Virgin 4g on Xiaomi Redmi 3s suddenly gone off

DiamondJoe · 26 Jul 2017 at 19:38

Last week the 4g on my Redmi 3s suddenly went off and hasn't come back since. I've got 2g and the occasional call comes through, and I've been sent 2 replacement Sims with no success. The APN settings seem to be right. Anyone know if this is a common thing and what the answer is?

gam3r · 28 Jul 2017 at 07:27

I would try a factory reset. Not ideal but may work.

DiamondJoe · 28 Jul 2017 at 14:00

Hasn't worked. It's weird - when I manually search for a mobile network Virgin 3g and Virgin 4g don't even appear anymore - just 2g, and then Three 4g, and a couple of others that are 'forbidden'.

tom_e · 28 Jul 2017 at 14:06

Has it had a recent FW update? May have messed up the radios.

DiamondJoe · 28 Jul 2017 at 14:08

It's possible but all the automatic Miui updates are in sodding Chinese so I don't know what they are.

Myshra · 28 Jul 2017 at 14:12

Are you getting data over 2G?

DiamondJoe · 28 Jul 2017 at 14:19

Yes, but obviously its very limited. I'm getting the occasional phone call and text coming through too, and I can sometimes make a call, but generally it says "no service".

silverblack · 28 Jul 2017 at 18:41

Have a look on XDA maybe somebody else has had the problem.

https://forum.xda-developers.com/xiaomi-redmi-3s

Myshra · 29 Jul 2017 at 14:36

DiamondJoe said:
Yes, but obviously its very limited. I'm getting the occasional phone call and text coming through too, and I can sometimes make a call, but generally it says "no service".

SIM is only used for authentication to a mobile network (well, mostly) so if you are able to receive data over 2G then the APN settings, SIM and GSM Radio are at least intact and you're not failing authentication of data services, it's more likely the handset. IF you receive no data but Calls / SMS work then the APN is rejecting you (network only fix - APN rejection is always silent failure). If you're getting "no service" where you had service before and it's affecting outgoing calls I'd put it down to aerial / modem and it's likely back to the factory for a fix.

DiamondJoe · 31 Jul 2017 at 12:03

Myshra said:
SIM is only used for authentication to a mobile network (well, mostly) so if you are able to receive data over 2G then the APN settings, SIM and GSM Radio are at least intact and you're not failing authentication of data services, it's more likely the handset. IF you receive no data but Calls / SMS work then the APN is rejecting you (network only fix - APN rejection is always silent failure). If you're getting "no service" where you had service before and it's affecting outgoing calls I'd put it down to aerial / modem and it's likely back to the factory for a fix.

Hm. Not an option, since I bought it off Ebay. Is there any kind of mobile repairer in the UK that could do that kind of thing?

Myshra · 31 Jul 2017 at 13:13

I honestly don't have much experience with this type of handset and repairs, i test handsets for a big telco and get them for free. The chinese handset thread might be able to help you out. I assume you've been through different network SIMs to check there's nothing localised right? (don't test with EE though, same network).

DiamondJoe · 31 Jul 2017 at 14:20

Yes I tried a different network SIM in a shop and it didn't work.

DiamondJoe · 1 Aug 2017 at 15:30

Could there be any possible issue with the IMEI number when I changed Sims?

RoboCod · 5 Aug 2017 at 18:07

Yep, I'm having the same issue. Coincidentally around the same date.... perhaps it is an update issue? I'm just about to try rolling back the OS version now.

RoboCod · 5 Aug 2017 at 18:53

Downloaded MUI7, installed it through the phone, it restarted straight back into MUI8 and now won't accept my MUI password so I'm locked out.

I'm close to launching this phone at the wall

DiamondJoe · 7 Aug 2017 at 08:09

RoboCod said:
Downloaded MUI7, installed it through the phone, it restarted straight back into MUI8 and now won't accept my MUI password so I'm locked out.

I'm close to launching this phone at the wall

Yeah I've given up and ordered a 4x.

RoboCod · 7 Aug 2017 at 08:35

DiamondJoe said:
Yeah I've given up and ordered a 4x.

I gave up too

ah well, new phone it is!

jsmoke · 8 Aug 2017 at 11:30

Strange problem, doesn't really make sense why it would work for a while then suddendly switch off, kind of analogous to something overheating.

DiamondJoe · 9 Aug 2017 at 11:27

jsmoke said:
Strange problem, doesn't really make sense why it would work for a while then suddendly switch off, kind of analogous to something overheating.

Yeah I know, I can't work it out at all. Someone said it could be some kind of issue after a firmware update that's messed up the radio wave settings. I was going to wait until the MIUI 9 update came out and see if that fixed it, but it could be months.

Anyway, I fancy the 4x so it should be here any day, and the seller has said they're happy to refund.