After frying my Shift motherboard sometimes last year I had given up any hope of ever getting it to work again. ( http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=701950 ). I tried HTC support to have the motherboard repaired or even to be supplied with a new motherboard without any success. Tried any relevant outlet I could think of that could source a motherboard but still nothing came of it.
I tried searching for anyone selling a Shift at the cheap but the few ebay listings I came across showed that the device cost is still very high. I started a link here hoping somebody with a dead Shift could sell it to me for spares but nothing came of it. To make matters worse the thread was moved to Xda Marketplace and it was lost and burried in the market. ( http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=937322&highlight=shift+motherboard )
But as fate would have it the other day I searched the Marketplace and came across a guy who was selling 2 dead Shifts and high capacity Shift accesories and spares including 2 Gb Ram stick, SSD and higher capacity batteries. But I was a bit late to the party! The sale had been on for almost 2 months and most of the valuable items had already been sold. But I was still in luck as the dead Shifts were still available. I bought one of them as the other was a complete shell even though the motherboards had problem as the power switches had detached and gotten lost for the both of them.
Fortunately an electrical engineer friend of mine was able to remove the power switch from my dead Shift and solder it to the purchased motherboard. It was a delicate procedure but I can confirm that all went well and my Shift is now back to life. Infact even with the replacement motherboard my Shift booted with all the data and settings exactly the way it was before roasting the motherboard.
Just thought of sharing my experience with fellow proud Shift owners here.
I would also wish to thank the seller (TopRowGuy) for a very swift and smooth transaction. Thumbs up buddy. ( http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=961663&highlight=shift+clio )
Regards, Ed
Hi Ed, congratulations for resurrecting your Shift and thank you for posting here the info.
While having the spare Shift and old motherboard at the hand, would you please be so kind to have a look at the circuitry of the socket for external headphonesµphone. My interest is related to the non-working condition of the Shift phone on external headphonesµphone with the custom ROMs.
Therefore could you please check if the socket is simply switching mechanically between internal speakers and external headphones, respectively internal microphone and external microphone (just like in any other audio-tape device) or other circuitry is also involved invalidating the phone function when external devices connected. What else gets disconnected when plugging-in that is influencing the phone? Can the microphone switch be overridden to use only the internal one permanently and let only the headphones be switched?
I'm pretty sure that there are many members here interested in your answers to the above questions. So thank you for contributing to this community!
axelTP2 said:
Hi Ed, congratulations for resurrecting your Shift and thank you for posting here the info.
While having the spare Shift and old motherboard at the hand, would you please be so kind to have a look at the circuitry of the socket for external headphonesµphone. My interest is related to the non-working condition of the Shift phone on external headphonesµphone with the custom ROMs.
Therefore could you please check if the socket is simply switching mechanically between internal speakers and external headphones, respectively internal microphone and external microphone (just like in any other audio-tape device) or other circuitry is also involved invalidating the phone function when external devices connected. What else gets disconnected when plugging-in that is influencing the phone? Can the microphone switch be overridden to use only the internal one permanently and let only the headphones be switched?
I'm pretty sure that there are many members here interested in your answers to the above questions. So thank you for contributing to this community!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you Axel.
Ok I will check the switching mechanism for the mic+headphones for the Shift and report back. If relevant I will also take close-up photos with both the the jack plugged in and plugged out. Since I have the extra motherboards boards (both winmo and Vista) I will try severall things. But if i am not wrong the headphone jack is actually attached to the windows mobile motherboard and not the windows vista motherboard....
I will do the necessary and report back. Of course I am also very much interested in finding a solution for the century old problem of non-working external mic phone side..... I will also snoop around the Memory Card Reader and see what gives ......
Thanks Ed!
My idea is that we all might get lucky if the phone would work on external headphones (i.e. have some privacy), but with the internal microphone (you have to speak-up loud anyway).
I expect that, just like in any classical audio set, the switching circuitry on the audio out side gets the signal out of an audio stereo IC, which is led further to the ext phones socket and involves nothing more than the connection wires, socket, loudspeakers and earphones. If so, that means that we are OK on the earphones side. Of course this is an assumption and means that there are no active speakers or anything of the kind linking the audio outputy to any input of the mciroprocessor.
I also looked at 4 contacts 3.15mm coax plug of the HTC earphones and microphone and the contacts for the limitation comes from the microphone circuitry, this can be arranged by disconnecting the internal microphone from the ext socket and leaving it connected all the time.
My guess is that the internal microphone is hardwired directly to the socket and is not going trough the motherboard PCB (printed circuit board), in which case can be desoldered from the socket and resoldered to the audio in signal path (also coming from the socket). With this mod inserting the plug will have no influence any more on the microphone path.
In reality things can be more complicated since the same ext socket is serving both WinMob side and Vista side. I wonder if there is a single audio out IC or just the two processors deliver in paralel to the same load (speakers).
Looking forward to your findings.
Axel,
I had a long and hard look at the mic and audio jack/port and I am afraid there is nothing much to gain from a physical examinations of those items. To start with the audio port is covered with a black plastic on the outside so you cant really see what is going on inside when you insert the jack.
The audio port is connected to the phone mobo and not the Vista mobo. The phone motherboard is not spoilt and hence I would not want to strip things from it as it can come in handy at a future date. The internal mic is also attached to the phone motherboard through a printed cable. Problem is without first booting the Vista Bios the phone side does also not boot. I am trying to see if there is a way I might get the phone side to boot. If I can succeed that way I would then disconnect the mic from the phone motherboard and see whether the wired mic can become active as you have suggested.
But all this I am only doing with the dead Shift because of course I cant touch the recently resurrected Shift. I wonder if there is absolutely any way of being able to boot the winmo side without first pressing the power button (attached to Vista mobo) which is missing from the motherboard that I am playing with??? If that was to be possible I could try various things with the mobile powered on and probably even be able to use the mobile side ad forget about Vista on the cannibalized Shift?
Here are some photos of the audio jack port and the mic connection area. Sorry the images are not great as i took them at night and in low light environment.... These are self-explanatory but the long and short of it as per your inquiry is that it is possible to disconnect the internal mic from the motherboard. As to how the wired mic would behave when the internal mic is disconnected is subject to real tests with a working Shift. As to whether you can solder these around I will leave that to those of us who are more technically oriented.......
PlayStation said:
After frying my Shift motherboard sometimes last year I had given up any hope of ever getting it to work again. ( http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=701950 ). I tried HTC support to have the motherboard repaired or even to be supplied with a new motherboard without any success. Tried any relevant outlet I could think of that could source a motherboard but still nothing came of it.
I tried searching for anyone selling a Shift at the cheap but the few ebay listings I came across showed that the device cost is still very high. I started a link here hoping somebody with a dead Shift could sell it to me for spares but nothing came of it. To make matters worse the thread was moved to Xda Marketplace and it was lost and burried in the market. ( http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=937322&highlight=shift+motherboard )
But as fate would have it the other day I searched the Marketplace and came across a guy who was selling 2 dead Shifts and high capacity Shift accesories and spares including 2 Gb Ram stick, SSD and higher capacity batteries. But I was a bit late to the party! The sale had been on for almost 2 months and most of the valuable items had already been sold. But I was still in luck as the dead Shifts were still available. I bought one of them as the other was a complete shell even though the motherboards had problem as the power switches had detached and gotten lost for the both of them.
Fortunately an electrical engineer friend of mine was able to remove the power switch from my dead Shift and solder it to the purchased motherboard. It was a delicate procedure but I can confirm that all went well and my Shift is now back to life. Infact even with the replacement motherboard my Shift booted with all the data and settings exactly the way it was before roasting the motherboard.
Just thought of sharing my experience with fellow proud Shift owners here.
I would also wish to thank the seller (TopRowGuy) for a very swift and smooth transaction. Thumbs up buddy. ( http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=961663&highlight=shift+clio )
Regards, Ed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Ed
I'd read your post. Also, I have som problem about my Shift
the conditions are:
1. it can not be turn on even vista or snapvue
2. When I switch on the power button, only the green light was on at the bottom of LCD screen.
3. I can hear the fan turn on but nothing happened
4. When I use the charger, the battery can be charged and finished it.
Do you think that the mother board have something wrong?
The HTC care center want me to change the board but it cost a lots.
Regards,
Vincent
wangwun said:
Hi Ed
I'd read your post. Also, I have som problem about my Shift
the conditions are:
1. it can not be turn on even vista or snapvue
2. When I switch on the power button, only the green light was on at the bottom of LCD screen.
3. I can hear the fan turn on but nothing happened
4. When I use the charger, the battery can be charged and finished it.
Do you think that the mother board have something wrong?
The HTC care center want me to change the board but it cost a lots.
Regards,
Vincent
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the green light is turning on I think yours is a software problem. What about the mobile side? Does it come on when you press the button for switching between the Snapvue and Vista? Try that with the green light on and then we can try troubleshooting from there.....
In the meantime try press FN+F10 immediately the green light comes on and see what happens.....
PlayStation said:
But all this I am only doing with the dead Shift because of course I cant touch the recently resurrected Shift. I wonder if there is absolutely any way of being able to boot the winmo side without first pressing the power button (attached to Vista mobo) which is missing from the motherboard that I am playing with??? If that was to be possible I could try various things with the mobile powered on and probably even be able to use the mobile side ad forget about Vista on the cannibalized Shift?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Ed, thank you very much for your endeavour. Of course I didn't expect to work in this experiment with the ressurected Shift, but only with the spare one.
What kind of a switch is the power switch, is it a single section switch or with multiple sections, is it a bistable or a tip-switch. I expect that it is a single section tip switch which is connecting 2 contacts on the pcb only for a short while while you press on it. If this is correct you may connect the 2 contacts with a jumper-wire just to start-up the Shift. It is true that the Vista part will start first, but I don't see a big draw back in that.
PlayStation said:
Here are some photos of the audio jack port and the mic connection area. Sorry the images are not great as i took them at night and in low light environment.... These are self-explanatory but the long and short of it as per your inquiry is that it is possible to disconnect the internal mic from the motherboard. As to how the wired mic would behave when the internal mic is disconnected is subject to real tests with a working Shift. As to whether you can solder these around I will leave that to those of us who are more technically oriented.......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks again for the pictures, maybe some other time you'll have the opportunity to come up with more clear ones.
To get some privacy while using the phone my intention was to switch only the speakers on the headphones, but still using the internal microphone of the Shift. That would require some small modifications to the jack-port.
I didn't get it exactly how many motherboards are there inside the Shift? Are there in 3 pcs, i.e. Vista mb, Winmo mb and phone mb, is that right?
Hi Axel,
The Shift has 2 motherboards - Mobile and Windows Vista. But both are connected where the 2 boards get into contact with each other through connectors on each side. There are no cables/wires involved but just direct connectors between the 2 motherboards where they come into contact with each other.
Apparently most of the connections take place inside the printed circuit boards so you cant tell which connection goes where. But of interest is that both the mic and the audio jack are all connected to the phone motherboard yet they dont work in the mobile side. So either these have been physically disconnected within the circuit board or it could be a software issue. Remember how we could not use GPS or phone functions until the great rom breakthrough by the likes of Thaihugo and Cmonex....? I still believe that the issue of wired mic not being active is a software issue.
But the SD Card is a different story as this is attached to the Vista motherboard. It is very likely that there is no physical connection between the Sd card and the mobile motherboard. Well I might be entirely wrong here as come to think of it there is a solution about accessing SD card from the windows side but Vista has to be on...... Will look for that thread and read some more and see how the connection is established.
By the way I did home-made switch for the dead shift's motherboard. The Shift was able to power up and boot but it appears that the Lcd cable is dead (or perhaps the lcd screen itself is dead but most likely the problem is with the cable). I was able to connect the Shift to the Tv through a Vga cable. But I could not do much with it as the Vista software appears to be corrupt. Further the HDD connection cable too is not in very good shape. I hope to get the Hdd cable to be able to do more tests on this Shift using the Tv as the external monitor.
This other Shift will be the official guinea pig and I am willing to make various tests with it as soon as I get a working Hdd cable and re-install windows. However there is a big limitation to this too because apparently the windows mobile side does not show in the external monitor. In other words even if you switch to the mobile side using the Shift button the external screen does not change and is only active for Vista......
But I can tell the snapvue side is active as I was able to call the sim card number inside the Shift I was using for tests.... My intention is simply to use this Shift with my Tv for internet connection and as a basic pc in the living room. I confirmed that the internet connection to the Vista side is active even without having any access to the windows mobile screen. I made these tests with the Hdd cable from my good Shift for a few minutes and thus did not make extensive tests.
So guys I will get back to you with more tests once I get a working Hdd cable which I may have to import from China (parts4repair.com). I might then end up with 1 Shift and half a Shift......
wangwun said:
Hi Ed
I'd read your post. Also, I have som problem about my Shift
the conditions are:
1. it can not be turn on even vista or snapvue
2. When I switch on the power button, only the green light was on at the bottom of LCD screen.
3. I can hear the fan turn on but nothing happened
4. When I use the charger, the battery can be charged and finished it.
Do you think that the mother board have something wrong?
The HTC care center want me to change the board but it cost a lots.
Regards,
Vincent
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After playing with my other Shift as described above I believe your problem is not the motherboard since the power light is coming on and the fan is coming on when you power your device. So chances are that your Lcd screen is not getting any signal from your Shift. Yours could be a simple problem with a disconnected Lcd flex cable or problems with the lcd screen or damaged lcd flex cable. Easiest test for you is to get Vga cable and test your Shift using an external computer monitor or tv that supports Vga in cable..... Hope this helps.
Thanks PlayStation, great post, thank you for your endeavour!!! Looking forward for further details.
Related
Hi all,
As i started servicing all pdas for a couple of monthes (only as a hobby, i fix them for friends and relatives), i came across one BA that gave me some trouble.
i got it to replace its LCD that was broken as it was dropped and thats very simple to replace it, so far so good. now it has two main problems :
1. no sound from speaker (even when in speakerphone mode), but there is sound in the stereo earphones (i plugged to the connector by the sd card slot). - i can only assume that a bluetooth handsfree device it will also work.
2. although the backup battery is fully charged, if i remove the main battery even for a brief second, when turned on, the BA acts as if i made a hard reset.
as for solving the problems :
1. using a digital multimeter, i managed to track the conductivity from the internal speaker through its connector, flat ribbon to the connector which connects to the main pcb - so there is no contact problem from the speaker to the main pcb.
using the help from WIKI, i went to site that has the list of all components and their description - the IC that is responsible for audio amp is a MAXIM's MAX4410 which is a stereo headphone driver. a quick look at its charasteristics and typical configuration and i understood that (assuming this is the IC that drives the internal speaker) the speaker should have one pin which is ground and the other goes to the amplified signal from the IC. neither one of the pins showed it has GND to it. so maybe there is a bad GND line to the connector.
2. regarding the backup battery issue i do not know what makes this problem.
I am sharing this info with you all with two ideas in mind :
1. to resolve my problem and know those devices hardware better.
2. because i am quite a while watching xda-developers and WIKI and i got the feeling that a lot of eforth is given to the software side of all those pdas (which is greate!!! keep going, this work helps lots of people and it shows al thos mega corps they are not the only ones), but the hardware is a bit forgotten and left behind. let me tell you this, there are many VERY simple mini projects i made useing electronics (i am an electronics engineer in my profession) that made my life easy . i am now investigating those instruments hardware as i have several ideas to develope useful accessories to my pda (like an external IR transciver to control IR devices like TV,DVD and to communicate with my laptop, and some other ideas) and i believe we can do the same info sharing as done on software side but on the hardware side.
I will thank any ideas, thoghts or commentsabout this matter. Yol.
i suspect you confuse ppl by mentioning BA in your post but writing your post in more then 1 forum not related to BA if BA == blue angel
Hi all,
As i started servicing all pdas for a couple of monthes (only as a hobby, i fix them for friends and relatives), i came across one BA that gave me some trouble.
i got it to replace its LCD that was broken as it was dropped and thats very simple to replace it, so far so good. now it has two main problems :
1. no sound from speaker (even when in speakerphone mode), but there is sound in the stereo earphones (i plugged to the connector by the sd card slot). - i can only assume that a bluetooth handsfree device it will also work.
2. although the backup battery is fully charged, if i remove the main battery even for a brief second, when turned on, the BA acts as if i made a hard reset.
as for solving the problems :
1. using a digital multimeter, i managed to track the conductivity from the internal speaker through its connector, flat ribbon to the connector which connects to the main pcb - so there is no contact problem from the speaker to the main pcb.
using the help from WIKI, i went to site that has the list of all components and their description - the IC that is responsible for audio amp is a MAXIM's MAX4410 which is a stereo headphone driver. a quick look at its charasteristics and typical configuration and i understood that (assuming this is the IC that drives the internal speaker) the speaker should have one pin which is ground and the other goes to the amplified signal from the IC. neither one of the pins showed it has GND to it. so maybe there is a bad GND line to the connector.
2. regarding the backup battery issue i do not know what makes this problem.
I am sharing this info with you all with two ideas in mind :
1. to resolve my problem and know those devices hardware better.
2. because i am quite a while watching xda-developers and WIKI and i got the feeling that a lot of eforth is given to the software side of all those pdas (which is greate!!! keep going, this work helps lots of people and it shows al thos mega corps they are not the only ones), but the hardware is a bit forgotten and left behind. let me tell you this, there are many VERY simple mini projects i made useing electronics (i am an electronics engineer in my profession) that made my life easy . i am now investigating those instruments hardware as i have several ideas to develope useful accessories to my pda (like an external IR transciver to control IR devices like TV,DVD and to communicate with my laptop, and some other ideas) and i believe we can do the same info sharing as done on software side but on the hardware side.
I will thank any ideas, thoghts or commentsabout this matter. Yol.
It seems you have posted this in more than 5 different forums topics.
This will not get you an answer quicker. Please, as this is a BA device, would it be possible to just keep the posts either in the BA topics or in the Upgrading, modifying, unlocking topic.
Please don't feel insulted, it's just that some people use the "view posts since last visit" and saw 8 instances of the same message.
Anyway, to your problem:
1. I guess it is best if you do try first if the bluetooth has sound. If it does, maybe it is the speaker, if not maybe the sounds are set to off for phone sounds. Check the volume slider.
2. Can't help you with the battery problem, sorry
Hi all,
As i started servicing all pdas for a couple of monthes (only as a hobby, i fix them for friends and relatives), i came across one BA that gave me some trouble.
i got it to replace its LCD that was broken as it was dropped and thats very simple to replace it, so far so good. now it has two main problems :
1. no sound from speaker (even when in speakerphone mode), but there is sound in the stereo earphones (i plugged to the connector by the sd card slot). - i can only assume that a bluetooth handsfree device it will also work.
2. although the backup battery is fully charged, if i remove the main battery even for a brief second, when turned on, the BA acts as if i made a hard reset.
as for solving the problems :
1. using a digital multimeter, i managed to track the conductivity from the internal speaker through its connector, flat ribbon to the connector which connects to the main pcb - so there is no contact problem from the speaker to the main pcb.
using the help from WIKI, i went to site that has the list of all components and their description - the IC that is responsible for audio amp is a MAXIM's MAX4410 which is a stereo headphone driver. a quick look at its charasteristics and typical configuration and i understood that (assuming this is the IC that drives the internal speaker) the speaker should have one pin which is ground and the other goes to the amplified signal from the IC. neither one of the pins showed it has GND to it. so maybe there is a bad GND line to the connector.
2. regarding the backup battery issue i do not know what makes this problem.
I am sharing this info with you all with two ideas in mind :
1. to resolve my problem and know those devices hardware better.
2. because i am quite a while watching xda-developers and WIKI and i got the feeling that a lot of eforth is given to the software side of all those pdas (which is greate!!! keep going, this work helps lots of people and it shows al thos mega corps they are not the only ones), but the hardware is a bit forgotten and left behind. let me tell you this, there are many VERY simple mini projects i made useing electronics (i am an electronics engineer in my profession) that made my life easy . i am now investigating those instruments hardware as i have several ideas to develope useful accessories to my pda (like an external IR transciver to control IR devices like TV,DVD and to communicate with my laptop, and some other ideas) and i believe we can do the same info sharing as done on software side but on the hardware side.
I will thank any ideas, thoghts or commentsabout this matter. Yol.
I think you should post this again, just in case we missed the other 9 duplicate posts... wouldn't this have made most sense in the development and hacking section, pretty much the only section you didn't post to?
V
@Vj LOL
Fault 1) When I hear someone saying 'maybe it has a bad earth' i think of car mechanics 'wiring' and Ford cars! If you have the data sheet, use a 'scope - fixing it should be a piece of cake (IF you know what you are doing)
Fault 2) These devices usually have tiny 3V Li-ion button batteries somewhere inside - find it, replace it.
BTW - search the internet for a SERVICE MANUAL - you NEVER know your luck!
Andy
Fault one the backup battery is designed to keep memory alive not power the unit! I would expect it to act the way you describe.
Audio check the stereo jack, my guess is you'll find the problem there. It's rather common failure.
I never said the battery backup powered the unit, did I? He said removing the main battery & putting it back in acts like a hard reset indicative of a knackered memory backup battery.
I'm making educated guesses based on 15 years experience as an electronics engineer & also that I have just fixed an Xda Exec with EXACTLY this problem (If I'm reading his post correctly that is).
Andy
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,
Here is the Samsung Galaxy S3 (GT-I9300) Service Manual.
Please take a moment to read the notes and issues about this manual in this post.
For some reason Google didn't pick up that post, so I had to re-post here...
Now, if you are brave and happen to have a GT-I9300, you can still help us by posting some
internal pictures, to verify some issues in the manual. If they are good,
some of them will eventually become part of the SGS3 Hack-Pack.
Thanks and Enjoy!
I will be opening up the phone in the next few days due to me managing to damage the sim card holder section(not holding sim card) So at present i have got somthing putting pressure to keep sim card in place. I have a new sim card holder on order so when it arrives i will pull phone apart and take some pictures.
If you have any advice for me before attempting this please let me know via pm
Do you have any experience in this kind of electronics? I mean, are you planning to replace and solder the SIM card holder by yourself?
If you have not done this type of soldering before, I do not recommend it.
If you do decide to do it on your own, make sure:
You are working on a clean workspace
You are well grounded and not wearing wool clothes mixed with synthetic materials to avoid any ESD.
Have the right tools for the job.(Temp controlled SMD soldering iron + flux and acid-free lead-free SMD solder etc.)
A very steady hand with good eyes!
As for the pictures, keep the environment as bright as possible, preferably daylight. Try to keep your PCB on a bright or neutral background. (Bright cardboard is usually good.) Inspect your pictures and make sure you can read the text on the smallest chips. (The big ones we already know about, its the smaller ones that are difficult to navigate around.) Make sure the pictures are well focused.
Good Luck!
From looking at the pictures I was hoping I don't have to solder the sim card slot in. It looks easily replaceable as it looks like it's just a connector and not soldered
Replaced the sim holder. My camera wasn't good enough to get focus of the smaller chips however it is very very easy to take phone apart. And I guess Samsung are expecting issues with sim slot so they have fixed it using one screw and connected to board using a pull off connecter.
Just in case anyone else is interested the sim holder/sd holder cost me £20, delivered.
E:V:A said:
Here is the Samsung Galaxy S3 (GT-I9300) Service Manual.
Please take a moment to read the notes and issues about this manual in this post.
For some reason Google didn't pick up that post, so I had to re-post here...
Now, if you are brave and happen to have a GT-I9300, you can still help us by posting some
internal pictures, to verify some issues in the manual. If they are good,
some of them will eventually become part of the SGS3 Hack-Pack.
Thanks and Enjoy!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
amazing !!!
Hi guys,
Here is my contribution to da community, hope so it helps.
h t t p s : / / docs . google . com/open?id=0B9lrf7AWQW7ETjRZTkFXb1luN0E
On image 20120616_150200.jpg you can see the region jumpers. The images are of a live demo unit - everything works besides the GSM/3G data. Haven't tested to see if the NFC is working.
The real unit has some more antenna connector. The demo one does not have PBA /printed board antenna/ the ANT102 and ANT103 as well as the capacitors and the coils u may seen them market in red cycles (ANT102, ANT103, C102, C191, L103, L102) there is no room on the MOBO for C192 /or at least I can't find its place/.
Thanks.
^^ Here is the link for above! (Thanks!)
Hi again,
I can confirm that the NFC is working on the live demo unites. According to the original S3 user manual the NFC antennas are build into the battery back.
I still can't figure out what is the "W2" antenna connector for. The Live demo unit has no connector soldered to the motherboard and also lacks the small PCB antenna with the white coaxial cable. Some ppl claim that the W2 is for WiFi antenna, but it is not, because I got great WiFi connectivity tho the lack of such PCB antenna. I can only confirm the WiFi working fine, under "G" type of WiFi networks. The openWRT firmware of my current router has known bug and I can't bring up "N" standard in air, to check if the PCB antenna is for "N" type of WiFi networks.
I also did some testing to see if the PCB is for GLONASS or GPS, and it seams that this PCB antenna with the white coaxial cable is not for any of these services. That's why I think it might be for wifi "N" or 3G data/networks. Donno if the 802.11n requires a separate antenna.
^^ Please post a link to a specific image, that clearly show the connector(s) you're talking about.
Hi I have a live demo unit to, so I think I can help about this =).
I can't show you the mainboard back because I' m new user... xD
I don't really know what you mean with NFC (sorry, I'm not really good with english)
But
W1 is a GSM external antenna conection
W2 is a wifi external antenna conection
And the white wired antenna is for wifi to.
After thinking a lot, if you conect an antenna to the GSM antenna conection (external or the internal lacked in Demo unit) you probably can't use phone function.
That function probably was crippled by software or because demo units don´t have imei maybe o.o.
The only thing I need to try is to connect a microsim to the phone
No one has any insights ???
johnny21a said:
No one has any insights ???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have sgs3, international version on my workbench right now.
Don´t have any clue what could I share, so - if there is anything specific -- let me know. I will do my best..
BR
Samsung galaxy S3 i747
i have a Galaxy S3 SGH-i747m that has been water damaged and given to me so i could try and fix it. I can take pretty much any pictures you want, have openned the phone a couple times now to try and clean it up.
My problem is that the works well, it starts up, unlock the screen, plays sound...but the screen is off. Now at first when i was "playing" with it the screen would flicker on and off to show me the battery charging logo when it was plugged in. I've cleaned the phone and all flex connectors with some products. the phone still turns on and works but my screen is off. It detects the touch since i can unlock the screen ( it plays the water sound when i slide my finger on the screen) and speaker works when i boot it up (little booting sounds).
I was thinking there might be a small fuse on board for the screen backlight and that could be blown. I was also thinking my battery might be damaged and is not giving the phone the right voltage to the right connectors or something so i have ordered a new battery on ebay (under 4$) and am waiting for it.
Anyone has an idea to some specific things i should be looking for ? only thing haven't disassemble is the digitizer from the framebecause doing so would surely break the glass. It bums me up a bit since there are some electronics behind the frame that could have been damaged by the water that i couldn't see.
Bigred065 said:
i have a Galaxy S3 SGH-i747m that has been water damaged and given to me so i could try and fix it. I can take pretty much any pictures you want, have openned the phone a couple times now to try and clean it up.
My problem is that the works well, it starts up, unlock the screen, plays sound...but the screen is off. Now at first when i was "playing" with it the screen would flicker on and off to show me the battery charging logo when it was plugged in. I've cleaned the phone and all flex connectors with some products. the phone still turns on and works but my screen is off. It detects the touch since i can unlock the screen ( it plays the water sound when i slide my finger on the screen) and speaker works when i boot it up (little booting sounds).
I was thinking there might be a small fuse on board for the screen backlight and that could be blown. I was also thinking my battery might be damaged and is not giving the phone the right voltage to the right connectors or something so i have ordered a new battery on ebay (under 4$) and am waiting for it.
Anyone has an idea to some specific things i should be looking for ? only thing haven't disassemble is the digitizer from the framebecause doing so would surely break the glass. It bums me up a bit since there are some electronics behind the frame that could have been damaged by the water that i couldn't see.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
check if you can see anything on the screen, use some extra light, torch for example.
if so - then its more likely that the LEDs in the display panel are damaged, since it flickered, as you said. also could be the driver circuit for backlight. Clean connectors for display panel, use magnifier, or better microscope to check for corrosion. use IPA to clean or scrape off the corrosion.
also - maybe this is not the right place to discuss this.
GL
Redrigon said:
Hi I have a live demo unit to, so I think I can help about this =).
I can't show you the mainboard back because I' m new user... xD
I don't really know what you mean with NFC (sorry, I'm not really good with english)
But
W1 is a GSM external antenna conection
W2 is a wifi external antenna conection
And the white wired antenna is for wifi to.
After thinking a lot, if you conect an antenna to the GSM antenna conection (external or the internal lacked in Demo unit) you probably can't use phone function.
That function probably was crippled by software or because demo units don´t have imei maybe o.o.
The only thing I need to try is to connect a microsim to the phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have he white antenna coaxial cable neigh the PCB antenna board that this cable is connected to but I have WiFi.
Could it be for WiFi N(150Mbps)?
Watter damage, LCD working/not working?
Bigred065 said:
i have a Galaxy S3 SGH-i747m that has been water damaged and given to me so i could try and fix it. I can take pretty much any pictures you want, have openned the phone a couple times now to try and clean it up.
My problem is that the works well, it starts up, unlock the screen, plays sound...but the screen is off. Now at first when i was "playing" with it the screen would flicker on and off to show me the battery charging logo when it was plugged in. I've cleaned the phone and all flex connectors with some products. the phone still turns on and works but my screen is off. It detects the touch since i can unlock the screen ( it plays the water sound when i slide my finger on the screen) and speaker works when i boot it up (little booting sounds).
I was thinking there might be a small fuse on board for the screen backlight and that could be blown. I was also thinking my battery might be damaged and is not giving the phone the right voltage to the right connectors or something so i have ordered a new battery on ebay (under 4$) and am waiting for it.
Anyone has an idea to some specific things i should be looking for ? only thing haven't disassemble is the digitizer from the framebecause doing so would surely break the glass. It bums me up a bit since there are some electronics behind the frame that could have been damaged by the water that i couldn't see.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have identical symptoms with my i9300.
1. Water damaged
2. Dried in a can of rice etc over several days
3. Cleaned under sim card, lots of debris there, looked scorched, I cleaned with alcohol and a brush in an ESD protected environment.
4. Re assembled, the display briefly flashed on, and showed the expected "Battery is low, an d No Sim Card" then powered off.
5. Now after charging the battery and emplacing my sim card, I hear the proper musical tones when the phone boots but the screen doesn't light.
Where you able to get the screen working?
I am going to try a more throughal cleaning and I will try viewing the LCD under a more power full light.
I too worry that just getting the LCD screen replaced might not work; the screen may be fine but the mother board LCD power supply might be at fault...
I will keep you posted and keep an eye on this forum to find out how to fix this.
This thread has served its main purpose.
OT discussions are prevalent.
Thread Closed!