I recently dismantled my BA to work on the LCD. I originally thought it would be necessary to disconnect the keyboard ribbon from the main board, so I removed the tape and black clip from the surface mount connector. However, it turned out I could leave the ribbon in place, so I didn't remove it.
After reassembly, only a few of the keyboard keys now work, and the blue LEDs no longer work at all.
I was careful not to force or twist the ribbon at all as I worked, so I don't think it's damaged, but I haven't been able to make the black clip go back on properly. I suspect this is the problem. I have tried to reseat the clip but without success and the keyboard is still the same.
Can someone please explain the role of this black clip and tape, and their relevance to the electrical connection. And can anyone direct me to a 1000x magnified picture of how the clip is supposed to fit!
Thanks in advance...
Hi there,
I had a similar problem when dissasembling one of my PPC6600 phones. The ribbon is quite dellicate, and I wound up ripping the outer conductor (it is the thicker one, and it happens to power the backlight LED's). Needless to say, I had to use a very fine tip soldering iron and some hair-fine wire to fix the mess. When I got my hands on a scrap one from EBAY (for like, 75 bucks because the ESN was locked out), I pulled the keyboard from it and replaced my hack.
Also, I have added to the WIKI a procedure to take apart the BA. I think you can find that HERE -> http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=DIS_BA_PICS
Check out the one pic that is big that shows you how to flip up the clip.
The connector you are talking about has a little black (brown?) clip that flips up 90 degrees to allow the ribbon to come out. If you didn't flip it up, you might have been able to remove the ribbon, but tough luck getting it back in. You can stick your fingernail in there where the ribbon goes, and lift up on the clip. It should pop up ad remain connected quite easily. Also, when you re-insert the ribbon, you want to make sure that the two protruding tabs on the ribbon 'seat' fully against the connector before you push the clip back down onto the ribbon.
Have fun!
When I did the work I had already seen your exellent pics (thanks ) and my black clip came right off when I lifted it. So my problem is getting the black clip back on, so that it can be flipped up and down normally again. At no time did I try to remove the ribbon so I don't think it's damaged - but I'm wondering if the black clip needs to go back properly before the electrical connection is good again.
PS to anyone dismantling BA - remember to remove both the SIM and the SD card/blank, as these both jam the cover and prevent removal - shame if someone missed this and snapped something . (I tried to add this info to the page with pics but the Edit button wouldn't let me do it - gives a "page not found" error.)
Hi again,
My phone doesn't have a SIM card (is this a European thing or are there some carriers in USA that use SIM cards?)
Anyhow, I think I remember dealing with connectors like these before and having that clip pop off. There are two little tabs on the clip that have little round buttons on each side of the clip tabs, and these buttons prodtrude off the sides of the clip. They match a slot on the connector part that is surface mounted to your mainboard. So, you have to align the clip properly so that these protruding bumps 'pop' back into the white housing on both sides. Now, if these tabs broke off.... then I guess you're outa luck, unless I guess you find some very thin plastic that you can shove in on-top of the ribbon (underneath the part of the housing where the clip SHOULD have gone), so that it pushes the exposed conductors of the ribbon down onto the connector.
Hope this helps!
Many thanks, this helps a lot by confirming (a) how the clip fits and (b) its role in the electrical connection. This information is much appreciated as it gives me a fighting chance when I next have a go at fixing the thing!
How do you get by without SIMs? Does that mean a phone is forever tied to the one provider and phone number?
yodafreak said:
My phone doesn't have a SIM card (is this a European thing or are there some carriers in USA that use SIM cards?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a GSM thing. GSM phones (like the PDA2K or SX66) use SIM cards, CDMA phones (like the PPC6600) don't.
Alright so I think I have success with the using the touchstone inductive charging dock and palm pre coil on the Incredible 2. I unfortunately dont have a camera other than the one on my phone so I will have to update this post with pictures later.
The process was fairly simple seeing as HTC did most of the work for us by exposing the 4 pins below the battery.
The top two pins are positive and the bottom two are negative (I believe as it is working for me)
I taped the palm pre coil directly to the inside of the battery cover. The top solder point on the palm pre coil's chip is negative and the bottom solder point is positive. I ran two thin wires down to the 4 posts and soldered them on. I put putty in between the 4 posts and solder points so that no flexing and shorting would occcur. The 4 posts are springy so the wires were able to move and shut the phone off on me on more then 1 occasion.
After putting the battery cover carefully back on the phone I was able to magnetically stick the phone to the touchstone without having to sand or shave the plastic. Phone has been charging for a little over an hour now and it appears to be working. Ill keep this updated in case anything changes
HOW-TO
Follow along in the pictures.
Step 1:
Remove the Inductive coil and magnets from the Palm Pre battery door. If you use the original sticky piece you can put this directly on the inside of your battery door (same way it looked on the palm pre)
Step 2:
Solder a thin black wire to the top solder point on the inductive coil chip.
Solder a thin red wire to the bottom solder point on the chip
*Note - I taped my wires down so they wouldnt bundle up and cause the back to pop up. The antennas for the cell radio are built into the battery door so if the case sticks up any you will notice a drop in reception
Step 3:
Solder the red wire to both of the two top pins.
Solder the black wire to both of the bottom two pins
Step 4:
I put putty (wall hanging blue stuff) over the solder points and in between the wires so that neither solder point would touch. If it happens the phone will shutoff and you will have to remove the battery and replace it to get the phone back on
Step 5:
Test before replacing the battery door - It is such a pain to get the cover on and off you mine as well make sure it works the first time
Step 6:
Replace the battery door and make sure it sits snug - shouldnt stick up at all.
Step 7:
PROFIT
And we have success. Overnight charging didn't produce any adverse results. Charges to 100% battery is draining at a normal rate today.
Sent from my ADR6350 using xda premium
Awesome dude. Hopefully you can post pictures soon. Time to go order a touchstone and the battery cover
Sent from my Incredible 2 using Tapatalk
I would love to see pics/a guide for this, especially since you can get both the Pre Touchstone and the inductive case for so cheap now. ~$12 not including shipping on Amazon.
I wonder if it would at all be possible to use conductive glue instead of solder, so that you wouldn't melt any plastic by accident as shown in the pictures. lol
this is great! thanks for the pics and the clear step by step tutorial. my parts are all coming in friday. can't wait to try this out. this will be great if it works the way yours does. hopefully i won't mess up anything.
Try try try again...
times_infinity said:
I wonder if it would at all be possible to use conductive glue instead of solder, so that you wouldn't melt any plastic by accident as shown in the pictures. lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah yes. Well this was a majority my fault. The soldering tip was too large and I ended up resoldering the wires two or three times do to the flexibility of the pins. Thats when i decided to put the putty between the solder points. unfortunately the damage was already done. Ive been having issues with the phone prior to doing this install so I will probably just exchange it under warranty anyhow.
Solder glue isnt a bad idea - I may pick some of that up for the replacement phone.
This looks great! Awesome work! Just picked up a Inc2. Got tired of my DX. Do you think this would work with an extended battery/door? Would definitely love to have this working.
jacket1 said:
This looks great! Awesome work! Just picked up a Inc2. Got tired of my DX. Do you think this would work with an extended battery/door? Would definitely love to have this working.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Entirely depends on how much room is between the extended battery and the battery door. The pinouts and traces wouldnt change.
Ive never been a big fan of having an extended battery so I dont have one lying around to test with. Im sure if you cut a quarter of sheet of paper and then folded it 3 times it would be about the same thickness. You could slide it in there for testing.
hmm.. soo.. tried it.. be careful when doing this! i have no idea what i did wrong, maybe it was the heat from the iron (even though i made sure to lower the temp on my iron) but my phone no longer charges even through the usb. thankfully i have an extra battery with an external battery charger. but yeah this sucks.. thankfully i'm upgrading sometime next month so i'll just have to suck it up switching out batteries every time my phone dies but yeah, be careful when doing this.
EDIT: to make matters worse, it didn't even work. i'm assuming those 4 pins are pretty finicky, and that's probably where my problem lies.
EDIT2: tried to remove all excess solder from the 4 pins and now my charging is working again.. really wanting to try it again but don't want to risk messing something up more permanently this time. ahh!! don't know what to do. i already have 3 touchstones on their way. eventually i'll have to try it again. just seems like soldering for those 4 pins is gonna be a bit tricky.
Not to hate, but why hack up and solder to your phone like that? What's wrong with USB charging again?
I'm not seeing the benefit to this considering one user already broke his.
so i'm gonna try it again.. but, any tips on how i should solder the wire to those 4 little pins? that's defintiely where i messed up the first time. i'm not sure exactly what i need to make sure of when i'm soldering it.
Custom Connector
You might consider using a piece of perf board cut to size and grooved for the wires.
The stuff I use is pretty thin, but you copuld allways shave it down.
Then some of that DAP brand tacky putty to keep the board on the pins until the back is positioned.
Kind of like a mini SIM card. Then the warranty is still intact and the pins do their work.
Edit:
If your bent on hardwiring it, tin the wire (find some ear bud wire, the kind that you have to scrape to get the solder to take) first using a low rosin core very thin (0.025”) solder non lead free if you can find it.
Once the wire is tinned, form the end of the wire into a ring using an opened up paper clip.
Use a low temp soldering station to heat the wire and get the solder to flow to the terminal from the wire, adding only enough fresh solder to get the flow started.
Remember to cleanup the area with very little fluid and a Q-tip. These LCD screens are effected by too much alcohol and the rosin will etch the circuit if left dirty.
cac2us said:
Edit:
If your bent on hardwiring it, tin the wire (find some ear bud wire, the kind that you have to scrape to get the solder to take) first using a low rosin core very thin (0.025”) solder non lead free if you can find it.
Once the wire is tinned, form the end of the wire into a ring using an opened up paper clip.
Use a low temp soldering station to heat the wire and get the solder to flow to the terminal from the wire, adding only enough fresh solder to get the flow started.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like the ring idea. i'll have to try that out
cac2us said:
You might consider using a piece of perf board cut to size and grooved for the wires.
The stuff I use is pretty thin, but you copuld allways shave it down.
Then some of that DAP brand tacky putty to keep the board on the pins until the back is positioned.
Kind of like a mini SIM card. Then the warranty is still intact and the pins do their work.
Edit:
If your bent on hardwiring it, tin the wire (find some ear bud wire, the kind that you have to scrape to get the solder to take) first using a low rosin core very thin (0.025”) solder non lead free if you can find it.
Once the wire is tinned, form the end of the wire into a ring using an opened up paper clip.
Use a low temp soldering station to heat the wire and get the solder to flow to the terminal from the wire, adding only enough fresh solder to get the flow started.
Remember to cleanup the area with very little fluid and a Q-tip. These LCD screens are effected by too much alcohol and the rosin will etch the circuit if left dirty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome idea. I kind of wish I would have done it this way. Im getting a replacement soon anyway since the metal around the outside of the screen has separated and began to lift up. I may go with the sim card idea instead. that actually sounds a bit safer and more aesthetically pleasing.
---------- Post added at 09:47 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:43 AM ----------
shoman24v said:
Not to hate, but why hack up and solder to your phone like that? What's wrong with USB charging again?
I'm not seeing the benefit to this considering one user already broke his.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well on a lower level it can be considered innovation. Making a product do something it wasnt intended to do in the first place. I find hardware hacking to be just as much fun as software hacking.
Not to mention on those dark drunken nights when i have a hard time plugging the phone in, now all i have to do is plop it on the touchstone and i have a fully charged phone come the next morning.
Note - I tried installing this in the car using a USB adapter but it doesnt power the touchstone enough. Im looking for a dual usb to single micro usb to see if that works any better.
http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/...ryDetails&archetypeId=12663&accessoryId=47610
Then all you need is a wireless charging pad.
that adds bulk and costs way more than this mod though.
---------- Post added at 01:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:38 PM ----------
cac2us said:
You might consider using a piece of perf board cut to size and grooved for the wires.
The stuff I use is pretty thin, but you copuld allways shave it down.
Then some of that DAP brand tacky putty to keep the board on the pins until the back is positioned.
Kind of like a mini SIM card. Then the warranty is still intact and the pins do their work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
having a hard time imagining what that would look like..
shoman24v said:
http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/...ryDetails&archetypeId=12663&accessoryId=47610
Then all you need is a wireless charging pad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The bulk is what i was trying to get away from. Not to mention I had one of these already lying around from my Nexus 1 days - when this was actually a really cool mod. Im not a fan of thick devices. If you look at the one from Verizon you realize it adds some significant depth to the phone. I would however like to get my hands on one so I can see how their wiring is done.
Yeah it is noticeably thicker. Not sure how I feel about the price lol.
Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk
bik2101 said:
that adds bulk and costs way more than this mod though.
---------- Post added at 01:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:38 PM ----------
having a hard time imagining what that would look like..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is single sided copper. You might want to find double sided with plated through holes.
Edit:
To the OP,
You might want to re-up your pics without your ESN...
The fingerprint might pass tho...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsj3IkyAqEU&feature=related
Give to me.
build your own for around 10-15$
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=28322781#post28322781
I think I like my touchstone better.
Is there any more information for this? costs? rate of charge vs charge over usb/over wall? The video seemed much more of an early preview then anything specific.
punzada said:
Is there any more information for this? costs? rate of charge vs charge over usb/over wall? The video seemed much more of an early preview then anything specific.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is just that.
i read september will bring more info.
I want one so bad, I was really disappointed when I heard it was going to be delayed for who knows when
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2
Make your own
Buy a TouchStone base and back cover, $12.28 dollars on amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Palm-Pre-Touc...TF8&qid=1341950625&sr=8-4&keywords=touchstone
Take Palm Pre Case apart
Align the four metal circles on the back using the base as a guide
Place pickup coil in the center with the circuit board above it
Place metal foil over the coil as it was before(assuming it came apart in the process)
Tape down using three pieces of scotch tape or one piece of packing tape leaving metal contacts exposed.
Solder wire to the contacts
Add a blob of wire to the other side of the wire and connect to phone (top to top, bottom to bottom assuming the board is above the coil)
Put case together
Done
This works well and by removing all unnecessary plastic, you will get a smaller bump than others get.
ericlmccormick said:
Buy a TouchStone base and back cover, $12.28 dollars on amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Palm-Pre-Touc...TF8&qid=1341950625&sr=8-4&keywords=touchstone
Take Palm Pre Case apart
Align the four metal circles on the back using the base as a guide
Place pickup coil in the center with the circuit board above it
Place metal foil over the coil as it was before(assuming it came apart in the process)
Tape down using three pieces of scotch tape or one piece of packing tape leaving metal contacts exposed.
Solder wire to the contacts
Add a blob of wire to the other side of the wire and connect to phone (top to top, bottom to bottom assuming the board is above the coil)
Put case together
Done
This works well and by removing all unnecessary plastic, you will get a smaller bump than others get.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there a build video guide on this?
Randomacts said:
Is there a build video guide on this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty sure I've seen picture how to's around here and should be on Youtube. I'm blocked at work, so I can't find it at this time.
In addition to the constant influx of iPods and iPhones friends, family, and coworkers bring me to fix, I've taken apart a few different Xperia PLAY phones more times than I can count, so I thought I'd give a few "pro tips" to people who need to know the ins and outs of it. This isn't a disassembly, assembly, or even a repair guide, it's just the stuff I think those guys missed.
First, don't use a heat gun to loosen the adhesive on the front glass + digitizer. The plastic frame wrinkles and melts readily, particularly right under the face buttons.
Second, make sure you transfer as much as possible when you replace the frame. Replacement frames usually do not include the rubber shroud for the proximity sensor and it will not work right without it. I had one phone that seemingly worked fine until the screen protector peeled off while inserting in a pocket and then no amount of clear tape, screen protectors, or Sharpie-marking would fix it. A salvaged rubber shroud fixed it right up. Some replacement frames have a film-backed adhesive for holding it there and some don't. It probably depends on when they were yanked from the manufacturing line, assuming that they are original parts and not replica parts. You also want to make sure you transfer are the inner dust gasket that goes underneath the frame/glass or else things will be filling up with dust quickly. There is no speaker grill and the foam around it does not stop intrusion. A salvaged frame/glass adhesive is likely to allow dust in unless you didn't have to pick much out of it when swapping (usually glass shards). There are also little metallic grounding foam rectangles crammed in the corners that only one replacement frame I've seen has ever included (was probably salvage though listed as "new"). They probably aren't necessary and I've gone long periods without them, but why wonder if a static charge build up is responsible for your erratic touch screen?
Next, be extremely careful separating the glass from the frame. I've managed to crack good ones even going slowly and leaving gaps filled with picks and pry tools. Heat didn't seem to help much and, as mentioned earlier, is discouraged. Cleaning the screen after man-handling it isn't always easy, but don't avoid touching the back side because you will probably need the area to spread the pressure and avoid a crack. I use a levered "mini suction cup" from Harbor Freight on the top side and as many fingers as spread out as I can on the bottom, but the suction cup is near useless on a cracked screen (even tape-coated). I do suggest covering a shattered screen with tape to hold all the bits together but you are still going to have a hard time cleaning the adhesive up. You can always buy a frame with digitizer pre-installed but I know a lot of you want to buy complete replacement housings instead and it's kind of a waste, but at least you don't need to worry about that adhesive (still: don't forget to transfer the other bits!).
The digitizer parts I've salvaged from phones had higher version numbers than the ones I've seen sold as replacement parts and seemed to be more erratic so I prefer salvaged ones. There can be other problems as well. The flat flex cable from the digitizer is supposed to have an adhesive backing that holds it still where it connects to the tiny cable from the earpiece. Replacements often do not have it, which is yet ANOTHER reason to prefer salvage parts. It may not seem like such a big deal considering that there is a black plastic piece screwed down over it to protect it from getting caught in the mechanism, but the connector does not hold on very well and the phone will not boot if it is slightly out of alignment. If you reassemble it and just get a buzz from the vibration motor with no display and no other sign of booting, check this connection (same thing if the digitizer suddenly stops registering touch). Even a small drop/impact will cause it to happen again, so I recommend securing it with precisely cut tape or hot glue (stay clear of the sliding rails).
Now, keep it clean while you work or you will be staring at that contaminate or thumbprint for a long time. I usually wear fresh latex gloves when working on the glass but it doesn't do much good if you keep transferring oils from the rest of the phone. Wash your hands right before you start and clean the outside of the phone. Before you begin, try just touch a used dish soap dispenser with a damp thumb and run all along to screen except the buttons and earpiece. Do it again with just the damp thumb (dilutes the soap that remained from the first pass) and wipe it with a clean lint-free cloth. Your own clean and dry fingertips/palm should readily absorb any remaining streaks/oils. Be sure to wipe down the rest of the phone too and don't transfer it back to the glass. Once inside I use layer after layer of clear tape to lift gunk from the earpiece (no mesh, remember?). Put on new gloves before you start handling the glass after disassembly, even if you were wearing some for disassembly. To clean the back of the glass I put the adhesive between wax paper while I clean using lint-free cloths, 90+% alcohol, and acetone. For the LCD, use tape to lift most contaminates and resort to alcohol + lint-free cloth if that doesn't work. It doesn't need to be too perfect, especially if scratched from cracked glass. Most imperfections only show when it's off.
Hot glue is great for removing adhesive screw covers without showing pick marks or other signs of tampering but you have to make sure to leave an edge exposed so that you aren't just picking it out of the glue instead. I've been getting mine off cleanly without any tricks like this but it came in handy when I was first disassembling one and there weren't any guides to tell me that there weren't screws under the large silver strip (just covers rivets or injections mold points, IIRC). It's also good for sealing off water sensors, like the one you see through a hole under the battery door. There's another one by the contacts on the battery itself, one by the microphone under the gamepad, and one in the opposite corner under the PS Certified logo. I had an AT&T rep tell me that a brand new phone had a tripped water sensor (LIES!) so I would look for ways to do this with most any new phone.
I can't count how many times I've left the power button out while reassembling. It's not usually that I forgot: It's that it falls out while snapping the back on. I've left the face buttons out a few times too.
My first one had the cable folded wrong after reassembly. It still worked fine for a couple years but did eventually require replacement. Once it folds wrong it'll probably stay that way even after correct reassembly (like mine did). Do not try to attach it to the main PCB using a spudger, butterknife, or whatever to awkwardly push the connector down with everything pulled apart. The only thing you need to do is to slide the cable into the phone's closed position, align the plastic posts on the connector with the corresponding holes on the PCB, and then push down on the PCB until it snaps. I'm sure I tried this first back then but chickened out because the connector didn't snap very easily but that is how you are supposed to do it.
Before I talk about the replacing the slide cable, I want to express my annoyance at all the eBay/YouTube/iFixIt.com people who call it a "flex cable." I don't like the term flex cable because generally ALL cables should be flexible and that doesn't distinguish what it is well enough for people looking for the part. Technically, it's a flat cable or a slide cable, though I wouldn't object to it being called a flex PCB (flex PCBs usually have components other than just connectors like a rigid printed circuit board would). "Flex cable" is silly, redundant, and does not describe anything more specific than just "cable." To complicate matters, there are several actual flex PCBs in this phone to distinguish from when ordering the part. Why did so many people start calling flex PCBs "flex cables" in the first place?! In our case the sliding portion is a *flat* cable, so I can see where "cable" was introduced from, but people say "flex cable" for any flat cable made like a flex PCB these days whether fixed or sliding. At least you know now that you are probably going to have to use the incorrect terminology to find what you want online and sift through many useless results.
*whew*
Now, slide cable replacement is easier than it would seem but intact removal isn't and brand new replacements can be defective. It was a troubleshooting nightmare when I encountered a defective one because I replaced the LCD and glass + digitizer at the same time and suspected/checked everything else first, even taking apart my personal phone multiple times to test parts. The plastic part of the connector on the PCB end must be transferred to the new cable and the old one will not reliably stick back down to it even if you did not contaminate the adhesive. I successfully transferred a cable from a water-damaged phone to my personal phone before fixing up the water-damaged donor phone with a new one, so the adhesive on the salvaged part was weak and I didn't realize how hard it was to remove intact until later. When separating the defective new one there was seemingly no place to pry on one end other than underneath the part where the earpiece/camera connector was located. This broke the side of the connector that holds the locking flap though I was still able to use/lock it. I claimed warranty on the defective part anyway because the connector was not needed for proving the cable was defective (a functional cable works with that connector populated or not). This new part was slightly different from those found originally installed in the phone (different colored plastic connectors and such). The second new one I ordered from elsewhere had double-sided adhesive down the middle, a foil quality control sticker, and the same odd connector colors. I didn't think there was a market for replica parts on this phone but it does seem like more than simple factory revisions. Anyway, removing it involves removing metallic tape then lifting a plate that is still adhered underneath with amber-colored Kapton tape. You can see it from the slide mechanism below. I pinch the plate from above and below with two fingers and lift, gradually peeling the tape which I then fold inside and secure to avoid contaminating the adhesive. The cable has a plastic band across it that fits between fingers on this plate. When secured, this isolates the end with multiple connectors from the movement of the sliding portion, so make sure this is in place when reinstalling. It may be best to avoid removing the adhesive backing paper until after the plate and cable are securely taped back down with both the Kapton and metallic tape while the fingers are holding it in position. If you stick it down first and then secure the plate you may find it slightly too long or short to position inside the plate when securing it all back down. To thread the main connector through the slide board opening it may seem that it will only fit by folding the cable but DON'T! Coil it. Without flattening it, bend the connector 90-degrees over from the cable path and then adjust the angle until you have a coil-shape that you can work through with the connector sideways.
I ordered a "no useable parts" dummy phone just for the heck of it and, other than the Sony Ericsson logo on the fake battery door and maybe the stickers that cover the screws, they really don't have any salvageable parts. You can't swap any buttons, keys, springs, covers, etc into a real phone. The closest would be the face buttons. They will fit in a real phone, but they are too tall and put constant pressure on the PCB switches causing unintended key-presses (especially back and search buttons). The extra height easily protrudes out the top and is not the issue so filing them down vertically won't fix anything. I snipped some excess rubber to more closely match the design of the original buttons but it didn't help. I unscrewed the screw in the corner under the search key and unsnapped the bottom edge of the frame from the back/slide board and they work great until the phone inevitably snaps back together. I'd say they felt better then the original with the extra height (I can't stand how close they are to the screen). It's tolerable with ICS/JB's Navigation Bar (on-screen key functions), but I would rather salvage real buttons or pay too much for the eBay ones ($10-$20; very uncommon part; always sold with crap you probably don't need).
I have yet to find a replacement battery door that includes the rubber trim around the speakers and the foam piece surrounding the rear/noise-canceling microphone. I've ordered a few auctions that show them in the pictures but they always arrive bare. You can transfer them with a razor but it likely won't be perfect. Without them the speaker audio will probably echo around inside the battery compartment and make its way into the mic, though people usually don't notice it. Painting on some Plasti-Dip might do the trick, so try that if it bothers you.
Unlike an iPhone with a million different screws, you don't have to keep track of what goes where and everything is easily accessible. Bare minimum to take it all apart: Some fingernails, a T5 or T6 (pick one) and a PH0, 00, or 000 Phillips (pick one). There don't seem to be any tamper/warranty seals and the only concealed screws are the two obvious ones underneath metallic cover stickers on the display/slide board. There are no screws under tape or labels and no water sensors covering them either. All 6 Phillips screws are the same size but you'll likely want to keep the two with adhesive in their original holes to re-use the covers (adhesive usually remains on the screw instead of the cover). There are only two different Torx screw types but it's obvious what goes where (6 stubby flat ones on the top and bottom, 7 long thin ones around the battery area).
There are bits and bobs taped to and embedded in the rear housing including antenna/RF stuff, some more obvious that others. I've compared and the R800x is very different from the R800at even though the plastic frame looks really similar (R800x has a blocked SIM slot, of course). IMO, any housing swap should be limited to the front frame, the gamepad, and the battery door (only colored parts anyway). If you nicked your chrome, hopefully it was on a button or something that can be swapped (springs are a pain). It may be possible to transfer everything but I wouldn't trust it after all the peeling and picking. The one report I've seen of someone transferring between a GSM/CDMA models seems blissfully unaware of the metal wire behind the volume keys on the CDMA model that isn't there on GSM (at least it's not there on my R800at GSM).
That's all my advice for now. If you are having any trouble, let me know.
Excellent guide, thank you for taking the time to type this up. I think a mod should sticky this.....
Awesome guide! Thanks much for it!
@ozzmanj1 Agree, so more people will notice it.
Thanks for help buddy!!!
As for the case of the digitizer, mine has some parts (lower left) that are not recognizing touch inputs. Will realigning the digitizer cable help? I' d really not want to buy a new one right now as I am quite on a tight budget. Please help. Totally in distress here with my very sickly Play.
So, first I want to say thanks for this post as it's been invaluable in my working on my own XP.
I'm in the process of changing out the LCD and slide cable and am wondering about versions of the phone and compatibility. On Ebay I'm finding lots of parts listed as being for R800i\R800x\R800a. Very few parts are listed for R800at (which is what I have)
In changing out parts (anything hardware related) what parts are interchangeable and what parts are not? Anyone able to help?
Right now I'm looking at LCD screen and slide cable, but in the future I would like to change out the digitizer (I read the other page about having to possibly roll back to a different kernel) and perhaps other inner workings of the phone as well. I would just like to know what I can use from other models of the XP and what are model specific.
Thanks!
Arevyn said:
So, first I want to say thanks for this post as it's been invaluable in my working on my own XP.
I'm in the process of changing out the LCD and slide cable and am wondering about versions of the phone and compatibility. On Ebay I'm finding lots of parts listed as being for R800i\R800x\R800a. Very few parts are listed for R800at (which is what I have)
In changing out parts (anything hardware related) what parts are interchangeable and what parts are not? Anyone able to help?
Right now I'm looking at LCD screen and slide cable, but in the future I would like to change out the digitizer (I read the other page about having to possibly roll back to a different kernel) and perhaps other inner workings of the phone as well. I would just like to know what I can use from other models of the XP and what are model specific.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just about everything but the chrome back housing is a simple swap. LCD, slide cable, digitizer, camera/earpiece, face buttons, game pad, slide board, front frame, camera, headphone jack, etc. The only parts tied together for compatability are the motherboard and the chrome back housing and that is because it has all the antennas installed in it. It's probably possible to move all the components but I've never even had to take the speakers out and can't speak to the difficulty or possibility for certain. I'm worried that lifting the adhesive films would damiage the antennas inside. As I mentioned in the OP, there are other little parts to move when you compare the two and note the differences. Good luck!
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
CZroe said:
Just about everything but the chrome back housing is a simple swap. LCD, slide cable, digitizer, camera/earpiece, face buttons, game pad, slide board, front frame, camera, headphone jack, etc. The only parts tied together for compatability are the motherboard and the chrome back housing and that is because it has all the antennas installed in it. It's probably possible to move all the components but I've never even had to take the speakers out and can't speak to the difficulty or possibility for certain. I'm worried that lifting the adhesive films would damiage the antennas inside. As I mentioned in the OP, there are other little parts to move when you compare the two and note the differences. Good luck!
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome! Thanks so much.
---------- Post added at 06:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:11 PM ----------
CZroe said:
Just about everything but the chrome back housing is a simple swap. LCD, slide cable, digitizer, camera/earpiece, face buttons, game pad, slide board, front frame, camera, headphone jack, etc. The only parts tied together for compatability are the motherboard and the chrome back housing and that is because it has all the antennas installed in it. It's probably possible to move all the components but I've never even had to take the speakers out and can't speak to the difficulty or possibility for certain. I'm worried that lifting the adhesive films would damiage the antennas inside. As I mentioned in the OP, there are other little parts to move when you compare the two and note the differences. Good luck!
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you noticed a difference in an LCD screen with a green cable vs one with an orange cable? I have an orange one in mine, and wasnt sure if its a different part, or just a different batch of screens
Arevyn said:
Awesome! Thanks so much.
---------- Post added at 06:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:11 PM ----------
Have you noticed a difference in an LCD screen with a green cable vs one with an orange cable? I have an orange one in mine, and wasnt sure if its a different part, or just a different batch of screens
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am color blind and never took notice but I switched LCD between R800i, R800x, and R800at and they were all compatible. They have no reason to make anything in that half of the phone different, so they don't.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
narflynn619 said:
As for the case of the digitizer, mine has some parts (lower left) that are not recognizing touch inputs. Will realigning the digitizer cable help? I' d really not want to buy a new one right now as I am quite on a tight budget. Please help. Totally in distress here with my very sickly Play.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, I've also experience same problems as yours... I just wonder is it the flex cable or digitizer....
matfai said:
Hey, I've also experience same problems as yours... I just wonder is it the flex cable or digitizer....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If only some areas are responsive then I'm pretty sure it's the digitizer. The IC likely encodes the output so that all the raw connections don't need to be extended over the slide cable. IOW, the pins that carry digitizer data probably carry encoded data so that it's fewer pins. This means it would work either all or not at all if the slide cable had anything to do with it.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
CZroe said:
If only some areas are responsive then I'm pretty sure it's the digitizer. The IC likely encodes the output so that all the raw connections don't need to be extended over the slide cable. IOW, the pins that carry digitizer data probably carry encoded data so that it's fewer pins. This means it would work either all or not at all if the slide cable had anything to do with it.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for reply... So, do I have to replace the digitizer or just realigning the cable will help?
matfai said:
Thanks for reply... So, do I have to replace the digitizer or just realigning the cable will help?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my experience, cable alignment has also been an all or nothing issue so you probably need to replace the digitizer. It couldn't hurt to realign the digitizer cable first just in case it can avoid an unnecessary expense. That fixed a Cubot C9+ I worked on Saturday (digitizer not working at all) but not the iPhone 4S I worked on yesterday (bottom row of digitizer not responding).
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
stuck in safe mode after replace slider cable(flex)
Hi i'm writing here in hopes you can help me, i bought and replaced the "flex cable" and it kinda worked, somehow it can only boot in safe mode and back, home and menu buttons on the front is unresponsive (i can use joypad though) i've tried opening it up again to check for loose connectors and i even tried disconnect the cable to the front buttons but safe mode persists, i tried to flash several official ftf images and a custom rom to see if it helped, but also without any luck.
I hope that you can help me.
Thx for a nice indepth post
docsmiley said:
Hi i'm writing here in hopes you can help me, i bought and replaced the "flex cable" and it kinda worked, somehow it can only boot in safe mode and back, home and menu buttons on the front is unresponsive (i can use joypad though) i've tried opening it up again to check for loose connectors and i even tried disconnect the cable to the front buttons but safe mode persists, i tried to flash several official ftf images and a custom rom to see if it helped, but also without any luck.
I hope that you can help me.
Thx for a nice indepth post
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are booting in safe mode, that "menu" button is always pressed. My guess is faulty/damaged flex cable. You can try your old flex cable and see can you enter flash/fastboot mode (test to see is back and search button is working)
Bakisha said:
If you are booting in safe mode, that "menu" button is always pressed. My guess is faulty/damaged flex cable. You can try your old flex cable and see can you enter flash/fastboot mode (test to see is back and search button is working)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Search button is working as intended (also when booted into safe mode) and i can enter flash mode with back button and flash ftf files, back button is just not functional when booted (only on joypad).
I also figured it had to be the flex cable but i thought i was so carefull when mounting it so i didn't thought i damaged it.
The old flex cable didn't give any picture at all, so can't see if it boots into safe mode with that.
docsmiley said:
Search button is working as intended (also when booted into safe mode) and i can enter flash mode with back button and flash ftf files, back button is just not functional when booted (only on joypad).
I also figured it had to be the flex cable but i thought i was so carefull when mounting it so i didn't thought i damaged it.
The old flex cable didn't give any picture at all, so can't see if it boots into safe mode with that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have received a defective flex cable before so it's possible you have also. In my case it didn't work at all (no picture).
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
Thanks for your replies I'll see if I can get it replaced
Sendt fra min Galaxy S4 med Tapatalk
slide flex replacement
hi, its my second time replacing the slide flex cable of my r800i, however this time, my digitizer is unresponsive to the flex i bought, i bought it in the same store where i bought the first one which was perfectly fine before,
my question is does the slide flex cable of xperia play 4G differs to the slide flex cable of the old one xperia play r800i,
dashu31 said:
hi, its my second time replacing the slide flex cable of my r800i, however this time, my digitizer is unresponsive to the flex i bought, i bought it in the same store where i bought the first one which was perfectly fine before,
my question is does the slide flex cable of xperia play 4G differs to the slide flex cable of the old one xperia play r800i,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They are the same. I have also switched then between a "4G" R800at and a R800x. I have also received bad digitizer flex cables that were new. It really is luck of the draw. A lot of replacement parts on eBay are factory seconds, which may have been removed from the production line for good reason. That's why I always order parts in sets of two for anything I know I will need in the future and I always test both. For example, recently I got two iPhone 4S screens and one had the frame installed upside down. Before that I ordered two replacement iPhone 4 30-pin dock replacements and one had a defective microphone. Before that I ordered two iPod touch 2G digitizer/frame assemblies and one didn't work along the left side.
Here I am identifying a couple bad iPhone displays from a lot:
http://youtu.be/TbxzCiGhwPM
I didn't own an iPhone so I had to test them all with the phone the first customer provided.
Edit: Oh! And make sure the problem is not with the digitizer connection under the black plastic cover. Mine works it's way loose all the time and needs to be secured with tape. Even when inserted fully straight and locked, I put it together and find it not working or the display black until I take it back apart and reseat it. It will twist slightly and even the slightest angle affects the connection.