Pixel Fold 9 pro physical sim not recognised

Aeleon

A couple of days ago an issue started to occur where my phone would not detect my physical sim card when unfolded. Shortly afterwards I noticed that as soon as I close it there is no problem. Unfolded, sim card not detected again. I don't think it's a mechanical/physical contact issue because the sim card remains detected when closed regardless of physical orientation of the phone.

I'm unsure if this is a GrapheneOS pixel 9 fold issue or a pixel 9 fold issue in general. Has anyone else experienced this? I'm on the latest stable release.

ron

Aeleon it actually sounds like a hardware problem. Maybe there is a loose contact that gets exposed when unfolded

n3t_admin

Aeleon I don't think it's a mechanical/physical contact issue

this is most likely a broken interconnect flex cable inside the phone. It connects the SIM card reader going from one half to the mainboard on the other. Look at the spare part; it's visible on the second picture (the one with the orange connector).

This is a very common issue with folding phones. Get it replaced under warranty while you can. Keep in mind that this will probably occur again some time in the future, so get it insured if possible, since the screen costs more than the phone is worth by that time. (~$1200)

Aeleon

n3t_admin Thanks for the information. I assumed it was likely a hardware issue. Would using an esim instead of physical sim circumvent the problem?

Is it possible for the issue to eventually become present when closed as well or is that unlikely?

I still have another 12 months of warranty and it isn't a major issue for me since I use it as a secondary phone and tend to download everything, leaving cellular off the majority of time.

n3t_admin

Aeleon Would using an esim instead of physical sim circumvent the problem?

Yes.

Aeleon Is it possible for the issue to eventually become present when closed as well or is that unlikely?

Not only that, most likely this is just the beginning. Pretty much everything that sits on the secondary screen half can stop working if the traces inside the flex cable get damaged. It might stop at the SIM card reader, but it also might go further. These micro fractures tend to grow bigger over time, especially under stress (folding/unfolding). I'd really encourage you to get this fixed asap.

Aeleon

n3t_admin Not what I want to hear, but thanks for the heads up.

From your understanding is this issue with folding phones due to shoddy google hardware engineering or an inevitable mechanical consequence of folding phones?

n3t_admin

Aeleon the latter. Iirc the Samsung Flip 3 had massive issues as well with broken flex cables, affecting everything from SIM readers to microphones going kaputt. They are really fragile and not really made for bending over and over. At some point they all break, some sooner than others - as in this case. I suspect this is like the Flexgate-MacBook Pros, where the tolerances are too small and the cable constantly scrubs against the metal housing. If true, there will likely come more reports soon enough.

DeletedUser435

this started happening after i updated the system to the latest version. sometimes on reboot the sim card wouldnt get recognized at all. so after restarting the phone several times , my phone cant even get past the google logo screen and will not get into recovery or rescue mode. very frustrating.

davidnarok

I would be thankful if this community dropped the condescending comment on this being a hardware issue. It's been around for two years and the denial is rather shocking. People have been dealing with this on all sorts of devices and there is still no solution. SIMs, eSIMs from different countries and in perfect condition do not work on GOS but they do on stock Android, on the same device and others (I mean the same person trying the same SIM on different devices, as is my case).

The developers need to solve this issue, as it doesn't make sense to have a phone that can't be used for phoning. This is cutting off our daily communications, so we can't rely on GOS for our routine.

r134a

davidnarok I mean the same person trying the same SIM on different devices, as is my case)

This statement only indicates that the sim card is not defective, but does not rule out a potentoinal hardware issue whatsoever.

davidnarok the denial is rather shocking.

I'm not 100% sure yet as u didn't respond on the other thread, but i'm starting to suspect a uno reverse card might be applicable to that statement.

n3t_admin

davidnarok yeah, condescending comments, sure. You do realize this person has these problems only when the phone is unfolded? Please explain to me what physically unfolding the phone has to do with software.
Did you just register here to rant in different forum posts that are loosely related to your problem? Because right now it doesn't look like you are looking for solutions, but rather are trying to sh*t on the developers ("The developers need to solve this issue" - no, they don't need to do jack shit) and the community that spends their free time here to help others. Nobody here is a qualified expert to remotely diagnose your connectivity issues, so stop treating community members as if they owe you something.

To even diagnose your problem in the first place, the developers would need logs for when and under what circumstances this occurs. @r134a was kind enough to reply in the other thread already, so post your discoveries there.

Aeleon

davidnarok

I didn't find their comments condescending in the slightest. They took the time to respond honestly and helped me to accept what was the likely issue - and it turns out that was exactly the problem - a hardware issue. I refused to get a repair for the inner screen, under consumer laws where I am from I was able to go back to the store of purchase and get a new device. I chose the Samsung Fold 7 (as a more refined folding device from a hardware perspective) and I have a pixel 10 XL ready to install Graphene on when that is available. I've used Graphene on a Pixel 7 and 8 in the past and always had a flawless experience. I want to emphasise and clarify that this was NOT an issue with GrapheneOS, and I don't appreciate being conflated with whatever your issue is.

Edit: And my issues did progress, my front screen stopped working completely, then browsing forums I found this is a very common issue with the pixel fold 9 regardless of OS.

b0nfire

A few weeks ago I experienced the issue of the physical SIM not being recognized. It seemed as though it would be triggered upon opening/closing the fold. I found this issue and gulped well I probably need to send it in under warranty replacement 😮‍💨

However, I took it to my trusted hardware person (for hopefully a temp fix to recover some data) and he said my flex cables all seem fine and that it's likely more a corrupted bootloader (or similar). This makes sense to my brain because why I can see the Google logo etc?

So, I opened an issue with my nuanced situation if any of you are curious.