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Identifying a HTC clone ... and fixing it.

I recently bought a HTC touch phone and i suspect it is a Chinese clone but i really dont know. They all look the same to me (the phones). After searching Xda it appears to be like the HTC Elf100 and dopod S1. Is there a definitive way to tell the exact model? The phone was purchased from a website called Deal Extreme.
I would like to know if it is possible to extract the ROM from the phone and save it onto my computer for back up.
More importantly (and the reason i am here) is that the screen is malfunctioning in that the colours are all very faded and there are black lines across the length of the screen wherever there is text or icons. There is a severe flicker when the backlight is set to anything other than full brightness. For the first three days the screen was crystal clear and the colours very vibrant. The only changes made were installing some third party softwares and applying a screen protector.
I have uploaded an image here:
http://www.ibj.co.nz/vlt/CamScreen.jpg
I am trying to isolate the problem down to software or hardware. If it is hardware i will order another screen or digitizer and replace it and if it is software i will begin to look down that path, perhaps flashing the unit with more up to date ROM.

Tell us one thing, is the serial number in the following format? -> HTxxxGxxxxx, if Yes you have have original HTC Touch, if No, you have a nice Chinese clone.
If the back of the device underneath the battery looks like attached picture, you have the clone on your hands. you will have to ship it back to DX for replacement or repair.
Regards

Just from looking at the front of your phone, yes you have a clone

Yep CLone
OK Thanks for assistance. I have a clone here. DX offered to send me a replacement screen if i can locate one on their website. I would have thought they would know if they have one in stock but apparently not.
Can anyone think of a way to find what sort of a screen i would need to replace this one? I am told that the original HTC screen will not do, perhaps different pin outs.

Replacement screen
So i guess i am just sh#t out o luck then? The retailers can't find a replacement screen. Can the ridgy didge screen be modified to fit a clone?

Don't know. Since it's a clone they can have used whatever LCD, with whatever flex connector. But one thing for sure is that you wont be able to use original HTC Touch LCD.
Best option is to ship back to DX for replacement.
Regards

Change Sensation display (LCD) by One S display (AMOLED)

Hello,
I like Sensation but screen consumption seems high (as in all phones)...
I saw that HTC One S has the same resolution and the same size screen as the Sensation, but AMOLED.
Anyone know which pinouts have each screen module?
Because they are similar phones, maybe have same screens (pinouts).
If not i whould make small changes (if pinout are same but in different order).
I hope display driver (chipset) are included in the LCD module, not in the motherboard ...
I think about buy HTC One S screen on ebay when available (now dont have) and try to change it ...
(im not sure about sub-forum of this post... y think "sensation accesories" fits better than Q&A because Q&A posts are doubts about software, not hardware... if another sub-forum are good please move to them..)

I wouldn't do it. The One S screen would recieve a current it's not supposed to.

because different voltages and currents of the tft screen i need driver/chipset in screen board.
If driver are in screen board, flex cable that connect to motherboard takes digital signal bus and may be the same in both screens.
For example: there are many laptop screens that uses different lcd panels (with different control and backlight voltages), but all of them have same connection: dvi mod (now).

why not just buy the one s if your gonna be dropping cash on a screen for one.

This is a good idea, if this works. I'll be down to actually do the mod as well.

so.. when sold htc one s?... i think now, but y doesnt find anything about this and his replacement parts...

Any moderator would move thread to
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1425 (hardware hacking).
I think is more apropiate... (if think "no" dont move xD)

Just to add the complexities that danirebollo mentioned, another big issue is that the mainboard might be a totally different layout. You might have to do a custom cable. Also, the thickness/thinness of the panel might be an issue.
IMHO, it would be cheaper to sell your Sensation and purchase a One S instead of modifying & purchasing a new panel.

90% of phone screens are not compatible with each other. If you find two that do, it's a coincident rather than the norm. And if I were to go through so much trouble as to source a replacement qHD Super AMOLED screen, which I'm sure won't be cheap to being with, I'd just get a new phone.

if that is possible, count me in, ive bin looking into it ever since i switched over from the samsung vibrant, but never really made any brake throughs
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using xda premium

totalundone said:
Just to add the complexities that danirebollo mentioned, another big issue is that the mainboard might be a totally different layout. You might have to do a custom cable. Also, the thickness/thinness of the panel might be an issue.
IMHO, it would be cheaper to sell your Sensation and purchase a One S instead of modifying & purchasing a new panel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed, I tried to upgrade the SoC by putting my R1 engine in it last night, and would you believe it, it didn't fit. Unbelievable. I wrote HTC a very strong letter of complaint ; )
Sorry, it's that time of the day here in the UK where my silly side rears its head.
Would be a good mod if it worked but I doubt it very much for the reasons mentioned, plus, is the didgitiser bonded to the screen in this new generation of HTC phones?

danirebollo said:
Hello,
I like Sensation but screen consumption seems high (as in all phones)...
I saw that HTC One S has the same resolution and the same size screen as the Sensation, but AMOLED.
Anyone know which pinouts have each screen module?
Because they are similar phones, maybe have same screens (pinouts).
If not i whould make small changes (if pinout are same but in different order).
I hope display driver (chipset) are included in the LCD module, not in the motherboard ...
I think about buy HTC One S screen on ebay when available (now dont have) and try to change it ...
(im not sure about sub-forum of this post... y think "sensation accesories" fits better than Q&A because Q&A posts are doubts about software, not hardware... if another sub-forum are good please move to them..)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well as far as I know, the only way to change the screen on one of these is to change the entire motherboard with it, I found this out at somewhere is the desire thread because many of he desire phones had smiled screens but then Samsung couldn't produce them fast enough and switched it for slcd but people wanted amoled so they swapped it all. Maybe if we asked HTC about being able to swap the screens ( yes it sounds stupid bit what else can we do?). Although the chances are amazingly thin we could request it from them that if you send the phone with them align with the cost of the amoled screen, they should replace it or even ****ing tell us how or if it can be friggin done. Power comes through numbers.....

Yeah, if someone finish this work, I maybe have a try

Ouzo said:
Agreed, I tried to upgrade the SoC by putting my R1 engine in it last night, and would you believe it, it didn't fit. Unbelievable. I wrote HTC a very strong letter of complaint ; )
Sorry, it's that time of the day here in the UK where my silly side rears its head.
Would be a good mod if it worked but I doubt it very much for the reasons mentioned, plus, is the didgitiser bonded to the screen in this new generation of HTC phones?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol?? why sooo sarcasm??
some phones have same lcd screen (no digitizer), it hasnt rare idea... the only problem was different tecnology (LCD->OLED) but normally the only important was control bus, i2c, (i dont think these screens need this bus), and video data...
i dont know now if it is possible until i have both pinouts.

The other problem I would think is that the touch screen driver wouldn't work with the new screen
Sent from my HTC Sensation using Tapatalk

linkmaster_6 said:
The other problem I would think is that the touch screen driver wouldn't work with the new screen
Sent from my HTC Sensation using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
touch screen are independient. it hasnt change. i ONLY try to change lcd panel

danirebollo said:
touch screen are independient. it hasnt change. i ONLY try to change lcd panel
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have spoken to my manager regarding this and unfortunately we cannot advise any customer to change there device specification or hardware as this will void the warranty of the handset. I then went on to ask if our repair centre can perform this, unfortunately we cannot request this as this then support customization of the devices which is against the device terms and conditions..
I do apologise about this however we are unable to perform this request.
This is what I got from HTC asking if:
a) if it could be done.
b) if they could do it for us if we payed.
So I'm guessing somebody will have to try it on their own first. GOOD LUCK and God's speed.
Sent from my Sensation using XDA

danirebollo said:
touch screen are independient. it hasnt change. i ONLY try to change lcd panel
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Another problem,
I upgraded manually a Nexus S i9023 (slcd, like sensation) with android 4.0.3 leaked pakage in december. This package was made for i9020 (super amoled version): Android run beautifully but when you go into recovery you can't see anything (if you use a very bright light you can barely see the text of the recovery) cause it has drivers for amoled screen.
I suppose that if the screen change is possible you could also have problems to see recovery that is made with normal sensation's screen driver, imho.

_andrea_ said:
Another problem,
I upgraded manually a Nexus S i9023 (slcd, like sensation) with android 4.0.3 leaked pakage in december. This package was made for i9020 (super amoled version): Android run beautifully but when you go into recovery you can't see anything (if you use a very bright light you can barely see the text of the recovery) cause it has drivers for amoled screen.
I suppose that if the screen change is possible you could also have problems to see recovery that is made with normal sensation's screen driver, imho.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We need some experts on this but HTC won't help
Sent from my Sensation using XDA

If this ever works, it will end like Motorola's Cliq multi touch patch. While it might work, the screen voltage sensors won't be calibrate correctly and will end burning the screen (if you don't believe me Google it). The same could happen to the screen in general, with wrong voltage its going to break.
Sent from my Sensation using Tapatalk 2 Beta-6

[q] difference in display in two nexus 5 phones

Hi All,
I bought two Nexus 5 mobile phones and while going through both the phones I noticed that there is significant difference in the display of both the sets. I showed to LG service center, they accepted the difference but they had no answer.
One set is like tinted green and other set is like tinted pink. Please anyone help me by telling what is this difference? or this is a defect? I wrote to LG and the on line store from where I bought and waiting to hear from them.
Its not so much visible in the picture I am attaching but physically there is big difference.
Thanks
Danish

What do you want us to do about it?

Unless you're dealing with a device that specifically undergoes professional-level display calibration you will always have variation between displays.

they all will vary, that is the norm, and theres nothing wrong with your device. the variation happens when the screens get built. it happens with all phone screens. theres nothing really you can do about it except rooting your phone, installing a kernel with gamma calibration, then calibrating your screen to how you like it.

Nexus 5 new vs old.

Long time reader, first time poster. Noticed some stuff not mentioned anywhere else. Think this might be the right place.
Got my nexus 5 near launch, it had a couple faults but I couldn't be bothered to RMA. Couple days back the power connector started playing up so decided to RMA after ~8 months.
Had a few observations of the new N5:
>Arrived with 4.4, ota update to 4.4.2 then to 4.4.3.
>Screen is yellow
>Power button (still) rattels
>Speaker holes are bigger
>Cold GPS locking is *much* faster. Tested indoors in flight mode with no agps. Lock in <60s compared to >5min.
>Camera is *much* better. Images are not as soft, and have less noise. Also theres noticeable difference when takeing a picture from a light bulb. Old phone just has soft 'blob' of light, on the new one the same region is crisp and sharp but has light flares (as I would expect from cheep plastic lenses).
Both phones stock unrooted 4.4.3 davlek, with GPS states app and latest default camera app.
Was wondering if *some* (not all) early batches were subject to bad QC or bad design. Could of course be that I a rouge dud phone. But i can only believe my own eyes: why; amongs other things, are the speaker holes bigger if there were no issues with the old design? Isn't it odd that a single phone had somany defects?
Have to add whatever LG's QC procedure is, it still is poor. The yellow screen is getting on my nerve so will RMA.

syntax_error.f90 said:
Long time reader, first time poster. Noticed some stuff not mentioned anywhere else. Think this might be the right place.
Got my nexus 5 near launch, it had a couple faults but I couldn't be bothered to RMA. Couple days back the power connector started playing up so decided to RMA after ~8 months.
Had a few observations of the new N5:
>Arrived with 4.4, ota update to 4.4.2 then to 4.4.3.
>Screen is yellow
>Power button (still) rattels
>Speaker holes are bigger
>Cold GPS locking is *much* faster. Tested indoors in flight mode with no agps. Lock in <60s compared to >5min.
>Camera is *much* better. Images are not as soft, and have less noise. Also theres noticeable difference when takeing a picture from a light bulb. Old phone just has soft 'blob' of light, on the new one the same region is crisp and sharp but has light flares (as I would expect from cheep plastic lenses).
Both phones stock unrooted 4.4.3 davlek, with GPS states app and latest default camera app.
Was wondering if *some* (not all) early batches were subject to bad QC or bad design. Could of course be that I a rouge dud phone. But i can only believe my own eyes: why; amongs other things, are the speaker holes bigger if there were no issues with the old design? Isn't it odd that a single phone had somany defects?
Have to add whatever LG's QC procedure is, it still is poor. The yellow screen is getting on my nerve so will RMA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
don't rush that RMA...often the screen lightens in a few weeks.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

Yeah, even I had a sorta Yellowish screen and after a week's usage, it settled down. Not sure whether I just got accustomed to it or whether it did indeed change. In any case, ever since I've started using custom kernels, changing the color calibration is too easy.
About the speaker holes and design.. they are random. There isn't any upgraded design.
What baffles me is that you got 4.4 pre-loaded on your new device!? It means that it's a phone which was manufactured between Sept-December. AFAIK, starting from the 401 unit (which is January 2014), Google started sending the phone pre-loaded with 4.4.2.
Now, it could be that google forgot to flash the 4.4.2 update on the new device OR there was a unit of the Sept-Dec batch (which I doubt) OR it could mean that Google sends refurbished phones in RMA??
@syntax_error.f90 Could you please tell the first 3 digits of the S/N Number which is printed on the bottom of the Nexus 5's box?
@rootSU Any input on this m8??

Bad QC and low tolerances for consistency - definitely. You may or may not get bigger holes, rattling buttons, bad GPS, poor signal issues etc

vin4yak said:
Yeah, even I had a sorta Yellowish screen and after a week's usage, it settled down. Not sure whether I just got accustomed to it or whether it did indeed change. In any case, ever since I've started using custom kernels, changing the color calibration is too easy.
About the speaker holes and design.. they are random. There isn't any upgraded design.
What baffles me is that you got 4.4 pre-loaded on your new device!? It means that it's a phone which was manufactured between Sept-December. AFAIK, starting from the 401 unit (which is January 2014), Google started sending the phone pre-loaded with 4.4.2.
Now, it could be that google forgot to flash the 4.4.2 update on the new device OR there was a unit of the Sept-Dec batch (which I doubt) OR it could mean that Google sends refurbished phones in RMA??
@syntax_error.f90 Could you please tell the first 3 digits of the S/N Number which is printed on the bottom of the Nexus 5's box?
@rootSU Any input on this m8??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The new N5 has serial starting with 312k.
It looks like a dec 2013 model, and is probably refurbished. Would it be written on the box if its refurbished?

syntax_error.f90 said:
The new N5 has serial starting with 312k.
It looks like a dec 2013 model, and is probably refurbished. Would it be written on the box if its refurbished?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't done any RMA myself so I don't really know if that would be stated or not. But officially, google says that they send BRAND NEW devices. Many people have asked them over phone calls and mails and they had assured that Google sends brand new devices as replacement when RMA is done.
I always thought what would happen to all those hundreds if not thousands of devices which are RMA'd. I guess the "brand new device" part is a big bull from Google. Can't blame them though.
I might be wrong and this could just be a coincidence as well.

rootSU said:
Bad QC and low tolerances for consistency - definitely. You may or may not get bigger holes, rattling buttons, bad GPS, poor signal issues etc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fair enough. Tolerance brackets for holes and connector patches are understandable, guess the tolerance is really large so it can be sold cheap. What about the camera softness and noise?

syntax_error.f90 said:
What about the camera softness and noise?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know about that. Bad update?

Anyone replaced a screen on one of these?

Sorry, I know this is a developer site, but I'm at a loss here.
I have a Verizon M8 for Windows that had a dodgy touch screen. Everything else worked fine. I purchased an LCD/digitizer and installed it. LCD wont come on. Phone powers on, syncs to PC, I can navigate around by taking screen shots and viewing on the PC, so I know the phone is working ok.
So, I purchased a 2nd screen, thinking the 1st one might be faulty. Same thing. No LCD. If I plug the original LCD in, it lights up fine (I cracked it removing the digitizer, so can't re-use it).
Next, I purchased a good, tested 2nd hand motherboard (Verizon, For windows) thinking I may have damaged the LCD connector. Still no LCD display.
Does anyone know if the screens are specific to either the Verizon or Windows Phone versions? Or anything else I might be missing? I've been repairing phones for years (mostly iPhone, Samsung, Lumia) so I'm not new at this.
Regards.

I think you might have bought bad quality screens. Have you bought them off the same seller? you might want to return them.From my experience,the M8 lcd digitizers are interchangeable across carriers and OS versions(win/Andro).
I have not had any experience with other variants like M8s etc but screen from verizon sprint att fido chatr windows android are interchangeable

bombo_b said:
I think you might have bought bad quality screens. Have you bought them off the same seller? you might want to return them.From my experience,the M8 lcd digitizers are interchangeable across carriers and OS versions(win/Andro).
I have not had any experience with other variants like M8s etc but screen from verizon sprint att fido chatr windows android are interchangeable
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply.
I purchased the screens new from two different suppliers. One was a chinese knock off, the other was a high quality OEM screen. Both were full LCD/touchscreen and front frame assemblies.
I can't believe that both are faulty. As an update, I bought a second hand screen from another Verizon WP M8, and it works perfectly. I'm going to purchase an android version M8 with damaged screen and see if either/both of the new ones work on that.

rikko40 said:
Thanks for your reply.
I purchased the screens new from two different suppliers. One was a chinese knock off, the other was a high quality OEM screen. Both were full LCD/touchscreen and front frame assemblies.
I can't believe that both are faulty. As an update, I bought a second hand screen from another Verizon WP M8, and it works perfectly. I'm going to purchase an android version M8 with damaged screen and see if either/both of the new ones work on that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I replaced my M8's display twice. Bought them from Etradesupply.com. The parts that are rated S+ are original OEM parts direct from them. No third partyish crap going on.

AlvinPhilemon said:
I replaced my M8's display twice. Bought them from Etradesupply.com. The parts that are rated S+ are original OEM parts direct from them. No third partyish crap going on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I'll give them a try.

I have tried to install even original (stock) LCD from ANDROID phone to WINDOWS phone - it does not work.
But screen from WINDOWS phones works perfectly on any ANDROID phone.
I have an idea that maybe hard reset or flashing RUU will make it work, and I tried: after hard reset even native LCD stopped to work.
Friend, did you tried to flash phone with new screen installed?