Database Users

Is my vibration motor dead / disconnected?

Hi everyone,
My Hermes does not vibrate anymore, there are two possible reasons as I see it:
1. I dropped my phone on monday, the battery cover came off and the battery fell out, the phone seemed to be fine after I put them back (most likely)
2. I upgraded from radio 1.18 to 1.27 (unlikely)
Those are the only two recent events which have happened to my phone, and as I doubt the radio has anything to do with the vibrator motor I assumed that when I dropped it, the motor broke off its contacts or something.
Things I have tried:
1. Upgrade to AKU 3.3 (previously running SA 1.35)
2. Downgrade radio to 1.18 again (no luck, back on 1.27 now)
3. Hard reset
4. Soft reset
5. BL 1.01, 1.04
6. Various combinations of all of the above
I have come to the conclusion it must be a hardware issue. I've looked at pictures of the inside of the Hermes but nothing is obviously the motor - could anyone point it out to me on an image? I'd like to have a look at it and if it has broken off its contacts, solder it back on, or buy a new one and install it if it is broken.
Also, are there any programs that can test the vibration definitively? It doesn't vibrate when I am rung or texted, even though the setting is to vibrate, and it doesn't vibrate when I toggle vibrate mode from the Comm manager.
Many thanks

unfortunately your not the first to suffer this problem:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=293004
i know that's not really of much help, in terms of fixing the issue. but i think it proves that it is some kind of hardware fault that many of us are experiencing. i've had this problem for a while now, and yeh, its very annoying, but I dont trust t-mobile enough to give it back to them to get it fixed because other than that everything else works fine, and in my experience if i get it repaired its bound to come back with even more problems

Thanks for your reply, I had read that thread but unfortunately for me I bought this phone off eBay (for £245 after O2 wanted £260 to replace my Wizard...) so I have no warrantee.
I am an electronic engineer so I'm not afraid to get inside either, if it is an obvious and easy-to-fix fault (wire needs resoldering or something) I will let everyone know.
Don't suppose anyone can point to a picture showing the motor could they?

Oliy said:
Thanks for your reply, I had read that thread but unfortunately for me I bought this phone off eBay (for £245 after O2 wanted £260 to replace my Wizard...) so I have no warrantee.
I am an electronic engineer so I'm not afraid to get inside either, if it is an obvious and easy-to-fix fault (wire needs resoldering or something) I will let everyone know.
Don't suppose anyone can point to a picture showing the motor could they?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The motor is on the back cover and contacts the mother board via spring contacts. It is possible that a sharp knock could flatten these contacts and stop connection to the board. This would be an easy fix - bend contacts back to original position and all you need is to take back cover off!!
Mike

I have fixed it - I opened up the case (just took off the back cover - this voids your warrantee) and it is located at the bottom. It has two spring loaded pins which contact the main board, and one appeared to be bent slightly out of shape. After bending it back I reassembled and everything works again!
Thanks for your reply Mike, I had actually just got back from my mate-with-the-T6-screwdriver's house where I fixed it when I read your post!
Thanks all

A hard knock can bend the Vibrate Motor's copper spring contacts enough to make them lose contact with the board. In other cases contact may be poor due to some oxidisation on the contacts.
For those who are not worried about their warranty, giving those contacts a tweak back into shape would not be a daunting task. 4 screws on the back cover, remove sim card AND Micro Card and with a bit of patience ease off back cover. That's all the dismantling needed .
Do remember to line up the little macro toggle arm on the camera with its catch on the cover when putting back together. First time I did this I forgot, got everything all screwed back and then discovered the camera macro arm was not lined up with the switch on the casing. So i would check the macro switch is working before finally putting screws back in.
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Some people are able to get the motor to re-establish contact with the m/board by giving the device a few sharp taps on the bottom edge. This can work provided the spring contacts are not excessively bent. Worth a try especially for those with a warranty for whom opening up would be warranty voiding.
Cheers
Mike

Ahh...so that's why my Dopod838Pro is not vibrating at times...I knew it had something to do with the amount of times I dropped the phone...(lol) well, I will try this solution and get back to you guys.
Thanks for the info Mike.

new case probs

okay i bought a hermes off ebay, ment to be scratched like u expect after a year in ya pocket.. it was SCRATCHED to hell like a sheet of sand paper was used on it, and somoen had written war and peace on it.
it was cheap so i thught i may as well pick up a new chassie for it, i did it arrived today, i had already watched the few videos about how to dismantle this phone (i am no stranger to doing this as i tend to repair my friends and ppl i knows mobiles and used to have a alpine that went through 2 lcd`s and 3 touch screens until i learned to look after it)
i carfuly stripped it down, replaced all the casing to a new jasjam case, and now the keyboard wont light up (ya i know about the light sensor) and the screen wont auto flip, but i can still use the keyboard just with a normal portate screen, i have tried hard resetting as i am still trying to find a rom i like and dont have any software installed.
is it the kb ribbon thats gone? and anyone know were i can get one in the uk? is there any way of manualy rotating the screen like on the alpine? as i can live with doing that until i get a fix.

I did the same, got a new case but I was lucky, it still works altough the blue light is always on.
To manual rotate the screen you assign a hardware button to it. Go to setting, buttons, select a button and the rotate screen from the program list.
Good luck

skeeve666 said:
okay i bought a hermes off ebay, ment to be scratched like u expect after a year in ya pocket.. it was SCRATCHED to hell like a sheet of sand paper was used on it, and somoen had written war and peace on it.
it was cheap so i thught i may as well pick up a new chassie for it, i did it arrived today, i had already watched the few videos about how to dismantle this phone (i am no stranger to doing this as i tend to repair my friends and ppl i knows mobiles and used to have a alpine that went through 2 lcd`s and 3 touch screens until i learned to look after it)
i carfuly stripped it down, replaced all the casing to a new jasjam case, and now the keyboard wont light up (ya i know about the light sensor) and the screen wont auto flip, but i can still use the keyboard just with a normal portate screen, i have tried hard resetting as i am still trying to find a rom i like and dont have any software installed.
is it the kb ribbon thats gone? and anyone know were i can get one in the uk? is there any way of manualy rotating the screen like on the alpine? as i can live with doing that until i get a fix.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Amost certainly either the Keyboard ribbon cable or its connections (As you say). The magnet operated orientation sesnsor is built into the ribbon cable and is of course also linked to the keyboard open light up action.
BUT, I have seen this happen because the magnet has dropped off!!! It's a small metal oblong and does not look like a magnet.
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Check that magnet is still there and that the sensor on the cable is located correctly.
Mike

lol that was the one part i did ot add to the new case! looked at teh old one there it was dismanted my new case.. no magent.. and guess what a spot o superglue later 2 mins to reasemble and BOOM its works again! cheers m8. i love my phone again!!!

​Mike​

okays next one for u!
i have also replaed the touch screen, i have resolded, using a low temp iron the new touch panel to the lcd`s ribbon thsi is not teh first time i have donw this as i have already said, i have checked the joint with a multi meter and its okay, but the phone wont work with the touch screen, i was wondering if i need to run alignment again but the firmware i has is the HTC_HERMES_S64_WM_6.1_TouchFlo2D_UC_V1_22.09.2008 one, and it goes stright into touchflow before i can navi to the aligemt prog, i dont wana hard reset as i can still use it as a phone after with the buttons.
is it a alignment prob or just time to go full hog and buy a new full lcd/touch unit tis the black ribbon one 2nd gen. ( i was trying to do it on the cheap )

skeeve666 said:
okays next one for u!
i have also replaed the touch screen, i have resolded, using a low temp iron the new touch panel to the lcd`s ribbon thsi is not teh first time i have donw this as i have already said, i have checked the joint with a multi meter and its okay, but the phone wont work with the touch screen, i was wondering if i need to run alignment again but the firmware i has is the HTC_HERMES_S64_WM_6.1_TouchFlo2D_UC_V1_22.09.2008 one, and it goes stright into touchflow before i can navi to the aligemt prog, i dont wana hard reset as i can still use it as a phone after with the buttons.
is it a alignment prob or just time to go full hog and buy a new full lcd/touch unit tis the black ribbon one 2nd gen. ( i was trying to do it on the cheap )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you try disabling touch flo and aligning the screen?
Mike

yup managed to work out how to do it, been playing around and i dont think its compatable, even though it said it was and its the correct size or i just dmg the ribbon, but i can still use the with the keys so until get a new screen ;[

Help: "O" "P" "L" "Enter" Keys not working anymore.

Help: "O" "P" "L" "Enter" Keys not working anymore.
After getting a white screen, I did the fix of placing a small plastic by the black square chip, and assembled again, not a problem with the white screen anymore.
But I just had another problem, after assembling the phone back again, some keys on the keyboard stopped working: "O" "P" "L" and "Enter", and the key on top of the "I", looks like a softkey, but the other one works fine.
All of the rest of the keys work fine, but those 5 keys don't.
I checked for any dirt or something obstructing the keyboard chip, and the rubber, but nothing seemed bad.
I alo tried putting 3 sheets of paper cut in the size of the chip, but that didn't help.
I do use the keyboard, does any1 have an idea of why this is happening?

Usually complete failure of certain keys is down to one of two causes
1.
The ribbon cable is damaged - (think it unlikely unless it was cut or severely bent)
2.
The ribbon cable connector is not seated properly or needs cleaning or is damaged:
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Worth re-seating that a few times just to be sure - and it only needs the back casing to be removed (maybe you've tried that already?)
Mike

Could be buildup of corrosion between the keys and the Keypad. Visit Mikes site in his sig at bottom of his post to find the illustrations and instructions on what to do but make sure you test Mikes suggestion first. Cleaning the keyboard contacts is a more intensive job then just reseating the connector...
Cheers...

Yeah I was going to try to remove the white sticker as he posted on some other threads, but trying to remove the sticker seems hard and scary.
But, it seems very strange, that this happened after fixing the white screen issue with the small piece of plasti card.

The card shouldn't affect it as the keyboard is in the bottom half of the Hermes and the screen is on the slideout section. The thing that could have been hurt is the ribbon cable that attaches onto the mainboard Or the connections at the back of the LCD.
So saying though, I have found strange effects from mainboard problems messing with the LCD (my flywheel pcb broke and caused no backlight on LCD). But I wouldn't htink it would work the other way as it would be the mainboard where problems would originate, not be the byproduct.
Cheers...

Yeah, the card should not be a problem as I thought.
I have another hermes, which had the white screen, but at the time, I did not know how to fix it. The problem is that, I had issues with mine because it did not charge or power up anymore, I think the problem was the use of different chargers not made for the Hermes.
But anyways, I'll try to switch the keyboard from the old one into this and see if the problem lies with the keyboard, or cable. I'll try this tomorrow, and let you know guys about this.

I always find its easier, if you have the parts, to replace... Its when you have no choice you have the hard time..
Cheers...

Wow.
I just tried changing the keyboard from the old device into this one, same problem with the same keys... Then i said, ok, it must be the cable, so switched cables, and the same issue still :|.
I just had reset the device and it's still not working.
This has to be something else..

Possibly motherboard... You could try replacing the other MB, that is if it still works, other wise the connector may need to be cleaned - both on the MB and on the ribbon.. Use only isopropyl alcohol (surgical spirits) and a cotton bud. Never use Metho as it leaves a residue.
If that doesn't work then it must be the MB as you've tried changing the keyboard and ribbon. Little else to cause the problem.
Personally I'd try the mainboard as its fairly easy and doesn't require that much more effort than what you've already done. Remember though that you will have ALL the old data on the other phone. Old OS, settings and contacts...
Cheers...

Faulty Xperia - Ideas

Hi guys, I appreciate that this may not be the correct Forum but I get alot of knowledge from this site so if you guys dont know, no one will!!
My Xperia optical pad/joystick is having a mare...each time i rub my finger over it, my X1 trys to dial out and skips to menus. The phone has apparently become "moist" acording to the Vodafone shop (Which to me seems like an excuse)
I ahve wiped the device back to factory settings and the same errors keep happening. I have turned the Opt Pad off in settings but the pad still reacts to touches and just jumps though menus and try's to make calls!!
Is there a way that I can get this fixed or resolved or has anyone else got any ideas. This may be a hardware fault.
Thank you all.

Well I can imagine dust being behind the scroll 'wheel'. How about you try to blow it out with a can of compressed air?
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Hi,
Thank you, I have used a can of air and this seemed to make little difference.
Maybe I could get the device apart and give it a pro clean although I feel the actual joystick me be capput :/
Other ideas?
Thanksagain.

Moist? The only way I can see a phone becoming moist is either from a bit of rain or sweaty hands. Either way, phones are designed to withstand this otherwise they would be completly useless for outside use..

chanstarco said:
Hi guys, I appreciate that this may not be the correct Forum but I get alot of knowledge from this site so if you guys dont know, no one will!!
My Xperia optical pad/joystick is having a mare...each time i rub my finger over it, my X1 trys to dial out and skips to menus. The phone has apparently become "moist" acording to the Vodafone shop (Which to me seems like an excuse)
I ahve wiped the device back to factory settings and the same errors keep happening. I have turned the Opt Pad off in settings but the pad still reacts to touches and just jumps though menus and try's to make calls!!
Is there a way that I can get this fixed or resolved or has anyone else got any ideas. This may be a hardware fault.
Thank you all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same issue. It does seem to happen more when I have been using the MobiPocket Reader to read a book for a while ... maybe my sweaty thumb is causing the issue ;-)
Seriously though, if this is really true about moisture I may have to trade my X1 in, it drives me nuts when this happens.
Is there a way to clean the optical joystick properly? (I'm going to try the air-from-a-can idea as well)

MrMiyagi said:
I have the same issue. It does seem to happen more when I have been using the MobiPocket Reader to read a book for a while ... maybe my sweaty thumb is causing the issue ;-)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Autoscroll, the best feature in Mobi

fards said:
Autoscroll, the best feature in Mobi
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nah, AutoScroll just irritates me , get distracted for a second and you lose your place.
I've resorted to using 'tap the screen to go to next page' option. Seems to work well BUT the point is the X1 shouldn't have this issue.
Vodafone have offered to 'repair' it for me, since it's still in warrenty, but it means sending it away for 10-14 days and in the meantime they can give me a 'loaner' which will of course be a peice of crap (I'll just use my TYTN).

Update:
I have found the issue! After looking on Google I came across a YouTube video of how to dismantle and reassemble the X1.
Turns out one of the transistors on the Optical pad circuit board had become slightly coroded, so I cleaned this up with a small soft brush and a minute drop of meths and put it back together and BINGO!
Also while the screen was out I left it overnight in airing cupboard in a ziplock bag with a pack of Sylica(Spelling) Gell.
Search YouTube for: "Xperia assemble Front/Back" User; CKY1
Hope this goes to help someone.
Cheers guys

in my case, I just adjusted the joystick to lower sensitivity...It worked without surgery..

so technically vodaphone was right. and it was a moisture problem.

New Housing won't go to landscape when opening keyboard

Gooday
Have looked and searched but cant find answer
I have just replaced the housing on my jasjam and now when I open the keyboard the screen dosen't change to landscape mode (Ie rotate 90 deg)
Can someone please tell me where the switch contacts or whaterve is on the slider or how it works
I am getting very good a dis and re -assembly of the jasjam
Also any suggestions of a type of "glue" that can be used on the bits that are stuck to the back of the screen
THANKS
Barney318

barney318 said:
Gooday
Have looked and searched but cant find answer
I have just replaced the housing on my jasjam and now when I open the keyboard the screen dosen't change to landscape mode (Ie rotate 90 deg)
Can someone please tell me where the switch contacts or whaterve is on the slider or how it works
I am getting very good a dis and re -assembly of the jasjam
Also any suggestions of a type of "glue" that can be used on the bits that are stuck to the back of the screen
THANKS
Barney318
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Barney you are a bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad boy, bend over this is going to hurt! But trust me I know what I'm doing, I have a Manual for it:
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This has been asked few times by the folk who change casings but forget to move the magnet from the old casing to the new one. The switch is magnet operated and in fairness it's a tiny thing that is not obviously a magnet. See here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=1535294&postcount=4
Mike
PS not sure you really need to glue anything on the back of the screen do you? Perhaps a little tape might be better if really necessary.

THANKS
Didn't hurt at all
Just another dis & re-assemble all is fine now
Thanks again
Barney318

barney318 said:
THANKS
Didn't hurt at all
Just another dis & re-assemble all is fine now
Thanks again
Barney318
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good stuff
Mike

I know this is kind of an older thread, but when I searched for my problem, this is the most recent thread that came up.
I'm having a similar problem to the OP--I recently took my phone apart per the wiki because one of my tracks completely came off the rail. When I put it back together, I had an extra small square shaped rubber piece that fell off the motherboard and my keyboard is unrepsonsive when I slide it out in addition to it not going to landscape mode. The only thing is that I didn't take apart the part of the case with the magnet--I was able to get the slider thing back on the track without completely removing the very back housing. Is there anything else that might be causing the problem?
Sorry if this aspect has been gone over before; when I searched, this was the only thread I saw with a similar problem.

crazylikeafox11 said:
I know this is kind of an older thread, but when I searched for my problem, this is the most recent thread that came up.
I'm having a similar problem to the OP--I recently took my phone apart per the wiki because one of my tracks completely came off the rail. When I put it back together, I had an extra small square shaped rubber piece that fell off the motherboard and my keyboard is unrepsonsive when I slide it out in addition to it not going to landscape mode. The only thing is that I didn't take apart the part of the case with the magnet--I was able to get the slider thing back on the track without completely removing the very back housing. Is there anything else that might be causing the problem?
Sorry if this aspect has been gone over before; when I searched, this was the only thread I saw with a similar problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh dearie me!!!
First, the little rubber piece is the microphone cover from the bottom end of the motherboard.
Second, the screen orientation does not work because the magnet operated switch is attached to the keyboard cable which is obviously not working because as you say the keyboard is not responsive.
The likely cause of both the keyboard problem and the orientation problem is this connector:
It's under the back cover and is OFTEN forgotten because when you replace the motherboard the push in connector gets curled up beneath the board rather than curling around to be plugged in. (OR you just need to push it firmly into place)​
A wider angle picture:​
Cheers​
Oh, and WELCOME to XDA-Devs​
Mike​

I remember that little metal piece but did not remember to put it back when I was putting my phone back together. I'll have to give that a try later as I've come down with the flu. Thanks for the help!

Thanks for the advice Mike. It worked like a charm. Turns out one of my sliders coming off the tracks was the best thing that happened to my phone. In taking it apart, I also found that the speaker connection had completely come off which was the cause of my phone not having sound. So now aside from some cosmetic damage, my phone is back to working like new.