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.
{
"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"
}
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.

[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
{
"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"
}

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 ?

Motorola Atrix 4G Screen Take Apart Repair Guide

This guide is in a step by step format and can easily be followed for a quick and safe repair for Motorola Atrix 4G. This guide will go through the steps of disassembling and replacing the touch screen digitizer as well as the LCD screen.
This guide will help you to install the following Motorola Atrix part(s):
Motorola Atrix Glass Touch Screen Digitizer
Motorola Atrix LCD Screen
Tools Required:
Adhesive Strips
T5 Torx Screwdriver
Hot Air Gun / Hair Dryer (optional)
Motorola Atrix 4G take apart guide:
The first step to disassembling the phone is to remove the back battery cover and battery as well as the sim card and memory card. You can now remove the seven torx T5 screws located behind the battery cover. With the screws removed you can now use a safe open pry tool to release the clips and flip the back housing over to the side, careful of the antenna cable still attached.
{
"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"
}
Figure 1​
Use a safe open pry tool to pop the antenna cable from the motherboard and remove the back housing. Pry the motherboard up using a safe open pry tool and release the 3 flex cables underneath. Two will be pop connectors and the third is a jaw/alligator connector. Once reassessed you can now safely remove the motherboard.
Figure 2​
Warm the front of the touch screen and LCD screen using a heat gun or hair dryer. Use a pry tool to slowly pry between the touch screen and rest of the phone, careful as it is still attached with a flex cable. Flip the phone over and release the pop connector and top cover.
Ease up the flex ribbon cable and also the earpiece speaker. You can also remove the black plastic and the black plastic bar.
Figure 3​
You can now feed the touch screen flex cable through the housing and replace the digitizer.
Simply replace the damaged parts with the new ones and reverse the order to put your phone back together again.

Thanks for posting that. I've already replaced mine but this is as good a guide as the video that I watched. It's as easy to do as it reads. I used some locking forceps to install the third ribbon cable into the jaw connector.
Nice of you to post this guide. Not to mention, I think that it's a really classy way to respond to something said elsewhere without actually calling it out. Nice form on all counts.

Will this fix the general touch screen problem , most of the Atrix devices have.
ie.Not being able to select the first item in the men , etc

devgayan said:
Will this fix the general touch screen problem , most of the Atrix devices have.
ie.Not being able to select the first item in the men , etc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, replacing the touch screen would fix these kind of issues.

Soft buttons
What about the lower soft buttons not working, would the replacement of this digitizer solve that issue too?

Great post! Thanks for the information.

Getch78 said:
Great post! Thanks for the information.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. Glad you found it useful.

I bought two screen from Amazon, non of them are fully functional......

repairuniverse, could you shed some light on the "soft buttons" issue please? Mine just stopped working and I'm thinking to replace it myself...
Thanks in advance.

rafaelbrandao said:
repairuniverse, could you shed some light on the "soft buttons" issue please? Mine just stopped working and I'm thinking to replace it myself...
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The "soft" buttons you refer to are part of the touch screen digitizer. Replacing this part should fix your issue.

Just replaced my digitizer...was a pain in the ass but it worked. Still need to get some tape for the screen though...really hard to put on when you can't really move the screen.

Sorry to hear you had a bit of trouble. The repair is normally pretty straight forward. Glad you got it working though.
What do you mean when you are referring to "Still needing tape" ?

Any videos on this?
PS: scratch that...
check this out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxuF_73YIIY

repairsuniverse said:
Sorry to hear you had a bit of trouble. The repair is normally pretty straight forward. Glad you got it working though.
What do you mean when you are referring to "Still needing tape" ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't use any tape under the screen because I didn't have any good one. I ordered some double sided tape on eBay.
Will have to take it all apart again and restart by putting the tape first, then the digitizer cable through the hole, then the LCD, and finally the digitizer...that's why its a pain.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA

What kind of tape is needed, if any? I see a screen replacement in my near future and want to make sure I have everything before I start.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA

nsaia said:
What kind of tape is needed, if any? I see a screen replacement in my near future and want to make sure I have everything before I start.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
2 mm double sided
Sent from my MB860 using XDA

We provide adhesive tape used for these repairs on our site. Great question!

I'm having an issue with my proximity sensor. It doesn't seem to respond all the time and its on the "block state"...so when I place a call the phone goes black. If I press on the top of the phone near the sensor, it starts working for a couple minutes, and then goes black again.
Any ideas? Did I block something (don't think so)? Bad connection somewhere?

Nice guide. I was just looking to clean my front facing camera, so this will work great for that

Zero-K said:
Nice guide. I was just looking to clean my front facing camera, so this will work great for that
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad we could help!

[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).
{
"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"
}
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...

P9000 Disassembly (I broke it)

So I dropped my phone and broke the front glass. LCD works but not touch-screen so pretty much useless. I decided to take it apart first to see how hard it would be to replace the screen as I could see screens can be bought from AliExpress for about 65 USD or 99 USD from elephone.hk.
Took some pictures along the way as I couldn't find any images of the internals of this phone online so this might help someone trying to replace their screen or just thinking about it.
1) Back cover - this comes off rather easily once you get something between the edge and start nudging the clips to open. Notice that the whole back cover is glued a bit to the battery so even after getting all the edges open I still had to use some force to remove it from the battery. PS: The side-buttons are attached to the cover also so try not to hurt those while removing the back.
{
"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"
}
2) Next I removed the bottom half cover to see if I could access the screen cables from there. Notice that the black ribbon that goes to the screen is the home button LED light and cannot be removed without unsoldering it!
3) I took off the top cover and unhooked the battery.
4) The battery - It's glued to the metal frame using 2 strips of glue and it took me 10 minutes to get it out safely without damaging it (it's soft so you can probably easily make it explode in your hands).
5) Took me some thinking but I removed the whole main board. The bottom side is glued and I had to break some black "paper" to get it out.
6) Screen - After getting the main board out I had enough room to force the screen out. Notice that the screen is glued from the top and bottom but sides are not glued. Some sensor cable from the front panel is glued to the camera's LED lights. The speaker was a bit hard to take out and I managed to break one of the soldered cables for that :S The bottom of the screen was glued on extremely hard.
Some notes: You definitely need to remove the battery as the screen cable runs underneath it. I'm not certain you need to remove the main board as it seemed you might be able to replace the front screen without taking that off. There's a lot of glued stuff in there so you better have good tools to pull things apart without breaking it.
So finally after having taken it apart enough and asserting a few things I decided that replacing the whole screen and re-building it will take too much time. I just saw a deal for $199 with wireless charger included. So having a choice of $65 new screen + 4 weeks of waiting and then spending 2 hours trying to replace it or buying a new one for $199 and getting a wireless charger + extra USB-C cable - I just ordered a new one. Plus I get to keep the old phone parts around for spares in case any of the side-buttons or front-speaker etc break
Just a note - my phone was in the official flip-cover when falling and got hit into the bottom right front corner and the cracks went all over the screen. I'm rather certain now that the phone's front glass panel is rather fragile and while having the silicone enclosure would've saved it in my case it's still a bit easy to break.
PS: Just wanted to add that I was actually genuinely impressed by the overall quality of the phone and Elephone in general for providing decent updates and support and assembly quality was good so while the glass panel is fragile I still decided to order a new phone from them!

Hi, I also had to replace the screen, so I tore down the phone before I ordered the new screen to see if I could do it safely. And I did (I didn't have to remove the main board, I just removed the screws and left it loose so I could remove the flat cable from the top. The problem is the screen took a couple of weeks to arrive and now I don't remember where a couple of small metal pieces that looks like contacts go. One is golden and the other is silver, both very small, looks like they fit in something similar to the antenna connector. Do you have any ideas of where are they supposed to go?

llucax said:
Hi, I also had to replace the screen, so I tore down the phone before I ordered the new screen to see if I could do it safely. And I did (I didn't have to remove the main board, I just removed the screws and left it loose so I could remove the flat cable from the top. The problem is the screen took a couple of weeks to arrive and now I don't remember where a couple of small metal pieces that looks like contacts go. One is golden and the other is silver, both very small, looks like they fit in something similar to the antenna connector. Do you have any ideas of where are they supposed to go?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I cannot remember exactly either, but I think there were two of them.
One of them was visible on this pic in the top right area, above the cable that goes under the LED lights.
The other one I remember had a similar purpose, but since I packed the parts away already I cannot remember where and it would take too much time to re-piece it together to figure it out.
(Exactly the reason why I decided to go for the new one instead of replacing the screen).

xataxxx said:
I cannot remember exactly either, but I think there were two of them.
One of them was visible on this pic in the top right area, above the cable that goes under the LED lights.
The other one I remember had a similar purpose, but since I packed the parts away already I cannot remember where and it would take too much time to re-piece it together to figure it out.
(Exactly the reason why I decided to go for the new one instead of replacing the screen).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I finally figured it out. Yes, I saw the one in the pic, and the other one goes in the bottom part, on the right, just below the top right screw to hold the plastic bottom part. I finally managed to assemble everything back with the new screen and it works perfectly. Thanks!

i also have to change my display screen hopefully new arrives soon and the change is not to complicated

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irDOXh1QoKE

And last few minutes of this showing how to remove the back cover

Hi,
I'm thinking of taking my back panel off for the purposes of fixing the GPS connections as advised here: http://bbs.elephone.hk/thread-11201-1-3.html#.V9SPfygrKM9
Now the op talks about aligning the springs with the backpanel connectors. Can someone take whichever picture is above and highlight which springs they mean?

i broke my screen on this phone, i have horizontal lines appearing on it, have tried three new screen and all display the same, i think there is a problem with mainboard after it was dropped so i am going to buy a new mainboard, anyone else experience this issue, when i wake it up its fine but after a second the lines come up, im pretty sure the screens are fine but something comes up and makes the lines

I've got this phone. I kept it in a safe place disassembled and at that time it was working, some days ago when reassembling the device, it shows no sign of life whatsoever, nor power up or charging battery; I thought the battery was completely dead, bought a brand new one but same situation... Do you think is possible that some kind of oxydation prevents the phone charging and power up? If connected to PC via usb cable, it shows Mediatek Preloader, so I think the phone is not dead.... Thank you all for answering, regards.