I'll try to be as thorough as I can describing my problem in hopes that some of the smarter people here can help me find some kind of solution or workaround:
I've recently gotten a used Desire Z. The few obvious things when I first got it were:
-Phone had obviously been opened at some point, and not put back together all that well.
-From certain hints I assume the touch screen has been replaced.
-It seemed to have a completely stock (stock HTC, that is) bootloader and ROM, Gingerbread.
-The screen response was mirrored in portrait (left touch gave response to the right). A Hard Reset fixed this.
-The capacitive buttons did not respond. No vibration either.
-The optical trackpad responded normally.
In an attempt to fix things, I went through downgrading and permarooting, then installed Gen.Y VisionX B4. No problems, everything went fine and according to the guides. I performed a full wipe before installing.
The ROM runs quite smoothly on my DZ.
However, I still don't have working capacative buttons. After remapping the trackpad-click to "Back" (just to be able to use it at all), I've tried to figure out how to get them working again.
I've seen mention of a fix in http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=847824 , but the file is no longer available on multiupload.
I've tried installing Enhanced_Keymaps_r3-Andromadus_Audacity.zip, which did not make the buttons work.
I've tried changing build.prop to show the Nexus-like software keys on the bottom of the screen (qemu.hw.mainkeys=0) but this didn't produce any effect at all (is this because of htc sense?).
In other words, I have a Desire Z that is hampered by the capacitive buttons not working, and no real idea how to fix it.
I've opened the screen portion of the phone and checked the cable connections, but they all seem fine.
I am at a loss.
Hopefully, someone here will laugh at my n00bness and point me to a simple solution.
Anyone? Please?
it is very possible it is hardware, if the digitizer is new and working all besides the soft keys then my best guess is the ribbion or the keypad is bad, if your familiar opening it up, as it appears you are its a simple fix and cost about 15$ on ebay or amazon.
it is possible the main flex is bad, but my bet is the keypad
Sent from my HTC Vision using xda premium
read this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1769968
Thanks guys, that's the kind of info I was hoping for.
What feels strange is that the entire touchscreen is working otherwise (to the point where touching the soft buttons will activate the function directly above it on the screen) and if the flex for the buttons where shot, I can't understand why the optical trackpad is working, as it is on the same flex...
But I guess it's possible to keep guessing forever.
Does anyone know why the on-screen softkeys that come with ICS won't work? Does sense override that?
Related
Hi,
I decided to try out some new ROMS in general as I hadn't updated my phone in ages. I knew I wanted to try out the android version, so I tried the following steps:
1) updated my version of hardspl to 3.28 as the version I had was very old.
2) installed one of the official UK windows ROM to check out the latest vendor offering and update my radio before trying android. think it was the latest O2 one.
3) installed Myn’s Warm Donut to NAND
4 ) installed Incubus26Jc's Super Eclair to NAND
Now, I wanted to try some other windows roms, but cannot get to the tricolored screen. I have tried lots of times, several techniques, but no sign of the tricolor.
I read somewhere that installing an OEM ROM wipes out the hardspl. Is this what has happened? If so, is there a way to re-hardspl my phone from the sd-card (as I cannot make activesync connections anymore), or a way to install a windows-rom from the sd-card without going through the tricolor screen?
Any help you could offer would be greatly appreciated.
Best regards,
ET
As far as I am aware flashing a stock rom will not remove HardSPL, in fact I have flashed one of my kaisers with so many roms I have lost count, but never lost HardSPL, even with the latest generic HTC rom, which is pretty much the last word in stock roms as far as kaiser is concerned.
I'm not certain what has happened, but not getting the bootloader is, I'm afraid, very serious, if you have no access to the bootloader then it is very difficult to flash anything.
I'm going to have a good look around some wiki and forum pages, see what I can find out, in the meantime, can you confirm that you have something you can boot to? Even if it's android on nand then there may be some way of figuring out what has happened, and the hope of a fix.
From your post may I assume that all your attempts to get the bootloader ended with a normal boot of some sort?
Hi! Thanks for your very quick reply!
I can currently boot into android, with no probs and have a 2gb sd card I can access via an adapter on the pc.
I tried accessing the bootloader via holding camera and power down, then pressing reset for 3 seconds. also tried holding the buttons down for different permutations of time up to ~30-45 secs. no joy.
Also tried the battery out. put in battery. press power, then camera; or power and camera together.
Everytime I have tried it, i stay on the O2 logo, then the linux bootup stuff flies past.
I suppose the button assignments can't have been switched as the bootloader should be before any of the android stuff, right? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Button assignment can be changed after the OS has booted, but during boot they are hardcoded.
As long as it boots, then the bootloader is still there, and functioning, without a bootloader the phone would not boot at all, I'm actually wondering if the camera button has failed?
yeah, i was wondering about that too. is there a quick way to check within android? all the buttons are different from win. e.g red phone puts phone to sleep and of course there is no camera app to take photos in...
Well since you still got a working nand flashed you could install Warm Donut, camera works in that, however perhaps a simpler way might be just to press it gently, all the way in, if it is working correctly you should feel two 'click' positions, it's not always easy to diagnose hardware failures, but if the internal switch has broken/come adrift, you may be able to feel it.
ok, will try both & post back tomorrow. thanks for your help.
hmm... i think checking camera button in android is not possible because the camera app dont use the hardwarebutton. You have to press a button on screen to take a picture. You can check some buttons in linux bootup phase like the hardwarekeys on front. but not the camera button and the other sidemounted keys...
you can do this to test the camera button (in android):
- switch into text mode: fn + left softkey
- press camera button and tab somewhere on the screen
is there an output with s.th. like "TS-Calibration" then camera button is working
Hmmm, I don't think the camera button is working. During android boot up, all the hard keys output a character to the screen apart from the camera button. toastys suggestion did not yield a camera result either.
This makes sense, as I have tried a ridiculous amount of times to get to the tricolor screen.
has anyone got any ideas of how to load a windows rom back onto nand and bypass the botloader? If not, i guess my only option is to dismantle the phone in the hope that the non-functional camera button is due to a loose contact.
Thanks for the help guys.
No output = no camrea key i'm afraid, it does sound like either a fractured solder joint or something similar, not an easy repair, and yes it will require dismantling to get at the mainboard.
If you have the equipment then simply reflowing the solder joints on the switch should sort it.
As far as I'm aware there is no way to flash without access to the bootloader, however it might be possible to rig up a temporary camera switch using two pieces of thin rework wire, although I don't recommend it without previous experience of surface mount soldering
I'll let you know how it goes.
toasty_ said:
you can do this to test the camera button (in android):
- switch into text mode: fn + left softkey
- press camera button and tab somewhere on the screen
is there an output with s.th. like "TS-Calibration" then camera button is working
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i tried this for fun. it caused bad calibration when i came out of text mode (fn + right soft key).
cool to find text mode though. that works fine
Hehe i tried this too.
For people who have bad calibration after this: You can fix it with "Dev Tools". Goto "Pointer Location" and you will see what exactly happen to your calibration when you touch the screen. To fix the calibration use the stylus, press & hold camerabutton and tip all corners of your screen clockwise. Begin with the topleft corner.
highcoder said:
Hehe i tried this too.
For people who have bad calibration after this: You can fix it with "Dev Tools". Goto "Pointer Location" and you will see what exactly happen to your calibration when you touch the screen. To fix the calibration use the stylus, press & hold camerabutton and tip all corners of your screen clockwise. Begin with the topleft corner.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Reboot also works. just thought others should know
Hi folks. Today I experienced a strange behavior with my phone. The physical touch buttons at the bottom of the screen stopped working. I have tried installing other launchers but that did not solve the problems. It seems like a hardware failure. Can anyone help with ideas to solve this issue? Thanks
UPDATE: I pressed all three buttons simultaneously and they now seem to work fine. Hope this is a solid solution.
Hi
I have the same problem with my device but pressing all 3 buttons simultaneously does not work.
What is the exact process you followed when pressing the buttons? were in you in a specific screen or app when you did this? or perhaps you held the buttons for an extended period?
Thanks
Probably a general android bug, had this on my old nexus one and a reboot always sorted it
Sent from my HTC One X using XDA
pranam said:
Hi
I have the same problem with my device but pressing all 3 buttons simultaneously does not work.
What is the exact process you followed when pressing the buttons? were in you in a specific screen or app when you did this? or perhaps you held the buttons for an extended period?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
do a factory reset(back up your stuff first) then if the buttons are still not working then try to press all of them at once. that should definitely work.
thanks but nothing seems to work. The bottom bit of the screen (just above the buttons) is also not working so I've sent it back in
hopefully i get a working one soon!
i have the same problem with extras ((
bottom buttons not working, none of the three. when i try to press back or menu, sometimes nothing happens and sometimes i press above, like menu at home page. And also when i try touching them after a while the phone gets crazy, and starts to make strange things like entering some apps, switching between them, taking screen shots (normally i do not know how to do it), beeping, and going on like this without stopping. if i can press power of, it stops, otherwise it goes on himself.
My device is original , original rom without root, or something else. i just install apps from market thats all.
Please help me, now i can not use my phone
I had a similar problem, it was a hardware fault.
Couldn't use the hardware buttons anymore and the 1st centimeter above the buttonskeys was living his own life.
Friday I brought my phone back (unlocked) to a HTC service center near me and today (Monday) !! I got it back, repaired with a new LCD screen (all under warranty).
The positive side is that I have no scratches anymore in my screen, 1st thing i'm going to do is buying a screen protector.
Hi.
Same problem, physical buttons on bottom does not work.
The story:
Left my phone with my son for 3 days, came back, got phone back with buttons not working any more.
(Homer Simpson struggling Bart mode on).
Naturally, my son got no idea what happened etc.
Sent it back to HTC on warranty, they picked it up last friday, and I already got it back.
Reason for fault was water damage (got pictures attached from htc).
(Homer Simpson struggling Bart mode on).
UNREPAIRABLE as HTC states.
Problem is, buttons are ONLY thing which does not work. Everything else works fine, touchscreen, camera, etc etc.
As I went and read few forums, seems that there's some connection lost between physical buttons, and mainboard, is that correct?
Finally my question - If I will replace whole front panel (LCD + panel with buttons), would it be possible to make it work again?
Brand new complete front panels are like 40GBP on ebay...
(I will not be trying to replace buttons only, as I read, it is a bit more difficult...)
Help?
Install a ROM which has on screen buttons. You won't even notice the cap. buttons after a couple o' days especially if you switch off the lights.
And they are totally customizable - you can have up to 5 buttons if you want.
Cost: 0 (zero) GBP.
PS. Don't strangle your son LOL
Sent from my One X
TToivanen said:
Install a ROM which has on screen buttons. You won't even notice the cap. buttons after a couple o' days especially if you switch off the lights.
And they are totally customizable - you can have up to 5 buttons if you want.
Cost: 0 (zero) GBP.
PS. Don't strangle your son LOL
Sent from my One X
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So thats one way of doing it, btw - which rom?
but i really would like to make buttons work... maybe I will risk those 40gbp and I will try to repair it....
hajaku said:
So thats one way of doing it, btw - which rom?
but i really would like to make buttons work... maybe I will risk those 40gbp and I will try to repair it....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
IceColdJelly 4.2.1 by LorD ClockaN :good:
Hi Guys.
Got my HOX wet when hiking, and now my three buttons are dead.
I am running Venom 3.7.7 and have found Button Savior (search on the market) is a perfect replacement for the broken back/home buttons.
Good luck to all who have the same problem.
Hey all-
I'm running CM 7.1.0 RC 1 (long story, but it's the only one where the SYM key still works... otherwise you have go back to 7.0.x) on my MT3GS.
Recently I've noticed that every time I pull out the keyboard, the display gets distorted -- as in, it sort of freezes and fractures along an x-y axis. I've tried all sorts of ways to avoid it, such as flipping it to show landscape and then sliding out the keyboard, but it still manages to break up the screen.
I've also noticed it will do it when you're sliding the keyboard back IN -- same sort of display distortion. The way to remedy it is fairly easy -- just hit the power button to shut the display off/on -- but it's still frustrating.
Anyone else have this issue? Will try to get a screenshot tonight. TIA!
I don't remember such glitches when I was on CM 7.2 so probably it was fixed later. But the sym button was corrupted. Try to keep keylayout files from the working-sym-setup, update to a recent nightly and try to put saved keyboard setup files back to device.
Could be the ribbon cable is loose or worn. I seem to remember several people with similar problems. Search through these forums. I know ive seen several threads on this in the past.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Hoping this helps someone else... Replaced the flex cable ribbon and everything works fine now. I think a replacement cable was <$5 on eBay. Only PITA was removing the sticker screw covers on the slider portion.
I have a problem with an HTC Incredible 2. In portrait mode two keys (j & n) do not respond or an adjoining key displays.
Two different repair companies have tried three different replacement LCD and digitizers. The problem remained.
Both shops told me it was a "software" problem. One said it was a faulty ROM.
I replaced the ROM (Evervolv) with Cyanogenmod 7.2. The problem remained. I installed Cyanogenmod 10.2. The problem remained. I tried Swiftkey, ICS, and Jelly Bean keyboards. The problem remained with all of them.
Does anyone have any idea what this might be and how to fix it?
Have you tried pressing those keys with different fingers? Maybe you're just pressing them wrong somehow.
Does the area of the screen where those keys are respond to touch when the keyboard isn't being shown?
When you install new ROMs, do you first wipe everything but the SD card? You're supposed to do that before installing ROMs. If you don't, you could have problems. The best way to do a thorough wipe is to use chillybean's Anti-Venom Super Duper Wipe utility inside of 4EXT Recovery.
Have you tried pressing those keys with different fingers? Yes, fails with different fingers and stylus.
Does the area of the screen where those keys are respond to touch when the keyboard isn't being shown? No.
When you install new ROMs, do you first wipe everything but the SD card? Yes, using Anti-Venom Super Wipe
That definitely sounds like a hardware problem then, but you also said "Two different repair companies have tried three different replacement LCD and digitizers. The problem remained." Are you using a screen protector, or a case with a screen protector built in? When you take it off, what happens to the problem?
Here's a way to more definitively verify that it's a hardware problem. Temporarily change the keyboard layout to something like DVORAK instead of QWERTY. What happens? Do j and n start working, but now the two keys where j and in were (with QWERTY) no longer work?
A similar test would be to change SwiftKey's settings so that the keyboard is detached from the bottom of the screen, allowing the keyboard to be moved freely to anywhere on the screen. To do this, first set your keyboard layout back to QWERTY. Then, bring up the SwiftKeyboard and press and hold the "123" button for a few seconds. Choose undock, move the keyboard to a new location, and then test each key.
These two tests could effectively show whether it is a hardware problem or a software problem. I'm leaning towards hardware based on your last comment, but these tests should add further proof.
If it's a hardware problem, one way to show the repair people where the problem area (the area not responding to touch) truly is would be to get install some kind of drawing app. Something that will let you freehand paint on the screen with a finger or stylus. Using a small brush size and one solid color, try to paint the entire screen. It should then be pretty obvious where the screen is responding to touch and where it isn't.
One possibility that could make it a software problem: After installing a new ROM, do you restore data from a backup? Have you tried not doing that?
Greeting,
I have a weird issue where occasionally after I unlock my phone, my screen doesn't respond to touches.
The phone works and responds to physical button presses but not touch.
Not sure exactly when it started happening but I've noticed this since last week.
Any idea what might be causing this?
I'm running Android Pie 52.0.A.3.202.
Sydrox said:
Greeting,
I have a weird issue where occasionally after I unlock my phone, my screen doesn't respond to touches.
The phone works and responds to physical button presses but not touch.
Not sure exactly when it started happening but I've noticed this since last week.
Any idea what might be causing this?
I'm running Android Pie 52.0.A.3.202.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please upgrade to the newest firmware.
Sydrox said:
Greeting,
I have a weird issue where occasionally after I unlock my phone, my screen doesn't respond to touches.
The phone works and responds to physical button presses but not touch.
Not sure exactly when it started happening but I've noticed this since last week.
Any idea what might be causing this?
I'm running Android Pie 52.0.A.3.202.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got the same issue on 52.0.A.8.50. Usually opening the app drawer then hitting back solves it - otherwise none of the virtual buttons work.
Searching the web it seems touch screen issues are pretty common on this phone. I'm a bit surprised there isn't more being said here about it. Some experience delayed response, dead areas and no response at all. I have all those issues. Yes I am on the latest firmware. I bought the phone used with a cracked screen. I checked it out and everything seemed fine. I didn't use the phone, just set it aside til replacement screen came. I should have used the phone to thoroughly check it out but didn't want to go through the set up process as I was thinking of B/L unlock and root. New screen came, put it on and seemed to be working fine then screen would be unresponsive. I did factory reset, software update, software repair, went into settings and made sure sure everything was good there, nothing helped. The center of the screen (it's low and a bit off center) is pretty much dead. To open launcher I have to touch and hold near the top of the display. Touch and hold apps is tricky. Usually the app just opens. When I do get it to hold, I can't drag it anywhere. Also, icons in the drop down menu cannot be rearranged or edited. I can swipe up/down, side to no problem. Whenever touch goes dead completely, the home, back and minimize buttons go grey. Tapping the power button gets them back functioning again. . Function test fail. Free draw lets me make a few seconds of scribbles then freezes. The x and rectangle block draw does the same. Tapping power button does nothing to unfreeze either. The color test pass even the block one where you toggle on/off sections of the screen in blocks. It's really weird. First impression would lead me to the screen but it really acts like a software issue. From what I've read so far this phone uses two different display drivers. I not seen anything on how to change that and it would more than likely mean B/L unlock and root, which I'm not against doing. I would just like to know definitively if it's hardware or software. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
bobsright said:
Searching the web it seems touch screen issues are pretty common on this phone. I'm a bit surprised there isn't more being said here about it. Some experience delayed response, dead areas and no response at all. I have all those issues. Yes I am on the latest firmware. I bought the phone used with a cracked screen. I checked it out and everything seemed fine. I didn't use the phone, just set it aside til replacement screen came. I should have used the phone to thoroughly check it out but didn't want to go through the set up process as I was thinking of B/L unlock and root. New screen came, put it on and seemed to be working fine then screen would be unresponsive. I did factory reset, software update, software repair, went into settings and made sure sure everything was good there, nothing helped. The center of the screen (it's low and a bit off center) is pretty much dead. To open launcher I have to touch and hold near the top of the display. Touch and hold apps is tricky. Usually the app just opens. When I do get it to hold, I can't drag it anywhere. Also, icons in the drop down menu cannot be rearranged or edited. I can swipe up/down, side to no problem. Whenever touch goes dead completely, the home, back and minimize buttons go grey. Tapping the power button gets them back functioning again. . Function test fail. Free draw lets me make a few seconds of scribbles then freezes. The x and rectangle block draw does the same. Tapping power button does nothing to unfreeze either. The color test pass even the block one where you toggle on/off sections of the screen in blocks. It's really weird. First impression would lead me to the screen but it really acts like a software issue. From what I've read so far this phone uses two different display drivers. I not seen anything on how to change that and it would more than likely mean B/L unlock and root, which I'm not against doing. I would just like to know definitively if it's hardware or software. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe the Screen Connector wasn't 100% clean.
Or not only the screen is damaged.
I heard that the touch problems are mostly fixed with PIE. The closed source clearpad touch driver is..... Hoping Q gives us an further updated driver.
You still get sometimes ghost touches on higher workload or if the keyboard app is slow, but if you have dead spots the hardware sounds damaged.