Guys,
Don't flame me... I haven't fully tested my theory, but so far it's working well!
As you know, MANY of us have issues with the card not being recognized sometimes; the device hangs; the camera doesn't capture images, etc.
Well, today I was trying to take some pictures facing downwards (of a leak in my car door), and I would just get a black image almost every single time.
I would then do a test and snap a picture of my garage, and it worked.
Back to the door, it didn't work.
Etc.
I wasn't sure if there wasn't enough lighting or what.
HOWEVER.....
I then realized that everytime the unit was pointing down, THAT is when it didn't work!
I examined where the contacts are on the card (top), and sure enough, it MAY be that by the force of gravity, one or two contacts are losing contact.
So I tested my theory.
I stuck my thumbnail (the REAL one, not a mini image ) under the card, and pressed it up.
EVERY single picture worked PERFECTLY.
No freezing! No black! No issues!
So, I took a small peice of paper, and slid it under the card, like a shim. (It was actually a piece of an envelope, so it's a big thicker.
Gentlemen... Since I put that paper underneath the card, my 8525 has worked flawlessly.
I just took 20 pictures, stored on the SD card, and not one issue!
And this is a 2GB Sandisk, by the way.
I will do more tests, but I am really feeling confident that this may solve some of our problems.
(I hope this is not a "welcome to last week" thread! I have seen LOTS of threads regarding the camera, freezes, and SD issue.. but I never read anything about solving problems with a piece of paper!)
Thoughts???
Hi Michael_514,
While I appreciate your efforts here, the one thing that seems to have solved ALL of my SD Card issues was upgrading to WM6. Nothing to do with gravity nor Elfen registry edits ... just a new OS.
While I think your tack, dealing with gravity and the directional orientation of the device is interesting, I think the heart of the problem exists in the drivers for the SD Cards, which were corrected (or at least ameliorateed) in the newer OS builds.
All the same, I am interested in your final results, so please continue this post.
All the best,
-pvs
Don't forget guys, maybe you are both right! We should not assume that everyone has the same problem - though the symptoms may be the same. Actually, when reading the many posts on this issue, I AM convinced there is in some cases a poor contacts issue that will afect the camera and other software/files on the SD card. I am also convinced there is in other cases a driver/software issue that may well be improved with WM6.
Always be cautious, yet open minded about claims from folks to have solved an issue. It may be for some but not all, and a different solution may exist for others.
Mike
Point taken, Mike. Thanks for that!
Just tried it. I will keep you informed tomorrow.
Thanks for the responses, PVS & Mike.
Mike -- Love your 'have an open mind' role! I guess that's why they call you a Moderator!
I would agree with Mike... both answers could be correct.
I am convinced that 90% of our Hermes woes ARE SD Card related.
I feel that because I had these units for 7 straight days, in use almost all day, with not one crash or hang...
..and then on day seven, I did a SD Card copy/paste, to switch cards with my dad's unit, and from that day on, freeze.. freeze.. freeze... Sometimes the unit is great for three days, sometimes, 3 reboots in one hour are required....
...Same thing happened when I reinstalled the firmware....
...that I just 'knew' that the freezes and hangs were DEFINITELY related to my swapping of the cards. Especially since I installed no weird apps.
Dirty contacts; bad connection; bad card controllers; I KNEW that my woes were not 'OS-related', 'sbd Pocket-plus-related', nor firmware related... Especially since I did three reinstalls of the firmware.
PVS - I totally agree with you. Perhaps WM6 has some better error checking, or a better algorythm for handing missing bits over the card bus.
I know a little about how computers and electronics handle this. It's why you can make a scratch in a CD, and it still plays. Check bits / error correcting / over-sampling / etc. etc.
I agree that a more advanced OS, like WM6, can better "handle" missing bits.
..but I am trying to get to the root of the problem.
I just went to the bathroom and took about 30 photos while sitting there . ALL 30 worked! No black photos. No "New SD Card Inserted" message. No freezing. 30 on 30. I am thrilled so far!
After spending three weeks racking my brains out, dealing with the problems, I am starting to truly feel like I may be on the right track.
Let's keep our minds open... Let's remember how many 8525 issues do point to the cards. Let's keep in mind that half the people love their Sandisks, and half the people love their Kingstons.
A new OS may solve people's problems, as could a piece of paper jammed in there to make the contacts tighter.
I spent $720 on two of these units, and let me tell you.. I MISS MY 8125!
I am as eager to solve this as anyone. I use this machine for business. It's not just a hobby for me.
Maybe we are on the right track...!
Let's see what others say...!
I will keep everyone posted.
I do have to laugh at my make-shift solution, though! There is something funny about staring at my unit, with a little piece of envelope visible under the SD card. Talk about a low-tech solution to a high-tech problem!
M
Michael_514, I love your theory. I hope it's that easy a solution for some of us if not all.
It seems from reports that Sandisk cards have this problem more often?
If owners could report their card's thickness using a micrometer, this might help confirm if an electrical contact issue is more likely?
My Corsair 1Gb card is 0.70mm thick, just behind the electrical contacts.
I've had issues with the card not being detected both with WM5 and now WM6. One time was fixed by wiping the contacts clean, but other times ejecting & reinserting the card make no difference. I've ignored the problem and many hours later the card would be visible again.
When I read your post, I straight away folded up some paper and pushed it in above the card, on the same side as the contacts - the memory card was still accessable within the phone, so I'm thinking my issue isn't a physical one.
Next time the card vanishes from explorer, I'll insert some paper to shim it towards the contacts and see if it helps.
Has anyone pulled apart their phone? I'm wondering if perhaps there's some type of pressure applied to the back of the card forcing it to contact electrically? Maybe if this is a mechanical device it is getting stuck?
My old phone's SD card slot broke when I dropped it once and it no longer ejected cards normally, but still worked perfectly.
Cheers! Oggy.
Hi there!
I just wanted to confirm where I put the paper.
I put it UNDER the card, effectively 'pushing the contacts up'.
That is where I stuck my thumbnail when I could not take a successful picture of my car door.
When I said to myself, "Why do all photos of the sky work, but not photos of the ground??", that is when I realized that I wanted to "push it up".
And in terms of the:
This firmware vs. that firmware...
Kingston vs. Sandisk...
WM5 vs. WM6...
Made in Taiwan vs. Japan...
Those are NOT the answers.
Too many people in too many threads have proven that.
I am not saying my method is correct... I will need a week of testing... But I know people DID have problems with WM6. People DID have problems with Kingston. People DID have problems with 512MB.
I started another Kingston vs. Sandisk thread, and reading those responses has shown me that it ain't the answer.
And as Ogier says, "I've had issues with the card not being detected both with WM5 and now WM6."
So, that also isn't the answer.
Let's all keep our fingers crossed, because I HATE rebooting this unit!
But to confirm, I put the paper underneath to 'force up' the contacts....!
@ Michael_514
Just another thought. There is also a difference between photos of the sky and photos pointing down and that is the light level. I know you are testing the idea about the contacts and angle of the phone, but to confirm it's nothing to do with the light level sensor/software you might need to test by taking high light level pics (pointing downward at a lamp say), just to rule out any light level sensor issue. I have noticed that the camera seems to incrementally adjust light level but in general it will be at a different setting pointing up as opposed to down.
As I say just a thought and something to rule out or in.
Mike
I don't know if this is disappointing but I have tested this method during the weekend and it does not work. I have definitely inserted the shim under the card so to push the contacts up. After some time my card is partially lost meaning some programs will not run. This morning I'm in the office and I have replaced the shim to sit just under the contacts and not under the entire card. I will keep you posted although I don't trust it will work.
SD troubles
hi guys,
ive been looking at these SD card related threads in the past and was thankful that my hermes seemed fine...
UNTIL
the speaker connection popped out and i opened the phone to connect it back up. everything when fine and the speaker is working but the sd card refuses too show up. now ive tried putting paper under and above the SD card and ive also changed my ROM to two different WM6 flavours. im sure all the connectors are plugged in but i really need my SD card to be shown.
Anybody experience something similar or have and idea's on how to get it working again. it only stopped working after i removed the back panel, connected the speaker back up and then closed it.
thank you,
Drooch
drooch said:
hi guys,
ive been looking at these SD card related threads in the past and was thankful that my hermes seemed fine...
UNTIL
the speaker connection popped out and i opened the phone to connect it back up. everything when fine and the speaker is working but the sd card refuses too show up. now ive tried putting paper under and above the SD card and ive also changed my ROM to two different WM6 flavours. im sure all the connectors are plugged in but i really need my SD card to be shown.
Anybody experience something similar or have and idea's on how to get it working again. it only stopped working after i removed the back panel, connected the speaker back up and then closed it.
thank you,
Drooch
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not much to suggest other than open up again - double check connections and hard reset if it still does not work.
Mike
ive checked the connections and they seem fine, i really cant put my finger on what has changed from me opening it and then closing it. the only difference is that there is no void sticker anymore! is there anyway to see if it still see's the sd card slot or if the OS diesnt even think its there.
Ive tried HR and ROM changes, so its something hardware wise.
Drooch
drooch said:
ive checked the connections and they seem fine, i really cant put my finger on what has changed from me opening it and then closing it. the only difference is that there is no void sticker anymore! is there anyway to see if it still see's the sd card slot or if the OS diesnt even think its there.
Ive tried HR and ROM changes, so its something hardware wise.
Drooch
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe you said, but does the card work ok on a PC card reader? Just wondering if the card formatting is corrupted?
Mike
Again, after rechecking this method, putting two pieces of paper just under the contacts area of the card I still get the "once every 6 hours" normal card failure. I just remove the card, wait 5 seconds and insert it again. That's it for me.
Hi All!
Two interesting discoveries..!
First of all, so far, so good.
I did not have to reboot my once since Friday. Today is Monday, and not one single freeze. Normally, I like to reboot every few days just to 'clean it up', but I am going to leave it until it freezes.
Friday evening, Saturday, Sunday, this morning...
Not one system hang.
However, I did take a few pictures that came out black. That's the bad news.
I have not looked at other threads yet, but as Mike alluded to, above, there IS something wrong with the light sensor.
Remember how I said I had problems photographing my leaky car door, but then other pics were fine?
Well, yesterday my father said to me that he took a few pictures of items in his showroom, and some items would NOT be able to be photographed!!! He said that he has some gift items with SPARKLES, and he could successfully capture photos of items without sparkles, but when she shot the sparkly items, he saw black.
Then I thought about the pictures I was taking, the pictures WERE of dripping water from my car door.
I think that a unit that hangs, or an SD card that's not recognized, MAY be a totally separate issue than black pictures.
But that still doesn't explain how I was able to take all sorts of photos when my thumbnail pressed on the SD card.
In any case, like I said, I have been extremely successful with 'no black' pictures this weekend, and have not rebooted my device since Friday. This is a miracle for me.
I just removed and inserted a clean shim.
If I could get another three days without a reboot, I will be jumping for joy!
My unit just hung!
I had disconnected the unit from the Activesync USB cable.
Went upstairs.
Came back to find the unit on (Backlight on) and the unit was very hot, with the battery being sucked down 1/2.
I had set an Alarm for 1:00pm, and it's now 2:10pm. It started playing a second or two of the Alarm sound just now. And that was it. Very hot to the touch.
But I am happy that this is my first re-boot since Friday.
These hangs/black photos/hot battery drains may all be different issues, but I am still definitely leaving my shim inside the card. No reboot since Friday is a big improvement for this unit!
Good day
I recently upgraded my TyTn from WM5 to WM6. Since upgrade 1GB and 2GB Apacer micro SD's that worked fine are not recognised by the phone.
Am I missing any setting in WM6? Can someone please help as I need to access info on the cards ASAP.
Thank you
Just got my new PQ1 2G card and replaced my old 2G Sandisk. My first impression is speed - much better with the PQ1. Also the general feeling is that it fails less or not at all. I have to work with it for the next 72 hours to give you my statistics comparing it to the Sandisk.
I'll keep you posted.
NO. This feels the same as my old Sandisk 2G memory. Every 4-5 hours my SD card stops responding. Mind you in the PQ1 case I can still see the card with my Explorer and even see the directory structure and the files. They just can't run. The messege I get is the progrmam is not found.
Hi all,
Just got home, looked at my mobile and it said there was no signal - so I turned it off and back on again, then it said there was no SIM inserted. Keep restarting the phone, keeps saying the same thing. Why?!
Am going to try it in my old SE K850i to see if it's the SIM card or the phone at fault.
In the mean time, does anyone else know of this fault and how to fix..?
I didn't the drop the phone or anything, it was just in my pocket, on it's own - like it always is!
Cheers
Tried it in my K850, works fine. Please someone help
yeah i usually dont put the sim card all the way in but slightly in and it works
I've re-opened this thread due to me misreading....DOH! Apologies (Mental note to one self.......follow own advice and read before posting).
Ta
Rick
you could try to clean the contacts on the sim card connector of the phone with a q-tip, and see if that solves the problem.
also check if any of those contacts appears to be bent or something, and so doesn't make a connection with the card.
Everytime I open the back up to remove the SD card, I get the SIM card missing bit even though I have not touched it! My HD is only 3 months old and it has done this from the start. I just have to remove it a bit - shove it back in and the phone accepts it is there. Annoying but not enough for me to send it back.
hmm, maybe try to make the sim a bit thicker so it doesnt move around (it shouldn't move by removing the back cover, but it seems to happen on your phone / sim combination.
try putting a thin piece of paper on top of the sim (not the contacts side, but the side facing to the battery cover)
maybe that prevents this problem?
Missing simcard
I have the same problem with my simcard. Though something strange happens when the phone is off for more then 10min, it works fine and notices there is a simcard for like 30 sec after which the error pops-up again. I have tried all of the above things, my simcard works fine in my other phone, adding some paper to thicken it doesn't work either
Anyone who could help me with this?
P.S. sorry for the bad english
As in post 7# written, put some papersheet in the simholder above your simcard to increase the contactpreasure. This surely helps.
Tis trick is also useful for all dualsim users who thik the dualsimadapter does not work in their device (but after using this trick get astonished!)
for Thysiey:
Try to switch to Gsm mode to test . Maybe you have bad umts signal? Happens at other places too, or only at one place?
Got the same issue here...
I cannot move the SIM because it is being hold in place by the battery. (to little room)
Adding a piece did not work either.
Anyone got another solution?
anyone? My mothers HD just got this problem now. She has a new phone and for the contract renewal she had to read the backside of the sim. The phone all of a sudden didn't recognizes the simcard anymore.. I tried a few other simcards but it won't read it anymore.
My plan was to sell the old phone but now it's almost worthless just a shame it is still a great phone to operate.. handy with the navigation and all
Hi There,
I'm new so apologies if this has been asked before, I did try a search but to no avail.
I received my HD2 yesterday and when trying to put a Sim Card in it is really really stiff, I managed to snap one in the process (thankfully Virgin are sending a new one out). I then tried with an old Vodafone one which I got in but it took a bit of force and even then the phone didn't recognise it, upon removal it seems to have scratched the simcard contacts fairly badly.
Am I being a complete idiot or do you think I have a problem with my HD2?
Many Thanks
Ben
possible problems could be
inserted the wrong orientation!
trying to insert into the SDcard slot!!!!
SIM card usually comes in a bigger card, maybe there is still some excess plastic on the edge of the sim when you removed it!
Possible that there is something jammed in the SIM slot!
Or maybe there is something wrong with your phone.
only thing id say is the cut off corner goes in last.every phone i've seen beforethe cut corner goes first, but im sure it won't be that cos of course we all read the manual cover to cover before putting the sim in....didn't we? hehe
Thanks for the replys. I am fairly renowned for not reading instruction manuals (like all men i guess!!) but for once I actually did.
Defo tried to put it in the right way but it just wouldn't go in, i've tried this morning again with an old disconnected sim card and it seems to have free'd up quite a bit, it still feels kind of grindy (apologies for the made up word) and nothing like inserting a sim card into any phone i've had in the past but i'm keeping my fingers crossed it'll be fine.
Just got to wait for the replacement virgin sim now which is annoying because i'm itching to get using it, it's a beautiful bit of kit.
If you are in any doubt, get the phone switched out for a replacement. If there is a fault with the SIM socket, then it may well reappear when you least want it in the future!
You are trying this with the battery removed aren't you? It can be done with battery in but it is a lot more difficult to get the SIM card properly under the locating lugs.
I've switched SIM cards a lot, and there is absolutely no problem- it is as smooth as you'd expect from a snug-fitting slot!
Hi Neil, thanks for the reply, yes i'm trying it with the battery out and it definately couldn't be described as smooth so I suspect there may well be a problem with it.
I shall give virgin a call and arrange for a replacement.
Thanks again for your help.
p.s This is an awesome forum, i've been studying it all week in anticipation of receiving my HD2 (first winmo phone), looks like i'll have to wait a little longer before I get to properly use it though
I would get it replaced!
would be epic, is he tries to put it in the sd card place
I do have my moments but not even I could do that!!
Earlier today, some water inadvertently spilled on the back of my G2, it wasn't a lot but I did turn off the phone, remove the battery, tried to dry it, etc. Phone seemed to be working fine (probably shouldn't have turned it back on in retrospect) but I soon noticed I had no service, removed the SIM, dried a little more, re-inserted, it came back, only to die again soon. Haven't tried it in a while, I currently don't have access to another card to try or another device to try my card in. When I get home, I do have an extra sim that came with my G2 as well as my old G1.
I think what I'm going to do is try to use my SIM with the G1 and see if anything happens, if it works then there's definitely an issue with my G2 sim reader, if not, then I can just try my new sim with the G2 and hopefully that will work.
Do you guys have any advice? My G2 is a little over a week old (~10 days)...I know T-Mobile warranty does not cover damage. However, it does not really look like there's any damage to the phone (literally everything else works perfectly). Would it be possible they might just consider it a malfunction and replace the device? I think in the worst case, I could probably buy insurance (still under 14 days) and get it repaired...
My main question is, should I try out the new SIM in the G2, or wait another day or so? This has been stressing me out for the last few hours....
all the sudden about a week ago it seems like my sim card is not connedted to the phone. It doesnt say no sim but it seems like it loses all connection and the batttery needs to be pulled for it to connect. its very strange. I am running pre-mango 7712. I am going to flash back to 7004 to see if the problem still exists. Has anyone else with this phone (att) rev 1.3 had any issues where it seems that the sim card isnt connected? or maybe just the Antenna is lose inside? my phone has never been dropped. It slid out of my pocket when i was driving once but that shouldnt have damaged any soldering inside.
my phone did that and it turned out that the contacts under the metal plate where the sim card slides in had broken off somehow.
but mine said no sim, so maybe you have some other issue.
as for my problem, after samsung fixed the phone, i haven't had any connection or sim issues on nodo, premango, or mango.
Yeah my phones not saying no sum. It is just losing connection. Like I have it charging sitting on a table and it will be fine. The I will pick it up use it for say 20 minutes. Then next thing I know there is no service. Battery pull, take the sum out put it back in power on and its back to working. Idk its very frustrating
maybe I should call at&t. I still have a few months on my waranty
well ive run out ideas i put my wifes simcard in to see if maybe it was just my sim and hers is doing the same thing. my sim is fine so its definitley the device. right now im actually using my good ol' samsung epix. gonna call att in the morning to see if i can get a replacement. or i might have to send it to samsung (hope not) i have flashed back to 7004 to see if it was some wierd bug. its not. it seems like the phone gets hotter than usual too. first noticed it the other day when i was using the maps at the state fair i kept losing signal and it was very hot in my palm. like i said before ive never really dropped this phone. its never got wet. im stumped.
goldenpipes said:
well ive run out ideas i put my wifes simcard in to see if maybe it was just my sim and hers is doing the same thing. my sim is fine so its definitley the device. right now im actually using my good ol' samsung epix. gonna call att in the morning to see if i can get a replacement. or i might have to send it to samsung (hope not) i have flashed back to 7004 to see if it was some wierd bug. its not. it seems like the phone gets hotter than usual too. first noticed it the other day when i was using the maps at the state fair i kept losing signal and it was very hot in my palm. like i said before ive never really dropped this phone. its never got wet. im stumped.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
looks like a hardware issue, hopefully att will swap it out for convenience, for my issue, i had to mail it in to samsung, who took about a week to get it fixed and sent back, it was actually a pretty pleseant experience.
Yeah that's what I'm thinking. I was looking at it this morning and it kind of looks like the solder is loose where the pins connect to PCB. Wierd how this could happen its not like I swap out SIM cards all the time. After wiggling the whole simcard slot about a tad it seems like its holding up. Well see over the weekend.
i´ve been having the exact same problem so maybe is a software problem and not hardware my info is this:
im in a re 1.3
SGH-i917
SO VERSION 7.10.7712.60
FIRMWARE 2103.11.3.3
HARDWARE 3.1.0.7
BOOT 5.3.1.6
tell yours and see if is a matter of hardware or software
No it was hardware problem for me.
The guy at ATT took the phone apart right in front of me and the charger port fell off the PCB. It was a refurbished phone.
so tech service help u, im asking becuse im in colombia so i cant send my phone to at&tfor tech support so i have to take it to a local cellphone tech shop, what was the diagnosis in yours so i can give a guide to help fix mine
Had a similar issue with my LG Optimus. Didn't see any SIM. Turned out to be software corruption, works just fine now after reflash.