference is signals do not jump all over the place. Much more stable.

Notice in the fist pic, #19 jumping from 38 to 19, almost double the signal jump with phone sitting still under open sky.

Poor contact with back plate probably generates a good bit of EMF and increases noise levels, leading to signal jumping all over the place. My guess is that making more solid contact improves signal by reducing electro-magnetic fluctuations and noise.

Overall, im very impressed with how well such a simple tweak worked. Vibrant is a phenomenal phone, and with solid GPS is now even better.
[Vibrant General] ecardwell1:
Could you possible show a picture of your work? This is the route that I think I will take. Thanks in advance if you do.
[Vibrant General] KWKSLVR:
That would be awesome. I can update the original thread (going to add more in later) and we can keep rolling.

Thanks to everyone that has tried this and posted your experiences!
[Vibrant General] spectre85:
Can you let me know what this app is called?
[Vibrant General] spectre85:
Also, My GPS worked great with 2.1 now it basically sucks, it will see 10 - 12 satellites and lock on 8 of them but it takes 2 minutes the first time when in a new location......should I attempt this, I'm unsure of the manufacture date because no one says how to find this out. anyone?
[Vibrant General] eweo911:
Looks like the name of the program is GPS Monitor?
[Vibrant General] nraudigy2:
Do I need to reboot phone after deleted GPS Data or changed to Cold Start?
[Vibrant General] Franco511:
great fix

This fix made a night and day difference with the gps signal... mine was an early model with the JI6 10/07... v2.1 update 1, The code needed to get to the GPS reset menu was *#3214789650# not the one earlier mentioned.. Thanks :D
[Vibrant General] dalepa:
dammit. New phone fixed my gps

Got a new vibrant today and my gps locks in 3 seconds INDOORS! I have a second vibrant sitting next to the new one and it never gets a lock.

All this time it WAS a hardware problem.

OMG. Lots of wasted time trying to get the software fix to work.
[Vibrant General] T313C0mun1s7:
I really hate to do this but . . . TOLD YA , Na Na Na Na Na NAAAa (you know the tune).

JK - Glad it works for you. Now take this opportunity to master all the information in the first two posts and fix that other phone.
[Vibrant General] cowppl:
I opened my Vibrant today and I tried to adjust the little copper connection. It just kept going back to its original positon the moment I removed the screwdriver underneath it and I was scared to try and bend it even more in fear of breaking it. I cut a bit of my credit card and stuck it under the copper connection to hold it up, but that just made the GPS far worse......making it completely useless.

I need my gps functional so I cannot risk breaking the connection. Is it possible to wrap a copper wire or put a small piece of copper on top of the connection to make it have better contact and improve the GPS. I am a bit scared to solder as I don't have much experience in it

Also, I was previously in a small city called Clovis and the GPS was quite good. It used to rarely drift and locked on quickly and was accurate. I moved to LA and it is horrendous. I understand buildings may interfere, but even when I am on an open freeway it jumps, looses connection and shows huge inaccuracies. Why would location affect the GPS in this way. It seems the whole of LA disagrees with my Vibrant GPS yet it worked so well in Clovis
[Vibrant General] Mannymal:
Nero

The new Nero 4.1 is doing the software side of GPS right. It is a great companion to this mod.

Its a nice ROM overall, but for GPS it does something particularly good: when you turn on GPS, Nero will immediately start polling the GPS receiver and getting a lock. It will do this constantly as long as the GPS is on, in contrast to older Nero ROM's and other ROMs. They only poll the receiver when a GPS aware app is executed. The result was that you would open Google Maps and it would fail to find a location, if you didnt have GPS Test open, because Google Maps would give up on finding your location before your GPS has a chance to lock on.

I confirmed this on two Vibrants. Basically, turning on the GPS in Nero 4.1 acts like starting and keeping open GPS Test; it will keep working on getting and maintaining a GPS lock as long as the GPS switch is active. You can test it out yourself. Install the ROM, activate GPS, and then open Mike Lockwood's GPS Test. Even before you select the Start option, the GPS will be seeking satellites.

There might be an impact on battery life, since basically GPS is actually ON when you turn it on, instead of being AVAILABLE to start by apps who want it.

So with the hardware fix and Nero 4.1 you should have a GPS that is available to lock near instantly when you need it.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR A RELIABLE GPS

1.)Do the hardware mod.

2.)Install Nero 4.1

3.)Turn on and LEAVE YOUR GPS ALONE! Do NOT change any software settings.
[Vibrant General] T313C0mun1s7:
I literally just got done flashing Nero 4.1 and the "battery_signal5bar_bluefull" to get larger numbers on the battery indicator and 5 bars.

I enjoy my close to 24 hour battery life too much and use GPS far to little to do this. However, because this means I normally have GPS off, it is nice to know it will be getting primed and ready as soon as I turn it on - before I launch a app that uses it.
[Vibrant General] hmpohjola:
I haven't tried the Nero 4.1 but flashing from Nero 3 to Axura 2.2.5.9 significantly improved the GPS on my Vibrant.
[Vibrant General] lazydba247:
Tnk a Million, you save me replacing mu vib after failing all other fixes (supl.google / ntp server / etc..)

great post!
[Vibrant General] samven582:
what kind of screw driver do i need to open up the phone?
[Vibrant General] tuffCookie:
any flat head or phillips head screw driver small enough to fit the screw will do fine.
[Vibrant General] T313C0mun1s7:
#0 Phillips
[Vibrant General] samven582:
is this available at home depot?
[Vibrant General] T313C0mun1s7:
Yes, or your local Radio Shack, or even a drug store. It should be a common fixture in just about any jewelers screwdriver set. Phillips screwdriver sizes get larger as the number goes up and smaller as it goes down. The #2 Phillips is probably the most common screw type you will find in the United States. They get larger and smaller, but the common sizes of Phillips range from #0 to #3. In Canada they use Reed and Prince instead. You can tell the difference because Reed and Prince come to a point and Phillips are flat right at the tip.

Any more questions?
[Vibrant General] Metusion:
this is the problem I'm having.. is there no way around this? It jumps all over the place it's weird. The first firmware my phone had seemed to be best GPS wise (JF3)
[Vibrant General] T313C0mun1s7:
Read the second post of the thread (the FAQs post) as to why this is about the best you can expect without major modification to the antenna connectors. It's all in there.
[Vibrant General] evil-doer:
i just tried this fix on my i9000m that was manufactured in dec because the gps has been horrible. cleared the gps data etc. and the accuracy is still horrible.

in "mytracks" it shows an accuracy circle around your location and where my real location is isnt even within that circle. the accuracy gets down to around 5 meters and yet where its placing me is several houses away, like 100 meters off. is there any other settings i should change? im running the JL2 firmware.
[Vibrant General] T313C0mun1s7:
This makes me wonder if this is related to why people say not to use Google Maps to test the GPS. Could it be that it is the map that is off and not the GPS? GPS did not exist when most of these maps were first made, and things are still in the process of being corrected and aligned.

Out of the last 5 houses I have lived in 5 out of five were off by over 300 feet just by typing the address into Google maps. I have been everywhere from a couple houses off or across the street to as far as the right house on the block, but two blocks away. (yea I move a lot, that spans a little less than 10 years)

I understand that you are not using Goggle Maps, but you are still using a map and the same principals still apply.
[Vibrant General] evil-doer:
typing in an address is not accurate and never has been. its a "guess".

ive used an acer phone with google maps and its dead on accurate where i am. the overlay is very accurate and that is not to blame.
[Vibrant General] matej:
For those of you who do not want to bend the contact, you could also use aluminum foil wrapping it around the contact. Just make sure it does not touch other contacts. It works like a charm.
[Vibrant General] T313C0mun1s7:
Good luck with that! You obviously have never heard of about the galvanic (in)compatibility of aluminum and copper.

All metals have a property called nobility. It is a measure of a metal's resistance to corrosion when in contact with another metal. A greater relative difference in nobility between the two metals in contact indicates a greater corrosion potential. This table ranks the most common metals used in construction in increasing nobility, called the galvanic number.

1. Aluminum

2. Zinc

3. Steel

4. Iron

5. Stainless Steel - Active

6. Tin

7. Lead

8. Copper

9. Stainless Steel - Passive

Notice the galvanic difference of 7? You should expect rather quick corrosion of the dissimilar metals because of this.
[Vibrant General] d0rkster:
thanks for this tutorial!
[Vibrant General] ZX3ZX4:
Maybe a twist of fine copper wire or some very light gauge copper -- wrapped or inserted -- would be better to prevent galvanic activity.
[Vibrant General] T313C0mun1s7:
Close inspection of the top of the original tab reveals a raised area that looks like it is made to create a round point contact. Wrapping the contact with anything or changing its shape by doing something like tinning the contact with solder and filling in the shape may affect transmission of the desired frequency. Both of the fixes in the OP maintain a round contact with the top pad.

I am not volunteering to go back through all the posts where people did these alternative fixes which are not one of the two originals mentioned in the OP and compare them with the names in the poll. However, it makes me wonder how many of the people that answered that it only helped a little or did not help took it upon themselves to try an alternative to the OP then blamed the fix itself for not working as well as they hoped.

I apparently can not say it enough as people seem to keep missing this: We are not trying for simple electrical continuity. We are looking for sufficient transmission at the correct radio frequency.

Long story short - there is a proven fix with a proven and well described method of performing said fix. The first two posts has all the information you need. The time for experimentation is over, especially by people that don't have a deep understanding of RF and electrical engineering.
[Vibrant General] Metusion:
one screw won't come out even though I have the right equipment? Now the screw is damaged a little? Can some shop open it for me with some other tools? I really need it open as I want to see if I can change the phone signal contact too (drops all the time)
[Vibrant General] T313C0mun1s7:
Most likely the only thing they will have that you don't when it comes to getting the screw out is experience. There is not magic tool that will grab that screw any better once it is damaged, there are ways, buy they require a much larger screw because they involve drilling.

Your best bet is to apply as much downward pressure as possible while trying to back it out. If this is impossible because there is nothing left for the screwdriver to grab then you need to attack the screw from the outside and try the get it out. Here I would try a pair of locking needle nose pliers. You will need to go at it several times and damage the outside edge of the screw to give yourself a burr to get ahold of. It will slip a lot at first, but eventually you will start to turn it.

If you don't have locking needle nose pliers, I have found for me personally just taking it into a hardware store and explaining that I would like to borrow a tool for 5 minutes because it is a one time job that does not justify a purchase works for me. I have done this at my local True Value hardware a number of times. Your mileage may Vary.
[Vibrant General] matej:
Thank you for bringing that up. I am not an expert in electrical engineering I have just needed a quick and simple solution to fix the problem. The fact is that at first I have bent the contact as instructed in the OP. However, that has not improved the gps performance as I had hoped. Therefore, because I am reluctant to permanently soldering the contacts (which is supposed to be an alternative to bending) I have also tried with aluminum foil and it worked perfectly. However, after reading the post on galvanic incompatibility of aluminum and copper, I removed the aluminum foil and replaced it with a piece of copper. The performance deteriorated somewhat. With aluminum foil I have managed to receive SNRs above 40 and now they are between 35 and 40. Locking up also takes a lot longer than before. However, once locked up it does not fall down, at least on an open road. I still need to test it in more urban areas.
[Vibrant General] T313C0mun1s7:
Are you in a "out of warranty" situation? If not I would seriously suggest pushing for a replacement. If you got the phone from E-bay, Craigslist, used, or one of the other situations that make it not possible to get it replaced then you are ultimately going to have to fix it yourself in a way that you are comfortable with. Basically if what you have done works for you to a degree you are willing to live with then that is what is important. My main issue is that people keep suggesting alternatives that don't work as well to others without knowledge of the possible consequence. The methods in the OP are proven. Had you left the aluminum on the pad you may have been just fine for a few months, then it would have slowly gotten worse By the time you opened it to see what was going on, it would have ruined the tab, which is no big deal - just do the solder fix. However it would have also ruined the pad on the top board, and there is no easy fix for that.

So my two big issues are

If you are going to make a suggestion to others, know the consequentiality and be willing to accept you may be ruining other peoples phones.

Don't down vote the poll if you are not following instructions.

People have the right to do whatever they want with their own phones. I just hope to keep the information in this thread as accurate as possible to provide the best available help to those that have no other options to fix their GPS issues. Knowledge is power.

I hope you have not taken any offence by anything I have said. I just wanted to explain things in a way that informs and prevents possible damage to the devices of people without a repair option. After all, it is the people without a warranty this post is really for (IMO).
[Vibrant General] Metusion:
thanks for the tips. I started using a bigger head for the screwdriver and with lots of twisting and turning I finally managed to get it out. I won't be screwing that one back in though.

The fun didn't start though. After all the pain I went through the next big thing was to open the plastic back. It just didn't come off and instead I almost broke off the chrome plastic next to the screen. After that I decided to put the thing back together and let a professional do this. Even if I manage to get it open I don't want to break off the gps tab especially because I don't know how to solder..

I would normally never open up my phone but this stuff is just bugging me. I don't know who I could ask to do this though.
[Vibrant General] Vaira:
This is not quite right and overstated IMHO. You are referring to pure Aluminum. Aluminum foil is usually anodized, which means covered with a thin film of Al2O3. (Passive) Also corrosion only happens if there is some moisture and electrolyte (salts). If you don't touch the contact (salts) you should be fine.

Worst case will be oxidation of the less noble Aluminum, the nobler contact always will remain original. The oxidation products of Aluminum are non-conductive.
[Vibrant General] Mirmensky:
I can't believe how well this worked for me! My gps actually finds me indoors quickly and is flawless on the road. Big thanks to KWKSLVR for the tutorial.

Also the weirdest thing, the only other major problem I had, which was the gallery freezing up my phone, is gone as well. How can this be? Maybe is just coincidental.
[Vibrant General] matej:
After dropping the solution with aluminum foil I have managed to achieve the same (or better) results with a copper foil.

I have wrapped a tiny piece of copper foil around a toothpick to get a proper cylinder shape, then I attached it to the contact and fold it backwards in a way that after putting the phone together the foil covers the whole upper contact of the antenna. Although I am not an expert on RF, I must say that I disagree with those who claim that the round contact with the top pad should be maintained and is there to get the proper frequency. If you take a closer look at other contacts, you should notice that they are actually all rounded and not just this particular one (probably because of economy of scale policies that have been pursued by so many multinational companies).

Anyway, to my experience bending up the contact did make some difference to GPS performance but with the tiny foil covering the whole contact on the top pad made it finally alive. For my SGS I9000 with Darky rom ver. 8.0 SNRs are now around or above 40 and locking up take no more than 5-10s.

Please take this post only as a reference; I take NO responsibility for anyone using this approach.
[Vibrant General] KWKSLVR:
What kind of Copper Foil? I assume not Copper Foil Tape?
[Vibrant General] matej:
I managed to find a piece of copper foil on one of the VGA cables that are used for video projectors. It was a thick cable and the copper foil was used to cover the contacts or the wires at the end of a cable where they are attached to the VGA connector. On the one side it was a bit dirty but I have managed to clean it. It was one of the cables from which you can unscrew the connectors. It is not the whole cable that is covered with copper foil just the ends where connectors are attached.
[Vibrant General] twe69:
Not seen any improvements. I stuffed a folded piece of paper underneath the spring clip to lift it up slightly. Post-it note folded 4 times. Could that not have raised it enough? How do you know if it is high enough?
[Vibrant General] KWKSLVR:
If your angle looked the same as the pic in the OP, its high enough. Try a different modem as well if you're rooted.
[Vibrant General] KWKSLVR:
Also, one thing that has helped me in the past was to do a full system wipe. It may not be pleasant, but it's better than waiting for a replacement phone.
[Vibrant General] RockHead:
The fix didn't work for me the first time, but then I went back in and added a bit of rubber band underneath the raise the contact, as someone else had done. Fantastic results afterwards. GPS/Nav is actually functional and useful now.

THANK YOU!!!

Now that I've cracked open the phone, I may as well go back in and install the FFC too.
[Vibrant General] bosslabs:
Guys very respectfully I would like to say that there is no need to rip apart our precious phones. Just try the latest nero or axura roms, one of them will surely make the gps work with respectable accuracy.
[Vibrant General] regP:
Don't think so. If the GPS contact doesnt have a solid connection (or any connection at all) with the antenna no ROM will make much of a difference.
[Vibrant General] Frenzy_Man:
Great It's work!!!!!
[Vibrant General] nomadrider123:
This might very well be true. One would think its worth a shot before cracking open their phone
[Vibrant General] T313C0mun1s7:
One would think if they read the Original Post and the Q&A post (Post #2) they would have already come to that conclusion.
[Vibrant General] nomadrider123:
Well either way it just sucks that there has to be this thread on it anyway
[Vibrant General] twe69:
Cool, I seem to have a more steady gps connection on testing it although I am tempted to go back underneath it and replace the paper with a rubber band as others have suggested as I would like the signal to be stronger too. Waiting for the new Darkys 8.2 rom before I start messing around with roms and modems.

Noticed other similar clips inside, has everyone just left those completely alone? I.e. not to try and improve anything else like reception? I don't have any other issues mind you but just wondering.

Thanks.
[Vibrant General] T313C0mun1s7:
Post #2 Q&A will help you identify what they are. Personally I am considering doing all of them as my Wi-Fi sometimes only has half signal sitting 25 feet from the access point and my cell signal is also weak and seldom do I get off of edge.
[Vibrant General] AEguyNYC5:
I just wanted to mention to all those like myself, that purchased their Vibrant on Craigslist in order to save money & avoid the forced $35 monthly internet plan, you are still covered by Warranty via Samsung Mobile 1-800-726-7864. I just called up them up & immediately the guy knew I know what I am talking about so he just set me up to get my phone repaired. Once I receive my phone with working GPS within 6 days, I will be installing the FFC! Thank you guys.

If you have no idea what to say...Hi, I would like to know if my phone can be repaired or replaced under warranty? The GPS is defective and this is an issue that both Samsung & TMobile are both fully aware of. I have tried every method to fix this, including installing & running the Samsung GPSRestore app.
[Vibrant General] T313C0mun1s7:
This is very good to know. Thank you for the update and the phone number. I am sure this will help people.

@KWKSLVR maybe you can add this info to the OP
[Vibrant General] MoWeb:
I hate to be a buzz kill but I tried this back in December and they didn't do anything to the hardware side of the Vibrant. It just left me without a phone for 6 days. Here is an email of what they found and the solution they applied:

Thank you for your patience.

Your product was shipped on 12/13/2010 at 11:54 EST.

Service Ticket Number: XXXXXXXX47

Ship Company:

Tracking Number: 1Z6VF637XXXXXXXXX

Serial number: XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Please view additional information below for more details.

Original Problem:

Technical Inquiry

GPS

Acquiring Location

Problem found:

LOCK UP DURING OPERATION (SW)

SOFTWARE EMERGENCY RECOVERY

Solution:

Reset Phone

Passed All Functional Testing

If you have any additional questions, please call us at 1-888-987-4357 and reference Ticket Number: XXXXXXXX47.

Thank you.

Samsung Electronics America
[Vibrant General] AEguyNYC5:
Thank you for the information MoWeb. What I will do is include a letter in the package & wrap it around the phone, explaining this is not just a software issue & to please perform a hardware repair. I hope a nice & helpful technician is assigned my phone. I will update as soon I get it back. If they dont fix it I will just open & bend contacts up again, if that doesnt work, I'll do the solder method. Where there is a will, there is a way. Thanks
[Vibrant General] Krzysiek_CK:
Look at the Samsung website in Vibrant Q&A section. I posted this answer to all GPS related Q&As

Since the problem is hardware related you need to get your phone fixed or replaced.

Any other questions that I answered got deleted, except the GPS related ones. I guess someone in Samsung agrees with my assumption.