Database Users

Repairing Universal - Sim Card Error

I've had a Universal for about a year and a half (maybe two) now and have become really, really reliant on it. I used to complain a lot about its sluggishness, low voice call quality and huge size, but now that it's got a problem I can't live without it!! "Normal" cellphones are a huge downgrade!!
I dropped my Universal without its case some weeks ago, and the battery cover, battery and sim card all flew away in the hard floor. When putting everything together again, it feels a bit loose, and the red thingy that holds the battery in place is not nearly as stable now. But what happens now is that, at random intervals, I get an "Invalid or no simcard" message and cannot use the phone features. If I turn the radio off then on, it sometimes works again but sometimes doesn't. I've used it as a phone for a day working perfectly and then I begin to get the message again. I sometimes get it right after turning on the device.
I tried stiffening the device with a miniscrewdriver but I cannot get to the screws that are loosened. I also tried other things believing the problem was the physical contact of the Simcard with the reader. Unfortunately the problem continues.
I live in Mexico but will be travelling to America June 21 through 29. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to fix it? I'd also be willing to pay for a repair assuming I can send the device by FedEx from Mexico now, and get it back to my hotel late June when I go to America. Does anyone know a repairshop which might do that? Thanks a lot!

XPeria Poor/Fluctuating Signal and GPS Solution

Looking at the results of the xda-developers pool I decided to get an XPeria as it clearly out shined all other phones. I got X1i this Saturday and was shocked about the poor signal strength. I was so looking forward to using this phone and keeping it but was more inclined in sending it back. Now after a couple of days just browsing the developers site which I am used to as I had an artemis before this. I see this was not the last of the problems. There have been mentions of overheating and GPS lag as well as the WIFI being rubbish. I have found the following problems
1. Signals fluctuating and mostly no service when in hand even in some good reception areas. Normally on H when in the carry case but switches to G as soon as held in hand.
2. GPS is frustrating. My artemis used to lock within seconds while having an upto date ephermis file. But even with AGPS and recently downloaded ephermis file, I had to wait over a minute to move off. It locked and then it lost and then it locked again(This was when it was in my hand). Once locked it was stable. It was on Google maps by the way.
Right for these, I have found a temporary solution and we have to work on it to make it a standard solution for all X1. Apparently the signals definitely fluctuate when you touch the lower metallic part on the back which has SE logo on it . The opinion on the forums here is that it may block the signal. I think otherwise as I have covered that area without touching the panel with my hand and there has been no signal drop but as soon as you have the slightest bit of flesh on that area the signal drops at least two bars. This led me to believe that there is an electric conduction or possibly u earth the antennas as they seem to be touching that panel from inside as it has been pointed out before.
So simple test was to put a cling film on that part and then test so I did and walah!! There was no signal drop and it worked flawlessly. I think it’s the same problem with GPS as well.
Now I couldn’t carry on using my phone half mummified. I had to take the cling film off. This is possibly the solution to everyone’s problem but I need someone to suggest either a plastic cover for that area or some sort of coating which does not conduct electricity. I think that will definitely sort the problem.

I think you've got a faulty X1 there mate..
Can you take it back to a store and compare it against another one?
The signal is weak on this compared to some other devices, (it's not as bad as the vario though), however I've never noticed a drop in signal by holding it, so I suspect somethings awry with the one you've got..
GPS signal is very very good with the later radios, what version have you got?
I get a lock within 2 seconds (8 seconds from hard reset or flashed a new rom), and it's very very accurate when it does lock.

My GPS works very well (better than htc cruise) also with previous radio.
So I think you have a fault X1, like say by fards.

I'm with Fards on this, I don't get issues when holding the phone and GPS is snappy.
crabby

Thanks guys. I know it has been discussed a million times before but I have compared the phone with other XPerias and it is the same. There are atleast 4 threads pointing out the same. My X1 would have better signals than my artemis as long as i dont touch the back base. Have you all got silver X1is? If so then can you check if you touch the back panel which i mentioned, if there is any fluctuation in the signals(its not instant it takes about 10 seconds for the phone to show the loss of signals).
I have updated radio to 55 and tried the two new stock roms which are R2A for O2 and 010 generic. The phone still looses signals but not completely when i touch the back panel.
About GPS, it does get a lock very quickly but looses it for a short while when i touch the back.
Anyway if someone else comes accross the same problem then please write here as I am sure there is a solution to be found. I was looking at the following
Clear coating
Antistatic spray coating

I must have missed those threads then.
I have a black x1, and definitely don't get any of those issues.
gps is steady and strong.. monitoring it now... as I type. 6 birds locked standing next to window in house hdop 0.6m which I think is very very good
gsm signal on 2 bars and steady

I had the same issue just once. And even when X1 was in the Brodit car holder.
In my case the soft reset was sufficient to solve the problem. But I guess that you already did that.

fards and pelriog? did you experience any fluctuation when touching the panel?
These are the links to threads
Thread1
Thread2
Thread3
Thread4

Same here, touch back panel, hold for 10 secs and signal drops 1 bar. Currently on 3G network, going from 2 bars to 1.
(And yes, my W810i gets a way better signal in low coverage areas. However, usually not a problem, since I hardly encounter Vodafone low coverage areas in The Netherlands).
Tested 5 times. Dutch Vodafone X1i, R2 stock ROM & stock radio.

Ok I did the touch the panel thing and my bars increased by one... hmmm perhaps there is another faulty batch out there as I get great signal (touch wood) and my gps is very responsive and accurate...

Silver X1 here.. Been touching it up for about 15 mins now
It does seem to drop by 1 bar when touched, but also drops if i just put my hand really close to the back without actually touching. hmm..
what concerns me more is how it just drops the whole line randomly and gives an x then has to search again. Lost a good few calls from that..

well here ive got no problem at all with signal.
But GPS does suck even though most people everywhere say X1 GPS is awesome.maybe it is just my zone/country.. could that be possible?
uhm.. of course not, their satellytes afetr all.

I have disassembled my X1 myself and found that under lower part of backside (piece that have SE logo) is an antenna of some kind.
The antenna is a thick circuit that ran on top of another piece of plastic that cover the loud speaker.
The circuit only have 2 contacts to the main PCB.
My guess is that the reception site of either GSM or GPS is on that part.(may be bluetooth or WiFi too, but I think that's not it)
I wonder what SE/HTC engineer is thinking, putting antenna on this part of the phone! (covered with my hand everytime I use it!)
The solution is "use bluetooth headset" and "hold your phone upside down" and you will be fine.

Yeah, mine loses a bar when touching the metal case at the back, I've not lost any calls (that I know of) because of this though.
I had a look under the speaker section myself last week, and can confirm the antenna circuit over the speaker section. Underneath there's also what looks like a tiny external antenna socket... we could mod our experias to have a rubber duck aerial? Who's up for walkie talkie lookalike xperia?

lol @ walkie talki and upside down. I think the designers have done a very poor job as far as the antenna location is concerned.
Tumpin does your phone loose all signals when in your hand?
Taking this seriously as suggested in my first post has anyone tried putting a cling film on or to that matter anything to cover that area and holding the phone. I did it with the cling film and there was no drop in the signal. So i think it is just a matter of us using some kind of invisible coating or cover on that area so there is no static conductivity. Look at post #5
I would appreciate if everyone gives there suggestions as well how to deal with it. For the people who took the phone apart you could have put something on the inner side to block the static discharge.

I returned my xperia for the second time for signal problems. The problems started after it was repaired for the crack in my case. After that the signal was very poor. GPS was not working in 90%. I wait for 15 minutes for signal, but the only thing that happend was heating the battery. Also HSDPA have a weak signal. In most times I only can use GPRS. The first time I returned the phone for this problem nothing changed. And this time I had a new crack in my case, so I hope they send me a new one!

Im using a X1a and I find its GSM/3G reception is really poor, I already upgraded the radio to the latest but its still the same poor poor reception. Specially when Im using the metal case I frequently get drop calls on my device

kanthai said:
I have disassembled my X1 myself and found that under lower part of backside (piece that have SE logo) is an antenna of some kind.
The antenna is a thick circuit that ran on top of another piece of plastic that cover the loud speaker.
The circuit only have 2 contacts to the main PCB.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just curious! Any chance that you see what for are the two metal plates contacts from the metal cover of the phone? Those near the SE logo. These two and the other two towards the camera are there for... what? The metal cover is used for something as when you rig in the phone and all four contacts are "online" but what for? Thanks!

I have a black X1i and noticed that reception increased when using it with the keyboard opened in horizontal position.

Same here, I tought it was because I open my metal case that is why reception goes up.
stevencyc said:
I have a black X1i and noticed that reception increased when using it with the keyboard opened in horizontal position.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

signal level drops out when holding phone

Has anyone noticed that when u hold the phone when browsing internet etc, the signal level drops especially when holding phone near the bottom. many times my signal drops out. I know the antenna is in the bottom of the phone, but it was also in the touch hd and I never had this problem.
Anyone else have the same?

Interesting!
I hadn't noticed this, just tried it and your right!
Hold phone at top of device, 2 bars. Hold it at the bottom, 1 bar! That is sat in exactly same place in house.
Very interesting find mate.

ardsar said:
Has anyone noticed that when u hold the phone when browsing internet etc, the signal level drops especially when holding phone near the bottom. many times my signal drops out. I know the antenna is in the bottom of the phone, but it was also in the touch hd and I never had this problem.
Anyone else have the same?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have noticed the signal drop when you hold it, i like browsing in landscape mode and sometimes i have to put it down to get signal back :-(

Could this be because of the metal battery casing? Bit worrying...

I put vodafone sim in and this happens. Put O2 Sim in and it's ok. Weird!! Gonna purchase a signal booster which is supposed to reduce static (or something) allowing better signal.. Off to ebay..

I have the same problem with my device and got calls dropped yesterday so i decided to report this to HTC. Here is the reply i received. Havent tried yet but you can give it a shot.
Regarding the low signals issue, please follow the steps below:
1-Go to: start>settings>menu>all settings>personal>phone>network>choose orange manually
2-enable the airplane mode: start>settings>wireless controls>airplane mode
3- Perform Soft Reset to the phone.
Soft Reset :
1. With your thumb or finger, open the back cover by lifting up from the left side of the cover.
2. The RESET button is located at the bottom left below the battery compartment and SIM card slot. Use a small object with an unsharp, pointed tip such as a toothpick to press the RESET button.
4-Disable the airplane mode, test the phone and see how it works.
5-Try another SIM CARD from another network
Thank you so much for using HTC products.

I got the same problem
reception is not good at all
I am using Nokia and samsung with the same sim signal level 3 or 4 bars
but with Leo only 1 or if you lucky get 2 bars!!
dissapointed

Normal
This is normal .
Antenna is in the lower part of the phone , that`s why !!!
Regards

Azitrox said:
This is normal .
Antenna is in the lower part of the phone , that`s why !!!
Regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That DOES NOT MEAN IT SHOULD EXIST ! ! !

This was also happening on the At&t fuze (Raphael), the Omnia i900 and the iPhone 3g.
It is very common in phones where the antenna is at the buttom i think.

I have to say that mine is the complete opposite. I get a significantly weaker signal both 3g/gprs and wi-fi if I hold the phone at the top! How bizarre.

Xeon said:
That DOES NOT MEAN IT SHOULD EXIST ! ! !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sony Xperia X1 does the same
Nokia N97 does the same
its just the way it is your hand must block the signal a little bit ive had both the above phones and they both have this issue.
if your so mad and say it should not exist then get in contact will all phone makers and ask them to sort it

sharpey said:
Sony Xperia X1 does the same
Nokia N97 does the same
its just the way it is your hand must block the signal a little bit ive had both the above phones and they both have this issue.
if your so mad and say it should not exist then get in contact will all phone makers and ask them to sort it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The HD does not.

You can see the HD2 user manual on Page 10 Attached picture is below.
ardsar said:
Has anyone noticed that when u hold the phone when browsing internet etc, the signal level drops especially when holding phone near the bottom. many times my signal drops out. I know the antenna is in the bottom of the phone, but it was also in the touch hd and I never had this problem.
Anyone else have the same?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

My girlfriend's Nokia 6650 consistently gets 1-2 bars better signal than my HD2 in my living room. In fact, my signal is so weak that I've been disconnected in the middle of a call twice now On T-Mobile (UK).

the radio on mine is the strongest i have ever had.
i get reception in places i never did before.
the is a restaurant i know where no one ever gets a signal... on any mobile or any network... i was sitting there browsing the net!

ian_uk1975 said:
My girlfriend's Nokia 6650 consistently gets 1-2 bars better signal than my HD2 in my living room. In fact, my signal is so weak that I've been disconnected in the middle of a call twice now On T-Mobile (UK).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed! My wife has a Nokia 5800 and always gets better signal strength than me(it was also the case on my G1) I think Nokia do better for signal strength than others.

Part of the "my wife gets a better signal than me" syndrome is related to the capacitance, and therefore conductive properties of each individual person.
Some people have very high natural levels, and others low levels.
The level of conductivity in a person effects their ability to act as an ariel themselves.
This can result in "blocking" the signal getting to the phone completely, or even amplifying it slightly.
This will vary from one person to the next.
If anyone has an oscilloscope, an HD2, and a bunch of people handy, they can test this for themselves.

HTC G2/Desire Z weak wifi when held a certain way

Hey there guys, i currently have an issue with my recently purchased G2. Whenever i have the keyboard out holding vertically, i noticed my wifi signal started to decrease when i held at a certain position with my left hand. I usually have my left index finger resting on the side of the keyboard (top part of the phone), whenever i am holding it horizontally and i have noticed that the wifi drops considerable when doing so from 3 to 1, indicated by the wifi signal on the phone.
Any of you guys have the same problem? Try covering the top part of the phone or the left side of the phone if its held landscape (the area where t-mobile logo is) and tell me if your wifi strength decreases. Thanks guys!
youtube.com/watch?v=qdj2y9Fx_5o
(sorry won't allow me to post a link since I don't have at least 8 posts!)

Yes I have had issues with wifi whenever I cover the top part of the phone. Either when in landscape mode or hplding it to my head
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

I definitely see this. I don't even bother trying to play Pocket Legends on wifi.
I tried to google where the wifi antenna was, but gave up pretty quick - normally I have good "4g" coverage so I don't keep wifi turned on, even at home.

i dont think this phone even uses antenna's i opened up my phone before and there was nothing that looked like an antenna unless its inside the screen

My signal drops 1 bar by doing that as well. I assume its where the receiver is located
Sent from my SilverBullet "RootedHTCDesireZ"

Easy on the death grip! also get a stronger wifi router, pref an N router. it'll help you.

it's not even that i have my whole hand plastered on the side of the phone, it is just my index finger that is giving me only 1 bar of wifi, even if it is lightly rested..

I kind of noticed this too last night. I was laying on my bed, and replying to a post in a local forum. I typed in my reply using the HW keyboard, then submitted. Then it failed. I noticed that I was not connected via WiFi anymore. I closed the keyboard and changed switched to a different position, then poof, WiFi came back on.
However, I don't completely blame HTC for this, since my Router's signal (WiFi-N too) is not that strong up in up in my bedroom. So I guess the antenna is located somewhere near there, and when signal is not that good, it drops. Not that big of an issue for me though.

Uh... keyboard out and holding it vertically.... why would you ever hold it like this?

I'm guessing he means horizontally. I get the wifi signal to drop when I hold it like this. There is a hole on same cases near the bottom left (when held normally keyboard out) that gets covered by my hand. This seems to be the location of the wifi antenna.

Sorry i mean horizontally haha. I guess this is a common problem not a unit problem. Is there any fix for this? I use wifi whenever im home or work since it is faster but i find myself clicking links and going to web pages without my left hand placed on the phone (held horizontally) in order for the page to load up fast.
I'd understand if i was covering it fully or if my fingers were firmly pressed against it but this thing is just too damn sensitive!!

Finland_2_Cupertino said:
Easy on the death grip! also get a stronger wifi router, pref an N router. it'll help you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Easy? The man can't hold his phone the way it was intended?
While this is an amazing phone, I'm regretting to learn that the radio equipment is pretty ****ty. It's such a disappointment. I have a top of the line router and live near a cell tower and still get poor reception. All my electronics are RF shielded and I live in a new home with little wireless noise. I know a thing or two about troubleshooting wireless challenges and I am absolutely positive that it's the radio hardware.
I've had friends bring over their devices, one being a DZ and it also performed poorly. Hoping that there's something software related that can be updated by HTC to fix this. Chances are slim though... thankfully I switch out phones every 4-6 months. Love my DZ other than this major flaw.

When I hold my DZ horizontally with keyboard open I either have all wifi bars or 1 less sometimes but it still works very well.
I had indeed to have a look at the icon when I read this thread to notice that I could lose 1 bar sometmes as I have never noticed any problem with wifi.
I have tried different ways of holding the phone and even when I try to cover wifi antenna location I don't always succeed in getting less bars.
Could it have to do with the fact that I'm a girl and have smaller hands so cover a smaller surface of the device?

I've posted a video on the problem.
I'm quite surprised that there is no other thread on this after realizing the number of people that have the same problem. I want to know if this is a problem for all users or only for certain defective G2s, so I know if should send it in.

missparker76 said:
When I hold my DZ horizontally with keyboard open I either have all wifi bars or 1 less sometimes but it still works very well.
I had indeed to have a look at the icon when I read this thread to notice that I could lose 1 bar sometmes as I have never noticed any problem with wifi.
I have tried different ways of holding the phone and even when I try to cover wifi antenna location I don't always succeed in getting less bars.
Could it have to do with the fact that I'm a girl and have smaller hands so cover a smaller surface of the device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That could probably be the cause.
I was able to replicate the issue again, but now with better WiFi coverage. So yeah, I noticed that my signal bars drop 1 to 2 bars when using the HW keyboard, and it immediately pops back up to full strength when held in a portrait position. However, the AP that I was connected to was a G one, I think.
As for me, this isn't quite of a major issue for me yet. I only use the HW keyboard when doing SMS and typing in long info while browsing. Though it can be a pain when doing instant messaging on the phone.

I don't think the type of router is the cause, i think its just poorly placed and sensitivity of the wifi antenna. I tested it out on my university wifi and same result. The engineers failed on this one!

I noticed a drop of radio signal when using the hardware keyboard of my G1 (HTC Dream). IMHO there is nothing like a perfect place for a radio or an antenna in a smartphone. See the discussion going on regarding the signal drop of the iPhone 4, same thing. Every human being has different hands and holds a phone in another way, maybe similar but still different. There is no standardized hand, you know?
Just my opinion. :]

I purchased a Netgear WNDR3700 and set it up using both stock firmware and DDWRT customer firmware and did extensive testing, not just for G2/Desire Z testing but for my other wireless devices as well. I can assure you that the radio hardware and antenna placement/design are really lacking.
I've found that with my new wireless connection there is far more stability as I've never optimized my old router (Linksys WRT610 with DDWRT FW), but a definite loss in signal from the way the device is held. It really sucks, but it's not at bad as the mobile connection. I always have just a couple bars and then 0 bars, then it begins bandswitching and sucking some hardcore ****.
I really love the Desire Z otherwise but it looks like I need to hold out for the Motorola Atrix or the dual core LG Optimus coming out soon.

Me too
I see this drop in reception too, and sometimes a drop in 3G reception when I hold it certain ways. A bummer, but pretty much par for the course. I've never met a phone that doesn't suffer this same problem one way or another.
I just live with it. It's still a great device.

has anyone opened a bug ticket on HTC's site?

All 2g signal is gone, and rarely any 3g..

I Just got my phone back form service (witch was dislaimed as I hadddent removed the Bootload) But anyway, the problem is that i cant find any signal, im not sure when it happened, but maybe back when i was messing with som WinMo 7 installation. Now im back on the latest win65 offcial rom. but still no signal.. ANy ideas?
Should i reflash my radio rom, and if so - how do i do so?
Kind Regards. Johnsen

Kjohnsen said:
I Just got my phone back form service (witch was dislaimed as I hadddent removed the Bootload) But anyway, the problem is that i cant find any signal, im not sure when it happened, but maybe back when i was messing with som WinMo 7 installation. Now im back on the latest win65 offcial rom. but still no signal.. ANy ideas?
Should i reflash my radio rom, and if so - how do i do so?
Kind Regards. Johnsen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd try a new radio. Just download any of the radios in the below link, the ones that end in .50 and are 2.08.50.xx and above are safe for ANY HD2, (all others will brick your phone if you have a tmobile usa phone) just download it, unzip it, get an activesync connection, and run the RUU
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=611787

I live in maryland here in the U.S. and I've found 2.08 better then 2.15 which is a newer radio so you'll need to just try a few out and see your results.
For a good way to get an accurate reading on signal I would go into settings, about phone then network. Look at the signal you have, I would suggest to leave your phone in one place and don't try to move it. Get the readings maybe 3-5 times over a few mins. Then flash a new radio. The closer to a positive number the better. Low signal for me normally means -108 or so. That's normal to have it negative when you have poor signal. Good (in my apt) for me is about 89 or so. This is a little more accurate I feel then trying to see how bars you have. Infact one radio over another may only show a small increase and not enough to generate a full bar so just play around a bit to see what works best for where you live.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

Thx for the suggestion, I found that flashing new Radio was the propper easy. Anyway - It didnt do the trick. Tryed several roms from the list but with no luck. Still no Signal. Any Ideas?

Okay im standing between two choises now. (Since no warrenty is covering this if it should be a hardware issue)
1. Im having hope to fix this somehow - I just have no idea how but if its software related ther must be a way.
2. Getting a new phone, since this the repair of this could cost me alot, in wich case im more into just getting another smartphone..
EDIT: I have a theory - but im not too good with that stuff - since hte signal is so low and only is able to find a tiny bit of signal where the signal uused to bee maxed out, that the inner antenna has come loose?

If you call T-mobile and explain the issue they can do two things for you.
1st.) they can see if other people have complained before and if they are currently working on a fix. A lot of times this could include repositioning the tower slightly to grab a signal better for your area. Atleast this is what I was told when i called.
2nd.) they can update the signal on your phone using a mmi code. This is a code like *#773#* ????? i really dont know what the code is but thats what they will probably do with you on the phone when you call. This fix didn't work for me but it was something the technical support people wanted to try, they did say most of the time it doesn't seem to fix the issue but for some it does.
If you have Android on your HD2 and your still having problems and its getting to the point you cant even use your phone I would try and go back to winmo. I have noticed a signal drop from going to Android and have thoroughly tested this with several different phones including two different HD2's. I can say that winmo does "seem" to provide a better signal then Android, although it is small, its still enough to notice and give far less dropped called (for me). Other things to worry about is construction and interference. Concrete and many other materials that homes/apts are made of can cause interference. Also electical interference is most common so you should not place your phone by router, computer etc..as it could be the source of the problem. As for me this does not effect my signal.
Here is a link to something that could fix your issue BUT please know that this can cause your phone to become worse then it is now. It does have to do directly with what your theory is. My theory of how this could work is if you have dropped your phone which a lot of us have done. When you drop your phone it knocks the circuit board inside around causing the connectors to possibly become unaligned. I would advise you to EXHAUST ALL OTHER MEANS BEFORE DOING THIS. Some people have reported they did see a huge fix by doing this while one person broke the antenna contacts on his phone. So please be aware of the dangers.

Thanks, i dont have t-mobile as I live in nothern europe. And Anyone refuse to service my phone as I forgot to remove some software wich void the warranty.
Anyway, im pretty sure its from dropping the phone evry now and then, im just gonna get myself a T5 and try have a look on the hardware part. If that doesnt look broken - im gonna try going back to the software part. But thanks alot for tryin to help me out.
And this is to anyone ells, heres is as vid on how to tear it appart:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL-jnUKufC4&feature=player_embedded#!