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[Q] screen disaster - random tinting, solarization, turns upside down

sooo, yeah. my wife has the t959v. the screen cracked months ago, replaced it with one from ebay, works fine. a few weeks ago, it was involved in an accident and needed yet another screen replacement; ergo, back to ebay i go. installed the new screen yesterday, turn it on, all is well. for a bit.
now, the phone isn't currently, nor has it ever been rooted; pure stock tmo us 2.3.6. during boot, the splash screens and boot animation are gorgeous and perfect in appearance. the recovery menu is exactly as expected. android boots as you'd want it to, and then the display will do one of the following:
-work properly (rare)
-automatically turn off, capacitive buttons still lit, touchscreen unresponsive - turning it "off" darkens the cap buttons, turning it back on flashes the screen on for a half-second, then off, with cap buttons still lit (common)
-graphical corruption ("solarized" colors, completely wrong colors, pixel vomit in essence) (fairly common)
-screen tinting, blue most often, followed by pale yellow, then greenish, then red (almost constant)
-screen inversion - the display will show as rotated 180 degrees; grabbing a framecap in ddms shows it right way up. touches are also inverse; you have to touch where the onscreen element would be if it were displayed properly instead of where the element is; e.g. a button on lower-left will display in the upper right, upsidedown, but the screen registers the button when you touch the lower-left portion of the screen. (quasi common, equally infuriating and hilarious)
none of these problems will show up in a screenshot at all.
i can reliably reproduce any of the above by simply adjusting the screen brightness. this will, quite literally, cycle through every possible defective display mode randomly for a split-second before moving on to a different one as long as you move the brightness slider.
MOST of these issues are transient and are either fixed (temporarily) or replaced with a different listed issue if you lock/unlock the display. it feels like a hardware issue what with the solarizing and color horrors, but is acting like a software issue, considering that recovery and boot are perfect and have never displayed any of these issues. i tried gently flexing and stressing the case in areas that might be a weak connection point, but can't get it to bug out that way.
in no way am i suggesting that i didn't screw something royally in the reconstruction stage, but i tore down and rebuilt that phone 4 times with identical results, so i can guarantee it's not some loose ribbon connector or zif socket.
i beg of you, great minds of xda, what the balls did i muck up this time? any hope for a fix? are there different panels, drivers, something?
thanks in advance

OK, if your screenshots appear normal, then your phone appears to be working correctly!
or at least it thinks it is we can conclude that it isn't the rom, kernel, or anything that you can blame the phone for going screwy.
Try buying another screen??
The ribbon connector might be broken?

yeah, these were what i figured what my options were. it just seems odd that the boot process and recovery menus have error-free displays while only the full android os doesnt. oh well, i'll probably just have to make a stink about it on ebay or something.
thanks for reading

You might try a fresh flash before getting a new screen to see if it is indeed a hardware issue. If you want to try that follow the second link in my signature. You will not need to flash bootloaders since you are currently on KJ6.

lumin30 said:
You might try a fresh flash before getting a new screen to see if it is indeed a hardware issue. If you want to try that follow the second link in my signature. You will not need to flash bootloaders since you are currently on KJ6.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hell, warranty's void at this point anyway, right? may as well thanks much!

welp, all went well, screen was perfect through the whole heimdall/recovery process, but the problems still exist in the os c'est la vie. at least my wife's phone is finally rooted, i suppose. thanks anyway!

Have you tried opening it back up and reconnecting?

yup, 4 times, but i guess one more wont hurt
[edit]
it definitely seems to be related (if not related, exacerbated by) changes to screen brightness. turning off autobrightness has helped minimize the issue, but it still presents itself semi-often during screen-off/on events. obviously nothing useful in logcat.

zero01101 said:
it definitely seems to be related (if not related, exacerbated by) changes to screen brightness. turning off autobrightness has helped minimize the issue, but it still presents itself semi-often during screen-off/on events. obviously nothing useful in logcat.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's interesting and could very well be a hardware problem with the screen. You wouldn't see that in recovery as the OS isn't loaded to mess with the brightness in that mode.
Does it do it on-demand if you mess with the brightness slider?

stephen_w said:
Does it do it on-demand if you mess with the brightness slider?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you better believe it does. rapid fire cycles through every color until it can't take it anymore and turns off. if i take/refresh a screenshot through ddms and poke blindly at the screen at that point, it'll still take input which is a curious, difficult game to say the least.

zero01101 said:
you better believe it does. rapid fire cycles through every color until it can't take it anymore and turns off. if i take/refresh a screenshot through ddms and poke blindly at the screen at that point, it'll still take input which is a curious, difficult game to say the least.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's that Pink Floyd screen. You're supposed to drop acid & watch the wall when that's going on. LOL j/j
Given that you're on a fresh ROM & the problem persists, I'm leaning toward a hardware issue man. Sorry.

stephen_w said:
It's that Pink Floyd screen. You're supposed to drop acid & watch the wall when that's going on. LOL j/j
Given that you're on a fresh ROM & the problem persists, I'm leaning toward a hardware issue man. Sorry.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
as fun as that sounds, unfortunately i bet i'll end up just getting my wife a used phone on ebay or somewhere similar and using this one as a development monkey. i was assuming that it wasn't something i could fix but hoping otherwise... yeah, that worked out

I just started having this problem. It wasn't too bad at first, just the color changes, but then it started not showing a screen at all. Changed to three different roms, even back to the stock non-rooted KJ6 and gave up. Keeping it on a steady brightness is the only way to minimize the color changing. I thought your thread had a solution but...
I may try opening it up and fixing the ribbon. But otherwise I'll keep using it as long as I can tolerate it until an S3 or a new Nexus.

kristoper said:
I just started having this problem. It wasn't too bad at first, just the color changes, but then it started not showing a screen at all. Changed to three different roms, even back to the stock non-rooted KJ6 and gave up. Keeping it on a steady brightness is the only way to minimize the color changing. I thought your thread had a solution but...
I may try opening it up and fixing the ribbon. But otherwise I'll keep using it as long as I can tolerate it until an S3 or a new Nexus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nawp, nothing even close to a solution here i did end up buying my wife a whole new replacement phone and turned the broken one into my api10 development device. for what it's worth, yeah, autobrightness off does help a bit for when the phone is actively displaying content, but after you put it to sleep/screen off and try to turn it back on, it's a crapshoot. for a few horrifying hours, the screen was upsidedown even in recovery/boot animation and would NOT flip back to right-side-up until i ran the battery completely flat.
is no fun, 'tis truth. sorry for your troubles.

[Q] G2X screen not visible

Afternoon all. I know the title might seem like a BSOD post but my situation is different. I've searched but can't come up with anything.
When I turn my phone on, it completes the boot but the screen never appears. How do I know it's on? Three things, the ROM I'm using, Eagle'sBlood I think, has an engine revving theme instead of standard Android chime. Second,the menu, home, back space and search buttons on the G2X body illuminate. Lastly, if I swipe in the area where I think the unlock icon should be, the phone unlocks. If I hold down the power button and wait for the shutdown notice, I can guess the 'Do You want to shut down' and 'confirm shut down' icons and the phone turns off.
I've tried removing the battery, SD card, sim card and rebooting in each variation but with no luck. The phone has been rooted for over a year and so I tried booting into CWM (powerbutton, down volume). I think I'm getting into CWM fully but without the ability to see the screen I can't navigate.
This started happening yesterday. I was listen to Pandora and using a GPS app to track my run. The battery died during. I plugged it in for several hours but haven't seen the screen display since.
Any suggestions? If this is a hardware issue I'll get a new phone but without being able to see the screen, I'm not sure how to diagnose the problem. Other than rooting and changing the ROM, the phone is stock. The issue I had before this is the battery icon doesn't display. It just shows a battery outline with a ?-mark inside. The battery level only shows when the phone is charging and powered off.
Your help is greatly appreciated.
G2X - LG P999DW
Rooted
ROM: Eagles Blood (unsure of version)
maurice

Really sounds like a dead lcd or maybe just the backlights. I don't really know how the backlight works on this phone but typically if there is video but no light you can put a flashlight onto the screen and barely make out the display around the flashlight. Either way it sounds like hardware.

Twitch - Thanks for the reply. I'm not 100% sure what you mean by backlights though. When the phone is on and the screen is not asleep I see lights around the edges but the screen itself is black. For my own knowledge is LCD and 'digitizer' synonymous? I saw another thread describing how to replace the digitizer for $60-75.
I'll try checking it with a flashlight when I get home.
TwitchyEye said:
Really sounds like a dead lcd or maybe just the backlights. I don't really know how the backlight works on this phone but typically if there is video but no light you can put a flashlight onto the screen and barely make out the display around the flashlight. Either way it sounds like hardware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know there is an opinion thing but what is a good upgrade from the G2x for a non-hardcore user? I rooted and changed the ROM b/c you guys made it so easy to do, not b/c I was looking for the phone to do more than it already does. Up until this, and the battery display issue, and a wifi issue I forgot to mention, I've been happy with the G2x but there is no reason to spend $100+ repairing a 2+ year old phone that I pickup used off CList in Q1, 2012 if I can find something better on the used market for $200
maurice

Yeah I'm not too sure how these phones are set up, I have more experience with lcd monitors and such. But I think it is all in one piece on phones.
If you're looking to upgrade pretty much anything that came after the g2x likely has a lot more to offer in development. Good thing about this phone is everything is an upgrade. I have a samsung galaxy s 4g that's nearly 3 years old and single core but it runs 4.3 like a boss! Aside from GPS...

Flashlight didn't show any screen images. I think the next step is just trying to guess my way into debug mode and connect via uSB to my laptop and retrieve data before dumping the phone or trying to replace the lcd/digitizer. I saw an app mentioned in another post that should allow me to mirror my phones screen on a laptop. We'll see.
TwitchyEye said:
Yeah I'm not too sure how these phones are set up, I have more experience with lcd monitors and such. But I think it is all in one piece on phones.
If you're looking to upgrade pretty much anything that came after the g2x likely has a lot more to offer in development. Good thing about this phone is everything is an upgrade. I have a samsung galaxy s 4g that's nearly 3 years old and single core but it runs 4.3 like a boss! Aside from GPS...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks again. Anyone else had this issue?

last chance
Last chance in case anyone has any great ideas. I'll be ordering a new LCD and digitizer (probably don't need both) but would prefer not to spend the coin if that isn't my problem. all suggestions welcome

Hmmm, this an odd and aggravating problem you have here lol. I've ran two versions of eaglesblood, their CM7 version on 2.3.4 and their ICS AOSP version on 4.0.4 and have never heard an engine revving in any boot animation so I'm not sure what rom you're running either. Have you tried the hard reboot? While the phone is on at the home screen (if you think you're there I guess) hold the power button and the volumeUP button and the phone will reboot. I've read on here from a more experienced user before that doing this clears or does something to the caches that makes for a more complete reboot or "reset" of the phone's condition. Try that and see what happens. The only other option I would try to take is to flash a new rom and before doing so doing a COMPLETE wipe (to include format /system) and full instillation of a new rom, gapps and kernel. Can you see any images if you boot into CWM when shining a light on the phone's screen?

Maybe I'm wrong about the ROM. The flash screen shows the android graphic in electric blue and a comet type animation zooms around. During the zooming, the sound is an engine revving. I was using the ROM for 2-3 months before this issue popped up so I doubt it is the cause just wanted to give those more knowledgeable than myself as much info as possible
Pain-N-Panic said:
Can you see any images if you boot into CWM when shining a light on the phone's screen?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's my real problem, I can' t see anything! With the phone on, when I hit the power button and unlock the screen (guessing), the only illumination is the menu, home, back space and search buttons on the G2X body. I can tell from the haptic feedback once the phone is unlocked and I can occasionally guess the proper location to shutdown.
I tried the hard restart (Power, Up) but same result. I've downloaded an app called MobileGo for the computer that displays the phone screen but I can't get USB debugging turned on.
I have noticed another odd issue. With the phone turned on and the SIM card installed, when I call myself from a LAN line it goes straight to vmail. I know the SIM is good b/c I've been using an old nokia candy bar phone with the same SIM while troubleshooting. When re-inserting a SIM card, is there anything the user needs to do for the phone to recognize the SIM? Just wondering if this 'direct to vmail' is another sign of ............something.
Thanks

Sometimes when I take out the sim card my apn gets messed up. Ideally you'd just go into settings and load default apn and it'll work again.

But calling should work.
Seems like a busted screen from everything being described here.
Try connecting to a tv using hdmi... maybe the ROM would allow it to display. Worth a shot.
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda app-developers app

also if you could get airdroid installed on tthe phone you might be able to do something with that. Cool little app that lets you control the phone through your PC using the same wifi network.
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium

It's alive!!
My phone is alive, or at least it was.
I followed the directions on the youtube video I found to take the G2X apart and the first thing I noticed was the corrosion on LCD connector. I'd already purchased the LCD so instead of cleaning the old we just replaced it. The new screen worked, unfortunately I couldn't get a signal so we took it apart again to clean off corrosion on all the connectors. I'll let it sit for a few days to make sure everything is dry.
Don't be a fool like me, if you're going to do anything with your phone that might cause it to get wet, especially sweat, put it in a baggie or something. I'll post a follow-up if the thorough cleaning does any good.

I'm pulling for ya man, best of luck!

It works!!
The G2X is up and running again! :good:
Pain-N-Panic said:
I'm pulling for ya man, best of luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For anyone else that runs across this thread, unless the digitizer or LCD is physically damaged I'd disassemble the phone and check for corrosion before buying new parts. I used the new LCD but that b/c I'm not going through the trouble of returning a $16 item.
Wi-fi still doesn't seem to be working, which is odd. Wi-fi stopped working two months ago, it doesn't even show available networks, but worked for a few minutes when I originally replaced the LCD last weekend. Both antennae are connected but oh well. if I had to choose network vs wi-fi connectivity, I'll take network!
Thanks again for all the help
:good:

[Q] Do I Need A New LCD?

Hello.
My wife's T-Mo Sensation 4G started having screen troubles a couple of weeks ago. The screen basically wouldn't turn on, and if you unseated the battery and stuck it back in, you'd see backlight bleed, particularly in the lower left corner, before even turning it on. After some fiddling, the screen sort of came back, first with some vertical banding, and then more normally. Sometimes it looks blotchy, and it almost always flickers, even if auto-brightness is off and set to high. It varies between looking washed out and overly-contrasty. At least once it went black looking like a blob was migrating across the screen.
It went out again last night and is sort of back now, but with the same set of problems. I disassembled and re-seated the LCD cable on the motherboard, but still the same.
Does this sound like an LCD/backlight problem, or something else? If it is likely the LCD, I'd buy a preassembled digitizer/LCD and replace it. If it sounds like something in the system, I'd probably just get her a new phone.
Also, if it is the LCD, anyone recommend a good reseller? RepairsUniverse? Another? Thanks

ddi you try this method?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1239238

rzr86 said:
ddi you try this method?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1239238
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fiddled with that thing once, but no, not really. I'll see if I can't rule that out or in. Thanks.
Odd, though, that I never have that problem with my Amaze, even with the back off completely.

JimDandy68 said:
Fiddled with that thing once, but no, not really. I'll see if I can't rule that out or in. Thanks.
Odd, though, that I never have that problem with my Amaze, even with the back off completely.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also, note that I didn't say anything about screen unresponsiveness. All problems seem to be with the actual display (LCD) and/or backlight, not the digitizer.
I'll also try the discharge process, though.
EDIT: I'm seeing now that there's a distinct, permanent blotch extending most of the way across the middle of the screen and I still see faint vertical banding, too. This is after adjusting the grounding contact.
I guess I'm leaning toward it's a bad LCD, but still looking for feedback before I plop down the money and try that fix.

Any suggestions for LCD/digitizer supplier?
Sent from my HTC_Amaze_4G using xda app-developers app

[Q] I Screwed Something Up

A friend of mine had a Galaxy S3 Amber with a broken (and blank) screen and wanted her data from it's internal memory that is locked and not in debugged mode. I did a lot of research and found the best, most efficient way was to do a motherboard swap with another gs3. I had a Galaxy S3 Blue. I watched a couple of videos and it seemed rather easy. I gathered the proper tools and was EXTREMELY careful not to break or rip anything (and to my knowledge i did not). When i put her motherboard from the amber one into the blue one and the screen would not come on. My first thoughts were it must be her motherboard that went bad. Well when i went to put my blue gs3 back together (again being very careful this entire time) I'm now having the same issue as she was. Black screen, no back light. The bottom lights DO come on and i feel it vibrate when i get a message. There was also no power on chime...
I know its hard to tell with out looking but any ideas on what could be wrong or what i might have screwed up? i checked all the connections and everything looks perfect. Nothing is bent or connected wrong and I didn't force or break anything.
update: so i found that the touch part of it still works fine. i can hear the ripple unlock as well as all the other sounds and such when i touch around and i can here it opening apps. the only issue lies in the screen itself being blank with no back light what so ever,

First of all remove the battery and attempt to power on, then leave without battery for 1 min, I know this sounds silly but it worked on an old iPhone 3G so anythings worth a shot.
If that doesn't work go back into the S3 and make sure all the data clips are firmly in place and locked down but not twisted in anyway. Also make sure their is no moisture or dust on the ribbons. You may not realise it but even the smallest imperfection with this can cause massive issues down the line.
If all else fails her phone may have broke your screen, I don't know how but it is a possibility
Hope I could help and good luck

TechMinerUK said:
First of all remove the battery and attempt to power on, then leave without battery for 1 min, I know this sounds silly but it worked on an old iPhone 3G so anythings worth a shot.
If that doesn't work go back into the S3 and make sure all the data clips are firmly in place and locked down but not twisted in anyway. Also make sure their is no moisture or dust on the ribbons. You may not realise it but even the smallest imperfection with this can cause massive issues down the line.
If all else fails her phone may have broke your screen, I don't know how but it is a possibility
Hope I could help and good luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so i took it apart again today to double check and clean everything and under inspection i noticed a teeny tiny slit on the edge of the lower, bigger ribbon. i know the smallest bit could be horrid. Any fix and would that cause just the screen to not show? i don't know if that is the led connection but i think it may be.

amshook said:
so i took it apart again today to double check and clean everything and under inspection i noticed a teeny tiny slit on the edge of the lower, bigger ribbon. i know the smallest bit could be horrid. Any fix and would that cause just the screen to not show? i don't know if that is the led connection but i think it may be.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If theirs a slit I'm affraid that could be it for the screen, like I said even the smallest imperfection can cause massive issues. The slit is probably in the one of the data sections of the ribbon cable which is why data for the screen isn't being carried.
For the fix I don't think their is one unless you can fit a new ribbon on to yout S3's screen
Sorry about the screen

So I took it all apart again. Cleaned ever little thing I could and now it works again. ?

amshook said:
So I took it all apart again. Cleaned ever little thing I could and now it works again. ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Excellent, must have just had some dust or gunk on the cable
Glad you got it working again:victory:

TechMinerUK said:
Excellent, must have just had some dust or gunk on the cable
Glad you got it working again:victory:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As am I. Thanks alot for helping. I appreciate it. id buy you a beer if I could lol.

amshook said:
As am I. Thanks alot for helping. I appreciate it. id buy you a beer if I could lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem, thats what XDA is here for:laugh:

Dropped my P900! Blackout!

I just dropped my P900 and it went completely dark. :crying: There's no mark, not a crack, nothing, but the display is completely dark. The touch buttons on each side of the home button lights up, but the display does not.
Any advice? Or it is Samsung support next?

May the ribbon for the display is disconnected from the circuit board.

poetryrocksalot said:
May the ribbon for the display is disconnected from the circuit board.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, maybe I should open it myself and have a look. Are there any warranty seals that I will break if I pry it open? I have all the tools necessary, but are there any guides for opening the P900? I wouldn't want to break anything...

bluebirch said:
Yeah, maybe I should open it myself and have a look. Are there any warranty seals that I will break if I pry it open? I have all the tools necessary, but are there any guides for opening the P900? I wouldn't want to break anything...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a video on replacing the battery but it helped me when I re-soldered the battery connection on mine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeSG0hHpAG8
I've opened mine a few times and haven't noticed any specific seals but mine was refurbished to start with.
Also I have the proper tools but found a guitar pick was easier to use personally on this tablet.
Starting at the power port to remove the back made it a lot easier for me, its pretty hard to get anything between the back cover and the tablet in other areas.

poetryrocksalot said:
May the ribbon for the display is disconnected from the circuit board.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This was indeed the problem! The connector has some kind of snap lock that had come loose. So easily fixed. Thanks for encouraging me to try to fix it myself. :good:

Glad I helped!

Sorry to hijack your thread but figured my problem might be related.
About 2 weeks ago I charged my tablet and stored it away. The other day I tried to use it and it wouldn't turn on. I tried to charge it but that didn't work either as there isn't even charging activity on the screen. I ordered a replacement battery thinking it might be that, but I was wrong. I still can't make it turn on. Any ideas what it can be? Thanks

bluebirch said:
This was indeed the problem! The connector has some kind of snap lock that had come loose. So easily fixed. Thanks for encouraging me to try to fix it myself. :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had a similar experience. 3 weeks ago the 1x my SM P-900 is out of its protective case, it falls 2.5 ft off a table. Hits the floor. No visible cracks or breaks. I could hear hear it operating but the screen was black. Took 3 weeks to talk myself up to it but I pried off the back & used a magnifier glass to c.a.r.e.f.u.l.l.y check every ribbon connect. 1 connector's pins were very slightly off alignment. Couldnt find anything else. Put it back together...Yes! Screen works. All seems good. Took the back off again & securely taped over every ribbon connect I could find. Long time intermittent screen flicker issue (when battery was below 40%) also seems to be gone. That has been the best, eye squintin', back hunchin', shallow breathin', micro-screw wrangling, time investment my non-hardware tech self has ever spent. Wooo!