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Did I brick my Phone? Your opinion is requested

Hello all, I just recently reflashed my Fuze (raph100) with the energy rom (21901.Sense2.1.Apr.25.7z) and it was working fine, but I was having some issues so I decided to reflash it. However, this time where it says tap the screen, it is not responding and I can't calibrate it. Have I bricked my phone? Well probably not, I can probably simply replace the screen if its a hardware issue, but what if its a software wise? I am going to try to flash the TPC Fuze V3.1 rom and see if that resolves it, but any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Oh on a related note, there seems to be some liquid inside the screen, it started off as two dots but one of those dots has grown and is kind of spreading across, is this liquid coming internally? Is my phone a goner? Thanks for your time.

We are sure that its not caused by flashing.....

banes said:
Hello all, I just recently reflashed my Fuze (raph100) with the energy rom (21901.Sense2.1.Apr.25.7z) and it was working fine, but I was having some issues so I decided to reflash it. However, this time where it says tap the screen, it is not responding and I can't calibrate it. Have I bricked my phone? Well probably not, I can probably simply replace the screen if its a hardware issue, but what if its a software wise? I am going to try to flash the TPC Fuze V3.1 rom and see if that resolves it, but any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Oh on a related note, there seems to be some liquid inside the screen, it started off as two dots but one of those dots has grown and is kind of spreading across, is this liquid coming internally? Is my phone a goner? Thanks for your time.
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Maybe the liquid thats inside your screen broke the touchscreen?

Okay so it turns out i found some other threads talking about liquid under the screen, and their method to fix it was to use duct tape on the screen and pull it up. This not only alleviated the liquid issue underneath (still a little wet but not the blob) but it also fixed my touchscreen issue. I have had to use this trick a few times due to screen becoming non responsive but hey its better than throwing it away. I looked up a guide on replacing the digitizer and lcd screen and it really doesn't look like its worth it. Ugh wish they had planned the assembly to be more user friendly. I appreciate the help though thanks.

lol do you have to carry a roll of duct tape around? lol jk
but incase you needa get a digitzier they sell for like 15-20 bucks on ebay. not bad

lol i was carrying around a roll of duct tape in my car, and let me tell you it was getting quite annoying since the tape kept losing its sticking power. Also, it wouldn't be very long before i had to do it again, became so tedious went back to my old phone. I did some shopping around and found a place in Southern California that will fix it for $75 parts and labor included. Sweet. It's too bad I bought it used for 130 lol, oh well $205 bucks is not bad for an unlocked phone with no contract right? Anyway, I don't believe it's the digitizer that's bad, but the broken LCD crystals that fill the device with liquid that prevent the digitizer from recognizing that its not always being depressed. What do you think?

So it's not only me having this crappy liquid problem thing.. I've got this blue looking blob thing under the screen and it's stuffing the touchscreen up.. I use my screen protector instead of the duct tape.. lol the screen protector doesn't lose its stickness for some reason.. :S

Anyone replace a digitizer on a sensation yet?

Cracked my digitizer and the new one is supposed to be here this afternoon. Anyone done this yet? Anyone found a good breakdown guide?

How did you go? I'm about to tackle it tonight!

Here's a video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5bWl73O9ss&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA App

I have replaced it but with a terrible unresponsiveness that still exists for a short period of time after screen activation. The process is a bit in depth, though.
You need to rip up the phone from the back to the front. torx screws in the back come out, the plastic battery tray comes off, two circuit cards come off, unplugging the ribbon cables. The rest of it is a very gentle prying to get the double sided sticky tape separated from the digitizer and remaining case. you will need fresh tape to lay down so it gets a good seal, and I recommend latex gloves to keep fingerprints out. Dust free environment/do it in a plastic bag as well. Kind of a pain to keep the digitizer and LCD free of debris. I am still trying to figure out what the hell is causing the screen unresponsiveness... maybe a grounding issue.

So I received my new digitizer, and it is broken already - I slid the ribbon between the chassis and LCD the wrong way, and in trying to pull the ribbon back out, it snapped so my Sensation remains in pieces while I get a new digitizer. Also bought a roll of 2mm 3M tape to seal the digitizer back too!
The disassembly isn't complicated, but it is fairly involved with lots of delicate ribbons.
What sort of unresponsiveness are you referring - is it always, or just when it's on charge?

The phone is almost completely unresponsive immediately after reactivating the screen. This could be after it disables the screen via proximity sensor for a phone call, or securing it and trying to use the lockscreen. After swiping my finger across it for several seconds it works perfectly, however. Either seems like a software recognition or a grounding issue, as I'd imagine the finger swiping is slowly building a charge. At least that's my theory so far.
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using XDA Premium App

what9000 said:
The phone is almost completely unresponsive immediately after reactivating the screen. This could be after it disables the screen via proximity sensor for a phone call, or securing it and trying to use the lockscreen. After swiping my finger across it for several seconds it works perfectly, however. Either seems like a software recognition or a grounding issue, as I'd imagine the finger swiping is slowly building a charge. At least that's my theory so far.
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using XDA Premium App
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How did you go with your theory? I just replaced the screen in mine and I am having issues with my sensitivity when the screen first turns on, too

I replaced the digitizer twice so far. Both are unbranded "HTC" labels, my original said HTC and T-Mobile in the right. Also different serial. Same unresponsiveness as well. It has to be something else.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using xda premium

what9000 said:
I replaced the digitizer twice so far. Both are unbranded "HTC" labels, my original said HTC and T-Mobile in the right. Also different serial. Same unresponsiveness as well. It has to be something else.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using xda premium
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So do you think it's the digitizer itself?

Its either the wrong digitizer for the model of phone (Europe/USA/fake garbage) or something else is at fault. Le sigh.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using xda premium

what9000 said:
Its either the wrong digitizer for the model of phone (Europe/USA/fake garbage) or something else is at fault. Le sigh.
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Yeah, I have been reading and some other people have had similar problems. I asked the seller of the digitizer and they said they have not had any problems like this before.
I think I'm going to sell the phone soon, will buy an HTC Desire or Desire HD for a few months until the Sensation XE comes out.

I also want to sell this phone. In its current state I can't see it fetching more than $100 though... Half the purpose of a phone is quick reference, not a 10 second frustrating unlock frenzy.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using xda premium

Fairly unrelated, but do you thing my phone is in need of a new digitizer or an LCD? Everything works fine, except for those 3-4 cracks that don't look so great.
tinypic.com/r/2uihlj9/7

what9000 said:
I also want to sell this phone. In its current state I can't see it fetching more than $100 though... Half the purpose of a phone is quick reference, not a 10 second frustrating unlock frenzy.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using xda premium
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Yeah, you can't exactly answer incoming phone calls
I'm wondering if it might fetch more, if I put the cracked digitizer back on there.
---------- Post added at 02:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:13 PM ----------
Blodoffer said:
Fairly unrelated, but do you thing my phone is in need of a new digitizer or an LCD? Everything works fine, except for those 3-4 cracks that don't look so great.
tinypic.com/r/2uihlj9/7
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Yeah, that's a digitizer crack. I wouldn't bother replacing it...

I just replaced my digitizer and I'm getting the exact same behaviour. A phone shop also tried two of their panels and they also exhibits the response issue! However reinstalling the broken original digitizer works!
How can all three panels I've tried be faulty? It must be something else.

I can answer calls but I have to swipe rapidly across the answer key. It sucks and if replacing the original makes it work then its a model number issue. Probably the wrong digitizer for that phone revision.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using xda premium

I repair cell phones for a living and have done the sensation digitizer twice. I now turn them all away.
from what I have been able to deduce, something about the space between the digi and lcd causes the unresponsiveness. try using a little more adesive, maybe a layer on a layer, it may work a little bit better

nickL0V3 said:
I repair cell phones for a living and have done the sensation digitizer twice. I now turn them all away.
from what I have been able to deduce, something about the space between the digi and lcd causes the unresponsiveness. try using a little more adesive, maybe a layer on a layer, it may work a little bit better
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Thanks, I'll give it a go, I suppose!
Have you determined that it is more space that makes it better?

A bit of Googling suggests that many struggle with the unresponsiveness, but I suspect that there might be two separate causes here. Some report pretty random unresposiveness, and it helps to restart the phone, and apparently fixing a bad ground connection between the phone and the back cover fixes the problem. Then there are many who report that it has happened after replacing the digitiser.
I've just replaced mine, and every time after the LCD is activated, the screen is very unresponsive for 15-20 seconds, and then everything is just fine as long as the LCD remains on. Is this exactly the same behaviour everybody else here has seen after replacing the digitiser? The most irritating bit is that it makes it hard to answer a phone call in time.
I disassembled my phone once more and put it together again making absolutely sure that it was done properly. No change. I haven't glued the digitiser properly yet, though, since I'd like to get confirmed that it's working before I do something which is hard to undo. But I've tried different spacings between the LCD and the digitiser (though this is a bit difficult when the whole thing is partly loose), and I haven't really noticed much difference. I've kept much of the original glue, which isn't very sticky anymore, which means that I probably have a bit of spacing already. Any chance that the responsiveness gets better with as little spacing as possible, has anyone tried that?
Please keep posting reports on both what doesn't help and on what seems to improve the situation.

I wonder if it's like the iPhone 4. Many people complained about the proximity sensor not working anymore once the digitizer was replaced. Either way, I think I'm going to suffer through a couple months of this and buy a new ice cream sandwich phone when they come out. :/
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using xda premium

Beware! physical damage to the phone due to the back plastic

Well im having rogers ship me a new phone (i only got the phone last friday, so not even a week yet) because the phone is unable to detect any sim cards. I dont know what the exact cause of the problem is but im pretty sure it has something to do with me opening the back case and pressing it back in too hard. Or maybe i short circuited the metal of the sim card holder some how when i was doing rom reboots
In all honesty, the design of the back panel is completely stupid and really cheap. The plastic is super flimsy and garbage. Plus the way you have to snap it back into the phone requires some pressure that could easily damage the phone.
Just be careful when you guys are touching around that simcard metal area. Any static electric shock could potentially cause you to end up with a expensive brick.

Ummm why do you need to put pressure on the middle area of the phone?
Whenever I place the back cover back on, I just start from the bottom of the phone and make sure that its in and then go around the phone clockwise and clip in the rest of the phone edges and thats it. Never have to touch the centre of the phone.

Max Sterling said:
Ummm why do you need to put pressure on the middle area of the phone?
Whenever I place the back cover back on, I just start from the bottom of the phone and make sure that its in and then go around the phone clockwise and clip in the rest of the phone edges and thats it. Never have to touch the centre of the phone.
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This is what I also do when I need to put the cover back on.

I didn't press the middle when I was putting back the rear panel but I think I might have touched that metal sim bracket and maybe that's what caused it to short circuit.
Just becarful when handling with no rear panel. Also while charging the phone and trying to get a gps lock, the area behind and around the simcard gets really hot. My stats widget says 53c and that also might have caused this weird short circuit... I I don't know

You're doing it wrong.

Post deleted, wrong thread.

badhobz said:
...
In all honesty, the design of the back panel is completely stupid and really cheap. The plastic is super flimsy and garbage. Plus the way you have to snap it back into the phone requires some pressure that could easily damage the phone.
Just be careful when you guys are touching around that simcard metal area. Any static electric shock could potentially cause you to end up with a expensive brick.
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Static shock is a potential problem with any electronic device.
I don't think the cover had anything to do with it.

Mine is on and off all the time, 5-10 times a day at times when I'm testing different things. Never had a problem like this.

Actually the back is pretty durable for the amount of times I've torn it off in a hissy fit...plus I love the texture. I'm always afraid I'm going to snap it in half but it can take alot of bending. It's amazingly flexible for plastic. But you never press the middle...slide your finger along the sides only till it all snaps in.

+1 for that. I slide my fingers on the sides to push it in
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997R using xda premium

No offense but why is this not locked? How can you brick your phone cause you take the back off the WRONG way?
Sent from my SGH-I997 using xda premium

I wouldn't call what he did "bricking". Bricking is usually caused by an upgrade gone wrong. He supposedly did damage to his hardware by pushing on the center too hard....and it's worth knowing about.

MikeyFTL said:
I'm always afraid I'm going to snap it in half but it can take alot of bending.
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i think there was a demo by samsung where a rep actually folded it in half and it was fine

MikeyFTL said:
I wouldn't call what he did "bricking". Bricking is usually caused by an upgrade gone wrong. He supposedly did damage to his hardware by pushing on the center too hard....and it's worth knowing about.
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I know he didnt brick it, I'm just goin on what he referred his problem to. Info that anybody should have known
Sent from my SGH-I997 using xda premium

The back panel is seriously the only thing I dislike about this phone -_-
Why did it have to downgrade from the Captivates nice hard back panel!

in retrospect i think i might have bricked the phone by doing a bad flash instead of it being a physical problem. Im pretty sure somewhere along the way i must have deleted the EFS files when i was trying to get rid of the root and restoring it back to original firmware. I did some research and the problems im having with the no carrier/no imei/ is related to EFS being deleted.
I just dont know how to get it back now.
Also if i send the phone in for warranty and they find out that the EFS is deleted, would they consider that my fault? Luckily the replacement phone i got torched itself (screen burnt out in like 1 hour) so they are replacing that for the galaxy S II but i still have to send the original one back.

you obviously did something wrong. I've had some crazy electronics hooked up to my SIM and other parts of my device. I keep wires soldered onto the mainboard which lead out of the device for direct communication with the processor. I have never run into a single problem.
You did something stupid with your sim card. It does not damage easily even when you're playing with the ciruits all the time. I know this because I do play with the circuits all the time.

DANIEL133337 said:
The back panel is seriously the only thing I dislike about this phone -_-
Why did it have to downgrade from the Captivates nice hard back panel!
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Maybe to save some money, and to reduce phone weight.

These digitizers are driving me crazy!

A little preface. I've repaired numerous phones and have never had a problem like this.
Foward to now: I had a guy come to me with two evo shift 4g's with cracked screens that were working fine just cracked which to me didn't look like a problem. It's litterally 4 connections alltogether but what I have found is that my digitizer will work for a second then stop. Battery pull then it works for a minute and then back to not working. The problem is that it's both of the phones that are acting the same way.
Question: Is this a common problem because I know all my connections are perfect and I'm getting tired of going back through these phones,
Any help is appreciated.

Drroid said:
A little preface. I've repaired numerous phones and have never had a problem like this.
Foward to now: I had a guy come to me with two evo shift 4g's with cracked screens that were working fine just cracked which to me didn't look like a problem. It's litterally 4 connections alltogether but what I have found is that my digitizer will work for a second then stop. Battery pull then it works for a minute and then back to not working. The problem is that it's both of the phones that are acting the same way.
Question: Is this a common problem because I know all my connections are perfect and I'm getting tired of going back through these phones,
Any help is appreciated.
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Did you replace the Digitizer as an assembly? Meaning the Digitizer, and the LCD. Or did you just replace the Digitizer Screen? Also when you were in there did you make sure and inspect the Flex Cable thoroughly? I have found that even the small breaks in the Flex Cable will cause, weird issues to occur.

prboy1969 said:
Did you replace the Digitizer as an assembly? Meaning the Digitizer, and the LCD. Or did you just replace the Digitizer Screen? Also when you were in there did you make sure and inspect the Flex Cable thoroughly? I have found that even the small breaks in the Flex Cable will cause, weird issues to occur.
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I replaced just the digitizer as the lcd screen was fine and working properly. I've got a desk magnifier when I take the phones apart and all the connections were seated correctly, ribbon cables were all in the same shape as they came, no tears and scuffs anywhere. This is why im just aggravated because what else could this be?

What your mentiioning points to a Flex Cable issue. But if your sure, then I'm at a loss. Did you make sure and put all the fasteners back in? Did any of the connectors act weird when being reconnected? That sometimes ends in a bent Pin.
TEAM MiK
MikROMs Since 3/13/11

Well the flex cables looked fine when I took it off the back of the lcd. The flex cable had 4 connector spots. One snap on connector to the board and three push to snap connectors (one at the top where the speaker is and two at the bottom).
My thing is that the digitizer for the shift had a peice that you had to bend on top of itself so it would have the correct length to snap into the connector at the top where the speaker is. If never felt good about bending ribbon cables but thats how the ones before this one came and even in the videos they did that. It just makes me wonder if that could be the reason.

Hmmmm... if the Flex Cable was actually bent, instead of gently curved that could possibly cause issues. But it doesn't seem like that is what's going on here. I would check everything again. Especially the Flex Cable, and connections.

prboy1969 said:
Hmmmm... if the Flex Cable was actually bent, instead of gently curved that could possibly cause issues. But it doesn't seem like that is what's going on here. I would check everything again. Especially the Flex Cable, and connections.
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I'm just fed up with this thing. I just went through it again and I've gotten to the point I'm just gonna buy the phone from my customer and leave it at that. I've never seen a phone give me so much damn trouble. Thanks for all your help!

I was looking back through my notes ( yes I do enough were I have to keep notes ) just now. I found something that might interest you. Had something sort of similar occur a while back. The device was giving me serious headaches. Well I had forgotten to ask how the device was damaged. When I asked the woman how the device was damaged. She explained that it had been dropped on a curb, and then fallen into a puddle. She then dried it out, and bought it to me. I had repaired two phones for her previously. So I never thought to ask how this one was damaged. The thing was being dropped in water, was what ruined it. Caused all kinds of issues I could not resolve. Ended up switching the Mother Board for her. That was the only thing that resolved the issue. So you may want to ask if the device has been dropped in water. But it's not just that easy. Because you then have to deal with Sprint, because in essence it changes the Phones ID .

Backlight doesn't come on unless i bend the phone

So on my Nexus 5, the backlight started going off randomly... tapping phone would bring it back..
Then eventually it went out and i had to bend/flex the phone and it would keep working a while..
I contacted support then, but one time i bent it a little to get it on and the frame (plastic outer edge cracked), doh.. Now, of course, they will not give me a warranty repair because the device is physically damaged. So i tried a new screen, no dice. Now i have two good screens and a phone that still wont work unless i bend the crap out of it. Anyone else see this problem? Worth trying to replace motherboard? or should i just sell parts (new screen i bought, old screen, battery, etc) and buy a whole new phone... There is one specific point where i can bend it and backlight comes on, but i cant find a short or loose connection anywhere. I have had the thing COMPLETELY apart and back together multiple times. I should mention, it works totally fine when backlight is off, just no backlight so i can only see it in super bright direct illumination.
Any ideas???

Take it to a mobile phone repair shop.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Fixed for now! Woohoo! Based on the position of where i had to flex it, i tried a little gap filler... a folded piece of paper, between the SIM slot and the back frame. With everything screwed back together, it just puts a little pressure on that area of the main board.
Now the only problem is the screen i bought is defective (lines all up and down it) so now i have to disassemble again to put the old one back in.... oh joy, now to return it through ebay... I'm sure that will work well. Either way, phone working again! FYI, this phone is REALLLY easy to take apart and put back together.
EDIT: F.. snapped the end off one of the little antenna cables (the black one, on the right when looking at the uncovered back of the phone) when redoing the screen. Anyone know what that is for? WiFi and cell data signals seem ok.. Looks like a diversity antenna for something, because of all the others at the tope. Maybe google will have an answer.

ramerco said:
EDIT: F.. snapped the end off one of the little antenna cables (the black one, on the right when looking at the uncovered back of the phone) when redoing the screen. Anyone know what that is for? WiFi and cell data signals seem ok.. Looks like a diversity antenna for something, because of all the others at the tope. Maybe google will have an answer.
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Check Bluetooth/try calling/using data just to be sure.

Do not discuss something on how to make fool of insurance company or even an warranty, It's not allowed here. Thanks