Database Users

Cause & Possible Fixes for Whitescreen + D-Pad failures (a new thing to try)

First, it'd like to thank
MikeChannon
for pointing out something important that narrowed down my testing.
Now, onto the problem Symptoms :
- D-Pad, IE and Email buttons cease to work
- Screen fades to white or comes back from standby as white
- Display is slight disaligned to the side, 1mm of left appears on right side.
- Randomness in all above symptoms.
Cause : It is the D-Pad connector.
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Yes, the D-Pad connection DOES cause the whitescreen. It's odd and illogical, but this is the conclusion I have reached.
ALL the previous guides, such as sliding plastic between the screen and casing, were randomly moving things inside.
By CHANCE ONLY it'd affect the D-Pad connector positively. That is why such solutions only worked for a few people temporarely.
SOLUTION :
You will need to try variants of the following things :
- Tightness of the screws over the connector
- Disconnecting the plug and reconnecting it very carefully
- Pressure over the bibbon between the D-Pad connector and the screen.
- Pressure over the D-Pad connector itself
- Tightness of the screws over the D-Pad PCD
- Tightness of the screws closing the plastic casing of this part of the phone
To stress-test the variants, I ran a D-Pad intensive game (Skyforce) for 30 minutes or until the symptoms came back.
I've played around with all those, giving mixed results, but definitively making a difference.
My final and best result was by putting a thin foam piece over the blue parts in the picture below. (Ignore the red circles, original picture is taken from a website)
The foam I used was the typical foam sheets you find in packaging for fragile electronics such as motherboards, hard drives, graphic cards etc. It has to be super thing in other to close the casing without buldges.
There isn't a specific thing you can do that will make your D-Pad be reliable and the whitescreen to go away. You'll have to do several tests, so I recommend you keep your phone disassembled while testing. The connector is VERY VERY SENSITIVE. That is why I cannot be any more precise in how to fix this. However, you NOW KNOW what causes the screen to freak out and buttons to stop working.
What I did for testing :
I have tested my phone while it was completely disassembled. Meaning I had the back of the monitor open, as seen in the picture above.
That way, I could fiddle around and instantly test the result.
I've fiddle with the cables, the screen pressure, everything. Nothing returned the screen from being white or becoming white.
Putting pressure D-Pad connector's ribbon or actual pin caused the screen to either turn on white, or fade to white. (Results often noticed only after going in & out of standby)
It also caused my D-Pad buttons and the top 2 buttons (IE & Email) to either work or not work.

Oh and this is my testing setup. Elastic band to hold the battery in place, everything else opened. However, I had to place/remove the backcover of the screen part of the phone to test as it affects the pressure put on the connector.

wow. I don't have balls to break apart my 8525 like that.

mutantblack said:
wow. I don't have balls to break apart my 8525 like that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well this fix is for those who got a big enough problem and can't return it under warranty.
Anyhow, taking apart the TyTN is quite simple, and the thing is sturdy.
Only and only the D-Pad connector is tricky. The big ribbon connecting the two halfs of the phone is quite solid and never caused problems.

guys... what/where can i get the screw driver to open this mofo... it looks like a hex allen wrench but that doesnt work...
i have had this issue for months now and will try anything to fix it but i need to know where i can get this screw driver and fast!!!!

So it is a problem with the connector itself or cause by flex in the cable?
Also, where are you putty pressure on the connector? Are you saying if the screws are too tight this is a problem as well.

jwagman1 said:
guys... what/where can i get the screw driver to open this mofo... it looks like a hex allen wrench but that doesnt work...
i have had this issue for months now and will try anything to fix it but i need to know where i can get this screw driver and fast!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a TORX No6 screwdriver you need. Available online or from stores like Maplin who sell Phone screwdriver sets.
Check out links in the Wiki here or in my signature for internal pics, dismantling guides and to download the service manual (that also has a dismantling walkthrough)
Mike

Vasichko said:
So it is a problem with the connector itself or cause by flex in the cable?
Also, where are you putty pressure on the connector? Are you saying if the screws are too tight this is a problem as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems to me there may be a bit of trial and error regarding the fix. The service manual points out that the d-pad connector must be precisely inserted and absolutely level. So both under-tightening the screws or over-tightening could distort the connection. If you have it apart, take out and reconnect the push in connector several times This helps to ensure there is no oxidisation on the contacts.
(PS. this is not my fix so I cannot testify that it will work for you, though I believe it is on the right track, at least for some cases of this problem)
Mike

It's really intersting to know I'm not alone to have this issue ...
Do you have a site who describe how to open the Hermes ?
Thanks

mikechannon said:
It's a TORX No6 screwdriver you need. Available online or from stores like Maplin who sell Phone screwdriver sets.
Check out links in the Wiki here or in my signature for internal pics, dismantling guides and to download the service manual (that also has a dismantling walkthrough)
Mike
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THANK YOU!! amazon.com overnight!!! woooo

I tried this diy.
I didnt have a small enough phillips to remove the screws from the connector on the D-Pad.
Know where I can get one?
So I took all the connections, put some automotive electronic connection cleaner on a q-tip and cleaned all of the other ones.
I used some automotive light double sided adhesive that you can get at Auto Zone instead of form. I only used 1 side of the adhesive and didnt peal the other side off, if it doesnt work, its easily removeable, just wanted to make sure it stays in place when I re-assemble the phone.
I also added some in a place you didnt which I show in yellow on your photo.
So far so good after 5 minutes.

Mine PDA was also totally disassembled and atleast in my device the problem wasn't a faulty connector.. I had the front panel off and when I squeezed the Xilinx fpga-chip(black square on d-pad circuitboard) the the screen worked fine -when i took my fingers off it faded back to white. Earlier I also tried re-soldering the connector but it didnt work on my device.

marciton said:
It's really intersting to know I'm not alone to have this issue ...
Do you have a site who describe how to open the Hermes ?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dismantling guides and the service manual:
www.mikechannon.net
Mike

Hermes / TyTn / 8525 White Screen
Hey guy,
Nice write-up.
Good that someone has taken the time to experiment with different procedures.
I gave up on mine, after taking it apart time and time again.
-Reseating the cables and completely disassembling the unit was a tempereary fix, so I sold it on eBay for a parts / repair.
I just purchased another on eBay.
This time, instead of getting worked up about the white screen of death, I had purchased a warranty from www.squaretrade.com.
I am not an AT&T customer, so I unlocked the phone.
Neither AT&T or HTC can help when you dont have their service , or it's a branded phone.
Keep up the good work.

So far since my post before lunch today. No problems at all.
It used to white out when taking a picture with the camera, randomly when sliding out the keyboard, randomly when using the D-Pad.
No problems at all today after doing this fix posted here and adding the extra pad that I did.

im gonna have to try this when i get my new housing....anyone know where i can get a front camera?

Just giving another update. So far so good, no problems at all.
DPad no longer has the issue of not working here and there.
White screen issues appear to be gone.
Hopefully for good.
I will still post updates so you all can know the status.
Thx again for the right up. I will post some pics of the type of tape I used as well.

I have the rest of december left on my warranty. Do you guys think PPCtechs will know how to fix this? i don't want to send it to them and have it sent back with the same probs (like they did last time i sent it in to get my scroll wheel and camera lense repaired).

Miguel- said:
Mine PDA was also totally disassembled and atleast in my device the problem wasn't a faulty connector.. I had the front panel off and when I squeezed the Xilinx fpga-chip(black square on d-pad circuitboard) the the screen worked fine -when i took my fingers off it faded back to white. Earlier I also tried re-soldering the connector but it didnt work on my device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes indeed, re-aligning and reconnecting the connector works for many but will not work for all. There are, as you say instances where it is a chip connection that's at fault. There is little if anything you can do with that problem other than board replacement unless you have the correct tools - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=1724236&postcount=66
Mike

It looks to be a design flaw. I dropped my maybe 3ft on the carpet yesterday and got the white screen issue. I took apart and looked at the connector in question. Even with it screwed in you can unplug it half way. So I added some more padding.
I think part of the problem is that coming from the back of the LCD to the DPad board or whatever you call it, the angle of the ribbon cable declines.

Having problems with your screen yet?

I'm a T-Mobile rep and my G1 screen died after about ten days of moderate use. I was at the store doing some web browsing when the screen stopped responding to touch. Closed the keyboard and opened again and the phone froze. Hard reset and phone started up, slip open keyboard and screen went black. Hard reset again, no dice. Tried recovery mode, nothing. Called my phone and it rings and I can answer.
I'm guessing ribbon cable. Played about sliding the keyboard half way in and out, etc and occasionally screen backlight would show for a moment. Investigating further, sliding mechanism had pushed back the "s" ribbon cable causing the problems. The ribbon cable was actually folded back. There is very tight tolerance there. This is probably the reason for our other two G1's returned to our store for screen problems. This is a serious design flaw that will affect many G1's over time. The sliding mechanism will catch the lip of the ribbon.
The good news is that my replacement has a fix to the problem. T-Mobile and HTC has apparently quietly made a revision to the design. My new G1 has some teflon tape running from far left side of the slide channel all the way to ribbon cable. This helps prevent the slide mechanism from catching on the lip of ribbon. Checked co-workers with older G1's and they didn't have the longer piece of tape. Sold one today to customer, checked in the slide channel and bingo, longer teflon tape.
Just a heads up guys. The boxes don't have date stamps like most of our phones so you won't know if it has the fix until you open it.

Kind of a bummer since I got mine on ebay soon after it came out. Is this something I could fix myself by opening it up or do you need an "expert" to do it?

You should be able to be proactive before damage has been done. With phone upside down and keyboard open and facing you look in the groove that the slide mechanism goes. On the side facing you, you will see where the ribbon cable attaches to the wall. It will probably have 1/2" or less of a white teflon tape at that point. On the revised G1, that white tape runs from the ribbon all the way to the edge of the screen width. Basically the new tape is half the screen width wide.
You could probably use a teflon or other slick surfaced tape to cover the area the sliding mechanism tracks. That yellow cellophane-like tape that comes with temp sensors for computer components would probably work good as it is stiff enough to wiggle it where it needs to go without having to take screen apart.
I would take pics but my camera has shot craps.

This?

No, hold phone with screen facing you and upside down so usb port it at top. Open screen. Look down at screen assembly where it looks hollow or a channel. Do you see the slide hinge assembly and ribbon cable now.

Oh like under here? I added a little padding to fix the creek so I think I'm fine.

Wish I had a pic. Take that picture you just posted. Now rotate phone 90 degrees counter-clockwise. USB should be on top. Now tip the phone towards you. You are now looking at bottom of phone, you should be looking directly at the charge port. Look directly left, you'll be looking at bottom edge of the slide out screen, right. Do you see how the bottom of the screen looks hollow, about 1/2" deep channel, inside is the hinge and ribbon cable. Sorry to confuse.

DING DING DING!!! We have a winner!!! Thanks for the picture so others will know what I'm talking about.
Do you see where the ribbon cable is adhered to the inner wall, that is the weak point.

Well I see like a piece of metal with the ribbon sliding back and forth as you open it.

When you barely start to open it you'll see how that "piece of metal" slides over where the ribbon cable affixes. There is a tight clearance there. What can happen is that "piece of metal" starts to get hung up on the edge of the ribbon, eventually peeling the ribbon back. They fixed the problem by placing a tape over where the "piece of metal" tracks thus removing the edge to get snagged on. I suck at explaining things.

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Great picture as it shows the ribbon cable in question. The area in question is where the cable is affixed on the right side as viewed in the above photo.

Hey thanks for the heads up (and the repeated instructions). I inserted a piece of electrical tape over the metal part so it will move more smoothly over.

Hi there i was just wondering what if the damage has already been done. Unfourtunatly the ribbon cable on mine has already been damaged. Now i took it to a repair shop and he said he could not find the part anywhere. I'm wonder can i tape up the old cable and get it to work... or where can i find a new one. Btw I am in Canada i bought the phone off some person so i do not have any warranty. thanks for anyhelp in advance

I've never seen this issue before at my store. I'm sure it could happen but I don't really see this as a huge issue, yet. Our store displays get abused so much and constantly slide open and closed and they show no signs of problems. I will def. keep an eye out for this issue.

--------bump.

How do I tell if I have the tape? What color is it?
P.S. I am looking in the right spot so don't tell me where to look

can someone post a picture of the white teflon tape on the original G1 and the revised G1. Here is a picture of my phone, from what I read I am guessing I have the old phone prior to the fix, but I am not sure...

Two more pictures, I guess this is the revised version with the long tape.
Edit: just links to the jpegs: first, second.

[Q] Is there any Adam disassemble guide?

I have some debris under my screen cover and want to remove those, so want to find some instructions on how to disassemble and reassemble it. I'm not sure if I can do it myself without damaging the device. =(
Port covers are ordered already.

I've found some info myself here.

So I disassembled my and managed to assemble it back successfully =)
Do not try described below if you are not absolutely sure what you are doing, as it may damage your device and will void your warranty.
Here is my quick guide:
1. Remove rubber pads covering the screws on the back. Pay attention, that they are not same, two closer to the battery are not flat.
2. Remove the screws. My were really well tightened
3. Now you should remove the decorative rubber battery covers. The are fixed with a number of plastic latches on the upper (screen) side. Bottom side is placed on a number of forks (small cylinders), so the bottom side wont go, start with the top. I used a small screw driver and a hard-plastic card (like credit one). Be careful, as the latches can be easily broken, don push too hard.
4. Now you are good to go with the case itself. You can start from the left corner (closest to the camera). I used my fingers to pull up the top cover (with the glass) and inserted the card in the gap, then moving it vertically (perpendicular to the screen) unlocked the side latches. There are 4 of them if I recall right. Just shake the card and it's done. Then proceed to the right side th same way. It is harder to pull the cover there, but with a little help of a small screw driver it went quite well. After the right is unlocked, I moved the card horizontally around the corner of the screen, so it was still in the gap, and then vertically unlocked the bottom side latches. You are done.
5. Be careful when removing the screen as it is wired to the mb by 2 wires with small connectors and a flat cable on the bottom side (opposite to the battery side), also with a connector. Those connectors are easily unplugged and plugged back.
6. If you want to remove the screen, it is attached by 4 side screws to the metal frame (ye, Adam has quite tough metal frame inside). Though be careful, as the lcd is wired to the glass with a touchscreen flat cable, I did not try to disconnect it.
To assemble Adam, perform the actions in reverse:
1. Attach the lcd to the frame with the screws
2. Connect the screen cables to the mb
3. Put the screen on the back part and push those together firmly, to lock the latches
4. Insert the rubber covers. Mind the placement, though the won't fit wrongly. I used the card to push the latches to insert them.
5. Tighten the screws and place back the small rubber screws plugs, mind the correct position for the top two, as they are not symmetrical.
So what was my goal? I just wanted to remove debris from under the glass, those were very annoying. If you have those, you may try my way, but be sure you are doing it in dust free environment, or you'll just make things worse =) I used photo lens cleaning kit, to blow them away, but high pressure air can (those are sold to clean electronics), but it was about 25$ at my local store =(
As for the debris reason, I think it is not because of ports or other gaps in the case, it seems, that it comes from the lcd panel itself. Seems like panel manufacturer does not pay enough attention to dust-free conditions, so although Adam seems to be assembled in clean conditions, this debris falls from the gaps between the lcd frame and panel itself right to the gap between it and the glass. The screen and glass have some perimeter foam stripes, so the dust from outside can hardly get there.
All in all, I was impressed, how Adam is built, I would say it is of great quality, not perfect, but anyway. Comparable to Apple products, imo. It will surely survive quite a number of disassemble-assemble cycles.
And yes, there is enough room inside for modding, but I can't imagine what else would I've wanted to add to it. Maybe just external GPS antenna port or inner fixed sdhc card for extra space.
Feel free to ask, if you have any questions.
And do not try described above if you are not absolutely sure in what you are doing, as it may damage your device and will void your warranty.

I can recommend a glass-mount base of for example a navigation holder stefan
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strahl said:
I can recommend a glass-mount base
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good idea, will try it next time. This one was actually my first experience with any capacitive-touch device.

I don't remember where I heard this but I like the idea. Is it possible to replace the screen with a screen from a zoom or an Acer or Asus? I don't like some of the qquirkier things of the screen so. I would appreciate your opinion and thanx for this guide!
Sent from my Adam using Tapatalk

craby1925 said:
Is it possible to replace the screen with a screen from a zoom or an Acer or Asus?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It totally depends on the lcd panel you wont to exchange current with. It is not totally impossible, I think, but it's certainly a challenge for a pro.

I've also performed some for-fun modding to my Adam, to make activity/power leds more visible and less 'disco'.
Used two pieces of optical cable to route light where it should go and not highlight everything around. Also had to cover the leds with adhesive tape and covered the gaps around the cable and case with sealant (from inside of course) for better exterior. Also, charging (violet) state is clearly visible now.
(Clickable for fullsize)
Also, you may notice a strange inner button in Adam(top of the first picture), but it does not seem to perform any action (at least on home screen, where I tried).

PsychodelEKS said:
Also, you may notice a strange inner button in Adam(top of the first picture), but it does not seem to perform any action (at least on home screen, where I tried).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe that this the "recovery button" as described in http://developer.download.nvidia.com/tegra/docs/harmony_hw_setup.pdf. I once managed to make my bootloader crash and with this button I was able to flash my Adam again (see http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=11769749&postcount=56).
stefan

strahl said:
this the "recovery button"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Luckyly for me it was not "wipe all" button =)

Cool! I opened it up and fixed my battery charging issue!
Thanks.

craby1925 said:
I don't remember where I heard this but I like the idea. Is it possible to replace the screen with a screen from a zoom or an Acer or Asus? I don't like some of the qquirkier things of the screen so. I would appreciate your opinion and thanx for this guide!
Sent from my Adam using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@craby did u ever happen to find out an alternate screen that goes well with the adam
i broke mine when trying to open, and my adam lies waste witout a screen
i would like to get hands on some sort of patch to allow me replace this screen with another keyboard or joystick ..
anyone who has such a patch already ?

[MOD] Fixing Volume-Rocker and Power-Button

The issue:
I got one of the very early Nexus 9. My device was mostly fine (no huge light-bleeding) but the Power and the Volume-Up buttons were hard to press because they were not raised high enough above the surface.
(Volume-Down was working fine)
Tools required:
Tweezers, a small Phillips screwdriver and something to open the device. (I used the iFixit Toolkit)
1 piece of paper (regular printer paper, post-its, ...)
Disclaimer:
If you follow my instructions you do this at you own risk. I'm not responsible for any damage you do to your device.
The mod:
Take of the back cover of the device. (https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Nexus+9+Teardown/31425)
(Edit)
Shortcut: It is also possible to improve the buttons without removing the whole button frame. See post #3 for details.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Remove the 3 screws (red) and the big connector (green).
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Pull out the metal body holding the buttons. Pull carefully on the button cable to remove it from the connector.
If you look closely you can see that the Volume-Down button is not completely attached to the metal frame. This looks like a production error but it allows the button to be pressed normally.
We could apply this "production error" to the other buttons too which should improve their usability.
First separate the buttons from the metal frame. I found that only a piece of paper is thin enough to not cause damage to the buttons.
Now, use the same piece paper (or another one - I don't care ) to create tiny pieces that can be put behind the buttons to raise them a bit. (I folded the paper once to have 2 layers)
Carefully put everything back together.
Results:
All buttons work fine.

This is amazing! I was thinking I should open the nexus 9 to see if there was anything I could do to fix this. Good to see I wasn't the only one who had this thought
I will try it out tomorrow morning. Thanks.
Edit:
I've done it, and it definitely improved the buttons. I used 4 layers of paper since your piece of paper was so thick.
I think overdid the volume down button though, because it's not as clicky as the others. My buttons were all glued on properly unlike your volume down button, so I put a little extra under it.
Might go ahead and fix sometime later if it bothers me. The buttons could still be better, but this fix makes the best out of what we got. Mine is a 32gb HT4AHJT which is built mid october, so the buttons aren't sticking out as much as the later versions. The screen is so good though that I don't want to replace it because of the buttons. Thanks the tutorial man, it really made this fix easy.

Hi! Thanks for your tutorial. You inspired me, and i fixed my buttons in the similar, but i think, simpler way.
After opening a back cover, you don't have to take out buttons from tablet. Also you don't have to separate buttons from metal frame.
I think that simplest solution is to put folded pieces of paper between buttons (these on tablets cover) and that black thing with metal frame, which you were pulling out.
I attach pictures showing what i mean.

Yeah I tried this first too but somehow it did't work that well for me. Nevertheless its worth trying the simple way before pulling out the whole button assembly.

Kubens1pl said:
Hi! Thanks for your tutorial. You inspired me, and i fixed my buttons in the similar, but i think, simpler way.
After opening a back cover, you don't have to take out buttons from tablet. Also you don't have to separate buttons from metal frame.
I think that simplest solution is to put folded pieces of paper between buttons (these on tablets cover) and that black thing with metal frame, which you were pulling out.
I attach pictures showing what i mean.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also did this and it worked great!

THANK YOU!
Just did this and buttons work great now.

this reminds me of the n7.1 screen raising issue using pill pack foil as washers for the screen screws, that works to this day since the wife is happily using my old n7 right now. I'll be trying a variation of this paper or plastic fix in the near future...
HTC should just send us a new button mount for early adopters.. I have 0 screen bleed, but shallow buttons. guess what I can live with.
Sent from my Nexus 9 using Tapatalk

I got an early device also, one question though.
when opening the back cover, and replacing it on... does the back cover feel loose and flexes more now?
there were reports early on that pulling the back off then replacing it on makes it more floppy....

Gezzaman said:
I got an early device also, one question though.
when opening the back cover, and replacing it on... does the back cover feel loose and flexes more now?
there were reports early on that pulling the back off then replacing it on makes it more floppy....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The cover does wear on the clips that hold the back to the aluminum sides... If you remove the back too many times you'll wear away the plastic clips and will damage the seal...
Ive taken mine apart about a dozen times... There's 2 places where I need glue now.. [emoji23] [emoji26]

Gezzaman said:
I got an early device also, one question though.
when opening the back cover, and replacing it on... does the back cover feel loose and flexes more now?
there were reports early on that pulling the back off then replacing it on makes it more floppy....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I opened my device twice now.
After the first time the back cover flexed significantely more on the surface than before. When closing it the second time i pressed firmly on the whole surface BEFORE I pressed the edges back together. There are clips across the surface that snap in place more easy when you do it before snapping the edges back together.
Now the back cover has nearly no flexing at all - even less than in its original state.

Thanks for posting this. Can you please help me understand how the camera is attached to the back cover. From the iFixit video, they mentioned that the camera came off with the back cover and that it was attached to the underside of the mother board... eeek! I don't want to screw something up like the camera while trying to fix the buttons.
What should I watch out for as I remove the back cover?
Thanks!!
-Jason

There is a small amount of double-sided adhesive tape around the camera. On my device the camera did not come of when removing the back cover - I guess it sticks a little bit different on every device.

lfrst05 said:
There is a small amount of double-sided adhesive tape around the camera. On my device the camera did not come of when removing the back cover - I guess it sticks a little bit different on every device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine also had the camera still connected after pulling the back cover off.

I remember doing this with my Nexus 5. Thanks for the tip.

I did this and the buttons are great now. Thanks for the MOD.
I didn't pull the back all of the way off, it was held on by adhesive. I think it was a fix they introduced. My Nexus 9 is about perfect now.
-Jason

Yep, pulled my camera off. =-O
I guess I'm tearing into it more than I expected.
My buttons are perfect though. Thanks for the tip. I used 3 layers of standard paper.

This really is amazing. I just did it on mine. Really really simple fix. Unbelievably simple. I didn't even have to pull the whole back off. Just the top and sides were enough.
3 layers of paper under each button and they are now perfect. Thank you!

liquidsuspension said:
Yep, pulled my camera off. =-O
I guess I'm tearing into it more than I expected.
My buttons are perfect though. Thanks for the tip. I used 3 layers of standard paper.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you or anyone else who pulled the camera off got it back working?
Did you follow the ifixit guide to tear it apart until you were able to remove the motherboard and reconnect the camera, or is it possible to do it without removing the battery and the copper fold (being extremely careful not to break it, of course).
And yes, I did pull my camera off. It was firmly glued to the plastic cover :\
Edit: from what I see in the ifixit teardown and from what I see in mine, it does seem that if I remove the front camera cabling and the battery cable It might be ok to remove the T5 screws and raise the mobo just enough to be able to pry open the camera connector, insert the camera ZIF, close/press the connector and reatach the mobo wihtout having the hassle to unglue the battery, remove all the copper foils etc etc...
Anyone has had a similar experience?

I had to tear mine completely down to get the mobo out. I tried to reconnect it without removing it, but it was a lost cause. The worst part for me was getting the battery disconnected. There wasn't any natural way to do it as far as I could tell. If you try to just lift the edge of the mobo enough to connect the camera, be incredibly careful, but from my experience I doubt it can be done that way.

Thanks for the answer, although it's not what I was hoping for... this afternoon I started removing the battery and quit because I was afraid I was going to break something. That stuff is completely glued and it requires a lot of pressure to start separating it from the body
One day I will get tired of not having a camera and will try to do it by just lifting the mobo edge.
Quite honestly, this damn nexus has brought me too much trouble already...

P580 Power Issues?

Hey all, I recently bought a P580 when I was out in the States with work (I'm back in the UK now). Whilst I was out there it was working fine and when I came back it was working fine when I originally tried it out - I didn't want to use it much as it was supposed to be a gift but wanted to make sure it was all set up and stuff. Second time I tried it, it won't power on. I've tried multiple USB cables, multiple wall plugs and tried charging it on my PC. Nothing seems to get it to power on.
Everytime I connect and disconnect it to my PC I get the audible tone that says a device was connected but that's it. Samsung's Smart switch doesn't recognise it either. Talking to their support, I've tried holding Power + Volume down + home button but that doesn't seem to do anything other than disconnect it from the PC and holding the Power button for more than a minute doesn't seem to do anything either.
I hadn't rooted the device, in fact I'd barely done anything other than install a couple of apps like Facebook, Snapchat and Youtube. Does anyone know what's going on with the device and is there anything I can do? I'd definitely prefer not to send it back to Samsung as they won't accept it in the UK support so I'd have to send it back to the US support.
Anyways, if anyone has any advice it would be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you.

It's not a power but display issue. If you can hear the sound in the background or press volume up and down and you can hear the sound, it mostly has the loose LCD cable.
Search Youtube how to open your tablet, the tool you may need is a guitar pick.
Disconnect the battery first. You only need to disconnect and reconnect the LCD cable. The locking tab is at the top of the connector, lift it gently up 90 degree and be careful, otherwise you might break it. All connectors are unlocked by lifting up from the top 90 degree and they're very easy broken if you're not careful.
Here the LCD cable ( black ) is just slightly below the line on mainboard, you will have a black screen
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
This one, the LCD cable is fully seated.
This connector is weakly hold the cable, you can pull the cable out while is in locking position. So you need put tapes over the connector and cable to hold it firmly, another one at the center of the battery to prevent if from moving. Battery should be back, otherwise you'll see nothing. Test by plugging your charger and press the HOME button, you should see the battery icon briefly if everything you're done correctly.

Beut said:
It's not a power but display issue. If you can hear the sound in the background or press volume up and down and you can hear the sound, it mostly has the loose LCD cable.
Search Youtube how to open your tablet, the tool you may need is a guitar pick.
Disconnect the battery first. You only need to disconnect and reconnect the LCD cable. The locking tab is at the top of the connector, lift it gently up 90 degree and be careful, otherwise you might break it. All connectors are unlocked by lifting up from the top 90 degree and they're very easy broken if you're not careful.
Here the LCD cable ( black ) is just slightly below the line on mainboard, you will have a black screen
This one, the LCD cable is fully seated.
This connector is weakly hold the cable, you can pull the cable out while is in locking position. So you need put tapes over the connector and cable to hold it firmly, another one at the center of the battery to prevent if from moving. Battery should be back, otherwise you'll see nothing. Test by plugging your charger and press the HOME button, you should see the battery icon briefly if everything you're done correctly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, thank you for the reply! I opened up my Tab and it was loose. Unfortunately being a complete beginner I think I f****d it up and ruined the cable - imgur dot com/a/kvP8Z ( I cant post links)
Am I going to have to replace that now as it still doesn't seem to be working.. :/
Other than that I can't see anything else that might be wrong with it whilst it's opened up??
Again, thanks for your help, it's MASSIVELY appreciated!

Sn0wtek said:
Hey, thank you for the reply! I opened up my Tab and it was loose. Unfortunately being a complete beginner I think I f****d it up and ruined the cable - imgur dot com/a/kvP8Z ( I cant post links)
Am I going to have to replace that now as it still doesn't seem to be working.. :/
Other than that I can't see anything else that might be wrong with it whilst it's opened up??
Again, thanks for your help, it's MASSIVELY appreciated!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Speaking from experience, you are in a tight spot now... if you did what I did. I had a Tab S and I opened it up to replace the charging port. Different pieces, but same steps as listed above. I broke the locking tab that holds the cable down. My only recourse was to replace the motherboard. Long story short, it was easier (and not much more expensive) to buy a new tablet. I know this isn't what you want to hear. Sorry about your luck.
HOWEVER, my problem was with supply, my S was old and I couldn't find a new motherboard and the website I found was "out of stock" of used ones priced high. Since you have a fairly new device, you might be able to find a replacement much easier.

Bdozier said:
Speaking from experience, you are in a tight spot now... if you did what I did. I had a Tab S and I opened it up to replace the charging port. Different pieces, but same steps as listed above. I broke the locking tab that holds the cable down. My only recourse was to replace the motherboard. Long story short, it was easier (and not much more expensive) to buy a new tablet. I know this isn't what you want to hear. Sorry about your luck.
HOWEVER, my problem was with supply, my S was old and I couldn't find a new motherboard and the website I found was "out of stock" of used ones priced high. Since you have a fairly new device, you might be able to find a replacement much easier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think that the locking mechanism is effected, but I scuffed the black LCD cable thing and it's now showing some of the bronze beneath it.. I thought that maybe that was causing it to not just work now that the cable's in the correct position? If it's the case that I've completely ruined the device and that I can't do anything with it, I don't know if I can justify getting a second one in such a short space of time. :/

Sn0wtek said:
I don't think that the locking mechanism is effected, but I scuffed the black LCD cable thing and it's now showing some of the bronze beneath it.. I thought that maybe that was causing it to not just work now that the cable's in the correct position? If it's the case that I've completely ruined the device and that I can't do anything with it, I don't know if I can justify getting a second one in such a short space of time. :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's good. You might be able to find a replacement cable or even just put a small piece of electrical tape over the scuffed segment... Depending on how deep the scuff is. There are a lot smarter people on this board that may be able to advise you better.
Just searched "galaxy tab a 10.1 lcd cable" and they are pretty inexpensive. Cheaper than a new tablet! About $2 USD.

Sn0wtek said:
I don't think that the locking mechanism is effected, but I scuffed the black LCD cable thing and it's now showing some of the bronze beneath it.. I thought that maybe that was causing it to not just work now that the cable's in the correct position? If it's the case that I've completely ruined the device and that I can't do anything with it, I don't know if I can justify getting a second one in such a short space of time. :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try to tape the LCD cable down to the mainboard, I don't know how bad you damaged it. This LCD cable is not easy to take out as the section connected to LCD is under the frame.
In order to take it out, you have to cut the frame. It's easier than heating up the whole assembly to remove the touchscreen and LCD from the frame. Newbie will most likely damage them in this process.

Beut said:
Try to tape the LCD cable down to the mainboard, I don't know how bad you damaged it. This LCD cable is not easy to take out as the section connected to LCD is under the frame.
In order to take it out, you have to cut the frame. It's easier than heating up the whole assembly to remove the touchscreen and LCD from the frame. Newbie will most likely damage them in this process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See Sn0wtek... A much smarter person than me!

This is the proper way to secure LCD cable both SM-T580 and SM-P580, without tape the cable will loose again.
This is another bad design from Samsung, the motherboard has no screw to hold it at the bottom. It can wobble easily, that's reason you need tapes to hold the LCD cable to mainboard , prevent it from moving out of the connector.