Replaced Dell Streak Screen tonight.

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fatbas202

Senior Member
May 15, 2009
421
166
Rolla, MO
For what it's worth to you all, I bought a LCD replacement from user 'big_is' on ebay (as OP did) and got a well packaged and protected screen. After about a week it had a couple of black dots that appeared to be dead (not stuck) pixels. The dots grew to splotches. I contacted the guy and he sent me a new one right away and only asked for like $3 shipping. Got the new screen about 2 weeks later. I just really wish Dell hadn't put the entire phone together with glue and tape. WTF, Dell?

I don't like when people advertise on XDA, so I want to make it clear that I'm simply pointing out that this guy on ebay is a good seller, responsive, and ships a good product for a good price. I'm always leery of ebay sellers, so I hope this helps someone else that might be hesitant.

Also, I have a touchscreen/gorilla glass that I took off of the broken LCD. It works and the ribbon looks good, but I don't know how well it will attach to an LCD. If anyone is interested in it, please PM me.

EDIT: I'm seeing a lot of discussion about Gorilla Glass on here. While I don't dispute that the Streak has GG, I can say with absolute certainty that the GG on the Streak is nowhere near as tough or scratch resistant as what is on my Captivate. The streak is a great phone nonetheless.
 
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Lerronious

Member
Jul 26, 2007
13
1
Touch-Sensitive Circuit Found on ebay

I ended up getting the replacement screen from BIG-IS on ebay. It was a complete glass, digitizer, lcd package with associated cables/chips/connectors and worked flawlessly. While replacing the screen, I ripped an unassociated ribbon cable that connects the touch-sensitive "back/menu/home" buttons to the motherboard. It seems this f-up is common enough as now the same seller, BIG-IS, is offering the capacitive sensor package ready to stick on the back of the shroud. Like other posters have experienced, the company is responsive with quality components. I can't post the link but the item number is 120789305407. Thought I was SOL with this phone and would have to use the soft button hack.
 
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arold1968

Member
Dec 31, 2007
10
0
oops...
ive done a little b&lls up , replaced the screen all ok but ive lost the little clamp that holds the connection to the gorrila glass. so now my phone will not respond to touch screen :( does anyone know where i could get a replacement or even what its called so i can have a brouse myself. many thanks
 

gregianos

Senior Member
Dec 20, 2007
163
14
St Annes
I'm having a nightmare with screens bought on ebay... I dropped my streak around 8 weeks ago and initially had an LCD leak which turned into a dead screen after a couple of days. I ordered a replacement from a Hong Kong seller and waited for 4 weeks before canceling the purchase and ordering off a UK based seller.

My screen arrived and I fitted it using the guides in this forum. Almost immediately I noticed 1 dead pixel in the top right of the screen when it was held in portrait and reported this to the seller. This steadily got worse until it was a full LCD leak covering the top right corner of the screen.

The seller kindly sent me a replacement which I fitted on Saturday, however this morning without it being bumped, dropped our anything like that I have another LCD leak in the top right!

Anyone else having abysmal luck like that?

Sent from my Dell Streak using xda premium
 

elvendio

New member
Dec 10, 2010
1
0
I broke my screen a few weeks ago bending down to tie my shoe with the phone in my front pocket. I couldn't believe it snapped. I bought the replacement screen and digitizer on ebay from the cali place and got it in 2 days. I have the same problem that now the phone wont boot. I checked and rechecked a dozen times dismantled the phone and put it back over and over again. It's less than a year old now I wish I had sent it in for rma instead of diy for sure i scrapped the warranty now.:(
 

prudviraj

Senior Member
Aug 6, 2007
215
8
Los Angeles
Great DIY Guide.. Replaced successfully..

Guys,
I have successfully replaced the LCD Digitizer and the Gorilla Glass pretty smoothly..
Once again Thanks XDA and the guys who posted it..
 

nickshertzer

Senior Member
Dec 13, 2006
1,146
616
www.nickshertzer.com
...:(

Ordering my third Streak5 LDC replacement screen. Broke just sitting in my pocket and I bumped a corner ever so slightly (again). At least the repair time takes less and less time each dis-assembly.
 

PetrSoap

Senior Member
Oct 12, 2011
124
10
Moscow
www.soap.cx
Display is so so annoying(((

I have been using Dell Streak since August and have already changed 6 Displayssss((((( sh..t f..ck
Really there is the serious issue with drop stress display and it crashes every time even if put severely on the table......or cat jumps around....and parrot ... or....
wanna change Dell already for Note
 

Dr Doppio

Member
Jun 11, 2011
32
7
A sad day...

I had some time over during the holidays to fiddle with my Streak and had it working like a clock... until today when for no apparent reason a black border apeared around two and later three of the edges of the screen. After tryiing to "fix" it I eventually realized that the Gorilla glass had detached from the LCD, thus preventing the underlying pixels from working properly (some are stuck on always on, some are dead). In fact, it appears (and I may be wrong but I doubt it) that the bond between the glass and the LCD is essential for the proper light polarization and thus function of the LCD.

I have already ordered a replacement screen and will hopefully be able to install it correctly.

Some observations from disassembling the Streak:

1. It looks like there is no way to treat separately the glass and the LCD -- so those of you looking for a way to replace just one of these parts, give up and buy the combo. The glueing of the two is non-trivial and probably can only be done in the factory (and I wish it was done stronger for my Streak :(
)
2. I was shocked to find out that the body of the Streak is plastic! Honestly I believed it was steel (I have the red model).
3. It was fun to see the internal microSD card, and how easy ot is to take it out. It will be interesting to know if one can replace it with a bigger capacity one, or if one can take it out to back up or modify the system by mounting the card on a Nix system (i.e. without having to root the Streak).


Anyway, thank you all for the great advice on this thread, I am now going to sleep knowing that I will wake up VERY depressed, not being able to use my Streak for quite some time...
 

marvin02

Senior Member
Mar 29, 2010
1,654
424
Indiana
.. .
3. It was fun to see the internal microSD card, and how easy ot is to take it out. It will be interesting to know if one can replace it with a bigger capacity one, or if one can take it out to back up or modify the system by mounting the card on a Nix system (i.e. without having to root the Streak).
. . .

See this thread at MoDaCo and this one at XDA.
 
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alperin1

Senior Member
Nov 30, 2010
547
154
I did the upgrade by cutting the plastic and installing a 4gig of memory, nothing more I had to do but boot up and the card was formatted and ready for me to install what ever ROM I wanted.

As for the LCDs, yeah it would be nice if the LCD and Gorilla glass had a better bond, I have replaced my several times and not once has anything been cracked/broken. I only had the two items separate and cause me to replace them.

Darin
 
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Dr Doppio

Member
Jun 11, 2011
32
7
can anyone suggest a double-sided tape that I can use to replace the tape holding the plastic covers below and above the screen? Preferably one that is similar to the original, which was quite strong...
 

Dr Doppio

Member
Jun 11, 2011
32
7
All right; I am currently replaciing the LCD+touch screen+Gorilla glass combo on my Streak. I removed the old "broken" part, and it is very obvious that the only fault is a tiny gap between the LCD and the digitizer. Both surfaces are covered with an oily odorless substance; the corners where I didn't see any light are the only dry places.

My question is, to anyone who may have insight in the production process: What is the substance between the two plates?

The reason I am asking is because I relized that there's nothing to prevent this from hapenning again, and I am not shelling $55 every other month for self-repairs -- not worth it. I have however access to a very broad range of solvents and am curious whether I could apply one of them between the plates and restore functionality.

Any ideas?

PS. My next phone will be AMOLED for sure.
 

krazman325

Senior Member
Dec 10, 2010
522
108
More than likely, that is the LCD's "blood". Your LCD probably leaked. I didn't have that problem. Mine was dry but the gorilla glass was shattered. I have not had to replace mine again in nearly a year. Just be careful!
kraz
 
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Dr Doppio

Member
Jun 11, 2011
32
7
More than likely, that is the LCD's "blood". Your LCD probably leaked.<...>

I really don't think so. I have pictures, but they won't resolve the issue I'm afraid. I very specifically remember the pattern that I observed on the broken screen, and how it exactly matched the dried out part between the plates. While trying to improve the contact of my broken screen, i accidentally lifted one edge of the glass, and the darkened region grew bigger at the same time (presumably I widened the gap and let more air in.)

Anyway, I'll be more carefull from now on (no more putting the streak in my pockets :( I just need to find a replacement tape, I have an excelleng silicone glue from 3M but it doesn't seem to work for the tiny plastic plates.
 

alperin1

Senior Member
Nov 30, 2010
547
154
Go to a local shop the repairs iPhones. They carry the tape you need. The problem will be you need to cut the tape for use with the streak as it is already cut for the iPhone. This has worked for me in the past for two phones. That tape is from 3m.
 
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kerrins

Member
Sep 17, 2008
10
2
User Group

I have a Dell Streak that was having some issues with lack of memory. I decided to do a reboot and just go back to a stock version. I'm not sure what happened, but now I cannot get it to work at all. It will reboot, but when I go through the set up wizard it fails and I'm left with just a blank screen. Is there any sort of place I can go to and meet up with some Android experts to help me sort this out. I just don't want to brick this phone and figure since I live near the Google campus in Mountain View there must be some people around here that can help out. XDA is awesome, don't get me wrong, but a in person works well too.
 

Dr Doppio

Member
Jun 11, 2011
32
7
Some vendors/materials I used for my Streak repair, for reference:

1. Purchased the Dell Streak 5 replacement LCD digitizer assembly
for £ 33.50 from replacebase.co.uk -- smooth payment with a foreign credit card and reasonably fast delivery in Europe

2. Used 3M-TE9088-12 double-sided tape from 3M to affix the plastic side-plates (it is slightly thicker than what others have recommentded, but at 0.2 mm the difference is negligible)

All in all the phone looks good as new, although after all the handling the surface is scratched in a few places.
 

rexistance

New member
Feb 24, 2012
1
0
Broke my screen yesterday :(

Hi Guys,

As you can see in the attachment i broke the Dell Streak screen. Obviously only the screen is broken the gorilla glass doesn't even have a scratch. It fell face down almost parallel with the carpet from about 1 meter. It was inside the form fit case and the microfiber pouch ... now i regret not buying an otterbox.

I already sent it to a certified Dell service partner for a repair price.

Depending on the price i will repair it myself or pay them to repair it for me.

The main reason i sent it to service is that i still have 17 months of warranty left. (bought it with 24 months in august 2011)...but of course it does not cover this type of damage.

All the best to you Dell Streak users.

Still a great device!
 

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  • 5
    My cousin and I went through the process of replacing the screen on his Streak tonight, the screen was so bad that it was blurry/shaky on one side and the other side was slowly being blacked out. In the end everything worked out perfectly, and my cousin is back to being one proud father, I mean streak owner.

    2 Observations:
    - The Phone is really only held together by Glue and Pressure. C'mon Dell...

    Shoutouts:
    - iFixit your awesome
    http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Dell-Streak-Teardown/3512/1
    - ulfses your "Helpful Links/Tips" were in short, a Gold Mine.
    http://android.modaco.com/content/d...co-com/322624/im-replacing-my-cracked-screen/
    - eBay seller big_is your awesome as well, the part (Glass + LCD) did not take 2 months to get here like some other Hong Kong sellers, it was here in a week! (We're in Los Angeles, CA)
    http://cgi.ebay.com/Dell-Mini-5-Tab...188706?pt=PDA_Accessories&hash=item5d2c3d88a2

    Advice:
    - iFixit didn't include this but the front of the screen (Gorilla Glass + LCD) literally detaches from the rest of the phone once the ribbons are unclipped, there is SO MUCH GLUE that you wouldn't realize it but it does. Also we used a box cutter to remove the Gorilla Glass from the LCD first, for us it was like slicing cake because we were merely slicing the glue that held it together on the edges. Once the Glass was off, removing the LCD from the phone was easy.

    Hope this helps!
    1
    When you placed the new LCD in the phone with the old Gorilla Glass, did you glue the 2 back together?
    If so, what glue product did you use?

    The new LCD came with the New Gorilla glass piece already attached, its basically the whole screen including the glass. Double check with the seller your buying from before you purchase but the link posted in the original post should be adequate. Hope this helps.
    1
    youtube.com/watch?v=vxcib-ricec
    1
    For some more info on replacing your LCD have a look at this thread.

    Guide for replacing the LCD
    1
    .. .
    3. It was fun to see the internal microSD card, and how easy ot is to take it out. It will be interesting to know if one can replace it with a bigger capacity one, or if one can take it out to back up or modify the system by mounting the card on a Nix system (i.e. without having to root the Streak).
    . . .

    See this thread at MoDaCo and this one at XDA.