I bought a 7 plus from aliexpress, and upon arrival wifi would not stay turned on, and it doesn't recognise sim cards in either slot. Factory reset didn't help. I tried to return it, but it seems that couriers are unable to transport anything with a lithium battery to China. Gut instinct is hardware issue. Unless I can find a way around the courier issue, I'm wondering if it's cheaper and easier to just pay to have it repaired, or attempt it myself. I've replaced basic bits like screens, batteries, camera modules, charging ports in phones before, but I'm not sure how much would need replacing or how easy a fix it's likely to be? Whole motherboard? Connector unclipped? (wishful thinking!) Grateful for any advice
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So I just bought myself a "new" 8925 off ebay, and what a surprise, its busted. To be more specific, it wont charge when plugged in (I tried multiple chargers, and a different battery, it is definitely the phone). Also, it doesn't recognize that my sim card is inserted. To top it off, some of the keys on the keyboard don't work properly, they require significantly more pressure to register than others. My question is this, is there anything I can to fix these problems myself? I've opened up my 8525 to change out a screen, so I'm confident I could reassemble this guy too.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated
I have been trying to repair this phone, but the usual faults have not turned out to be the problem. This is the background on the repair efforts:
In my research I found 3 main causes for a dead touch screen.
1) Corruption of system software.
2) Failure of digitizer cable (hinge FPC)
3) Failure of digitizer screen (touch panel)
To check for #1, I flashed the firmware again (after a wipe). I downgraded to Android 1.5 because I wanted to root the phone and install CyanogenMod Android 2.2 Froyo.
This was a big mistake because I learned that when you don't have a working touch screen, you cannot get past the "Touch the Android to Start" screen.
So on to step 2 - replace cable (hinge FPC). I have a G1 parts phone that was lightly used in good condition before it was damaged. There was no damage to the sliding section, so I expected the hinge FPC to be in good condition.
So I installed the hinge assembly with its hinge FPC from the parts phone, but this did not work either.
So next I installed a new touch panel (digitizer screen), but that did not fix the problem either.
I had a chance to borrow a working G1 motherboard, and I was surprised to see that the phone was working with the borrowed motherboard.
So my question is whether my problem motherboard can be recovered with a software solution, or if these symptoms indicate a hardware failure.
I thought that a wipe followed by firmware flash would eliminate all soft system errors, but I am not sure if the wipe and flash really erase absolutely everything, or if there is something else I need to do to get it working again.
Thanks.
more than likly it was the point in the motherboard where the flex cable connects. try using some electronic parts cleaner.
i have ran into this a few times and simply replacing the motherboard has only helped a twice, when i cleaned it up it worked.
That sounds reasonable. I still have some Tweek. I'll give that a try. It worked with the same kinds of problems on computer sockets.
Okay. You are on the right track. When I went back to the phone, I actually got two taps out of the screen, which it hasn't done in a long, long time. (I was running keyboard only for a long time before I could take it down to fix it.) I attribute that to just disturbing the contacts with so many assembly/disassembly efforts.
After I applied Tweek to the joints, it ran well.... for about an hour. Trying again was no luck, so I don't think I'm going to mess with the contacts anymore. By the time you figure how infrequently motherboards come up for sale and the cost, I think I'd do just as well with a trade in on a flat-rate repair.
But at least now we know for the record that there is another cause of dead touch screens.
well i have about 13 motherboards, if your interested let me know
Thanks. What has been your experience with changing motherboards?
The reason I ask is because the service manual wants the phone to be tuned again after a motherboard swap. I see a lot of people changing motherboards, and I can't believe that is much of a problem when you don't see anyone complaining about the phone not working well afterwards.
A spare motherboard might be a good idea for a diagnostic tool. It would have saved me a lot of work changing the touch panel and cables if I would have had a motherboard to try first.
I thought I had a good spare in a damaged phone, but when I took it out the other day to test this phone, I found out it had physical damage too. The SIM holder and RF shielding were dented, but the killer was that the daughterboard cable connector was bent.
I suppose back when the phones were $900 you might try to fix something like that, but it's hard enough to do a connector swap on a computer motherboard. I can't imagine that even the factory has the equipment to properly swap the connector even if you can get the part.
How much do you want for a motherboard? On that famous auction site I've seen them go for around $10 to $30. I could kick myself for not buying the last one I saw at $7 because I thought I had a spare.
Hey guys,
So I've personally owned this device before and sold it, however, luckily I was looking about on Craigslist and managed to run into a post where this lady was selling her Midnight 128gb OP3T for $10 due to the wifi not working. The phone is literally spanking new and the only thing I can think of is water damage. She said the wifi suddenly stopped working and spoke with OnePlus Tech support and wasn't going to pay $275 to fix it so she just wanted it gone. So I figured whats there to lose, right? I went home performed a factory reset on the phone and the wifi actually was working. Then I realized it's intermittently working. I found that out because after sometime it suddenly disables itself and I have to sleep the device for like two minutes and it'll kick back on. The proximity sensor is also dead too. I did the *#808# to test the sensor and nothing is generated. These are the only real issues this phone has. The loud speaker also sounds a bit off... I'm sure I could easily replace that too.. It could just be me. I've posted the snapshot of the proximity sensor test. The wifi was currently working when I took that snapshot and like I said it's a hit or miss.
I haven't gotten into the device just yet, however, I'm planning to check the water damage sticker once I do as that is my suspicion. I'm waiting on my tool set I ordered on Amazon at the moment. My question is, do you think replacing the wifi antenna cable will fix the wifi connectivity issue? The phone is currently on 8.0 Oreo and I haven't tried performing a complete reset/restore so I'm not sure that could be a fix. Also the phone doesn't get too hot and usually with water damaged devices the phone typically overheats pretty fast due to corrosion. I guess I'll find out after I open the device, but for now do you guys have any other suggestions? I've heard of the whole IPv6 intermittent wifi issues and can assure I have IPv6 disabled.
Thanks for taking the time to read my question!
The WIFI thing isn't something I think you can just replace, I think you would just need to replace the board right?
Yes, you would need to replace the mainboard of the phone. However 10$ is quite cheap for a spare screen and midnight black metal casing. Just find a cheap 3T with broken screen and switch mainboard with that one and you have a working phone. [emoji16]
Before doing that, check the phone's board and look for corrosion. If you find any, try cleaning it up gently, with some alcohol and if you manage to get it all cleaned up, try testing it again to see if it solves the problem.
If you get the schematic for this device and have a boardview program you could find the wifi circuitry..... it is more than likely some short to ground due to the fact that you are feeling heat.... due to liquid damage or not. Sometimes changing a small component can fix the issue but you need a microscope, heat gun, solder pencil, etc......
Hi,
Since yesterday my phone tells me that it has detected moisture in the USB port.
My phone wasn't in contact with water or other fluids and the air moisture isn't also that high.
My USB cables were all dry, I've tested 5 cables.
What did I also do trying to fix it:
- cleaned the port
- waited one night
- wiped cache
- stopped and cleared data of Android-System and USB-Settings
- multiple restarts, with and without Magisk
- tried different cables and chargers
- used a hair dryer with low temperature to blow it dry
Nothing fixed this. Maybe the sensor has a malfunction?
I'm currently in my holidays and don't have a wireless charger, maybe I can buy one later today, but I'm not sure.
Does anyone know other work arounds?
Regards,
Jannomag
When did you get the message? Mine will only get the message when connecting a USB C dongle. And my DEX and HDMI output was disabled too. Had it fixed by motherboard change under warranty repair.
I've never had this issue since yesterday and it just came up after I connected it to my cars USB charger. My wife's P20 had no issues with the same charger and cable directly after I disconnected my phone.
And today, I took my phone after I woke up and got this message. The phone wasn't connected overnight.
Now I'm outside, it's cold and rainy and the message is gone since 15 minutes. I bet, it will be back soon.
Jannomag said:
I've never had this issue since yesterday and it just came up after I connected it to my cars USB charger. My wife's P20 had no issues with the same charger and cable directly after I disconnected my phone.
And today, I took my phone after I woke up and got this message. The phone wasn't connected overnight.
Now I'm outside, it's cold and rainy and the message is gone since 15 minutes. I bet, it will be back soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I suspect I damaged mine when connected to my friend's chinese USB C dongle
if your message never goes away then you should bring your phone for warranty repair. Good luck
Since yesterday I've got no message, but things can always change.
It happens to me too and I never connect it to Chinese USB always Samsung cable
I got this on my s8+. There is a file thats need to be removed then its resets. Dont know where long time ago something with battery
I wanted to update my phone via USB because of root...but now, my USB port charges only.
My PC's don't recognize the phone, tried with my desktop and laptop, Win10 and Ubuntu 19.04, original and non original cable...nothing worked.
I bet it has something to do with the moisture detection - either it got damaged by moisture (which shouldn't happen with IP65) or there's a different issue which caused a daily moisture detection...
Short Update for future visitors:
I sent my S10 to a repair workshop, they wanted me to pay 400€ for changing the motherboard because the USB was faulty.
I let them send the phone unrepaired back to me. After this I found a guy in a German Android forum who repairs phones for a living and send the phone to him.
He found the issue which causing the USB not working. There were some cold soldering joints on some ICs in the bottom area of the Mainboard best the USB. He reflowed everything and got it to work again. I payed much less than 400€ for this and wanted to share this to you.
So, Samsung built the phone like a disposable cell phone and the repair shops aren't able or willing to put some work in it against Samsung's policy. They want more money for you for replacing the whole Mainboard even if it's not really needed.
This isn't just a fraud against the customers, it's also not really sustained and environmental friendly to dispose a fully working mainboard with just one faulty part.
Jannomag said:
Short Update for future visitors:
I sent my S10 to a repair workshop, they wanted me to pay 400€ for changing the motherboard because the USB was faulty.
I let them send the phone unrepaired back to me. After this I found a guy in a German Android forum who repairs phones for a living and send the phone to him.
He found the issue which causing the USB not working. There were some cold soldering joints on some ICs in the bottom area of the Mainboard best the USB. He reflowed everything and got it to work again. I payed much less than 400€ for this and wanted to share this to you.
So, Samsung built the phone like a disposable cell phone and the repair shops aren't able or willing to put some work in it against Samsung's policy. They want more money for you for replacing the whole Mainboard even if it's not really needed.
This isn't just a fraud against the customers, it's also not really sustained and environmental friendly to dispose a fully working mainboard with just one faulty part.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you provide a way to contact that guy? Just in case someone needs a repair like that. I think sometimes the best way to repair our phones is taking them to an electronics repair shop. Samsung repair services are not ready for soldering or micro-soldering
I can't and I don't want to ask him.
But I think there are guys who can repair like this are present everywhere, it's just hard to find them.
This is why I posted the solution he shared with me here.
Jannomag said:
I can't and I don't want to ask him.
But I think there are guys who can repair like this are present everywhere, it's just hard to find them.
This is why I posted the solution he shared with me here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then I don't believe it. You've given some off the wall info and can't back it up. If he's in that business I'd think he would be glad for the reference. Yet you make no effort to really help anyone other than to tell them to do a search that even you admit is "hard to find". Is this some secret forum that requires a secret handshake to access? I'll just say BS and move on.
That's very rude, you know?
It's because he's not active here at xda but I can share the German Facebook post he made about my phone, since it's public:
https://m.facebook.com/mobilehardandsoftwaresolutions/posts/940388593002810
My intention wasn't to share the guys address. It's not magic to repair a phone and with this information every good repairshop with good instruments should be able to repair or find such an issue.
Hey all, bit of a weird one here that might not have a fix beyond hardware replacement.
My Japanese Pixel 5a (model G4S1M) recently ran into the black screen of death issue, where the display and touch completely stopped functioning. Since I'm not overseas nowadays, I took the phone to a local uBreakiFix location to see if they could perform an in-warranty repair. To my surprise, they could, BUT in doing so they've installed a US-based (G1F8F) motherboard, and now the cell radio is permanently stuck off. My immediate assumption is a hardware mismatch, where the now-US board is expecting a different variant of hardware to interface with.
At the store's recommendation, they even performed a second motherboard swap (still G1F8F), same issue. They've marked it as "unrepairable" and advise I try to get a replacement arranged with Google. My question is, does anyone have any potential insight as to what might be going on, or anything on the software side that I could attempt to try and force the radio to cooperate before shipping it off? From my limited research it seems as though the ROMs are identical between regions, and flashing any that are marked for SoftBank, etc give no different results.
Happy to provide any additional details, I figure someone may find this interesting though at the very least.
Thanks!