yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] zardoz77:
I tried the how-to in #1.

After 2 days no errors. I hope this works permanently. But I did not use foam. I used double faced adhesive tape (1mm, very smooth and moldable, like rubber). I don't know how thick these 2 US-coins are (germany here), but as far as I can tell 1mm is more than enough. By the way the connector didn't seem to me loose in any ways, however I taped it and hope now the positive effect lasts forever.

Update: 5 days in a row now, seems to work! :)
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] cacobf:
Hello everyone,

I've read somewhere that the chip responsible for the SIM card is also responsible for the microSD card. I realized a few days ago that the SIM card problem started to appear right after I changed the microSD card (to a larger and way faster one) AND after I moved several of my apps to the microSD.

I did an experiment: moved all the apps again to the internal memory. The SIM card continued to appear, however less frequently than before (mainly right after the boot, when Android is starting itself). It led me to believe that it is a bandwidth issue: the more the chip is used and the more bandwidth it must handle; the more it will overheat (and therefore, the SIM card problem shows up). For me, it is evident it stops working properly because of heat (in my phone the problem started during summer, in Brazil).

Listening to a MP3 or watching a movie (at least using a regular resolution) will NOT demand all the bandwidth available in the microSD. Starting applications from it, will.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] zardoz77:
Could be a heat problem or could be a SD-Card problem. I removed the coverage like described in #1 and it worked for me. SD and SIM seems to be one seperate Unit on the Board.

Test it without any SD-Card. On the other hand if it is a heat problem, you should try the tutorial in #1. It is easier than it looks, but you need a real tiny scewdriver.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] Gonemad:
Three weeks now after my fix and still going strong error free.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] rdwestbury:
legend!!! thanks for taking the time to post the fix - works perfectly for me now after a week of pure frustration - good karma to you!!
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] dibnah:
Reflowing is the only way to fix this error. Like gonemad above I work in electronics (design) and found the NFC chip needed reflowing. You can do this easily with a home gas soldering iron by removing the soldering tip and instead using the tip with a hole in it so you aren't using a naked flame on your board just heat. Then do circular motions over the edge of the chip for about 2 secs and you are done. You need to be a good inch or more away from the chip though. Practice first on an old board or with a reel of solder to get the melt point and time to get there. As always this is done at your own risk, you have a 50;50 chance it will work. But if you are dogged with multiple reboot a day you have nothing to loose as you need a board either way. If you get too close or go too long you will damage the circuit board and lift tracks. Chips and circuit boards don't like a lot of prolonged heat.

My theory after looking at the construction of the phone is that pressure on the back cover in the region of the SD card mechanically breaks some of the connections to the NFC chip over time. The foam ear plug solution works by flexing the board slightly which remakes the connections to the chip, but with the board now distorted you run the risk of greater damage to this chips and others connections. This is why many people have no problems for a few days after doing the plug fix then need to do it again with something thicker.

Gas solder torches can be got from aldi for around £9 a couple of times a year, they are great when working a way from sources of electricity in an emergency. Though tend to get too hot to be your go to soldering iron for electronics at home.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] MatteoB92:
I appreciated your answers but I haven't ability into electronics, to help me understanding would you be so kind to upload images of the tools used and even if a photo/video tutorial?

I think could be useful to all us 'uninformed' i9505 users :)

Inviato dal mio GT-I9505 utilizzando Tapatalk
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] hasan291:
Mine just started giving this error 3 days ago, will try rom flash before opening anything up
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] Camicia:
If you never use a solder or a hot air gun, you should not start with your phone. The probability that you will burn some tracks or a chip are VERY high.

EDITED - WCDMA is very different than CDMA (despite the name)

1) You need to have a rooted ROM that let you do it.

2) The phone needs to recognized the SIM card (even for a short amount of time) in order to switch to "WCDMA only".

3) You lose LTE . If you live in an area that does not have LTE, please goes ahead. For me LTE feels 10x faster than 4G - See http://www.androidauthority.com/4g-vs-lte-274882/

So, "WCDMA only" is a less desirable option but it may be better than always receiving the SIM card Error and being disconnected.

Thanks mr_horsepower for pushing me to research more about WCDMA.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] mr_horsepower:
1. my previous information given in this thread stated that my phone is rooted.

2. i can't dispute what you say about at&t & t-mobile not working in wcdma mode.

i can definitely say that my phone has been working fine with the settings set where I'd mentioned. I'm typing this on my phone right now, been watching YouTube all night, i make calls all the time.

* I'm in the u.s. my carrier is cricket (recently aquired by at&t)

3. i will dispute the loss of any connectivity requiring the sim card as my phone won't work without it and it's clearly connected, as i mentioned above.

I'll share my opinion on what's desirable

-switching is 100% less than desirable if your phone is working fine.

-switching is 100% desirable if you can & it's the only thing that allows your phone to work.

so this is said, i 100% believe this problems ultimate fix is reflowing the chip. i mentioned that previously in this same thread.

not sure why you felt you needed to tell me how undesirable my patch is. i think shimming a sim card with a piece of paper, then a sanitary napkin & lastly a pillowtop mattress is undesireable but i didn't single anyone out to tell them about it.

.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] Camicia:
I just realized that WCDMA has nothing to do with CDMA and I was able to enable "WCDMA only" on my carrier. As I stated you need a rooted device and you will lose LTE. I agree with you that this workaround is good f the phone pop the SIM card error too often and you cannot reflow.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] hasan291:
Few days ago my phone became very bad, sim removed error became really frequent.

So i opened it up, removed the connector and reconnected it pressing on it hard. closed it back up.

Been 2 days now and error hasnt come up, hopefully stays that way :)
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] andro54:
Gonemad please !! I just buy a gaz heat/solder pen because of you lol, but I'm too afraid to heat my motherboard, I've never done that... Can you help me (us) writting us a detailled tutorial, or best of the best a video tutorial to explain how you did that ?? I think this could help a lot of people !

**preying in front of my S4 motherboard**

best regards
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] Gonemad:
Here is the chip in question

I took a small piece of foil and exposed only that chip like this.

Then I dabbed a small bit of solder flux/paste on the legs of the chip and then heated with the heat gun. I tried low heat at first but that didn't seem to be enough so then I went to high heat maybe for about 40ish seconds. I did this twice.

NOTE: I TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY IFOR ANY OVERHEATED DEVICES
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] andro54:
OK thanks for answer but at the square place I have a black chip on, and also a metal protective.

Do I need to remove both ??
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] Gonemad:
Yes, in this pic, for some reason there is no chip. You must remove the sim card tray and the small bracket underneath to expose. For this fix, I would only recommend hot air as opposed to actually reheating with a solder gun. This chip has very tiny legs and the risk of bridging any of them is much much higher using a solder gun, even with the smallest tips, unless you are very experienced.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] andro54:
hot air like what hairdryer ?? I tought it needed more temp like 25O°C

I Have this tool that throw hot air (+/-500°C)

Good or not ?

I'm not experienced at all lol
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] Gonemad:
Mine is similar to this one.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Heat-Gu...es-Power-Tool-1500-W-Heater-Gun-/310923907870

It gets hot enough that it will melt the solder to strip TTL chips off larger circuit boards. As for yours, I have no idea what the flow is like or temp that comes out of the tip. This is something that might take you a couple times to do,,like me. I had to do it twice, a little longer the second time. I seen somewhere that posted and ideal temp and I am thinking it is around the 200 -250. I'll see if I can find it...

http://forum.gsmhosting.com/vbb/f25...e-sim-reader-1780363/index6.html#post11608015
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] MatteoB92:
I've just performed the fix : it keeps the signal, hoping for life expentancy :)

Inviato dal mio Transformer TF101 utilizzando Tapatalk
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] hasan291:
Error came back for the first time today, so whats next step?

My connector seemed fine, so where exactly do I need to heat?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] andro54:
Hi

I had frenquently SIM REMOVE REBOOT messages and also more and more often unable to find a network.

I tried the ear foam solution but it "works" for only couple of hours...

And as my phone wasn't usable in this state so I decide I have nothing to loose so I re-heat the chip pointed out by [MENTION=5719323]Gonemad[/MENTION] and...

Wooo this seems to work !!! I waited 3 days before posting to be more sure, but It's been 3 days without any SIM problem.

I hope it will last ! (finger crossed)

So for now MANY THANKS [MENTION=5719323]Gonemad[/MENTION] :good: :good:

[MENTION=4518432]hasan291[/MENTION] > see previous posts for more info
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] Brock Samson:
This is the third s4 I've had this problem with. After a while the foam solution would no longer work and I would get the sim removed message around ten times a day. I called T-Mobile and they said that Samsung has acknowledged that it is a hardware problem and they would send me a s5 for five dollars.

So if this is really bothering people it couldn't hurt to call your carrier and give them a hard time about it.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] hasan291:
Thats great you fixed it! :good:

For now I just used a bit of insulation tape on the connector, to keep it firm but not warp the board (like a thick piece of foam could do)

If i see the error even once, thats it, going to heat

Hopefully it works, ive had loads of experience fixing ylod PS3s lol :fingers-crossed:

Thanks
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] hasan291:
Just heated the IC, will report back if I ever see the sim removed error :)
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] andro54:
Well it didn't last... the 5th day it happened 1 time, the 6th day 1time, and now back again to several time a day... unusable... :crying:

will have to heat again, a little harder this time :mad: I'll tell you in few days
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] hasan291:
Mine came back today aswell lol

Happened twice n:(
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] pesof:
I used my i9515 phone for 2 years with 0 issues

Now after this bug came it's blowing my mind !

what i tried till now:

1-foam method (realy really useless )

2-Heating method (worked for 4 days then the error happened more frequently nearly 5 times a day)

3-changed sim card tray(wasted 4 dollars :D)

a guy mentioned he sent the phone to samsung and they replaced the motherboard for 70$ and the phone is working now

well.. I am not gonna pay 70$ to fix something i didn't cause .

SO...the cheapest way around is..

Install MacroDroid from playstore

then click on add macro

then search for error s4

this macro will restart your phone automatically when this error happens (it checks if network is not available then restart phone)

Not a full fix but till I change my phone I am sticking with it
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] MatteoB92:
The previous Friday the 'famous' message appeared 2 times when I was working but fortunately a reboot solved.

Yesterday the toast showed itself 3 times, one in the afternoon and the other two in the evening this time at some minutes the 2nd after the 1st, but the reboot did again its job.

This morning again the same error, reboot technique didn't work more (tried 3 or 4 following attemps) and I thought to add a layer of double-sided tape directly on the cover to increase the pressure effect : has worked for all the day but after nearly 8 hours I was again at the beginning, so I added another layer.

Now I'm 'obliged' to wear scissors and roll into my university bag, I'm starting to hate my faithful S4..

EDIT : Yesterday evening I had to add another layer, just some minutes ago again the toast.

A reboot solved for the moment, but I think it's just question of time, I rebuilt the 'pyramid' on the cover but I reached the limit, the hump doesn't let me closing it properly..

Inviato dal mio GT-I9505 utilizzando Tapatalk
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] pesof:
Well.. I said ok let me change the motherboard fully

Went to Samsung service center here in Turkey..

Aaaand unfortunately they said they don't fix or change faulty motherboards even if i paid for it :D:D:D they gave me the phone back and charged me 4$ just because they checked the phone.

For the sake of god it's Samsung's fault and I said paying 70$ is better than buying a new phone ..

But no Samsung really messed up this time.

No more Samsung.. going to nexus ( When i have some money ).
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] MatteoB92:
I didn't visit an official center foreseeing an answer like this, a friend of a store repair said me was difficult to find new motherboard : but I never give up and discovered official replacement on aliexpress.

The only reason is holding back me to order is ETA, as an alternative I'm searching before into my area used devices with a broken display, substituting the mb is easy when learned.

In the meanwhile I've ordered an LG G4 because I was tired of this state of uncertainty conducting a work in which the telephone is important if not fundamental, tomorrow I would receive the new gift : but with composure I'll fix the S4 because has been a faithful soldier for 3 years, and I'm attached to a still great smartphone (especially with JDC AOSP based on Marshmallow)

Inviato dal mio Transformer TF101 utilizzando Tapatalk
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] Kippy51:
Found a secondhand original mainboard on eBay germany and bought it. My father in law will put it in. Problem solved!
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] pesof:
Well that's something i can't do unfortunately..

Turkey uses registered imei system on their operators to prevent people from buying phones from abroad with cheaper price (not paying taxes which are huge for phones)

So if i get one from ebay aliexpress etc..

the imei will change and though it will work only for 60 days then operators will blacklist it:D

I was wondering if using an i9505 mainboard instead of my i9515 board will cause any issues since it is more available here in Turkey :D
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] andro54:
FYI

I reheated the chip -harder- for the second time and it last 7+days, I thought this time it was good but... it came back yesterday, 2 times :'(

will heat HARDER AGAIN till its repared or broken. :mad::mad::mad: I'll tell you in several days. To be continued...
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] pesof:
Ok so i found an i9505 mainboard here i couldn't find i9515 one

As far as i know i9515 is identical to i9505

so do you think it might cause problems?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] prince palash:
thanks developer...I just tried your method and its going well..thanks a lot.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] mr_wider:
I have followed the advice and after 14 days still it works without error. I did only "hot air reflow to this chip and the connector for the sim card", without "Then I read to reflow the chip in the second pic in the yellow circle". I am very thankfull to Gonemad, because I have tried a lot of ways to fix the problem and there was no profit.

So, I suggest to make a list for those who repaired the SGS4 following the advice of Gonemad.

I am the first one =)
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] kotarokun:
Ended up buying LG G4

So after few month of struggle, paper/plastic/foam trick, re-flow solder, replacing the whole tray, repeat the steps few times until my phone finally gave up, I ended up with LG G4. Didn't want to risk replace the motherboard or the same phone and still ended up with the same problem.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] prince palash:
I think we should throw this phone into dustbin
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] ogkillergreen:
There is no way to fix this issue guys. Thus is deep rooted by Samsung. You can try everything but you'll never know if it's fixed because you can't induce the error. It's completely random. I have tried to fix it before and it went away for 3 days and it came back. Then I've just simply rebooted and it went away for 2 months. It's just a hiccup with Samsung devices more specifically the S4. So you can keep trying to find ways to "Fix it" but you'll just be wasting your time. Only way to fix it is to trash it and get a different phone.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] Camicia:
The first time I reheat the U203, my S4 worked for a few months. The last week I had the error 10+ times a day. Today I reheated that chip and U501 on the other side as reported here : http://forum.gsmhosting.com/vbb/f25...already-change-sim-reader-1780363/index5.html - The only problem is that in my case it looks like the chips around the U501 are glued with this transparent gel kind of thing. I though it was an excess of flux but it does not melt or evaporate.

It seems to be working for now but if it does not hold, I am going to use the phone as a wi-fi only device and buy a new phone.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] andro54:
I did exactly the same (8days ago today), and I was wondering why those little capacitors had some flux but it wasn't indeed.

S4 as a wifi only device i thought about it, but it's not enought for a tablet. You'd better sell the screen as it and get $60 to buy your new phone... that what i would do if I end overheating my S4

what a stupid bug I wanted to keep the S4 for another couple of years it's a perfect phone :(
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] pesof:
oK aLL PESOF IS HERE !!!

Pesof tried every method, watched every video, even tried smashing the phone heated it etc..

I knew I need a new mainboard BUT my phone is i9515 which is very rare so no luck finding parts for it.

HOW DID I SOLVE IT ?

Went to Aliexpress then talked to a seller and asked him to send me i9505 I even chose my old imei so my operator doesn't block me :D.

I bought it for 41$ and it is working perfectly !!

Installed costum roms (which wasn't an option in i9515)..

OOOO baby the phone is back :D

Good luck all and stop trying to fix it also dont buy a new phone :D just pay the 41$ and enjoy ur phone again.. seeee YA
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] dito33:
So you bought a mainboard or whole phone. Do you have all the bands working, since it is a different unit.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] pesof:
yes a mainboard not a newphone

here is what i did

tried an i9500 mainboard it won't work(obviously) since this model is totally different.

then i searched for i9515 mainboard which i never found since it is a rare model.

then i noticed that under the mainboard in the phone i9505 is written.

also on the charge unit.

so samsung used all i9505 parts in i9515 but the software is deferent.

i risked and bought the i9505 mainboard.

everything is running smoooth i installed google play rom and 0 errors have happened yet.

no heating ans everything is working perfectly.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] RivalComp:
I had a weird experience. I've tried out a few combinations of I/O scheduler a week ago. I've set NOOP with 256k read ahead for the external SD. After a day this "SIM card removed" problem came in. In the beginning once a day, then more and more times a day. In the end I was experiencing this error in every hour.

I started to think about what I've done before. I switched back the I/O scheduler to SIO (kernel default). It was a few days ago. Since then this error message hasn't appeared yet. Weird. It doesn't rule out the possibility of a hardware failure, but it seems that the NOOP scheduler triggered this message. NOOP is known to be the simplest scheduler, data transfer relies on the hardware itself only. So it seems that in my case the too much load triggered this error message.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] dito33:
What provider you are using the phone and is it a Tmobile phone originally.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] Feedmeeeee:
İ did everything but still sometimes i had sim card removed issue :( any advice m?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] djrubeen:
Hi, I think its happened in some cases with new microsim cards with chip nfc built-in. try with old microsim without nfc built-in.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] rmccurdy:
derp wrong thread here is my go at it

https://www.flickr.com/photos/freeload101/27403754756

no luck lasted day..wiping cache seems to help ..myabe not
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] Icone24:
Well i simply sold my S4 and just bought a Ulefone Power brand new for 150€.

Just waiting for it to arrive. Enough of Samsung for me, chinese phones are becoming quite competitive and i'm no longer the heavy user i was, so it fits my needs.

Good luck to all of you that have an S4, you'll need it :/
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] Steve 1956:
Sgs4 sim card missing

Hi I have tried the ear plug fix and no difference. What has worked for me is disabling the app google play store. For a week now no more sim card errors and the mobile is running much cooler. I only enable when updating or downloading apps. I don't have a fix yet fur the Google play store app. Hope this helps. :)
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] BluScanDth:
I used one from T-Mobile, the downside was that I couldn't get LTE, only HSPA+. Apparently the sim tray controls which network tech you use.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] JaimeZX:
FWIW... when I'm travelling for some reason I get SCR multiple times per day. But in my hometown it happens... weekly? Bizarre.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] Karele:
Is it will working in 100?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] JaimeZX:
Follow-up... it remained weekly-ish since the last post. Went on a short business trip last week; 5-7x per day. Home 24 hours now, hasn't happened yet.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] andro54:
Hi all

FYI i gave up sorry

i have heated the motherboard several times, now it no more reduce the problem... so sad. I gave up.

Now my S4 is a book reader :-/

looking for a new phone like One+, Samsung pissed me of with that problem, added to hardware and software lock, and the price of their phones.

Good luck to those who keep struggling
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] srky:
Not a fix but I found out that you can recover the network signal if you toggle the airplane mode, wait 5-6 seconds and toggle it again.