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[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

5 holes on back cover?

So I've been trying to figure out what all the holes on the back are for. I'm sure one is a Mic but what about the rest? Thanks
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA App

The one at the very bottom is a mic hole The 2 towards the bottom and the 3 one the top are rivet holes for the antenna connections holes but the one on the very top also acts as a hole for the stereo mic and noise cancellation. .

broken89 said:
The one at the very bottom is a mic hole The 2 towards the bottom and the 3 one the top are rivet holes for the antenna connections holes but the one on the very top also acts as a hole for the stereo mic and noise cancellation. .
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Thanks!
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA App

The 2 holes towards the bottom of the case seem unnecessary, leading me to believe that they could potentially be a water detection system. In the event that the phone gets dropped in water, these two holes would be some of the first areas to get wet, it would be pretty easy to detect a short between the two pins and disable the electronics inside if such a situation is detected, possibly saving your device from permanent damage.
Now I haven't tested this theory, mainly because I wouldn't want the device to log such a situation if that is how it works, but it would be relatively simple to test if anyone is willing to give it a go .

Most holes on back are where the copper connectors are under the cover..
Breathing holes I assume..

this topic has been covered a plethora of times!

smashpunks said:
Most holes on back are where the copper connectors are under the cover..
Breathing holes I assume..
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Exactly...
I contacted HTC the day I got this phone....
Straight from the horses mouth....they are antenna rivets AND vent holes.

why is that ??? why holes ?? i havnt seen this sh*t on any other phone!!!!
thats ugly

B-Man2005 said:
why is that ??? why holes ?? i havnt seen this sh*t on any other phone!!!!
thats ugly
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And this is why I suggested that perhaps they may be specifically designed for water detection, it would be trivial to have the hardware shut itself off if there is no resistance between the two leads to prevent permanent water damage... Just my two cents.

so, couldn't someone put a paper clip or needle in there whilst the cover is on the phone to see if it turns it off?

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.

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.

Moto G back case, doesn't fit flush? (btw, they are in stock in some tesco extra's)

Hey,
just got the 16GB from tesco.
When I opened it, (factory sealed box), the case was not clipped all the way on, and the top edge was open a bit. I opened it properly, from the bottom as instructed. Sim car already in, so clipped case on.
Basically there is 1mm gap, right next to the headphone jack and microphone on top of the phone. So, I took case off and had a look. The body has a space for an extra clip next to microphone, but the back case misses this one out (presumably to make room for rubber bit on microphone). I had a look at the pink case in the box, this also misses this clip.
Do other peoples phones case sit tight and flush on the top edge? or is my phone maybe wonky!! I worried the numpty who put the tesco sim in has distorted the chasis, or I just have been unlucky.. Its pretty minor, but its dust access so would prefer a tight fit!
FYI, there stock systems are screwed for xmas. Says out of stock everywhere, including when you phone up the store. I went to a tesco Extra, it had lots and lots in stock. Same price as Tesco direct. So, if you still want one for £129, 16GB. Get to your nearest tesco extra, you may well get one if they have a phoneshop instore.

helppme said:
Hey,
just got the 16GB from tesco.
When I opened it, (factory sealed box), the case was not clipped all the way on, and the top edge was open a bit. I opened it properly, from the bottom as instructed. Sim car already in, so clipped case on.
Basically there is 1mm gap, right next to the headphone jack and microphone on top of the phone. So, I took case off and had a look. The body has a space for an extra clip next to microphone, but the back case misses this one out (presumably to make room for rubber bit on microphone). I had a look at the pink case in the box, this also misses this clip.
Do other peoples phones case sit tight and flush on the top edge? or is my phone maybe wonky!! I worried the numpty who put the tesco sim in has distorted the chasis, or I just have been unlucky.. Its pretty minor, but its dust access so would prefer a tight fit!
FYI, there stock systems are screwed for xmas. Says out of stock everywhere, including when you phone up the store. I went to a tesco Extra, it had lots and lots in stock. Same price as Tesco direct. So, if you still want one for £129, 16GB. Get to your nearest tesco extra, you may well get one if they have a phoneshop instore.
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The gap is there to allow leverage to get the back cover off. It's annoying that dust can get caught there but it would be a nightmare to remove it if there were no gap. I've had four now from various Tesco stores and they all have this gap, so no need to worry. Just clean out the dust now and again.

I had one which shipped with the case split open like you describe when I first opened it (also 16GB from Tesco).
That phone had a creaky back case - particularly noticeable applying slight pressure to the corner near the speaker. On looking at it I could see the clip on the front of the phone (not the back) was slightly too large, and so you wouldn't be able to fix it with a new back.
Phone went back as it also had a dead pixel in middle of the screen.
I think that the small plastic clips on the front part of the phone can be damaged by not taking the rear of the phone off carefully enough. If they are damaged your phone will always have a loose back, so best not to remove the back too often.

Yes mine is the same and annoyingly someone has used this gap to try and remove the backplate causing it to split at the microphone opening. (2nd hand phone).
So I suggest always removing the backplate from the microUSB end as these are not the sturdiest of backplates.

michael-jb said:
Yes mine is the same and annoyingly someone has used this gap to try and remove the backplate causing it to split at the microphone opening. (2nd hand phone).
So I suggest always removing the backplate from the microUSB end as these are not the sturdiest of backplates.
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The phones from Tesco include a one page leaflet telling you to put your thumb on the moto logo on the rear and peel it up from the USB, definitely not from the top.
Seeing how flimsy the back is I personally crack open the bottom at the micro USB and then run my fingernail around the gap to pop the back off all the way. The hardest bit to release is the corner above the buttons, which is also where the rear of the case is weakest.

jfinnie said:
The phones from Tesco include a one page leaflet telling you to put your thumb on the moto logo on the rear and peel it up from the USB, definitely not from the top.
Seeing how flimsy the back is I personally crack open the bottom at the micro USB and then run my fingernail around the gap to pop the back off all the way. The hardest bit to release is the corner above the buttons, which is also where the rear of the case is weakest.
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yea this is how I remove mine. The gap at the top is definitely not there to aid removal of the back. You start from the bottom like you say,
I actually swapped the black back for the pink one included. it fits much much tighter at the top so I think the back can be distorted on poor removal. The downside is I now have a pink phone until I get a replacement
cheers for the responses guys. Good to know its not a problem with my phone as such, just a design quirk..

just got a 16 GB XT1032 from US and i have this same kind of gap in between the body parts on the right side of the audio jack, when the display is facing ground. i freaked out when i found this out. i really expected perfect finishing from motorola.
did someone figure out why is this werid 1mm gap is there or some way to fix it?

Hi guys! I just bought my Moto G from Romania, 16 gb dual sim. Well, today I notice a tiny gap at the right side of the screen, between screen and plastic body. Did anyone else had something similar? The phone it's just great, but I'm a little worried because maybe dust can enter under the screen. I did'nt dropped or something, I just noticed today in the bright light. Thank you

There's no gap in mine. Are you guys making sure that your back cover is completely "snapped" on on all of its sides?
Sent from my XT1034 using Tapatalk

Picture to confirm problem
Hi,
I too have this problem.
Posting a picture