yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] Freespacer:
YES, worked like a charm!!

THANK YOU!
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] marianor:
It worked!! I can't believe the fix was so simple, thank you so much nonpaq!!

Signal isn't perfect but it's more than usable now, the difference is night/day.
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] Sch0ki:
Thank you soooooo much!

Tried it. Worked nearly perfectly. Even after i broke one of the contacts, because it was so low-bend. I simply soldered the contact back to its place.

My signal is now more difference than day/night. Where didn´t even had any network connection at all i now have between 2 and full bars on "H".

Again: Thank you!
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] norazi:
i successfully performed the mod but now my volume buttons do not work (ie they click but there is no effect),... i am guessing i pulled a cable contact somewhere. can someone point me to where i should be looking for a fix?
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] ricky750:
success!

coming out of lurk status just to say thank you, worked like a charm!

Outermost cellular antenna lead was smashed almost flat. I pulled back up and reinforced with solder. ...full signal!
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] wis1152:
Thanks worked for me:)
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] nonpaq:
i dont believe there is any wires involved with the volume controls. You probably displaced something on the contacts that sit behind the rocker switch on the side of the phone when you removed the back plate., or the rocker switch itself. Your best bet is disassemble the phone again and look at the area on the right, directly along side the battery area, when your phone is face down.
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] Troski:
Nonpaq, thank you very much for the info!
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] ljjehl:
I did not do a great job last time in bending my leads to the antenna, so i tried again (third times a charm?) I popped it open with a credit card (after removing those 4 screws), added soft foam to the undersides of both leads, and put back together. Now my connection is a full signal (75dBM 19asu) and perfect. I suggest everybody to try using soft foam (open cell foam). You do not want the foam to be too hard.... This will help keep the pressure on the connections...
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] alangordon73:
Worked for me :) Had a poor signal since day one too
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] Hahutzy:
Tag will try later
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] Southerncrosser:
+1

succsess too

Thanks i did it, and it seems to work, before i did it,i had just one bar or often lose my signal complete. Now between 2 bars and full signal. I have an HD2 EU (512) and it is all the same. On my antenna was printed for what the antenna is. And you are right. The one in the bottom is for GSM. The upper left one is for Wifi and Bluetooth and the upper Right one is for GPS.

Thanks for help and this amazing Forum.
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] tr1pperz:
Thank you sir i just followed the steps you did and it fixed the problem my wifi works fine but now i have another issue....

i dont know if i touched something or disconnected something in the process but my sound, vibration and volume button does not work. External speaker is not playing any sound (no music or key button taps) and no sound is made when placing a phone call BUT the other person on the end can hear me just fine so i'm guessing i might of disconnected like the speaker. ( my assumption)

thanks again for your help
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] z3nful:
Your Powerflex cable came loose or got disconnected/unclipped. Its a hard clip to get to too, its the one on the underside of the board, that plugs into the black strip behind the battery.
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] mfish123:
This is the correct size clip for our phone by I'm not sure if its the correct length: http://www.mouser.com/Search/m_ProductDetail.aspx?qs=kL1ClTr6oBo225qBggllPw==&cm_mmc=findchips
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] xxljmzlxx:
I also have no Wifi and No External Speaker and Camera after doing this mod. Any pointers would be appreciated
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] z3nful:
I mentioned the powerflex cable clip, not the Antenna :p the clip I'm talking about is the on the underside of the motherboard (phone face down, looking at motherboard, the side towards the screen.) That clip and flex cable run each and everything thing that is not working (volume keys, camera, earpiece, flash) its common for the clip itself to get damaged, causing those to not work (I've opened up over 500 of these things lol its one of the main thing my shop fixes:p)
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] KRZ-2pa:
Thanks, I will try this later.
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] cu_:
+1. I live in the moutains with sporadic signal to start with. This suggestion made the difference between my HD2 (T-Mo) being usuable and not. Great suggestion.
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] smb282:
Worked for me, too

Worked great for me, too...vast signal improvement!

Here are portions of my other post from this thread:

Here is the Touch Pro 2 thread I referenced for some background.

If you have weak signal, where every other HD2 works fine, you should do this simple fix. Its very easy and you got nothing to lose. (Note: you will void your warranty since you cant open up the back without removing the screws. Use all the normal protections when handling electronic devices. Remember, do this at your own risk. )

You will need a Torx 6 screwdriver and a flat plastic edge tool to pry apart the casing.(Note: Several people have reported that it is a torx 5 screwdriver. ) As I mentioned, the official HTC training video for disassembly can be found here. You only have to remove the back cover for this so disregard everything after that in the video.

From the tear down photos found here this is what you will see:

Inside the back cover there are three copper "pads" that are the connections to the three antennas: GSM, GPS, and Bluetooth. I dont know which is which, but I suspect the GSM antenna is the largest one (at the bottom). Make sure all three are clean. (Look at this photo, You can actually see dents where the contacts are made.)

Now looking at the main board of the phone, you will see what looks like several raised flaps of copper. These are the "feet" that press against the antenna pads on the back cover.

Make sure they are all raised high enough that they are guaranteed to press firmly against the back cover when closed. Be gentle with them, you do NOT what these to break. They should not be standing straight up, but should be slightly curved. In my case, one of the two at the bottom of the phone was much lower than the other. I used a plastic stick to raise it higher. (After I made my fix, I thought about placing a small piece of foam under the "flaps" to act as a "spring". I may do so next time I open up the phone. Let me know if you do.)

You might get an idea what I'm talking about with this picture:

After this, just reassemble your phone, and you are done!!

I was amazed at the boost in signal after doing this. I think HTC just carried over a poor antenna connection throughout their phone designs, never considering that a jolt could actually separate the connection. Luckily the HD2 is so easy to tear down and get to these connection for an easy fix.[/QUOTE]
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] dewso:
So, can anyone give any pointers on a broken contact?
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] z3nful:
If you've got skills with a soldering iron, try using a glob dead center on the metal piece, then inserting the broken piece into the center of the glob. Another idea would be to use a small piece of copper wire instead of the broken off piece. The wire would have a better survival rate than the old piece, but being flimsy in nature may make the signal either not work, or be useless if it does.
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] :
OK so i accidently broke one of the feet

but that seemed to fix the data connection drop. im seeing a drastic change in network recpetion. on the first boot it picked up network instantly. it went sraight to H and although it drops down between 2-4 i never get the x or no signal anymore. i thought i was assed out haha thanks for this thread!
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] khill1:
I did this a few days ago and the difference is night and day. Before I had little to no reception at all times. I couldn't use browser let alone download anything onto my phone. Now I almost always have full bars and my data runs faster than ever! Thank you thank you thank you!
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] virsha:
Broke contacts ... be very very careful even while opening the phone :-(

Broke contacts of receiver while opening ... be very very careful even while opening the phone :-(
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] cafefun:
Another success story !

I have 2 identical T-Mobile HD2s with same ROM, radio, softwares etc...everything technically is cloned by each other. One gets great signal full bars, the other gets somewhere 1 to 2 bars at most in my house whenever both phone stay on the same position. I've been flashing many many ROMs, radios possible for months, trying to fix the poor signal phone without success. I am tired and almost quitting, leaving it as is.

UNTIL NOW.

I read and watched carefully the video, instructions from nonpaq and other shared opinions, then made the job done in 15 mins. Now my both phones have FULL bars everywhere in my house, even Wi-Fi, GPS signals improve a lot too. One word, AMAZING fix !

Just wondering how many more other HD2's owners out there have been suffering from this " defect" design by HTC and still not have a chance to see this GREAT post by nonpaq. HD2 is one of the best phones to date, and this weak signal syndrome kills people's joys from fully entertaining it.

I wish you a great success in your life, nonpaq, and thanks again !
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] nonpaq:
Great to see so many fixing their HD2s reception problems with this fix. I'm just doing my part for the community.
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] steviee8:
Success!

...add me to another one that made my reception better. I had one contact bent lower than the other one.

(unfortunately. I broke the contact off, I simply resoldered it and it works fine. Also cracked the LCD screen (not the glass but now I have a little black ink circle in the top left corner)

When they say the contact is easy to break ,... they mean it. Don't go crazy thinking you can bend it a little more than it needs to be.

Now I'm off to get it repaired. :eek:
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] daibko:
Too too cool.

Just did the fix. Yet to determine phone reception improvement, but Wi-Fi that I couldn't get before inside my home is now there. So I have no doubt this works for many and is a real deal. Some hopefully useful comments from my experience:

Got a 44 piece set of precision screwdriver bits from Wal-Mart for $8 bucks for the T5 bit. Had to go to Radio Shack for the anti-static thing but never used it since I didn't really handle the vitals inside. Maybe not the wisest, but I'm no electrician to really know any better.

I started to use a white plastic knife for the flange, but it's too soft. Used my fingernails instead---I liked having better control anyway.

It is TOUGH to remove--mostly because I was scared to trash the phone and very patient.

Careful not to warp the speaker screen with a flange/nail/etc. in you eagerness to pry or to scratch the black protective "tape" along the sides.

Volume rocker WILL FALL OUT at some point. Don't lose it.

Once the top was loose, I did use the knife gently along each side and then I could just slide the phone up and away from the bottom of the chassis.

BTW--I'm convinced every HD2's bottom outer copper spring is lower than the inner one.

I decided to use a tiny bit of foam from the rim of a basic styrofoam coffee cup and squished it for better density (the rim is thicker than the rest and gave a better height) to keep the springs up. I used a pair of tiny fingernail scissors to trim two tiny squares (Wi-Fi springs) and a rectangle (phone springs)--I also didn't want tiny bits of foam floating in the phone.

*Note to consider--if you use foam, you don't have to worry as much about breaking the springs since the foam will assist in pressure on the contacts.

I used a toothpick to gently lift the springs.

The WiFi springs didn't seem as much an issue, but one was indeed lower.

The GPS springs look solid and I've never had issues with GPS, so I left them alone.

Putting the volume switch back in place was tricky--I again used the knife to keep the rocker switch in place as I snapped the chassis back to the phone.

Oh what joy when the phone booted up again, volume worked, signals worked! WHEW!

Just my experience. Man, I love this phone!

EXCELLENT POST!

Update----getting 3G much more often and signals in rural areas I used to not. :)
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] sergiu2222:
Thank you for this fix nonpaq!

It was really frustrating seeing my HD2 not having reception at all sometimes.

I started thinking even selling the device.

Not anymore :)

I read the fix, done it and now it works like a charm!

In places were there was no signal, not it shows the full bars.

Again, thank you.
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] dertester123:
@nonpaq

Out of curiousity:

Are the pictures in OP from you? Is it a TMOUS HD2?

Because mine had a heatpad on the mainboard, or did you remove it for the fix?

Im asking because i had one there and even replaced for a bigger one (over most parts of the mainboard)..

Sorry for OT, got nothing to do with the fix..

And im pretty sure its a Torx 5.. Maby Torx 6 fits too :rolleyes:
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] nonpaq:
THE Photos are not of my phone. I took them from another teardown nd added the red highlights.
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] universed:
Another Success Story

This thread is just too cool man, you are da man nonpaq.

My friend volunteered to do the surgery for me so I let him. Sure enough, once he got the case off we could clearly see the bottom right (outer) copper spring was lower then the other. In my house I normally would see between no service and 2 bars. Now I am always on 4 bars except when i hold the phone with the grip of death.

I live in Indonesia and recently returned from a trip to the states. I must have dropped the phone in the states as since i have been back, my reception while driving has been dicey at best with dropouts in areas that did not ever drop before. As I use this phone for business, it was disconcerting to be missing/dropping phone calls left and right.

And one more piece of GREAT news that I did not see anyone mention, since my reception is better so is my BATTERY LIFE!

YEAH BABY
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] HD2DROID143:
@nonpaq

One question to the modders that this procedure that it actually helped raise their signal bar.. What bootloader were you guys/ladies using? CLK or MAGLDR?

Because I've dropped my phone a few times. And I had MAGLDR loaded and signal was fine but wanted the ability to charge my phone while it was powered down. So I installed CLK as a bootloader instead. This is where I noticed significant signal drop all the time. So I reinstalled MAGLDR and there is was no change. I even got a new SIM card, and that only helped some as it wouldn't drop a call as much. So I just want to know if the modders using CLK noticed significant boost in signal strength before I attempt this procedure.?

Thanks, Wootor.
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] Tigermoto:
Why would a bootloader change signal strength bro?

The only thing that changes is that MAGLDR can use RMNET/PPP and cLK is stuck with just PPP.

So your data connection will be less consistent.

It shouldn't do much else.

This is a hardware fix and has nothing to do with firmware or software....
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] ferdie553:
my signal works great after i've done this but the problem is vibration, camera and no sound at all. :(( what to do? :((
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] locojoe:
Thanks! Worked like a charm. It took me a week to "man up" and perform the surgery. Hardest part was pushing on the clips to pop the case off. I went from zero bars inside the house to full bars. You the MAN!!!
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] viper08:
Hmmm not for me...

Hello there..

I have tried this fix twice now and still I get very poor reception.....I have replaced the screen on this phone and it hasn't really been the same since....However the problem only really seems to be when I pick the phone up in my hands! If its on the desk it will have 3 bars when I put it in my hands it will go down to no bars! Could I have missed something when I put this back together? Wifi, GPS etc are fine...........Looking on a disassemble video on youtube there are some gaskets on the side of the phone when you reassemble which I did not put back on....could it be this? Hmmmmmmmmmm
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] truongxlong:
Wow i did this because my phone was losing signal left and right every time i would be texting. Did the fix easy open up and bam put the connectors up and now everythings perfect thanks so much for the help. great find!!!!
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] lckillah:
Did this fix, it fixed my signal problem but now my wifi is not working! where is the wifi antenna?
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] elesbb:
Wish this fixed my signal woes :/ im gonna try taking a piece of aluminum foil and glueing it to the case to exapand the antanna instead of just having it at the bottom. Or maybe take painted 30 gauge wire and solder it to the prongs and wrap it around. Just one question, there are two prongs, are their two antennas?
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] Tigermoto:
Hi bro, one would assume the two prongs are a positive terminal and a negative terminal creating the circuit of electrical current to the radio from the battery.

If this hasn't solved the issue for you consider changing the firmware of your radio. I.e. if you are on 2.12.xx.xx try 2.15.14.50 etc.

Also, if your signal has been an issue short term, try talking to your provider.
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] elesbb:
Thanks! I had no idea what radio was on so I flashed 2.15.14.50 and it seems a little better but like right now I have no service because I'm holding my phone to reply. I did buy a cheap pre paid t mobile from Walmart and that phone is showing two solid bars of 3g even when holding phone. So I'm probably going to solder two really thin wires to the prongs to extend the antenna.
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] Barleone:
WiFi not improved after this fix. (Radio ROM 2.15.50.14)

I followed the steps as described by OP. It did not fix my poor WiFi reception.

Problem at hand: My new (second hand) HD2 has worse WiFi reception than my HTC Touch Elf. The HD2 constantly drops the connection.

Further information:

ROM 3.14.404.2 NLD

Radio ROM 2.15.50.14
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] Jbones:
Dear nonpaq,

THANK YOU. You have saved my phone.

I bought an HD2 second hand about two months ago and have been really enjoying it since. The other day I was showing a friend the screen and passed it to him for a minute. When I got it back I had little to no reception. Ever since I have been getting one bar, or even none, in places where I previously had excellent service. I am so glad I found this thread.

The fix itself takes a Torx T5 screwdriver and about 5 minutes. I did it wrong so I want to make so sure noone does what I did... you remove the screws and then you have to insert something, I used a credit card, as deep as it can go up at the top to remove the chassis. I initially pryed away the screen by going to shallow which was a huge mistake, but which so far has not had any repercussions I can notice.

When I got the chassis off, I noticed right away that the bottom most contact was bent all the way down to the motherboard. I very gently pryed this up so that it was level with the other one, put the chassis back on, booted up, and immediately reception was back to normal.

Again I really cannot thank you enough, without your help my brand new phone would be collecting dust in my electronics graveyard and I'd be shopping for a new phone.

Thanks again.
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] tevonne:
Thank u this has completely saved my phone I was gonna sell it ans get the g2x thank u so much love my hd2
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] leanhp:
Thank you, nonpaq!!

Works great for me, you are a genious.
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] waichai:
Thanks nonpaq, This fix is perfect. Now I am able to make a phone call at the same area where i could not make a phone at all. I did raise 2 pings at the bottom on the phone.
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] spawn1995:
Thanks a lot!!!!! Works for me, you save my HD2.
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] nonpaq:
Heh, looks like HTC doesn't learn. Their latest and greatest, the HTC One series of phones, suffers from the same design flaw. In this case the "clip" for the wifi antenna is not touching the copper pad on the back of the phone, according to the XDA front page story:

Confirmed Hardware Fault for bad Wifi on HTC One
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] ruben302:
Thanks! One of my pins broke, so i just put a little tinfoil between the broken connector and the back case. Now i get full bars!

Thanks for saving my phone!
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] diablojones:
Worked for me - thanks a million :good:. Had no signal at home - now on 2 bars!! My right pin of the GSM needed lifting up. I also put a little bit of sponge under both pins to help support them. I also lifted up my gps pin a little bit. I went and got a mobile phone kit for $20 because I didnt have a torx screwdriver and it came with a couple of plastic lifters (like in the video when opening the chassis). Worked perfectly!!! And took 10-15 minutes.

:good::good::good::good::good:

btw - I now also pick up an additional cell tower. I am on the edge of 4 overlapping towers so it bounces between them depending on where in the house I am. But staying connected. I use Phone Signal Notifier to find the towers and have been running it for a while because of the bad reception I was getting. Will check if there are any improvements on my route to work, but I am very pleased to have it connected at home as I was about to go out and get a cell signal amplifier.
[HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera] DevilCraze:
AWESOME. Nice work but my signal is good on my carrier. And for some reasons my HD2 doesn't want to open at ALL.... But still, glad you beat the system man))