Hi All
I wonder if anyone can help me identify a chip in my XDA/Aremis?
I got the phone for free as it was not charging. Obviously the guy had tried to fit it himself and broken an SMD chip leg off at the case. Optimistically, I spent a bit of time scraping the plastic off the case and trying to get a solder joint but no luck.
The chip itself has 4 legs, is around the size of the end of a ballpoint pen, located very close to the USB port and has the letters N87 printed on it.
I've searched this site and googled it, but had no joy. I'm hoping to buy a duff phone from fleabay and pinch the chip out of that, but if I fail, I'll need to get another chip or replace it with discretes if at all possible.
All replies gratefully received....
Steve
So my phone went for a quick swim a few days ago and the microphone seems to be the only thing that suffered any damage. From what I understand, it's a module that's soldered directly to the motherboard. I've seen modules that claim to be for the SIII online going for under a dollar.
Has anyone had any success in replacing their microphone module on these phones? I've been told that the module is "heat sensitive," making soldering impossible, but that seems counter intuitive to me, since to the best of my knowledge, the module is soldered to the board in the first place. If anyone could point me in the right direction, that would be splendid! Where to purchase parts, how to fix, where can I send it, etc.
Thanks.
NVM fixed. Bought a new board and replaced
A bit of the black part of the antenna that is circled in the picture kind of broke off when i was disassembling my phone. I think this is the thing that controls your phone signal. If it is, does anyone know if this will stop my signal completely and mean I have to buy a new antenna? I have no way of checking because I broke the cable connecting the antenna to the main board (don't ask) and the replacement doesn't arrive for a while. (The picture attached isn't the picture of my exact phone. It's from google images. But its the same model) The other 4 thingies are still in tact but the thing circled is broken off.
markboi13 said:
A bit of the black part of the antenna that is circled in the picture kind of broke off when i was disassembling my phone. I think this is the thing that controls your phone signal. If it is, does anyone know if this will stop my signal completely and mean I have to buy a new antenna? I have no way of checking because I broke the cable connecting the antenna to the main board (don't ask) and the replacement doesn't arrive for a while. (The picture attached isn't the picture of my exact phone. It's from google images. But its the same model) The other 4 thingies are still in tact but the thing circled is broken off.
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anyone?
markboi13 said:
anyone?
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This question cannot be answered without testing. Try it, if it works, the answer is no, if not, the answer is yes.
Unfortunately, waht exad said. Stuff like that is so unpredictable. Keep in mind that pretty much EVERYTHING on modern phones is tiny. There are entire chips and resistor packs that would be described as miniscule, but are critical.
If you have it apart already, and can find a replacement part and it's easy enough to replace, I'd hedge my bets and just replace it while I'm in there rather than putting it back together and learning the hard way that you have to go through it all again.
similar issue
Have the same issue.I accidently trapped gsm antenna wire between housing and dock connector. Its been bent in 4 or 5 points.searching for network gives error."error while searching for networks ”
Please suggest what can I do.
Replace the part.
Sent from my Evita using XDA Premium
Hello, I have a problem. Hoping someone has an answer. I have a Verizon HTC M8, yesterday I decided to disassemble the phone to just see what the insides look like, I didn't touch any other part, I tried to remove the top motherboard but I stopped because any further would damange the top board. Anyways, the GPS was working fine until I took the unit apart.
The problem: GPS location on Google map is at least a block off (tried different map apps, all are offset) and is facing the wrong direction. And GPS following is very very slow. Now I don't know if it has to do with an GPS antenna or what, maybe one of the prongs is not touching antenna, I've taken a photo of the phone from inside and I would like to know which area of the phone is exactly the GPS or maybe causing the problem . I've also attached a photo of the GPS problem, you can see in Google Maps navigation the pointer is wayy off the direction area. Please advise.
Question: What part may be causing the problem? (my guess is its the copper prongs from A-G).
Please help.
Thank you!
snanime said:
Hello, I have a problem. Hoping someone has an answer. I have a Verizon HTC M8, yesterday I decided to disassemble the phone to just see what the insides look like, I didn't touch any other part, I tried to remove the top motherboard but I stopped because any further would damange the top board. Anyways, the GPS was working fine until I took the unit apart.
The problem: GPS location on Google map is at least a block off (tried different map apps, all are offset) and is facing the wrong direction. And GPS following is very very slow. Now I don't know if it has to do with an GPS antenna or what, maybe one of the prongs is not touching antenna, I've taken a photo of the phone from inside and I would like to know which area of the phone is exactly the GPS or maybe causing the problem . I've also attached a photo of the GPS problem, you can see in Google Maps navigation the pointer is wayy off the direction area. Please advise.
Question: What part may be causing the problem? (my guess is its the copper prongs from A-G).
Please help.
Thank you!
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Click to collapse
In my opinion, this phone has kind of wonky GPS reception anyway. It's hard to tell exactly what's causing it, but my guess is that it has something to do with an unwanted contact, or the antenna itself, touching the metal casing directly. Also, You may have possibly loosened the connection of the GPS antenna when you played with the motherboard a little.
I'll try to find some better board schematics from the motherboard, maybe tomorrow when I have time. I haven't really been able to find some good diagrams on the actual phone internals itself. This phone is really difficult to take off and not too many people attempt it.
I would try to make sure that the internals are properly shielded when you put the case back on, and try to keep all of those contacts covered as much as possible when you throw the case back on. See if you get better GPS lock or if it fixes it all together.
Edit: Actually I changed my mind, I think all those contacts are supposed to contact the case to amplify the signal. Try to get all the contacts to touch the case as much as possible when you reassemble it. I think it's either the connection from a-g area, or on the bottom half k-n or even the q connector. Is your WiFi or NFC giving you any issues as well?
BadUsername said:
In my opinion, this phone has kind of wonky GPS reception anyway. It's hard to tell exactly what's causing it, but my guess is that it has something to do with an unwanted contact, or the antenna itself, touching the metal casing directly. Also, You may have possibly loosened the connection of the GPS antenna when you played with the motherboard a little.
I'll try to find some better board schematics from the motherboard, maybe tomorrow when I have time. I haven't really been able to find some good diagrams on the actual phone internals itself. This phone is really difficult to take off and not too many people attempt it.
I would try to make sure that the internals are properly shielded when you put the case back on, and try to keep all of those contacts covered as much as possible when you throw the case back on. See if you get better GPS lock or if it fixes it all together.
Edit: Actually I changed my mind, I think all those contacts are supposed to contact the case to amplify the signal. Try to get all the contacts to touch the case as much as possible when you reassemble it. I think it's either the connection from a-g area, or on the bottom half k-n or even the q connector. Is your WiFi or NFC giving you any issues as well?
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@ Badusername, Thank you for your reply . Yes everything else (wifi/nfc/bluetooth) works perfectly fine. The accelorometer seems to be fine as well. Only part I try to remove/touch was from A-G area motherboard but that was held with adhesive so I didn't touch it any further, I didn't touch any other part. My guess is it's A-G area but not sure exactly which one is the GPS antenna so I can try to adjust it (if possible).
I jave the exact same problem. Did you figure anything out yet?
Any Updates?
snanime said:
Hello, I have a problem. Hoping someone has an answer. I have a Verizon HTC M8, yesterday I decided to disassemble the phone to just see what the insides look like, I didn't touch any other part, I tried to remove the top motherboard but I stopped because any further would damange the top board. Anyways, the GPS was working fine until I took the unit apart.
The problem: GPS location on Google map is at least a block off (tried different map apps, all are offset) and is facing the wrong direction. And GPS following is very very slow. Now I don't know if it has to do with an GPS antenna or what, maybe one of the prongs is not touching antenna, I've taken a photo of the phone from inside and I would like to know which area of the phone is exactly the GPS or maybe causing the problem . I've also attached a photo of the GPS problem, you can see in Google Maps navigation the pointer is wayy off the direction area. Please advise.
Question: What part may be causing the problem? (my guess is its the copper prongs from A-G).
Please help.
Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same thing here had to pop the case to replace the volume button now gps will not get a fix, everything else working fine, any updates?
scotbott said:
Same thing here had to pop the case to replace the volume button now gps will not get a fix, everything else working fine, any updates?
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Did you bend any of the copper prongs so that they no longer touch their antenna? That's usually the problem.
dottat said:
Did you bend any of the copper prongs so that they no longer touch their antenna? That's usually the problem.
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Not sure which prongs you speak of. I reopened it and all antennae look connected and right but still no go...
---------- Post added at 10:53 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:57 AM ----------
dottat said:
Did you bend any of the copper prongs so that they no longer touch their antenna? That's usually the problem.
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Can't find a schematic anywhere that shows which antenna or prongs are gps related so I don't know which prong or antenna to mess with. I'm surprised there are no basic schematics anywhere...
scotbott said:
Not sure which prongs you speak of. I reopened it and all antennae look connected and right but still no go...
---------- Post added at 10:53 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:57 AM ----------
Can't find a schematic anywhere that shows which antenna or prongs are gps related so I don't know which prong or antenna to mess with. I'm surprised there are no basic schematics anywhere...
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I believe it's in the top board so make sure the ribbon cable is secured and not damaged. The metal prongs usually need to make contact with the case itself which often has the actual antenna stuck to it.
dottat said:
I believe it's in the top board so make sure the ribbon cable is secured and not damaged. The metal prongs usually need to make contact with the case itself which often has the actual antenna stuck to it.
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Thanks for your help so far. Checked all prongs and ribbons on top left and they all look normal. They all still have a spring to them so that theyll touch the contacts on the back of the outside case. I'm out of options without finding exactly which part are gps related....
snanime said:
Hello, I have a problem. Hoping someone has an answer. I have a Verizon HTC M8, yesterday I decided to disassemble the phone to just see what the insides look like, I didn't touch any other part, I tried to remove the top motherboard but I stopped because any further would damange the top board. Anyways, the GPS was working fine until I took the unit apart.
The problem: GPS location on Google map is at least a block off (tried different map apps, all are offset) and is facing the wrong direction. And GPS following is very very slow. Now I don't know if it has to do with an GPS antenna or what, maybe one of the prongs is not touching antenna, I've taken a photo of the phone from inside and I would like to know which area of the phone is exactly the GPS or maybe causing the problem . I've also attached a photo of the GPS problem, you can see in Google Maps navigation the pointer is wayy off the direction area. Please advise.
Question: What part may be causing the problem? (my guess is its the copper prongs from A-G).
Please help.
Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey bud. Have you figured out the problem? I have a solution for you. Check this post http://forum.xda-developers.com/htc-one-m8/general/gps-harware-fix-teardown-t3023999 .
Macropoutsis said:
Hey bud. Have you figured out the problem? I have a solution for you.
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Hi sorry for the late reply, fortunately I was able to replace it with HTC. I would still love to know the solution. Good to know for future reference
snanime said:
Hi sorry for the late reply, fortunately I was able to replace it with HTC. I would still love to know the solution. Good to know for future reference
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I edited my previous post. Check the link.
Macropoutsis said:
I edited my previous post. Check the link.
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Thank you Macropoutsis! Highly Appreciate it! :fingers-crossed::good:
snanime said:
Thank you Macropoutsis! Highly Appreciate it! :fingers-crossed::good:
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Your welcome. Glad to help.
Is there any way to purchase the gold colored motherboard clips/pins that make contact with the case for the GPS module. While attempting to fix mine, the clip broke. I was looking to purchase this clip to attempt to solder it back to the board.
niv24 said:
Is there any way to purchase the gold colored motherboard clips/pins that make contact with the case for the GPS module. While attempting to fix mine, the clip broke. I was looking to purchase this clip to attempt to solder it back to the board.
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I'm in the same boat. I don't think there's a way to replace the clip itself, only the board that has the clip on it. It shows up as a result for "HTC One M8 Motherboard Flex Cable". Here's the one I'm buying, it's around $60. You can see the little gold tab in the picture for it. Looking at that board's location on the phone, it looks like you'd probably have to remove the motherboard to get to it and replace it. Sounds fun. I had my phone apart for a relatively simple USB port replacement.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/271686259825
I know this is raising the thread from death but I too broke my tab off for the gps. I was able to fix it using a trimmed piece of thin sheet aluminum that I salvaged from an old Airport extreme. I trimmed it down to the size of the tab on the motherboard and used some conductive adhesive to stick it to the solder pad that the old copper tab was attached to. I then trimmed to down to length to touch the casing when the phone was reassembled. Its been working great now for a few months and its actually a much sturdier piece of metal. I can't say objectively since I don't have data to back it up but it feels like I get a faster GPS lock now.