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Has anyone pulled the phone apart and read the serial number off the chip. We are trying to compair it to the US phone. If you have the info thanks Ours is a Broadcomm BCM4751 (Captivate)
Can I ask how you know the Captivate has a BCM4751 chip? Did you disassemble and see it? It appears that the Galaxy S generic being sold everywhere else outside the US has the BCM2075 chip that integrates BT and FM radios; at least that's what's being reported by others here.
If it were true that the Captivate/Fascinate/Vibrant in the US are using the BCM4751 chip, then it would truly mean these phones have no FM capability at all and there is no prospect of rooting the phone to disable a software level crippling.
This pisses me off. I was willing to forgo the front facing camera of the US versions, but the fact that they (apparently) went so far as to have samsung supply a different GPS chip to eliminate the FM radio so you are FORCED to use some ****e, data intensive service like AT&T radio instead is just outrageous. With the GPS/compass/antenna problems seemingly going ignored by samsung, maybe I won't get this phone at all.
http://www.broadcom.com/products/GPS/GPS-Silicon-Solutions/BCM2075
bugmenever said:
Can I ask how you know the Captivate has a BCM4751 chip? Did you disassemble and see it? It appears that the Galaxy S generic being sold everywhere else outside the US has the BCM2075 chip that integrates BT and FM radios; at least that's what's being reported by others here.
If it were true that the Captivate/Fascinate/Vibrant in the US are using the BCM4751 chip, then it would truly mean these phones have no FM capability at all and there is no prospect of rooting the phone to disable a software level crippling.
This pisses me off. I was willing to forgo the front facing camera of the US versions, but the fact that they (apparently) went so far as to have samsung supply a different GPS chip to eliminate the FM radio so you are FORCED to use some ****e, data intensive service like AT&T radio instead is just outrageous. With the GPS/compass/antenna problems seemingly going ignored by samsung, maybe I won't get this phone at all.
http://www.broadcom.com/products/GPS/GPS-Silicon-Solutions/BCM2075
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well the Galaxy S might have the BCM20751 but untill someone tears down the phone and checks with their eyes. The US Captivate was torn down and it is a 4751. But the 4751 doesn't have BT on it. So it could be all the phones have a 4751 with a seprate BT and FM. The 4751 is supposed to be a better GPS unit then the BCM20751 though.
ah, I see it on the Captivate general forum now. The only teardown of the generic Galaxy S that I have seen anywhere is the original one done in Korea a month ago. The pictures from that disassembly are too low-res for me to make out chip IDs. I tried going through their video of the teardown frame by frame too, but again, I can't see the numbers clearly and I saw nothing that resembled a broadcom chip. The Captivate board layout is much different than the Galaxy S, I can't really even see where the broadcom chip should be on it either.....
You're gonna love this. On my Galaxy S, According to jupiter.xml:
<gll
LogPriMask="LOG_DEBUG"
LogFacMask="LOG_GLLAPI | LOG_NMEA"
FrqPlan="FRQ_PLAN_26MHZ_2PPM_26MHZ_300PPB"
RfType="GL_RF_4751_DANUBE"
BrcmRFwildBase="0x1E2D6409"
BrcmRFclkDiv="21"
BrcmRFclkRefHz="26000000"
pps-enable="false" pps-offset-ms="0" pps-width-ns="100"
/>
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I changed the RfType to GL_RF_2075_BRCM and it just didn't work.
Well thats good. We've accomplished something. But Broadcomm says this is the best GPS they have ever made some hopfully samsung messed up the code and we get a super good GPS.
TBH - I think we may actually be waiting on the driver from Broadcom. Something about Broadcoms reputation as an open source provider is in question.
sjdean said:
TBH - I think we may actually be waiting on the driver from Broadcom. Something about Broadcoms reputation as an open source provider is in question.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah it could deff. be broardcoms side. They better fix it.
Is the 4751 used in any other phones just want to see the performance of the gps on this chipset in other devices..
The mere fact that we have Broadcom chip for GPS and not some off brand that I've never heard before like InCrystal really, really points to a serious issue with the drivers/firmware for the GPS. The phone should be operating in MS-Based mode out of the box anyway and I don't know why it isn't. That's not the only problem it has but standalone mode is not what it should be operating in. Nearly all phones GPS' are truly the pits without network assistance.
Lots of phones use Broadcom for GPS, right off of the top of my head, the iPhone is one of them!
Well I really hope it can operate in stand alone mode reasonably well, it should be able to, I dont see why a phone couldn't. agps is mainly just for helping get locks faster at startup and possibly in areas where gps signals are weak but agps is not going to help you out of the city much etc etc.
However yeah I really hope it is a driver issue and if so broadcom and samsung need to get together or its going to drag both their names down.
Kilack said:
Well I really hope it can operate in stand alone mode reasonably well, it should be able to, I dont see why a phone couldn't. agps is mainly just for helping get locks faster at startup and possibly in areas where gps signals are weak but agps is not going to help you out of the city much etc etc.
However yeah I really hope it is a driver issue and if so broadcom and samsung need to get together or its going to drag both their names down.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well like I said there appears to be some other issues besides the fact that they ship in standalone mode which is awful for any phone.. aGPS is the first choice for most phones (Galaxy S is an exception I suppose!) before falling back to standalone mode which does take 2-3 minutes for a fix. Standalone GPS will always take a few minutes to get a lock, a phone certainly isn't going to perform better than a Garmin and I have yet to see one of those in standalone mode lock faster than a phone with aGPS. aGPS is for an initial fix regardless of other circumstances and it's why phones get such snappy fixes.
Ok, but I posted elsewhere that there's a whole stack of a lot happening behind the scenes, which Im not even Samsung know what's going on.
First, even in Standalone mode, you see data being streamed in the initial few seconds, so there must be something in there.
But Ok, we have:
Operation Mode under LBSTestMode - MS Based, MS Assisted, Network Provider or standalone
GPS Plus - Uses the OneXtra servers
Skyhook - Another form of AGPS
SUPL Settings
And irrespective of what you set the SUPL settings to:
Jupiter.xml - Points to both www.spirent-lcs.com as an acSuplServer then points to bcmls2.glpals.com as the LbsServer.
Then under Location and Security, we have the ability to Use Wireless Networks (using WiFi and Cellular Networks). Even if this is switched off, the phone still wants to enable Wireless and see what's out there.
So that's what, 6, perhaps 7 or even 8 seemingly different settings, different methods, of A-GPS.
No wonder the phone is getting confused.
Cya
Simon
sjdean said:
Ok, but I posted elsewhere that there's a whole stack of a lot happening behind the scenes, which Im not even Samsung know what's going on.
First, even in Standalone mode, you see data being streamed in the initial few seconds, so there must be something in there.
But Ok, we have:
Operation Mode under LBSTestMode - MS Based, MS Assisted, Network Provider or standalone
GPS Plus - Uses the OneXtra servers
Skyhook - Another form of AGPS
SUPL Settings
And irrespective of what you set the SUPL settings to:
Jupiter.xml - Points to both www.spirent-lcs.com as an acSuplServer then points to bcmls2.glpals.com as the LbsServer.
Then under Location and Security, we have the ability to Use Wireless Networks (using WiFi and Cellular Networks). Even if this is switched off, the phone still wants to enable Wireless and see what's out there.
So that's what, 6, perhaps 7 or even 8 seemingly different settings, different methods, of A-GPS.
No wonder the phone is getting confused.
Cya
Simon
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting, so standalone isn't really standalone at all
I wonder if any of the problems are actually being caused by agps especially as a lot of the "fixes" by users were basically changes to the agps.
Curious....., if you google skyhook and you see how samsung and I think even apple used skyhook etc and all the big fanfare etc over it but it seems to be disabled in this phone.
and some of the fixes were to use the google location server right?
(weren't google roasted around the world for wardriving and recording wifi sites and also the data? hehe), now i know why they did it.. for location services I guess... a bit off topic but just now seeing why there were even interested in wifi sites etc.
So.. this broadcom chip... its supposed to be good? can we eliminate the hardware as being a bad gps chipset?
Other things to keep in mind when determining the chip are BT and wifi. The 2075, for example, provides bt 2.1, which rules out its presence on the SGS, unless samsung decided to install multiple bluetooth chips. So, the chip we are looking for provides either bt, version 3.0 and wifi N and GPS, or one or 2 of those 3, which makes the 4751 way more likely indeed. I also don't see a reason to change the internals of the phone.
Gps is a Qualcomm RTR6285 like desire, nexus, some blackberry.
careace.net/2010/06/09/disassembly-of-the-samsung-galaxy-s/
news.danawa.com/News_List_View.php?nModeC=4&nSeq=1742568
sesamee said:
Gps is a Qualcomm RTR6285 like desire, nexus, some blackberry.
careace.net/2010/06/09/disassembly-of-the-samsung-galaxy-s/
news.danawa.com/News_List_View.php?nModeC=4&nSeq=1742568
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This:
news.danawa.com/News_List_View.php?nModeC=4&nSeq=1742568
must be the korean version (hardware is diferent)
for example :
http://www.careace.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/galaxy-s-disassembly-29.jpg
http://www.danawa.com/cms/popup_image.php?url=http://img.danawa.com/cms/img/2010/07/06/14.jpg
Audio codec is the same (wolfson)
Configuration files show tha GPS chip is bcm4751 in european galaxy s (not GPS BT FM BCM20751 or BCM2075) in captive there are photos also.
it REALLY seems like a driver issue. I can get a lock within seconds in MS based mode like all other Android phones with 6 meter accuracy tracking in my car but the performance diminishes after that and the phone requires a reboot for another fix -- IF GPS doesnt cause a lock up trying to get a lock.
Anyone else notice the same behavior in MS based mode?
Sent from my SGH-T959
as i have said in the gps issue thread my settings are as they were from the factory, and at least for now my gps works, in test mode it sees 9-11 satalites, and locks 5-7 of then in about 9 secs, it even suprised me today when i was stood on my staires surrounded by brick walls it managed to get a fix.
this was however not the case with the first one i had, no matter what i tried i could not get a reasonable fix, so it seems to me like some phones are better then others, even thought they are the same phones, this is why i suggested it could be a faulty batch but that is not the case, so i have no idea why this one works and the other never.
if you want the settings: gps is set to oo
application setting
session type: tracking
test mode: s/w test
opperation mode: standalone
start mode: hot start
gps plus: on
dynamic accuracy: on
accuracy: 50
skyhook: off
use pc tool: off
supl/cp setting
sever fqdn: custom
server: www.sprint-lcs.com
server port: 7275
supl secure socket: on
agps mode: supl
hope these can be of use for someone, please note im in the uk.
edit: just tested out my window and got 8 found / 8 locked satalites in 12 secs
Things are getting even more weird...
I was browsing around in the jupiter.xml file shipped in the JP2 firmware and found what I suspect must be a a typo:
arp-supl-reaiding-time-sec = "1200"
Shouldn't that be: arp-supl-reading-time-sec = "1200" ?
With all that mucking about with wads of configuration files and a bazillion places where (conflicting) settings can be made, this doesn't exactly make me feel better about the reliability of AGPS on this device.
edit: nah, probably not a typo (read as 're-aiding', duh) but an unfortunate name choice anyway. At least it appears consistent with what the app is expecting.
Personal background: Associate degree in Laser Electro Optics. 12 years research and development semiconductor manufacturing, 15 years as an EMT, last 10 years as a 911 telecommunicator for Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services. 6 of those years as a Training Officer.
The reason for my (cough) resume is so everyone understands I have the technical background and experience to explain the differences between e911 and 911.
Public Safety Answering Point: the local organization tasked with answering emergency request phone calls and dispatching appropriate emergency resources. PSAP's are broken into two types, primary and secondary. The primary PSAP is typically the local police department for city's and the local sheriff's department for unincorporated areas. Some colleges have their own police department and may have their own PSAP. So realistically a person can connect to a different 911 call center depending upon their location within a small geographic area.
Large urban areas typically have secondary PSAP's. The secondary PSAP usually consists of public safety departments not related to law enforcement such as fire and/or emergency medical services (ambulance services) specially trained to send request specific resources dependent upon the emergency. In Austin and Travis County we run 120 thousand EMS 911 calls per year. The police department takes about 2000 911 calls per day.
911: a simple to remember phone number nation wide allowing everyone access to emergency services. No location information is transmitted or received. The PSAP is responsible for determining location by interrogation of the caller. This can a problem if the caller is altered or otherwise unable to give accurate information.
e911: Enhanced 911 was created to ensure location information was transmitted to the 911 call center regardless of the callers ability to give this information. The phone companies are responsible for ensuring this information is available and transmitted to the PSAP. Conventional e911 is effective for landline phones. Cell phones present a completely different problem.
Cell phones are required to meet two different location technology standards.
Phase 1 wireless data: as cell phone use skyrocketed in the nineties, legislation was passed requiring provider's to transmit location data based on the cell phone tower that the cell phone was connected to. While this is helpful, it is problematic due to the sheer size of the area that had to be searched if the caller was unable to give their location.
Phase 2 wireless data: legislation now requires GPS location data be provided by the cell phone company. This location information can be transmitted via the gps chip from the cell phone or via radio location triangulation using the cell towers in the immediate area of the caller.
So in a nut shell, my test of neobuddy's ICS indicated that 911 worked for a sim loaded phone. I did not test the phone with the sim pulled. I also did NOT verify that GPS data was being received by the PSAP.
If 911 works with your phone it should work in any area. I was connecting with two different PSAP's as I live right between two different area's and sometimes connect to one or the other.
Hope this clears some of the confusion. A good explanation is located at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_9-1-1.
genesis3 and I are still working on the cm7 issue and getting closer to a resolution.
Later tators
Sent from my Touchpad using xda premium
thanks a lot. i can confirm cm7.1 has 911 issue.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA Premium App
Developers should also note that as technology continues to advance, video conferencing and text message 911 activation requirements will also be legislated in.
I firmly believe that Google should begin requiring manufacturers make their modem software and audio software open source. Manufacturers should also be required to provide detailed explanations of how the relevant library's interface with the operating system, modems and audio system when activating an emergency call. This is Androids achilles heel. All it will take is one national media event to slam the door on open source operating systems for cell phones. I love the freedom Android provides and the exceptional programing skilss of our developers.
Im sorry, while this is a great explanation, i really didnt get the bottom line....
What we have on nonsamsung roms then is just a plain 911 incapable of transmitting location?
Sent from a cell tower to the XDA server to you.
Im sorry, while this is a great explanation, i really didnt get the bottom line....
What we have on nonsamsung roms then is just a plain 911 incapable of transmitting location?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
correct as none had the source code....but for 2.3 onwards rom.
genesis3 and I are still working on the cm7 issue and getting closer to a resolution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
made my day.....thanks a lot....will be keeping a close eye on this thread...
My understanding is the issue is only without a sim right?
The 911 issue is with SIM, i don't know about without and im not planning on finding out.
HaloMediaz said:
My understanding is the issue is only without a sim right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It has to do with emergency mode (no dim) and when no compatible roaming network is around (no service) .
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G
hmmm I havent called 911 in YEARS but it still feels nice to have the ability and this was a nice explantion thank you
MIUI 360 in Asheville NC works fine but not in other areas?
Hopefully they can test the cm9 test ports that are out now.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using xda premium
http://www.mediafire.com/?czo03t36py5sai4
CM7 with WORKING 911 (oh yeah, GPS works too and is VERY fast to lock. Insanely so in fact -- pretty much identical to what you expect with the LG Optimus! Those who say the GPS is broken in the hardware in these phones -- you're wrong.)
No support available at this point from me since the original source for the replaced bits hasn't been disclosed. Had there been some documentation on where the original source for those bits came from I bet this would have been fixed a lot faster. If that is disclosed in the future I'll consider supporting it, but for those who want it, here it is.
Incidentally it works on CM9 too.
Genesis3 said:
http://www.mediafire.com/?czo03t36py5sai4
CM7 with WORKING 911 (oh yeah, GPS works too and is VERY fast to lock. Insanely so in fact -- pretty much identical to what you expect with the LG Optimus! Those who say the GPS is broken in the hardware in these phones -- you're wrong.)
No support available at this point from me since the original source for the replaced bits hasn't been disclosed. Had there been some documentation on where the original source for those bits came from I bet this would have been fixed a lot faster. If that is disclosed in the future I'll consider supporting it, but for those who want it, here it is.
Incidentally it works on CM9 too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can we get independent confirmation of this? (not that I don't believe you)
Sent from my SGH-T959 using xda premium
Uh, the guy who tested and verified it is the OP on this thread.
Read the first post.
You typed all that from your touch pad? props
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Genesis3 said:
Uh, the guy who tested and verified it is the OP on this thread.
Read the first post.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, I get that. Just wanted to make sure he verified was all..
Genesis3 said:
http://www.mediafire.com/?czo03t36py5sai4
CM7 with WORKING 911 (oh yeah, GPS works too and is VERY fast to lock. Insanely so in fact -- pretty much identical to what you expect with the LG Optimus! Those who say the GPS is broken in the hardware in these phones -- you're wrong.)
No support available at this point from me since the original source for the replaced bits hasn't been disclosed. Had there been some documentation on where the original source for those bits came from I bet this would have been fixed a lot faster. If that is disclosed in the future I'll consider supporting it, but for those who want it, here it is.
Incidentally it works on CM9 too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't know who you are or where you came from but, you sir may have saved CM development for the vibrant community. Here's hoping and you're the man!!!
Sent from my SGH-T959
Genesis3 said:
http://www.mediafire.com/?czo03t36py5sai4
CM7 with WORKING 911 (oh yeah, GPS works too and is VERY fast to lock. Insanely so in fact -- pretty much identical to what you expect with the LG Optimus! Those who say the GPS is broken in the hardware in these phones -- you're wrong.)
No support available at this point from me since the original source for the replaced bits hasn't been disclosed. Had there been some documentation on where the original source for those bits came from I bet this would have been fixed a lot faster. If that is disclosed in the future I'll consider supporting it, but for those who want it, here it is.
Incidentally it works on CM9 too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just downloaded your kang and running great so far, Thanks for you work !!
Question, is this 911 fix kernel dependent ? ie will it break if I flash another cm7 kernel ?
Thanks again for your hard work !!!
will replacing the kernel break both 911 and gps fixes?
I didn't save anything.
Here's the bottom line, if you're interested in it.
In the original Vibrant device directory there was a set of sources for libaudio -- one of the shared libraries that Android depends on to talk to the audio hardware in the phone. There was no documentation as to where this source came from, but I know where it didn't come from -- it didn't come from a public Gingerbread source for the Vibrant, because there isn't one.
It turns out the library this source builds does not work correctly but exactly why I'm not certain of. One of the problems with debugging this is that I have to have someone else test for me, which means I can't do the sort of testing I like to when I'm tracing things like this (a highly-iterative process that requires that I actually be staring at the debugging screen while doing the deeds that cause the bad behavior) since I can't call 911 myself.. Had the provenance of this code been documented originally (or lack thereof) I would have investigated this possible connection, as I knew the problem lay in the audio connectivity due to myriad kernel and application traces a couple of months ago. I didn't chase that library down and attempt to graft in other related versions because I assumed that the CM people knew what they were doing building that library from source rather than using a cribbed copy from, for example, Froyo or a different gingerbread build off a similar device.
Picking up a different shared library does work. Exactly what the provenance of that library is (e.g. was it grabbed from a binary, was it built from DIFFERENT source, where did it come from?) is also unknown.
Now that I have a working shared library on this device and a non-working one I'm going to compare traces. Maybe I'll get lucky and find the changes necessary in the source that's in the build tree and be able to fix that, at which point I'll know what I've got rather than having a "magic" library from God-knows-where.
Now here's the part that annoys me -- I was all over some of the CM guys about audio problems with other Samsung devices and tried to get access to the "not yet finished" repos because I expected that if I could run down the same sort of problem with ordinary calls in one of the OTHER Samsungs it was rather more likely than not that the same fix would be pertinent in some way on the Vibrant -- simply because manufacturers tend to use the same chipsets and bits, along with APIs, between different devices (it makes it easier for their coders and maintainers to do their jobs.) In addition when I started working one this one of the other protagonists didn't give me jack and crap about the provenance of anything in the device tree and, again, there's no docs embedded in the tree either. You can find the flamewar and slander aimed at me here if you'd like. It turns out I was on the right path; the problem this library allegedly fixed was having to hit <MUTE> twice to turn off and on the audio path. Sound familiar? Well, the pointer to the file that I found and integrated was from a bug logged against the I-9000, a similar phone to the Vibrant, and that library version works. What's changed in it? There's no set of commits logged against the ZIP file provided in that patch; is it a binary lift from a different build (e.g. some factory build) or did someone fix the source?
Who the hell knows because again, it's not documented in the bugtracker. Until I know where it came from and, if there's source, I have access to it, I won't support it. I don't play the "hide the sausage" game when it comes to alleged community coding projects.
I ran into something similar with the Triumph in that there was a different set of parameters coming up from the hardware when a wired headset was plugged in. That was easy to run down because I could do it and see what was going on; it was a literal couple of line change in the code once I found it. There are a couple of places in the libaudio source that might be the cause of this now that I have a reason to look in there, but without being able to easily reproduce the condition that creates the failure (e.g. call 911) it's a guess.
The ICS builds out at present have a different copy of the same compiled library and it also works. I bet that one works too on CM7 as it's fairly close to the metal and thus the API's probably the same (or close) on the Android side but I haven't tried it yet. I've got little reason to since I now have a libaudio.so that's functional on CM7 in any event.
While I've been working on the 911 issue (for a couple months on and off) I also traced down some actual working (properly) GPS libraries that handle the AGPS assist data in the correct way, something that other sets of them do not, and added those too. I also made a few other changes. The battery life is reported to be rather impressive, and the near-instant GPS locks most-definitely are. I can't speak much to the battery life view of the world as of yet but I will be looking at that; that's an area I know quite a bit about (getting these devices to properly go into deep sleep as they should) and the source tree I'm working with does have kernel source.
Any sideloaded kernel that leaves libaudio.so alone (check the zip file to make sure that /system/lib/libaudio.so is NOT present) should be ok, but no promises. Before you go screwing with kernels make sure you want to --you might break GPS performance as a number of the kernels have various attempts to get the GPS to work right and load various libraries along with the kernel itself with varying degrees of success.
I'd be willing to maintain this port but there are two conditions -- first, I expect apologies from the CM people who attacked me, in public, and second, I expect a formal commitment that there will be no more hiding of information. "I don't know" is an acceptable answer provided you run down the person who does -- someone does know because someone DID either import or code the material in question; silence and lack of documenting where things came from and how they came to be is not acceptable. When things go into the codebase through review they damn well ought to be documented. I played "talking to the brick wall" with the Triumph and now the Vibrant and I won't do it if I'm taking on responsibility for maintaining something.
If CM wants me involved in this that's the deal. If not I'll consider setting up a parallel build and set of repos for the bits that have to be changed from the base CM7 Gingerbread branch as I did for the Triumph if there are people interested in it, but my time is not unlimited and in all honesty my taste for working with the CM people and the CM code in general has been seriously damaged, never mind that what I have here seems to work just fine. As such the benefits of continued efforts are likely to be relatively small. If I decide against a continuing effort I will take the build environment that produced that I have now and attempt to set up a manifest so it can be cloned by anyone else who cares to do so, which should take care of others being able to build and run the KANGs from source if they wish. The latter may take a while as I need to find a day when I'm not busy and can put that together (again, lack of documentation doesn't help) and then pull a clean test from a zero base and make sure it builds and runs.
The Vibrant is no longer my daily device but I do still own one, and given its relatively modest resale value I'll probably keep it as a spare device -- it's a very credible phone and with working GPS code it actually locks faster and better than my Hercules does. It's biggest shortcoming is that it's relatively RAM-starved compared to more-modern devices.
Fancy that.
hey guys im new on this wp8 forum (old android user) i bought an ativ S from a dude i met once... i knew this had a problem with the camera, i just realized that the back camera is the only one with the problem, ive been reading posts and i tried everything to make it work, but i allways got the same, it doesnt start correctly, i press the camera button or use the camera icon, but its allways the same, the 1st start its like it close so quickly at the 2nd try it keep the screen black, i only see the icons, and an arrow to swipe and see the pics i toke (with the front camera and a 3rd party app) but it close in around 10 seconds... idk what to do... i tought maybe was something about and update (a past one) but few days ago i got an update (not grd2, a minor one) but nothing... i still have the problem... what do you guys think... its a hardware problem or maybe software?... ireally love this cellphone and i dont wanna stop using it
If third-party apps can use the main (rear) camera, then it's not a hardware problem; you could try hard-resetting the phone and seeing if that helps.
If even third-party apps can't use the rear camera, it's either a hardware or firmware problem. Since this is the first I've heard of you particular issue, and since an update didn't fix it, that suggests a hardware problem (it *could* be firmware if you have some weird non-stock firmware on there; what version info do you have in settings->about->more info?). If it's a hardware problem, replacing the phone (or just living with the meh but usable front-facing camera, I guess) is your only real option.
GoodDayToDie said:
If third-party apps can use the main (rear) camera, then it's not a hardware problem; you could try hard-resetting the phone and seeing if that helps.
If even third-party apps can't use the rear camera, it's either a hardware or firmware problem. Since this is the first I've heard of you particular issue, and since an update didn't fix it, that suggests a hardware problem (it *could* be firmware if you have some weird non-stock firmware on there; what version info do you have in settings->about->more info?). If it's a hardware problem, replacing the phone (or just living with the meh but usable front-facing camera, I guess) is your only real option.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thank you for your answer, =)
uhmmm, as you say i only can use the back camera with an 3rd party app, because when i try to open the pre installed camera app it close...and the camera icons appera in a gray color... except the arrow to see the taken pics, that appear in white...
i discovered some other ppl who had the same problem, :/
oh oh ok. my telephone info is...
Os version: 8.0.10327.77
firmware:2212.13.6.1
hadware: 15.3.1.0
trans soft: 2212.13.6.1
trans hardw: 0.0.0.0
(i actually dont know how to translate this from spanish): 13.04.19.21
SOC chip version: 1.5.32
this is the info i got, before uodating it, the number were almost the same :/
mmmm i remeber when the update was almost ending it was like 1/5 complete... then 2/5 complete... and after that the phone started...what i mean is that there was no 3/5 4/5 or 5/5 steps...
man so you are telling me i wouldnt be abble to replace just the camera, if is a hardware problem??? oh jesus =( i really love this cellphone i dont wanna lose it =(
thank you for your answer my friend =)
First of all: you have GDR2 and the most current firmware that I know of for the SGH-T899M. The line you couldn't translate is "bootloader" (the code that starts, or "boot-straps", the operating system). Your version numbers are identical to mine.
My rear camera works fine, though. Since third-party apps also work, you either have bad firmware somehow (doubtful, especially after the update) or there's something wrong with the Camera app on the phone (more likely). Unfortunately, the only way I know of to fix the latter problem is to re-install the OS (which a hard reset will, or at least should, do).
Replacing just one component, like the camera, is very difficult on a compact device like a modern smartphone. It might be possible, but the cost might not be worth it. On the other hand, if the phone is still under warranty, you should be able to replace for free.
GoodDayToDie said:
First of all: you have GDR2 and the most current firmware that I know of for the SGH-T899M. The line you couldn't translate is "bootloader" (the code that starts, or "boot-straps", the operating system). Your version numbers are identical to mine.
My rear camera works fine, though. Since third-party apps also work, you either have bad firmware somehow (doubtful, especially after the update) or there's something wrong with the Camera app on the phone (more likely). Unfortunately, the only way I know of to fix the latter problem is to re-install the OS (which a hard reset will, or at least should, do).
Replacing just one component, like the camera, is very difficult on a compact device like a modern smartphone. It might be possible, but the cost might not be worth it. On the other hand, if the phone is still under warranty, you should be able to replace for free.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GDR2??? are you sure my friend?? ive reading and that update come with the Radio app, some camera features and other... but nothing :/ i just got some options in settings and that was all, i even cant download or instal Ativ beam (i dont find it on the store, and when i try to do a manual install it say that is not compatible) and i heard that app is only for the last update
my cellphone is canadian i think, because the company is ROGERS, and i live in peru, so i cant use the warranty or something
i will try to save some of my info, and i will do another hard reset
Do you think there would be a tool for a diagnosis?? i mean conecting my cellphone to a PC in DOWNLOAD MODE or something???
i swear i wont rest till i fix it :'(
again, thank you very much for your time.
P.D: let me show you what the camera looks like for a while
Yes, build 10327.77 is GDR2. Your phone is a SGH-T899M, same as mine; GDR2, along with an interim update ("Amber" maybe?) and a Samsung firmware update, was pushed out to all Canadian SGH-T899M handsets (including those operating in other countries, like yours and mine) a couple days ago.
ATIV Beam installs fine for me; it's probably a region lock and not a matter of device compatibility.
Samsung is reported to have cheapened out on the radio chips for the SGH-T899M, and not included the one needed for FM.
Data Sense (assuming your carrier offers it) is supposedly included, but due to <REDACTED>-up update process, you have to hard-reset to use it (how the *HELL* did that make it through testing? That's supposed to be exactly the sort of BS that those months-long and tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars of testing per-update are supposed to find! Bloody incompetents...)
There's an app called Diagnosis embedded in your phone's firmware; you can install and launch it by typing either ##634# or ##3424# (MFG or DIAG) into the phone's dialer. Check the relevant thread here about dialer codes and diagnosis apps for some examples of things you can do with it (among other things, test the cameras). However, if the camera is working in third-party apps, I doubt that test will find anything. As I said, that indicates a software problem. Hard reset is the only really likely fix for that, if you can't get Samsung to service it. Flashing a stock ROM would probably work too, but I don't know that we have either the ROM nor the flashing tool needed for doing that.
GoodDayToDie said:
Yes, build 10327.77 is GDR2. Your phone is a SGH-T899M, same as mine; GDR2, along with an interim update ("Amber" maybe?) and a Samsung firmware update, was pushed out to all Canadian SGH-T899M handsets (including those operating in other countries, like yours and mine) a couple days ago.
ATIV Beam installs fine for me; it's probably a region lock and not a matter of device compatibility.
Samsung is reported to have cheapened out on the radio chips for the SGH-T899M, and not included the one needed for FM.
Data Sense (assuming your carrier offers it) is supposedly included, but due to <REDACTED>-up update process, you have to hard-reset to use it (how the *HELL* did that make it through testing? That's supposed to be exactly the sort of BS that those months-long and tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars of testing per-update are supposed to find! Bloody incompetents...)
There's an app called Diagnosis embedded in your phone's firmware; you can install and launch it by typing either ##634# or ##3424# (MFG or DIAG) into the phone's dialer. Check the relevant thread here about dialer codes and diagnosis apps for some examples of things you can do with it (among other things, test the cameras). However, if the camera is working in third-party apps, I doubt that test will find anything. As I said, that indicates a software problem. Hard reset is the only really likely fix for that, if you can't get Samsung to service it. Flashing a stock ROM would probably work too, but I don't know that we have either the ROM nor the flashing tool needed for doing that.
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Click to collapse
incompetents!!! hell yeah!!! !
my friend are you some kind of wizard or something??, while you were writting it, i was doing a hard reset, and now i have data sense... and oh thats why i cant have ativ beam (NFS in WP devices suxs ass hell, i cant send anything) and... Doesnt have a FM radio???!!! SAMSUNG are you serious?!?!?!?...
i did the ##364# and i got the diagnosis item, thats how i noticed that the front cam worked fine and the "megacam" (front one) doesnt work... (i used the *#0*# code) plus the camera LED doesnt work either
oh well , after the hard reset i just got all my data lost n_n; , but you know... the frontcamera still doesnt work... tell me truth im already FU*beeeep*d ,am i?
i really want to believe that this have a solution...at least a non invasive solution...
I actually have the same issue. Before installing the updates from MS and Samsung the camera worked perfectly. When I updated my phone and did the hard reset, the camera behaves like you say, either a black screen or back to home screen. I called Samsung and they say it is most likely that the update did not install correctly. Though they talk rubbish sometimes as they also told me to update through zune........that doesn't even support WP8..
So flashing a stock rom "might" fix the issue. :fingers-crossed:
Hi there. I'm looking to replace my Xperia X Compact as it does not support t-mobile WiFi calling. I'm looking to purchase an xz1 compact as I absolutely hate Sony's new childish, rounded handset look. However I'm very concerned that I will be able to get all the features working that I require, especially with the latest firmware. I would appreciate some up to date information as well as any links to guides to accomplish all of my requirements.
What I require:
1. Root is a must. I do a lot of automation with Tasker and want to have full access to my device. Obviously I'd also like to install recovery and ensure that the camera and all apps and features are fully functional.
2. Fingerprint scanner functionality is required. I use a password manager and have no desire to ever be without this feature.
3. I live in an area with mediocre coverage and frequently visit places with minimal coverage. Thus I have realized that I have need of T-mobile us WiFi calling, band 12 support, VO-LTE, etc.
I have read that with some minimal editing of the firmware files you can flash a modified UK firmware to allow both the fingerprint scanner and WiFi calling but I'm concerned that I might lose one or both if rooted. Furthermore I'm concerned that with the latest OTA I won't be able to accomplish all three. I'm obviously not willing to lose any of these features.
I'd appreciate any updated information and would love if you could point me to any guides.
Thanks in advance.
POMF2K said:
Hi there. I'm looking to replace my Xperia X Compact as it does not support t-mobile WiFi calling. I'm looking to purchase an xz1 compact as I absolutely hate Sony's new childish, rounded handset look. However I'm very concerned that I will be able to get all the features working that I require, especially with the latest firmware. I would appreciate some up to date information as well as any links to guides to accomplish all of my requirements.
What I require:
1. Root is a must. I do a lot of automation with Tasker and want to have full access to my device. Obviously I'd also like to install recovery and ensure that the camera and all apps and features are fully functional.
2. Fingerprint scanner functionality is required. I use a password manager and have no desire to ever be without this feature.
3. I live in an area with mediocre coverage and frequently visit places with minimal coverage. Thus I have realized that I have need of T-mobile us WiFi calling, band 12 support, VO-LTE, etc.
I have read that with some minimal editing of the firmware files you can flash a modified UK firmware to allow both the fingerprint scanner and WiFi calling but I'm concerned that I might lose one or both if rooted. Furthermore I'm concerned that with the latest OTA I won't be able to accomplish all three. I'm obviously not willing to lose any of these features.
I'd appreciate any updated information and would love if you could point me to any guides.
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All good questions. I was kind of in the same boat, although in the end, I sacrificed root access and settled on only having fingerprint and TMo VoLTE/WiFi calling (mostly because I didn't have the guts to unlock the bootloader with only a questionable DRM fix method available).
I used the information in this thread to get fingerprint and TMo stuff working together. It was pretty simple, and worked great the first time. However, I'm pretty sure OTA updates will break that functionality and you'll have to go through the process again if you want to update the OS and keep fingerprint/TMo stuff working.
As far as root, you will need to unlock the bootloader, and then you will need some sort of DRM fix to keep the camera working. There are a few methods in this forum scattered around, but none of them had enough positive results reported back for me to feel confident in trying them. Remember, once you unlock your bootloader, there is no going back, so you're stuck with a non-working camera until you can find a DRM fix method that works. The most widely used root / DRM fix method that I know of currently is Xperifix, although since it is a paid for tool, there is no dedicated thread here on XDA. There are some discussions on xperifix.com, and a lot of people have had success using this. However, a lot of people have struggled with this as well, so I didn't feel confident enough to try it.
As far as how the DRM fix works with the cobbled together firmware for TMo/fingerprint, I can't say, and I don't think I've read of anyone reporting that here on the forums. I suspect everything would work together just fine, but can't say for sure.
Good luck, and if you do end up getting everything working together with root, please do report back here, I would definitely be interested in hearing about it.
camaro322hp said:
All good questions. I was kind of in the same boat, although in the end, I sacrificed root access and settled on only having fingerprint and TMo VoLTE/WiFi calling (mostly because I didn't have the guts to unlock the bootloader with only a questionable DRM fix method available).
I used the information in this thread to get fingerprint and TMo stuff working together. It was pretty simple, and worked great the first time. However, I'm pretty sure OTA updates will break that functionality and you'll have to go through the process again if you want to update the OS and keep fingerprint/TMo stuff working.
As far as root, you will need to unlock the bootloader, and then you will need some sort of DRM fix to keep the camera working. There are a few methods in this forum scattered around, but none of them had enough positive results reported back for me to feel confident in trying them. Remember, once you unlock your bootloader, there is no going back, so you're stuck with a non-working camera until you can find a DRM fix method that works. The most widely used root / DRM fix method that I know of currently is Xperifix, although since it is a paid for tool, there is no dedicated thread here on XDA. There are some discussions on xperifix.com, and a lot of people have had success using this. However, a lot of people have struggled with this as well, so I didn't feel confident enough to try it.
As far as how the DRM fix works with the cobbled together firmware for TMo/fingerprint, I can't say, and I don't think I've read of anyone reporting that here on the forums. I suspect everything would work together just fine, but can't say for sure.
Good luck, and if you do end up getting everything working together with root, please do report back here, I would definitely be interested in hearing about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At this point it's pretty much a gaurantee that you can root and add the DRM fix easily. But now I'm hearing something about the pictures will still not be the same quality???
I'm curious how do you keep the device from getting OTA updates without root access?
I'm really not okay with having a device without root access. The ability to make my own recovery images is an absolute must. I'm also too invested in tasker automation to stop now.
POMF2K said:
At this point it's pretty much a gaurantee that you can root and add the DRM fix easily. But now I'm hearing something about the pictures will still not be the same quality???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, has nothing to do with picture quality. The camera either works or it doesn't. When you unlock bootloader, the camera stops working (solid green pictures). When you apply DRM fix, it starts working again as it did originally.
POMF2K said:
I'm curious how do you keep the device from getting OTA updates without root access?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I disabled the update centre and update service using this method - no root required.
Does anyone know if this method to keep the wifi calling and fingerprint reader simultaneously active works after recent ota updates?
Still searching for someone on T-mobile US with this device that can verify that I can achieve all 3 at once (Root, Fingerprint Sensor, T-mobile Wifi Calling).
Please help.
Note: it may look like it's my first post, but i actually believe to have already posted on the forum in the past (i'm not sure). I think my account got deleted. Bah, i don't know. Maybe i only wanted to post, but never did.
Also, i'm not a native english speaker, so even if i'm fluent, i may not understand some specific expressions.
And, i noticed that for the second time i posted in the wrong section. i'm stupid today... sorry! ^^" I just noticed that there is a warning to not post in the development thread, but in the general thread. But the general thread is not called "General" but "questions and anwsers" instead?!
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hi all! sorry if i somehow missed something, but i'd like to ask you experts some questions about modding this phone (SM-N960F). In the next days i'd like to buy this phone refurbished: since i don't like the more modern ones (the display shape is really odd, with holes and rounded corners), i went for an ex-flagship to have high quality of everything and still getting sufficient performances for an everyday use.
I've aleady looked around the section a bit, but i have a few questions. Remember, i am willing to read any long post explaining things, and can follow well laid-out instructions, but if they doesn't exist then i become fearful and insecure.
questions:
1)
How to unlock the bootloader?
1.1)
And on this product code (SM-N960F), can it be modded on every stock firmware version?
2)
How (if possible) to re-lock, or, at least, return to stock firmware after the bootloader has been unlocked?
3)
what should i expect to not work? Unfortunately, the single ROMs' pages don't convey many informations. Not only about hardware compatibility, but barely any informations at all.
First, let's assess what this smatphone has and what i don't care about. Is anything left out from the following list?
GSMarena says:
S pen
2 cameras with OIS
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot
Bluetoot 5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX
GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO
Slow motion -> i don't care
Iris scanner, fingerprint (rear-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass,
barometer -> i don't care
heart rate -> i don't care
SpO2 -> i don't care
Samsung DeX -> i don't care
ANT+ -> i dont' even know what the hell it is
Samsung Pay -> i don't care
Always on display: i imagine it can easily be reproduced on AOSP with some software running with sufficient privileges.
4)
If there are some specific things to keep in mind when unlocking or flashing. For example, my previous android phones were Sonys (except one easy-to-mod-samsung), so there was a thing called "TA partition", that contains DRM keys or something, and would be wiped upon unlocking the bootloader. If you didn't backup it (through exploits), you would miss some proprietary features. I remember in the old days of smatphone (aka: gingerbread) that samsung too was having some peculiar things to be wary about; i don't remember exactly what it was but it could have worse effects than simply disabling custom DSP features as in Sony, it could even render the phone unable to connect to the network! Where can i find a thread that explains everything that one should pay attention to when modding "modern samsung smartphones"?
Basically, i'd just like a "laundry list" (is this the correct term in english?) of the most useful guides for modding this phone, please. That's because the pinned threads do not answer these important questions, otherwise i could have easily avoided posting this entire topic. The important threads are unfortunately all scattered around.
thanks and greetings!