yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] mionica:
Oh, hell, I don't need it; as you said, 2.6.3.1 works like a boss.

That was just my inner nerd getting greedy, and not that focused either :)

(or I'd have done the git pull thing)
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] slitz123:
Hey CornholioGSM, I've sent you a PM as you suggested in your original post.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] ~blitz~:
Wiring

Ok, So I'm having a little bit of trouble determining if all the resistors are there, as I don't have a volt tester atm. Can anyone give me an opinion? And also, have I stripped the wires up a little too high? I've attached it below. Thanks everyone!!
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] enigma9o7:
Questions

I've read the first 30 pages of this but still have 100 to go, so I am most likely repeating questions already asked... but if someone wants to save me another few hours...

#1) Can I use AT&T SIM Card (in USA), and if so, will I be able to use 4G Data? (My company pays for my service and they use AT&T, so sprint not the solution I'm looking for.)

#2a) If I want to do this mod myself, what is the recommended sim card slot?

#2b) If I do this myself, are there any software/firmware updates/settings I need to change (to use on AT&T in USA?)?

#3) If I want to send a phone somewhere to have it done for me, how much does that cost?

#4) There's a guy from Korea selling them on ebay that appears to be pre-modded, any concerns with those?
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] ~blitz~:
It was stated that an i9300 slot would work in previous posts. You could also try this slot, http://www.te.com/catalog/pn/en/2174803-2, as it is exactly the same as the one offered from Mouser. If you select USPS Priority the shipping is cheaper but still around $5.35 so....definitely order more than one because I was working mine and it broke...so save yourself some shipping and get 2 :)

Umm....its roughly $40 for shipping both ways to have it modded by CornholioGSM, and then from there a donation to him for the mod is appreciated :)

That's about all I can offer for your questions, but this form with the first 3 pages would have answered most of that for you :) Just keep reading, everyone here is extremely helpful and good luck!
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] enigma9o7:
Thanks for reply. I'm now up to page 95 and have seen someone using AT&T in the US, but sounds like no 4G/LTE, seems that only works for US/Sprint, and no other locations or carriers. Maybe in the next few pages someone will say they found a way around that tho.

The more I read, the more I see people accidentally removing or messing up resistors, caps, diodes, antennas, camera buttons, or having difficulty removing cover or ic, etc while trying to do it themselves without experience, so if I move forward I'm leaning toward sending the phone to Cornholio. Maybe I'll ship him some t.p. along with it as an extra special gift (in addition to paypal donation of course).

The only thing that I'm not sure of now are software mods and settings, but if I'm reading right it doesn't seem software mods are necessary and settings aren't too hard, so I probably will be okay. Hmmmmm.

The only new concern I have now is people talking about losing the network. Maybe there'll be a solution to that too... but in case not... a new question:

5) When you "lose the network", does that mean you won't receive voice & sms? Or just that data/internet doesn't work?
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] S-I-M-O-N:
The solution for the connectivity issue is to ensure proper electrical connection to the SIM-card. This can be achieved by using nothing thinner than 0.3mm copper wire and a good card reader. ALPS seems to be the state of the art here. I soldered my SIM-card directly, which also ensures good connection and has the advantage of shorter wires.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] CornholioGSM:
...as i can see on picture you have missing some resistors and capacitors
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] CornholioGSM:
#4) There's a guy from Korea selling them on ebay that appears to be pre-modded, any concerns with those?[/QUOTE]

...dont buy these photons from asia...all are refurb phones and inside not in good condition!!!

Better is buy brand new from ebay.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] enigma9o7:
...dont buy these photons from asia...all are refurb phones and inside not in good condition!!!

Better is buy brand new from ebay.[/QUOTE]

Thanks Cornholio, I did exactly that! I bought two NIB from ebay, one as a backup incase the one has issues or fails before a better qwerty phone comes out (which it seems may never happen again!). I will send these two your way when I get the details (already sent you PM).
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] liquidmetalrob:
My phone just arrived today. Thank you Cornholio. However, I have a problem, I can make calls fine and I can use Wi-fi but it can't use 3G data. I know there shouldn't be a problem because here in the UK we use 2100 MHz which the phone works on. Does anyone know what I can do to fix this?
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] tobby88:
Did you set up the APN?
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] liquidmetalrob:
Yes, I just tried that and it's still not working. I think it may be the same problem that other people have been having with 3G.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] liquidmetalrob:
I've got it working now :)
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] HariSeldonss:
Mine arrived a few weeks ago, I've been testing it and all works like it should =)

And very happy to have a keyboard and let my old HTC desire Z rest in the backup phone box :laugh:
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] GRbit:
Hi there)

I'm new here, so can't post outside links, so I post link to messege with photo for repair

http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=41527072&postcount=602

But I have soome questions. I've lost 3 lowest smd's. If I understood properly, 1st resisotr (left to right) is 17k Ohm, 2nd is 40 Ohm, but how big is capacitor? Can somebody help me?

Update:

Read some posts, find solution for my problem. Someone already made my mistake

http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=35139796&postcount=189

And then solve a problem

http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=35160415&postcount=198

I will try to repair my Photon, and then post the result
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] Fever905:
Just got my phone back from Cornholio... Can someone tell me where the sim card slot is? And what sim size does this take?

Thank you!

I'm sure its obvious I just dont know lol..
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] CornholioGSM:
Sim slot is on bottom - right........and im card is micro sim
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] pc-coholic:
I finally received my custom Flex-PCB for the SIM-Card-Mod... They look nice and work fine :)

hxxp://i.imgur.com/EJ9q0aw.jpg

The SIM-Card-slot (micro-SIM) is relow-soldered to the flex-board, which can be easily soldered to the phone through the provided holes.

There is just one small issue: I accidentally rotated the slot and now the card has to be inserted from the inside :rolleyes:

I already placed an order for a corrected version which should arrive soon...

But if you don't mind opening unscrewing your phone to change your SIM, message me - I'll send them by lettermail for 10€/piece (shipping included)

I'll let you know, when the corrected version is up for sale ;)
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] CornholioGSM:
it looks good...can you how is is flex cable thick with soldered sim slot?
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] pc-coholic:
Thanks :)

The SIM-Slot is 1.25mm, the PCB is between 0.12 and 0.15mm
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] CornholioGSM:
...and how is it holded to board under slot? - with doublesided tape?
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] pc-coholic:
Currently experimenting on this... At this time we prefer superglue/UV-curable instant-glue... But double sided tape would probably be fine, too.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] CornholioGSM:
doublesided band is not good...better is solder sim slot body to mainboard ground.

i must say that it looks wery good, BUT sim slot looks too large with inserted sim:(
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] CornholioGSM:
i will post more pictures of my mod tomorrow for compare
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] Fever905:
Do I need to open case to get at it? Can you post photo sorry.

All i see is charging port and HDMI.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] mionica:
Yes, but just the plastics - no screwdriver involved. Use a guitar pick or some hard plastic thing to pry it open, going around the corners, with the keyboard open; make sure you removed the uSD card before you begin. I personally use the corner of a debit card usually.

Or another thing you could do is, drill a hole in the casing, like I did :) depends on how often you change SIMs.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] CornholioGSM:
...here are pictures of si card position
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] niko99:
OMFG so much photons in background ! lot of work .... awsome :D cornholio corp. cz.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] juan0089:
my baby working very nice on Costa Rica Network, thanks to CornholioGSM its amazing
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] schmandroid:
Ah yes - the DZ/G2. I have one of each, the last decent HTC keyboard phone.

Sent from my SIM-modded Photon Q
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] kamil877:
CornholioGSM could you contact me when you are online? I don't know if you get my messages and i have important questions for you. czayan[at] gmail.com
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] November91:
it must be a weird feeling to know you had every not-US used photon q in your hands, or at least most certainly every non-US xda users photon q
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] slitz123:
Hi CornholioGSM,

I've sent you a PM, please check this when you have time. :D

Thanks
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] stargo:
Hi,

just another data-point regarding SIM-problems:

I have just had a phone of a colleague with a problematic SIM, too.

Looking at SIM-VCC with an oscilloscope looked terrible, so we soldered an 220nF cap between GND and VCC directly at the SIM-slot to smooth it. This seems to have fixed it as everything is working since then.

Regards,

Michael
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] niko99:
Please post some picture, I will be very grateful.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] slitz123:
Hi Cornholio,

I wanted to send you a PM but your inbox is full!

I'm interested getting my Photon Q modded with you.

Thanks
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] stargo:
Sorry, forgot to take photos while the phone was open. My colleague will take some when he opens it the next time, but it's nothing really spectacular.

It's just a 220nF ceramic cap soldered on the SIM-slot (using a push-pull type with contacts on the back. the cap is just soldered on the back between the two pins) between VCC and GND.

Regards,

Michael
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] beetlecraft:
question for CornholioGSM

Hello CornholioGSM,

can you help me with this phone, i treid it myself, but i loses some parts, unerneath the cover. Are you still active?

Best regards, Martin. The Netherlands
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] krepa:
Hi,

same problem here. Some of the tiny 0201 parts were blown away (too much air flow).

Does anyone know what values are capacitors and resistors and where they go?

Are they needed at all?

Thanks,

krepa
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] reinoso:
Another SIM mod from Spain!
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] CornholioGSM:
looks good :)

but maybe is sim slot too large
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] slovanovslav:
re

what sim card reader you recommend? thanks
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] stargo:
Ok, this is how it looks:

[IMG="Capacitor on SIM slot"]http://xdaforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=2859654&stc=1&d=1405773982[/IMG]

Cheers,

Michael
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] niko99:
thx i do that same and its working very well !!
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] CornholioGSM:
slot from alps company is good

capacitor is not needed when is sim gnd connected to sim ic gnd and not to phone ground
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] tobby88:
Hi Cornholio.

My micro-USB-connector is getting worse and worse. At the moment it is still working but sometimes it already loses connection to the charger while still plugged in. Can you also change the usb port?
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] mionica:
The older one of my two photon q's, with Cornholio's mod, had issues with my Romanian Digi.Mobil SIM (though strangely enough, none with my Irish Tesco Mobile one). Particularly when the phone was in GSM/WCDMA mode - WCDMA only did much better.

The mod on that is a fair bit old (SIM GND not supplied to slot; Cornholio just modded for me another phone, and that recent one also has the GND wire). So I soldered a 10u SMD capacitor I scavenged from some random board, on the IC side - diagonally between the VCC contact and the ground where the IC cap was.

And that seemed to improve things. Now, I know 10u is huge, and I know it's typically soldered next to the tray, but just for filtering, it should do in this configuration - it was also the smallest thing I was confident enough to (hot air-)solder.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] Lukash_Master:
SIM card not recognized

My phone stopped recognizing SIM cards. No matter which SIM card I insert the phone keeps telling me that there is no SIM card inside.

I just got back from US, where I tried to activate the phone in Sprint to use their prepaid plan there (the phone is locked to Sprint only in US so you cannot use another carrier's SIM card). Sprint employees at their shop tried to activate the phone, but unfortunately it was impossible on custom ROM (need to use stock ROM's phone activation settings). That is why I tethered data from another phone while being there.

I'm back in Poland now and try to use my Polish SIM card, as I used before going to the States. I don't know why but the phone keeps telling me that there is no SIM card.

Does anyone know what was changed in my phone by Sprint employees (I guess that was the reason) that might caused this issue and how to fix it? I don't think it's a hardware problem (but if it is - how can I check it?).

Do you know if factory reset/reflashing stock ROM will help solving this issue?
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] deepthought_s:
There is a bit in the modem rom that has to be changed in order to use other carriers in us. Just google it and you will find an answer. I dont know the name of the Windows prog right now. Its pretty easy. Btw did you change back your network settings to gsm/wcdma?
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] pc-coholic:
You're probably talking about PQST.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] deepthought_s:
Applied stargos mod this noon. Seems to work fine. My girlfriends phone had various reboots, mostly when the sim was under stress (bad connection, traveling on the autobahn, while phoning) it appears that it has been solved by the capacitor. I will watch it and report if it has problems again.

220nF cap
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] deepthought_s:
Found it!

RadioComm

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2166542
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] Lukash_Master:
I've read about this changing bit in the modem rom, but I'm not sure if it applies to my issue. It unlocks other US carriers but has nothing to do with European ones (including Polish). I'll check if it helps.

Yes, I did change back my network settings. The thing is that my phone says that there is no SIM card inserted. Changing network settings could help if there was a SIM card deteced but phone couldn't connect to network (showing "no service" message).

I just wonder how to check whether my problem is software- or hardware-related. This could help me find a solution then.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] deepthought_s:
Sry, I thought you had a Problem to connect in the US. That wouldnt have helped to connect to Verizon but you could have used other us carriers.

Do you have another sim you can try? Did you check the connections on your board to the simslot, maybe something came of. Maybe try an update to a newer rom, that resets the system. That would be the order i would use to try solving this problem.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] CornholioGSM:
no problem
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] whateversclaver:
[MENTION=243251]CornholioGSM[/MENTION]

I sent you a PM! :D
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] mafradon:
Photon q sim problems

I did the mod on my phone but cant get the simcard to work i checked all that is said before (check ohms) check shorts. but still no luck

i miss the top right resistor is there another point to solder from to feed this pin?
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] agazza:
I have one of these for sale in Sweden, but the sdcard reader needs fixing, think cornholio can fix it becouse he did it the first time. I got the oneplus so hurry up. It has cm10 and is rooted.

Cheers

Sent from my one+
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] lightning3:
[MENTION=243251]CornholioGSM[/MENTION]

I send You PM - it important because i will be in Prague at Friday, 08.September.2014
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] ALisman:
Hi,I have a motorola photon q 4g lte and i want to use it in australia

Hi,i have seen your article about how to use motorola photon q 4g lte with another simcard,i have one and i would like to use it,and i'm wondering how i can have the full specifications of how you did it(the manual)

Thank you,
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] arrrghhh:
Did you... check the first post? He even includes videos of the mod.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] koc:
I am thinking of selling my photon q with sim mod made by Cornholio. Price would be 700PLN which is aprox. 170EUR plus shipping. Very good condition. If someone would be interested - PM me.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] CornholioGSM:
for using photon with sim card on usa networks is needed to edit NV

but first download from market sim card app and check if is sim good detected
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] Cyber.spider:
4G connectivity

Hi all,

I seriously consider buying one of those and having a mod done, but before that I need to know if the phone is able to use LTE in european networks. If any of the CZ users is willing to share his experience it would be great.

Thanks
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] CornholioGSM:
LTE in photon is on another frequency so is in eu unsupported

XT897 supports LTE1900

In CZ is LTE800 and 2600
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] Schattenspieler:
There is a seperate thread dicussing the possibility to use LTE in Europe. Some claim, the chipset should support it, but the radio firmware doesn't. As it is: no support for european LTE frequencies, sry. (Would be awesome, though!)
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] Cyber.spider:
Too bad, what a shame.... so in current market options, aside from some big, ugly blackberry no way to get LTE typer in eu ... :( :(

Much thanks for info though
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] Sent1n3L:
Hey ! :)

Can you please tell me what type of wire are you using ?

if can then please give me a link to ebay :)

Thx from Latvia :)
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] pgringo:
how about using the micro sim slot from the atrix hd? too big? too thick? the same as any other "brand" slot?

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Bran...lot-Tray-Module-Free-shipping/1436800576.html

has anyone gotten the q to work on gsm fully in usa yet? my wife demands that i provide her with a qwerty phone. she's currently on a mytouch 4g slide.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] Wes Barfog:
I cannot remove the IC ..

It was a pain to remove the shell ... I was heating it with a brand new hot air reflow station ( atten 858D+ 90€ -_-' ) , 430 °, air flown set to three ,for 1 minutes ... I cannot picked it up

So i heat for 4 minutes, i had to pull it stronger, and it finally came but the shell was unshaped.

And while it was "shrinking", i think it remove two micro capacitors from the bottow, those in the red square

Here's a picture, but i can't post it, because i'm a new user

h t t p ://i.imgur.c o m /KwxqTbW.jpg

Now i can't remove the IC ( i don't have solder flux, but i should buy some maybe ) and IC is getting damaged and some black parts of it are coming Oo

What should i do ? :o
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] CornholioGSM:
i use enameled copper wire 0,3mm

...check pm

...after edit NV you can use photon on usa networks
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] enigma9o7:
Someone recently wrote an app to do it the nv edit, so it's easier than ever:

http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=54773773&postcount=7
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] Maxpowersxp:
its been fun but its time to move on for me so my photon is up for sale if any one wants it. pm
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] m_o_t_m:
3576

Hello again.

Back to my idea to place the sim reader above the sd reader.

I found something new at ebay.

Just a proposal for anyone who want to try it....

Regards m_o_t_m
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] CornholioGSM:
it is nano sim reader....post me - it you have it - datasheet :)

it will be very good if i can put it near sd slot
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] niko99:
[MENTION=243251]CornholioGSM[/MENTION]

can you help me with this :( im lost this one component , i dont know if there is some easy way to fix it ?

[IMG="missing parts"]http://oi58.tinypic.com/2gt8e4j.jpg[/IMG]
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] kamamikko:
Was using pre-modded Photon Q some time without problems.

But after a factory reset the mobile data is not working anymore. The mobile network state is "disconnected". However the service state is "in service" so it seems that I can connect to network, but the data is not working (I have enabled mobile data in settings), set the APN etc.

Did the factory reset cleared some SW mod that now needs to be reapplied?

SW version is: 98.10.5.XT897.Sprint.en.US

I hava finnish operator sim, dna.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] Schattenspieler:
Try to reset it again and focus on the APN - if service is available and calling works, it most certainly is either the APN or a bad (erroneous) flash.

If in doubt about the APN, you may try a GSM patch like this: http://www.internauta37.altervista.org/how-and-patch-fully-enable-gsm-verizon-cdma-phones-android or use another way to copy over a functioning APN list.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] dufflover:
I just came across these as well. Going off my previous electronics experiences I'm pretty sure I would f- it up pretty badly. I mean I couldn't even repair my Droid3 when the ribbon cable kicked the bucket and I tried to replace it (either me or pre-ruined tiny screwhead).

Are these really that bad? I'm ok with settling for the specs of a Droid 4* (note: I can't seem to source any alternatives like the LG Enact here in Aus) but these refurbed Photon Q's are about the same price and better specs and non-pentile screen.

For some context I broke my Droid 3, got a Xperia Pro as a stop-gap, had an accident and the screen is cracked (not too bad really) and headphone jack screwed. Other bits of my life are FML so prepared for some retail therapy splurge lol.

When I say "bad" I mean are they fragile and prone to breaking? (e.g. a simple knock would screw up the sim card mod), or there are no super stable everyday CM mods for it. Would I be better off sticking to a stock Droid 4?
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] palmwangja:
Looks like my flex cable was borked. screen got black when the screen is closed and sometimes broken/striped image was seen.

Is it easy to fix this? I'm not ready to do any soldering... ;(