Hello guys. I have some major issues with my S3. In general it has very weak reception compared to my S1. I've had two providers KPN HI and Tele 2, the latter uses t-mobile's network. With both providers and several different sim cards I encounter the same problems. Not only is reception in general weaker than my S1, it also drops calls very frequently. Mind you, I live in central Amsterdam, where I've never had reception problems with any provider at all. Sometimes when signal drops it comes back after 10 to 20 seconds. Sometimes it's completely gone and I have to reboot the phone to get service again. On average, I have to reboot the phone 6 to 8 times a day. The phone is on stock rom, latest firmware.
My s3 has been to samsung repair two times. The first time they checked for software issues. After a week they told me they couldn't find anything wrong, but they updated to the latest firmware. The problems were still there. They then took my phone for 3 weeks. When I got it back they couldn't say if they found the problem, but the phone went through general inspection (?) so it should be fine. Wrong. Literally one hour after having back my phone I tried calling someone. I was standing outside, had 4 bars of reception, but got dropped out of the conversation after 3 seconds. The no service symbol was showing. I rebooted and tried to call again. This time it worked. After an hour I checked my phone and surely, the no service symbol was showing again.
I'm getting very tired of this. I have a 550 euro phone that doesn't make me do phone calls 2 out of 3 times. People calling me have complained that they get voicemail instantly. I called Samsung and they told me they couldn't do anything but take the phone in for repair again. The shop where I purchased the phone says the same thing. I have no choice but to send it to repair, which means that I will lose my phone for at least 3 weeks again.
If someone can offer me advice, please, I would appreciate it very much. I wish I didn't gave away my s1...
Edit: Should've posted this in the general s3 sub.
Ask them for expedited repair and shipping, Samsung does a pretty good job and helping out when you're nice and friendly with them.
Let them know the situation, tell them you don't want to cause any problems, but that this is the third time you've sent the phone, if they can kindly either do a more thorough review of the phone and figure out what's wrong with it and fix it or give you a different new/refurbished phone. Or something.
Hi and thanks for any help that you can provide me.
I bought an Galaxy Note 2 SGH-T889 Tmobile version like 7 months ago from a store or reseller in Toronto Canada, the phone was in theory factory unlock, to use with the Wnmobile network which uses the same frequency as Tmobile. The phone was working until 2 days ago. Well always the phone has issue connecting to the network in some specific areas, specially because the Wind network it's not that good, but during the last 2 weeks I noticed more and more problems and some times it was just disconnected showing a circle with an slash or crossed out. After reboot the phone usually fixed the problem, until 2 days ago I had to do it every 2 hours and then the next day it just was permanent. I tried everything so far:
Remove battery and reboot
Remove battery and SIM card and reboot
Use a diiferent SIM card from my son's phone
Replace for a new SIM card
Clear Cache
Factory Reset
Reflash the modem with Odin
The phone has the latest stock ROM 4.1.2, BASE T889UVBMD1
The problem is Samsung say because it's a Tmobile they can not support it here, I have to send the phone to Samsung USA, I still fighting with the store because they said it will be covered locally, but that is another story.
I red many post talking about similar problems with the Galaxy S3 or S4 and one said that installing Jedi X14 fixed the problem, but to do that I think I have to root the phone, which not be a big problem.
The other weird thing is the phone works using other SIM card GSM, not tested with a LTE SIM.
There is any way to test if the radio/antenna for the WCMDA is disabled or broken
Thanks
fasterfoxy said:
Hi and thanks for any help that you can provide me.
I bought an Galaxy Note 2 SGH-T889 Tmobile version like 7 months ago from a store or reseller in Toronto Canada, the phone was in theory factory unlock, to use with the Wnmobile network which uses the same frequency as Tmobile. The phone was working until 2 days ago. Well always the phone has issue connecting to the network in some specific areas, specially because the Wind network it's not that good, but during the last 2 weeks I noticed more and more problems and some times it was just disconnected showing a circle with an slash or crossed out. After reboot the phone usually fixed the problem, until 2 days ago I had to do it every 2 hours and then the next day it just was permanent. I tried everything so far:
Remove battery and reboot
Remove battery and SIM card and reboot
Use a diiferent SIM card from my son's phone
Replace for a new SIM card
Clear Cache
Factory Reset
Reflash the modem with Odin
The phone has the latest stock ROM 4.1.2, BASE T889UVBMD1
The problem is Samsung say because it's a Tmobile they can not support it here, I have to send the phone to Samsung USA, I still fighting with the store because they said it will be covered locally, but that is another story.
I red many post talking about similar problems with the Galaxy S3 or S4 and one said that installing Jedi X14 fixed the problem, but to do that I think I have to root the phone, which not be a big problem.
The other weird thing is the phone works using other SIM card GSM, not tested with a LTE SIM.
There is any way to test if the radio/antenna for the WCMDA is disabled or broken
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the phone is working fine with a friends sim card . There is nothing more then a issue with your sim. go to the store and have them to give you a new sim card or flash the one you have. I had that issue similar here with at&t all the time.. sims would just loose network.. The fix for me LEAVE AT&T
Good luck.
Yes, I replaced the SIM card and I got a new one.
Just trying to eliminate all the options, I just did a factory reset again, and put it back the SIM card, located outside in an area where I know there is a strong signal and the phone was able to connect to the network and I install the account ans the apps just to test the data connection and it works fine. I was outside for 20 minutes with no problem. Later go back in the building, as soon I was inside for a few minutes the phone lose connection and the circle is back, then reboot again several times, and the phone does not recognize any network, Searching and no network is available.
Aww you left out that it only does this inside but works outside.. I Would say something is blocking the signal. LIKE maybe the building..
i have two bars in my house 3 on the deck and full signal in my yard ...
its just how it is..
erica_renee said:
Aww you left out that it only does this inside but works outside.. I Would say something is blocking the signal. LIKE maybe the building..
i have two bars in my house 3 on the deck and full signal in my yard ...
its just how it is..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But he said it was working in side for many month then all a sudden it doesn't work? I understand I live in a mobile home and reception sucks but that from the start but his was working for couple months. I would say he's phone reception receiver w/e it is or something in the phone is screwing up and it will need repairment or replace or service just taking a dump and getting worse.
jcervantes11 said:
But he said it was working in side for many month then all a sudden it doesn't work? I understand I live in a mobile home and reception sucks but that from the start but his was working for couple months. I would say he's phone reception receiver w/e it is or something in the phone is screwing up and it will need repairment or replace or service just taking a dump and getting worse.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could be right.. or maybe even the provider having issues with that tower .. its a tough thing to figure out..
Thanks for your ideas.
I get tired of trying to figure out was is the problem, so I got a SIM card from a diiferent provider which has the best network coverage and power, and i'ts happending the same, the majority of th etime the strength level is around -110 db even outside, with both providers, so it's the phone.
Now the question is could be possible that the antenna cable got disconnected or broken, (yes I dropped the phone a few times but nothing major) and it was working fine until few days ago. Another option it's some internal hardware is not working normally.
Now I have to find a way to repair becasue Samsung Canada does not want to do it becasue its a Tmobile phone.
Thanks, again.
fasterfoxy said:
Thanks for your ideas.
I get tired of trying to figure out was is the problem, so I got a SIM card from a diiferent provider which has the best network coverage and power, and i'ts happending the same, the majority of th etime the strength level is around -110 db even outside, with both providers, so it's the phone.
Now the question is could be possible that the antenna cable got disconnected or broken, (yes I dropped the phone a few times but nothing major) and it was working fine until few days ago. Another option it's some internal hardware is not working normally.
Now I have to find a way to repair becasue Samsung Canada does not want to do it becasue its a Tmobile phone.
Thanks, again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anybody with same provider as you? Invite them in you're home see if they have connection. It's best if the person have same phone and same company. Can you send directly to Samsung? I have bad phone service my area with s2 and note 2 but my friend with evo 3d has more bar then me and its made by htc but could be two things ur phone crapping out on you which need repairment or like the guy above said tower signal getting weaker. It is hard to find out. Maybe for now for a bit since it's screw up try a rom but then again rom doesn't control radio settings section but wouldn't harm. Good luck.
I'm having the same issue since last month... but with any SIM card.
The network signal strengh rests between -89 to -110 dBm. (Horrible)
The network type is always UNKNOWN:0.
What I already tried:
- Using other SIM.
- Flashing Stock ROM
- Flashing Custom ROM (CM 10.1)
- Flashing all 5 avaliable modems.
What happens:
When I get VERY close to a network antenna... I can make calls and stuff...
What can be happening:
Hardware issues - T-Mobile latest LTE unlocking update maybe burned my antenna (or some network signal related hardware).
Software issues - Can't see how since I used many variations of ROM/Modem.
I live in Brazil and my network is TIM 47. I have a Samsung Galaxy Note II T889.
If anyone can confirm perfectly to me what composes the T889 antenna components... that would be nice...
I want to buy those parts from eBay and trying fixing my phone.
Thanks for your feedback it's really valuable becasue it's almost the same situation. Today I cleared up the situation with Samsung, if I want to be service under the warranty I have to bring the phone to one of repair centres in USA which it's kind of problem because I can do it only in the weekends but not impossible or what I'm doing tomorrow is to have an assessment by one of the repair centres in Toronto and I have to pay in this case, if it's something reasonable.
In my case I did not update the phone in 2 months at least so it's not software in my case, but one difference could be I got a new job 3 months ago, in my previous job the majority of the time I got 5 bars , I guess the cell tower was close to that place, and in my house the coverage it's good. In my new job, my office it's in the middle of the building, far from the windows, so the signal always was really bad, 0-1 bar.
Wondering if could be possible that a bad connection can burn the antenna or the circuit that controls the connection.
The other thing is there are many customers specially for the Galay S4 complaining about a similar problem, and I did not find any answer on how to fix this problem.
I'll post any update just in case it can help someone else.
Thanks.
Did you try to disable lte and use 4g/3g/2g only?
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app
darekz said:
Did you try to disable lte and use 4g/3g/2g only?
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well... I did... and the problem persists.
Try to enable and disable wifi calling.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app
A also have this problem with T-Mobile Note 2 and have already tried everything you guys have...I guess I got no choice but to request a replacement which sucks because my phone was pristine and worked perfectly otherwise. It's just the damn weak to no signal that's driving me crazy. Especially since I'm paying for premium data coverage and it's pretty much money in the trash every month.
That's it. I made the call and the replacement arrives in a couple days. They offered me the "jump" program. Anyone on that? Is that worth doing on T-Mobile?
I traded an unlocked i317m for a g pro. I just picked up a unlocked t889 as welll. The person with my old i317m want my t889 since hes using simple mobile. Problem is when I went to trade I put his sim in my t899 it wont register on tmobile. Seems its only working with at&t as thats the service I have. Now with the i317m I gave him originally it works with any sim. How is this possible that a unlocked tmobile t889 wont register with his sim on tmobile network but the unlocked i317m works with any sim?
Yesterday I replaced the microUSB module that is connected with the antenna and replaced the SIM card module too.
That did NOT worked.
So... the problems is problably on the mainboard/chipset... too expensive to fix.
Another big hardware failure for Samsung's history.
I've had the replacement for about a week now. So far no signal problems. It's like when I first got my original phone. I'm sticking with the note 2 for at least another 6 months since I joined the jump program. Can't wait to see the note 3 next week
Update just to close this case
Well, after I sent the phone for repair to Samsung USA, I got it back and the problems happened again after a few days, then I sent it back for the second time to Samsung, got it back and the problem happened again after a few weeks. Basically, I'm getting rid of this phone, now the warranty is already expired and half of the time the phone was full of problems with the network.
The lesson in this case is to avoid getting hardware from the first batch (to wait a few months after the launch) or without a long term warranty (3 years), and probably will be my last Samsung device.
:crying:
Diesel-30 said:
Can't wait to see the note 3 next week
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mean Note 4, no?
Anyone run into an issue of losing GPS signal? Yesterday I took a small trip outside of the town and I've notice that when I place my NOTE 4 in the same exact location where I always kept my S4 I keep losing GPS signal. I've moved my phone to a different place in my car (closer to the windshield) and I was still losing GPS signal.
Sebat said:
Anyone run into an issue of losing GPS signal? Yesterday I took a small trip outside of the town and I've notice that when I place my NOTE 4 in the same exact location where I always kept my S4 I keep losing GPS signal. I've moved my phone to a different place in my car (closer to the windshield) and I was still losing GPS signal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine had trouble locking on to me during a walk yesterday (Runtastic). I haven't had a chance to test it in a car. I sincerely hope it's not going to be like the Note 3 was on AT&T. If it is, it's going back.
greyhulk said:
Mine had trouble locking on to me during a walk yesterday (Runtastic). I haven't had a chance to test it in a car. I sincerely hope it's not going to be like the Note 3 was on AT&T. If it is, it's going back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hear you, I love the phone but I use GPS for work a lot and trips on my day offs. I hope it's just a single issue or update fix thing...
So for the past year or so I've seen instances where my phone shows 5 bars and data, however calls go to my voicemail. I find out when I do something with the phone that forces it to rejoin the network.
I've got a 3rd party number that my enterphone uses, that number rings both my wife's phone and my phone at the same time. However very often only her phone rings, both of us appear to have good signals.
It seems that my phone is falling off the network but not showing this fact. If I switch to and from airplane mode it seems to regain network, or if I try to make a call it will fail the first time but work afterwards.
Any suggestion? I already installed Cyanogen about a month back hoping that this would resolve the problem, however it didn't have any impact. Same problems as before...
I'm wondering if flashing the radio would help, if so which files should I use?
I actually gave up on this phone and ordered a oneplus one, however that one arrived completely broken so now I'm stuck with the note 2 until that RMA gets approved or I get frustrated and just buy another phone.
Thanks in advance.
Gary
Not sure if there's a thread already for this, feel free to delete. Anyone experienced loss of mobile network connectivity when you are not using wifi anymore? You will need to restart the phone in order to get the mobile network back.
I'm not sure what actually triggers it for me, but there have been 2 or 3 times in the past 2 weeks since I got my Note where mobile data is dead and restarting my phone is the only way to fix. Not sure what's going on. Hasn't happened in several days.
s1l3ntm0use said:
I'm not sure what actually triggers it for me, but there have been 2 or 3 times in the past 2 weeks since I got my Note where mobile data is dead and restarting my phone is the only way to fix. Not sure what's going on. Hasn't happened in several days.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It happens all the time when im out of range from a wifi and the phone wont switch to mobile network automatically.
My wife and I have both been experiencing the same problems with our Note 7.
No solution found for us except restarting phone. It seems to happen when the following occurs: (1) temporary initial loss of mobile signal, like from being in an elevator, combined with (2) not being connected to WiFi network. Fwiw, we are on T-mobile in a major market area. Previously had Note 5's with same carrier in same area for over a year without experiencing this issue.
Same thing here and a buddy of mine same thing on tmobile. Fringe areas wreak havoc on this damn thing. Lags...loses signal..etc. my s7 had MUCH STRONGER reception in the same areas this damn thing can barely keep a signal! Smh
**UPDATE**
I got around to calling T-Mobile today, and they said that this is now listed in their system as a known issue with the device. Rep I spoke with said he didn't really have much more information other than they've gotten enough reports of signal loss with the Note 7 to have it be flagged as a known issue.
According to the rep, the only known fix at the moment is rebooting the device. Obviously this is a pain in the ass if you have to reboot the phone every time you get on an elevator and lose signal.
Given the circumstances, this at least rules out it being a network carrier issue or an Android OS issue. The rep was not sure if the problem was related to hardware or software. If its software, it something that can be corrected; but if its hardware, then there really is no solution.
My plan is to deal with it for another 3-4 weeks and see how the Note 7 recall pans out, which should also provide a bit more time for them to figure out the cause of the signal loss problem. If it seems like it's not going to be fixed, then I'm just going to trade in the phone for something different. Fwiw, I asked if they had similar reports for the S7 or S7 Edge, and they said there were no system flags for this issue on those devices.
12345123456 said:
**UPDATE**
I got around to calling T-Mobile today, and they said that this is now listed in their system as a known issue with the device. Rep I spoke with said he didn't really have much more information other than they've gotten enough reports of signal loss with the Note 7 to have it be flagged as a known issue.
According to the rep, the only known fix at the moment is rebooting the device. Obviously this is a pain in the ass if you have to reboot the phone every time you get on an elevator and lose signal.
Given the circumstances, this at least rules out it being a network carrier issue or an Android OS issue. The rep was not sure if the problem was related to hardware or software. If its software, it something that can be corrected; but if its hardware, then there really is no solution.
My plan is to deal with it for another 3-4 weeks and see how the Note 7 recall pans out, which should also provide a bit more time for them to figure out the cause of the signal loss problem. If it seems like it's not going to be fixed, then I'm just going to trade in the phone for something different. Fwiw, I asked if they had similar reports for the S7 or S7 Edge, and they said there were no system flags for this issue on those devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same boat here. I'll swap to the s7 if it's not sorted out. Happened 2 times support work already.
Sent from my SM-N930T using Tapatalk