Hi everyone,
I've had my Desire Z for little over 2 years now and two months ago (was running CM7.2 at the time) I started getting a weird issue where my touchscreen would only be responsive when the keyboard was slid out (so the opposite problem of what quite a few other people have reported where the touchscreen becomes unresponsive when the keyboard is out). The status LED would also stay off whenever the keyboard was closed, and the keyboard backlight didn't come on anymore at all. Also, I had to make sure that the keyboard was slid out during boot, if the phone booted without the keyboard out the screen would not become responsive at all until after another reboot. My earpiece speaker stopped working around the same time so I was wondering whether it was just an issue with the flex cable becoming a bit loose, but the touchscreen would consistently start working again when I flipped the keyboard out, and also the physical scroll button on the top bit would always work, so I was still hoping it would be some weird software issue.
I then upgraded to Flinny's (amazing) Andromadus ROM (build 22, complete data+dalvik wipe) after which the keyboard backlight started working again, but the rest remained pretty much the same. Since then the touchscreen issues have been getting worse, so that I sometimes have to flip the keyboard in and out again a few times, or turn the screen on or off with the power button several times before it becomes responsive again, but then it tends to work fine until I lock the screen again, with no noticeable dead spots anywhere on the screen. I've had days where it worked all day without problems (except having to flip out the keyboard, that's been a constant for the past two months), and then today I haven't been able to get the screen to do anything at all even after dozens of reboots.
I've already bought a new digitizer and am all ready to put it in (I'll have to replace the broken earpiece anyway), but was wondering whether anyone has any thoughts on whether it could still be a software issue after all, or if anyone has experienced anything similar? The thing with having to flip the keyboard out to get not only the touchscreen but also the status LED to work is just so weird and makes me doubt that it's a pure broken digitizer or lose flex cable issue, so I'm wondering whether it would be better to first try reverting to a stock ROM before taking on the messy sticky glue stuff (I should be fine but still, never done it before)?
Many thanks!
From what you describe my best guess would be the main flex cable is what needs to be replaced. Flash a touch based recovery and see if you have the issue there as well, if so its very unlikely that its anything but a hardware fault
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
Thanks for the heads-up, I've been playing around a bit more with software and I do manage to get the screen working again occasionally, typically after the second boot into a newly flashed ROM or restoring a backup, and only until one or two reboots later when it becomes completely unresponsive again. I've tried CM 7.2.0 as well as Flinny's Andromadus 10, and it is only complete flashing that does the trick, cache wipe or factory reset alone does nothing. The two occasions where the touchscreen worked were still limited to when the keyboard was flipped out, and it also had to be flipped out during boot, otherwise nothing would work. I've learned to navigate my way around the phone by just using the hardware navigation button, but I'll have a close look at the flex cable when I take it apart to replace the earpiece speaker tonight...
Hello,
so I took my dear phone apart yesterday to replace the broken earpiece - everything went fine but after reassembly the replacement earpiece isn't working either, which leads me to think that all those little broken bits might actually be related to some contacts being a bit lose, all in the same region. Should've thought about that earlier really since the earpiece and the LED (only works when keyboard flipped out) are both in that top region that the digitiser data presumable also has to run through before passing through the flex cable.
In any case, I also took a picture of the flex cable which is slightly bent but doesn't seem straightforwardly damaged (see attachment, that thing on the right is *not* a rip). Think it's worth trying to replace it anyway?
What was truly bizarre is that after the first boot following reassembly the touchscreen worked quite consistently for the entire evening - I thought I might've fixed a lose contact by un- and replugging the digitiser cable, but then the screen went nonreactive again at some point. I wonder if the working screen was again actually related to some software reset caused by the battery being taken out for so long? In the meantime the actual screen and trackball are still working away perfectly. Bizarre.
Just to let people know the solution to the mystery: the increasingly odd behaviour was actually caused by an initially small rip in the flex ribbon cable that got bigger and bigger - it's actually half-visible in the picture I uploaded above, only that the rip is where the cable comes out from underneath the case, and not where it's wrinkled!
Just in case it could be useful for anyone, here's the (top half of phone) components in the order in which they failed on me, which I guess corresponds to the order of the respective data lines in the ribbon cable (from the top of the phone towards the center):
environment brightness sensor (I thought that the sensor had been broken for almost a year, but as soon as I rebooted with the new flex cable I noticed how my phone stopped shining into my face at full brightness - if your brightness sensor gets stuck reporting the same (low) value this means your flex cable is on its way out!)
earpiece speaker
status led
touchscreen
screen (non-alignment with edge of screen, visual artefacts)
screen (fade to black/power interrupt)
obstacle3 said:
Just to let people know the solution to the mystery: the increasingly odd behaviour was actually caused by an initially small rip in the flex ribbon cable that got bigger and bigger - it's actually half-visible in the picture I uploaded above, only that the rip is where the cable comes out from underneath the case, and not where it's wrinkled!
Just in case it could be useful for anyone, here's the (top half of phone) components in the order in which they failed on me, which I guess corresponds to the order of the respective data lines in the ribbon cable (from the top of the phone towards the center):
environment brightness sensor (I thought that the sensor had been broken for almost a year, but as soon as I rebooted with the new flex cable I noticed how my phone stopped shining into my face at full brightness - if your brightness sensor gets stuck reporting the same (low) value this means your flex cable is on its way out!)
earpiece speaker
status led
touchscreen
screen (non-alignment with edge of screen, visual artefacts)
screen (fade to black/power interrupt)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll for sure keep that in mind. Mine is still going strong for the time being, but it's good to know some warning signs if I need to replace parts or if it's time to get a new phone
fireball0093 said:
I'll for sure keep that in mind. Mine is still going strong for the time being, but it's good to know some warning signs if I need to replace parts or if it's time to get a new phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Replacement parts all the way, the repair was 15$ and it feels as good as new! Well, it could do with a new battery but that's just another 5..
Just realised that the proximity sensor should actually be added to the very top of the list - just noticed that faint red light when taking a phone call, don't remember seeing that in almost a year :]
obstacle3 said:
Replacement parts all the way, the repair was 15$ and it feels as good as new! Well, it could do with a new battery but that's just another 5..
Just realised that the proximity sensor should actually be added to the very top of the list - just noticed that faint red light when taking a phone call, don't remember seeing that in almost a year :]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not a bad cost at all. I know I'm going to have to replace my keyboard in probably 2 months or so (maybe sooner) because some buttons are starting to not work. Other than that fact my phone is currently still going strong for being going on a 3 and a half year old phone
Related
Last night I was out and during the night I pulled my desire z out of my pocket to find that the screen was dead, the soft touch buttons were still lit up and working but no display. I pulled the battery and tried to reboot and no luck, you can hear it booting and even unlock/receive calls and txts etc once it has booted up just the screen stays blank the whole time so have to do everything on feel.
Essentially does this just mean my screen has a hardware fault? is it worth trying to fix? I assume the only option would be to purchase a replacement screen and dissemble and reassemble it?
(warranty is not worth it as I live in New Zealand and would have to send my phone back to the UK where I bought it from, also I have dropped it quite a few times so probably voided anyway...)
Thanks in advance for any input
Does it never display anything? So not even a flash during boot or something?
Because then it is probably a hardware problem.
Since the soft touch buttons do still work I think there might be a little crack or something in the flat cable that connects the bottom half with the top.
Maybe you could check whether you can see if the cable is broken or not?
The best thing to do then is to look for a replacement and try to fix it yourself or bring it to a shop where they can do it for you.
No it never displays anything, completely dead the whole time. The touch input is still working though as I answered a phone call this morning on it by making the usual gesture just without being able to see anything. Doesnt seem to be anything wrong with the cable itself as far as I can see. Yea might have to get someone to have a look at it.
My phone is acting the same. I dropped my phone in the pond before, but pulled battery out on time and had it in rice for a day. My phone was still working for about two weeks after that incident. I dropped it and had one little crack at the top of the screen and about a week after that it died when I had a water balloon fight with the phone in my pocket. D;
Do any of you know if the replacement lcd screen/digitizer for the Desire Z would work for the G2?
I had the same thing happening to my G2 screen, only it was intermittently working for a little while, then just completely died and wouldn't work. It was doing this crazy flickering thing then the back light wouldn't go on at all. If I held the phone at a certain angle in the sun, I could see that the pixels were indeed working on the display, but there was no backlight to make them normally visible.
So I purchased a replacement screen from ebay and carefully followed the directions on a youtube video for a G2 take apart. Its not a hard task to take apart and get down to the screen itself. It was rather easy. After putting it back together the screen still didn't work! Sounds work, i can also receive calls etc. But the screen still doesn't work!
Is there any way that this could be a software issue?
Oh and PS, I believe the LCD replacement would work for both the desire Z and the G2. They are identical phones after all right? I'd say its a safe bet. The screen I bought was only 35 bucks. Didn't think that was a bad deal.
Another dead screen or something else?
Few days ago my phone fell of the couch onto a rug - no big deal, so far it has survived much worse, but when I picked it up, the colors were all messed up - overly green and red. Tried restarting - no luck. Everything worked fine, except the colors, but then the screen turned of completely. I could hear notifications, phonecalls, but the screen was dead. After some tapping on the screen, it turned on again - with ****ed up colors. Then started flickering and was gone again. Few more times I could turn it on by tapping before it was dead for good.
Figured, after all these drops it survived, maybe the screen connector is a bit loose. I mean, I could sometime get a contact when tapping it, so I dissasambled it completely, secured all the connection, put it all back tougether and fired up - same thing: dead screen, phone working.
Has anyone had such problem before? Is it screen that is dead, or connector or... I have no clue... I would like try to fix it on my own, with some replacement parts I could get on ebay - but, what gave?
When closed my screen works just fine, and when I open for the keyboard it STILL works just fine, except that the whole screen shifts upward, so that part of the taskbar is actually off of the screen. If I open it slowly it seems like about at 10% open the screen flips horizontal, as it should, but then at about 80% of the way open the whole screen shifts upward until part of it is offscreen. Its not nonfunctional at all, but it is a nuisance, especially when playing any games I have the hardkeys setup as a controller. I've tried a full wipe and rom re-install and that didn't fix it. Also it seems like I've had to do a factory wipe more than once recently because the Home and Search touch areas have stopped working. Is there a weird software glitch going on or is my touchscreen on the way out?
I'm either going to just replace the screen for 35 bucks because its already kinda screwy, but if that won't also solve the weird screen shift issue ill just buy a new phone, any ideas?
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
Ok - so I think its hardware because the screen shifts even when the phones still booting. Would a new lcd fix this maybe?
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
I had the exact same problem. Your issue is in your ribbon cable, I was able to get my phone replaced but if that isn't an option for you, you can buy a ribbon cable and follow a very easy tutorial to install it
Sent from my Bulletproof G2
awesome, I've taken apart the phone a few times before, so now that I know the issue I can repair it finally! thank you so much for replying!! Which Ribbon cable are we talking about?
It is the ribbon cable that connects the screen to the keyboard through the z-hinge. I've never replaced it myself, but if your phone is completely normal closed and then distorts as it opens, then it definetely sounds like the ribbon cable has bad contact as it's stretched. It's really one of the only things it can be, if it were your lcd then the distortion would persist even in portait I would think
Sent from my Bulletproof G2
I must agree with the above poster, seems like its the ribbon too!
Don't know if anyone else is experiencing this with their Play but as of a week or two ago the backlight started acting strange. The backlight will randomly stay off when I push the power button with the slider gamepad closed. Only way to make it come on is to pop out the slider. It seems to be random, and if I push on the slider edge slightly with my thumb with the slider closed the backlight randomly flickers, ranging from slight to severe.
The display is still working despite the backlight issues, I can open apps, and use the phone normally but the backlight flickers on and off. Makes it especially hard to use the phone in the dark.
Phone has never been dropped once.
I've replicated this problem with a variety of roms, both custom and stock. It's definitely not app related or even custom kernel related. It happens on a fresh wipe with stock rom with stock kernel. It happens on CM7 with custom kernel.
I'm curious if anybody else is experiencing this. It would tell me if it's just an isolated incident or if others are having this problem.
Sounds like a faulty connection to the backlight to me.
I had the same problem 2 days ago. Then I couldn't get my phone screen on at all!
I sent my phone back to Sony, even thought I bought it second hand. Phoned them up and talked to them. They asked what time of year I bought it so I said around August and then they gave me the address to send it to. Now I'm just waiting to see what happens next.
If your going to send your phone to Sony for repair then make sure you put the fresh firmware back on and un-root your phone as that breaks the warranty (unless they don't know about it)
Hope I helped you. If I did then click the thanks button
Sounds like a faulty ribbon cable to me. (cable that connects the screen to the rest of the phone)
You wouldn't need to drop it for that to go bad, It could just be a case of opening and closing the gamepad or lot.
Yeah good thoughts, most likely the ribbon. That really sucks because I've only had the phone for 7 months, and I've taken excellent care of it. Sounds like a major design oversight.
Mine is probably near complete failure at this point. It's taking a lot more effort to keep the screen on now. Fearing soon it won't work at all.
In hopes that this might help someone else down the line, I was able to fix my problem. Yesterday the screen pretty much quit and I had no choice but to try and solve it myself or buy a new phone.
Using this disassembly video as a visual aid I carefully pulled my phone apart: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3n5ZfkqhzE
You'll need a torx T5 tool to pull out all the screws but they are cheap.
Underneath the phone and jammed into the screen ribbon was a rather thick hair just hanging out. Somehow it buried itself in there. I removed it, unplugged and replugged the screen ribbon and cleaned the dusty inside with a q-tip and reassembled it all together.
It works fine now, so hopefully this helps someone else avoid having to pony up for a new phone. For those under warranty probably best to send back but for those like me with no warranty it's worth the shot.
My Desire Z had a fall, and has developed two problems
1 - The hardware keypad has started to take hard-press and sometimes prints double characters on single press. I think the alignment is out or something... any other guess ?
2 - The touch screen sometimes stops working from an inch up from the bottom and continues to half an inch. Before and after that patch, the touch always works fine . Mostly, the whole touch screen works fine. But when the patch gets non-responsive, I have observed that by turning the screen off and on a couple of times makes it work again. I am not very sure what the problem is. Any clues ?
Thanks
I'm also experiencing a similar issue - for me it's usually an area that corresponds to the top row of the
on-screen keypad (for unlocking) or the top of the area for unlock patterns (portrait orientation).
Mine is a 2 year old DZ w. Cyanogenmod 7.1
No HW key problems & no droppage.
Liberal application of isopropyl alcohol and a microfiber cloth - especially around the edges of the screen
seem to help a little bit but not often enough to be better than random.
Switching the screen off and on occasionally helps but most often I get annoyed and use the HW keys to
unlock.
I have noticed that, after powering on the device, the SIM-lock keypad works just fine but the (different)
screen-unlock keypad fails. This leads me to believe it to be a software issue.
/b
I have had this experience on my G2
No fix for me but his my experience check out the url!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=31264095
Sent from my HTC Vision using xda premium
Thread moved to Q & A section.
So i am going for Digitizer replacement will post the result when the phone is back.
And what about the Keypad taking hardpresses ? what can be the issue there ?
so my desire z is in the shop for repairs. lets see what problem is diagnosed.
I have read in another thread in this forum that the hardware keyboard (need to press hard on some buttons) issue can happen when the phone falls.
Apparently, the flat cable that connects the keyboard to the rest of the phone gets loose and causes such trouble.
Since your phone is in for repair, I'm sure this will get sorted when U get it back.
ok so my phone got back from repairs, the guy couldnt fix the touch-screen rather made it worse. Now the touchscreen doesnt work at all. So i cant unlock the phone and cannot test the Keyboard problem. The guy said the touch problem is related to the ribbon cable and not the touchscreen itself.
Note 1: He says he tried replacing the touch panel altogether but it didnt work.
Note 2: I still think the ribbon is fine (call it intuition)
Note 3: I am giving my phone for repairs again, but this time to HTC service center which would probably cost me a lot more than third-party repairs but at least it will get fixed.
I will update when I my phone back from HTC service center.
Could you not unlock the phone by opening the keyboard ?
It does smell to be an issue with flat (ribbon) cable to me as well. As if there was some loose contact before (caused by you dropping it), and after the repair guy took the phone apart, he probably made even bigger mess by ruining the flat cable completely.
From my experience (and I've claimed warranty 3x for the broken digitizer (touch panel)), if it's broken, an area of the screen (or the whole screen) will be permanently dead. It would not come back to life every now and then.
btw, mine always started being unresponsive in the very middle of the screen, a bar of height around 1 cm (somewhat less than 1/2 inch). Each time they replaced the digitizer.
If it;s the flat cable, you shouldn't end up being charged too much - those thingies are very cheap (in China) and the labour will probably be the majority of the price. Fingers crossed.
So I got my phone back again... The HTC repair center was not located in my city so I went to another (better known) repair shop. The guy said, "your phone hasnt been opened at all from the touchscreen side, any *repair guy* who claims he has opened it and tried this and that but couldnt fix is simply lying. This said, he opened up my desire z replaced its Touch Panel and voilah! my desire z is sensing again in 15 mins
What's the status for the keypad and need to press it hard to work ?
nope... I had it cleaned using alcohol / thinner. now it works fine.
So, I updated to CM 7.2 last night but the touchscreen problems are still there.
Updated using CWM and deleted data & cache whilst doing so.
I really hate the prospect of getting a new phone as the current models available
in DK are all without physical keyboards
Upon power up flashes green then blue, no LG logo or anything else. If i plug USB connection to the PC the PC recognizes the phone any suggestions? By the way this happened after the phone was dropped, no visible signs of the screen being cracked.
Try holding power button for like 30 seconds. Or pull battery
Was this ever resolved? My friends phone did the exact same thing the other night, you can still feel it vibrate across the unlock pads and it makes noise and everything when receiving texts, can even answer calls if you know exactly where to push accept call.
It's the strangest thing.
Looks like a broken mainboard from the drop. Or perhaps cracked screen near the connection to the mainboard.
Not Resolved
VeeDaub said:
Was this ever resolved? My friends phone did the exact same thing the other night, you can still feel it vibrate across the unlock pads and it makes noise and everything when receiving texts, can even answer calls if you know exactly where to push accept call.
It's the strangest thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Replaced the bazel/Screen/LCD, still same issue.
As I said: broken mainboard....
Same friend I was talking about earlier, exact same issue, he had his old phone he was using and just recently we found the issue, it had mild water damage from snow getting in his pocket right around the display connector inside, so we cleaned it up with alcohol, made some colors at the bottom but then would go black again, we took the logic board out, reflowed it in stages on each side so everything was good, tried it again, exactly half the screen (right side) worked perfect, so finally, brought it in, they said the display was faulty and replaced the phone under warranty.
So, conclusion, we didn't touch the display, Bell said the display was broken and just replaced his phone.
We only touched the logicboard and we got it half working, if we knew a better method of reflowing a mobile logic board (chips on both sides so you can't reflow the same way as laptop motherboard) so it was a lot harder but we probably could have fixed it if we kept at it and knew more about what size of the logic board needed the reflow the most
We used a bunch of clay if anyone is wondering, worked it in out hands till it was very plyable, make a pile slightly bigger then logic board, push board flat I to clay so it holds the underside chips pressed and in place, reflow top, repeat once cooled, it got half the screen working from a phone that had physical water damage and corrosion on the display connector so, this will probably work for you.