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Do you have a T-Mobile version of the HTC Wizard (aka "MDA")?

If so, and especially if you are located in Northern California or California in general you may have experienced the following:

You take your spankin' new MDA to a location where there's spotty to little to no reception. Your signal drops.

You go back to a place with known coverage. Your phone can't find its way back onto the network. One minute goes by, then two, then five, then thirty perhaps more.

OK. Welcome to T-Mobile!

This is a known, repeatable problem with these MDAs with T-Mobile.

Many seem to think that getting a new sim card will do it. Perhaps, it's the phone that's faulty, perhaps the antenna (since it's internal) is too weak to get a good signal. While many of these issues may have some bearing on this problem, it's most likely due to your phone's sim card being confused as to what to do and how to do it.

Case in point. If you try to detect a network, you may find that only "Cingular" shows up. This shows that the phone's antenna seems to be picking up a signal. Otherwise, you'd get null. So do we pick on the phone itself? Many have reported that sticking another carrier's sim card in the MDA (for example, a Cingular sim card) will work - i.e., network registration is fairly immediate.

Now, I have a new sim card being sent over for a test trial. Reason being that the local T-Mobile corporate store's sales rep put his card into my MDA and boom! A signal! My card in his phone? Couldn't "phone home".

I may be repeating myself a bit here, so this is a short compilation of what people have done with their phones to either resolve, patch, or "deal" with this re-acquistion issue.

1. Leave the carrier altogether (in CA you have 30 days - make sure you also check your usage, it may be limited to 30 minutes as well otherwise, you get billed for the portion used)

2. Get a replacement phone. Sure, who wouldn't want a refurbished unit? ;)

3. Get a new sim card. Take your phone into a store and have them test it with their cards or get your friends to help you here. Better if they're a Cingular or other GSM carrier's customer.

4. Void your warranty. A few folks have reported that by cutting a slit in their external antenna, they are able to get a noticeable reception improvement. It's not like night and day, but it sure beats having your phone endlessly searching...

5. It's a Windows machine - hack it! Remember, there's a difference between signal strength and network registration. One plays a part in the other, but they're two different animals. Hacking your phone may address both. Some have reported upgrading their radio firmware/ROM and this not only increases signal strength but allows faster registration. Some have reported upgrading the phone's firmware as a whole (for another make/model) resulting in better signal acqusition.

To be scientific about it, there's one definite known: We know nothing!

In order to accurately determine the cause/effect and solution, us forum browsers and customers would have to follow a well-defined test methodology. Otherwise, we're all trying things and getting spotty results - not enough to prove conclusive one way or the other.

Here's what I suggest to get started so that we're all talking apples:

1. Phone make/model/mfg
2. Firmware
3. Carrier
4. Sim card specs
5. Location of primary use - this must also be cross referenced with the nearest tower
6. Issues - is it poor reception and/or slow registration (if so, how long, etc..)
7. Hacks employed (version, result, etc..)

This is obviously not an exhaustive list that would satistfy the hard-core scientist, but having the knowns in place helps somewhat..

So, what have you done?