the data connector on the missus' new phone is *way* too stiff. I'm convinced it's going to break at some point.
Is there anything that can be done to make it fit a little less snugly? i thought it'd get better over time but it hasn't so far...
I know what you mean, if you look on the back of the plug you will see a little dimple of metal sticking up that does the locking part. What I did was very carefully file it flat and now the plug just slips in easily, it is very small so be careful with filing it down.
mine broke indeed... it pulled out with the charger... ended up putting a new core in from a parts phone off ebay... had to unlock, etc though... good call with the filing...
did the exact same thing batfrog,but I used the rough edge of a flathead screwdriver.Whenever I get to open the phone I might go in there and put in some epoxy behind the connector for kicks....
Unless you are swinging the phone around your head like a lasso..the connector is way too tight..it almost seems like it was designed to break..planned obsolescence anyone?
** UPDATED WITH PICS **
I just got a LapDock from an AT&T store thinking I can mess with it to make it work with my Photon. After disassembling the docking connector, I found that there are 2 separate connectors for the ports, which is awesome. This allowed me to manipulate them into position to fit my MoPho. Plugged it up, and it fired right up like the HD dock for the TV. I'm writing this post from it now, it's pretty cool! I plan on putting up some pics in a bit showing the connections. I'll delve into the device more fully later, but this accessory will work with the Photon fully! No limitations (at least, not in my limited testing)
Good stuff! Looking forward to seeing some photos (taken from your Photon of course, right?) of the dock to see what modifications you made!
Awesome!
I just ordered my Photon today and was hoping that by the time it arrived, someone would have pulled a MacGyver and figured out how to rig the Atrix dock.
You sir, are this month's official winner MacGyver award.
Looking forward to seeing the pics too.
Can't wait to see the pics.
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Close up of the Photon HD Dock vs the LapDock. You can see the difference in orientation
The Dock connector needs to be flipped out, then can be opened by removing a screw on each side under a small flat cover.
pop open the connector, its just clicked together at this point. unscrew the metal clip holding the individual connectors to the chassis. the individual connectors can now be manipulated into position for the Photon.
the connectors can be routed under and behind the LapDock so that the Photon lays on the table. I want to figure out a way to rearrange the connectors to hold the Photon like it should, in the dock normally. Webtop fires up and operates as it does on the HD Station.
Nicely done...and glad to give you your FIRST Thanks! I might hafta find me a LapDock on the cheap!
Further disassembly. Flip the LapDock over, remove the screw in the middle near the back of the unit. remove the 2 rubber feet at the back of the unit and remove the 2 screws revealed.flip back over. pry (carefully) the back top cover off the unit, working along the very back of the unit. This should pop the cover off. There is a thin wire running to the charge indicator along the front of the top cover, so work carefully. once off, the circuitry can be examined. the connector that leads to the dock is along the left edge of the board. one PCB connector feeds both dock connectors. This connector is like laptop LCD connectors, and easily pops up and off the board
Bandage said:
Nicely done...and glad to give you your FIRST Thanks! I might hafta find me a LapDock on the cheap!
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LOL thanks! kinda funny, been lurking here for years, ran into a problem posting this writeup since i was a 'new' member with only 2 previous posts. had to wait 5 minutes between updates.
I saw LapDocks on AT&T's site for only $175 for refurbished units, not too bad considering I paid 300 to get a unit to hack apart....
After removing the dock portion from the rest of the unit, I removed the connectors and took an Xacto knife to the openings for the individual connectors. I removed the shaped openings for the micro hdmi and micro usb, leaving plain rectangular openings. I then fitted the connectors back in, rotating them to match the orientation on the Photon. Luckily, the Atrix has the same spacing between the ports, just a mirror layout and shifted down the edge of the phone. with longer wires, this could be made to be a perfect fit for the Photon, but Moto apparenly knows best
anyway, after getting the connectors set properly, I then pieced it all back together. the new layout strains the wires just a bit, so that everything else is not quite as smooth as it was starting out. It's fine, and works properly, but theres that little bit thats just noticeable. the MoPho hangs off the edge of the dock, and has to be pressed tightly to ensure a good connection, but works great. There is a small piece that pops off of the dock portion, i think its removed if you're using a case with the Atrix, Make sure this piece stays off, I dont think the connection will be very good otherwise.
cdthomas9 said:
After removing the dock portion from the rest of the unit, I removed the connectors and took an Xacto knife to the openings for the individual connectors. I removed the shaped openings for the micro hdmi and micro usb, leaving plain rectangular openings. I then fitted the connectors back in, rotating them to match the orientation on the Photon. Luckily, the Atrix has the same spacing between the ports, just a mirror layout and shifted down the edge of the phone. with longer wires, this could be made to be a perfect fit for the Photon, but Moto apparenly knows best
anyway, after getting the connectors set properly, I then pieced it all back together. the new layout strains the wires just a bit, so that everything else is not quite as smooth as it was starting out. It's fine, and works properly, but theres that little bit thats just noticeable. the MoPho hangs off the edge of the dock, and has to be pressed tightly to ensure a good connection, but works great. There is a small piece that pops off of the dock portion, i think its removed if you're using a case with the Atrix, Make sure this piece stays off, I dont think the connection will be very good otherwise.
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Hey CD...what about flipping the connectors around in their sockets so the Photon would sit flush, but facing away from the LapDock?
Webtop runs great, i like the environment as a whole, but there isnt much to do natively. Email apps and maneuvering around the phone UI is a little irritating. You can just make the Mobile View full screen, but some of the interface doesnt scale well. I'd like to see native webtop apps, like firefox is, but I'm not sure how that works.
cdthomas9 said:
the connectors can be routed under and behind the LapDock so that the Photon lays on the table. I want to figure out a way to rearrange the connectors to hold the Photon like it should, in the dock normally. Webtop fires up and operates as it does on the HD Station.
Click to expand...
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This thread excited me!!! Have you found a way to make it sit inside yet?
Bandage said:
Hey CD...what about flipping the connectors around in their sockets so the Photon would sit flush, but facing away from the LapDock?
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I thought of that, but the micro hdmi connector doesn't have enough give or length to do it. I also thought of breaking out the soldering iron, kynar wire and HST but I think that theres a lot of wire in those bundles...
ScandaLeX said:
This thread excited me!!! Have you found a way to make it sit inside yet?
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Click to collapse
Post 13 shows the closest i can get, without lengthening wires i think. or getting Moto to make me a longer connection set
newalker91 said:
I would just dremel a nice little hole through the plastic immediately above the base connector and run the wires up the back of the screen, then build a cradle onto the back of the monitor for the phone. I need to save up and buy one and get to work.
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LOL, I was thinking of doing the same thing. Just mount the phone to the back of the screen somehow, but the wires are literally no more than 2" long. I think Bandage was looking into micro usb and hdmi extension cables though....
cdthomas9 said:
LOL, I was thinking of doing the same thing. Just mount the phone to the back of the screen somehow, but the wires are literally no more than 2" long. I think Bandage was looking into micro usb and hdmi extension cables though....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah...no luck finding an effin Micro HDMI extension cable tho. Anyone else find someone who makes / distributes them?
Hey Everyone.
While sitting on my living room floor, I dropped my Prime & Dock from about a foot high onto the carpet. Murphy's Law: Gravity will always exert a greater force on the weakest part of your device. The Prime landed on the charging connector. I thought for sure the wire itself would be kinked up and broken (My mind is racing: "can I get a new cable from somewhere in less than 18 hours?! Argh!") As it turns out, the cable was fine, but the port itself was broken.
The little plastic comb that separates the upper pins from the lower pins was broken and had fallen out. I figured I would have to send the dock into Asus to be repaired one way or another, so I thought I'd take a stab at a repair. I used my smallest two flathead screwdrivers (PC-repair sized) to gently bend the upper pins further up and the lower pins lower down. I describe how little of an adjustment I'm talking about here- it has to create just enough room for you to slip the comb piece back in, but not be so much that the charge wire won't flatten them back down when you first connect it.
To make the comb stick, I used the smallest imaginable amount of superglue at either end of the comb piece. It seems the plastic is a little thicker there and there aren't any pins (that might get coated with glue) at the very ends. I used small needle-nose pliers to insert the comb and held it tight for a few seconds. I then put the dock in position so that the comb was facing straight up, so that gravity (grrr) wouldn't pull the comb piece down out of perfect vertical alignment while the glue cured. I left it overnight just to be safe.
Next morning, I plugged in the power connector and all was well. I've probably plugged and unplugged it 20 times or so now, and it feels reasonably solid. Mind you, I have NO doubt that this fix is temporary. The second I trip on the power cord or forget to be gentle with the device that superglue is going to let go. At that point maybe I'll send the dock off for repair. I just couldn't part with it this early on, knowing Asus is dealing with about a zillion more important fish to fry right now.
So, If you happen to have the same problem- give some glue a shot. It worked for me!
Kudos! I can't ask you to recreate and photo lol
But if anyone else runs into this, please take some macros of the process to give people a good idea of just how much bending of the pins is needed.
Naturally. I thought of taking pictures the next morning after everything was working again.
If the comb breaks out again, I'll probably attempt one more repair before I send it to Asus. If and when that happens I'll post up some pics.
As far as the bending of pins, I just pressed gently and tried to insert the comb piece with pliers. If it seemed too difficult to do with glue on the broken piece, I just set it down and pried on the pins a bit more. I guess if you looked at them, you would have been hard-pressed to tell if they were any wider than normal. The telling fact was being able to slide the broken piece back into the pins fairly easily. Once I could do that, I actually applied the glue, inserted the piece, and let it set up.
So as many people here know, the rear camera is a sore point on the Transformer Prime, in that it's known to go bad early and often. Not to beat a dead horse, here's how we fix the situation:
Replacing the rear camera module:
Yes it seems logical that this would be all you would need, but I've just confirmed myself that in fact it is only the camera module with a problem. The main issue with the fix is FINDING a good camera. I was a bit discouraged on my first attempt as I bought a rear camera on ebay listed as "working" from a parted out Transformer Prime only to go to the hassle of installing it and it not working. I can't say I was surprised, but after trying to find one for so long I took the chance. Upon recieving my refund, I purchased another rear webcam that surprisingly also surfaced. The seller for this second camera had TONS of feedback, and mostly products with the word "foxconn" in the title, indicating this guy seems to have a line on foxconn surplus parts, which for us is awesome. The camera I received appears to be brand new and fired up immediately! Not trying to push a particular seller but since many people are probably looking for this part, I'll post the link http://www.ebay.com/itm/Asus-Eee-Pa...?pt=US_Tablet_Accessories&hash=item416a33f1f9. The seller is skyline27 and he appears to have one left right now (I bought the second). NOW, enough theory, onto the howto.
HOWTO (the good stuff)
0. Turn off Tablet (thanks whycali)
1. Remove screen as instructed in other disassembly threads (wifi fix threads, etc) Advice for this includes working from the bottom first, being vary carefly to NEVER use the pry tool at either the latch holes or the bottom port, as these very thin pieces of aluminum will bend. Get your tool in (heh heh) to the left or right of these "holes" in the case, then slide the tool sideways past them to avoid prying outwards. Get the entire bottom free, then slowly work up the sides with your plastic tools/credit card. When you get to the top, try gently pulling the screen "Down" or the port. You can also pull up like the rest, but when I disassembled I saw what looked like "hooks" that made me want to slide the top out last by pulling it towards the dock port.
1.2 (I forgot) Flip switch on right side of motherboard (top board) that will disconnect power to the motherboard before disconnecting the battery. Don't forget to switch it back when finished, or it won't turn on. (thanks whycali)
1.5 (I forgot) unscrew and remove flash and microphone at top
2. You can either disconnect the screen ribbon cable from the motherboard *top board* (makes your life easier) or simply set the screen upside down, rotated 90, and to the left of the opened prime. This allows the cables to sit fairly easily, though since you'll be removing the motherboard anyways it may be easier to unplug
3. Unscrew 8 battery screws, carefully unplug wide connector (I used precision flathead to the left and right of plug as to not 'yank'). Set battery aside.
4. Be sure every cable is unplugged from the Motherboard. This includes a small battery on the left side, the power button/volume cable top left, as well as the speaker cable on the right side.
5. Remove all motherboard screws. Be sure you get them all, you don't want to snap the motherboard in half in a minute because we'll be pulling against a little adhesive.
6. Be careful. REMOVE MOTHERBOARD This is the step you're most likely to have an issue, but it's still really easy. Time to remove the motherboard. This is easy if you know what to expect.
6a Both cameras are slightly adhesived into their holes, also plugged to back of motherboard. You can either try and pull these with the mobo, or let them stay where they are and pull them out later (probably easier for beginners)
6b There is a thermal pad about 1/3 away from the left where the CPU is. It is a bit adhesive, but not too much
6c MOST IMPORTANT - The motherboard is sort of "sandwiched" into the ports on the sides. That is, it doesn't want to pull straight up and out, the hdmi and headphone jacks are in the way. I believe it's very easy to break the HDMI and/or headphone jack here, yet I haven't yet. 2 ways to approach, one is to pull the side of the tablet outward slightly at the headphone jack to slide it up, allowing you to lift that side of the board, then sliding to the right to clear the hdmi. The second method which I prefer, is pulling up on the mobo from the center, causing the outer edges to pull inward slightly as the board flexes a bit. Choose whichever you prefer
7. Replace the camera. If you're this far along, I really shouldn't have to explain this. The front and rear sit side by side, your front is probably good, there's a piece of tape over the connectors, pull up, replace rear, make sure plugged in firmly on both, replace tape.
Installation is reverse of removal. I recommend plugging the screen ribbon (and all ribbon cables) into the motherboard before reinstalling it, as the connectors are on the bottom of the board and very difficult to get at once installed in the prime. Again, flex the motherboard or prime slightly to clear the ports going back in. Be sure cameras are attached to the motherboard, when installing, be sure to double check one last time that they're still plugged into the board before putting the board down and letting the cameras sit in their plastic holders. And don't forget that internal power switch on the right side of the motherboard.
FWIW, and I'm sure many will disagree with me, but I typically check everything before snapping the screen back up by booting it up with a few sheets of paper between the screen and internals as an extra safety insulator. Check screen, touch screen, both cameras, SD card, speaker, then I snap it shut.
If anyone really needs pictures I think I have a few, though not really specifically of what I was doing, but I could highlight/circle the pics I have if anyone gets stuck.
I really hope I can help others get a working camera who can't/won't RMA for the issue. Now time to UNLOCK MUAHAHAHA!!!
One thing I mostly remember to do when I plan to disassemble the ribbon cables is to turn off the internal power switch first.
I know this is an older thread but does anybody know where to get a new camera. The one that is linked to in the above post is no longer available. Thanks
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk 2
I've read many horror stories about magnetic chargers tearing off the port from Z3's. I don't want to go there so I thought I ask if anyone had some DIY tricks to prevent such issues.
I have a cheap noname cable which has a decent magnet. It keeps the thing in place, the phone charges, but I have no idea if its strength is considered too strong or not. The phone is standing in a home made "dock" (an opened 8mm cassette case so probably doesn't really need that much adhesion to keep things attached.
My best idea is to fix the charging cable to the case so the stiff-ish cable holds up the head at level with the port. Then I'd file the magnet on the head until it's just enough to snap the head the right place when the phone is pushed against it. What do you think?
I bought a weaker magnetic that still took a bit of pull or wiggle to remove. Funny enough the magnetic charger itself broke, I just avoid them now
I've just compared the noname z3 mag cable to the one from the DK31 dock for the Z1: While their physical dimensions are exactly the same the 3rd party cable sports a decidedly stronger magnet.
It charges my Z1 fine, even from a PC usb port. (The DK31 doesn't have a limiter apparently so through it the phone tries to suck as much power as it can which makes the mobo turn off that USB port.)
I've just finished filing the magnet, now it's like an up side down arch, so has a curved valley in the middle, deep down to the level of the plastic casing. ~2mm (0.08 in) left untouched on both ends. It's keeps things in place roughly as strongly as the cable from a DK31 dock. And that is rather weak as the cable pushing against the table can twist off the head. Interestingly since the magnet now has two "feet" at the ends and is not a continuous surface it comes off more "softly", more gradually, kind of rolls off as opposed to the DK31 cable which you pull pull and suddenly the whole thing fully pops off.
I tried and the 3rd party cable fits nicely in the DK31 box. The only thing preventing me from using it to charge the Z3 is that the holder insert is 2mm too wide. It shouldn't be too much of a problem gluing textile in there to secure the phone but for now I'll see how the weakened head works just lying on the table.