Hello. I bought an HTC Desire, it will be 2 years in May, I think. Unfortunately, very early it was struck by two persistent issues:
Battery time limited to best case scenario of 10 hours, normal 2-3 hours
Frequent loss of signal, when phone switches between 3G and GPRS mode, with inability to regain signal afterwards. Only rebooting allows the phone to regain the signal.
I once reported this issue here, but no hard reset or changing roms seemed to make any difference.
So, I have sent the phone for repair at HTC, under warranty (2 years), like 6 times. The phone has had its radiofrequency circuit and then its mainboard replaced. It was also replaced entirely by a new phone 3 times. However these two issues persisted every time.
The HTC people at HTC Client Service are at a loss about what is the underlying cause. In my last two contacts, they point out that poor 3G cell coverage in my area affects the battery time of my phone. However, they are reluctant in definitely labelling the latter as the definitite cause for the battery issue. Besides, I've seen these issues manifest in other areas with strong 3G signal. In those areas, I tend to lose 3G signal inside some buildings.
Recently, they've asked me to replace my battery and while the new battery showed a slightly better performance, it did not solve these two issues. I have already reported it and they asked me to run some standard tests like soft and hard reset and a battery discharge test while in safe and emergency mode. No difference again.
My warranty is due in June 2012, although perhaps I could claim an extension seeing as in my invoice, there was a DOA issued when the phone was first replaced and thus a new warranty period of another two years.
My question is what should I do next? HTC Customer Service seems unable to figure out the problem and thus I've begun wondering if it would be better give up on repairing this Desire. Now I can sell it and use the money to buy a replacement or I can ask HTC that they replace my Desire by another smartphone of theirs. However, in the 2nd option I'm limited to HTC smartphones. I was considering the HTC Sensation, but some users are reporting issues with it. If I weren't limited to HTC, I would probably go with Samsung. The Galaxy line seems to be making a hit.
So, what should I do?
Thank you for bearing with me.
If you have had almost every component changed AND the entire phone changed. AND have ruled out settings and data by reset (no restore, no install) AND low signal area and it is still happening, you need to look at the only constants....
1. You. Well you are basically data and settings so can't be that.
2. Battery. Changed it?
3. Power source. Charged else where?
And most likely to me...
4. Dodgy sim. Get pay as you go. Same and different network. Test
Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk
I had the same problem with my original desire and I sent it off last year and they sent me a desire s
Sent from my Desire S using XDA App
Please use the Q&A Forum for questions &
Read the Forum Rules Ref Posting
Moving to Q&A
faddys123 said:
I had the same problem with my original desire and I sent it off last year and they sent me a desire s
Sent from my Desire S using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice. Is it working without problems and did you pay any difference?
rootSU said:
If you have had almost every component changed AND the entire phone changed. AND have ruled out settings and data by reset (no restore, no install) AND low signal area and it is still happening, you need to look at the only constants....
1. You. Well you are basically data and settings so can't be that.
2. Battery. Changed it?
3. Power source. Charged else where?
And most likely to me...
4. Dodgy sim. Get pay as you go. Same and different network. Test
Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have already ruled out the battery and dodgy sim. I've already bought a new battery and I have been using the phone with it. Slight better battery performance, but not enough.
I've tried leaving the phone for some hours without the sim inserted in, more than once. Again, no change. And also, I've done on request by HTC some battery discharge tests in airplane and safe mode and did not notice any change.
Regarding the charger (power source), it is still the original charger that came with the phone, but an assistant from HTC discarded it, as being an unlikely cause for these two issues. Regarding charging location, I have charged (with the same charger) in three different locations and I noticed no change.
Sorry, please could you elaborate on how you ruled out the sim? There is only one way to rule out sim completely and that is with 2 other sims. One on the same network and one on another network. If issue continues with all 3 sims, it is not sim. Unless you do this, you cannot rule out sim related causes.
Have you every done anything to update the radio either?
rootSU said:
Sorry, please could you elaborate on how you ruled out the sim? There is only one way to rule out sim completely and that is with 2 other sims. One on the same network and one on another network. If issue continues with all 3 sims, it is not sim. Unless you do this, you cannot rule out sim related causes.
Have you every done anything to update the radio either?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I confess I haven't done anything similar to rule out the sim. I just removed the sim from the phone, used the latter for a few hours and observed the battery percentage.
So, I will do that. And you suggest I get two other sim cards: one from the same network and another from a different network and use the phone normally until the battery runs down, one time for each of the two other sim cards. By the way, if I imply correctly, the rationale behind this is to rule out physical problems with my current sim card and network specific problems or problems that are specific to the interaction between the Desire and my current mobile network.
As to your second question, Yes I have done everything to update the radio, because before my the last substitution of my Desire, like any other xda fan , I used to flash the latest rom (not the latest development though) and also the latest radio (especially to see if I could get any improvements to this situation).
I agree, after having your phone replaced and repaired so many times, it's unlikely that the phone's hardware is at fault. I'd also blame the SIM, charger or the network.
For example, i live in a somewhat dodgy 3G signal building (old, sturdy, iron reinforced building) and if i use 3G, i get an about 30% less battery life than when i'm using 2G. That doesn't happen when i use 3G in a better reception area (the battery life is about 10% less than under 2G when i'm in a good 3G reception area).
TVTV said:
I agree, after having your phone replaced and repaired so many times, it's unlikely that the phone's hardware is at fault. I'd also blame the SIM, charger or the network.
For example, i live in a somewhat dodgy 3G signal building (old, sturdy, iron reinforced building) and if i use 3G, i get an about 30% less battery life than when i'm using 2G. That doesn't happen when i use 3G in a better reception area (the battery life is about 10% less than under 2G when i'm in a good 3G reception area).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It makes sense. However, I consistently get battery time under 10h in both strong and weak signal areas with 3G. Besides I have been using for some time my phone exclusively in 2G mode and where I live, 2G signal is strong. Battery time does vary with signal strength, application usage, Wifi and other regular factors, but it does not easily go over 10h . As a sidenote, sometimes I am under the impression that leaving Wifi constantly on does give my phone a bit more battery time (1-2h perhaps, cannot say for sure).
Still, I will test my phone with different sim cards first with one from a different network to rule out network or sim card related causes.
Short troubleshooting guide:
1) Get a new, cheap, prepaid SIM on a different network;
2) Borrow a phone from a friend or use an "old" one if you have one handy and insert your current SIM into it so people can get in touch with you blah-blah;
3) Insert the new SIM into your Desire and leave it idle in 2G mode. See how long the battery lasts*.
* In idle mode, my battery discharges about 2-4% per 8 hours. So if i leave it at 90% when i go to sleep, i'll find it at ~86% when i wake up in the morning. Yours should behave the same way. If it doesn't, you may have an app/a bunch of apps which drain your battery, in which case i recommend you do a factory reset and redo the experiment (without installing any 3'rd party apps). If the problem persists, try to charge your phone to 100% via the USB port of your computer (it's slower - 500 mAh vs. 1000 mAh, so expect a much longer charge time) and redo the experiment (to rule out a charger issue). If the problem persists, there must be something wrong with your device, in which case you should call HTC and either request they give you a Desire S or a NEW Desire.
Please keep us posted in regard to this issue.
P.S. - To be clear, if you use the phone for gaming (1-3 hours) and you talk more than hour/day, 10-12 hours/charge is considered to be good/standard behaviour for Sense ROMs.
P.P.S. - Please post a screenshot of your battery usage statistics screen from the Android OS. Settings - About Phone - Battery - Battery Use. If you're rooted, you can use AndroSS from the Market to take screenshots (it's light and easy to use).
Related
Love love love my Desire. Few little problems here and there (Music Genre, Battery life etc) but the one main thing that is really bugging me is, that if I lose reception (I live in a area with lots of valleys), it will never regain reception even if I enter a town centre or City. I always have to either switch Airplane mode on then off. Or more often than not, turn the phone off completely and switch it back on, where it then finds reception straight away.
Anyone else getting this?
I'm on Vodafone and using the latest Generic Rom
I'm not sure if this is the same problem, sometimes i
have no data connection (i guess 3x since i have the phone).
I see some bars but no Edge or H (3g) sign and obviously i have not data connection ... dunno if the phone part work, will try next time.
anyway, i could get the data connection back by switching from 3g to GPRS mode and later back. You can see in the bar that for a very short time all GSM connection is gone ... i guess it's similar to switching to airplane mode ...
Maybe it's worth a try for you, maybe it's totally useless
btw: i'm living in a city, the nearest celltower is just a few meters away.
I have similar issues but I had the same issues with my ADP, not just the Desire.
Inside my University buildings I lose reception very often and the GSM connection always reestablishes itself but not the Data connection. When I reboot my phone the same thing happens. There is a good chance that the Data connection wont initialize and I have to switch to Airplane mode and back to get the Data connection. Really frustrating sometimes :/
Another very, very annoying problem I have is that sometimes it shows a data connection but it can't be used. It shows E/3G/H but whenever I start an app which uses data, it always times out.
Another problem, which is probably not fixable, is that my Phone likes to jump between E/3G/H quite a lot and every time it does do so, it seems like the app using the data connection has to reestablish the connection. This led to quite some timeouts when it was constantly jumping around.
I get poor 3G reception on my desire ( orange UK ) , have to go outside in the rain to get a better reception
CharlieCharlie24 said:
Love love love my Desire. Few little problems here and there (Music Genre, Battery life etc) but the one main thing that is really bugging me is, that if I lose reception (I live in a area with lots of valleys), it will never regain reception even if I enter a town centre or City. I always have to either switch Airplane mode on then off. Or more often than not, turn the phone off completely and switch it back on, where it then finds reception straight away.
Anyone else getting this?
I'm on Vodafone and using the latest Generic Rom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
vodafone have been getting worse and worse of late, I travel from surrey to london (central) every morning and was getting the same thing. I was even getting this all the time with a blackberry 9700, It is not the phone as I tried tmobile sim card in the same areas and didn't have the problem. Only 8 months to go of my contract which I will not be renewing.
I have an issue where if I use wifI at home for an evening, when I switch wifi off, the 3g data connection does not re connect. If I re boot, it connects immediately.
Sent from my HTC Desire
xxnoelziexx said:
vodafone have been getting worse and worse of late, I travel from surrey to london (central) every morning and was getting the same thing. I was even getting this all the time with a blackberry 9700, It is not the phone as I tried tmobile sim card in the same areas and didn't have the problem. Only 8 months to go of my contract which I will not be renewing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the sites around the areas might actually be down try calling and checking that out
CharlieCharlie24 said:
... if I lose reception (I live in a area with lots of valleys), it will never regain reception ... I'm on Vodafone and using the latest Generic Rom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Assuming Vodafone uses Sim cards. I just had the same issue, here in the states with AT&T. I thought my Tilt was at fault so I borrowed a little Samsung flip phone and put my Sim in it but it did the same thing.
I had AT&T replace my Sim card and so far, 48+ hours, it hasn't happened again on my Tilt.
Might be worth a try.
holmanm said:
Assuming Vodafone uses Sim cards. I just had the same issue, here in the states with AT&T. I thought my Tilt was at fault so I borrowed a little Samsung flip phone and put my Sim in it but it did the same thing.
I had AT&T replace my Sim card and so far, 48+ hours, it hasn't happened again on my Tilt.
Might be worth a try.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, might try changing the Radio version and see if that helps first, if not will give Vodafone a call.
traspler said:
I have similar issues but I had the same issues with my ADP, not just the Desire.
snip
Another very, very annoying problem I have is that sometimes it shows a data connection but it can't be used. It shows E/3G/H but whenever I start an app which uses data, it always times out.
snip
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have this same problem at home (in South London) with my desire and had it with my G1 too (both on T-Mobile). I'm pretty sure it's a network issue rather than android or the phone. I constantly have 3 bars of H signal and during the daytime it's blazing fast but after around 5pm and all day at the weekends it becomes basically unusable with network timeouts more often than usable connections. I work 40 miles away down south and I get a consistently fast data connection down there with none of the time out problems.
I also tried using a t-mobile sim in a 3g dongle and had the same issues, it was great during the day and incredibly slow with loads of timeouts in the eve. It reminds me of when unmetered ISPs first came out and couldn't cope with the amount of bandwidth being used, I'm pretty sure this is a similar capacity problem in some areas.
I've been in touch with t-mobile and they are escalating it to 3rd line support so will wait and see what happens. As it's at home I can use wifi and it's not the end of the world but it some respects I wish I hadn't upgraded and switched networks instead, my gf's on O2 with the phone that is not to be named and doesn't have this problem at all.
In response to your most recent query on a different thread you had posted (now closed):
Will changing the radio help me?
Currently got this issue happening daily
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=676866
If I lose reception at any point, I have to either turn Airplane Mode on and off or restart the phone to get ANY sort of reception.
Currently on 1.15.405.4 Generic Rom with Baseband version 32.30.00.28U_4.05.00.11
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, by updating the Radio version this can improve things like battery life, network reception, Wi-Fi, and GPS signal strength, but this also depends on your region - it will either work better for you or could be worse. It may be worthwhile changing to Radio 4.06.00.02 for a few days and try to establish whether or not it improves your situation. If it doesn't, then just revert back to the stock Radio version.
I had a very similar problem on my Touch Diamond 2. It turned out to be a faulty aerial and had to go back to HTC for repair. Worked ok for a while after that, then it started again. An update to their latest ROM then solved it. So a hardware issue and a seperate software issue both produced the same fault for me.
I know there is a lot of talk about the radio issues the Nexus has been experiencing. My experience is a lot like many others. I would go do use my phone (data or text) which showed I had two or three bars of service. As soon as I tried to use maps or send a text I would loose all service and have to wait about two minutes before everything connected again and only then would I be able to data or voice. I had people telling me that they would try to call and get a fast busy signal.
For some reason my Nexus was dropping its signal entirely but I would still show bars, only after trying to use a signal would the phone realize that it was disconnected and reconnect to the network. Very very very frustrating.
For ****s and giggles I disabled LTE and switched to CDMA only. For two straight days I didn't have a single problem (except no 4g of course). Soon as I turn LTE back on I start dropping signal again. I think the phone has a problem with either keeping LTE active while sleeping or it can't gracefully do handoffs with LTE and CDMA.
On the other hand, If I run pandora and have LTE active I won't loose connection. I've tried this in a two hour car ride all around So Cal which supports the phone sleeping theory.
Anyway, if you're having the same issues try running CDMA only for a couple days and see if that helps.
I'm in. Switching now
I can't say anything to confirm or reject your findings because I have a GSM Galaxy Nexus. Is there no way to switch to CDMA when the screen is off/sleep mode and when the screen is active switch LTE on. That way background data and voice still work albeit at a slower connection but you never lose connectivity.
Just a theory, I assume that LTE switching off would be to save on battery life. I personally use Tasker to switch data off when screen is off and when it's on I set it to turn the data on too. I have seen a massive increase on battery when phone is idle and my standby is just short of around 1 week (tested when I had forgotten my charger and USB cable and deliberately didn't turn screen on to conserve battery life, had 8-9 phone calls during that period no issues)
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
I switched LTE off purely to stop my data from dropping.
First of all, thank you OP for posting this info
And this is exactly what VZW customer service people want us to do as one of the "solutions" to LTE drop. And I've been using this phone with 4G off due to the drop this entire time, but this is more like a remedy..
On the advertisements for Verizon GNex : "The fastest, most reliable network and the latest 4G LTE Galaxy Nexus Device comes to life!"
On the phone with VZW customer service after you purchase this phone eager to use 4G : The representative tells you... "Why don't you turn the LTE off, and just use it as CDMA?"
And we are thinking 1) where is the supposed update that was to come since 3 months ago?
2) We feel like we bought a Ferrari and the maker is telling us we shouldn't drive faster than 80mph.......If we go pass that speed, our engine is going to be shut off.
LOL...sad..
This works. My signal has been pretty stable since turning off LTE ... Battery life has increased as well ...
Now I'll try rooting my phone and installing a 4.0.4 radio and see how it goes...
This issue sounds like it may be addressed in the update rumored for next month. (Problems with data when the device sleeps.) Here's a quote from Droid Life.
Our friend, the Mobile Panda aka @black_man_x tossed out a quick, but important Tweet this afternoon that has to do with your Galaxy Nexus. As someone that has a well known insider track record when it comes to Verizon and LTE devices, we usually listen when he has something to spit out. Android “4.0.5″ and “April” is what he dropped today. According to Sir Panda, 4.0.5 is in testing and fixes “audio reboot issue as well as data falling asleep.” That should make you smile, right? April is a bit late seeing as the device was released in December, but what can you do?
sdmf91 said:
This issue sounds like it may be addressed in the update rumored for next month. (Problems with data when the device sleeps.) Here's a quote from Droid Life.
Our friend, the Mobile Panda aka @black_man_x tossed out a quick, but important Tweet this afternoon that has to do with your Galaxy Nexus. As someone that has a well known insider track record when it comes to Verizon and LTE devices, we usually listen when he has something to spit out. Android “4.0.5″ and “April” is what he dropped today. According to Sir Panda, 4.0.5 is in testing and fixes “audio reboot issue as well as data falling asleep.” That should make you smile, right? April is a bit late seeing as the device was released in December, but what can you do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I remember going through the same thing when I got the Thunderbolt. There were all kinds of issues but eventually they all got worked out
bazzawhite said:
I can't say anything to confirm or reject your findings because I have a GSM Galaxy Nexus. Is there no way to switch to CDMA when the screen is off/sleep mode and when the screen is active switch LTE on. That way background data and voice still work albeit at a slower connection but you never lose connectivity.
Just a theory, I assume that LTE switching off would be to save on battery life. I personally use Tasker to switch data off when screen is off and when it's on I set it to turn the data on too. I have seen a massive increase on battery when phone is idle and my standby is just short of around 1 week (tested when I had forgotten my charger and USB cable and deliberately didn't turn screen on to conserve battery life, had 8-9 phone calls during that period no issues)
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This particular issue isn't about saving battery life. It's about the cellular connection dropping out completely. Many users (myself included) have this happen several times a day. I can be in an area with a strong, full signal, and then all of a sudden my phone is searching for service. This happens far too often, and it happens both when I'm using the phone and when it's idle. Having LTE switch off when the phone is asleep isn't particularly useful for this issue because the connection drops when I'm trying to use the phone. I don't notice the connection dropping when the phone is idle unless I miss a call and get a voicemail later.
For me, I still randomly lose connectivity in CDMA only mode, although not nearly as frequently as when I have LTE on.
Prevent maps app from running all the time if you want to save battery. I use Gemini app manager from the market. I block maps from starting at boot and have seen significant battery life increases. App functions normally when ran too.
I have a Vodafone Sure Signal femtocell device, which connects to my broadband and provides a localised 3G signal in my house, as network reception here is poor.
I have 2 other phones connected to the SS just fine, but the One X is intermittently losing the connection and needs a reboot to re-connect. There have been some other posts on the Vodafone UK forums from folks with a One X, not many but enough to make me wonder if there's a more common problem.
Does anyone else here have a Sure Signal, and if so, are you having any problems with it?
I don't personally have it but my friend does and he is getting drops constantly he is not best pleased as he had yellow spot issue aswell aha i think he's going to thro the OX off the wall shortly. He has phoned regarding this and got nowhere
Thanks for the reply. VF have contacted me after I posted on their eforums, I've raised a ticket and they're investigating. I'll report back if anything improves.
VF UK are really pushing the One X, so if there is a problem, I imagine they'll want to get it fixed.
do the vodafone handsets have vodafone firmware? i have a factory unlocked non branded unit I'm using on vodafone with SS and hab=ve had zero problems!
Thanks for the reply. I got mine from dialaphone and it's pure stock WWE. It's working now, but still a little flakey. If it loses connection to the SS, I turn airplane mode off and on again and it works again (quicker than a reboot).
Most of the One X users with problems on the VF forum have their old number on a new sim card, which apparently can cause the Sure Signal to bug out a bit until the new sim is registered. Mine is a brand new number though. It's lasting a day or so before I have any issues.
The SS has always been a little on the flakey side, though, I need to reset it every so often - but that's been weeks or months apart rather than days.
I have one of the older models with 4 lights, not sure if that makes a difference.
Half wondering if it's the phone not the SS, but will see how it goes for the next few days.
I have had very poor suresignal performance...and have swapped out one phone already after speaking to HTC.
But have found that by turning off WIFI, it seems to be a lot happier, and the replacement phone acts just the same as the first (sim free from CPW)
But without WIFI, all data comes out of your data plan, and not from your broadband even thought the SS uses the broadband connection.
I never got to the bottom of my sure signal problems with this phone until I installed cyanogenmod.
However I recently installed sense 5 and my phone would again not connect to my sure signal. I have gone back to cyanogenmod and the problem still exisits.
Can someone who uses a sure signal please tell me which radio you are using by going to settings, about phone, baseband version
Many thanks
Hello,
I appeal to all the users that have samsung galaxy s4 mini duos (i9192) to give me a honest opinion on their experience usage about this issue
I want to buy the phone because i have 2 sims, work and home and need both always on but i've been read that this phone has major problems with network signal such as:
"Poor network performance. I'm forced to restart 4 to 5 times per day to regain the network access. I checked from my service providers, no issues on their part. Dual Sim a failure. Apart from network issues, the design, ram performance are average. I'll recommend not to buy this instrument unless the dual-sim network problem is rectified."
Like this, there are many more in samsung phone forum.
Anyone can give me their opinion?
False. I'm using it without problems with two sims work/private. Signal strength may be lower, but it's not so bad. Device is very fast, in antutu it has more points than 4 core htc one x+ or galaxy s3.
Software is bit buggy, but nothing serious.
Wysłane z mojego GT-I9192
mar10o said:
False. I'm using it without problems with two sims work/private. Signal strength may be lower, but it's not so bad. Device is very fast, in antutu it has more points than 4 core htc one x+ or galaxy s3.
Software is bit buggy, but nothing serious.
Wysłane z mojego GT-I9192
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the quick answer.
Yes, i have read many reviews and all shows very good results. But if you go to http://reviews.in.samsung.com/7463-en_in/GT-I9192ZWAINU/samsung-galaxy-s4-mini-reviews/reviews.htm you will see the very bad opinions.
Seems that the phone in bad coverage areas lost signal and don't regain signal unless you restart the phone or the network. Have you already been in bad coverage areas?
It will regain signal. For example yesterday - I was in underground parking lot and signal was very poor to none, but somehow I've got the incoming call when moving to other spot.
Maybe it's firmware related. I've updated manually to amh2 version through odin. Mine new csc is ser - Russia
Wysłane z mojego GT-I9192
Anyone else that has not experienced this problems?
I would like to know this also, I'm considering buying it solely because of the "Dual Sim" but I keep reading lots of people complaining about the signal issues.
I dont have any problems with my I9192 been in my hands for 2 months by now the network problem you describe it's very rare just couple of times since I've been using it but I've turn on and off airplane mode
for me it's a really good phone
Sent from my GT-I9192 using Tapatalk 4
Same problem
I also have the duos version. Once the signal is lost/falls in the dead spot region, it doesn't come back a automatically. Fed up with this.. after buying such a high end phone, restarting all the time to get network! What is the use of fast processor and all stuff if we can't make a phone call with it? And after reading the comments on the below page, it is clear that this is a known issue of the model:
gsmarena.com/samsung_i9190_galaxy_s4_mini-reviews-5375.php
Any solution for this? The handset has turned out to be useless.
I have not had a problem like this with mine, it works perfect. I live in a bad signal area and if I go down stairs in my house the phone will lose the signal , when I go back up stairs the phone always regains the signal with no problems.
I can't fault this phone, it's ten times better than my last one, HTC Desire V
fburgos said:
I dont have any problems with my I9192 been in my hands for 2 months by now the network problem you describe it's very rare just couple of times since I've been using it but I've turn on and off airplane mode
for me it's a really good phone
Sent from my GT-I9192 using Tapatalk 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks,
Only the fact that you mentioned you have to do airplane mode 2 times is just severe enough, because in a phone with this price range that's a problem that should NEVER occur, and you can be the lucky guy that just has good coverage signal all of the time.
I came to the conclusion that it happens with much moore models than the ones that not happen.
I'm going to order the phone even with this feedback hoping that i have a flash of luck and my phone doesn't have the problems, because i've been waiting months for a dual sim phone with top performance and this seems to be the ideal phone to me.
I will post my experience here, if anything goes wrong i will try to sell it.
grajeshg said:
I also have the duos version. Once the signal is lost/falls in the dead spot region, it doesn't come back a automatically. Fed up with this.. after buying such a high end phone, restarting all the time to get network! What is the use of fast processor and all stuff if we can't make a phone call with it? And after reading the comments on the below page, it is clear that this is a known issue of the model:
gsmarena.com/samsung_i9190_galaxy_s4_mini-reviews-5375.php
Any solution for this? The handset has turned out to be useless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, i totally agree with you.
I don't know how a brand like Samsung brings to the market a phone in this price range with these problems. And worst, dont't give a solution to them. Did you try to contact Samsung or use the warranty with them?
Same Issue with Samsung GT-I9192
Hi All,
I am facing the same issue with my Samsung GT-I9192, which I purchased on 1st Sep.
I am using 2 simcards, one being Vodafone and the other Idea, India region.
Surprisingly the issue is only with Vodafone, where the signal after dropping (very frequently) does not refresh.
In case of Idea simcard, the signal refresh is working fine.
I am not able to understand if the problem is with the service provider, sim card, hardware or the software.
I used my vodafone simcard with Galaxy Core (another dual sim phones), and they seem to work fine,
which gets me all the more confused.
The only difference that I notice is in the Mobile Network Type.
Its EDGE:2 for Vodafone and UMTS:3 for Idea, wonder if this has got anything to do with the network issues.
I did the default available 2 firmware upgrades since purchase, they seem to have worsened the problems.
Let me know if you are facing the same issue, with the same service provider.
Need to keep a close watch on the solution, as it seems to be affecting more people than expected, surprisingly couldn't find any issues a month back during the time of purchase....
Regards,
Varun
varun_b said:
Hi All,
I am facing the same issue with my Samsung GT-I9192, which I purchased on 1st Sep.
I am using 2 simcards, one being Vodafone and the other Idea, India region.
Surprisingly the issue is only with Vodafone, where the signal after dropping (very frequently) does not refresh.
In case of Idea simcard, the signal refresh is working fine.
I am not able to understand if the problem is with the service provider, sim card, hardware or the software.
I used my vodafone simcard with Galaxy Core (another dual sim phones), and they seem to work fine,
which gets me all the more confused.
The only difference that I notice is in the Mobile Network Type.
Its EDGE:2 for Vodafone and UMTS:3 for Idea, wonder if this has got anything to do with the network issues.
I did the default available 2 firmware upgrades since purchase, they seem to have worsened the problems.
Let me know if you are facing the same issue, with the same service provider.
Need to keep a close watch on the solution, as it seems to be affecting more people than expected, surprisingly couldn't find any issues a month back during the time of purchase....
Regards,
Varun
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my case, it's Vodafone also, but is in Western Europe.
My concern is that i have exactily the same problem in my present phone (Sony Tipo Dual) and it's the main reason (along side the big improve of speed and etc) for buying this phone. At the present, people call to me and they say that phone answers occupied (no network signal) and i look to the phone and it shows top signal strenght. I'm beginning to think that dual sim phones with android have some limitations (maybe antenna limitations).
ricjps said:
Hello,
I appeal to all the users that have samsung galaxy s4 mini duos (i9192) to give me a honest opinion on their experience usage about this issue
I want to buy the phone because i have 2 sims, work and home and need both always on but i've been read that this phone has major problems with network signal such as:
"Poor network performance. I'm forced to restart 4 to 5 times per day to regain the network access. I checked from my service providers, no issues on their part. Dual Sim a failure. Apart from network issues, the design, ram performance are average. I'll recommend not to buy this instrument unless the dual-sim network problem is rectified."
Like this, there are many more in samsung phone forum.
Anyone can give me their opinion?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have smiliar problem. I have contacted samsung service center they assured to replace antenna but after 10 days antenna not yet came. So waiting for it. Is this problem is due to hardware or software i am not sure.
---------- Post added at 09:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:29 PM ----------
ricjps said:
In my case, it's Vodafone also, but is in Western Europe.
My concern is that i have exactily the same problem in my present phone (Sony Tipo Dual) and it's the main reason (along side the big improve of speed and etc) for buying this phone. At the present, people call to me and they say that phone answers occupied (no network signal) and i look to the phone and it shows top signal strenght. I'm beginning to think that dual sim phones with android have some limitations (maybe antenna limitations).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my case S4 mini network refresh is not working for secondary sim (aircel India) and working fine for primary sim Tata docomo. I buyed this mobile as it has 1.5 gb RAM with dual sim instead of Nexus 4.
ricjps said:
Thanks,
Only the fact that you mentioned you have to do airplane mode 2 times is just severe enough, because in a phone with this price range that's a problem that should NEVER occur, and you can be the lucky guy that just has good coverage signal all of the time.
I came to the conclusion that it happens with much moore models than the ones that not happen.
I'm going to order the phone even with this feedback hoping that i have a flash of luck and my phone doesn't have the problems, because i've been waiting months for a dual sim phone with top performance and this seems to be the ideal phone to me.
I will post my experience here, if anything goes wrong i will try to sell it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thats true it should never occur, i think its implementation problem, android its not mean to be for dual sim phones the solution for dual sim on android its a samsung workarround, it should not be buggy but has some problems it does not make the phone unusable for me, I don't get coverage all the time, I travel from city to city and get poor coverage all the way so i think its not a big issue since it happen just a few times.
sriram.yenchrla said:
I have smiliar problem. I have contacted samsung service center they assured to replace antenna but after 10 days antenna not yet came. So waiting for it. Is this problem is due to hardware or software i am not sure.
---------- Post added at 09:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:29 PM ----------
In my case S4 mini network refresh is not working for secondary sim (aircel India) and working fine for primary sim Tata docomo. I buyed this mobile as it has 1.5 gb RAM with dual sim instead of Nexus 4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Sriram,
My problem is very similar, Vodafone on either sim slots gives network problems, and Idea on either sim slots works fine. That makes me think that the problem must be hardware / software related to Network type. Its EDGE2 for vodafone and GPRS1 for Idea. What is the network type of your sim cards?
Phone defect.. Not related to Sim card
ricjps said:
Yes, i totally agree with you.
I don't know how a brand like Samsung brings to the market a phone in this price range with these problems. And worst, dont't give a solution to them. Did you try to contact Samsung or use the warranty with them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Started with an email to CEO, Samsung India. I shall update as I get the reply.
varun_b said:
....I am using 2 simcards, one being Vodafone and the other Idea, India region.
Surprisingly the issue is only with Vodafone, where the signal after dropping (very frequently) does not refresh.
In case of Idea simcard, the signal refresh is working fine.
I am not able to understand if the problem is with the service provider, sim card, hardware or the software.
Regards,
Varun
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
..
..
varun_b said:
Hi Sriram,
My problem is very similar, Vodafone on either sim slots gives network problems, and Idea on either sim slots works fine. That makes me think that the problem must be hardware / software related to Network type. Its EDGE2 for vodafone and GPRS1 for Idea
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use idea in the first slot and BSNL in the second slot. The trouble occurs with BOTH SIM. Earlier I used idea -Vodafone pair, the problem was still there. I live in am area where all operators have weak/varying coverage. Airtel and aircel have already been reported as showing same problem. All the users are affected with this issue, so it is clear that this has nothing to do with the operator, it is a fault of the phone either hardware or software. I think you have idea Sim working fine only means idea network is better in your area and may not need frequent network cell changeover. (?) And another fact we can see from the reports is, that, almost ALL THE COMPLAINTS have been reported from INDIA where the model released is the duos.
S4 Mini Network issues.
I too have a S4 Mini for less than a month and I am also facing network issues. One thing to notice is that the sim with internet doesn't have issues. Irrespective of which slot it is in. Currently I have Vodafone IN on Sim 1 and Airtel on 2 (with 3G). Airtel works fine and Voda has issues.
I did speak to Samsung care, they were very nice, however the problem wasn't solved, I have been adviced to go to Samsung service center and get the S/w reimaged.
I still haven't done that, however what I did was to reset the phone and while I was browsing on the play store I got a software called "Where is my Signal" by Grey Boy. For some reason I feel it is working fine now. I have not had any issue from last evening, baring one time when I was on a long conf call for around 150 mins today. else it has been working fine and receiving calls on both sims too.
I had used this software to refresh the network once, it has helped me, not sure if this is going to sustain but for now it is good.
If some one else also has this software installed and is finding this to solve the issues kindly post the same on the forum and may be helpful.
Will repost tomorrow again with the status.
BTW I agree to many opinions in this thread that Samsung should have done some testing or atleast after many of these issues coming up needed to provide a patch upgrade.
Regards
HB
Will factory reset work?
Hbalisavira said:
.....however what I did was to reset the phone and while I was browsing on the play store I got a software called "Where is my Signal" by Grey Boy.
Regards
HB
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had tried three apps of that kind: where is my signal, network booster(marcstealth), and network refresher lite. None of them could overcome the strange problem of this phone though at first they seemed to be working. Another question is, how do we know when to refresh network? If we know the signal is lost, we can restart or do something like that. Then there is one more issue: sometimes it shows good/full signal strength, but when try to make a call, will realize that it was false! I made to run the network booster app run when signal is low, using tasker app -but we are not supposed to live such a life using this celebrated costly handset.
But one thing in your post is of much importance. DID THAT RESET WORK? You haven't said much about that.
Regards,
Rajesh
grajeshg said:
I had tried three apps of that kind: where is my signal, network booster(marcstealth), and network refresher lite. None of them could overcome the strange problem of this phone though at first they seemed to be working. Another question is, how do we know when to refresh network? If we know the signal is lost, we can restart or do something like that. Then there is one more issue: sometimes it shows good/full signal strength, but when try to make a call, will realize that it was false! I made to run the network booster app run when signal is low, using tasker app -but we are not supposed to live such a life using this celebrated costly handset.
But one thing in your post is of much importance. DID THAT RESET WORK? You haven't said much about that.
Regards,
Rajesh
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The reason for reset was to ensure that none of the softwares I had installed were causing the issue. The reset didn't change much compared to the way it was earlier.
Some observations of when the problem actually happens (again this is my observation and doesn't need to be the same in your case)
> When I am on a long incoming call on the sim which has Internet.
> Noticed that short calls don't impact the network.
> If there is a call drop imm after you receive a call.
I am planning to get the phone firmware re-imaged from the service center however I will need atleast 10 more days to do it as I am currently in a different city and I am not carrying the invoice copy.
BTW Rajesh, did u get any response from the CEOs office?
Regards
HB
hi all,
stock 551ML no root, the calls running on SIM1 (4G) gets disconnected after 5/10 minutes. i suddenly see the radio bars disappearing, i can't hear anymore the called party, and then the call drops. Tried with 2 different carriers on SIM1. The phone is always enabled with 2 SIM's, but on the second one (whatever the carrier is) there's no such problem. I think this phone has large issues when dealing with 2G/3G/4G swap, signal quality on SIM1 is terrible (tested in comparison with wife's iphone6+ with same carrier same location) and often i lose signal on SIM1. Definitely not a work phone in this way. any idea? can a full reset improve the situation?
Please ensure firmware is updated to latest version. Next please try performing a hardware reset including cache wipe partition. http://www.asus.com/us/support/FAQ/1011956/
If the problem continues then it may be a hardware issue with the SIM slot and will require RMA service.
Sincerely
ASUS_USA
[email protected]
after few weeks i can say more about this issue, on SIM1 the 4G slot. (stock phone updated and wiped completely)
1) carrier signal reception has now slightly improved with .59 and .63 update
2) problems on switching from 4G to 3G still there, when 4G signal is poor the phone is not able to detect it, and tries and tries and tries sending data to nowhere. after a minute or so, switch to 3G happens and i got network connectivity again
3) comparison with iphone6+, samsungS5 and sonyZ3 (same network, same location) is still terrible, while i got no network, iphone does and loads the pages, slowly but it loads the full page. i think here is the price difference between the two -> antenna, radio, optimized software for any signal condition
4) under bad (bad from a 551ML point of view) signal conditions the battery drains a lot more faster, and that's fine but at least i would like to use the phone, to receive calls, messages, whatsapp and so on.
5) during a call on SIM1, it still happens that signal disappear and i the call is dropped, less frequently than i had before .59 update, but still happens.
6) i'm calling using SIM2 BTW, SIM2 on 2G has no issues.
i will be soon able to compare with honor7 (it should have a very good optimization on the radio part) and let you know.
bye
I am on AT&T in the US and having a similar problem and hoping someone can help except for me it is SIM 2 that is the problem and for me it is at home. Last night I was on a call that kept dropping, and it was not a good thing at all and I had to end the call. I pretty much cannot sustain SIM 2 calls in my house but SIM 2 elsewhere is okay; calls on SIM 1 are perfectly fine and with my previous phones (Note 3, iPhone, Windows Lumia 1520) no reception problem history ever at all. So this clearly is a device issue and not an AT&T issue as I get good coverage in my house. I had two phones up until a month ago when I opted to consolidate by getting the ZF2.SIM1 is perfectly fine most of the time-I've never dropped a call although a couple times I have to say I've not heard as well for a moment as I could, so I question if my house and the Zenfone2 are a good match, although that is really a weird thing as I live in a major suburban metro area that is not a coverage problem in any way shape or form with any dead spot problems, so I am wondering if something is wrong with my hardware and I need to exchange my phone. I'm going to have to pop my SIM 1 back into my Note 3 in the interim and forward calls on my second line in the interim in the meantime if that's the case . (my windows phone takes a nano SIM) and send my ZF2 back for an exchange Should I do a hard reset? Why would my house be a problem? It's not a dead spot area or remote or anything like that. I really like this phone already got a new SIM 2 card once before when I had problems at first but it seemed to be better until I then tried to make a c all yesterday and it wouldn't work.Could my phone be defective? Hard reset?? My software is up to date.
Sent from my K010 using XDA Free mobile app
After latest updates and various test i can say that signal coverage and battery life has been improved so much. Thanks a lot asus, it's a pleasure to work with this phone now. Keep doing the same good job!
Federic0 said:
After latest updates and various test i can say that signal coverage and battery life has been improved so much. Thanks a lot asus, it's a pleasure to work with this phone now. Keep doing the same good job!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad to hear things worked out for you. My situation didn't work out. I just returned the Zenfone yesterday. I had gotten the replacement phone through ASUS, still replaced yet another SIM card, and the problem with my SIM 2 persisted and got even worse. For me, the SIM slot being 2G did turn out to be the destructive feature of the device. My area is too upgraded for it apparently. You're the only other person I've come across that has referenced SIM 2 usage to me, so I get the sense that most people are just using the ZF2 as a single SIM and don't have a second phone line or data line. Therefore I can understand people being happy overall as it's a decent device for a single SIM user. You are lucky that your SIM 2 coverage is good everywhere. Mine was good in some areas but certainly not in and around my house and there my SIM 2 was unable to sustain phone calls. I didn't care about data-I only wanted phone calls but I couldn't do calls even.I had no cellular connection and my SIM 2 would X out and drop off all the time.
I never had a problem with SIM 1. I always got calls just fine and I found that ASUS always provided updates and I noticed changes in battery life. I was pleased in every other regard but the very purpose that I bought the phone for -to be able to get calls to both my phone lines. I do think ASUS dropped the ball with the 2G slot and need to make their next model with both slots supporting LTE. They me might get me back as a customer if they do.
Sent from my K010 using XDA Free mobile app
It looks like I am not the only one who has the sim 2 signal issue. My phone has this issue from day one, the signal of sim 2 just comes and goes all the time. Software update doesn't help at all. I've also tried putting a new sim card, but still have the same problem. I think this is a hardware issue.