SGH-M919 on Straight talk with At&t sim

[realfrustrated]

I've searched the forums and have yet to find an answer to my question. I hope someone can help me.

I brought an unlocked s4 from t-mobile to Straighttalk. I opted for the AT&T network sim because t-mobile service in my area is horrible.

The port completes, I updated an settings and then I slowly begin to lose data. Service goes from 4G LTE with full bars, to 4G half bars, to G with the tiniest bar visible to nothing.

If I put my phone in my window 4G LTE comes back but service is sporadic. Hop in my car and I have no service at all until I'm approximately 3 miles from home.

I do live in a rural area; however I've used straighttalk for years now, both AT&T phones and Verizon phones and they've all worked flawlessly.

Everyone in my home uses Straighttalk as well, some one vzw phone, one AT&T phone. So why does mine not work at home?

My rear facing camera doesn't work either. I've troubleshot everything within my knowledge as well as taken tips from other posts via the Internet and I'm almost certain the camera has to be unplugged.

If that's the case, could something else in the guts of my phone be unplugged or dislodged or something?

I feel like I'm really just grasping at straws here. Can anyone help me? Straighhtalk has basically 5old me they've exhausted all of their "tools" and cannot help me.

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[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! That sounds frustrating. Was the phone brand new or used? The fact that the rear camera isn't working does increase suspicion that there's some hardware issue going on. Are you able to return or exchange that phone?

 

[realfrustrated]

Yes, it's beyond frustrating. Seems I've traveled back to the days of combing the house over and holding the phone just this way or that way in hopes of picking up signal.

I bought the phone used from a very close friend. I knew the rear facing camera didn't work when I bought it. Silly me thought I'm not tech stupid so I'll become tech savvy and fix it myself. Yeah, not so much.

It was locked but T-Mobile provided him with the unlock code when he upgraded to his new note 4. He is very trust worthy and said that he had no issues with service once I told him about my troubles.

Last night I was able to send a text with my data turned off and only the tiniest service bar illuminated. I then turned my data back on and began searching the house for signal spots. The kitchen window provides the best service, LTE included, but it's not long lasting. I can sit on the couch and it will show 4G with 3 bars illuminated and it might as well have the line through the circle symbol as there is no srvice what so ever.

I put my daughter's sim card in my phone and it changed nothing.

I have no other issues with the phone. I can access WiFi flawlessly. Bluetooth works fine. All of apps seems to work fine. At work, I couldn't ask for a better phone.

I'm truly at a loss.

I have contacted a local repair shop and will be taking the phone there this evening or tomorrow to see if the rear facing camera is unplugged, and if so have that fixed. I'm also hoping that there will be something visible that would cause spotty srvice issues.

I do live in a rural area; however, I'm not "deep in the woods" at home. My family has used straight talk, serviced by both AT&T and Verizon and we've never encountered a problem like this. My old s2 without 4G capabilities worked better than this. Not as fast data wise outside of the home, but I could still receive calls and texts.

I'm open to any and all suggestions.

Could this be a modem/radio or antenna issue? If the modem/radio or antenna were faulty or corrupt or not attached properly would the phone have any service at all?

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[realfrustrated]

Well I just typed this long response and it's not showing up. So I'll try this again.

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[realfrustrated]

I purchased the phone used from a very close family friend. It was on a T-mobile contract, but T-Mobile provided the family friend with the unlock code.

The friend knew the rear facing camera wasn't working correctly, he just didn't use it enough to know it doesn't work at all.

That being said, I can't return it.

I have contacted a local cell repair store and the gentleman said it sounds to him like the camera is just unplugged. He aid he can repair that in minutes for just a few bucks. I'm hoping that there will be something visible, under the case, that can be repaired and resolve this issue.

Anything I should be warned about? Could this be a radio or antenna problem?

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[realfrustrated]

I should also note that I'll not be out of a lot of money because he practically gave the phone to me considering what I paid for it. This is also the reason I'm OK with investing a little. If I can have it fixed for a reasonable price , I'd love to keep it.

He never had issues with service and I don't feel he's ripped me off.

I love the phone while I'm at work, or in another town. Just not at home.

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[B. Diddy]

Can you double check to make sure your APN settings are correct? StraightTalkSIM DATA APN Settings ATT

I'm not sure if it's possible, but I just wonder if the phone is still defaulting to a T-Mobile APN.

 

[realfrustrated]

Ya know, I originally thought it was the APN settings. Here's why. When the port was complete, I received a text saying welcome to AT&T! The phone worked. I could call, txt, data was the fasted I've experienced on any phone. But, I couldn't send or receive MMS. StraightTalk customer service warned me this may be an issue and if so, change the APN settings.

I changed them to what they recommended, then I had no service of any kind. That's where the trouble started. I've reset to deafults, created new ones based on what I had read on xda threads. Nothing has resolved the issue.

I read somewhere that you sometimes have to clear the cache partitions when APN settings become an issue so I did that as well.

Aside from the camera issue, which I'm confident can be fixed, it's a great phone unless I'm near home. As I type this post, I'm in another county, far more back woods than the area I live in, and my srvice is impeccable.

As always, if you have any suggestions or tips regarding the APN settings, I'd be glad to give it a go. I'll post the current settings.

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[realfrustrated]

K

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[realfrustrated]

I also tried the at&t recommended settings that's provided on their website and that didn't work at all.

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[B. Diddy]

Dangit, that's all I can think of.:-\ I hope you're able to figure it out!