Phone Repaired, What Did They Do?

[mdawdy]

My S4 mini SGH-i257M was malfunctioning so i sent it in for repair. The local Rogers store sent it to FutureTel in Markham [Toronto] Ontario Canada. This is what they did, according to the Completion Report that came back with the phone ...

;RF Calibration performed to enhance RX/TX performance and network connectivity. Passed RF compliance test to meet manufacturer specifications. Adjusted battery level to optimize power usage.

It has been two weeks now and not only has it not malfunctioned, but the battery life is significantly improved - from 2 or 3 days of light use [usually just 2] to 5 days of light use.

What did they actually do? Does the recalibration affect hardware or software? Did they perhaps re-clock the CPU down to a slower speed? Any way to check this? What do they mean by adjusted battery level?

The phone is running KitKat 4.4.2, not rooted.

Thank you,

Mick

 

[Wm7Long]

All that I can tell you is RF stands for Radio Frequency. Apparently your cellular radio was tuned a bit off from whatever frequency(ies) your carrier uses. I wonder how they calibrate this.

Their statement "Adjusted battery level to optimize power usage" makes no sense to me. It's almost an oxymoron! But then, when signal level or reception of signal is poor, firmware detects this and gives the hardware an extra kick of battery juice. So maybe that's what they adjusted?

I'm really just guessing about RF calibration and battery adjustment. Hopefully somebody more knowledgeable will shed better light, especially regarding your questions about processor speed:

...Did they perhaps re-clock the CPU down to a slower speed? Any way to check this?...

 

[mdawdy]

Well, it gets worse. The phone messed up today same as before. A bit more than two weeks after the "repair". I was at home in one of the strongest signal areas. Would not receive or make calls or use mobile data. So back to the Rogers store. By the time i got there it had started working again so i could not demonstrate the problem. Also used a lot of battery power today, about 40% with light usage compared to 15% or less per day for the past two weeks.

What the counter guy at the Rogers store said is that there is nothing wrong with the phone, that all cell phones do this, and that i should adjust my expectations.

Here's a ConnectionChecker app. It notifies when network is lost. However it doesn't refresh the network ...
https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...id=com.cnigrini.networkmonitor&token=ZiEdyc1E

Here's another ConnectionChecker app. This one attempts to reconnect ...
https://forums.androidcentral.com/e....jeremychase.ConnectionChecker&token=Etj3JO39

Anyone here have another one of these to recommend?

 

[Wm7Long]

...adjust my expectations...

Geeze Mick, your issue is beginning to sound as if it's a problem with your carrier (Rogers). That was my first impression back when you first posted about it, except for the fact you wrote that a restart cures the trouble temporarily, making it sound like a phone issue. Perhaps a restart'd phone connects with some kind of fresh communication, thereby catching Rogers' attention and causing them to actually give you service. After awhile, they treat you like they do anyone else, providing service sporatically? I'm guessing you've already made sure it's nothing you're doing, like holding a hand over your phone's antenna area, or trying to use it within a grounded metal enclosure. Are your connection checker app(s) helping, providing any clues?

Meanwhile, I've been considering various Kitkat ROMs, one call'd LiquidSmooth (based on 4.4.4) has this screenshot:


This led me to find there's lots available at the Play Store for CPU speed:

https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...tore/search?q=cpu+speed&c=apps&token=74V77DkG