Guest justinh2 Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 Hiyas. I was looking into this today mostly out of curiosity & I found another solution. My phone hasn't had the best wifi signal quality from the word go but I'd more or less put that down to the hardware being a bit crap - well the phone is dead cheap so you gets what you pay for etc.. But no. I dismantled the phone and started looking at the contacts. After blowing away a load of pocket fluff I tried bending the antenna contacts up a little to see if it improved signal levels reported by Wifi Analyser. There was no improvement that way but I did notice an increase of approx 15dB when I touched the wifi antenna area with a fingertip. (That's the bit just below the USB socket when the phone is face down - there's a small hole approx. 4mm high by 1mm across). Intrigued, I had a close look at the microstrip antenna attached to the plastic under-cover bit & saw what looked like a hairline crack in one part of it. I looked under the microscope in our lab at work & saw that there was an actual crack where the self adhesive material the antenna is printed on, is folded across the 4x1mm hole to the outside. So, I carefully blobbed a tiny bit of solder across the crack with a soldering iron & tried wifi analyser again. RESULT! :huh: Wifi Analyser was reporting at least 15dB signal improvement - ie. -50db ish vs -65db or so - gaining me at least one extra signal bar in the monitor applet. So, it seems possible that my phone won't be the only one which suffers from a damaged wifi antenna & it's likely that other microstrip antennas are prone to this sort of problem too. I wouldn't recommend using solder to fix hairline cracks in the connections - I'd be more inclined to use conductive paint but I didn't have any of that with me today. I don't know the ins & outs of how microstrip antennas work but there's a lot more going on than just electrical connectivity. From the contact area the strip forks off into 2 thin strips as it passes through the hole in the casing & then goes back into one solid piece on top. This 'fork' must be some kind of tuning effort or something, and having a tiny crack in it was affecting the antenna's performance. I'd post a pic of the microstrip repair before & after if I could, but taking pics through a microscope isn't something I'm cut out for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Artales Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 Looks like there may be several physical factors contributing to a poor signal and perhaps also the ROM. I've lifted the contacts three times now so I reckon I'm running out of chances. For about 30mins (or less) I get a great improvement as can be seen in my earlier photos and then it fades away. At least I'm getting three bars in the same room as the router now, I wasn't getting that before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest snapuz Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 Hiyas. I was looking into this today mostly out of curiosity & I found another solution. My phone hasn't had the best wifi signal quality from the word go but I'd more or less put that down to the hardware being a bit crap - well the phone is dead cheap so you gets what you pay for etc.. But no. I dismantled the phone and started looking at the contacts. After blowing away a load of pocket fluff I tried bending the antenna contacts up a little to see if it improved signal levels reported by Wifi Analyser. There was no improvement that way but I did notice an increase of approx 15dB when I touched the wifi antenna area with a fingertip. (That's the bit just below the USB socket when the phone is face down - there's a small hole approx. 4mm high by 1mm across). Intrigued, I had a close look at the microstrip antenna attached to the plastic under-cover bit & saw what looked like a hairline crack in one part of it. I looked under the microscope in our lab at work & saw that there was an actual crack where the self adhesive material the antenna is printed on, is folded across the 4x1mm hole to the outside. So, I carefully blobbed a tiny bit of solder across the crack with a soldering iron & tried wifi analyser again. RESULT! :( Wifi Analyser was reporting at least 15dB signal improvement - ie. -50db ish vs -65db or so - gaining me at least one extra signal bar in the monitor applet. So, it seems possible that my phone won't be the only one which suffers from a damaged wifi antenna & it's likely that other microstrip antennas are prone to this sort of problem too. I wouldn't recommend using solder to fix hairline cracks in the connections - I'd be more inclined to use conductive paint but I didn't have any of that with me today. I don't know the ins & outs of how microstrip antennas work but there's a lot more going on than just electrical connectivity. From the contact area the strip forks off into 2 thin strips as it passes through the hole in the casing & then goes back into one solid piece on top. This 'fork' must be some kind of tuning effort or something, and having a tiny crack in it was affecting the antenna's performance. I'd post a pic of the microstrip repair before & after if I could, but taking pics through a microscope isn't something I'm cut out for. I have the both issues : poor wifi and the connection/reconnection issue..plus I' m in italy so i cannot ask any refund :( however I like this phone and I'm going to fix it ! So now i'm asking to you photos or any suggestions that can help me to solve this trouble. I have also noticed the increased signal , just pressing, as you said, below the USB socket but i don't understand which microstrip was cracked.. One thing more: I notice a copper film attached inside the case just under the mentioned area..do you think wifi's frame must touch this contact or not? Maybe isn't enough close.. and maybe you can explain it..thank you and sorry for my english S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest g-rasshopper Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 I have the both issues : poor wifi and the connection/reconnection issue..plus I' m in italy so i cannot ask any refund :( however I like this phone and I'm going to fix it ! So now i'm asking to you photos or any suggestions that can help me to solve this trouble. I have also noticed the increased signal , just pressing, as you said, below the USB socket but i don't understand which microstrip was cracked.. One thing more: I notice a copper film attached inside the case just under the mentioned area..do you think wifi's frame must touch this contact or not? Maybe isn't enough close.. and maybe you can explain it..thank you and sorry for my english S. Hi snapuz, I upgraded my phone's stock ROM to FLB-Froyo G2 a few days ago and I haven't had any connection/reconnection issues since that time. However, my phone's wi-fi signal strength is still unsatisfactory. Can you tell me how your SF's wi-fi signal strength compares with mine (link)? I'm trying to gauge whether my phone is actually faulty or whether all SFs suffer from poor wi-fi reception. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest snapuz Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 Hi snapuz, I upgraded my phone's stock ROM to FLB-Froyo G2 a few days ago and I haven't had any connection/reconnection issues since that time. However, my phone's wi-fi signal strength is still unsatisfactory. Can you tell me how your SF's wi-fi signal strength compares with mine (link)? I'm trying to gauge whether my phone is actually faulty or whether all SFs suffer from poor wi-fi reception. Thanks hy g rasshopper Without the back cover few inches -40 dB 2 meters -65 , 5 meters -80,nothing into the other room :( but then I improved the signal with a little piece of paper, I have put it on the wi-fi area so now i think is pushing a little bit more than before. Now I get 10 dB more,plus or minus. In my opinion is an hw issue.. And now i have to try other rom.. crossing the fingers. Snapuz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest snapuz Posted March 9, 2011 Report Share Posted March 9, 2011 Hi snapuz, I upgraded my phone's stock ROM to FLB-Froyo G2 a few days ago and I haven't had any connection/reconnection issues since that time. However, my phone's wi-fi signal strength is still unsatisfactory. Can you tell me how your SF's wi-fi signal strength compares with mine (link)? I'm trying to gauge whether my phone is actually faulty or whether all SFs suffer from poor wi-fi reception. Thanks Hi grasshopper i'm testing FLB froyo g2 r10 ... untill now is perfect.. no more co/reconnections and I have a stronger wifi signal ...'till now.. it's ok. I'll check the new wifi signal as soon as possible but for sure now is much better.. thank's to everybody S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest g-rasshopper Posted March 9, 2011 Report Share Posted March 9, 2011 hy g rasshopper Without the back cover few inches -40 dB 2 meters -65 , 5 meters -80,nothing into the other room :( but then I improved the signal with a little piece of paper, I have put it on the wi-fi area so now i think is pushing a little bit more than before. Now I get 10 dB more,plus or minus. In my opinion is an hw issue.. And now i have to try other rom.. crossing the fingers. Snapuz That's quite a big difference. My understanding is that decibels are a logarithmic unit of measurement. So a -20dBm signal is going to be a lot more than twice as powerful as a 40dBm signal. Given that my phone's reception is borderline unacceptable, I'd say your phone definitely has a hardware fault. However, it's interesting that flashing a new ROM appears to have increased your signal strength. I didn't really notice a definite improvement with mine, although it's hard to be totally objective as I didn't try wi-fi analyser with the old ROM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BenOSF Posted March 20, 2011 Report Share Posted March 20, 2011 Hello everybody! Fix didn't work for me: Pushed up all those contacts but wifi's still poor... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest eLJay Posted March 20, 2011 Report Share Posted March 20, 2011 The only WiFi and secure WiFi that worked on my phone is when I tried the cyanogenmod, and once I moved up to the nightly build I got to play angry birds as well. Worth a try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest shikabala Posted March 24, 2011 Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 I'VE GOT THE SOLUTION!!!! Just push up all that tiny damned contacts on the phone and everything turns ok! They are the connection to the microstrip antennas on the back of the phone. I don't know the location of bluetooth/wifi chipset (I believe it's the one on the top left). I've just pushed up all the contacts for not having any doubt :D. I did it very gently with a plastic screwdriver. Now I've got full wifi bars in the router's room and a stronger signal all over the house! Bluetooth headset now works great! I'm so excited!!!! :D The only problem about this fix is that you need to remove the little white sticker on the top right screw, and I believe that this will invalidate warranty. I put it back where it was after I operated on the contacts...seems to be ok, but It also seems to be reproducible with another common white sticker if It's really a problem for warranty. Anyway, tomorrow I'll compare my phone with my friend's one, that has no reception problems, using Wifi Analyzer. This will be the definitive test for the solution. Thanks for the picture, Kennyli! It opened my mind! :( Oh yeah!!!!!!! It really worked i still can' believe it!!! Just do it gently in order not to brake the little contacts!!! Thanks guys it really was an issue all this thing about wifi signal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest geezerone Posted April 2, 2011 Report Share Posted April 2, 2011 I am in two minds still about whether the SF I have is worth returning. Until last week even right next to AP I got 2 bars max and leaving room and downstairs one dot/nothing. Then I was going to change the SF at Argos but after I removed all data off the SD card and tried again I could get 3 bars next/close to AP but compared to a Galaxy Ace which gets about one bar more typically I still get one dot in next room/downstairs. Using stock ROM but will change perhaps. Need to backup all apps/games still incl. Angry birds and World war etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest geezerone Posted April 4, 2011 Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 Returned to Argos and has to be repaired. Really expected replacement but guess it's about who serves you and not just the shop. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lukas Fischer Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 More like a hardware problem! There are 2 contact points missing on the antenna! See attached! You are my hero! I gently opened it restoring the small white seal sticker afterwards, one of the contacts was totally bent sideways, someone isn't very careful assembling these phones... Before: one bar or no connection at all at 3m distance from router Now: 2-3 bars (full) at the same distance! I can fully recommend this to everyone who is not satisfied with their wifi reception. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kojak Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Hi all SF owners with WiFi issues, My son had the same issues, and due to the bad service of our operators in Belgium, I went on it myself to solve the problem. The manufacturer seems to use antennas that are absolutely not doing the job right. I don't know if that is for all devices out there of course and I can therefore only speak for the one we have. On this page: Itc4u.net - ItChalckboard - sf wifi issue , I've posted the things I've done to solve the problem without paying a cent. (well if you don't count my time and 2 pieces of foil and scotch tape :D ) I hope it also works for you. Regards, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tricky_UK Posted May 5, 2011 Report Share Posted May 5, 2011 After having my OSF for 5 months and getting 1 x bar Wi Fi in the front room when the AP is one up and one back in the bedroom I thought it was low but liveable, until my wife also got a OSf and gets the full 3 bars all teh time at homeand can see next doors AP as well! Things must be done, but i have an OLED screen and don't want to risk being given a TFT. So I have pushed up the contacts this gave me +1 bar, plus a little dot of hot-melt glue to keep them from bending back to far Then I tried the silver foil trick from "Kojack" above and B**ger me it also adds +1 bar! Not sure howit works but it seems to work for me. So, pushing up the contacts and the tin foil gag I went from 1 bar to the 3 full bars! All with out having to kick-off with Orange, put the original ROM back on, backup my stuff etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tywysog Posted May 11, 2011 Report Share Posted May 11, 2011 I bought an OSF last Friday. Same problem with awful reception. Tested it with other routers and still had a range of just two metres. Called Orange Handset Faults team today and they agree. They're sending out a brand new replacement by next day delivery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest romani48 Posted July 4, 2012 Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 sorry for the digging.. but im havin the same issue with an SF. I bought it second hand, and as now we are in 2012 :P there is no warranty for anybody. anyway, I tried the trick with the pins and I managed to finally be able to conect to the AP from my room (2 rooms distance).. but still i believe i can get a bit more juice with that foil trick.. the problem is that the page is down.. can anyone describe me how's that trick done? thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WAWA72 Posted July 6, 2012 Report Share Posted July 6, 2012 What trick was in the Link? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WAWA72 Posted July 6, 2012 Report Share Posted July 6, 2012 Found in Cache http://www.google.de/webpagethumbnail?c=22&b=1&f=0&d=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.itc4u.net%2Fit-chalk-board%2F77-general%2F107-zte-p729v-san-francisco-aka-blade-poor-wifi-reception-.html&s=300:450&hl=de&gl=de&r=3&m=2&a=Sm8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest romani48 Posted July 10, 2012 Report Share Posted July 10, 2012 I've found an handy solution to this problem.. quite easy in fact. After i've tried the 'raise pins' mod I didnt get any luck.. but i've read that the connections were broken by microfissures in some phones.. The guide i've read told about soldering some of this conections.. but I, like mos of us, dont have that kind of equipment at home.. What I did manage to do was to use 3 staples (united, as they come when you buy them - 3 is the best number cause its the perfect size to fill all the space) - used copper stapples - and put it inside the hole near the USB connection in the back (under the back cover).. i've cuted and bended the staple just enough to be just a like 2 mm out of the hole (and bended so the cover can be closed).. fixed it with a bit of brown tape so it wont move away And 'Ta-DA!' Wifi fully working! Now i can be more than 2 divisions away from my Router/AP with still half the signal (dont have values, just the graphical representation of android [2/4 - where 4 is full signal]) Hope it can help you guys! if u need i can put photos here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WAWA72 Posted July 11, 2012 Report Share Posted July 11, 2012 Please Photos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jonmac73 Posted July 12, 2012 Report Share Posted July 12, 2012 FWIW my poblem was not signal, but disconnecting. Have added a spare Wi-Fi router as WEP with MAC filtering and seems fine - only been 1 day but difference is massive already - stays connected all time, reconnects from being outside etc. Romani - can you provide pics of process above so I can check mine too as should still be getting better signal than I do through 1 supporting wall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WAWA72 Posted July 12, 2012 Report Share Posted July 12, 2012 (edited) http://mschoofs.blogspot.de/2011/04/zte-p729v-san-francisco-aka-blade-poor.html#more 1 Pre-emptively: download a little free application from the market "WiFi Analyzer" (Thank you Kevin Yuan for developing this app) 2 Test your current reception strength on your device 3 Power off the device 4 Pry off the back cover 5 Prepare 2 strips of scotch tape and 2 pieces of aluminium foil. (sizes you can see in the image, try to aim closely to that size for best results) 6 attach the strips of aluminium foil covered with the scotch tape carefully on the phone antennas as shown in the pictures. Be very careful you don't short any contacts. Edited July 12, 2012 by WAWA72 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest romani48 Posted July 13, 2012 Report Share Posted July 13, 2012 tomorrow (or today but later - its 4am here in portugal), ill realease the pics =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WAWA72 Posted July 15, 2012 Report Share Posted July 15, 2012 Where are your Pics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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