Database Users

Has anyone opened up their HD2??

Hey anyone already opened up their HD2? I need to open mine since my back button got stuck while my baby girl tried to press too hard on it. Now the back button feels like it's not presing at all compared to the other buttons.
i also have a spare housing that I am thinking of putting in.
Anyone can point me to the right direction?
Thanks

i've had the back off mine.
first search youtube for leo disassembly and you'll find an htc disassembly video: "leo Ds" (and another "leo As" for reassembly). they are somewhat daunting, but do not despair!
mine came back from a htc warranty service with a fingerprint on the inside of the lens glass and i couldn't be bothered sending it back again for cleaning so i did it myself. cracking the case isn't all that easy, or wasn't for me.
after you remove the 4 screws (get the void sticker and moisture indicator out with a pin), you still have to unclip the back from the chassis. WHY do electronics manufacturers design them like that??! in the video the tech uses a plastic hooked tool which i do not possess so i had to rely on my fingernails -- which i nearly pulled out! i tried for a good 15 minutes before it finally separated (with me sweating all the way that i was going to damage the LCD with the force i was having to apply). but it all finished happily in the end.
good luck with yours!

Not sure if it's worth it.
1st things 1st, watch the video on youtube..
.
Assuming u broke the keypad (just like me, but mine is right in the middle) at about the 6th minute of the disassembly video, they'll show u where u'd be replacing the keypad.
Removing the 'lcm and follow the indicator' isnt as simple as it look. you'd find the glue to be really tough. Putting it in an oven, sure, it'd be hot to the touch, and let it cool down a bit it'd be hard again. Hairdryer? Still too hot. Gloves?u'll lose touch sesitivity. So what i did was use a small blade/box cutter and cut which ever visible glue... and assembling, i had to replace all the double sided tape with some cheap ones...weak ones. Could be a good thing.. or a bad thing. Good, cos i know i dont have to wrestle with some really tough glue..in case i ruined my lcd again.... bad.. cos its..not that secure, i rmember that i nearly ripped it open unintentionally!
Neway replacing my digitizer+lcd took about 3 hours...had a couple of breaks, and spent 15 mins looking for the proximity sensor or was it the ambient light sense 'lense'..very tiny things those things are. So be careful...cos i eventually lost it..grrr
Anyway, Best of luck.. .now to find a replacement keypad that cost less than 5usd..hehe

dsx2b said:
1st things 1st, watch the video on youtube..
spent 15 mins looking for the proximity sensor or was it the ambient light sense 'lense'..very tiny things those things are. So be careful...cos i eventually lost it..grrr5usd..hehe
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
a good tip here is to work with the phone in a large tupperware box so that if something drops out it can't go anywhere.
note to the OP: i've read several posts where people damaged the ribbon cable connecting the bottom buttons to the mainboard so be careful. it looks very delicate.

Having just opened mine up several times recently I can offer a couple of tips.
1. Unscrew the four screws - they are T5 torx size.
2. Use thin stiff plastic pieces (I found the plastic case that nails are sold in to be the right stiffness and thickness). Cut some up and push them between the case and the phone works so that they hold each of the locking tabs out in turn. I used five or six bits to do this. Three on the vol control side, two at the top and one on the top area of the other side.
3. Then pushing out at the top where the battery would sit while prying with finger nails outward on the long vol control side you can work each of the locking tabs out so the plastic bits hold them unlocked. Do this along that side, across the top and down the other side working each one a little bit as you go and repeat.
4. This should allow the top edge to come out allowing you to lift is out and "up" so that the button end slides out.
This worked very well for me..several times.
The display is held to the electronics portion by double sided tape and yes it is very strong. But you can soften the adhesion significantly using a heat gun. But you must be careful to heat the whole area to avoid thermal differences cracking the screen. The heat will loosen the tapes grip allowing you to pry the screen away from the electronics side.
Note that the screen is made up of the LCD covered by the glued on digitizer and they are connected with a single ribbon cable on the lower right hand side (I think from memory). This means the screen has to lift off with a hinge action. Lifting along the opposite long edge to the ribbon cable, rather than lift from the top or bottom.
Hope this helps.

Hi, I tried to open mine and followeed the video, be careful as the video makes it look much easier than what it really is, I ended up ruining my device, just take your time and do it slowly.

Thanks guys! Gonna try it over the weekend. Worst case is that I break my case or put some cosmetic damage. I have a spare case though hehe.
The problem about the key is the back button feels stuck.... the other buttons are snappy and have a tactile sort of feel, where as the back button doesn't have the same feel. looks like it was pressed to hard and never popped back up...
just annoying when i've been very careful with the phone.

ok looks like i wouldn't have to open my phone.... i tried to but then there's a warranty void sticker, so I just called tmobile and explained about the back key being stuck.... and they're sending me a replacement.
i'm gonna lose my invisible shield full body though... but better than risking breaking my phone....

[Q] Broken LCD screen :(

Hey im panicing so bad rite now. I just broke my htc's LCD screen ! Mad sad from this disaster . Dont got much money so can someone please tell me whats the cheapest or best way to replace or fix it ? I really need help because im freaking out!

The repair choices
There are basically two choices. Doing it yourself or having it repaired.
In either case the most straight forward is to replace the screen and digitizer as one unit. I expect you can still see things on the screen yet its cracked from one corner. Its the digitizer on the top that usually suffers but its hard to replace by itself. There is a YouTube video showing how to do this (search on Replace Touch Screen on HTC HD2 on YouTube).
If you are game to do it yourself (an electronics tech would be able to do it fairly well, though it is still fairly difficult) then you can buy a complete screen and digitizer off ebay (around $100). Getting the unit out of the case is tricky as its held in with 4xT5 Torx screws (easy bit) and lock notches around the case (tricky part). I found thin stiff plastic bits slotted in between the module and the case works well at releasing the locking notches. Then press out at the top of the battery area, while pulling the top edge of the plastic case out and down with your finger nails. One side at a time. Don't forget to remove the SIM card and SD card as these will hold the module in place if not removed.
The double sided tapes used to hold the screen in place are a problem, but warming them up with a carefully applied heat gun does release them. I would add that there is no need to unscrew any of the electronics boards as the screen can be replaced without doing this. Releasing the screen ribbon cable connector is done by flipping up the black locking section on the ribbon socket. Slide in the new cable, lock it down, then curl it around as you slide it backward under the metal case so that the curl in the cable occurs in that small space under the metal rather than being folded over sharply, which can fracture the ribbon cable "wires" rendering the screen dead.
Press the screen back down onto the tape (hopefully the tape has remained slick enough as its all that holds the screen in place). Be careful to align the edges and top and bottom correctly, otherwise your buttons won't work and the screen will not sit in the case properly. You can test the buttons as you align to feel for the slight click. Be sure to test all four as alignment left to right is just as critical for full function as up and down. You should also watch to be sure the light sensor little plastic bit (its a small clear cube of plastic) doesn't fall out and disappear while you are doing the screen swap and it stays in place during reassembly.
Then press it home into the plastic case. I remove the volume button (if it hasn't fallen out already) as it tends to push the volume button pads out of alignment (they are only held in with yellow tape (be careful not to loose them). Then with it all snapped in place pull out at the volume button section and slot the button back in place. Orientation is fairly obvious with the button points lower down and the joining bar going behind the case plastic to lock it in place (all with the screen facing upward). You may find the volume button only works if you press down on the screen slightly. This movement will be taken up when you screw the 4 torx screws back in.
Finish by powering up (with fingers crossed) and test. Hopefully all working.
Alternatively, if thats put you off doing it yourself, get it repaired by a service agent (around $300). Then it comes back all done with a small warranty. Most of the phone providers will be able to direct you to a good independent service agent.

HTC Aria Screen Take Apart Repair Guide

If you have issue with your touchscreen digitizer and LCD screen, we will take you through the steps on how to disassemble your HTC Aria phone safely and easily so you can install replacement parts and repair your phone. This will help you replace a damaged or cracked glass touch screen digitizer, or a broken LCD screen as well as other damaged parts.
This guide will help you to install the following HTC Aria part(s):
HTC Aria Glass Touch Screen Digitizer Replacement
Tools Required:
Safe Open Pry Tool
Small Phillips Screwdriver
Tri Wing Screwdriver
Steps:
First remove the 4 tri wing screws using tri wing tools as shown at figure 1.
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Figure 1​
Then remove the back cover, the top section of the phone including the battery, the sim card and the memory card.
Next, lift off the the top section which contains the power button.
Then use the safe pry tool, release the clips and remove the button piece of the phone.
Next, release the pop ribbon connector of the LCD screen as shown at figure 2.
Figure 2​
Then use safe pry tool to separate the LCD screen and the glass screen away from the phone. Gently pry and lift off as there is still a connector at the top of the screen.
Remove the 2 screws using Small Phillips screw driver. Then use safe pry tool to pop off the earpiece.
Figure 3​
Gently lift off the metal cover to release the screen digitizer cable. Once the ribbon cable is disconnected, you can now totally separate the screen from the phone.
Figure 4​
To separate the LCD screen, you will need to use your hot air gun or hair dryer to heat up the glue that holds the glass in place, then you can gently pry it off using your open safe pry tool.
Now you will be able to replace any parts on your HTC Aria. Simply replace the damaged parts with the new ones and reverse the order to put your phone back together again.

Where can I get an adhesive tape for the digitizer, mine has lost it's stickiness and there a gap is starteing to appear between the digitizer and the screen. I've found only strange sites that sell this, without an option to pay in paypal.
I'm also looking for the adhesive tape that it is on the bottom part of the phone. as you can see there are two stripes on both sides of the trackball:

CaptainMaki said:
Where can I get an adhesive tape for the digitizer, mine has lost it's stickiness and there a gap is starteing to appear between the digitizer and the screen. I've found only strange sites that sell this, without an option to pay in paypal.
I'm also looking for the adhesive tape that it is on the bottom part of the phone. as you can see there are two stripes on both sides of the trackball:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We actually have the adhesive strips on our site here - Adhesive Strips
It's not a strange site and PayPal is an option
This will fix both you issues.

Paul, thx for the tip.
Actually I prefer no to cut the stripes myself, since cutting them to 2mm stripes is not easily done.
I wish you had the digitizer adhesive "square" pre made, like there are for other devices.
I will just order 2mm tape for the digitizer and 4mm tape for the bottom part.
btw, any useful tip on how to peel the paper from the tape after you adhere the tape on the one side to the phone? would be very helpful.
PS.
your site and videos are great!

CaptainMaki said:
Paul, thx for the tip.
Actually I prefer no to cut the stripes myself, since cutting them to 2mm stripes is not easily done.
I wish you had the digitizer adhesive "square" pre made, like there are for other devices.
I will just order 2mm tape for the digitizer and 4mm tape for the bottom part.
btw, any useful tip on how to peel the paper from the tape after you adhere the tape on the one side to the phone? would be very helpful.
PS.
your site and videos are great!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Strips are very easy and simple to cut.
You would actually need to cut any strips as you need to avoid blocking the sensor hole etc.
Just place the strips in place. Once ready just remove the backing then install. We actually have an video showing the adhesive process on YouTube if you want to check it out.

No Video
Thanks for the guide. I successfully replaced the digitizer and was able to start up the phone but no video from the LCD screen. It was working previously. When it starts up the screen lights a little but is blank dark screen, not white. Everything else works including the digitizer touch screen.
I checked the LCD connector and digitizer connector several times but still same problem. Is it possible that the LCD got damaged during disassembly?

all. We actually have an video showing the adhesive process on YouTube if you want to check it out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
where can I find it?

weniejoy said:
Thanks for the guide. I successfully replaced the digitizer and was able to start up the phone but no video from the LCD screen. It was working previously. When it starts up the screen lights a little but is blank dark screen, not white. Everything else works including the digitizer touch screen.
I checked the LCD connector and digitizer connector several times but still same problem. Is it possible that the LCD got damaged during disassembly?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My first thought would be to check the connector for the LCD and make sure it is fully inserted and is secure making a full connection.
If its connected fully and still not functioning and the phone is powering normally then you may of damaged it and will need a replacement however it's most likely a connection problem.

CaptainMaki said:
where can I find it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can find our video guide here - HTC Aria Screen Replacement Repair Guide

Stickied for the time being

Thanks! This couldn't come at a better time. I dropped my phone yesterday and the screen shattered. I'm not due for an upgrade for another few months so looks like I'll be repairing it myself
Thanks again!

Glad we could help!
Make sure to remember to give us a "thanks" for our thanks meter!

I ordered a replacement digitizer from RepairsUniverse. The video helped a lot for disassembly, and I was grateful that the "tape strips" I ordered ended up being about 8 square inches of tape!
My tips:
After plugging the digitizer connector back in, replace the two tiny screws and attach the screen to the phone (not to the digitizer). This will make it easier to clean off and attach new double-sided tape to the screen. If you leave the white stuff on the tape, you can fold the digitizer back to its normal place and power up the phone to make sure everything works. Then peel off the white stuff and attach the digitizer permanently.
The new digitizer didn't come with the white plastic "diffuser" taped to the back, underneath the four menu buttons (Back, Home, etc..) I didn't realize that 'til I put it back together. The menu buttons work fine, but without the diffuser and the black tape below it, the menu area looks "cheap" when it's lit up. It's not a big deal to me.
For me, putting the earpiece back in was the most time-consuming part. It wanted to keep popping back out on its own. I ended up using a tiny bit of double-sided tape between the earpiece and the screen, which held it in place.
Everything seems to work perfectly, except for the ambient light sensor. I cut plenty of clearance for it and the proximity sensor beside it, but I somehow lost the auto-brightness feature. The proximity sensor works fine. Maybe some light from the screen is leaking in and saturating the sensor.
It's nice not having an AT&T logo on the phone any more.

MondoMor said:
I ordered a replacement digitizer from RepairsUniverse. The video helped a lot for disassembly, and I was grateful that the "tape strips" I ordered ended up being about 8 square inches of tape!
My tips:
After plugging the digitizer connector back in, replace the two tiny screws and attach the screen to the phone (not to the digitizer). This will make it easier to clean off and attach new double-sided tape to the screen. If you leave the white stuff on the tape, you can fold the digitizer back to its normal place and power up the phone to make sure everything works. Then peel off the white stuff and attach the digitizer permanently.
The new digitizer didn't come with the white plastic "diffuser" taped to the back, underneath the four menu buttons (Back, Home, etc..) I didn't realize that 'til I put it back together. The menu buttons work fine, but without the diffuser and the black tape below it, the menu area looks "cheap" when it's lit up. It's not a big deal to me.
For me, putting the earpiece back in was the most time-consuming part. It wanted to keep popping back out on its own. I ended up using a tiny bit of double-sided tape between the earpiece and the screen, which held it in place.
Everything seems to work perfectly, except for the ambient light sensor. I cut plenty of clearance for it and the proximity sensor beside it, but I somehow lost the auto-brightness feature. The proximity sensor works fine. Maybe some light from the screen is leaking in and saturating the sensor.
It's nice not having an AT&T logo on the phone any more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad you were able to repair your phone successfully.
You can transfer the white diffuser over to the new screen and this will sort out the light issue.

Thanks for this I cracked my screen along time ago.

Thanks for this post! Helped me fix my buddy's phone when he dropped it and wasn't up for an upgrade yet!

gibby_ said:
Thanks for this post! Helped me fix my buddy's phone when he dropped it and wasn't up for an upgrade yet!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad to hear! We also have a downloadable version of this repair guide as well as video guide for the Aria.

Thanks for this post! I'll fix my phone!

Machaon studio said:
Thanks for this post! I'll fix my phone!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're very Welcome! Good Luck with your repair and don't forget to give "Thanks" to this post!
Cheers!

thank you for sharing. has video so it could be more detailed, I find the majority of screen htc glued so sure, so the replacement and repair is very difficult

HTC HD2 assembly problem

Hi guys,
I just disassembled my HD2 to replace my broken digitizer and touchscreen.
But now i'm stuck with a problem.
What shall I use to glue both items together again?
And the keyboard makes some issues.
I tried to place both parts over eachother to see if they fit but I can't press the keys after it.
Seems like they are stuck.
That's why I didn't want to use superglue because after assembling it I wouldn't be able to change anything.
Maybe pictures tell more than words.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8Q7mXdcJ54&feature=player_embedded
hope that helps you

thanks wasn't the information I was looking for but nevermind
I assembled the device now .. but the next problem occured ..
the hd2 is loading without problems (led shows it) but when I try to power it on it's completely dead. nothing happends
with my old touchscreen it was at least possible to power it on.
my question is:
could the new soldered touchscreen + digitizer be broken? or did I break something during disassembly and assembly?
To be honest I didn't see any mistakes I made.
It's not my first time repairing stuff like that because I used to repair notebooks as a hobby.
Still i'm unsure what the heck is going on with my phone atm.

did you check if the flex cable from display is in the port, there is an white stripe that shows how far it must in the port. Did the phone vibrate when you pressed power button?

I checked the cables and found nothing suspicious.
and the phone didnt even vibrate after trying to power it on.
I'm trying to get a new hardkey board (i hope you know what I mean).
Had problems with the keys being stuck and maybe I killed that one by trying to assemble it.
if the phone doesn't recognize me pushing the power on key it's no wonder it won't do anything.
hope this will fix the problem

12dollar said:
I checked the cables and found nothing suspicious.
and the phone didnt even vibrate after trying to power it on.
I'm trying to get a new hardkey board (i hope you know what I mean).
Had problems with the keys being stuck and maybe I killed that one by trying to assemble it.
if the phone doesn't recognize me pushing the power on key it's no wonder it won't do anything.
hope this will fix the problem
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most likely something is wrong with your Power button, but you should turn it on with 2nd method:
- pull out battery;
- insert usb cable(connected to PC)/charger in your usb port;
- insert battery.
This way it should turn on whatever OS you have installed on.
If your OS is Android through MAGLDR, connecting it through usb should turn it on by default, unless your battery is not dead!
Check it out!

bib*oops said:
Most likely something is wrong with your Power button, but you should turn it on with 2nd method:
- pull out battery;
- insert usb cable(connected to PC)/charger in your usb port;
- insert battery.
This way it should turn on whatever OS you have installed on.
If your OS is Android through MAGLDR, connecting it through usb should turn it on by default, unless your battery is not dead!
Check it out!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just did as you said and yeah the phone came to life.
so there is definately a dead power button (probably the board is broken)

12dollar said:
I just did as you said and yeah the phone came to life.
so there is definately a dead power button (probably the board is broken)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad to hear that!
Definitely you should replace your keypad flex!

Did you fix the problem with the hardware keys
Hi,
I have very similar problem.
I changed the touch screen on my HD2 and after reassembling I cannot get the hardware keys clicked.
I ordered a brand new key board and brand new plastic buttons. I received them but situation is the same.
If somebody can explain is there any trick during adjusting the plastic buttons to the clickable "small dots" on the board - please help me.
Best Regards

maznevh said:
Hi,
I have very similar problem.
I changed the touch screen on my HD2 and after reassembling I cannot get the hardware keys clicked.
I ordered a brand new key board and brand new plastic buttons. I received them but situation is the same.
If somebody can explain is there any trick during adjusting the plastic buttons to the clickable "small dots" on the board - please help me.
Best Regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Normally this is always down to glass digitizer not being aligned correctly when stuck to LCD.
0.05mm can make all the difference here.
You need review current digitizer position & pre test assembly to centre chassis without tape for a test run on button function.
Also check button board position is exact & located correctly in the pin holes at each end of the board.
original board quality is normally far better than most of the very cheap eBay pattern parts but one or two sellers offer a decent board around $4.50
Also clean all old tape from back of LCD & centre chassis plate so parts fit flush & once all checked new tape can be added, I also use small spots of up40 adhesive sealant near corners & near middle edges for final build up as holds far better than even the best tapes & gives an original strength & long lasting flush look to final job plus us easily removed with razor blade if repair ever needed again.
Super glue is a BIG no no NO.

Hard to get hardware buttons clickable
Mister B said:
Normally this is always down to glass digitizer not being aligned correctly when stuck to LCD.
0.05mm can make all the difference here.
You need review current digitizer position & pre test assembly to centre chassis without tape for a test run on button function.
Also check button board position is exact & located correctly in the pin holes at each end of the board.
original board quality is normally far better than most of the very cheap eBay pattern parts but one or two sellers offer a decent board around $4.50
Also clean all old tape from back of LCD & centre chassis plate so parts fit flush & once all checked new tape can be added, I also use small spots of up40 adhesive sealant near corners & near middle edges for final build up as holds far better than even the best tapes & gives an original strength & long lasting flush look to final job plus us easily removed with razor blade if repair ever needed again.
Super glue is a BIG no no NO.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is not the case in my case , because I ordered full set (digitizer + display) and they arrived factory assembled.
But you are definitely right - 0.05 mm make the difference. I think the problem comes from the fact that the board with buttons cannot be firmly fixed to the 2 small juts on the chassis. You know the plug of the buttons board is on the tail like extension. Probably when I try to cover the buttons board with the LCD+digitizer - the frame of the LCD slightly pushes the buttons board and the juts on the plastic buttons cannot be fixed exactly on the top of the actual buttons on the board. Anyway we are speaking about precise fixing something around 0.05 mm over something else, which is exactly same size... and in the same time you have to fix this without any visibility.
I will continue trying. If you can give me any other ideas - I will appreciate this.
Thanks

maznevh said:
It is not the case in my case , because I ordered full set (digitizer + display) and they arrived factory assembled.
But you are definitely right - 0.05 mm make the difference. I think the problem comes from the fact that the board with buttons cannot be firmly fixed to the 2 small juts on the chassis. You know the plug of the buttons board is on the tail like extension. Probably when I try to cover the buttons board with the LCD+digitizer - the frame of the LCD slightly pushes the buttons board and the juts on the plastic buttons cannot be fixed exactly on the top of the actual buttons on the board. Anyway we are speaking about precise fixing something around 0.05 mm over something else, which is exactly same size... and in the same time you have to fix this without any visibility.
I will continue trying. If you can give me any other ideas - I will appreciate this.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do not rule out the LCD/Digitizer assembly as the china combos are prone to not the best accuracy of assembly as sounds like maybe LCD is mounted just a fraction too low on the digitizer perhaps.
Button board should be fixed via 3M style tape & most replacement boards come with tape ready for fitting.
worth making effort with button board to centre chassis to mount securely then mounting lcd to chassis without tape for a trial assembly & try and check for possible issues such as bent chassis or old tape not removed sufficiently or new assembly alignment not the best.
I would also recommend using original plastic button strip as the copy ones are not always good & have had experience with them before.

Perma Fix Acer Iconia A500 Power Button - Guide

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SHORT AND SIMPLE:
Basically short the connection of d21 to ground. This is how the button works, one ground point and one hot point. The button just touches these two together.
Long and detailed:
So... about a year ago, I got my first A500. Broken. Figured out power button was broke. Figured out how to rewire it, but ended up shorting the motherboard out RIGHT AFTER I GOT IT TO TURN ON....
Today, bought another one on ebay, broken. Has been sent in for power button repair previously.... Everything looked fine.... started researching... finally just dived in and removed the hotglue that was holding the power button. Ah HAH! Solder joints were broken, but button still "clicked".
So... after 6 hours trying to solder the button back on, I went another route. I call it perma fix, because the power button no longer depends on the soldered connection for structural integrity. Also, it should still allow minor shifting without breaking the connection.
View attachment 1753275
Step 1:
Remove power button (probably already fell off on yours)
Step 2: De-solder the the original solder pads, the power button used to connect to. Make sure the two holes on the left and right of the three pads are wide open.
Step 3: Get two pieces of stranded wire, remove enough strands until each "wire" can fit into the two holes. (twist strands for extra strength)
Step 4: Solder the tip of one strand to one outside pin of the power button, solder tip of other strand to other outside pin.
Step 5: Turn power button upside down, solder each strand along the side of the button pointing down.
(You should now have a power button with two strands of wire physically soldered to the power button metal frame and the far left and far right pins)
Step 6: Solder a single TINY strand of wire to the middle pin of power button.
Step 7: Push the two supporting strands through the two holes the metal case USED to go into. Solder them.
Step 7B: Now that the power button is upside down, and has, on each side, a strand of wire soldered to the metal frame, and is soldered to the board like in step 7.
All three pins of the power button should now be up in the air, instead of touching the PCB. Solder pins 1 & 3 to the metal frame/strands. THIS IS YOUR GROUND.
So pins 1 and 3, attach to metal frame, which attaches to wire strands, which attach to PCB where the metal feet of the power button metal cover used to go.
Step 8: Solder the TINY strand of wire, to the bottom left of D21. (If your looking at the board, the volumes buttons are up, power and headphone jack to the left, and sd card slot to the right, all facing you on the same side of the board the power button mounts to)
(Please note, in this picture, the power button has not yet been attached to the board permanently, the button is supposed to be flush with the board, not raised up as in this pic.)
Step 9: adjustment of power button height. My tablet wouldn't "click" when pressing the power button on the case, so adjustments were needed.
Either:
A:
Get something no thicker than a dime, that doesn't conduct electricity, and put between power button and old solder points
B: Use hot-glue, and push power button down, but leave a dimes thickness of hot-glue between board and power button
Step 10:
suspend wire strand between headphone jack and power button, and route through this area, leading to bottom left pin of D21.)
Step 11: use hot glue, and just suspend the strand close to the board, but keep enough hotglue between it and the board, so it doesn't short, but also, low enough so you can still fit the cover back on
(BTW: I have tested this, it does work. I traced the points. Far left and right pins go to ground, and center pin, routes to bottom left pin of D21)

Update:
Hasn't given me a problem yet, used ~12 hours a day. Power button is used alot, to turn of the screen, and to reboot because custom rom still leaks.
Stay away from silicone, moves too much, hot glue is much better, alot stiffer!

SaschaElble said:
Hasn't given me a problem yet, used ~12 hours a day. Power button is used alot, to turn of the screen, and to reboot because custom rom still leaks.
Stay away from silicone, moves too much, hot glue is much better, alot stiffer!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand you used the strands to hold the power to the PCB by the sides of it (metal frame with legs going into the holes to the side), but when you said the left and right pins sticking out from the rear (along with the center one connected to D21) were GND, how did you keep them grounded?
On the attached thumbnail, you can see the metal frame is soldered to the PCB at green points and violet points; the yellow point being soldered to the left leg of D21. But what do I do with the red legs?
On my PCB, the button clips onto the metal frame latches that hold it in place. Under the microscope, it looks like it would take little force to pull those legs off the PCB copper spots (these do not go through the board as the frame legs do). So I can (1) unclip the button; (2) pry the rear legs off with an Exacto blade tip; (3) solder D21; (4) ground the left and right legs, pour some hot glue on, and be done with it! Am I doing it right?

I've updated step 7 and added, step 7B for clarity. Thank you graphdarnell for pointing it out.
EVERY part will desolder. The metel case of the power button IS GROUND. Just solder pins 1 & 3 to the metal case. Since the power button is upside down this gives you room to put the strands on the side into the holes in the pcb, where the feet of the metal case used to go.
graphdarnell said:
I understand you used the strands to hold the power to the PCB by the sides of it (metal frame with legs going into the holes to the side), but when you said the left and right pins sticking out from the rear (along with the center one connected to D21) were GND, how did you keep them grounded?
On the attached thumbnail, you can see the metal frame is soldered to the PCB at green points and violet points; the yellow point being soldered to the left leg of D21. But what do I do with the red legs?
On my PCB, the button clips onto the metal frame latches that hold it in place. Under the microscope, it looks like it would take little force to pull those legs off the PCB copper spots (these do not go through the board as the frame legs do). So I can (1) unclip the button; (2) pry the rear legs off with an Exacto blade tip; (3) solder D21; (4) ground the left and right legs, pour some hot glue on, and be done with it! Am I doing it right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Update
This powerbutton fix STILL WORKS to this day.

SaschaElble said:
This powerbutton fix STILL WORKS to this day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are a genius, I tried gluing it back and no luck but then I decided to take the jump and bought a 48W soldering station for 16€ and a really small head for 3,95€. They did a great job for noob like me who has only soldered one layer chips with big contacts. It took two hours to clean the previous attempt's mess and do the soldering. When I was done I only hooked up the battery, display-cable etc. necessary stuff and gave it a quick try.. IT WORKED! I only could solder the right ground instead of both left and right but I didn't let it bother me.
First thing tomorrow, I will go to local hardware store and buy some hot glue and then I try to assemble it.
My model is A501 so there is the PCI-E card for the 3g connectivity but it doesn't change anything in means of repairing the button.
You saved me the cost of new motherboard with this thread so I'm really thankful.

thx
hi and thx !
could you tell me if the ground-1&3pins-wires are soldered to the holes on the back of PCB?
thx !!

Excellent guide thank you. For those of you who dont have a switch here is what I did. I used a radio shack p/n 275-0003 switch. It fits perfect inside the front housing where the power button should go. I then wired 2 of the poles to the GRD points & the power circuit toggle to D21 as described above.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3y0IxAHbv5dSkhuUmJNTVNjSG8/edit?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3y0IxAHbv5dckloNlR0ZzVOWXc/edit?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3y0IxAHbv5dVUE4eTk3OUYxUmM/edit?usp=sharing

thx for the great idea! can you take a picture of the soldered GND spots on pcb please?

my power button broke yesterday! about a month after the 2 year coscto warranty ended.
GRRRR - Will try the Radio shack Fix

FORFUN83 said:
thx for the great idea! can you take a picture of the soldered GND spots on pcb please?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for the late reply, I already have my A500 together but its the outer two of the 3 contacts to the left of the LED the orig switch attaches to. Here is a pic from another forum
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n198/josbek/Puters/Old-motherboard-down-close_zpsad336662.jpg

Ronbo85 said:
Sorry for the late reply, I already have my A500 together but its the outer two of the 3 contacts to the left of the LED the orig switch attaches to. Here is a pic from another forum
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thx! but what about the 4 pins of the switch?(ABCD on my private msg) which pin are soldered to the GND spot please?

FORFUN83 said:
thx! but what about the 4 pins of the switch?(ABCD on my private msg) which pin are soldered to the GND spot please?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check you PM

So let me get this right. You only need to solder 2 wires into the 2 holes?
I temporarily fixed this issue by carefully gluing the power button with care to avoid getting it over the contacts I saw on the board and the device.
Looks like that didn't work for more than a few months.
So now I'm going to try using electrically conductive adhesive on top of it on the specific areas pointed out.
Wish me luck

agent0105 said:
You are a genius, I tried gluing it back and no luck but then I decided to take the jump and bought a 48W soldering station for 16€ and a really small head for 3,95€. They did a great job for noob like me who has only soldered one layer chips with big contacts. It took two hours to clean the previous attempt's mess and do the soldering. When I was done I only hooked up the battery, display-cable etc. necessary stuff and gave it a quick try.. IT WORKED! I only could solder the right ground instead of both left and right but I didn't let it bother me.
First thing tomorrow, I will go to local hardware store and buy some hot glue and then I try to assemble it.
My model is A501 so there is the PCI-E card for the 3g connectivity but it doesn't change anything in means of repairing the button.
You saved me the cost of new motherboard with this thread so I'm really thankful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, I'm impressed, and thankful to know my information helped someone else. I had someone message me, and actually paid me a visit in person to fix his iconia.
Oh and p.s my iconia is STILL running. 100% PermaFix

So I got the 275-003 switch from radio shack which has 4 poles so 2 poles on the same side I used as ground and one from the other side to D21, when I plug the battery in, the screen turns on but the button does nothing. Did I miss something?

k00lguy105 said:
So I got the 275-003 switch from radio shack which has 4 poles so 2 poles on the same side I used as ground and one from the other side to D21, when I plug the battery in, the screen turns on but the button does nothing. Did I miss something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The 2 poles from the same side on the 275-003 tactile switch are bridged only when the button is pressed. So if you solder those 2 together, then your closing the circuit, which is why the tablet turns on when you plug in the battery. You have to use 1 pole of the same side for ground, and the other for your power. I tested this with a multimeter just to make sure.
Edit: I actually broke the solder point mentioned as the bottom left D21 point. From the 3 poles from the original tactile switch, the 2 outside poles are connected on the switch and the middle pole closes the circuit when the button is pressed. I'm using one of the outside points and the middle one to turn on the tablet via the Radio Shack 275-003 tactile switch.

chokey154 said:
The 2 poles from the same side on the 275-003 tactile switch are bridged only when the button is pressed. So if you solder those 2 together, then your closing the circuit, which is why the tablet turns on when you plug in the battery. You have to use 1 pole of the same side for ground, and the other for your power. I tested this with a multimeter just to make sure.
Edit: I actually broke the solder point mentioned as the bottom left D21 point. From the 3 poles from the original tactile switch, the 2 outside poles are connected on the switch and the middle pole closes the circuit when the button is pressed. I'm using one of the outside points and the middle one to turn on the tablet via the Radio Shack 275-003 tactile switch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The left D21 point seemed to do nothing, but I soldered a wire to the center point and only on the right and put them both on the same side on the switch and it worked! Thanks!
This was my first time soldering ever, did some tests on an old dying HDD PCB first then did the switch, was much easier then I thought, except I don't have very steady hands but I look forward to doing more soldering projects.

Hi, I been struggling with this power button issue for a couple of weeks now, trying to find a place that does this fix to no luck yet (aside from an ebay seller that does it for 50dlls plus shipping that ends up being about 85dlls) so I'm thinking about doing it myself, the thing is that I'm not well versed with soldering mobos so I want to know what kind of soldering iron should I use for this and any other general tips you may have for this project to be successful

Watch plenty of YouTube videos on soldering. Get a fine tip for the soldering iron. Use flux core solder. Get a hot glue gun or use silicone. You can reuse the original button if havnt lost it. Look at the pics. Read the entire thread, some good tips and clarifications to be found. Again, nice to see this thread still being useful! Oh and practice soldering on a broken piece of electronics, like k00lguy105 did!