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Help Sprint HTC Hero Disassembly DIY

I've got the phone completely apart as far as the tutorial, but I'm replacing the screen itself. Before I start REALLY pushing on it as it appears to just be stuck on, anyone have an idea how it's actually held in there?
 
Got it apart, but it's really glued on there. If you plan reusing the same screen, be careful not to snap off the circuit board attached to it, it has to slide through a slot in the bottom of the casing. Start from the bottom opposite the board then go up that side, to the top, and then back down.

Everything is back together, but still touchscreen functionality. :-(
 
What a great post. Like Salinemist, I was replacing my glass and it was super-hard to get out. There was no way it was all coming out in one piece, so I broke it (beyond the initial damage that caused me to replace it) into smaller pieces so I could lift them out.

The replacement screen came with all the necessary tools, and I had my Hero up and running in a little less than an hour! Saline, I'm not sure why your touchscreen doesn't work...did you make sure all the connections were made before closing it back up?
 
The initial problem was water damage after *very* briefly dropping it in a little bit of slush. I'm going to take it all apart today and wash all of the circuit boards and connectors in denatured alcohol, let it dry, and then put it back together.

After it got wet (nothing appeared to get inside) it worked great for about an hour then the touchscreen slowly stopped working. At that point I took the battery out and started troubleshooting.

I have to fix this to keep my record of fixing water damaged phones at 100%. :-)
 
I took it apart again here at work and rinsed all of the circuit boards with 100% isopropyl and _gently_ brushed them to get them clean. I let it dry and then finished with a blow dry from some compressed air.

It works perfectly except I got a little alcohol in the LCD. It _should_ dry out and the dark spots will go away as I've seen before in other LCD's. If not it's still usable in the meantime and a replacement LCD is a cheap and easy fix.

Thanks to everyone on the thread for the info and I hope this is helpful. :-)
 
Does anyXeone who's taken their phone apart if there are screws to tighten up tbe silver plate where the keys are. Mine is loose slightly loose and I think that's causing creaky keys. I don't think I want to take a chance on getting a refurb.
 
salinemist said:
Got it apart, but it's really glued on there. If you plan reusing the same screen, be careful not to snap off the circuit board attached to it, it has to slide through a slot in the bottom of the casing. Start from the bottom opposite the board then go up that side, to the top, and then back down.

Everything is back together, but still touchscreen functionality. :-(
Click to expand...

Did you happen to take pictures of this? I've taken mine apart and have a helluva time getting the lcd back in without seeing dust *somewhere* I applied a small bead of tacky glue around the metal edge of the lcd before reseating and that seems to be doing an effective job preventing any new dust in; but, I'd love to take the glass (touchscreen) out of the phone and seal the two together before replacing in the top half if that's possible.
 
jmxp69 said:
Did you happen to take pictures of this? I've taken mine apart and have a helluva time getting the lcd back in without seeing dust *somewhere* I applied a small bead of tacky glue around the metal edge of the lcd before reseating and that seems to be doing an effective job preventing any new dust in; but, I'd love to take the glass (touchscreen) out of the phone and seal the two together before replacing in the top half if that's possible.
Click to expand...

I'm now having problems with dust and my g-sensor not working, so I'm going to take it back apart and see what I can do. Anyone have any idea what the sensor looks like or where it is? I imagine I still have some gunk from the slush on the board near it.

I'll take some pictures this time.
 
from what i'm reading, the screen has some type of adhesive or something - is this correct? ...has there been a common agreement on what is best to clean the screen? is an air duster the best way?
 
jeffreynothing43 said:
from what i'm reading, the screen has some type of adhesive or something - is this correct? ...has there been a common agreement on what is best to clean the screen? is an air duster the best way?
Click to expand...
I just used a microfiber cloth and that worked fine. The phone looks new again. I might even open it back up again and change the trackball color.
 
Droidone said:
...open it back up again and change the trackball color.
Click to expand...

Do it! How would you do it without causing problems though? You'd have to use a special paint or something so it won't rub off in the trackball assembly thing... maybe simply take out the trackball and let it soak like a day or two in a solution of ink and water or something so that the ball actually absorbs some color and gives it translucent color instead of a blotted out solid color. In theory this would be cool..... try looking up something on that.
 
I just wanted to thank you for the DIY. I dropped my phone in the toilet last night and followed these instructions while drying with a mircofiber towel and canned air. Phone booted up fine this morning and it working great. Such a relief!
 
MadBrown said:
The replacement screen came with all the necessary tools, and I had my Hero up and running in a little less than an hour! Saline, I'm not sure why your touchscreen doesn't work...did you make sure all the connections were made before closing it back up?
Click to expand...

Where did you buy the replacement screen? I dropped mine and broke the LCD. Touchscreen functions ok though. A link would be great. Thanks
 
salinemist said:
I'm now having problems with dust and my g-sensor not working, so I'm going to take it back apart and see what I can do. Anyone have any idea what the sensor looks like or where it is? I imagine I still have some gunk from the slush on the board near it.

I'll take some pictures this time.
Click to expand...

Well what did you find out...?
My wife dropped her Hero in the toilet today.. (TWO Weeks OLD!!!)...:mad:
She said it continued to work for a while, then started acting as you described...

I have it apart now.....
I have her battery in MY phone.. it seems to be working okay....

I used compressed air to get rid of all the water I can find....
Hopefully this will do the trick and I can get her phone working again....

I figured you used the denatured alchohol to get rid of the sugar residue from your slush.... right? since this was water.. I'm inclined to not do that step... ??
 
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