Got sold a broken phone, couple of questions before attempting LCD repair.

[zzoinks]

I bought a Cingular 8125 from a seller on another forum and it arrived with a broken LCD. Also, the battery is dead and can't be charged. (Not to mention the missing stylus and lots of scratches on the case... all for a "like new" phone... but I digress.)

I was able to borrow a battery from a coworker with the same phone, and it does power on. The screen is all white with multicolored splotched around the cracks in the LCD. I was also able to hook it up via USB and browse it through Activesync, so I'm guessing the phone is running.

Is there any other way I can test that it's going to work before I invest in a new LCD/digitizer? Another coworker mentioned there might be an emulator I could run on my PC to control the device and place calls with it, does such a thing exist?

Finally, does anyone have experience with a particular ebay sell of LCDs that they could recommend? I've seen a bunch listed in the $50-$60 range, including shipping. Does anyone have any suggestions on a source for replacement LCDs other than ebay?

Thanks,
-Brett.

[capncucci]

Well to answer your questions in order;

Yes there is something that will let you control and make calls useing your computer, its called SOTI Pocket Controller, look for it.

I bought a mda with a broken lcd on purpose cause after looking into it i found that replacing the lcd isn't so hard. i bought my lcd from ebay and my phone is running great ever since the repair. your going to need to get the service manual and a new lcd ofc, also a torx #5 (type of screw driver) and a #0 phillips head.

good luck with your phone
-capn

[zzoinks]

Well to answer your questions in order;

Yes there is something that will let you control and make calls useing your computer, its called SOTI Pocket Controller, look for it.

I bought a mda with a broken lcd on purpose cause after looking into it i found that replacing the lcd isn't so hard. i bought my lcd from ebay and my phone is running great ever since the repair. your going to need to get the service manual and a new lcd ofc, also a torx #5 (type of screw driver) and a #0 phillips head.

good luck with your phone
-capn

I'll look for a copy of the SOTI Pocket Controller, that's exactly what I was looking for.

I've already downloaded the service manual, I've got the screwdriver, I can pick up a torx.... but what did you mean when you said "and a new lcd ofc"? Is that "a new lcd of course"?

Also, do you remember who you bought the LCD from since you seemed to have a good experience?

Thanks!
-Brett.

[capncucci]

Glad I could help, yea I meant of course, sorry lol. im 1337.

i cant remeber but it was some random company that sold refurbished lcd's, just pick one that has a good rating and a decent price and hope for the best, sorry its all the advice i can give=/.

good luck!

-capn

[Bolik]

Hi pal, try this software, this software allows you to control your phone from pc with mouse and many other things. It is called my mobiler and i use it very often.

1) Connect your phone through AS
2) Let my mobiler install cabinet on your phone
3) Run it an click on the system tray where is the symbol of the phone and cable and select open mobiler, this will show you your screen.

[95scort]

I bought a Cingular 8125 from a seller on another forum and it arrived with a broken LCD. Also, the battery is dead and can't be charged. (Not to mention the missing stylus and lots of scratches on the case... all for a "like new" phone... but I digress.)

I was able to borrow a battery from a coworker with the same phone, and it does power on. The screen is all white with multicolored splotched around the cracks in the LCD. I was also able to hook it up via USB and browse it through Activesync, so I'm guessing the phone is running.

Is there any other way I can test that it's going to work before I invest in a new LCD/digitizer? Another coworker mentioned there might be an emulator I could run on my PC to control the device and place calls with it, does such a thing exist?

Finally, does anyone have experience with a particular ebay sell of LCDs that they could recommend? I've seen a bunch listed in the $50-$60 range, including shipping. Does anyone have any suggestions on a source for replacement LCDs other than ebay?

Thanks,
-Brett.

Hey Brett, I've got some info you need to look into when buying a replacement lcd, there are two types that i know of, their distinct differences are the fact that one has a black flex cable, and the other has a gold one(One is the first generation lcd, and the other is the second generation). I made the mistake of not opening my 8125 after i bought it the same way you bought yours, with a broken screen... I bought an lcd with a gold ribbon cable(back when they were $90+) and it <i>worked</i> with my 8125 except the colors were mixed a.k.a. not as they should be. I bought another lcd(yes, another $90+ since the seller didn't offer a return policy) which <u>matched</u> the color of the old cracked lcd that came in my 8125(the ribbon/flex cable was black). And all was perfect!

So if you haven't yet, take your 8125 apart and make sure you know what lcd it has. Ebay listing for these lcds are pretty definitive on whether they use an lcd with a black or gold ribbon cable. Good luck!

[zzoinks]

Thanks for the tip! I was checking them out on ebay and I did notice that some sellers made it clear there was a difference.

I bought a T5 torx driver this weekend and managed to get the back of the phone off, exposing the main board.... but didn't get any further than that. I'll have to check the color of the ribbon before I order.

Do you remember if yours was a refub LCD or not? I've seen all but one seller (who was located in Hong Kong) are selling refub units. I'd prefer a new one, but I also don't want to wait 2 weeks to get something form Hong Kong. Any problems with a refurb?

Thanks,
-Brett.

[95scort]

I'd like to know myself the difference between a refurb unit and a new unit. Maybe they replace the digitizer of faulty lcds and then resell the "fixed" units, or maybe there is some other thing about the lcds that make them impossible to sell as new~

Btw my lcd (as it was claimed by the seller) was new. I got it in the mail from Hong Kong inside of bubble wrap and Hong Kong Newspaper post. I looked at the lcd and it sure <i>looked</i> brand new, new enough to immediately apply a screen protector before i installed it into my pda(so that the screen protector covers ALL of the screen and doesn't miss the corners or the sides, it's the best way to apply a screensaver if you ask me).

[boi]

Hi pal, try this software, this software allows you to control your phone from pc with mouse and many other things. It is called my mobiler and i use it very often.

1) Connect your phone through AS
2) Let my mobiler install cabinet on your phone
3) Run it an click on the system tray where is the symbol of the phone and cable and select open mobiler, this will show you your screen.

how do I align the screen with this program?

[zabardast_1]

how do I align the screen with this program?

Download and try this :-

[boi]

Download and try this :-

Thank you very much!!!

I will try this as soon as I get home.

Boi

[boi]

Download and try this :-

Thanks for the download

[BigRed Productions]

ewww...vista.

i dont even think microsoft really supports vista the way you would like for using your MDA. Best way to do anything to your phone (and what most of these roms seem to require) is Win XP.

For some reason microsoft wanted to change the way things were handled and I for one am not really happy with it.

[KyleK29]

Figured this might be the best place as ever. Before I part my Wizard and pay some large fee for a 8525.

Has anyone seen problems with the screen flickering and going mostly white/gray (with lines).

I had dropped my phone a few weeks back - I bought a replacement screen on Ebay and swapped it out - worked great for two weeks. All of a sudden, on Saturday night it went from working to just flickering. Could the new LCD's cable have gone bad? Anyone seen this?

[zzoinks]

Figured this might be the best place as ever. Before I part my Wizard and pay some large fee for a 8525.

Has anyone seen problems with the screen flickering and going mostly white/gray (with lines).

I had dropped my phone a few weeks back - I bought a replacement screen on Ebay and swapped it out - worked great for two weeks. All of a sudden, on Saturday night it went from working to just flickering. Could the new LCD's cable have gone bad? Anyone seen this?

I had problems the first time I replaced my screen where I turned it on and it was completely white. Turns out I didn't have the connector properly seated. I took everything apart and made sure to fully seat the cable into the connector close the little clamp securely. After that it worked fine.

It might be worthwhile to take the phone apart again and make sure the ribbon cable connector hasn't come unseated.

Good luck!
-Brett.

[KyleK29]

I had problems the first time I replaced my screen where I turned it on and it was completely white. Turns out I didn't have the connector properly seated. I took everything apart and made sure to fully seat the cable into the connector close the little clamp securely. After that it worked fine.

It might be worthwhile to take the phone apart again and make sure the ribbon cable connector hasn't come unseated.

Good luck!
-Brett.

Yeah, I have the phone in pieces right now. I've tried blowing out the connector/etc. Going to try to clean it.

Btw, sorry about the thread hijack. I meant to post this in another thread for Wizard repairs, somehow got sidetracked and dropped it here.

[boi]

Download and try this :-

Thank you for your help. I have now replaced the LCD from China but the expansion slot would not recognise any card. Did I do something wrong? Thanks in advance.