I bought a refurbished Moto Edge 2022 as an affordable everyday phone, mainly because it has a nice display. Unfortunately, its mobile data performance has been terrible. Even a few minutes from a nearby Bell tower while using Koodo, LTE speeds are extremely slow despite having a strong signal. At my cabin, the phone sometimes drops below 500 Kbps even with a signal booster and three or four bars.
I've tried airplane mode to reconnect to the network, confirmed that Data Saver is disabled, and switched between LTE and 5G. I'm using a 4G plan, but the problem happens in multiple locations and doesn't seem like ordinary congestion. The phone's model appears to support the relevant carrier bands, and this SIM worked much faster in my previous Xiaomi Note 8 Pro.
The SIM card is around six to eight years old, so replacing it is one possibility. I'm also wondering whether the refurbished phone could have a loose antenna cable or another internal connection problem. Since the return period has already passed, what would be the best way to determine whether the issue is the SIM, carrier compatibility, or the phone itself?
3 Answers
A refurbished phone may have been opened during inspection or repair, and a partially disconnected antenna coax or ribbon cable could cause poor cellular performance. Signal bars don’t always tell the whole story: the phone may connect to the tower but have a weak or faulty data path, resulting in awful speeds.
If you’re comfortable working on electronics, you could open the phone and check that the antenna and coax connections are firmly seated. Be careful with the clips and use replacement adhesive when sealing the phone again. If you’re not experienced with phone repairs, a repair shop is safer, since the phone’s water and dust resistance may already be compromised.
Full bars combined with sub-500 Kbps speeds is definitely abnormal, but strong bars alone don’t guarantee a good data connection. Before opening the phone, I’d replace the SIM and test at least one other device or SIM. That gives you a much better idea whether you’re dealing with an old SIM, a network provisioning issue, or hardware damage from the refurbishment.
First, isolate whether the problem follows the SIM or stays with the phone. Try your Koodo SIM in another compatible device at the exact same location and compare the speeds. If possible, also test a different SIM in the Moto. A replacement SIM is a sensible first step, especially since yours is several years old, but if every SIM is slow only in this phone, the device is the more likely culprit.
Also verify the exact model variant rather than relying only on the phone’s settings. Different Moto Edge 2022 versions can support different LTE bands. If the phone is consistently slow across multiple locations, it could be a modem, antenna, or carrier-compatibility issue.
The same SIM was noticeably faster in my old Xiaomi, including when it was using HSPA+, so I’m leaning toward either the SIM aging out or a problem with the Moto. I’ll try replacing the SIM before assuming the phone is defective.
I have a small electronics driver kit and may inspect the connections this weekend. I’ll make sure to get the correct adhesive rather than trying to reuse whatever was inside.