Make your notification LED brighter!! - Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

First of all this probably voids your warranty. It isn't too difficult to do but If you aren't comfortable disassembling your N4 then don't attempt this. Don't blame me if you mess something up. there are plenty of videos out there showing how to take your N4 apart in better detail than what i have pictured here.
Pros:
LEDs are brighter because the light travels through easier.
Cons:
The white and cyan look similar and the same with pink and purple. With the white and cyan you can see the red, blue and green part of the actual tri-color LED. hard to explain and my junk camera couldn't capture it.
1. Remove battery cover
2. Remove the 2 pieces of plastic covering the mainboard and charge port flex cable.
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3. Remove the white cable and charger port flex cable
4. First i used alcohol on a Q-tip and rubbed off the first white layer INSIDE of the circle where the led shines through. I used a really small flat head screwdriver to VERY GENTLY scrape away the second white layer inside of this circle(this layer felt almost like a very thin vinyl decal) Make sure not to scrape too hard or you might be able to see the scratch from the front side of the phone. Once all the white is gone clean it up real well with more alcohol on a Q-tip. Hold it up to a light and look through to see if you missed any spots.
5. I used a small corner of the sim tool plastic to put in the circle. it helped to kind of blend the colors together it might not really be necessary to do. If you use the plastic like i did be careful because the plastic can slide in between the glass and the frame and you will probably never get it out. That's why i cut it into a square and just pushed the center of it in. I would suggest to use a piece of transparent tape(the frosted looking kind) to stick in there.
6. Reassemble and your good to go
RED
ORANGE
YELLOW
GREEN
BLUE
PINK
PURPLE and WHITE looked like blue from the camera i used so i didnt include pics of them.
I'm sure most people wont try this but for the people that will make sure to take your time.
Thanks for checkin it out.

I'm scared.. Good work though..
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

You've got balls of steel to do this to your N4.. but it looks like it worked out! I'm tempted to try this but I'm worried about screwing something up. Good tutorial, though.

Credit where its due but I prefer the dimmer LED. I use lightflow and it lights up orange and green when charging, the LED on the GNex would light the room.

Nice work. I actually like the dim/grainy LED on this phone though
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

You know if you flash PACMan ROM or AOKP you can change the brightness... lol sounds like a lot of work to go through but well done! :good:

Gamertroid said:
You know if you flash PACMan ROM or AOKP you can change the brightness... lol sounds like a lot of work to go through but well done! :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried them and it didn't seem like the LEDs got any brighter.

Years ago we did this to the Samsung vibrant for a front facing camera, using goo gone for the paint is better than alcohol. Good mod none the less.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium

justin g. said:
I tried them and it didn't seem like the LEDs got any brighter.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yer I tried it after posting and I didn't notice a difference as well.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Premium HD app

Talk about way too much free time.

Related

Dirrty Hero needs cleaning

I'm going to sell my white Hero soon, as I have preordered a Desire.
Problem is, the white color on the front has a hint of discoloration.
How should I go about to get it white again? I thought about using cotton and acetone, but maybe it's too strong?
I have attached a pic to illustrate. You can see the darker color against the white "search & back" button.
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Don't pay any attention to gabrieltit. He's been banned at least six times, and wears shirts with no sleeves.
craig0r said:
Don't pay any attention to gabrieltit. He's been banned at least six times, and wears shirts with no sleeves.
Click to expand...
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hehe, thanks. just by reading the first sentence I could see the where it was going.
zaphyr said:
hehe, thanks. just by reading the first sentence I could see the where it was going.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
have a look on google for restoring old monitors and pc's im sure lifehacker has somegood guides, might help you a bit! I would use normal kichen multi purpose cleaner with a cotton swab...
zaphyr said:
I'm going to sell my white Hero soon, as I have preordered a Desire.
Problem is, the white color on the front has a hint of discoloration.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is the following of any use? From the htc hero spec page:
Keep your phone dry to reduce the chances of dirt adhering to the finish. If the back of your phone gets dirty, remove the back cover in accordance with the instructions in the user manual and use a lightly dampened melamine foam eraser (aka. magic eraser) to remove any marks. After thoroughly drying the back cover, replace it on the phone.
I tried with the melamine foam eraser, but unfortunately it doesn't seem to do much... I have exactly the same issue with discolored plastic on my white Hero - it only affects the front of the phone, and not the teflon covered back cover.
If you look at the top of the phone, the contrast between the discolored front and the (still) white back cover is very visible.
What to do next (except for buying a Desire or N1)? Acetone might be too strong, but I'm just speculating on that. Maybe vinegar or a combination of vinegar and baking soda could do the trick?
I haven't tried yet. All I found in the house was my wife's nail polish remover, and that did nothing....but it smells nicer now
zaphyr said:
Photo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why did you 'shop a stock image of a phone rather than just take a picture of your actual phone. Surely this would have been easier
Ive used one of these fabrics you use for clean your glasses. It removed all marks.
Change the full back and front cover? It really is easy.
One of them is a white hero and ones a grey one
andrewb84uk said:
Change the full back and front cover? It really is easy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any idea where I might get a front cover? I did a quick search for it on ebay when I bought a new back cover, but couldn't find any
EDIT
I found whole housings on ebay, they go for £30-35
But one month delivery time from Hong Kong is a long time to wait...
Just to finish this, I never managed to get the white color back. I have used fairly strong stuff, but nothing happens. Kudos to HTC for using a strong plastic material though! I think many other phones would get disfigured if I gave them the same treatment.
So, I'll just try to sell it as is, when I get the Desire in a few days.
Case closed

Red earpiece

So, i was REALLY in to the red earpiece...or speaker...whatever...that they originally had on the EVO, so i decided to buy a sharpie and do it myself, turned out pretty well! Any imperfections are UNDER the hole punched metal piece, or are just reflections from lights in my room learned that after drawing on it a couple times. If anyone is interested in doing this, warning, it probably voids warranty, but you could probably get it off fairly easily if you use a paper clip and a napkin with some type of remover on it though. Also note, if you do this, you need the fine point sharpies, and need to press in to the corners a bit to shape the tip to them, won't get all of it otherwise. Pictures:
NOTE: it has been proven that this can be removed using a q-tip and rubbing alcohol:
Geniusdog254 said:
[*]The stuff does come off quite easily with a Q-TIP dipped in alcohol (GermX works too, it's 95% alcohol after all lol)
Click to expand...
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use this type of sharpie!:
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pictar 1
Lol'd at the ghetto system i had for taking the picture, had my old phone as the weight on the back arm of the webcam too .
pictar 3
pictar 4
wow, turned out better than I would have imagined. I suppose the color choices would be endless given the wide array of sharpie colors available. hmm, the possibilities.
cesjr02 said:
wow, turned out better than I would have imagined. I suppose the color choices would be endless given the wide array of sharpie colors available. hmm, the possibilities.
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I agree, but with the metal being more grey and not white, you might have problems with colors like yellow or pink. Otherwise, i think you would be good to go, the darker, the better i would say. But, thanks .
Wow that came out really nice, I might have to pick up a red sharpie today
i always envied the incredible because of this...sweet....
Hm I'm def. gunna buy a red sharpie today!
One thing I'm worried about though is removing it. Has anyone actually tried to get it off how the OP mentioned? If it comes off fine I'll definitely be doing it!
EDIT: Also, how does the LED look with this? Does it get miscolored at all?
very nice.
Looks great. Id be too scared though lol.
Doesn't come off meaning warranty is pointless
Is the visibility of the led affected?
From Team HTC Evo.
I would love to hear the reason for denying a warranty claim due to this...but that being said I'm sure a Q-Tip SLIGHTLY moistened with Goof-Off would take it right off.
Coloring the vent doesn't affect the warranty, as it does not change anything in respect to operation and functionality.
Rubbing alcohol will easily remove sharpie. Less of a chance screwing something up with that vs. goof-off.
Sharpie also makes paint pens if you are interested in a more permanent solution.
Going to have to get s sharpie now.. I've also liked the red piece as well. Don't see why they changed it in the first place.
Like others have asked.. does the LED still light up fine?
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
jkinnison90 said:
Like others have asked.. does the LED still light up fine?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No effect at all works fine
Awesome xD. Gonna have to do this now.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Alright, against my better judgement I did this myself. Here's my results:
First off, its REALLY difficult to get the very corners. I ripped up the end of my Sharpie in the process
The stuff does come off quite easily with a Q-TIP dipped in alcohol (GermX works too, it's 95% alcohol after all lol)
Its also damn near impossible to get it out of the very top corners (assuming you can get it there to begin with) but it can be done
The amber LED isn't impeded at all, but there is a center stripe on mine where the green LED is slightly blocked.
Here's a pic of mine: http://twitpic.com/29iq8a
To all those questioning if the LED is affected, no, it isn't, works like a charm! There is absolutely no downside to this in my opinion, even if it didn't come off, i would simply tell the guy at the sprint store it came that way if need be. And to the guy above, you used a fine tip one right? i mean all i did was push it in to one corner to shape the tip, thenwent all around, even the inner corners on each end work fine when you really push it in there(that's what she said). I tried a regular sharpie originally, and it DOES NOT WORK, i was worried if i pushed it in too hard, some of the ink would saturate out of the tip and in to the actual internals with a regular sharpie, so if you guys want to do it easily, use a fine point sharpie.
TickLe MY eLMo said:
To all those questioning if the LED is affected, no, it isn't, works like a charm! There is absolutely no downside to this in my opinion, even if it didn't come off, i would simply tell the guy at the sprint store it came that way if need be. And to the guy above, you used a fine tip one right? i mean all i did was push it in to one corner to shape the tip, thenwent all around, even the inner corners on each end work fine when you really push it in there(that's what she said). I tried a regular sharpie originally, and it DOES NOT WORK, i was worried if i pushed it in too hard, some of the ink would saturate out of the tip and in to the actual internals with a regular sharpie, so if you guys want to do it easily, use a fine point sharpie.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used a fine tipped Sharpie, it was the kind that clicks like a pen too, but it was definitely the fine point. There's tiny part ~.5mm in each corner I couldn't get that you can only see if you look straight at the phone, but it isn't that big a deal.
That's flippin sweet. I'm going to pick me up a sharpie tomorrow.

Scraped some paint on the Evo ;)

I don't recommend doing this if you value your manufacturers warranty!
I also do not take credit for the idea, as I saw it on a post on another android forum (linked from the white evo with black battery cover thread in the evo accessory forum).
Either way, just wanted to post some decent quality pics of how well this can turn out. I actually took the pics with my dads evo
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What I did was take the battery cover off, and mask over the holes of the phone (don't want any scraps getting into anything, this is a messy project).
Then take a sharp razor blade, and start scraping away at the paint. Don't try to cut into it, rather pull the blade along the edge of the phone.
Start at the bottom so you can get the hang of it (and its less noticeable if you mess up).
I took my time on this, took about 30-45 minutes but I got all the edges and corners perfect.
Be careful around the headphone jack, this was the hardest part for me.
Wow! Looks great
I must say that looks pretty nice.
So the plastic is naturally red?
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
gqstatus0685 said:
So the plastic is naturally red?
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
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yep; dropped my phone last week, exposed some red plastic on the back corner. may go ahead and do this. don't see why this would void the warranty though . . .
So this with a red back would make a limited edition red evo
Sent From My HTC Evo Using Tapatalk Pro!
I'm drooling... I want my phone to look like that.... but...
I would totally screw this up...
jhayes said:
I'm drooling... I want my phone to look like that.... but...
I would totally screw this up...
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Click to collapse
true that.
awesome work man!
Yep all the plastics on the phone are red. Just carefully drag a razor blade along the edges to get the paint off. Like I said, don't try to cut into it, it'll look like crap.
Wow, yes that looks awesome. Makes you wonder why they dont make a completely red evo if the plastic is already red.
I'll try this tonight.
sitlet said:
Wow, yes that looks awesome. Makes you wonder why they dont make a completely red evo if the plastic is already red.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was originally supposed to be, but verizon had claims on the red theme with their incredible, then changed the incredible at the last minute and the evo was stuck with the black facelift. Or something along those lines, don't know the exact story but I had asked about it at my sprint training and thats what I was told
that looks great, very a-team looking!
sitlet said:
Wow, yes that looks awesome. Makes you wonder why they dont make a completely red evo if the plastic is already red.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Propanly because HTC values their office customers. A red one would be too playful. A limited edition tho....
Love wat u did yetiguy!
Wow
jus finish my....LOOKS GREAT
Wow looks great!! Unfortunately I use a black silicone case. I may have to order a crystal silicone case just so I can see this mod.
Looks great!
I think I'm going to take mine apart rub away paint using a solvent that way there's no chance of cut in or paint sliver getting into device.
The take apart getting back off is pretty easy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14d41PM8Bzk
Tamper proof sticker re-placement is no big deal did it all the time on my blackberry 9630,s & 9650
very nice!
please post an image of how this turns out if you end up doing it!
sling said:
Looks great!
I think I'm going to take mine apart rub away paint using a solvent that way there's no chance of cut in or paint sliver getting into device.
The take apart getting back off is pretty easy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14d41PM8Bzk
Tamper proof sticker re-placement is no big deal did it all the time on my blackberry 9630,s & 9650
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
looks amazing man but we all know how sprint is yellow right what if they matched it with the yellow and black

I shall call you Bumblebee!!!

Got bored after having a red housing for a while, so I decided to change it.
Let me know what you guys think. Any suggestions? What colors would you
like to see. Only took me about 3 days for primer, paint, and clear coat.
****Camera bezel is all chrome color, and kickstand is flat black. Forgot to mention that in original post.
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awesome, very sweet looking
That as got to be the hottest mod yet! How'd you do it?
Bro that looks great, I would like to see titanium-like color.
Sent from my Evo [CM7] running Pure Google™
Thanks all. The process isn't all that difficult to one thats familiar with painting and modding their electronics. Ive been painting xbox 360s and figured that the back housing on the EVO is just smaller but really the same concept. I wish I had actual auto paint available and the skill to use it cause I know it would look 1000x better. This is just simply an primer, an enamel, and flat clear coat. Sad to say but over time the clear coat and paint will come off and I'll be back at square one. But thanks for the praises so far.
Im not hating brah, but do you think that clear is going to hold up? I mean with use and all.. Does it have a hardener in it?
mroneeyedboh said:
Im not hating brah, but do you think that clear is going to hold up? I mean with use and all.. Does it have a hardener in it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dont worry I know where youre coming from. And I agree 100% that it will not hold up in the long run.
What you should do is run the matted blue theme, and paint it to match. Go for the full matted blue look. Looks great as is though, if a bit bright
Sent from my blah blah blah blah
Why does you phone look like it swallowed two batteries?
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
also which battery door is that? I like it better than the ebay ones.
Nice I want to see one just like that but with red instead of yellow. Looks nice.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
mroneeyedboh said:
also which battery door is that? I like it better than the ebay ones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its the extended battery door that came with the battery from Sprint. $54.99 is a lot but I dont have battery issues lol.
sand1303 said:
Nice I want to see one just like that but with red instead of yellow. Looks nice.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Red is what color I had before. My co-workers said the phone looked like a pair of Jordans. I will post pics of the Red in the morning.
Automobile Paint Markers
There is a range of markers which apply auto enamel, from Uchida , called DecoColor - opaque paint marker. http://tinyurl.com/35kmq6t
Nice contrasting look btw.
That looks sick! I can barely make a dash of red through the speaker holes, but it's a minor quibble. This looks amazing. If you can get a more permanent application set, I bet a lot of people would give good money for this mod. Well done. Very impressive.
Swyped from my EVO
Its a bumblebeevo! Looks nice! Id like mine to have that light, glow in the dark green.
That is awesome, im going to try this on mines
kr1m3boss said:
That is awesome, im going to try this on mines
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do keep in mind that if you have to take your phone to sprint, they will most likely flag your phone as "Damaged beyond repair" and thus causing you to claim insurance. Yet again I stress, this WILL void your warranty.
"I fight for the Users" and replied from my EVO
how did you do the chrome around the camera?
Simply did a wet sand and all the red came off

Red Softkeys

I was jealous of my moms new Rezound and its red softkeys, and needed to replace my screen and battery cover anyway so I got the red battery cover and decided to make my softkeys red aswell. Its a pretty simple concept. Get some Testors Candy Apple Red translucent paint or its equivalent, spray a piece of cardboard with the paint, and use a broken Q tip to dab the paint onto the back of the screen in multiple layers (you'll see how thick I put it on) and let it dry. This is a spare digitizer I messed up, just to do the demo on)
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and the results:
I'm going to paint the bezel red next, and maybe plasti-dip the whole thing as well.
That kicks ass.
I like it, but with the red being obviously less transparent, it seems to dim for my liking, especially in day light. Then again, at night it's blinding and i wish it was more dim! what a catch-22
I disabled the Soft Button LEDs. They were WAY too bright at night! Also, I have no need for them to be illuminated since I can already press each one blind-folded. Those red buttons do look pretty cool though. Don't all the current new phones have multi-color options in all their LEDs (The notification and soft button LEDs)? I know I've seen a bunch of apps that allow you to get in there and change the color of your notification LED/Soft Buttons so I assumed most new phones have it.
Was about to attempt this but unfortunately the screw head had blocked me lol. Very nice though man.
Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk 2
That's pretty awesome. Dunno if I'd want them to be red forever... but still cool nonetheless.
Looking nice. Can also yellow, would brighter.
Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk
if i still had softkey lights on my inc id so do this. too bad i ripped them out.
good idea!
that is SOOO awesome. i figure you could also use red see through tape? or, the VHT red tail light tint spray paint that car tuners use to paint their tail lights.
equisbox said:
that is SOOO awesome. i figure you could also use red see through tape? or, the VHT red tail light tint spray paint that car tuners use to paint their tail lights.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well actually the spray I used was leftovers from painting the yellow turn signals in my taillights red. I'm sure anything transparent will work.
hehe, I painted the buttons back in the day on my old dare
thats pretty cool
dude how did you get the screen off?
if you could PM me or post a vid for those who arent that smart(or who just dont want to F up their only phone)
Thanks guys
This is really cool. I was looking for a way to revamp my Dinc. I found that using a sharpie works well. I'm using blue right now. I've changed the color multiple times. Just use some alcohol to it wipe off and then color a different color on.
---------- Post added at 09:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:37 PM ----------
lukkypuggy said:
dude how did you get the screen off?
if you could PM me or post a vid for those who arent that smart(or who just dont want to F up their only phone)
Thanks guys
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey. I'm not sure if you ever got your question answered, but search YouTube for how to disassemble the droid incredible. The one by Repairsuniverse is good. Sorry I can post the link. I don't have enough posts yet
The ribbon cable right next to the trackpad is for the soft keys. Once you get the screen off you can just pull them off, and use whatever you were gonna use to color them. I find that I can't take the ribbon cable for the LCD out until I start taking the motherboard out. The others I just use my finger to disconnect them. Hope this helps!
I can post links now! Here's the video I was referring to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lr4uy9yKqIE

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