I was hearing a rattling noise when turning the phone around, so I opened it and saw the BroadMobi cover plate (with the logo, various symbols, a QR code, and so on) was no longer attached, revealing electronic circuits below. I removed it and closed the phone, it appears to work.
Should I be concerned? Does that plate serve some purpose other than looking nice and showing logos? (like improving signal reception or heat dissipation)? Should I try sticking it back in?
Thanks for any input
It shows you which antenna is AUX and which is MAIN?
Can you show a photo?
It might also be shielding the rest of the phone from high frequency signals that could interfere with other electronic circuits (RFI).
In that case, I think putting it back on would need using conductive glue.
I like this curiosity, the “opportunity to learn something new” kind of reaction 
And I had my u.fl connector on mine come off the board…I don’t think these cards are very good. Quality control issues.
Please tell support about it because I suspect some of these cards have cold solder joints. If people report problems with the cards then we have a better chance of getting a warranty replacement. Take a picture, I’m curious if the shield is soldered in place or if it’s some sort of adhesive.
Yes, although the same information is visible next to the card too
Front:
Back:
Soldered I guess? You can see those dashed lines, that’s where the plate was attached:
(Although I wonder how people could solder the middle of the plate. Do they somehow heat it through the plate?)
You better override the IMEI number and maybe others with black pixels to protect your own privacy. 
Surface mount parts on these things have solder on the pads then they are heated to melt the solder. Looks to me like cold solder joints, just like my antenna connector. This would be a warranty claim if you ask me.
Did that, thank you. I kept the P/N, whatever that is. The code includes letters "BAD* near the end, so at least they’re being upfront about this being a BAD batch 
You’re probably right but the hassle of sending it back from Europe to US plus being forced offline for maybe a month make it not worth it to me, as long as it’s still working…
I hear you but at least report the issue to Purism because even though you are ok living with it, it will create some statistics on failures that Purism could use to go to broadmobi and say “hey we need you guys to make good on these failures”. You could help others even though you’re not looking for help yourself.
Yes, will do. Thanks!
I am curious that the modem-plate do not come with a dedicated temperature paste. Others modem does.
You had better block out the QR code.
The QR code contains SN-xyzIMEI-abcd where xyz is your serial number and abcd is your IMEI. So, there’s no point blocking out the IMEI if you don’t also block out the QR code.
Always block out all of the QR code, to be on the safe side - because there is enough redundancy in a QR code to recover the full text in the face of some lost code elements.
Ah, OK.
