I figure If your willing to unlock, root, and possibly brick your 500 device. You should have no issue attempting this..
Reflash your router with DD-WRT. and boost the output from 25mW to (in my case) 80mW...It made all the difference with the prime. Extreem range and speed increase!!!
http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
Here is the supported device list. Was well worth 10mins.
http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Supported_Devices#Cisco_Linksys_.28Wireless_a.2Fb.2Fg.29
DrmMaster said:
I figure If your willing to unlock, root, and possibly brick your 500 device. You should have no issue attempting this..
Reflash your router with DD-WRT. and boost the output from 25mW to (in my case) 80mW...It made all the difference with the prime. Extreem range and speed increase!!!
http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
Here is the supported device list. Was well worth 10mins.
http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Supported_Devices#Cisco_Linksys_.28Wireless_a.2Fb.2Fg.29
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wish my revision was supported. Sigh. I have actiontec (verizon fios) rev H.
Sent from my EEEPAD using Tapatalk 2
Really, 10 mins? I've flashed DDWRT onto a Linksys router in the past and even with that knowledge, I still wouldn't say it would take me 10 minutes.
Well, I have a few wirless N dlink, and netgear routers I will be trying this on
Didnt see any wireless repeaters in that list
Be aware that this can sometimes slow your router down....of course it's rare but it can happen....
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using XDA Premium HD app
>Didnt see any wireless repeaters in that list
You can set a DD-WRT router to be a bridge, AP, or repeater. It's cheaper to retrofit old routers into repeaters.
http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Linking_Routers
Increasing radio power is good for congested environments, but isn't a panacea. Watch out for increased heat. Many routers have poor heat venting, eg Linksys "UFO" series, and are already borderline. Bumping up power w/o better ventilation will likely cause instability, one symptom of which is periodic rebooting. This usually occurs in summer months with high ambient temp.
For the Linksys "UFO" models, one simple method for better ventilation is to either mount it vertically with ports facing down (it has vents at the opposite side), or just turn it upside down.
cragains said:
Well, I have a few wirless N dlink, and netgear routers I will be trying this on
Didnt see any wireless repeaters in that list
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me know if it was as a dramatic improvement for you, as it was me.
What if it fries your brain?
Good idea though for people that had bad luck with their wifi. I'd say the best solution for at home is still a simple wifi repeater.
I bought the Asus RT-N66u and it allows the FCC maximum of 500mw. I can see my access point two blocks away. If only the return signal was strong enough. Awesome router btw. Very good performance and good reviews.
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wire...al-band-wireless-n900-gigabit-router-reviewed
Anyone else give this a shot?
r0ck0 said:
I bought the Asus RT-N66u and it allows the FCC maximum of 500mw. I can see my access point two blocks away.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, the irony.
I plan on trying in the morning, thanks for the tip
Sent from my EEEPAD using XDA
I've been running DDWRT on my Linksys E4200 for some time now. I think it works quite a bit better than the stock firmware. Biggest thing is to take time and read the forums over there and make sure understand what you are doing.
I actually just flashed dd-wrt for a different reason yesterday.
I took my prime into places where my connection was bad and I'm getting 5x the speed in those places
I have two routers. If I'm reading there website right there is no firmware for either yet. The site is kind of confusing any chance someone can take a look and make sure I'm right? Netgear wgr414v10 and Netgear wnr1000v2
Sent from my EEEPAD using XDA
Which one shoudl i change?
TX Power dBm
Antenna Gain dBi
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have a stock antenna be careful how high you go, you can fry your router. If you really want range, look into antennas as well.
BUYMECAR said:
Really, 10 mins? I've flashed DDWRT onto a Linksys router in the past and even with that knowledge, I still wouldn't say it would take me 10 minutes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I flashed DD-WRT to my router for the first time ever a couple of months ago. Even that initial flash only took me about 10 minutes, and 5 to set up my network the way I like it; excluding going through all the wonderful tiny settings like a giddy school-boy on Christmas. That's a pretty accurate measurement of time for anyone savvy with electronics in general. I wouldn't want someone who wasn't trying to flash DD-WRT or anything for that matter
clouds5 said:
What if it fries your brain?
Good idea though for people that had bad luck with their wifi. I'd say the best solution for at home is still a simple wifi repeater.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I still disagree too. Maybe if you're lucky and live near 20+ Mb/s connections, but on our 5/10 Mb/s connections, the reduction in speed caused by a repeater is unacceptable and would be just as bad as my Prime's natural degradation.
I only ever recommend an entirely second AP and truly increased network or nothing. I hate repeaters lol especially since you can even bridge wireless connections and put up a second AP without a hard-line. I prefer to use cable, but it is always an option.
e.mote said:
>Didnt see any wireless repeaters in that list
You can set a DD-WRT router to be a bridge, AP, or repeater. It's cheaper to retrofit old routers into repeaters.
http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Linking_Routers
Increasing radio power is good for congested environments, but isn't a panacea. Watch out for increased heat. Many routers have poor heat venting, eg Linksys "UFO" series, and are already borderline. Bumping up power w/o better ventilation will likely cause instability, one symptom of which is periodic rebooting. This usually occurs in summer months with high ambient temp.
For the Linksys "UFO" models, one simple method for better ventilation is to either mount it vertically with ports facing down (it has vents at the opposite side), or just turn it upside down.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This, e.mote generally knows what's up. This sector of electronics indeed has some of the worst ventilation schemes in existence, I have yet to own a modem, bridge, router, repeater, switch, whatever that didn't need some help dissipating heat. Therefore ramping up their power consumption is very risky unless you take some preventative measures about all the heat it's going to draw. Which is a **** ton with the kind of increase the OP put, the equipment in your average (read tech illiterate) house would burn up with the quickness.
Wouldn't the mW increase mainly exacerbate the attenuation problem due to the aluminum? Not to mention at least a 10% decrease in battery life and warmer chip, but the Prime has plenty of breathing room due to the footprint (not a phone) and long battery life (10% from ten hours is still great).
If the aluminum were not there, that would be some serious reception.
I did do some research on my choice of 80mW. (On my particular router)...Have not noticed drain on TP batt. Or any ill effects on the router itself. However I did get greedy. And attempted 90mW. And that was a total failure. Constant signal drops from the TP. and transmit errors.
But Im happy. We all know the risks involved. And I can now stream 720p in the Master bedroom hooked to my projector. and before I could bearly stream a Low res divx.
Related
I love this tablet and I REALLY want to keep it, but the WIFI is ATROCIOUS. It works fine in my small apartment, but it's clear to me that it is going to be a complete and utter headache using this thing while traveling. I'm getting about 3-6 Mbps down about 20 feet away from my router, while my Galaxy Nexus gets about 12 Mbps and my crappy iPad1 gets about 20 Mbps. I can't justify keeping this thing with such lackluster WIFI performance. It's just unacceptable.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
nyijedi said:
I love this tablet and I REALLY want to keep it, but the WIFI is ATROCIOUS. It works fine in my small apartment, but it's clear to me that it is going to be a complete and utter headache using this thing while traveling. I'm getting about 3-6 Mbps down about 20 feet away from my router, while my Galaxy Nexus gets about 12 Mbps and my crappy iPad1 gets about 20 Mbps. I can't justify keeping this thing with such lackluster WIFI performance. It's just unacceptable.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I started a thread regarding this but people blow it off because their Wi-Fi is probably working just fine and don't want to bother testing..... see here
forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1420886
nyijedi said:
I love this tablet and I REALLY want to keep it, but the WIFI is ATROCIOUS. It works fine in my small apartment, but it's clear to me that it is going to be a complete and utter headache using this thing while traveling. I'm getting about 3-6 Mbps down about 20 feet away from my router, while my Galaxy Nexus gets about 12 Mbps and my crappy iPad1 gets about 20 Mbps. I can't justify keeping this thing with such lackluster WIFI performance. It's just unacceptable.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did you run the updates today to see if you got any signal improvements?
nyijedi said:
I love this tablet and I REALLY want to keep it, but the WIFI is ATROCIOUS. It works fine in my small apartment, but it's clear to me that it is going to be a complete and utter headache using this thing while traveling. I'm getting about 3-6 Mbps down about 20 feet away from my router, while my Galaxy Nexus gets about 12 Mbps and my crappy iPad1 gets about 20 Mbps. I can't justify keeping this thing with such lackluster WIFI performance. It's just unacceptable.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I spent quite a lot of time in hotels while travelling, and I can say that would be the real test. You never know what kind of signal you'll get in a hotel. It can depend on what room and floor you have, and in many cases, you can be on the edge of reception. Some hotels are crappy all over, and you just don't know until you get there. If the device is sub-par with Wifi, that would not give me confidence at all while travelling.
I did install today's updates, and they made no difference. The WiFi is terrible compared to other devices. And it pisses me off to no end, because I want to love (and keep) this tablet.
And the hotel analogy is a great one. That's exactly what has me leaning towards returning my Prime.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Same issues here, TP has horrible WiFi performance, even standing 5 feet from router. I get 1.5Mbps down/1.75 up. On my iPad 2 I get 16Mbps down and 3 Mbps up.
I have other issues as well...this tablet is looking more and more like a dud...
I'm kind of afraid to buy this tablet now. I wanted to buy it (for the quad core performance and all) but this thing just seems like a bad deal with all the reports of things going wrong with it.
And with some tablets working and some not, the manufacturing quality and checking must be seriously bad.
How do you have your home wireless access point configured?
Have you attempted changing your settings, like switching between G and N, going G only, or N only, dual band, disable WEP/WPA and go woth MAC filtering, etc.
There's so many factors that can cause differences in bandwidth reads over wireless. But if you done all this troubleshooting, you may very well may have ended up with a dud and you should consider exchanging for another one.
on my laptop i get about 33Mbps down. Onthe prime i get 22. Sadly it`s the same on the original transformer. Should we expect similar speeds as laptops from tablets?
the_game_master said:
How do you have your home wireless access point configured?
Have you attempted changing your settings, like switching between G and N, going G only, or N only, dual band, disable WEP/WPA and go woth MAC filtering, etc.
There's so many factors that can cause differences in bandwidth reads over wireless. But if you done all this troubleshooting, you may very well may have ended up with a dud and you should consider exchanging for another one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly, I didn't mess around with my settings. This decision was intentional. My other devices perform MUCH better than my Prime with my current settings. Also, the performance difference gets worse as I move further away from my router, suggesting that the problem is caused by the WiFi radio in the Prime having weak reception.
More specifically, my main concern with the bad WiFi is getting a connection when I'm away from home, in places where I have no control over network settings. This is the real issue for me.
And I seriously doubt I have a faulty unit. It looks like the WiFi in all units is subpar, with many people not realizing it yet because they're using the tablet at home with a good signal.
I was worried that there was some truth behind those old rumors that the Prime was delayed because of WiFi problems. As usual, it looks like where there's smoke, there's fire.
Edit: I should also add that I tried the WiFi on 2 other networks at friends' houses. In both situations, as I moved further away from the router, the Prime signal seriously degraded more than my other devices, to the point where I got to a spot where the Prime had zero signal, while my Galaxy Nexus and my iPad still held a usable signal.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
nyijedi said:
Honestly, I didn't mess around with my settings. This decision was intentional. My other devices perform MUCH better than my Prime with my current settings. Also, the performance difference gets worse as I move further away from my router, suggesting that the problem is caused by the WiFi radio in the Prime having weak reception.
More specifically, my main concern with the bad WiFi is getting a connection when I'm away from home, in places where I have no control over network settings. This is the real issue for me.
And I seriously doubt I have a faulty unit. It looks like the WiFi in all units is subpar, with many people not realizing it yet because they're using the tablet at home with a good signal.
I was worried that there was some truth behind those old rumors that the Prime was delayed because of WiFi problems. As usual, it looks like where there's smoke, there's fire.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually noticed depending on router you have it will make a significant difference in range specifically my older b/g router works alot better then newer dual band N router. I agree with you though taking it on vacations and business trips is what I worry about too because the signal strength generally can be expected to be weaker.
This doesn't help per se with the Prime's wifi, but if wifi perf is a problem for on-the-go, you can use a repeater to boost the signals. The repeater's antenna are more powerful than those in mobile devices, and will help with marginal (or even non-functional) signals.
It's one more thing to carry, but if that's important to you.
For the techs, an old WRT54G retrofitted with DD-WRT firmware would be a capable repeater. You can find other more compact routers that can be retrofitted.
Testing from the same router, Prime gets 2 bars while the original TF gets 3 bars, signal is definately stronger and more consistent on TF1, download speed is slightly slower on Prime too. Assuming both tablets have the same wireless adapter, the problem most likely lies within the aluminum casing of Prime.
I just ran two speed tests each, using me evo 3D, nook and my Prime. The nook was the worst with 6.6 & 7.2 dl / 1.4 up. (I need to tweak something!)
The Prime and Evo 3D performed about the same. Prime 10.8 & 10.4 dl / 1.4 up, and Evo 3D 10.9 & 10.6 dl / 1.4 up.
I think was at a friend's who's router is in the back corner of his house. Deadzones all over the place. I lost wifi connection on the Prime but barely held onto it with the Evo. I've had to "foeget" and re-add on there on the Evo before so I did the same with the Prime. It didn't work. But when I walked into the room with the router and did it, it grabbed on and I've not lost it again in the same place I lost it before and in places my phone and others struggle. (back patio, etc)
Not sure if this helps but wanted to give my test results and what happened the one time I lost signal.
My original Transformer gets 1 bar (and loses connection constantly) in a room where a laptop gets 3-4 bars. (it's a room adjacent to the one with the router)
I thought it was normal and my router is poor until I checked with the laptop. It was the same with another router and with different settings. I hope Prime isn't worse than that!
WIFI is an ahole, he stole my gf kicked my dog and took all my money!
Hey there!
my wifi connection seems to be very bad, but I don't know if its normal :-/
When I'm up to 1m-2m next to my router, i have full connection (4 bars) after that only 3 bars. In my kitchen i have only 1 bar (~10 meters, 2 Firesafety doors).
A friend with an Sgs2 has 3 bars in my kitchen, same network.
Is it broken or a general Prime issue that can't be fixxed?
Bluetooth is turned off.
Co0n said:
Hey there!
my wifi connection seems to be very bad, but I don't know if its normal :-/
When I'm up to 1m-2m next to my router, i have full connection (4 bars) after that only 3 bars. In my kitchen i have only 1 bar (~10 meters, 2 Firesafety doors).
A friend with an Sgs2 has 3 bars in my kitchen, same network.
Is it broken or a general Prime issue that can't be fixxed?
Bluetooth is turned off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have had similar results with mine. The device just seems to have bad wifi connectivity :/
Pretty sure I'm returning mine.
Here's a video comparing it to the original Transformer's wifi connectivity with similar results.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzCZc3pjtrA
Nothing can be done to fix the WiFi issues, it comes down to a bad design. The outer case is causing the interference. Most people are just dealing with it because it still works its, just that the data speeds you get over WiFi are inconsistent. In my own testing , Usually once I am 10 ft or more away from my router my data speed drops from 25 megs down to 2 or 3 with occasional bursts. I do stay connected the time all around the house, its just that data speed are affected by the interference. I did get some improvement after switching my router to use wireless n over ch 1. Hope that helps
evegas316 said:
Nothing can be done to fix the WiFi issues, it comes down to a bad design. The outer case is causing the interference. Most people are just dealing with it because it still works its, just that the data speeds you get over WiFi are inconsistent. In my own testing , Usually once I am 10 ft or more away from my router my data speed drops from 25 megs down to 2 or 3 with occasional bursts. I do stay connected the time all around the house, its just that data speed are affected by the interference. I did get some improvement after switching my router to use wireless n over ch 1. Hope that helps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got some different info from Asus today. I too have similar wireless problems, but it seems that not every Prime does.
I got call from Asus today, and they asked me to return my Prime so they could take a look at the WiFi problems I was having. (I had written a couple of emails to folks at Asus.) Apparently some Primes have problems with "WiFi cards".
Ride525 said:
I got some different info from Asus today. I too have similar wireless problems, but it seems that not every Prime does.
I got call from Asus today, and they asked me to return my Prime so they could take a look at the WiFi problems I was having. (I had written a couple of emails to folks at Asus.) Apparently some Primes have problems with "WiFi cards".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WOW, that's some news. I will return mine and see if a new one is any better, I personally think that the symptoms are exactly what you should be experiencing based on the interference the case is causing.
thanks for the info.
Just received my TFP today. I get pretty much the same results with my phone as I do with the TFP. Also, I had just returned the Samsing Galaxy Tab but my results are pretty close to what I experienced with that as well.
I'm only basing my results using speedtest.net. Seemed like a pretty good tool for me to determine whether or not I'd be satisfied with the speed of the TFP. I did my tests in 3 different locations in my home...one just above my router which is in my basement the floor below (about 6 feet away) - 14mb...one in my bedroom which has a brick wall in the way (about 20 feet away) - 5mb...and one in my bathroom (30 feet away) - 4mb. Not too sure what type of speeds I should expect other than what my other devices get. I`m using a wireless G router at the moment but still have to set up my wireless N router soon..a Linksys E4200.
Upload speeds were all at the 1mb mark regardless of the location..I`m capped at 1mb down by my ISP.
One thing to note, I could care less about the number of bars on the wifi icon...I care about real world results.
Just my two cents...
senatorxmg said:
Just received my TFP today. I get pretty much the same results with my phone as I do with the TFP. Also, I had just returned the Samsing Galaxy Tab but my results are pretty close to what I experienced with that as well.
I'm only basing my results using speedtest.net. Seemed like a pretty good tool for me to determine whether or not I'd be satisfied with the speed of the TFP. I did my tests in 3 different locations in my home...one just above my router which is in my basement the floor below (about 6 feet away) - 14mb...one in my bedroom which has a brick wall in the way (about 20 feet away) - 5mb...and one in my bathroom (30 feet away) - 4mb. Not too sure what type of speeds I should expect other than what my other devices get. I`m using a wireless G router at the moment but still have to set up my wireless N router soon..a Linksys E4200.
Upload speeds were all at the 1mb mark regardless of the location..I`m capped at 1mb down by my ISP.
One thing to note, I could care less about the number of bars on the wifi icon...I care about real world results.
Just my two cents...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check to see what channel your router is set on. TPFs seem to like G band routers set on a low frequency..... your speeds dont seem that good try channel 1
That change made a big difference for me hope it helps
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
ilostmypistons said:
Check to see what channel your router is set on. TPFs seem to like G band routers set on a low frequency..... your speeds dont seem that good try channel 1
That change made a big difference for me hope it helps
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I defintely don't have the best set up in my house right now for wifi...when directly connected I can get around 25mbs down from my PC which is the reported speeds form my ISP...when using wifi, I seem to be capped to 15mbs regardless of the device.
I was waiting to switch routers to see what my new E4200 does. Will post those results once I make the change. For now, 14mbs down seems pretty decent to me considering all my wireless devices (PC included) get the same speeds.
I've had my Prime for about 2 weeks and have been very happy with it.
I'm posting this because I'm sure there are many other potential buyers hesitating due to all the negative discussions recently.
Initially, I was reading about WiFi and GPS issues online. The stores I asked were telling me of WiFi and GPS issues... blaming it all on the metal casing.
Even so, I took the plunge and got it based on the following:
WiFi: Anandtech's testing seemed to show WiFi performance is comparable to other tablets in his tests after he got some new retail sample units from Asus.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5175/asus-transformer-prime-followup
GPS: Will be using it at home, so no use for GPS. Also, for comparison, Wifi only versions of ipad2 do not even have GPS.
After using the Prime on WiFi at different locations, I can confirm that it is no worse than the Acer A500 or my Nexus One phone.
Alsp, please also refer to this test image done at another forum.
http://attach.mobile01.com/attach/201201/mobile01-ca742e0578a2a417e2d4ffd597722681.jpg
Notebooks obviously will have better reception so that is not a fair comparison.
Therefore in my opinion, the whole WiFi issue was just blown out by the GPS issue.
There may also have been an initial small batch of engineering samples with broken WiFi that fueled the negative publicity, which is just bad luck for ASUS.
But I believe Mass Production units should not have this issue.
Also, people should be comparing the Prime with comparable tablets/ipad and not with notebooks.
who cares about tests done in perfect conditions? if the prime can't get a signal while my sgs2 and my girlfriend's galaxy tab have no problems at all, something is definitely wrong with the prime. put a couple of walls between the router and the prime, and the prime has a significant signal loss compared to other devices.
at least that is my experience so far. maybe some transformers get good wifi signals, even trough walls. but the two i had did not.
jemz0r said:
I'm posting this because I'm sure there are many other potential buyers hesitating due to all the negative discussions recently.
Initially, I was reading about WiFi and GPS issues online. The stores I asked were telling me of WiFi and GPS issues... blaming it all on the metal casing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's great that, under your conditions, you're pleased with Wi-Fi. From videos comparing the TF1 side-by-side to the Prime you can see the Prime struggles to maintain the continuity of its signal. It gets worse the further away from the router you are. Three of my friends that travel a lot returned the Prime because, on the road, you can't play with a routers settings just to please your device. Some people are happy with the Prime's Wi-Fi performance, some aren't. It's a big YMMV based on how and where you use it.
Here's what Anand said after he got a replacement for the first defective device he received. To get decent speeds, he had to change the wireless environment to suit the Prime. He didn't on the TF1.
At the same time, I had test data from both ASUS and NVIDIA that show the Prime is capable of reasonable WiFi speeds. Yesterday morning I received a replacement Prime which was tested prior to being sent my way. The good news is the 2Mbps cap and poor range are both gone, the new sample is much faster on WiFi. Clearly there was something wrong with my original unit and it's being sent back to ASUS today for an autopsy. The bad news is I was still getting numbers around half of the original Transformer.
Using Ookla's Speedtest.net web app I get a consistent 34 - 37Mbps on the original Eee Pad Transformer (our actual WiFi performance tests involve downloading a file from a local server, but Speedtest was a quick and easy way to verify the problem). My original Prime review sample averaged around 0.5Mbps, while the replacement Prime got around 10Mbps - all in the same test location. Fiddling around with location I could get the replacement Prime up to 16Mbps. My test area is riddled with challenging interference so I setup a separate test area in another room. Even after buying the same Netgear WNDR4500 wireless AP that ASUS verified 31Mbps+ operation on, I wasn't able to break 16Mbps.
I have four other APs covering my house, I turned all of the radios off as a last ditch effort. Boom - 36Mbps on the Prime.
Good that you are happy with WIFI under your condition. However, judging from my experience and few others:
1.) WIFI performance will vary on where you are, or your environment. For example.. My router is in the basement of my house, but if i take it to 1st floor, I lose about 1 or 2 bars depending on where I am. If I take up to my 2nd floor.... I either have one or none. Now, I did the same experiment at my friends house and at work.. depending on the structure of the building and thinness of the wall, WIFI performance of PRIME really varies (and much more noticeable over other devices I have or tested).
Now, I also travel often for work. Recently returned from a trip.... and I tested the WIFI performance at the Hotel I was staying. More or less, I was stuck in 1 bar with constant disconnect or no WIFI at all.
Considering that the appeal of "tablets" are for ease of portability... based on my experience, I cannot recommend Prime to those who travel often. Btw, mine is more or less a "perfect" prime without any issues.
PRIME's WIFI can certainly be adequate but it does have its issues with "range" (especially when the setting or environment changes often).
2.) Can we please stop comparing Prime to iPad 2? If you are comparing the overall performance (such as graphics, speed.. blah blah blah).. I understand.. but stop comparing Prime's GPS and the non-existent GPS of iPad 2.
I have used my prime in my girlfriend's house where the router is 20+ yards away and has to go through 3 walls, 2 of which are external because the house is U shaped, and have had no issues with wifi signal. Of course I get half bars, but the speed test is still good (sorry don't remember exact numbers) and I use YouTube and browsing consistently and without issue.
I must add that I am getting a good wireless connection from here at work where I normally got poor signals and had to rely on my mifi device.
To top that I'm at lunch watching X-Men over Netflix with my Bluetooth headphones paired, and the streaming haven't stopped. The quality hassn't depleted much either.
I would have to agree with the original poster, for my machine, the WiFi is a non-issue and works just fine. It works well for me in the following varied locations/conditions:
1. My home wifi with the router in the living room. Tablet works in every room of the condo.
2. Vancouver airport - Free Wifi
3. Narita Airport - Free Wifi
4. Haneda Airport - Free Wifi
5. Beijing Airport - Some strange pass-through wifi
6. Every hotel in the 3 countries I have traveled to since getting my prime.
7. WiFi at work whose main router isn't even located on my floor and browser pass through login.
8. Every coffee bean and starbuck's wifi that I've been to
9. The wifi hotspot on my verizon phone.
The list could go on and on as I always take my prime everywhere I go and there is usually free or cheap wifi wherever I go. I have never had a problem with my wifi signal not being great enough for me to surf the web, watch netflix, or log into/use my web dependent apps. It is not always full bars, but my suspicion is that the bars indicator on the prime isn't all that accurate.
At any rate, it works for me, but I understand that the build quality may not be consistent across all primes and that I just maybe one of the lucky ones.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
That's what I've always said OP. good post. my wifi strength,stability, n range has always been great. n I have one of the earliest batches from 12/22. Anandtech said it right. Said wifi on par with OG transformer. its all about people setups. they need to understand the various contributing factors that can cause wireless issues. Some are determined not to budge from 5Ghz N speed although its not supported by prime anyways and that frequency has been proven to be marketing b.s. because 5Ghz doesn't guareentee faster speeds and the range is alot less than 2.4Ghz range. here is an example of the debunked 5Ghz myth and some tips also if your network seeming slow for a particular device.
http://smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-basics/30664-5-ways-to-fix-slow-80211n-speed
For the record, I've had no wifi problems with my Prime, anywhere in my house or yard.
I must be one of the unlucky ones.
House: Large Bungalow (2000 sq ft)
Router: Cisco e4200 using 2.4Ghz
Router Location: up on a rafter in the basement (i.e. right up against the first level floorboard)
Internet Connection: 30Mbps
Test 1: Right below router in the basement - 29Mbps
Test 2: Main floor, standing right above the router - 20Mbps
Test 3: Great Room (approx 15ft from router) - 16Mbps
Test 4: Kitchen (approx 30ft from router) - 2Mbps
Test 5: Dining Room (approx 40ft from router) - 2Mbps
In the latter two tests, my kid's iPad still gets 16Mbps. I may RMA later in the year, hoping ASUS will have had time to decide on a fix.
This tablet is absolutely gorgeous and my wife would never let me return it.
jemz0r said:
Wifi only versions of ipad2 do not even have GPS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lmao this is the worst argument i have ever read on xda really.
Lol
I use my prime at work and home all the time. At home my router is in my living room and obviously there are no issues, but I also have a home gym upstairs and on the opposite corner of the house. I have no issues streaming Netflix during my runs, How I met your mother is a great distraction!
At work my office has the router through many walls and doors, I get 2 bars where my phone gets 3. Speedtest though is identical, and my phone is also on a custom rom that has its wifi tolerances increased. Stream music all day on my tablet with no issues/drops.
Also travel a lot for work around the country, no issues in the Indy Airport with free wifi or my hotel on a recent trip to Nashville. Will want to test it on some more upcoming trips but so far everything is coming up aces.
I've had 2 Primes, both purchased retail (not review units).
Prime 1 from the first batch made had fine WiFi with no signif drop when 20 feet away from Office N routers. It worked well.
Prime 2 (latest batch, C serial number, 64 gig) drops from 25Mbps next to router to 7 Mbps when 20 feet from router (one partial obstruction, interior wall of wood beam and sheetrock). At 30 feet, it gets 2Mbps. This is far worse than Prime 1 and most other devices in our office.
Variability between two Primes leads me to believe this is a hardware issue (antenna connection?). Neither have any problems streaming when also connected to a BT device.
I have a perfect example of the Prime's WiFi fail that I experienced just 20 mins ago at lunch:
-Parked right outside of a McDonalds
-My phone (a subpar LG Optimus T) picks up all of 3 of their public networks, connects to them all and maintains a stable internet connection
-My Prime can only see one and cannot connect to it... just gives me the option to "Save" or "Forget"
Prime wifi = fail.
I respect that the OP may not have WiFi problems with his specific use cases, but the WiFi problem is real. Take a look at my test results from this thread and explain to me how there's no WiFi problem in light of them.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=21413105&postcount=15
So after looking at the tear down images of the Prime, I decided to give mine a little flex (just a little) and press along the top edge where the two antenna contacts live (idiotic pogo pin connectors and copper tape contacts).
Result?
Prime 2, the wirelessly challenged tablet, now sees 15 to 20 db better signal over WiFi and does not drop throughput AT ALL 20 feet from router. Wow.
GPS under ICS was a no-show and now gets 13 sats in view with 8 in use outdoors in 20 seconds. Indoors it sees 4 or 5 sats but doesn't get a fix. Before the love-hug? Nothing nada, zip.
Screenshot please
Send the workaround to ASUS devs, so we can all be blessed.
Regards
+1
I was just about to ask for a screenshot of where you exactly pressed too. This would be awesome.
edit: Maybe this is why ASUS says they can "fix" the weak wifi?
I pressed, both front and back, along the top bezel area (black zone above display). I didn't squeeze the heck out of it, but put just enough pressure to see a little temporary light bleed.
I chose that zone based on the teardown phone that I think came from Annandtech and is posted in an XDA dev thread.
See the two pogo pins (spring-loaded push connectors that stick up a bit). That's the area.
bimbobo said:
Screenshot please
Send the workaround to ASUS devs, so we can all be blessed.
Regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hab1 said:
+1
I was just about to ask for a screenshot of where you exactly pressed too. This would be awesome.
edit: Maybe this is why ASUS says they can "fix" the weak wifi?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
pdagal said:
I pressed, both front and back, along the top bezel area (black zone above display). I didn't squeeze the heck out of it, but put just enough pressure to see a little temporary light bleed.
I chose that zone based on the teardown phone that I think came from Annandtech and is posted in an XDA dev thread.
See the two pogo pins (spring-loaded push connectors that stick up a bit). That's the area.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just sent Gary key a very detailed PM and link to that thread showing teardown n talk about the pogo pins. Said this is info he will want to pass along to Asus engineers asap as it could be a real fix made from this info. these pogo pins not having a good connection will influence wireless performance more than anything else including backplate. if issues are caused from loose connections then fixed, backplate really won't be an issue anymore.
Asus official stance on WIFI is... well... more or less...."Prime's WIFI performance meets Asus standard".
So, this got me thinking. In my opinion, due to metal backplate in all Transformer Prime (even with the double WIFI antenna & few other design flaws)... we have more with WIFI issue/problem compared to those who don't. As in, I believe that those with WIFI issues are the majority... & not the minority.
However, considering that we all have different "standard" & expectation on WIFI performance.. and heck, it's difficult to exactly gauge the situation as the settings are different for everyone.....
I would like to know...
What exactly is the standard for WIFI performance for Asus??? What exactly qualifies "satisfactory" for Asus??
My WiFi in prime works perfectly but gps is working "not so poor and not so good".
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using XDA Premium HD app
The WiFi on my Prime works flawlessly.
By "flawlessly" I mean that it has greater range than my Galaxy S2 phone with faster speeds. The range of WiFi on my Prime is very close to that of my Dell laptop, and speeds are comparable. WiFi never drops off anywhere in my house, and has worked very well at several restaurants and 3 airports. I can be outside my apartment and sitting in my car down the street a ways (~150-200 ft) and I can still see and use the WiFi router in my 3rd floor apartment.
WiFi slows down a little bit when using bluetooth headphones, however WiFi speeds are still acceptable for web browsing or streaming Netflix or Hulu+ with no stuttering or drop in video quality.
I am pretty sure that these are the levels that Asus finds "acceptable." If you have a Prime and the WiFi doesn't work as well as mine, you should return it or send it to Asus for repair.
I also have no complaints about my wifi....
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using XDA Premium HD app
I am not questioning that there are Primes with "acceptable" WIFI performance. However, if I were to break it down in percentage.. it could be.. 51/49.. or 49/51.
AnandTech's review on Pad 300 for example.... on WIFI:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5756/asus-transformer-pad-300-review/5
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5688/apple-ipad-2012-review/18
For the record, my Prime is close to AnandTech's finding.. but slightly worse on most given day.
shinzz said:
As in, I believe that those with WIFI issues are the majority... & not the minority.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is absolutely no basis for this Large %age of people that bought the prime wont even realize that wifi on their prime might be different from other products And in my case (and i guess many others) it isnt different.
If i run into any problems with wifi reception in places where i cant optimize stuff like router settings (my bet is that router settings are what's causing most peoples problems with wifi - not only with the prime but in general), i just activate hotspot on my phone... Thats what i have my phone contract for
Also try moving your routers. Today i moved my router about half a meter around a corner and now i have perfect wifi on my balcony where I couldn't really get a signal before with none of my devices
I can stream youtube all over my place in HD without buffering. These are my "standards" in case of wifi signal strenght
[e] uh guess i'm in "smiley-mode"
clouds5 said:
There is absolutely no basis for this Large %age of people that bought the prime wont even realize that wifi on their prime might be different from other products And in my case (and i guess many others) it isnt different.
If i run into any problems with wifi reception in places where i cant optimize stuff like router settings (my bet is that router settings are what's causing most peoples problems with wifi - not only with the prime but in general), i just activate hotspot on my phone... Thats what i have my phone contract for
Also try moving your routers. Today i moved my router about half a meter around a corner and now i have perfect wifi on my balcony where I couldn't really get a signal before with none of my devices
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a lot of annoyance for one device. Btw, just an opinion.. but with some base..
1. metal backplate
2. 2 wifi antenna to overcome the metal backplate issue but with more design flaws that were found & ones that we might not know yet
We have no stats or breakdown of WIFI performance... so, I don't think we can assume that those with WIFI problems are minority either. So, in the end.. it is a toss up... & even if those with WIFI problems are the minority.. I seriously doubt it is 1 to 5% (industry standard).
Yeah thats what i'm saying. Its all just speculation. There are some people with wifi issues, thats all we can say.
I really dont mind optimizing my router placement/settings, as i said my phone didnt have steady wifi either on the balcony.
Btw its fascinating to me how people can take the one (minor - in my case its none at all) issue a great device has and call it a ****ty product because it, while the whole world is praising some other similar devices that are only half as good as the prime...
clouds5 said:
Yeah thats what i'm saying. Its all just speculation. There are some people with wifi issues, thats all we can say.
I really dont mind optimizing my router placement/settings, as i said my phone didnt have steady wifi either on the balcony.
Btw its fascinating to me how people can take the one (minor - in my case its none at all) issue a great device has and call it a ****ty product because it, while the whole world is praising some other similar devices that are only half as good as the prime...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it's sad that we have to speculate who the minority or majority is on WIFI performance/problem.
I have to guess that WIFI is a major issue to many (if they are having such problem) for WIFI only tablet. Tablets in general are luxury device & are used mostly for browsing & light gaming. Take out stable WIFI & you are left with a device to do WORK (those with dock) & for gaming/media.... but even for work, without stable WIFI, you lose the ability to email & etc... =/
Some have legit issues. Others just crappy routers and cable modems. My apartment is 1250 square foot. My router is on one corner on 1st floor. I get 2 to 3 bars from the other end of my apartment on 2nd floor corner bathroom. Yet I can stream hulu/Netflix with no issues while going number 2 in that same bathroom.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using XDA Premium App
square feet and making numbers in the bathroom... Americans..
But then they have netflix and i'm jealous again...
sorry for being pretty much offtopic
In areas where my signal drops, it drops with other devises too. It just drops a little more with the Prime.
In the bathroom going number 2 I sometimes have to tether to my phone to keep the WiFi going. It's the one spot in my house where I get the worst signal
Last night I downloaded a ROM for my Atrix and put the Prime side by side with my laptop so I could time the download to each device. Downloaded from dev-host on each and my Prime beat my laptop by 239mb to 108mb downloaded for my laptop in the same time. I think about 5 minutes but I forgot to time it. laptop is older dual core, 1.6 GHz, XP but was somewhat surprised.
Not to sure if it's a real test but it probably means I need a new laptop
@shinzz
Anecdotal evidence suggests satisfactory performance depends on the product at Asus with both the 101 and 700 variations having higher standards than the prime.
Good luck getting your question answered - fans and the blissfully ignorant will be more vocal and will far outnumber those with any real insight into your question.
Asus standards aside, my prime has the weakest wifi at distance from the router of any device in my household (2 smart phones, laptop and ipad2). I have stopped *****ing and bought a second router to enhance the signal for my prime, but the misalignment between Asus standards and my expectations means my next tablet will likely be branded differently.
jwe222 said:
@shinzz
Anecdotal evidence suggests satisfactory performance depends on the product at Asus with both the 101 and 700 variations having higher standards than the prime.
Good luck getting your question answered - fans and the blissfully ignorant will be more vocal and will far outnumber those with any real insight into your question.
Asus standards aside, my prime has the weakest wifi at distance from the router of any device in my household (2 smart phones, laptop and ipad2). I have stopped *****ing and bought a second router to enhance the signal for my prime, but the misalignment between Asus standards and my expectations means my next tablet will likely be branded differently.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Transformer Prime is becoming iPadish. Problem with WIFI.. purchase a new router or 2nd router... Problem with GPS (before the GPS dongle).. purchase Bluetooth GPS or tether to your Phone. Do you travel & have WIFI issues? Tether to your phone & use up your phone's data plan....
When you accumulate these cost just for tablet to function to your "need" (obviously, some don't at all as it meets their requirement).... it feels like I'm entering iPad territory & the ridiculous cost of iPad accessories.
shinzz said:
Transformer Prime is becoming iPadish. Problem with WIFI.. purchase a new router or 2nd router... Problem with GPS (before the GPS dongle).. purchase Bluetooth GPS or tether to your Phone. Do you travel & have WIFI issues? Tether to your phone & use up your phone's data plan....
When you accumulate these cost just for tablet to function to your "need" (obviously, some don't at all as it meets their requirement).... it feels like I'm entering iPad territory & the ridiculous cost of iPad accessories.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. I've owned two Primes and the WiFi on both was equally terrible. I have a TF300 on order right now, and when I get it I'm going to compare in equal environments. The screen and the sleek design on the Prime are both nice, but the fact is that I can't use it how I really need to use it because the connectivity is so poor that I lose over 90% of my throughput in some rooms of my 2-story house (where my laptop and phone both still get strong throughput). I shouldn't need a new router, and an external GPS accessory, and a cellphone hotspot to make a $500 tablet usable. I'm tired of making excuses and I'm tired of waiting for a WiFi fix that's never coming and I'm tired of being scared to RMA because of continued reports of damage and ineffective repairs that take a month or more. I'm sincerely happy for people whose experience has been better, but the fact is that many of us just haven't gotten the performance and usability that we expected when we first purchased this tablet.
shinzz said:
I am not questioning that there are Primes with "acceptable" WIFI performance. However, if I were to break it down in percentage.. it could be.. 51/49.. or 49/51.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've personally used ten different Primes, across almost every serial number range and with different routers at different locations. Every one of the ten Primes outperformed or equaled the connectivity of my laptops.
While I've seen a few other issues with quality control that makes me a little disappointed with Asus, WIFI hasn't been an issue in my experience with the tablet.
My prime gets the same and even a little better range than my bionic, slightly less than my laptop (But hey I have an envy 17) the only difference is signal degradation (ie speeds) at those distances are lower on the prime after about 20-30' from the router.
My wifi sucks on my prime. I have a Xirrus WAP, 10 feet away from me and i still cant get full bars.... When i am away on business, i cant get a strong enough signal from hotels to even check my emails... i travel with the prime and an ipad. The ipad gets connects without issues. I'm not sure because the ipad supports 2.4 & 5ghz band and the prime only 2.4, but there is no doubt it has a wifi issue. Like i said, 10 feet from the access point and still no full bars.
That's it, I'm done! Lol, I'm cleaning the inside of my Prime out and getting it swapped for another by ASUS. That's too many comments in a row saying that WiFi is better than or on par with their laptops and other mobile devices, my Prime consistently does worse.
And yes, I've optimized my router settings and everything, my other devices will easily reach the road and keep decent connectivity (~-75 dBm) while my Prime can't even keep connectivity a handful of feet (a meter for you clouds? ) from the front door. And the closest router is ten feet from that door!
That being said though, I generally never need or want my Prime to connect all the way into me front yard
My prime gets exactly the same db reception as my sensation. Although it does show a bar less it gets the same throughput as well.
i know this have been discussed before but there is still no solution.
here s my problem: wifi signal drops suddenly when i hold my phone. ive done sevral speed tests. These tests confirm that holding the phone results in a really bad wifi quality. I ve tried eveything.
does anyone have any ideas? even if its hardware moding
thx
+1
Sad to say, in my tests, by tightly holding the phone, especially at the bottom right, the signal strength reduced by about 20dBm.
Sent from my XT910 using XDA
this really sucks since this phone is pretty good and so far its the only BIG problem i found. and no solutions....
Must be a random problem. I have the RAZR and RAZR Maxx and neither has this problem.
For me, on 2.3.6 wifi signal was low, especially taking phone by bottom, but on ICS, both t-mobile ics and latest eu ics, wifi signal is very improved. Hand issue remains, but signal is for me stronger.
well i guess im just going to wait for stock ics update and hope it improves but im guessing the problem wont disappear since this is clearly a hardware issue. and if this is random then im very unlucky
When software fixes a radio that software usually just makes the signal-strength meter show signal that's not really there.
There are apps on Play that "fix" all kinds of radio problems by installing signal-strength icons with the low-strength indications set inaccurately. It *looks* like more signal, but it's the same low signal you had before.
Signal strength has almost nothing to do with reception anyway. Signal/Noise ratio is what's important, and there's no meter for that. One bar of signal in a very RF-quiet area, is much better than five bars in a computer data center.
"Caveet emter, I reckon!"
- Mark Twain
I have no wifi issues with this phone. The GNex however was unusable at 30 feet from a high-powered Hawking WAP, or an Apple Airport Extreme WAP.
If you have a plastic case, try removing it. Some cases are made with recycled plastic and are infused with conductive material that can act as a Faraday Shield, blocking part of the signal. Easy test, costs nothing but a few seconds...
yea i already knew about the plastic thats why i bought a rubber case. I have to say it helped a little but didnt fix it. the problem is still there.
thx
Haven't seen any problems with my wifi, although I mainly use the 3G simply because I have 4 GB of data a month and I will never use that much when I'm out around town.
If the problem occurs when holding it a certain way wouldn't the simplest solution be to not hold it that way, also be very aware of any metals between you and the router as metals block radio signals, how old is your house, if old enough maybe lead paint, unlikely but just throwing all possibilities out there.
thx for your help. i didnt only test this at home and as for holding the phone im used to hold it like i hold all phones and its pretty annoying if i always have to hold it differently if i want to use the internet
Have you tried the free Play Store app, WiFi Analyzer?
This will help you find out what works/doesn't as it provides more sensitive strength measurements from the chip. It's handy anyway, since it shows WAPs that you aren't connected to. yet.
It's quite possible that your antenna wire bounced off the connector. An insignificant drop of an inch could do that if it was never seated correctly. It would likely operate in a degraded capacity as a result. If you're OK with cracking the case open, that's something quick to check.
How long have you had this phone?
I have never heard anyone complain about the Razr's WiFi reception, so I suspect this is something unique to that phone right there. What is your idea of poor reception? 100 feet, inside, is the practical limit. 300 feet in an open field. Metal wall studs, sheet metal siding, all of these will stop radio waves dead.
marawan31 said:
thx for your help. i didnt only test this at home and as for holding the phone im used to hold it like i hold all phones and its pretty annoying if i always have to hold it differently if i want to use the internet
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get that, just trying to "cover all the bases" as they say.
Giblet535 said:
I have never heard anyone complain about the Razr's WiFi reception,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then you haven't been listening. The RAZR is universally acclaimed to have the worst WiFi reception of ANY device since 1999.
im ok with opening it... i actually opened it a couple of times and removed the battery but idk what to look for since nothing is labeled i dont even know where exactly is the wifi ship and antenna. i tested this as close as 6 feet from my router when i leave it on the table i get full wifi signal and speed test at max then i hold it and try... wifi signal goes down and speed test at 3/4 max speed...
thx
It's possible that I have an extraordinary phone then. I decided to compare.
My phone is seeing -60dbm from the Hawking extender that I'm closest to, which is about 20 meters away, behind three stick-frame (pine 2x4 studs, sheetrock) walls. The reading varies dramatically, depending on where I put it on my desk. So let's see what some other WiFi devices do...
My MacBook reads -58dbm. My iPad2 reads -59dbm. An HP Envy 15 reads -65dbm. And a Moto Atrix2 WCS (With Cracked Screen) reads -61dbm.
A transfer of 200MB ("random" data created via linux: 'dd if=/dev/random of=200mb.dat bs=1048576 count=200' so that compression algorithms don't skew the results):
Razr (6.12.79 ICS Black Widow): 9s
MacBook (Lion): 6.5s
iPad2: 10s
HP Envy 15 (Ubuntu 11.10): 7.5s
Moto Atrix2 WCS: 10s
I didn't repeat the test, and that is a busy WAP, but the results are what I expect for battery-operated devices. I also expected the ipad, atrix and razr to lose the race, since they have relatively slow storage systems, which have inherently poor write performance on files of this size (200MB won't buffer at all).
The WiFi cable will look like a white or black wire with a gold junction on the end where it meets the motherboard. I would expect that if you've had the phone open, you would definitely notice a wire hanging loose! I doubt that's the problem, but that wire is a coaxial shielded cable - like on cable TV only really tiny - and you can do all kinds of DIY replacement antenna stuff eg, adding an external jack so you can "beam" WiFi a mile away using a hacked Pringles potato chip can.
I actually think the problem might be RF noise in your environment. Florescent lights (CFLs), computing equipment, HVAC compressors, and motors can effectively "jam" WiFi signals, causing packet transmission failures to increase rapidly as the distance from the WAP increases.
We have a Fluke RF analyzer here, and our WiFi setup is quite good as a result.
Does anyone know if the Razr is unusually susceptible to RF noise? Maybe noise that the Razr generates from the motherboard/CPU/radios/BT? I'm not equipped to test that.
---------- Post added at 09:15 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:29 AM ----------
Do you have other devices to compare the Razr to?
Did you try pointing all the rubber duck antennas on the WAP straight up?
I just checked an iphone, another ipad, another Razr, and a Dell laptop, and my boss's Razr was technically the winner on signal strength and transfer speed, but let's call it even. There are too many variables, and statistically significant benchmarking is beyond the scope of a forum comment.
The Razr has typical WiFi performance in this environment.
Thank you very much for your post. I did try with the desire z and the evo 3d which are doing jist fine wheather i hold them or leave them on the table: both signal and speed test are amazing compared to the razr (if i hold it). If you could tell me where the wifi ship and antenna are located (a pic maybe) it would be great because when i open the razr all i can see are metal plates everywhere probably for cooling. I dont understand what you mean by pointing all the rubber duck antennas on the WAP...
Thx again
I haven't had a Razr open yet. Even after dropping mine from a motorcycle and watching it slide into a ditch with an inch of water in it. Tough li'l bastards...
The WiFi antenna cable and connector are probably under one of the metal shields.
Most WAPs have 1, 2, or 3 "rubber duck" antennas that you can move to maximize the signal lobe pattern. You can use the WiFi Analyzer app to adjust them, but be prepared to walk a lot...
Others are just a box. The only one of those that *I* know of that works well is the Apple Airport Extreme. The Netgear Wireless-N HD, which is very highly rated, is a P.O.S.: it has a narrow, elongated lobe pattern, and if you're in that narrow lobe, it works REALLY well. If not, you'll be lucky to connect to it. Two people standing 10 feet apart, and one can have great service while the other can't even get an IP address.
The fact that you have other devices working well, and you sound like you've done this quite a bit, I'm guessing you have a problem inside the phone itself.
I manage about 200 phones here, and I haven't heard one word of complaint about WiFi. 3G/4G service? Yeah, lots of complaints about 3G/4G from people out in the woods or working in a valley.
These also work well as a WAP (tethering). We have a few of the Personal WiFi devices - a handheld that converts 3G/4G to WiFi for up to five users - but most people prefer this phone for that.
My old DroidX has a better WiFi antenna, but that's an exceptional phone with only one core: I spit on it. Ptui.