Mobile Phone Hack: How To Improve Cell Phone Reception

I have a Samsung GSM mobile phone SG R220. It has been working fine for last 6 years. Last 3-4 days I was unable to get any signal on the phone. I checked that the SIM card is working by using it on another phone and also verified that there is proper reception in my area. So I rightly suspected that the problem was with the phone itself. I visited the Samsung service center only to be told that they will change the battery (which is also the back cover) which will “probably” improve the performance. I grew suspicious because there was nothing wrong with the battery, it has been working fine for last 6 years. The battery worked without any issues even after being inactive and without charge for over a year! So I decided to hack my cell phone.

I had the required screw-driver (special ones) to pry open the phone. But before starting I wanted to clean the contacts of the antenna. So I took the connecting pin of my multimeter connector (even a regular safety-pin will do fine) and started scratching the base of the antenna. In Calcutta nowadays it is very hot and humid, so I suspected that it could be damp related problem. Immediately the signal strength increased by 3-4 bars and went near its maximum from zero previously. So I went for more scratching. And surprisingly enough my cell-phone now has better reception than ever before. All it needed was some scratching behind the ears .. err in the hole where the antenna is lodged. While I am not sure if the same trick will work with every cell phone, especially the ones with hidden antennas, I think it is worth the effort to clean the antenna and its base as far as it is accessible for better reception.