Hi. I had this issue for a long time now, I tried a lot of things but I stuck and I don't know what to do. I bought a Lenovo P780 in February, ROW version (if I remember ROW123 4GB), imei starts with 860. I installed a custom rom (I checked and it is for this ROW) and it worked fine. One day in May I noticed that I got no signal. Then it came back. Than it went away. It is still the problem of course.
I never dropped nor flooded the phone. I tried installing other GSM modems as people on forums suggested, I tried a lot but none of them worked. I was angry so I took it apart, and saw that the outer shell of the antenna cable was damaged, so I ordered a new one, but it didn't help. I checked the whole PCB under a magnifying glass so maybe I would find any sign of damage so then I can replace the faulty component (I have access to do that), but I found nothing.
I tried it with different SIM cards. Then I found out, that in the Settings menu in the about phone section you can see the exact signal strength (it usually says 0dBm 99 asu which is absurd). You can only access it when you have a SIM card in the device but when you are in, you can take it out and you can still see the signal strength. It sometimes finds signal, but it is very rare.
What should I do? I have no money to replace the motherboard, and of course I have no warranty. Is there a chance that my problem is software-based, or it is surely hardware stuff? What can I do?
Buy a different brand phone
My suggestion is to get rid off that phone as it is and change towards buying anything but Lenovo, sell this one and buy any other brand.
If you stick to chinese buy Huawei or One Plus One etc.
Good luck1
nandude said:
Hi. I had this issue for a long time now, I tried a lot of things but I stuck and I don't know what to do. I bought a Lenovo P780 in February, ROW version (if I remember ROW123 4GB), imei starts with 860. I installed a custom rom (I checked and it is for this ROW) and it worked fine. One day in May I noticed that I got no signal. Then it came back. Than it went away. It is still the problem of course.
I never dropped nor flooded the phone. I tried installing other GSM modems as people on forums suggested, I tried a lot but none of them worked. I was angry so I took it apart, and saw that the outer shell of the antenna cable was damaged, so I ordered a new one, but it didn't help. I checked the whole PCB under a magnifying glass so maybe I would find any sign of damage so then I can replace the faulty component (I have access to do that), but I found nothing.
I tried it with different SIM cards. Then I found out, that in the Settings menu in the about phone section you can see the exact signal strength (it usually says 0dBm 99 asu which is absurd). You can only access it when you have a SIM card in the device but when you are in, you can take it out and you can still see the signal strength. It sometimes finds signal, but it is very rare.
What should I do? I have no money to replace the motherboard, and of course I have no warranty. Is there a chance that my problem is software-based, or it is surely hardware stuff? What can I do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
kozav100 said:
My suggestion is to get rid off that phone as it is and change towards buying anything but Lenovo, sell this one and buy any other brand.
If you stick to chinese buy Huawei or One Plus One etc.
Good luck1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I did that. I discovered that the CPU's soldering was faulty. I guess the BGA couldn't stand the heat. I sold the parts and bought a Huawei.
Related
I originally had trouble with GPS working intermittently and found the thread about bending the pins slightly and it worked. Now I have wonderful GPS signal but can't send or receive calls or messages.
WiFi works, GPS works, I have 5 full bars but I can't place or receive calls.
I suspect that opening the phone resulted in damaging something, but what? If the antenna is damaged than why would I have 5 bars?
I googled everything I could think of and couldn't come up with any clue, anything new to try would be helpful.
I was running Cyanogenmod 9 and ended up flashing the stock ROM but *NOTHING* helps.
Thanks,
Tim
Have you checked your APN settings?
reply:
uwannabananababy said:
Have you checked your APN settings?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I verified the APN settings. Even tried various other APN options that were recommended on other threads. Still nothing.
It's really weird, the signal displays sometimes 3, 4, or 5 bars and my other ATT phone works fine using the same SIM card.
Completely out in left field, but perhaps food for thought? http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=lyuGT3atgc8&desktop_uri=/watch?v=lyuGT3atgc8
BLACKSTAR X-SGH-I717 xda-developers app
Fixed - sent back to Samsung
I sent it back to Samsung for diagnostics. They said "Liquid damaged on PBA components" - which means the phone board assembly (main board).
Now I know for sure that I didn't get any liquid on any part of the phone what-so-ever, but since the repair was free, I'm not going to complain.
A suspicion is that the technicians are only given a few category codes to document the failure mode for the phone, and this seemed to be the closest one to the technician who looked at it.
What really happened is a mystery that may last for all time...
I can't wait to get the phone back so I can go rooted again!
-Tim
The water damage indicators are in the screws you remove to get inside.
rangercaptain said:
The water damage indicators are in the screws you remove to get inside.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Huh - how do they know that? There wasn't any obvious way to know I tampered with it...
-Tim
twelc said:
Huh - how do they know that? There wasn't any obvious way to know I tampered with it...
-Tim
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe they watched you do the repair.
Bah
I have 2 Notes purchased second hand which exhibit the same symptoms. I tried everything, changing ROMs (including stock), modems, carrier unlocking, different SIM cards, restoring IMEIs, changed the power connecter board where I believe the cell ANT is, always got the 'Not Registered on Network' when trying to make a call. I could deactivate HSDPA and LTE in the service menu and still connect on the EDGE network.
There are a few threads on this subject, but the only way I've seen it resolved is sending the phone in for a replacement mainboard. Unfortunately that wasn't an option for me. Buyer Beware.
Well, I thought Samsung was going to repair it but they sent the phone back saying it was unrepairable.
They slapped a red dot behind where the battery sits and there's some kind of red plastic behind the antenna for the phone. So I know they took the back apart.
I called them and they said it's unrepairable, and I asked how can it be unrepairable - can't you repair the phone you invented? Anyway it's hard to get anywhere with them.
It's kind of weird though, everything works but no network lock.
Well, I guess I'll chock it up to experience and sell it on ebay and buy a used one.
Tim
Samsung refused to repair the unit under warranty - which is fine because I am responsible for breaking it and I don't expect them to pay for my mistake. However, I asked them to fix it and bill me for the damages and they said they couldn't repair it.
Huh, so I asked them how they can build such a nice and complex phone but can't figure out how to repair it?
They flat out refused so I asked to have it escalated.
The put me in contact with another customer service number and the first thing he asked was would I be willing to pay for the repair - of course! That's all I wanted in the first place.
Anyway, I paid $200 and this is the response concerning the problem and resolution. I should get the phone back by tomorrow in like new condition!
Original Problem:
TECHNICAL INQUIRY - LCD / TOUCH PANEL / LED - TOUCH SCREEN CRACKED - STD/LCD FEE
Problem found:
BAD BGA COMPONENT - LCD DAMAGED - ABUSE - REAR COVER - COSMETICS
Solution:
REPLACED LCD - REPLACED COSMETIC - REPLACED COMPONENT - REPLACED PBA
Sorry to hear you're still not back with us yet. Having an awful go of it. Surely they'll have you going soon.
BLACKSTAR XI -SGH-I717 xda-developers app SAMSUNG done right
Hi guys
Hope someone can help! After ignoring advice from the Antivirus I picked up it appears a virus, my Samsung S3 mini does not read simcards anymore. The Antivirus told me my IMSI number has been changed, giving me the new and old ones. A motherboard replacement and a firmware upgrade did not solve the problem. I hope my phone is still fixable! Thanking you in advance for your help....
Certainly did not get a virus. Especially one that would persist across a motherboard swap. Which, I am a bit confused on... So you did a motherboard swap and have the same exact issue? That could only happen if they swapped the SIM card reader from the old board to the new and that is the faulty part. Other than that, check to see if your IMEI is correct or still there. If the EFS partition gets messed up, it can cause issues like this...but not across motherboard swaps either.
So either someone told you they swapped motherboards and lied to you, or they swapped a bad part over along with it.
thank you
es0tericcha0s said:
Certainly did not get a virus. Especially one that would persist across a motherboard swap. Which, I am a bit confused on... So you did a motherboard swap and have the same exact issue? That could only happen if they swapped the SIM card reader from the old board to the new and that is the faulty part. Other than that, check to see if your IMEI is correct or still there. If the EFS partition gets messed up, it can cause issues like this...but not across motherboard swaps either.
So either someone told you they swapped motherboards and lied to you, or they swapped a bad part over along with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The repairshop said they changed the motherboard, so i don't suspect them of lying....and i did the firmware upgrade....
charles101 said:
The repairshop said they changed the motherboard, so i don't suspect them of lying....and i did the firmware upgrade....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well check the IMEI from behind the battery and in the phone, see if they match. You didn't answer whether or not the IMEI was still there either. And if they actually did change the motherboard, that would be why you would have gotten the message the 2nd time around, if the app had saved your info from before and you restored it. Why are we trusting this anti-virus app anyway? They are known to point out stuff that isn't there or relevant. If they don't report anything, people think there's no reason to install them...
Also, did the repair shop charge you for the motherboard swap and gave you back the phone not working still with the same issue? Something just seems really off about this. I do repairs for a living and couldn't imagine that going down in that manner at my shop.
hi
es0tericcha0s said:
Well check the IMEI from behind the battery and in the phone, see if they match. You didn't answer whether or not the IMEI was still there either. And if they actually did change the motherboard, that would be why you would have gotten the message the 2nd time around, if the app had saved your info from before and you restored it. Why are we trusting this anti-virus app anyway? They are known to point out stuff that isn't there or relevant. If they don't report anything, people think there's no reason to install them...
Also, did the repair shop charge you for the motherboard swap and gave you back the phone not working still with the same issue? Something just seems really off about this. I do repairs for a living and couldn't imagine that going down in that manner at my shop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Es0
I did not enquire too much at the repair shop, they just told me that a motherboard swop did not fix the fault and i accepted it at the time. The IMEI number matches except the slashes in the number at the back of the battery don't appear in the IMEI number displayed on the screen. The repairshop charged me not a cent and the phone came back same as i took it in...
charles101 said:
Hi Es0
I did not enquire too much at the repair shop, they just told me that a motherboard swop did not fix the fault and i accepted it at the time. The IMEI number matches except the slashes in the number at the back of the battery don't appear in the IMEI number displayed on the screen. The repairshop charged me not a cent and the phone came back same as i took it in...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah ok. They just swapped yours back in afterwards it would seems. But there's no way that the other motherboard would do the same thing unless it was broken in the same way and/or they were using the same SIM card reader, which of course, wouldn't make any sense and would defeat half the purpose of swapping it in the first place. I think you need a second opinion from another shop.
You've tested it with other cards as well?
Put your card in another phone to make sure that is still functioning properly?
When you look in the Settings / About Phone / Status - Does it show the phone # and ICCID #?
Do you get a 0 with a / through it at the top for the signal?
Hi Es0
es0tericcha0s said:
Ah ok. They just swapped yours back in afterwards it would seems. But there's no way that the other motherboard would do the same thing unless it was broken in the same way and/or they were using the same SIM card reader, which of course, wouldn't make any sense and would defeat half the purpose of swapping it in the first place. I think you need a second opinion from another shop.
You've tested it with other cards as well?
Put your card in another phone to make sure that is still functioning properly?
When you look in the Settings / About Phone / Status - Does it show the phone # and ICCID #?
Do you get a 0 with a / through it at the top for the signal?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The card works fine in a Samsung Pocket at the moment. By # do you mean number ( sorry i am not up with the jargon...) ? Card in the Pocket now and by "my phone number" says "unknown". I don't see any reference to ICCID on either phone! And am not sure where to look for the 0 with a / through it !! Sorry if i am trying your patience here....
charles101 said:
The card works fine in a Samsung Pocket at the moment. By # do you mean number ( sorry i am not up with the jargon...) ? Card in the Pocket now and by "my phone number" says "unknown". I don't see any reference to ICCID on either phone! And am not sure where to look for the 0 with a / through it !! Sorry if i am trying your patience here....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I mean your telephone number. If the card reader was not working at all, it would not be able to pick up your # off the card to display in the Settings / About Phone / Status part. But it is weird that the card in your other phone reads unknown. Have you tried another SIM in the phone in question? It could just be that the SIM card is being weird. I've seen them work on some phones and not others. The 0 with / would be in the Status Bar for the signal bars - next to the battery icon, etc.
Have you modded the phone at all?
Hi Es0
es0tericcha0s said:
I mean your telephone number. If the card reader was not working at all, it would not be able to pick up your # off the card to display in the Settings / About Phone / Status part. But it is weird that the card in your other phone reads unknown. Have you tried another SIM in the phone in question? It could just be that the SIM card is being weird. I've seen them work on some phones and not others. The 0 with / would be in the Status Bar for the signal bars - next to the battery icon, etc.
Have you modded the phone at all?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok here goes....at first i tried different simcards with the same network operator with no success, this morning (South Africa time) I rethought your advice about trying other simcards, this time from other network operators....VOILA!! All it was is that the phone got locked to the other network again!! Probably by the Anti-virus app.... well i never!!!! So there you have it ...!!
If you can advise me about unlocking my Samsung S3 mini (on Cell C in South Africa) I would be very grateful!
Thank you again for your excellent advice...! Very much appreciated
Regards
Charles
Glad you're on the right track. As far as unlocking, you can try the instructions here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2082626
Seems like with most Samsung unlocks like these, it is very dependent on the build version of the software and the cellular company. If you are on 4.1.2, and it is not working, see if you can find a 4.1.1 modem and try again. That works in many of the phones I have unlocked with this kind of method. If that doesn't work, you're going to need an unlock code. If you aren't sure where to get that, check out my site and send me a message.
hello again Es0
es0tericcha0s said:
Glad you're on the right track. As far as unlocking, you can try the instructions here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2082626
Seems like with most Samsung unlocks like these, it is very dependent on the build version of the software and the cellular company. If you are on 4.1.2, and it is not working, see if you can find a 4.1.1 modem and try again. That works in many of the phones I have unlocked with this kind of method. If that doesn't work, you're going to need an unlock code. If you aren't sure where to get that, check out my site and send me a message.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hmmmm I put the other network simcard in, made a test phone call... worked fine! so I thought its sorted now...now the fault is sort of on again. At ABOUT DEVICE and STATUS it shows the right network, but in the dropdown menu it says selected network unavailable.... can't make phonecalls but have access to internet via 3G...!! Can you still give me an opinion?
Charles
What's up fellers! Been gone a long time and know I am back. I got a deal on a I527 and found out the guy used a Metro-PCS sim. I didn't realize this until after I put my SIM in and saw ATT. I didn't see that when he had his SIM in there.
I read the 5 or 6 posts on not being able to make or take a call from a TMOBILE setup but since this may be a little different I thought I would post and give it a shot.
My symptoms are no calls (does nothing then emits a single beep then hangs up). Does the same when dialing out. 4G and everything else works 100% Phone is fast boots quick charges fast no complaints anywhere except the stinking call issue.
I used KIES to reload the stock ROM. Took about 20 minutes and completed. Still no calls. Here are the details
Phone has the ATT logo on back, says SGH-i527, has I527UCUAMK2 all 3 places. I talked to ATT customer service and they said the IMEI points to a SGHNM819N. But nothing on the phone indicate metro PCS.
I use to hack back in the ATT Tilt days. Not anymore. I had a small stroke and can't do all this complex stuff anymore. If someone points me in the right direction I can follow instructions but it seems to have gotten a lot more cumbersome to do these days.
All I am looking for is bone stock reset where everything works. I can wait for KitKat to come out so I would like a clean fix.
My sim is a ATT. The service agent online assured me the SIM was fine. My old phone was a Skyrocket that got wet. So the MEGA needed a smaller SIM. I picked it up today and swapped phones.
Thanks for any help and I am willing to pay for someone's quick help. I use the phone for work and right now I am pinched.
SD
I had a similar experience when I bought a used mega, picked up full signal, eveything worked except that I couldn't make or receive calls, I just got a single beep. I even went to an at&t store and got a new sim card, still didn't work.
The guy who helped me at the store said the sim tray was bad, made it sound like it was a common. Issue. gave me the number to the warranty dept, said they might cover it. I called them told them what happened and what the rep told me at the store.
They sent me a replacement at no charge.
my phone done that when my imei was replaced with a galaxy s4's imei. I finially found a guy that put the imei from another i527 into my phone, he also replaced that sticker behind the battery from the mega he used to fix mine so everything matches
banks2878 said:
my phone done that when my imei was replaced with a galaxy s4's imei. I finially found a guy that put the imei from another i527 into my phone, he also replaced that sticker behind the battery from the mega he used to fix mine so everything matches
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I took a look and sure enough the IMEI on the phone is different than the sticker in the back. I googled about 6 different IMEI sites US and EU based and checked out both numbers. Every single site says both comeback good. Nothing stolen or odd. A couple of site said not locked. I would like to have matching IMEI numbers. I would like the one used on the label. How hard is it to get rid of the one on the phone and make it match the label.
I don't think ATT will let me swap this out for a new one. I am not the original owner and there is no insurance on it.
Thanks
SD
I sent you a private message so you can have it taken care of the right way and don't get messed around like I did my first time around
SMACk-DAB said:
I took a look and sure enough the IMEI on the phone is different than the sticker in the back. I googled about 6 different IMEI sites US and EU based and checked out both numbers. Every single site says both comeback good. Nothing stolen or odd. A couple of site said not locked. I would like to have matching IMEI numbers. I would like the one used on the label. How hard is it to get rid of the one on the phone and make it match the label.
I don't think ATT will let me swap this out for a new one. I am not the original owner and there is no insurance on it.
Thanks
SD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wasn't the original owner and didn't have insurance, just had service with at&t. The phone hasn't been out for a year, so it's under warranty unless something shady was done to it. In my case the numbers all matched.
banks2878 said:
I sent you a private message so you can have it taken care of the right way and don't get messed around like I did my first time around
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I don't see the PM yet. Let me know what I need to do.
Thank you,
John
Hi guys,3 days ago i got my TS and saddly i noticed that signal was weak.The thing is that outside i had 3 bars and in my house nothing..The most annoying though is that it does a long time to search for a signal,after it loses it
I took the TS to a mobile service center the opened it up and said tha the wires were all good but the signal adapter was really poor..
So the only way now is to send it back,but my fear is that i ll get it in two months and it wont be any better,sooo now i dont want to send it(maybe after September)
Beacause i can see there are many people having this issue,is there a way to boost our signal,i tried an app that seemed to work but only when i had signal...
thanks for the help
What ever you do, don't tell Omate it was ever looked at. They barely honor warranties for unopened devices, much less one that was opened and with a factory defect.
Lokifish Marz said:
What ever you do, don't tell Omate it was ever looked at. They barely honor warranties for unopened devices, much less one that was opened and with a factory defect.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i think they will see that is opened,when i got it,it had stickers in the screws
is there a chance to fix that problem if i install the rom and the 2100mhz again?
Found a "broken" G2 in the ads today, I might go check it out tomorrow. The seller is selling it for a very low price (somewhere around 150 USD) because the phone can't register to a network. Using my previous knowledge of other Android phones and the knowledge I acquired during my time with my own G2, I've deduced the following (ordered from least likely to most likely):
- the phone was dropped and the radio cable got detached (fairly easy fix, take the phone apart and reattach everything, the physical state of the phone can't be deduced from a single photo that's put online)
- the SIM tray is faulty because at the photo I got, a no SIM icon is visible (though that could've been taken without a SIM in the phone)
- something or someone messed up the EFS partition (I plan on checking whether the phone's bootloader root checker has been tripped, if the IMEI is okay, if it has a custom recovery, etc). The phone seems to have a stock ROM which I suspect someone flashed, or tried to factory reset the phone (which raised a suspicion described below).
But the most likely situation is that the phone was stolen. Why? Well:
- if the phone can't register to a network, its IMEI may be blacklisted
- the phone is being sold without any equipment, not even its box. The guy says it was sold to him like that, which makes me even more suspicious. I have some friends working in certain operators here, I'll snoop around once I get a hold of the phone's IMEI. If I can't get a straight story out of him, I'll try some intimidation or to knock down the price to oblivion, being that the phone might be stolen, and use it for parts, if my ways of finding its owner turn up dry.
Do you guys have any additional tips on what to check? I plan on putting my own SIM card in and trying to run some diagnostics from the hidden menus to see what's what.
robogo1982 said:
Found a "broken" G2 in the ads today, I might go check it out tomorrow. The seller is selling it for a very low price (somewhere around 150 USD) because the phone can't register to a network. Using my previous knowledge of other Android phones and the knowledge I acquired during my time with my own G2, I've deduced the following (ordered from least likely to most likely):
- the phone was dropped and the radio cable got detached (fairly easy fix, take the phone apart and reattach everything, the physical state of the phone can't be deduced from a single photo that's put online)
- the SIM tray is faulty because at the photo I got, a no SIM icon is visible (though that could've been taken without a SIM in the phone)
- something or someone messed up the EFS partition (I plan on checking whether the phone's bootloader root checker has been tripped, if the IMEI is okay, if it has a custom recovery, etc). The phone seems to have a stock ROM which I suspect someone flashed, or tried to factory reset the phone (which raised a suspicion described below).
But the most likely situation is that the phone was stolen. Why? Well:
- if the phone can't register to a network, its IMEI may be blacklisted
- the phone is being sold without any equipment, not even its box. The guy says it was sold to him like that, which makes me even more suspicious. I have some friends working in certain operators here, I'll snoop around once I get a hold of the phone's IMEI. If I can't get a straight story out of him, I'll try some intimidation or to knock down the price to oblivion, being that the phone might be stolen, and use it for parts, if my ways of finding its owner turn up dry.
Do you guys have any additional tips on what to check? I plan on putting my own SIM card in and trying to run some diagnostics from the hidden menus to see what's what.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems like you got it all covered! Best of luck.
Hello, even if you have a friend inside, It would do you well to use one of those online IMEI Blacklist checkers, if the phone is from a US carrier and it happens to be stolen/blacklisted theres a good chance that it will appear.
Anywho, so how will you do it? Will the seller lend you the phone for a couple of hours for you to check all these things? Or Will you be gambling for it?
Best of luck, the G2 is freaking awesome! I'm having a blast!
Definitely worth it. I bought a sprint lg g2 that was "bricked" in TWRP after they tried to OTA. Lmao got it for $40! Unlocked and am using now
Bought one recently (advertised as faulty antenna) but it had a messed up EFS. IMEI was null. Checked IMEI and it was fine. Restored IMEI and phone is flying fine.. Good luck on purchase.