Ordered a new digitizer for my Samsung Epix and it is the correct part and the digitizer just sits in the bezel, I assume its glued on but cant figure out how it comes off. Anyone done this before on this phone or have a tutorial or how-to?
Thanks
Mike
Just did it today. Wish I'd taken pics. You have to take it completely apart in order to connect the new ribbon cable as it attaches to the underside (bottom) of the circuit board. There's 6 screws that need to come out, the bottom 4 being obvious and the top two hidden, one under the stylus, the other under a rubber plug at the top rt corner, which you just pry out to reveal the screw head.
Once the screws are out, use something plastic to separate the case halves, I used an old credit card and started prying beneath the memory card slot. Then you can see the little ribbon cable on the bottom right side of the circuit board, folding around from the front. Be VERY careful when removing the ribbon cable from the board. You have to lift a small latch upwards and to the left , ending up with the little flap like lever standing straight up , to release the cable. The cable goes back in by inserting it and closing that lever to sandwich the cable in place.
The digitizer is held in by two sided tape that you may or may not be able to reuse. You will have to carefully pry it loose from the front bezel. I suggest you warm it with a hair dryer.
I had to use silicone gasket sealer on mine to hold it oin place as the sticky stuff came off with the digitizer.
Good luck !
Related
Yesterday I tried to change the housing of my defy. After watching some disassembling videos I started. Conclusion: To get the Defy water resistant after the intervention is an illusion. First most of the plastic screw noses were broken. They are really too fragile for a phone which will fit the IP67 standard. For replacing them you have to change the whole front housing. But with changing it you either have to buy a front housing together with the touch screen or you have to replace the touch screen which means you have to glue booth parts (front housing with touch screen) together!
Second the screws are a shame the reusing of them is a gambling game moreover they are setscrews within plastic. Screw heads wear out really fast because to soft material.
In the third place most of the parts are firmly connected with the housing, eg. the LED light, a few seals, some sheet metals, etc. Most of them you have to inherit to the new housing because of the lack within the new housing. With that in mind water resistance is gone, too.
Conclusing: The Motoroly Defy is a disposable device. The repair is too expensive (not even in money) and water resistance isn't guaranteed either. So buying a new phone or a barely used one is far easier than to try a repair of the old one. Too bad, but thats the way of market economy.
the front housing is indeed too expensive to be worth replacing. they replaced mine on warranty after i purposely damaged the touchscreen from the inside without leaving any trace. the rest of the housing is very cheap. about the side screw ears they are indeed too fragile and you may need to reinforce them from the inside by supergluing some paper that acts as fiber and then carefully sandpaper the excess so you can mount it back. you must lubricate the pink rubber seal from the inside with a little silicone oil to make it adhere better to the middle housing. also you have to lube the seal from the back cover to make it regain its elasticity. the lock from the back cover also has to be tighten by pressing with a heated spoon on its solder point. the usb seal usually gets too loose and cannot be fixed without replacing the whole middle housing.
i did all of this to experiment with it but the truth is this is too troublesome for most people and not worth the time or money.
Are You sure that oil used to lubricate the seals will not damage the rubber?
Removing the back cover and fixing an unresponsive touch screen.
My daughter decided to drop her 80 Cobalt leaving the screen unresponsive but not broken.
After re-flashing the firmware and ruling out a software issue, I decided to open the case and have a look inside. With a bit of playing about I discovered the matt plastic back panel can easily be unclipped from the shiny plastic surround.
First remove the single tiny crosshead screw from under the sdcard flap. Then unclip the panel using strong fingernails or a thin plastic tool. Work from the speaker end and hinge it up at the camera end as there are four tabs there that locate under the curved shiny plastic part.
Inside there are two rectangles of plastic sticky tape in the same place, under one of those is the touch screen ribbon. I removed the plastic tape and found the ribbon was unseated, I just pushed it back into the connector and replaced the plastic tape, which appears to be the only thing holding it in place. The touch screen sprang back into life.
Replace the back cover and small screw. Job done.
It should only take a few minutes to repair.
So, I had no GPS signal. Software wasn't solving the problem.
I opened back cover and check the gps connectors. There are two metal points on the back cover, and two gold metal connectors that touch the cover when assembled. I found the top gold metal connector (on the phones motherboard) was broken (see image). I attempted to replace it with a folded up piece of aluminum foil, but that did not seem to work. I was thinking about putting a drop of soder on the back cover to if it would make the connection.
Any thoughts on how to re-make this connector so it works reliably again, or would I need to replace the board?
Thank you,
T
Good afternoon.
Finding accessories for this phone is really a PITA. However I 've found a trick for the car holder.
Before this phone I had a samsung galaxy note 2 with a car holder designed for it.
I've discovered that the axon 7 with the original case fits in in this car holder. It's somewhat smaller, but the phone is firmly held, and has never fallen since 3 months.
bonus: the side buttons are free, and accessible.
Put your phone in a sandwich bag and surround the edges with tape. Cut a piece of soft copper sheet metal so that it exactly covers the face of the phone and slightly wraps over the top. Tape it down tightly. Draw big arrows on the copper pointing to the buttons or mark their location on a template. Put that in another sandwich bag. Mix up some epoxy and get fiberglass tape ready. Fold 2-4 layers of fiberglass over the bottom of the phone so it goes half way up the back and about 1 inch up the front (this is the mount reinforcement). Wrap 4-5 fiberglass layers horizontally around the phone and stay below the buttons. Wrap 2-3 layers of fiberglass vertically. Let it cure somewhere warm. Vacuum seal it if it's getting loose. Get a bright light and a small motorized grinding wheel. Roughly cut the fiberglass off the front of the phone, leaving some wrapping around. The copper should be easy to spot when the grinder has passed through the fiberglass. Pull that patch off and discard it. Trim the top band until you can bend it down enough to clear the phone. Pull the outer sandwich bag off. Pull the copper plate off. Pull the phone out. Finish trimming the fiberglass until it looks good. Cut a hole for the USB port. Glue your creation to a base with epoxy putty. Cover it with epoxy paint. Add felt pads or slippery tape to tighten the fit and protect your screen. Tada! Custom holder that will never drop your phone.
Earlier model that I made for an X Pure (another phone with no mounts):
http://pixelmemory.us/Photos/Nerd/2015-01-31 Phone mount/
For anyone contemplating these repairs, they turned out to be much simpler than I expected.
Camera lens
The lens can actually be replaced without removing the rear cover of the phone. Simply use a knife to carefully gouge out the broken glass, clean off the old glue, then stick the new ones into place.
Rear cover
I bought an original Xiaomi cover on Ali Express for $60. They seem to be getting more and more scarce, so if you're thinking about doing it, do it sooner rather than later.
To remove, I heated the edges a little with a hairdryer, then wiggled a work knife into the gap and worked my way around, sliding the knife and lifting. Once you get it going it's not difficult, but you need a little patience. Once you get enough done, lift the cover to get the rest of it off.
Be careful with lifting because the fingerprint sensor is attached. To remove it at the phone end, the connector is very small but easy to get off, it's a press-in connector, so just carefully insert the very corner of your knife under the edge and lift. It comes off easily, so if you're having to work at it you're doing it wrong.
To remove the sensor from the old cover, warm it with the hair dyrer, then use a very thin knife or blade and work carefully around the edge. It won't come out until you've worked all the way round, lifting more than cutting. Once out, the glue is recessed slightly, so the sensor stands out and fits into the hole in the cover, which means positioning isn't a problem. You can probably buy the glue piece, but I didn't have it so I just put it back in the new cover using the old glue, I warmed it a bit and then weighted it back in place for a while. It seemed to be pretty firmly in place, and I don't think it's going anywhere anyway once the cover is back on, since it's up against the rest of the phone.
Check around the edges of the phone for remnants of the old glue. It comes out easily, just push a bit with the knife to get the end up, then lift and pull and it'll come out in a single strand.
The replacement cover comes pre-glued, although it's not really glue, more of a sticky seal. Starting at the camera end, position the cover and push it into place. There's a pop when it goes in, and I think even without the glue it would be fine. I then warmed the edges and weighted it down for a while.
Hello comrade, thank you for sharing your experience.
Now, it wouldn't be a bad idea to share with us the links (if XDA allows this kind of links) for the purchase of your spare parts.
Internet is very rough, and in my case, I buy almost everything in Aliexpress, it is very difficult to find good sellers with good prices.
This way, your contribution will be much more complete.
Thanks a lot, and greetings.
Hi
I will attempt a similar replacement but I just have some questions. How did you swap the nfc and wireless charging coil and do you think it is possible to do a "clear" version of the back cover (removing the interior paint)
thank you