Did I mess up my phone's reception?

November 19, 2009 5:36 AM

Could I have messed up my cellphone's reception when I replaced its casing? I recently replaced the casing on my phone: taking my phone apart, unscrewing lots of things, then putting the phone into a new case. I just followed online instructions; I don't have a lot of experience with these sorts of things. I can't remember when it started, but my phone seems to say "Emergency Calls Only" or "No Carrier" quite regularly now, and I never noticed it doing this in the past. Is there something I can do to fix it?

It's a SonyEricsson K660i, and I followed these instructions:

http://www.formymobile.co.uk/k660disassembly.php

Did I mess something up in the disassembly/re-assembly process? Can I fix my reception?

posted by surenoproblem to technology (5 answers total)

Sounds like a loose connection.
posted by devnull at 5:42 AM on November 19, 2009

Sounds like a SIM card issue - reseat the SIM card, and try your phone with another card, and your card in another phone.
posted by bensherman at 5:50 AM on November 19, 2009

Loose connection between the SIM card and the connectors under it. Presumably the new case is a less tight fit around the parts than the previous one. Jam a piece of cardboard in between the SIM slot and the battery and see if that fixes it.
posted by emilyw at 6:58 AM on November 19, 2009

Thanks for your suggestions.

Just to clarify: my phone isn't always unable to get reception, it just seems to regularly lose reception nowadays, often when I'm indoors in places where I used to be able to get reception without problems.
posted by surenoproblem at 7:19 AM on November 19, 2009

The SIM card sits in a little holder where the battery and the case normally hold it against the contacts. If the setup is not a tight fit any more, every now and then the case may flex a bit, allowing the card to slide away from the contacts. Later the case may flex again and the card can slip back into place.

Jamming it in so it can't wiggle about will determine whether this is the correct diagnosis. But I had your exact symptoms and this was the problem.
posted by emilyw at 12:21 AM on November 20, 2009 [1 favorite]