I obtained a used T-Mobile G2 pretty cheap (but I do have the ability to return it). Seems I've learned why it was so cheap.
I've never been able to get WiFi to work on it, and Bluetooth is extremely shaky. A check in the Phone status seems to indicate the phone cant detect either of their MAC addresses.
Just to be sure, I rooted the phone and reflashed known-good firmware. No change. I flashed an updated radio. No change.
At this point, I'm beginning to think a hardware fault (the phone's a bit beat up) has killed the WiFi chip, which is a deal-breaker for me since one thing I wanted to do was set this up to use T-Mobile's WiFi Calling.
My question is if there is anything else I can try? Or should I declare it busted and return the phone for a refund?
I would return it, but MAC address is stored in efs partition, you can always take a look at that to but I don't any change you make to that would help your issue, I bet its hardware
For more info and faster help check here
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2348266
Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
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I really need some user commentary here as I have tried vigorously looking into my connectivity 'flimsy-ness' lately.
I have a GNex LTE version
this is fast...when it is fast.
However, wifi drops at times. and 4g if the reception is lost and reverts to 3g...it never goes back to 4g even in zones where it obviously exists, needing to be corrected manually.
It is very nerve wrecking. such an expensive phone to have such issues.
My question is, does anyone else have this? (im on 4.0.3)
should i return this and ask for a replacement? maybe this is defected.
Please help out as time is running out for a replacement at verizon
THANK YOU AND HAPPY NEW YEAR
I got hit by the Verizon outages and outside of that, I had some cell data connectivity issues twice. However, I have not had them since the last outage. (Also after changing ROMs both which are 4.0.2)
My father was visiting and got hit by what you describe and fixed it with a power cycle and hasn't said it occurred since.
How often does it occur for you?
To be on the safe side and so you don't miss your window, you may want to exchange.
A lot. The wifi is absolutely terrible. It does not stick. And turning the phone off with having put on the always on thru advance wifi settings it still turns off. I can not and will not risk it. Talked to Verizon made them express mail another gnex. I'd rather take my time and compare then go to the store and chuck this and receive another. One this is for sure. If the other one has the same problem. I will be very very sad. I love this phone (plus I have the unlimited plan..switched with my gf...and MAN Is it nice going over 10gb already)
I hope no one else has this problem. Really curious to know.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Seriously, no one offers any opinions??
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Mine is solid. Holds wifi, holds 4G. The problem you are talking about has been brought up by others. Look around on this forum and you'll see it has talked about. People have had luck swapping out for another and others haven't. Looks like there are simply some out there with issues and you got one. They do not all have this issue. There is an OTA update coming with 4.0.3 soon that MAY help. You might just want to swap it out. If you do, don't leave the store until you know it's working.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Same thing happening with my wifi dropping connection all the. Gmail and whatsapp messages are always late, bloody frustrating:-[
Update: just received a new gnex. In the mail. Can confirm within the first three minutes of using it......same problem. Unbelievable
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
I have had the same router for the last 2 years, my nexus S never has had any sort of drops on wifi like this.
This is without a doubt a serious problem. I will be now doing more thorough testings with the 4g reception followed by the 4g dropping to 3g and seeing if it ever reverts.
I pray to god this is a software issue. but to be honest...having had all nexus's (nexii?) i have never had a reception issue or had an update that improved it...so im sort of freaking out now
I'm having this issue as well. It will help if you change the wifi policy to stay on always. Hit menu inside the wifi options.
I had the same issues and returned mine. I hope it gets fixed, because I loved everything else about the phone and want it back, but not at the expense of poor data reception.
on a NEW one that was sent...SAME PROBLEM.
ALREADY HAVE THE ALWAYS ON POLICY.
....this is some scary S*$T!!!!
I have had wifi issues with specific routers. I have 2 Linksys wrt 54g with latest firmware which frequently do not connect despite having a strong signal. I have a router in the micasavrde home automation controller that connects fine, all with wpa2 security. The wifi at work at 2 different sites works fine, but I am not sure what routers are being used. I think this is mainly a software issue with certain routers and may be fixable. Maybe we need a thread documenting people's experience with routers with no issues and routers that have problems .
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
I have a very strange wifi/bluetooth problem that seemed to come out of nowhere and I think it may be hardware but I'm not too sure. When I format the system and install a new ROM everything works as it should for a little while but then within a few hours the software toggle switch grays out and wifi and or bluetooth don't respond. Bluetooth always seems to go out first but wifi follows soon after. I thought originally I had a corrupted driver or something but no matter how many different ROMS I try, going from gingerbread all the way to jelleybean and the phone always acts the same after a seemingly random amount of time. I don't know too much about how bluetooth/wifi drivers work so this may still be the issue.
Sometimes by toggling the various switches off/on a bunch wifi will go back on, and even more rarely bluetooth will work without a system format but it never stays working. If anyone knows what the problem may be I would appreciate some help or if you can point me to a component level diagram that would be helpful too. I have been looking around for a few weeks now with no luck. I never dropped the phone and it looks like I just pulled it out of the box. I did take it apart and look for loose connections and cold solder joints (I have quite a bit of experience at component level repair) but found nothing.
I did try to go back to stock GB with Odin and that was about the same, it worked for about a day and then the problems crept back up.
I thought for sure someone would have an answer.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2
I have a very similar issue but it only affects my Bluetooth. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I haven't been able to pin point it. I've done the exact same steps as you. I just chalked it up to it being a hardware issue since I got my S2 from a lady that ran over the phone with her car. I just replaced the glass. She knew it could be fixed but she wanted me to have a better phone. What a sweet old lady. ANYWHO, I would love to see some more input on this.
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jmpsatx said:
I have a very similar issue but it only affects my Bluetooth. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I haven't been able to pin point it. I've done the exact same steps as you. I just chalked it up to it being a hardware issue since I got my S2 from a lady that ran over the phone with her car. I just replaced the glass. She knew it could be fixed but she wanted me to have a better phone. What a sweet old lady. ANYWHO, I would love to see some more input on this.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I switched to twrp and the problem isn't gone but it is better. I'm not sure if it's a coincidence or not but this seems like a positive step.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2
Deleted.
Bumped, updated with new information.
Have you tried another router that has a different radio chipset to confirm the issue still persists?
Sent from my SM-P900 using Tapatalk
dodo99x said:
Have you tried another router that has a different radio chipset to confirm the issue still persists?
Sent from my SM-P900 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have not tried this yet, I plan to attempt this with an LTE WiFi hotspot (though I must be careful not to abuse this, or AT&T will ream me with the bill). I have noticed that it seems to become more and more unstable as time goes on, up to the point where rebooting the router is manditory to use WiFi. As I mentioned, the demo units in Best Buy also displayed this behavior. I do not have a way to significantly load up the hotspot, however, though I am starting to discount the possibility that load has something to do with it.
The biggest difficulty is Android's recent increase in "security" (The kind that keeps the device safe from us rather than the way it should be) makes any debugging impossible without rooting, blowing the e-Fuse and invalidating the warranty, which I do not want to do, since if I cannot resolve this issue I will not keep the tablet.
The fact that rebooting the router clears the issue for a while leads me to conclude it's a misbehaving router more than anything else.
Sent from my SM-P900 using Tapatalk
dodo99x said:
The fact that rebooting the router clears the issue for a while leads me to conclude it's a misbehaving router more than anything else.
Sent from my SM-P900 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Possible, however, as I mentioned, the demo units in Best Buy were similarly affected. I highly doubt that Best Buy uses the same cheap router I do for their in-store public WiFi access.
Bumping again with new information, edited into original post.
I recently have been working in a remote-ish location ith bad cell coverage. I used the external antenna port on my i747m and got wonderful reception with the use of that. It seems to no longer though use the internal antenna so as soon as I remove the external, I get almost no bars when I am almost 500 meters away from a tower. I dont know whats been done to make it think it should do that. I have factory reset it, did a full device wipe, re installed ROM(task's AOKP 8/10) and I'm not sure what else to do.
If anyone has an easy solution or can advise me in something I have clearly overlooked I would be greatfull
External antenna port? First ive heard about that.
Maybe try flashing your firmware via Odin, then factory resetting again will help? If not, its probably not a firmware/software issue.
I could be mistaken though. Ive never heard of an external antenna, let alone a port on the device for one....
here is the link to the info I used, though not the exact same model, the port is there on all of the s3 models I assume seeing that the i747m has it
http://telcoantennas.com.au/site/patch-lead-samsung-galaxy-s3-i9300
I suppose I could try a restore to 4.1 since im still on the old loader. as much as I enjoy all the signal I dont enjoy the antenna when it isnt needed heh
Im not sure about what could be the problem, but i do want to thank you for the link. I always knew the second connector was on the motherboard, but never knew if it was functional or if there was a good way to use it. Ive thought about using a second internal antenna to see if it makes a difference, but long ago forgot all about it!
Anyway, as I stated before, I think flashing back to stock and testing is your best option. If it works, then try reflashing your rom clean. If it doesnt it may be hardware related.
It may or may not have anything to do with it, but on that video it showed them plugging/unplugging that antenna several times. I know from experience that those connectors are very fragile, so check to make sure yours hasnt been damaged somehow.
Yeah, I finally figured out which boot loader I'm on so I'm going to nandroid and then flash stock and see what happens, I tested my Sim card in another phone and it worked fine so its clearly a hardware/software issue, all I know is don't use a twist tie lol use a proper connector haha. I'll update soon as internet is a hard thing for me to find to download the factory image
Sent from my SGH-I747M using XDA Free mobile app
dont if what youre looking for is here, but there is a truck load of download links for the i747/i747M here
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1739426
good luck
err on the side of kindness
Just hoping a stock flash will fix this antenna issue since it seems stuck using the external antenna no matter what I've done so far, but thanks for the link and let's hope that fixes it
Sent from my SGH-I747M using XDA Free mobile app
Well I flashed back to stock and still get little to no reception. I really am confused what could cause this to happen. If anyone can come up with any ideas to try I would be more than happy to try since this phone is useless to me now with no reception.
Thanks
Sent from my SGH-I747M using XDA Free mobile app
I really dont have any other ideas tbh. You tested your sim in another device so we know its not the network or your sim/account. Unfortunately, since its behaving the same on stock, it leads me to think its a hardware failure. Theres really not anything else I can think of that it could be.
Its possible that plugging/unplugging too many times may have damaged the board. Or it could be simple hardware degradation.
I am sorry I dont have a positive answer for you at this point. Maybe someone else might have an idea.
I would start looking at motherboard replacements on ebay. Ive seen them go for $50-60 before, and it might be your cheapest option. Look at used devices with broken displays too. Swapping the motherboard is quite easy as im sure you already know.
Yeah I've pretty much just gotten used to dealing with it and will end up just buying myself a new phone soon, hopefully some new phones come out shortly lol. It does suck to think I've messed the hardware up though...who knows maybe I'll find a cheap broken s3 somewhere. Thanks for the help
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I have yet to find a answer to this question anywhere. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I have a SM-G925T and I had rooted and flashed roms to this device in the past and have been able fix all of the problems I have run into until now. I am not currently able to use my phone for texting/caling/mobile data until I connect to wifi (with wifi calling on t-mobile) I am not able to do anything, but when I do connect to wifi I can make calls and tests. I have been looking everywhere and not seen anyone with the same problem. I feel as though I corrupt the EFS folder or IMEI as my IMEI now shows 360000000000006 and the actual IMEI is entirely different. If anyone has an answer to this that doesn't involve sending it to Samsung I would love the help.
What have you tried to fix this problem? Reset APN? Reflash rom? What rom are you using? Also dont sent it to Samsung, just ask for tmobile to replace it unless you dont have insurance.
Sent from my SM-G925T using Tapatalk
The problem is rooting.
Returning to stock will fix and solve all your problems.
Pp.
i ran into the same issue 2 days ago and searched this plus many other sites for a solution. i kept getting answers saying something about a root key needed to be fixed. or the other answer i was getting told was to flash [KERNEL] UniKernel v8-0002 COH9. i ultimately ended up taking it back to t-mobile and got a new phone. but the manager told me it was missing certificates and the stock kernel. i hope this little piece of information helps, and i hope you have better luck in restoring your phone than i did.
Every time this phone S6edge, gets an update it becomes harder and riskier to root the S6e and still have a working phone.
This top of the line device (until the S7 gets here) isn't your average phone to experiment with, try a plain android like a nexus Google phone, there's probably a handful of developers working on the Nexus alone Vs one (maybe) for the S6e?
I know xda forums are all about taking control of your phone but not this puppy, you must surrender to Samsung on this one.
My phone is 6 months old and works great, even after updates it just gets better and better and after marshmallow gets here this phone will be a greater device.
I have stayed stock and never attempted to root because I was following and reading all threads started on the S6e and it was a hot mess, a lot of stuff and phones going wrong at first and as soon as some one found an exploit Samsung had it removed and safe root went right out the window.
I have learned to like stock and I'm ok with it. And my phone works all the time.
Pp.
PanchoPlanet said:
Every time this phone S6edge, gets an update it becomes harder and riskier to root the S6e and still have a working phone.
This top of the line device (until the S7 gets here) isn't your average phone to experiment with, try a plain android like a nexus Google phone, there's probably a handful of developers working on the Nexus alone Vs one (maybe) for the S6e?
I know xda forums are all about taking control of your phone but not this puppy, you must surrender to Samsung on this one.
My phone is 6 months old and works great, even after updates it just gets better and better and after marshmallow gets here this phone will be a greater device.
I have stayed stock and never attempted to root because I was following and reading all threads started on the S6e and it was a hot mess, a lot of stuff and phones going wrong at first and as soon as some one found an exploit Samsung had it removed and safe root went right out the window.
I have learned to like stock and I'm ok with it. And my phone works all the time.
Pp.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Totally agree!
+2!!!!!
I personally have had no problems with rooting my phone or with custom roms. The only time I had an issue was when I changed my boot splash. The first time I bricked my phone and had to use emergency recovery with Smart Switch. I am also going to suggest you try that before you return your phone. Make sure you backup you internal SD first though because Smart Switch will erase everything. I think it will fix your problem be cause the emergency recovery is started with your serial number. so I do believe it will fix your efs issue. It is definitely worth a try.
Future reference. TWRP does backup your EFS if you click the checkbox for it.