Ok so I'm stupid.
Whilst trying to boost 3g reception and having plugged an external antenna into my gsm external port (the one on the left). I have damaged my kaiser. Now when I remove the external antenna the internal antenna no longer works. I get no reception whatsoever.
I presume there is some sort of physical switch in the port which has been damaged by plugging in the external antenna.
Do any of you guys know about this and if it can be fixed (say by soldering the port)? Any help (other than insisting that the phone will just have to be replaced) appreciated.
bump up - please help
Not a total loss
Looking at pg 92 of the Kaiser service manual, I see there is just the earth connection on the pcb either side of the connector and a single track down the middle so I cant see how there would be an isolator switch built in. Theres nothing about using the RF connector in the user manual (only the GPS connector) and plugging in an external RF antenna, as well as requiring the correct part (and I don't know if this connector is for an antenna or just testing purposes), would require removal of the battery cover. I think you may have damaged the RF circuitry/receiver. Have you tried removing the battery for a few minutes, attempting to power up the device (to remove any residual charge), performing a hard reset and trying again in different locations (assuming you haven't changed anything since it was last working fine)?
I don't think the phone would need to be replaced but it may require some components to be replaced by a service centre that knows the device well if none of the above makes any difference.
Flying Kiwi said:
Looking at pg 92 of the Kaiser service manual, I see there is just the earth connection on the pcb either side of the connector and a single track down the middle so I cant see how there would be an isolator switch built in. Theres nothing about using the RF connector in the user manual (only the GPS connector) and plugging in an external RF antenna, as well as requiring the correct part (and I don't know if this connector is for an antenna or just testing purposes), would require removal of the battery cover. I think you may have damaged the RF circuitry/receiver. Have you tried removing the battery for a few minutes, attempting to power up the device (to remove any residual charge), performing a hard reset and trying again in different locations (assuming you haven't changed anything since it was last working fine)?
I don't think the phone would need to be replaced but it may require some components to be replaced by a service centre that knows the device well if none of the above makes any difference.
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Thanks for your comments. I have removed the battery but I have not tried a hard reset. I'm out in africa at the moment and can't deal with the other problems this would cause.
Right now I have temporarily fixed it by bending a paper clip and putting it in the port with the rest fitting snug under the cover. The reception is surprisingly good.
If the temporary fix works....
knmwt15000 said:
Right now I have temporarily fixed it by bending a paper clip and putting it in the port with the rest fitting snug under the cover. The reception is surprisingly good.
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Sounds like the mark one 'coathanger car aerial' that was popular in New Zealand many years ago
After the replacing of my X1's housing with the new one in the SE Service center I went home gladly with my new X1 housing. I noticed there's an error in signal in my X1 when I was checking my phone at the SE center.. But I thought it was maybe due to poor reception thus I neglected it. (the officer in the SESC say so)
Now I know that there's some new problem arise.. Any idea what might cause this error? the phone can read the Sim card but there is no signal (no connection, no call or no data can be made). i try to check the antenna module, but it seem to be OK (i did not see any problem on it).
the next day i came to the SE center, they said it might be something wrong with the software (since i am used using cooked rom) how come it can make any different while i'm using it before i replace the housing. and they have to take it into the HQ. and guess what, it may take another 6-7 week... WTF
is there anyone having the same problem with me?
Well if you have the tools, you can try openingu p the bottom cover, that little rubber thing where it has the mini sony ericsson logo. Open that rubber up, and you should see a mini screw in the middle, open that up take it out, maybe just give it a quick clean, fit it back properly, and make sure everything is tight and see how that works out.
I've seen/heard a few people having such issue when taking the housing off, and not placing that radio/reception thingy back properly, therefore causing issues with reception.
briian_ said:
Well if you have the tools, you can try openingu p the bottom cover, that little rubber thing where it has the mini sony ericsson logo. Open that rubber up, and you should see a mini screw in the middle, open that up take it out, maybe just give it a quick clean, fit it back properly, and make sure everything is tight and see how that works out.
I've seen/heard a few people having such issue when taking the housing off, and not placing that radio/reception thingy back properly, therefore causing issues with reception.
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I did it twice, just to make it sure that everything was on their place, also try to flash the ROM, The Radio but still remain the same....
any other suggestion or idea what should I do?
Same problem!
I had disassembled my phone by myself twice; the first time it worked perfectly, the second, unfortunately, it didn't!
I bought a new antenna module for U.S. $10, installed it myself (warranty ended three months ago), walked out of the service centre and voila; I had reception and managed to make a few calls. However, on the way back home, all calls placed while driving dropped every 5km, which means the hand-over between cell towers was failing. The moment I walked home it was dead; no reception whatsoever indoors.
Now the way I see it, this could be due to one of the following two reasons: either the RF power amp failed, which means that most probably the phone needs a new main board (too expensive, not worth it) or something went wrong during the assembly, like the smearing of a sensitive part by skin oil (thus causing a short circuit) or failure to position a connector or multiple ones to connect properly to their respective terminals/connection points.
Upon further investigation, I noticed that my phone wasn't properly grounded; whenever I connected it to a computer to sync using ActivSync or in disk drive mode, I got a small electrical shock (painful though) whenever I touched the phone. This, however, doesn't occur at all when I connect the phone to the wall charger. I disabled USB charging since day 1 of owning my X1i
I believe that the battery cover acts as a ground for the phone electronics; it touches four golden connectors which in turn touch the mini USB port, the GPS/Wi-Fi/Bluetooth antenna, a point on the main board half an inch away from where the loudspeaker is, and the metallic cover placed over the phone RF chips. Failure to ground the phone properly can result in either damaging any of these chips, building up a static charge that affects the antenna performance, or an open-circuit condition for one of the many systems on board.
Since my phone is fully working as a PPC now (PPC functions, Panels, Keyboard, Camera, GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc...) and since I get reception outdoors, and since I have a brand new antenna module, I am guessing that either the RF amplifier is dead, or the housing is ****ed up beyond repair (i.e. it can't be aligned perfectly to get perfect contact on all said points) that it's either shorting a connection, or opening one that is vital for the cellular radio to function properly.
So what to do? Well I forced my phone to do two things:
1. Settings > Phone > Band
- Network type: I chose GSM instead of Auto, as we don't have consumer CDMA in Egypt
- GSM/UMTS Band: I chose the correct band for my provider instead of Auto.
2. Settings > Connections > Advanced Network > Disabled HSDAP
What happened? It worked indoors for a minute, and then stopped working again! Frustrating! So what did I do? I ordered a completely new housing off CNN and will attempt to rebuild the damned thing.
I will update you if I find out anything or reach any results with this phone that I love so much and hate more than anything I have ever hated in my life...
More info!
- During the drive mentioned above, the phone was switching between H, E and G, which means that all three RF chips are, or all components of the whole RF chip if it's one responsible, are working. At one point I got 4 bars of H and call quality was perfect between hand-over failures.
- Before disassembling my phone for the second time, people were complaining about high-pitched static; it can blamed over the mic, the RF (antenna or chip) or humidity levels (which are currently as high as 85%) affecting cellular communication channels.
- Flashing the firmware (R3A Generic UK) and hard-reseting didn't solve the problem.
More Info!
- The battery cover isn't the phone's ground; it's grounded by being connected to four ground points: the mini USB port metallic frame, the GPS/Wi-Fi/Bluetooth antenna ground, a ground point on the main board and the metallic cover over the sensitive RF chips.
- This is definitely an assembly problem. The reception is great outdoors switching between all bands and speeds. On my drive to work today it worked getting G, E, 3G and H all in 4 bars. The signal, however, is completely unstable, jumping from one speed to another. I am more inclinded now to believe that a new housing will fix this problem. Your housing was probably handled poorly at the service centre, which in turn caused this problem.
My advice is to shake them a little bit and see what they will do.
A New Housing didn't fix it!
I purchased a new housing from CNN. It came in good condition. The phone looks brand new now but still no signal. I am sending it in for service. I guess I blew up my Power Amplifiers...
Good luck mate!
melaskalany said:
I purchased a new housing from CNN. It came in good condition. The phone looks brand new now but still no signal. I am sending it in for service. I guess I blew up my Power Amplifiers...
Good luck mate!
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Click to collapse
Same problem haa...
I still waiting for a good news from the service center... I have been waiting for a month..
I wish You a good luck too...
I'm having the same problem. I opened up my phone a few days ago to clean the keyboard. The bottom row wasn't working correctly. Unfortunately after I closed it up again, it wouldn't get any reception (and the keyboard's bottom row was still not working correctly).
So I figured it was the antenna and tried to reposition it. I even removed the rubber layer as described here: http://blog.whitesites.com/How-to-Increase-Reception-on-Sony-Xperia-X1__633958291637656250_blog.htm
Outside I get ok reception, but it's far from stable, inside I get none. And even if I get reception inside, once I pick up the phone, signal drops. So I thought about grounding as well, problem is I even tried rubber gloves and that doesn't solve the problem. I'm afraid replacing the antenna's won't help here and my xperia is dead. Anyone has any other ideas?
Been there too!
I tried the same solution the blog explained. However, I ended up not getting any signal at all. It's only after I purchased a new cellular antenna+buzzer module that the phone started getting an unstable signal outdoors.
Did you notice any small pieces falling off the main board or the housing? It's either a hardware failure or a simple short/open circuit situation that can be fixed in a blink of an eye!
Question
Is there any possible way, hardware or software, to test whether all chips on the main board function properly? I tried the diagnosis tool available here but it doesn't check the chips one by one.
Service Centre
I took my phone to the service centre 6 hours ago. With the new housing on, and new screws that I scored from a secret source of mine, they deemed the phone untouched and serviceable; i.e. it passed for a phone that hasn't been tampered with!
They told me to call back in four days. I will keep you guys updated. Cheers!
I wonder if that'll fix it So to summarize you have:
- new housing
- new screws
- new vibramotor
- new antenna
And those things twice and that fixed it maybe?
I guess it's time for a new phone for me
Vibramotor?
Who said anything about changing the vibration motor? I installed a new antenna + buzzer module; i.e. a new cellular antenna and a new loud speaker (external speaker). The loud speaker is housed within the antenna module. My bad, maybe that part was vague because I never explained it enough.
And yes, it has a brand new housing too. I only installed the lower part though, as the upper part is just fine. Maybe they will fix it man; maybe they won’t I really don't know. I do hope they will fix it though.
I am currently using a backup cheap Nokia and ordered the Sony Ericsson Aspen. If they ever fix my X1 then I can change seamlessly between both phones. If not, then I will just use my X1 as a media/GPS device in my car and an Internet device over Wi-Fi.
Lucky you..... if they can fix yours in a few day... since mine has been in the service centre more than a month, without any news...
they said to me that it will take about 6 week...
What a joke!
The phone remained at the service centre for a week. They called me yesterday, and told me that the phone was fixed and that the total cost was EGP 100 (~U.S. $18). I went over and as soon as I held the phone in my hand to test it, it lost the cellular signal. When placed on the counter, the phone had a constant E signal.
I asked to speak to the manager, who told me that they just reflashed the phone with the latest firmware (Generic UK R3A, which I already had installed). Oh, and before that, he said he was sorry but the phone had a hardware problem and that they don't fix hardware; they only flash firmwares and if that doesn't fix the phone, then the user is pretty much on his own! I refused to receive the phone, so he gave me a refund for my money and promised to have its hardware checked and get back to me in 24 hours!
What a joke, what an f'ing joke! I already regret ordering the Aspen that is due to arrive next week with a friend of mine returning from Paris...
melaskalany said:
The phone remained at the service centre for a week. They called me yesterday, and told me that the phone was fixed and that the total cost was EGP 100 (~U.S. $18). I went over and as soon as I held the phone in my hand to test it, it lost the cellular signal. When placed on the counter, the phone had a constant E signal.
I asked to speak to the manager, who told me that they just reflashed the phone with the latest firmware (Generic UK R3A, which I already had installed). Oh, and before that, he said he was sorry but the phone had a hardware problem and that they don't fix hardware; they only flash firmwares and if that doesn't fix the phone, then the user is pretty much on his own! I refused to receive the phone, so he gave me a refund for my money and promised to have its hardware checked and get back to me in 24 hours!
What a joke, what an f'ing joke! I already regret ordering the Aspen that is due to arrive next week with a friend of mine returning from Paris...
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OMG...
I do hope that you will get the good news next...
Bad News!
Deep breath... Ok!
Here is the deal: the service centre officially announced that the fault lies within the Mainboard; i.e. my guess that the Radio Frequency (RF) Power Amplifier Chip is toast was correct. They want to charge 90% of the phone's original retail price (which was EGP 4000 = U.S. $700) for a new Mainboard. I replied that that was impossible. They will contact SE's HQ and get back to me on Saturday to see if they can offer any other alternatives.
I guess that is the end of my ride with the X1. I will sorely miss it; it was a great phone while it lasted. Let's hope that the Aspen won't die on me in a year as well...
Hi guys.
Yesterday i replaced motherboard on my N1, previous motherboard was broken, after replacement everything is work fine, except wi/fi and gps. My wi-fi module catches the signal slightly, like w/o antenna, gps have not been able to get to work now.
My question is, where is wi fi module exactly? I try to made some photos of my donor phone with pars in some days, but maybe there is some document or photos with this parts, that I will be able to analyze on my phone
If I remember right, the wifi antenna is hooked up near the upper left side of the phone (screen facing down). Verify that is fully connected.
Check out ifix it they have a tear down of the nexus one so you can see where everything is.
Thx for your advices, i'll try to check antenna