Database Users

HOWTO: Replace digitizer

I'm writing this up because someone else might like to benefit from my experiences with doing this repair.
Get your tools together: Multimeter, Torx T5, jeweler's Phillips (size 00), 15w soldering pencil, a bit of flux, some thin (I used 0.38mm 63/57% tin/lead) solder, and a clean place to work. You may want to grab a small ice cube tray or something similar with compartments to toss the screws in so you remember where they go. I highly suggest you get Kapton (3M) tape but you could use cellophane tape or a cut piece of packing tape. I had Kapton on hand so that's what I went with. You also need to either make sure the seller provides the double-stick tape gasket that binds the digitizer to the LCD shield or that you managed to salvage the one that secured the old digitizer. I was lucky and it came off the glass and stayed on the metal.
First of all, I've always had horrible problems with alignment with my Vario. The top of the screen was usually fine but the bottom would start drifting up. Cleaning the crap out of the edges under the bezel with a business card or doing the thumb rub was fine for that particular session but when I would sleep it and put it in my pocket, it was screwed up the next time. Dropping my Vario on the floor has managed to create a triangular dead zone that peaks at 1/2" from the bottom center and degrades towards the bottom left and right corners.
I bought a digitizer on Ebay from a seller in Hong Kong. It arrived about two weeks later and came with a T8 Torx and a case cracking tool. The T8 was thrown aside because it's obviously the wrong tool so I used my T5 and cracked the case. I won't get into disassembly/reassembly because that isn't the object of this and you can google the directions. Suffice it to say, when you reassemble the back half, ensure the volume slider on the case isn't going to snap the tab off of the volume switch on the board like I did the last time I disassembled it.
A note on this particular digitizer - It's NOT a HTC brand part. It's a generic part and doesn't have the glossy top sheet. I paid $20 shipped and for $20 it ain't bad. There is slightly less light transmitted and it's harder to read outdoors in direct sun but no big deal - it hasn't had to be realigned yet.
Now that you've removed the back cover, lifted out the board, unscrewed the LCD slider from the front cover, disassembled the two halves of the LCD slider, removed the screws that secure the top and bottom button pads to the LCD top frame and lifted out the LCD/button assembly and it's sitting in front of you - lets get to work!
First of all, you need to commit to this before you start making irreversible changes. If you've never soldered before, put this thing back together or find someone who has. You don't need a SMT station or the ability to solder 0605 components but since you're soldering on the plastic ribbon carrier, you need to be sure of your skills in order to not trash the LCD ribbon.
Now that you're ready to do this, examine the LCD panel and you will see that the digitizer is attached to the frame of the LCD panel. Use thin blade like a single edged razor to slide between the glass panel and the metal case and start lifting up the glass panel. If you're lucky, it'll want to stick to the metal case. As you lift the glass, poke in some tooth picks or similar to keep the glass from seating again. Start at a corner and work around going SLOWLY. I got to the bottom, rushed, and smashed the old part causing glass dust to go everywhere!. Try to avoid that.
Now that the old panel is off, cut the ribbon cable going from the base of the digitizer to the back of the LCD. Just slice it in half to get the old part out of the way.
At this point, align the new digitizer at the top of the frame first and then gently press it down. Ensure that ONLY the back's protective plastic sheet has been removed to avoid smudges and scratches. Now place the unit face down on something like a mousepad or similar surface.
There is a piece of Kapton tape across the digitizer ribbon and the backlight ribbon. Peel from the side with the digitizer FIRST! I started pulling from the backlight cable side and damn near pulled the backlight ribbon off!
GENTLY GENTLY GENTLY peel the old ribbon cable from the digitizer DOWN and ensure that it isn't ripping the pads away from the LCD cable. There may be a better way to do this but this method worked for me, I grabbed a corner with needle nose pliers and slowly pulled at a 45 degree angle. You want to pull the top which is the side soldered to the ribbon, not the bottom, which you cut earlier.
Plug that soldering pencil in, make sure it's set to 15w.
Now, with my el-cheapo digitizer, the ribbon from the front was slightly misaligned and I had to angle it over to the right. Otherwise if I went straight up it would've been misaligned about 2mm to the left. Ensure you have the traces parallel and directly on top of the existing ones and tape the bottom of the cable so it stays put. Another thing with my digitizer was the end required trimming. This made it easy to position when I had it bent back.
Now that the bottom is aligned and you don't have to mess with it, bend the cable back so that the copper traces are now facing up. The bend should be at the bottom 3rd of the exposed traces on the LCD cable. Make a nice sharp fold on the cable. Swab on a little bit of flux to make things easier to manage. Grab a popsicle stick or similar to push the new ribbon to the LCD ribbon, get the solder ready, and try to keep the heat on very shortly. You should only need 3 seconds of heat to get a decent solder joint because there is almost zero copper to heat up. Ensure the first joint is good by a quick tug of the cable and do the next three. After they are done, test with the meter going across to ensure the joint is good and from one side to each neighbor to make sure you have no shorts. Do the next three and then cut the extra ribbon cable off leaving maybe 1/4". Grab your tape and put a nice big piece across the back of the LCD covering both ribbon cables just like it was.
Now, reassemble your phone, turn it on, align the screen, and you ought to be good to go.
I don't take any responsibility for anything you might do to screw up your phone. These were my steps to fix my phone and they may not work for you and your phone.
As an aside, the new matte screen doesn't accumulate 'face gunk' quite like the old glossy one did. Also, the sensitivity is down a tiny bit and it needs more finger pressure to use Slide2Unlock. The digitizer also gets Newtonian Rings (google it) whereas the OEM one didn't. Also, there is a faint hum from the backlight (?) when it's on now that I didn't notice before.
So far, so good... The alignment on the bottom right corner is about 1.25mm above where the stylus point is but that might just be a problem with the screen itself. The alignment has stayed rock steady since I aligned it yesterday morning.

Replace touch screen glass

My friend broke his touchscreen, and asked me to fix it. I've bought a replacement touchscreen, but I can't work out how to remove the the old touch glass. It's stuck on there with glue or something, I don't know. Is there a way to remove it other than painstakingly shattering each piece of glass and chipping away with a screw driver?

HTC Manual
Hi,
have no idea, but did you take a look into the HTC Service manual - which is available somewhere in the internet or in this forum. There it's explained how to disassemble the whole pda totally.
So long
HonkBB

HonkBB said:
Hi,
have no idea, but did you take a look into the HTC Service manual - which is available somewhere in the internet or in this forum. There it's explained how to disassemble the whole pda totally.
So long
HonkBB
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have service manual but no explanation how to change touch screen only.

it most probably is soldered on the lcd. the touchscreen is held with a little bit of double sided tape around the edges of the lcd itself. just pull it of gently. the touchscreen cable is soldered onto the lcd cable (on the back), so you can pull that off gently or desolder the whole cable of. you have to solder the new touchscreen cable back onto the lcd screen, just using a little bit of tape to connect the copper wires will not do (i found that out the hard way with my device). good luck, i wasn't able to solder the touchscreen back onto the lcd.

...
I have it done already. The touch part is connected to the display with the metal sheet with small dots on the edges. You need a small screwdriver to loose the edges and you should be able to remove whole metal frame with the glass. Then is just enough to unsolder the wirings or cut them off(you'll probably don't need the old frame).

To remove the glass touch screen I did as dennisv9 says, I found that by using a cotton bud with surgical spirit dabbed around the edge of the screen helped to loosen the stickiness of the tape making it easier to remove the screen in one piece by gently prising with your fingernails and dabbing as you go with the spirit.
You must also gently remove the tape that holds the connector tail on the back of the metalwork with care, peel from the bottom upward and try to hold the cable in place with your finger to save breaking any tracks. Now gently unsolder the connections and that is it. To replace it use a little flux on the connector and hold it in place with some masking tape and with a clean soldering iron reheat the solder and let it melt and flow. That is basically it, now reseat the screen and gently remove the masking tape and put some decent tape over the connections to secure them properly.
it most probably is soldered on the lcd. the touchscreen is held with a little bit of double sided tape around the edges of the lcd itself. just pull it of gently. the touchscreen cable is soldered onto the lcd cable (on the back), so you can pull that off gently or desolder the whole cable of. you have to solder the new touchscreen cable back onto the lcd screen, just using a little bit of tape to connect the copper wires will not do (i found that out the hard way with my device). good luck, i wasn't able to solder the touchscreen back onto the lcd.
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Youtube it. WOWZERZ​

Just removed the digitiser from my lcd screen. Thank you for posting the service manual, most helpful for taking the xda apart.
I used a craft knife and very, very gingerly worked along the top then each edge. Repeating the process until the blade was just under the digitiser. Then teased it gently away from the screen, starting on one side then the other. I did make a slight crack in the touchpad but the screen is perfect.
I feel I should point out that the Himalaya (xda 2) has a choice of two screens, each screen has a specfic touchpad. My model was the PH10B, which needed the screen from the xda 2i (alpine). Not sure if this is the case for every PH10B but the connectors are very different for each screen and digitiser so not backwards compatible.
I have seen screens with digitisers attached for just under £30 on ebay (with tool, screen protector and instructions). I would recommend doing the straight swap rather than faffing around like I have but considering I got the touchpad for £6 there is a saving to be made..... "He who dares Rodders!!!"

Thank you so much for the post. It's really useful.

wonderful! thanks for the info..
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Allen1 said:
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You must also gently remove the tape that holds the connector tail on the back of the metalwork with care, peel from the bottom upward and try to hold the cable in place with your finger to save breaking any tracks. Now gently unsolder the connections and that is it. To replace it use a little flux on the connector and hold it in place with some masking tape and with a clean soldering iron reheat the solder and let it melt and flow. That is basically it, now reseat the screen and gently remove the masking tape and put some decent tape over the connections to secure them properly.
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Click to collapse
I just don't clearly get the point, how to put the solder tip, does it on copper the wire or behind it? since the wire is so thin and mostly covered by sort of yellow thin plastic.

Too bad i just replaced my casing with a new one, i have a slight crack on my XDA iis screen, but i didnt replace it as i thought the glass was built in to the lcd screen.. at least now i know that its possible to remove just the glass..

I have the same problem ....
How to connect your LCD, it's not working ....
Any Ideas ?

and how, any ideas ??

Disassembly guide for replacing screen?

I picked up a new screen off of the internet. I cannot find a guide to disassemble the Titan. Do I have to take the phone all the way apart to replace the lcd? Anyone have any useful links?
The only thing I found was a youtube walkthrough but she is replacing the casing not the lcd screen.
Thanks

instruction
hi,
i have changed my screen 3 times and my touchscreen 1 time. You dont need instruction the only thing you have to know is that you have to open the device completely to access the screen.
gl

I have just taken mine apart last night for the first time using no instructions and it really wasn't that bad. I got a digitizer coming in the mail, if you'd like to wait until I get it, I can take pictures of the dissasembly process and post the pics, but it may not be until Friday.
The steps are:
1. Remove battery cover, battery and stylus
2. Remove 4 hex screws then remove back cover gently
3. Remove the 4 phillips head screws that hold the motherboard in place
4. Lift the motherboard gently and remove the ribbon cables plugged in the back (there is silver tape holding it in place, peel that off gently)
5. Remove the 4 phillips head screwes that hold the slider, then while removing the slider chassis, carefully snake the ribbons through the square center
6. Remove the 4 phillips head screws holding the back of LCD case
7. Remove the top and bottom plastic strips where the screws were (there is another phillips head screw under one of those, just don't remember which one)
8. Gently separate the back cover from the LCD case
At this point, you have to just be careful of what you do. You have one long ribbon cable that is plugged in to the LCD and the buttons on top. Also, there is MUCH silver tape holding this mess in place, so peel the tape off gently until it is all separated. Once you got the tape off and the ribbon cable unplugged at both spots, it will all just fold downwards and the LCD/Digitizer should just fall out.
If you are replacing both LCD and Digitizer then that's easier, if you need to separatte those two then just gently remove the metal casing that is holding them together, there are clips that hold that metal casing in place, so just be gentle.
Like I said, if you'd rather wait for the pics then those should be around on Friday or so.
Hope this helps
-wagonis

Do you mind my asking of how much you paid?
there's a complete non-technical walkthrough floating around youtube and ^, ^^ are correct. It's not difficult if you're at least somewhat mechanically/electronically inclined..

[Info] Power button hardware fix

Hello all. Yes I am a noob to the forum, but not to small electronics and the dismantling of them. After getting everything set up on my machine necessary to Root my TF and side load the netflix app, I noticed my power button wasn't being as responsive as it should. Doing a quick google search I found that this was a common thing, even on TFs with stock firmware, so I took to dismantling the thing to figure out what is causing it.
I did a quick search to see if anyone has cracked the case open and found this thread. I didn't use a guitar pick, but rather a plastic and metal spuder set I had from repairing my mom's ipod touch (damn soldered batteries!).
Tools:
Tool Kit
Or
A T5 Torx bit
A spudger
#0 Phillips screwdriver.
Lock-Tite super glue gel (optional!)
1. Start by removing the two T5 torx bits from both sides of the charging/dock port
2. Use the plastic spudger or guitar pick and loose the seam around the entire case. If you look closely at the face, you will see the glass meet a black plastic rim and then the metal rim around that. What you are aiming to do is separate the black plastic from the glass. The plastic is glued to the metal so if you see adhesive separating, you are prying the wrong spot. There are various plastic tabs around the glass like a TV remote so using the plastic spuder is safer until you get some visible room to go in with the metal one.
3. Once you have the frame off, there are 4 #0 Phillips screws on the face, one at each corner, then 3 screws on the top and bottom of the frame (previously under the metal case
4. Removing all 4 face screws plus 6 rail screws will allow you to remove the back plastic. Now you can see everything
5. Bonus points for ASUS for giving us a battery that unplugs vs one that is soldered in (damn you apple). If you want some peace of mind, you can pop off the battery cable. I did not see any side effects from doing this (no data loss, etc).
6. On the side with the power and volume buttons, you will see a blue-tipped silver cable under a black tab. This black tab is what holds the ribbon down and lifts up like a toilet seat. It does not pull forward, it does not pop off (unless you broke it), but because it is plastic, be gentle. Once the tab is lifted, the silver cable will come out.
7. Unscrew the 3 #0 Phillip screws holding down the button board for easier access remove it.
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It doesn't matter whether you are having a volume issue or power button issue, so long as you know its hardware related. The way these buttons work is under constant pressure is "off" and removing that pressure turns it "on". So the metal tab pushes down on the plastic button, which pushes down on the switch. What is happening is over time, that metal tab gives way to less pressure on the daisy chain and the button stops working. The good news is, this metal tab is just held on via 'wings' around the soldered base. A razer knife is enough to gently lift the wings to pop the assembly apart for repairing. Given the construction of these switches, I wish ASUS just made the entire board available, but oh well.
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8. With the offending metal cap off, bend the middle thumb further down and back in to position and re-assemble the switch.
9. (Optional). I bent my tab further in to prevent me from having to re-do this operation several months from now, but doing so meant that ANY pressure on the button caused the metal cap to pop back off. That is really bad if the case is re-assembled. My solution was to swab some lock-tite super glue gel on the bottom wings and base of the metal cap and put it back on the switch. A very thin film is sufficient because it is a gel, it dries in seconds. WARNING> Once you reassemble the switch, keep pressure on the metal cap while you keep pressing the black button. If you don't, any glue leakage will lock that button in place.

Kindle Fire 8 HD 8th Generation Screen Replacement (LCD/Digitizer)

I couldn't find any instructions for how to deal with replacing the LCD screen/digitizer on a Kindle Fire 8 HD 8th generation device where the motherboard is a little different than previous generations. So I wrote up some instructions to help the next person who needs to replace the screen.
I bought the replacement screen by S-Union on Amazon.
There are two YouTube videos I recommend watching: one on how to replace the screen for Kindle Fire 7 https://youtu.be/_zaQVY2wu58 (I couldn't find one for Kindle Fire 8 HD 8th gen and this was a good enough overview.... any that show how to remove the glass screen are fine) and how to remove the motherboard for Kindle Fire 8 HD 8th gen https://youtu.be/LLujM6w3CA4.
So here's what I did:
1. Remove the back cover. Use the plastic pry tool or guitar pick to wedge in between the side edge of the Kindle Fire and unsnap the back cover.
2. On the backside, carefully disconnect the battery by taking a flat head screwdriver and gently lifting upwards towards your face. The cable you're wanting to remove has little red and white wires and connects to the motherboard at the bottom of the Kindle Fire. See here: https://youtu.be/LLujM6w3CA4?t=90
3. Remove the broken glass on the front. I borrowed a heat gun from a neighbor, but I think I could have just as easily used a hair dryer. I used the heat gun to loosen up the glue around the edges and pry off the old glass with one of the plastic prying tools that came with this kit. I put packing tape over the glass to keep it together. I would recommend wearing rubber gloves, gardening gloves, or oyster gloves to keep from cutting your hands. It takes patience. After removing the glass, you can clean-up any extra pieces of glass and adhesive that get left behind.
4. There's a cable that goes from the LCD screen/digitizer to the motherboard on the back. It's OK if it comes apart in pieces. On the motherboard, there's a 1 cm black square that connects to the LCD screen/digitizer. First, you'll need to remove the yellowish tape covering it and the little ribbon cable. Next, you'll need to unplug the little ribbon cable by pulling the cable out towards the 1 cm black square. Next, take a flat head screw driver and scrape off the black square. It's just lightly glued to the motherboard. See here: https://youtu.be/LLujM6w3CA4?t=156
5. Back on the front, stick only one side of the white double-sided tape adhesive to the edges where the new glass will attach. Later, we'll pull off the top side of the double-sided tape with tweezers so that the glass will stay down.
6. Next, you'll need to remove the motherboard so that the ribbon cable and 1 cm black square from the new LCD screen/digitizer can pass through the Kindle Fire (from front of device to the back). There are four little phillip screws (similar to eyeglass screws) that need to be removed which attach the motherboard to the Kindle Fire. One screw may be covered by a little "S" sticker. See here: https://youtu.be/LLujM6w3CA4?t=53
7. Once the screws are out of the motherboard, you can take a flat head screw driver and pop out the motherboard. Wedge the flat head screw driver towards the edge where the volume and power buttons are and gently press up. Other than the battery and the little ribbon cable for the LCD screen/digitizer, you do not need to disconnect any wires as in the motherboard replacement video. See here: https://youtu.be/LLujM6w3CA4?t=214
8. When the motherboard is loose, just pull it back and pass the cable from the LCD screen/digitizer through the hole where the old ribbon cable went through for the LCD screen/digitizer from the front. Once it's through, you can gently snap the motherboard back into place and put the four phillips screws back in.
9. Practice plugging in the little ribbon cable from the 1 cm black square. It slides in like a plug (there are six pins on top and bottom and they will hold the little ribbon cable in place). Once you see how to reattach the ribbon cable, you can remove it, pull the tape off of the bottom of the 1 cm black square, attach the 1 cm black square to the motherboard, and then plug the little ribbon cable back into the motherboard.
10. Back on the front of the Kindle Fire, remove the top layers of the two-sided tape, remove the plastic film from the rear-side of the LCD screen/digitizer, and push the screen into place.
11. Plug the battery back in. If you bent any pins while removing the power cable, you may be able to gently straighten them with your finger or a flat head screw driver.
12. You can carefully attempt to power on the Kindle Fire by plugging it in or holding down the power button. Please don't touch the back while doing this as you might short out the device and get a nasty shock. If the device powers on, you should hear the start-up beep and see the Amazon logo on the screen. You now know your screen replacement attempt has been successful! If it doesn't power on, you will want to check the connection from the battery to the motherboard and any other cables.
13. If everything worked, power down the device, unplug it, snap on the back cover, and remove the clear plastic film from the front of the glass. Congratulations!