I've got a brand new Desire S and I love it. Fast, smooth, responsive. Battery life (OK, over my total 2 days of ownership only!) has been brilliant - 9% drop overnight for example.
I'm about to return it.
Why? Because of one thing that makes it almost unusable.
I am, of course, referring to the "Grip of Death" - as per the iPhone 4.
There are a few oblique references to this on the net, but I can't find any detailed posts.
Some mention has been made about this only being a WiFi issue, and it is true that WiFi is badly affected. However I also see 3G signal drops when I hold the phone in portrait mode with my hand wrapping around the base (as most people would in normal "phone" use) - which is, of course, where the antenna is (incorporated into the battery cover)
The WiFi drops on mine are tragic - I can be 3 metres from an access point and if you hold the phone incorrectly (!) the WiFi signal drops out completely and you are on 3G data. Even if directly under the AP you can easily get the signal indicator to drop from full to under 50%.
However the 3G drops are also bad. In my flat, which has a good signal, I can get to one or zero bars of 3G signal just by picking up the phone.
So I have a phone that is unreliable in picking up calls, switches to 3G data when there is a perfectly good AP just nearby, and is basically, generally unreliable.
It's a shame because, apart from this, it's a brilliant little device.
Am I the only one affected this badly? Maybe I have a poor example?
I have a case arriving today to see if it will help. Otherwise it's back to the shop!
hmm..you are the first person to report a drop in 3g signal
can any one else confirm this?
or is it just that the OP got a defective unit?
(i am unable to test as i still dont have my device yet )
I'm wondering if only certain phones are affected. Engadget doesn't mention it and this review specifically says it isn't a problem. It is a mixed bag of responses from posters here. Is it possible that Techradar got an early review model and the problem has since been fixed? You think HTC would comment one way or another since this could affect sales.
Just tried it on my DS, but the death grip does not influence my 3G signal.
With wifi on, I manage to lose only a little bit of signal while holding it in such an unnatural way that it will never occur using it normally.
TheUndutchable said:
Just tried it on my DS, but the death grip does not influence my 3G signal.
With wifi on, I manage to lose only a little bit of signal while holding it in such an unnatural way that it will never occur using it normally.
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can you try covering the back of your device as much as you can with your hands & test the wifi & 3g signal?
it would be very helpful for us
Covered the back as much as I could, no problems with 3G, Wifi drops to zero...
TheUndutchable said:
Covered the back as much as I could, no problems with 3G, Wifi drops to zero...
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i am relived that there is no 3g signal drop
the wifi part is a bit depressing but i can manage without wifi...(but hope they fix it somehow)
@JonathonDesmond i think you got a defective unit try returning it for a new piece
& also tell us if the case helped
kartkk said:
i am relived that there is no 3g signal drop
the wifi part is a bit depressing but i can manage without wifi...(but hope they fix it somehow)
You will never hold the phone like I did when using the phone normally. I pressed some buttons with my nose
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kartkk said:
You will never hold the phone like I did when using the phone normally. I pressed some buttons with my nose
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lol
but i hope htc does something like give replacement battery covers which fix the issue..because that is the only hardware defect that people are exaggerating about..
Ok, a few tests, as long as I still have it:
Portrait mode:
No issues in normal one- or two-handed operation.
As soon as something, e. g. my hand, covers the top plastic part at the back the wifi signal goes from all bars down to the dot, or disconnects entirely. I'm not so sure about the mobile signal, some of the time it drops to about half the bars it's had before, but with a considerable delay, and it's a bit erratic at the best of times, so it might just as well be other (environmental) causes.
Landscape:
I really only do this two-handed, with the left hand holding the phone, fingers bunched behind it, thumb in front, covering the HTC logo and first few mm of the screen; the right hand operates and/or stabilizes the phone.
This instantly kills the wifi stone cold dead. 3G actually stayed the same or got better(!)
To sum up: wifi is badly affected to the point of uselessness, 3G doesn't seem to be.
hmm..
can you try the wifi again in landscape? this time without touching the aluminum part of the phone?
(dont cover the aluminum part with your hand or any other item)
kartkk said:
can you try the wifi again in landscape? this time without touching the aluminum part of the phone?
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Actually, I don't see how that would be possible? Covering the top plastic part without covering anything else, I mean. I tried a few contortions and nearly dropped it.
Care to elaborate?
it is a bit tricky i know (dont drop your phone trying lol)
how about putting on top of two books?(such that the books only touch the plastic )
i just want to know if it is the metal chassis which is causing this problem
Good thinking!
Desire S propped up on two stacks of books so that nothing touches the alu parts: all bars. (It did drop one bar from time to time, but that's just normal fluctuations, whereas putting it down on a desk or something reliably takes it down a notch.)
please people contact htc
mariu$ said:
please people contact htc
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Why? We arent't their QA department and I've no hopes of getting more than ... err ... yes, "You're holding it wrong." in soothing customer rep speak. Raising awareness of the issue is the best one can do, IMHO - once the tech mainstream press picks this up there's at least a chance of a fix. (That is, if one is actually possible, it might be a concession to the design.)
fallenguru said:
Why? We arent't their QA department and I've no hopes of getting more than ... err ... yes, "You're holding it wrong." in soothing customer rep speak. Raising awareness of the issue is the best one can do, IMHO - once the tech mainstream press picks this up there's at least a chance of a fix. (That is, if one is actually possible, it might be a concession to the design.)
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i'm in contact whit the HTC Dutch support desk. After a view mails whit the 1st line of support they send me to the technical support.
It looks like that they are doing there job.
i tried and tried and tried again... i couldnt find any sings of the grip of death!!
fallenguru said:
Good thinking!
Desire S propped up on two stacks of books so that nothing touches the alu parts: all bars. (It did drop one bar from time to time, but that's just normal fluctuations, whereas putting it down on a desk or something reliably takes it down a notch.)
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just as i thought it is the metal chasis....
i have heard that wifi has problems passing through metal...
if this really is the reason then i think nothing much can be done ...
can someone else also verify this?
just got phone and wifi definitely drops when held landscape
I just got a nice little email from verizon about corrosion on the charging port on a device I returned. Other than the fact since they put up a 4g tower and now my signal has gone from horrible to almost non-existent and poor GPS lock the phone worked fine. No charging issues. I wasn't going to send the phone back but the GPS lock on the replacement was much better and I thought switching would rule out a hardware issue.
The phone had no damage, the inner stickers were fine because it was never in water. The only thing that might have happened is that since I have to go outside in order to make a call I have been out in the rain in order to use my phone as a phone. I have never had an issue with past phones so I didn't expect to have any issues. I have a complaint in about the corrosion and the port is not affected in any way. Charging and data isn't a problem at all. I have been seeing massive battery drain but I also see it with the GF's droid charge because the phone is constantly searching for signal. The battery drain is also present on the new S3 as well to the point I ordered 2 new OEM batteries in case that was the issue.
Now I'm possibly out $300 and no device to show for that $300 just because I thought replacing the phone I preordered might help my case with the piss poor service I have been getting lately. Has anyone been hit with this before and what was the result? Honestly they just need to send me a range extender. I refuse to pay for one seeing as their change to the network is what caused the signal drop. The droid charge is experiencing worse signal as well.
Not pleased.
Farabomb said:
I just got a nice little email from verizon about corrosion on the charging port on a device I returned. Other than the fact since they put up a 4g tower and now my signal has gone from horrible to almost non-existent and poor GPS lock the phone worked fine. No charging issues. I wasn't going to send the phone back but the GPS lock on the replacement was much better and I thought switching would rule out a hardware issue.
The phone had no damage, the inner stickers were fine because it was never in water. The only thing that might have happened is that since I have to go outside in order to make a call I have been out in the rain in order to use my phone as a phone. I have never had an issue with past phones so I didn't expect to have any issues. I have a complaint in about the corrosion and the port is not affected in any way. Charging and data isn't a problem at all. I have been seeing massive battery drain but I also see it with the GF's droid charge because the phone is constantly searching for signal. The battery drain is also present on the new S3 as well to the point I ordered 2 new OEM batteries in case that was the issue.
Now I'm possibly out $300 and no device to show for that $300 just because I thought replacing the phone I preordered might help my case with the piss poor service I have been getting lately. Has anyone been hit with this before and what was the result? Honestly they just need to send me a range extender. I refuse to pay for one seeing as their change to the network is what caused the signal drop. The droid charge is experiencing worse signal as well.
Not pleased.
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Why don't you talk to a Verizon rep directly? I think your story sounds very reasonable and should be considered normal phone use.
Maybe explaining to them that corrosion is a natural process and out of general control of human manipulation might sway them a bit?? It just seems so nit-picking at that point.
If you explain to them there was no inclination that the phone was damaged and that was not the reason you sent it back, they should take that into consideration.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
Well I ended up having to pay $99 for an insurance claim instead of $300 for the "defective" device. I'm still not 100% happy seeing as it was normal use and the low res, crappy photo didn't prove to me that there was any issue with the phone.
I have never had an issue returning a phone before.
I still don't get a decent signal in my house and after this I won't even consider paying for a range extender.
Because I love my new Nexus 5 so much, I "had" to go swimming with it for about 10 mins until I *realized* it's not water-proof. :silly:
Anyway, I opened it up and did my best to save it. And it boots up and functions again. :victory: However, there are three sequels:
1. LCD display shows water streaks in the background and the contrast is bad but can still see;
2. The vertical center line of the touch sensor doesn't seem to work; Elsewhere works fine;
3. Very weak WiFi reception and hardly be able to connect to any wifi network unless it's in the proximity of the router.
The first two problems can be "easily" fixed by replacing a new digitizer/screen assembly. But the #3 is the most critical issue. If it's not fixable, this phone is pretty much useless to me.
I've read that many people complained about the weak wifi issue on Nexus 5. But mine was very good and always had strong signal before it went swimming. I've tried cleaning up the WiFi/BT circuits and even made sure to have the WiFi/BT antenna on the back cover to have good contact with the contact pin on the main board. But still got weak reception.
Has anyone had similar issue and how to fix weak wifi reception problem? Or where can I get it fixed?
Thanks a bunch!
Hi guys, I'm struggling to get a decent signal on my OPO.
3g barely works, I get 4mbps DOWN and 1mpbs UP when I'm lucky but most of the time it just doesn't work.
I'm using the latest official LOS 15.1 Rom and I tried all the modems in this page: https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-one/general/firmware-modem-oneplus-one-t3462214 but they all resulted in the same problem.
I've also tried many other ROMs, downgraded to stock cm13s, but nothing seems to work.
The opo is now 4 yrs. old but I feel it could live for so much longer if I can fix this problem.
Does anyone know the cause of this problem?
Have you taken it apart and ensured that the antenna is tightly connected?
And that note, the antenna itself might need to be reseated just to provide a better connection to begin with.
moe6 said:
Have you taken it apart and ensured that the antenna is tightly connected?
And that note, the antenna itself might need to be reseated just to provide a better connection to begin with.
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I just did that but it didn't improve. I can't really tell if the antenna pin is making contact with the antenna when I'm putting the backcover on, but I noticed that the battery is a bit puffy, is it normal?
I had a broken battery and replaced it. The old was very puffy and my Phone did not even charge any more. But after the replacement i got Signal issues. Maybe i damaged something? And so did you?
nik012003 said:
I just did that but it didn't improve. I can't really tell if the antenna pin is making contact with the antenna when I'm putting the backcover on, but I noticed that the battery is a bit puffy, is it normal?
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Discontinue use IMMEDIATELY. A puffy/swollen battery indicates that there is an internal leak in the battery and can be dangerous. Do not risk it, turn it off, do not use it and replace the battery (or have the battery replaced). It is possible that the battery is creating pressure somewhere or is causing something to slightly disconnect and that may be the cause of the issue. It can also simply be another problem, this varies from phone to phone.
Yes, it was the antenna connector. After disconnecting all cables from the mainboard and lifting it up i was able to connect the antenna back. Now i have perfect signal and a New battery (which needs to be calibrated some how now).
Hello!
My display from my Mi Note 10 broke a few days ago, so I ordered a replacement screen with the frame.
After I reassembled the phone in the new frame, the display worked fine.
But I noticed that my wifi signal was very weak. I had to be next to my router to get a full signal.
The GPS is also not working.
The mobile data is working normally. Only the wifi and GPS are not working.
I don't think I broke the antenna cable.
I think there is a missing connection/contact between the motherboard and the frame. So it can use the frame as antenna.
If someone could help me to solve this, I would be very grateful!
Thanks!
Spieleheinie said:
Hello!
My display from my Mi Note 10 broke a few days ago, so I ordered a replacement screen with the frame.
After I reassembled the phone in the new frame, the display worked fine.
But I noticed that my wifi signal was very weak. I had to be next to my router to get a full signal.
The GPS is also not working.
The mobile data is working normally. Only the wifi and GPS are not working.
I don't think I broke the antenna cable.
I think there is a missing connection/contact between the motherboard and the frame. So it can use the frame as antenna.
If someone could help me to solve this, I would be very grateful!
Thanks!
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Click to collapse
Have you figured it out or not?
Exactly that same issue.
Kinda interesting that it worked for quite some time after the replacement. But i have an antenna cable to blame, thought. During assembly process i accidentally broke it. I'm not sure whether that is the true reason. I tried to twist my phone, but it didn't work.
Also i tried to swap antenna cable (longer one) from P30Pro, and it didn't once again!
I'm running out of suspects now. I want to know where the GPS antenna is located. Is that a small board at the very top left?
P.S. Almost a year passed
Pls anybody..
I'm going nuts with this thing already. I checked everything i could : i used another antenna cable (white colored) i cleaned all the contacts i removed that small antenna at the top and nothing changed at all. I'm starting to get nervous because it might actually end up digging a half of the mobo...