Database Develop

[SOLUTION] USB port and Charging Issues

Hello everybody,
First of all, I've been following the XDA Forums for many years now, having owned and played around with quite a few different phones. I've always found the answers and solutions I need from the community so I just wanted to share my recent experiences with my GT-N7000.
Now while I'm certainly no expert in electronics, I do have a good understanding and hope this information could really help somebody else out.
The Problem
A few months ago, I managed to trip over the trailing USB cable, pulling the phone off the table with some considerable force. After this, it started with intermittent connection problems, combined with poor / slow charging. I would often find that it would report charging absolutely fine, whilst still draining the battery. Maybe worth mentioning, as far as I can recall, the phone never reported being charged / plugged in when it wasn't.
After some time, the problem worsened until I was unable to charge the phone at all. Also note that the USB connection to the computer also didn't work. I came across a very useful youtube video, to which I would like to thank the author.
OK, so I can't post links, but head over to youtube and enter "watch?v=pD9R-YUT69Q" at the end of the URL​
I found the part that needed replacing for £12.95 on amazon, which arrived within a few days. I've put some helpful hints at the bottom with regards to actually dismantling the phone to avoid too much text up here
again, no links so go to UK Amazon and enter "/Samsung-GT-i9220-Charger-Connector-Replacement/dp/B009X6BGDM" at the end of the URL.​
I found that this seemed to largely fix the problem, however, issues still remained with maintaining a consistent connection. These issues got worse over the following few weeks, until again, I could barley charge the phone. The steps to make it charge consisted of using a specific few chargers (any HTC or Samsung branded cable would work, *perhaps because of the extra 'clips' on the metal shield*), firmly push the connector into the phone, then apply a reasonable amount of pressure downwards when holding the phone flat and level. This would usually charge the phone, however, on occasion charging would randomly stop, or after unplugging at 100%, the battery level would instantly drop to around 70%.
Other odd anomalies such as entering recovery mode when plugging in with the phone switched off, or entering driving / docking mode while connecting the charger with the phone switched on occurred too.
* Complete speculation
The Solution
After much frustration, it wasn't until I considered the 'orange' plastic unit which covers the charging board (secured by three screws). It was orange on my phone, however, could be different on yours.
On the underside of this removable unit, are two copper plates approx 1mm by 1mm. These lined up with two spring loaded 'arms' on the replaced charging board underneath. In my case, these two cooper plates were slightly dented meaning that a poor connection occurred between the board and the unit.
The solution was to a) Pry the metal arms further apart using a very thin piece of plastic, raising them slightly and b) raise the entire circuit board underneath very slightly. This was done using a very thin piece of plastic (I used a small cut-off from a pill packet, and removed the foil coating, then folded it over on itself to increase the thickness), and placing it directly underneath the two metal arms under the charging board.
And since then, I can report that my phone will now consistently charge again. I am once again, able to both use and charge my phone at the same time.
It maybe worth noting that if you're suffering from similar problems that this board may not need replacing, although in my case, I also suffered damage to the micro usb port so had no other option. This is still by far cheaper than sending the phone off for repair as this is something that most people can do if, like me, you are no longer covered under warranty.
Taking the phone apart
This was actually remarkably strait forward and easy to do with some basic tools. The tools I used are:
A very small Philips screwdriver (preferably magnetic)
A small spring loaded hair clip (for separating the front and back)
Plastic tweezers
A small plastic container (for the screws you remove)
And finally, some common sense
The hair clip I found to be the best tool for removing the front and back because of its thin width and plastic coating which prevented scrape marks, although anything extremely thin and plastic should just about do.
Hopefully from the pictures I'm going to attempt to attach, you'll see my N7000 is white (what a bad choice that was ) and the gap was between the very delicate white plastic lip and silver plastic body, I imagine the black version is constructed in an identical manner although I cannot confirm this.
I found the best place to start (assuming the screen is towards you) when prying the front and back apart was just below the volume buttons on the left side. I then worked my way down that side, attacking directly to the left and right of usb port next. Then just below the power button and continue down the lower right hand side. The top I found to be slightly trickier, but start just to the left of the headphone port, then pry the corners.
Now, I can at times be a little clumsy, so my phone naturally has some ware and tare. All in all, I added two very small scuff marks on both the top and bottom, and have taken the phone apart several times. I would video it, however the similarities between the video above and the N7000 are minimal in terms of de-constructing.
Also worth noting, on one occasion, I didn't have the plastic tweezers available, and I found that if you're incredibly careful, you can detach the mini flex cables using a small plastic disposable spoon, the like you find in service stations . Additionally, the screws used in the casing are a different size to the three on the removable plastic unit, so don't mix them up.
Conclusion
I think that is everything useful, however, feel free to ask questions if I didn't cover anything. I've seen a lot of charger related problems in this thread, and haven't found anything like this, so sorry if this information is not beneficial or of use.
I would also like to comment that before I replaced this board, I experienced many of the described problems in relation to the cable used. I have found that as long as I use a reasonable quality cable and any USB wall adapter rated at 1A, I get a consistently good charge every time. I have experimented with a few cheap cables, including a few from the 99p store which seem to charge slightly slower, although since replacing the board and adjusting the metal arms I rarely have issues when charging now.
Regards
Tom

My phone has done the exact same thing. would you recommend sending the phone away to be fix or is it easy enough for a average person to fix it by them self?

william_1434 said:
My phone has done the exact same thing. would you recommend sending the phone away to be fix or is it easy enough for a average person to fix it by them self?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I literally just got done with this process myself....Took all of 15mins. Very simple to do. Definitely the average person can fix themselves.
Go ahead and give it a shot!

tb_tom89 said:
Hello everybody,
First of all, I've been following the XDA Forums for many years now, having owned and played around with quite a few different phones. I've always found the answers and solutions I need from the community so I just wanted to share my recent experiences with my GT-N7000.
Now while I'm certainly no expert in electronics, I do have a good understanding and hope this information could really help somebody else out.
The Problem
A few months ago, I managed to trip over the trailing USB cable, pulling the phone off the table with some considerable force. After this, it started with intermittent connection problems, combined with poor / slow charging. I would often find that it would report charging absolutely fine, whilst still draining the battery. Maybe worth mentioning, as far as I can recall, the phone never reported being charged / plugged in when it wasn't.
After some time, the problem worsened until I was unable to charge the phone at all. Also note that the USB connection to the computer also didn't work. I came across a very useful youtube video, to which I would like to thank the author.
OK, so I can't post links, but head over to youtube and enter "watch?v=pD9R-YUT69Q" at the end of the URL​
I found the part that needed replacing for £12.95 on amazon, which arrived within a few days. I've put some helpful hints at the bottom with regards to actually dismantling the phone to avoid too much text up here
again, no links so go to UK Amazon and enter "/Samsung-GT-i9220-Charger-Connector-Replacement/dp/B009X6BGDM" at the end of the URL.​
I found that this seemed to largely fix the problem, however, issues still remained with maintaining a consistent connection. These issues got worse over the following few weeks, until again, I could barley charge the phone. The steps to make it charge consisted of using a specific few chargers (any HTC or Samsung branded cable would work, *perhaps because of the extra 'clips' on the metal shield*), firmly push the connector into the phone, then apply a reasonable amount of pressure downwards when holding the phone flat and level. This would usually charge the phone, however, on occasion charging would randomly stop, or after unplugging at 100%, the battery level would instantly drop to around 70%.
Other odd anomalies such as entering recovery mode when plugging in with the phone switched off, or entering driving / docking mode while connecting the charger with the phone switched on occurred too.
* Complete speculation
The Solution
After much frustration, it wasn't until I considered the 'orange' plastic unit which covers the charging board (secured by three screws). It was orange on my phone, however, could be different on yours.
On the underside of this removable unit, are two copper plates approx 1mm by 1mm. These lined up with two spring loaded 'arms' on the replaced charging board underneath. In my case, these two cooper plates were slightly dented meaning that a poor connection occurred between the board and the unit.
The solution was to a) Pry the metal arms further apart using a very thin piece of plastic, raising them slightly and b) raise the entire circuit board underneath very slightly. This was done using a very thin piece of plastic (I used a small cut-off from a pill packet, and removed the foil coating, then folded it over on itself to increase the thickness), and placing it directly underneath the two metal arms under the charging board.
And since then, I can report that my phone will now consistently charge again. I am once again, able to both use and charge my phone at the same time.
It maybe worth noting that if you're suffering from similar problems that this board may not need replacing, although in my case, I also suffered damage to the micro usb port so had no other option. This is still by far cheaper than sending the phone off for repair as this is something that most people can do if, like me, you are no longer covered under warranty.
Taking the phone apart
This was actually remarkably strait forward and easy to do with some basic tools. The tools I used are:
A very small Philips screwdriver (preferably magnetic)
A small spring loaded hair clip (for separating the front and back)
Plastic tweezers
A small plastic container (for the screws you remove)
And finally, some common sense
The hair clip I found to be the best tool for removing the front and back because of its thin width and plastic coating which prevented scrape marks, although anything extremely thin and plastic should just about do.
Hopefully from the pictures I'm going to attempt to attach, you'll see my N7000 is white (what a bad choice that was ) and the gap was between the very delicate white plastic lip and silver plastic body, I imagine the black version is constructed in an identical manner although I cannot confirm this.
I found the best place to start (assuming the screen is towards you) when prying the front and back apart was just below the volume buttons on the left side. I then worked my way down that side, attacking directly to the left and right of usb port next. Then just below the power button and continue down the lower right hand side. The top I found to be slightly trickier, but start just to the left of the headphone port, then pry the corners.
Now, I can at times be a little clumsy, so my phone naturally has some ware and tare. All in all, I added two very small scuff marks on both the top and bottom, and have taken the phone apart several times. I would video it, however the similarities between the video above and the N7000 are minimal in terms of de-constructing.
Also worth noting, on one occasion, I didn't have the plastic tweezers available, and I found that if you're incredibly careful, you can detach the mini flex cables using a small plastic disposable spoon, the like you find in service stations . Additionally, the screws used in the casing are a different size to the three on the removable plastic unit, so don't mix them up.
Conclusion
I think that is everything useful, however, feel free to ask questions if I didn't cover anything. I've seen a lot of charger related problems in this thread, and haven't found anything like this, so sorry if this information is not beneficial or of use.
I would also like to comment that before I replaced this board, I experienced many of the described problems in relation to the cable used. I have found that as long as I use a reasonable quality cable and any USB wall adapter rated at 1A, I get a consistently good charge every time. I have experimented with a few cheap cables, including a few from the 99p store which seem to charge slightly slower, although since replacing the board and adjusting the metal arms I rarely have issues when charging now.
Regards
Tom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im glad to see that you have managed to solve your usb issue simply.
Mine is out of warranty somehow and i have been searching all the possible ways since 2012 April..
This is the thread : "[Q] [q] USB BRICK - Devs PLZ HELP!!!"

william_1434 said:
My phone has done the exact same thing. would you recommend sending the phone away to be fix or is it easy enough for a average person to fix it by them self?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I too need to replace my usb port. This topic has helped cheers.
I called Samsung and the rep said that Samsung class any damage done to the micro usb connection to be external damage and thus not covered by warranty.
Seeing that shipping to Samsung is $16 AUD and the replacement part is $12 AUD I know what I will do .

Awesome post!
I've had problems with the charging port for a long time. Replaced the board 4 times from ebay and Amazon; sometimes reception was bad, other times the charging port didn't work unless forced down. So I thought it was just bad replica boards and gave up. Bought an external charger instead.
I had to use the phone recently so I thought I'd try fix the problem again. I got a hold of an original board form a broken n7000 and still same problem (hold down to charge). That's when I got suspicious...it should have fixed it this time. Even separated the metal pins more and didn't work.
Luckily I found your post and added some packing behind the board...and it worked!!! Separating the pins wasn't enough.
Great tip :good:. Definitely worth a bump even though it's an old post. Finally solved my problem and may help others who think the board is faulty.

You sir, are my hero,
Thanks so much for this post, saved me from a headache on rampage. Had the same problem and did replace the USB flexcable as well with the same result.
But this fixed it all!
Thanks again!

Found another cheapest and easiest solution of all, it works magic for me. Do refer to the video here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJcCK5ZVSAY

Thank you
tb_tom89 said:
Hello everybody,
First of all, I've been following the XDA Forums for many years now, having owned and played around with quite a few different phones. I've always found the answers and solutions I need from the community so I just wanted to share my recent experiences with my GT-N7000.
Now while I'm certainly no expert in electronics, I do have a good understanding and hope this information could really help somebody else out.
The Problem
A few months ago, I managed to trip over the trailing USB cable, pulling the phone off the table with some considerable force. After this, it started with intermittent connection problems, combined with poor / slow charging. I would often find that it would report charging absolutely fine, whilst still draining the battery. Maybe worth mentioning, as far as I can recall, the phone never reported being charged / plugged in when it wasn't.
After some time, the problem worsened until I was unable to charge the phone at all. Also note that the USB connection to the computer also didn't work. I came across a very useful youtube video, to which I would like to thank the author.
OK, so I can't post links, but head over to youtube and enter "watch?v=pD9R-YUT69Q" at the end of the URL​
I found the part that needed replacing for £12.95 on amazon, which arrived within a few days. I've put some helpful hints at the bottom with regards to actually dismantling the phone to avoid too much text up here
again, no links so go to UK Amazon and enter "/Samsung-GT-i9220-Charger-Connector-Replacement/dp/B009X6BGDM" at the end of the URL.​
I found that this seemed to largely fix the problem, however, issues still remained with maintaining a consistent connection. These issues got worse over the following few weeks, until again, I could barley charge the phone. The steps to make it charge consisted of using a specific few chargers (any HTC or Samsung branded cable would work, *perhaps because of the extra 'clips' on the metal shield*), firmly push the connector into the phone, then apply a reasonable amount of pressure downwards when holding the phone flat and level. This would usually charge the phone, however, on occasion charging would randomly stop, or after unplugging at 100%, the battery level would instantly drop to around 70%.
Other odd anomalies such as entering recovery mode when plugging in with the phone switched off, or entering driving / docking mode while connecting the charger with the phone switched on occurred too.
* Complete speculation
The Solution
After much frustration, it wasn't until I considered the 'orange' plastic unit which covers the charging board (secured by three screws). It was orange on my phone, however, could be different on yours.
On the underside of this removable unit, are two copper plates approx 1mm by 1mm. These lined up with two spring loaded 'arms' on the replaced charging board underneath. In my case, these two cooper plates were slightly dented meaning that a poor connection occurred between the board and the unit.
The solution was to a) Pry the metal arms further apart using a very thin piece of plastic, raising them slightly and b) raise the entire circuit board underneath very slightly. This was done using a very thin piece of plastic (I used a small cut-off from a pill packet, and removed the foil coating, then folded it over on itself to increase the thickness), and placing it directly underneath the two metal arms under the charging board.
And since then, I can report that my phone will now consistently charge again. I am once again, able to both use and charge my phone at the same time.
It maybe worth noting that if you're suffering from similar problems that this board may not need replacing, although in my case, I also suffered damage to the micro usb port so had no other option. This is still by far cheaper than sending the phone off for repair as this is something that most people can do if, like me, you are no longer covered under warranty.
Taking the phone apart
This was actually remarkably strait forward and easy to do with some basic tools. The tools I used are:
A very small Philips screwdriver (preferably magnetic)
A small spring loaded hair clip (for separating the front and back)
Plastic tweezers
A small plastic container (for the screws you remove)
And finally, some common sense
The hair clip I found to be the best tool for removing the front and back because of its thin width and plastic coating which prevented scrape marks, although anything extremely thin and plastic should just about do.
Hopefully from the pictures I'm going to attempt to attach, you'll see my N7000 is white (what a bad choice that was ) and the gap was between the very delicate white plastic lip and silver plastic body, I imagine the black version is constructed in an identical manner although I cannot confirm this.
I found the best place to start (assuming the screen is towards you) when prying the front and back apart was just below the volume buttons on the left side. I then worked my way down that side, attacking directly to the left and right of usb port next. Then just below the power button and continue down the lower right hand side. The top I found to be slightly trickier, but start just to the left of the headphone port, then pry the corners.
Now, I can at times be a little clumsy, so my phone naturally has some ware and tare. All in all, I added two very small scuff marks on both the top and bottom, and have taken the phone apart several times. I would video it, however the similarities between the video above and the N7000 are minimal in terms of de-constructing.
Also worth noting, on one occasion, I didn't have the plastic tweezers available, and I found that if you're incredibly careful, you can detach the mini flex cables using a small plastic disposable spoon, the like you find in service stations . Additionally, the screws used in the casing are a different size to the three on the removable plastic unit, so don't mix them up.
Conclusion
I think that is everything useful, however, feel free to ask questions if I didn't cover anything. I've seen a lot of charger related problems in this thread, and haven't found anything like this, so sorry if this information is not beneficial or of use.
I would also like to comment that before I replaced this board, I experienced many of the described problems in relation to the cable used. I have found that as long as I use a reasonable quality cable and any USB wall adapter rated at 1A, I get a consistently good charge every time. I have experimented with a few cheap cables, including a few from the 99p store which seem to charge slightly slower, although since replacing the board and adjusting the metal arms I rarely have issues when charging now.
Regards
Tom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice solution, i will try at home later.

[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

Nexus 6 smd component broken

Hi, some time ago when i was dissasembling my Nexus 6 due to a camera replacement, i accidentally broke an smd component below the camera that is part of the screen well it only detached one pin ftom the two it has so i suited it in his place again and attached back the yellow transparent tape it has, i proceeded to reassemble the phone and all went good except when i low the brightness to certain point it starts to show Green lines and distortion but at a normal ir not so low brightness there Is no problem, Also i noticed an high amperage consumption and consequently a low battery duration i suppose it happens due to the broken component and want your advice if i should weld it again, it is very small and Is surrounded by many components as the same i broke, should i use heat gun? Or a soldering iron ? Tin welding or liquid welding, or i just should heat the welding the component has and set it again un his place? There Is a photo of What im talking about (the photo Is from a broken screen i have but it shows the components)
http ://i.imgurcom/h4TemYN. png
Just add the point after imgur and delete the spaces to see the image, im not available to put links Yet.

Lots of questions to ask here, so I'm going to just get to it.
1. What is the wattage rating of your soldering iron?
2. Is your soldering iron a pencil type or gun type?
3. How small is the tip?
4. Did you apply any extra solder in attempting your repair?
The wattage of the soldering iron and its type are critically important. Too much heat and you could destroy the component. Also, the damage here could be to the board itself and not the component. When one side lifted from the board it could have pulled up the solder pad the component was sitting on, breaking the trace underneath. What I'd need to see, prior to you doing anything else, is a picture of the actual board you worked on.
My advice? I would get a new screen. The fact of the matter is that you shouldn't have taken a soldering iron to the component as you could easily have burned the board and burned out the component. In such a confined area you could also have accidentally created a solder bridge, which could also cause the issues you're seeing. What you should have used was a heat gun set to 300 degrees celsius. Hold the heat gun one inch above the surface and turn it on, holding it steady for one minute. So long as no traces were broken in the initial mishap, this would allow the solder to liquify and restore the connection between component and board.*
*A heat gun is what I used to repair my Dell Inspiron 15, by applying steady heat to the GPU for a minute. This caused the solder balls making the connection to liquify and restore the connection with the motherboard. Two years later and the laptop still works.

It s an easy job with the right equipment ,and being a technician . Only trouble I can think off is to find the same component but since you have a broken screen it should be easy. I think if you have no experience you can seriously ruin your display. Bring it disassembled to a technician with the component to remove and solder back from the broken display . It's an easy job and I wouldn't charge more than 10€ to resolder it from the broken one to the working one. Elsewhere if you want to do it by yourself you need an hot air rework station and a good flux to recover the component from the ko display , and then a fine tip to solder it back ( a good flux is your friend ) . Don't use hot hair to mount the component to the new display, you can screw the flex cable, it's really delicate

@Axel85: I don't agree that it's necessary to be a technician to replace a surface mount component. The OP can do the job if he has a low-wattage soldering iron or a variable wattage model. I do agree that flux is a good idea however. I honestly wish I had some when I was repairing my laptop, but I also got lucky. The heat gun I thought would have been better for the initial repair, because I thought this might have been an actual board on the underside of the display that the ribbon cables connected to. Thus the soldering iron was the right choice.
The problem here is that he didn't post a picture of his work, so we can't see what's been done to the board. For all we know the pad lifted off the board, which broke the trace. He could have burned the board by using a high-wattage soldering iron. He could have destroyed the component with the soldering iron. If he used additional solder he could have accidentally bridged the connection. There are simply too many unknowns here to present an informed opinion.

Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
@Axel85: I don't agree that it's necessary to be a technician to replace a surface mount component. The OP can do the job if he has a low-wattage soldering iron or a variable wattage model. I do agree that flux is a good idea however. I honestly wish I had some when I was repairing my laptop, but I also got lucky. The heat gun I thought would have been better for the initial repair, because I thought this might have been an actual board on the underside of the display that the ribbon cables connected to. Thus the soldering iron was the right choice.
The problem here is that he didn't post a picture of his work, so we can't see what's been done to the board. For all we know the pad lifted off the board, which broke the trace. He could have burned the board by using a high-wattage soldering iron. He could have destroyed the component with the soldering iron. If he used additional solder he could have accidentally bridged the connection. There are simply too many unknowns here to present an informed opinion.
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Click to collapse
Yes we need pictures... It's not a board, it's fully a flat, so hot hair could ruin the flex even if you move it flat to a dashboard, you can't even imagine how easy is to break those flex. More than this with hot air and amoled displays you have to be really careful, those types off display are delicate too. For the fact that it could be able to solder back the component , if he can is ok, but to do a perfect job you must have experience ,the matrix of components on the flex is very tight . It's better to bring it to a technician than try to do something you can't do... It's 10€ Vs a screen replacement of 180. If he has experience , better for him, for me would be an easy job.
You should also consider that the use of the display without the component could ruin. Something else on the motherboard

@Axel85: Just to clarify, I'm not saying he shouldn't bring it to a tech. Just that it isn't necessary to be a tech to do such a repair. I agree that he'd be much better off taking it to a tech, though I think it's too late and the damage has already been done.

Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
@Axel85: Just to clarify, I'm not saying he shouldn't bring it to a tech. Just that it isn't necessary to be a tech to do such a repair. I agree that he'd be much better off taking it to a tech, though I think it's too late and the damage has already been done.
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Click to collapse
Yes I understand but I can tell you its harder than you think, you must have a good skills with soldering iron to resolder this component inside this matrix of others.
We need to know more about him and get damaged area pictures to evaluate an answer

@Axel85: Preaching to the choir.
IOW, I agree.

Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
Lots of questions to ask here, so I'm going to just get to it.
1. What is the wattage rating of your soldering iron?
2. Is your soldering iron a pencil type or gun type?
3. How small is the tip?
4. Did you apply any extra solder in attempting your repair?
The wattage of the soldering iron and its type are critically important. Too much heat and you could destroy the component. Also, the damage here could be to the board itself and not the component. When one side lifted from the board it could have pulled up the solder pad the component was sitting on, breaking the trace underneath. What I'd need to see, prior to you doing anything else, is a picture of the actual board you worked on.
My advice? I would get a new screen. The fact of the matter is that you shouldn't have taken a soldering iron to the component as you could easily have burned the board and burned out the component. In such a confined area you could also have accidentally created a solder bridge, which could also cause the issues you're seeing. What you should have used was a heat gun set to 300 degrees celsius. Hold the heat gun one inch above the surface and turn it on, holding it steady for one minute. So long as no traces were broken in the initial mishap, this would allow the solder to liquify and restore the connection between component and board.*
*A heat gun is what I used to repair my Dell Inspiron 15, by applying steady heat to the GPU for a minute. This caused the solder balls making the connection to liquify and restore the connection with the motherboard. Two years later and the laptop still works.
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Click to collapse
1. 60 watts the thin soldering iron, 140 watts the gun one , i have other pencil soldering iron of 30 watts
2. I have both
3. I don't have the specifications but is very thin
4. No i just suited the component in his place and put back the yellow tape
5.- The board is all right i also confirmed it (The component i broke is part of the LCD)
6.- I've already posted a link to the image because i can't post links or images yet, there is again : http ://i.imgur.com/h4TemYN. png (just copy and paste in the search bar and delete the blank spaces in the link to see the image)
7.- All right then i will try it
Thank you so much for your advice :good:

@BRMX7: Read the rest of the thread before doing anything.
1. You should be using no more than 30 watts on small electronics. 60 watts for your pencil iron is too hot and will have likely fried the component. I hope you didn't try using the gun on this, which leads to my second question.
2. Which one did you use to make this repair? I hope it wasn't the gun, because you may have done far more damage than you can see.
3. Post a picture.
4. Good. That eliminates the possibility of a solder bridge. Though there may still be damage you can't see, especially to the component itself.
5. How can you confirm it based solely on sight? On the rare occasions where I needed to get up close to the work, I had both a 16x and 20x jeweler's loupe handy (most recently when I was repairing my car remote).
6. According to your post, the image you posted is not of the screen you worked on, but a second screen that was already broken. @Axel85 and I both want to see a picture of the screen you worked on. If what you posted is the screen you worked on, make that clear.
7. See the opening sentence of this post.

Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
@BRMX7: Read the rest of the thread before doing anything.
1. You should be using no more than 30 watts on small electronics. 60 watts for your pencil iron is too hot and will have likely fried the component. I hope you didn't try using the gun on this, which leads to my second question.
2. Which one did you use to make this repair? I hope it wasn't the gun, because you may have done far more damage than you can see.
3. Post a picture.
4. Good. That eliminates the possibility of a solder bridge. Though there may still be damage you can't see, especially to the component itself.
5. How can you confirm it based solely on sight? On the rare occasions where I needed to get up close to the work, I had both a 16x and 20x jeweler's loupe handy (most recently when I was repairing my car remote).
6. According to your post, the image you posted is not of the screen you worked on, but a second screen that was already broken. @Axel85 and I both want to see a picture of the screen you worked on. If what you posted is the screen you worked on, make that clear.
7. See the opening sentence of this post.
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Click to collapse
1. Okay i will use it in 30 watts it is a variable welding station
2.I haven't done anything first i asked for advice before doing any repairment on it.
3. i did it (i will post one of the damaged one)( I didn't posted one of the damaged one because i'm using it right now and i haven't my tools at the hand to dissasembly it and take the picture) looks exactly the same than the damaged one because the indicated component in the image is in the same place but just with the right pin detached .
4. I will have care
5-6. I confirmed it using a variable power supply and a multimeter doing various proceedures to know what was the problem, testing if the power consumption was problem of any component or the screen, also checked it with a flir thermal camera of a friend and it was all right in the board.

BRMX7 said:
1. Okay i will use it in 30 watts it is a variable welding station
2.I haven't done anything first i asked for advice before doing any repairment on it.
3. i did it (i will post one of the damaged one)( I didn't posted one of the damaged one because i'm using it right now and i haven't my tools at the hand to dissasembly it and take the picture) looks exactly the same than the damaged one because the indicated component in the image is in the same place but just with the right pin detached .
4. I will have care
5-6. I confirmed it using a variable power supply and a multimeter doing various proceedures to know what was the problem, testing if the power consumption was problem of any component or the screen, also checked it with a flir thermal camera of a friend and it was all right in the board.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The best way than is to recover the component from the old broken display flex and solder it back in place . If you ripped off the solder pad you can search where it goes with the tester, you just need to expose a little point of the solder pad way ,and then make a bridge

Any other N950N owners suddenly have terrible cell signal? Look at this...

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
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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
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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
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Limeybastard said:
I don't know that's why I asked the question.
Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
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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.
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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.

S6 Edge - problems after battery replacement (feels slow, gets warm, left touch button does not work)

Hi all,
I want to start giving the old smartphones that keep accumulating in our family a second life - which primarily means replacing aged batteries.
I actually want to use my S7 as a bike computer with the Komoot app, but decided to get some practice on my wife's old S6 Edge, which conveniently partially disassembled itself (bloated battery had opened the back cover).
So I got myself a spare battery and proceeded with the disassembly. Disconnecting all connectors, replacing the battery, reconnecting everything, and putting back the 13 screws that connect the frame to the display all worked ok, and the device would start up.
Alas, there are now a few glitches:
- the device feels quite slow (at least according to my wife... but maybe that is just subjective, now being used to much more modern devices)
- the device gets really warm (primarily on the middle of the right side, i.e. where the main board is located), even without any apps running, the battery also drains quite fast
- the left touch button (which on this device brings up the "task manager"/"app switcher") does not work. The right touch button ("back") works ok, as does the home button.
Everything else seems to work fine.
I disassembled everything twice, cleaned all connectors with alcohol, reassembled, same result. All connectors appear to be properly connected.
Any idea what could have gone wrong?
Needless to say, with that not-so-great result of my first repair attempts, I hesitate to work on anything more valuable than the S6...
Any hints welcome.
Regards
G

Welcome to XDA.
A connector pin may have been be damaged, inspect.
Do a factory reset and see what you got.
If that fails the mobo may have been damaged. Out of circuit they are suspectable to ESD damage. ESD protocols should be followed when doing repairs. At the very least raised the RH to 50% in the room.

Grummbeerbauer said:
Hi all,
(bloated battery had opened the back cover).
G
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It may not be your fault
The battery on my S7 swelled up a bit, so I got a new battery fitted, the shop had problems with the phone overheating so needed further testing. They had to replace the charging chip due to the battery swelling.

blackhawk said:
Welcome to XDA.
A connector pin may have been be damaged, inspect.
Do a factory reset and see what you got.
If that fails the mobo may have been damaged. Out of circuit they are suspectable to ESD damage. ESD protocols should be followed when doing repairs. At the very least raised the RH to 50% in the room.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was doing this on an ESD-safe matt, so that should be fine. Visually, the connectors are ok... but considering how small they are, I would probably need to check with a microscope (which I don't have... but I could try my macro lens.
There are two cable connectors with only two pins each (look a bit like mini koax connectors). The connect the charging board which also has the electronics for the touch buttons to the mobo. One appeared to have been squeezed, probably by the bloated battery. So I measured conductivity with a volt meter, they measured ok.
I guess I will write the device off... not worth to invest in more spare parts.
The S7, which I still like a lot , is a different thing. Would hate to break this, but the battery is nearly dead and might bloat anyway sooner or later. So on to the next test subject for my repair skills. ;-)

Grummbeerbauer said:
I was doing this on an ESD-safe matt, so that should be fine. Visually, the connectors are ok... but considering how small they are, I would probably need to check with a microscope (which I don't have... but I could try my macro lens.
There are two cable connectors with only two pins each (look a bit like mini koax connectors). The connect the charging board which also has the electronics for the touch buttons to the mobo. One appeared to have been squeezed, probably by the bloated battery. So I measured conductivity with a volt meter, they measured ok.
I guess I will write the device off... not worth to invest in more spare parts.
The S7, which I still like a lot , is a different thing. Would hate to break this, but the battery is nearly dead and might bloat anyway sooner or later. So on to the next test subject for my repair skills. ;-)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wear a wrist strap and make sure the room isn't dry. Wear cotton clothes. Static electricity is omnipresent. Nonconductive plastics are can build up a charge, even paper. Keeping the relative humidity above 40% is very important; just boil some water in the room if needed.
2-3x stereo magnification Optivisor probably do it. Very handy for detailed work.