Develop Bugs

[Q] Desire HD very sick - need repair help

Hiya,
my Desire HD got wet in the front pocket of my fleece, not drowned just some droplets of water that got inside the Otterbox case and into the phone. I did try and turn it on before I realised it had got wet, it wouldn't power up.
I removed the phone from the Otterbox and dried everything and tried to turn it on again as there was only very slight traces of moisture apparent. There was condensation and a couple of little drops of water inside. I discovered there must have been enough moisture to short out the battery as there was a little residue mark above the contacts on the inside of the casing. I then noticed the liquid indicators had turned red.
I removed the battery cover and dried the phone gently using an electric room heater for hours, I also put the phone in a bag of rice for a couple of days.
I tried to power it up again after a few days in the rice and it wouldn't start up. I measured across the battery contacts with a multi meter and found the battery was open circuit, so I know it must have shorted. Hoping that this was the only damage I bought a new replacement battery. When I fitted the new battery nearly a week later and switched on the phone, everything seemed to be fine but the display seemed to flash, and as I had a Leedroid rom installed I heard R2D2 chirping and could see the device start to boot up as normal on the screen. Then the display went dark and hasn't worked since. I stripped the phone and cleaned a couple of patches of residue, one of which was right in the lcd connector.
Now when I try and start the phone there is no display, the phone vibrates once when I hold in the power button. Approximately 40 or 50 seconds later I can hear R2D2 making his tweeting noises which always happens on boot up. I didn't think it took so long to hear R2D2 but maybe the phone is checking the file system or something now, and I just can't see it.
It may be that I just need a new screen & digitizer to repair the phone, but I can't tell what might be on the display - maybe it's the phone unlock screen asking for my pin number etc. I can't see any image on the screen, that you would normally see when the baclight is faulty, I have tried to view it with a desk lamp, but it's just black. The capacitive buttons at the bottom don't seem to have any effect, perhaps they are not enabled if it's sitting at the password screen, if it is at that screen.
The l.e.d's don't light up at the top when I turn it on or plug in the charger.
I might have also damaged the volume key switch/ribbon slightly.
What would you do with this phone, any advice on how I could proceed ?
Would it be working just with no display, as R2D2 is squeaking(Leedroid rom has this when the device boots and has an animation of a pc booting up with the post screen) ?
No l.e.d's is a bit worrying and it doesn't seem to know when on charge etc. but perhaps they only work once the phone has booted, I can't remember DOH!
I just thought I would ask, as there are a lot of knowledgeable people on here and it might be possible to save my droid.
Grateful for any help or advice
kind regards
Barry

Power Cycle

So after finally fixing all the other issues i had with my phone (broken screen, broken vibrate motor, broken speaker) i was finally at ease. It lasted for about a week with everything functioning until now the phone gods have again struck me down. This time i have what is referred to as a Power Cycle. Kind of like a boot-loop except the phone completely boots up into my homescreen then the power options menu pops up, and no matter if i click back or not, that **** is going to reboot on me. Its to a point where if i pop in the battery the phone auto boots. Here's the kicker though. If i take off the back case and just set it on the battery with an open back, it doesnt power cycle. But the power button on the case itself is not stuck as you may be thinking as i can depress it and the cover spring pushes it back. I've hard reset, even went back to complete stock (no root) and it still does it. the power button works (very sensitive) if you have no case on the back, but if that thing is on, it acts like the button is being pressed.
Any Ideas?

Sounds like the power button is stuck... Try taking the phone apart and cleaning the contacts. Then press the power button a few times to ensure it works like it is supposed to. Put everything back together, tighten the screws but don't torque them. Should not turn on after you put the battery back in, wait a few to make sure it doesn't. Then power it on and see how it goes.
Sent from my Slim E4GT using xda premium

still didnt work. i used some rubbing alcohol and a lint free cloth on it. the interesting thing is, when you take the case off, if you set your finger over where the button is (making no contact) it still registers that you are touching it. this is what i think is causing it to power cycle when the phone case is on, as it believes that it is being pressed when it isnt.

th3 game said:
the power button works (very sensitive) if you have no case on the back, but if that thing is on, it acts like the button is being pressed.
Any Ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had almost the exact same problem with my Epic Touch. Ended up being a bad power switch. How handy are you with a soldering iron? If you're pretty good, you can buy the switch for ~$10 and replace it yourself. (You can also try cleaning it - several tutorials here, and the "Captivate" phone seems to have the same switch and issues. Search both forums)
Several eBay sellers sell the switch you'll need.

Into the depths of the ion + Battery disconnect for soft-brick

So decided to take apart this thing again to try and fix speaker issue I've been having, after the last time I had to take it apart to disconnect battery after soft bricking it (boot loop + holding down reset combo for too long) this time decided to take pics just for a reference in case anybody needs a peek inside to see if they can find anything that can fix an issue on their device without actually taking theirs apart.
So after removing little plastic covers on top and bottom as well as SIM, SD card, and label under bottom plastic, you'll get 4 screws on each corner of metal piece which is where most people have disassembled to.
To further take apart the device there are 5 Torx T5 screws and three more philips screws, remove them and slowly pry apart plastic plate with antenna components
What the plate looks like
And then you'll be to the inside of the device where all the components are laid out
Hope these pics can be of use to at least one person, just in case you wanted a peek inside the device, or if you need to find a certain part. I only needed to take it apart this far to both disconnect battery and to look at the speaker.
To disconnect battery if you soft bricked (hold down reset combo until 3 vibrations and phone won't turn on)
note that our ion can only disconnect the battery, which is the equivalent to a battery pull, but battery is sealed in there quite good, so replacement isn't easy if that's what you're looking for
After you take out all the panels and get to what you see in the third pic, gently remove this cable coming from the battery to the motherboard
Then wait about 5-10 seconds and plug it back in. Gently.
Probably you'll want flashmode so before putting phone back together hold volume down button with your fingernail and plug in USB cord when flashtool asks you for download mode.
The end
All photos taken with S2 Skyrocket

[Q] Power Button Failure

I had a weird thing happen. Earlier today I dropped my phone from approximately 18 inches onto a laminate surface. The phone was in a protective case. After I picked it up, the power button wouldn't work. The rest of the phone was fine. No scrathes on the case, no other types of hardware failure or signs of damage. I opened the phone up, removed the motherboard and inspected the entire system. Everything seemed perfect. I inspected the power button and there didn't seem to be an issue. I put everything back together, while paying close attention to make sure that all connections were secure. After reassembly there was still no change. So I have a couple of questions:
1. Can I jump the connection between the two power button connections (which I believe is how the power button itself normally activates the phone) to see if that's where the problem is so that I can establish if the power button is in fact the problem? Or will that short something out on the motherboard?
2. Has anyone had anything like this happen, or know of a place where the power button can be bought, etc... Any suggestons are appreciated! =)
Thanks!
Edit: I was able to find the connections to the power button flex cable. The two terminals were loose and I was able to pull them out a bit using a wooden tooth pick. I now have good contact and the power button is working perfectly. I recorded what I did and will post a video on YouTube in case someone ever has this happen to them. I don't know why an 18 inch fall would cause this type of issue, but oh well. Fixed is fixed.

P600 repeated Black Screen Issues -

I have a black screen issue that starts with the screen getting dim, then the next day just a black screen with sound and touch feedback.
Taking the back off and reseating the cables fixes this, but it happens every few months.
Will replacing the screen fix this issue or is there something else going on i need to address?
i'm pretty sure it's not the OS. it happened when i had TW and still happens on LOS.

Do not replace the screen
bajra79 said:
I have a black screen issue that starts with the screen getting dim, then the next day just a black screen with sound and touch feedback.
Taking the back off and reseating the cables fixes this, but it happens every few months.
Will replacing the screen fix this issue or is there something else going on i need to address?
i'm pretty sure it's not the OS. it happened when i had TW and still happens on LOS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't replace the screen the problem is the ribbon cables. The best solution is to reseat the cables then place a layer of electrical tape to secure the ribbon cables so they do not move when you drop the tablet (accidentally or just setting it down on a surface).
Mike

Maybe you have an idea about this? Very perplexing. My screen started getting darker in one corner. then it blacked out. I had already read about reseating the ribbon cable, but the really weird thing is on a reboot the screen comes back on. It has done this several times. Last time, I thought it had blacked out for good, but nope, it is still coming back on after a reboot. This has happened after several ROM updates. I am at a loss.

Same Problem
C0BRA01 said:
Maybe you have an idea about this? Very perplexing. My screen started getting darker in one corner. then it blacked out. I had already read about reseating the ribbon cable, but the really weird thing is on a reboot the screen comes back on. It has done this several times. Last time, I thought it had blacked out for good, but nope, it is still coming back on after a reboot. This has happened after several ROM updates. I am at a loss.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The root cause of the fading in one corner is the same problem...badly seated ribbon cables. My Note 2014 experienced a faded corner too before the backlight stopped turning on when I woke it up from sleep mode. Fix action was the same...remove the black plastic cover, flip it over and carefully remove and replace the ribbon cables to the display. To prevent future problems carefully use a sticky black electrical tape to help hold the ribbon cables in place. Check the function (push the power button to put the tablet tot sleep then wake it up) before you replace the cover. Good luck!
- Mike

Pictures
Mike_SattyEng said:
The root cause of the fading in one corner is the same problem...badly seated ribbon cables. My Note 2014 experienced a faded corner too before the backlight stopped turning on when I woke it up from sleep mode. Fix action was the same...remove the black plastic cover, flip it over and carefully remove and replace the ribbon cables to the display. To prevent future problems carefully use a sticky black electrical tape to help hold the ribbon cables in place. Check the function (push the power button to put the tablet tot sleep then wake it up) before you replace the cover. Good luck!
- Mike
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For those that are interested...here are so pics of the ribbon cable reseating process. I had to do this again to my P600 after a hard drop to a wood floor to nights ago and found the back lighting not working correctly.
Symptoms: 1. Darker spot in corner of display on wake up from suspend. 2. Pressing power button to wake up after tablet put its self to sleep after the screen timed out (turned off display) resulted in lighting of only the soft return and menu buttons and the display back light failed to turn on resulting in a black screen.
The fix action:
1. Turn tablet off and remove the pen from its built in holder.
2. With screen facing up, use a plastic key card (hotel room key or reward card) to go all the way around plastic-chrome border of the tablet and unlock the back cover from the display.
3. Flip the tablet over and lay it on a soft cloth. Carefully flip up the black locking tabs of the ribbon cables (these things are delicate and are easily broken unless you use minimal force). Only the cable on the left can be completely removed (see the first pic). The lower end of the right cable is attached to the display. Fold it out of the way. Remove the cables and inspect ends for damage or debris. reseat the cable paying attention to the tiny locking tabs of the cables, then lock them back into place.
4. Pick up the tablet. With the screen facing you rotate it until the USB port is facing to your left. On the upper right side of the table you see three round silverish dots. These are membrane switches. Press the upper switch carefully with your finger nail (you fill the switch move and make contact). If the screen turns on, carefully flip it over and lay the screen on a soft cloth. Carefully put electrical tape on ribbon cable to hold it in place (see pic 2).
5. Flip over the tablet over and press the power button again to turn on the tablet and verify function.
6. Replace the cover of the tablet. Go around the entire tablet edge and gently press the screen into the cover. You should hear the locking tabs snap as they lock back into place.
Recovery if the screen does not light after replacing the ribbon cables.
1. Unlock and remove the ribbon cables again.
2. Remove the five screws holding the battery in place.
3. Carefully lift the battery out of its position and gently lift up on the wires connecting it to the tablet, the connector lifts up from the tablet to separate.
4. Wait 30 seconds and replace the battery and cables. Repeat step 5 and 6 above.:good::good::good:
- Mike

as mike suggest, unless hardware issue, reseating cable fixed my similar issue as well.
make sure to secure those cables with the tape so it doesn't happen again.

This! As Mike recommends above! I replaced a failing battery and the unit worked great, but coincidentally dropped my note the next day. The screen was black and I figured it was dead until I read this, figured nothing to lose and opened it back up. I reset the ribbons, taped them down and I'm back in bussiness. I suppose the drop was just enough to lose or unseat the ribbons. I taped thenm in place and all is good. A million thanks!