Database Info

[Q] 3 Mic holes on the backshell?

Regarding the 3 small holes on the back of the Sensation.
My guess is 2 mics for stereo recording with video and one for noise cancellation for calls.
Any case that blocks these, like the TPU from Amzer, would be a fail.
Is that the purpose of the 3 small holes on the backshell?

As far as I can tell they are for noise cancellation, but sounds feasible to be for recordings.

I thought they are there for the antennas....

Should be easy to figure out. I would but I don't have a Sensation yet.
Block one with something like a piece of tape. Record a video and see if you loose a channel. Repeat the same process for the other 2. If you loose right audio on one, left audio on another an nothing on the third, first two would be for stereo audio and 3rd for noise cancellation.

Antenna! Take the cover off and lose all signal... The hole are how the metal tags are connected to the case, kind of like riveted to the case. Looks like one deliberate hole near the speaker though

Neville.Holland said:
Antenna! Take the cover off and lose all signal... The hole are how the metal tags are connected to the case, kind of like riveted to the case. Looks like one deliberate hole near the speaker though
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Ok. Of course we know the antennas are built into the backshell.
Although, have you ever seen a phone with holes for the antenna?

if you look at the pics at the bottom of this review it'll confirm that their for the rivets holding the antenna contacts. also seems the US version has 1 more contact point than the EU version, by the speaker.
http://www.slashgear.com/t-mobile-sensation-4g-review-03156640/
my question is where would the second mic be?

Yup I can confirm the there are two holes that hold the connectors for the antenna (or at least the two coppery parts on the cover. The one near the speaker is just a hole, with plastic underneath it, can't say for sure if this is for a second mic that makes the video stereo..

atticus182 said:
Yup I can confirm the there are two holes that hold the connectors for the antenna (or at least the two coppery parts on the cover. The one near the speaker is just a hole, with plastic underneath it, can't say for sure if this is for a second mic that makes the video stereo..
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in the link I posted you can see on the US version that one is also used for an antenna connection. I wonder why the US version has 1 more connection than the EU one.

even the standard HTC produced Sensation rubber cover I bought from the TMO store has all those holes covered except for the one near the camera lense. If I had to guess, I'd say the other holes are purely for the antenna anchors, while the anchor for the lense is also a hole for a mic. That one could certainly be for noise cancellation during phone calls while doubling as a mic for the right stereo channel

If you take off the back cover you can see where every hole is, there is a corresponding antenna anchor point... Why is this in debate?
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA App

6 holes in the backcover...
There are 6 holes total in the back cover of the T-Mo version of the HTS Sensation. I can confirm that the rubber cover I bought at a T-Mo store covers every one of those holes except for the one above the camera lens.
Taking the cover off I can see most of them are just anchor connections for the antenna contacts.

xnifex said:
in the link I posted you can see on the US version that one is also used for an antenna connection. I wonder why the US version has 1 more connection than the EU one.
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Because US one is 4G, maybe?

tinky1 said:
Because US one is 4G, maybe?
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It's not really 4G, it's HSPA+ like the EU. Yay marketing

I spoke to HTC support and they clarified that obviously they are there for the antennas and also as air vents. The one above the camera and at the very bottom are mics. 2 for stereo recording.
They did say that all holes should be uncovered. Ironic, since the Body Glove case I bought at TMo covers up 4 of the holes, while many online I've noticed do indeed leave those hole uncovered.

Interesting about the air vents. I also have the Body Glove case as well and all the other cases at T-mobile have all the holes covered except the Mic above the camera.
I believe the case mate case actually covers every hole.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using Tapatalk

Cases without proper holes cutouts..important?

Hello,
I want to buy a sensation case but it does not have the proper hole cutcuts on the back. The only cutouts the case has are the camera and the speaker.
if any of you are using a case with only these 2 cutouts, could you tell me if phone signal, 4g signal, mic, speaker, etc or anything else are affected?
greatly appreciated

i havent had a problem with them after on week of use, but just to be safe, i drilled holes where they should be

Solidus_n313 said:
i havent had a problem with them after on week of use, but just to be safe, i drilled holes where they should be
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thanks for the reply, but if you drilled the holes then your case does have all the cutouts

it does now, but for the first week, i didnt have any issues...
i just did it cuz i was bored, and more as a precaution just in case...
mind you i never used the gps or wifi w/o holes...but i bought the 2 pack, one black (drilled), one opaque white (stock)...if you want, i can check the performance, but as it stands, there was no difference...
ive heard that all cases w/o holes are going to be discontinued, but that may have just been verbal diareah in the sensation thread :/

The only sensible answer is it depends on the case material. For any given case the only way to know is to try it. If it works then fine. If not, then drill holes if they're covered.
HTC says the holes should be uncovered, but none of us know exactly why. For a mic it's pretty obvious. For the others who knows. But drilling is easy and cheap, so for most cases a fix shouldn't be a problem.

c19932 said:
Hello,
I want to buy a sensation case but it does not have the proper hole cutcuts on the back. The only cutouts the case has are the camera and the speaker.
if any of you are using a case with only these 2 cutouts, could you tell me if phone signal, 4g signal, mic, speaker, etc or anything else are affected?
greatly appreciated
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Does anyone know what the holes actually do?

isharma said:
Does anyone know what the holes actually do?
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I haven't seen a diagram showing the function of each one. Some are mics, either for input or noise cancellation. Others are likely antenna related. It's hard to imagine that HTC would go to the trouble of putting them there if they don't serve a useful purpose. Covering some or all may not cause big problems, but it's not likely to help either.

I have the official Tmobile silicone case and it doesn't have any cutout for the little holes...and it seems to be just fine.

govtcheez said:
I have the official Tmobile silicone case and it doesn't have any cutout for the little holes...and it seems to be just fine.
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I think I have the same case. Except mine does have one hole cutout above the camera.
Here's my observations that I posted in another thread:
moto211 said:
I've been noticing that most of the cases that are available only have the hole above the camera, even the ones sold by T-Mobile. So, it got me wondering, do the other holes serve any purpose? I took the back cover off and can immediately tell that the hole above the camera serves a purpose since it has a grommeted pass through in the inside housing. So, its good that every case I've seen has that hole cut out. The other four holes have no pass through and appear to only be there as rivet/mount points for the antenna contacts. So, after seeing that, I'm less concerned that even reputable manufacturers like otterbox are not including the other four holes that seemingly serve no active function.
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Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA Premium App

The hole above camera is noise cancelling mic,that is the only important hole,so I had to drill it on my Case Mate Tough.They were the first proper company with hard case for Sensation,so they rushed a little bit with design,others like Otterbox and Seidio are making cases with that hole only.

Guys, EM radiation passes through silicone and plastic. There should be no need for holes on those materials. If you had a case made of metal, then you would need MORE than a hole anyways as EM radiation doesnt radiate in rays...Go into your bathroom and close the door. Plenty of material to be in the way of the EM radiation that is your signal. Still can make calls?
Also, there is no noise cancellation mic. There is no noise cancellation at all on this phone. The second mic is for stereo sound recording. I know alot of you wont agree, but looking up the specs, I found no mention of noise cancellation. (Only stereo sound recording).
If there were noise cancellation, people wouldnt complain about me being in the wind while talking to them. ;-)
Matt

Hmm if i'm not mistaken, two of them are for ventilation, one for noise cancellation mic, and the rest are for the antennas, the one for antennas has no use though, its only there to fasten the connectors.

Buzzing sound when taking calls

Hi, I've been lurking the dev section for about six months and have a rooted ds which has sampled many of the great roms available but it has developed an issue, when I make or receive a call the buzzing/vibration makes it difficult to hear the other person. When I look at the grill covering the ear speaker it looks like I can see debris behind it glistening which makes me think metal filings? This would be consistant with me working with metal in my job and accumulating filings/flakes in my pockets. Any ideas how I can get them out guys?
Thanks.
Sent from my Desire S using XDA App

The only thing i can think of without dismantling the phone, is to turn it off, take the battery out, then pass a stronger magnet than the one in the speaker, over the grill. It may take some time but maybe you could coax them out that way. Unless the filings are non ferrous of course. In which case it may need taking apart.
Sent from my HTC Desire S using xda premium

I may have to give that a try, would the magnet not damage the phone? What I don't understand is how they got in there as there are two that can be seen that are about 2-3 mm in size.
Sent from my Desire S using XDA App

randombirt said:
I may have to give that a try, would the magnet not damage the phone? What I don't understand is how they got in there as there are two that can be seen that are about 2-3 mm in size.
Sent from my Desire S using XDA App
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I can't guarantee what effect the magnet would have, which is why I would turn phone off and remove battery first. The speaker itself has a magnet in as all speakers do, so in theory there should be nothing in that area of the phone that is susceptible to magetic ill effects.
If there are pieces in there too large to come back through the grill then the magnet is not going to be any good. I'd guess they've found their way in through the headphone socket then.
In which case I'd recommend taking it to a phone shop to be dismantled and cleaned out, else you'll be limited to using a hands-free kit or the speaker phone to taking calls. Plus the last thing you want are metal filings rattling around a circuit board! I know it's closing the gate after the horse has bolted, but if you get it cleaned out, I'd recommend getting this case...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Otterbox-Commuter-Case-HTC-Desire/dp/B0043QE6SE
It offers fantastic protection, and features rubber plugs to cover the USB and headphone sockets which will prevent the phone getting full of bits from your pocket again.

Ok, thanks for the advice
Sent from my Desire S using XDA App

Replacement GPS antennas/Flash covers?

I'm asking this because my GPS is frankly awful and I accidentally broke the GPS cover by melting it when solder was being put on the existing contacts.
Does anyone know where to get the Inspire 4G GPS covers? The Desire HD ones are nearly identical, but they lack the hole for the noise canceling microphone.

When the Inspire first came out there were issues with the covers and HTC was shipping them out for free. Do a search in the forum. Contact HTC and tell them your covers are trashed.

I have no experience with this supplier...
http://www.all4cellular.com/htc-inspire-4g-battery-door-and-sim-cover.html

Picsman said:
I have no experience with this supplier...
http://www.all4cellular.com/htc-inspire-4g-battery-door-and-sim-cover.html
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Those are different. The cover I'm looking for is where the LED flash is. You have to pop it out with a tool reaching into the battery compartment.
I bought a set of the 3 covers on the phone, hopefully the GPS cover is the right one and has the hole for a noise-cancelling mic.

Hunt3r.j2 said:
has the hole for a noise-cancelling mic.
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One word- dremel

try ebay you can get anything on there

kimtyson said:
One word- dremel
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I'm frankly not even sure if the Desire HD variant of the GPS cover is made in such a way that permits this to be done.

Just did some looking around and some experimentation. I think this is going to be the best course of action for an OEM-looking hole:
1. Find a paper clip that will cleanly go through the existing noise canceling hole. It shouldn't be too thin, but just about right.
2. Straighten out the paperclip so you get a nice straight section to work with.
3. Get a lighter or a gas stove and heat up the paper clip for a few seconds to get the straight section heated up enough to let you punch through the plastic without melting it completely.
4. There's a hole in the clear plastic where the LED flash connects to the black plastic, where the Inspire has a hole that goes cleanly through for it's noise canceling mic. Try to drive the paper clip wire clear through the hole, and make it straight. Hopefully there's enough heat for you to get a clean, smooth hole that looks like OEM.
I've taken a look at the dremel tools I have, and they are all definitely way too big for making a hole like this.

[Q] Speaker module

My N5 just got dropped in a wet place (definitely wasn't the toilet!). I grabbed it real quick and switched it off.
I have taken the back panel off to dry it out (will leave for several days before I touch it again).
When prising off the back panel, I have damaged one of the contacts on what appears to be the speaker module.
Can anyone tell me what the metal strip in the attached is connected to? Is it the mic?
Thanks.

I have just discovered it's part of the antenna loop.
Any bright ideas of what I can repair it with?
And which antenna is it (it's the one with the black wire on the right hand side when viewed from the rear).

krs360 said:
I have just discovered it's part of the antenna loop.
Any bright ideas of what I can repair it with?
And which antenna is it (it's the one with the black wire on the right hand side when viewed from the rear).
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The little one is 2G/3G I think. The bigger one is 4G/LTE I think.
I'd really love to know to fix this too...a blob of solder? A strip of tin foil? No idea!
The metal strip on the outside of the speaker module has come away on mine too when removing the back cover...only a very small section because I noticed and tried to minimise damage.

tedrogers61 said:
The little one is 2G/3G I think. The bigger one is 4G/LTE I think.
I'd really love to know to fix this too...a blob of solder? A strip of tin foil? No idea!
The metal strip on the outside of the speaker module has come away on mine too when removing the back cover...only a very small section because I noticed and tried to minimise damage.
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It didn't make any difference to my signal when I had it like that.
For other reasons though, I replaced the speaker module. This was really easy and the part was really cheap. Probably the easiest way to repair it.

Thanks. That's really good to know re: no loss of signal.
I can confirm this too...I had no loss of signal either, even with a large part of the foil strip missing.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app