I cracked my aria screen pretty much right after I got it, Managed to get my hands on a new digitizer and replaced it. I found a quick walkthrough on Android forums. It helped but had a few points that could have been more succinct.
Posting here in case anyone needs.
Took me about an 1hr 30min the first time trying to figure it out on my own.
My additional comments are indicated by **.
I put some addendums to @Jcawesome's steps...
( http://androidforums.com/1211507-post42.html )
1. Remove backcover
2. Remove Battery, sim chip, and memory card
3. Unscrew the top two screws (meaning the end farthest from the memory card.)
4. Using a flat plastic wedge, (I used the one that came from my ebay order, it looks like the blue tool in this pic )
5. Carefully pull off the parts at the top being very cautious not to break anything. (Do not pull the circuit board out, only lift the end closest to the edge of the phone)
** there are two pieces to pull off....with the phone laying flat (screen down and the top facing away from you) a larger yellow piece with an attached back speaker comes out towards you. a second piece pulls up (north as if on a map)... but becareful because there is a bunch of tape and tackiness all throughout this thing (literally I felt it was held together by tape). I actually pulled off the grill on front as well.
** the circuit board is kept attached near the top right. the element that is the power button snaps off. (there are two little dots just to the right of the speaker with what looks like blackish tape that connects to the circuit board... you can pop this off.
With that off, I could lift the circuit board about 30 degrees or so... I wasn't comfortable pulling it back any farther than that.
I did step 5 AFTER I got the screen off.
6. Using the flat plastic wedge again, push the wedge tool between the phone and the broken screen. (It will feel like you are breaking it but it is fine, it is held on by a sticky paste that will slowly give way)
** careful on this part... especially difficult depending on how your screen is cracked. but it is just a bunch of sticky tape that is keeping it attached.... I had to peel away the goo and connection near the top sensitive areas as my ear piece speaker came off with the goo.
7. Disconnect the connecter from the old digitizer to the new one and remove the old digitizer.
**I used a small little tweezer and sneaked it in underneath the circuit board to pull the digitizer connection out.... a little difficult to push back in, but just took some patience.
8. Being careful not to put fingerprints on any exposed surface of either the phone lcd or the replace screen, place the new digitizer in the exact spot of the old one.
** have some lint free microfiber cloth handy and perhaps some screen cleaner.... I spent about 15 minutes cleaning the lcd screen before laying the replacement digitizer back on.
I actually did step 9 before step 8.
9. Connect the connecter from the new digitizer to the board, be careful not to pull the circuit board out and do not scratch the board.
10. You may want to use some glue to hold the new screen on, hopefully this will not happen again. My phone still had enough of the sticky paste left to hold the new screen fine.
** I agree... the first time you replace it will be fine.... afterwards tho, I can see it running out of tackiness.....
11. Put the phone back together in reverse order.
12. Turn it one and everything should be working again.
** in a nut shell
1) take out two screws
2) detach two yellow shell pieces
3) unhook a latch that is the power button
4) pry off the screen
5) lift the circuit board approx 30 degrees.
6) detach digitizer connection from underneath using tweezer
7) replace digitizer connection, return circuit board flat
8)position digitizer and press down to adhere
9)replace two plastic yellow shell pieces
10) screw it back together
done.
let me know if you have any questions.=)
enjoy your "brand" new aria.
dude,, this is a PITA,, I did,, was about 1hour, the hardest part,, is to not put the fingers on the LCD and cleaning the new screen..... dust particles everywhere... and at the end still got one...
Sorry eortizr, If I made it seem easier than it was. I spent quite a while cleaning the lcd screen when I replaced the digitizer... I don't think it's possible to change the digitizer without getting fingerprints on it though. But with some diligence and working in a clean area, I was able to keep all dust and finger prints out of the final product.
My wife dropped hers. Cracked up pretty good but still functional. Think I might just go ahead and pay the $100 and have someone who does it for a living do it.
I can totally see me trying DIY concentrating real hard dripping sweat all over it and ruining the MB. LOL
Replaced the screen today. Half way in I thought I definitely bit off more than I could chew. I got it done though. A couple of things I learned:
The digitizer unplugs away from you or toward the screen with the phone laying flat (screen down and the top facing away from you). I kept thinking i had to unplug it by pulling it north, toward the top of the phone.
I dropped and threw away both the front speaker and the very small rubber piece that covers the proximity sensor so... when I turned the phone on everything looked good, until I answered my phone. The screen went blank and I couldn't hear anything. I found the speaker and the proximity sensor cover and replaced them.
I would do it again, its worth saving $50 or so.
Thanks for the tutorial dreamflux.
I found the whole kit including the adhesive here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180643624141
This is the seller in case the sale ends and the link breaks: http://myworld.ebay.com/chinaphoneaccessories/?_trksid=p4340.l2559
I found a replacement digitizer from tmart dot com for $55, free shipping. Just search Aria on their site, you'll find it. Sorry, I can't seem to post links yet.
What was peculiar, was that it has only the HTC logo in the center, and no ATT logo. Looks nice and clean. They included plastic separator tools and torx drivers, though nothing in this phone uses torx. The site is a little shady, and while their headquartered in Hong Kong, it shipped from Brooklyn NY about 5 days after purchase, priority mail. The swap wasn't bad, but my only complaint is that the lights from the softkeys seem to shine up onto the screen, but you get used to it. It's probably because I didn't transfer the stickers over on the bottom of the digitizer.
Thanks for the directions ... I just replaced my digitizer. I had 2 major problems: 1) my power button doesn't work any longer (I'm going to take it apart and try to put it back together and see if that fixes it), and 2) you HAVE to use BLACK sticky stuff to seat the bottom of the digitizer - I used the clear stuff that came with the digitizer, and now I have tons of light bleeding into the LCD from the button backlights. I'm not sure what to do about the bleed ... I guess I'll have to tear it down again and put black stuff in ... damn.
That's the deal with that excess backlighting! I thought it was just a matter of the screen being misaligned. Terrible that I have to replace that black foam, it got shredded while I was dismantling the thing to replace the digitizer.
eortizr said:
dude,, this is a PITA,, I did,, was about 1hour, the hardest part,, is to not put the fingers on the LCD and cleaning the new screen..... dust particles everywhere... and at the end still got one...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its always suggested to work in a dust-free space but we all know that's virtually impossible.
I had a bit of fun with dust & fingerprints when replacing my LCD after getting my Aria, After a time or two of taking apart and being unsuccessful, I left it as is with one visible flake.
If you take a hot shower the steam in the air sticks to dust particles leaving no dust
Sent from my Liberty using XDA App
aria
use electrical tape to cover up the lighting that comes through the digitizer
use 3m double sided tape to hold digitizer to lcd
use rubber gloves to change screen to not get finger prints on it
dust906 said:
use electrical tape to cover up the lighting that comes through the digitizer
use 3m double sided tape to hold digitizer to lcd
use rubber gloves to change screen to not get finger prints on it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
*Just to make sure I'm putting the electrical tape on correctly*
put the double sided tape on and then put the electrical tap (sticky side facing up) on top of the ds tape then apply the screen to the lcd
Thanks for the explanation dreamflux.. This, along with some youtube videos helped me out to change the digitizer, but patience is THE key...
Brought my phone with me to Cedar Point the other day. Survived the entire day....until I stopped at the bars on the way home. Got out of the car, forgetting I had my phone on my lap---shattered right by the track pad.
Just got my digitizer today for $22 on ebay (not bad) After 2 hours and a migraine later, everything came out great.
The only 2 things wrong now are the light from the softkeys bleeding onto the screen and out the sides (I'm just going to shut those lights off), and the trackpad sits a little lower than the screen now. Either I didn't align it right, or the glue isn't holding well. It's weird, if you press on the glass anound the trackpad, it wakes the phone (cm7 trackpad wake).
I only plan on using the phone for a few more months, so I'm happy with the results.
Uhhggg, did the replacement on my son's Aria. It wasn't so bad, but now the LCD screen doesn't light.
I get the vibration when you first hit the power button. Is this correct? I'm not too familiar with the phone.
Rececked the connector for the LCD and it seems to be snapped in.
brivette007 said:
Brought my phone with me to Cedar Point the other day. Survived the entire day....until I stopped at the bars on the way home. Got out of the car, forgetting I had my phone on my lap---shattered right by the track pad.
Just got my digitizer today for $22 on ebay (not bad) After 2 hours and a migraine later, everything came out great.
The only 2 things wrong now are the light from the softkeys bleeding onto the screen and out the sides (I'm just going to shut those lights off), and the trackpad sits a little lower than the screen now. Either I didn't align it right, or the glue isn't holding well. It's weird, if you press on the glass anound the trackpad, it wakes the phone (cm7 trackpad wake).
I only plan on using the phone for a few more months, so I'm happy with the results.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did you have any problems with the digitizer responsivenes or something like that? I'm need one and curious about the quality of the cheap digitizers in ebay.
so I replaced my friends screen and now the phone turns on, has sound, vibrates, but just doesnt turn the screen on... the light sensor works and all, and if I call it, it rings and everything, just the screen won't turn on it stays black... I've checked the 2 ribbons and everything is fine, anyone have a suggestion..??
jdmsohc22 said:
so I replaced my friends screen and now the phone turns on, has sound, vibrates, but just doesnt turn the screen on... the light sensor works and all, and if I call it, it rings and everything, just the screen won't turn on it stays black... I've checked the 2 ribbons and everything is fine, anyone have a suggestion..??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so what I meant was the digitizer turns on, but it is just a dark lit screen, no visual anything going on.. If i call it from another phone it will ring, but when i swipe right to left to answer and press around where the answer button is it doesn't respond either, just rings and rings... anyways just wanted to elaborate a little more..
---------- Post added at 02:28 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:08 AM ----------
msailer said:
Uhhggg, did the replacement on my son's Aria. It wasn't so bad, but now the LCD screen doesn't light.
I get the vibration when you first hit the power button. Is this correct? I'm not too familiar with the phone.
Rececked the connector for the LCD and it seems to be snapped in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same thing is happening with me as well..
^^^^ Soooooo.....I got the same thing on my wife phone, the BLACK SCREEN. I did my homework and read and watched videos on how to replace the digitizer. I was in a steamy room with all my tools from work with pre-cut electrical and .005" double sticky tape. im a mechanical assembler. I did everything to the tee and was very carefull. i think i got a bunk one from china. I bought mine for $19 from china. It had at&t logo and everything. you get what you pay for? So I've got to pay now $50 for a replacement phone through ins. Not bad because before i made the claim i thought the replacement was $150. Anyways just a heads up. Now i got a phone of spare parts Whats cool is that i get to root her phone all over again. So if anyone here has had the black screen. let me know what happened next with your situation. Did you fix it? replaced it with another one? thanks
Hey anyone already opened up their HD2? I need to open mine since my back button got stuck while my baby girl tried to press too hard on it. Now the back button feels like it's not presing at all compared to the other buttons.
i also have a spare housing that I am thinking of putting in.
Anyone can point me to the right direction?
Thanks
i've had the back off mine.
first search youtube for leo disassembly and you'll find an htc disassembly video: "leo Ds" (and another "leo As" for reassembly). they are somewhat daunting, but do not despair!
mine came back from a htc warranty service with a fingerprint on the inside of the lens glass and i couldn't be bothered sending it back again for cleaning so i did it myself. cracking the case isn't all that easy, or wasn't for me.
after you remove the 4 screws (get the void sticker and moisture indicator out with a pin), you still have to unclip the back from the chassis. WHY do electronics manufacturers design them like that??! in the video the tech uses a plastic hooked tool which i do not possess so i had to rely on my fingernails -- which i nearly pulled out! i tried for a good 15 minutes before it finally separated (with me sweating all the way that i was going to damage the LCD with the force i was having to apply). but it all finished happily in the end.
good luck with yours!
Not sure if it's worth it.
1st things 1st, watch the video on youtube..
.
Assuming u broke the keypad (just like me, but mine is right in the middle) at about the 6th minute of the disassembly video, they'll show u where u'd be replacing the keypad.
Removing the 'lcm and follow the indicator' isnt as simple as it look. you'd find the glue to be really tough. Putting it in an oven, sure, it'd be hot to the touch, and let it cool down a bit it'd be hard again. Hairdryer? Still too hot. Gloves?u'll lose touch sesitivity. So what i did was use a small blade/box cutter and cut which ever visible glue... and assembling, i had to replace all the double sided tape with some cheap ones...weak ones. Could be a good thing.. or a bad thing. Good, cos i know i dont have to wrestle with some really tough glue..in case i ruined my lcd again.... bad.. cos its..not that secure, i rmember that i nearly ripped it open unintentionally!
Neway replacing my digitizer+lcd took about 3 hours...had a couple of breaks, and spent 15 mins looking for the proximity sensor or was it the ambient light sense 'lense'..very tiny things those things are. So be careful...cos i eventually lost it..grrr
Anyway, Best of luck.. .now to find a replacement keypad that cost less than 5usd..hehe
dsx2b said:
1st things 1st, watch the video on youtube..
spent 15 mins looking for the proximity sensor or was it the ambient light sense 'lense'..very tiny things those things are. So be careful...cos i eventually lost it..grrr5usd..hehe
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
a good tip here is to work with the phone in a large tupperware box so that if something drops out it can't go anywhere.
note to the OP: i've read several posts where people damaged the ribbon cable connecting the bottom buttons to the mainboard so be careful. it looks very delicate.
Having just opened mine up several times recently I can offer a couple of tips.
1. Unscrew the four screws - they are T5 torx size.
2. Use thin stiff plastic pieces (I found the plastic case that nails are sold in to be the right stiffness and thickness). Cut some up and push them between the case and the phone works so that they hold each of the locking tabs out in turn. I used five or six bits to do this. Three on the vol control side, two at the top and one on the top area of the other side.
3. Then pushing out at the top where the battery would sit while prying with finger nails outward on the long vol control side you can work each of the locking tabs out so the plastic bits hold them unlocked. Do this along that side, across the top and down the other side working each one a little bit as you go and repeat.
4. This should allow the top edge to come out allowing you to lift is out and "up" so that the button end slides out.
This worked very well for me..several times.
The display is held to the electronics portion by double sided tape and yes it is very strong. But you can soften the adhesion significantly using a heat gun. But you must be careful to heat the whole area to avoid thermal differences cracking the screen. The heat will loosen the tapes grip allowing you to pry the screen away from the electronics side.
Note that the screen is made up of the LCD covered by the glued on digitizer and they are connected with a single ribbon cable on the lower right hand side (I think from memory). This means the screen has to lift off with a hinge action. Lifting along the opposite long edge to the ribbon cable, rather than lift from the top or bottom.
Hope this helps.
Hi, I tried to open mine and followeed the video, be careful as the video makes it look much easier than what it really is, I ended up ruining my device, just take your time and do it slowly.
Thanks guys! Gonna try it over the weekend. Worst case is that I break my case or put some cosmetic damage. I have a spare case though hehe.
The problem about the key is the back button feels stuck.... the other buttons are snappy and have a tactile sort of feel, where as the back button doesn't have the same feel. looks like it was pressed to hard and never popped back up...
just annoying when i've been very careful with the phone.
ok looks like i wouldn't have to open my phone.... i tried to but then there's a warranty void sticker, so I just called tmobile and explained about the back key being stuck.... and they're sending me a replacement.
i'm gonna lose my invisible shield full body though... but better than risking breaking my phone....
Hey im panicing so bad rite now. I just broke my htc's LCD screen ! Mad sad from this disaster . Dont got much money so can someone please tell me whats the cheapest or best way to replace or fix it ? I really need help because im freaking out!
The repair choices
There are basically two choices. Doing it yourself or having it repaired.
In either case the most straight forward is to replace the screen and digitizer as one unit. I expect you can still see things on the screen yet its cracked from one corner. Its the digitizer on the top that usually suffers but its hard to replace by itself. There is a YouTube video showing how to do this (search on Replace Touch Screen on HTC HD2 on YouTube).
If you are game to do it yourself (an electronics tech would be able to do it fairly well, though it is still fairly difficult) then you can buy a complete screen and digitizer off ebay (around $100). Getting the unit out of the case is tricky as its held in with 4xT5 Torx screws (easy bit) and lock notches around the case (tricky part). I found thin stiff plastic bits slotted in between the module and the case works well at releasing the locking notches. Then press out at the top of the battery area, while pulling the top edge of the plastic case out and down with your finger nails. One side at a time. Don't forget to remove the SIM card and SD card as these will hold the module in place if not removed.
The double sided tapes used to hold the screen in place are a problem, but warming them up with a carefully applied heat gun does release them. I would add that there is no need to unscrew any of the electronics boards as the screen can be replaced without doing this. Releasing the screen ribbon cable connector is done by flipping up the black locking section on the ribbon socket. Slide in the new cable, lock it down, then curl it around as you slide it backward under the metal case so that the curl in the cable occurs in that small space under the metal rather than being folded over sharply, which can fracture the ribbon cable "wires" rendering the screen dead.
Press the screen back down onto the tape (hopefully the tape has remained slick enough as its all that holds the screen in place). Be careful to align the edges and top and bottom correctly, otherwise your buttons won't work and the screen will not sit in the case properly. You can test the buttons as you align to feel for the slight click. Be sure to test all four as alignment left to right is just as critical for full function as up and down. You should also watch to be sure the light sensor little plastic bit (its a small clear cube of plastic) doesn't fall out and disappear while you are doing the screen swap and it stays in place during reassembly.
Then press it home into the plastic case. I remove the volume button (if it hasn't fallen out already) as it tends to push the volume button pads out of alignment (they are only held in with yellow tape (be careful not to loose them). Then with it all snapped in place pull out at the volume button section and slot the button back in place. Orientation is fairly obvious with the button points lower down and the joining bar going behind the case plastic to lock it in place (all with the screen facing upward). You may find the volume button only works if you press down on the screen slightly. This movement will be taken up when you screw the 4 torx screws back in.
Finish by powering up (with fingers crossed) and test. Hopefully all working.
Alternatively, if thats put you off doing it yourself, get it repaired by a service agent (around $300). Then it comes back all done with a small warranty. Most of the phone providers will be able to direct you to a good independent service agent.