A new a1200 network recognition problem

[swan3983]

I just got my brand new a1200 today, I popped my T-mobile sim card in, and it read that I had a signal for a few minutes, then went to Emergency Calls Only. I tried sitting it right near my window, I tried powering on/off, I tried both Master Reset and Master Clear, and I tried charging the battery to full to see if it made a difference. So far, every time I power on the phone and I only get a signal for a few minutes. Even during these few minutes, I cannot make calls and I cannot receive calls. I even tried dialing 911 as a test, and that wouldn't dial, it keeps saying "Call Failed."

I looked at my firmware version, which was R532_G_11.00.46P, but I think it's been modified by China Mobile, as the icons are not the default icons, there is no MSN messenger, and the browser is called Monternet.

I need help. I can't figure out if it's a firmware issue or a hardware issue, as I know it's not a carrier issue with T-mobile (all of my other devices have always had strong signals). I can still send it back if it's a hardware issue, but if I flash the firmware, it will void the warranty. If it's a firmware issue I am more than willing to flash it to a new firmware, though. I've searched the forum and haven't been able to find a specific problem like this. Please help!!

[motomaster]

I suggest you to try the quadband mod by alpha , although I am not very hopeful.

[swan3983]

Thank you for your help. I would've never found that on here if it wasn't for your suggestion. I haven't tried it yet because I have to install the Microsoft .net Framework to get the Radiocomm program to install so I can try out the mod file. I've already flashed the firmware to 08P and back to the generic 46P (I don't think the guy I bought it from will notice the difference between the Generic and the China Mobile versions of 46P if this mod doesn't work and I have to return it).

I've wanted the a1200 since I saw it online a couple years ago, but I wasn't able to afford it back then. With the release of the a1600 and the a810, the price of the a1200 has come down more in my range that I'm willing to spend on a phone. I've went through the happiness of getting the phone I've been wanting to the utter disappointment and irritation of having it not work regardless of what I've tried. I've been searching for a way to get it to work all day, and I've been trying everything I can... hopefully this will be the one that works!

I will post the fix does or doesn't work.

[swan3983]

Tried the quadband/edge fix... still can't seem to find a signal. So, at this point, after being up all night trying to work this thing out, I think I'm about to give up. I'm going to have to send it back and get my money back. It really shouldn't be this difficult to get this phone working. Again, thanks for the help... I guess I wasn't meant to have an a1200

[Rlove]

you try another sim on your phone...

[sabrod]

I would try a opensource qtopia fw. Then, maybe ask someone that have the a1200 working near to you, possibly with the same operator, to extract the p2k partition from it's phone, using p2kcommander.

First backup your p2k partition! and any seems you found.

Look at there: Yuet Blog - Motorola phone, J2ME, Mac: How to improve network reception
(yuet blob is full of seems tutos )

If it isn't possible, then the next solution is to open another thread asking for such settings / seem edits.

Maybe qtopia firmware (an AP firmware) is good to try, as it isn't affected by any seems edits, what i don't know is if nucleus (your original BP firmware) will still be affected by a wrong p2k setting when you are running qtopia... But i guess for your tests, having an opensource software, and a support for great devellopers would help you. Again, i think far from the motorola OS, you can be more free to test any seems edit you would like...

[swan3983]

Yeah, I've tried my girlfriend's sim card a little bit ago, and the same thing happened. I don't know anyone else in my area (southeast Michigan) that has an a1200 that I would be able to copy their p2k partition from. I will try flashing with the qtopia firmware, and hopefully that will help.

Before I try qtopia, though, will I be able to flash back to 46P, just in case I do have to return the phone? I couldn't find a thread stating yes I would be able to flash back, or no, I would not be able to flash back. Again, thanks for the help

[sabrod]

Humm, very good point.. (the one of no return... )
Well, for the record, you have to know there were several ways to do a firmware backup! Backups - OpenEZX (some windows softwares are to come). next time...

I know only backup solutions concerning the AP and the flex part, i don't know for BP. I also hope you didn't flashed to A1200 "i" or "e" track... it's irreversible, and an easy check will show the update.

And for warranty pb, vendor could perfecly note the md5sum of the flash codegroups, or also you could make a mistake by reflashing a different software... but you could risk a return, the point is it cannot work for sure. i don't know what else to say.

you 'd have to take care of finding a firmware exactly as the branded one you had...
do you remember the bootloader version you had befor e flashing for the first time?
As you told about 08p... You will HAVE to reflash the same kind of sbf, and maybe that chinese "china mobile" 46p ??
Maybe you had a "modded" fw, flashed by the vendor himself, it's possible the vendor lives in a place with a better signal than you (like a building in a big town) and didn't noticed the bad work he did...
afaik 46p was only released in chinese and english, so if you had spanish or french or german, etc other than chinese and english, you already had a modded 46p version at the origin.
Well, i will cross finger for you.

Note that you risk to break you phone by flashing a full firmware, like a lot of sbf, but some sbf, like qtopia's don't replace the bootloader so it's safer to try it, also, any other sbf, even the "AP rootfs only" will go back to the original using the good old rdslite.

Qtopia, ok, maybe will not do all you'd like to do with your phone, actually it's very nice and evoluting quickly, but still some bugs remains. you may just want to try how reception will be handled by it, as it's safe, but i guess it will not solve your problem i told that only to do some safe tests first. Ask their developers maybe, they will say you how the firmware works, if it can solve your pb, or if they know solutions?

p2k seems editing is your friend i guess if you really want to solve your problem... document you on all the tricks you can test with p2k, then you'll know if that solved you problem. I believe a seem mod can work on a firmware, and not in another, so every instructions can be specific to a software version (of BP or AP fw )...
Good luck!

[swan3983]

Yeah, the fw that came with the phone had to be modded, because it has several more languages than Chinese and English in it. I haven't flashed to the I or E tracks, as I'm almost positive that the phone model is just a regular a1200. I just flashed to 08p to see if it solved the problem, tried the quad-band seem edit, when that didn't work I tried a generic 46p, and still ended up with the same result. I've tried all the tricks listed that I could find on this messageboard (turning antenna off and on, changing bands), but nothing has worked yet. I definitely don't want to flash to something that won't allow me to flash to 46p if it doesn't work.

I tried doing some other seem editing, but I don't really understand it without specific instructions or tutorials on exactly what I'm changing. So, I haven't done anything except the quad-band mod.

The person I bought it from offered a 7 day refund policy, 30 days free replacement, and 6 months free repair. So I'm going to send it back for a refund and try buying a new a1200 from somewhere else that has a regular, unmodified fw on it.

[sabrod]

Ok, franckly, you can go with a mod to reflash back, i wish you luck...
I'm quite sure no 46p has been released with all european languages...

And for seems, i can only suggest you to search a firmware that can overwrite it.

Modding a firmware is easy, you can for example use a branded china mobile fw, then after, reflash only the language cg on top of it, so the result should look like your "original" firmware

Sorry, if i cannot be more precise. i just knew about 46p as my phone was also sold to me with this kind of 46p mod .