2016 update
This story happened back in 2009 when I accidentally broke my iPhone 3G and figured out a way to repair it.
I keep it online as a reference for prehistoric iPhone owners.

How I recovered...

How I recovered my iPhone's lost GSM signal!

(This guide applies to the 3G only. For the 3GS, check out this other guide by Matteo "xonox" Pisani.)

I found a lot of posts all over the web about people who lost the GSM signal after opening their iPhone 3G. The reason why I found these posts is simple: I had (yes: I had) the same problem. In this page, I will explain how I solved this problem.

One sad day, I broke the screen of my iPhone. I decided to repair it by myself, so I ordered some parts on eBay and I opened the phone. Unfortunately, I trusted the small "Do not remove" sticker. Before I realized there was a screw underneath, I gave a little bit too much force on the motherboard, and it was already too late. After reassembling the phone, it was not receiving any GSM signal, unless I stuck it on the mast of a cell tower!

Oh no! I turned my iPhone 3G into an iPod Touch!

After googling a little bit around, I soon realized that I was not alone. There seemed to be two causes for the lost signal: either a small crack on the motherboard, or a missing component (often called a resistor, which it is not) near the GSM antenna contact pad.

Missing component (picture courtesy of Phonedoctor.de)

So I opened my iPhone again, and I realized that this component was indeed missing. First thing I tried was to replace it with a small piece of wire which I soldered across the two pads. Unfortunately, no luck. Still no (or extremely weak) signal.

My next idea was to try to discover the reference of this component on the Internet. I realized that several people were looking for this info as well, unfortunately without any success. I hope this page will help you all, guys!

I was very disappointed that a 0.01$ component could turn an iPhone into an iPod Touch, but it seemed that nobody on Earth knew how to repair this. I was already searching on eBay to buy another iPhone, when I met by chance an old friend of mine who owns TST Electronic, a repair center for electronic devices and computers. I told him about my problem and he said I was lucky because a customer brought him an iPhone 3G for repair, but as it had spent too much time underwater (the phone, not the customer!), it was unrecoverable. However, the mysterious component was probably still intact!

We rushed to his workshop, and I had a look at the defective iPhone motherboard through a microscope. And here is what I saw:

The iPhone antenna resistor is an inductor! (Click for high res)

The mysterious "resistor" is actually an inductor!!

You are looking at a SMD Wire Wound Ceramic Chip Inductor, 0402C series (datasheet from Frontier Electronics). This serie ranges from 1 to 68 nH (nanohenries), but although I tried to measure it with a Fluke 6303a RCL meter, I was not able to find out its real value, because it was under the instrument minimal measuring range (100 nH).

Then I put my own motherboard under the microscope. I realized that not only the component (sorry, the inductor!) was missing, but the circuit board was as well cracked, and a small copper track was broken:

  
Close-up of cracked motherboard and track, with protective film scratched away. (Click for high res)

I scratched away a small portion of the protective film on the broken track and I soldered the two parts together:

Broken track soldered. (Click for high res)

I know it looks ugly on the picture, but don't forget: it is magnified 20 times with a microscope! This track looks like it's 5 mm wide, but you can barely see it with naked eye!

The next step was to have a look at the missing part. Oh boy, this is ugly!

Close-up of the inductor SMD pads. (Click for high res)

The track on the right was badly broken, and the pad on the left, which was supposed to hold the inductor, was missing. It had probably been scratched away during my miserable attempts to replace the component with a piece of wire (the tip of my soldering iron is about 3 times thicker than one of these pads!).

I tried to repair the track the best I could (this time with a soldering iron tip of appropriate size) and I measured it with a continuity tester: the connection from the GSM antenna contact pad (you can see a small part of it on the top of the picture) down to the small contact at the bottom (what's its use, by the way?) was OK.

The track to the antenna contact pad is soldered. (Click for high res)

OK, it was time to have a closer look at this inductor. Desoldering it away from the other motherboard was a tough job. Thanks to Stéphane and his incredible hot air soldering gun for their help!

Extreme close-up of the inductor. (Click for high res)

Oops! The component was slightly melted during desoldering, and one of its wires was broken... At this point, we were holding it tight with a small pliers, trying to solder the wire back on the pad, when suddenly...

TICK!! The inductor escaped from the pliers and flew away at Mach-2 speed!! OH SHIIIIT!!

Stéphane is an optimistic guy, so he told me not to worry because the component was precisely located inside the room! Well... After 5 minutes of searching everywhere for a 0.5 x 1 mm grey spot, we had to admit that we would never find it again. Stéphane grabbed a box containing dozens of old phones, and he found an inductor which looked more or less the same. Here is what he found:

Another SMD inductor... (Click for high res)

It was bigger and thicker, and it had twice the number of windings than the original inductor, but we would give it a try. I soldered it on the circuit:

The new inductor is soldered on the board... (Click for high res)

And now ladies and gentlemen... let's put everything back together and power on the phone!

OH YEAH!!! It's working!!! 5 bars!!!

But the story is not finished yet! After thanking my friend a thousand times, I went back home. In the afternoon, while I was in a building, I noticed that my signal was quite weak, and sometimes it even disappeared. I checked another mobile phone (same operator of course) : it had two or three bars... Obviously something was wrong.

The problem was probably that the inductor did not have the same characteristics as the original. As I had nothing to lose, I tried a last experiment: I opened my iPhone once again, and I removed the inductor. I soldered a thin wire directly between the antenna contact pad and the point where I repaired the track. I was at home, so I had to work without microscope and with my thumb-wide soldering tip, but at the end I managed to do it. Unfortunately I have no nice picture for this one, but it looks like that:

No more inductor! (Picture courtesy of Semiconductor Insights)

Conclusion

Since I removed the inductor, I have the feeling that my signal is slightly stronger than before, especially inside buildings or far away from a cell tower. This inductor does not seem to be essential for proper GSM operation.

To make it short :

Please post your comments on this page, I'm very interested to see how many people are able to repair their phone thanks to this.

Oh, by the way, if you resurrect your phone thanks to me, and if you think about rewarding my efforts, don't hesitate to use the button below!! :-)

Comment from Matt, 2011/09/06 22:19 CET :
 
I was struggling with this problem with my 3GS for almost 4 weeks. The solution for me was not in this article or anywhere else I could find, though this article certainly did get me thinking in the right direction.

There is a small sticker next to the battery contacts on the board. I removed this sticker which exposed a small divot. I soldered a wire at this divot to the pad that holds the copper piece that makes contact to the casing and now have service again!

http://s1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc422/gringofl/?action=view¤t=DSC00010.jpg

Comment from benjamin, 2011/09/03 08:53 CET :
 
iphone 3gs and 4 motherboard,digram

Comment from catalin, 2011/08/28 18:33 CET :
 
look at the schematic radio parts
iphone radio.jpg

Comment from Angelo, 2011/08/27 21:47 CET :
 
I'll try it soon and I let you know! Nice to read your post! BRAVO!!!!

Comment from Melinda , 2011/08/23 16:30 CET :
 
THANK-YOU! Mine just started doing this after I had replaced my screen and charge port... so I will be taking my phone back asap to get them fix it!!

Comment from LH, 2011/08/23 15:18 CET :
 
The inductor I bourght is from Fanell part no 176-2604 3,6nH, it works perfect. Thx.

Comment from LH, 2011/08/15 09:35 CET :
 
Hi

Can anyone tell me the nH value of the inductor?
BR
LH

Answer:
Hi, not sure, the series ranges from 1 to 68 nH and I did not have the right tools to measure it. However, someone posted about successfully using a 47 nH coil.

Comment from CJ, 2011/08/14 10:37 CET :
 
DUDE , YOU ARE A GENIUS! sorry for caps but I am really screaming right now.
Thank you so much for sharing this with us now thanks to you I have my 3g back with full GSM signal.

In my case that semiconductor was missing I soldered it and it works.
Thanks again
CJ

Comment from Michel, 2011/08/09 18:37 CET :
 
I just read your article, and maybe I know where the inductor is used for.

A little background information- Several years ago I was working at a company with WiFi radios and we discovered that after a rainshower (we're talking northern Europe here) sometimes the radio cards would permanently lose 10dBmW on their signal levels.
We found out that the charge building up in the air (which, if enough can cause lightning strikes) was the cause of the loss. The antenna selector could only have 3V on its input, which was easily attained, blowing up the antenna selector.

After a lot of searching we found out that some radio cards did not suffer this issue. You may have guessed it, these contained a 13 nH inductor on their antenna outputs.

The inductor may not serve any 'useful' purpose at a first glance, but it may be there to prevent static from discharging into your radio circuitry.

Powerlines also generate a static build up in the air, which can amount to ~ 3V if you're directly below them (enough to blow up the antenna switch on the aforementioned radiocards).

I don't know if the inductor serves the same purpose here, but maybe it helps.

Regards,

Michel

Comment from mike, 2011/08/09 17:52 CET :
 
hi,,it work perfekt on my iphone 3g 8g ,,good gsm signal but when i choos 3g ,,no good signal

Comment from Nadeem, 2011/08/07 19:20 CET :
 
Hi i have a iphone 3gs with the same problem but i do get the 3g signal some of the time i know you said this is a different problem to yours and also i know you said you wouldent know if this would work on a 3gs but i still tried it and when i was opening the phone i noticed someone had already tried doing what you have done but i dont know if it is done correctly here is a photo i took http://i1229.photobucket.com/albums/ee470/nad367/IMG_0327.jpg
could you please tell me if its done correctly or mabe its not done properly thats why i dont get 2g signal and only get 3g sometimes and mabe you might know what to do to fix it if it is not done correctly. looking forward to your answer thank you.

Comment from Nadeem, 2011/08/07 19:20 CET :
 
Hi i have a iphone 3gs with the same problem but i do get the 3g signal some of the time i know you said this is a different problem to yours and also i know you said you wouldent know if this would work on a 3gs but i still tried it and when i was opening the phone i noticed someone had already tried doing what you have done but i dont know if it is done correctly here is a photo i took http://i1229.photobucket.com/albums/ee470/nad367/IMG_0327.jpg
could you please tell me if its done correctly or mabe its not done properly thats why i dont get 2g signal and only get 3g sometimes and mabe you might know what to do to fix it if it is not done correctly. looking forward to your answer thank you.

Comment from Nadeem, 2011/08/07 18:40 CET :
 
Hi i have a iphone 3gs with the same problem but i do get the 3g signal some of the time i know you said this is a different problem to yours and also i know you said you wouldent know if this would work on a 3gs but i still tried it and when i was opening the phone i noticed someone had already tried doing what you have done but i dont know if it is done correctly here is a photo i took http://i1229.photobucket.com/albums/ee470/nad367/IMG_0327.jpg
could you please tell me if its done correctly or mabe its not done properly thats why i dont get 2g signal and only get 3g sometimes and mabe you might know what to do to fix it if it is not done correctly. looking forward to your answer thank you.

Comment from Ammar Bin Rehan, 2011/07/31 21:13 CET :
 
HI all,
Especially the guy who wrote n tried it in the first place ( cant evn find the name of the guy i shud thank)...Anyway, whn my iPhone 3g turned into iPod TOuch, i finally bumped into this post. I read it thoroughly n realized tht i hv the exact same prob, so i went along with the directions n fixed mine,... n yeah btw the signals r stronger than before too..m glad this post helped me.. please accept my gratidute for making this wonderful fix to put my iPhone back to PHONE mode..thanks alot buddy..!!

Comment from Ravi A, 2011/07/26 06:51 CET :
 
Great write up and explanation. I had the exact same issue and helped fix it.


Just bridged the gap between the inductor and corrected the trace. And my phone is back on network :)

Comment from Marco, 2011/07/20 11:03 CET :
 
Hey,

thanks for this site :-)

But I still have a little problem....
As you discribed, I have briged the way where in former days the inductor was placed. It worked, but it lost the signal all the time.

In a secound step I have cleaned up everthing a made a bridge from the antenna conection pad (the golden pad?) to the dark green conductor (like as shown with the red line). But it was the same.

Now I have cleand up everthing again. But when I check the continuty with a multi, there´s a connection between the golden pad an the screw hole...
But there is no solder and I can´t see any conductor line to this screw hole.

Could you please help me? Thanks a lot in advance!
Marco

Comment from Paul, 2011/07/19 01:54 CET :
 
Hi I have a 3GS with this problem I have bridged the two pad together but am still getting no signal the phone does however detect carriers but intermittently any ideas regarding the wore Dow ina3gs? And could it be that too much solder would cause this really appreciate any ideas. Thanks in advance paul

Comment from tom, 2011/07/17 08:29 CET :
 
i had to replace my loud speaker module,then no service,blah..after several days of inspection i saw nothing wrong.so i go to google and type in my problem and found you the saver of the iphone.i never thought to look at something so small,but there it was,the inducer was missing,pulled a very small(small then a hair)wire from an old earbud headphone and soldered it across the contacts and presto...back in business./THANKS

Comment from prince rajput, 2011/06/17 18:31 CET :
 
sir what i can use my iphone without screws

Comment from prince rajput, 2011/06/17 18:29 CET :
 
hi i am prince rajput

sory for my bad english

sir i have a iphone 3g 8gb,some days before my iphone in network problem and show no servise but sir i see your pictures and you help me then i repair my iphone come 5bars network-thakns sir--but sir my iphone screws all lost sir. my city is india i leave in india, i did not found screws in my city. my city is very backword area. pls sir help me...

Comment from hukeshdhawa, 2011/06/14 06:17 CET :
 
my problam is ATF not Found plase slove sir +919928586853 .......plz help

Comment from hukesh, 2011/06/14 06:14 CET :
 
sir my prolam is ATF advance turbo flasherer Not Found .....plz help sir +919928586853 jodhpur

Comment from Jack, 2011/05/31 02:36 CET :
 
Can't try this till tomorrow but I know there is a crack just where yours is and I have the same simptoms... Dude I think you just saved my iPhone :D

Comment from Bill, 2011/05/30 03:03 CET :
 
I replaced the power switch on my Son's iPhone 3g which worked great but immediately got the 'No Service' indication. After reading this article I found the inductor was also missing on the board. I used a small soldering iron and made a solder bridge between the two pads and it works now! Thank you!

Comment from Bill, 2011/05/30 03:02 CET :
 
I replaced the power switch on my Son's iPhone 3g which worked great but immediately got the 'No Service' indication. After reading this article I found the inductor was also missing on the board. I used a small soldering iron and made a solder bridge between the two pads and it works now! Thank you!

Comment from prince rajput, 2011/05/26 07:56 CET :
 
sory sir mistake i am play the song iphone is not restart. and continious playing the songs.

Comment from prince rajput, 2011/05/26 07:51 CET :
 
hi sir i m prince rajput thsnksss sir my iphone is network 5 baars full network worked,,, but sir my i iphone are some problems ,, - my iphone 3g after network coming is some problems creatings. like brightness problem sir brightness not work and iphone calling ear senser not work not on off near the ear and sir main problem is my iphone i press the power lock botton and lock the iphone some few seconds i press the home botton and restaring my iphone and starting again apple logo. and sir some time pressing the power botton is show white screen. but sir i am play the songs and pressing the lock bottong and iphone is restart and continus playing the songs....... plssss sir hep me..

Comment from younas, 2011/05/21 14:08 CET :
 
Prince Rajput,
If you post a picture, we'll be able to see the exact problem of the area cracked.
this will be in order to help...

but if i do understand well, the inductor is cracked, if so, then remove it completly, and solder the two red dots as above... that's what i did...

Comment from prince rajput, 2011/05/20 05:57 CET :
 
prince rajput - and sir missing indoctor near board is cracked pls help sir

Comment from prince rajput, 2011/05/20 05:55 CET :
 
sir i m prince sir why i am send the picture of my iphone to u sir ????? pls help???

Comment from Younas, 2011/05/18 15:34 CET :
 
hey, Prince,

try post a picture

Comment from prince rajput, 2011/05/16 08:42 CET :
 
hello sir i m prince rajput ,,, i have iphone 3g 8gb. but sir not come the network and say no service. my iphone board back side network anteena near no inductor missing. pls help me i have no inductor.pls help me

Comment from Stefan G., 2011/05/15 16:08 CET :
 
Thanks! I would never have found out the reason for my iPhone4 Post-Display-Replacement GSM reception failure without this page.

Next time (next time?) I crack my front glass I know where not to work the logicboard :-)

Comment from Younas, 2011/05/06 21:38 CET :
 
Hi Guys,

I as all of you, experienced the same service outage on my Iphone 3G.
To try understand the problem, i googled my problem and found this exact same topic page in french (some plagia is going on here)...

i soldered as explained the two red dots, then put everything together..; and it worked... but once all the screws back in place, the service was lost or instable again.

This is where my contribution lays:

- I first thought my soldering work was bad (was pleased later to know is was not !!))

- Then i realised that the fact of puting the screaws back on the mother board distorted a bit the critical area, (i guess i have some micro fissure)...

- i decied then not to put back the two screws of the mother board arround the antena... and guess what... it workes perfect...

Thanks again for your great topic and pics

Comment from Bugis, 2011/05/05 09:47 CET :
 
Hi all,
I have same problem with my iPhone 3G,
my iPhone have no signal at all, i bought it in this condition from ebay,
and of course i did tried to fix it by this guide, after some trying with different methods i have no luck... ahh.

I take the four close photos how the motherboard looks, :

http://img577.imageshack.us/g/dsc00424f.jpg/

PLEASE HELP ME ! any help would me much appreciated.

Comment from kenny, 2011/04/19 04:53 CET :
 
broke tip of board can i use plug at bottom of board for antenna

Comment from Duncan, 2011/04/15 10:54 CET :
 
I can confirm that this also works for the iPhone 4. Thanks heaps!

Comment from Hans , 2011/04/09 13:32 CET :
 
PEOPLE

The fix is far more aesy then described. The fix is great and helped me creating an aesier fix.
Ths wil only work if you didnt fuck up the logic boardsolders.. as seen on pictures of earier posts.

First of all before you start buy rent borrow a small welder from Weller with a really fine tip.
second Borrow a multimeter or buy one it will help you determine if you made a good solder

connect the red dots were the inductor used to be and voila it is fixed..

check it with the multi meter and presto tyou ipod touch is a iphone again.

/Users/hansheuvel/Desktop/Picture 1.png

Comment from Hans , 2011/04/09 13:31 CET :
 
PEOPLE

The fix is far more aesy then described. The fix is great and helped me creating an aesier fix.
Ths wil only work if you didnt fuck up the logic boardsolders.. as seen on pictures of earier posts.

First of all before you start buy rent borrow a small welder from Weller with a really fine tip.
second Borrow a multimeter or buy one it will help you determine if you made a good solder

connect the red dots were the inductor used to be and voila it is fixed..

check it with the multi meter and presto tyou ipod touch is a iphone again.

/Users/hansheuvel/Desktop/Picture 1.png

Comment from avinash, 2011/04/08 14:19 CET :
 
hello, i have the same problem. the part of the motherboard is actually broken. can you help, how do i send you a pic of my problem?.. thank you

Comment from Calvin, 2011/04/06 21:28 CET :
 
Does anyone know if the ground spring in the bottom left has anything to do with charging? I was replacing my battery and the spring got bent and broke in half. When re-assembled with out it touching the bezel the phone lights up when plugged in and gives the red battery lightning bolt symbol but never charges.

Comment from harjitbhai, 2011/04/04 12:15 CET :
 
best site
thanks and regards
harjit
91-9811609021

Comment from Chris C, 2011/03/17 11:39 CET :
 
I normally scan the Internet for solutions and eventually solve the problem and never feedback the extras I find. This is such a good thread I thought I would share for once. After studying the official 3G Circuit I think I located the official component values. Its quite hard to troll through but they highlight the POGO PIN which is the connection close to the component that connects to the board. I found this by searching every inductor on the board (painful). The Farnell number is 36501E3N6JTDG. The official part is 850ma but this one at 840ma should be close enough. I have not tried it yet but hope to in the next week or so.

Thanks for a great thread.

Comment from Chris Zensen, 2011/03/14 10:28 CET :
 
Great Site! But I got another problem with my 3g! It fell into a cup of water and turned off. After drying it, it started again, complete function, but I can't charge it. What can I do?

Comment from Ajay, 2011/02/27 22:44 CET :
 
Hey, gr8 article, in the same spot.
You were wise in providing the close up shots, but in same cases, you could have provided a distant shot(as in to show the components clearly) showing the exact location of the strip and inductor.
I am now confused about the original spot of the inductor , can you show that in drawing (not so magnified)and new replacement coil you placed instead of the inductor.
I believe I don't have a cracked board hence it should work in the first step itself of connecting the contact pads.

Will surely donate , you saved to and fro shipping the USA ,plus the replacement and service charges

Comment from sean garratt, 2011/02/03 17:03 CET :
 
update: phone works but there is a whine on the outbound audio signal. kinda like a mosquito noise. I am presuming removal of the inductor and replacement with a wire jumper is the reason. not heard on inbound audio. i may try to acquire a dead logic board to get the inductor off, or buy inductor from the links on this page. or just let my daughter deal with it.

Comment from sean garratt, 2011/02/01 19:29 CET :
 
trying to set my daughter up with my old 3g. case was cracked so i got a new case from ebay and did a motherboard and all parts swap. everything worked fine .. but 'no service', no bars, even with my at&t sim. found your site, checked ad lo and behold the inductor was missing. took a soldering iron and filed a tip to needlepoint, and tinned it. took two strands of wire from some 22ga thin wire and tinned those. made sure all excess solder was cleaned off. took a deep breath and with the essential help of some magnifying glasses, jumped the inductor pads with solid wire. nipped off the end of the wire with some precision edge cutters, so only thing left was section jumping inductor pads. reassembled iphone, put in sim, 5 bars solid. made a call, no hum or any issues noticed, sounds fine. thanks for your website. will paypal you if i ever get ahead of the bills. thanks much. Sean, Chicago, USA.

Comment from Rob, 2011/01/30 03:02 CET :
 
Hi,

I'm pleased to announce that this fixed my iPhone 4 no service issue. My power button went and only works if you push extremely hard on it. So after no help at all from Apple I decided to follow the iFixit Power Button Replacement Guide - http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/Installing-iPhone-4-Power-Lock-Button/4332/1 - Got to the power button, which involves taking out the logic board, but couldn't see anything immediately obvious.. so I closed it back up. Then I got the idea of putting a tiny piece of rubber under the power button to bridge the gap so I went back in, placed the rubber, nice clicky button again.. but now no service.

I went in about 6 times making sure the antenna was connected back properly, cleaning all metal to metal parts with isopropyl and I even un-fixed the button thinking maybe it had to be a metal on metal contact and the rubber was breaking the circuit. Nothing worked. Then I found this, it didn't seem relevant at first because the logic board is totally different on the 4 so I thought I was at a dead end..

Then I started looking around for an inductor and there it was, slightly diagonal on the board, checked with the magnifying glass on my swiss army and one side of it had come away.. It must have happend while trying to get the logic board back in as it looks very fragile. After messing with it trying to get it to turn around, it came completely away from the board.. so I thought I was stuck. Then I remembered this page! So I got out my soldering iron, figuring I had nothing to lose and tried to solder the gap, after several botched attempts with an iron tip that seemed like a planet compared to the tiny inductor, it finally fused. Closed her up and FULL BARRAGE!!

The inductor: http://www.dobbler.com/iphone4/iP4_inductor_onboard.jpg (original shot from iFixit.com)
The inductor out on a 1c (euro) coin: http://www.dobbler.com/iphone4/iP4_inductor_out.jpg

Unfortunately, I don't have a shot of the solder job as I was in a hurry to get it back together and see if it worked.. but I'll open it up again, take a shot and post it here if anyone is interested.

I'm so grateful for you having taken the time to post this info, I would never have had the confidence to try it myself.

Many thanks,

Rob.

Comment from Manuel, 2011/01/29 01:23 CET :
 
Hi!

I have a similar problem how (Comment from Maria, 2010/07/15 23:53 CET )

the golden part of metal I give up of the motherboard, can weld or strain it somehow her?

See this is the piece: www.cholito.com/3g.jpg

Comment from Fonefixer, 2011/01/23 01:11 CET :
 
You can now buy a replacement coil kit to use instead of a piece of wire here for 3Gs.

We can now also put you in touch with a specialist micro soldering installer, so you don't have to do it yourself, we have these installers in the UK, Europe and USA.

http://fonefixer.webs.com/apps/webstore/products/show/1999334

With secure paypal and free worldwide shipping.

donations of sales will be provided to the webmaster.

Comment from Ajay Paul, 2011/01/19 10:37 CET :
 
Hi,

Thanks for the info, extreamly helpfull. i just need some clarification before i start soldering. i own a 3GS with service issues, i have checked the motherboard and have noticed that one of the inductors located to the right of the antenna connection is missing :(.
i have purchased a replacement coil from the website recommened from this blog.
if you could please answer the following questions i would really appreciate it:
1. all i need to do is solder on the inductor componant back on and hopefully my service issues should be rectified?
2. i can also bybass the inductor and bridge the contact pads together with a wire?
3. do i need to use a wire? cant i just solder the pads together as the distance between the pads are extremly small.
4. what type of wire would you recommend i use to bridge?

many thanks in advance, will donate if all works well
Ajay Paul

Answer:
1. Yes, this should do the trick. Soldering such a small SMD coil is a difficult job though. The "all i need to do" part will be harder than it seems...
2. Yes, that's what I did on my 3G. However I never did it on a 3GS so I can't guarantee it will work.
3. You can solder the pads together.
4. A very thin wire, but as said in 3. you can solder the pads together without using a wire.

Good luck!

Comment from Jimmy, 2011/01/15 00:50 CET :
 
Hi,

your instructions are great. I also have problems with my reception on my 3G IOS 4.2.1. The poor reception developed over time, now I have no more. Build me has broken the little gold contacts, but these I have soldered back on it and re-oriented so that it fits correctly on Chrome, that's ok? There still exist all the parts and my board has no apparent damage. But I unfortunately still no reception. Can I proceed as in the last picture? Or you have another recommendation for me? should I replace the antenna? Please help me!

Greetings from Germany

Answer:
Did you experience reception problems with version 4.0 or 3.x? If no, then it's probably not a hardware problem.

Maybe you can try to replace the full Docking Module together with the Antenna-Flex.

Good luck...

Comment from romi, 2011/01/13 01:05 CET :
 
hi sir my iphone 4g mic is not working plz give salotion

Answer:
Sorry but I never opened an iPhone 4. This tutorial is only about the iPhone 3G.

Comment from Fonefixer, 2011/01/12 01:43 CET :
 

You can now buy a replacement coil and kits to use instead of a piece of wire here for both 3Gs and 3G.

http://fonefixer.webs.com/apps/webstore/

With secure paypal and free worldwide shipping.

donations of sales will be provided to the webmaster.

Comment from Kay Uwe Behrens, 2011/01/09 14:11 CET :
 
Unfortunately I have the same problem (Lost SMD / 1# picture on top).
If I read correctly, the missing smd- Part is a simply noise filter.
Do you have the part number of the missing part?
If you dont have, how much OHM / MHZ is needed to work correctly in a iPhone 3g?

I found the following Panasonic part:
(Noise Filter FERRITE 91 OHM @ 100MHZ).

Link: http://fr.farnell.com/panasonic/excml45a910h/perle-ferrite-1806-91-ohm-100mhz/dp/1292706?crosssellid=1292706&crosssell=true&in_merch=true&

Datasheet EXCML45A910H: http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/55140.pdf

Best regards and thanks for the helpful info on this page

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ich habe leider das gleiche Problem (Fehlender SMD-Baustein / 1# Bild oben).
Wenn ich richtig gelesen habe, ist das fehlende SMD-Teil ein einfacher Rauschfilter.
Haben Sie evtl. die Teilenummer des fehlenden Teils?
Wenn nicht, wie viel OHM / MHz wird für ein iPhone 3G benötigt?

Ich habe das folgendes Teil von Panasonic gefunden:
(Rauschfilter FERRITE 91 OHM @ 100MHz).

Link: http://fr.farnell.com/panasonic/excml45a910h/perle-ferrite-1806-91-ohm-100mhz/dp/1292706?crosssellid=1292706&crosssell=true&in_merch=true&

Datasheet EXCML45A910H: http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/55140.pdf

Mit freundlichen Grüßen und Dank für die hilfreiche Informationen auf dieser Seite

Kay

Comment from John, 2011/01/09 01:00 CET :
 
It worked when I bridged the contectors where my Iphone 3G inductor broke off, but, there was a loud hum, when making calls. The inductor acts as a filter and suppresess the hum. Does anyone know the part # for the antenna inductor for the 3g? In a previous post there were two part #'s for 3GS, but I have a 3G. any help would be great!

Answer:
I never had any audio problem when I bridged the inductor. However, have a look at another post, there are some values for the missing part.

Comment from Tahmid, 2011/01/08 10:44 CET :
 
Thank you so much. I am 16 and had dropped my iphone 3g this solved my problem. However i did not solder the joints i cut a small piece of wire to cross the points and then attached with a small piece of blue tack to avoid damage when soldering. Thank you so much, i had such a long time trying to find what was wrong

Comment from Rich, 2011/01/07 13:53 CET :
 
Hi There regarding origional Excellant Question from fautso;

'Can this tutorial help with my problem? I only have 3g signal and no 2g signal at all?'

Answer:
No, this won't solve your problem. This fix applies to the common antenna circuitry used in both GSM and 3G reception. If your device can receive 3G then the antenna circuitry is working fine.

My question; does anybody know a solution or what a likely solution is please (will gladly donate if you can) thanks

Comment from naresh, 2011/01/05 16:28 CET :
 
sir i have need iphone 2g network jupmer

Comment from George, 2010/12/27 07:17 CET :
 
For those having trouble soldering such small traces: There is a pen that you can buy that has liquid solder and you just apply it by marking or drawing across the path that you want to connect. Of course, you will need to scrape off the varnish or paint on the pad or copper traces.

Comment from darksschneider!, 2010/12/09 15:16 CET :
 
THanksssssssss worksss likeeee a magic....
i dont have money to donate. but my sis can make a strip for u
xD

Comment from skbeez, 2010/12/03 22:20 CET :
 
Thanks to this post I was able to fix my 3GS, this helped point me in the right direction. So it turns out, if you have a 3GS the fix to this issue is almost identical.

The 3GS has two inductors right after the antenna, if you have the dock connector side of the phone pointing towards you then you'll see right after the antenna connection (on the right), there are two components placed verically (or if you took em out, there'll be four open pads to solder new parts to). I happened to accidentally remove both of these by removing the 'Do Not Remove' sticker. If you do, no worries, they're dirt cheap to replace. I'm not sure what the exact values are but I replace the inductor on top with a 47nH inductor(MLK1005S4N7S from TDK) and the bottom one with a 1nH (MLG1005S1N0S also from TDK), I bought them through Digikey.

I tried using 0-ohm resistors but it seemed to make my 3G reception really flaky. The inductors actually provide filtering and thus when I was out in the open, my 3G signal was amazing but when I went indoors, especially near other electronics I had no service. The inductors I picked have the best Q value for 850MHz and 1900MHz which I believe are the GSM frequencies used in the U.S.

Comment from Fonefixer, 2010/11/28 14:55 CET :
 
You can now buy a replacement coil to use instead of a piece of wire here.

http://fonefixer.webs.com/apps/webstore/products/show/1958544 secure paypal and worldwide shipping.

donations of sales will be provided to the webmaster.

Comment from empothkep, 2010/11/25 09:36 CET :
 
I found lots of valuable information in this forum

Greetings to all


Gry

Comment from Steven, 2010/11/23 18:25 CET :
 
Great post, and a well written instructional guide. I too fell for the 'Do Not Remove' bit and ended up chipping the corner of the motherboard completely off. Whilst I do have service when i'm closer to cellular towers, back roads, and fields in the middle of nowhere yield my phone useless, and bares that god awful 'No Service' status. I want to attempt the to solder the small corner that chipped off during the break, so my question is, is there a certain type of solder that needs to be used as far as frequency goes? Or is any generic consumer ready solder appropriate?

Cheers.

Answer:
You should first glue the corner so it is tightly fixed to the motherboard, and afterwards restore the electrical continuity between the antenna contact pad and the track going to the small coax connector, as well as between the small grouding "spring" and the motherboard ground as in the picture below.


Standard consumer solder should do the trick. I would recommend an "old" solder containing lead. Sure, it's less environmentally friendly, but it performs better and longer than the new ROHS-compliant solder.

Comment from James, 2010/11/20 21:59 CET :
 
Great guide, thank you so much! I have an iphone logic board, uncracked, but having lost the inductor; to clarify, is it, or is it not possible to simply solder across the two contacts where the inductor used to sit, a) either with a wire, or b) simply with solder?

Once again, thanks

Answer:
Yes, you can solder a thin wire accross both inductor pads, or "bridge" them
together with solder.

Comment from Ross, 2010/11/20 14:35 CET :
 
Hi this is a great fix. I bought a phone off e-bay to repair and someone had already opened it and after I put in a new screen and digitiser it only got reception every now and then and even then only 1 bar. I bought a new Antenna /dock assembly but still had the problem. Was going to give up and just use it as a iTouch, but luckily found your site. I Coiled up a small length of fine wire, soldered it onto the empty pads where an inductor must have been. Also cleaned up the track to the Antenna plug abit and when all was together 4 bars!!! Amazing never would have known the inductor was missing without your help, thanks a million.

Was thinking for anyone not to confident in soldering such a small area use some conductive paint applied across the 2 inductor pads might work well. I guess some people might not even have a soldering iron so would be good for those too.

Comment from Michael, 2010/11/16 07:05 CET :
 
I was bored and reading when I found this article to read and have one question for you. If you were replacing the glass screen and digitizer why on earth did you pull the mainboard for? My guess would be is that you were bored and since it was open you wanted to explore more.

Answer:
You're right, there's no need to remove the motherboard when replacing the digitizer. But as this was the first time I opened an iPhone, I did it wrong. I tried to pull the display assembly together with the metallic frame and I broke the case as well as half a dozen other components. In my attempts to repair everything, I had to remove the motherboard and you know the rest.

Comment from fausto, 2010/11/10 18:21 CET :
 
Can this tutorial help with my problem? I only have 3g signal and no 2g signal at all?

Answer:
No, this won't solve your problem. This fix applies to the common antenna circuitry used in both GSM and 3G reception. If your device can receive 3G then the antenna circuitry is working fine.

Comment from anon, 2010/11/10 09:40 CET :
 
quick question
that 'spring' as you've called it, the metal piece that contacts the metal frame on the phone near the inductor, does it need to be re-soldered on the two spots where it was previously, or is that unnecessary? i currently have it in the phone, just loose, sitting on the logic board and hooked under the metal frame in its place. but everything works fine

Answer:
I would say that it should be soldered for proper continuity, but if everything works fine then don't mess with it. "Never touch a working system" is a golden rule.

Comment from Greg, 2010/11/09 11:11 CET :
 
Hi i kind of have the same problem...I just did a white conversion (screen replacement) on my 3 day old iPhone 4, and when I put everything back together it says no service. I tried everything with the exception of opening the phone again. Any ideas, Your help is much appreciated.

Answer:
Sorry but I'm afraid I can't help. I never opened an iPhone 4.

Comment from rburgundy, 2010/10/31 18:15 CET :
 
Hi there,

Thank you so much for putting this information out here on the web. I bought a second hand Iphone not knowing it had this problem. I was really down on the fact I cound't use it :(. Tried to replace the antenna unit with no luck.

Now this morning I read this article and started to believe it was still possible to fix my phone and ... YES !!! I'm so relieved that my purchase wasn't for nothing!!!



I'll send my thanks trough paypal;)
P.S. Maybe you could make this site better accesable to Google? I find it through a forum.

Comment from Nelson, 2010/10/29 09:18 CET :
 
Hello mate, just wanted to say thank you for sharing your knowledge and that It worked perfectly.

I will share your link to help others like us.

Best regards

Comment from gianfranco, 2010/10/17 10:40 CET :
 
ciao
anche a me è successa la stessa cosa , cosi ho collegato con un filo di rame tutto direttamente senza la bobina, visto che il connettore che sta più in alto sembra quello per l'attacco della antenna esterna e non usa la bobina

Comment from Jesse, 2010/10/17 05:06 CET :
 
So is the red line in that last picture of yours, where the wire is to be soldered in? between that square pad on the corner and the trace on the board?

I have no wifi, no 3g, no nothing at the moment. It's a royal pain but I'm hoping your guide will help fix it!

Answer:
If your board is cracked, you should solder a wire like the red line on the last picture. If only the inductor is missing but the board is not cracked, you can short the two pads where the inductor is supposed to sit and it should do the trick.

This fix won't repair your wifi signal, only GSM / GPRS / 3G. Wifi is connected to another antenna near the audio/headset jack.

Comment from Sam, 2010/10/09 14:40 CET :
 
Hi there, thanks for publishing this article. I wanted to get your advice before issuing a repair on the motherboard. The problem I have is that the inductor is missing, and the board is cracked just before the coaxial connector. My thoughts after reading this would to be perform the wire bridge from the copper pad to the track, and then try to repair the track further up. However the crack is really close to the coaxial cup, is there only one track that needs repairing? Would there be a more suited route for my problem? I've uploaded a diagram for reference. Cheers.

www.samueltutton.com/ebay/crack.jpg

Answer:
You can repair the track by gently scratching away the protective layer and solder a thin piece of wire accross the crack. Then, connect your repaired track to the square copper pad with another soldered wire. There should not be other tracks to repair.

Comment from Zombie666, 2010/10/05 23:45 CET :
 
Danke vielmals für den Tipp!
Dank dir konnte ich das iPhone eines Freundes reparieren. Es war zwar voll mühsam so kleine Teile zusammenzulöten, aber mit Geduld und viel Zeit, habe ich es doch noch geschafft. Dank dir!
Grüsse aus Solothurn!

PS: Leider jetzt geht der Volumeschalter auf der Seite nicht mehr. *grmpf* :-(
Aber ich denke das muss einen anderen Grund haben. ;-)

Comment from kalev, 2010/10/03 15:11 CET :
 
Hi

I used your method to fix my iPhone 3G and it worked in a way -it receives 3g signal well but as soon as I switch 3G off it shows no service. The thing is that the phone still finds my carrier signal and other provider's signals under Carrier menu but it still shows no reception. Tried reinstalling firmware and all that stuff but this far nothing has worked.

So any ideas where the problem could be ?

Answer:
There might be a problem with the 3G / GSM coupling circuit. Sorry, I don't know how to repair this.

Comment from mpbjr, 2010/09/29 21:01 CET :
 
Thanks for posting this, my phone works again !!!

Thanks again !!

Comment from James, 2010/09/27 18:58 CET :
 
I found the answer to my question:

It was the 'NOISE FILTER COM MODE 90 OHM SMD'

-> http://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/31164/I+broke+a+little+capacitor+near+connector4%3A+Where+to+buy

Comment from James, 2010/09/27 11:05 CET :
 
'TICK!! The inductor escaped from the pliers and flew away at Mach-2 speed!! OH SHIIIIT!! ...After 5 minutes of searching everywhere for a 0.5 x 1 mm grey spot, we had to admit that we would never find it again.'

I last another smd component - but did the same search for it in my living room after shooting it from my table...

Nice tutorial - and lovely written! I will donate 5 USD for your work! :-)

Can you help my with my problem? I lost a little 'capacitor' (or something) near connector4: Where to buy?

See picture: http://www5.pic-upload.de/21.09.10/fggm7te6zbqb.png

---
Full story:

I can neither charge the iPhone nor connect it to iTunes. Nothing happens when the phone is connected to a USB/charging cable. If the iPhone is off, connecting a cable turn it on.

It seems I broke a little capacitor near connector4 of the logic board when I disconnected this connector with a screwdriver!!!

Does anybody know what type of capacitor that is and where I can buy it? It is so little that I lost it on my table and never find that part again!

http://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/31164/I+broke+a+little+capacitor+near+connector4%3A+Where+to+buy

Comment from stue, 2010/09/23 18:23 CET :
 
hello...do u know what kind of connector needs, that mini coaxial?my motherboard is broken, at the right bottom.

Answer:
I'm not 100% sure, but I think these coax connectors do not have any function whatsoever. When the phone is fully assembled, nothing plugs into them. My guess is that they are here for the final quality and functional tests in the factory, at the end of the production process. The finished boards may be "plugged" onto a special test bank which powers them up and connect some external antennas in order to check that everything is OK before they get assembled into the cases.

If your motherboard is broken here, though, you might be missing the square pad connecting the antenna flex cable. Posting a picture somewhere might help me understand what exactly is broken.

Comment from mik, 2010/09/13 06:46 CET :
 
Dear Sir
I have 3g iphone and i been trying to fix tis for long time finaly i found these post please help.My problem is it works on at&t fine but i jailbrake and unlock the phone wifi works fine and cydia works fine but i can not get tmobile to work
on this phone phone is unlock .All i get is NO SERVICE even tryed so many time
and tryied so many time unlock again and again i know i been doing right but i can not get this phone to work always says NO SERVICE please let me know what should i do or which answer to follow

Thanks
mik

Answer:
Sorry mate, if your device works fine with at&t, then it's a software unlock
problem. I can't help with that as my tutorial is about repairing a hardware
failure, and you have no hardware problem.

Check the Dev-Team blog.

Comment from relicfivehundred, 2010/08/29 21:47 CET :
 
Hi, thanks for the great tut. Unfortunately, i have damaged the golden which should touch the metallic frame around the phone. i have also tried to solder another kind of 'spring' by using a flexible wire. it worked, but i still have no freaking service. when looking on an original board, there are two 'solder dots' on that spring. this spring is fixed somewhere. So that's my question. do you know where exactly the spring is soldered to? i have soldered the complete golden area, the two dots are not visible any more.
ah, i also have no inductor, i short-circuited the connection. it should be the same result when looking on the board. the board itself has no cracks. also: the microphone is not working. i replaced the gsm-antenna/mic/dockconnector three times already. it only seems to get some noise (tested on the memo box) , when you scream really loud into it. maybe it uses the same ground connection and i frugged it up somehow. so, now i have a million-dollar-ipod-touch with no mic. it sucks. can you please try to help me? will you need any pictures?
Cheers!

Answer:
I would say the mic issue and the no-signal problem are two separate issues.

For the missing mic, if you replaced the dock assembly already, then the motherboard connector where it is plugged may have a problem.

Regarding the no-signal issue, I guess the spring touching the metallic frame has its importance, but you seem to have made it right. You can upload a couple of pictures so I can have a look.

But I'm not optimist with your device. My intuition says your motherboard is damaged...

Comment from Jose Antonio, 2010/08/15 12:44 CET :
 
HEY!! Another success here. I can't say enough thank you! In my case, I soldered directly from the antena as you showed in the last picture and it just worked great! 5 signal bars. Ok, if you come to Granada (Spain) you have a beer for granted hahaha. Bye!

Comment from ed, 2010/08/03 00:39 CET :
 
Hello there, thanks for sharing this info. Brief explanation... iphone picks up signal but after 10 seconds it abruptly loses the signal, goes to searching and eventualy no service. All the components are intact, there is connectivity between the antenna pad and the right side of the inductor and from the left side of the inductor to the coax. But there is no conductivity between the left and right side of the inductor. Is this normal? is this the way the inductor behaves? if I connect both sides of the inductor, as you have done (bypassing it) may solveit. It may the the inductor itself that is bad. Thoughts? and thanks again!

Answer:
If the phone picks up signal, then it's probably another problem. If the inductor was bad, you would not get any signal at all. Sorry.

Comment from Bob, 2010/08/01 04:10 CET :
 
Here is mine for reference:
http://i798.photobucket.com/albums/yy269/1bobbylane/07242010__iphoneantennamissinginductor041.jpg

Comment from Bob, 2010/08/01 02:47 CET :
 
Ok, getting ready to attempt this procedure. I too managed to scrape this component away during a battery replacement. I've got it apart, and I can see that its missing. What I cannot tell from your final picture, is if I should solder a wire that effectively bypasses the whole bottom right assembly and goes straight from the antenna circuit to the square pad? Does the red line effectively show what was actually soldered in your case?

Thanks a million.
Bob

Answer:
Yes, the red line on the last picture show what was actually soldered. But if your motherboard is not cracked you can short-circuit the two small pads where the inductor was, it should work.

Comment from Dountill, 2010/07/22 13:26 CET :
 
I have the exact same problem! Tried some solders but nothings works. I made a picture of my last work, can someone please help me? Or am i realy screwed?

http://yfrog.com/nedsc08102j

__________________________________

Thanks for your respond on that one. Continuatie isnt the problem. Maybe it is possible to put this 2 together, how?

----> http://yfrog.com/74dsc08103qj

Comment from Matt, 2010/07/20 01:44 CET :
 
ok, let me start by saying thank you. I'm currently deployed to Afghanistan and bought an Iphone 3g to unlock and use to call my wife who is back in Germany the phone arrived and would give me full service next to a tower and 0-1 bar at work... After opening it up I saw the board had been cracked.. after trying everything software resets atleast 10 time I decided to try google.. one of the first pages I came across was this... I ordered a soldering iron (HUGE tip unfortunately) and started tinkering with the board... I am in no way knowledgable in regards to electronics but after a day of trying and failing I decided to give it one more shot today using a single strand of wire from a power cable. Scratched away the protectant, added solder to the track then placed the wire on top of the solder and added the iron. This was all done with the naked eye as I have no magnifying glasses or cameras to use.... I'm not sure how strong the bond is... But what I do know is how strong my signal is. Full 5 bars every where I've been so far..... Thanks for this extremely easy to follow tutorial. Just thought I'd bring this back to life since it has raised my morale so much. Thanks again!

Comment from Dountill, 2010/07/19 16:02 CET :
 
I have the exact same problem! Tried some solders but nothings works. I made a picture of my last work, can someone please help me? Or am i realy screwed?

http://yfrog.com/nedsc08102j

Answer:
It looks "electrically" ok, but first you should try to clean up a little bit. Remove all the fragments of solder with a cleaning spray and a soft brush. Then, you should check continuity between the left pad of the coax connector and the antenna contact pad (see picture below). You will need a very thin tip in order to get onto the pin without touching the coax case (which is connected to the ground).

You should also check that the antenna pin is not damaged. It is a small golden pin mounted on a spring, located underneath the speaker module. When gently pressing on it, it should move 1 or 2 millimeters down. Check as well that there is a proper connection between this antenna pin and the pad on the board. If everything is fine, I would consider replacing the antenna flex (quite technical repair) or the whole dock/speaker/mic/antenna module (you can find them on eBay).

Comment from Davidsen, 2010/07/19 11:15 CET :
 
Hi there!

i'm also having a problem with the GSM reception (had a terrible bike crash and had to replace the display).... 3G is working fine, just GSM/GPRS is not working.
The inductor is still there and I also replaced the antenna/speaker/mircophone part which did not help at all.

what do you thing I can do?

thanks!

Answer:
This trick repairs the common antenna circuit. The signal is then separated into four 2G bands and 3G by a bunch of ICs under the metallic shielding. No idea how to fix your problem, sorry.

Comment from Maria, 2010/07/15 23:53 CET :
 
Hello

I wonder if you can tell me what the component is below where you have soldered ? The 'long' oval thing - because I only have a hole and it looks like something is supose to be there :-(

Rgds
Maria

Answer:
In there should be a portion of the "spring" which connects the metallic frame around the screen to the board's ground.

Have a look at the picture below. If only the oval hole is empty (green circle) then I don't think it's a big deal. However, if the whole metallic thing is missing (red circle), then I'm not sure that you will get a proper reception.

Comment from Legion, 2010/07/15 16:11 CET :
 
okay, i have the same problem, having no service and all that, then i stumbled upon this article. i decided to give it a go, and took care of the inductor. followed the steps as indicated, and i still have no service. well, there were instances where the signal returns, up to 5 full bars. but when placing a call, the signal drops totally to zero, then says no service again. i'm wondering if there's something that i might have overlooked here as i've followed the steps to the letter (skipping only the part where you tackled the cracked line).

your help is very much appreciated, much as the help you've already provided to countless people who have read this article.

Answer:
Sorry, your problem seems different. Probably something fucked up further into the HF or RF circuits under the metallic shielding. Can't help mate.

Comment from dan, 2010/07/14 19:27 CET :
 
Thank you work a realy well just joined the two up and now have full bars....

Comment from Cata, 2010/07/08 11:36 CET :
 
Hi! Thank for your info, but there's a strange thing. Now i have FULL signal, but only 2G. Even when i switch 3G on it still goes in 2G

Any fix for this ?

Answer:
This trick repairs the common antenna circuit. The signal is then separated into four 2G bands and 3G by a bunch of ICs under the metallic shielding. No idea how to fix your problem, sorry.

Comment from skebb, 2010/06/30 10:29 CET :
 
Just another hint from me in the 'no service' issue:
I bought a used Iphone on the internet. It had a bad reception. Only 2 to 3 bars in 3g and in 2g almost no reception, even when I was directly beside a GSM antenna.
I opened up the phone, but everything seemed to be o.k. The inductor and the board had no visible damage.
I tried everything. Nothing worked for me.
Then I took the board and put it in another case. Because I had not much time, I did not screw it in but simply put everything together.
Then the wonder took place. I had an excellent reception. All was perfect.
My first thought was, the other USB connector board, which contains the antenna, was defect, but it wasn't.
After i screwed the logicboard to the other case, I had again no reception.

It seems, that the small pin from the antenna to the logicboard must be adjusted for perfect reception. So try out, if you have a reception issue.

My iphone is still back. Hope this helps someone.

Comment from chris, 2010/06/30 04:33 CET :
 
Thanks!!!!

I couldnt see very well when I was soldering it so I made a homemade magnifying glass using my webcam so I can see better when fixing this.

here is a vid http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycwL0zOslDk

Comment from R. Anderson, 2010/06/29 23:51 CET :
 
Hi. I have the same problem on a 3gs, but it has a different motherboard. I am not sure why you call the square for 'antenna contact pad'? Isn't the antenna connectet by the coax? Just trying to figure out where to fix my 3gs...

Thanks

Answer:
Sorry, can't help here. I never opened a 3GS.

Comment from Jason, 2010/06/28 14:06 CET :
 
PLEASE I'm desperate to do this procedure on my 3GS - but the problem is the logic board doesn't match the 3G. Has anyone out there had this problem on the 3GS and been able to fix it? I'm in shock and despair that my 3GS is now merely a touch :-(

Answer:
Sorry, can't help here. I never opened a 3GS.

Comment from Quoc Nguyen, 2010/06/27 21:54 CET :
 
Does this trick only work wit 2G and 3G, but not GSM? T-Mobile is my carrier. I soldered a piece of wire across one end of the inductor to the small piece of coax cable next to the other end of the inductor, but I still got 'no service'. I checked the continuity from antena pad to the coax cable next to the other end of the inductor and it showed continuity. I even checked the pad to the other end of the grue metal by the hole where the screw is at. It showed continuity there also. What else can go wrong?

Answer:
You must NOT solder the wire to the case of the coax connector. This is the
ground. If you connect the pad to the ground, then you short circuit your
antenna signal.

Just solder it exactly as shown in the last picture on the page. You can
test continuity between the antenna pad and the left side of the inductor
pad. But if you have continuity between the antenna pad and the hole where
the screw is (which is ground as well), then your signal is grounded. You
must NOT have continuity between these two points.

Comment from sean, 2010/06/25 23:21 CET :
 
one more success story! thanks for the help, I was just about to pack it in.

Comment from Quoc, 2010/06/22 16:13 CET :
 
I supper glue the crack where the crack does not any damages to the circuit around the inductor. I only tape the small telephone wire to connect the two ends of the circuit where the inductor is missing. The reason I do this is because I want to see if it is any help before I solder it permanently. I am not sure what the pin on the charging dock do. Should it be pressed down all the way when seating/tying the motherboard? It seems that when I screw the tightly, the motherboard presses the pin down all the way and I can be able to charge my phone. But then after that, it stops charging. I've also noticed there is another piece of metal from the metal frame by the camera where it touches the motherboard and I am not sure if it should touch the gold plate on the motherboard or not. I am thinking it may short out my circuit or something. I try pushing this metal away from the gold plate, but it does not help either. Any thoughts? Should I buy a new case? This case is a used case from another phone where it has everything (charging dock, antena flex, power button, volume...etc) from in it.

Answer:
Adhesive tape is not sufficient to ensure correct contact. You are dealing with gigahertz frequencies.

Comment from Quoc, 2010/06/21 22:36 CET :
 
I have a small crack by across the hole close to the missing inductor. I supper glue the crack and try running the small telephone wire from one end to the next of the missing conductor and tape it down. However, I still don't have any service. The phone would show no bar '---' TMobile but I could make a quick phone call and it drops after the person could get a chance to answer the phone. Any help with this is appreciated.

Thanks.

Answer:
Super glue and adhesive tape will be of no help. You have to use a soldering iron.

Comment from mryeye, 2010/06/20 13:23 CET :
 
Hello, please help me to find the kind and values of the different components of this pcb part of my iphone 3G (4 SMD components ).
I put a different usb power who make the components explosed.
this is the photo:
http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/636/battcomm.jpg
thank you

Answer:
Sorry mate. Not the slightest clue.

Comment from Matt, 2010/06/14 21:59 CET :
 
I presume this is the case for both iphone 3G and 3GS?

Answer:
Not sure about this, i did it on a 3G. If you take it apart and notice the same board design as in the pictures, it should be ok. Please leave a comment if it worked on a 3GS as well.

Comment from Al Swann, Orlando, 2010/06/14 18:01 CET :
 
Worked here too!! Thanks

Comment from jon roger, 2010/06/09 02:16 CET :
 
Worked perfectly. Wow thanks! I was so stressed because I'm leaving for a big triple in 2 days. I will donate a few bucks. thank you.

Comment from a64, 2010/06/08 21:17 CET :
 
Thank you very much. Good work.

Comment from Shawn, 2010/06/07 16:39 CET :
 
Thank you for posting this! This is exactly the issue I was having after I replaced my battery. I actually popped the inductor off in the process. I'm up and running again.

Comment from fredrick, 2010/05/26 20:14 CET :
 
my iphone 3g model no is MB489NF and it version is 3.1.2(7D11) and modem firmware is 05.12.01 but it has no network what can i do

Answer:
Did you (or someone else) open the phone? If yes, then you might have a hardware problem. Please read this page, everything is explained in great details.

If you have a software / unlock problem, then I can't help. Check the iClarified website, or the dev-team blog.

Comment from Anton, 2010/05/26 14:15 CET :
 
You can add one more to your success counter, thanks!
Really really REALLY glad I found this fix.
I'll see if I can send you some digital beer through paypal.

Comment from Ameen, 2010/05/25 11:49 CET :
 
You are an absolute life saver! Thank you very much!!

Regards
Ameen (Scotland)

Comment from Pabs, 2010/05/25 03:07 CET :
 
Dude you had a brilliant idea !!!! I have great reception thanks to this... this how I did it!!! My case was that I was missing the inductor but I did not have any scratch on the motherboard... When I read this some people tried this method but maybe you guys did not have scratch and you guys solder the little piece of wire like the last picture on this blog... but you guys have to consider that the motherboard lining was protecting the circuit so you gotta solder the wire from the antenna pad to the place where the inductor is missing.. you can notice the guy who did it on this blog got to work it because he soldered to the scratched circuit after being soldering, and if you follow the path it will go to the circuit where the inductor is missing and that where you gotta solder it to IF YOU DO NOT HAVE ANY SCRATCH ON THE MOTHERBOARD...I have full service and working just fine!!!! =]

Comment from Patrick, 2010/05/22 18:48 CET :
 
I wanted to change my iPhone battery, since it seemed ridiculous to pay 100 $ for something you can do yourself...
Unfortunately, eventhough I handled everything so carefully, the same inductor broke off and i had exactly the same problem as you did.
Thank god I found this site! I soldered it in the same way you did, works perfectly!
I already donated ;)

Thanks again
Patrick

Comment from jewel, 2010/05/12 00:25 CET :
 
my phone show charing in pc .but not connect with pc even in recovery mode .how can i solve it ,also change motherbord usb ic but no luck .

Comment from David Fretz, 2010/05/11 15:47 CET :
 
I'm in an office with 1 bar or less of reception. I lost the the inductor and had a hairline crack repairing the gold tab on the opposite side. I put in the fix and had no signal reception from AT&T. I handmade a wire with a 1 nanoHenry inductor and replaced the old fix. I got the poor signal reception back. It's better than no signal.

Comment from David Fretz, 2010/05/11 15:41 CET :
 
I'm in an office with very poor reception with AT&T with the iPhone. I had the inductor removed by repairing the gold tab on the other side. It resulted in no signal to AT&T. I put in the fix with a 1 nanoHenry loop inductor from a long thin wire. I got the poor reception back. It's about the same reception as before.

Comment from Eddy, 2010/04/27 11:01 CET :
 
Yesterday I stopped receiving signal on my iphone 3gs, the signal bars are on zero but 3g/data is working like normal! Could this fix here help me? Heres a pic to show you what I mean
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l319/f-iona/IMG_0388.png

Answer:
Probably not. If the inductor was missing or the board cracked, you would not get any signal at all.

Comment from scotty3dIBM, 2010/04/22 04:46 CET :
 
Nice find....Fixed my iphone, my board wasn't cracked. The inductior was missing you could see it with your eye but better with 5x mag. glass. My friend in the lab confirmed under the 30X electronic microscope. I guessing greenapple uses it as a security feature, so close to the descised screw. Since my wasn't cracked i shorted accross the inductor pads and it fired right up. BIG PROPS to these guys.Need to find the value for the inductor, but it seems to get better single so far without it.

Comment from Hans, 2010/04/19 17:08 CET :
 
Hello from Germany,

I am new to iPhone fixing, maybe you have a hint for me. So I bought a used 3G on ebay, mostly works great, but also terrible reception. So after much looking around I came here, and the situation seems to be this:
I replacing a battery the previous owner broke the logic board in the area of the antenna connector. A corner of the board is actually missing, the inductor is gone that way anyway. Also gone would be that square contact area. Basically the last part that is there is that round cup-shaped piece. Now the previous owner went and actually soldered a piece of wire from the antenna connector over to the cup-shaped piece. But that did not seem to work too well really.

So basically... is this a hopeless case? Can send pictures if you would like. And of course I would make a donation for your services if you can help me find a cheap sollution.

Thanks

Answer:
It all depends where exactly the board is broken. If there is a small portion of the track left, then you might be able to solder a wire between the antenna pin to this track. But don't connect it to the metallic frame around the round connector, by doing so you would short circuit the antenna signal to the ground.

Please send a picture and I'll try to give a better advice.

Comment from Jake, 2010/04/18 17:30 CET :
 
Ah well it was all going so well as my response below makes out. Unfortunatly my phone brought back the dreaded 'No Service' message after working for about 24 hours.

I opened it all up again and sadly thats where I ran out of talent. I thought id add a little extra solder to make a better connection however I accidently managed to knock off the GSM antenna contact pad (I.e The gold square bit).

Also the corner of the board is all black from my soldering iron and I can't see the original break that I was trying to repair.

Have I completley ruined my phone now?

Is there any way I can make a new contact pad using solder and wire it straight to the big silver circley thing or is that not really an option.

Any help would be great.

Answer:
You might try to "rebuild" the pad with a piece of copper, but don't connect it to the round connector. You have to run a wire to the small track (scratch gently the protective film before) as illustrated on the last picture above.

Comment from Jake, 2010/04/18 08:37 CET :
 
Just like to say my iphone was doomed until I found this site recently. I have never soldered before but with a terrified look on my face I perservered.

Even though I could see the small crack on the motherboard I wasn't really expecting it to work but I was delighted when I turned my phone on and had a full signal.

This has saved me a great deal of money.

Cheers.

Comment from Hernan Sananes, 2010/04/12 22:27 CET :
 
Hey!
My name is Hernan Sananes, im from Argentina.
I have some iPhone 3G with the same problem. No service at all or
just the company name but not even a signal bar.

I uploaded some pictures from one of the. The circtuis and everything
is in perfect state. In all of them
Please check them. I want to fix them and donate you some money, for this great
guide.

http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/5476/dsc003550.jpg

http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/5781/dsc003850.jpg

http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/5249/dsc003950.jpg

Thanks a lot.
h.

Answer:
From what I see in your pictures, your board seems OK, and the inductor is still there.

You should check the continuity between the right pad of the small coax connector and the left pad of the inductor, as well as between the left pad of the inductor and the antenna contact pad. If everything is fine, then this trick will not work.

You should check that the antenna pin is not damaged. It is a small golden pin mounted on a spring, located underneath the speaker module. When gently pressing on it, it should move 1 or 2 millimeters down. Check as well that there is a proper connection between this antenna pin and the pad on the board. If everything is fine, I would consider replacing the antenna flex (quite technical repair) or the whole dock/speaker/mic/antenna module (you can find them on eBay).

Comment from David, 2010/04/05 18:46 CET :
 
Do you think I can send you my phone for you to fix this problem?

Answer:
Short answer : no.

Long answer : sent by e-mail (still a no, though).

Comment from A.G, 2010/04/01 03:38 CET :
 
Network Lost - Searching - No Service - iPhone 3G 3.1.2 5.11.7 Jailbroken Tmobile
Please, let's find a solution to this problem, we can do it !

I agree with what has been stated before, some people are using this thread to discuss a couple different issues, it would be better for everyone if we can keep the thread exclusive for one issue. I hope I'm in the right place, here is my problem:

Bought iPhone 3G with cracked glass for 'cheap' and replaced the digitizer. I'm not sure if the Tmobile service worked or not before replacing the glass/digitizer (everything else,including the shattered digitizer, worked great)since I don't remember even inserting my SIM card (I was using another iPhone).
After I replaced the screen I mistakenly updated the baseband and then JB and unlocked using blackra1n to find out that when I open the phone application and try to dial, the Tmobile signal would start dropping one line at a time, then 'Searching' and then 'No Service'. If I reboot the iPhone I will usually get the signal back but it starts dropping in a couple of minutes even if I'm not trying to place a call. Wifi works great, GPS seems to always have a weak signal everywhere.

Here is what I've tried so far with no luck... YET:
Restored to new iphone with itunes and jb & unlocked again (a couple times).
Restored with a 'cooked' Pwange OS and unlocked with ultrasn0w.
Restored Network Settings.
Turned Airplane mode on and off.
Turned on and off both WiFi and 3G.
Tried a different SIM card (from tmobile as well, mine is prepaid and I tried a different one with a monthly plan).
Turned call waiting, ttyd and other phone features on and off.
Opened the iPhone and made sure that the little cooper pin at the bottom of the motherboard was touching the bezel, not touching the bezel, etc.
Looked for a 'Kenia'? (or something like that) app in Cydia to delete it, but I never found it.


I'm sure I'm missing a couple of things I've tried but I will post them later with other new things that I'll keep trying.

If you have the same problem, PLEASE let us know your experience and do not worry, we will find the CAUSE and more likely the SOLUTION to this problem.
I bought the iPhone with the idea of selling it to make a few dollars, but now I'm determined to find the cause and solution to this.

I would like to think is a software issue (the signal is received, I was able to receive/make calls and texts) but I'm afraid it may actually be a hardware issue (a circuit on the communications board may have a short).



What do you guys think? Is it a SOFTWARE or HARDWARE issue?

Here are two pictures of my motherboard, do you think I have any problems there? It doesn't seem like it to me, but I don't have the equipment and experience that you guys have. Please help me out !

http://picasaweb.google.com/astuff4sale/IPhone3GInductor#

Answer:
From what I can see your board looks OK. It doesn't look like a software problem, because you restored the firmware several times so this should be fine. It is most probably a hardware problem, for example a defective chip getting hot after a couple of minutes, which leads to a loss of signal. This is only a suggestion. Anyway, when buying a broken iPhone, you had to expect a more serious issue than just a cracked digitizer. Imagine if the previous owner walked over it? Who knows how much damage such a delicate PCB can incur by being trampled?! Sorry mate, can't help any further.

Comment from Shahid, 2010/03/29 15:01 CET :
 
I have strange problem. At same location some times Iphone shows full strength signal and some time no service message. I have checked that my phone is able to show me the carriers list. Is there any physical problem with my antena ? should i open my iphone to check. I have already restored it to factory settings and upgraded to the new version 3.1.3. My fone is factory un-locked. any clue ???

Comment from nax, 2010/03/20 22:43 CET :
 
Thanks, I was able to fix my iPhone because of this great article! Full story:

http://www.nax.cz/2010/03/20/how-i-fixed-no-service-iphone/

Comment from Guenther, 2010/03/19 12:30 CET :
 
Thank you very, very much for your detailed description. I bought an iPhone on ebay where the whole part was missing. I just soldered 2 wires: 1 from the board to the GSM antenna and one to the bezel - it works fine, full signal on GSM and WLAN. I'm really happy, otherwise the phone would have been useless !

Comment from Aman, 2010/03/10 09:59 CET :
 
I still dont get exactly what to do. The inductor on my iphone 3g broke off during replacement of a part. Where and what do u soldier exactly. Could you draw a line from the two places.

Answer:
Look at the last picture on the page, before the "Conclusion" paragraph. Sorry but I can't be any clearer.

Comment from Randen, 2010/03/07 03:09 CET :
 
Thanks for you quick response!! I've taken it apart again, and cleaned it up a bit. The only problem when i was first trying to run the wire the contact pad came up with the solder and ending up lost. so my wound up wire was to act as the pad.(does that work as a pad or is it made of something different?)

Answer:
As long as the antenna pin (underneath the speaker module, there is a small pin mounted on a spring) is in contact with your wound up wire, it should work. But you really have to make sure that it gets not connected to the ground, only to the small track on the left. You should check with a continuity tester before putting it all together again.

Comment from Randen, 2010/03/06 00:22 CET :
 
Alright! so heres my story. I took mine apart because the lock button kept activating on it's on. And sure enough i took it apart between the bezel(WRONG). anyways. i messed up the speaker ribbon. so i ordered an new one from amazon, and it got here really quickly. Installed it and everything was working better than before.. I cleaned it up a little. Everything but the SIGNAL.. ugh. So i tried doing what you said but in the process lost my contact pad. so heres where I'm at with it. Any advice would be great. I know it's ugly but i'm hoping i can salvage it. View picture here : http://s69.photobucket.com/albums/i63/Randenjb/?action=view¤t=P1012006.jpg

Answer:
Wow! The picture is quite blurred, but from what I can see, this will never work. You shorted everything to the ground. The square contact pad (upper right) is not to be connected to the ground, it is the antenna signal. You will have to remove and clean everything, and afterwards connect the contact pad to the small track, as instructed above. Nothing more.

Comment from mossop, 2010/03/05 08:23 CET :
 
This is the dogs bollocks! Thank you and well done.
Within 5 minutes I'm up and running again on FUUUULL signal.

Comment from craig, 2010/02/28 21:57 CET :
 
Also If i'm having trouble with the home button would that indicate that my motherboard isn't sitting in the correct position?

Answer:
This might indicate a problem with the speaker / docking assembly (which includes the antenna flex). You can find complete modules, including the antenna flex on eBay.
It is possible also that the two small golden pins under the home button are not correctly connected with the circuit underneath. Try to GENTLY pull them one millimeter away from their position, this might help.

Comment from Craig, 2010/02/28 21:20 CET :
 
Hi, I have the same problem with the no service message. I disassembled my 3g and found that the inductor was still attached. I also check to see if there were any scratches in between and there were none. Do you think this trick will work for me? Thank you

Answer:
If the inductor is firmly soldered on the board, you should check the continuity between the right pad of the small coax connector and the left pad of the inductor, as well as between the left pad of the inductor and the antenna contact pad. If everything is fine, then this trick will not work.

You should check that the antenna pin is not damaged. It is a small golden pin mounted on a spring, located underneath the speaker module. When gently pressing on it, it should move 1 or 2 millimeters down. Check as well that there is a proper connection between this antenna pin and the pad on the board. If everything is fine, I would consider replacing the antenna flex (you can find them cheap on eBay).

Comment from Fabian Abegglen, 2010/02/26 18:14 CET :
 
WOW really nice tutorial.
My iphone is back and working. I can't believe it but it is true.
Just put a tiny wire between the antenna spot and the track.
Many thanks

Comment from Grendell, 2010/02/24 18:13 CET :
 
Great help to this Trinidadian!

Comment from Clyde, 2010/02/15 20:38 CET :
 
Worked for me! Same problem...knocked the inductor off sometime during taking or putting it back together...bet that's a design 'feature'. I just made solder bridge between the pads the inductor was on and poof, back comes my 3g signal.

I have to wonder, though, what this is affecting? It must have been there for a reason, so what was that reason?

Answer:
This inductor might have been placed here to filter out interferences, or to adapt the impedance of the antenna circuit, because at gigahertz frequencies track lengths and design is very sensitive. After this hack, my signal seems to be slightly stronger than before, but sometimes the switch between 2G and 3G is a bit buggy. Especially in areas where the phone receives 3G and 2G simultaneously, it will stick to a very weak 3G signal (and eventually lose the link), although it would be far better on 2G. This is the only drawback I noticed after eliminating the inductor.

Comment from ccayser, 2010/02/15 08:14 CET :
 
Hi! I have similar problem although I have quite good reception in 3G area, but in 2G area, it Is 1-2 bar or No Service at all. So does this fix the problem on no service at all, or no service at 2G?

Answer:
This hack fixes the problem of no service at all. Your problem seems to be different.

Comment from Poch, 2010/02/09 11:55 CET :
 
Wow! Thanks for this info. My 3g lost the GSM when I was trying to change the batteries. It turned out that I broke inductor while replacing the board back. Anyway, when I read this article I wanted to do it asap but I didn't have any soldering materials available. But I have Quickgrid defogger repair compound from my car. Since I have nothing to lose, I used it instead. And its works! Hope it lasts long...

Comment from David, 2010/02/08 12:31 CET :
 
Hi,

I'm just wondering what the probability of using this repair if rather than just cracking, but the whole bit broke off? Unfortunately the 'Grounding' pin caught underneath when removing and broke along the line of the obviously already cracked section and I am wondering what my chances of success would be gluing the actual board back together and then completing the above mentioned instructions. (please, no laughing if this is an obviously dumb question) Thanks heaps in advance. And thanks for the help by providing these instructions

Answer:
Hi,

I would say : why not, give it a try! But you would need to solder two wires. The first from the antenna pad to the track as explained in full details above. And the second to connect the grounding contact (the one you can see all the way left in the first picture, which gets pressed against the metallic frame when the board is sitted in place) to the board's ground. Example in the picture below :

Comment from Marc, 2010/01/31 10:00 CET :
 
thanks for writing this webpage! after months of my phone not working i stumbled across this page and had a look at my phone, it was hard to tell with the naked eye that the transistor wasnt even there because it snapped off with such a 'clean' break! had a closer look and i had both a crack in the exact same place as this one and the missing 'transistor'/inductor. put the smallest bit of solder across the gap for the component and bridged the gap across the track and i can confirm that the signal is even better than before! A million thanks!

Comment from Hugo C, 2010/01/26 17:42 CET :
 
I'm not having the lost signal, but since opening my iPhone 3g, the reception (number of bars) has significantly dropped, to the point that in big buildings (my university) it has no signal. I checked your Inductor problem, but it is still there, and it has no scratch whatsoever or crack (I'm very meticulous, but I checked thoroughly). Any ideas?

Answer:
I would do the following.
1. Check that the inductor is firmly soldered on the board
2. Check the continuity between the right pad of the small coax connector and the left pad of the inductor.
3. Check continuity between the left pad of the inductor and the antenna contact pad.
4. Check that the antenna pin is not damaged. It is a small golden pin mounted on a spring, located underneath the speaker module. When gently pressing on it, it should move 1 or 2 millimeters down.
5. Check proper connection between this antenna pin and the pad on the board.
If everything above is fine, I would consider replacing the antenna flex (you can find them cheap on eBay).

Comment from Cole, 2010/01/25 17:25 CET :
 
OK, I'm having the 'no signal' issue, and my inductor is not there. There are no cracks. I understand I need to solder a piece of wire to the small gold antenna piece. My confusion is where the other end of the wire is going? From antenna to where? Please help! Also, what type of wire should I use for soldering? My mother has a solder device she uses for stained glass. I think I'll need a smaller one, but I'm just wondering if there's a certain wire I need to use.

Answer:
Hi,
You should use some thin, telephone-type wire. I think I used something around 0.5mm / AWG 24.
As your motherboard is not cracked, the best would be to solder a small wire accross the two inductor pads which are spotted in red on the FIRST picture. However, you will need a very thin solder tip and some patience...
Good luck!

Comment from Murat, 2010/01/25 11:10 CET :
 
Hi,
First of all thank you for sharing such an info!
I couldn' t get the exact soldering location of the wire so could you please send detailed explanation if possible?
Thank you again,
Have a nice week,
Murat.

Answer:
Hi,
It depends if your motherboard is cracked or not.
If yes, then see the LAST picture : you should solder the wire between the antenna contact pad and a portion of the track ABOVE the crack. You will have to gently scratch the protective film off the track first.
If there is no crack, i.e. your motherboard only misses the inductor, then see the FIRST picture : you should solder a small wire accross the two inductor pads which are spotted in red.
Hope this helps.

Comment from Benjamin, 2010/01/24 04:17 CET :
 
Hello!!! This is the EXACT cause of my iphone No service problems as I had taken it apart to fix from water damage. So the inductor IS missing, and it also looks as though the board may be slights cracked.... I live in NC and I took it to a repair shop that does soldering WITH this link they used and they couldnt fix it :( PLEASE tell me that there is somewhere you recommend sending my iphone or somewhere to call that can solder the wire for me!! I would appreciate ANY help whatsoever!! Thanks a million as well for this initial article. I WILL donate very soon if i can get it fixed, and thats a promise!!

Ben
Bjclue2@yahoo.com

Answer:
Hi, I'm sorry but, as I live in Europe, I can't recommend anywhere in the US to send your iPhone for repair. Are you sure that the repair shop did the job right, i.e. scratch a little bit of the track *above* the cracks, and solder a wire between this point and the antenna pin contact? Did you see the result? Did they test continuity between the small coax connector and the antenna contact? Additionnally, I would say by instinct that you can never be sure about the EXACT cause of a problem on a device which suffered water damage.

Comment from C, 2010/01/15 15:17 CET :
 
YES!! I bought an 3g with cracked screen, changed the screen and saw the 'no service' message. I thought F*CK!! And thought it was impossible to fix due to some broken chip everybodys been talkin about.

Then i found this amazing trick! I soldered a thin wire from the solder point just under the wire in the picture, the one left to the points where the inductor should be. And then i soldered the other end to the big antenna connector pad.

It was pretty hard as i only had big soldering equipment but it turned out great! Looking at my phone right now with full reception!!

Thanks a ton!!

Comment from Craig, 2009/12/10 23:32 CET :
 
THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
This works, but instead of attaching the new wire, I just placed one across the two pads where inductor used to be, it made things really easy as long as you have the right tools. Thank you so much for this post, hopefully others with this problem can find it and save their iPhones.

Comment from Stef, 2009/11/20 23:48 CET :
 
Best fix ever. Thanks a million.

I bought a iPhone on ebay and after arrival i noticed a very weak reception. After I opened the iPhone i Noticed the seal was broken. So the former owner had dismounted the mainboard. After reading your story i checked the inductor, and it was missing... soldering a wire is did the trick, full signal and a happy Dutch guy...

Comment from Hannes, 2009/11/07 16:21 CET :
 
This is great. I had problems with my signal after opening my iphone 3g the wrong way. My phone was showing no service all the time. After doing this fix, everything is now working perfect. I soldered a wire from the square thing joust above where the wire goes in the picture. I found it easier to solder there. Thanks for good pictures and great help. Iphone Norway

Comment from Will, 2009/11/04 22:50 CET :
 
This worked for me, but I'm wondering what purpose the inductance was supposed to serve. Do you have any ideas?

Answer:
It might have been placed here to filter out interferences, or to adapt the impedance of the antenna circuit, because at gigahertz frequencies track lengths and design is very sensitive. However, after having used my 'new' iPhone for almost two weeks now, my signal seems to be even stronger than before!

Comment from bfready, 2009/11/04 18:34 CET :
 
Great fix!

BTW FYI, that component is an INDUCTOR

The inductor creates INDUCTANCE to the circuit.

Regards.

Answer:
Thanks, I corrected the text...