Any other N950N owners suddenly have terrible cell signal? Look at this... - Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Questions and Answers

So a few of you have seen me mention that my cell signal suddenly became awful after a few days of use, and at first I thought it might be related to flashing CSCs or a 950F ROM but ruled that out since Odining back to full stock didn't have any effect.
I became convinced that something must be loose with the internal antenna wires, and also observed that the signal seemed to be a little better on hot days and a little worse on cold days.
Well after watching a couple YouTube videos of how to pull the back off this thing I fired up the microwave oven with a rice-filled sock for heat and..... it didn't help. BUT! a hair dryer worked wonders, and very quickly. I only had to heat up a small section and use a little blue plastic prying tool in my ifixit kit to really easily get the back of the phone off.
Next, I pulled the plastic pieces off the circuit boards to get to the antenna connectors, fully expecting something to be loose. Sadly I was mistaken. both wires ends were securely snapped down, but I disconnected and reconnected "just in case". I decided to do a real battery pull discharge while I was in here since it couldn't hurt.
-------
Not to be foiled, I decided to fire the phone up naked and just fiddle with the connectors to see if somehow they were still involved.
I was right - sort of. If I apply pressure in certain angles on this connector, the LTE strength will go up to about -82 dBa from bouncing between -98 to -125 dBa - and as a reference point my Note 5 in the same position sits at -82 or -83 dBa
Now I just need to decide on the best way to fix it, I think it might just be bad solder joints on the socket on the circuit board since it appears to be temperature-dependent (on hot days everything expands to make slightly better connections, cold days the parts contract and the connection gap becomes worse). Any other 950N owners experienced this?

Also does anyone know if those antenna connector sockets are surface mount, or if they go through the board completely?

Kalm_Traveler said:
So a few of you have seen me mention that my cell signal suddenly became awful after a few days of use, and at first I thought it might be related to flashing CSCs or a 950F ROM but ruled that out since Odining back to full stock didn't have any effect.
I became convinced that something must be loose with the internal antenna wires, and also observed that the signal seemed to be a little better on hot days and a little worse on cold days.
Well after watching a couple YouTube videos of how to pull the back off this thing I fired up the microwave oven with a rice-filled sock for heat and..... it didn't help. BUT! a hair dryer worked wonders, and very quickly. I only had to heat up a small section and use a little blue plastic prying tool in my ifixit kit to really easily get the back of the phone off.
Next, I pulled the plastic pieces off the circuit boards to get to the antenna connectors, fully expecting something to be loose. Sadly I was mistaken. both wires ends were securely snapped down, but I disconnected and reconnected "just in case". I decided to do a real battery pull discharge while I was in here since it couldn't hurt.
-------
Not to be foiled, I decided to fire the phone up naked and just fiddle with the connectors to see if somehow they were still involved.
I was right - sort of. If I apply pressure in certain angles on this connector, the LTE strength will go up to about -82 dBa from bouncing between -98 to -125 dBa - and as a reference point my Note 5 in the same position sits at -82 or -83 dBa
Now I just need to decide on the best way to fix it, I think it might just be bad solder joints on the socket on the circuit board since it appears to be temperature-dependent (on hot days everything expands to make slightly better connections, cold days the parts contract and the connection gap becomes worse). Any other 950N owners experienced this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I commend you for doing what you are doing. Kudo's as they as say here in America.
Just out of interest, I am aware that Samsung doesn't support foreign devices for warranty. But would they support a foreign device for out of warranty work?
Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Limeybastard said:
I commend you for doing what you are doing. Kudo's as they as say here in America.
Just out of interest, I am aware that Samsung doesn't support foreign devices for warranty. But would they support a foreign device for out of warranty work?
Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why would they not? They will be charging you.
Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk

vadimo said:
Why would they not? They will be charging you.
Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know that's why I asked the question.
Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

vadimo said:
Why would they not? They will be charging you.
Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Limeybastard said:
I don't know that's why I asked the question.
Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My best guess is that they might not because they would claim that they don't have the parts or training to service a foreign variant. On the plus side, it's nice to see that the internal layout is identical to the Snapdragon version so I didn't have to do any guess work.

No experience myself but I have seen online numerous times that they will not even if you pay. Lots of manufacturer's do this, it not just with phones. Like Seiko watches for example, you purchase a Seiko say for the Japanese market, Seiko USA will not touch it.

shouren04 said:
No experience myself but I have seen online numerous times that they will not even if you pay. Lots of manufacturer's do this, it not just with phones. Like Seiko watches for example, you purchase a Seiko say for the Japanese market, Seiko USA will not touch it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah it's unfortunate since you know they have access to the schematics, repair data etc but refuse to take your money.
As far as my phone goes, I tried reflowing the solder on that antenna connector but it didn't seem to make any difference, and now I can't get the signal to improve back to normal at all (even applying pressure as I did originally).
Funny thing is that my 3G HSPA and HSPA+ (that T-Mobile calls 4g) signals are just fine. If I turn off LTE, it drops to "4G" and aside from being slower than functioning LTE everything works fine. My guess is either something is faulty with that bottom circuit board, LTE modem which is on the main circuit board, or the LTE radio amplifier chip (also on the main circuit board). Once I can get a new replacement USB board I'll swap it out and see if that helps. If not, I'm kind of SOL because if it's something on the main board I would likely just need to get a new phone (can't imagine how expensive a 256gb internal storage board would be brand new but for the price I would feel safer just buying an entire phone).
Really wish there was some way to get Samsung Korea to repair it for me but I don't speak Korean well enough to have that kind of discussion yet, and who knows if they would even agree to it.

Kalm_Traveler said:
Yeah it's unfortunate since you know they have access to the schematics, repair data etc but refuse to take your money.
As far as my phone goes, I tried reflowing the solder on that antenna connector but it didn't seem to make any difference, and now I can't get the signal to improve back to normal at all (even applying pressure as I did originally).
Funny thing is that my 3G HSPA and HSPA+ (that T-Mobile calls 4g) signals are just fine. If I turn off LTE, it drops to "4G" and aside from being slower than functioning LTE everything works fine. My guess is either something is faulty with that bottom circuit board, LTE modem which is on the main circuit board, or the LTE radio amplifier chip (also on the main circuit board). Once I can get a new replacement USB board I'll swap it out and see if that helps. If not, I'm kind of SOL because if it's something on the main board I would likely just need to get a new phone (can't imagine how expensive a 256gb internal storage board would be brand new but for the price I would feel safer just buying an entire phone).
Really wish there was some way to get Samsung Korea to repair it for me but I don't speak Korean well enough to have that kind of discussion yet, and who knows if they would even agree to it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hear but unfortunately sometimes they really don't have access to repair info & techs that are trained for non domestic market models. Samsung USA may actually not have easy access to Samsung Korea info & parts although I'm sure someone high up on the ladder could get it.
I used to work in electronic depot repair. One of our customers was Sony VAIO, we were one of their authorized repair centers. Not easy to get that kind of relationship as Sony is very secretive, well all OEMs are very protective about internal engineering info. We could get most info for all their laptops & worked with their engineering team. However when we started working on Sony Playstations, Sony Entertainment would not give us the time of day even though we were an authorized provider for Sony VAIO.
I know the case is a bit different but big corporations have regions or different divisions that won't or can not easily work with each other other than on a corporate level even though they are all part of the same parent company.
I'm sure there are lots of people at Samsung Korea that speak english. Whether or not they will help you or if you can get in contact with the right people is the issue. Worth a try. I'm sure parts will be available on ebay someday but probably not for a while.

shouren04 said:
I hear but unfortunately sometimes they really don't have access to repair info & techs that are trained for non domestic market models. Samsung USA may actually not have easy access to Samsung Korea info & parts although I'm sure someone high up on the ladder could get it.
I used to work in electronic depot repair. One of our customers was Sony VAIO, we were one of their authorized repair centers. Not easy to get that kind of relationship as Sony is very secretive, well all OEMs are very protective about internal engineering info. We could get most info for all their laptops & worked with their engineering team. However when we started working on Sony Playstations, Sony Entertainment would not give us the time of day even though we were an authorized provider for Sony VAIO.
I know the case is a bit different but big corporations have regions or different divisions that won't or can not easily work with each other other than on a corporate level even though they are all part of the same parent company.
I'm sure there are lots of people at Samsung Korea that speak english. Whether or not they will help you or if you can get in contact with the right people is the issue. Worth a try. I'm sure parts will be available on ebay someday but probably not for a while.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very good points. I'm even more sure it is just something faulty with that board. Heated it up for a few minutes with a blow dryer before reassembling the phone again and now my LTE signal is just stable low instead of jumping between low and unusable. Also comparing it to the one from ifixit's USA model Note 8 teardown, they revised it a few days after mine was made, possibly to address whatever caused mine to go bad after a few days of use. The only change I can see is the placement of two chips on the antenna connector side.
Since I can't find parts yet I may just keep trying to fix this one but it's good to know that the usb boards are dirt cheap, for other Samsung models it looks like they go for $5 to $10 on eBay new. Of course if the problem is a break in one of the circuits inside the pcb i can't really fix that (assuming I could even see it, everything on this board is so tiny I need a magnifying glass to work on it).

Kalm_Traveler said:
Very good points. I'm even more sure it is just something faulty with that board. Heated it up for a few minutes with a blow dryer before reassembling the phone again and now my LTE signal is just stable low instead of jumping between low and unusable. Also comparing it to the one from ifixit's USA model Note 8 teardown, they revised it a few days after mine was made, possibly to address whatever caused mine to go bad after a few days of use. The only change I can see is the placement of two chips on the antenna connector side.
Since I can't find parts yet I may just keep trying to fix this one but it's good to know that the usb boards are dirt cheap, for other Samsung models it looks like they go for $5 to $10 on eBay new. Of course if the problem is a break in one of the circuits inside the pcb i can't really fix that (assuming I could even see it, everything on this board is so tiny I need a magnifying glass to work on it).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, it's incredible how small they are able to make things these days. I can relate as I have worked on stuff that small also.
Oh so it it looks like they revised the board? Maybe they just added better filtering? Hopefully it'll be available soon. It could very well be a bad solder joint or defective PCB. The PCB is so thin & can easily get damage by flexing. And all that crap lead free solder they use these days.
I wonder if the parts they sell on ebay are OEM parts? Whatever, as long as they work. They sure do look OEM though. On my N5 the USB port stopped working. It doesn't have any notice physical damage but it doesn't work. Sometimes if I plug in a cable a gear vr screen will pop up. Won't ever fast charge, sometimes it will cahrge normal, & can't transfer data.
I bought a replacement USB port for $5 on ebay along with a replacement back cover in case I broke it. But the damn board also has the front touch screen buttons by the home button. So to install I basically have to disassemble the entire phone, front screen and all. Ah I don't feel like doing all that. Maybe someday but for what, I have this N8 now.

shouren04 said:
Yeah, it's incredible how small they are able to make things these days. I can relate as I have worked on stuff that small also.
Oh so it it looks like they revised the board? Maybe they just added better filtering? Hopefully it'll be available soon. It could very well be a bad solder joint or defective PCB. The PCB is so thin & can easily get damage by flexing. And all that crap lead free solder they use these days.
I wonder if the parts they sell on ebay are OEM parts? Whatever, as long as they work. They sure do look OEM though. On my N5 the USB port stopped working. It doesn't have any notice physical damage but it doesn't work. Sometimes if I plug in a cable a gear vr screen will pop up. Won't ever fast charge, sometimes it will cahrge normal, & can't transfer data.
I bought a replacement USB port for $5 on ebay along with a replacement back cover in case I broke it. But the damn board also has the front touch screen buttons by the home button. So to install I basically have to disassemble the entire phone, front screen and all. Ah I don't feel like doing all that. Maybe someday but for what, I have this N8 now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oddly my Note 5 still works just fine... The main reason I wanted to upgrade is that the battery life is definitely not what it used to be.
Fortunately with the Note 8 most of the goodies are accessible once you remove the pain in the butt rear glass but i figured out that a hair dryer, suction cup and thin plastic pry tool makes the job relatively easy. For the time being I'm just keeping the case on so I don't have to pull the glass off again (granted this means not being able to use the fingerprint sensor)

Kalm_Traveler said:
Oddly my Note 5 still works just fine... The main reason I wanted to upgrade is that the battery life is definitely not what it used to be.
Fortunately with the Note 8 most of the goodies are accessible once you remove the pain in the butt rear glass but i figured out that a hair dryer, suction cup and thin plastic pry tool makes the job relatively easy. For the time being I'm just keeping the case on so I don't have to pull the glass off again (granted this means not being able to use the fingerprint sensor)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see, I also purchased a replacement battery for my N5 at the same time. I didn'tbget an aftermarket one though, I got one from a teardown. It was cheap too, under $10. I've been using wireless to charge it. At one point I thought the battery was going bad. It wouldnxt charge past 86%. For a week or so. Then mysteriously it started charging to 100% fine & still does.
I still use it at home for browsing when my N8 is charging wireless. I'm trying to avoid using the USB whenever I can now since my N5 USB port crapped out on me. Odd, this is the first phone I've ever had to have tbe USB port go bad on me. I'm pretty good with taking care of my phones. Hopefully when I open it up it might just be a loose flex cable or something.

Kalm_Traveler said:
Yeah it's unfortunate since you know they have access to the schematics, repair data etc but refuse to take your money.
As far as my phone goes, I tried reflowing the solder on that antenna connector but it didn't seem to make any difference, and now I can't get the signal to improve back to normal at all (even applying pressure as I did originally).
Funny thing is that my 3G HSPA and HSPA+ (that T-Mobile calls 4g) signals are just fine. If I turn off LTE, it drops to "4G" and aside from being slower than functioning LTE everything works fine. My guess is either something is faulty with that bottom circuit board, LTE modem which is on the main circuit board, or the LTE radio amplifier chip (also on the main circuit board). Once I can get a new replacement USB board I'll swap it out and see if that helps. If not, I'm kind of SOL because if it's something on the main board I would likely just need to get a new phone (can't imagine how expensive a 256gb internal storage board would be brand new but for the price I would feel safer just buying an entire phone).
Really wish there was some way to get Samsung Korea to repair it for me but I don't speak Korean well enough to have that kind of discussion yet, and who knows if they would even agree to it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have same problem my 4g 3g works fine but no 2g signal at all my operator 2g frequency is pgsm 900mhz.. I checked with other operators 2g working fine on 1800mhz... It's dual sim phone. Changing slot doesn't help either... So what's the possible cause...? My phone is in warranty but service center is 250 kms away.

there is a possibility you touching the connections could be amplifying the signal. Did you insulate yourself to disprove this?

bonerp said:
there is a possibility you touching the connections could be amplifying the signal. Did you insulate yourself to disprove this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Possibly, but since it was affecting only when I applied pressure in a specific angle I don't think I was acting as an antenna. Also, since heating up half of it with a hair dryer seems to have stabilized the connection a bit (it sits around -90 dBA where it was bouncing between that and -130 prior) it seems very likely that something with the board itself is flawed. I'm going to put just the usb / antenna board in the oven tonight to try and reflow all the solder and see if that will fix the connection issue since I can't yet buy a new replacement piece.

Related

no gsm signal no gps signal

i recently lost my battery cover and while waiting for the replacement to arrive i noticed one day that i had no calls all day long which was strange so looking closer i noticed the ! near the antenna icon and also no gps signal at all either.upon closer inspection of every thing i notice that the antenna on the back of the phone was torn.see pic red circle shows where the tear was.so i clean it up and whip out the soldering iron and solder it back together,but it still wont work.is the antenna that sensitive that it wont work even after being soldered back together.do you think replacing the antenna with a new will fix the problem?
junkman123 said:
i recently lost my battery cover and while waiting for the replacement to arrive i noticed one day that i had no calls all day long which was strange so looking closer i noticed the ! near the antenna icon and also no gps signal at all either.upon closer inspection of every thing i notice that the antenna on the back of the phone was torn.see pic red circle shows where the tear was.so i clean it up and whip out the soldering iron and solder it back together,but it still wont work.is the antenna that sensitive that it wont work even after being soldered back together.do you think replacing the antenna with a new will fix the problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
when you soldered, you could've damaged it further, even a little overheating can ruin it.
Also, the picture doesn't show any tearing, the places you circled is a point to release the casing in that area.
junkman123 said:
i recently lost my battery cover and while waiting for the replacement to arrive i noticed one day that i had no calls all day long which was strange so looking closer i noticed the ! near the antenna icon and also no gps signal at all either.upon closer inspection of every thing i notice that the antenna on the back of the phone was torn.see pic red circle shows where the tear was.so i clean it up and whip out the soldering iron and solder it back together,but it still wont work.is the antenna that sensitive that it wont work even after being soldered back together.do you think replacing the antenna with a new will fix the problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this is far fetched, but my profession and hobbies bases my know how on situations like this.
when a antenna is placed in a device like this the technicians adjust it to be resonant to specific freq. adding or removing length (like you did when you soldered) adds length to it (the antenna usually in a cell phone is brass or copper) im sure the solder you used is 60/40. so by adding more metal and changing the metals, the antenna is now resonant on diffrent freq's.
instead of giving a lecture on antenna resonation to exlplain here is a link
And like the other member said you might have overheated the board.
So hope this helped. And sorry if it didnt
the pic is not of my phone,just a pic for reference to the area.i used silver bearing solder 62/36/2.the antenna was removed from the phone before it was soldered.i guess ill wait for a replacement to arrive.right now the phone is junk with out a signal.
junkman123 said:
the pic is not of my phone,just a pic for reference to the area.i used silver bearing solder 62/36/2.the antenna was removed from the phone before it was soldered.i guess ill wait for a replacement to arrive.right now the phone is junk with out a signal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well since you have a new phone in the mail nevermind, unless you want to share pics and go into specific detail of EVERYTHING you did. And maybee we can help.
Have you taken that plastic housing with the antenna off?
Or has ait had a knock?
I ask because there are small plastic lugs around that housing to keep it firmly in place. If any one of those is not fully engaged the connection with the aerials is lost and you get no signal. Of course a crack that allows enough bending will also cause the contacts to be lost.
To elaborate Look at the second picture here with the black aerial housing removed:
https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/oet/forms/blobs/retrieve.cgi?attachment_id=812152&native_or_pdf=pdf
You will see the gold coloured contacts for the aerial. Any maladjustment or lugs not engaged or a crack can cause these to loose contact with the board. If the plastic is cracked in a minor way, I'm sure you can work out a way to re-establish the contacts.
Mike
Does anyone know where to buy replacement Aerials? Mine kinda detatched itself from the plastic! :S
Please PM or message me if you do know where I can buy one or if anyone has a dead phone that they wouldn't mind selling for spares.
gwinn said:
Does anyone know where to buy replacement Aerials? Mine kinda detatched itself from the plastic! :S
Please PM or message me if you do know where I can buy one or if anyone has a dead phone that they wouldn't mind selling for spares.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
heres one on ebay.
Item number: 260287161407

A Warning to ALL GALAXY S4 ACTIVE USERS!!!!

This phone is not truly waterproof/resistant!!!!!
First off I want to start this off buy saying a few things. I work for AT&T so before anyone says its from improper usage remember I had to watch training videos on how to properly use it. Also, before anyone says well, you aren't really supposed to be using it in the water, you are wrong. The first thing we are trained on is how to properly close the back cover and how to show the customers Aqua mode to take pictures underwater. We actively use this as a main selling point, this is per Samsung.
Here is my story. I bought the Active on Thursday. The first thing I did with it was ensure the back was closed and made a video in my fish tank so I could show customers how it works underwater, and how good aqua mode is. That worked out perfectly except the video was a little dark, so I figured I would retake it.
In this time I had a customer swap out the phone they bought because it were defective, the bottom buttons stopped working on it. She was very vague when the water question came up but I thought nothing of it.
Now cue today. It was sunny outside so I thought it was the perfect time to reshoot the fish tank video. I ensured the back was secure, yes, including pressing down on the back where the AT&T logo is. I then submerged the phone in the tank while taking the video. Almost instantly the phone screen went black and said dock mode was enabled so I took the phone out of the water and everything went back to normal. I double checked the USB rubber to be sure. I just chalked it up to the phone doing crazy things in the water. I have read almost everywhere that the phone will say headphones are plugged in, etc. So I thought this was normal. I then put it back in and took a minute long video. Everything was fine. I even played back the video and it was fully working.
This is where everything went wrong. About 2 minutes later the phone started tweaking out, Google now opened on its own and the buttons were really sensitive. Then the buttons completely stopped working other than the power button and that's when I freaked out. I opened the battery cover and there it was, everything was soaked. but luckily none of the water damage indicators were colored. I then opened the USB door and it was like a fountain, so that's where the breach happened. The flimsy, rubber USB door. I did not tell a soul what happened and went back to work and swapped it for a regular Galaxy S4.
So please listen to my warning. There are way too many people getting this phone damaged, including me, a fully trained AT&T employee who took the proper precautions before doing anything.
Samsung should not be able to get away with calling this phone water resistant or water proof, and they should especially not include an Aqua Camera mode.
Also the warranty DOES NOT, I REPEAT, DOES NOT COVER WATER!!!!
I think it depends really, i understand where you are coming from, and you shouldnt trust it, but my friend was pushed in the pool with his and it survived without a issue
I've kept mine in my pocket and went for a swim in the pool. Worked fine after wiping it with a towel. You might have had a defective unit...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk 2
As an AT&T employee maybe you'll know the procedure for this..
I've read all the horror stories relating to the S4A, and there's been a few of them.. Is the fact that the device seems to fail often enough of a reason to exchange for a regular S4? I'm not within my 14 days anymore :/.I opted for this over S4 just because of the water resistance.
starxgamingx said:
I think it depends really, i understand where you are coming from, and you shouldnt trust it, but my friend was pushed in the pool with his and it survived without a issue
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And I understand that I may have a defective unit, but I have read 3 separate reviews where the reviewer damaged their first phone. There is also a thread on XDA where a bunch of people state that they damaged their phone. This in itself either says that the phone doesn't work as advertised or there are way too many defective units out there for anyone to be safe to try the water and Samsung needs to know this.
daledenton said:
And I understand that I may have a defective unit, but I have read 3 separate reviews where the reviewer damaged their first phone. There is also a thread on XDA where a bunch of people state that they damaged their phone. This in itself either says that the phone doesn't work as advertised or there are way too many defective units out there for anyone to be safe to try the water and Samsung needs to know this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe its the other way around and my friend got a defective one thats actually waterproof
now i fell terribly sorry for who went with those ugly buttons instead of S4
Blackwolf10 said:
now i fell terribly sorry for who went with those ugly buttons instead of S4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Eh... I like the buttons...
The bottom line is that Samsung doesn't warranty the phone against water damage and therefor should Never sell it as such. If they can not stand behind an advertised function of their own product, they should not sell it. It doesn't matter if people abuse the phone in water or exceed the recommended specs (depth and length of time in water) because there is no way they can differentiate between people that stay within the specs and those that don't.
All I gotta say is the best way to get away with saying it is water resistance/proof would be making it like the Nexus 4 and no removable back. Make it wireless charging. Come with a wireless charger. Sd card slot and sim slot on the top or sides. Make it completely blocked off with no ports but a headphone hack the way they did making it water proof. That's the only way they can be certain its water resistant. Otherwise you have these issues.
Sent from my SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
Yeah, I have a feeling all of these water-related failures are going to kill the S4A early. Eventually, the threat of a class action lawsuit will cause them to trigger an EOL.
I suspect this will happen sooner rather than later, since showing it dunked in water in all the commercials, but not covering water damage is just screaming "class action."
My crystal ball says that within a year, you'll see AT&T (at least) offering to waive ETF for owners of S4A units damaged by water. This may be under the terms of a Class Action, or to avoid one... but in the end, that will probably be the end of the S4A story.
daledenton said:
This phone is not truly waterproof/resistant!!!!!
First off I want to start this off buy saying a few things. I work for AT&T so before anyone says its from improper usage remember I had to watch training videos on how to properly use it. Also, before anyone says well, you aren't really supposed to be using it in the water, you are wrong. The first thing we are trained on is how to properly close the back cover and how to show the customers Aqua mode to take pictures underwater. We actively use this as a main selling point, this is per Samsung.
Here is my story. I bought the Active on Thursday. The first thing I did with it was ensure the back was closed and made a video in my fish tank so I could show customers how it works underwater, and how good aqua mode is. That worked out perfectly except the video was a little dark, so I figured I would retake it.
In this time I had a customer swap out the phone they bought because it were defective, the bottom buttons stopped working on it. She was very vague when the water question came up but I thought nothing of it.
Now cue today. It was sunny outside so I thought it was the perfect time to reshoot the fish tank video. I ensured the back was secure, yes, including pressing down on the back where the AT&T logo is. I then submerged the phone in the tank while taking the video. Almost instantly the phone screen went black and said dock mode was enabled so I took the phone out of the water and everything went back to normal. I double checked the USB rubber to be sure. I just chalked it up to the phone doing crazy things in the water. I have read almost everywhere that the phone will say headphones are plugged in, etc. So I thought this was normal. I then put it back in and took a minute long video. Everything was fine. I even played back the video and it was fully working.
This is where everything went wrong. About 2 minutes later the phone started tweaking out, Google now opened on its own and the buttons were really sensitive. Then the buttons completely stopped working other than the power button and that's when I freaked out. I opened the battery cover and there it was, everything was soaked. but luckily none of the water damage indicators were colored. I then opened the USB door and it was like a fountain, so that's where the breach happened. The flimsy, rubber USB door. I did not tell a soul what happened and went back to work and swapped it for a regular Galaxy S4.
So please listen to my warning. There are way too many people getting this phone damaged, including me, a fully trained AT&T employee who took the proper precautions before doing anything.
Samsung should not be able to get away with calling this phone water resistant or water proof, and they should especially not include an Aqua Camera mode.
Also the warranty DOES NOT, I REPEAT, DOES NOT COVER WATER!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A simple solution to find out if your phone is waterproof... Turn the phone off and remove the battery, then close everything and put it in water for a few minutes. Take the phone out of the water and check to see if water got in the charging port and/or past the seal on the back. If it did get water in the device put your phone in rice for a day and return it for a working unit. If you didn't you should be fine.
If no power is going to your device it cannot short circuit. After the water is gone you can turn it on with no issues
jt3 said:
Yeah, I have a feeling all of these water-related failures are going to kill the S4A early. Eventually, the threat of a class action lawsuit will cause them to trigger an EOL.
I suspect this will happen sooner rather than later, since showing it dunked in water in all the commercials, but not covering water damage is just screaming "class action."
My crystal ball says that within a year, you'll see AT&T (at least) offering to waive ETF for owners of S4A units damaged by water. This may be under the terms of a Class Action, or to avoid one... but in the end, that will probably be the end of the S4A story.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or maybe a recall?
Blackwolf10 said:
now i fell terribly sorry for who went with those ugly buttons instead of S4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
as an owner of Galaxy S2, S3, Nexus and HTC One i have to say then Samsung products are inferior to any other manufacture,
HTC is NOT as important manufacture as Samsung but their devices are way better that Samsungs
as for water proofing Galaxy S4 Active was a clear copy of Xperia Z, since Samsung could NOT make every GS4 waterproof like SONY they made another phone and judging by experience SONY clearly made the better waterproofing,
i was in the swimming pool that day and there was Xperia Z's on the bottom of the pool (~1 to 2 meters) with NO damage,
---------- Post added at 05:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:07 PM ----------
joshuadjohnson22 said:
A simple solution to find out if your phone is waterproof... Turn the phone off and remove the battery, then close everything and put it in water for a few minutes. Take the phone out of the water and check to see if water got in the charging port and/or past the seal on the back. If it did get water in the device put your phone in rice for a day and return it for a working unit. If you didn't you should be fine.
If no power is going to your device it cannot short circuit. After the water is gone you can turn it on with no issues
Or maybe a recall?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"If no power is going to your device it cannot short circuit"
every phone has a small battery on its PCB to keep time and date if your battery drained or removed.
so a short circuit is a possibility.
Muhammad.Muayad said:
as an owner of Galaxy S2, S3, Nexus and HTC One i have to say then Samsung products are inferior to any other manufacture,
HTC is NOT as important manufacture as Samsung but their devices are way better that Samsungs
as for water proofing Galaxy S4 Active was a clear copy of Xperia Z, since Samsung could NOT make every GS4 waterproof like SONY they made another phone and judging by experience SONY clearly made the better waterproofing,
i was in the swimming pool that day and there was Xperia Z's on the bottom of the pool (~1 to 2 meters) with NO damage,
---------- Post added at 05:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:07 PM ----------
"If no power is going to your device it cannot short circuit"
every phone has a small battery on its PCB to keep time and date if your battery drained or removed.
so a short circuit is a possibility.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hmmm ok, never heard of that
Either way when I tried the method I posted no water got in. Still don't think I will put it in water while it is turned on
My first shot in water:
lh4.googleusercontent.com/-uF_HK-cQ5z0/Ue6J9C7REAI/AAAAAAAA0qQ/JCQFdoDu13U/s512/20130723_164222.jpg
(from kayak, i did keep phone in hand and lower it about 10cm deep in water)
After that pic, noticed water in display, rear camera, front camera, some buttons did not work, etc etc nice.
Rear cam:
lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mrqiqTMzr_g/Ue6gKop2DlI/AAAAAAAA0tE/upYGQ_7dNW0/s512/20130723_182343.jpg
Front cam:
lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UxFnzttB8CE/Ue7CqjautfI/AAAAAAAA0vU/cpK5ekAPZGo/s512/20130723_205132.jpg
lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hRvVQXcYqG4/Ue7x3qZSg7I/AAAAAAAA0xI/p4LqZri94bs/s512/IMG_20130723_234953.jpg
Display:
lh6.googleusercontent.com/-wBqoctoGIlg/Ue7x1BM3-CI/AAAAAAAA0w8/il7jeX2rodk/s640/IMG_20130723_234922.jpg
And yes, usb cover was sealed and also battery cover.
I went to local service point in last week, today they called to pick my device up:
lh4.googleusercontent.com/-w-LRCCJJHYM/UfZhBjNfcFI/AAAAAAAA1Dk/W70ZmxcePhA/s512/IMG_20130729_153151.jpg
Battery is old, everything else is new.
edit: btw, sorry for links, add h t t p : / /
jesi said:
My first shot in water:
lh4.googleusercontent.com/-uF_HK-cQ5z0/Ue6J9C7REAI/AAAAAAAA0qQ/JCQFdoDu13U/s512/20130723_164222.jpg
(from kayak, i did keep phone in hand and lower it about 10cm deep in water)
After that pic, noticed water in display, rear camera, front camera, some buttons did not work, etc etc nice.
Rear cam:
lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mrqiqTMzr_g/Ue6gKop2DlI/AAAAAAAA0tE/upYGQ_7dNW0/s512/20130723_182343.jpg
Front cam:
lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UxFnzttB8CE/Ue7CqjautfI/AAAAAAAA0vU/cpK5ekAPZGo/s512/20130723_205132.jpg
lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hRvVQXcYqG4/Ue7x3qZSg7I/AAAAAAAA0xI/p4LqZri94bs/s512/IMG_20130723_234953.jpg
Display:
lh6.googleusercontent.com/-wBqoctoGIlg/Ue7x1BM3-CI/AAAAAAAA0w8/il7jeX2rodk/s640/IMG_20130723_234922.jpg
And yes, usb cover was sealed and also battery cover.
I went to local service point in last week, today they called to pick my device up:
lh4.googleusercontent.com/-w-LRCCJJHYM/UfZhBjNfcFI/AAAAAAAA1Dk/W70ZmxcePhA/s512/IMG_20130729_153151.jpg
Battery is old, everything else is new.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm guessing this was not AT&T? The sticker on the screen is different
joshuadjohnson22 said:
I'm guessing this was not AT&T? The sticker on the screen is different
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, no AT&T.
joshuadjohnson22 said:
Or maybe a recall?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Remember, most people with this phone have entered into a 2-year contract. Simply recalling the phone wouldn't work. They'd either have to replace it with an equivalent model or waive the ETF. The problem with the former is that they've advertised the heck out of its water resistance, selling it as "everything proof." If they were to, say, replace it with a standard S4, the consumer would have a very real argument that it's not an equivalent model, which would be ANOTHER basis for a class action.
Also, remember, recalls are done by a manufacturer. AT&T isn't going to recall a Samsung device. Samsung would have to do that. A recall would only really work if Samsung offered another phone (like an S4), AND made a deal with AT&T, compensating them to waive the ETF if the consumer didn't want that phone. This may happen, but before it does, the remaining stock would be pulled from the shelves, and the phone would be EOL.
Again, I think that marketing this phone as waterproof, but not standing behind that marketing, is eventually going to lead to a class action. A class action, or the threat of one, will result in an early death for this device. I agree with what was said before though... I don't think we'll be seeing many more phones claiming water resistance. Those that do, will be sealed, and certainly won't have removable backs.
jt3 said:
Remember, most people with this phone have entered into a 2-year contract. Simply recalling the phone wouldn't work. They'd either have to replace it with an equivalent model or waive the ETF. The problem with the former is that they've advertised the heck out of its water resistance, selling it as "everything proof." If they were to, say, replace it with a standard S4, the consumer would have a very real argument that it's not an equivalent model, which would be ANOTHER basis for a class action.
Also, remember, recalls are done by a manufacturer. AT&T isn't going to recall a Samsung device. Samsung would have to do that. A recall would only really work if Samsung offered another phone (like an S4), AND made a deal with AT&T, compensating them to waive the ETF if the consumer didn't want that phone. This may happen, but before it does, the remaining stock would be pulled from the shelves, and the phone would be EOL.
Again, I think that marketing this phone as waterproof, but not standing behind that marketing, is eventually going to lead to a class action. A class action, or the threat of one, will result in an early death for this device. I agree with what was said before though... I don't think we'll be seeing many more phones claiming water resistance. Those that do, will be sealed, and certainly won't have removable backs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah... saying a phone is "everything proof" and water proof is pretty stupid.. Honestly I think AT&T and Samsung could fix this in my mind just by warranty replacing water damaged S4 Actives. If they replace them in the event of water damage then we all will be happy. It doesn't happen to every unit, most users are fine in the water, but still a high percentage.
I for one love my active and the water proof was just a bonus, but I wouldn't mind them giving me my upgrade back
joshuadjohnson22 said:
Yeah... saying a phone is "everything proof" and water proof is pretty stupid.. Honestly I think AT&T and Samsung could fix this in my mind just by warranty replacing water damaged S4 Actives. If they replace them in the event of water damage then we all will be happy. It doesn't happen to every unit, most users are fine in the water, but still a high percentage.
I for one love my active and the water proof was just a bonus, but I wouldn't mind them giving me my upgrade back
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"water-resistant.” As Samsung points out in the device’s manual, the S4 Active is rated IP67, which means that it’s resistant to water only up to depths of a little over three feet , its not water proof .

[Q] S4A USB Flap/Seal

Hey all,
i have an issue with my usb flap. I can close it, and the phone allready survived some water. But as a mechanical engineer i am not happy with the seal for the usb port.
I try to explain it: when i close the seal it keeps popping out a little bit. Depending on which side i press in first (Top or bottom) the other one pops out about 0.5 to 1mm. In the end the flap seems to feel more comfortable in the position where the top side stays out. Some employee told me that is normal, i had nothing to compare so i have to believe him for the moment. Thats why i ask you guys if your device has the same or not.
Thanks for your help. Sorry for my english.
Greatz
I have the same problem currently. This is my second Active. The first didn't do this. I'm considering a warranty replacement, but I don't want to spend the time setting everything up again.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk 4
Open the flap, then pull it just a tiny bit so the side section is exposed (you pull in the direction of the power button side of the phone, so to the right just a bit). When you insert it, you need to slide that section back into the area it's designed for, pressing down on the left side somewhat firmly (left in terms of you staring at the screen). When that's done, press down on the right side so it's flush - so the whole cover is flush with the bottom of the phone.
There's actually two "levels" of it being closed: the first is close to being flush but not completely; this level kills the water-resistant feature and your phone too if you don't seal it properly and dunk it.
The second level is when it's truly in place, and you can actually feel it when it "snaps" into that position - when it's truly in place the cover is totally flush with the bottom surface of the phone.
Just something I had to come to understand myself in my short period of time owning the GS4A.
Might be helpful info, might not, but that's how I've come to understand it and seal that USB port cover personally without issues.
My cover has been getting worse. I can still get it to snap into place, but I have to get it positioned just right or it does not seal completely. I think that it will probably break off soon and become lost. Does anyone know if the seal is easily replaceable? I haven't seen the part listed on the parts thread. It is frustrating to think that the only option may be to send it back to replace a 10c part. Considering the design intent of this phone, I certainly thought that Samsung would have developed an inductive charging back long before the USB seals would start wearing out.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk 4
Hear's another thing (pun intended) about that microUSB port cover: it works in conjunction with the speaker as well meaning that whole bottom section is a "woofer" port enclosure, basically, taking the term from speaker enclosure technology.
When the cover is in place and sealed properly, you get "more bass" (ok it ain't much but it's very noticeable to me) when audio is coming from the speaker. If you remove the cover while audio is playing, voila, it turns all tinny and full of nothing but very high end frequencies. And when the cover is in that first level of being attached, you still will hear mostly high end frequencies - only when it's properly in place and the seal is in effect does the audio tone change, at least in my situation.
Just something I noticed, thought it was somewhat cool the first time it happened, I thought I had broken something when the audio took on that high tinny and harsh quality.
Mine broke last night and called samsung the tech guy telling me thats the fist time that the seal port cover broke.and I have to wait 2weeks to get it done.should I go att instead but not sure they will replace this thing...
pink_lady03 said:
Mine broke last night and called samsung the tech guy telling me thats the fist time that the seal port cover broke.and I have to wait 2weeks to get it done.should I go att instead but not sure they will replace this thing...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd call AT&T's warranty line.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk 4
br0adband said:
Open the flap, then pull it just a tiny bit so the side section is exposed (you pull in the direction of the power button side of the phone, so to the right just a bit). When you insert it, you need to slide that section back into the area it's designed for, pressing down on the left side somewhat firmly (left in terms of you staring at the screen). When that's done, press down on the right side so it's flush - so the whole cover is flush with the bottom of the phone.
There's actually two "levels" of it being closed: the first is close to being flush but not completely; this level kills the water-resistant feature and your phone too if you don't seal it properly and dunk it.
The second level is when it's truly in place, and you can actually feel it when it "snaps" into that position - when it's truly in place the cover is totally flush with the bottom surface of the phone.
Just something I had to come to understand myself in my short period of time owning the GS4A.
Might be helpful info, might not, but that's how I've come to understand it and seal that USB port cover personally without issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Both of the ones I have are the same as this. I've had to really explain to the missus that she can't just 'sorta' close it otherwise it's not waterproof any more. I haven't had any issues yet but as soon as that wireless WiQiQi proves itself battle worthy (or at least doesn't mess up the seal on the back) I'm putting in for 2 of them ASAP. I haven't used any sort of wireless charging yet but I'm pretty confident that I won't ever buy a phone that doesn't have it ever again, same as I won't ever buy a non-waterproof phone after the Rugby Smart and the S4A have proved themselves worthy.
br0adband said:
Open the flap, then pull it just a tiny bit so the side section is exposed (you pull in the direction of the power button side of the phone, so to the right just a bit). When you insert it, you need to slide that section back into the area it's designed for, pressing down on the left side somewhat firmly (left in terms of you staring at the screen). When that's done, press down on the right side so it's flush - so the whole cover is flush with the bottom of the phone.
There's actually two "levels" of it being closed: the first is close to being flush but not completely; this level kills the water-resistant feature and your phone too if you don't seal it properly and dunk it.
The second level is when it's truly in place, and you can actually feel it when it "snaps" into that position - when it's truly in place the cover is totally flush with the bottom surface of the phone.
Just something I had to come to understand myself in my short period of time owning the GS4A.
Might be helpful info, might not, but that's how I've come to understand it and seal that USB port cover personally without issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine unfortunately never snaps. I can push it to the desired position, but it never stays there.
So I have to replace it.
Hate this just because of one little part...
From mechanical view this problem seems logic. The seal fits into the housing and the USB port. The housing is connected to a print board and the USB port is on the print. The seal must fit very exactly and over this array of possible small failures a exact position is hard to get...
Greatz and thanks
Sent from my GT-I9295 using xda app-developers app
If I can make a suggestion, take it as such for those (of us) that have the GS4A and may or may not be having issues with the microUSB cover/flap/etc:
Personally I can't wait to get my GS4A set up and working with a wireless charger. I'm still on the fence at the moment over which one to get/use but I'll figure it out. But because of the fact that I hate plugging and unplugging the GS4A (or any smartphone) and knowing that each time I do it I'm just creating that much wear and tear on the microUSB port, I purchased the app called Wifi File Transfer Pro a very long time ago and I have never had one single moment to regret the purchase (that means I LOVE IT).
I'm not a shill for it, but honestly, for a buck and change there's no better such app on the Play marketplace that I've been able to track down and I've tried about 30 of them meaning apps that allow you to connect to your device over your Wi-Fi network for file transfers to and from the device, etc.
The only reason I plug my GS4A in is to charge it these days and I'm just getting tired of doing it as frequently as I do because... I currently have a cheap Samsung counterfeit battery - learned the hard way with that one - but I have a real Samsung battery on order, should be here by Friday, purchased with that 50% off code they gave me for registering the GS4A with Samsung a few weeks back.
So in a few days I'll have a wireless charger, a real legit Samsung battery (brand new, even), and I'll use the microUSB port one last time, hopefully to do a proper full charge on that battery (with a 2A charger, even) and then once that's done I'll close that flap with the intention of never opening it again.
But seriously, if you're doing a lot of transfers to and from the phone for whatever reason, look into that app - Wifi File Transfer Pro from smarterDroid - or some other such wireless transfer app depending on your needs and wants (because there are several dozen of them on the Play marketplace and take the wireless route. Yes, using the microUSB is faster overall because it's a hardwired connection but I typically get 6-10MB/s using this app and my 11n network.
Go truly wireless or go home and save that microUSB port just for emergencies...
pink_lady03 said:
Mine broke last night and called samsung the tech guy telling me thats the fist time that the seal port cover broke.and I have to wait 2weeks to get it done.should I go att instead but not sure they will replace this thing...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine broke off the first week I had it. Horrible design. Terrible application. I kept the plug but since I am constantly plugging in to power up it is more of a hindrance than a feature. Wireless will be an issue unless they will fit inside a protective case. The Active is already too thick to fit in most cases made for the regular S4.
It's the same thickness as the GS4 for the most part, barely a millimeter difference, but the GS4A is a bit longer top to bottom. There are a lot of cases available now for it that accommodate the differences (longer body length, slight expansion at the end rubber caps top and bottom back, etc). Those Diztronic ones are some of the thinnest full body cases I've seen so far but I went the Unicorn Beetle route and have been nothing but happy since I first put it on.
Yes the flap could have been done better I suppose, but I've got a cheap LG prepaid using a similar mechanism with the microUSB port cover and I've plugged unplugged that phone a thousand times over the years, still works fine.
Sometimes I think people should just take better care of their hardware...
A soft case without an opening for the flap would be nice Than it looks better and we can not destruct the flap

[Q] Replacing port caps, waterproof doors?

I have managed to somehow dent the micro sim cap/door, does the device need dis-assembly to replace?
I have found a place that stocks genuine parts, however after contacting Sony service center they want me to send the device away interstate, which seems ridiculous. Sony stated though "in order to keep waterproof integrity it is necessary to get the job done by technician".
Any thoughts or tips on replacing the door, is it just a matter of squeezing the rubbery ball through a slot(no pun intended)or is it more involved?
Regards
I wouldn't take a risk but that's just me. Especially if you're gonna be utilizing the waterproof part of the phone =)
Sent from my GT-N5100 using Tapatalk
I know, however, I dont want to send it away, the last time I sent away brand new device it returned to me with scratches and was obviously mishandled . We have quite a few Sony stores but none will deal directly with repairs, perhaps I have to make warranty claim. I have babied this device I dont even use it with sim card yet, it is my mp3 player only at night after work.
I can just see them charging me heaps for doing f-all more than swapping out a simple part. Surely this can be done without dis-assembly?
I dropped mine a couple of weeks ago, it landed on the micro sim flap as well and the dent was pretty bad.
It was, if I remember correctly, the xperia z ports could be pulled out and the replacement pushed back in. I've not see a breakdown of the z1 yet so I may be totally wrong this time around.
no the Z1 needsw to be pulled apart, I work at a mobile shop, the Xperias Z1 is a hell mission to pull apart, the flaps on the Z1, will break if you put them in without opening it
Ps:// http://www.xperiablog.net/2013/09/15/xperia-z1-disassembly-guide/
I just removed and replaced the door without disassembley it comes out very easily and goes back in very easily, problem solved. Save me $100 since shipping device is $20 and door replacement by tech is $80, what a rip off!
Disclaimer: Try at your own risk, however, I can say nearly 100% confidence that you wont have any problems.
Where abouts did you get the sim port door from please?
Just in stock http://www.witrigs.com/oem-usb-data...rs-replacement-parts-for-sony-xperia-z1-black
Sent from my C6903 using xda app-developers app
---------- Post added at 03:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:02 PM ----------
To be honest my cover for the usb broke off It would fit firm when I would place it back I still used it under water my problem was it wasn't attached and in between charging I had to put the flap in my pocket and yes lost it lol
Sent from my C6903 using xda app-developers app
av4tar said:
Where abouts did you get the sim port door from please?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Theres a few places, here and here also.
I agree with letting the sony technicians handle it... Sure you could just easily swap the caps but the official technicians should pressure test it first for waterproofness before sending it back to you...
My daughter pulled on e of mine off the other day, it just pops back in very easily and the way it goes in means there is no need for a pressure test. The bit that keeps it attached to the device has nothing to do with the waterproofing.
I was not talking about that part of the cover... I was talking about the cover itself if it perfectly fits on the ports or if it has any dents or gaps that would compromise the waterproofness of the phone even 1/4 millimeter gap from that would really mess up your phone
gregbradley said:
My daughter pulled on e of mine off the other day, it just pops back in very easily and the way it goes in means there is no need for a pressure test. The bit that keeps it attached to the device has nothing to do with the waterproofing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You say it pops in easily, is it that simple Greg. Not ordered mine yet. In hospital for a few days, probably do it in next day or two.
With the ends of the port that slot into the z1, has a triangle shapped lip, is it tough, malleable and pushes in easily?
Riyal said:
I was not talking about that part of the cover... I was talking about the cover itself if it perfectly fits on the ports or if it has any dents or gaps that would compromise the waterproofness of the phone even 1/4 millimeter gap from that would really mess up your phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
true, but don't we take those parts off every day when plugging in the charger/removing SD card etc, and don't we put them back fine ourselves....
My USB cover isn't sitting flush anymore, does anyone know of a UK supplier for a replacement flap? Anyone else who's flaps are no longer flush?!!
Cheers
Riyal said:
I agree with letting the sony technicians handle it... Sure you could just easily swap the caps but the official technicians should pressure test it first for waterproofness before sending it back to you...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please! send device away for way over $100(for a $2 part!) where it will be most likely be sent back with scratches, mishandled by technicians, couriers and/or postal services at no less than a large shipping and handling premium (if you dont want to risk damage, ie insurances etc)
So you're looking at around $40 insured postage, $80 for repair plus another $40 return insured postage. I doubt theres any tests in terms of water, nitro or any other! There is no pressure test nor is there any evacuation test, its impossible!
The housing and port door components are mass produced by automated computer based programs that dont leave any room for error. There is certainly no testing in terms of pressure on the mass produced market devices, only the initial prototypes are tested and perfected then sent to production.
No issues with my replacement parts, Ive showered and washed down the device many times.
Glad that it's the case then! My only worries is if we buy it from 3rd party stores it isn't OEM(as I'm pretty sure sony wouldn't sell any parts of it's phone for retail) and it's not the same machine used by sony and there could be miscalculations or errors
homer285 said:
Please! send device away for way over $100(for a $2 part!) where it will be most likely be sent back with scratches, mishandled by technicians, couriers and/or postal services at no less than a large shipping and handling premium (if you dont want to risk damage, ie insurances etc)
So you're looking at around $40 insured postage, $80 for repair plus another $40 return insured postage. I doubt theres any tests in terms of water, nitro or any other! There is no pressure test nor is there any evacuation test, its impossible!
The housing and port door components are mass produced by automated computer based programs that dont leave any room for error. There is certainly no testing in terms of pressure on the mass produced market devices, only the initial prototypes are tested and perfected then sent to production.
No issues with my replacement parts, Ive showered and washed down the device many times.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you removed back cover, and still maintained the water proof ability?
VTSSDUDE said:
Have you removed back cover, and still maintained the water proof ability?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will not do that! I saw screen light when I pull out my sd and usb cover caps and I am sure if the doors are open you will damage you phone. Fore sure the caps doors make the phone waterproof.
VTSSDUDE said:
Have you removed back cover, and still maintained the water proof ability?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Absolutely no need to remove the back housing, I can confirm the doors/caps pop out so easily and go back in just as easily with no issues, I have taken mine under water at least 20 times since replacing microSIM door. I purchased my replacement from Part4repair.com and it looks and functions just as the original did. The parts are tested prior to shipping. If you waste $100+ for a simple door/cap replacement then you're being robbed blind!

hi anyone's phone last until now without charging port problems, or anyone changed their port and does the problems return?

anyone's phone last until now without charging port problems, or anyone changed their port and does the problems return? I'm considering if it is worth to replace the port
I have exactly the same question.
xdaxdap said:
I have exactly the same question.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
end up selling the device as the charging port i bought from aliexpress got no stock and grab myself a lenovo legion y70
The charge port issue isn't actually the charge port, but somewhere on the main board. I've tried fixing close to a dozen boot looping on charger RP2's in the last year or 2, and didn't matter if it was a charge port out of a working one, it still had the issue after swapping
TechX1991 said:
The charge port issue isn't actually the charge port, but somewhere on the main board. I've tried fixing close to a dozen boot looping on charger RP2's in the last year or 2, and didn't matter if it was a charge port out of a working one, it still had the issue after swapping
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what more is needed to discover the flaw? im holding onto my first razer phone 2 because i still believe and i choose to believe anything can be fixed one way or another
Titanricky8 said:
what more is needed to discover the flaw? im holding onto my first razer phone 2 because i still believe and i choose to believe anything can be fixed one way or another
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gotta figure out what and where the issue lies on the main board. What tiny component is going bad causing it to not charge
TechX1991 said:
Gotta figure out what and where the issue lies on the main board. What tiny component is going bad causing it to not charge
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i assume its like finding a needle in a haystack furthermore different for each phone
Titanricky8 said:
i assume its like finding a needle in a haystack furthermore different for each phone
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Not exactly. If you have a thermal camera, you could hook up the phone with the back off and look for the component that's gettin hotter than everything else
I have a Razer Phone 2 that I'm refurbing for a client, and the USB-C port was in bad shape, so not only no data transfer, but she could only be charged via wireless. No worries though, at least in the case of this specific Razer 2, the problem was the flex cable that attaches the female type-c pin housing to the daughter-board. My theory, again, at least for this specific Razer 2, is because the 2 screws securing the port had come loose, the port was not secured, and was driven deeper inside the chassis when the owner went to plug it in. Since said flex is pretty wimpy, the movement back and forth probably fatigued the traces and the coating of the ribbon, more than likely damaging/breaking several traces.
My solution ended up being similar to the 2017 Retina MacBook Pro ‘Flexgate’ issue, where a very poor design choice created an LCD flex that had a spring/tension/rolling mechanism, which would pull out/extended the flex cable to accommodate the MB being opened, and retract to its resting position when closed. Unfortunately, the short length of the flex, along with a lack of robustness, meant that every opening and closing caused more and more fatigue, and eventually traces became severed and/or shorted out. This manifests as a 'stage light effect' that gets worse the further you open the lid, or in some cases, the 'stage light' effect is absent, however opening the lid past ~45 degrees causes the screen to shut off.
Apple did correct this the following year by replacing the flex with one 6mm longer that was more rigid than the previous year’s problematic flex. However, before the replacements were available (the 6mm extended flex worked a treat to fix the 2017’s issues, and it saved SO MUCH MONEY! A $10 flex cable as opposed to a ~$500 top housing assembly! So a $150 repair, as it is kinda labor intensive, not to mention if you’re not careful you’ll damage the LCD while removing it), a solution was needed to prevent clients from having to pay the ~$500 for a new display (which, OF CORSE, Apple refused to sell the LCD panel by itself (which are made by 2 suppliers, LG Display & Samsung Display, and Apple’s manufacturing contracts prevent both companies from selling any panels as replacement parts. Sometimes they’ll be a few here and there, but it’s rare), forcing people to buy the entire top case, which, of corse, STILL HAD THE PROBLEMATIC FLEX CABLE, meaning that the replacements would also eventually fail.
The solution to both the Razer 2 & 2017 MBP Retina's flex woes is to cut the offending flex just below where the fatigue is visible, or in the case of my client's Razer 2, where a visible kink was. Since the flex has 2mm or so of slack, you can then scrape (or VERY CAREFULLY use a fine tip soldering iron) to expose the tips of the traces, and using nanowire, bridge the two halves together with low-temp solder after aligning and stacking them, with one overlapping by ~0.25mm. Shielded nanowire isn't a common thing most people who don't do repair have laying around, so a workaround is to use twisted copper wire, which you then can un-twist, giving you very thin strands that are perfect for this. Just MAKE SURE THAT YOU EITHER APPLY SOME LIQUID ELECTRICAL TAPE OR UV CURABLE LIQUID INSULATION, since the strands wont be individually insulated or shielded. You should do this regardless of the type of nanowire you use, not only to prevent potential shorts, but also to reinforce the flex just in case it gets moved around again. This will make it more resistant to kinking up and/or breaking if it does experience any movement/bending. Louis Rossman of Rossman Repair Group has a great video that goes through the flex bridge technique in extreme detail.
One more interesting thing. I originally had ordered a replacement daughter-board/USB-C port from a 3rd party that I knew was used, but worth a shot. Unfortunately, it took about 2 months to arrive, so I got impatient and did the flex repair described above. After it eventually arrived, I installed it to see if it worked but found it was also defective . . but for a different reason than the one in my client's Razer 2. The control chip on the board (a 40-pin QFP, pin arrangement=12x8x12x8) needed to be removed, cleaned, and reinstalled, and voila, she lived again! I noticed some people saying their device was really hot by the port, and bad solder joints can create poor connections to their respective pads, and poor connections can cause increased resistance, which creates heat. Also, I think that specific charger control chip also has a pass-through for the mic that's on the board, so if your port AND mic are both not working or working intermittently, that might be the cause. I could be mistaken about the pass-through, I need to look at the data sheet again, as it's been a minute since I worked on said Razer 2, as the owner was out of the country for months on business. I actually finished refurbing it about 6 months or so ago.
I recorded the entire process, replacing the display assembly, battery, removing the old (and IMHO inferior) thermal putty and replacing it with Thermal Grizzly’s Kryonaut (reducing thermals by ~10C under load), and have EXTREMELY DETAILED footage of the repair from my USB microscope. I've been kinda lazy with editing it, but I just finished editing another refurb (an EVGA 660 Ti SC that needed a complete refurb, along with replacing 2 cooked MOSFETs. It has sentimental value to the owner, so yeah, a VERY COOL GPU that’s back at 100%), so I'm gonna start on the Razer 2 refurb video tomorrow. I’ll post a link here as soon as I upload it to YT and it’s published.
BTW, the fact that the charge ports are so hard to find new is kinda strange, and maybe suggest a much smaller production run of the Razer 2 than I had originally presumed. I repair devices every day, and my parts distributor can usually get ANYTHING, the guy and his business are amazing. He was able to get me an OEM display assembly and a brand-new sealed replacement OEM battery no problem. When it came to the charge port though, he couldn't find any new units, which is strange, especially since the battery was available as a newer, sealed replacement part. Charge ports and batteries are parts that usually get an additional limited production run for replacement part/repair purposes, since batteries will definitely need to be replaced after a few years, and charge ports USUALLY need to be replaced, unless a person is EXTREMELY GENTLE when they plug & unplug their devices. Unfortunately, all I've been able to find for charge port & mic daughter-boards are pulls from devices, and ya never know what a part has been through when it's not new.
Anyway, the guy who owns the Razer 2 just got back from the UK. and asked me to flash TWRP, LineageOS, etc., and when I opened the Razer 2 forum home page, this was the first thread I saw.
Hopefully this info can help someone out. Maybe someone can get something out of my experience with this specific device and part. And as I mentioned above, as soon as I post the refurb video on YT I'll post a link here. I think that’ll help out, if not because of the same issue, then maybe it can help rule out the issues I ran into.
Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.
Need4Sneed said:
I have a Razer Phone 2 that I'm refurbing for a client, and the USB-C port was in bad shape, so not only no data transfer, but she could only be charged via wireless. No worries though, at least in the case of this specific Razer 2, the problem was the flex cable that attaches the female type-c pin housing to the daughter-board. My theory, again, at least for this specific Razer 2, is because the 2 screws securing the port had come loose, the port was not secured, and was driven deeper inside the chassis when the owner went to plug it in. Since said flex is pretty wimpy, the movement back and forth probably fatigued the traces and the coating of the ribbon, more than likely damaging/breaking several traces.
My solution ended up being similar to the 2017 Retina MacBook Pro ‘Flexgate’ issue, where a very poor design choice created an LCD flex that had a spring/tension/rolling mechanism, which would pull out/extended the flex cable to accommodate the MB being opened, and retract to its resting position when closed. Unfortunately, the short length of the flex, along with a lack of robustness, meant that every opening and closing caused more and more fatigue, and eventually traces became severed and/or shorted out. This manifests as a 'stage light effect' that gets worse the further you open the lid, or in some cases, the 'stage light' effect is absent, however opening the lid past ~45 degrees causes the screen to shut off.
Apple did correct this the following year by replacing the flex with one 6mm longer that was more rigid than the previous year’s problematic flex. However, before the replacements were available (the 6mm extended flex worked a treat to fix the 2017’s issues, and it saved SO MUCH MONEY! A $10 flex cable as opposed to a ~$500 top housing assembly! So a $150 repair, as it is kinda labor intensive, not to mention if you’re not careful you’ll damage the LCD while removing it), a solution was needed to prevent clients from having to pay the ~$500 for a new display (which, OF CORSE, Apple refused to sell the LCD panel by itself (which are made by 2 suppliers, LG Display & Samsung Display, and Apple’s manufacturing contracts prevent both companies from selling any panels as replacement parts. Sometimes they’ll be a few here and there, but it’s rare), forcing people to buy the entire top case, which, of corse, STILL HAD THE PROBLEMATIC FLEX CABLE, meaning that the replacements would also eventually fail.
The solution to both the Razer 2 & 2017 MBP Retina's flex woes is to cut the offending flex just below where the fatigue is visible, or in the case of my client's Razer 2, where a visible kink was. Since the flex has 2mm or so of slack, you can then scrape (or VERY CAREFULLY use a fine tip soldering iron) to expose the tips of the traces, and using nanowire, bridge the two halves together with low-temp solder after aligning and stacking them, with one overlapping by ~0.25mm. Shielded nanowire isn't a common thing most people who don't do repair have laying around, so a workaround is to use twisted copper wire, which you then can un-twist, giving you very thin strands that are perfect for this. Just MAKE SURE THAT YOU EITHER APPLY SOME LIQUID ELECTRICAL TAPE OR UV CURABLE LIQUID INSULATION, since the strands wont be individually insulated or shielded. You should do this regardless of the type of nanowire you use, not only to prevent potential shorts, but also to reinforce the flex just in case it gets moved around again. This will make it more resistant to kinking up and/or breaking if it does experience any movement/bending. Louis Rossman of Rossman Repair Group has a great video that goes through the flex bridge technique in extreme detail.
One more interesting thing. I originally had ordered a replacement daughter-board/USB-C port from a 3rd party that I knew was used, but worth a shot. Unfortunately, it took about 2 months to arrive, so I got impatient and did the flex repair described above. After it eventually arrived, I installed it to see if it worked but found it was also defective . . but for a different reason than the one in my client's Razer 2. The control chip on the board (a 40-pin QFP, pin arrangement=12x8x12x8) needed to be removed, cleaned, and reinstalled, and voila, she lived again! I noticed some people saying their device was really hot by the port, and bad solder joints can create poor connections to their respective pads, and poor connections can cause increased resistance, which creates heat. Also, I think that specific charger control chip also has a pass-through for the mic that's on the board, so if your port AND mic are both not working or working intermittently, that might be the cause. I could be mistaken about the pass-through, I need to look at the data sheet again, as it's been a minute since I worked on said Razer 2, as the owner was out of the country for months on business. I actually finished refurbing it about 6 months or so ago.
I recorded the entire process, replacing the display assembly, battery, removing the old (and IMHO inferior) thermal putty and replacing it with Thermal Grizzly’s Kryonaut (reducing thermals by ~10C under load), and have EXTREMELY DETAILED footage of the repair from my USB microscope. I've been kinda lazy with editing it, but I just finished editing another refurb (an EVGA 660 Ti SC that needed a complete refurb, along with replacing 2 cooked MOSFETs. It has sentimental value to the owner, so yeah, a VERY COOL GPU that’s back at 100%), so I'm gonna start on the Razer 2 refurb video tomorrow. I’ll post a link here as soon as I upload it to YT and it’s published.
BTW, the fact that the charge ports are so hard to find new is kinda strange, and maybe suggest a much smaller production run of the Razer 2 than I had originally presumed. I repair devices every day, and my parts distributor can usually get ANYTHING, the guy and his business are amazing. He was able to get me an OEM display assembly and a brand-new sealed replacement OEM battery no problem. When it came to the charge port though, he couldn't find any new units, which is strange, especially since the battery was available as a newer, sealed replacement part. Charge ports and batteries are parts that usually get an additional limited production run for replacement part/repair purposes, since batteries will definitely need to be replaced after a few years, and charge ports USUALLY need to be replaced, unless a person is EXTREMELY GENTLE when they plug & unplug their devices. Unfortunately, all I've been able to find for charge port & mic daughter-boards are pulls from devices, and ya never know what a part has been through when it's not new.
Anyway, the guy who owns the Razer 2 just got back from the UK. and asked me to flash TWRP, LineageOS, etc., and when I opened the Razer 2 forum home page, this was the first thread I saw.
Hopefully this info can help someone out. Maybe someone can get something out of my experience with this specific device and part. And as I mentioned above, as soon as I post the refurb video on YT I'll post a link here. I think that’ll help out, if not because of the same issue, then maybe it can help rule out the issues I ran into.
Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.
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NIce so what your saying is spare phone is the way to go unless you can bridge a flex cable. You think working ones ought to re-enforce the working cable? If so clear resin a conformal coating like what did you use tape to harden the cable? Still use mine from time to time and have done lets say a few rebuilds to make it extra pretty.

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