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UPDATED!: Pictures of Captivate Mainboard

So.. after some tinkering (and massaging) I got the back cover off of my Captivate and was able to snap some pics of the innards for your viewing pleasure.
It's very similar to the standard Galaxy S, but some of the chips are laid out a bit differently, also, I apologize for the substandard picture quality, the only thing I have available to take pictures is a Blackberry Storm2 with an led flash.
Update: I've taken some better pictures now, and I've got them uploaded:
Teardown Photos
Enjoy!
Update:
Step by Step Teardown

Very cool

That is cool. Wonder how long it will be until we see a complete tear down of the phone

That is (almost) as far as you can go. Theres one more PCB thats actually attached to the screen. Other than that, that main board and the sim/sd card board that sits on top of it are all thats there.
Edit: Here are some better pictures I was able to take this morning, unfortunately EVERY single picture I tried to take of the small Broadcom chip turned out like crap, or you could not see the writing on the chip. I could not read it myself, as the writing on the chip is extremely tiny, and I don't have a magnifying glass.
Teardown Photos

Any way you could do a photo-by-photo instruction for the tear-down? Maybe put some o' dem fancy photo-ma-shop arrows in there?

I suppose I could do that
I just need a few more photos of the "in between" steps to give a better idea of what needs to be disconnected and how to get the back cover off.
And then there's the whole write up thing. -- Question about that, should I do a new "tear down" thread, I'll get a bit more in depth this time as well, I'll get all the chip numbers down (I found a magnifying glass!) so we can better cross reference what hardware we have in comparison to the Galaxy S i9000.
Will probably be a day or two until I can get it up, maybe longer depending on the write up.

Yeah, I'm guessing a tear-down thread would be in order unless there's some way of changing your thread title. Appreciate it.
I spilled a bit of an "adult beverage" on my Captivate last nite. Dang cat... Nothing went wrong w/the phone... save for the power button & the volume rocker... They were a bit... sticky.
I was able to get them cleaned up a bit using a razor blade & some alcohol wipes, but I'd love to be able to fully clean everything by disassembling the phone. I removed the 4 screws in the back beneath the battery cover, but got nowhere...

Can someone confirm if the fm radio chip is there?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

t-readyroc said:
I removed the 4 screws in the back beneath the battery cover, but got nowhere...
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There are actually 6 screws. Two are hidden underneath the sliding latch for the battery door.
isyiwang said:
Can someone confirm if the fm radio chip is there?
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Thats one of the purposes of tearing the phone down, I'm hoping to answer that question, or at least give enough people enough information to find out.

https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas...me=N&application_id=200666&fcc_id='A3LSGHI897'

pretty cool u think now that we can tear it down, we can add the front camera too it?

I don't know, it would definitely take someone much more skilled than I to fit the Front camera in.
The layout on the top is a tiny bit different, and it would require some changes to that as well as making space above the screen on the opposite side for the camera.
So, definitely NOT an easy job, if it is even possible.

if you look at that video of the teardown of a galaxy S i9000, it looks like the FFC is part of the rear facing camera module
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lt9XNnjAcBc&feature=player_embedded
at 2:59 in the video the camera is taken out, and at 3:07 she turns it over and you can see the front facing camera - does your rear facing camera look different (except for the obvious, missing that small black square with the FFC)?
if it's not different, except for the missing ft camera, i suspect these are all modular components so sammy could assemble them, as needed, to a customer's specs - which means, if someone can source that correct module w/ffc, and rip the driver and software for it from the i9000, that it'd be possible

The camera is identical, minutes the front facing piece, if course. The connection to the main board is the same as well.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

if you pull it apart again, it'd be nice if you had a magnifier or a camera capable of macro shots so we can definitively identify that gps chipset

The macro on my camera is good, but not that good =)
My magnifying glass, however, shows me that the chip is a BCM4751.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

My research shows that this chip does not do anything with FM radio so that is quite disappointing. Dammit AT&T! Always got gotta crap up a great phone. So now we don't get FM radio and we don't get the FFC.

if its the same camera module minus the FFC, im sure we will find some junk galaxys on ebay for parts soon enough, sum1 will develop a new front for us hopefully, pop in the new camera, get the ROM for it to work, and hope it can work. i am by no way an engineer or anything technically, so im not saying its plausable, just saying it could work if some1 knew how to do it.

NikAmi said:
My research shows that this chip does not do anything with FM radio so that is quite disappointing. Dammit AT&T! Always got gotta crap up a great phone. So now we don't get FM radio and we don't get the FFC.
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This chip is the broadcom gps. He replied to the larryccf question.
So, I hope fm radio is here.
Broadcom BCM4751 is a single-chip GPS receiver used for tracking and navigation, primarily in mobile devices.
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Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

iLoki said:
The macro on my camera is good, but not that good =)
My magnifying glass, however, shows me that the chip is a BCM4751.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
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tks - it may be sammy did use a different gps chipset in the captivate
and btw, macro will magnify - take a high res shot, then open on your pc, depending on how hi res, i've had them open the picture in 25 X 22" or so sizes
and you can see mosquito footprints - had an Omega, a high end one that had a serial number on the backside way too small to read even with a 6X magnifier - had to have been laser etched
used a macro shot to read it - no joke
try it some time

Front facing camera alignment

Guys, could you check something on your sensation: whether the front facing camera pin hole is perfectly in the middle of the lens circle? On my sensation, it sits slightly above the center of the circle. Don't know whether it's designed like that or just a fluke .
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA Premium App

Slightly above on mine. Non-issue. Everybody got their panties in a bunch over it in MT4G forums back in the day too.

Damnit it looks like HTCstill has ****ingQC problems. This and now the screen too, **** my luck
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA App

Well, good to know that their's other also like this. I mean its no biggie, and who knows, maybe it was designed to be like this. Folks, please let us know how your front camera is.

Wow.. Just wow.

Mine is off center high and to the left but the camera view doesn't seem affected by it.

they put mine on the back

its the same on all the phones, looks slightly higher from the normal viewing angle. just know it doesnt have an effect on your cameras ability to capture images/video so there is no cause for concern. just more ocd phone owners, but i guess we all tick like that

Yeah..same as mine. Slightly up side..

Slider Hinge a little lose

Hello everyone,
my Photon Q fell two days ago and since nothing really happened except that the slider mechanism feels more lose than before, I wanted to ask you guys if 1) with your phone it is the same or 2) do you have an idea how to make it "tight" again?
I opened the phone but couldn't really find out what causes this gap on the left side (when the phone is closed and you are looking at the front). Even it's cosmetic (for some ) it bugs me a lot
Thanks

I've got the same issue, but I thought it could be an issue caused by a fall of the Photon Q.

Loader009 said:
I've got the same issue, but I thought it could be an issue caused by a fall of the Photon Q.
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Click to collapse
So yours fell too? Its probably due to the fall
Sent from my XT897 using xda app-developers app

Mine has been like this since day one. Thought it was just crappy manufacturing. MUCH more loose compared to my old Epic4g

judogti said:
Mine has been like this since day one. Thought it was just crappy manufacturing. MUCH more loose compared to my old Epic4g
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You probably should have exchanged it then. It's likely yours was dropped during shipping or by someone in the Sprint store.

Solust said:
You probably should have exchanged it then. It's likely yours was dropped during shipping or by someone in the Sprint store.
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Yes, I think so too. Before the drop it fit nicely...Hmm...but noone knows what to do to get it like that again?
Sent from my XT897 using xda app-developers app

I'm not experienced in hardware repair or mods, but if you can separate the two parts of the phone it looks like it has a single hinge with two rails for the slide mechanism. I don't think those would be damaged based on your pictures but there are also two pieces of metal, one on each side of the display connector. My bet would be that one of those got dented. The two pieces seem to be used as a stopping point for the slide as well as distancing/orienting the display.

Solust said:
You probably should have exchanged it then. It's likely yours was dropped during shipping or by someone in the Sprint store.
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Nah, Im less than thrilled with this phone, I hope it dies soon and I'll switch models. I love having a slider but there are too many disappointments with this one looks like I'll have to go with an S3 or S4.

judogti said:
Nah, Im less than thrilled with this phone, I hope it dies soon and I'll switch models. I love having a slider but there are too many disappointments with this one looks like I'll have to go with an S3 or S4.
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Congratulations. You came to say that you don't like this phone and happened to bring nothing to this conversation. We won't miss you.

Solust said:
I'm not experienced in hardware repair or mods, but if you can separate the two parts of the phone it looks like it has a single hinge with two rails for the slide mechanism. I don't think those would be damaged based on your pictures but there are also two pieces of metal, one on each side of the display connector. My bet would be that one of those got dented. The two pieces seem to be used as a stopping point for the slide as well as distancing/orienting the display.
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Thanks, Solust, for your ideas. I've been thinking the same. I inspected both of them, when I opened the phone and one felt a little lose. Not as lose as the upper part of the phone feels now, though. Can you confirm that it are those things you were mentioning?

oTToToTenTanz said:
Thanks, Solust, for your ideas. I've been thinking the same. I inspected both of them, when I opened the phone and one felt a little lose. Not as lose as the upper part of the phone feels now, though. Can you confirm that it are those things you were mentioning?
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Click to collapse
At this point I do think it is beyond me and I'm a bit surprised someone more familiar with hardware hasn't stepped in yet. Might be worth a try PMing someone involved in the SIM mod.
The two metal pieces I was thinking of are on the keyboard portion of the phone. On the back of the display portion they create a mild groove the same size as the groove for the rails. One groove is left halfway up the phone and the other between that groove and the top of the phone. When the phone is together the display cable fits perfectly between them.
I'm sorry, all I can really do is speculate. I really don't know enough about this sort of thing. I may be mistaken as to what these parts are.

Solust said:
At this point I do think it is beyond me and I'm a bit surprised someone more familiar with hardware hasn't stepped in yet. Might be worth a try PMing someone involved in the SIM mod.
The two metal pieces I was thinking of are on the keyboard portion of the phone. On the back of the display portion they create a mild groove the same size as the groove for the rails. One groove is left halfway up the phone and the other between that groove and the top of the phone. When the phone is together the display cable fits perfectly between them.
I'm sorry, all I can really do is speculate. I really don't know enough about this sort of thing. I may be mistaken as to what these parts are.
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I think it is pretty impossible to fix a dent in the hinge, right? But would that http://www.ebay.com/itm/MOTOROLA-PH...e_Replacement_Parts_Tools&hash=item20d0b14dc6 fix my problems?

^ I'm pretty sure it wouldn't. My Q is suffering from the very same problem, though I got over it quite a while ago since it's kind of a 'minor' issue I actually have the same exact part sitting on my desk right now, my listing on eBay to sell it just ended haha. I could test it out for you, if you really would like to know.
Sent from my XT897 using Tapatalk 2

xLoveHateLegend said:
^ I'm pretty sure it wouldn't. My Q is suffering from the very same problem, though I got over it quite a while ago since it's kind of a 'minor' issue I actually have the same exact part sitting on my desk right now, my listing on eBay to sell it just ended haha. I could test it out for you, if you really would like to know.
Sent from my XT897 using Tapatalk 2
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Haha, interesting I'm not so sure either, but I'm eager to do it lol. Hence I bought this yesterday night, although I'm not even sure how this hinge is fixed on the phone (glue etc?). I'd sure like to know how u fare, fella!^^
Sent from my XT897 using xda app-developers app

There's no glue, it just slides under these 3 little slots on the left side
Sent from my XT897 using Tapatalk 2

xLoveHateLegend said:
There's no glue, it just slides under these 3 little slots on the left side
Sent from my XT897 using Tapatalk 2
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Click to collapse
So why didn't u try it?^^
Sent from my XT897 using xda app-developers app

Front facing camera defect

I have two Photon's with a defective front facing camera. I was wondering if there are any more XT897 users with this issue?
I know at least one of the camera's was working fine untill a couple of days ago. The other, well I'm not sure. I'm curious if this is just bad luck or maybe it's a design flaw like the the way the speaker is mounted in the XT894 (same speaker as XT897, had to swap one). I'm waiting for a new digitizer to replace. I'll have a look at that one to see if there's any wear & tear to be found. I hope it's just a bad connection or something. If I remember correctly, this camera uses a ribbon flat cable. So hopefully it's as easy as cleaning and correctly reconnecting it.
I just really, r e a l l y, hate disassembling the XT897 front housing

Front cam works here. I had another xt897, it met an unfortunate glass of water. Front cam worked fine on that one too, before its misfortune...

arrrghhh said:
Front cam works here. I had another xt897, it met an unfortunate glass of water. Front cam worked fine on that one too, before its misfortune...
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The problem with these two phones is that the apps don't even see the camera. I am unable to select/swap camera's. So it has to be a hardware fault. And that worries me. One of these phones has never been opened. The other one, I can`t remember.
Will post here as soon as I get that new digitizer. After that I will open one up and see if I can fix it simply by cleaning/re-connecting the camera.

Magnets and photocamera ???

So I have been using on my old galaxy note N7000 one of these 'fisheyes' that you can get online from china for a few dollars. The same thing you can find in the city for like 5x the price.
Anyway this 'fisheye' if you don't know it is a little lens that you can attach, when you need it, to the camera lens of the phone through a magnet. Basically you have a very little metal circle with double sided tape on the lens, where the fisheye will attach through magnetism.
I have tried to apply this to the nexus 5, but I hear some very worrying rattle. What is that? Is that the camera? What relation is between the magnet and the camera? Or maybe just behind the camera (or besides it) is something else like the vibration module?
Anyway, if I shake the phone (hold it from the bottom and shake it diagonally), I hear something moving inside (ticking). Is it normal? What is that? Everything works perfectly, I thought I had messed autofocus but it works normally (it actually works even with the fisheye but while the fisheye is on, something vibrates in a ticky way). By the way, I got the phone like 2 days ago. I like the fisheye is a fun thing for photos and holidays, I can give that up, but this rattle in the phone now is scaring me. Yet the rational part of my brain can't find any reason why a little magnet like the one of the fisheye would damage anything about the phone.

Looks like it may be really the vibration related to this:
https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/nexus/Nfr4WDu-BQw
Anyway some confirmation would be nice. And also to know whether this magnet would make things worse or not. There is a spot where the fisheye can stay attached without provoking any rattle (I keep using this word, I mean something that ticks in a repetitive way don't know if it is enough descriptive), but it would change if I bend the phone in a certain angle.
EDIT::::: now that I think about, the noise by shaking the phone in front and backwards may be the sim card....in fact I cut my standard sim card myself to match the micro sim shape and it was a bit loose. I will check without sim card, but anyway the thing about the magnet and the camera is still an open question I would like to figure out. Why does it produce a vibrating noise and will it damage the camera or not (image stabilizer?)

I hear some rattling when I shake it. Probably nothing to be worried about. I do think it is the SIM card because when I took mine out I couldn't hear anything.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app

rogermorse said:
Looks like it may be really the vibration related to this:
https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/nexus/Nfr4WDu-BQw
Anyway some confirmation would be nice. And also to know whether this magnet would make things worse or not. There is a spot where the fisheye can stay attached without provoking any rattle (I keep using this word, I mean something that ticks in a repetitive way don't know if it is enough descriptive), but it would change if I bend the phone in a certain angle.
EDIT::::: now that I think about, the noise by shaking the phone in front and backwards may be the sim card....in fact I cut my standard sim card myself to match the micro sim shape and it was a bit loose. I will check without sim card, but anyway the thing about the magnet and the camera is still an open question I would like to figure out. Why does it produce a vibrating noise and will it damage the camera or not (image stabilizer?)
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Click to collapse
First off, do not use any magnets on the Nexus 5. It will damage the image stabilizer. Secondly, the rattling you hear is the image stabilizer. The image stabilizer isn't broken it rattles because it is made to flex.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

OuncE718 said:
First off, do not use any magnets on the Nexus 5. It will damage the image stabilizer. Secondly, the rattling you hear is the image stabilizer. The image stabilizer isn't broken it rattles because it is made to flex.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
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So what about all these websites that are saying the camera ring of the nexus 5 is magnetized exactly to host the 3rd party micro lens available on the market??? They all (almost) work with magnets attachments....are they all wrong?

rogermorse said:
So what about all these websites that are saying the camera ring of the nexus 5 is magnetized exactly to host the 3rd party micro lens available on the market??? They all (almost) work with magnets attachments....are they all wrong?
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They're not wrong for trying to make money. Our phone has the OIS (optical image stabilizer) and can/will eventually get ruined if you attach a magnet next to it.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

rogermorse said:
So what about all these websites that are saying the camera ring of the nexus 5 is magnetized exactly to host the 3rd party micro lens available on the market??? They all (almost) work with magnets attachments....are they all wrong?
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The internet is wrong about that one. Take everything you read online with a grain of salt and consider the sources.
If it was a feature of the phone Google would mention it.