Solution for Unresponsive Joysticks: WD-40 - HTC Tornado

I'm guessing others have suffered from annoying, unresponsive joystick problems as much as I have. I read elsewhere online about using a drop of WD-40 lubricant on the joystick to solve the problem. I just wanted to let others here know that I tried this, and while at first it seemed like it didn't help or perhaps even made the problem worse, I've noticed that now my joystick responds *perfectly* - perhaps even better than when I first got it (I bought mine used).
I used these instructions to disassemble my SDA. I used the T6 Torx screwdriver included in this kit found at Dealextreme.com for US$2.65 with free international shipping.
Remove the plastic top from the joystick mechanism and let one drop of WD-40 soak into it. Move the joystick around (as if navigating on your phone) for about a minute to spread the WD-40 around.
Again, my experience was that at first it seemed to make it worse, but after the first day it got better and better. It's now gone one month without any problems.
Update: 8 months later and my joystick is still working perfectly, without any additional lubrication. I definitely recommend this process, though as usual with anything like this, attempt it at your own risk.

Hi,
KONTAKT working too

I didn't even take my spv c600 apart.
Just took the battery out.
Sprayed WD40 around the joystick and wiggled it about for a couple of mins ...
Then left it to dry.
Result = Perfect Joystick

Hey, my left softkey is not so responsive.
What could be the remedy? Mind showing the contacts between the keypad and the circuit board?

Thanks for the tip! I was hoping I wasn't going to have to take my phone apart though.

Cool, thank you! I had the same problem, and already bought and installed another keyboard - and got the joystick problem back after few months. Now I just sprayed WD40 around the joystick, wiggled it for a while, and it works like new! ) THANKS!

Just a warning: if you do this without disassembling the phone be very careful to only do ONE or TWO drops and sparingly. Although I thought I only did a couple, I now have a nice discolored "blob" going up through my lcd, not that it doesnt personalize it a bit, but not quite what I was going for

I just used to take a drop of alcohol on a little piece of paper tissue, with a toothpick carefully cleaning the base of the joystick around. This has always helped for 2-3 months.

Well, I always used deodorant spray when my joystick was not responsive (with phone closed, tilt the joystick both up & down and then spray, just a bit - no need to disassemble the phone). No problem, no stress.

I cleaned my joy in the same way. (disassembling cover + WD-40)
This is perfect way. I did that a 2-3 month ago and joy is still working perfectly.
I made the same with my old Motorola's and their joyisticks are working perfectly for about year now
Ps. WD-40 need some time to start working. Next day after cleaning everything should work very nice
Ps2. I don't recommend spraying WD-40 on non uncovered joystick. The best (and the safest) way is to spray only joy. I had to change microphone in my moto becouse of that ;P

thanks for sharing this. ill be doing it tonight!

white lithium grease in the spray can also works really well. Just take one small drop on a toothpick and pull joystick down and drop it in there.Its an easy alternative to having to take the phone apart. I did this last October and it still works great.

funny.. just seconds before i found this topic.. i put 2 drops of contactspray in the joystick. for so far it doesn't helps much..
so i am not the only one with these problems

sticky?
Mods: I'd like to suggest this thread be made a sticky.

WD-40 need some time to start working. Next day after cleaning everything should work very nice !

I dropped my phone on concrete floor from about 4 ft high and it bounce up and bounce. luckily it is still working with some problem with power switch and few loose casing (I glued it with super glue).
To fix the unresponsive joystick I tried to open following the instructions but the screw near the power switch is not able to remove, seems something broken inside after that drop, and I could not completely open it. So, tried to put few drops of spirit on the joystick but I actually pour some. After that I thought joystick is responsive more but later it remains same. Yesterday only I found out my keypad backlight is not glowing in the dark. I don't know when the problem started, after that drop, after that spirit, or after some setting change (I flashed Kamadaze's Pro RC7).
Sorry for long story.. but someone help me .. my joystick & key backlight.
Thanks in advance.

I will try doing with some organic solvent, but first I will have to wait for my joystick to malfunction (I always use nineway keypad to keep my joystick safe though )
What is the exact name and company of WD-40. Can any one tell me its composition coz i have many chemical lab retailers around in my neighbouring city

dark_prince said:
I will try doing with some organic solvent, but first I will have to wait for my joystick to malfunction (I always use nineway keypad to keep my joystick safe though )
What is the exact name and company of WD-40. Can any one tell me its composition coz i have many chemical lab retailers around in my neighbouring city
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.wd40.com/

baron22 said:
http://www.wd40.com/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ohh thanx lol, I saw that, butt I wonder whether it is available in Pakistan or not

dark_prince said:
ohh thanx lol, I saw that, butt I wonder whether it is available in Pakistan or not
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would have thought a generic "maintenance spray" would do the trick.

Related

Mainboard picture

Hello Folks,
I just took apart my Tornado last night in order to clean the joystick since I have been having issues with the "up" direction. The whole operation was successful but the cleanup didnt quite help me much with the issues. However, I took a picture of the mainboard since I havent seen any here and thought of uploading it for your viewing pleasure.
I might take it apart and make a step-by-step pictorial guide for it next weekend. Enjoy !
Excelent contribution, that kind of work is very appreciated for some users.
THX a lot
See this one
http://smartmania.mobilmania.cz/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4707
did u use wd-40 for the cleaning? It's said it might help
Osmos said:
did u use wd-40 for the cleaning? It's said it might help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The joystick assembly was clean as ever. I cleaned the rubber housing and the joystick. No effect. I am thinking maybe the actual joystick mechanism on the keypad is damaged ?
I hope its ready for some beta testing soon anandoc
That is, when I reinstall XP. Dumped various ROMs, then windows update complains about wanting to rrestart, so I let it. Now my XP installation wont boot I've recovered the data though
Phil
jm012a9749 said:
I hope its ready for some beta testing soon anandoc
That is, when I reinstall XP. Dumped various ROMs, then windows update complains about wanting to rrestart, so I let it. Now my XP installation wont boot I've recovered the data though
Phil
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
About time you show up I hope uni is treating you alright and the drinking games continue
I did the same with mine...split it into many pieces to try to clean the stick, have not used the WD40 though, was a bit wary on spraying it all over the unit, put it all together again and some slight improvement.
anandoc said:
The joystick assembly was clean as ever. I cleaned the rubber housing and the joystick. No effect. I am thinking maybe the actual joystick mechanism on the keypad is damaged ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had problems with my joystick too to make sure its not the mechanism when you disassemble the phone connect your battery and try the joystick without the rubber or the joystick plastic.
I have completely removed the rubber and now its working very good.
anandoc said:
About time you show up I hope uni is treating you alright and the drinking games continue
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah yes uni is great. Tho now its the summer term, meaning I'm not playing hockey 5 nights a week, and not doing as many drinking games as I can't afford it Either way it means I can get down to some real cooking.
On topic though... I recommend using a can of compressed air or something like that to blow out all the dust, wiggle it around a bit, then some more compressed air. Repeat as necessary.
Phil

HTC Fuze (Raphael)(P4600) TouchFlo 3D Not working

hi!
This is my first post here. I have the following problem: yesterday my phone was fine...today not. Yesterday I was using the touch screen as usual with no problem, today the battery was to low and I turned off the phone. When I get back home, I connected the phone to charge it, and PUF!! the touch screen was not working at all...sometimes I can tap some menu, sometimes not, but in general terms, I can only use my phone with the keyboard. I did a soft and hard reset and nothing happened, I don´t know what else to do. I see this is kind of common problem, but no one has a common solution. Any suggestions?
Thanks!
My phone has windows mobile 6.1 Professional. CE OS 5.2.19971 (Build 19971.1.2.6)
ROM version 1.95.502.5 WWE
Radio version 1.02.25.32
Protocol version 52.39c.25.22H
u were able to use the windows 6.1 explorer? like looking for files under files explorer with no problem?
my phone is just as new as yours, i feel so frustrated! I was able just to use the keyboard, no touch screen commands were functioning. As i said, I have seen too many people complaining about this (if I would have known that, I would´nt buy this piece of crap)
dcgamboa said:
my phone is just as new as yours, i feel so frustrated! I was able just to use the keyboard, no touch screen commands were functioning. As i said, I have seen too many people complaining about this (if I would have known that, I would´nt buy this piece of crap)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At any time did you apply too much pressure on the screen?
Is your d-pad still working?
What about other hardware buttons besides the keyboard?
As I said, one day was working perfectly, and next day a kept it turned off since the battery was gone, and I was not at home to recharge it. So basically one day was fine and 12 hours later was not. The rest of the buttons are fine.
I did a hard reset, and at some point of the process the device indicates that I need to align screen, so a small cross show up in the middle of the screen (yo oughta know how is this...) well: I tap the cross and nothing happens....I tapped again...and nothing happens...3 tries later, finally the cross moves and the process goes on, To complete the process it takes me about 15 minutes!!!!!! but still nothing works out, the align screen process starts over again, and thats it!
At least, before the hard reset I was able to start my phone....now is impossible
Dont know what to do...
dcgamboa said:
As I said, one day was working perfectly, and next day a kept it turned off since the battery was gone, and I was not at home to recharge it. So basically one day was fine and 12 hours later was not. The rest of the buttons are fine.
I did a hard reset, and at some point of the process the device indicates that I need to align screen, so a small cross show up in the middle of the screen (yo oughta know how is this...) well: I tap the cross and nothing happens....I tapped again...and nothing happens...3 tries later, finally the cross moves and the process goes on, To complete the process it takes me about 15 minutes!!!!!! but still nothing works out, the align screen process starts over again, and thats it!
At least, before the hard reset I was able to start my phone....now is impossible
Dont know what to do...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well then you have several options:
1) bring phone back to the entity you purchased it from considering you stated it was new it should be covered under warranty unless you purchased it from eBay w/o warranty
2) If you know it is the Touch Screen then I suggest using xda search function and searching "Think your digitizer is broken" and apply it the Fuze rather than the Tilt
3) attempt to replace the screen
4) sell it "as-is" for a loss
Problem solved!!!
Thanks guys for the suggestions. This seems to be a very common problem. But in my case the solution was simpler than I would ever though!! I read in other posts that this unresponsive touch screen problem is usually created by particles of dust, (sand! in my case), stuck in that tiny gap between the screen cover and the phone body, and the solution was to gently pass a piece of paper thin enough, (flexible plastic CD cover, in my case) well....Having tested all kinds of software """solutions""", and been prepared to pay for an expensive fix (I live in Costa Rica, this kind of phones are not common use, so fixes are expensive)...so I gave I try to this solution...and surprisingly IT WORKED...there were lots of dust, and even sand grains stuck in that gap, and like the phoenix...my phone got back to life!
Its amazing how delicate are these devices!! I think they are intended for enclosed-temp-controlled-ultraclean places only.
I hope this helps a lot of people having the same problem.
Thanks!
dcgamboa said:
Thanks guys for the suggestions. This seems to be a very common problem. But in my case the solution was simpler than I would ever though!! I read in other posts that this unresponsive touch screen problem is usually created by particles of dust, (sand! in my case), stuck in that tiny gap between the screen cover and the phone body, and the solution was to gently pass a piece of paper thin enough, (flexible plastic CD cover, in my case) well....Having tested all kinds of software """solutions""", and been prepared to pay for an expensive fix (I live in Costa Rica, this kind of phones are not common use, so fixes are expensive)...so I gave I try to this solution...and surprisingly IT WORKED...there were lots of dust, and even sand grains stuck in that gap, and like the phoenix...my phone got back to life!
Its amazing how delicate are these devices!! I think they are intended for enclosed-temp-controlled-ultraclean places only.
I hope this helps a lot of people having the same problem.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
awesome!!!! good job.
More info needed on "HTC fuze touch screen not working"
Hey, Ive tried following the thread about the htc fuze touch screen not working... up until the part about sand in 'some space between something...'
can someone provde more context/ pics? of where the sand might be.. because it sucks trying to use the fuze without a touch screen.
thanks for the help.
and the HTC customer support immediate went to the "well just hard reset the phone"... how quickly they are willing to erase all that data and hours of work to reconfig the phone..
any help is appreciated...
They were talking about the tiny gap between there the top layer of the screen (the material you touch) comes into contact with the body I believe. What you can try doing is running a piece of paper or something thing enough to wedge out the dirt in that area.
another somewhat common problem is the newton ring. You'll see an oily residue in the center area of your screen (it looks like rainbows). What I believe happens with this is your screen gets stuck to the actually LCD display underneath and doesn't bounce back to go back to it's resting state. What some people have said is to get some sort of adhesive material and use that to pull the screen up gently, so it goes back to resting. People have used tape and the such. Just be careful you don't pull the screen off your device.

Polaris Scroll Wheel \ D-PAD Broken :( Need Advice

If anyone knowledable on anything that pertains to my problem could help me out I would be very grateful..here's the scoop..
I have had my polaris for over a year now (out of warranty) and for the longest time I've had issues with the touch screen not responding correctly and having to re-calibrate it all the time. I finally figured out what the issue was yesterday after I hard reset the device and the screen was still messed up...I had been using a dock for this device that isn't manufactured very well -- using the dock day in day out for a few months at work actually bent the pins on the USB connector on the cruise to the point where some of them were touching each other (yikes!)
So, I gave the phone to my dad who's an engineer, he took it to work and used a microscope or whatever and some tools and got the pins back straight again..now the screen works fine! Needless to say that dock is in the garbage now. The brand was "BoxWave" -- stay away from their products, they are JUNK!
Anyways -- I still have a problem with the scroll wheel.
Spinning the wheel does not work at all -- the Up, Down, and Left buttons work when pressed, and the wheel does light up, but spinning it doesn't do anything. Also the Right button doesn't work either. The button in the middle works okay. All of the working buttons cause the light to go on.
The logical conclusion here to me anyways seems to be that the bent pins caused permanent damage to the scroll wheel...I'm very glad it didn't cause perm. damage to the screen (or anything else, so I hope!!)..but anyways -- what would be the best option for me at this point?
Call HTC and have them fix it and pay out of pocket?
About how much would they charge for something like this (ballpark)?
My dad is a very skilled electrical engineer -- he would be willing to take it apart and fix it for me at work..he's got all the tools and stuff for it and doesn't mind at all...what parts should I look into ordering?
Thanks for any help anyone can provide here.
Hi,
I have a similar problem the up, left, right and turning the wheel does not work on my polaris either and I have not damaged it whatsoever. So, i do not think your button problem is because of a possible short circuit. But, sorry to tell you but I do not have a solution to the problem.
I thought I was certain, but occaisonally my screen still dies.
Perhaps it was permanently damaged? It is much better than before though -- but no matter what I do -- the wheel spinning does nothing, and the Right key does nothing at all.
Do you have any clue what part we would need to get replaced?
I am looking to replace the screen as well due to scratches.
I believe it's called a "digitizer" (the screen part not the wheel)
No, sorry. But if you do find out let me know as well.
Thank you.
found this on ebay
Hi,
Guys I found this on eBay. It says it can repair this kind of issue. Although I do not have the time to test.
So, here it is
http://cgi.ebay.com/HTC-Touch-Cruis...ries?hash=item19b5e3f64f&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14
P.S. if anyone does test this please give us your feedback. Thank you
What?
Did you post the wrong link or something?
That is a SIM card.
This thread is about the scroll wheel \ DPad.
EDIT:
Nvm, I see in the auction it says its a ribbon or something.
I dunno about this one...but it's cheap.
I still have not even gotten around to repairing my screen \ usb port though...god damn money.
If i order this ill let u know.
OK so I just purchased a new charge port and digitizer, but I have yet to see ANYONE selling a replacement scroll wheel.
Alot of people are selling the "housing" but it's missing the wheel!
Anyone know where to get a replacement metal panel and wheel only, not the entire housing?
I found a jog wheel for the shadow -- wonder if it would fit?
I have the same issue, the jog wheel doesn't work and neither the right button, but everything else works & lights up the keypad part....strange that this is 3 of us with the EXACT problem, maybe there's something we need to figure out? btw, i used to hardly use the buttons, but i used the jogwheel a lot to scroll.
I also have the BoxWave dock, however, i've found mine to be of great quality & use...reading your post made me paranoid so I checked my usb connecter over & over but thankfully everything looks very normal.
I came across this post, because I was actually looking for some user advice on replacing your own housing & wheel. I already found the entire housing & keypad on ebay that comes with the screwdriver set, and i have the manual to assemble & dissassemble.
I would rather do it myself so i wouldn't have to do without my phone while waiting for this to get repaired, but i also don't want to do it if it's very tricky with a big chance of busting phone, so i'm looking for a feel of easy-medium-hard. I've already done something similar 3 years ago to my I-Mate Jamin as well as replacing the speaker, so my technical skills are probably around mid-level.
Anyways best of luck, i'll update this post later to tell you how it went (this could be in 2 weeks time from now).
alanazar said:
I have the same issue, the jog wheel doesn't work and neither the right button, but everything else works & lights up the keypad part....strange that this is 3 of us with the EXACT problem, maybe there's something we need to figure out? btw, i used to hardly use the buttons, but i used the jogwheel a lot to scroll.
I also have the BoxWave dock, however, i've found mine to be of great quality & use...reading your post made me paranoid so I checked my usb connecter over & over but thankfully everything looks very normal.
I came across this post, because I was actually looking for some user advice on replacing your own housing & wheel. I already found the entire housing & keypad on ebay that comes with the screwdriver set, and i have the manual to assemble & dissassemble.
I would rather do it myself so i wouldn't have to do without my phone while waiting for this to get repaired, but i also don't want to do it if it's very tricky with a big chance of busting phone, so i'm looking for a feel of easy-medium-hard. I've already done something similar 3 years ago to my I-Mate Jamin as well as replacing the speaker, so my technical skills are probably around mid-level.
Anyways best of luck, i'll update this post later to tell you how it went (this could be in 2 weeks time from now).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Housing including the jog wheel and electronics?
I also ordered a usb connector and apparently they sent me one that isn't compatible with the cruise...I think I am just gonna buy a broken one and get the parts from it..they seem to be rare compared to other HTC models!
surgex0 said:
Housing including the jog wheel and electronics?
I also ordered a usb connector and apparently they sent me one that isn't compatible with the cruise...I think I am just gonna buy a broken one and get the parts from it..they seem to be rare compared to other HTC models!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wow good luck!
Check out this link:
http://cgi.ebay.com/FULL-HOUSING-FO...wItemQQptZPDA_Accessories?hash=item2551ec66c6
and i also found this for you (is that what came wrong), but you have to make sure it's the 2007 Touch Cruise and see if yours is the POLA100 or POLA200:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ORIGINAL-HTC-TO...wItemQQptZPDA_Accessories?hash=item5883c9282c
http://cgi.ebay.com/HTC-Touch-Cruis...temQQptZPDA_s_Pocket_PC_s?hash=item1c0d5c098c
Hope that helps!
alanazar said:
I have the same issue, the jog wheel doesn't work and neither the right button, but everything else works & lights up the keypad part....strange that this is 3 of us with the EXACT problem, maybe there's something we need to figure out? btw, i used to hardly use the buttons, but i used the jogwheel a lot to scroll.
I also have the BoxWave dock, however, i've found mine to be of great quality & use...reading your post made me paranoid so I checked my usb connecter over & over but thankfully everything looks very normal.
I came across this post, because I was actually looking for some user advice on replacing your own housing & wheel. I already found the entire housing & keypad on ebay that comes with the screwdriver set, and i have the manual to assemble & dissassemble.
I would rather do it myself so i wouldn't have to do without my phone while waiting for this to get repaired, but i also don't want to do it if it's very tricky with a big chance of busting phone, so i'm looking for a feel of easy-medium-hard. I've already done something similar 3 years ago to my I-Mate Jamin as well as replacing the speaker, so my technical skills are probably around mid-level.
Anyways best of luck, i'll update this post later to tell you how it went (this could be in 2 weeks time from now).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the same problem but on a 2 year warranty Touch Cruise. Phone was fixed and re-installed with WM 6.1
Know I face Bluetooth connection problems again and the BT hotfix is not accepted anymore.
I do have to say that the upgrade after re-installing should have been left behind.
I have the same problem... Scrol wheel not working en button to the right
anyone ever fixed this?
Hey Guys!
I've got the same problem with the wheel and the right button. So I was wondering if anyone fixed the problem?
I have no warranty anymore
I think I know what's your problem, mates.. It seems that it is essential for almost any P3650 - the cable, which is going from the jog wheel to the keyboard control unit tears apart just before (or exactly at) the copper pads on the molex thingie, that plugs into K/B unit (damage is so slight, that it barely can be seen).
I had no luck looking for the jog wheel sold seperately from housing, or at least with that plastic-chromed buttons cover. If anyone finds out that it is possible to obtain it seperately - I would greatly appreciate
Btw, same problem goes for sim holder's cable - I have replaced mine 2 times already (you can get 'em for around 15$ from ebay).
Sorry for my english - it's a bit rusty atm
Same problem here..wheel doesn't function can't find the part by itself ..
Touch Cruise jog wheel & keyboard
Exact same here - jog wheel scrolling broken & right selection does not work. Besides, my "call" key stucks time to time.
So for now I've just got both of them - jog wheel and keyboard (not the entire housing) from ebay, 15 & 7 $ respective
wheel ordered from the following ebay location :
cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rt=nc&nma=true&item=260656153778&si=1E2jM09T8qOM9DzM6uzrXo5Qiqg%253D&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWNX%3AIT
same provider has keyboard also, for some reason it is not on eBay active items. But you can contact the seller and ask for it.
I gonna replace both in a near future, and will update about the result.

[Q] front buttons don't work - advice?

So I bought a second hand MT4GS today, but the buttons on the face of the phone don't work - it came rooted, s-off, with some buggy ICS Rom installed. I just installed Bulletproof in the hopes that it was just the other rom causing the issue, but the buttons (home, menu, back, genius) are still non responsive. The corresponding buttons on the qwerty slider work fine.
Any ideas or suggestions? Would it help to try flashing a zip to map those front buttons? Since they don't work in 2 roms, is it something physicial?
I would appreciate any advice you could give me, whether its a certain way to try and remap the keys to force them to work, or a rom that might fix it, or maybe a kernel that would be most compatible with a quick, stable rom with full camera features? I really don't care about being on the bleeding edge or having ICS, I just want a stable, every day use rom.
Thanks much!
Almost certainly physical. The flex cable inside has 5 dangly little fingers that go down in that area for the 4 buttons and the track pad. Very easy for that to get gummed up, and not an easy thing to fix (because this phone is kind of a pain to take apart). Still, you can find some videos on YouTube that show how to disassemble the phone. You can try it. Put it back together carefully enough, and those buttons might start working again. (If you're unlucky, you might need a new flex cable.)
OK, do I need anything besides standard precision torx to open this phone up? I haven't really peeked inside, since we only got it a couple hours ago.
Also, I noticed that the home button on the physical keyboard sometimes takes me home, and sometimes selects things, depending on what I'm doing - talk about weird! Either way, it's still better than my ancient and fading G1 I've been stuck using the last couple days.
So if I open it up, do I just want to blast it with canned air, or is that a big no-no? Get a little soft brush and brush around the fingers? Tell it sweet nothings and tuck it in bed?
Edited to add:
Aaaand while I was busy typing and researching, my husband is cracking it open like a kid opening a Christmas present - wish him luck!
Bah humbug, just a note to let you know that we got to the 8 screws that hold the keyboard to the sliding part, and 2 of the phillips screws are stripped. So we're putting it back together until tomorrow night, when we will try to figure out how to get those 2 screws out.
But hey, at least we took it almost all the way apart, and got it back together, and it is working as well as it was before - if we didn't totally break it, then we're still ahead of the game!
So now I'm looking for advice on the following:
1) best way to clean out those button flex cables (air, small brush, ?)
2) ways to keep this phone clean inside - previous owner must have worked in a dust bunny factory, based on the dust I found inside the half of the phone we got disassembled. Then again, I live in a desert, it's to be expected?
3) super-stable rom/kernel combo that also gives me the camera app goodness that this phone deserves (And be honest, if I need stock to get the camera working, I'll go to stock).
rhondalicious said:
So now I'm looking for advice on the following:
1) best way to clean out those button flex cables (air, small brush, ?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Compressed air or a small brush should work fine... If it is just a connectivity problem caused by dust or dirt or whatever.
rhondalicious said:
2) ways to keep this phone clean inside - previous owner must have worked in a dust bunny factory, based on the dust I found inside the half of the phone we got disassembled. Then again, I live in a desert, it's to be expected?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only way to really keep it clean on the inside is to take it apart and use some compressed air or a small brush to get rid of all the dust... Doesn't matter where you are located you are gonna get dust inside of a phone that has no dust covers... You can see if they make any cases that have dust caps for the ports (I'm not sure if there are any for the MT4GS or not... haven't looked...)
rhondalicious said:
3) super-stable rom/kernel combo that also gives me the camera app goodness that this phone deserves (And be honest, if I need stock to get the camera working, I'll go to stock).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For the awesome sense camera I would recommend stock or if you want ICS then one of the Virtuous roms. Either Primmadonna (ICS+ Sense 4.0) or Inquisition (desensed with sense camera). I'm sure others have other opinions, but those are the only roms I have used... Well that and CM9 which is basically fully functional although it will never have the sense camera, but the AOSP camera isn't too bad. They are all super stable as well.
Those 8 little screws are easy to strip. They are only a couple of turns each, but if they don't budge ... well, I've got a broken phone just like that that I can't fix. If you figure out a way of drilling the out or whatever, I'd be interested to hear.
The dust in these phones is a well-known problem. In particular, dust can find it's way under the glass, and it's a complete teardown to clear that out.
Were the screws stripped when you got there, or did you do it? If someone had the phone apart before, it could be that the little flex cable fingers are just not in the right position. If that's the case, you just have to do it right. (Easier said than done since it's kind of tricky to work on it and keep everything positioned while you close it up.)
Those 2 screws were stripped when we opened it - we've tried a couple things and still haven't been able to get them out, but we haven't tried the trick of dabbing superglue on a screwdriver and letting it dry in the hole yet, and we haven't tried one of those screw extractors that is like an extra sharp screwdriver. We tried cutting a new slot with my dremel, but the cutting discs I have are too soft for the screw heads, we need a diamond cutting disc, I think. We also tried one of those drill chucks that has the 2 ends for reaming a new hole and unscrewing, but my husband is afraid to drill through the phone, and the chuck doesn't fit in my dremel.
I'm pretty sure whoever had the phone before me tried to fix it and gave up, that's why we were able to buy it off him for so cheap. I don't mind fiddling around with it, since the actual phone bit works just fine.
If I ever manage to get these stripped screws out, I'll let you know what works!
Those screws are definitely short in length, as you've seen from their companions, so I am also leery of drilling a millimeter too far.
Another thing I've contemplated is carving the plastic around the screw head so that the screw no longer holds anything in place. Haven't been bold enough to try it, though. I figure after that I would be able to get a grip on it with needlenose pliers and twist them out.
((My phone with the stuck screws is a water damaged phone that I bought used. [[Seller said "I don't know what happened to it", but, uh, it's a bit obvious once you look inside or even look at the sticker.]] Screen was flaky and I was going to take it apart and stare at it til I ran into those stuck (and rusty!) screws. Luckily, after a few days delay for head-scratching, the screen started working perfectly. I like to think of it as the Universe finally giving me a break.))
Would a cell phone repair place have better ways of getting those stripped screws out? My husband said I should find out what they would charge to open it up, but if I can't get the screws out, how would they do it?
And it's nice that your soggy-phone decided to start working for you, it's a pain dealing with wet phones, sometimes. My neighbor dropped hers in a big cup of soda once and I got to have futo leaning it out to help prevent sugar/corrosion issues. I only managed to keep it working for another 3 months, but by then she had already dropped it into a toilet.
rhondalicious said:
Would a cell phone repair place have better ways of getting those stripped screws out? My husband said I should find out what they would charge to open it up, but if I can't get the screws out, how would they do it?
And it's nice that your soggy-phone decided to start working for you, it's a pain dealing with wet phones, sometimes. My neighbor dropped hers in a big cup of soda once and I got to have futo leaning it out to help prevent sugar/corrosion issues. I only managed to keep it working for another 3 months, but by then she had already dropped it into a toilet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For wet phone the best thing you can do is to use milliQ water (distilled will do also), put the phone in it, it basically removes any ions from previous fluids (take the battery out!), then let it dry out (24h should do), please battery in and use... Worked for me few times...
Btw. Good rom is virtuous inquisition or Primadonna, cm9 did not work for me so good, too many unfinished things...
Sent from my myTouch_4G_Slide using xda premium

[Q] Circle of dead pixels suddenly appeared

Hi Guys
I've seen a couple of posts about this on forums but, I've had a similar thing to a few users now, where I have 2 circles of "Dead" pixels appear on the phone.
Seemed to appear suddenly today at work. I've not dropped the phone (today) but, I have had it in my pocket when getting out the car and, it might have been caught between my leg and steering wheel of the car.
I know there's been some suggestions of placing the phone in a carrier bag and, then in the fridge for a couple of hours (well, couple of hours to a weekend). I'm a bit nervous of this but willing to give it a try.
Just wondering though, does anyone have any explanation for why this happens? I can't see it being physical damage to the screen, as otherwise there would be whole columns of dead pixels or spider patterns with a crack. In the middle of the circles, it seems to be sub-pixels that are out (Blue / Red - Green seems to be OK). Also, has anyone else had the same experience and tried putting the phone into the fridge and, does this work? Annoying though it is, I'd rather live with it than knacker the phone totally lol.
I've attached some pictures to demonstrate what I mean... Note, on the blue one, it looks as though there's a pentagram dotted in the lower circle... Satanic Possession? lol
Kind Regards
Daryl
Well,Nothing of those homemade methods will help
maybe the screen got pressed too hard..got hitted by something..
take it to a lab
Probably just enough pressure and maybe battery and body heat, did the same with my Acer and a till reciept scrunched up so now have a multi-coloured circle in centre of screen... doubt there's a fix except replacing it
Rooted Xakep E320/C6 EUU Hacked Update
Thanks for the feedback on this. I think you're both right. The screen is slowly getting worse. The sub-pixels in the middle of the circles have repaired themselves but, the horizontal lines of dead pixels are slowly expanding horizontally across the screen.
I think I'm going to have to face the fact that its broke and see about getting a new screen fitted. I'd normally do it myself but, I've seen how well the digitizer and LCD are glued together, and to the case lol (HTC Sensation).
Am thinking it has to be a pressure 'injury' when getting out the car and, maybe it got trapped between my leg and the steering wheel.
The good news though, at least I have an excuse to nick my tablet back off my son lol
Well... bugger me rigid lol. As I was typing my last message, I thought "sod it, I may as well try putting the phone in the fridge to see if it does any good" After all, I had nothing to lose (as long as I was careful of condensation on the warm up) and... it does actually seem to be having a positive effect!!
Attached 2 more pics... One was taken at work at 3pm, one was taken after 80 minutes in the fridge at 11:30pm (note, the screen had gotten a little worse between 3pm and 10pm).
I've put it back in the fridge for another couple of hours and, will post an update on progress.
Ever the optimist once more
lol at the pentagram. Yeah it's probably because of pressure or some other physical damage. Do you have warranty?
Nope, the phone is 18 months old, I rang 3UK and, apparently the warranty is only 12 months so, bummed out there.
Have got the phone back in the fridge after noticing how much of an improvement the first blast of cold air made to it lol. Fingers crossed. I can't believe such a simple thing might actually make it better again
Bummer. Have a hard time seeing the fridge as a permanent solution, yeah you could always try ifixit if you think it's worth a shot.
This is true, I cant see it being permanent either. I did take a look at replacing the screen on YouTube and, it seemed like a straightforward enough task but, not sure about the whole glue thing between motherboard and screen, and screen / digitizer. I know it'll need heating to melt the glue a little but, the video I saw indicated that his heat gun was at 420 degrees Celcius... the psycho!!
Am hoping I can get another 6 months out of the phone, so that I can get an upgrade to a One X / Galaxy S3. I've really loved the phone and, will be sad when it eventually goes.
Just to give anyone interested a bit of a status update... Just about to go to bed and, need the phone for my alarm in the morning so, pulled it out of the fridge again lol.
As you can see from the attached though, it does seem to be still improving.
Going to run the dead pixel fix app overnight (not that I believe this will do anything spectacular) and, may do another round in the fridge tomorrow night. Of course, I will keep you posted.
For now though, the latest comparison - between 11:30PM (the improvement I posted earlier) and 1:30AM. Once again, you can see that the dead pixels do seem to be returning to life.
Well from the pics I'm gonna try it myself not looked up how the screens are made up but the cold could be doing several things as shrinking membranes (those touching may separate) and crystallizing the LCD (expanding the Liquid Crystal) to fill the gaps made at the pressure point, that's my guess so throwing it in the freezer tonight
Thanks for continued updates
Rooted Xakep E320/C6 EUU Hacked Update
I probably wouldn't recommend throwing it into the freezer. Just a gut feeling but, as the temperature in there is well below freezing, I think it would do more damage than good. At least in the fridge, it's only around 4 degrees C so, technically still within the operating temperature range of the device.
Also, when you do take it out, make sure you don't just throw the battery straight back in. As soon as it comes out, it gets quite a hefty amount of condensation on it. The last thing I would want is for something to short on the device when it gets its power back and fry your logic board :s
Not much improvement on last night in running the LCD fixing application (as I thought) so, thrown it back into the works fridge - much to the amusement of works colleagues lol. I'll take it back out around lunch time, see how it is, and post the comparison between 1:30AM last night and lunchtime today...
Fingers X'd
Latest on phone: My director at work advised I should check on operating temperatures of the phone to see how cold I could take it safely. Turns out that they are electronically safe at temperatures of up to -40 degrees C (although there's no way I would actually test this and wouldn't recommend testing it to anyone).
Following from this, I put it in the freezer at work for an hour (after being in the fridge at work for 2).
Not posted the before picture but, here's three pictures of how it looks at the moment. One on a pure white screen then, to demonstrate that it's not just the pixels being stuck white instead of not working, I have also done a shot of my home page, and a shot from a game.
I have a doubter at work who stated quite daringly that he would eat his underpants if the cooling of the phone worked... Now... All I need to do is prove why it's worked, then find some recipe's for Underpant Madras... any suggestions as to both would be appreciated lmao
Googling now and second post gives this http://forum.xda-developers.com/archive/index.php/t-687247.html I'll see what else pops up and add to this posting here
Wiki lol -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touchscreen <- I guess from this and type of screens now being used it's an adhesive layer between the back and front glass that is 'spread out' so no separation between back and front conductors, freezing may crystallize the adhesive and on warming the original surface pressure may force the adhesive back and conductors are separated again ;-)
Rooted Xakep E320/C6 EUU Hacked Update
Just noticed my own screen (or rather noticed it less lol) my spot has gone, although not as bad as your own screen only colour swirls on screen pressure no black/white pixels, I did have my phone slide and bounce off my knee that may have been enough for mine lol was looking forward to fridging it this I will be remembering though
As for a recipe for the grundigs i'd serve them raw .... 3 days worn .... why make it easy lol
Rooted Xakep E320/C6 EUU Hacked Update
Right it came back not as bad so I'd recommend a hard front cover, bit of a bind if they don't flip but it's that or faulty screens
Rooted Xakep E320/C6 EUU Hacked Update
Hi
Been a little while since my last update so, checking in. I don't have any extra pictures at the moment but, the cold is really starting to make a big difference.
I took it out the ice-making compartment at work at lunchtime and, the screen is mostly repaired. I would say about 5 - 6 dead pixels in a line now, around where the "beak" was on my satanic chicken (lol)
It's still in the fridge at home at the moment and, will probably stay there most of the weekend. This last bit is being quite stubborn to shift but hoping that it does shift and, when it does, it goes for good.
I'll let you know how it goes anyhow. I'm simply stunned by the improvement so far though
Yayyyyyyyy!!!
Well, the great news is the phone is now completely 100%
I've attached a photo of the screen with my home wallpaper on it... The trouble is, I can't remember exactly where the fault was so I can't get the exact same screen so, I've taken a wider shot which still demonstrates that there are no dead pixels.
I did have a bit of trouble getting Wifi and the SD card to read when I first powered back up from the latest (4 hour) stint in the freezer but, whipped the battery straight out and let it settle back to room temperature some more, then used a hairdryer just to ensure that any last bits of condensation had cleared up.
Fully working phone once again. I think I'll serve underpant soup at work on Monday lmao.
Thanks for following this little thread that I'd done and thanks for your input too. It's certainly been an interesting journey and, hopefully someone else with a similar problem can benefit from my experience too.
Kind Regards
D
What a cool way to fix your phone I have a Nokia 6303 classic with dead pixels. I will place in the fridge overnight and wait for the results next morning.
Good to hear it's running again, bear in mind it wont take as much to bring the fault back if pressure is applied again but from my own phone it does wear off so repeating the damage is repairable but will probably shorten it's life.
And please by all means post the pics of the garnished garment meal
Rooted Xakep E320/C6 EUU Hacked Update

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