I fixed the rainbow rectangle digitizer issue with duct tape! - Touch Pro, Fuze General

Long time lurker here... I got the dreaded "rainbow" rectangle on my screen that meant that the digitizer stopped working. I was pretty sad to say the least. I called Verizon and they wanted $95 to send me a new one with the silly insurance plan. I scouted google and saw that many other have had this issue.
So, I broke down and bought the replacement digitizer on eBay. Well tonight, as I looked at my broken phone, I thought that since I was going to be eventually replacing the digitizer, it couldn't hurt to try to mess with it a little. I noticed that the rectangle appears as a thin film between the top and bottom layers of the digitizer. This thin film is what causes the rainbow effect, just like a thin film of oil on top of water.
What got me thinking was that I had just set the screen to beep when tapped, and every time I turned it on it tapped once. This meant that the screen was actually being pressed continually. So, I thought that I'd try to pull the screen away from the bottom a little. I finally got some duct tape (of the clear variety), and carefully laid it over the entire screen. Then, I pulled off at a pretty shallow angle so it would pull on the top layer pretty good.
Well, lo and behold, the screen started working again! And there isn't a hint of rainbow/oilness at all. And it is totally responsive, as before.
So, if you are in the same boat, try some duct tape or similar.
Cheers!
acmegeek

That's pretty good news I suppose, at least one possible DIY solution has been discovered. Kinda puts my mind at ease thinking that one day my phone might not be responsive to touch. I'll have to keep this in mind if that day ever comes. It does make sense though.

Be careful doing this. It fixed my spot, but now the LCD only displays 2 white lines.

Related

Paranoid new owner...silly question?

So I just took out my sensation from the box and noticed the stock screen protector was off set and already peeling back a great amount on the top corner. I looked closely and noticed that the small tab at the top of the screen protector is actually inside the ridge of the phone, in that small thin crack where the front-screen ends. That was what cause the screen protector to not lay flat and started bending inward. I slowly peeled the protector back and when it came to the part that was "stuck" or jammed into the crack it took a good tug (I guess it was the adhesive...or it was really in there) for it to pop out. This couldn't have done any damage right? The small crack leads to nothing does it?
Probably just means it got caught in the gap when being fitted. I assume when you say 'crack' you mean the gap where the screen meets the rest of the body of the phone?
Yeah, where the black part ends.
Also, I have removed it and replaced it on more accurately since then and noticed it sticks to the screen very well, even attaching itself to parts that I have not even smoothed my fingers over yet, must be the static? Are there any disadvantages in using this as opposed to buying a new screen protector?
If it works then continue using it. We don't get them pre-fitted in the UK so I bought a 3rd party one
edit: delete this thread please mod thank you

[Q] Tiny black circles on screen?

I bought an HTC Evo 4G LTE on Friday along with a screen protector and a case. Anyway, I'm no good at putting on the screen protectors, so I asked the phone guy at best buy to put it on. Fast forward to this evening and I noticed what appeared to be 3 small specks of dust that got under the protector, with a larger one. As I was inspecting them, I found that they were actually tiny black circles (think speck of dust size or even dead pixel size). I'm going to be taking the phone back tomorrow for a replacement, but in the meantime, I'm curious what these are? I've done a lot of googling and the closest two pieces of information I've been able to find say they are either dead pixels because they are about the right size and show up best against a white background, or that they are moisture damage.
The question is, which seems most likely? Can dead pixels manifest themselves as circles rather than squares? And also could moisture damage be so minimal that only four little spots appeared? I should point out that the screen protector was the variety that uses a liquid sprayed on the phone to ensure a good clean overlay on the screen, and also that the salesperson used some blasts of compressed air directly on the screen to try and clean it before applying the protector (I've heard thats a big no-no).
I had a similar problem once with a no name chinese tab.
I noticed a bunch of black spots (square) the size of dead pixels all over the screen. I removed the protector and wiped the screen clean. It was tiny specks of dust indeed.
While blowing hot air onto the screen is a big NO-NO, IMO blowing compressed air wouldn't cause damage. Its the heat that damages the LCDs.
Curious how specks of dust would produce that effect, considering they are not uniformly shaped. Anyway, I've got my fingers crossed now that the problem really is dust rather than a bad screen, since I would hate to start this new phone off the same way I started my last one (returned for defective hardware / software 3 times in 3 months).
Thanks for the input and I'll be sure to post up the results tomorrow when I take the phone into the store. I've already discussed it with the store and since the salesperson was the one who installed the protector, if it turns out to be dust, they will replace the $25 protector free.
Turns out it was dust, or some other contamination, but it was UNDER the screen so that, while you could see them with the phone turned off, you couldn't get at them in any way. Home now with a replacement phone, but as my first experience with HTC, I'm not super impressed...

Separate the screen and frame without breaking the screen

Why would you ever care if you damage the screen while taking it out since you're probably replacing it anyway? I have no clue. But I thought I would give it a try, and now i'm sharing.
So I managed to remove the screen and the frame without breaking anything (granted the screen wasn't working already)
i.imgur.com/cpKVP
What I did was cut off little strips from a credit card or any sort of plastic card. Then heated only the back side of the frame. I figured if I tried heating the screen from the front, the glass and screen adhesive might start separating. Then I worked the strips in between the frame and screen through the holes in the frame.
i.imgur.com/iql8z
You might be wondering why there are places ground down on the frame... I'll get to that...
Just worked at that for probably an hour constantly reheating. Just unsticking the adhesive from the back of the screen and the frame. I finally managed to be able to fit a card in through the bottom.
i.imgur.com/kuDuP
Then I just used that to unstick the rest of the adhesive.
Now, about why a lot of the frame has grinding marks. I have the Verizon GS3, but I broke the old screen. I found a water damaged sprint gs3 on craigslist for $100. so I figured I would see if it would fit, and if it didn't I could sell the screen for maybe 200-250 on ebay. It didn't fit, not perfectly... but I really didn't feel like waiting for it to sell. So instead, I made it fit, I almost got it perfect, and it all worked just perfectly when I had it all together. But I wanted it to fit perfectly, so naturally, on my last attempt, I ground down a little too far and nicked part of one of the ribbon cables. So I figured I'd try taking it apart without breaking it... If anybody has any suggestions on how to fix the ribbon, feel free to say something!
i.imgur.com/MN9Fl
how bad did you butcher the ribbon? you could maybe try circuitwriter conductive pen to draw the contacts back. http://stcwk.blogspot.com/2010/03/how-to-repair-broken-ribbon-cable.html
I got the S3 like 3 days ago, and earlier today it just slide out of my pocket when i was crouched, (I know, i placed an order on a case 2 days ago but thought i would be careful around the house with the phone til than) , Crack lower right corner, do you think you could seperate the glass/digitizer from the lcd screen? to just replace the glass/digitizer http://i46.tinypic.com/5lyx41.jpg
The pen might be worth a try. As for separating the glass from the screen, it's possible, but I really wouldn't recommend it. Just because of how the screen is manufactured, there is a film of glue between the front glass and the screen, it would be impossible to glue it back together without leaving bubbles in between, so it would look way worse than just the little bit of cracked screen you have.

Screen Crack and No Display

Hi all, Merry Christmas!
Well, my Christmas isnt so merry this year. Two families (friends with their kids) stopped by for Christmas eve dinner and my son with their kids were playing and the next thing i know, my tf300's screen cracked and no display. I can see the back light turned on, but no display. My TF300's alarm was beeping, so I am guessing that the tablet is still functional, but the screen is so messed up it wont show any display.
My question is, should I even attempt to fix the screen? Or just purchased a new one? I saw many cracked screen pics and all of them were able to turn their screen on.
Please advise on what to do.
Thanks,
Sid.
What's cracked? There 2 components in there: the LCD and the Digitizer. I assume if nothing shows then the LCD is gone, but that's a guess because if there's a crack across it normally would still show some (messed up) image like vertical or horizontal lines. Now the LCD is beneath the Digitizer. If you see cracks on the surface also, that means the Dig is gone too. Which makes it easier but costlier.
You can order both for around $150.00, but replacing can be a pain unless you've delicate hands. Separating the LCD from the digitizer is boring enough but you must to do this to get to the bezel. The more meticulous part is to remove the plastic bezel around the digitizer to reuse on the new one. You have to scrape around the edge because the two parts are initially bonded together by some really strong glue.
In my opinion, it's not worth it to take it to a shop as they would charge an inordinate amount for a used device (around $200.00!!). For the inept, it's certainly damn if you do and damn if you don't. If you need more info 'bout doing it, I can help as I've done it before. Alternatively, if you decide to get a new one and part this out, I am looking for the cable and possibly touchscreen board for mine. Maybe we can work something out. Whatever.
graphdarnell said:
What's cracked? There 2 components in there: the LCD and the Digitizer. I assume if nothing shows then the LCD is gone, but that's a guess because if there's a crack across it normally would still show some (messed up) image like vertical or horizontal lines. Now the LCD is beneath the Digitizer. If you see cracks on the surface also, that means the Dig is gone too. Which makes it easier but costlier.
You can order both for around $150.00, but replacing can be a pain unless you've delicate hands. Separating the LCD from the digitizer is boring enough but you must to do this to get to the bezel. The more meticulous part is to remove the plastic bezel around the digitizer to reuse on the new one. You have to scrape around the edge because the two parts are initially bonded together by some really strong glue.
In my opinion, it's not worth it to take it to a shop as they would charge an inordinate amount for a used device (around $200.00!!). For the inept, it's certainly damn if you do and damn if you don't. If you need more info 'bout doing it, I can help as I've done it before. Alternatively, if you decide to get a new one and part this out, I am looking for the cable and possibly touchscreen board for mine. Maybe we can work something out. Whatever.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not so sure what's cracked actually. But, if i press the power button, there's just black screen, no display whatsoever although i can see light shines through the cracks. So I am guessing both the LCD and the Dig are gone.
I am thinking about parting the broken one out and buy a refurbished one from walmart and get the walmart protection plan, so I dont have to worry about a broken tablet for at least 2 years.

Question Screen pop/snap/tap sound

Took my 3 weeks old flip to get fixed because of the popping sound it made. When opened, just below the grease, on the right edge of the phone. When I slide my finger or press on the spot, it gives a pop sound (and feeling to the finger). You can feel the screen moving up and down and after you lift your finger, it pops off from the residue/glue under the display. It is like there is a tape that does not stick.
There is a reddit post about this so this is just an extra data about the defect, just in case if Samsung won't repair or something.
So, it would be nice to hear if someone else has this problem too. Thanks.
Mine just did it last night, it's on the right side too, where I've seen the others. I'm gonna do my best to ignore it lmao
My first unit had this problem too, it wouldn't lay completely flat when open either. I think the popping/screen detachment might be related to the hinges not opening fully cause whenever I'd force it open flat, the screen wouldn't pop anymore. In the end I returned it and my new one is perfect, no popping and it lays flat. If this is happening to yours, either return it or get it fixed.
kabuk1 said:
My first unit had this problem too, it wouldn't lay completely flat when open either. I think the popping/screen detachment might be related to the hinges not opening fully cause whenever I'd force it open flat, the screen wouldn't pop anymore. In the end I returned it and my new one is perfect, no popping and it lays flat. If this is happening to yours, either return it or get it fixed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never realized it was supposed to lay completely flat. No popping, so I guess it doesn't matter.
I'm pretty sure the root of this issue is hinge unevenness(if that's a word) side-to-side, I put a spigen hinge film on the other day and it's very noticable in the indent across the middle of the film from the phone pinching against it. The side with the pop is closing further and pressing a groove into the film while the other side is a barely visible line. I'll try to post a pic later I traded in all of my old phones for this one lmao
kowalskitg said:
I'm pretty sure the root of this issue is hinge unevenness(if that's a word) side-to-side, I put a spigen hinge film on the other day and it's very noticable in the indent across the middle of the film from the phone pinching against it. The side with the pop is closing further and pressing a groove into the film while the other side is a barely visible line. I'll try to post a pic later I traded in all of my old phones for this one lmao
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also mine went away today, screen 100% back to normal. I got my phone thoroughly wet in the shower today trying to get dust out of the edges, might be related might not. At any rate, good to know that it's not a big deal, if you have this issue it just might fix itself after a week
I have the same on mine. It only affects the lower left quadrant. Pretty annoying.

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