hardware issue - internal antenna

[krielys]

new thread so i dont hijack the one i was posting on

basically, i ripped a sticker off the back of my phone, and now my antenna is shot. wtf ?
didnt install anything, didnt flash anything, didnt switch radios..
didnt touch anything but that **** sticker:

Originally Posted by krielys

victim: sprint touch pro

little explanation first: i hate stickers. so much so, that i peel them off of everything. eeeevvvverrrryyythhiinnnng.

on the sprint touch pro, if you take the battery cover off, there's this black sticker that runs around the top and bottom of the back of the phone. i'd already had the phone for awhile.. but the moment i noticed that sticker, i promptly ripped it to shreds.

apparently, said "sticker" belongs to the antenna (?) immediately after, my gps no longer works (cant get satellite fix) and i now never get more than two bars of service. i've been able to put up with the poor crippled phone, but it's painfully inconvenient when having cell service inside a building is something to be excited over.

hate myself ? oh yes.

(and, um, anyone know how to find a replacement part ? )

Originally Posted by shaggylive

Oh noooos ! lol, sorry i laugh, but I'm supprised there aren't more reports of this.. wth, a sticker antenna, come on htc, you can do better...
btw, you could probly use some foil, or get an external antenna (jacks under the little circle stickers)

Originally Posted by krielys

i thought about an external antenna until i read this:
http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread...830#post262830

and since im a noob concerning hardware, probably not a good idea for me right now..
though i still might try taking it apart some day when i have enough money in the bank to replace it if i completely destroy it..

Originally Posted by shaggylive

yea, that's possible, but I know there are many that do use them. the big problem is constant removal, especially if the phone has a fever.
I'm thinking you may be able to just cut the pigtail and have the tiny wire be the antenna, leaving it plugged into the jack all the time.
besides I don't think ghetto's situation was too different than your current one, the internal antenna's already broke.

i dont know about ghetto.. but along with my phone service, my gps got murdered as well. i see in ##debug that it can now only find several satellites, generally only one at a time.. for only a second or two. never long enough for a program to use.

and..

i tried a little experiment. there is a shiny curved thing peeking out of a hole that the antenna-sticker was covering (i cant seem to find it on photos of taken-apart TPs ??) i put one of those suspicious passive booster stickers on top of it (always wondered if those things were a scam but never had an excuse to buy one and find out) and stared at ##debug for a little while..

rx power between -94 and -102 dbm
became this:
between -86 and -90 dbm

rx ec/io between -3.5 and -6.5 db
became this:
between -4.0 and -5.5 db

oooooh, aaaaah.
those numbers taken where i get best possible service.

am i going to be stuck trying to rig up my phone and running around with a massive antenna poking out of my purse ?

[Dr.8820]

i take it cricket doesn't have insurance?

[krielys]

heheh.. would be nice..
but its a sprint phone i got from ebay and flashed to cricket..
since i didnt buy it from them, they wont touch it.
(probably for the better, those reps are more dangerous than i am)

Originally Posted by mr8820

i take it cricket doesn't have insurance?

[shaggylive]

well there are 2 external antenna jacks. if I remember right the one by the power button is the cell radio, and the other is the bluetooth wifi. but i'm not positive. regardless you need to make contact with the center pin.

otherwise pop it apart and tape some foil to where the stickers were connected. (there's a spring that pushes against the sticker)
pics here http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=49932

[krielys]

Originally Posted by krielys

there is a shiny curved thing peeking out of a hole that the antenna-sticker was covering

the case forms a black T above it: