Develop Bugs

Problem with trackball!

Hi guys,
The trackball on my Orbit has stopped recognising being rolled up, left or right, and the silver clickwheel is stiff. Is this repairable myself, or should I be looking at a new motherboard?
Cheers,
Nick

hey dontpannic, don't panic
at least not too hard.
It is possible to exchange the trackball unit. You can sell a new one on the internet (I bought one via eBay, it was in your country and very cheap) Allthough, it is kind of hard to get the old unit out of your phone. You will have to totally apart your phone, because the trackball unit is stick to the daughterboard which is behind the LCD
There are a number of guides to help you apart your phone, you can find it somewhere on this forum. Once apart, you can blow the dust out and uncover your current trackball (mine was kind of hidden ) Or you can get the whole trackball off the board and replace it.
(I should note I got my phone apart couple of times, so have some experience. It can be tricky)
ciao!

I agree with amfasis, it can be tricky but gets very easy once you've done it a couple of times and know what to expect (how much force to apply separating parts...)
Everything on the daughterboard is pretty open under the cover so I suspect something sticky got dripped in there (cola?) from the symptoms you mention.
I thought I had a problem with my daughterboard as well since I was getting random scrolling action in all applications, but it turned out I had some dirt stuck on the side of the screen giving a bad signal on the touchscreen.
I took apart my whole trackball and even took the silver cover off the silver scroll wheel toggle and took out the tiny spring... that was an adventure getting it all back together correctly after cleaning!
I chalk all of it up to an excellent learning experience and now have no fear of taking it all apart just to look at it again. You will too.
Good luck!

Thanks guys! Will give this a try and see what happens

Hardware problem (buttons), please help.

over the past few weeks some of the buttons (namely left soft key, up and left) have stopped working, i've tried numerous roms just incase but it's definatley a hardware issue, now, i've dismanted the phone using the diamantos guide to see if anything jumps out at me, gave the phone a damn good cleaning whilst i had the chance, put it back together....but nothing, everything seems to be in order, all components in their rightful place but i still cant work it out, does anyone know if this is a common problem or if theres a fix as i've been unsuccessful in my searches.

actually, i just found the solution and it worked a treat, thanks anyway people.
btw, if anyone would like to know what i did then i'll be more than happy to share the solution.

godofwap said:
actually, i just found the solution and it worked a treat, thanks anyway people.
btw, if anyone would like to know what i did then i'll be more than happy to share the solution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll be more than happy

please share your solution with us, I have the exact same problem

ok, no problem, heres what i did.
before you start please be aware that this is a very delicate procedure and you should take care as this may naff up your beloved trinity.
ok, i first disassembled my trinity using the dimantos guide located here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=311463,
now, when you get to the keyboard / button pcb take it out if, you look closely you'll notice theres a thin adhesive plastic cover covering the metalic buttons, very very carefull peel this back (i used a sharp knife to get to it), making sure not to completely remove it, try to only expose the underneath of the buttons in question, you'll see that the buttons come away with the plasic leaving the underneath exposed, now, using a cotton bud and some lightly applied alcohol clean the contacts then when all is done, replace the plastic and make sure its firmly pressed back down you may notice it making a different, kind of sharper clicking noise when depressed than before meaning its worked, repeat for all buttons.
i think whats going on here is the gum or glue from the plastic film has "leaked" if you will, onto the plates meaning theres no contact from the buttons, this would also account for the very slight change in sound when you now press the button.
i found this info here http://forum.xda-developers.com/archive/index.php/t-289737.html

i have the same problem with the front hardware keys. They last around 1 year, i had them changed under warranty the first time but now they are failing again.
Thank you! now i just have check for tools and some courage because i fear damaging my good old trinity.

temp9300 said:
i have the same problem with the front hardware keys. They last around 1 year, i had them changed under warranty the first time but now they are failing again.
Thank you! now i just have check for tools and some courage because i fear damaging my good old trinity.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
....hi to all dear friends!!after half an year of very hard work my trinity has the same problem....only central botton working but,the superior two,works if I do an hard reset!very strange!changing a lot of different roms,from w 5 to w 6.5 the problems doesn't solve...!
- I'd like to make your same operation but I'd like to know first if you too have they working on hard reset before trying....
thanks a lot and merry christmas!

yes, even after a hard reset they work for me, its as if it was brand new, bare in mind you may have a different problem so if your gonna try this, TAKE YOUR TIME.

godofwap said:
now, when you get to the keyboard / button pcb take it out if, you look closely you'll notice theres a thin adhesive plastic cover covering the metalic buttons, very very carefull peel this back (i used a sharp knife to get to it), making sure not to completely remove it, try to only expose the underneath of the buttons in question, you'll see that the buttons come away with the plasic leaving the underneath exposed, now, using a cotton bud and some lightly applied alcohol clean the contacts then
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried doing this but found no plastic cover above the metallic buttons. Maybe it's because mine went for repair with this problem before, dunno.
I don't think i can mess with the metallic part so i guess i'm stuck with this unless i buy a new keyboard.

it's more of a very very thin laminate, like sticky back plastic than a cover, it should definately be there unless they replaced the PCB with a different model, otherwise the metalic buttons would just fall away. Again, they may have used a different version of the PCB. You can actually buy the PCB and replace it yourself. (here http://cnn.cn/shop/p3600dopod-d810-keypad-p-1825.html )

[Q] Replacement Screen for Moto Defy...

Hi...I'm pretty sure this MIGHT have been asked, but the follow up question wasnt answered and..i cant remember where i found it...so bear (the polar kind, not the panda - they're not techincally a bear) with me.
i managed to completely smash the screen on the defy, it still works pretty fine and dandy, but those little chips of glass are beginning to fall out now and im a little worried its not exactly water proof anymore..(understatement, i know it cant be) so i was thinking of replacing the glass...
i have a couple of questions though...
firstly - can anyone recommend where i can get genuine parts
secondly - is it literally a case of using a prying tool to pry it off then put a new bit on (if it is, i can do that 'peasy)
third - do i need to glue it (im assuming this will become obvious) and what glue?
lastly, and most importantly - i watched a guide and it implied you shouldnt re-use the front casing - any reason? is it literally because of the water resistance or is there another reason?
many many thanks in advance for any help (just dont direct me ot the videos i saw about disassembling it completely, my mac couldnt load it for some reason!)
ps - sorry for being a complete noob.

last question, i impulsively bought one of these: 'Touch Screen Glass Digitizer For Motorola Defy' now im getting scared... is this the right thing to buy? i mean, it SOUNDS like it is, but im not so sure now ive parted ways with my money.
will this replace the glass bit that i cracked? or just the bit underneath which is fine?
please help!

Hello friend,Touch Screen Glass is the right thing you need to buy!
Congratulations on your first step
URL below maybe helpful for you.
http://bbs.gfan.com/viewthread.php?tid=1682374&page=1
It's in Chinese and if you don't know what's the meaning of the words,
Just follow the video and picture.

phew - thanks for that
:O)

Replace housing case?

Ebay start selling red and black back cover plate and just wonder if anyone know how to?

Hi
randy_c said:
Ebay start selling red and black back cover plate and just wonder if anyone know how to?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah i bought red one. but you can't do it without a new LCD screen maybe. . My current one is black... changed the battery part once. but still don't know how to change the housing... i hope someone can teach us..

armedzerox said:
Yeah i bought red one. but you can't do it without a new LCD screen maybe. . My current one is black... changed the battery part once. but still don't know how to change the housing... i hope someone can teach us..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, let me try... If you changed the battery, you already know how to replace the backplate, so it shouldn't be a problem. If you want to replace the midframe/housing, that's quite a bit more work, but still doable, if you are comfortable working with heat gun or hair dryer. I would strongly recommend watching some YouTube videos on the subject (phone model doesn't matter; you just need to understand how to work with a heat gun and a suction cup). Also, finding a good disassembly guide for ZL would be useful, to make sure you follow the teardown steps properly.
Note that I personally haven't done a full ZL disassembly, but I know how it's put together, and I have done similar repairs on multiple other phones, including Xperia Z, Z1, LG G2, Galaxy S2 and others. Basically, you need to remove the backplate, then disconnect everything and remove all components accessible from the back, making sure not to damage ribbon cables in the process (some of them are very delicate). This is where a good disassembly guide comes in very handy. After that, you are left with the most difficult task: removing the display/digitizer assembly without damaging it. You need to carefully (that's the keyword here!) heat it up around the perimeter to loosen up the adhesive, and carefully pull it from the housing with a suction cup, working your way around the edge with a plastic spudger, or a guitar pick, or a similar tool. At this stage, you can quite easily break the glass, or split the LCD/digitizer "sandwich", so, again, be careful!
If you have no experience whatsoever doing this, your screen's chances of survival are quite slim. I am pretty handy with electronics and with stuff in general, and literally spent years with soldering iron in my hands. Still, my first two attempts were fudged up (the screen was already damaged in both cases, so no harm done, but lessons learned). First time, I fried the display with a heat gun. Second time, cracked the glass trying to separate it from the housing. That was enough for me to learn the tricks. So, be prepared to replace the screen, if you break it. But hey, you may very well get lucky, and do it right the first time around...
Assuming you are through the disassembly process, you will then need to put the phone back together in your new housing, using two adhesive gaskets: one for the display, and another for the backplate. I would recommend buying the proper pre-cut adhesive for your phone (check out Amazon or eBay), but you can also use a narrow high-quality double-sided tape (3M or similar), manually cut in place.
Good luck!

Tried googling up but it seemed that there are no guide for changing the housing for xperia zl.
But oh well, maybe I need to buy the lcd screen just in case I failed. But thanks! That'll boost my spirit up to do it

[Resolved] Digitizer Dead-zone...?

So I got this nice (albeit beat-up, but 100% functional) G2 from a friend, and for about 3 weeks it had no problems. I rooted it, put CyanogenMod 7.2 on it, worked fine.
About 3 days ago, it started behaving really weird while I was using it. Interfaces not responding, at times opening things when I didn't have my finger on the screen, usual possessed phone behavior) I did some investigating with the Developer Tools' Pointer Location display, and there's this massive dead-zone on my digitizer! The dead-zone (while holding the phone in landscape) goes from X=255.1 to X=401.1, and covers all the Y-values in that range. if I move my finger slowly enough through the deadzone from one fo the sides of it, it will register as being directly in the center of it. Other times it will show a very light touch on the right side of the zone, activating interface elements and the like.
What happened? Do I have to replace the digitizer? I don't have a warranty on it, seeing as I got it second-hand. Possible fixes, if it's not a serious hardware issue?
I don't have money to spare, so buying things to fix it might take a lot of saving.
EDIT: Got it in the mail finally, replaced it in 45 minutes. I had to use the dorm's heated-air hand-dryer to get it off, and I kinda messed up the glue a bit, but it's working just fine.

If you have to replace the digitizer, I would not worry. I just got done replacing the lcd on my G2, and it works. I bought the lcd (in your case it would be a digitizer) off ebay and my purchased also included the screw drivers and plastic tip thingy to open the phone. For the digitizer you might need to also get double sided tape.
There is a youtube video showing how to take a part and put back the phone. I think the video was like 30min, but when I did it, the time was 1.5hrs totally.
good luck if you go that route.

Previous post is spot on, for most people I would assume this won't be a hard task, I have opened and repaired dozens of g2s (and many other phones) and although sliders tend to be the most complicated its really straight forward
Find a YouTube video or other instructions online and look at it ahead of time to see if its something you feel comfortable with. Then if so, order the digitizer (90% this is the cause 10% the main flex) for around 15-20$ and all you need is a #0 Philips and a t5 torx and a hairdryer/heat gun
You won't need tape as there is more than enough sticky left after prying of the digitizer. Expect about that hour in half if your new to this, but can be done in less than 20 if you do it a lot Here is a link to info on your phone including repair guides
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=43195539
Best of luck!
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

Aw. Was hoping this wouldn't be the solution.
That sucks. Just went and ordered one, it came with screwdrivers and the prying tool, but I don't have any double-sided tape. Let's hope it's still sticky. Well, it supposedly gets here on the 9th, so I'll read up on replacing from these links. Thanks for the support. Hope I don't break the thing. :/