[Q] Evo Flyer - Broken charging port... - HTC Flyer, EVO View 4G

A friend of mine dropped his HTC Evo View 4g (Sprint) dead-center on the charging port while it was plugged in and it snapped the USB connector completely off the PCB. Before even bothering to see if it could be repaired by HTC, he just went and bought a brand new one and told me that I could have his old one to do whatever I please.
So now here I am with a fully-functional HTC Evo View, sans charging port... I tore it down and removed the PCB, thinking that it was just a standard Micro-USB connection, and that I could just use my fine-tipped soldering iron to replace it... Boy was I wrong, there are something like twelve tiny little solder points. So I started doing some digging, and came up with this: *URL REMOVED SEE REPLY FROM ME* Replacement Charging Port PCB for the HTC Flyer
... the two look nearly identical, save for (what appear to be) some minor cosmetic differences. That, and the part numbers are slightly different. My PCB has a part number of 50H00689-10M-A, and the one listed on the above site has a part number of 50H00635-01M-XC. But, otherwise, they're identical, at least to my eye.
My question is, is the $31.68 replacement part for the HTC Flyer compatible with the HTC Evo View? Or am I **** out of luck?

Since Benwin was unable to reply to his own post, I'm posting the link to the replacement part.
OEM HTC Flyer Charging Port PCB
benwin113 said:
A friend of mine dropped his HTC Evo View 4g (Sprint) dead-center on the charging port while it was plugged in and it snapped the USB connector completely off the PCB. Before even bothering to see if it could be repaired by HTC, he just went and bought a brand new one and told me that I could have his old one to do whatever I please.
So now here I am with a fully-functional HTC Evo View, sans charging port... I tore it down and removed the PCB, thinking that it was just a standard Micro-USB connection, and that I could just use my fine-tipped soldering iron to replace it... Boy was I wrong, there are something like twelve tiny little solder points. So I started doing some digging, and came up with this: *URL REMOVED SEE REPLY FROM ME* Replacement Charging Port PCB for the HTC Flyer
... the two look nearly identical, save for (what appear to be) some minor cosmetic differences. That, and the part numbers are slightly different. My PCB has a part number of 50H00689-10M-A, and the one listed on the above site has a part number of 50H00635-01M-XC. But, otherwise, they're identical, at least to my eye.
My question is, is the $31.68 replacement part for the HTC Flyer compatible with the HTC Evo View? Or am I **** out of luck?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Thanks for the help in posting the link that I cannot post yet...
Sad, I've been a member for four years this month, and I've only got four (now five) posts... I fail

Since its listed as a real replacement part, I'd guess it would work. since its a replacement it would have all the MHL stuff the Flyer has along with the USB lines. Since the View uses the same connection and connector including MHL its really should match.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Xparent Purple Tapatalk 2

I hope it works for ya. Let us know.
Sent from my Evo3D using XDA Premium.

evo view vs. flyer
My son had the same happen to his evo view. I have a htc flyer and took both apart to see if parts where interchangeable and noticed that there is a sslight difference between each.
The view has two additional cables at each end of the board that snap in. The flyer doesnt have these cables. I'm guessing its a connector for one of the since the flyer is a wifi only version.
Other than that they are exactly identical, but i have no clue if the flyer board will work in a view.
However my wife has a view as well. I got them all on a good sale. Anyways, I successfully swapped the boards out and my son's view is now working. Its a temporary fix until i find an exact replacement.
Sent from my HTC Flyer.
---
I just visited the link in post #2 and it looks like the listed part is almost identical to the one in the EVO View. It has the additional 2 small connectors at each end not on the flyer wifi version. I'm going to order one as well and hope that it fits my son's broken View. Thanks for the lead on part replacement.

Here is a photo of the PCB of the flyer, my guess a wifi only version:
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And here is a photo of part I pulled from my son's View:
Its a little hard to see, but here is a closer look at the extra connection found on the View: (again from the part I pulled)
From the link in post #2, it looks like the one being sold is really close to the part I pulled as well. Maybe its for the 3G version of the Flyer and is why it has the extra connections?

Those most definitely are antenna connections. And if the flyer part you're looking at has the same I'd agree with your guess, a 3G Flyer.
Makes me wonderif the radios are on that board and if I put one of those in my wifi Flyer will it become 3G?
Sent from my PG41200 using Xparent Purple Tapatalk 2

Going to have to look at board again. See if it has connections for radios as well on my flyer.
Sent from my HTC Flyer using xda premium

rangergm said:
Going to have to look at board again. See if it has connections for radios as well on my flyer.
Sent from my HTC Flyer using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cool, did it have the connections?

Naz12 said:
cool, did it have the connections?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No connections on the part for my original flyer.
---------- Post added at 10:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:02 PM ----------
Last week I ordered the charging port PCB that is listed in post #2 of this thread and received it in the mail today.
The replacement part is almost identical to the original damaged part from the EVO View. One of the major differences I noticed is that the new part did not have the same number of gold clips (sorry I'm not sure what the technical name is). I am assuming they are for grounding purposes into the metal housing.
The other difference is that there was only one connecting port for the radio wires. Since my son is only using the View as a WiFi device, I am not to worried if the 4G radio is not working.
I installed the new board, hooked up all connections (minus 1 radio cable), replaced all covers and powered on the device. It worked like a charm and the charging port is fully functioning again.
The only problem that I noticed is that the wifi signal is not as strong as before. The repaired View gets 1 less bar than my Flyer and wife's View. Not sure if its due to the lack of 1 connection or the missing clips? Other than that, the View is like new!
Below is a photo of the two boards side by side. The top board is the original and the bottom board is the replacement.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-jAvXoxtSY-c/T7GF0ebKhHI/AAAAAAAAE4g/qX_koX5w3NA/s0-d/20120514_151202.jpg
Thanks for starting this thread and posting the link for part replacement.

In looking at your pic I'd bet that you could unsolder both the antenna mount and the gold clips from your original board and move then to the replacement board.
As far as signal strength, I know I've seen numerous posts here saying that the View's wifi signal is weaker than the Flyer's.
Sent from my PG41200 using Xparent Purple Tapatalk 2

thanks for sharing your results.
I'm about to order the part as i to need it for the one my daughter broke.
BTW did you need to completely take the back cover off or just the small cover over the USB connector?

I removed the entire cover. The small cover at the bottom of the device is not like the top cover which snaps off and on. It has 2 small screws that gold it in place and can only be accessed from the opposite side.
Sent from Samsung GS2 using xda premium.

Well today received the Flyer charging port for my View. i ordered it from the link posted on this thread, Its exactly the same as the one i pulled out from my View"gold clips" and all, the removal and install was a breeze.
However the signal strength is really weak, i get 1 bar from 10 feet away from my wireless router. and it dies out all together from any further away. im not sure what to do next with it... maybe try to reseat the antenna connectors in case they are loose but i doubt that's the problem.
Anyone have any ideas?
thanks

What you're describing is classic antenna trouble. First I'd make sure the antenna wire is correctly connected and then that the grounds on the board are attached properly.
Sent from my PG41200 using Xparent Purple Tapatalk 2

wow sorry i feel a sleep before i got a chance to post this:
I got it working looks like the WiFi connector came loose when i closed up the back panel, i secured it with some scotch tape seems to be working better then before.
but wait now i have another problem... i cant get my PC to connect with the View. I tried 3 different computers and numerous USB cables. i wonder if one of the PCB bd. connections came loose and its keeping the Flyer from Sync with me desktop, Damn!

I was in the same situation
Hello,
I would like to add to this thread.
I was in the same situation. I had broken the charging port on my evo view.
I did what a couple others here did, I bought the flyer replacement board from etradesupply. (I would like to thank everyone here for that information).
In only a couple of days, I received the board (ordered on 5-22 received on 5-24). The board had both antennae connections and the grounding clips.
Once installed, my View worked as 3g, not 4g, but that was expected as I believe the flyer is 3g. I am not using the 3g/4g so I cannot say whether the signal strength has changed, however my wifi signal seems to be as strong as it was with the original board.
One thing now, the home/menu/back buttons along the edge do not light up when the tablet is in the vertical position. They still work, just not visible. I did not examine the new board close enough to notice if the led lights were actually on the board. The old original board did have leds on it. Perhaps the flyer did not have those buttons and therefore did not need the lights. Someone with a flyer could answer that.
Or maybe I jarred something loose when I was replacing the board. I really hate to take the board out just to check for the lights, but curiousity may get the better of me and I will do that.
I hope this helps anyone out there.

I own a Wifi only 16GB Flyer and 32GB View. Lights are the same on both. Outwardly they are identical but color, although the innards have differences. Sprint doesn't have 4G service where I live so I can't comment on 4G connectivity.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Xparent Purple Tapatalk 2

Thanks
Thanks bsoplinger for the information.
Curiousity did get the better of me anyway and I took my View apart again. The leds are there, just not lighting up. I could not find out online which cable controls that aspect of the board, so I unplugged and replugged in the cables, still no lights. I am just leaving well enough alone and will enjoy a working View again.
I do know if the View is upgraded to android 3 (honeycomb) those buttons/lights are turned off anyway.

Related

Improper Grounding? Metal back tingles when charging.

Has anyone else noticed that when the tablet is charging, if you rub your fingers very lightly on the metal back you will feel what seems like very light vibrations? I tried this on two primes and each does the same----this only happens when the AC is plugged into the prime. It's as if the tablet is not properly grounded or something. I really want to like this thing but I have growing doubts about Asus' build quality.
For example, lightly rub the back left side from bottom to top. Keep your right off the tablet. Once you feel the tingling grasp the tablet with your hand (touching the metal of course). You should now notice the tingling can't be replicated with your left hand... As if your right hand is now grounding the tablet. Remove your right hand and continue rubbing with your left hand. Good vibrations??
Yeah I was wondering what that was
Sent from my HTC Vision using Tapatalk
Have it on mine too, wtf?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Same thing happened on the dock of the original Transformer (TF101).
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
My macbook pro does that too. I wouldn't be concerned, just don't take a bath with it.
Thats just the prime sapping your life force, please disregard.
how do you guys find all these things? Y'all have too much time on your hand's!
soundneedle said:
Has anyone else noticed that when the tablet is charging, if you rub your fingers very lightly on the metal back you will feel what seems like very light vibrations? I tried this on two primes and each does the same----this only happens when the AC is plugged into the prime. It's as if the tablet is not properly grounded or something. I really want to like this thing but I have growing doubts about Asus' build quality.
For example, lightly rub the back left side from bottom to top. Keep your right off the tablet. Once you feel the tingling grasp the tablet with your hand (touching the metal of course). You should now notice the tingling can't be replicated with your left hand... As if your right hand is now grounding the tablet. Remove your right hand and continue rubbing with your left hand. Good vibrations??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
at first i couldn't feel it but i found it, weird feeling but kinda cool
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
Can't replicate the issue or maybe just don't realize it but nothing to worry about I'm sure
This was a problem with the original transformer too
Flipping the charger upside-down fixed the problem for the original
Try that?
Shouldn't be anything to worry about though, it happens with a lot of laptops too
http://google.com/search?q=tingly+sensation+when+charging
I don't have mine yet, but I'd put a multimeter on it.
Is this when you're charging via the 120v USB adapter or a micro-USB cable? If it's via the 120v adapter you don't have a ground at the outlet.
USB has a ground wire but if the adapter doesn't have a ground, then the ground in the TP is only going to be a floating ground. Now I'm not an electrician, but my understanding is that this kind of ground tends to feed back into the power source, or in this case, the battery. The lid is likely grounded to this circuit, meaning if you walk across a thick carpet and touch the lid of your Transformer, instead of possibly frying your Transformer, the electricity is thrown off into the battery / charging circuit.
If someone can provide a more educated answer it would be appreciated, but this appears to be by design... better to protect the electronics in the device than worry about a couple volts escaping the charging circuit onto the back of the device. It seems to me like there would be a diode somewhere to only let power flow from the back into the charging circuit instead of allowing the opposite... but perhaps someone can explain this.
EDIT - I think I figured it out. There probably is a diode between the chassis ground and the charging circuit so that voltage to the chassis will ground to the battery instead of the battery pushing voltage to the chassis, but when the battery is being charged and thus already has all the voltage flowing in that it can handle, the rest of the device has to ground somewhere since the 120v adapter does not allow for an earth ground. So the TFP's circuits are grounding to the chassis during charging for lack of anywhere else to ground to.
I'm willing to bet that using a micro-USB charging cable would solve this issue since the TFP could ground back to the PC at the other end via the USB ground wire instead of the chassis.
You must really love your prime if you were gently stroking its back while it charged...lol...that said, mine does it too.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
Solution found - just do this!
Got some rubber Gloves?
Seriously, this is EXACTLY the same issue as we all experienced with the TF101. It is a polarity/grounding issue with the horrendously cheap charging unit supplied with the Transformer. A simple reversal of the polarity on the charger will stop the issue.
With the TF101, they released 2 different "fixed" charging... transformers, pun intended, and neither one made the slightest difference. I was seriously freaked when I first felt the "buzz" from the metal areas of the TF101, and did a LOT of research on it.
The weird thing is, they could have made one blade wider on the step down charger, to force it one way in the wall socket, but my guess it, it's different in different areas: Meaning, I had to put my charger in "upside down" (with the ASUS logo being upside down to eliminate the tingle, but at least one other person needed it the reverse.
It is seriously creepy feeling (some claim to like it LOL) and I can NOT believe that having a trickle of current, no matter how tiny, running across the entire casing can be good for the longevity of the device. When I saw that the charger was essentially unchanged form the TF101, I was seriously worried that the issue would still occur, and, of course with a full metal jacket, it would be that much more bothersome.
I do NOT expect ASUS to resolve this, since they never did on the first transformer, so it, just get used to plugging in the right way each time.
Anyone want to volunteer touch the casein when the buzz is present while in a bathtub? Might make for an interesting lawsuit.
I am actually semi-serious. Years ago we had a cheap Taiwanese video card fry the GPU, set off smoke alarms and bring out the Fire Department in the middle of the night. When I returned it the bottom of the pricing food chain warehouse, ALL of the employees came to the counter (all 12 of them, LOL) and wanted a look at it. You could see the noticeable worry on their faces, and what appeared to be actual fear in their eyes. Somewhat intrigued, I asked: "So why are you guys so worried about this? Answer: "We have a few hundred of these sold, and one in OUR labs fried last night, and actually started a fire. We are concerned about the others that are out there now...."
I'll BET they were. Asus isn't going to set anything afire, short of some tempers, but this is NOT a good issue to see an a "Premium" Top Tier Tablet. On THIS issue, I will be communication with ASUS.
Has anyone taken a multimeter and measured this? Touch one probe to the back of the Transformer Prime, and the other to a grounded or large metal object - a sink faucet or metal handrail etc..
SmartAs$Phone said:
Anyone want to volunteer touch the casein when the buzz is present while in a bathtub? Might make for an interesting lawsuit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ohh .... let me try *facepalm*
Lol
With the lawyer saying "my client was simply using his tablet in the bath ... whilst charging it"
Good plan batman
_Gir_ said:
My macbook pro does that too. I wouldn't be concerned, just don't take a bath with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
didn't someone die from doing that?
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It's the same with the original Transformer, never had any problem whatsoever with that. don't worry it won't eat you, burns your house or erase your HDD (though, I wouldn't try this one if i were you.)
If you want to worry about something related, worry about the AC charger, if it's the same as the original one it definitly looks like a fire hazard.
My aluminium HP laptop also has this. Same for my Desire Z. Nothing to worry about; move along people!
Testing testing...
I intent to take a multimeter to it, as soon as I GET that darned ting, and right after I test for light bleed, Wifi performance wne whetheI am one of the "lucky" one who's GPS actually functions.
MAN, am I glad I got the "Premium" experience of the Transfomer Prime.

GPS Antenna Contacts

I’ve been struggling with why my GPS quit seeing any satellites after the 9.4.2.11 update when I realized something looking at Anand’s teardown:
AnandTech - ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime Teardown
Perhaps the antenna connections are weak or have become slightly corroded. Based on his teardown the contacts are spring type “pogopins” which mate with the opposite face. With that thought in mind I decided to try and flex the tablet ever so slightly to clean the contacts. The idea being that the slight flex would cause the pins to scrape the contact surface rubbing a clean(er) spot.
Before the 9.4.2.11 update I had the typical poor performance from the GPS, getting locks but losing them on the move. I had given up on it [GPS] until this update which touted GPS improvements. After updating and wiping I tested the GPS again, but could not see even one satellite after letting it sit, more than once, for over an hour with Wi-Fi on and off.
I must stress I strongly suggest you do not try this on your tablet for fear of damaging it. I take no responsibly for damage to anyone’s tablet and am only reporting my actions.
After this procedure I am able to see several birds indoors, albeit with weak SNR. This has me convinced that part of the problem is related to these contacts, and may serve to explain some of the weak Wi-Fi reports. It may also help illustrate why only some users are seeing issues, and perhaps why some of the returns are functioning better. These contacts may be more robust in some units or possibly be able to be rectified via service.
I do understand there are other factors related to both the GPS and Wi-Fi, but this appears, at least to me, to be part of the bigger picture.
Please note that the amount of flex I’m talking about is next to nothing, enough to see a change in light bleed around the display, I was afraid to go too far.
*Mods, I'm not sure why this post was deleted before, please PM me if there is a problem with this post. I did not include the link.*
Hi jhovak,
that sounds very interesting and makes me nervous thinking of manipulating a new device. You are brave!
Do you have some pictures of your action?
Thanks.
Cheers,
René.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=21489600&postcount=10
You can bypass the pogo pins by connecting a pigtail to the UF.L connector at the chip leadouts, then solder the other end to the antennae's copper pads. It should improve reception.
e.mote,
Looks like you beat me to this I never saw your post, but that's exactly my thoughts. I was able to torque it a bit to get it working again. That maye be what they are doing to get the RMAs reported to work better, "fixed".
motocamp,
Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the process, but you wouldn't be able to see much, I only deformed the case/screen very slightly. The problem is you may end up popping other solder joints in the process.
jhovak said:
I’ve been struggling with why my GPS quit seeing any satellites after the 9.4.2.11 update when I realized something looking at Anand’s teardown:
AnandTech - ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime Teardown
Perhaps the antenna connections are weak or have become slightly corroded. Based on his teardown the contacts are spring type “pogopins” which mate with the opposite face. With that thought in mind I decided to try and flex the tablet ever so slightly to clean the contacts. The idea being that the slight flex would cause the pins to scrape the contact surface rubbing a clean(er) spot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. Makes perfect sense to me.
Everyone has the same aluminum back, so you would expect the same results across the board (barring weather and atmospheric conditions) for all Primes. There has to be another piece to the puzzle of bad GPS performance when some user's report GPS working and getting locks and other user's reports no GPS active with no satellites seen and no locks.
Thanks e.mote for your explanation of the antena contacts. I think you hit the cause of the GPS problem. Hopefully ASUS saw your post and address this prioblem so it does not occur on their the planned 700 series.
Cheers
I forwarded all this info to Gary in a pm just recently. including details, link to that thread e.mote posted in and that teardown showing pogo pins. hopefully he will get it soon and pass info to engineers.
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pardon my lack of GPS knowledge but what is considered good or bad when comparing GPS in general? This is my prime outside earlier but there were fluctuations
I am a bit more skeptical about the hardware pins as a sole cause. Reason:
I had pretty decent GPS performance until this last update which totally killed my GPS performance. This suggests to me that there is a firmware/driver type component to at least some people's problems. The same update did correct other people's problems. So perhaps there are some slight differences in the GPS chips that the firmware is not playing nice with or accounting for?
I can confirm this at least partially works. I tried to drive home using GPS test the other day from work and could hardly get a lock especially at high speeds. I saw this and did a number of squeezes aroung the area of the GPS connector and had a significant change.
Drove home with GPS test today and I hardly ever saw it not locked, even going at 70mph, though it would go between 2 and 8 locked sats or so. Halfway through the drive I opened google maps. It took 10-15 seconds to lock, but then I watched my blue arrow follow the road exactly almost the entire way home. It only lost lock when I was stopped under an overpass at a stop light.
To be clear the signal strength is not that of my phone, but at least it's working now.
Have you seen the new evidence found? It was found out that Original Transformer actually uses the soldered type connection E.mote described. I was gonna start a thread but no use as this one is perfect for the new info.
FIRST here is the quote n pics from e.mote of the current Prime type of connection
e.mote said:
From looking at the Prime teardown, your wifi loss may be due to a loose connection. Instead of running a pigtail directly from the chip lead-out to the antenna, the Prime uses spring-loaded pogo pins (1st pic) as intermediate connectors.
Second pic shows the pogo pins for the main wifi and GPS antennae. The spring-loaded pins are pressed against the copper pads of the respective antenna (3rd pic). Suffice it to say, this isn't the most secure way to connect the antennae.
Aside from possible broken or intermittent connection, it also looks like a high-loss connection, and could contribute to attenuated signal reception. My guess is that this may be the main culprit of wifi/GPS woes, with the metal shell being a contributing factor.
The 4th pic below is a U.FL connector that's normally used for antenna pigtails. The lip has an outer overhang for a secure connection.
My guess is that the tablet was bumped and something shifted a bit, breaking the antenna connection.
This is FYI only, as the unit isn't user-serviceable. It does look like a simple fix, but you'd have to open the unit. Edit: You can try smacking the top edge of the tablet a few times and see if it will jar back into place. Worth a try.
Pogo pins used as intermediate connectors for wifi & GPS antennae
The two pogo pins for main wifi and GPS. The spring-loaded heads are pressed against the antennae's pads to make the connection.
The main wifi & GPS antenna, with copper pads to connect to the pins
U.FL connector, normally used for antenna connection
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NOW here is the Original Prime teardown and type of connection
http://m.techrepublic.com/photos/cr...-transformer-tf101/6270147?seq=53#photo-frame
OG Transformer teardown pix
NOW HERE IS THE KICKER
clenz said:
that GPS/Wifi connection looks like a soldered wire and not pogo pin to me!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WHO said copy n paste n select text doesn't work well on the Prime? Lol I did this all from the Prime itself from various threads.
Extremely interesting. Im definitely returning my GPS-less prime now. Smh
G-Tab 10.1 Wi-Fi antenna connection...
The Wi-Fi chip's on the reverse side of the PCB.
Wi-Fi/BT/FM radio combo chip is in the upper right.
Damn, I thought they used pogopins for just the GPS. Now I just found out they use them for the Wifi too! OUCH! Bad idea. A soldered wire would have been %100 much better, but I'm so afraid now to return my tablet to Asus from hearing the horror stories.
opentoe said:
Damn, I thought they used pogopins for just the GPS. Now I just found out they use them for the Wifi too! OUCH! Bad idea. A soldered wire would have been %100 much better, but I'm so afraid now to return my tablet to Asus from hearing the horror stories.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know right...lol ya damned if you do, damned if you don't ...
Just got PM a lil while ago from Gary n response to the thread n possible pogo pin issue. He said this is something the Engineers are looking very closely at on units being returned to be looked at or repaired. SO things are moving right along. FOUND OUT ALSO my serial number that starts with BCOKA is actually from an early batch that I guess had the older hardware. Engineer or Service person supposed to call within next 48hrs. They are going down the list of people that Gary got serial number, email, and phone number info from. I guess it must be a big list...lmao
SO if I do have to send it in, then they will be adding the new hardware it and hopefully changing those pogo pin connections to soldered ones..lol
Ill know more details once I get their phone call. If I do have to send in, I hope they don't wipe everything as I have around 150-200 apps n games. Things customized n all that. Ill take the new hardware though n hopefully won't go thru the horror stories I've been hearing about on returns. OR ill like it better if they just sent me a brand new tablet with the latest n greatest hardware changes on it then I send mines to them. So it'll give me time to transfer things to new device if need be.
I HAVE AN APP on my Ipad called applist that will list every app you have installed and allow you to email the list to yourself. Does android have anything like this?
Wow. I think we can all agree that Asus dropped the ball in so many areas with the TF201. Who the hell wants to put up with this nonsense???
If only Motorola would build a tablet with a docking clamshell keyboard they could probably take 80% of would be Transformer customers. I'd be first in line.
But what could be the reason ASUS changed to use this pogo pin?
Weight? Cost? ... Sabotage? ... I simly dont understand the engineering thought of it.
racerex said:
Wow. I think we can all agree that Asus dropped the ball in so many areas with the TF201. Who the hell wants to put up with this nonsense???
If only Motorola would build a tablet with a docking clamshell keyboard they could probably take 80% of would be Transformer customers. I'd be first in line.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It would take alot more than that for Motorola to come up n take Asus customers. The xoom, first HC tablet, was a complete flop. Plus Motorola known for locking their systems down, at least initially. MOTOROLA IS NOT too popular of a brand these days, at least tablet wise.
demandarin said:
Just got PM a lil while ago from Gary n response to the thread n possible pogo pin issue. He said this is something the Engineers are looking very closely at on units being returned to be looked at or repaired. SO things are moving right along. FOUND OUT ALSO my serial number that starts with BCOKA is actually from an early batch that I guess had the older hardware. Engineer or Service person supposed to call within next 48hrs. They are going down the list of people that Gary got serial number, email, and phone number info from. I guess it must be a big list...lmao
SO if I do have to send it in, then they will be adding the new hardware it and hopefully changing those pogo pin connections to soldered ones..lol
Ill know more details once I get their phone call. If I do have to send in, I hope they don't wipe everything as I have around 150-200 apps n games. Things customized n all that. Ill take the new hardware though n hopefully won't go thru the horror stories I've been hearing about on returns. OR ill like it better if they just sent me a brand new tablet with the latest n greatest hardware changes on it then I send mines to them. So it'll give me time to transfer things to new device if need be.
I HAVE AN APP on my Ipad called applist that will list every app you have installed and allow you to email the list to yourself. Does android have anything like this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to know BCOKA is from an older batch, have such a unit as well and very crappy GPS and also suffer from mediocre wifi combined with bluetooth degradation.
Also contacted Gary and will keep an eye out for any developments (live in EUrope though).
The majority of Prime users don't root or flash their tablets. Maybe the majority on this site but not the majority of the total users. So I doubt that will dictate the winners in this market.
Secondly, you can't debate that Motorola's hardware prowess is vastly superior to Asus. And definitely good enough not to pull these bone head mistakes that Asus keeps rolling out one after another.
The Xoom wasn't the sexiest by any means but it was solid as a rock functionality wise. Now with the Xyboard and their follow on products improving in the looks department I really do think they could take would-be Transformer customers if they would just offer a keyboard dock.
And if you're wondering the reason I'm not getting a Galaxy tablet, the reason is because their RF electronic know-how is not too much better that Asus's. I gotta say though that at least Samsung had the intelligence not to seal their RF electronics in a Faraday cage. LOL.

WTF is this wire called? Where do I get one?

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I need a new one so I can fix my phone. Getting a new microphone/usb flex board is useless if I can't connect the internal antennae to the mainboard..
Are you talking about the tiny gray wire on the right of the photo?
That looks exactly like a laptop wifi antenna wire, but might just be
a coaxial cable, at least from the part description.
I have the service manual for the Note, and under the part description, that
wire is called: (QCB01) CBF COAXIAL CABLE-GT-I9103
The place I get some parts from is cnn.cn in Hong Kong. The board you have
the photo of is here>> http://cnn.cn/shop/samsung-i717-galaxy-note-microusbantenna-daughterboard-p-15346.html
As for the wire itself, I don't know where you would get one, other than
snagging one from a junked out laptop. You can't splice it back together,
since the impedance of the cable would be compromised, if spliced back
together like a regular wire. Coax cable carries the signal, and if it isn't
resonate & impedance matched, the "transmitter" won't work. At the
frequencies involved, being a little off, will reduce the signal to the point
of being useless.
I believe it is an i-pex connector on that coax wire. You should be able to find something if you look at some of the wireless ISP websites. The Mini-pci cards I used to use for my wireless ISP had those connectors.
Something like this should work, but you need to make sure the specs match to the cable in the phone. No idea how you would figure that out.
http://www.crossrf.com/cable-assemb...coax-w-fl-ipex-mhf3-compatible-cable-assembly
Can I order one directly from Samsung?
I have no warranty, would Samsung fix my phone if I paid them?
I don't want to have to spend $600 on a new Note..
http://www.mengtor.com/product_show.php?category=606&pid=2820
Would this cable work? I'd but this just for the cable.
c0reyl said:
Can I order one directly from Samsung?
I have no warranty, would Samsung fix my phone if I paid them?
I don't want to have to spend $600 on a new Note..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol, dare we ask why no warranty?
shansmi said:
lol, dare we ask why no warranty?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aside from the fact that hes obviously trashed that poor phone? Lol
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda premium
pricej636 said:
Aside from the fact that hes obviously trashed that poor phone? Lol
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I barely had enough to buy the phone, and I figured anything wrong with it that would go wrong would happen within 30 days, and things that mostly happen on accident like screens cracking or water damage isn't even covered.
And, how did I trash it when it still works fine aside from USB not working and I need a new antennae connector? Given two parts, I could easily fix it within 5 minutes...
c0reyl said:
WTF is this wire called? Where do I get one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the guys that would answer your two questions mainly hang out in the Q&A section.
c0reyl said:
I need a new one so I can fix my phone. Getting a new microphone/usb flex board is useless if I can't connect the internal antennae to the mainboard..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Samsung support has a 1 year parts warranty if your USB was installed improperly(not soldered, for instance).
Why the second thread and the tourette's?
Anyways, it sounds like you got your answer for the exact part number/name. Awesome.
Just out of curiosity, why did you ever take it apart to begin with? Samsung would have fixed the broken USB port under their standard 1year factory warranty. Oh well, too late for that now...
Nevermind, I remember who this guy is now, so it all makes sense...
For lawls:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=22742657
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=24013688
BIGGEST LAWL OF THE WEEK!:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=26252304
Yep, that just happened, and what you saw there is real. You're welcome.
Dude, dude dude, what did you do? being that rough with your phone. Hope you don't treat your car the same way
As for your parts, don't bother with sammy, they don't sell parts unless you're buying at retailer quantities. check ebay and other online sellers to find the parts. I've managed to find a lot of parts on Ifixit (yes they do other devices besides apple devices). GL on your hunt for the parts. You may need to just buy an entirely new board btw.
paleh0rse said:
Why the second thread and the tourette's?
Anyways, it sounds like you got your answer for the exact part number/name. Awesome.
Just out of curiosity, why did you ever take it apart to begin with? Samsung would have fixed the broken USB port under their standard 1year factory warranty. Oh well, too late for that now...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm kind of used to having to do everything in life my self. I don't have the luxury of people doing things for me.
Either way, apparently the part I need doesn't exist on the internet..
Theoriginalgiga said:
Dude, dude dude, what did you do? being that rough with your phone. Hope you don't treat your car the same way
As for your parts, don't bother with sammy, they don't sell parts unless you're buying at retailer quantities. check ebay and other online sellers to find the parts. I've managed to find a lot of parts on Ifixit (yes they do other devices besides apple devices). GL on your hunt for the parts. You may need to just buy an entirely new board btw.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty sure it happened when I put the Note in the cupholder of the truck and it got knocked loose; the cable probably bent the USB inside.
I know I need a new flex board, that's no problem, but I need to find this wire
paleh0rse said:
Nevermind, I remember who this guy is now, so it all makes sense...
For lawls:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=22742657
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=979404
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=24013688
BIGGEST LAWL OF THE WEEK!:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=26252304
Yep, that just happened, and what you saw there is real. You're welcome.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uhh I'm not even in that second link, I'm right about the USB audio, and biggest lawl of the week because I posted pics I took with my note?
You need better things to do, also I thought it was exynox based and not snapdragon which is why my old atrix destroyed it my note.
c0reyl said:
I'm kind of used to having to do everything in life my self. I don't have the luxury of people doing things for me.
Either way, apparently the part I need doesn't exist on the internet..
I'm pretty sure it happened when I put the Note in the cupholder of the truck and it got knocked loose; the cable probably bent the USB inside.
I know I need a new flex board, that's no problem, but I need to find this wire
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I'm not 100% of all the dimensions and variable of the cable, have you
A) tested the continuity of the cable with a multi-meter to verify it is dead? (I can't tell from your picture if the cable shows any physical damage)
B) examined the length and connections to see if you could use a similar connector, say like one for a wifi card in a laptop?
C) checked to see if the original module comes with one when your order it from like ebay?
Also I don't know how your car is setup, but when I put in a custom stereo to my old corolla I was able to add a cubby under the deck and stored my phone there. of course I went from a double DIN to a single DIN so that might not be your case. Hope some of this helps.
Theoriginalgiga said:
As I'm not 100% of all the dimensions and variable of the cable, have you
A) tested the continuity of the cable with a multi-meter to verify it is dead? (I can't tell from your picture if the cable shows any physical damage)
B) examined the length and connections to see if you could use a similar connector, say like one for a wifi card in a laptop?
C) checked to see if the original module comes with one when your order it from like ebay?
Also I don't know how your car is setup, but when I put in a custom stereo to my old corolla I was able to add a cubby under the deck and stored my phone there. of course I went from a double DIN to a single DIN so that might not be your case. Hope some of this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great advice, props on effort, +1 man.
A: the crimp connector on one side failed
B: Didn't think of that, and tried repairing cable, but I can measure the length from mainboard to microphone/usb flex board connectors
C: I didn't see it on the two sites I saw the flex board come from, but I'll look further
Also, in my Buick, I used to do that with my Atrix, but the cubby hole now, is too small for that with the bigger phone, also, that happened in the Ram 1500 I drove my mom somewhere in.
But seriously, I do appreciate you spending that much effort in helping me.
EDIT: forgot to mention that I ripped apart an old laptop and the connectors won't fit from a WIFI PCI-E X1 connector.
c0reyl said:
Great advice, props on effort, +1 man.
A: the crimp connector on one side failed
B: Didn't think of that, and tried repairing cable, but I can measure the length from mainboard to microphone/usb flex board connectors
C: I didn't see it on the two sites I saw the flex board come from, but I'll look further
Also, in my Buick, I used to do that with my Atrix, but the cubby hole now, is too small for that with the bigger phone, also, that happened in the Ram 1500 I drove my mom somewhere in.
But seriously, I do appreciate you spending that much effort in helping me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well even if the cable is too long (which for any given laptop it probably will be) it could be something for you to test at the very least. the connectors do look like those I saw in my laptop (HP brand if you're curious) though they might be the wrong size. Another thought is to look for parts for the S2. Yes I know the parts probably won't match up but you may be able to find a cable with the correct connectors and salvage those. MOST manufacturers reused certain things, cheaper that way.
As for your beast of the phone, I've been looking into getting the Trident system with AMS because I kinda like the idea of getting the window mount and it clipping right into the case. those are mi thoughts.
Also I'm happy to help, I know I'm an ass and was in our previous banter (if you remember the whole USB audio thing ) but I can be helpful too haha
Poor Note didnt stand a chance...
-Once you go NOTE, you'd say 4 inches a Joke
SKyRocKeting727 said:
Poor Note didnt stand a chance...
-Once you go NOTE, you'd say 4 inches a Joke
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't understand why everyone is saying stupid things like that.. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to fix a phone. All I need is two damn parts and I can fix it in 5 minutes..
Instead of trolling, it would be more helpful if I had a link to the cable I needed.. in fact, I can turn my phone on right now, and use WiFi, and everything else but the micro USB and GSM data. Two parts would fix this.
I'm tired of people insulting my intelligence, as if I'm a retarded monkey that can't fix anything..
I'm stupid for not sending my phone to Samsung and possibly have someone else ruin my phone, when I can fix it myself given one damn cable??
c0reyl said:
I don't understand why everyone is saying stupid things like that.. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to fix a phone. All I need is two damn parts and I can fix it in 5 minutes..
Instead of trolling, it would be more helpful if I had a link to the cable I needed.. in fact, I can turn my phone on right now, and use WiFi, and everything else but the micro USB and GSM data. Two parts would fix this.
I'm tired of people insulting my intelligence, as if I'm a retarded monkey that can't fix anything..
I'm stupid for not sending my phone to Samsung and possibly have someone else ruin my phone, when I can fix it myself given one damn cable??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think he meant more that a truck +box + note = damage, not really insulting your intelligence. I know there's a lot of people on your case bro, the other thread didn't really help at all, but just take what people say with a grain of salt, take a deep breath and move on. Just remember, arguing on the internet is like the special Olympics, even if you win, you're still a retard. Trust me on this I have a couple medals myself if you catch what I'm saying.
Theoriginalgiga said:
I think he meant more that a truck +box + note = damage, not really insulting your intelligence. I know there's a lot of people on your case bro, the other thread didn't really help at all, but just take what people say with a grain of salt, take a deep breath and move on. Just remember, arguing on the internet is like the special Olympics, even if you win, you're still a retard. Trust me on this I have a couple medals myself if you catch what I'm saying.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
possibly, I dunno but I'm pretty depressed about it lol. I might buy That other samsung flex board just for the cable:
http://www.mengtor.com/product_show.php?category=606&pid=2820
It's for the Samsung Epic 4G, which has different frequencies on sprint, and it's not LTE I believe.
Would that make the cable automatically not work since the phone uses different frequencies? AKA would I need the cable from an AT&T specific LTE phone to work?

USB port cover

I keep on hearing many reviewers calling the USB cover annoying and inconvenient. First of all its brilliant, because it's better have one than to not because long term it brings benefits. It also means that the design doesn't cut any corners interms of how a mobile phone should be. I realised this when I noticed that all good phones before iPhone all had these flaps even samsung. But when everything went touchscreen they stopped the flaps, if iPhone or samsung make flaps on thier phones its a brilliant idea, nobody will complain like they didn't when it was a standard to have a flap but when HTC does it or Sony because It's different everyone bashes the idea.
I can remember when all TVs where made out of metal and remotes, now everything is plastic meaning hardware no longer has a quality feel to it. The only tv manufacturers that still use metal are B&O. I know that having a flap is flimsy but compromises have to be made for quality like a Rolex or something prestigious they will look nice but will always be heavy. All I'm trying to say is theirs no need to hate something that was saw as a standard and I'm more than happy to have it because other flagship phones don't which gives it a design advantage, it looks neater and it means more effort has been placed in this handset.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
In my opinion the biggest benefit of the USB cover is waterproofing. Wireless charging and Airdroid cover me for the rest of what the USB cord would be used for.
From the Engadget review, they stated that the USB cover was added to help make the phone splash resistant like the Butterfly, if that's the case then this is awesome. The only issues are that it's going to be harder and more expensive for car docks.
geoff5093 said:
From the Engadget review, they stated that the USB cover was added to help make the phone splash resistant like the Butterfly, if that's the case then this is awesome. The only issues are that it's going to be harder and more expensive for car docks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Motorola's Atrix HD and new Razr line are all splash resistant but they dont have covers
the reason everyone hates on the cover is because it's an extra step needed when connecting a USB, but at the same time because of the wireless charging, you're going to be using the USB port a lot less, thus it's better to have it covered so it wont collect a bunch of dust inside from having it exposed, and at the same time it's not going to be an inconvenience too often to take the cover off when you do need it.
it is a slight pain to have to remove, which is partly why i picked up a charging pad for the office and will soon be picking one up for home. i do like the idea that it is covered though since i do carry my phone in my pocket and its like a lint factory in there.
i am curious to see how an otterbox or other rugged case looks since those usually cover the ports anyway
Nice to hear that you are all adopting the idea of wireless charging, I like the idea but I have a feeling apple will make one and it will charge quicker and look better. I could only imagine the ads for the iPhone 5S bragging about wireless charging as if they invented it and they probably try to patent it.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
aliHTCDHD said:
Nice to hear that you are all adopting the idea of wireless charging, I like the idea but I have a feeling apple will make one and it will charge quicker and look better. I could only imagine the ads for the iPhone 5S bragging about wireless charging as if they invented it and they probably try to patent it.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well apple clearly mentioned they dont like the idea of wireless charging coz you still need to plug a wire in the wireless charger. That said they also didnt like the idea of 7 inch tablet.
I personally like the idea of wireless charging especially with starbucks already providing wireless charging on there tables.
"Well apple clearly mentioned they dont like the idea of wireless charging coz you still need to plug a wire in the wireless charger."
If apple said this ... they should be ashamed because that is wildly poor reasoning ... there is much less effort on the users behalf and a greatly improved experience when you just have to lay your phone down to charge it... that being said I'm sure ape said that because poor reasoning skills are their signature ..
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
As soon as I open the box, I'm ripping the thing off. Stupid cover!
Super Awesome USB mod.
I tied a piece of floss to the cover and then tied the floss to a micro usb reader... It is really easy to open now. I always have my micro SD card with me, just waiting for my OTG cable and my setup is complete.
.:.
There are 256 shades of black and white.
It's actually gotten easier for me to open and close. It took some effort for a few days but now I can do it without really struggling. I find it's much easier to put in the non-attached end first.
The only issue I have with it is desk docks or stands won't be as easy to use with the flap in the way. Granted wireless charging would help, but I'm still not particularly sold on it yet.
After trying to live with it for a few days, I'm going to cut my cover off.
Water doesnt scare me!
I think it's something people will get used to after a few times it will feel normal to me it looks more premium but using it probably is fiddly.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
I actually like it.
It cleans the lines up to not see the ugly port.
I don't mind removing it, yes its a tiny bit of a pain, but I think the positives outweigh the negative
mjneubrander said:
Super Awesome USB mod.
I tied a piece of floss to the cover and then tied the floss to a micro usb reader... It is really easy to open now. I always have my micro SD card with me, just waiting for my OTG cable and my setup is complete.
.:.
There are 256 shades of black and white.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is on the screen of your phone? Lol
Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Tapatalk 2
Mine just ripped off. I still keep it on because I like not having to see a big hole when looking around my phone. I'm going to super glue it back from where it ripped off.
Sent from my HTC6435LVW using xda app-developers app
Holy crap some of you people are so lazy. I could see maybe the flap being a bit annoying, even if you get used to it and it's really not that bad afterwards, but some of you think even having to connect a cable is some huge effort? It's not even a consideration for me that connecting a cable is any real effort at all, and I can't really understand how it could be considered that.
paulguy said:
Holy crap some of you people are so lazy. I could see maybe the flap being a bit annoying, even if you get used to it and it's really not that bad afterwards, but some of you think even having to connect a cable is some huge effort? It's not even a consideration for me that connecting a cable is any real effort at all, and I can't really understand how it could be considered that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you relate annoying with lazy?
It is a typical annoying HTC move. People wonder why HTC is losing money every year, it is because of crap like this. Sure, it may not seem like big deal but all the little details add up. There are a ton of problems they seem to ignore and now they just added another one.
Flush buttons.
Power button on top of tall or huge phones
USB port on the side of the One X
Dumbest multitasking set up ever
Horrible carousel when scrolling through wallpapers and skins.
USB port flap.
Etc.
The reason the flap is annoying is because that flap will wear out faster that the rest of your phone unless you strictly use wireless charging. Every other high end phone you can keep it mint way easier without a flap you have to open every night or even more with the crap battery.
Here is a pic of the last phone I owned with a cover like that. Over two years of service and beat to hell and back. I'm not to worried about durability. Of it does wear out it looks like it can be pulled out with pliers. Kinda like those plastic things they put in shirts with the price tags on it.
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On a side note I hope they fix this much touted camera. It took me 15 tries to get this pic even this good. I'm not going to have time to bumble around with settings at the spur of the moment.
Via Droid DNA

The story how I dropped my phone and ended up with Snow White and the 6 paperweights

It was a sunny Sunday. I was in a good mood, but I was also in a hurry as usual. I left my apartment and glanced at the latest social media posts while walking down the stairs. When I got outside, I kept my phone in my hand and did a fast walk to my car and accidentally slammed my phone to my leg. My hand couldn’t handle the impact and my phone dropped on the street... Damn...
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I picked it up and I was surprised; the glass wasn’t broken and the aluminum cover had just some minor scratches. However, every time when I swiped over the screen, the side of my thumb would go over the scratched aluminum. Even Project Butter and HTC Sense Ultrasmooth couldn’t fix this sluggish feeling…
I looked on the Internet and found out that a new cover (front aluminum case + battery backcover) would only cost me about 19 euros ($25,-). Worth a try, I’d say. Just like all items I order from China, it would take my new casing about four weeks to get to my country. Just for fun, I ordered the HTC Evo 3D White edition, which has only been available in the US. As you might know, Europe has the black edition with golden lens cover frame. So this would result in a pretty unique phone, most likely the only white one in The Netherlands.
Then, after waiting for four weeks, it finally came in.
I took some lessons on how to dismantle the phone (found out I had no fitting screwdrivers) and began to take it apart. Of course, for a phone which cost me about 700 euros, it was quite a nerve breaker. You might want to know that in this phone, all components are glued or screwed to the front case, which I was going to replace. Meaning: the whole phone had to be dismantled. After 1 hour I finally got to the most difficult part: heating up the digitizer (capacitive glass) to ‘melt’ the glue between the glass and the case. It was harder than I thought. The glue was pretty strong and it took me about 3 hours to get the digitizer and LCD display separated from the front case. Bad thing was; when removing the digitizer I noticed some glass splinters coming off… Let’s just hope it’s going to be all right…
Finally I screwed and glued all other components back, and booted the phone. It started and looked very cool. I went to sleep in a good mood. The operation had taken 5 hours and it was 2:00 AM, time to take some rest.
The next day I noticed that not all parts on my digitizer where working. The LCD screen was working as it should, but a certain area on the screen wouldn’t response to my finger touches. It seemed a horizontal bar of about 100px high was unresponsive. The exact same spot where I broke some glass… Damn...
Again on ebay, I found out that front cases including digitizer and LCD screen where also available. This would mean I’d only have to replace the motherboard, camera buttons, front camera + speaker and microphone units. The price was again pretty low; only 33 euros ($45.70). I ordered a US black edition (with red frame), so I would have all 3 types ever made by HTC. Again, I had to wait for the items to be delivered. Although my phone was missing a row of responsiveness, it was still operational.
For 4 days.
On another sunny Sunday my phone stopped booting my ROM and (touch) recovery. The bootloader was still accessible and I thought naively it was a software malfunction. I flashed some wrong RUU’s and the phone stopped booting and charging… Damn…
I picked up an old HTC Desire from my collection and flashed some new version of CyanogenMod on it.
While waiting four weeks for my item to arrive, I found a broken HTC Evo 3D on marktplaats.nl, a Dutch equivalent to ebay. It was a phone which had fallen on the floor, down a staircase and again on the floor. As you would imagine, it wasn’t much of a phone. “But...” -I thought- “if a new case + LCD + digitizer is only 33 euros, I could build myself a development phone for only 25 + 33 = 58 euros” ($78,90). That could come in handy when I have to test one of my HTC Evo 3D apps for JB and KitKat. I got to the address of the reseller and found out that the phone contained a lot of parts. The reseller gave me a separate broken digitizer, the LCD screen was broken, the whole aluminum case around the front panel was gone and the back looked like it hadn’t been cleaned for a while. But hey, the motherboard was still inside, so it’s most likely still functioning. Via ebay, I ordered a new front-case including digitizer and LCD. A white one again this time.
Finally, my black case arrived. I unscrewed all loose parts from my newly bought second HTC Evo 3D and rebuild everything on the new black case. Although the digitizer wasn’t glued on very well, it looked pretty cool to have the US GSM edition. After attaching the USB charger it took some time to come to life, but finally it did.
It was 9:00 PM and I was already late for dinner. When I got back, the phone was off. No charging, no booting… Damn…
Now I had 2 bricked phones and quite some spare parts. On xda I read a thread about a malfunction in the bootloader. When the battery has absolutely no power, the phone cannot boot into its initial state to start charging. A.k.a.; you’ll need a bit of juice in your battery to get your phone to charge. Funny solution: go to a phone shop and ask if you can test the HTC Evo 3D dock battery charger for about an hour, or buy a charger. I found one on dx.com for 8 euros ($10,90). It even came with a new battery included. Worth a try, I’d say.
The holiday season started and as I had the items being send from dx and ebay to my office, I wasn’t able to pick anything up. I guess the post order guy didn’t even visit the office building. I had to wait till the holiday season was over.
(This is the moment where you can get yourself a new beverage).
On Tuesday, January the 6th I received 2 packages; my charger and the white case. I happily replaced my case and broken digitizer with a brand new one. I fully charged 2 batteries using the new battery dock, inserted both and pressed the power buttons. Nothing happened. No charging, no booting. Nothing… Damn…
On xda I read a lot of threads about unbricking with the use of Linux Live CD’s, but none of the methods worked for either of my phones. I did read about a JTAG RIFF box, which is a box that can be connected to your hardware directly, without the use of the USB port. All reviews looked promising, but a new RIFF box would cost me about 160 euros ($217,-). A bit too expensive in my opinion, I couldn’t be sure if it would fix my bricked phones. Again searching on marktplaats.nl, I found a guy who owned a RIFF box and was willing to investigate my bricks. “No cure no pay” was the slogan, so it was worth a try.
On a Thursday evening I dropped off both phones at his place. He said he would take a look at them the same evening. Friday afternoon he called me. He’d been working on it the whole Thursday evening and the next Friday morning and afternoon. Both devices seemed to be dead. However, he managed to get the charging lights to work twice. He asked if I could bring him the backcovers, which I had left at home. Sure, no problem. He has been working on it Saturday afternoon and called me again. No luck. I went back to his place and collected the 2 expensive paperweights. If I take the case leftovers into account, I’d say I’d have 5 paperweights now.
Again, I started looking at marktplaats.nl for parts or a complete working HTC Evo 3D. I found one for 60 euros ($82), but as the reseller was also selling a lot of bikes, photo camera’s in groups of 5, laptops without chargers, tablets without chargers and the gear of a poor fisherman, I wasn’t going to buy it from a person who was obviously a thief.
I found another reseller, who sold his phone for 80 euros ($108,-). Again, worth a try, I’d say. I asked a colleague to pick it up, as he was living in the same city as the reseller. The next day I found a dirty, damaged and smudgy HTC Evo 3D on my desk. But it booted. Finally
Now I had two choices: clean the “new” device or unscrew all parts and place the motherboard in one of my new cases. I chose option 2. After all the hassle with the previous devices, I was getting pretty quick at taking a device apart and rebuilding it again. I chose to use the white front+lcd+digitizer, the motherboard and speaker from the “new” phone, the frontfacing camera, camera buttons and microphone from my first Evo and the black back case (just for fun). After only 30 minutes of work, I pressed the power button. It booted into bootloader.
The device already seemed to be htc dev unlocked. I tried to flash my favorite ROM, but something wasn’t right. The bootscreen showed up, but after some time it got stuck in a bootloop. I found out the previous owned had upgraded the hboot to version 1.53. According to some xda threads I should use version 1.49 to be able to flash everything I want. However, I found a boot.img which would work for 1.53. It worked, the rom started. All hardware was available, I called my brother to test the speaker and microphone; everything worked. Except wifi; under settings it said: WiFi error… Damn…
It seemed it had something to do with the combination of hboot, boot.img and kernel. The best solution seemed to be to downgrade to hboot 1.49. After quite some hassle with JuopunutBear and the difficult Wire Trick, I managed to downgrade to hboot 1.49. I got S-off, but a locked bootloader. Not that big of a deal, I’ve been htc dev unlocking bootloaders a lot of times in the past. I managed to flash my rom again and it booted fine.
Finally a working HTC Evo 3D again.
What lessons did I learn from this?
1. Always stay curious and try to learn from your faults
2. Murphy was wrong when I bought the 6th device. I got it working
Wait a minute! You said your Evo 3D White has 6 paperweights!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True, I purchased another damaged HTC Evo 3D, which I will try to combine with the US black edition case+lcd+digitizer.
I expect it to be delivered next week
Thanks for reading!
Just for fun, I made a 3D image of the inner circuitboard which can be used as a 3D Wallpaper.
Note that the stock HTC Gallery doesn't know how to display a portrait 3D image, use the ImageView 3D app instead.
As some of you might notice, the image is flipped horizontally so the see through matches what's behind the screen (for example, the usb connector is on the left side)
Just a impression of what it looks like
Update January 23th 2014
I managed to build a working device of the last HTC Evo 3D the black/red case. Downgrading hboot took a while and cwm gave quite some errors, but I managed to get KitKat working on it
Normally I would not even bother to read something this long, but it was quite a story
Thanks for sharing
so you basically paid about 190€ to get your phone running again ? i would just have bought a moto g
Good story. Looks like you learned from your mistakes.
Kiinasu said:
so you basically paid about 190€ to get your phone running again ? i would just have bought a moto g
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm just really fond of the 3D capabilities
Woow, this is an amazing story, for me, that i bricked my previous EVO 3D , i thinked that i'm the worst developer, but reading your story, you make me feel proud for that mistake. Thanks BRO.
P.S When i see in that picture 6 HTV EVO 3D's, my face was like
besimm said:
... P.S When i see in that picture 6 HTV EVO 3D's, my face was like
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL
Great story. Though the pic with the evo on the ground really should be labeled "re-enactment"
Great story and thank you for sharing! Also a fan of the 3D and its' capabilities. My EVO3D is still running ETERNITY in my daughter's pocket. Everything works!
Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk
Wow, that's dedication at its finest.
This makes me wish I had snapped pictures documenting the rebuild/repair of my S3.
I bought a dev edition, which only came in blue. I really wanted a black phone, but I just couldn't justify the risk in replacing the glass (glued on) and the frame (which had the LCD, glass, buttons, and a few other things glued to it).
Then I cracked the glass (when it was in my freaking pocket!). I figured if I'm replacing the glass, I may as well replace the frame; I'd already be half way there.
...
3-4 weeks, 3 shipments, 2 frames, 3 spare backs, 2 glass fronts, and a LCD later, I have a working dev edition S3, without "DEVELOPER EDITION" etched on the front glass and in the battery compartment, without cracked glass, and in black. My reaction was a bit like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJwWyZ8QRdE
Wow, im just ....
Awesome reading
Great post. Made me nostalgic for my 3D, wish I had of kept a hold of it now instead of selling it to a friend.
Great post, glad it made to the portal so more people will read this.
6 EVOs. 6. :highfive:
You, my friend, are totally insane. In a good way though.
---------- Post added at 10:53 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:47 PM ----------
JumperPunk said:
This makes me wish I had snapped pictures documenting the rebuild/repair of my S3.
I bought a dev edition, which only came in blue. I really wanted a black phone, but I just couldn't justify the risk in replacing the glass (glued on) and the frame (which had the LCD, glass, buttons, and a few other things glued to it).
Then I cracked the glass (when it was in my freaking pocket!). I figured if I'm replacing the glass, I may as well replace the frame; I'd already be half way there.
...
3-4 weeks, 3 shipments, 2 frames, 3 spare backs, 2 glass fronts, and a LCD later, I have a working dev edition S3, without "DEVELOPER EDITION" etched on the front glass and in the battery compartment, without cracked glass, and in black. My reaction was a bit like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJwWyZ8QRdE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That video sais it all.
Hm, I see I'm not the only one like this
I could tell the Story the HD2 an the 4 paperweights... But not now, because I still have to write 10 pages for school till tomorrow for school. I should have stopped to procrastinate instead of reading storys of broken Phones
But good story!
But you didn't even try to figure out whats wrong with the last Mainboard you bricked (or did I overread something, sorry my English is bad)
Kiinasu said:
so you basically paid about 190€ to get your phone running again ? i would just have bought a moto g
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think in the OP's eyes, a better way to put it is DEDICATION, screw the money, && for me, it's INSPIRATION. :good: Thanks for Sharing OP @HJ200
You beat Murphy! That was a really fun read.
Now I really wish I didn't give my old HD2 to my ex girlfriend
This was a pretty interesting read, thank you OP.
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