Reception issues after drop - T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II

I bought a Note 2 right when they came out. Around January I dropped it and shattered the glass, then brought it to a repair shop to replace the display assembly. Cost $150 or so, and they were very professional. Ever since the drop though, I feel as though it's only getting about 60% signal, and it has a very very hard time finding signals and locking them. It drops calls constantly, and says "Searching" probably 40% of the time.
I took it apart and all of the antennas appear to be intact, with good connections. Everything on the phone is flawless except the radio.
Recommendations? It seems stupid to buy a new Note 2 for $450, and I can't get a phone without T-mobile WIFI Calling because I work in a building that is massive (and a signal hole for all but Verizon) and I NEED to be able to receive calls and texts coming to my Tmobile number.

Related

Super Mega Ultra XTREEEEM signal drops

I have an LTE Gnex with a perfect screen (of course) with a brand new screen protector (of course) that decided to take a s***. It has been having signal drops at the rate of 1 every 2 minutes. Happens on EVERY radio, all kernels, all ROMS I have tried. I am so pissed right now. Time to unroot. Heading to the store for an exchange tomorrow.
Was not aware screen scratches related to signal strength, learn something new everyday
Sent from my Iconia A500 using Tapatalk 2
No, I'm just saying of course I have to return a Nexus with a perfect screen (I mean no weird coloring stuff) and waste a screen protector.
How do you go to the store for an exchange? I got a replacement today that would not even pick up a signal... at all... even with 2 hours at the store and 3 sim cards still no service (but put that new sim in the old phone and it was 4 bars)... but they still had to order me a replacement? I just wanted to leave tonight with a new one and now I have to wait again.
man im on the same boat, signal drops like crazy..doesnt even hand off to 3G, new replacement phone the screen is noticeably dimmer (yes i messed with the brightness control and different kernels, flashed all the damn radios) yet .. no dice. so im stickin with my original phone rather than the replacement one ... whack

[Q] Signal drop (phone network, not wifi)

Hi,
I have had my HOX for 3 weeks now and since yesterday (so, not a new thing), I keep losing the signal in my appartment, in some places outside. Oddly enough, signal is OK (tho just 3-4 bars) in my office.
1. Could this be related to the WIFI antenna issue even tho it's not WIFI issue? In other words, is there a chance that by fixing the WIFI antenna issue, I can get solve this?
2. If not, what are my other options? The garanty is already voided so I cannot send it to HTC for repair (voided by an "unofficial repair center" after the screen got smashed by dropping it from like 1m... - it's very possible that the fall or their repair broke something else, but the repair was already 2 weeks ago)
Thanks for your help!
First thing I'd ask is are you rooted? Have you been playing with radios recently?
If not, the next thing I'd look at is trying to find someone else with a micro-sim, and asking to borrow it. If they still get a good signal on their network on your phone, it might be your sim card. I had a faulty one once which just started dropping network like you describe. It can happen.
If their sim card also shows poor reception, you might have an aerial issue caused by the unofficial repair centre opening the phone up. (Although from the feedback on the WiFi issue thread HTC have worrying repair standards too).
If you can't find another micro-sim, just try finding someone on the same network. This phone (when working) has excellent network reception (better than my previous Desire S) so if a side-by-side comparison shows a big difference in signal strength, again I'd think about getting the sim replaced.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.android.telnet&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDEsImRlLmFuZHJvaWQudGVsbmV0Il0.
If your replacement sim still has the same problem, then I'd consider opening the phone up as per the video guide in the WiFi Issue thread in the general section. Seems to be quite easy if you are careful. It is unlikely that the same aerial for the WiFi is also the 3G one, but I've looked at the tear down pictures, and can't read chinese! If i find out which one it is, I'll update this post. If not, just check all the connections.
Hi,
I have also been having this network drop issue but only near my office. The reason I think is that my office is between two towers and every now and then it tries to balance the traffic on the networks and hence keeps disconnecting devices from one to connect to the other one... However, I have cut out my normal sim into a micro sim and that was done by the guys at the shop from where I bought the device and they had said that if there are any issues, then please order a proper micro sim and use it....
I think that might also be the problem.....
levtrp savans
All,
After checking that my SIM card wasn't in cause (used a friend's HTC One X to test my SIM card and test with his), I broke open the case and saw the problem.
The problem is the damn design of those antenna contact! I saw probably around 10 of those small metal piece that are supposed to be a bit "up" and somehow touch the contact area on the back cover.
I found that 2 of them (in two different pairs, they all seem to be in pair to create a closed circuit I suppose) were a little bit lower than their counterpart, so with a flat screwdriver, put them upright, closed the case and voila, I am enjoying network with full bars since yesterday.
If the issue comes back (and it probabl will, if they got bent the first time it probably means that the metal already was bent beyond its elastic deformation area), I'll probably end up buying a soldering iron a add some patch of silver to increase the height of the contact zones. That's .... just lame I am sure they had a good reason to do that, but seriously!?
Guillaume
Glad you got to the bottom of it. Yeah I think the design choice is forced from having the main body of the phone slide in at an angle into the outer case. If the two parts just clamped together like a more traditional phone build, then they perhaps could have used a different approach.
I'm putting off opening mine up (I have the dreaded WiFi drop issue) as my current case puts just enough pressure on the screen to act like a permanent squeeze, halting my problem.
Would be interested to know if the problem reoccurs like you said it might. Keep us posted.

[Q] Radio/Antenna Repair Issue

Dear folks,
One night I reached out my hand while sleeping, touched a glass of water (which fell over) and my Galaxy Nexus GSM got wet. In the morning I dried it (*no* hair dryer, just a vacuum cleaner and a radiator), and it still works like a charm. With few exections: Almost no signal anymore. Most often no signal, sometimes weak signal, rarely full H+ speed.
In my flat I have no radio at all (-110db if that matters). No speech, no data.
Outside I may have luck, I may not. Sometimes I get almost full HSDPA+ as stated, but most of the times with "standard" covering just no signal or a really really weak one, where my old HTC Hero (T-Mobile H2 Touch) and my work phone (Nokia 31xx) have full(!) radio signal. Embarassing.
Speaker was damaged, too. So was the USB port (not charging when switched on, no sound, wrong headset recognition).
I decided to repair it myself. I did this before many times with my old Nokia 3310, and ifixit.com suggested, it's not that hard. So I went to eBay and bought a new speaker part (that more bulky part at the bottom of the disassembled phone).
Well, this fixed the speaker/headset and the USB issue. Hooray! But my radiosignal was still bad.
So today, I replaced the antenna mainboard (L-Shaped). Well, this fixed… nothing at all. I still got bad radio (at least it's not broken down completely). Now I wonder: What could I do next? Flasing radio firmware has no effect either (I think, I tried three or so). Is it really because it got wet? Sth else to replace?
I'm looking forward to any suggestions on what to do next. If you need any information, just ask.
Thanks in advance.
I'm sorry I can't provide pictures atm, but I only wrote 5 posts or so.

[HELP] Poor reception after repair

So, A week ago, I broke my galaxy s4 successfuly damaging the LCD. No Big problem, Ordered a used LCD from e-bay and carefully took the old one off and installed this one. Boot up the phone and wallah! it works fine. EXCEPT! The stupid thing doesn't have reception half the time.
Sometimes its stuck on edge with full bars, sometimes its got 4gLTE but no bars, Sometimes its got a circle with a line through it saying no service and sometimes it has all bars and 4glte yet it still says searching...WEIRD.
So I tore apart the phone again up till the board and carefuly started inspecting everything , looked normal. Looked on the rear frame. A plastic piece where it says R1 was coming off, so I took it out completely and re-glued it back on. Turn the phone on and same thing. I did lose all the screws during the repair.... silly me lost the magnet they were stuck on and have not been able to find it. So unless the screws act as antennas which is possible, it is losing service all the time. I suspect the plastic piece where it says R1 is the problem and have ordered a new piece due to arrive on monday next week. The only problem is I just moved and am expecting quite a few calls for job interviews. Can't risk losing a great opportunity.PLEASE HELP ME WITH ANY ADVICE YOU CAN GIVE!!!! thanks!
b.st0ne said:
So, A week ago, I broke my galaxy s4 successfuly damaging the LCD. No Big problem, Ordered a used LCD from e-bay and carefully took the old one off and installed this one. Boot up the phone and wallah! it works fine. EXCEPT! The stupid thing doesn't have reception half the time.
Sometimes its stuck on edge with full bars, sometimes its got 4gLTE but no bars, Sometimes its got a circle with a line through it saying no service and sometimes it has all bars and 4glte yet it still says searching...WEIRD.
So I tore apart the phone again up till the board and carefuly started inspecting everything , looked normal. Looked on the rear frame. A plastic piece where it says R1 was coming off, so I took it out completely and re-glued it back on. Turn the phone on and same thing. I did lose all the screws during the repair.... silly me lost the magnet they were stuck on and have not been able to find it. So unless the screws act as antennas which is possible, it is losing service all the time. I suspect the plastic piece where it says R1 is the problem and have ordered a new piece due to arrive on monday next week. The only problem is I just moved and am expecting quite a few calls for job interviews. Can't risk losing a great opportunity.PLEASE HELP ME WITH ANY ADVICE YOU CAN GIVE!!!! thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're having issues with the reception I recommend having a look at the micro USB/charging board. I swapped that part out before after breaking it and had horrible reception. I then purchased another one (actually meant for my phone) and all was well again.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
nbeebe24 said:
If you're having issues with the reception I recommend having a look at the micro USB/charging board. I swapped that part out before after breaking it and had horrible reception. I then purchased another one (actually meant for my phone) and all was well again.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I replaced this part as well, the new one says m919 on it could it be a defective part, my previous ones' mic stopped working

USB port and the story about a really bad replacement part

ok, after nearly 5 years of using, i had have problems with the USB port of my N7000.
It was impossible to get a good power contact during recharging my battery.
So i ordered a replacement part for it. So far, so good.
But after replacing, i have only Edge (G2) and no G3/Umts any longer!
Have compared the new one against the old one twice but with the same result.
So i looked into the WWW and found different replacements with the same problem!!!
It looks like, that it is impossible to get the old original quality.
Ok, ~7$ is not expensive, but anyhow! Now i can charge but not surf in the net.
~34KB/s is 10 times less than with H+:silly:
I think, it seems to be a plagiarism with really bad quality.
So be careful if you will buy some (declared as a "original"!) replacement part.
I'm guessing Samsung (or the distributor) does not make the parts anymore so to keep with the demand there are attempts to create more of it by other opportunistic companies.
When replacing the connector you may have bent the connectors for the antenna or forgot to connect them. Check you motherboard brass connectors's health and the celular antenna's cable if it is connected right.
I think this phone being forgotten as so many dev leave and for the part replacement might be non ori at all. Within 5 years I got 4 times replacement for USB port & 3 times internal spraker, normally I let the phone repairman do at phone shop nearest my home. Lately they give discount for regular customer. Speaking about regular customer it also means this phone has nearly R.I.P as I always change the same part of replacement. Last week the 4th times USB replacement. What to do as I am unaffordable to buy new phone.
What are you doing with your phone bro. For all this time I have replaced the usb connector once and the display and this is my only repairs for this phone.
I ran into the same issue.
To my knowledge, there are at least 4 different revisions of the USB charging PCB. Some are incompatible with the device you own, because of regional differences between devices.
I had to buy two, one from china, one locally from a smartphone repair shop owner (cool guy!), as the china one didn't work. Only 1 or 2 bars GPRS when standing right next to the cell tower.
With the one bought locally, I have worse reception than with the original part, but it is very much acceptable and works in at least 90% of all areas I'm in.
Both replacement parts have different model numbers than the original one that was built into my note originally. Some sellers have pictures of another model number, so it suggests, that there at least 4 versions out there.
To further elaborate on my findings:
Two times so far, I experienced one very weird and almost esoterical bug.
This happened both times after reasonably long uptimes on bauners NightOwl 7.1.2 ROM (some version released early 2018).
I have the reception indicator once in the status bar at the top of the screen and one time in the notification area. For some weird mysterical reason, it can happen, that both of these indicators develop their own interpretations of the signal. It might happen, that the status bar will say e.g. H and the notification area will report something like E. The other way around it might happen as well. Telephony is not possible in such situations.
It is very weird and some online searches suggest, that this might be the note itself, not the software. It seems like several of samsungs devices are prone to this problem, not only the n7000. A reboot solves the problem, but I wanted to point this out as I thought the notification area signal reception indicator would merely mirror the status bar reception indicator, that is definitely not the case, so you might want to check for both signal indicators to be more certain about your issues. I'm sure nobody expects this, so a quick heads up.
Greetz

Categories

Resources