I just bought a used AT&T GSIII described as having been dropped, with the result being that the capacitive buttons don't work. Okay, I thought, I'll buy it, fix it, and I just got a cheap phone. So I brought it home, opened it up, and I can tell right away something funny has happened to this phone. For one thing, there's scotch tape, and for another, there are obvious marks of a dremel having been used.
As best as I can figure, the guy dropped it, screen broke, and he ordered a replacement. The replacement was actually for the international version, which I'm guessing has a different chip arrangement, so the phone doesn't even fit together correctly. In an effort to fix it, he dremeled down the sticky-up parts as best he could, and then figured it was sellable at that point.
Evidence? First, it looks like the sticker with IMEI, etc, has been removed and reapplied. Second, the cutouts in the screen match the disassembly video I watched (British accent, I assume I9300), but the motherboard does not.
Now for questions for our experts out there.
Did I guess right? I9300 screen with I747 body?
The capacitive buttons don't work. Does the I9300 have different touch drivers that would be the source of this problem, or is it likely physical?
Anyone accidently have a I747 screen lying around they want to swap?
Here are some photos of the innards. I'll check back for responses tomorrow. Thanks!
Why not get your $ back and just get a non Frankenstein?
Because I got it cheap, and because it's fun to fix things.
What I'm looking for here is someone else who has taken their phone apart to tell me whether or not the screen side looks wrong. It fits wrong -- those bright shiny parts on the left part is where they dremeled away to try to get the components on the right side to fit.
Also, if there are any kernel/driver experts, what are the difference between the i9300 and the i747? Can I mix and match stuff to get a working ROM?
No hardware hackers here? I see GT-I9300 markings on the screen, but SGH-I747 and SGH-T999 markings on the main board. Can anyone confirm that my screen shouldn't have GT-I9300 markings?
the question is, what did they dremel away, and did they slip and knock some devices off one of the boards? Or did they not dremel off enough, and ended up shorting something else. Or get aluminum or magnesium dust under the BGA chips there, shorting pins that shouldn't be?
I'm all for cheap, but IDK, if I even spent $20 on it, I'd be raising cain with the seller to get my money back. there's no guarantee they didn't hose up the main board or the display in the process of trying to merge the two.
Now if you had one of each, the intl and US versions, and were able to confirm each piece worked properly on its own, I guess you could part it out.
Good comments, and those are obviously some of the risks that are present with this phone. It works fine right now -- I'm testing it out as my daily driver. With the navigation bar turned on, it works just like a Galaxy Nexus.
So obviously nothing is shorted out or vitally missing right now. Could something be jostled free or get fried later? Possibly, but any phone you get could go bad for no apparently reason. So far it seems like a good buy, though I do wonder about resellability.
The dremelled parts are all just metal protrusions that (I guess) are supposed to allow for the ICs on the board. Since the board arrangement doesn't match the protrusions, it wouldn't go together at all without cutting away some of the metal. I've actually done even more now (careful to protect the actual circuitry of course) so that it actually closes all the way. Also, the main board should be totally fine, because all dremelling and stuff have been done on the screen half of the phone. Unfortunately, the screen is the expensive half ...
Hey there oblib,
I think that the guy didn't just buy a new screen then, he probably also bought the housing for the i9300. That would be the problem here as the housing is completely different from the US side variants, thus requiring the dremel job. I think that the screen should still be fine, despite being for the i9300, but I'm not sure. Looking to buy a screen right now and I can't find any information on whether or not the screens will work (don't know if the US variants have some small differences to account for the revised chipsets).
Just in case, can i ask you a favor? Can you check if :
1. the screen works with the i747 innards? (reading on sites that they are possibly interchangable)
and
2. if where the flex cable is matches the position of where the i747 flex cable should be?
I'm pretty sure that they are the same because of the pictures and comparing, but i just want to double check =] couldnt hurt to be safe
As for your problem, not too sure about fixing the capacitive buttons, but you could always check the connection between the cables. As for repairing and fixing the poor dremel job, you can always get a i747 compatible housing. Here are a few:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Blue-Origin...112?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a78dec370
http://www.globaldirectparts.com/Samsung-Galaxy-S-III-SGH-I747-Front-Housing-p/smsng6115910.htm
I couldn't find any instructions for separating the housing from the screen. As fas as I could tell, it's glued together, isn't it? Because that was my first thought when I bought it -- just fix the connector.
Could you verify that your screen does NOT have GT-I9300 printed on the flex cable from the screen to the connector? At least I think that's where I saw it. If yours doesn't and mine does, then yes, everything fits just fine.
Until I find some instructions on separating the housing from the screen, I'm going to keep on assuming that the problem with the capacitive buttons is due to the differences in international and AT&T screens, because I would doubt that this housing has been separated from this screen, so how would any physical damage happen to the capacitive buttons?
It would be good for you if I figure this out, because if it is software and not hardware you'll have the same problem.
So I looked at your links, and that's exactly right. My front housing definitely does not look like those products. But the question still remains, how do you non-destructively separate the house and the screen? All that blue adhesion looks like a mess. Here's the global direct adhesive, by the way: http://www.globaldirectparts.com/Samsung-Galaxy-S-III-Housing-Adhesive-p/smsng6115915.htm
Edit:
Looking closer at the picture I posted in the OP, the printed "GT-I9300" is on the ribbon cable just above the battery compartment. That would indicate that the replaced the entire front assembly, cables at all...
For future record here's a side-by-side of the different housings. I believe that the right is an international body (with carvings to make it look like a I747), and the left is from a SGH-T999. They are obviously different.
From what I have read in this thread, the housings are different for all the different models of the SGH-XXXX.
Additionally, it doesn't look like it's as simple as mix'n matching the parts together to make a functioning Samsung Galaxy S3.
Does anyone have a reliable online source where someone could order front screen assemblies (the i747m / Canadian version)?
This thread has been very informative thus far. I have subscribed and will keep up with this thread. Great catches.
i9300 compatible with T747?
Looks like the i9300 screen combo isnt compatible with t747 right? I wonder if i can buy a i9300 replacement screen+digitilizer , and install on my I747 Frame? would that be possible?
Per this thread, NO.
Recently I had an issue with my i747 motherboard.
As i747 motherboard was not available, my local repair guy put i9300 motherboard and housing in my i747 body.
I am using that cell now. Nothing feels different. No hardware or software issue.
I have an i747 motherboard. Im working on fitting it to i9300 lcd housing . Everything works except the camera .
hi i have too an issue with my t999 motherborad can i put the i9300 in the t999 housing without problem !!!
Related
Anyone know how I can purchase this? I got a tiny scratch on the screen.. well, its more like a crater. Its almost like someone took a needle and dug a chunk out of my screen.. Like a crotch-located steering wheel, its driving me nuts.. Big time..
What are the differences between the GSM and the CDMA screens? Would a Verizon store be able to order this part? I don't want to send it anywhere simply because I don't wan to relock and reflash and wait xyz amount of time to get it back.
To access the digitizer, do we have to go from the battery on up or can it be removed from the top or sides somehow? Thats an important question too.. as removing it from the bottom-up would require a complete dissassembly of the phone.. and I do mean complete.. speaker, radio, motherboard, keyboard, hinges.. ugh..
Or perhaps from the middle? I am pretty sure there are screws on the back. I just wonder what the result would be.. I don't care if it requires purchasing the bezel either.. I just want to make it clear, that the screen works fine and the digitizer senses input on the spot where its 'injured'.. I'd say its no more than.. 3 pixels height.. 1 pixel width..
yeah, I'm nuts. But you'll benefit from that if I end up detailing the digitizer replacement process. Once I have my new screen on I'll try to see what methods I can use to get the old one looking brand new.. I'm ready to wet sand this bastard. jk
Was looking at the ghost armor CDMA page when I (finally) decided that the ebay digitizers were the same damn thing as my Verizon CDMA.. Only difference is the cut out for the front vid cam.. Now, electronically.. is this true? This looks like it would physically work.
http://cgi.ebay.com/For-HTC-Touch-P...AU_MobilePhoneAccessories?hash=item27adf15e64
This digitizer would mate up with the 'slider flex cable w/ earspeaker' as seen on this page..
http://cnn.cn/shop/t7373-touch-pro2-rhodium-c-277_815.html
I'm not saying anything for certain.. its mostly educated speculation.
Hi,
I bought a T-Mobile GNote II with a smashed outer glass. I've repaired digitizers before, but not ones glued to the screen. I bought the outer glass and tried to put it on. I literally broke every part of the lower screen, both the display and the digitizer. That was not one of my finest moments.
So now, of course, I'm looking to replace the screen. I would like to avoid paying $250 for the whole assembly or, at least, get a whole non-working phone with a working screen for that price (at this point, I'm prepared to not get everything I want... But it would be nice!)
The best bet, I think, for a non-working phone with a working screen is one with a bad ESN or IMEI, which seem to go for a stomachable price on eBay. The question is, do I have to look for a T-Mobile phone, or would a Sprint phone work just as well? Some listings for the screen assembly on eBay are for all models, which makes me think the flex cables, at least, must be shared.
I expect this phone is a little too new for anyone to have significant experience with this question. Perhaps I'll just have to try it (in the name of science!) but I'd rather not
On a related note, is there somewhere I can post this so it will be seen by all the GNote II variant's fourms? Is it acceptable for me to post it individually in every variant's fourm?
Thanks for any thoughts, including other possibilities for phones with a good screen / bad insides. If you have a phone that meets this description, feel free to PM me and we'll try to work something out.
Sompom
It looks like I should have done a little more research!
I have a Sprint Galaxy S3 and I dropped it on pavement and cracked a little bit of the corner of my screen. This is where I should have said "okay, the touch screen works, just don't mess with it any more because you know how this ends."
But I didn't... I got replacement glass first and totally screwed up that repair and left the phone in worse shape than it started. Now with the LCD and digitizer it became a slightly more expensive repair but still something I thought I could handle.
So I bought a whole LCD assembly off ebay and installed it with few problems. I bought a Samsung Galaxy S3 R530 Metro LCD Screen Touch Digitizer Frame. I stripped my phone down, moved all of the parts to the new frame and started to install the motherboard. Then's when my problems begin...
The new frame has a slightly different placement of the motherboard screw and doesn't seem to fit quite right in line with the power button. Everything else is fine and fits just right, it's just that something isn't fitting quite right. Any suggestions?
Also, my home button doesn't work any more (that's the only thing, though, so it's still a vaguely successful repair).
It sounds like I should have done some more research and I would have found that a black frame can't possibly work fully for a Sprint phone because Sprint S3s are unique for whatever reason. I'm just hoping maybe someone has a solution? A part of the frame to file down or other suggestion?
At this point I would suggest taking it somewhere to be repaired properly. Especially if you are not comfortable with the process.
Hello fellow explorers.
I have the SCH-R950 (US Cellular). The glass screen cracked and the underlying display is also damaged. I already tried replacing it with an OEM display assembly (but without the metal housing & frame) specific to my variant. This worked, but did not last (didn't settle in correctly and cracked at the first opportunity). Evidently my adhesive handling chops were not up to that challenge, though I learned a lot.
Now I've found a retail parts source for replacement Note 2 displays with the digitizer AND the metal housing attached (which is what I thought I had ordered in the first place, but not). There does not seem to be a specifically SCH-R950 option. BTW there does not seem to be a Note 2 forum specific to the SCH-R950 variant here, either, so I'm wondering what's up with that? They do, however, offer two possibilities that I think/hope are interchangeable with mine.
1. i605 (Verizon), which includes the "LCD Screen, Digitizer, Front Housing, Stylus Sensor Film and Navigator Keypad with Bezel", and
2. L900 (Sprint Nextel), which includes the "LCD screen, touch screen digitizer and front housing".
I think from the many photos, that these are actually interchangeable with each other and with my R950
.
They do not say either is compatible, but they also do not say they are not. I want to buy it, swap in all the snappy, clippy, and screwy goodies from my SCH-R950, and get back on track.
Will either work?
Thanks much for your help. I'm not a technician, but I am now confident about swapping out a complete display assembly (with the glass already sealed into the bezel), given how many times I have now had this dern thing apart.
Thanks much,
Pat
I know SCH-R530x and R530 and I think SCH-I535 are all compatible. The sprint version (SPH-L710) is not, doesn't line up. I fixed a 530 this way by using bad ESN 530x donors with good LCDs. No glue, no mess.
On the GSM side I tried to do the same. I have a T999L where the digitizer appears cracked but the LCD doesn't show any signs of life either. I tried to install the motherboard but while the screen worked, the metal body didn't line up.
I was able to mill out whatever didn't fit but unfortunately the T999L motherboard refuses to charge in the R530x body. In the original body it charges OK so I know its not the charging port or battery terminals. Its either shorting, misaligned or something else???
So what will work here... I got the phone for $12 and I need a screen. Replacements are $40 from China and require all kinds of painful disassembly.
Will the T999 work as a donor? How about the AT&T SGH-i747? Seeing some pictures online it appears both phones have the correct spacing near the power button. Has anyone done it?
Would any international S3's work?