Bad reception (can not make or receive calls in my house)

Help Fairphone 2
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Dear FP forum,

In the last months/last half year I have noticed that the reception of my FP2 is very bad. I can not make or receive (decent) phone calls in my house or around my house.

Now, as this can have a number of causes, so here’s more information;

  • I have a contract with Vodafone, one of the biggest in The Netherlands.
  • I live with three others who do not experience reception problems, one of which also has a FP2 and Vodafone, and when I put the phones right next to each other, in the same rooms, and he has reception (several bars) and I do not.

My question is; what can cause this, and more importantly how can I solve this? Thank you in advance, any help is appreciated :slight_smile:

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Sorry, this may be a stupid question, but do you mean you only have this issue near your house and in other location it works?

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I had similar problems and even tried different providers (EE, Vodafone UK). While I am struggling with connectivity the much smaller Samsung S3 mini of my wife still shows three bars.
For me it turned out to be the contact pads in the phone. What I have not shared is that the problem returns every couple of weeks because of a new build up of oxide. I wish the designers of the FP2 would have thought about this and used proper (fairly sourced) gold plating instead of this silver gunk.

2 Likes
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Hi Paula,

Not at all :slightly_smiling_face:
Yes, that is what I mean. Generally it doesn’t work well inside the house, fine on the balcony, but I have had issues in a nearby park (that really isn’t that big).

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Hi! Thanks for your reply!
If that is the case, how can I go about cleaning the contact pads? Thanks!

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The post explains it. It is important to use pure Isopropanol without any additives (perfume etc.). I would recommend the lint-free isopropanol tissues you get in small pouches at the chemists. And do not scratch the pads with sharp objects as this will only make the connection worse.

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Ah, I see now, sorry, I didn’t read that post…though that was my message you replied to :slight_smile:

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Since last November, I have tried both suggestions (cleaning the contact pads and checking the antenna) several times, but to no avail; I still have bad reception in my house (one or no bars).
Is there anything else I can do?

Thank you again for any help/suggestions! :slight_smile:

EDIT: SOLVED!
After I wrote the above post, I thought I’d try one more thing: change the SIM card slot.
Turned off the FP2, removed the SIM from slot 1, put it into slot 2, turned it back on, and voilà; full reception!
That would mean the problem lies in slot 1. To be sure of this, I switched the SIM card back into slot 1, and to be great surprise; full reception!
I don’t know why or how - and if anyone has an answer, I’d be very interested - but for now, I am very happy that my dear FP2 has returned to full capacity!
Hurray!

EDIT2: ALMOST solved
Close, but not quite there yet…turns out when I select 2G I have full reception. But if I select 4G I have no reception, and when I select 3G I have reception but can’t call or be called…
I now wonder if this is an issue of the provider or the SIMcard…
Anyone have any idea?
Thanks in advance!

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Further update/info; the issue of little to no connectivity remains.

  • Still have little to no 4G reception in my house and immediate surroundings, and upon further inspection, the reception is not full nearly anywhere.
  • Contacted Vodafone; got a new SIMcard; no change. There was/is a 4G reception issue around where I live, but has supposedly been solved.
  • I used SIMcards of other providers; no change; 4G reception seems to be low across the board.

What can I do now? Any advice/tips/tricks really welcome, thank you.

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