Database Users

HOWTO: Replace digitizer

I'm writing this up because someone else might like to benefit from my experiences with doing this repair.
Get your tools together: Multimeter, Torx T5, jeweler's Phillips (size 00), 15w soldering pencil, a bit of flux, some thin (I used 0.38mm 63/57% tin/lead) solder, and a clean place to work. You may want to grab a small ice cube tray or something similar with compartments to toss the screws in so you remember where they go. I highly suggest you get Kapton (3M) tape but you could use cellophane tape or a cut piece of packing tape. I had Kapton on hand so that's what I went with. You also need to either make sure the seller provides the double-stick tape gasket that binds the digitizer to the LCD shield or that you managed to salvage the one that secured the old digitizer. I was lucky and it came off the glass and stayed on the metal.
First of all, I've always had horrible problems with alignment with my Vario. The top of the screen was usually fine but the bottom would start drifting up. Cleaning the crap out of the edges under the bezel with a business card or doing the thumb rub was fine for that particular session but when I would sleep it and put it in my pocket, it was screwed up the next time. Dropping my Vario on the floor has managed to create a triangular dead zone that peaks at 1/2" from the bottom center and degrades towards the bottom left and right corners.
I bought a digitizer on Ebay from a seller in Hong Kong. It arrived about two weeks later and came with a T8 Torx and a case cracking tool. The T8 was thrown aside because it's obviously the wrong tool so I used my T5 and cracked the case. I won't get into disassembly/reassembly because that isn't the object of this and you can google the directions. Suffice it to say, when you reassemble the back half, ensure the volume slider on the case isn't going to snap the tab off of the volume switch on the board like I did the last time I disassembled it.
A note on this particular digitizer - It's NOT a HTC brand part. It's a generic part and doesn't have the glossy top sheet. I paid $20 shipped and for $20 it ain't bad. There is slightly less light transmitted and it's harder to read outdoors in direct sun but no big deal - it hasn't had to be realigned yet.
Now that you've removed the back cover, lifted out the board, unscrewed the LCD slider from the front cover, disassembled the two halves of the LCD slider, removed the screws that secure the top and bottom button pads to the LCD top frame and lifted out the LCD/button assembly and it's sitting in front of you - lets get to work!
First of all, you need to commit to this before you start making irreversible changes. If you've never soldered before, put this thing back together or find someone who has. You don't need a SMT station or the ability to solder 0605 components but since you're soldering on the plastic ribbon carrier, you need to be sure of your skills in order to not trash the LCD ribbon.
Now that you're ready to do this, examine the LCD panel and you will see that the digitizer is attached to the frame of the LCD panel. Use thin blade like a single edged razor to slide between the glass panel and the metal case and start lifting up the glass panel. If you're lucky, it'll want to stick to the metal case. As you lift the glass, poke in some tooth picks or similar to keep the glass from seating again. Start at a corner and work around going SLOWLY. I got to the bottom, rushed, and smashed the old part causing glass dust to go everywhere!. Try to avoid that.
Now that the old panel is off, cut the ribbon cable going from the base of the digitizer to the back of the LCD. Just slice it in half to get the old part out of the way.
At this point, align the new digitizer at the top of the frame first and then gently press it down. Ensure that ONLY the back's protective plastic sheet has been removed to avoid smudges and scratches. Now place the unit face down on something like a mousepad or similar surface.
There is a piece of Kapton tape across the digitizer ribbon and the backlight ribbon. Peel from the side with the digitizer FIRST! I started pulling from the backlight cable side and damn near pulled the backlight ribbon off!
GENTLY GENTLY GENTLY peel the old ribbon cable from the digitizer DOWN and ensure that it isn't ripping the pads away from the LCD cable. There may be a better way to do this but this method worked for me, I grabbed a corner with needle nose pliers and slowly pulled at a 45 degree angle. You want to pull the top which is the side soldered to the ribbon, not the bottom, which you cut earlier.
Plug that soldering pencil in, make sure it's set to 15w.
Now, with my el-cheapo digitizer, the ribbon from the front was slightly misaligned and I had to angle it over to the right. Otherwise if I went straight up it would've been misaligned about 2mm to the left. Ensure you have the traces parallel and directly on top of the existing ones and tape the bottom of the cable so it stays put. Another thing with my digitizer was the end required trimming. This made it easy to position when I had it bent back.
Now that the bottom is aligned and you don't have to mess with it, bend the cable back so that the copper traces are now facing up. The bend should be at the bottom 3rd of the exposed traces on the LCD cable. Make a nice sharp fold on the cable. Swab on a little bit of flux to make things easier to manage. Grab a popsicle stick or similar to push the new ribbon to the LCD ribbon, get the solder ready, and try to keep the heat on very shortly. You should only need 3 seconds of heat to get a decent solder joint because there is almost zero copper to heat up. Ensure the first joint is good by a quick tug of the cable and do the next three. After they are done, test with the meter going across to ensure the joint is good and from one side to each neighbor to make sure you have no shorts. Do the next three and then cut the extra ribbon cable off leaving maybe 1/4". Grab your tape and put a nice big piece across the back of the LCD covering both ribbon cables just like it was.
Now, reassemble your phone, turn it on, align the screen, and you ought to be good to go.
I don't take any responsibility for anything you might do to screw up your phone. These were my steps to fix my phone and they may not work for you and your phone.
As an aside, the new matte screen doesn't accumulate 'face gunk' quite like the old glossy one did. Also, the sensitivity is down a tiny bit and it needs more finger pressure to use Slide2Unlock. The digitizer also gets Newtonian Rings (google it) whereas the OEM one didn't. Also, there is a faint hum from the backlight (?) when it's on now that I didn't notice before.
So far, so good... The alignment on the bottom right corner is about 1.25mm above where the stylus point is but that might just be a problem with the screen itself. The alignment has stayed rock steady since I aligned it yesterday morning.

Replace touch screen glass

My friend broke his touchscreen, and asked me to fix it. I've bought a replacement touchscreen, but I can't work out how to remove the the old touch glass. It's stuck on there with glue or something, I don't know. Is there a way to remove it other than painstakingly shattering each piece of glass and chipping away with a screw driver?

HTC Manual
Hi,
have no idea, but did you take a look into the HTC Service manual - which is available somewhere in the internet or in this forum. There it's explained how to disassemble the whole pda totally.
So long
HonkBB

HonkBB said:
Hi,
have no idea, but did you take a look into the HTC Service manual - which is available somewhere in the internet or in this forum. There it's explained how to disassemble the whole pda totally.
So long
HonkBB
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have service manual but no explanation how to change touch screen only.

it most probably is soldered on the lcd. the touchscreen is held with a little bit of double sided tape around the edges of the lcd itself. just pull it of gently. the touchscreen cable is soldered onto the lcd cable (on the back), so you can pull that off gently or desolder the whole cable of. you have to solder the new touchscreen cable back onto the lcd screen, just using a little bit of tape to connect the copper wires will not do (i found that out the hard way with my device). good luck, i wasn't able to solder the touchscreen back onto the lcd.

...
I have it done already. The touch part is connected to the display with the metal sheet with small dots on the edges. You need a small screwdriver to loose the edges and you should be able to remove whole metal frame with the glass. Then is just enough to unsolder the wirings or cut them off(you'll probably don't need the old frame).

To remove the glass touch screen I did as dennisv9 says, I found that by using a cotton bud with surgical spirit dabbed around the edge of the screen helped to loosen the stickiness of the tape making it easier to remove the screen in one piece by gently prising with your fingernails and dabbing as you go with the spirit.
You must also gently remove the tape that holds the connector tail on the back of the metalwork with care, peel from the bottom upward and try to hold the cable in place with your finger to save breaking any tracks. Now gently unsolder the connections and that is it. To replace it use a little flux on the connector and hold it in place with some masking tape and with a clean soldering iron reheat the solder and let it melt and flow. That is basically it, now reseat the screen and gently remove the masking tape and put some decent tape over the connections to secure them properly.
it most probably is soldered on the lcd. the touchscreen is held with a little bit of double sided tape around the edges of the lcd itself. just pull it of gently. the touchscreen cable is soldered onto the lcd cable (on the back), so you can pull that off gently or desolder the whole cable of. you have to solder the new touchscreen cable back onto the lcd screen, just using a little bit of tape to connect the copper wires will not do (i found that out the hard way with my device). good luck, i wasn't able to solder the touchscreen back onto the lcd.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Youtube it. WOWZERZ​

Just removed the digitiser from my lcd screen. Thank you for posting the service manual, most helpful for taking the xda apart.
I used a craft knife and very, very gingerly worked along the top then each edge. Repeating the process until the blade was just under the digitiser. Then teased it gently away from the screen, starting on one side then the other. I did make a slight crack in the touchpad but the screen is perfect.
I feel I should point out that the Himalaya (xda 2) has a choice of two screens, each screen has a specfic touchpad. My model was the PH10B, which needed the screen from the xda 2i (alpine). Not sure if this is the case for every PH10B but the connectors are very different for each screen and digitiser so not backwards compatible.
I have seen screens with digitisers attached for just under £30 on ebay (with tool, screen protector and instructions). I would recommend doing the straight swap rather than faffing around like I have but considering I got the touchpad for £6 there is a saving to be made..... "He who dares Rodders!!!"

Thank you so much for the post. It's really useful.

wonderful! thanks for the info..
demande simulation pret personnel en ligne - Pret personnel en ligne et de comparer les meilleurs taux afin de... La demande de prêt personnelen lignedemande simulation pret personnel en ligne

Allen1 said:
...
You must also gently remove the tape that holds the connector tail on the back of the metalwork with care, peel from the bottom upward and try to hold the cable in place with your finger to save breaking any tracks. Now gently unsolder the connections and that is it. To replace it use a little flux on the connector and hold it in place with some masking tape and with a clean soldering iron reheat the solder and let it melt and flow. That is basically it, now reseat the screen and gently remove the masking tape and put some decent tape over the connections to secure them properly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just don't clearly get the point, how to put the solder tip, does it on copper the wire or behind it? since the wire is so thin and mostly covered by sort of yellow thin plastic.

Too bad i just replaced my casing with a new one, i have a slight crack on my XDA iis screen, but i didnt replace it as i thought the glass was built in to the lcd screen.. at least now i know that its possible to remove just the glass..

I have the same problem ....
How to connect your LCD, it's not working ....
Any Ideas ?

and how, any ideas ??

Can somebody tell me where is located HD2 wifi antenna?

I changed touch screen and after that loose WIFI and BT signal
maybe antenna problem

nedko76 said:
I changed touch screen and after that loose WIFI and BT signal
maybe antenna problem
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wow. I have buy a second hand device and I have the same problem. For sure my screen was changed. I have open the phone from the video here:
http://pocketnow.com/hardware-1/official-htc-hd2-disassembly-assembly-training-videos-leaked
...but nothing ((
Antena it's in up-left when you watch on phone.

I am almost sure at the left side directly under the volume button .

Robert A said:
wow. I have buy a second hand device and I have the same problem. For sure my screen was changed. I have open the phone from the video here:
http://pocketnow.com/hardware-1/official-htc-hd2-disassembly-assembly-training-videos-leaked
...but nothing ((
Antena it's in up-left when you watch on phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Those videos are awesome..I see myself disassembling my HD2 after couple years

Robert A said:
Antena it's in up-left when you watch on phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It won't be in the upper portion of the phone, as this increases the strength of the radation the head is exposed to. I believe there is a law prohibiting it from being too near to the skull. Which is why all antennas in modern phones are internal and not placed by the speaker at the top of the phone.
Although this seems to not apply to GPS, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, which is what those wires by the speaker at the top of the phone are.
Class 1 Bluetooth devices can cause exposure to radiation similar to that emitted by a cell phone if they are operated in the immediate vicinity of
the body. Bluetooth devices are designed to limit the radiation power exactly to that actually required. When the
receiving device indicates that it is a few meters away, the transmitter immediately modifies its signal strength to
suit the exact range, which reduces the total emitted radiation and signal interference (IT'IS 2005).
A study commissioned by the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) measured SAR for several Bluetooth
devices, including two different class 3 hands-free cell phone headsets. The headsets tested had SAR values of
0.001 and 0.003 W/kg, which is 34 and 12 times lower than the SAR of the lowest-emission cell phone currently
available (Swiss Federal Office of Public Health 2009a).
The article can be found here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

The cell antenna is the strip on the bottom below the battery door,the wifi antenna is at the top right (if looking at it with the screen up),and the gps antenna is at the top left. There is a white cable that is supposed to run from the gps antenna to the bottom side of the main board,and a black shorter antenna cable that is for wifi that plugs into the top part of the board. I have a pretty strong feeling that the person that fixed your phones (whether that was you or someone else) probably didn't plug that cable in the right way.
<EDIT> By the way,if either of you want one that works the right way/for parts,I have one for sale that the volume buttons don't work and the lcd is cracked,but everything works other than the volume buttons.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270637114813&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT </edit>

Anyone ever have any antenna issues without taking apart the phone? my phone just developed issues with dropping wifi unless im close to the router, im guessing an antenna cable is loose. and for those who have fixed the antenna issue, how hard was it?

according to the HD2 manual, the antenna is the bottom 1/5 of the phone

WiFi antenna in HD2
Robert A said:
wow. I have buy a second hand device and I have the same problem. For sure my screen was changed. I have open the phone from the video here:
http://pocketnow.com/hardware-1/official-htc-hd2-disassembly-assembly-training-videos-leaked
...but nothing ((
Antena it's in up-left when you watch on phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The WiFi antenna is located at the right of the camera watching the camera in the back panel. If you watch this video, http://pockethacks.com/category/service-manuals/, you will see that the Bluetooth/Wireless atennas are located together and connected to the main board with a coaxial cable.

msnuser111 said:
The cell antenna is the strip on the bottom below the battery door,the wifi antenna is at the top right (if looking at it with the screen up),and the gps antenna is at the top left. There is a white cable that is supposed to run from the gps antenna to the bottom side of the main board,and a black shorter antenna cable that is for wifi that plugs into the top part of the board. I have a pretty strong feeling that the person that fixed your phones (whether that was you or someone else) probably didn't plug that cable in the right way.
<EDIT> By the way,if either of you want one that works the right way/for parts,I have one for sale that the volume buttons don't work and the lcd is cracked,but everything works other than the volume buttons.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270637114813&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT </edit>
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What this guy said +1

I find myself in a similar situation to nedko76. I had to take my phone apart but just the case away from the screen circuit boards etc because the plastic led shield had come lose and was touching the vibration device causing a strange noise.
So i managed to get the phone apart (which was not as easy as shown in the video) i didn't touch the screen part at all, put it back together again and switched it on. To my relief it switched on, all looked good, the noise had gone from the vibrator however the only thing that is not working is the wifi.
I'm hoping someone has resolved a similar issue without the need to reopen the phone again as i can't help but think i will do this and see nothing wrong. Which would either mean i've somehow damaged the wifi circuit board or something else.
I use wifi alot and will miss it loads if i can't find a way to fix it.

As already mentioned, WiFi antenna seems to be feeded by a tiny cable, it is probably using some tiny coaxial connectors, those are usually relatively easy to accidentally disconnect. I would start from looking at those and making sure they are "wedged in" properly.

I have taken the phone back apart and checked all wires are pushed in and everything is connected from what i can see. But still nothing.
Wifi switches on but just stays at scanning. Now does that mean that the wifi is working but the antenna is the issue.
I'm just wondering if its a software issue somehow. As i never touched any part of the board, or antenna etc whilst it was apart and like i've said i couldnt see anything out of place or loose.

Dude,
There are 2 brass clips on the top right of the motherboard which attach to the rear case antenna. Make sure these brass clips are correctly functioning and working. There are 2 for the gps at top left big ones from memory then there are 2 at bottom for radio antenna and two at top right for wifi.
Make sure these are all ok...
If you can post a detailed photo(s) I can give you more assistance. Zoom in the motherboard and the clips if you do provide pictures.
Good luck

Yeah i saw these when i took the case back off yesterday, i looked at all them to see if there were any differances, any broken off etc but they all looked fine. I did lift the ones for the wifi and bluetooth just a little bit to make sure when the case went back on they would be in contact. But still no luck.
I find it difficult to believe that just taking the case off pushing a little bit flashlight plastic back into place would really stop the wifi/bluetooth from working.
I'll have to keep searching the web to see if anyone has resolved the same issue and what it actually is. It would be interesting to see if people take their cases off then just put them back on again if they have the same issue or whether somehow i've messed something up.

Dude, show me a pic of motherboard to see if all your connections coaxial are ok.
Otherwise, your hardware maybe fubar. I have opened mine several times and no probs.

Right I took my phone apart again this morning to double check everything. I noticed the cable attached at the bottom as mentioned in previous post. It lifted off a bit too easily, so I positioned it correctly and pushed it back down, my WiFi now works. So that was my issue.
So my advice would be if both your Bluetooth and WiFi do not work, it is more than likely the cable is lose. (more likely if your phone has been a part obviously)
Thanks for everyone's help and advice on here. no fubar hardware here thankfully

Common problem after service?
nedko76 said:
I changed touch screen and after that loose WIFI and BT signal
maybe antenna problem
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm also experiencing this after changing a smashed screen... The accident it self did hardly cause this since I used the phone with full performance for about a week between dropping it on the ground and draging my sorry ass to the retailer. Since I don't intend to open this stuff up I guess I'll have to go back there. I will refer to this site if they try to indicate that their sloppy disassembling isn't the reason... Please, feel free to boost me with more cases like this...

I have replaced the screen myself and have the same problem with Wi-Fi only.
I dont know why Wi-Fi run only without the battery cover.
I' m trying to torque chassis for looking if it is a mechanical issue but it seem not.
I've tried also to connect the two little contact they are at the same level with the bottom of the battery looking the phone from its back without the cover.
I've not found yet any relevancy with the presence or not of the back cover related with Wi-Fi transmission.
I remember that when the phone was disassembled, I have slighty lifted with my finger the bigger one of the two lamellar contact of Wi-Fi antenna; anyone know if this could be the cause? Must to touch these contacts chassis or not ?

nothing else ?

[Q] No speeker and no gps

Hallo,
The backcover of my HD2 was damaged. So i ordered an nieuw backcover and i replaced. Now i have no speeker and no gps. Can somebody tell me where this is on the mailboard. Is the problem maybe the metal plates under the screws.
Please help=

There's a thread on HD2 disassembly if you search around. Check this link out though http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL-jnUKufC4. You can see how the hardware is laid out and see what may be damaged

Check to see if your gps (white) coxial cable is loose and if your speaker is plugged in (top of the motherboard, next to the flash/camera assembly and vibrator.

Poor Blutooth Signal

Last week I replaced my flex ribbon cable because I tore the ribbon cable to the power button while replacing the digitizer.
After installing the new flex cable my blutooth signal has been terrible. When listening to music via S9-HD's when I go to put the phone back in my pocket the audio cuts out just in the motion from texting to placing the phone in my pocket. Also when walking its impossible to listen to any music because it cuts out so much.
What might my problem be? Is the blutooth antenna on the flex cable or did I mess something up when I took apart my phone?

anyone?
bump

We aren't ignoring you dude. I promise. Have you disassembled the phone again and tried wiggling things around?

Finally had the time to take it apart again and wiggled things around. It improved a little bit, but still the range is no where near what it was before I replaced the flex ribbon cable.
Does anyone know which cable is the Bluetooth cable? is it the black one on the left near the white cable or the single black cable on the opposite side? I did notice when I took my phone apart again was a small pinch in the single black cable. Would that pinch be enough to break the wire under the shielding?
I can get pics if needed some time this weekend.

wonderbread24 said:
Finally had the time to take it apart again and wiggled things around. It improved a little bit, but still the range is no where near what it was before I replaced the flex ribbon cable.
Does anyone know which cable is the Bluetooth cable? is it the black one on the left near the white cable or the single black cable on the opposite side? I did notice when I took my phone apart again was a small pinch in the single black cable. Would that pinch be enough to break the wire under the shielding?
I can get pics if needed some time this weekend.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Those types of cables are made of SUPER fine wire. A pinch can easily sever them inside the shielding.

How do i know for sure that the kinked cable is the bluetooth cable? So I can order the right one to eliminate that factor.

Does it look like that?
http://www.cellulardr.com/t-mobile-...y-touch-4g-blue-tooth-coax-cable-tmobile.html

There are two that look like that.
One on the left side and one on the right when looking at the phone with the back open and the screen facing down.
Sent from my Glacier using XDA

Well, there is a white and a black cable. The one in the product photo is black. Provided that is not a generic stock photo it should be the black one.