Database Users

Replacing Touch Digitizer fix NonResponsive Screen?

Hey everyone my HTC HD2 got the Non-Responsive screen problem a week ago, & did a lot of research and found out that it was most likely a hardware problem with a cable..... So a lot of people would tell the people with the problem that the "Touch Screen Digitizer" is dead (like the cable), or it needs to be cleaned... pretty well go out and buy a new one... BUT I have never found evidence that someone has done this and it has successfully "cured" their HTC HD2 Non-Responsive touch screen problem...
So I was looking for anyone on the forums that could confirm this is a solution or give me any tips on what I should do.... AND no I don't have enough money to get a new phone, nor do I live in the USA so I can't send it in to fix it...
This is what I was going to buy for it:
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/NEW-OEM-HTC-...781?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item519a3d2e45
Thanks for taking the time to read my Thread, its much appreciated!! I hope I can find a fix!!
PS: If anyone wanted to know what it looks like out of curiosity I posted 3 pictures with RED circle HIGHLIGHTING the problem when I try to touch something....

My digitizer has been a bit dodgy for the past few months. It's ironic that when I finally found out what the issue was and called HTC, my factory warranty had ended exactly 4 days prior to the call.
Fast forward 3 months and my phone has now been unresponsive for 3 hours despite my prying and tweaking various hard parts.
I disassembled the phone down to the main board just to see how hard the install is, but it's a bit intimidating once it's time to start pulling all the film and ribbons. A bit too tight and small parts for my liking.
Time to hit CL to see if I can find a cheap replacement.
Good luck with your repairs. I may be following in your footsteps if I can not find a good deal.

Yeah I will see how well it goes... if anyone has useful info, i will be more than grad to hear it
Thanks

Many people attempt to replace a digitizer, but I simply don't recommend it, we see enough of do-it-yourselvers who created problems in addition to the original ones.
What I do recommend, however, and I stated it on many threads already, is to get an LCD+DIGITIZER assembly. Simply because it is easier to fit. Not saying the overall fitting is easy, always depends on your overall skill, so ensure that you are familiar with the procedure BEFORE you begin. But you will save yourself a lot of trouble by getting the whole thing, as opposed to the digitizer only for the sake of a few bucks.
However, if anyone still feels intimidated by the whole thing, I am on the lookout for working main board. Advertised a few times in the marketplace with limited success. So if anyone smashed their baby and will be looking to replace, rather than repair - drop me a PM. I am in NZ. Will pay by Paypal.

Mm i've replaced my HD2 screen just last night. Trust me it's among the most complex phones around.
Unless you've done a few phones before i wouldn't advice you DIY. Otherwise you can look carefully at the Leo Ds. and Leo As. guides on youtube. those helped me!
Mm i killed my LCD in the process of removing the digitizer as it's stupidly glued on to each other and the LCD glass is thin as hell.
Get the set, it'll save you your time
Mm i got mine of ebay, from the seller goodgoodsecho. It works perfectly well for me!
All the best!

cheeselump said:
Mm i've replaced my HD2 screen just last night. Trust me it's among the most complex phones around.
Unless you've done a few phones before i wouldn't advice you DIY. Otherwise you can look carefully at the Leo Ds. and Leo As. guides on youtube. those helped me!
Mm i killed my LCD in the process of removing the digitizer as it's stupidly glued on to each other and the LCD glass is thin as hell.
Get the set, it'll save you your time
Mm i got mine of ebay, from the seller goodgoodsecho. It works perfectly well for me!
All the best!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How much did the set cost?

cheeselump said:
Mm i've replaced my HD2 screen just last night. Trust me it's among the most complex phones around.
Unless you've done a few phones before i wouldn't advice you DIY. Otherwise you can look carefully at the Leo Ds. and Leo As. guides on youtube. those helped me!
Mm i killed my LCD in the process of removing the digitizer as it's stupidly glued on to each other and the LCD glass is thin as hell.
Get the set, it'll save you your time
Mm i got mine of ebay, from the seller goodgoodsecho. It works perfectly well for me!
All the best!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks I will check it out, hopefully it won't be to hard and I hope I can repair it!! oh and could you post a link of the youtube & manual you used to replace your screen?? Thanks
Oh would anyone suggest then just calling HTC and sending it to them to repair?? or does that cost to much??
Thanks everyone for the help

One word of advice I have, is just remove the LCD/digitizer module assembly and don't remove anything else.
I have no idea why these videos and manuals have you pulling circuit boards, flex cables, and disconnecting stuff just to remove the LCD module. All you really have to do after removing the rear housing is to cut through the double-sided tape holding the LCD module to the main frame, being careful to know where the flex is and not to go too deep there. I used a credit card for that, but anything similarly flat and thin should do.

GnatGoSplat said:
One word of advice I have, is just remove the LCD/digitizer module assembly and don't remove anything else.
I have no idea why these videos and manuals have you pulling circuit boards, flex cables, and disconnecting stuff just to remove the LCD module. All you really have to do after removing the rear housing is to cut through the double-sided tape holding the LCD module to the main frame, being careful to know where the flex is and not to go too deep there. I used a credit card for that, but anything similarly flat and thin should do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yah I was looking at the video's and they were taking off EVERYTHING... it looks really hard to do.. I don't know whether I want to do it anymore.....
oh and are you talking about the digitizer itself or the LCD+digitizer for your method?
Thanks

Heronization said:
Yah I was looking at the video's and they were taking off EVERYTHING... it looks really hard to do.. I don't know whether I want to do it anymore.....
oh and are you talking about the digitizer itself or the LCD+digitizer for your method?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, there is absolutely no reason to take off everything like some people seem to think is necessary.
The way I'm talking about requires removing LCD+digitizer. In fact, I think you'll always have to remove both because the connector for the digitizer is under the LCD. Anyway, the way I did it, I went from removing the the phone insides from the rear housing straight to separating the LCD+digitizer assembly from the frame. No removal of any boards or flex cables. The only cable to be disconnected is the LCD+digitizer assembly one. Getting it disconnected and reconnected does require unplugging the front button flex and removing the screws for the bottom logic board to loosen it, but that's all.

GnatGoSplat said:
Yep, there is absolutely no reason to take off everything like some people seem to think is necessary.
The way I'm talking about requires removing LCD+digitizer. In fact, I think you'll always have to remove both because the connector for the digitizer is under the LCD. Anyway, the way I did it, I went from removing the the phone insides from the rear housing straight to separating the LCD+digitizer assembly from the frame. No removal of any boards or flex cables. The only cable to be disconnected is the LCD+digitizer assembly one. Getting it disconnected and reconnected does require unplugging the front button flex and removing the screws for the bottom logic board to loosen it, but that's all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow that sounds pretty simple! and for you it all works perfectly now?? no calibration needed or problems?? Maybe I will try it after all..... but what screw drivers to I need to dissemble it?? the screws look different from normal..

Heronization said:
Wow that sounds pretty simple! and for you it all works perfectly now?? no calibration needed or problems?? Maybe I will try it after all..... but what screw drivers to I need to dissemble it?? the screws look different from normal..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, it's not that simple because simply getting the HD2 insides out of the rear housing is difficult if you've never done it before. I believe the screwdriver you need is a Torx T-5. Once you get the screws out, you will need a plastic opening tool to go between the digitizer and rear housing frame. They look like this:
http://www.ifixit.com/Tools/Plastic-Opening-Tools/IF145-000
I found it comes out much easier if I use the tool to make a gap along the top edge and then slide the entire end of a scrap credit card into that gap, then that makes the whole assembly easier to pry out along the sides with the tool. I know on one of the vids, the guy takes forever doing this part and I can understand why, but once I figured out sliding a credit card into the top gap as far as it would go, I was able to get it apart much easier.
I can't answer whether the phone will work properly, because I just ordered the new digitizer over the weekend and haven't put it back together. I did remove the LCD+digitizer assembly and then re-connected it and put it back, then powered on the phone just to make sure pulling the LCD didn't hurt it - it didn't, everything worked as well as it did before. I did manage to crack the digitizer more when I tried to get the insides out of the rear housing before I figured out the credit card trick, so fortunately I was not trying to save my digitizer as it was already cracked. If you are just wanting to try to clean or fiddle with the connection, then you're going to have to be a LOT more careful than I was because it was all too easy to crack the digitizer!
I'm guessing yours probably needs replacement though. I sent my HTC Surround in for a funny acting digitizer, and the digitizer was replaced.
Oh, and if I would have bought an LCD+digitizer pre-assembled unit, that would have been super easy to replace. However, I opted to save $50+ by buying just the digitizer. Not too sure how I'm going to prevent dust getting in it, and I've read thickness of the adhesive is critical. I may regret it later!

GnatGoSplat said:
Well, it's not that simple because simply getting the HD2 insides out of the rear housing is difficult if you've never done it before. I believe the screwdriver you need is a Torx T-5. Once you get the screws out, you will need a plastic opening tool to go between the digitizer and rear housing frame. They look like this:
http://www.ifixit.com/Tools/Plastic-Opening-Tools/IF145-000
I found it comes out much easier if I use the tool to make a gap along the top edge and then slide the entire end of a scrap credit card into that gap, then that makes the whole assembly easier to pry out along the sides with the tool. I know on one of the vids, the guy takes forever doing this part and I can understand why, but once I figured out sliding a credit card into the top gap as far as it would go, I was able to get it apart much easier.
I can't answer whether the phone will work properly, because I just ordered the new digitizer over the weekend and haven't put it back together. I did remove the LCD+digitizer assembly and then re-connected it and put it back, then powered on the phone just to make sure pulling the LCD didn't hurt it - it didn't, everything worked as well as it did before. I did manage to crack the digitizer more when I tried to get the insides out of the rear housing before I figured out the credit card trick, so fortunately I was not trying to save my digitizer as it was already cracked. If you are just wanting to try to clean or fiddle with the connection, then you're going to have to be a LOT more careful than I was because it was all too easy to crack the digitizer!
I'm guessing yours probably needs replacement though. I sent my HTC Surround in for a funny acting digitizer, and the digitizer was replaced.
Oh, and if I would have bought an LCD+digitizer pre-assembled unit, that would have been super easy to replace. However, I opted to save $50+ by buying just the digitizer. Not too sure how I'm going to prevent dust getting in it, and I've read thickness of the adhesive is critical. I may regret it later!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok thanks I think thats what I am going to do, first dissemble it then try to move the cable around because, just yesterday it started to work again and then today it isn't working. I will contact you if I have a problem or get stuck, if that is ok with you
Thanks a lot

Heronization said:
Ok thanks I think thats what I am going to do, first dissemble it then try to move the cable around because, just yesterday it started to work again and then today it isn't working. I will contact you if I have a problem or get stuck, if that is ok with you
Thanks a lot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, no prob. I can post a pic of the digitizer lifted from the frame which shows where the adhesive tapes are that you have to go through, if it would help.

GnatGoSplat said:
One word of advice I have, is just remove the LCD/digitizer module assembly and don't remove anything else.
I have no idea why these videos and manuals have you pulling circuit boards, flex cables, and disconnecting stuff just to remove the LCD module. All you really have to do after removing the rear housing is to cut through the double-sided tape holding the LCD module to the main frame, being careful to know where the flex is and not to go too deep there. I used a credit card for that, but anything similarly flat and thin should do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey lolz I need your help already, I just took off the back housing and now Im lost on what to do... It looks to me as if you do have to remove the cables from the motherboard to get to it?? and what is the double sided tape? and isn't everything connected to the lcd?? lolz this is my first time doing any phone disassemble.. Thanks
added a picture of what I was thinking of doing... or am I doing this all wrong... because you did say we don't need to remove any flex cable or wires and stuff
Thanks!!

Heronization said:
Hey lolz I need your help already, I just took off the back housing and now Im lost on what to do... It looks to me as if you do have to remove the cables from the motherboard to get to it?? and what is the double sided tape? and isn't everything connected to the lcd?? lolz this is my first time doing any phone disassemble.. Thanks
added a picture of what I was thinking of doing... or am I doing this all wrong... because you did say we don't need to remove any flex cable or wires and stuff
Thanks!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, I didn't disconnect anything except the circled connector on the far right of your picture. You will need to do that to remove the LCD flex cable from the logic board.
I've attached a pic of the LCD module loosened from the frame. What you do is use something thin and flat to separate the adhesive tape holding the LCD to the frame. You will need to lift some of that black fabric tape on the edge to see where the LCD module meets the frame. Near the top, you will probably have to slide your separating tool all the way through to separate the tape (I used a scrap credit card). Avoid the area where the LCD flex cable is, because you could damage it! It's on the lower right of the LCD if you are looking from the front. When the LCD is loose, lift up from left to right (when LCD is facing you), pretending that there is a hinge on the right side. This is because you don't want to put any force on the LCD flex.
Once you've got your phone looking like my picture, you can remove the "captain" (orange tape), unlatch the LCD flex from the top, remove the button flex from its connector, then loosen the bottom logic board from the frame just enough to pull the flex out of the connector.
I hope that makes sense! It probably helps to know that a very strong double-sided sticky tape is all that holds the LCD+digitizer assembly to the frame, and there is only one flex cable connecting LCD+digitizer assembly to the rest of the phone.

GnatGoSplat said:
Nope, I didn't disconnect anything except the circled connector on the far right of your picture. You will need to do that to remove the LCD flex cable from the logic board.
I've attached a pic of the LCD module loosened from the frame. What you do is use something thin and flat to separate the adhesive tape holding the LCD to the frame. You will need to lift some of that black fabric tape on the edge to see where the LCD module meets the frame. Near the top, you will probably have to slide your separating tool all the way through to separate the tape (I used a scrap credit card). Avoid the area where the LCD flex cable is, because you could damage it! It's on the lower right of the LCD if you are looking from the front. When the LCD is loose, lift up from left to right (when LCD is facing you), pretending that there is a hinge on the right side. This is because you don't want to put any force on the LCD flex.
Once you've got your phone looking like my picture, you can remove the "captain" (orange tape), unlatch the LCD flex from the top, remove the button flex from its connector, then loosen the bottom logic board from the frame just enough to pull the flex out of the connector.
I hope that makes sense! It probably helps to know that a very strong double-sided sticky tape is all that holds the LCD+digitizer assembly to the frame, and there is only one flex cable connecting LCD+digitizer assembly to the rest of the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome I will try it now, I do need to heat the screen some for the tape to get sticky so I can pry it off right?? and I am guessing once you have removed that tape you can't "just stick it back on together and it will work right?? right??

Heronization said:
Awesome I will try it now, I do need to heat the screen some for the tape to get sticky so I can pry it off right?? and I am guessing once you have removed that tape you can't "just stick it back on together and it will work right?? right??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could try heating; I didn't, but maybe it will come apart easier if you do. In the HTC factory service video, they mentioned putting the whole phone into the oven to loosen the tape. I didn't know if it would be a good idea to do that complete with all the circuit boards or not.
No, without heat, the tape is definitely ruined and I will need to replace it. I was planning to use some leftover tape I have from fixing iPhone digitizers so I didn't even attempt to salvage the existing tape. Not sure if it's even possible to salvage that tape considering you need to stick some kind of tool in there to separate it.

GnatGoSplat said:
You could try heating; I didn't, but maybe it will come apart easier if you do. In the HTC factory service video, they mentioned putting the whole phone into the oven to loosen the tape. I didn't know if it would be a good idea to do that complete with all the circuit boards or not.
No, without heat, the tape is definitely ruined and I will need to replace it. I was planning to use some leftover tape I have from fixing iPhone digitizers so I didn't even attempt to salvage the existing tape. Not sure if it's even possible to salvage that tape considering you need to stick some kind of tool in there to separate it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright thanks I have to go and don't know when I'll be back, but I will try it tonight and hopefully I don't break anything...
Thanks for the help!

G2 screen broken or just lose ribben cable?

Tonight I came home and turned on my phone just to find the screen is potentially broken.
Everything else works fine except the screen. Whenever I press the power button it gives me a black screen with a few lines on it. If I smack it a little then the lines change.
I'm wondering if it's just a lose ribbon cable or the screen is actually going bad.
I'd take it apart but I don't have the tools for it but if it's still as simple as that then tomorrow I'll just go buy a screw driver

Orite said:
Tonight I came home and turned on my phone just to find the screen is potentially broken.
Everything else works fine except the screen. Whenever I press the power button it gives me a black screen with a few lines on it. If I smack it a little then the lines change.
I'm wondering if it's just a lose ribbon cable or the screen is actually going bad.
I'd take it apart but I don't have the tools for it but if it's still as simple as that then tomorrow I'll just go buy a screw driver
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK 1st the LCD (and the digitiser incidentally) are not jaw & ribbon connectors but are pop connectors.
Look in the youtube i posted below.
I have had considerable experience digging around inside Desire Z's. In all honesty unless you dropped your phone its more than likely your LCD is fubared
Even if you did drop it its probably fubared ..... your starting to get the theme eh??
Whatever your LCD is probably fubared
However the good news is the Desire Z is the easiest phone I have ever dismantled/reassembled, as it is mostly held together by lots of high quality screws, so you don't need to take risks and get frustrated levering bits around to try and remove them.
Also LCDs are easily obtained and cheap.
Check this basic disassembly guide its the best i know.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-dR8CHEGjY&list=PLEBB8603769CE1417&index=16
This one below is stills only no vid, but it shows some small parts steps to in the above, defo 2nd best unless you want to remove small components
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SliyuYBvfic&list=PLEBB8603769CE1417&index=14
Oh yeah since you need to completely strip the Desire Z to replace LCD.
You may as well do something about that pesky weak hinge spring whilst you have it in bits.
This is a VERY worthwhile mod it takes 2 mins and transforms the keyboard hinge mechanism.
If you can't be bothered buying an upgraded spring (which is actually WELL WORTH IT) then you can just stretch the old spring and replace it to get a good result, just not as good as the upgraded spring.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us-28oXfIbg&list=PLEBB8603769CE1417&index=13
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYK18FfAmzE&list=PLEBB8603769CE1417&index=15
Just be slow and careful, better it takes 2 hours to do a 10min job than 15mins and a busted smartphone component.
Hope this helps bro
Zeb

hi, well, being the most unlucky person in the world, i too have had plenty of experiance dissmanteling the desire z. been through two phones, changed 2 digitizers, 2 LCDs, and now i have a broken flex ribbon cable (i know this for certain). i ordered the only one, as far as i can see, in the uk, which turned out to cause the phone to overheat when the screen was on. typical. sent it back, but the idiot sold the only other one he had to someone else when he knew i needed a replacement! sooo, without wanting to hijack this thread, does anyone know where i can source one it the uk? (the complete flex ribbon cable and hinge mechanism, as just the ribbon cable would be very tough to replace on its own without damaging something) many thanks..

Need some help, dead digitizer or what??

Hey guys, I need some opinions about my problem, check my video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeApacv5_gE&feature=youtu.be
I think it's digitizer fault but before buy new one I need to be at least 90% sure its digitizer, tried to load many roms, pds fix...

Anyone? Somebody must know

Well honestly it is hard to say without actually having your phone here. But you can almost be sure of this. It is most likely either the digitizer or the multi pin socket that the digitizer plugs into. I am working on one right now that went into a swimming pool and the socket is bad. It does the exact same thing as yours with any digitizer that I try. I'm currently looking for a way to remove the corrosion from the inside of that sucker. Gotta find some kind of spray. I can't seem to get it good enough with emery cloth or scraping... On the other hand I've replaced the digitizer and fixed this same issue on my sons Atrix.
In case you decide that you want to try to replace it here are 2 on Ebay that have the frame built in. Link1 Link2 So far I've bought 3 that were assembled this way and it is so much easier than buying a ditizer alone. No messing with double sided tape or worrying about backlight bleed.
Hope you can get some relief.

Dude, I've got the same in the same places! It have to be factory defect... there is too much digitizer problems...

Yes its very good smartphone but too much bad digitizers disqualify it, so JdgM3NT4L sometimes when I squeeze frame bottom of the screen works fine but only for few moments, so there are three options: need to replace adhesive sticker, replace digitizer and pin socket. Damn even if I want sell Atrix for parts I am not sure if all of them are fine

I used to get that a lot, phantom touches that make the phone useless until I turn the screen off and back on.
Cannot say for sure but when I stopped using alcohol wipes to clean the screen and reduced the amount of static it was exposed to (keeping it polyester pant pockets seemed to make it worse believe it or not!), it seemed to pretty much stop.. now I've gone months without the issue.

lvl18 said:
Yes its very good smartphone but too much bad digitizers disqualify it, so JdgM3NT4L sometimes when I squeeze frame bottom of the screen works fine but only for few moments, so there are three options: need to replace adhesive sticker, replace digitizer and pin socket. Damn even if I want sell Atrix for parts I am not sure if all of them are fine
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, the socket is on the motherboard, so no replacing that... For 30 bucks, I would try the digitizer. I should have explained the part about water damage. That's one of the few ways that the socket would have been damaged. That's kind of what I was eluding to when I mentioned not having your phone here. If I had it here I would know the history and whether or not it had water damage, etc. My apologies for not being more clear about that. I just don't want you to buy the digitizer and then be upset because I told you to leap right in. In my humble opinion. A new one will probably take care of the problem. 90% if I had to call it.
I wish you the best of luck. And if you have any problems installing it shoot me a pm and I'll be glad to Skype or email to help you get through it.

Thanks, my Atrix never saw water. I just dissasembly phone for every single part and cleaned all socket with alcohol. Put back together but no result. I'll try replace digitizer with frame from ebay, it's risky but hope it will solve the problem.

Its the digitizer I'm 99 percent sure I had an identical problem. Dead zones and the phantom touches. Replaced the digitizer and problem solved. I believe the digitzer design is bad for our phone and is prone to this kind of failure
Sent from my MB860 using xda app-developers app

[FIX] Wi-Fi/Bluetooth error - 10 minute fix - NO SOLDERING REQUIRED

This is the way I fixed the wifi\bluetooth error with continuous rebooting on my Atrix.
I did not come up with it, and I do not guarantee it will work in your device, I'm simply sharing this because it's information that's hard to find and understand. I fixed my device in this way, so have others. I do not take responsability for any damage you might make to your device attempting this fix, and I do not claim it will work forever - it's been two days for me and still great!
For completeness sake, if you guys want to check other proposed fixes and some reasons why they might or might not work, here is this great post by mvniekerk, a person more far more knowlegble then me when it comes to these technological issues:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1655071
I'd also like to thank John-aurelio, junior member, who initially posted about this fix here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1655071&page=4
All credit goes to him!
So, what did I do?
1) I cut out two rectagular pieces of plastic from a pill tin, glued them on top of each other with scotch tape. I think any thin piece of plastic should do.
2) Opened up my Atrix by removing screws with a T5 Torx screwdriver. If you don't know how to do this check out this teardown by ifixit: http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Motorola+Atrix+4G+Teardown/4964/1
3) Slightly raised the motherboard and placed the plastic rectangle under it, with a little bit sticking out into the battery compartment.
To my amazement it worked, it is still working.
I wanted to tell you guys why, but I don't know. Perhaps one of you guys wants to experiment applying pressure to each component separately to find out the culprit?
Also, I'm curious to know if this will work for all of you, or just some of you.
Here are the pics:
This last one is the piece of tin\plastic with tape, side by side with a pencil for scale. Its not the tin I used, but its basically the same, but the one I used has white paint, I don't know if should make a difference. If you're worried about shorts just cover the whole thing in tape or cut plastic from a bottle or something.
The first two are how its supposed to look in the end.
[EDIT]: Here are some more pics:
This is the piece of plastic I used. It doesn't show, but it is very thin, one milimiter thick, if even.
These are of the open device. In the last one the plastic piece is a little eschewed, but you get the idea.
Cheerios

Huh. This is similar to the fix some people did with the digitizer problem. Seems like the the connectors on this phone tend to come loose, to where pressure in the right direction will fix it.
Sent from my MB860 using xda app-developers app

Newbleeto said:
This is the way I fixed the wifi\bluetooth error with continuous rebooting on my Atrix.
I did not come up with it, and I do not guarantee it will work in your device, I'm simply sharing this because it's information that's hard to find and understand. I fixed my device in this way, so have others. I do not take responsability for any damage you might make to your device attempting this fix, and I do not claim it will work forever - it's been two days for me and still great!
For completeness sake, if you guys want to check other proposed fixes and some reasons why they might or might not work, here is this great post by mvniekerk, a person more far more knowlegble then me when it comes to these technological issues:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1655071
I'd also like to thank John-aurelio, junior member, who initially posted about this fix here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1655071&page=4
All credit goes to him!
So, what did I do?
1) I cut out two rectagular pieces of plastic from a pill tin, glued them on top of each other with scotch tape. I think any thin piece of plastic should do.
2) Opened up my Atrix by removing screws with a T5 Torx screwdriver.
3) Slightly raised the motherboard and placed the plastic rectangle under it, with a little bit sticking out into the battery compartment.
To my amazement it worked, it is still working.
I wanted to tell you guys why, but I don't know. Perhaps one of you guys wants to experiment applying pressure to each component separately to find out the culprit?
Also, I'm curious to know if this will work for all of you, or just some of you.
Here are the pics:
This last one is the piece of tin\plastic with tape, side by side with a pencil for scale. Its not the tin I used, but its basically the same, but the one I used has white paint, I don't know if should make a difference. If you're worried about shorts just cover the whole thing in tape or cut plastic from a bottle or something.
The first two are how its supposed to look in the end.
Sorry for no open device pics, I did this yesterday and don't really feel like opening my phone, but if you guys think its needed I'll do it later.
Cheerios
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A detailed How To to show us what to do exactly, we can do much ourselves with just this pics. :/
EDIT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYz_RiuFVRk had anyone seen this?

Will try this with my wifi broken atrix tomorrow.

guidoido004 said:
A detailed How To to show us what to do exactly, we can do much ourselves with just this pics. :/
EDIT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYz_RiuFVRk had anyone seen this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's literally as simple as opening the atrix and placing the plastic under the motherboard, I don't think it gets any easier then that. But I'll try to take more photos.
As for that video, there are reports of people killing their mobiles by breaking the piece holding the battery or killing the nearby ICs trying that. That guy is just too rough. Also, it doesn't show the battery actually being replaced. If you wanna try to replace the battery, better do it gently and stay clear of that video
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

If the solution is to apply pressure to certain parts of the board then it's likely similar to the infamous nVidia issues from around 2008 where the chips were getting hot enough to expand and brake the solder connection or in some cases, rip some of the pads from the board. If that is the case, be careful, as flexing the board the wrong way could eventually lead to making it worse over time.

I can't believe this actually worked. Been using my Atrix for the whole weekend on WIFI. Also finally been able to use my Lapdock properly.
Thanks so much for such a simple fix.
If its any help to anyone, I ended up using an old debit card, as its seems the perfect height to give enough pressure on the board.
It did take a few goes, but as long as you persist with it, it works really well. Plus no more over heating too.
Thanks again

holy crap. 5 minutes and its fixed! thank you

Cause found??
Hi everybody,
I might have an idea what causes the wifi errors. As the wifi gets fixed by changing the motherboard's position, the motherboard is not fastened properly. This might be caused by the vibration function that is located on the part of the motherboard you would need to move up.(see the location of the vibrationfuction in the attachment.)
If so, should this function be less used then?

Thanks Newbleeto! I was so frustrated with this issue. I was initially trying based that youtube video link by someone else which never worked for me. I later decided to try your solution and it worked for me the very first time Appreciate your help!

Thanks, seems to work!

What an interesting tweak. There some validity to this. The Atrix 4G is notorious for wifi, bluetooth, and GPS dropout. This is largely due to kernel and rom. However I have seem plenty of Atrix4Gs with loose antenna clamps. Usually I apply a little pressure in the outside of the clamp to reform it slightly so it will maintain hold on the reciever socket. Second thing I look at is the shielding around the mainboard. This acts as a heatsink and guard. If depressed in anyway will cause massive heating along with grounding. The antenna clusters are not well separated from RF interference from one another to begin with. Metal in general will restricted RF signals considerably depending on its frequency. The greater the frequency the lower it's ability to perpetrate materials.
From the looks of it your directing RF crossover and bounce back away from each antenna. This is a good thing. It also means as long as the phone is not held on its edge towards any receiving end it won't effect talk and data very much.
My experiments with the Atrix4G always had a bit of unpredictable outcome when it came to pressure on the ribbon connections. This would result in the screen blacking out, digitizer over sensitive or non responsive, failure to boot and so on. Pressure is a big deal with these phones so be careful.
Happy tinkering

IT WORKS
after nearly 4 months of this bug i finally had the guts to open up my phone and do this fix.
and it is working , my wifi is back thank you OP. :highfive::highfive::highfive::highfive::highfive::highfive::highfive::highfive::highfive::highfive::highfive::highfive::victory::victory:

This method works wonderfully. Thanks, OP!

sangyum said:
This method works wonderfully. Thanks, OP!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Spoke too soon. This fix stopped working after two days.... Back to Wifi Error and boot loop. :crying:

I got my wifi to work again, there are two snap on connectors on the same side of the phone. I put 2x pieces of toilet paper cardboard between the frame of the phone and the connector, pushing the connector tighter to the other side.

I'd like to confrm that it works to me !
Thank you, I spent dozens of hours to try solve it.

Newbleeto said:
This is the way I fixed the wifi\bluetooth error with continuous rebooting on my Atrix.
I did not come up with it, and I do not guarantee it will work in your device, I'm simply sharing this because it's information that's hard to find and understand. I fixed my device in this way, so have others. I do not take responsability for any damage you might make to your device attempting this fix, and I do not claim it will work forever - it's been two days for me and still great!
For completeness sake, if you guys want to check other proposed fixes and some reasons why they might or might not work, here is this great post by mvniekerk, a person more far more knowlegble then me when it comes to these technological issues:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1655071
I'd also like to thank John-aurelio, junior member, who initially posted about this fix here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1655071&page=4
All credit goes to him!
So, what did I do?
1) I cut out two rectagular pieces of plastic from a pill tin, glued them on top of each other with scotch tape. I think any thin piece of plastic should do.
2) Opened up my Atrix by removing screws with a T5 Torx screwdriver. If you don't know how to do this check out this teardown by ifixit: http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Motorola+Atrix+4G+Teardown/4964/1
3) Slightly raised the motherboard and placed the plastic rectangle under it, with a little bit sticking out into the battery compartment.
To my amazement it worked, it is still working.
...
Cheerios
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did this as well, and it's been working perfectly for over a week now. Battery life has tripled to 24h (back where it used to be, what a relief) and the wifi is back to being perfect.
In my case, I cut a small piece out of an old credit card and inserted into the section highlighted in the attached picture, inside to out (from the battery bay towards the side). There are flat cables/strips underneath and you probably don't want to insert your spacer material from the outside in. Make sure that the plastic strip fits completely underneath the board, otherwise you won't be able to properly close the back.
Thanks!

To add some data to this can all of you confirm the kernel and rom you are useing before and after this mod. Would help all of us in the future for reference. Thanks.

Cab121 said:
To add some data to this can all of you confirm the kernel and rom you are useing before and after this mod. Would help all of us in the future for reference. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure, no problem!
Atrix 4G (Bell Canada)
Unlocked and rooted by yours truly (don't ask how, I'm still not sure I know what I did)
CynaogenMod 10.1 from epinter: Megathread or linuxmobile.org site, builds 2013-08-07 + hporch32 kernel (before and after mod) & 2013-08-26 + hporch32 kernel (after mod)
Radio: Telstra N_01.87.00R

Dead screen on Galaxy S4

I bought it about 9 months ago on Craigslist. I'll never do *that* again.
After I got it home, I noticed that the screen looks as if it has been replaced. A tiny bit of glue in the upper corner. Oh well. It was working fine. Or so I thought.
A few weeks ago, I started getting these strange vertical lines through the entire display. I couldn't figure out any pattern to it (time of day, temperature, etc.) It would usually go away within a few minutes.
Then today, I hit the power button to bring it out of "sleep" mode, and the screen flickered a few times... and died. I tried to power it back on; no dice. I pulled the battery and tried powering it on; no luck.
I plugged it into an AC charger and at least I saw the battery icon. I powered it on, and the screen flickered and died again.
Is this a known error or a simple fix? Do you need more information?

Sounds like a dead display, not a real common problem but it happens. You can replace the display which is not a huge deal but my concern is the glue you mention. That may make it a bit of a challenge to repair. Depending on what type, how much and where glue was put.

How much would a new display cost if I replaced it myself? How do I know it's just the display, not the digitizer or something else, etc.?

Check Ebay. Ebay is usually loaded with replacement screens/lcds. If you do buy from there make sure it is a Sprint variant of the SG4. There are suttle differences on the inside between GS4s. The lcd is the part you'll need to replace if necessary. I would advise, taking the display off first to inspect what the previous owner had done. It's entirely possible that the lcd cable ribbon is loose or not seated properly to the board.

The display will be the outer glass, digitizer and LCD all in one package. You can try to replace parts separately, but trust me it is not worth it. The outer glass is glued down to the digitizer, that is a real pita to get apart clean without damaging what is left. Then if you do manage to get it apart it may not function as well or be as durable as originally because the outer glass no longer makes contact with the whole digitizer. Think of it like a single piece of wood vs a laminate like plywood.
Granted it may not be the display (there is always a possibility it could be something else -like aliens) but most likely it will be the display. I would think of it this way- try to replace the display, if that does not work you can resell the display you just bought and you might be out $20- well worth it in my opinion.

Thanks for the info. Looks like the glass/digitizer/LCD will run me about $100, so I'm not sure it's worth it.
Does anyone have the link handy for the Galaxy S4 drivers so that I can get what I need off the phone?

troyboytn said:
I would advise, taking the display off first to inspect what the previous owner had done. It's entirely possible that the lcd cable ribbon is loose or not seated properly to the board.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've followed instructions to take the motherboard out and put it back in. Is it difficult to ge the display off? Is the LCD cable ribbon easy to find?