Repair

ANSWERED: Why Doesn’t My 4G Work On My Phone?

ANSWERED: Why Doesn’t My 4G Work On My Phone?

ANSWERED: Why Doesn’t My 4G Work On My Phone

Problem: 4G (LTE) Isn’t Working

If you’ve recently asked yourself “Why Doesn’t My 4G Work On My Phone?” and you can’t seem to pin point the exact problem. There could be a variety of reasons why it isn’t working the way you expect. I will go through a bunch of different troubleshooting techniques and things to check on your phone to ensure that you cover all bases before throwing your phone (or sim card) in the trash bin.

Why Doesn’t My 4G Work On My Phone?

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Do you have compatible hardware?

Yes, 4G requires the following 3 Key Components to work properly:

  1. 4G (LTE) enabled Sim Card – If you’re using an old sim card, you may need to ask your service provider to set you up with a Why Doesn't My 4G Work On My Phone?new, 4G enabled sim card. Depending on the provider company they may, or may not charge you for this.
  2. 4G (LTE) enabled Phone – Not ALL phones work on 4G! If you are not sure whether your mobile device is 4G enabled, visit gsmarea.com … search for your device model …. “expand” the Network row (little down arrow on the right) …. see if it supports 4G (HSDPA/HSPA).
  3. 4G (LTE) enabled mobile data plan – You will have to contact your service provider on this one. Here in Canada, some providers do not offer 4G on lower price plans. You must check with your provider to ensure 4G is enabled on your account/mobile plan.

 

I have all 3 key components, but still… Why Doesn’t My 4G Work On My Phone?

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Enable 4G (LTE) Settings On the Device

Here I will list how to turn 4G (LTE) ON with some of the most popular devices:

  1. iPhone:  Settings >> Mobile Data (Cellular Network)  >> Enable 4G >> Voice & Data
  2. old Samsung: Settings >> Mobile Networks >> Mobile Data >> Network Mode >> Select “LTE/WCDMA/GSM”
  3. new Samsung: Settings >> Connections >> Mobile Networks >> Network Mode >> Select “LTE/WCDMA/GSM”
  4. Huawei: Settings >> More… >> Mobile Network >> Preferred Network Type >> Select “4G/3G/2G”
  5. LG: Settings >> Networks Tab >> Tethering & Networks >> Mobile Networks >> Network Mode >> select “GSM/WCDMA/LTE auto”
  6. Google/Nexus: Settings >> More… >> Cellular Networks >> Preferred Network Type >> Select “4G / 3G / 2G auto”

The above may change slightly depending on manufacturer and carrier software updates, but as you can see they are generally very similar, just use a bit of common sense to search for it if it different from the above list. If all else fails, DM me on Twitter @SillyTechie

 

All my shit from above is correct, Why Doesn’t My 4G Work On My Phone yet?

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Wrong Access Point Name or Internet Profile Setting

If you’ve completed all of the above steps and STILL you’re 4G isn’t working… you may need to consider that your phone does not have the appropriate internet profile settings.

This step is very different for both iPhone and Android … so let’s start with iPhone. Typically this profile is auto-updated when you insert a new sim card and you usually get a prompt that asks you to update carrier settings…. you should click Update.

If again, this does fails to remedy the situation you may have an internet profile set that does not belong to your sim card. This often happens when you switch between carriers with different sim cards.

To delete wrong profiles got to:

Settings >> General >> Profiles >> Tap the One you want to remove

If you do not see “Profiles” it means you do not have ANY internet profiles setup and you may need to contact your service provider to help you install the appropriate internet profile setting as it is different for each carrier.

Androids

Go to Settings >> More… >> Mobile Networks >> APN >> Add APN (+) >> Enter APN Details

If you see no APN profiles here, contact your service provider for the exact APN settings for 4G.

Example Profile:

Name: Fido 4G

APN: ltemobile.apn

Be sure to press “Save APN” and then select the radio button next to the APN to activate it.

 

If all of the above doesn’t work …. I suggest you find your nearest mobile shop or techie to help you out…. it could be a simple mistake on your part, or as complicated as a broken cellular antenna inside the device.

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How to Apply Glass Screen Guard Flawlessly

How to Apply Glass Screen Guard Flawlessly

How to apply glass screen guard flawlessly, even if your phone isn’t brand new?

When it comes to mobile phones, the best screen protection is tempered glass. Tempered glass offers the best screen protection for modern phones because it is designed to take the impact on behalf of the screen. What that means for you, is $30 screen guard could save you $200 in screen repairs. Sounds worth it, right?

But what I find most often, is that the average person has a difficult time applying their glass screen guard. They get bubbles all over, dust or hair on the lit part of the screen…or just plain crooked. So how to apply a glass screen guard flawlessly every time?

Required Tools:

  1. Scotch Tape (yes, it must be scotch)
  2. Compressed Air
  3. MicroFiber Cloth
  4. Plastic Pryer (if you don’t have nails)
  5. Good Lighting
  6. Flat, Hard, Clean surface
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Step 1:

Place the phone on a clean, dusted hard surface. My preference is to have phone facing the same way that you will hold the screen guard during application (keep reading to understand what this means). Adjust the lighting so that you can see every detail of the phone’s screens (scratches, hairs, dust, etc).

Step 2:

If your phone is not brand new, or does not still have the packaging covering the screen, use the MicroFiber Cloth to clean the screen to perfection. Tilt the light or your head to make sure all debris has been removed from the screen. If you find everything but dust is removed, go to Step 3.

Step 3:

Use the compressed air to blow off the tempered glass guard – blow both sides free of any debris (DO NOT REMOVE THE FILM YET). Use the compressed air to blow off the phone’s screen to be free of any debris.

Step 4:how to apply glass screen guard

Use a 2″ (inch) piece of scotch tape and dab it on the screen to remove any remaining dust, hair or small particles. This is one of the most important tasks. For a perfect application the screen must be absolutely free of debris, this is the most important step of how to apply glass screen guard.

Step 5:

Hold the screen guard film-side down. The film is the removable plastic, this is the side of the screen guard that sticks or adheres to the phone screen.

Hold it in the same alignment as the phone.

Quickly remove the film while holding the screen guard just to the side of the phone (this is to avoid throwing any dust particles onto your freshly cleaned screen)

Step 6:

Quickly align the screen guard to the phone screen. Slowly lower it over the screen and press once in the middle, then let the screen adhere it’s self.

Step 7:

Look for any blemishes. Did any dust get caught underneath? Use this trick to get any dust particles out. Slowly lift the corner where the dust is located (use the plastic pry or your finger nail) – be careful not to scratch the adhesive underneath. With the corner lifted slightly, slip a piece of scotch tape underneath and dab onto the spot where the dust is to remove it, then quickly press the corner back down. Repeat this process until all dust and hairs are removed. Press down the edges for a perfect finish.

 

Pro Tip: If you phone has an all black screen – turn ON the phone to a while screen so that you can see the outline where the screen guard should align. Turn on the screen while you align the screen guard. Turn off the screen again while you inspect for any trapped dust particles.

 

And THAT is how to apply glass screen guard flawlessly to any mobile phone. Check out this video I took of my colleague applying a screen guard.

How To Re-attach Your iMac Stand

How To Re-attach Your iMac Stand

I recently moved to a city approx. 12,000 km away and had to transport my 27″ iMac without damaging it. So I removed the iMac stand and packed the iMac tightly with styrofoam and put it in a box. (I did not have the original iMac box)
When I got to my destination I discovered that the spring-loaded piece of the iMac that the stand attaches to, had sprung back inside the iMac. Just my luck – this piece is NOT easy to get out without the stand attached. So here’s what I ended up doing to get it out…

What you will need for this process:

Well firstly, this is what your iMac “flange” looks like once you’ve removed your iMac stand. The flange is the part of the iMac that we need to retrieve in order to reattach our iMac stand. It is spring-loaded so sometimes it can be difficult to retrieve without some trickery. Unfortunately, I do not have an image of the retracted flange as it was just too difficult to see in the photo. (image below is what the flange looks like when pulled out of the machine)

 

imac stand flange

Now you are going to retrieve the flange by threading pipe cleaners through each hole in the flange. These are the holes that your iMac screws are usually screwed into. I found that starting with a bit of a small hook on the pipe cleaner made it easier to thread through.

hooked pipe cleaner

You will likely only get the pipe cleaner threaded through a small portion without assistance, this is what the tweezers are for. I tried needle-nosed pliers for this, but they were just too big. Tweezers were small enough to fit in the crevasse and tough enough to offer assistance in pulling the pipe cleaner through to the point where I could grab it with my fingers.

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pipe cleaner

Make sure that you twist the pipe cleaner ends tightly so that they do not come undone when you yank on them later.
twisted pipecleaners
Do this for all 8 holes in the flange. Trust me, you will need them – I tried with only 6, but the pipe cleaners did not hold.

Now you need to use your plastic card to trigger the switch that allows the flange to move in and out of the iMac. I recommend getting a friend to help you with this step because it can be quite difficult to yank on the pipe cleaners while pressing the trigger with the card at the same time.
flange trigger

Pull on the pipe cleaners until you hear or feel the flange “click into place”, or once the pipe cleaners are completely outside of the iMac. Now you can remove the plastic card and the pipe cleaners.
pull flange outside imac

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Now that you’ve got your flange exposed (get your mind out of the gutter), I would recommend using compressed air to blow out any loose pipe cleaner fuzz. Any left over fuzz can affect the coolness of your machine and therefore, the performance.
imac stand flange

From here it is just as easy as positioning the stand and putting in all of the screws.
imac flange

You will need your plastic card again to hit the trigger in order to click the stand back into position. It will be quite tight at this point, which is why I recommend a card with no numbers or letters embossed on it.
release imac stand trigger

And there you have it! You’ve reattached your iMac stand! Woohoo!
imac stand with tools

Did you find this article helpful in re-attaching your iMac stand?
Leave me some feedback, or let me know what issues you ran into.

-SillyTechie

 

Update April 2, 2014: I read about another guy using this Siding Removal Tool to help him retrieve the flange from his iMac, however I have not tested this method so I cannot confirm or deny that it works. Have you tried this method? Please me know how it worked for you.

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