Ok I've been everywhere and tried everything short of breaking out the torx. I'm not under warranty anymore, and of course it didn't start getting dusty until after it ran out.
if i take the back cover off and blow compressed air in the slot by the main camera it clears most of it out but it's all back within days. i'm only getting dust in the front camera area, none in the screen itself that I've found [I've taken it out in direct sun with no screen protector and scrutinized it].
I'm wondering if maybe the screws on the motherboard are loose or something creating a gap, I've dropped it a fair share of times. I can find teardowns for replacing the screen but nothing specific on the front camera, and being a nervous nelly i want all the info i can get my greedy hands on. I *think* i know where the parts are but cant find anything specifically saying "THIS IS THE CAMERA NEWB". I'm perfectly willing to take the case apart and the board out but i don't want to touch the glass, i'd probably get more dust in than out.
So to summarize my request =p
1. Anyone know of camera specific teardowns?
2. Anyone have this problem themselves and fix it?
3. If it does involve taking the glass off would it be worth it to pay someone to fix it, or is it more cost effective to just upgrade?
Hey, lucky you I just cleaned it myself. At the price of almost screwing up my incs forever. Look up YouTube on dismantling the incredible s, take it all apart, clean it from behind and fix it back. Had some loose connection when I was fixing it back so my screen couldnt light. Now its as good as new. Advice that if you try, be very very precise and careful. Good luck! :thumbup:
Screen is seperated from camera, don't worry about getting dust in there. Use the replacing screen video, sufficient information for you to tear it up. No video guides to fixing it back unfortunately, so just download the video, find a player with the reverse play function and do as according(nahh I'm just kidding)
You don't need to be a technician to do this. No brains required. I don't have any. Have fun!
Sent from my HTC Incredible S using xda app-developers app
I "had" dust over front camera too!!!
I didn't mind it; I'm talking in paste tense because my phone should be now in HTC's repair centre in Como with:
-dust under the screen ( top left area)
-but mostly because part of the digitizer is gone: a vertical row of about 1cm on the right...
So I think it's a common problem, pay attention on the screen...
Related
Hi there,
I have the HTC Kaiser service manual, but I'm trying to determine if I really need to open the phone all the way up in order to do this.
My 3MP camera on the back has a piece of something that is on the lens from the inside. Every picture I take has a shadow of this speck of... well, I don't know what.
Anyhow, I need to open the camera lens cover that's next to the speaker, but I'd rather not have to go pull apart the entire phone. The frustrating part is they show how to remove the camera, but they don't flip the board back over so I can see if I can get inside the little box and clean it.
Has anyone tried this? I see some disassembly threads here, but no one has concentrated on specifically cleaning the camera so far.
Thanks,
TTFN
greggerca said:
Hi there,
I have the HTC Kaiser service manual, but I'm trying to determine if I really need to open the phone all the way up in order to do this.
My 3MP camera on the back has a piece of something that is on the lens from the inside. Every picture I take has a shadow of this speck of... well, I don't know what.
Anyhow, I need to open the camera lens cover that's next to the speaker, but I'd rather not have to go pull apart the entire phone. The frustrating part is they show how to remove the camera, but they don't flip the board back over so I can see if I can get inside the little box and clean it.
Has anyone tried this? I see some disassembly threads here, but no one has concentrated on specifically cleaning the camera so far.
Thanks,
TTFN
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
haven't had the need to disassemble my kaiser yet but you can hit up mikechannon and ask his help on this.
cant you just pop the battery cover off and clean it out?
Nah... it's under the cover that's under the battery cover. If I take a picture without the battery cover, the crud is still there. It's just a speck. I can see it, but it's on the wrong side of the glass.
TTFN
Did you ever get the dirt out from the wrong side of the lens? I have the same problem only I have quite a bit of dirt on the backside of the lens.
Thanks,
Frank K
No, I couldn't find any diagrams that showed the next level of disassembly of the actual camera part. Since this is my only phone right now, I didn't want to do too much exploratory surgery.
The gunk is still there of course. I just don't know how it got in there in the first place...
Sorry I couldn't help more.
TTFN
Has anyone tried taking a can of compressed air to the back of the Nexus One in order to try to clear dust away from the screen? I just want it off the center of the LCD screen, don't need to get it out as long as it's not that visible.
What about partially disassembling the phone (like taking out everything that doesn't require you to disconnect flex cables) and then blowing it with the air?
I managed to drop my phone a couple times and that seemed to have caused dust to get under the screen, but I don't want to take it apart completely until I've exhausted all other options. Returning it is also not an option in my geographic location.
Fancy meeting you here
How would the air get into the screen from the back? Isn't it supposed to be sealed?
I wonder if you could move the dust under the screen with static electricity. Get one of those plastic rods like they use for demonstrations in chemistry class and charge it up. Then drag it across the screen over the dust. Just be careful not to discharge the rod onto the metal body of the phone...
Even if you did attempt this...
It would probably leave an unremovable sticky film. That's one of the reasons they tell you not to use it to blow off camera sensors, lenses, and CCDs (you're supposed to use a blower bulb). The compressed air isn't just pure clean air, it's got a bunch of bull**** in it. Not to mention it could quickfreeze the OLED parts and ruin the screen permanently. I would NOT try it. In fact, if you clean the back (battery, SD, SIM area) make sure you hold a piece of CLEAN 100% cotton (best if it's from a t-shirt) over the camera sensor or it will blow off the IR filter. Hope this helps.
I have done it twice. I posted pictures up on here on a different thread the first time around, which was probably 3 months ago. Send me a pm if you want the pictures. It wasn't horrible to do, but I don't know that I'd recommend it unless you're already experienced in these type of exercises. I didn't have any adverse side affects to the screen.
Here's the before and after.. I have pictures of the dis-assembly as well.
Oh yeah, I also found that a can of compressed air wasn't strong enough. I used an actual compressor set at 60-80ish psi I think.
@enisoc lol...
The teardowns online haven't said that there was anything sealing the screen and the front cover, but the cellphone shops here that I've asked have said that they would apply a sealant if I paid them to take the phone apart for me.
It looks like I can't get to the dust with anything short of a complete teardown :-(. I took the canned air to the back of the phone and it didn't do anything, but I also didn't disassemble the battery tray (no torx screwdriver).
@dhendrix11 if you took the phone apart, why did you still have to use a compressor? Couldn't you then just take something and wipe the dust off?
hgcrpd said:
@enisoc lol...
The teardowns online haven't said that there was anything sealing the screen and the front cover, but the cellphone shops here that I've asked have said that they would apply a sealant if I paid them to take the phone apart for me.
It looks like I can't get to the dust with anything short of a complete teardown :-(. I took the canned air to the back of the phone and it didn't do anything, but I also didn't disassemble the battery tray (no torx screwdriver).
@dhendrix11 if you took the phone apart, why did you still have to use a compressor? Couldn't you then just take something and wipe the dust off?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used a combination of compressed air and a microfiber cloth. I found that it was impossible to find an absolutely clean spot on the cloth, so it basically just put dust back on the phone. I mostly used the cloth to wipe off smudges when I accidentally touched the back side of the lens/touchpanel, and relied on the compressed air to remove the dust. Also, I didn't detach the lens from the phone frame, so it's hard to get into the corners (where most of the dust is) with a cloth.
The second time around I had a lot less dust and tried cleaning it without fully removing the LCD. If you take the phone apart, you'll understand why you might want to leave the LCD attached and simply lean it back from the lens. However, in the end, I didn't find that to be effective, so I took the LCD out both times. I've got a small amount of dust back in there again, but may 5-10% of what I had the first time, and I really haven't noticed it at all, even out in the bright sun, which was the environment that I typically found it most offensive.
As long as you have patience, it's certainly a do-able task. The main reason I did it myself is because it was early on before anyone was reporting confirmed success of getting HTC to fix the issue free of charge with an unlocked bootloader. I didn't want to chance getting billed for it so it was a nice little project instead. Now that many people have proven that HTC will honor hardware defects regardless of unlocked bootloader, I'd go the replacement route if there's not some other reason keeping you from it.
dhendrix11 said:
I have pictures of the dis-assembly as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please could you post? Thanks
GyTe said:
Please could you post? Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Disassembly 1
Disassembly 2
Full breakdown and then put back together
Hi dhendrix11 thanks for the pictures... I've saved everything on my pc.
Cheers
well, I ended up taking my phone apart too, using the iFixit guide and the Youtube video. Actually not as painful as I expected it to be, but for some reason I did not have a rubber microphone channel under the bottom mainboard, and I didn't have a screw at the top left of the top mainboard.
I also didn't take the screen out completely, just pulled it up a bit and used tweezers and a cloth to wipe everything off.
Now I have a like-new screen!
Hey guys, I'm having a massive problem with dust in my front facing camera. It renders it practically unusable, everything looks white when I switch to the front facing camera.
Any ideas on how to remove the dust? I don't even have any idea how it got in. Best bet is through the ear piece I guess.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
not sure if it will help you
but for most of my high end cameras i use a Giottos Rocket blower to get rid of the dust in most parts
Thing is, is behind a glass piece sigh
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
arghh! this seems very problematic since unless you dismantle the Note, it will be nearly impossible to wipe the dust. Didn't you use a protective cover and screen protection from the beginning or the dust was present the 1st day you got the Note?
Final5k said:
arghh! this seems very problematic since unless you dismantle the Note, it will be nearly impossible to wipe the dust. Didn't you use a protective cover and screen protection from the beginning or the dust was present the 1st day you got the Note?
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Click to collapse
Thats the thing. I dont remember if it was present the day I bought it. Yeah I did use a protective cover. You guys don't have a problem with dust in the front camera?
Maybe it's a fault? Can you physically see the dust on the glass in front of the camera? Mine looks clear like this image:
http://i-cdn.phonearena.com/images/reviews/108271-image/Samsung-Galaxy-Note-LTE-Review-Design-16.jpg
You probably can take it to warranty Samsung service and say it never worked.
I don't use a protective cover and have had no dust issues. I've noticed some dirt/dust getting into the back cover area which i just blow out occasionally. Maybe if you clean/blow out those areas and ports it might dislodge any debris?
rowee270 said:
Maybe it's a fault? Can you physically see the dust on the glass in front of the camera? Mine looks clear like this image:
http://i-cdn.phonearena.com/images/reviews/108271-image/Samsung-Galaxy-Note-LTE-Review-Design-16.jpg
You probably can take it to warranty Samsung service and say it never worked.
I don't use a protective cover and have had no dust issues. I've noticed some dirt/dust getting into the back cover area which i just blow out occasionally. Maybe if you clean/blow out those areas and ports it might dislodge any debris?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I can physically see the dust. The front facing camera is greyed over. Sighh
Well if you're feeling adventurous, you can dissemble the Note yourself and clean it. There are a few tutorials on youtube under "disasemble galaxy note" such as this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFDr3PQMTxw
It doesn't seem that hard and you don't need any special equipment.
This definitely sounds like a clear cut warranty claim case.
Nothing is supposed to be able to enter that little space in front of the camera if the phone has not broken or been broken since day one. Thats my point of view anyway.
rowee270 said:
Well if you're feeling adventurous, you can dissemble the Note yourself and clean it. There are a few tutorials on youtube under "disasemble galaxy note" such as this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFDr3PQMTxw
It doesn't seem that hard and you don't need any special equipment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I followed the video and dissembled the phone. Luckily it all went well and I was able to remove all the dust. The front camera is working perfect now. Thankss!
Julian2103 said:
I followed the video and dissembled the phone. Luckily it all went well and I was able to remove all the dust. The front camera is working perfect now. Thankss!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome
Just a generall concern...shouldn't the warrenty cover a scenario like this?
Julian2103 said:
I followed the video and dissembled the phone. Luckily it all went well and I was able to remove all the dust. The front camera is working perfect now. Thankss!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had same problem, and also eventually dissasembld to clean. I did otice (prior to dissassembly) that the glass screen was slightly loose against the chrome bezel at along the top edge (i.e. where the earpiece & front cam are located). pressing on that edge (particularly at the RHS near the cam) there was some "give" - i.e. you could push the glass and it would depress into the bezel by 1mm-2mm and then spring back up.
I suspect that is why dust has ben able to enter. Unfortunately, after cleaning and reassembly, the same "give" is still there. I'd hoped that it was just a badly assembled unit and that it would now be properly sealed, but no joy.
did/does your phone have a similar issue by any chance?
Also, I did the cleanout yesterday, same day as I upgraded to ICS (UK CPW XXLQ2 baseband XXLPT). I'm now noticing terrible wifi/cell radio performance (lost 25% battery in 45 mins just browsing with min screen brightness, lots of wifi dropouts, loads of heat dissipating to rear of case). This in same place (my bed!) as I always surf same sites every morning and where on Gingerbread I'd have no dropouts and my battery drain would be minimal (<5%).
Again, I'm wondering whether ICS is to blame or whether I've somehow messed up during reassembly (maybe poorly reconnected one or more of the ribbon connectors leading to the radio chip?). Have you noticed any difference in Wifi/cellular reception since reassembly?
Battery drain and wifi performance continued to be terrible, so I took it apart again and reassembled once more, this time with greaer care. I think I had done a bad job 1st time round as it's now got much better wifi signal, back to how it was originally.
Battery drain is slightly better too but still much worse than on GB but I think that is just a defect of the stock ICS, just coincience that I did the ICS install same day that Itook the note apart.
Did anyone try to blow out the dust and did that work?
I'm not to keen to pick the phone apart for it.
Hello, I've bought an unlocked HTC One in France at the end of May.
Since about a week from today, I've been noticing a weird black dot in every photo I shoot. This dot wasnt on my pictures till last week...
I already cleaned and checked the camera lens to see if it had dirt or dust on it, and couldn't find anything.
Since it doesnt seem to be anything related to dust or dirt, could it be a problem with the camera module that only appeared now?
Attached to this message is a photo of my wall, just to show the black dot on it.
I also recorded a video, available at https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14436725/ZOE_0044.mp4, which shows how the dot looks in movement.
What can I do to solve this problem?
Thx for the help in advance,
Renato
worst case: the dot is dirt on camera sensor.
you can always try to flash another rom (stock or custom, whatever) to see if the dot is still there. If it is, my advice is you need to take your One to the service and claim an exchange under warranty
I've tried to change the rom, go back to stock, factory reset, tried to shake the phone up and down, and the dot stays there, in the same spot.
I think it's hardware, not software. The worst part in all of this? I live in Brazil, and HTC doesn't even have an office here. That means I can't take the phone to service and can't exchange it with my warranty.
That being said, besides all the solutions above, is there hope for me, or will I have to buy another phon?
I have exactly the same on my work phone - iPhone 5 . It's a piece of dust that is actually visible when looking at the camera lens
Daimao1984 said:
I've tried to change the rom, go back to stock, factory reset, tried to shake the phone up and down, and the dot stays there, in the same spot.
I think it's hardware, not software. The worst part in all of this? I live in Brazil, and HTC doesn't even have an office here. That means I can't take the phone to service and can't exchange it with my warranty.
That being said, besides all the solutions above, is there hope for me, or will I have to buy another phon?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
with your description, I'm very sorry to tell you that problem is highly a hardware defect. It's not that serious though, maybe just the lack of quality control during the phone assembly process that caused minor dirt pass through the casing and got on the camera lense/sensor. I believe there isn't an easy way to get rid of the dirt without tearing the phone. However, you can try this: use a hair dryer or something similar that can blow strong air then try to force the dirt out of position by blowing to the phone but remember, don't use the hair dryer on your phone for a long time. A vacuum cleaner can also do the trick
That's terrible. But do you think that it's a problem in the assembly, even though this problem only appeared after like 2 weeks of use?
Will try the hair dryer, though. Tks a lot for the advices.
Mostly due to low quality of assembly that caused tiny gap on the casing (corners, camera...). That can lead to dirt getting inside after a period time of use. Many iphone4,4s and 5 users report the same problem as yours
I had the same exact thing 50 days into owning this phone.
Had it warranty replaced through T-Mobile no problem.
Thx, you guys. Looks like Im out of luck, then, since I bought mine abroad (france) and HTC doesn't have any kind of support in Brazil.
Sob :'(
That sucks.
But at least it isn't as noticeable as mine was.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2321573
Yeah. The spot on yours looks a lot like mine.
I'll try to get a new one and sell mine here in Brazil. This phone is so overcharged here that I might even make a profit out of it (even if I mention the dirt on the camera in my ad).
Ok, so I am a serial note 9 breaker. This is my 8th one since they came out. Mostly I'm a klutz and I drop them, although I have had a couple stolen and a couple sent to me that were already defective before I could break them myself. The latest one.... I broke the little piece of glass on the rear facing camera. So I ordered that, and replaced it but in between the time I broke it and when I received the piece of glass the lens must have gotten damaged because the thing wouldn't focus on anything even somewhat close up. (I have a business reselling and take pics daily so this was a major issue) So, I decide to get a whole new rear camera and replace that. Which I did earlier today. I watched videos, and carefully completed each step. Twice. I know I put it all together correctly... took all the pieces of protective plastic off... didnt touch the lens.. I was very careful. But now when I turn it on and go to the camera app I have a black screen and it won't let me select any of the modes.. won't let me take a pic, won't let me touch the photo replay button.. it freezes and I have to close it out through the recent apps to be able to exit. I have reset the camera, wiped the cache and data, gone in to all the dang settings and did everything I can think to do.. I did a partition wipe... I'm stuck and about to go all Office Space on this damn thing and smash it to bits in the middle of nowhere while listening to gangster rap. And I really don't want to do that as I need my phone for my business. Someone please help? Did I miss anything.. is it possibly a bad part? I just don't know what to do from this point. Please and thank you
gonnagoofficespace said:
Ok, so I am a serial note 9 breaker. This is my 8th one since they came out. Mostly I'm a klutz and I drop them, although I have had a couple stolen and a couple sent to me that were already defective before I could break them myself. The latest one.... I broke the little piece of glass on the rear facing camera. So I ordered that, and replaced it but in between the time I broke it and when I received the piece of glass the lens must have gotten damaged because the thing wouldn't focus on anything even somewhat close up. (I have a business reselling and take pics daily so this was a major issue) So, I decide to get a whole new rear camera and replace that. Which I did earlier today. I watched videos, and carefully completed each step. Twice. I know I put it all together correctly... took all the pieces of protective plastic off... didnt touch the lens.. I was very careful. But now when I turn it on and go to the camera app I have a black screen and it won't let me select any of the modes.. won't let me take a pic, won't let me touch the photo replay button.. it freezes and I have to close it out through the recent apps to be able to exit. I have reset the camera, wiped the cache and data, gone in to all the dang settings and did everything I can think to do.. I did a partition wipe... I'm stuck and about to go all Office Space on this damn thing and smash it to bits in the middle of nowhere while listening to gangster rap. And I really don't want to do that as I need my phone for my business. Someone please help? Did I miss anything.. is it possibly a bad part? I just don't know what to do from this point. Please and thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My bet would be on one or both cameras being non functional.
Had the same problem, broke the camera glass on the right camera. wile waiting for the glass i covered it with tape, just the glass hole on the right camera. Just this tape over 1 of the cameras made it non possible to use the left camera at all, black all the time but the camera app wasn't behaving like yours.. Looks like it need both cameras working together.
Have you put back the old module to see if the focus problem remains but at least the camera app working?