UPDATE: After playing around with a few different phones (and breaking a few displays myself) I should note that working with an LCD display is a lot more fragile than working with an AMOLED display (i.e. Samsung mostly). LCD displays are a lot thinner, bend and break easier, and are less forgiving to slight amounts of pressure on the display.
I found that using the thin wire cuts the polarizing filter and destroys the LCD most of the times for me, while working with the LCD and glass detached from the body is generally not a very good idea without a separation machine, as the LCD is at the mercy of the glass you're trying to remove.
My current technique with LCD screens, involve working directly on the phone itself, and purposefully shattering any large shards of the top glass/ digitiser to make it easier to remove as opposed to a large chunk. Basically what I found is that there's less chance damaging the LCD when removing small shards of glass vs large ones, as you're at the mercy of the dry times of the glue between the glass and the LCD.
As an additional note, if you have a way to maintain it, you'd want to keep the glass heated to about 70-80 celcius. Any hotter and the LCD will discolour.
------------------
This was originally a reply that I posted on the N7000 General thread, but I feel that most of it's techniques apply to most modern smartphones, in particular most Samsung devices, so I feel that it's quite helpful if it's shared with the lot of you, in hopes that it makes your life when it comes to replacing your smart phone front glass (without Digitizer) ala DIY. I know for a fact that this works on the Note 2, S3, S4, Note 3 as I've worked on these devices before.
I'd like to chime in on this as someone who has managed to do this process successfully on a number of occasions. I've gotten good enough at it that I've taken on helping other people repair their phones for a fee, and am contemplating on just having an ad out there as side income for myself, so here goes.
The first thing I usually do, is with cracked displays, is to layer the top with packing tape, just to make sure that the shards of glass don't go anywhere.
From there, I use a heat gun set at very low heat and heat the phone evenly, moving around for about 30 seconds (do not stay at one spot, keep moving, either in a zig zag or circular motion. The display should be hot, but not overly hot till it burns you. All you're doing is just loosening the adhesive a little.
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Start by lifting up the glass from the top edge of the phone, where the earpiece is, and slowly and gently try and lift it up. I use plastic phone opening tools as well as spudges. It should give way relatively easily with light pressure. If it gets difficult, again with low heat, run the heat gun over the next effective area of lifting. I do not recommend metal tools as they can and WILL (from experience) damage the LCD below if you're not careful.
Slowly and gently make your way down the phone to the capacitive buttons, and if you hit little shards of glass, be patient with them. It's patience that will get you your screen replaced hitch free.
Once you get the display edges off, don't get too happy and rip the rest off, because the capacitive buttons are glued onto the display as well, with adhesive. Slowly heat up that area as well, and I recommend this time, with a pair of thin long metal forceps, go in and slowly peel it off the glass
Once you have that off, you can easily separate the glass from the body, and from there what I do is I clean up the body and the display with isopropyl alcohol, to get the remaining glue residue off the display, and prep it for a new pane of glass to go over. It is at this stage that you should work in a dust free room, or at least no AC/ no FAN. Those are my rules anyway.
This is the part that I highly recommend doing, which is fully disassembling the phone, removing all the internal components until you're left with just the inner body and the outer frame. What I do is that I snap the inner body into the outer body, free of any of the internal components (cameras, sensors, anything that you can remove), such that any excess display glue will not seep into them and damage the components (again, I've had this happen to me)
If the replacement glass that you bought does not come with replacement adhesives for the body (not for the screen), then what I suggest you use, (which I use as well) is a combination of 1mm or 2mm, 3M 9448 Tape for Electricals. Normal tape is not nearly as adhesive or thin enough for the job.
After having done so, this is the part where unless you have an autoclave unit lying around, you're going to be using LOCA (Liquid Optical Clear Adhesive) and not OCA (Optical Clear Adhesive). This is the adhesive layer in between your display and the glass. Apply the Loca on the display in sort of a Y shape on both ends, while leaving plenty of space on the borders
Above is how I apply the LOCA on my display, and I don't go too generous with it, otherwise you have to deal with a lot of leakage later. Remove all protective plastic from the new glass pane, and slowly lower it, bottom first, then top, such that the bottom becomes like a hinge for lowering the display on to. Do not be bothered if the liquid doesn't spread evenly at this point. Even a bit of air bubbles can be solved later. For now, press the glass down onto where you placed the 3M tape before, securing the glass on the body. This also helps the glue from coming out of the edges later. The glue will naturally spread a little after doing this.
I usually start by pressing the center of the display, to try and spread the glue out onto the whole display, and this process may take some time, especially if you're trying to get those pesky air bubbles out. What I do is that I slowly but surely get them into the edges, and make sure they don't appear again.
I then go over the display with a UV Flashlight of 365nm, on places like the corners where I'm happy with the results (i.e. no airbubbles), for about 15 seconds. The purpose of this step is to harden the glue a little there such that when you're doing your final bake, they don't suddenly creep up on you. Do this for edges where you have problematic air bubbles as well, and once you're done, it's time for the final bake.
I use a 48W UV light that I got off the internet, and I bake the top of the phone for about 20 minutes, then I remove the outer frame, leaving only the inner body + glass, and I bake the other side of the display as well for a further 5 minutes. This is to harden the excess glue as well, that way it's easier to remove and clean up.
When all that is done, it's time to put the phone back together, so I hope you remembered which component goes where and how, and where each screw goes as well.
The final results? A happy phone that's ready to be used again
Note: If you get a gummy/ Sticky home button with a bit of the glue seeping out, what I do is that keeping the phone upright at about a 45 degree angle, I drop about 3 drops of isopropyl alcohol down the home button, and let it go in a little, and using a cotton pad, keep mashing the button until the solvent thoroughly gets in and dissolves and excess underneath.
Sorry if this post was long, but I thought that my experiences would be helpful to others . Feel free to chime in on your own experiences/ thoughts on the process, as well as maybe some important information that I may have missed out that you feel should be added to the first post.
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EDIT: A bit of an addendum to add to this topic as I feel I need to address a few questions or concerns
FAQ
Q: Why would you want to repair the screen yourself? Why not just send it over to a shop to have it repaired for you?
A: The answer is quite simple. Cost. Over here where I am, Malaysia, the cost of getting a screen repaired via 3rd party repair shops is about 600 ringgit, or 200 USD. Consider that if you have the patience, skills, and materials to do so, you can do it at a fraction of the cost. For starters the glass itself can be acquired for under 10 USD if you're a smart shopper. Plus you're having fun!
Q: What do you need to perform this repair?
A: Here's a list of things that I use for repairs
- Packing Tape (prevents loose glass shards from going into your skin while you're working)
- Heat Gun (A hair dryer may do the job just fine as all you need is to heat up the glue to remove it)
- Plastic tools/ Spudges (chances are if you ever ordered replacement glass or what not, you should have some lying around)
- Forceps (thin metal tweezers. I use this to separate the capacitive buttons with greater precision, though if you have any suitable alternative, it could work just fine.
- Acetone (Isopropyl Alcohol. I use this to clean up the area after all the glass has been removed, to prepared for a new optical layer. I do not recommend the usage of thinner, as it's not very plastic friendly, neither should you use nailpolish.)
- 1mm or 2mm 3M 9448 Tape for Electricals (in the off chance that the glass that your order doesn't come with replacement adhesives to stick the glass to the body, this comes necessary. Standard double sided tape isn't adhesive enough so I wouldn't recommend it, though VHB tape could be an alternative; you just have to cut it into thin strips)
- LOCA (Liquid Optical Clear Adhesive. This is the glue layer in between the display and the glass. I do not recommend proceeding without it. It may look like a good idea at first, but once your phone gets exposed to the elements, or even pressure on the glass, chances are moisture is going to form in between the glass and the LCD, creating unsightly newton rings, and trust me, it's ugly; I've been there.
- UV Light for curing the LOCA glue (I use a 48W light. I tried using a UV flashlight to cure it before, but it didn't manage to cure the glue well, even after hours of exposure.)
Q: What are the costs of performing this repair?
A: The consumables in this repair don't cost much at all, though you will need to make a small investment in the tools. They still come up cheaper than sending it for repair however. Here's a list of my cost breakdown:
=Consumables=
- Replacement Glass, 5-10 USD : If you know where to look, you can get it for under 10 USD each time, sometimes even below 5 USD.
- LOCA, 9-10 USD: Good for at least 6 repairs, even if you decide to leak it all over the place.
- 1mm & 2mm 3M 9448 Tape, 6.50 USD: Good for more than a few dozen repairs. mine came in rolls of 50M in length.
- Your time. If you're experienced, you can get it done in 3 hours or shorter, depending on severity.
=Tools= (these can be reused for future repairs)
- Plastic Tools, 5 USD (Again, if you have anything similar that you would like to use to pry open the display, go ahead. I recommend them being flat and wide however.)
- UV Curing Light, 35 USD
- Heat Gun, 20 USD (Free if you decide to use a hair dryer).
- Packing Tape, 2 USD (again, free if you have any of them laying around.
Q: Why do you need to use LOCA?
A: Unless you have an Autoclave machine lying around, you can use OCA. Chances are you don't and an Autoclave machine is around 3,000 USD. Let's not go there. LOCA sits in between your LCD and the glass. I won't pretend to know what exactly it's purpose is, but I'll tell you that your phone looks a LOT better with it, has less chances of breaking your Glass + LCD as there's less chance for it to flex and crack inwards, and prevents moisture from forming in between your LCD and Glass (which is bad!), forming unsightly newton rings. It also prevents dust from getting in where you can't reach it, and trust me, it's irritating as hell if that happens.
Q: Does LOCA come preapplied when the phone comes straight from the factory and does that means that my new glass is forever bonded to the LCD?
A: When your phone is made in the factory, it has OCA instead, which is a pre-cured version of LOCA. The only difference between OCA and LOCA is that one is pre-cured, i.e. OCA, and LOCA needs to be cured with UV lights. LOCA is not highly adhesive, so you can easily remove it after being applied, so no it doesn't take down the LCD with it.
Q: Do you need to use the UV Lights?
A: The answer to this is sort of a yes and no. The world around is is full of UV light, so if you're up to the task and it's a sunny day, then you could technically leave it out in the sun for a while, for it to work it's magic. I don't recommend it, but it's possible. If you however live in the clouds, or have 24/7 winters, I suggest you get the UV light. LOCA does NOT cure with heat, or being left alone. It specifically cures in UV light as I know it.
Q: This all looks hard and difficult! I don't know if I can do it
A: As with many things in life, patience and perseverance rewards you. I admit that this is not for everyone, but for those who do attempt it, I will assure you that you will learn something new, feel accomplished with yourself for fixing your own phone, and have possibly developed a new skill set that is capable of bringing you a source of income.
Q: If I send you my phone will you do it for me?
A: If you live in Malaysia, and do not mind meeting up with me/ sending your phone over (and of course, waiting), I'd be more than happy to help you fix your phone, though I do have to incur my own costs on top of raw materials. Feel free to message me for more details
Great article...
But as an FYI, baking a functional AMOLED screen with UV light is not the greatest idea, since UV light degrades it just as bad as sunlight... Better cover it or use a heat-gun instead.
Thanks for the reply, but I don't think that's possible either as LOCA only specifically cures with a UV light. From testing things out it may not be necessary to cure it for 20 odd minutes, but the UV light IS necessary.
A++ poster, will buy from again.
This kind of homebrew fix is analogous with fixing your own car... sure you can, but is it worth the time and cost of the tools required?
That's why they have car and cellphone repair shops. But each to their own I guess...just my opinion...
billa said:
This kind of homebrew fix is analogous with fixing your own car... sure you can, but is it worth the time and cost of the tools required?
That's why they have car and cellphone repair shops. But each to their own I guess...just my opinion...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, its a homebrew solutions thats a lot cheaper than the offerings here in Malaysia. They charge 200 USD, but a diy solution comes in at just under 30 for me.
Besides, its in the pursuit of knowledge! And just tinkering with things and getting things done I enjoy repairing things, and smart phones are no different. I'm sure not everyone shares the same passion as me, but its still worth something.
billa said:
This kind of homebrew fix is analogous with fixing your own car... sure you can, but is it worth the time and cost of the tools required?
That's why they have car and cellphone repair shops. But each to their own I guess...just my opinion...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have access to the heat gun and UV lights, absolutely. I have seen S3 glass only sell for as little as $12. I have not seen screen repair services priced less than $100.
Even purchasing the heat gun and UV lights you can come out less expensive than the repair provided you shop around a bit. And then you will have the tools in case you break another phone, or if (like the OP) you want to repair other people's devices for a fee.
I agreed with you. repairing cost of smartphone at shop is totally expensive in malaysia. buying a new one will be a smarter way than repairing at shop
For those who are actually wondering, LOCA is used for mobile phone screen repairs, and yes, it is made to be cured under UV Light, as per below
Translated text says "UV Curing Adhesive"
I would like to state that having the adhesive around the edges and using a heat gun and a few tiny clamps work just as well as described, holds just fine, repaired this guy's iPod touch that way a few years back ran into him a few weeks ago and its still as good as new
Heat gun and clamps cost $11 total not sure how much the liquid adhesive and uv light to cure costs
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
You have the LCD Screen Separator Machine, SO you can separate the lcd with the broken glass. And you have the UV Glue, so you can make the new glass with lcd together. But we are common people, we can not afford to buy the machine. And we are not repair technical person, how can we do it ourself ? I think this job is very difficult for our common people...
billa said:
This kind of homebrew fix is analogous with fixing your own car... sure you can, but is it worth the time and cost of the tools required?
That's why they have car and cellphone repair shops. But each to their own I guess...just my opinion...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Knowledge is priceless. I'd rather pay a little extra the first time and learn something so I know how to help myself or others later on.
Teach a man to fish...
deathblade said:
I would like to state that having the adhesive around the edges and using a heat gun and a few tiny clamps work just as well as described, holds just fine, repaired this guy's iPod touch that way a few years back ran into him a few weeks ago and its still as good as new
Heat gun and clamps cost $11 total not sure how much the liquid adhesive and uv light to cure costs
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you're mistakened though. As the liquid adhesive actually sits in between the display and the front panel glass. You could go without it, and trust me, I've tried, but that makes it susceptible to physically touching the display below it, leaving newton rings that are unsightly. :/
ecparts said:
You have the LCD Screen Separator Machine, SO you can separate the lcd with the broken glass. And you have the UV Glue, so you can make the new glass with lcd together. But we are common people, we can not afford to buy the machine. And we are not repair technical person, how can we do it ourself ? I think this job is very difficult for our common people...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no separator machine, just a heat gun it doesn't cost much, you can get one for about 20 USD, and the same goes for the UV curing light, and its glue which totals about 30. All in all, its about 50 for raw materials, most of which are tools you can reuse again, and not just for this occasion
Again, some people who are hardware enthusiasts do have it lying around
Thanks dear for informative article.
The very best way to do this is use .08 wire. You can buy a roll for $10 and it'll cut through the glue like butter with a little heat. And since your not lifting on the glass the chances of breaking the lcd are alot slimmer.
deathknight842 said:
The very best way to do this is use .08 wire. You can buy a roll for $10 and it'll cut through the glue like butter with a little heat. And since your not lifting on the glass the chances of breaking the lcd are alot slimmer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks sir. A good alternative. I use plastic tools and I'm quite careful so I'm sure I'm on the safe side, though that wire method does sound a boatload faster.
It's alot easier. If you have a heat plate to keep the temp up on the phone it only takes about 1 minute to remove the whole screen.
Also a tip for anyone wanting to try this. After you get the lcd off your not finished. Be VERY carefull cleaning off the lcd. My first time I got solution on the edge of the lcd and it got under the lcd and washed out the color on half of it. Also when you add the loca to the lcd. Be very generous with it. I was being stingy my first time and wasted a good half bottle trying to get enough glue in there. You can always remove extra glue but you can't add it.. Plus you dont wanna be squeezing the crap out of your lcd and risk damaging it. And finally with people like me that have pets so a clean air room is pretty impossible. What you can do is take a large tub. Flip it upside down and cut two holes for your arms and clean the inside out with lysol. It makes a still air box and should keep a good majority of dust away as long as you don't lift it.
hamsteyr said:
I think you're mistakened though. As the liquid adhesive actually sits in between the display and the front panel glass. You could go without it, and trust me, I've tried, but that makes it susceptible to physically touching the display below it, leaving newton rings that are unsightly. :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand to purpose for the liquid adhesive I'm just speaking from experience I've never had an issue with no adhesive in between the LCD and glass also I'm just saying you take proper procedures to get the job done but while you have these tools that not everyone would like to pay for or knows exists there are cheaper ways of doing it with just a little more hassle but the outcome is the same(again from my experience ) but the tutorial you wrote up is nice and very detailed great job, only thing I would suggest is to post links to where you can get these tools so if someone wants may look into doing thus a little easier
Sent from my SGH-I997 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
LOCA ?
So, this adhesive isn't used from the factory, correct?
I'm also assuming that once you use it, if your digitizer breaks again, you will be replacing the LCD as well since they are bonded.
Related
I recently destroyed the screen on my A2 and repaired it with ease. Honestly very ease to take apart. I wanted to share my experience and show others how to do so as well.
Hopefully, you will NEVER need this! But if you do, here is the how to!
Mods? Please sticky if you see fit to.
DISCLAIMER: I am not responsible if your phone does not work after the repair. However, if you follow these instructions you should be fine.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
1. Obviously you will need a replacement screen. I got mine for 30 bucks HERE and it came to my house VERY well packaged and quick. Otherwise if that link winds up going down, LET ME GOOGLE THAT FOR YOU.
2. A Torx 5 driver. You can find one at most electronics stores as this is a VERY tiny size usually only used on electronics. I got mine HERE for cheap! Once again if that link also goes down, I CAN GOOGLE THAT FOR YOU ALSO.
3. A magnet. This is for you to rub your new screwdriver against so it becomes magnetized. Makes it easier to get those pesky tiny screws out without dropping them and losing them forever.
4. A PLASTIC pry tool of some sort. You can be creative with this like I did (you'll see in the later pics) but make sure it's plastic so you don't damage your phone. UPDATE: Find one here, as well as a T5 driver.
5. Two small containers to put the screws in. Why two? There are two different size screws you will be removing and you DON"T WANT TO MIX THEM UP. They are different lengths. Jamming the wrong screw in the wrong hole is a bad idea.
6. A hairdryer or even a butane torch on low heat. Or, if you have none of those a razor blade. For separating the glass from the silver bezel.
7. A roll of 2mm double adhesive tape for adhering the new glass to the body. Also used for getting the proper gap in between the lcd screen and digitizer. Find it HERE.
8. GOOD glass cleaner and a microfiber cloth. I will touch on that later.
THE REPAIR
Once you get in a good lit area pull your battery cover off, (I felt no need to tell you guys how to do this) pull the battery out, the sim card and SD card. You will be left with what you see below:
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Next, you will find NINE screws around the circumference of the phone. At this point, if you haven't done so already, take your T5 driver and rub it like a madman on the magnet for a good 30 seconds. High school chemistry tells us that you have just magnetized the tip of your driver! Remove the screws and place them in one of your two containers. And for Pete's sake not close to the edge of the table either.
Next you need to separate the back of the phone from the motherboard. It is SNAPPED into place. Grab your plastic pry tool, and CAREFULLY start separating the two from each other. You will notice the Motorola conveniently placed "pry points" around the phone making this easier. Don't jam the tool too far in as the phone's motherboard is underneath and you don't want to damage it. Do this part correctly and you should have something looking like this:
Your next step is to CAREFULLY pop off the three connections for the touch screen digitizer, the LCD screen and the Ear piece speaker which I have circled for you in the pic located above. Using your plastic pry tool again, carefully pry straight up on the and they should pop off. See the two pics below for examples (yes my fingernails are dirty. Hush, I'm a VW tech.)
No you can see how I got creative with my pry tool.
Once you get those connections popped off, it's time to take the mother board out. At this point touch something metal in your house to discharge any static electricity you may have inadvertently built up. Probably not necessary, but I always do so when I am tearing down my PC, so why not? The MB is also just clipped into place, so using your Plastic pry tool (or bread tie LOL), CAREFULLY pry up on the MB and place it in a SAFE PLACE. Be careful that it doesn't grab on any of the three connections. Treat the MB like gold! You will then be presented with something like below:
At this point pull up on the ear piece speaker/LED and place it aside (you can see it in the above pic in the middle of the phone). Next, you will find the last set of screws you need to pull. There are eight in total holding the metal backing plate to the LCD screen. Remove them, and place them in the OTHER container, re-magnetizing your driver if you need to before removing. Once the screws are out, you can easily pull the metal plate from the back of the LCD screen. See below:
There are only two things between you and replacing your screen now.
BE VERY CAREFUL WITH THIS NEXT STEP AS YOU ARE ABOUT TO REMOVE THE LCD SCREEN AND YOU DO NOT WANT TO SCRATCH IT!!!!!
The LCD screen is slightly adhered in to place with double-sided tape around the circumference of the phone to separate the screen from the digitizer. Now using your pry tool carefully work around the screen until it comes out. Place it FACE DOWN on something soft so as not to scratch it and keep it clean. See below:
Now the HARD PART. First remove the small plastic piece in the upper right corner of the phone that covers up the glass/digitizer connector (see pic below). Now the glass is adhered STRONGLY to the case of the phone. I have heard of people using a hairdryer to heat up the glue to release it, which is the best idea as you will have a much cleaner surface after you're done. Carefully, and slowly, with NOT TOO MUCH HEAT heat up the edges of the screen to soften the glue and lift it out.
brandogg said:
Use a heat gun and warm up the glass first, then take it out. If you do it right, all of the adhesive will come out with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have not used the aforementioned method, (which is better and cleaner I would imagine) but not a lot of people have a heatgun or butane heater so I am leaving the following optional method:
Carefully take your razor blade and work your way around the the phone to separate the the glass from the body, carefully pulling the connector through the body of the phone. It wasn't too difficult for me. Be careful not to cut yourself! SAFETY FIRST!!!
You will finally be left with your old nasty screen and the body:
PREPARING TO GLUE ON THE NEW GLASS:
Depending on the method you used to to separate the glass you are going to be left with some old glue remaining. Using your razor blade, or whatever you see fit, remove the old glue COMPLETELY to get a good sealing surface for your new glass. If you used heat you might have even got the old glue clean off with the glass! Now my glass came with plastic on both sides, so at this point remove the side that is going to be glued to the body. Using the double sided tape in the link, run it around the silver bezel for your new glass and set the new glass in place.
brandogg said:
Also a huge is to heat up the adhesive right before you place the digitizer back on. This will give you a MUCH stronger bond and will also help any uneven bumps if you have any.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once the screen is set, use your GOOD (alcohol based is best) glass cleaner to clean the underside of the glass and the LCD screen if it got dirty in the process. CLEAN IT WELL!
ANY STREAKS LEFT WILL SHOW BEHIND YOUR GLASS ONCE THE REPAIR IS DONE FORCING YOU TO TAKE IT APART AND CLEAN IT AGAIN!!!!!
like I had to.
Next, you need to make sure that the screen and the digitizer are properly spaced. Unless you get clean lift on the lcd when you originally pried it up. If they're too close you will get a swirly effect as you touch the screen. Touch your computer screen and you'll see what I mean.
brandogg said:
I always do 2 layers directly on top of each other - this works perfectly every time so you don't get the "water effect" from the glass touching the LCD, and make sure you go edge to edge so that dust and lint cannot enter the display afterwards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It won't hurt the screen if they touch, it's just friggin' annoying, and will cause you to take it back apart.
At this point, installation is in the reverse of the removal, noting one thing. When going to place the three connectors back in place, just line them up properly and lightly push on them to pop them in place.
CONGRATS!!!! YOU HAVE REPLACED YOUR ATRIX 2 TOUCHSCREEN!
Thanks to BRANDOGG for his professional tips and links! GIVE HIM SOME THANKS LOVE ON HIS POSTS BELOW!
Leave your comments and I will update the OP as necessary!
If this helped you in anyway feel free to hit the thanks button!
Nice tutorial, I will use this if I break my screen.
Like I said, hopefully you'll never have to.
Sent from my MB865 using xda premium
nice, I will have to find this burried 10 pages deep, when I break mine. or maybe I could continue my streak of NEVER dropping it since I bought it in December. Seriously, never.
Good lord Kras, you might have just jinxed yourself.
And i'm hoping they'll sticky it so you don't have to find it that way lol.
Sent from my MB865 using xda premium
Very nicely put together. I hope to hell I'll never need it.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using xda premium
Oh my. This is so absolutely amazing. I cannot thank you enough Fall of Enosis. Great job X 1000 on this!
Nicely put together, and congrats on a stickie! :good:
Hope I never need to refer to this as result of a buzzed walking into/out of a bar with subsequent droppage and "Oh, $#!T... My PHONE!"
Fall of Enosis said:
Good lord Kras, you might have just jinxed yourself.
And i'm hoping they'll sticky it so you don't have to find it that way lol.
Sent from my MB865 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess I did. Dropped it today, but it didn't break. The screen is however slightly separated at the top. Do you think I can just put a little dab of super glue in there to get it back down?
Thanks for this guide. I broke mine yesterday. I bought the digitizer from there also today. Hopefully it isant too hard to break down and replace. Also would it be worth it to buy a whole new faceplate instead of taking the old digitizer out of this one?
lkrasner said:
I guess I did. Dropped it today, but it didn't break. The screen is however slightly separated at the top. Do you think I can just put a little dab of super glue in there to get it back down?
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Yeah, I would imagine that would be ok man. I don't see an issue with it but like I said go EASY on the glue. Cause you might get too much in there and it will go over onto the LCD portion and you don't want that.
Zackhery said:
Thanks for this guide. I broke mine yesterday. I bought the digitizer from there also today. Hopefully it isant too hard to break down and replace. Also would it be worth it to buy a whole new faceplate instead of taking the old digitizer out of this one?
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Actually man, if you bought it from the Link I provided, your new screen comes with the digitzer also. So no worries there.
Congrats on your success. Tried this on my ATRIX 1, no success. Pissed me off.
I got mine replaced. They did jew me out my shipping tho. I paid for Priority and they sent with cheapest one.
I would suggest a pair of nice tweasers. To scrape the old glue off. Alot more effective then a razor blade.
Zackhery said:
I got mine replaced. They did jew me out my shipping tho. I paid for Priority and they sent with cheapest one.
I would suggest a pair of nice tweasers. To scrape the old glue off. Alot more effective then a razor blade.
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Aside from that did it work okay for ya?
Fall of Enosis said:
Aside from that did it work okay for ya?
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Yes it works just fine.
Thanks for sharing it. I really appreciate it.
Ok so i also need to replace the screen and lcd . my question is what kind of glue did u use? i was under the impression that it had to be an adhesive glue. thanks for the advise
rlopezcomputers said:
Ok so i also need to replace the screen and lcd . my question is what kind of glue did u use? i was under the impression that it had to be an adhesive glue. thanks for the advise
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I just bought $4 all purpose apoxy from radio shack to glue the digitizer back in and lcd will just sit in it. Lcd is glued in to start with but just but doesn't need to be.
Sent from my MB865 using xda premium
Use a heat gun and warm up the glass first, then take it out. If you do it right, all of the adhesive will come out with it. DO NOT use glue, that is just plain crazy. Buy a roll of 2mm wide double sided adhesive (that is made specifically for replacing digitizers, etc) and use that instead (costs about $4-5). Replacing the digitizer on an Atrix 2 is a very simple job, just spend the extra couple of bucks to do it the right way.
I never said I did this professionally. this is just how I did it. it has worked for me and for others as well! but thanks for your input! I will update the OP with your tips!
Sent from my MB865 using xda premium
My Tab 2 7 had a swirling crack on the digitizer (touchscreen). Looked for a tutorial on how to replace it in vain. Saw the teardown at Tech Republic, but that's it. No mention anywhere that I could find about how to do it. Decided to bite the bullet and ventured to fit a new one. Successful. Wrote down a quick guide thinking it might help someone since I saw a bunch of tabs with smashed digitizers on Ebay. Some claim it's gorilla glass, which makes me kind of wonder why they shatter so readily. I know, gorilla glass only scratch-resistant, but still...
Samsung sticks the digitizer to the bezel-frame with a tough double-sided tape, similar to the kind Asus uses on its tabs. A tutorial for the Tab 2 10 shows the use of a putty knife to scrape the digitizer off its frame, which wouldn't work with the 7, as its bezel-frame almost totally covers the edge of the glass back side. On the other hand, inserting anything metal in between from the front would scuff it badly.
The LCD display was taped to the magnesium frame, but is separate from the touchscreen, which need not be removed when replacing the digitizer.
What you need to do is to follow the steps in the teardown referred to above. As Tech Republic correctly pointed out, the internal layout is quite neat, unlike some of the tabs I've had the chance to disassemble. There are many thin cables, however, and you need to proceed with patience.
You must remove all components, so that only the frame with the digitizer and LCD is left. Eventually, you'd have to employ some source of heat, be it a heat gun, a hair dryer or a heat lamp to soften or to some extent melt the adhesive of the digitizer. Leaving any electronic component in place and the heat might destroy it. You can use brute force to separate the digitizer from the frame, but you'd more likely than not damage the LCD in the process.
What I did was use a heat gun at ~500 F, held at about 1 to 2 inches from the edge of the digitizer, and went back and forth over it, one side at a time, for no more than 30 to 35 seconds. I used a blunt object to push the glass out at spots plainly visible as illustrated in the attached thumbs below, then slid a plastic tool with a flared end to pry it from the bezel along its edge. Be careful how you handle the frame, since it would get burning hot at this point. As I moved from one side to another, I wedged a guitar pick between the glass and the frame to prevent them from sticking back together. You might pulverize parts of the glass as you go along, but in general it flexes quite a bit and wouldn't shatter.
Once you get it out, you need to remove the residual tape on the frame. The digitizer I bought was lined with new tape so I didn't have use any extra adhesive. It doesn't bind as strongly as the original tape, but enough to hold everything in place.
Putting it back is just the reverse. I took the extra step of reassembling the whole thing first with just the digitizer hanging loose, plugged it in, turned the tab on to make sure it functioned correctly before bonding it to the frame.
Basically, the process is nothing new. However, just the fact that someone has done it might give confidence to other DIYers in the future. Feel free to ask if any questions.
http://www.techrepublic.com/photos/cracking-open-the-samsung-galaxy-tab-2-70/6360139?
Thanks im going to give it a go. Any walkthrough tips by anyone else appreciated
Replacing the digitizer on this device is among the easiest ive seen. With no heat or taking anything off except the back I fixed one with only an isesamo
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00AHTFNEM
This is the one I bought, for a reference. I'm just curious if anyone else has done it and what problems they ran into. I'm no stranger to electronics, so I'm not afraid to take it apart, I'm just worried that I'm going to end up doing something wrong.
For example, the glass and digitizer are fused together, right?
And do you go around the front or the sides with the heat gun? 750w or 1300w?
Here's a good DIY video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_70-W9JjVjg&feature=youtube_gdata_player
A hair dryer should suffice so I don't think you need such a powerful heat gun.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
wrathofnero said:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00AHTFNEM
This is the one I bought, for a reference. I'm just curious if anyone else has done it and what problems they ran into. I'm no stranger to electronics, so I'm not afraid to take it apart, I'm just worried that I'm going to end up doing something wrong.
For example, the glass and digitizer are fused together, right?
And do you go around the front or the sides with the heat gun? 750w or 1300w?
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I posted this thread a few days ago after replacing the digitizer myself. The video referred to by another member was for a phone, and personally I doubt a hairdryer would suffice for the job 'cause cell phones usually use light double-sided tape to hold the almost weightless glass. The tape on the Tab 2, on the other hand, is quite strong. You can use sheer force except there's no gap at the edge, front or back, and you might damage the LCD display in the process. I used a dryer for a few minutes and it did nothing to loosen the adhesive. Good luck.
That is an awesome tutorial. You're right about it giving confidence, as well as answering many of the questions I had. I guess I'm more concerned now over just various tips and tricks.
Is there any fine science to lining it up? How easily can it be fingerprinted and what would you use? Also, I've heard of WD-40 to remove the glue left over. What should I use if this one doesn't include any adhesive?
As you can see, I'm clearly a worrier. Got it honest.
wrathofnero said:
That is an awesome tutorial. You're right about it giving confidence, as well as answering many of the questions I had. I guess I'm more concerned now over just various tips and tricks.
Is there any fine science to lining it up? How easily can it be fingerprinted and what would you use? Also, I've heard of WD-40 to remove the glue left over. What should I use if this one doesn't include any adhesive?
As you can see, I'm clearly a worrier. Got it honest.
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Lining it up is a no-brainer since the glass fits snugly into the frame. The lcd is a non-issue since it is separated from the touchscreen. As far as finger prints,I use a 50/50 white vinegar/water solution. Be sure to wipe it off with a microfiber cloth while it's still wet. For left-over glue,I use either Goo-gone and 91% alcohol afterwards, or acetone. WD40 is fine though I am not sure it would not leave any residue after drying out. In case the new one has no adhesive, the better choice would be the outdoor double-sided tape for 5 lbs at Home Depot, or failing that, loctite outdoor epoxy though this one could get messy.
I like to clean my Note but don't know if the ingredient in it will eventually damage the quality of the glass or screen.
https://www.google.com/search?q=lys...=X&ei=ZhprVMePBuSQigLHroCAAg&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ#
LeoNote4 said:
I like to clean my Note but don't know if the ingredient in it will eventually damage the quality of the glass or screen.
https://www.google.com/search?q=lys...=X&ei=ZhprVMePBuSQigLHroCAAg&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ#
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I wouldn't worry bout it, but why don't you simply use a glass cleaner or those wipes for reading glasses
Coz they don't have antibac. Mobile phones carry e.coli or fecal matter. Just using the handrails, pushing elevator doors, shaking hands, holding cream mugs at Starbucks, it's our poor phones that had to collect all that virus
I have a film type screen protector and a new UAG case on mine.
To wipe off screen I just use a microfibre cloth and some rubbing alcohol which is 70% isopropyl alcohol and 30% water.
Works great , no reside, no damage and its cheap. I use it on my glasses too.
Will kill bacteria just as well as the alcohol handwash gel you can buy which is basically the same 70% alcohol..
Hope that helps.
LeoNote4 said:
Coz they don't have antibac. Mobile phones carry e.coli or fecal matter. Just using the handrails, pushing elevator doors, shaking hands, holding cream mugs at Starbucks, it's our poor phones that had to collect all that virus
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Alcohol is the prime ingredient in screen cleaners and is also a great anti-bacterial agent.
If you are worried about stuff it can't kill... wear gloves or a Haz-Mat suit.
You should absolutely under no account EVER clean ANY display screens with normal household cleaners. Harsh chemicals like ammonia, bleach, or for that matter even alcohol can severely damage the coatings on electronics displays, causing them to become foggy, cloudy, and scratched. I'm not all that familiar with the active ingredient in Lysol (benzalkonium chloride), but I personally wouldn't let it anywhere near my phone. There are countless cleaning sprays and wipes on the market that are formulated specifically for electronics displays, and I wouldn't use anything to clean any of mine unless it stated explicitly that it is made for displays. Even most eyeglass lens cleaners contain alcohol, so be very careful to read the ingredients and intended use! This goes not just for phones, but for computer monitors, televisions, laptops, basically any and all electronic displays.
If you're really worried about bacteria and want a disinfectant, there do exist several options that ARE made for displays, such as this:
http://www.monsterproducts.com/Monster_CleanTouch_for_iPad_iPhone_and_iPod?pin=5930
A little googling will turn up many more as well.
This guy....
Bacteria and fecal matter. Lol. Must be hard being OCD/germ phobic.
I'm all for being hygienic, but I don't see this as a real issue. I've never gotten sick from touching my own phone.
Back on topic, the screens do have a coating. So harsh chemicals could remove that making it less oleophobic.
And in rare circumstances you CAN cloud some screens, but that is mainly on plastic not glass.
LeoNote4 said:
I like to clean my Note but don't know if the ingredient in it will eventually damage the quality of the glass or screen.
https://www.google.com/search?q=lys...=X&ei=ZhprVMePBuSQigLHroCAAg&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ#
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Unfortunately, cant say for sure but I routinely use cavi-wipes and chlorox wipes on my phones (I am not just OCD, but work in a hospital...)
I do usually have a screen protector on my phone (cheapo tempered glass on the note right now)
I use these same wipes and have done it for years with no issue on the original gorilla glass that I had on the Sprint Galaxy Epic. I don't use them frequently but more as needed. Had the same phone for three years and the only screen damage I had was from dropping the phone without a case; the glass had some minor scratches.
OT; all the criticism of OLED screens burning out, failed pixels or burn-in never happened that I could tell. Aside from sunlight visibility and the scratches that only seemed visible when oil or debris got in them, the screen was pristine the day I traded it for the Note 4. I expect more from this screen in the next two years.
I've read that screen protectors defeat some of the advantages of OLED with increased density of view. Some of OLED's advantages are wrought by bringing images nearer to the surface than LCD screens, if I understood that well enough. Hence, for me, the case with raised bezel lip should provide adequate drop protection unless throwing phone to prove its ruggedness with case and screen protector or dropping it from a moving vehicle. I don't recommend trying either. Thankfully, I've only needed drop protection for trying to carry too many loose items at once or being butter fingers and try to catch a dropped phone only to increase its velocity or drag it on pavement trying to scoop it on a bounce. It happens occasionally; I've been fortunate but will keep it in a case.
For a Lysol wipe's disinfectant properties to work the surface has to be kept wet with the wipe's moisture for I think 60 seconds (may be longer). The instructions will be on the packaging. If you just wipe the phone there are no disinfectant properties using the Lysol wipe.
You have to be extremely careful with some of these cleaning wipes. I use to work on medical equipment and some of the devices that came back to the repair center had there housings weakened by various disinfecting agents.
For example many of these cleaning products have dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride which in small doses is fine but in larger concentrations it's not good.
I would find something labeled for electronic devices that is safe for plastics and metal. Don't assume that these products are safe for everything. Worst case call the company and ask.
http://www.saniscreenwipes.com/
http://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Wipes-Cell-Phone-Peppermint/dp/B003CJWIG0
http://www.amazon.com/Advantus-Right-PhoneKleen-Cleaning-REARR1303/dp/B000FNCYW4 (Noticed how this one has dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride)
LeoNote4 said:
Coz they don't have antibac. Mobile phones carry e.coli or fecal matter. Just using the handrails, pushing elevator doors, shaking hands, holding cream mugs at Starbucks, it's our poor phones that had to collect all that virus
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Your immune system will take care of all that. And it's just as well, because it needs the exercise to stay fit! You won't get sick from touching your phone, if that were possible, we'd all be dead by now.
iR¡[email protected]!* from Galaxy Note 4 via Tapatalk
Seems like all the "Reviews" are nothing more then install video's of people saying oh its so amazing. But if you dig deeper you will find issues that a proper review would of find easy. So lets review it.
Little about my self. I am and Engineer in the fiber optics industry. I wonk on the absolute faster detectors available. We use UV optical adhesives every day. So needless to say i know a thing or two on this topic.
The concept is great and when done right the best way to attach a screen protector. But this comes at a cost. Cheap out on anything and it will show. So lets look at this.
-Full cover. errrr not really Notch cut for the camera and sensors. Odd because optical adhesive you can go full over and have zero impact on those.
-9H Hardness. "Shakes head" No..Its not. They need to stop claiming this every company. Its not 9H.
-Beveled edges. This is a must. Ask anyone who has one that is not beveled how easy they chip.
-UV curing light is a good design and has plenty of LED's to cure the adhesive. "5w max" Honestly im not seeing those being close to 1w LED's. If people want i'll take apart the light but no heat sinking as far as i can tell. So im guessing 3v 60ma .5w each total max output 3w. And honestly 3w is fine. Its very thin and easy to cure.
Fixture is great and works very well. No complaints on that. Just watch a few videos and read the instructions and you will do fine. The Fixture is well thought out so hats off to engineers who did that.
The ugly. This is where things get bad. This is where you can see the corners that were cut and boy did they cut them.
-Dust removal sticker. Don't use them. Cheap sticker and will leave residue on the screen. Save your self some time and just put them in the trash.
-Cleaning cloth. Not optical quality. Again put it in the trash it will just put stuff on the display. Cheap fabric not a quality optical cleaning cloth.
-Alcohol wipe...Well the directions say that but the wipes included are Ethanol...Please tell me these are not medical grade. If so then they have some additives. Well again trash it and use some 95% or higher Isopropyl alcohol. Make sure no color or sent has been added. You want as pure as you can get.
-Absorption pads. Now i would love to say trash them. But you need them. Make sure you give them a good rub down to remove all the lose fibers on them. And give the long fibers that hang off after a little trim. You do not want one to get under the screen or at the edge.
-Dimples on the underside of the protector. You don't need these. They do nothing but put 4 contact points to your phones display. The adhesive will flow an even coat.
-The worlds cheapest UV adhesive...Guys its bad...Real bad. Give you an idea. In bulk the quality optical adhesive is expensive. Well you get what you pay for or in Whitestone's case you don't get what you do not pay for. I searched and i found the supplier for there adhesive. How cheap is it? Well its $1 per 30ml. Stuff we use is $30 per oz. or 29.9ml. Yup that explains everything. This is why they can give you so much and still keep that price point. But for this you want less but higher quality. Combine that with tubes that are not 100% air tight and you are begging for problems. Also keep in mine UV Adhesive's have a shelf life and exposure to oxygen age them faster.
Lots of people complain about the delamination. This is from bad UV adhesive. Keep in mind you have a bare glass surface you are attaching to a glass surface with an oleophobic coating. This coating does after the adhesion of the adhesive. So you really need the proper quality adhesive. The adhesive they use never fully cures. If you check out my video in the Deamination topic you can see even after curing then putting 200w of UV on it for an addition 20sec with a proper industrial UV curing station it never fully cures. Multiple kits i have tested they all do this. But its $1 per 30ml so what do you expect.
You will see pictures of the optical property's of the adhesive. It is my opinion that it is not optical grade. Also you will see a picture of the delamination.
Overall this is a 4-10. Held back by the extremely low quality UV adhesive. The most important part is the cheapest. This is why they cut the notch in the protector. Because it would affect the caners where a proper optical adhesive would have zero affect. I'm disappointed. This was hyped so much but no one really looked at it. It's a great concept held back by cut corners. The proper adhesive this would be a 8-10. This method with the proper optical grade adhesive could do a true full cover screen protector then it would be a 10/10. But i do not recommend this. Price is to high for the corners that were cut. The adhesive issue really needs to be addressed because i would take a few other protectors over this.
Message to Whitestone.
I tested Adhesives from 3 kits. Results were all the same. All the kits were ordered at different times as 2 were from Amazon and one was direct from you. I have identified this adhesive not long ago and this is typical for it. However if you want to play we only use the highest quality materials card then you can go ahead and send me a tube of it. It can be in the manufacturers tube or the tubes that come in the kits. I do not want another kit im only interested in testing this adhesive and i will give you one chance to test some prior and send it to me. I will then report my finding's on here and make a note of it here. If you would like to work together on finding a cost effective quality optical adhesive i have contacts with not only the distributes for these but also with the companies that make the highest quality optical grade UV adhesives in the industry. I do not want nothing in return i will work with you for free to fix this product so that future phones can benefit from it and i have the option to easily order a quality kit. I want a 100% coverage protector and working together this can be done. There is potential here and it is with the system developed for the install and that is what makes the product stand out. My work has a building in SoCal. I go out there a few times a year and i am more then willing to come visit your office why i am out there and we can talk.
Now i know i will get the "Mines perfect best ever" post. But those post mean nothing. You have not tested the adhesive. I have. You just have not had any issues with it yet and you may never have them. But i went ahead and i tested this. Same results every time and i know what adhesive they use now.
So, would you say this thing is a pass?
Thanks for the detailed review and focusing on everything, not JUST the adhesive.
I still got mine applied to my phone, and well.. it is there. The time it starts wearing off the edges, maybe I will apply the second spare one just because I already bought it. But yeah, a full, really full screen coverage one with perfect optical properties would be awesome to have!
felloffthetruck said:
So, would you say this thing is a pass?
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I won't advise anyone to buy or not to buy this. Thats for you to decide. I'll answer any questions you have thought. I will say that I will not use this for reasons I posted. I won't buy another one until changes are made at the minimum in there selection of adheasive.
Could you point me in the direction of a good adhesive that you would recommend? (That I can buy online)
irieblue said:
Could you point me in the direction of a good adhesive that you would recommend? (That I can buy online)
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Will post that when I finish testing the samples I have.
bignazpwns said:
-Full cover. errrr not really Notch cut for the camera and sensors. Odd because optical adhesive you can go full over and have zero impact on those.
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Me a bit nitpicking here, but...
Weird, the part of optical physics that I learned back ... long ago.. taught quite clearly that if there are any surfaces with different optical properties on each side, it will have an impact. And I'm pretty sure the adhesives do not match (optically) exactly with either glass it touches (let alone both). Whether those effects will be significant enough to be visible in the photos depends on the whole optical path (and sensor's properties), though.
Since none of the surfaces have proper coatings aimed for optical performance (more for anti fingerprint etc.), and especially the protector glass (the internal material, not the coatings) not designed for optics, I'd expect ever so slightly more lens flaring and similar effects. (If there would be a flash LED for the front camera, it could get really messy, but Note 9 seems to use the whole display for front side "flashing", which reduces the spot brightness near the camera lens compared to a LED flash.)
The adhesive filling the space between the phone's glass and protector's glass does make the effect much lesser than with a protector that sits a tiny bit above with a tiny air gap. So in that sense, with these liquid adhesive type protectors, I'd expect the effects to be indeed mostly ignorable. But not zero, per se.
For the other sensors than camera, the effect can be considered zero, since they are measuring mostly (more or less) spatial averages to begin with. A bit of fuzziness doesn't change their results. Hmm. though I don't know how the iris-camera works.
All that said, I'd still say to choose a protector that covers the lens area(s). A single scratch on the phone's glass over the lens can make a worse effect than a protector does.
Also, (me partially countering the point of having an effect): I have currently a really bad example of a protector myself; a normal cheap protector with a typical dot grid on bottom surface, a normal (non-smooth) adhesive even on the area of the front camera lens, not a perfect fit by shape, etc. That is, I can see the non-smooth stuff between the glass layers (when display is black, and on the sensor spots). Yet, the photos come out ok, so things can obviously be pretty darn crappy and still be ok for the front camera needs. Though, I haven't zoomed in or done comparative tests in more challenging lighting situations. (I will do better tests once other protectors arrive; I need to keep this one on for now, for its main task of protecting.)
Nice review, but the whitestone still beats having nothing on the phone. I did the ghetto "whitestone" on my Note 8 using a generic glass protector and LOCA glue bought on Amazon. Served its purpose and protected my phone when I dropped it on a gravel surface. Phone looked brand new when I replaced the glass with a whitestone version because the ghetto glue method was too time consuming to ensure no bubbles. I have installed 4 more whitestone glass screens on mine and others phone with no issues and would not hesitate to recommend it. The issues you bring up have merit, but do not deter the protective elements of the tempered glass screen. I would like a better glue solution as well. But until then, my whitestone paired with a quality case will have to do. So far it does just fine.
Bullitt3309 said:
Nice review, but the whitestone still beats having nothing on the phone. I did the ghetto "whitestone" on my Note 8 using a generic glass protector and LOCA glue bought on Amazon. Served its purpose and protected my phone when I dropped it on a gravel surface. Phone looked brand new when I replaced the glass with a whitestone version because the ghetto glue method was too time consuming to ensure no bubbles. I have installed 4 more whitestone glass screens on mine and others phone with no issues and would not hesitate to recommend it. The issues you bring up have merit, but do not deter the protective elements of the tempered glass screen. I would like a better glue solution as well. But until then, my whitestone paired with a quality case will have to do. So far it does just fine.
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I can't get the same protection from a $12 protector. So how does it beat those in terms of protection? It offers no more protection then any other on the market. Infact the Zag elite offers more protection for the same price. The thicker gel adheasive offers significantly more impact protection. Much harder to put on and remove air bubbles but in terms of protection this is vastly superior. Where zag went wrong is not telling people how soft the adhesive is so they push down on it as hard as they can to get a bubble out and it cracks. And then they had to gimp it with some unnecessary bezzles that cover a bit of the display
Bottom line is the Dome is $20 over priced. The adhesive is trash and the olophobic coating is the worst I have ever seen. No excuses for this on something that sells it's self as premium. It's not. It's the same quality as the $12 Alibaba's and personally I would get one of those. Warranty is nothing since you could still get one on Alibaba shippped for the price you will pay for the warranty replacement. And it uses the same trash adheasive.
When you buy "Loca" it's trash from bad batches that they sell on places like Amazon or Alibaba or to places like Whitestone at a heavy discount because it's defective. So you are already useing a defective product from the start. These are facts. I tested these and posted those info. It's trash they pay $1 per 30ml of those stuff. And they call it Loca because it's not an optical adheasive. It makes it sound fancy because they can't call it a UV optical adheasive. Because it's not optical. But it's "optical cured" so Loca.
Facts are facts. I proven this adheasive is trash and defective from multiple kits. I'll test any of it. Got any left I'll test that Whitestone can send me some I'll test that because I know it's trash and it's from batches that were not mixed right. Multiple people have committed on this issues that's why I started testing this and looking into it because what they had in the prictures we seen before. Hell I can tell you exactly what is wrong with it. However working with a supplier when we had that issue I signed a NDA as part of them telling us every detail about it. Because we needed to know why it did that, when it started, how to test for it, how it will be fixed etc.
Like I said. If you use it and like it that's great. No problems with it that's even better. Get a case drop it face down. On a hard surface so it only hits the case then protector is unsupported and you will have delamination. I did this as part of the big testing video I'm doing for this. 2 drops it started.
Also I'm willing to work with them. All my test data as well as some samples I'll send to them or take to then when I'm in California. I love there install method and it will be a home run when the corners that we're cut are fixed. They pay $1 per 30ml of adheasive I can get them a bulk order that ends up being $1.75 per 30ml if they buy bulk lots. That's optical grade I'll send them the contract info and the sales rep I know for there. Use that and it's fixed. I tested that adheasive on this also and it works just like it should. I really want them to improve it.
As of right now now on my desk I have 35 different uv optical adheasives and more on the way. One manufacturer is even making a custom adheasive to test for this application. This all started as a simple test it and see what's wrong with it but due to all the people asking it's gotten much bigger. I hope Whitestone reaches out to me and I can get them the test information I have so they can improve the product.
Hi, I have been following your findings and it is an interesting matter for me at least.
Anyway, I wanted to write an update about my using the Gear VR with the default Whitedome / adhesive installation.
Previously I mentioned I got the "bubbles / webbing" permanently at the very bottom part of the protector, on a central area right above the USB connector (about 10mm wide, 1mm tal), after having the Whitedome applied and using the GearVR on the next day. Now it has been a couple of weeks maybe, and the bubbles part is still there (size unchanged apparently).
What I want to add is, something a bit unexpected (for me) happened: I used the Gear VR again yesterday (several days after the Whitedome installation) for around one hour, and and after taking the phone off, there were MORE bubbles / webbing in a different area, almost horizontally oval in shape, around 1.5cm wide by 0.8cm high. It was positioned about 2cm ABOVE the early thin stripe of bubbles, completely separate from it (not a continuation). I was pissed off because THIS was on top of the screen and obstructiong the image, really annoying. As it was late I decided to just go to sleep and deal with it when I had some free time. But to my surprise it was COMPLETELY GONE this morning. The previous thin mark at the bottom remains. But I can see no trace whatsoever of the "new" affected region..
gamekill said:
Hi, I have been following your findings and it is an interesting matter for me at least.
Anyway, I wanted to write an update about my using the Gear VR with the default Whitedome / adhesive installation.
Previously I mentioned I got the "bubbles / webbing" permanently at the very bottom part of the protector, on a central area right above the USB connector (about 10mm wide, 1mm tal), after having the Whitedome applied and using the GearVR on the next day. Now it has been a couple of weeks maybe, and the bubbles part is still there (size unchanged apparently).
What I want to add is, something a bit unexpected (for me) happened: I used the Gear VR again yesterday (several days after the Whitedome installation) for around one hour, and and after taking the phone off, there were MORE bubbles / webbing in a different area, almost horizontally oval in shape, around 1.5cm wide by 0.8cm high. It was positioned about 2cm ABOVE the early thin stripe of bubbles, completely separate from it (not a continuation). I was pissed off because THIS was on top of the screen and obstructiong the image, really annoying. As it was late I decided to just go to sleep and deal with it when I had some free time. But to my surprise it was COMPLETELY GONE this morning. The previous thin mark at the bottom remains. But I can see no trace
whatsoever of the "new" affected region..
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That's delamination from defective uv adheasive. As in my video you can see it cures about 50% and then still leaves some wet uncureable adheasive behind and is in some cases acting as an indexing gel. The delamination is still there you will need a microscope to see but masked by that adheasive that's wet acting as an indexing gel.
I got a gear VR on the way. It's on loan from a user to test it with another adheasive. I'll test this and see how it holds up. Run the phone hot and do multiple install and removals then do a few battery drains why it's in the vr. Glad this is a work phone and not my personal phone.
I actually find the oleophobic coating of the whitestone to be very good.
Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
harlenm said:
I actually find the oleophobic coating of the whitestone to be very good.
Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
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Yeah same here.
sefrcoko said:
Yeah same here.
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Then it's more product inconsistency. Friend said his is holding up ok. I know mine had scraches in it after a few hours. And one of them out of the box had a burn in the coating as well as a deep scrach deeper then the olophobic.
Any product recommendation or where we can get the good loca glue?
I personally would be interested in a tube of high quality adhesive if anyone is able to source some. Perhaps the OP would be able to point us to a supplier?
bignazpwns said:
Then it's more product inconsistency. Friend said his is holding up ok. I know mine had scraches in it after a few hours. And one of them out of the box had a burn in the coating as well as a deep scrach deeper then the olophobic.
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Ouch that looks rough. Never had those issues on multiple protectors but inconsistency does happen of course with all products. If they don't provide adequate service or replacement though, well then that's a different issue
sefrcoko said:
Ouch that looks rough. Never had those issues on multiple protectors but inconsistency does happen of course with all products. If they don't provide adequate service or replacement though, well then that's a different issue
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I posted this before. I will say Whitestone sent out a replacement kit for it for free and we're very easy to deal with and gave me very fast responses. So the service is great even though people say it's bad my experience was great. I reached out to them on Facebook and not via website so maybe Facebook is the way to go. And I noted all that when I made that post.
I would do the same for the adhesive but I know they can send out 1,000 kits they will all have this issue because the Adheasive used is from defective batches that had issues with the mixing process. I mean it works...but you will never get a full cure and will have issues under the right conditions and those are relatively common. But some people may never experience this.
But all of them so far have had pretty bad olophobic coating's. One is like it had none at all. One had the coating burned "pic in the previous post" and 2 just meh. Nothing great. But that's fine because I use the leftover ceramic coating I used for my car on my screens since it's better and thicker so I usually get over a year and 1/2 before I see any decrease in preformance. But this Stull is around $400 for a small bottle for a car and after not much is left. But Walmart sells a few kits. One is a great kit and only $12. If people wanna know what kit I'll let you know. Around here only one a almao had this kit in stock. "gerogia" the rest had other brands.
I'm one of the 'lucky' ones who has had no problems whatsoever. Going on three months and still getting compliments on how nice my screen looks. It's like I don't have a screen protector on at all.
I'm completely dissapointed from Whitestone.
I have been using it for weeks and yesterday, (all of a sudden) the tempered glass started to have a small line in the left edge of the phone and it seems like it is kinda lifted.
Unfortunately, the company wont help me, because I didnt bought it from their authorised stores
https://ibb.co/9s7jcV7