Related
I just won a slightly used unlocked 8525 on EBay. Since I won't have a warranty, it seems like a good idea to verify that the device is in full working order as quickly as possible.
Do any of you have tips on what you would do to fully (or almost fully) exersice an 8525?
Theres no menu like the nokias have to see if its ever been serviced but theres a few things i do when looking at pocket pc's although i've never purchased a used one because i haven't found one's which look that sound.
First thing i would do is look at its physical state. Scratches etc. which will show if it's been dropped or handled roughly.
Second i'd take off the batter cover and look at the screws to show if they've every been removed. You can tell this by either seeing small scratches on them. Also the I-Mate Jasjam screws are black so you can tell easily if a screws been in them.
Then i'd remove the battery and the sim card(if inserted) and see if theres a little felt/paper square. This should be white and changes color (to purple i believe) if it ever got wet or moist. Inspect the little bit of the circuit board thats visible under where the sim would go for imperfections.
Now I'd go back to physicl aspects. Look at the screen, if it has a screen protector thats marked up, remove it and inspect the LCD and see if itself has scratches, if there are scratches and they are small i'd suggest the pocketpctechs screen protector which covers up blemishes.
Press the bottons on the front and sides and see if they feel well (are they hard to press, do they got stuck etc.) Slide the device open a couple of times and see if its locks into place or not and if its rough/smooth to open/close.
When its open i'd go and press each button on the keyboard and see if any of them stick and look for things as you would with the other buttons.
Then turn on the device and test all the buttons, and the keyboard on a new notepad. See if the screen is aligned by opening a new note and draw a line from one corner to the opposite corner, make sure the line is under the pen. Align the screen and keep in mind when you did it and cross your fingers and hope it stays aligned. If it does have the SA issue, go to the wiki for a fix.
I guess thats all i can think of right now... hope it helps you in deciding whether you want to keep the device or not. Oh yah, also check if the memory slot works and inspect the Mini-Usb port, and the stylus silo (haven't heard of it becoming loose on the hermes yet)
Good luck and hopefully you got no problems with it and its a sound device. Enjoy it and welcome to the Xda-Devs!
Thanks fone_fanatic! Looks like some great advice that will help me make a checklist.
Having come from a Palm T3 + a Sony Ericsson T637, I'm long overdue for an upgrade and really excited about converging devices with the 8525.
dont forget to make a phone call bring your sim, sometimes people forget the obvious
WooHoo!
It tests out great. There were only two problems
1)a slight creaking in the top left corner - really more an annoyance than anything else
2)The phone was sold as unlocked but prompted me for the unlock code which the prevous owner did not know. This problem was easily overcome with the unlock solution posted on the Wiki.
Thanks for the testing tips as they help me feel far more secure in my purchase!
Now I just need to get used to the PocketPC OS (seems a little complicated coming from PalmOS). After I get the feel of the OS figured out, I will start trying to write some apps.
Hi creaking top left corner is actually fairly normal. The screw will be tight but it's not in the corner (see battery compartment). The screw passess through camera board and holds it slightly proud. If it really bugs you, you can remove back (a warranty voiding activity) a place a piece of papervas padding to take up slack - otherwise not a big issue.
Glad it's working fine
The voyage of discovery and frustration begins - enjoy
Mike
Enjoy your device. They really are the best PPC around.
Hello! could people please share tips and things to remember when buying a used universal? I mean what are the things that you should do to check or find tell tale signs of defect, hardware, the firmware the os, I have already done a search in the forums and already know some, but there might be things that I have missed, so help would be very nice, I will be meeting the seller so I get to inspect the device up close so it would be nice to armed with the info how to inspect the device from how to check the bootload etc.
Thanks for the help and I hope that this helps others too
The Universal can be bought cheap at german eBay. Look for MDA PRO. You should be able to purchase one for around or less than 100 Euro.
Preferably look for the following signs:
1) Unmodded. Many users got the Universal within a contract from the operator, but did not use it much, because it is too big for them. Such Universals are normally in good condition. When advertised that it ships with an OS different than WM5, you know that the owner has been flashing it. I personally don't like that, because that means it belonged to a power user and must be more worn out.
2) Warranty stickers. Make sure the hinges have the warranty stickers inside. If they are missing, the device has been opened. You don't want to purchase one that has been opened.
3) Screen. Screen should be without scratches and should have had always a screen protector.
4) Speaker. The external speaker which is used for calls can break, as it is fitted with some kind of pogo pins. Make sure it is working.
If you get to test the device first, do as this:
- do a call (bring your SIM card)
- check WLAN and Bluetooth (bring a headphone and try it somewhere with WLAN activity)
- bring a SD card and see if it is read
- check for bad pixels
- play a song
- take a picture
- try the keyboard and touch screen
- try all the buttons
If everything works, that is the best you can check it for.
Of course it could break the next day, but it shouldn't.
Cheers,
vma
Great guide vma!
I´ll just add:
Take special care on the swivel piece (The one that gives Uni it´s great and unbeatable form factor: PDA - Micro Lap top)
take care of another thing when i bouted my universal after i used it for about 1 week the phone was hangs soo much the reason was in the memory crd .....so you must try a memory crd and play a small video on it about 10 minutes
The most important thing everyone forgot to mention is USB port. When looking for a device, see if the port moves in any way or wiggles in its opening. See if the device synchronises with AS, charges etc.
The fact the device had been flashed or opened wouldn't play a huge part for me if everything else works well and the body is in sound condition, e.g. the hinge is not loose, the screen rotates and closes properly, all keys are present and work, keyboard backlight works with and without sensor etc.
Speakers don't just break, as post No2 claims (POGO PINS??), but it is good to check that phone is capable of making/receiving calls, you can hear the other party and the other party can hear you, can play music and earphone plug is in working condition/attached properly
Not reading SD or SIM card is a biggie, dim screen, lost touch sensitivity, scratched or damaged digitizer, worn out buttons - all obvious signs. You can open the back, remove the battery and SIM card and check for a small white blotting paper sticker covering the small mainboard pins under the SIM card, any change in color towards pink - do not buy.
@enigma1nz:
Shame on me, I did indeed forget the USB port!!! You should of course check both: charging and Active Sync connection. A broken USB connector is a mayor issue and hard to solder without proper equipment.
Regarding the speaker: I am speaking out of experience, as one faild on me. The speaker is like a small button and it has two contact plates. They are not pogo pins, but act like them. The speaker will be pressed by the case against two contact points on the PCB. What happens is that apparently some car-holders do too much pressure on the sides of the Universal casing, causing the speaker contacts to bend back and forth everytime the phone is placed or removed from the holder. After a few months the contact gets worse and worse until one of both plates brake off. Because they are so tiny, it is impossible to repair the speaker - believe me, I have tried. I ended up buying a new speaker cell at eBay.
Cheers,
vma
vma said:
@enigma1nz:
Shame on me, I did indeed forget the USB port!!! You should of course check both: charging and Active Sync connection. A broken USB connector is a mayor issue and hard to solder without proper equipment.
Regarding the speaker: I am speaking out of experience, as one faild on me. The speaker is like a small button and it has two contact plates. They are not pogo pins, but act like them. The speaker will be pressed by the case against two contact points on the PCB. What happens is that apparently some car-holders do too much pressure on the sides of the Universal casing, causing the speaker contacts to bend back and forth everytime the phone is placed or removed from the holder. After a few months the contact gets worse and worse until one of both plates brake off. Because they are so tiny, it is impossible to repair the speaker - believe me, I have tried. I ended up buying a new speaker cell at eBay.
Cheers,
vma
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And believe me, I repair devices for a living. Thanks for the run-through, although I could give you the same. It happened to you, doesn't mean it happens often or it is a fault in design. I could give you a list of design faults in quite a few models of expensive cellphones on the market today, the mentioned speakers are not one of them.
I appreciate, the help people! any more inputs? I am happy that all the previous posts were, about how to inspect the device upfront and some other useful tips what to check other inputs will be highly appreciated
Battery can be also considered. Some are sold with good batery some with dead battery. It is not so expensive, but costs something. In general if battery shows less than 50% and devidce still works (even under load) that is a good sign.
Also as for the touch screen - the best test is to open note taker and try to paint something. The painted line must exactly follow the stylus movement if it jumps somewhere, then the touch sensitive layer is bad. I bouht such UNI on eBay (was described as perfect working order), had to replace the digitizer myself.
I do prefer buying not working UNI's on Ebay with good display. Once I bought not booting one - mtty job fixed that. Other time I bouht one where the display was still off - the flex cable popped out from connector. Etc....
Thanks for all the advice people! now, please welcome me to the HTC universal family, (well actually, I have a Dopod 900 but what the heck all are the same right?) your inputs had been essential, for me to get my new baby without any hitches I hope that nothing manifests after the one week assurance the seller gave me
Special thanks to enigma1nz for all the patience and help provided to me I asked her a lot of questions in the pm's but she answered in full detail
Now I have my own device so I will be flashing away, I hope without any problems. Again my thanks to the community hopefully there are more inputs for others who are thinking of buying their 2nd hand universal via meet ups
Excellent news! Congratulations!!! And welcome to the Uni family, of course. As you can see, we are one friendly bunch, all help and support will always be available. Have fun
Damn, I was hoping to do a very good Marlon Brando Godfather impersonation with 'Welcome to the family'
LOL
You started in the right direction!
to midnightsights : welcome
orb3000 said:
LOL
You started in the right direction!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, sweetie, the right direction would be an Orb3000 impersonation and 'Welcome to the forums', but I was worried, being Orb2000, hehe, that I simply won't be able to compete with a more updated version
enigma1nz said:
No, sweetie, the right direction would be an Orb3000 impersonation and 'Welcome to the forums', but I was worried, being Orb2000, hehe, that I simply won't be able to compete with a more updated version
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL.........
enigma1nz said:
No, sweetie, the right direction would be an Orb3000 impersonation and 'Welcome to the forums', but I was worried, being Orb2000, hehe, that I simply won't be able to compete with a more updated version
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks dear, you´re nice
you´ll be Orb4000!!!
Cheers and have a nice weekend,
=======
Introduction:
=======
Hey everyone, I'm just posting this tirade about my problems with the X1's build quality here in case anyone else is suffering from the same problems I had, as well as some tips regarding disassembling and re-assembling the phone if you're brave/foolhardy enough to attempt repairs yourself, like me.
With contributions from others this thread could become a compendium of common hardware problems with the X1 and how to identify or fix them, as well as pitfalls to watch out for when repairing the device by hand.
I don't have any diagrams yet because I simply couldn't stomach opening up the shoddy device again to take photos.
=======
My X1:
=======
I bought my X1 on eBay second-hand (my first major mistake) so I was always a bit worried what would happen when the day inevitably came when I'd have hardware problems with the phone.
However, I bought it very shortly after the phone's release and the seller described it as unused. The phone appeared mostly unused when I received it, apart from a couple of tiny scratches on the casing.
The phone was functionally fine when I received it and showed no problems whatsoever for the first few months.
Like seemingly everyone my first hardware problems with the phone (I won't even get into the device's software failings) that developed over time were an unresponsive keyboard, cracks in the case and a non-functioning vibration motor.
The 'r' key on my X1 took considerably greater force to register a press than any other key on the device, while other keys intermittently ignored presses or interpreted a single press as 2-5 presses while typing.
The spacebar also intermittently became unresponsive, as did the 'up' key on the front-mounted optical joystick.
The vibration motor worked at first, but eventually gave only a single loud 'click' when the phone should vibrate.
The problems worsened over time and despite taking good care of the phone, the casing started to look badly banged-up - This is not a phone that ages gracefully.
=======
Replacement Parts
=======
In early December I ordered a replacement casing & keyboard from a supplier in Hong Kong on eBay (mistake #2), happyhouse.cn .
The parts were suspiciously cheap compared to the ones from non-ebay suppliers, so I assumed they would be imitation/unofficial parts, not from SE.
At first glance, the new casing and keyboard seemed like the real deal, but when I attempted to re-assemble the phone with the new parts I found that the phone's original screws didn't properly fit the sockets of the new casing and that the new keyboard didn't fit either the new casing OR the old one.
I ended up using a mixture of new and old parts to rebuild the phone.
=======
My Repairs
=======
Over the course of 'fixing' the phone, a few other problems came to light within the device's internals.
A couple of these problems were apparent as soon as I examined the device internally, while others became apparent when I rebult the device and tried to use it.
Keyboard:
The R key on the old keyboard had cracked at first, then eventually split completely into 3 parts during use. One part fell away while the other two remained stuck to the flexible plastic backing of the keyboard structure.
As I mentioned above, the cheap new keyboard did not fit the casing whatsoever (the scale of its design was wrong and it was in total 3-6mm longer than the original part).
I cleaned the original board (the plastic layer with the keys, not the circuit layer) in warm, soapy water and removed the broken R key by plucking it off the flexible backing.
I then plucked the 'r' key off the new keyboard and used it to replace the missing key on the old keyboard, with the aid of some 'Bostik Impact' adhesive.
I finally refitted the old keyboard (with a new R key) to the casing and prayed that it would still work.
It did, in the end, but the R key has less travel and tactile response than the unreplaced keys.
---Tip:---
The unresponsive (or over-responsive) behaviour of the keyboard can primarily be attributed to poor design, but the grit and dirt that enters every keyboard known to man similarly affects that of the X1 and worsens the problem.
Removing the plastic portion of the keyboard unit and washing it in warm, soapy water is a good way to at least regain the functionality that the keyboard had when you first got the device.
Vibration Motor:
I saw the physical evidence of the claim that the camera light LED is badly designed and prone to overheating, in turn killing the vibration motor.
In the original phone casing, the plastic housing that surrounds the LED had melted and resolidified over the course of the phone's life and there was minor scorching on nearby components.
The vibration motor for the device is situated directly beside the LED (to the left, while the rear camera lens is to the right) and seemed unable to function with the melted plastic in its way.
I cleared away the melted plastic but the motor still only 'clicked' when I later tested the vibration.
It seems that the motor gets burned out by trying to work when obstructed by the plastic, or the heat from the LED kills the motor internally.
One way or the other, it's dead.
---Tip:---
The recommendation to not use the light for extended periods of time on the X1 still stands, it's worrying to think of how much worse the damage could get if the light were left on longer.
It is an especially worrying issue when you consider that the light LED is so close to the main Li-Polymer battery of the phone.
Broken Side-mounted buttons:
The next problem I encountered in the original phone casing was that of the weak rubber straps that hold the side-mounted buttons (power, camera, volume-rocker) in place.
These rubber components are quite thin and weak, as well as prone to snapping when stressed.
The purpose of these straps is to hold the button in place (flush-mounted) and to provide the spring action and make the buttons return after pressing.
In my case, the strap holding the power button had weakened and the button stopped working properly, while the phone behaved as if the button was being constantly held in.
The phone constantly brought up the "Are you sure you wish to power off the device?" prompt in WinMo.
When I set about trying to remove the old button to replace it with a new one from my pack of replacement parts, the old rubber strap almost instantly snapped!
I replaced the old button eventually, but even now there is less travel in the button and barely any tactile response when it hits the internal switch on the PCB.
---Tip:---
When re-inserting the PCB during re-assembly, keep an eye on all of the side-mounted buttons to make sure that their inwards-pointing nub sits *above* the PCB and is able to reach the board-mounted switch that the button controls!
Incompatible Screws:
Beware that the screws from the phone's original casing do not properly fit the cheaper replacement casing.
This means that you will have difficulty in forcing the screws to fit (and possibly shear the heads off the screws, which is a pretty major problem in a delicate device like this where they will be difficult to remove).
If you force the screws to fit due to a lack of any replacement screws to use, they will likely not sit properly flush-mounted with the original casing, particularly on the front (touchscreen) half of the device; and this may prove problematic for the sliding mechanism.
Additionally, it means that the casing will not close properly, resulting in gaps between the casing and touchscreen as well as gaps along the sides of the device.
---Tip:---
If you must do your own repairs on the device, try to get the official replacement parts from Sony Ericsson.
Buying the cheaper replacements from eBay is a false economy and a major headache, take my word for it!
Malfunctioning Antenna:
When I first rebuilt the phone after repairs I discovered that I could only get very weak intermittent radio signals in places that I previously had full signal strength.
This problem occured only because of incorrect re-assembly by me, but it represents a pitfall that might catch someone else out when re-assembling their X1.
---Tip:---
When reattaching the Antenna unit (the black shroud that sits around the rear camera lens and which also contains the camera LED), be sure to firmly press on the left side of the plastic (where there are visible metal strips in the plastic) until you hear a click to signify that the shroud is properly attached.
Otherwise, the antennae embedded in the plastic will not properly contact the main PCB of the device and your reception for all radio antennae in the device (GSM, WiFi, etc) will be weakened or lost completely.
This problem was caused solely by my inexperienced maintenance of the device, but may be related to the weak-signal problems some people experience with the X1, at a guess.
Ammendment:
------
I may be mistaken on this one! I had originally thought that this component held the antennae, but after further experimentation I've come to think that the antennae may be housed alongside the speaker unit in the other end of the phone. The tip still stands, just to be on the safe side!
Malfunctioning Speaker/Microphone:
During use early in the phone's life I sometimes found that the phone's main speaker stopped working for apparently no reason and that squeezing the casing 'fixed' the problem until it occured again seemingly at random.
Within the rear plastic portion of the casing that forms the battery compartment there is a small module comprising the phone's primary speaker and in-call mic underneath the plastic piece that contains the SE circular logo.
These components make only surface contact with the main PCB of the phone and are not soldered in-place.
In my case, the small copper contacts that extend outwards from the speaker unit had become flattened somehow within the device and no longer reached their counterpart contacts on the main PCB when the device was closed-up.
---Tip:---
Extending the speaker contacts outwards with a fingernail seemed to rectify this problem for me.
Be sure to tightly screw the module back in when you're done, just to make sure of the circuit-contact.
Touchscreen Ribbon-cable:
This problem was mentioned by others in a thread here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=561151
I very rarely encountered that problem in my typical usage of the X1, but after my repairs this issue seemed to become exacerbated (probably due to strains placed on the ribbon cable during my reassembly of the device numerous times).
Currently my touchscreen works as it should in portrait mode, but I cannot extend the keyboard, as this causes the screen to still display a signal, but not respond to any touches.
Upon sliding the keyboard back in, the touchscreen is out of the alignment by about 5-6mm every time until I re-align it under WinMo settings.
In an attempt to fix this problem I covered the exposed portion of the ribbon cable with thin insulating tape, in the hope that this would stop the traces of the cable shorting against the metal casing.
Unfortunately, this hasn't proven enough and I have not yet solved this issue.
It looks as though I need to buy a replacement ribbon cable and fix the device that way.
========================
---Other Tips:---
+ Make sure you have all the tools you need.
Replacement parts come with the necessary tools, but if you don't get those you're going to need a tiny phillips screwdriver, a tiny 6-point star-headed screwdriver and a thin, stiff implement such as a credit card or guitar plectrum to open the casing.
I also recommend a snipe-nose pliers and a tweezers for more delicate parts.
Adhesives & Bonding Agents can be useful in certain applications, but use them sparingly (or don't use them at all, to have any chance of making the phone look untampered for warranty purposes!).
+ Don't expect cheap replacement parts to fit perfectly!
They're cheaper for a reason, you get what you pay for, except in the case of the phone itself.
+ Be gentle with all of the components.
The Xperia X1 feels nice and sturdy when it's assembled, but the individual components can be flimsy and brittle when separated.
Everything from the plastic casing to the circuitry inside needs to be handled with care and treated gently to avoid being broken.
That's everything for now, but if I think of any more issues or tips I'll amend this post.
Please feel free to comment with other issues and any other maintenance tips you've discovered and we can build a useful list for people to refer to.
========================
=======
Conclusion:
=======
Before opening my Xperia I didn't really know what to expect inside.
I'm very familiar with computers and I build my own systems as a hobby, but my knowledge of circuit-level electronics is limited and I have no prior experience of manually repairing devices like the Xperia.
My experiences show that some of the common hardware problems can be resolved by the end-user with some patience and the right tools or parts, but one needs to be extremely careful not to end up with more problems than one started with!
=======
Disclaimer:
=======
I won't be held responsible for any damage you do to your phone and I do NOT recommend that you actually perform any of these procedures.
It is better to let qualified technicians at SE's Warranty Service handle these issues.
I'm providing this information solely for those people who either want to do it or have no other choice to get their phone working again.
The information presented is a combination of information collated from guides that I've linked herein and my own experience but I cannot guarantee their accuracy beyond that.
Treat everything in these informational posts as opinion or observation, not fact!
=======
Links & Other Information:
=======
This post will contain any other helpful information or links pertaining to the disassembly, repair and reassembly of the X1.
This is Cellular Nationwide Network's selection of spare parts for the X1:
http://cnn.cn/shop/sonyericsson-xperia-c-28_638.html
This online store also offers the X1 replacement LCD/Digitizer unit:
http://www.formymobile.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod=x1lcd
I have not bought from either of these stores nor can I verify the quality or compatibility of the items they offer!
I'm just listing them here in case people have trouble finding anywhere to get parts!
=======
Disassembly Summary:
=======
The device needs to be disassembled in the correct order as laid out on this page: http://www.formymobile.co.uk/xperiadisassembly.php
-Remove battery cover, stylus, battery, sim card & micro sdhc card and put them aside.
-Remove the plastic portion of the bottom-rear of the phone (where the SE circle is), using the proper tool, a credit card or a plectrum.
-Unscrew and remove the speaker module
-Remove the screws where the speaker module was
-Remove the covers over the screws at the other end of the phone and then the screws themselves (using the star-headed screwdriver)
-Remove the plastic battery compartment (which also takes the camera cover and stylus slot with it)
-Lift the small black tape and disconnect the plug that powers the camera LED
-Remove the screw in the top-right, then left the black lens-shroud it was holding down.
-Remove the small plug on the ribbon cable at the top-right (this connects the keyboard unit to the main PCB
-Pull the clips around the edges of the green PCB back gently to release it (but do not pull it upwards).
-Lift the PCB gently and (Very) gently remove the orange tape that covers the touchscreen ribbon cable attached underneath, then pry that ribbon cable's connector away from the connector on the green PCB.
-Lift the PCB away and put it aside
-The keyboard circuit and plastic pad can now also be lifted away if necessary.
--- This is where you can stop if your repairs/maintenance only affect the rear portion of the device. Only go further if you need to perform repairs on the front/touchscreen portion. ---
-Remove the four shallow screws underneath where the green PCB previously lay to separate the rear housing from the slider mechanism.
-Remove the four screws in the front portion of the phone, then pry the casing open with the tool/card/plectrum as before.
-The main ribbon cable is attached to a small PCB and some other ribbon cables which are concealed underneath the grey fuzzy foil on the surface in front of you.
-That foil can be removed but it is not necessary to do so unless you are replacing the LCD screen unit, receiver-speaker, front-camera or the ribbon cable assembly itself.
-The Touchscreen component is held down with small grey braided straps at the corners, peel these back to release the touchscreen from the front fascia.
Then do all of that in reverse to put the phone back together!
=======
Videos:
=======
I found these videos on youtube, I didn't record or upload them.
Video guide to Disassembling the Rear half of the device:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWDurQrRt-Y
Video guide to Disassembling the Front half of the device:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyGUbxFqvyc
Video guide to Reassembling the Front half of the device:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcDqyEyC_HY
Video guide to Reassembling the Rear half of the device:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0sOaIo6724
=======
Personal Comment:
=======
It goes to show that, as many of us are already aware, you must pay a premium price for this phone but it is NOT manufactured like a premium product.
If my situation were rare or I had only one of the above mentioned hardware issues with a new phone I could accept it, but things got ridiculous with the X1.
The build quality is very poor overall and Sony Ericsson should be ashamed firstly for releasing a device onto the market that functioned as little more than a flawed prototype for the X2; and secondly for charging upwards of €600 for the 'privilege' of putting up with its many problems and shortcomings.
I for one, won't be buying any more SE phones.
My next smartphone will be an Android device such as a Motorola Milestone if I ever pluck up the courage to spend that much money on a phone again.
=======
Disclaimer:
=======
I won't be held responsible for any damage you do to your phone and I do NOT recommend that you actually perform any of these procedures.
It is better to let qualified technicians at SE's Warranty Service handle these issues.
I'm providing this information solely for those people who either want to do it or have no other choice to get their phone working again.
The information presented is a combination of information collated from guides that I've linked herein and my own experience but I cannot guarantee their accuracy beyond that.
Treat everything in these informational posts as opinion or observation, not fact!
Useful post, but it really seems that the majority of your issues were caused by the imitation housing that you purchased, not by poor SE build quality. Of all the issues you mentioned, the keyboard issues are an SE/HTC quality control problem, I've experienced them as have many. The rest seem to have been caused by the imitation housing. This begs the quesiton, why didn't you just use SE's warranty service? They don't require a reciept or that you be the original owner. And trust me, they are several times better than HTCs warranty service.
sonus said:
Useful post, but it really seems that the majority of your issues were caused by the imitation housing that you purchased, not by poor SE build quality. Of all the issues you mentioned, the keyboard issues are an SE/HTC quality control problem, I've experienced them as have many. The rest seem to have been caused by the imitation housing. This begs the quesiton, why didn't you just use SE's warranty service? They don't require a reciept or that you be the original owner. And trust me, they are several times better than HTCs warranty service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd hardly call the problem of the non-fitting screws a majority! The rest of the issues were unrelated to the cheap replacement housing.
Maybe my post is confusing, but the issues with the keyboard, vibration motor, ribbon cable, side-buttons & speaker all existed long before I ever ordered the replacement casing!
Some, such as the ribbon cable and antenna were issues that cropped up or were worsened due to my inexperienced maintenance, but everything else was a fault of the build quality of the original device.
The incompatibility of the screws was the only problem specifically caused by the new housing, while its own supplied keyboard didn't fit the chassis, but that was a non-issue since I used the original keyboard anyway.
It could be said that my repairs would have gone significantly smoother if I had bought and used an official replacement housing from SE, but that would only solve the issues of the screws and replacement keyboard.
I put emphasis on the problems related to the cheap replacement casing primarily to warn people away from wasting their money on them the way I did.
I'll edit the original post for clarity.
To answer your question, I didn't use the Warranty service because frankly I assumed they would need a proof of purchase for the warranty (since most warranties do in my experience) and I had bought the device second-hand on eBay.
Secondly, sending the device in for warranty would mean going through the hassle of reflashing a stock rom and SPL to the phone.
Thirdly and most importantly, I wanted to try doing it myself for the experience and potential savings.
Obviously, I wouldn't recommend anyone to try and repair their own phone as I did, but if someone has had a phone sent back to them marked as "tampered" by the warranty service and are left with the options of paying for repairs, paying for a new phone, or buying parts and repairing it themselves.. well that option is there and this thread might help them.
Also, off-topic but I couldn't agree more with your signature. I tried a myriad of fancy ROMs and shell replacements for my X1 but never found satisfaction until I flashed a basic blank WM6.5 ROM and installed PointUI Home2!
Thanks this post helped me out, I suddenly lost my mic, took a look under the hood and found I had the same issue as you, the mic pins not touching. The pins are very weak so had to be careful but it works now!
tumpin said:
Thanks this post helped me out, I suddenly lost my mic, took a look under the hood and found I had the same issue as you, the mic pins not touching. The pins are very weak so had to be careful but it works now!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad to help!
Definitely the most thorough repair and tips guide for the x1. A lot of the issues you had are the same as mine. Thanks to your suggestions I got my phone in almost working condition. Now I just need to find a way to get my keyboard working again.
Sent from my xperia x1 using XDA App
Thanks Zurechial for this thorough post. I for one, have been lucky in finding a repair guy (non-SE) who is an expert with devices like the X1. I had a problem that some water/moisture/sweat had seeped in the charging port and I could not get the phone to charge. He fixed it for me.
Now the only problem I face is that the camera is not working, and wifi is disabled. Any tips to get the Wifi working? It is shown as disabled in the Comm Manager and there is no WLAN MAC Address also for it.
brilliant post, thank you very much indeed. I have just ordered a cheap housing off ebay, i know what to expect now
What worries me the most though, is how the keyboard WILL fail eventually ><
The qwerty keyboard is one of the main reasons why i got the phone.
time to snatch back our lives suckers
Apparently, it's taken less than 20 years, to destroy the Consumer Electronics Industries, ability to Repair products, sold in this country. I saw the writing on the wall, in the early 80's, with the first lines of "off shore", throw away VCR's, that were priced cheaper than they'd cost to repair. The theory, if it breaks, throw it away & buy a new one. Who cares if it winds up in a land fill somewhere.
Now, we're up to $500 Cell Phones, with the state of repair being either, unit replacement, or, cannibalization of parts. And apparently no one cares. Is it our complacency or can we really afford as a society, to buy a new phone every time one breaks? God knows we're all desperate, for our phone usage.
It's time to snatch back the repair ability we once had. This is the age of recycling, and the highest form of recycling is repair.
As consumers, start demanding access to schematics, and, access to sources of component level repair parts.
IM
You help me...
I'm almost freaking out when signal on my phone show only 2 bars...
Anyway...
it's for additional information,
use handscoon, it gives somewhat confident and when using tweezer, hold it like using pen (I learnt it when I studied as paramedic) because it will give me strength while holdin it.
AND ask the seller to send housing with screw. I bought 2 housings, from ebay and another hongkong shop. Ebay is s%ck but that other hongkong shop is more fit.
My screen started turning white awhile back. I now have a screen and a ribbon cable.
I replaced the screen first, and the new screen shows only white. Probably the cable, right?
Then I replaced the ribbon (keeping the new screen in) and still got only white.
Hooked the old screen back up with the new ribbon cable, and now I have a working screen, but the colors are horribly washed out and it looks like it has lines of white every other line or so.
Is there anything else I can do? Should I give up? Suggestions?
Thanks guys, I don't know if I've ever posted here, but you've been a great help for many years!
RoastGecko said:
My screen started turning white awhile back. I now have a screen and a ribbon cable.
I replaced the screen first, and the new screen shows only white. Probably the cable, right?
Then I replaced the ribbon (keeping the new screen in) and still got only white.
Hooked the old screen back up with the new ribbon cable, and now I have a working screen, but the colors are horribly washed out and it looks like it has lines of white every other line or so.
Is there anything else I can do? Should I give up? Suggestions?
Thanks guys, I don't know if I've ever posted here, but you've been a great help for many years!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Assuming the cable connectors are good and clean, it is now generally accepted that white screen issues are caused by faulty chip connections on the d-pad daughter board. If you can replace that at a reasonable cost, it might be worth it.
Your new screen may have been white because either:
1
The d-pad board is indeed faulty
OR 2
The new screen although made for the Hermes is not an exact match. You MUST replace like with like. There were at least 3 different and NON-compatible screens made for the Hermes (by different manufacturers - Toppoly, Samsung etc). The only easy way to know if the new screen is the correct one is to compare the code numbers printed on the rear of the screens.
see here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=485961
Mike
I'll have to keep a eye on eBay for a d-pad... There are a few parts phones out there now, but I can't tell if they have the right parts inside or not,
Does the serial number tell me what screen components it uses (IE Serial number XXXX+ came with the black flex, XXXX and below came with the white flex, etc?)
RoastGecko said:
I'll have to keep a eye on eBay for a d-pad... There are a few parts phones out there now, but I can't tell if they have the right parts inside or not,
Does the serial number tell me what screen components it uses (IE Serial number XXXX+ came with the black flex, XXXX and below came with the white flex, etc?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It may be that you can match screen to seriel number, but so far as I know, nobody has done that detailed matchiing task. So unfortunately at the moment, the only way to tell is to dismantle and see the number.
A thought crossed my mind about the d-pad board. Have you read the long thread about fixing the whitescreen problem. One reasonably successful solution is to place a little padding on a d-pad chip to press it against it's board. (simply put the issue arises from fractured chip solder joints - caused by finger presses on the d-pad). I don't suggest this as a permanent fix, but if such padding caused the whitescreen to disappear, then at least you could be sure it is a d-pad problem.
Mike
My boss is a parnter in a Electric car conversion company, and they build all sorts of small circuitry (including surface mount stuff) so I'll take the board into one of them and ask if they'll re-do the solder joints for me, thanks.
I never posted here, but I got all the information I used to try and fix it here, but in all my searches, I don't think I ever read anything about the Dpad untill the past few days... So thanks alot for that...
RoastGecko said:
My boss is a parnter in a Electric car conversion company, and they build all sorts of small circuitry (including surface mount stuff) so I'll take the board into one of them and ask if they'll re-do the solder joints for me, thanks.
I never posted here, but I got all the information I used to try and fix it here, but in all my searches, I don't think I ever read anything about the Dpad untill the past few days... So thanks alot for that...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One thing if you have the solder reflowed (obvious to some but not all!!) remember to peel off the sticky plastic layer on the opposite side or you'll end up with a sticky mess
Mike
Hi,
I recently purchased my first android device (HTC Incredible S). I’m pretty certain the box was opened and think the phone may be a returned item. What diagnostic apps are available which might help me determine if there are problems with the device? For example is there a way to measure how good the radio is, speed of the CPU, etc?
Thanks,
Kevin
You can run benchmarks, that's about it.
SetCPU will tell you the speed of the chip, I don't think you need root to get that info but the CPU should read the same regardless if it was returned.
Why do you think it was a returned/refurbished item? If you have doubts that makes me think you didn't buy it from a store. If you did buy it from the store, you give some BS reason like poor wifi strength and hope they don't test it in the stores wifi.
It won't get slower with use or anything, so there isn't anything to detect. If it works it works.
I would check for physical signs, like scratches, wear off etc.
There is nothing you can really chec on the phone. Except maybe browse the data with a file explorer and see if there are any remains from programs that are not stock.
>Why do you think it was a returned/refurbished item? If you have doubts that makes me think you didn't buy it from a store.
Nope, I bought it from a carrier in Hong Kong. When the guy came back form the stock room with the phone box he said something like I was lucky because I was getting the last one he had and that he checked to make sure all the accessories were in the box. I didn’t think anything of it at the time but when I was home I noticed that the box has a piece of white paper tape on the bottom and side. You have to slit the tape in order to slide the inner box out. Upon closer examination the white tape strip on the bottom part does not line up with the strip in the top part indicating that the inside box is different from the outside box. Then it hit me that "checking to ensure everything was in there" was a ruse so I would not be bothered by the fact that the box had been opened. Yeah, I should have been quicker on my toes but it was almost closing time and I wanted that phone.
My biggest concern with a Hong Kong phone would probably be that it's counterfeit. I got an HTC Magic that was counterfeit. The easiest way for me to check it was the serial number. `adb devices' showed it as "123456789abcdef" (or similarly absurd).