My battery has gone to hell. After getting it down to 5% one day, it just would not hold a charge long. Then I got it down to 10% a week later, and it really got bad. Life is about 1/3 what it used to be. I also have some dust and even small hairs or flecks in the screen.
So...I ordered a new advance replacement unit from T-Mobile, and it just arrived. Simple enough? Well, I have the memory upgrade in mine, so I need to do some component swapping. What's the best way to go about this? What parts can be disconnected easily (or more importantly, reconnected)? Where is the damn battery (didn't see it in the disassembly photos on the site)?
Hi,
Carlos said:
So...I ordered a new advance replacement unit from T-Mobile, and it just arrived. Simple enough? Well, I have the memory upgrade in mine, so I need to do some component swapping. What's the best way to go about this? What parts can be disconnected easily (or more importantly, reconnected)? Where is the damn battery (didn't see it in the disassembly photos on the site)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please specify 'component swapping' in more detail... Are you actually thinking about swapping the memory upgrade??? You do know that that would mean desoldering the 2 big memory chips on both boards, cleaning them and the boards, and soldering them back... How good are you at smd soldering??? We haven't dared doing that, yet... (some pics of upgrading memory of an iPaq are available at http://www.linearlogix.com/ipaq/upgradereview.html
There are commercial services doing the upgrade (32 -> 64 mb), if I were you I'd contact one of those.
Other than that, we're currently swapping lcd screens, touchpanels, mainboards from 3 broken units to create 2 working units and 1 very broken one. So, what do you need to know exactly?
BTW, the battery is stuck on the inside of the back cover.
XDA developer bigmac (taking pictures of the open units right now...)
No, no, I can solder normal stuff, but not that. I mean, I assume what I need to do is keep my own motherboard. I'd like the screen, case, and battery from the new unit. On the radio section, I suppose it doesn't matter either way. So I incorrectly said "component" when what I really meant was "board," and desired advice on doing that.
The hazards of posting in the middle of the night after too much work.
Carlos said:
No, no, I can solder normal stuff, but not that. I mean, I assume what I need to do is keep my own motherboard. I'd like the screen, case, and battery from the new unit. On the radio section, I suppose it doesn't matter either way. So I incorrectly said "component" when what I really meant was "board," and desired advice on doing that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, so you want to use the screen/touchpanel/backlight assembly from the new one (smart move, not taking that apart; besides the fact that it's glued together and you need to separate it on the correct separation, that also leaves the risk of forgetting the correct orientation of the glass panel with little dots on it, used to distribute the backlight evently onto the lcd; and, there are slightly different assemblies out there which need slightly different panels...). You should keep all boards from the old unit (old mainboard including old radio unit, use the new screen/touchpanel/backlight assemly, and the new case (which includes the new battery).
You could consider swapping IMEI numbers on the units... Although _shops_ never register the numbers when they give out units, service departments might. You know where to find the tool to do that...
The screwing around of the parts should not take more than half an hour if it's the first time you take apart this unit (but have taken apart small electronics before) and less if you've done it before.
Beware of the really thin clear plastic rings used under the screws to screw down the display...
We won't be publishing a very detailed 'how to swap your screen' instruction any time soon but do have some raw unedited pictures of the operation. I'll see if we can get them online any time soon.
Have fun,
XDA developer bigmac
I ended up doing the change and ran into a snag--the plastic pin that sticks out of the top power button was loose or broken (probably happened in one of the many drops the unit has experienced). When I opened the case, I lost that. Had to send it to PPC Techs to have them solder in a new power switch.
Other than that, disassembly is pretty easy and straightforward. You mentioned you won't publish a how-to...is that because of not wanting to have it on the site, or that nobody wants to write one? If the latter, I'd be happy to write it up and include my detailed pics.
If you want to make a detailed howto on how to open and close the unit, and how to exchange certain parts, we will gladly put it on!
Do make sure to stress that people need a certain level of experience or be willing to risk losing the device though...
Related
Has anyone had any success fixing the hardware on these units? As I have mentioned elsewhere on these boards, I dropped mine and now two things have happened: Firstly having successfully upgraded the ROM/firmware to XDA, the touch screen has stopped working almost completely. Occasionally it does respond to the touch, and the bits which respond are uniform but aren't the bits where you have touched!
Secondly some vertical lines have started to appear to the extreme right 2-3mm of the screen, indicating that there is some type of chip at the edge of the screen??? (someone suggested the digitiser but when I tried to ask a question about this, no one seemed to know what or where a digitiser was) In addition, when I press on the casing at where the lines emanate, the lines get worse.
I took the back off and found that it does seem very difficult indeed to get at the screen to replace it. Secondly, there are some difficult-to-identify bits floating around inside it (they may be just retaining pieces for the lower left hand case screw which is missing)
As there has suddenly appeared a job lot of 100 of these (obsolete?) screens floating around New York I was wondering whether it was in practice possible to replace one or is the amount of work involved cost-prohibitive?
It would be kinda nice to get this unit operational again (especially now that I have successfully loaded your ROM and unlocked it) if this could be done at not too great a cost.
The digitiser is also known as the glasstop and it's the pressure sensitive cover over the top of the LCD - it is a seperate unit although attached firmly to the LCD it can be replaced.
Try www.ppctechs.com for a price? It's farly easy to remove the screen if you want to do it yourself - I've seen a few guides on the internet.
Richard.
p.s how much / where was the job lot of screens?
china
They seem to be originating in China though I had a disastrous time getting hold of some. I got two. not sure if they are the sony originals but will try to install and report back if I can figure out how to get one in.
Where did you see the instructions on taking this thing apart?
If anyone out there manages to drop, break, crack or otherwise completely screw up their tablet, please get in touch with me. I don't want one that's "bricked" by software, I want a physically DEAD unit.
I would like to do a complete teardown of the hardware, and at this point can't afford to just buy another table to tear apart. (And who would want to do that to a perfectly good, running unit?) Isuppli has a teardown for the Galaxy Tab, but I don't think it's remotely close to our hardware since it's based on Snapdragon and not Tegra.
I want one that is beyond repair for the greater good of accessories. We are making a lot of speculations about what the hardware can and can't do. I have a feeling that there are ways to accomplish some of the things we would like to see.
bnovak said:
If anyone out there manages to drop, break, crack or otherwise completely screw up their tablet, please get in touch with me. I don't want one that's "bricked" by software, I want a physically DEAD unit.
I would like to do a complete teardown of the hardware, and at this point can't afford to just buy another table to tear apart. (And who would want to do that to a perfectly good, running unit?) Isuppli has a teardown for the Galaxy Tab, but I don't think it's remotely close to our hardware since it's based on Snapdragon and not Tegra.
I want one that is beyond repair for the greater good of accessories. We are making a lot of speculations about what the hardware can and can't do. I have a feeling that there are ways to accomplish some of the things we would like to see.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here is one that's already been done:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=842354&highlight=breakdown+pictures
That's not exactly a "teardown" writeup. More of a "I took the back off and this is what I saw"
highlights that are missing.....
There is no trace routing.
There is no detail on the ancillary chips on the board.
There is no BOM, let alone any part numbers (other than the LCD)
The OP says "there's nothing interesting on the backside of the board" - Yeah, except there's at least 8 chunks of silicon on there, not including the 3 pin linear regulator.
There is space on the backside of the board for more memory, but the OP didn't even put the part numbers of the memory from the front side.
The only technical detail in that thread is what the LCD panel # is.
Sorry, I'm not trying to flame the person who did the original post, but teardowns need to be detailed and accurate or they aren't worth doing.
here's a good example of the documentation of a decent teardown
Any luck
may be a little to soon to ask but have you had any luck yet? id like to get my hands on just the shell of one so i can make a negative mold> dont want to risk ruining my tablet. this thing is goung to look sweet in my dash.
Subscribed.
I would love to see a teardown of the gTablet. I might also be interested in said broken tablet once the teardown is finished.
I broke my tablet this weekend trying to put a heat sink on the processor. Now it won't turn on. I haven't given up on it yet, I just haven't had time to debug it further. If I can't get it working again, i was hoping to get together with someone who dropped it and broke their screen. Otherwise the large battery could always be useful for other projects.
But, it also means I have taken mine apart and will do so again. I can take some high res (18MP) pictures of everything if you want. I took some while I was doing the heat sink, but I was only concerned about keeping that in focus.
Out of curiosity why were you trying to put a heat sink the processor?
skotter said:
Out of curiosity why were you trying to put a heat sink the processor?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol i was wondering the same thing...dont fix it if it aint broke right?
I search and don't see anyone else complaining...
But my P500h is new and the battery is tight and I'm continuing to have "adventure" I don't want to have when removing it.
Originally I tried a thin blade screwdriver in the holes to left and right of battery to pry the battery up. But plastic was getting chewed and at one point I had a SPARK ! LOL.
So I wrapped electrical tape around battery to help pull it out but it threatens to break the tape with the force needed.
So now I use my screwdriver carefully just under the SDCard and it works but I worry about slipping and messing something up.
So am I alone with this problem ? Any good way to "grease" the battery, but not too much ?
Thanks !
No problem as such. I press hard with my nail near sdcard (bottom) downword I see there's a slit on battery at that place. Press down and pull up.
Sent from my LG-P500 using XDA Premium App
4silvertooth said:
No problem as such. I press hard with my nail near sdcard (bottom) downword I see there's a slit on battery at that place. Press down and pull up.
Sent from my LG-P500 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks 4silvertooth; I seem to recognise your username.
My SDCard is at the top to left of the camera when looking from the back with Android buttons down and headphone jack up.
I don't see any slits on the battery, just a tiny ledge at the top that I guess my screwdriver catches on. But sooner or later I will wear that off.
I just removed the tape, and it might be a bit easier to remove now, although there is some dangerous battery metal showing.
Perhaps I could wrap the battery with something stronger than electrical tape... Like those fabric like things used to pop AA etc batteries out of devices.
Well, huh... Are you sure you have the right battery inserted the right way? Because, there should not be any trouble getting it out at all. Let alone screwdrivers or anything like that needed. Goes out pretty easily with a fingernail.
doktornotor said:
Well, huh... Are you sure you have the right battery inserted the right way? Because, there should not be any trouble getting it out at all. Let alone screwdrivers or anything like that needed. Goes out pretty easily with a fingernail.
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Click to collapse
It's the battery I got with the phone, and that the sales dude installed for me, and the phone works, so yes.
I get the impression my Canadian Telus P500h (Note the 'h') is different than the P500 most of you have.
This is the phone with battery installed. To the left is the phone top, and the thin blade screwdriver is over the SDCard and pointing to where I am prying the battery out. The pens at top and bottom of the pic are where I originally pried and now have broken plastic and some semi-exposed battery metal. At top of the pic (right of the phone) is where I got the sparks.
http://img20.imageshack.us/i/img20110529053155.jpg/
This is the phone with battery removed and on it's side.
http://img225.imageshack.us/i/img20110529053318.jpg/
So I'm guessing from your descriptions of how easy it is, that there must be one or more things different on my phone.
mikereidis said:
I get the impression my Canadian Telus P500h (Note the 'h') is different than the P500 most of you have.
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Click to collapse
Looks pretty much the same except for the red piece of nonsense right below the SD card which is causing all this. Stupid design.
doktornotor said:
Looks pretty much the same except for the red piece of nonsense right below the SD card which is causing all this. Stupid design.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You think ? It's an integral part of the back body and can't be removed without breaking stuff. Right now I can't even tell if it's the up and down or left and right that are most tight. Maybe both.
And even if it was removed, the battery has no slot at the end for a fingernail. Just a slight indentation over most of the end. With the force I need to remove the battery, I think lots of people would break their fingernail.
I've just marked this down as one of the engineering shortcuts that LG made to make a phone like this for $200. Having to pull that stupid battery out every SIM change or new ROM boot freeze is getting old fast.
mikereidis said:
You think ? It's an integral part of the back body and can't be removed without breaking stuff. Right now I can't even tell if it's the up and down or left and right that are most tight. Maybe both.
And even if it was removed, the battery has no slot at the end for a fingernail. Just a slight indentation over most of the end. With the force I need to remove the battery, I think lots of people would break their fingernail.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, now that I opened the phone - it is exactly the same, it is just that your photo has some weird shade so the red nonsense looks like it is lifted up to the battery edge. So, not really getting what it your problem except perhaps for being clumsy.
well my battery not giving any such trouble. We have different disign here I think that's why the trouble.
4silvertooth said:
well my battery not giving any such trouble. We have different disign here I think that's why the trouble.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I blew up your pic and it's hard to see, but I think I see a fingernail slot in your battery by the SDCard. Mine has no slot, just a very subtle indentation.
And my battery makes a very clear SNAP sound when I push it in. Perhaps my battery is slightly different and a bit larger than P500 batteries.
My battery part # is LGIP-400N . It also says 1500 mAh 5.6 Wh 3.7v
and at bottom it says:
(T)SBPL0102301 LLL DC101203
Even your camera says 3.2 mine it says 3.0 so anybody with same specification would be helpfully.
The battery details are exact identical to mine.
So P500h is slightly different from P500.
Sent from my LG-P500 using XDA Premium App
OMG!!!
Stop doing this, bro! You are raping your battery!!! Seriously, this stuff is fragile! God...
I have a p500h, just like yours (3.2mp camera) and all you have to do is put you finger on the spot right below the SD Card, push your battery downwards then pull it towards you.
Please tell me this is a joke! Damn... now I'll have nightmares because of those photos.
drakull said:
OMG!!!
Stop doing this, bro! You are raping your battery!!! Seriously, this stuff is fragile! God...
I have a p500h, just like yours (3.2mp camera) and all you have to do is put you finger on the spot right below the SD Card, push your battery downwards then pull it towards you.
Please tell me this is a joke! Damn... now I'll have nightmares because of those photos.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just because it's easy for you doesn't make me an idiot.
No I'm afraid this is not a joke. And I've been working "seriously" with electronics/computer since I was a teen in the mid 1970's building everything from a vacuum tube transmitter to micros with the first generation of micros: SCMP, 8080...
And I've rebuilt automotive turbochargers and transmissions so I'm no mechanical klutz either.
Yes I know this is slowly wrecking the battery which I why I posted. In primary school I was the "smart kid" who was the only one to question something weird or incomplete the teacher said because everyone else didn't want to look "dumb" by asking. Same here.
My personal history aside I do exactly what you say: "put you finger on the spot right below the SD Card, push your battery downwards then pull it towards you."
It doesn't work on my phone. The battery doesn't move down that I can notice. When I try to pull it towards me it just won't budge and threatens to break my fingernail.
I note that there are two little tabs at the bottom. These seem to require the bottom to be placed first, then the top gets pushed in last. That's when I get a loud SNAP. I think whatever is making this SNAP is also what makes it so hard to remove the battery. The same SNAP was also made by the sales dude in the store when he installed the battery and I'm sure he does that hundreds of times a week.
The instructions in the manual are quite bad, IMO. They didn't even mention all the little film things that should be removed. Perhaps there is something else that needs to be removed that the manual didn't mention or that I overlooked. Just stabs in the dark here now.
Well, PEBKAC case excluded, since noone apparently has similar problem, then either your phone is faulty or the battery is faulty. This simply is not normal, there is absolutely no need to use screwdrivers and excessive force to do this.
Would suggest to RMA the thing.
mikereidis said:
Just because it's easy for you doesn't make me an idiot.
No I'm afraid this is not a joke. And I've been working "seriously" with electronics/computer since I was a teen in the mid 1970's building everything from a vacuum tube transmitter to micros with the first generation of micros: SCMP, 8080...
And I've rebuilt automotive turbochargers and transmissions so I'm no mechanical klutz either.
Yes I know this is slowly wrecking the battery which I why I posted. In primary school I was the "smart kid" who was the only one to question something weird or incomplete the teacher said because everyone else didn't want to look "dumb" by asking. Same here.
My personal history aside I do exactly what you say: "put you finger on the spot right below the SD Card, push your battery downwards then pull it towards you."
It doesn't work on my phone. The battery doesn't move down that I can notice. When I try to pull it towards me it just won't budge and threatens to break my fingernail.
I note that there are two little tabs at the bottom. These seem to require the bottom to be placed first, then the top gets pushed in last. That's when I get a loud SNAP. I think whatever is making this SNAP is also what makes it so hard to remove the battery. The same SNAP was also made by the sales dude in the store when he installed the battery and I'm sure he does that hundreds of times a week.
The instructions in the manual are quite bad, IMO. They didn't even mention all the little film things that should be removed. Perhaps there is something else that needs to be removed that the manual didn't mention or that I overlooked. Just stabs in the dark here now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I did not called you an idiot but your words and your need to show your electronic and mechanic knowledge tells me you felt I did so I'm sorry if my words offended you in any way, that was not my intent.
Maybe doktornotor is right and you should RMA your phone.
Best of luck!
drakull said:
Well, I did not called you an idiot but your words and your need to show your electronic and mechanic knowledge tells me you felt I did so I'm sorry if my words offended you in any way, that was not my intent.
Maybe doktornotor is right and you should RMA your phone.
Best of luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem. No you didn't. Just wanted to clarify my capabilities/knowledge.
>Well, PEBKAC case excluded, since noone apparently has similar problem, then either your phone is faulty or the battery is faulty. This simply is not normal, there is absolutely no need to use screwdrivers and excessive force to do this.
Yes doktornotor, I suspect you are right. I suspect it might have been a bad or out of tolerance phone/battery or perhaps excessive temps or humidity or whatever during storage and shipping.
I returned another phone to get this and they already told me I can't return this one, LOL. As defective I'm sure I could, although I'd bet they'd give me a very hard time, especially considering the damage to the battery now..
Well i never doubt your capabilities u are the one who made spirit fm. And have been followimg u since.
Sent from my LG-P500 using XDA Premium App
mikereidis said:
Yes doktornotor, I suspect you are right. I suspect it might have been a bad or out of tolerance phone/battery or perhaps excessive temps or humidity or whatever during storage and shipping.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I have seen quite a bunch of phones almost impossible to even open. I recall one Nokia which I felt I will crush completely trying to remove the back cover. Tremendous force required. So trust me when I am saying that this one is about the most easy one to remove the back cover and the battery.
If it really bothers you since you are changing SIM cards frequently, would suggest going to some shop and test with another battery or two. If it is the battery, those are relatively cheap to get a replacement. If it is the phone, well... your screwdriver-scratched battery has nothing to do with that defect so you should not have any trouble trying to RMA it.
doktornotor said:
Well, I have seen quite a bunch of phones almost impossible to even open. I recall one Nokia which I felt I will crush completely trying to remove the back cover. Tremendous force required. So trust me when I am saying that this one is about the most easy one to remove the back cover and the battery.
If it really bothers you since you are changing SIM cards frequently, would suggest going to some shop and test with another battery or two. If it is the battery, those are relatively cheap to get a replacement. If it is the phone, well... your screwdriver-scratched battery has nothing to do with that defect so you should not have any trouble trying to RMA it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, some good ideas.
SIMs are not the major issue. Trying ROMs that result in boot freezes are the main reason to keep popping the battery.
I wish there was a hidden hardware reset switch on these phones somewhere.
Heck, it wouldn't be hard for the designers to make such a feature that triggered by holding power, or some combinations down for 10+ seconds.
I'd buy a replacement battery off eBay for cheap. At worst you end up with the same situation and a spare battery for 5 USD or so (+ VAT or whatever y'all call it). At best you have a better-fitting battery on the cheap.
I have a very specific question with regards to replacing the charging port on the i777. I have searched threads discussing charging port replacement, but was unable to find anything about this specific issue. I am currently going through my first repair on my i777 that needs a new charging port. I bought the replacement on ebay, but something stood out once I compared it to the original charging port I took out. On the original there is a small rubber piece hanging down (around where the screw holes are). On the replacement piece it's just a metal piece hanging down in the same place. Do I need to have that rubber piece on the replacement charging port? Would it even affect the functionality of the phone? Is there a way to take the rubber piece off the original and transfer it to the replacement, or should I just buy one with the rubber piece on? If someone has asked this question already forgive me, but I did not see it in the thread I skimmed through.
Here is a pic of both them side by side. The top one is the original and the bottom is the replacement I got from ebay.
farm8.staticflickr (.com) /7281/9735538853_4e701482f8_o (.jpg)
It would not let me post link yet so just remove parentesis and spaces to view picture link.
That gray part is for waterproofing the microphone I believe. It just slides off of the old part and onto the new one, just be careful. Also if you have no signal, by now you may have already found the following thread. I had to do this a couple of weeks ago to get a signal: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1950114&page=5 I'll try harder to match up the part numbers next time!
iXNyNe, please let us know if the newegg part works, or if you end up needing to modify it (see link in above post), or purchase another.
iXNyNe said:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA2C51D87922 just ordered this. [...]
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Click to collapse
cyril279 said:
iXNyNe, please let us know if the newegg part works, or if you end up needing to modify it (see link in above post), or purchase another.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i'll report back once i have them
i already took the phone apart just to peek around inside, the part looks just like what's already there. the picture shows some teal/aqua colored tabs towards the bottom, im assuming these are peel off for an adhesive (there did seem to be an adhesive holding the part in place).
based on that link mentioned i would say that cutting is a little extreme, it looks like they cut the board in half, which is definitely NOT how it comes stock.
again i'll report back once i've got the chips. and for under $8 with free shipping i cant really complain even if they dont work out.
The only thing you're actually cutting (electronically) is the ground plane of the board shared by the antenna/radio and the charge port. In short, there's a super low risk of messing anything up, unless you use a sawzall to complete the job.
I assume that it was more cost effective for Samsung to put those items on the same board, but it's a punk move to attach a known replacement part to an antenna that varies by region. Either way, I'm glad to know that the hack is an option but I'd be happier to know that the hack isn't necessary.
iXNyNe said:
i'll report back once i have them
i already took the phone apart just to peek around inside, the part looks just like what's already there. the picture shows some teal/aqua colored tabs towards the bottom, im assuming these are peel off for an adhesive (there did seem to be an adhesive holding the part in place).
based on that link mentioned i would say that cutting is a little extreme, it looks like they cut the board in half, which is definitely NOT how it comes stock.
again i'll report back once i've got the chips. and for under $8 with free shipping i cant really complain even if they dont work out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just wanted to report success. The part from new egg worked and was really easy to swap.
I don't have the right size sim card anymore since switching my primary carry, so I can't test reception, but otherwise everything is working (charging, wifi, Bluetooth, etc)
P.s. I did not modify the item I received (no cutting) and it is a 2.3 where the original I removed was a 2.2. I've saved the 2.2 just in case something comes up.
Sent from my LG-D800 using Tapatalk
Thanks, but I'm afraid that we won't know whether the replacement part is a proper replacement until there is a sim-card involved. Reception is the rub (see post below from the board-mod thread).
underhuggare said:
[...]I also replaced the original rev 2.2 with rev 2.3 which fixed the usb port but gave me very unstable and poor reception. [...]
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Click to collapse
iXNyNe said:
Just wanted to report success. The part from new egg worked and was really easy to swap.
I don't have the right size sim card anymore since switching my primary carry, so I can't test reception, but otherwise everything is working (charging, wifi, Bluetooth, etc)
P.s. I did not modify the item I received (no cutting) and it is a 2.3 where the original I removed was a 2.2. I've saved the 2.2 just in case something comes up.
Sent from my LG-D800 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cyril279 said:
Thanks, but I'm afraid that we won't know whether the replacement part is a proper replacement until there is a sim-card involved. Reception is the rub (see post below from the board-mod thread).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll see if I can find a friend with a full size Sim over the next few days and test the reliability. But honestly I'd have to it may be better for people to find a rev 2.2
But for anyone who no longer uses the phone for cell service, the new egg part works great for a cheap and easy charge port replacement.
Sent from my LG-D800 using Tapatalk
So my Z5C slid off the table and barely struck something not even that hard but apparently at exactly the wrong angle and now the screen is broken. There is a huge broken part on the top going all the way across (and a few more spider veins outside the used area) and the bottom half of the touchscreen just plain does not work. I contacted SONY to ask what it would cost to repair and, while the response was a bit confusing (English as a second language I guess) they basically stated that they would not do even a paid repair of a broken screen on a Z5C apparently. I was told to find a third party to repair it. I have exactly zero confidence in doing a repair myself (for starters, I guess this means the digitizer is broken since the bottom half of the screen does not work and I've always heard those are a PITA to replace but also whenever I replaced the back on my Z3C it would inevitably come loose again and the last thing in the world I want is for the screen to be falling off all the time.)
So basically I need to at least find out how much it would cost. Preferably I'd like to find a local place too so I can just bring it in when I get up the money to actually do it. But I have no idea how even to find them. And they couldn't tell me anything (no officially licensed repair shops or anything like that.) The fact is, I don't even know what to look for to find someone at least semi-reputable. And once again, the last thing in the world I want is for my screen to start falling off the way all those Z3C backs did.
Also, by any chance would anyone have even just a rough idea how much it would cost? Obviously if it ends up being more than the cost of buying a new Z5C on eBay it would make more sense to do that (whenever I can afford it anyway, but geez.)
Nazo said:
So my Z5C slid off the table and barely struck something not even that hard but apparently at exactly the wrong angle and now the screen is broken. There is a huge broken part on the top going all the way across (and a few more spider veins outside the used area) and the bottom half of the touchscreen just plain does not work. I contacted SONY to ask what it would cost to repair and, while the response was a bit confusing (English as a second language I guess) they basically stated that they would not do even a paid repair of a broken screen on a Z5C apparently. I was told to find a third party to repair it. I have exactly zero confidence in doing a repair myself (for starters, I guess this means the digitizer is broken since the bottom half of the screen does not work and I've always heard those are a PITA to replace but also whenever I replaced the back on my Z3C it would inevitably come loose again and the last thing in the world I want is for the screen to be falling off all the time.)
So basically I need to at least find out how much it would cost. Preferably I'd like to find a local place too so I can just bring it in when I get up the money to actually do it. But I have no idea how even to find them. And they couldn't tell me anything (no officially licensed repair shops or anything like that.) The fact is, I don't even know what to look for to find someone at least semi-reputable. And once again, the last thing in the world I want is for my screen to start falling off the way all those Z3C backs did.
Also, by any chance would anyone have even just a rough idea how much it would cost? Obviously if it ends up being more than the cost of buying a new Z5C on eBay it would make more sense to do that (whenever I can afford it anyway, but geez.)
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I bought a complete screen including the frame for 29 euros. You can do it using the tutorials on youtube. Its easy.
That literally was not my question.
Anyway, probably it would end up costing so much as to not be worth it. For now I'll probably have to count on just buying a new one whenever I can (well, that will be a while.)
BTW, in retrospect I suspect mine was actually a refurb after one such repair incorrectly sold as "new." The screen was kind of loose when I got it and never sat completely flat. Honestly I should have sent it straight back. Looking over it I suspect now that this is the reason it broke so thoroughly so easily from a very light drop off of a table (not even human height.) Because the screen wasn't sitting right that part was especially vulnerable and weaker and I notice that the line that went across went to the point where it was sticking up the most excessively. Ironically the screen now sits completely flat where it would not before after this break (which it shouldn't do if it were simply loose.) So this is part of the reason I'm not exactly super excited about the idea of repairs. I know from first-hand experience just simply trying to make a back stay on that the end result rarely can match the proper quality level and the screen is even more important. It has become a bit of a point of obsession for me probably because I've replaced the back so many times on my Z3C I've lost count and every single time it came loose again before eventually breaking. (At this point my Z3C back is a bunch of tape. I can't protect the camera because it needs something super clear sticking out a bit to allow it to move outward, so eventually it will probably get enough dust inside to break or something.)
Anyway, I have no desire to discuss trying to repair it myself. I was thinking maybe a professional can do better, but honestly the more I think about it the more I think I'd rather just save up and buy a new one. (I can get one for around $150 on eBay if I don't mind waiting a full month for shipping. My suspicion is that's actually not that much more than the repair cost if you add labor anyway.)