yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] wintrxtrem:
If i can find a spare Q for cheap on CL I'd like to have cornholio do the mod. It would be interesting to see if it could be made to work on USA GSM networks.

I'm also very curious what would happen to sprint service, namely LTE. Now that Sprint phones are being released with removable SIMs (HTC One), I wonder if they could be made to work with a modded Q.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] kubago:
I want to say huge thank you for Cornholio's excellent work on my photon Q :) Well done.

Btw right now, stock JB rom always shows "3G" icon when I have data enabled. And 3G is shown even if i'm connected only with GPRS or EDGE. Is there a way how to change this to "G", "E", "H" or "3G" (according to data service availability)?

It's not a big issue, but nice to have it :)
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] redsrule2500:
Yeah, seems like it should work. Just too much of an $$investment to take the risk! :-/
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] CornholioGSM:
!!! Today rolls out new official jb update....this mod was not tested with this new firmware !!!

After test it i will let you know :)
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] Rennert:
With JB Soak Test the Mod also works:)

...Tapatalk
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] CornholioGSM:
soak yes
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] stevekyc121:
Sim card mod is here !!!

Hi CornholioGSM,

Basically, i bought the XT897 Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE ( With a sim card mod) to Hong Kong. However, it only able to use the phone call function instead of 3G connection. Therefore, i am wondering whether it is about the hardware issue or the software issue (given that it is using the original firmware which provided by Sprint).

On top of this issue, should i upgrade the firmware or send it to you for further checking?

**Actually i did some research and i pretty sure that the phone does support the 3G WCDMA channels in Hong Kong.

Many thanks for your help and looking forward to your kind reply soon.

Regards,

Steve
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] CornholioGSM:
Proton can use LTE on 1900 ... maybe can be opened for other bands, but i am not 100% sure :(
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] stevekyc121:
Thanks.

Do you think that the Sprint rom restricted GSM services?

I have no idea to resolve the issue about the 3G connection. Could you guide me abit if possible? the CM 10? (4.1.2 or the latest firmware)

Cuz LTE 1900 is not suitable for Hong Kong area. Therefore, i wish the device can access through WCDMA,850,1900 or 2100.

Many thanks!
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] BAMF:
I wonder if one could use a 3D printer to create a modified back plate that would allow the use of a SIM card slot? Maybe even fit a larger battery if the phone is going to be thicker anyway...
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] alexamber91:
Resistor

Hi guys. Help please. What is the nominal of the resistor, that is pointed on the picture?
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] redsrule2500:
Who will be the first to test on TMobile/ATT ? $125 Photon Q's on ebay...
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] Rzeractor:
Does anybody have one of these phones for sale, with the sim card mod already performed? They aren't sold here in Australia :(
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] Skrilax_CZ:
I think everybody with the GSM mod bought their Photon Q via e-bay.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] masckkara:
I got an almost new photon q on ebay. I'm trying a different approach to get this cool phone to work on GSM.

Currently done so far:

Bootloader unlocked.

Root.

CWM recovery.

CM 10.1 .

So far, the internal iccid chip shows no phone number, no carrier, no iccid number.

I believe that with the correct flash tool(Radiocomm latest version maybe) the internal iccid info can be changed to whatever is needed for a country specific. For example, mcc for my country is 712, this kind of values must be reflash, and then I believe it could get gsm connection.

Any help/comment/assistance/though will be greatly appreciated.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] Kaulbach:
Hello, good work on this mod!

I prefer QWERTY phones, this one seems fairly decent hardware-wise except for of course the embedded SIM.

My last phone so far is Motorola Milestone XT860 which recently broke and so I am looking for an equivalent or better. Is anyone in Canada or the US doing this mod ( I'm in Canada, have no access to a rework machine and can't really afford to buy one just for this) ? I haven't yet purchased a Photon but the plan would be to try and get the work done locally first if possible.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] Rzeractor:
So these phones aren't locked to a specific carrier once the sim mod is performed?
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] CornholioGSM:
no no :)
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] krisje8:
I ordered a Photon Q from the US to NL and I started attempting the sim card mod.

I have removed the cover over the IC using a very sharp stanley knife, this worked real well for me. I made an incision first and then went around the cover like using a can opener. When I was finished, the little bit of the cover that was still on the PCB came loose and now the cover is completely off.

Problems arise however when I try to desolder the IC. I do not have a rework station at home but I do have access to one and I just spent about an hour trying the get the damn IC off. It wouldn't budge at all.

I have no idea what I'm doing wrong and I just don't see the IC coming off using this method. Due to all my attempts I also seem to have desoldered 1 or 2 resistors/capacitors. 1 of these I was able to find back.

Is there any other method that I could use to get rid of this IC? I don't mind destroying the IC, as long as the phone is intact and I can get my own SIM card to work.

EDIT: I lost the resistor/capacitor that I had, these things are smaller than any other I have ever seen.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] oTToToTenTanz:
So, JB update save to use? ;)

I read that they improved GSM roaming (or at least tried to improve it...) - but I doubt there is any advantage in that for us?
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] ogrfnkl:
Where did you get a working CM 10.1 for the Photon Q. The only thing I have found so far is this: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2159708, and it is far from being complete...
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] arrrghhh:
Same section. You found CM10, you just need 10.1...

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2255134
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] americanpittbull:
Is there maybe a possibility to reprogram the orig. sim chip? That would be easier.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] CornholioGSM:
reprogram yes, but there is problem with copy data from sim...clonning new SIM's is big problem and is possibility of make sim dead :(

The "simplest" way is solder inside sim.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] JoshinPl:
And what kind of data you have to clone? Imei, phone number, etc? Why do you think that it possibly kill our sim card? ;p

Enviado desde mi U20i usando Tapatalk 2
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] CornholioGSM:
I mean clonning simcard data from one sim to another
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] americanpittbull:
Damn. On your picture i could see, that the chip has a size of the nano sim. The problem will be to get a nano sim reader... Did't find any replacement for the Iphone 5. And then the soldering. I hate Moto more and more ...
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] solitarywarrior1:
i just thought that because it was an SD/SIM combo slot that might give us more space by replacing the sd slot too
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] CornholioGSM:
but it is too high
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] solitarywarrior1:
Damn....
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] d0u8l3m:
Question: what happens when you come back to the USA and wanna use sprint again. You cant resolder that chip back on can you?
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] americanpittbull:
Aren't there Sprint sim cards?
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] olegfusion:
I believe sprint cdma service works fine without any sim cards/chips inside the phone.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] arrrghhh:
This ^^^^

CDMA providers don't use SIM cards, they never have. However, LTE does require a SIM, but this SIM is separate from the "Sprint" provided GSM SIM. That is for international roaming, under Sprint's rules. Now this guy can put whatever SIM in he wants, roam anywhere, and come back to the US and reactive the device on Sprint's network - assuming the ESN is clean, this should work no problems.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] gTen:
Can't you just 3d print your own sim card reader? all it has to do is keep it in position so the pins touch, no? or even without a 3d printer what about using a nanosim to microsim adapter and soldering in the adapter. Then you can just snap in the nanosim inside the microsim adapter that is soldered in.

Otherwise considering the position, is not 3d printing another back cover to give more height clearance not an option? At same time it might be also possible to make the back cover removable so that battery can be swapped. (2 for 1 mod lol)
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] Maxpowersxp:
whats the best way to remove the keyboard foil so that it can be re used.

when it is reused does it still work ok?

can the process be done maybe with the foil on?
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] CornholioGSM:
With foil on NO!!! The foil is sticker - can be easily peeled off and after work peeled on.

Its simple.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] Maxpowersxp:
awesome well im going to start looking for a used one with bad esn to get it cheaper hopefully
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] shabbypenguin:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Motorola-Ph...1002793801?pt=Cell_Phones&hash=item2a249b7349

150 bucks :)
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] Maxpowersxp:
thanks got one on order
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] ogrfnkl:
Here is a 1.54mm high connector: alibaba.com/product-gs/501396356/SIM_0010_Micro_SIM_Card_holder.html

Still higher than .8 mm, though...

---------- Post added at 03:55 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:49 AM ----------

What about just below and to the left of where you suggested? Looks like there is enough place for it there, without having to rip out the shock foam.

---------- Post added at 04:02 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:55 AM ----------

Can't make out the exact wiring from the photo. Would you please post a diagram (or a description)? Thanks!
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] CornholioGSM:
You mean this ???

http://imageshack.us/a/img809/6898/1001976o.jpg

This place is under gsm antena.

ooooo great sim holder :)
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] Maxpowersxp:
OTA update just came up this am for JB... any one tried it with sim mod???
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] arrrghhh:
The soak works, I'm betting the final update does. Not sure if anyone has officially posted up on status tho with the SIM mod.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] kabaldan:
The update files released on 15.04.2013 (soak test JB OTA update) and on 06.05.2013 (official JB OTA update) are identical.

There's zero difference between the soak test and the official update.

Motorola's jellybean 4.1.2 firmware for Sprint, build id 9.8.2Q-122_XT897_FFW-5 (=the most recent Sprint OTA) works fine on SIM modded phones.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] ogrfnkl:
Thanks, I hadn't seen the 10.1 thread! I'll keep abreast of the developments. For now, I see, there are still problems with the port... I commend you guys on your efforts and hope that soon there will be a fully functional build.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] saint_tm:
How about a flex PCB

Hi, first of all thank you for this great mod CornholioGSM, been looking for a new device since my Desire Z is getting a little too slow.

It seems that the microSD card slot is a reverse mount in a cutout is that true?

The hotair temperature seems high (420~430°C) what kind of solder are they using, some RoHS Pb free crap?

If there really is only 0.8 mm of height then there is no way to fit any normal/micro or even nano card holder the SIM card is 0.76 mm by itself :( so no go. The thinnest (1.35 mm) holder is probably this one SD-78723-002 from Molex (

molex.com/pdm_docs/sd/787231001_sd.pdf

) or without the metal band only the pins (

molex.com/pdm_docs/sd/785450005_sd.pdf

) (~0.3 mm with pushed pins), nano SIM 1.25 mm (

globalconnectortechnology.com/sim-connectors/pdf/SIM8050.pdf

).

As I'm not a fan of kynar wires as a reliable solution I'll suggest something else.

Option one:

I would suggest to produce a U-shaped single sided flex PCB with gold pads (maybe pads with a slot/hole so you can solder the pads to the phone PCB threw the hole ant to the SIM pads). If this is unclear I'll post a picture of what I have in mind.

The second solution:

Use even a samller flex PCB (double layer this time) just to cover the old "SIM chip" area (bottom layer) and to route the top layer to a SIM card pinout, possibly the shielding could be modified (cutting a slot on two or three side to act as an SIM card holder) again not sure how high the shielding can is (actually how deep it is and how high the cap/resistor (0402, 0201?) underneath it are).

Alternative would be to just solder some gold contacts on the phone PCB and push the SIM card to achieve a sufficient contact (the pins need to be higher than the caps/resistors surrounding the chip or they might be there just for the IC in which case you could desolder them completely) given that the chip pin raster is close enought to the SIM cards.

I don't have this device so if someone could also check the shield depth that would be great.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] turbo180:
Yes, OTA JB update works OK with sim mod. However, you may want to try CM10.1 for better roaming control and to get rid of all Sprint bloatware. It have only few issues yet to be fixed.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] ChristianHJW:
@ CornholioGSM :

Has this phone, sold on ebay from a member in France, been modified by yourself ?

http://r.ebay.com/8kXr7v

The solution is looking very much like your own, and very professional ?

I am really to old to make the mod myself, the eyes and hands of a 40+ ore not suitable for such kind of work ;), so i am really tempted to start bidding for this phone ?

ChristianHJW
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] kabaldan:
ChristianHJW:

Just an observation: that the ebay listing is making use of the photo made and linked by CornholioGSM here:

http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=36243825&postcount=226

Whatever that means.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] CornholioGSM:
True....:)

on photo is my table with my pinzette:)

i had made approx 4 mods for france....so it can be from me.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] Paitor:
It is ended now due to lost device?
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] oTToToTenTanz:
But the seller is taking millions for it oO...379Euro + shipping. U will be cheaper buying it from ebay USA having it sent to Cornholio and paying for the shipping to ur place again..
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] _olimp_:
Need help

I lost contact

imageshack.us/photo/my-images/839/simr.jpg/ (link)

:( Where it can be found on the PCB?
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] gehstock:
Left beside the lost pad on the Resistor

I think this is a SIM Conector.

It has fewer pins because no SD card is connected to it
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] abortretryfail:
Maybe test continuity to the pads for the embedded SIM?
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] gehstock:
no, for never published GSM Version
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] schmandroid:
Hit there everyone,

I have done the sim mod & have this phone working here in Australia, but this is my first Motorola, and despite setting the APN's, I can't send MMS. I can receive OK though.

I have found the hidden menus and DATA etc menu where I can edit the MMS Sprint settings, but it is asking for the security number (I don't have). Is this the MSL number? How do I get the device security code?

Any help would be appreciated.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] BAMF:
Yes, it wants the MSL code. Normally this can be provided by the carrier, but since you are using it on a different network I doubt that'll work. Someone else will have to chime in on this one.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] Rangerbry:
you can try this if it still works

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1894038
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] schmandroid:
MDL number etc

Hey thanks for that.

I'm setting this up now & will attempt to get the MDL. Does anyone know what settings in the DATA menu I

should/shouldn't

change?

Secondly, the Voicemail settings for the dialler are fixed on some subscription service. I have made a "direct dial" shortcut to get to mine, but I'm hoping that there is a setting in one of the hidden menus that will allow me to change this also (probably the same place as MMS).

Point of interest: all the sms, data & call attempts were being interrupted by the ROAMING warnings. Disabling these and tweaking the network settings has made the phone work as normal. I thought I had stuffed up my sim card during the mod at first, as there was no network signal at all.

Thanks again!

---------- Post added at 01:04 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:34 PM ----------

Hi Rangerbry,

I have run the bat file, & found the "Your MSL is" number, this shows as a series of numbers inside of quotes. The numbers are eg "1.1"3.1"5.1"7.1"9.1"11.1".

When I try to enter a security number, it only takes 6 digits, so there is no way to enter these. I am obviously missing something, or another step.

What is the MSL number used for? Can I use this to get the MDL number?
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] Rangerbry:
reading down a few posts seems there were some people getting some encoded MSL number and another method to obtain MSL was posted here

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=31860763 hope that helps

-bryan
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] schmandroid:
Ok I'm gonna try this out.

I have read (& tried) the logcat method, but I have also applied system updates already, so I need root to capture the logs.

Was gonna root at some stage anyway, probably when there was a good selection of roms to chose from. Haven't looked at how to root for this reason.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] CornholioGSM:
....this is not sim connector.

For repair missing pin you can use this:
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] Stunherald:
After several hours i found a solution how to edit any settings in that Hidden Menu

WITHOUT

having MSL number, so including a way how to fix/edit MMS settigns

Here you go:

1] Download LauncherPro (or any another launcher which will allow you to make shortcut to activities.)

2] Long-press on screen

3] Select "Shortcuts"

4] Select "Activities"

5] Scroll down and look for "HiddenMenu"

6] Expand "HiddenMenu"

7] Now you will see lot of settings duplicated, but there is a difference.

First one is "standard" screen which could not be edited unless you have MSL code.

Second one, which is containing suffix "$<name>Editor will BYPASS that MSL code prompt and send you directly into EDIT mode

For example ... for MMS:

com.motorola.hiddenmenuapp.SprintDataMmsApp - Normal "Read-Only / Locked"

com.motorola.hiddenmenuapp.SprintDataMmsApp$SprintDataMmsEditor - EDIT mode

8] Select "com.motorola.hiddenmenuapp.SprintDataMmsApp$SprintDataMmsEditor"

9] Tap "OK"

10] Now tap on that new shortcut on desktop and BAM!, you are able to edit and save settings

I will post screens if needed :]

Stun
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] chris974du28:
Hello

is it possible to find the phone sold directly with the adapter for sim card?
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] Gojira-r32:
i will sell my photon Q when the asus padfone infinity is out here in belgium
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] agazza:
dibs!
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] agazza:
I can´t wait any longer so i bought one on ebay via MYUS so the Photon Q should arrive here next week sometime.

But do you guys think i can remove the cover from the chip with just the heat from a soldering gun? Or will i destroy something? I don´t want to buy the hot air gun for this mod.

I will try to take som macros of the process for this thread. aspecially regarding the removing of the chip, some people seem to have problems with the capacitors/resistors? is it hard to remove the chips?
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] oTToToTenTanz:
I tried to remove the SIM IC with the soldering gun but failed. I didn't break anything, but you can't properly distribute the heat, so that its possible to remove the IC...

I would say hot air gun makes things a lot easier!
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] agazza:
What soldering gun did you use and for how long? If there´s no risk of damaging the important stuff i should be able to just heat the m.f until its hot enough throughout
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] schmandroid:
Hi all,

I removed the shield & chip using tinfoil & a minature butane gas torch. Was really simple & easy, with no excess heat or damage whatsoever.

Press tinfoil over the pcb, secure with tape, trim out around the shield with a scalpel or similar, heat with a small flame directly onto shield. Will pop loose within 15-30 seconds.

The foil dissipates any heat wash so it doesn't affect other components.

Use a fresh peice of foil for the chip & do the same. Make sure you trim exactly around the edge of the chip, so only the top is exposed to the flame. Heat on low flame again, & it will pop loose in the same way.

I tried the soldering iron first also - no good. Foil & torch is much easier, quicker, cleaner & safer.

Make sure the foil is pressed down tight around the shield & chip area each time.

Good luck! Have fun.

Let me know if this goes well for you also.

---------- Post added at 09:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:23 PM ----------

P.S. I cooked my simcard too much by having my soldering iron too hot & playing around too much.

Lasted about 2 weeks then died. Attempting to fix this caused more issues, so I've sent it off to cornholio for full reader mod, means I can swap sims in/out at leisure.

I have another XT897 on the way, plus I removed some readers from some old phones & was contemplating doing the reader mod myself, but even with a remotely connected reader I couldn't get the sim to register on my phone. So went back to the original plan of sending it off.

Might try my own reader mod with the second phone - pretty sure I can get a full sized sim reader installed under the back cover. Will post pics if I try this. If not I will send that one off also.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] schmandroid:
P.P.S.

I didn't have to remove the keyboard sticker using the tinfoil method.

Looking at the video from cornholio, it looks like there is some discolouration from the heat wash even with the air gun.

I believe using the tinfoil would protect the surrounding components from heat even when using the hot air method.

For me, the gas torch/tinfoil method worked a treat.

Have a go & report back what you find.
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] CornholioGSM:
....better is use capton tape
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] agazza:
****ty expensive over here if you dont import. like 50 usd a roll.

meaby some local elektronic school has it. and a heat gun. and some handy student.

do you think its a big risk with foiltape and a open flame solder gun for getting the cover of the chip?

meaby the school will have the hot air thingy too
[Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE] schmandroid:
Hey there,

I bought a second PQ with a damaged screen for practice, I will take pics/vid & post when I remove the shield & chip if you like, so you can see what it is like with the torch & foil. It should arrive in about a week.

I'm gonna use this second one to try out installing a full sized/u sim reader under the back cover myself.

I'm not saying the torch method is better, but it is what I have on hand, & it worked really well. I think it is definitely better than trying to heat directly with a soldering iron, or to dremel/cut off the shield & chip. Both came off as easy as they did in Cornholio's videos.

Just remember to use a pencil sized gas torch!

Cornholio's excellent work & info is the only reason I even considered attempting this. If you are unsure, send it to him.

The soldering work required under the chip is very precise, and after my sim failed, it was the fault finding that caused further problems. A sim reader is definitely the way to go.