Database Users

Keyboard Runners successfully Repaired

Just wanted to let you all know that I successfully repaired the loose keyboard tracks last night following the directions posted by Mike channon and the internal pictures(Japanese site) of my 8525. It does void your warranty as there is sticker you have to remove to get to a screw(torx) which you most likely can't remove without tearing. I glued the rubber stoppers on the runners and man oh man It's AWESOME! Really have to apply some pressure to open the slider now. I'd be happy to help with instructions or advice for anyone considering attempting this.

Abductd said:
Just wanted to let you all know that I successfully repaired the loose keyboard tracks last night following the directions posted by Mike channon and the internal pictures(Japanese site) of my 8525. It does void your warranty as there is sticker you have to remove to get to a screw(torx) which you most likely can't remove without tearing. I glued the rubber stoppers on the runners and man oh man It's AWESOME! Really have to apply some pressure to open the slider now. I'd be happy to help with instructions or advice for anyone considering attempting this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahhh.. another satisfied customer Well done and yeah it does work well. First time, when I was setting up this fix I made the small rubber pieces a fraction thick and had a somewhat bulgy looking screen assembly - still that was easily sorted. It's now 6 months and still as firm as when I did it. (NB. the small rubber pieces are only required in severe cases where the runner has burst open at the micro welds)
by the way Abductd - it is good and useful to get feedback, thank you.
Cheers
Mike

Where are those pics? I'm trying to fix this issue also but I'd like to see some pics first.
Thank you!

hmotwr said:
Where are those pics? I'm trying to fix this issue also but I'd like to see some pics first.
Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dismantling instructions in the Service Manual and Video here:
www.mikechannon.net
Mike

Abductd said:
Just wanted to let you all know that I successfully repaired the loose keyboard tracks last night following the directions posted by Mike channon and the internal pictures(Japanese site) of my 8525. It does void your warranty as there is sticker you have to remove to get to a screw(torx) which you most likely can't remove without tearing. I glued the rubber stoppers on the runners and man oh man It's AWESOME! Really have to apply some pressure to open the slider now. I'd be happy to help with instructions or advice for anyone considering attempting this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well what you know, I too did the same last night on my SPV M3100, good instrucions Mike! However I did not have to resort to glueing rubber stoppers all I did was applied little bit more harder tap with 2mm flat head watchmakers screwdriver on the indents enough to give it a firm click when keyboard closed, I'm now a very happy customer after this simple modification my spv m3100 feels a lot more sturdier and even more happy as my warranty is not void becuase I carefully removed the void sticker with a fine needle and stuck it back on as it was, quite happy with my handy work it's as if it was never opened. I guess it helps to have a good background in micro electronics servicing likewise if anyone needs advise more then happy to assist having said that if you follow Mike's instructions word for word you really can't go wrong

gfreek said:
Well what you know, I too did the same last night on my SPV M3100, good instrucions Mike! However I did not have to resort to glueing rubber stoppers all I did was applied little bit more harder tap with 2mm flat head watchmakers screwdriver on the indents enough to give it a firm click when keyboard closed, I'm now a very happy customer after this simple modification my spv m3100 feels a lot more sturdier and even more happy as my warranty is not void becuase I carefully removed the void sticker with a fine needle and stuck it back on as it was, quite happy with my handy work it's as if it was never opened. I guess it helps to have a good background in micro electronics servicing likewise if anyone needs advise more then happy to assist having said that if you follow Mike's instructions word for word you really can't go wrong
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well done - and very pleased it worked. Yes, you do not need the tiny rubber blocks - except when the micro welds around the runner have popped open - as in some cases they have. The rubber blocks hold it together if you have this slightly more extreme case. Also, they help to prevent the runner welds from popping open and if they do you would not need to dismantle again. But I agree, it's probably overkill for those whose runners just need a firmer click and aren't sprung open.
So pleased it's good now
Edit: Here's a pic of what's being talked about:
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Here you see the micro welds that may be in tact, but if not then the rubber block (shown above) can be added. This would be in addition to increasing the pre-existing indent that is covered by the rubber in the picture. The metal is relatively thin and when increasing the indent care should be taken not to over do it - else you might never open your keyboard again . Don't be fooled by the size of the rubber block shown - it appears quite large in the picture but in fact is only a couple of mm thick. Too thick and the screen assembly will bulge!
Mike

Thanks Mike, your site is very helpful, I've forwarded it to a few friends that have the same problem.

Another one fixed
Well I now know that dismantling a Hermes is not for the faint of heart, but I'm here to say it can be done. Keyboard stays closed now, just as it should.
Thanks much for the instuctions, Mike!

vp3G said:
Well I now know that dismantling a Hermes is not for the faint of heart, but I'm here to say it can be done. Keyboard stays closed now, just as it should.
Thanks much for the instuctions, Mike!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am pleased it has worked out well for you
Mike

I read.
I did.
I failed.
turns out that part is pretty flimsy where the runner snaps in. it must have fractured from being dropped because it snapped right off when i pryed a bit.
Heres my modded sliders.
Notched each snap at the ends with tiny screwdriver and tiny hammer till it snapped well. Then I VERY carefully wrapped a VERY small strip of tape at each end to make the slide fit firmly into the housing. I had previously noticed it wobbling a bit.
I also applied small strips of tape along the outer runners where the slider attached to the lower housing, there is 1 hard silicone strip (white) on each side. I added tape opposite the silicone to narrow its sliding path.
All these combined make for VERY tight sliding, firm snap. This thing used to be quite loose, fix really works.
PS-oh yea superglue took care of the fracture. ;-)
EDIT by Mikechannon.
The above pics have vanished, but here's a pic of one of the sliders showing the notch/indent near the the end:

@randomtask16
Well done, works well doesn't it along with your added things for your particular situation.
Nice picture of the runner and indent. Can I use it?
Mike

mikechannon said:
@randomtask16
Well done, works well doesn't it along with your added things for your particular situation.
Nice picture of the runner and indent. Can I use it?
Mike
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course!
Slider still works great, hasn't become looser yet. Though my faulty face buttons issue has persisted...not sure what to try next.

Hello, I opened the phone to deepen the indents but I didnt take out the sliders completely. It didnt work very well . I was also scared of breaking the metal and in the end I didnt apply much force. I still noticed a little diference in the keyboard but im going back in to make the dips deeper.
I have a problem though. After putting the phone back together i noticed that the down button on the d-pad sticks now . When Im in contacts and press the down button it begins to fly down the contacts and doesnt stop. I've had to use the scroll wheel. Is this because I didnt put the phone back together correctly? If it is im not sure what I did or how to fix it when I try again. Need some help

di5c1pl3 said:
Hello, I opened the phone to deepen the indents but I didnt take out the sliders completely. It didnt work very well . I was also scared of breaking the metal and in the end I didnt apply much force. I still noticed a little diference in the keyboard but im going back in to make the dips deeper.
I have a problem though. After putting the phone back together i noticed that the down button on the d-pad sticks now . When Im in contacts and press the down button it begins to fly down the contacts and doesnt stop. I've had to use the scroll wheel. Is this because I didnt put the phone back together correctly? If it is im not sure what I did or how to fix it when I try again. Need some help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First, when you dismantle again I suggest testing those runners/sliders by moving the sliding part back and forth over the indents, BEFORE putting it all back tpogether.
I don't think your d-pad issue is a big problem. Probably just a bit of misalignment when you re-assembled it. I think it will correct itself if you ensure everything is sitting flat (well seated) when re-assembling.
Good luck (press or tap a little more firmly on the indents this time. But don't go mad!)
Mike

I agree Im glad to hear that the button thing isnt a big deal. And thanks for the quick reply. I'll let you know how it goes

Wooohhooo!!! Nice tight keyboard !! No more sticky button Thanks alot!

hi mike.
i opened 2 times my hermes, but never managed to make the sliders tighter.
i gently tapped the indents, but no improvement.
I tried to understand what is the "ribbon improvement" but really i have not understood what i need to do!
simply adding a piece of ribbon of 2 mm over the indents??
can you simply explain what it will be on my sliders?
Thanks
Gtazok

gtazok said:
hi mike.
i opened 2 times my hermes, but never managed to make the sliders tighter.
i gently tapped the indents, but no improvement.
I tried to understand what is the "ribbon improvement" but really i have not understood what i need to do!
simply adding a piece of ribbon of 2 mm over the indents??
can you simply explain what it will be on my sliders?
Thanks
Gtazok
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi
First increasing the indent depth will work by itself IF the little micro welds that hold the runner together are in tact (i.e. have not sprung apart)
Try tapping a bit harder on the indents AND test them before you put everything back together. (Sounds like you are not tapping/pressing hard enough)
See the little embossed indents - they need depened a fraction to make the keyboard lock in the closed and open position.
There are 2 runners (sliders) with 4 indents (two for keyboard open two for closed)
Dismantling instructions in the Service Manual and Video here:
www.mikechannon.net
IF the micro welds have broken apart,
this is when you need the small chunks of rubber (not ribbon) at the points where the indents are. The purpose of these is to hold the runner firmly together when it is all put back together. (If you have access to equipment to re spot weld the runner this would of course be better. Do not make the rubber blocks to thick or you will find the screen assembly will bulge unacceptably when you re-assemble.
Hope this helps
Mike

Just to add on, another satisfied follower of the guide. Now it's no longer as loose. Thanks Michael!

Cause & Possible Fixes for Whitescreen + D-Pad failures (a new thing to try)

First, it'd like to thank
MikeChannon
for pointing out something important that narrowed down my testing.
Now, onto the problem Symptoms :
- D-Pad, IE and Email buttons cease to work
- Screen fades to white or comes back from standby as white
- Display is slight disaligned to the side, 1mm of left appears on right side.
- Randomness in all above symptoms.
Cause : It is the D-Pad connector.
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Yes, the D-Pad connection DOES cause the whitescreen. It's odd and illogical, but this is the conclusion I have reached.
ALL the previous guides, such as sliding plastic between the screen and casing, were randomly moving things inside.
By CHANCE ONLY it'd affect the D-Pad connector positively. That is why such solutions only worked for a few people temporarely.
SOLUTION :
You will need to try variants of the following things :
- Tightness of the screws over the connector
- Disconnecting the plug and reconnecting it very carefully
- Pressure over the bibbon between the D-Pad connector and the screen.
- Pressure over the D-Pad connector itself
- Tightness of the screws over the D-Pad PCD
- Tightness of the screws closing the plastic casing of this part of the phone
To stress-test the variants, I ran a D-Pad intensive game (Skyforce) for 30 minutes or until the symptoms came back.
I've played around with all those, giving mixed results, but definitively making a difference.
My final and best result was by putting a thin foam piece over the blue parts in the picture below. (Ignore the red circles, original picture is taken from a website)
The foam I used was the typical foam sheets you find in packaging for fragile electronics such as motherboards, hard drives, graphic cards etc. It has to be super thing in other to close the casing without buldges.
There isn't a specific thing you can do that will make your D-Pad be reliable and the whitescreen to go away. You'll have to do several tests, so I recommend you keep your phone disassembled while testing. The connector is VERY VERY SENSITIVE. That is why I cannot be any more precise in how to fix this. However, you NOW KNOW what causes the screen to freak out and buttons to stop working.
What I did for testing :
I have tested my phone while it was completely disassembled. Meaning I had the back of the monitor open, as seen in the picture above.
That way, I could fiddle around and instantly test the result.
I've fiddle with the cables, the screen pressure, everything. Nothing returned the screen from being white or becoming white.
Putting pressure D-Pad connector's ribbon or actual pin caused the screen to either turn on white, or fade to white. (Results often noticed only after going in & out of standby)
It also caused my D-Pad buttons and the top 2 buttons (IE & Email) to either work or not work.

Oh and this is my testing setup. Elastic band to hold the battery in place, everything else opened. However, I had to place/remove the backcover of the screen part of the phone to test as it affects the pressure put on the connector.

wow. I don't have balls to break apart my 8525 like that.

mutantblack said:
wow. I don't have balls to break apart my 8525 like that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well this fix is for those who got a big enough problem and can't return it under warranty.
Anyhow, taking apart the TyTN is quite simple, and the thing is sturdy.
Only and only the D-Pad connector is tricky. The big ribbon connecting the two halfs of the phone is quite solid and never caused problems.

guys... what/where can i get the screw driver to open this mofo... it looks like a hex allen wrench but that doesnt work...
i have had this issue for months now and will try anything to fix it but i need to know where i can get this screw driver and fast!!!!

So it is a problem with the connector itself or cause by flex in the cable?
Also, where are you putty pressure on the connector? Are you saying if the screws are too tight this is a problem as well.

jwagman1 said:
guys... what/where can i get the screw driver to open this mofo... it looks like a hex allen wrench but that doesnt work...
i have had this issue for months now and will try anything to fix it but i need to know where i can get this screw driver and fast!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a TORX No6 screwdriver you need. Available online or from stores like Maplin who sell Phone screwdriver sets.
Check out links in the Wiki here or in my signature for internal pics, dismantling guides and to download the service manual (that also has a dismantling walkthrough)
Mike

Vasichko said:
So it is a problem with the connector itself or cause by flex in the cable?
Also, where are you putty pressure on the connector? Are you saying if the screws are too tight this is a problem as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems to me there may be a bit of trial and error regarding the fix. The service manual points out that the d-pad connector must be precisely inserted and absolutely level. So both under-tightening the screws or over-tightening could distort the connection. If you have it apart, take out and reconnect the push in connector several times This helps to ensure there is no oxidisation on the contacts.
(PS. this is not my fix so I cannot testify that it will work for you, though I believe it is on the right track, at least for some cases of this problem)
Mike

It's really intersting to know I'm not alone to have this issue ...
Do you have a site who describe how to open the Hermes ?
Thanks

mikechannon said:
It's a TORX No6 screwdriver you need. Available online or from stores like Maplin who sell Phone screwdriver sets.
Check out links in the Wiki here or in my signature for internal pics, dismantling guides and to download the service manual (that also has a dismantling walkthrough)
Mike
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THANK YOU!! amazon.com overnight!!! woooo

I tried this diy.
I didnt have a small enough phillips to remove the screws from the connector on the D-Pad.
Know where I can get one?
So I took all the connections, put some automotive electronic connection cleaner on a q-tip and cleaned all of the other ones.
I used some automotive light double sided adhesive that you can get at Auto Zone instead of form. I only used 1 side of the adhesive and didnt peal the other side off, if it doesnt work, its easily removeable, just wanted to make sure it stays in place when I re-assemble the phone.
I also added some in a place you didnt which I show in yellow on your photo.
So far so good after 5 minutes.

Mine PDA was also totally disassembled and atleast in my device the problem wasn't a faulty connector.. I had the front panel off and when I squeezed the Xilinx fpga-chip(black square on d-pad circuitboard) the the screen worked fine -when i took my fingers off it faded back to white. Earlier I also tried re-soldering the connector but it didnt work on my device.

marciton said:
It's really intersting to know I'm not alone to have this issue ...
Do you have a site who describe how to open the Hermes ?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dismantling guides and the service manual:
www.mikechannon.net
Mike

Hermes / TyTn / 8525 White Screen
Hey guy,
Nice write-up.
Good that someone has taken the time to experiment with different procedures.
I gave up on mine, after taking it apart time and time again.
-Reseating the cables and completely disassembling the unit was a tempereary fix, so I sold it on eBay for a parts / repair.
I just purchased another on eBay.
This time, instead of getting worked up about the white screen of death, I had purchased a warranty from www.squaretrade.com.
I am not an AT&T customer, so I unlocked the phone.
Neither AT&T or HTC can help when you dont have their service , or it's a branded phone.
Keep up the good work.

So far since my post before lunch today. No problems at all.
It used to white out when taking a picture with the camera, randomly when sliding out the keyboard, randomly when using the D-Pad.
No problems at all today after doing this fix posted here and adding the extra pad that I did.

im gonna have to try this when i get my new housing....anyone know where i can get a front camera?

Just giving another update. So far so good, no problems at all.
DPad no longer has the issue of not working here and there.
White screen issues appear to be gone.
Hopefully for good.
I will still post updates so you all can know the status.
Thx again for the right up. I will post some pics of the type of tape I used as well.

I have the rest of december left on my warranty. Do you guys think PPCtechs will know how to fix this? i don't want to send it to them and have it sent back with the same probs (like they did last time i sent it in to get my scroll wheel and camera lense repaired).

Miguel- said:
Mine PDA was also totally disassembled and atleast in my device the problem wasn't a faulty connector.. I had the front panel off and when I squeezed the Xilinx fpga-chip(black square on d-pad circuitboard) the the screen worked fine -when i took my fingers off it faded back to white. Earlier I also tried re-soldering the connector but it didnt work on my device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes indeed, re-aligning and reconnecting the connector works for many but will not work for all. There are, as you say instances where it is a chip connection that's at fault. There is little if anything you can do with that problem other than board replacement unless you have the correct tools - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=1724236&postcount=66
Mike

It looks to be a design flaw. I dropped my maybe 3ft on the carpet yesterday and got the white screen issue. I took apart and looked at the connector in question. Even with it screwed in you can unplug it half way. So I added some more padding.
I think part of the problem is that coming from the back of the LCD to the DPad board or whatever you call it, the angle of the ribbon cable declines.

My Wizard is randomly going NUTS - Help needed!!!

Hey all, I don't know what's causing this but since yesterday my Wizard (K-JAM) has been going crazy.
I just plugged it into my USB port a min ago to charge it (not sync) and a whole random bunch of apps opened, including IE where 'hhhhhhhhh' and 'eeeeee' were repeatedly put into the IE search box, as if the buttons were stuck (this'd happen if the keyboard was open or not)
SMS would open too, the phone panel would open and the phone would appear to be dialing random things. Including successfully dialing (by itself) "333".
The hard buttons and keyboard seem to become disabled when this happens too and will randomly start working again.
I'm running Windows Mobile 6.1 TNT Official. Has anyone else experienced this kind of stuff?
This is a real mystery and driving me nuts. Is my phone possessed?! I may try flashing with a different ROM later, although TNT *has* been working ok for the few days I've had it on here.

Ok this is really odd. I've found that when this happens and it calms down a bit (keyboard/buttons work again), I open Word Mobile and try and type.. the letters 'h' and 'e' don't work (the 2 letters that appear randomly when the phone goes crazy). I have no idea why as I can use these letters just fine when the phone's acting normal.
Right now I have Word Mobile open and the phone's typing "yyyyyyyyyyyyyy" by itself. Buttons/keyboard have stopped working but touchscreen is fine.
Gawd. :S
Edit: Wish I knew WTF was causing this. It continues even after a soft reset. This time I've rebooted it, it originally messed about but is now back to normal.

Ok, it now seems I can (temp.?) fix the hardware buttons on the front of the Wizard doing nothing by opening the keyboard and hitting something like the windows key. Then all the front buttons work again.
I notice when the buttons are disabled often hitting the middle button (inside the up/down/left/right) brings up "Align Screen" for who knows what reason.
How annoying. I'm gonna flash another ROM and see if the problems go away. (currently using latest TNT Official)
EDIT: Still some buttons (q, e, i, g, h) are no longer working. What on earth has happened here?

Right, just flashed it back down to T-Mobile 2.26 and the randomness problems seem to have gone away [EDIT: No they haven't] but I still have completly lost the use of q, e, i, g and h. I have no idea how this has happened. Last night I had a low battery (first time) and the phone started going nuts at this point, when it was under 10% charge left.
Since then it's been very random. But I charged it up overnight and the problem hasn't gone away. Some of the random stuff it was doing was typing 'hhhhh' and 'eeeeee' non-stop (2 of the buttons that no longer work) which makes me think a chipset has screwed up in some way. Keyboard backlight is on constantly. It's the sorta thing I'd expect if I dropped it in a sink of water but the phone hasn't been under any sort of shock/pressure/water/whatever since I got it last week!
I'm beyond frustrated. To top it all the MiniSD card I ordered days ago finally arrived today and it's now completly useless.
Dunno what I'm gonna do now. :S
Final Edit: Ok so it looks like it could be something up with the Wizard itself, could anyone confirm?
- The button in the centre of the joypad either 1. Acts as 'Start' or opens 'Align Screen', this is completly random. (sometimes changes on opening/closing the keyboard???)
- Either the joypad works and the Answer/Reject buttons don't or vice versa - this too is completly random.
- The Left / Right softkeys on the KEYBOARD (top left, top right) work randomly. If they are working the keyboard doesn't work, and again VICE VERSA.
- The LEDs on the call reject button / keyboard are on constantly. This only changes for a time if i mash the keyboard.
- The 5 letters mentioned previously don't work unless I mash the keyboard, in which case the Wizard will sometimes take over typing for itself and then I'm able to use the keys afterwards again. (yeah, I understand this makes absolutely no sense!)
- The Wizard will completly spontaniously start opening random stuff and typing as if keys are jammed.
I've flashed to Tmob 2.26, 3.08, WM6.1 (TNT) & WM6.1 (another cook) and have exactly the same problem. This all points towards broken hardware. I should have guessed with the amount of dents, scratches and a broken button that this poor Wizard has been through the mill a few times! Shame it had to use me as its death bed!
If anyone can recommend anything to what it might be and what I could do to fix it then please let me know.
Thanks!

Wow! You're not much for letting other people get a word in edge-wise, are ya?
First thing:
The button in the centre of the joypad either 1. Acts as 'Start' or opens 'Align Screen', this is completly random. (sometimes changes on opening/closing the keyboard???)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make sure you don't have Smartskey installed (look in Windows\Startup and in Program Files). If you do, uninstall it, it's been corrupted somehow.
Otherwise:
Ok, I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but I think it's just the age of these phones. They get old, they get dirty. Don't believe me? Take off your battery cover and look at the grime that's gathered at the edges. Imagine what that does to your buttons!
You need to open the case, disassemble the keyboard section (and the faceplate too, for good measure), and thoroughly clean the contacts, the buttons, etc. The further you disassemble, the cleaner you will get it. See this thread for a manual on disassembly/reassembly:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=378764
Use good quality sterile cotton swabs (no dollar store crap for this), and pure (not dyed) isopropyl alcohol. Dab the swab in alcohol, and gently scrub every inch of the contacts, the circuit board faces, and the buttons.
When that's done, wait for it to dry...and I mean as dry as a mummy fart. DRY. Inspect everything carefully, looking for loose cotton threads, debris, and most important, streaks. Streaks mean you just smeared the gunk around without picking it up. If you find cotton or debris, use canned air to remove it. DO NOT USE TWEEZERS OR OTHER METAL IMPLEMENTS TO DO THIS. If you find streaks, go back and clean it again.
Once it is both dry and clean, reassemble it and test it. You should be good to go unless there's something broken.
If neither of these things works, I would strongly urge you to consider committing a violent act on the individual who sold you the phone... you probably won't get your money back, but it might make you feel better.

Cheers, the thing has me at my wits end. Keep having to remind myself it's only a phone
Yeah it's def not Smartskey or a soft problem as I've flashed it a whole bunch of times this afternoon.
From mashing the keyboard and causing it to do different things it looks to be a hardware problem (or full of junk like you say). I grabbed the pdf manual to look through but don't feel too comfortable taking the thing apart just yet.
I just slapped it about a bit as best I could out of frustration and unbelivably it seems to have come back to it's former glory. I'm not gonna get my hopes up and expect it to stay like this though.
Yeah it was an ex-company phone from a company upgrading their stock so no refunds / replacements. I guess if the worst comes to the worst it'll go on ebay as faulty and I'll be without a little gadget I really craved! Back to my £10 Sagem for the time being.
Thanks for the reply.

My Wizard is going nuts too. Also the buttons but a bit different. Take a look here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=2102115#post2102115
Are there more people with problems like this?
Cyberdyne

Cyberdyne said:
My Wizard is going nuts too. Also the buttons but a bit different. Take a look here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=2102115#post2102115
Are there more people with problems like this?
Cyberdyne
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi mate, your problem sounds similar to mine. Especially about the lights (though my green light is broken and only shows occasionally - came like that). You'll probably find that when it's in that state the problems arise.
Mine screwed up again after about an hour of my last post and the keyboard barely works at all now. Mashing it / hitting it / swearing at it isn't doing any good. I've virtually given up.
I'm not sure about a CID re-lock btw, but would Vodafone bother check to see if it was CID locked or not on return?
But hey, it sounds like a hardware malfunction. Good luck with yours & keep us updated if you find any kind of resolution !

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"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}

^^^ WTF???

It would appear that we've been rickrolled. How annoying. I hope the moderators will get rid of that.

I could not fix the problem but my Wizard ist locked again and I will get a new one!

Cyberdyne said:
I could not fix the problem but my Wizard ist locked again and I will get a new one!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad to hear it.
Wish I had that option myself though. I've put my Wizard up for sale in the sticky thread.
I do hope to get another one in the near future though. There's enough fun to be had to warrant another purchase soon I think.

RickAstley said:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never gonna give you up <3

Something's not right with my camera...

Hey everyone,
Something's not right with my camera(rear). At first, it works. Then, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesnt. Eventually, it deteriorated to working occasionally and now, extremely rarely. Lol. When i turn my camera on, all I see is a screen full of broken green lines. My phone is only 9 months old. Is this a sign of hardware failure? Here's how my camera looks like now.
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"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
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"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
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"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
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Thanks

Hehe, looks like mines sometime 2 or 3 time in 1 year, and allways when the phone is low battery , but later back to work.
bye (sorry for my poor english )

It's because the push on camera connector is loose:
Pop off the back casing, unscrew the jog wheel board and remove camera and then re-seat it's connector. Reassemble (remember to line up the camera macro lever with back case - and all will be well. Warranty Voiding of course.
Mike

If its still under warranty, then take it in for warranty fix. You may have to change you os and downgrade your spl back to how it was shipped though or they may charge for repairs...
Cheers...

yea i thought so too. initially i thought the camera connector was loose cause sometimes it works, sometimes not. i went to a local service centre (non-authorized) and they told me the lens is broken. i didnt agree, but they were supposed to be the pros..
anyway, thanks mod for the detailed pictures. warranty is already void.
but, i'm rather skeptical about removing the thing by myself. is it dangerous? will anything go wrong? lol sorry about my paranoia.

abubakar said:
yea i thought so too. initially i thought the camera connector was loose cause sometimes it works, sometimes not. i went to a local service centre (non-authorized) and they told me the lens is broken. i didnt agree, but they were supposed to be the pros..
anyway, thanks mod for the detailed pictures. warranty is already void.
but, i'm rather skeptical about removing the thing by myself. is it dangerous? will anything go wrong? lol sorry about my paranoia.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, more fiddly than difficult. 4 screws (torx No 6 screwdriver). Then use a plastic case opening tool or a plastic knife to release the casing (bottom end first) Work your way round till you've removed tha back. Then remove the screw holding the jog wheel. It then slides up and off. Now use the plastic tool to lift the camera connector. I would pu**** in again and off again a few times before finally inserting it. This helps clean off any oxidisation from the contacts. Reassemble and don't for get to line up the little lever on the camera with the switch on the back casing. Test that macro switch before finally putting the four screws back in again.
This is not a major dismantling and you do not need to remove the main circuit boards or interfere with any of the main connectors.
Mike

mikechannon said:
Well, more fiddly than difficult. 4 screws (torx No 6 screwdriver). Then use a plastic case opening tool or a plastic knife to release the casing (bottom end first) Work your way round till you've removed tha back. Then remove the screw holding the jog wheel. It then slides up and off. Now use the plastic tool to lift the camera connector. I would pu**** in again and off again a few times before finally inserting it. This helps clean off any oxidisation from the contacts. Reassemble and don't for get to line up the little lever on the camera with the switch on the back casing. Test that macro switch before finally putting the four screws back in again.
This is not a major dismantling and you do not need to remove the main circuit boards or interfere with any of the main connectors.
Mike
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey there mike,
thanks alot for your time and effort in guiding me to this. I followed your instructions step by step, but still, the camera isnt working. I guess the camera must be broken then. Lol.

abubakar said:
Hey there mike,
thanks alot for your time and effort in guiding me to this. I followed your instructions step by step, but still, the camera isnt working. I guess the camera must be broken then. Lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well it's relatively rare for them to be broken as opposed to just loose BUT there will be the odd one that is actually broken. Sadly, if you have checked everything softwarewise and the connector then it looks as if you need a new camera.
Perhaps you can ask around here for anyone selling off parts. What part of the pwrld are you in?
Mike

hi mike,
apparently, after replying to this thread, i made a soft reset and the camera worked. it worked for some time, maybe a couple of hours until i decided to make a soft reset again. Then, it didnt work anymore. So what does this tell me? Most probably it is loose? I was thinking of sticking layers of double-sided tapes on top of the connector so when i put the back case back on, it will push the double-sided tapes that will in turn push the connector to stay put on its place. Do you think this is viable?
Yeah i have thought of asking around here for people whose workplace doesnt allow them to use a camera or people with bricked devices to sell me their camera, if mine is really broken.
Thanks for your help Mike. Hope to hear from you soon

abubakar said:
hi mike,
apparently, after replying to this thread, i made a soft reset and the camera worked. it worked for some time, maybe a couple of hours until i decided to make a soft reset again. Then, it didnt work anymore. So what does this tell me? Most probably it is loose? I was thinking of sticking layers of double-sided tapes on top of the connector so when i put the back case back on, it will push the double-sided tapes that will in turn push the connector to stay put on its place. Do you think this is viable?
Yeah i have thought of asking around here for people whose workplace doesnt allow them to use a camera or people with bricked devices to sell me their camera, if mine is really broken.
Thanks for your help Mike. Hope to hear from you soon
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well the mystery deepens. Did you take the connection out and in a few times?
I am a little concerned though that a soft reset alters the state of the camera. That suggests a software issue, although it does not rule out a poor connection.
I can't remember if you did a hard reset?
Mike

mikechannon said:
Well the mystery deepens. Did you take the connection out and in a few times?
I am a little concerned though that a soft reset alters the state of the camera. That suggests a software issue, although it does not rule out a poor connection.
I can't remember if you did a hard reset?
Mike
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I figured out that the connector must be loose. Another attempt on fixing the camera came with a similar result. Works at first, then not anymore. I then thought maybe there is a tiny gap between the connector and the jog wheel circuit board that allowed the connector to come loose.
So, I made a little modification by layering the connector with thin pieces of tapes until it fills up the small gap. Now it is "forced" to stay in place.
Another thing, after the mod, my phone failed to vibrate so I searched the forum and found one of your replies to a similar problem. Followed your instructions (again) and now everything works like a charm. I love my hermes. lol
Thanks again Mike, for everything.

btw mike, just out of curiosity, how can I improve the pic quality of my Hermes' camera? I've read about a hardware mod which removes the transparent front plastic cover. How about softwares? Although I highly doubt so, but is it possible to fix better cameras from other HTC phones to a Hermes?

Well! hopefully your fix is a permanent one
Regarding camera software - there are some that say the cool camera software by ateksoft (not free) is easier to use and takes better pictures.
Personally I find Hermes pics ok in good light and not worth taking in poor light. The flash is wortless for taking pics at night (unless you're taking a Macro pic. How often do you take Macro pics at night!!??)
http://www.topshareware.com/ATEKsoft-CoolCamera-download-43332.htm
or
http://www.ateksoft.com/
a couple of relevant threads:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=359025
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=412291
Mike

mikechannon said:
Well! hopefully your fix is a permanent one
Regarding camera software - there are some that say the cool camera software by ateksoft (not free) is easier to use and takes better pictures.
Personally I find Hermes pics ok in good light and not worth taking in poor light. The flash is wortless for taking pics at night (unless you're taking a Macro pic. How often do you take Macro pics at night!!??)
http://www.topshareware.com/ATEKsoft-CoolCamera-download-43332.htm
or
http://www.ateksoft.com/
a couple of relevant threads:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=359025
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=412291
Mike
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah hope it's a permanent one. Thanks for sharing. I'll check them out now

abubakar said:
Yeah hope it's a permanent one. Thanks for sharing. I'll check them out now
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CoolCamera is the way to go.
Not that the actual quality is so much better, but the CoolCamera software seems much more stable. Far fewer pictures are blurry as it seems to snap them faster, in my experience.

arrgh deng..
mike. the camera do work now. but some problems occurred while i was playing with it. while i was moving about and turning around, some green vertical stripes started appearing and disappearing, more extreme when im pointing my camera towards a scene with high glaring. then, i did a little experiment. i covered my camera lens with a piece of leather. Then, no matter how i move or turn the camera around, the green lines did not appear. I'm guessing that this has something to do with the amount of light captured by the camera lens, which led me to think that my camera lens may actually be broken.
what do you think mike?

abubakar said:
arrgh deng..
mike. the camera do work now. but some problems occurred while i was playing with it. while i was moving about and turning around, some green vertical stripes started appearing and disappearing, more extreme when im pointing my camera towards a scene with high glaring. then, i did a little experiment. i covered my camera lens with a piece of leather. Then, no matter how i move or turn the camera around, the green lines did not appear. I'm guessing that this has something to do with the amount of light captured by the camera lens, which led me to think that my camera lens may actually be broken.
what do you think mike?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Possible I suppose though I'm a little doubtful due to the random nature of the problem. I recall you had it looked at at a repair shop and they said the lens was broken - maybe they are correct. Just seems odd that after firming up the connector it seems to have improved. (even if it's not 100%) It may be that the connector itself is fine but possible one of the connector wires is cracked - just a thought.
Mike

Edited 30/1/2012: My GPS 100% fixed (21/4/11 PICS ADDED)

EDIT: 30/1/2012.
Just a follow up on this fix. Well, got sick of constantly having to replace the tape under the battery cover. Over time it flattens, so since I now use the S2 as my daily phone I decided to open it up.
First I found the GPS connection on the motherboard. It connects to / touches a small metal piece on the inside of the rear housing. It's like a U shaped connector so I decided to lift it up with my fingernail.
For a little while it worked great but the problem returned. So I decided to open it up again and lift the connector even higher. Unfortunately I broke it leaving only a flat bottom metal piece on the motherboard side. There was now no way for the 2 pieces to touch so I screwed it completely.
So I then decided to solder a small bit on the rear housing side. I did that and put it back together. Ever since then the GPS has truely been 100% fixed. It hasn't missed a beat over the last 3 or so months of trying.
END EDIT.
NOTE: This is a hardware fix for those whose GPS is completely busted (NO sat views & lock). It is NOT a fix to improve tracking or lock or make an already working GPS better.
After flashing every modem, fw and kernal version I had completely given up on my galaxy s GPS. It had to be a hardware fault.
Back when I first got it, it was OK but a few months later became useless. This fix is hardware related and takes only minutes to diagnose and fix.
It's also probably more useful for pre-October models (i9000 international) which had this fault.
I do not take credit for finding out the fix. Credit for that goes to member 'allottios' (who heard about it from 'cbdrift') for bringing it to my attention on another forum topic.
The fix is simple. Remove the back cover and to the right of the speaker is the GPS antenna. It is covered by what looks like some sort of soft plastic tape.
Now open a GPS test app and then apply light pressure to the very top of the antenna with your finger. NOT the middle or bottom - that makes it worse.
If, like me your GPS shows instant improvement then you have just worked out your problem.
Simply attach a small piece of double sided tape or similar to the top of the antenna so that when you put the back cover on again their is pressure on that spot.
Hope you get the same results I did.
Edit: PICS ADDED: 1ST PIC - AT THE TOP RIGHT CORNER, YOU CAN SEE A WHITE STRIP WHICH IS THE DOUBLE-SIDED TAPE I ATTACHED TO THE TOP OF THE GPS ANTENNA. I DID NOT PEEL THE TOP LAYER FROM THE TAPE SO IT WOULDN'T STICK TO THE BACK COVER.
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,
Edit (03/05) - If this fix doesn't help, you may also want to try out another fix posted by 'stockie78' (post 209).
There is also a link below for more detail, including pics for this fix.
It is not as simple as the above fix and it involves removing the housing. I have not tried / tested this myself and am not responsible if you break your phone.
"stockie78
Unfortunately the g-spot trick did not work for me, so I decided to look a little closer and removed the plastic housing.
Another guy installed on the metal thingys there a cable and I did some test, too. Again no improvement with different cables and lengths.
But while fiddling around with the metal connector I thought maybe lifting it could help and indeed this was the trick for me. Improved my gps dramatically!
So instead of something pushing the antenna tighter, the metal connector now pushes harder and improves the signal quality.
Maybe a solution for some of you too..."
Link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=878970
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA Premium App

I can confirm that this works for me! Got a lock in two seconds and the arrow followed my path perfectly while I was on the bus, a feat that seemed impossible before! Thanks a million!
If I let go of the antenna the gps loses it signal straight away..

Seriously this deserves a bump! Got a lock on 12 Satellites(!) when putting pressure on the top of the antenna and lost it as soon as I let go.

I`m seriously impressed. Tested on Sygic Aura, iGo and CoPilot and they localyze me immediatly !!!! THANKS A LOT !!!!!

Tried on my SGS and can't honestly see and difference

I did something similar a while back by taking the phone appart to access the interior parts of the phone. I then bent the connector for the GPS up so that more pressure would be applied. It worked great at first then started to get worse after some time. I'm guessing this is because the connector reverted back to its original position (kind of like an elastic).
I suppose this is a similar trick, but instead of applying more pressure from the connector, it does it from the cover. I'll try to get hold of some tape to try this.
By the way I have a Galaxy S from July, and GPS sucks badly on mine.

Need detailed pictures!
Hope it works!!

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!!
My jam just dropped. I just got gps lock within seconds... in my living room, where I had occasionally one sat in sight.
Just applied a small piece of that blue sticky stuff on the very top of the gps antenna and voilà. Cover on and lock is a go go.
Thanks for sharing this

nice one! locked 12 sats after 5 secs!
so a small tape should do the trick eh?

Getting a lock as soon as I start GPS Test! No more jumping around in Google Maps either! This is THE best fix for the SGS yet! Finally I'll be able to use my phone as my primary GPS navigator!

Is it possible for someone to post picture of area that needs to be pushed! Thanks!!!

Toss3 said:
Getting a lock as soon as I start GPS Test! No more jumping around in Google Maps either! This is THE best fix for the SGS yet! Finally I'll be able to use my phone as my primary GPS navigator!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same here too, wtf if i knew that before ... i would not have so many gray hairs
thanks for sharing
p.s.: connection stays good without any further pressure here, put the cover on again, gps still great

I can't believe this all these months, kernels modem and all kind of fixes and the solution is a duct tape, wow!
Thanks works for me!

Asterix040 said:
Is it possible for someone to post picture of area that needs to be pushed! Thanks!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should see an elongated rectangle shape on the rightmost part of your phone after removing the back cover(just to the right of your speaker and sim card) - just apply some pressure on the top part(for me it takes a fair bit for it to work) and voila you're done. I'll try to post pics soon!
Second pic taken while indoors on a cloudy day!

Twinsis said:
I can't believe this all these months, kernels modem and all kind of fixes and the solution is a duck tape, wow!
Thanks works for me!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not Duck. Duct, like air duct ; )

Toss3 said:
You should see an elongated rectangle shape on the rightmost part of your phone after removing the back cover(just to the right of your speaker and sim card) - just apply some pressure on the top part(for me it takes a fair bit for it to work) and voila you're done. I'll try to post pics soon!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would be most appriciated. I'am visual person!

This actually works!!! I bought the galaxy s back in july and the last few months I have been unable to get a gps fix no matter what I tried! After reading this thread I went outside and pushed the top of the antenna. In a few seconds i got 5 meter accuracy and 8 satellites in use! Now I have to find a way to keep the antenna pressed! Thanks a million for the tip!

Samsung should buy you more than one beer!
How much money did they spent to fix that issue?
Thanks man!

This must be the sweet spot?
Edit: ops, to late ; )
/qsec

Well guys, I would like to try it, but my display seems to stop working as I remove the back cover?! Anyone has same issue? What could be wrong?
With backplate cover on, everything works just fine, but without....black screen. Although that phone seems to be responding