Display units with large tap-insensitive margin

[agent008 246]

2 hours ago, VaZso said:

When has your keyboard stopped working anyway?

About a couple weeks ago. It didn't work, I rebooted, it started working again. Then later on the same day it died permanently.

I hadn't been using it during the last couple months prior to the first symptom a couple weeks ago.

2 hours ago, VaZso said:

Anyway, have you used a metal tool to disconnect connectors?

Always my fingernails or a plastic cellphone pry tool.

2 hours ago, VaZso said:

My suspect is somehow you made a short-circuit and now power of these devices are missing, so it would be good to check that somehow and find a way to power them... but that is not something an ordinary user can do.

I can try looking at the whole motherboard assembly and the screen connectors with a magnifying glass. But only will be able to do so during the weekend. But this wouldn't explain the keyboard failing by itself prior to the screen replacement.

[VaZso 1,999]

6 hours ago, agent008 said:

About a couple weeks ago. It didn't work, I rebooted, it started working again. Then later on the same day it died permanently.

It sounds strange... like there was already a contact problem somewhere...

6 hours ago, agent008 said:

Always my fingernails or a plastic cellphone pry tool.

That case I would not really think a short-circuit caused during disassembly...

6 hours ago, agent008 said:

I can try looking at the whole motherboard assembly and the screen connectors with a magnifying glass.

That would be good, maybe you will notice something.

[agent008 246]

Here's an idea. My phone was delivered on August 5th 2020. So, not yet 2 full years from purchase. Do you believe I could have it fixed on warranty terms? Thanks

 

EDIT: I also have a Pro1x on order. Maybe that will ship sooner rather than later now. Hehe

Edited May 5, 2022 by agent008

[Hook 3,205]

24 minutes ago, agent008 said:

Here's an idea. My phone was delivered on August 5th 2020. So, not yet 2 full years from purchase. Do you believe I could have it fixed on warranty terms? Thanks

 

EDIT: I also have a Pro1x on order. Maybe that will ship sooner rather than later now. Hehe

Yes, it should be covered by warranty.  Looking at thew Wayback machine, the 2 year warranty was listed through at least March 4th 2021:

https://web.archive.org/web/20210304055614/https://fxtec.com/faq

It was only sometime after that, showing up in the archived page for April 11th, that the policy was changed to a 1 year warranty (made, I think, when they changed the Pro1x from a 2 year warranty to a 1 year warranty-- there probably weren't any Pro 1s being shipped by this time.

https://web.archive.org/web/20210411034712/https://fxtec.com/faq

 

Edited May 5, 2022 by Hook

[Tagamon 0]

I just replaced my screen and am having the same problem with non-responsive margins. Does anyone have the apk referenced in this thread that can supposedly be used to resolve the issues?

Thanks in advance for any info!

[dualinfinity 33]

On 5/13/2022 at 10:18 PM, Tagamon said:

I just replaced my screen and am having the same problem with non-responsive margins. Does anyone have the apk referenced in this thread that can supposedly be used to resolve the issues?

Thanks in advance for any info!

I'd also like the original APK/set of files used to fix the edge issue in 17.1.

Let me share my experience and research here:

1. When flashing to stock to resolve the issue, having the phone actually boot up the most recent update is necessary. Otherwise the fix does not work. I know this because I tried flashing an old version of stock and installing the stock OTA updates via the normal (booted!) route. The issue did not go away at any point during this. I then flashed the non OTA 2020-08-25 stock version again and let it boot. Only then was the issue resolved.

2. Given that the issue is resolved on boot, it must either be a firmware update to the touchscreen or more likely a configuration setting of the touchscreen directly written to the touchscreen chip.

3. The touchscreen used in the Fxtec Pro1 and Elephone U is apparently the Goodix GT9286, a version of the Goodix GT928 ( https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/msg2470881.html# ). I've attached what I could find with regard to this controller and its configuration (found by searching for "goodix gt928 programming guide"). From: https://docplayer.net/37943624-Gt928-bbr-displayworks-10-point-soc-touch-solution-for-tablet-rev-gt928-10-point-soc-touch-solution-for-tablet.html

4. In the register information (6.2 in the PDF), there are 4 configuration options mentioned at addresses 0x805B and 0x805C which I believe might be the settings we are looking for ("Blank area of boarder-top (coefficient 32)") and which the stock firmware sets on boot.

Now, a lot of this is just conjecture. I would really like to inspect the older fix to try and find out if this is indeed the right path before I start tinkering with writing data to the touchscreen controller. The Pro1 is still my daily driver, after all.

GT928.Datasheet.and.Register.Information-BBR.Displayworks.pdf

[VaZso 1,999]

1 hour ago, dualinfinity said:

4. In the register information (6.2 in the PDF), there are 4 configuration options mentioned at addresses 0x805B and 0x805C which I believe might be the settings we are looking for ("Blank area of boarder-top (coefficient 32)") and which the stock firmware sets on boot.

You are right and it seems the manufacturer of touch screen controller is correct but the actual model is basically seems to be different.
This document states "GT928 has 2 sets of slave address 0xBA/0xBB & 0x28/29" but we have address 0x14 with an alternate address of 0x5D which is different than what is written in this document.

However, it may be a very similar command what we need or (considering it is the same manufacturer) it may also happen to be the same, however, I would not try it.

I have only found it described as "gt1x" but a better model name may help and a pdf which made for this specific model.

Also, first I would try to read instead of writing and also it may be necessary to temporarily disable OS-level handling of touch screen before.

Edited May 15, 2022 by VaZso

[VaZso 1,999]

57 minutes ago, VaZso said:

4 configuration options mentioned at addresses 0x805B and 0x805C

Another option would be to find I2C line of touch controller (physically), attach a logical analyzer, then let stock OS boot and analyze its initial communication during boot process. 🙂

[VaZso 1,999]

1 hour ago, dualinfinity said:

3. The touchscreen used in the Fxtec Pro1 and Elephone U is apparently the Goodix GT9286, a version of the Goodix GT928 ( https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/msg2470881.html# ). I've attached what I could find with regard to this controller and its configuration (found by searching for "goodix gt928 programming guide"). From: https://docplayer.net/37943624-Gt928-bbr-displayworks-10-point-soc-touch-solution-for-tablet-rev-gt928-10-point-soc-touch-solution-for-tablet.html

Okay, so Pro1's touch controller seems to be model GT911, PDF attached.
...or at least it mentions our 0x5D and 0x14 addresses which is a calming fact...

...and yes, it also has 0x805B and 0x805C registers for setting blank area.
These are R/W values, so it is recommended to read before writing and also reading stock values of Pro1 would be interesting.

Also touch/release levels may be set differently anyway. 🙂

GT911 Programming Guide_v0.1.pdf

[EskeRahn 5,574]

13 hours ago, VaZso said:

Okay, so Pro1's touch controller seems to be model GT911, PDF attached.

The "gt1x" could well indicate x is to be replaces with some digits,
According to this, at the least a gt1151 exists, so that might be a relevant guess?

Have we got any good images of the print that might help?
We expect a minor square chip like on this image.

ADD a little more googling indicates that a gt1143 and gt1152 also exists
 

[EskeRahn 5,574]

this is a gt1x driver for android, that might be interesting

https://github.com/goodix/gt1x_driver_generic
 

[VaZso 1,999]

2 hours ago, EskeRahn said:

The "gt1x" could well indicate x is to be replaces with some digits,
According to this, at the least a gt1151 exists, so that might be a relevant guess?

 

2 hours ago, EskeRahn said:

ADD a little more googling indicates that a gt1143 and gt1152 also exists

That was what we were starting with. 🙂

An I2C chip has an address which used for communication and usually devices have pre-programmed address or addresses.
For example, address may be selected using one or more pins at the IC or it may also be a setting.
In a few cases (specific circuits) also a custom address can be given.

This case we have an address of 0x14 and also found a 0x5D address is an option (above in this thread).

I have looked in other model numbers like gt1151 which had a different set of I2C addresses which may have a reason or at least it is not the same IC what is in use in our case (although they are similar, maybe newer versions).

That is why I have attached a PDF for GT911 as that case also I2C address is correct, so that PDF looks to be correct for our case (or at least it looks to be better than others found).
Also it is a good news it still has these settings at the very same registers.

From this perspective, it does not look to be hard to read/write these values.

Edit: I mean I2C addresses are usually hard-wired and this case only 0x14 and 0x5D can be selected using INT pin. (INT should be initially high [I mean after reset] for selecting address 0x14 which is our case, otherwise it would be 0x5D, there are no other options for address selection).

Edited May 16, 2022 by VaZso

[pebert 98]

for me the touch worked perfectly after flashing OTA 2020-08-25. And the fastboot flashing worked fine as well after removing the "rem" from the line in the script that flashes the system image 🙄

 

So now I have upgraded all the 4 spare displays I have, hopefully I can stay on LOS for a while now. 

 

//Per

[Rob. S. 1,667]

30 minutes ago, pebert said:

for me the touch worked perfectly after flashing OTA 2020-08-25. And the fastboot flashing worked fine as well after removing the "rem" from the line in the script that flashes the system image 🙄

So now I have upgraded all the 4 spare displays I have, hopefully I can stay on LOS for a while now. 

I wonder how it will go with the upcoming Pro1X devices, if they will even have LineageOS ready yet, which doesn't seem to be the case at this point. 

In any case I'll keep my battered Pro1 in a drawer even if only for flashing replacement screens without having to perform any such tricks on my future daily driver...

[VaZso 1,999]

8 minutes ago, Rob. S. said:

I wonder how it will go with the upcoming Pro1X devices, if they will even have LineageOS ready yet, which doesn't seem to be the case at this point. 

I think sooner or later it should have, the state of LineageOS development at shipping is another question...

10 minutes ago, Rob. S. said:

In any case I'll keep my battered Pro1 in a drawer even if only for flashing replacement screens without having to perform any such tricks on my future daily driver...

I unsure if I switch from Pro1 to Pro1X for a while but it may also depend if they have improved design flaws and kernel-related bugfixes of Pro1... so improved call quality at opposite side, correct speaker of handsfree mode, ability to record unfiltered audio for example.

...but Pro1's camera is really good using appropriate software - Pro1X's camera has better resolution but I hope it will also have software which provides good photo quality (better or at least of Pro1's quality).

[silversolver 849]

3 hours ago, VaZso said:

I think sooner or later it should have, the state of LineageOS development at shipping is another question...

Considering that LOS is a promoted feature I think it's reasonable to expect that it will at least be usable at shipping. Being FOSS it will of course continue to be polished as time goes by, which is what makes it so great. I suspect they stopped updating the stock firmware because it was good enough for the few people who use it and they recognized that most of us are using LOS, and the value of LOS in providing ongoing updates and support without them having to do it themselves.

[Hook 3,205]

20 minutes ago, silversolver said:

Considering that LOS is a promoted feature I think it's reasonable to expect that it will at least be usable at shipping. Being FOSS it will of course continue to be polished as time goes by, which is what makes it so great. I suspect they stopped updating the stock firmware because it was good enough for the few people who use it and they recognized that most of us are using LOS, and the value of LOS in providing ongoing updates and support without them having to do it themselves.

It is more likely stock was never updated because they no longer had the services of the contractor who was responsible for the OS on the Pro1. 

 

[VaZso 1,999]

48 minutes ago, silversolver said:

Considering that LOS is a promoted feature I think it's reasonable to expect that it will at least be usable at shipping. Being FOSS it will of course continue to be polished as time goes by, which is what makes it so great. I suspect they stopped updating the stock firmware because it was good enough for the few people who use it and they recognized that most of us are using LOS, and the value of LOS in providing ongoing updates and support without them having to do it themselves.

I expect it is somewhat usable by now or at least to the state an update may put it to a more polished state (but I don't know the actual progress).

On the other hand, as @Hook wrote, they had some problems with contractor (I don't know how good their relation was and when it went wrong).
Also, they had to pay for developing Pro1-X which was an unexpected change and improving the system but keeping as Google certified would also require additional money...

[Rob. S. 1,667]

1 hour ago, VaZso said:

2 hours ago, silversolver said:

Considering that LOS is a promoted feature I think it's reasonable to expect that it will at least be usable at shipping

I expect it is somewhat usable by now

That's what I thought until recently when there was a note here by I think it was Sean McCreary, pointing to the official LineageOS github as the indicator for such progress, but I haven't found any mention whatsoever of a Pro1X device there yet. Perhaps I overlooked something? 

[silversolver 849]

16 hours ago, pebert said:

for me the touch worked perfectly after flashing OTA 2020-08-25. And the fastboot flashing worked fine as well after removing the "rem" from the line in the script that flashes the system image 🙄

 

So now I have upgraded all the 4 spare displays I have, hopefully I can stay on LOS for a while now. 

 

//Per

I am thinking of doing that too. The thought crossed my mind to get a bunch and sell them pre-flashed for the Pro1 and presumably also x because I assume it's the same display configured the same way, though that's not a guarantee. I am running 17.1 to avoid the bugs introduced in 18 and 19, and hence could root it and use the apk updater if I can get it. How hard is it to add root to an existing system? Is it necessary to do before first boot like gCraps?

Mine is behaving better at the moment; not correctly, but well enough to use until the spares arrive. Now if someone will point out a current listing for the screen at 40 shekels instead of 80 that would be fabulous. :) I'm going to try to find which Elephone model and do some research.

[silversolver 849]

So I found this for 30 shekels......

https://m.aliexpress.com/item/32956500815.html

I hope it's not fake for so few shekels. At that price I could have a bunch of spares, or order a bunch and sell pre-flashed units for less than the ones fxtec sells and still double my money. I feel like there would be a market for this considering this thread exists :) I could even let people trade in their unflashed ones for flashed ones at a reduced price. Am I an evil capitalist, a genius, or some of both? :O

After reading the reviews it sounds like there are enough quality issues that I'l have to eat some or fight them for exchanges, but it happens with hastily made low-cost products. Also some indicate it is identical, others only similar, but one person confirmed it works with Pro1 which is good. I see at least one user encountered the need to reflash but didn't know that was the issue. 

Edited May 21, 2022 by silversolver

[VaZso 1,999]

48 minutes ago, silversolver said:

So I found this for 30 shekels......

https://m.aliexpress.com/item/32956500815.html

I hope it's not fake for so few shekels. At that price I could have a bunch of spares, or order a bunch and sell pre-flashed units for less than the ones fxtec sells and still double my money. I feel like there would be a market for this considering this thread exists 🙂 I could even let people trade in their unflashed ones for flashed ones at a reduced price. Am I an evil capitalist, a genius, or some of both? 😮

After reading the reviews it sounds like there are enough quality issues that I'l have to eat some or fight them for exchanges, but it happens with hastily made low-cost products. Also some indicate it is identical, others only similar, but one person confirmed it works with Pro1 which is good. I see at least one user encountered the need to reflash but didn't know that was the issue. 

It should work for Pro1.

These displays usually have some smaller or bigger black spots mostly at one or two corners, otherwise I have replaced my screen to one of them... three times. First was a short-life unit because of insufficient glue (only two-side glue what was provided), second last more than original and third is the current one...

[EskeRahn 5,574]

5 hours ago, silversolver said:

I could even let people trade in their unflashed ones for flashed ones at a reduced price. Am I an evil capitalist, a genius, or some of both? 😮

Sounds like a good idea to me..

But as the correct glueing seems not to be super easy to do correctly, you might extend this servce to have people send in the top part - or the whole device. I think that is the reason why FxTec do not offer the display in it self but the whole top as a spare part, as this is easier to replace for the less tech experienced user.

[Kaali 77]

6 hours ago, silversolver said:

I am running 17.1 to avoid the bugs introduced in 18 and 19, and hence could root it and use the apk updater if I can get it. How hard is it to add root to an existing system? Is it necessary to do before first boot like gCraps?

You don't need root to use the APK screen firmware flashing tool. The files are found from the unofficial discord server, dragonbox guy also has them, and i remember they have been posted somewhere else too. Look for Boe.rar

Edit. The file was posted to matrix originally by The Kit, i think at this point it probably is safe to post it here so here's the link to the BoE files that can fix the screen margins on Android 10 or 9. Instructions are included in the file.
https://matrix.revreso.de/_matrix/media/r0/download/matrix.org/MhQPLNrIHbyoMahdOvuZLWtA

Edited May 21, 2022 by Kaali
Added link to file

[EskeRahn 5,574]

5 hours ago, silversolver said:

So I found this for 30 shekels......

https://m.aliexpress.com/item/32956500815.html

This seems even cheaper:

https://aliexpress.com/item/1005002314744127.html

I have no idea of the quality of the offerings, but I would suggest to start buying say two from each and test....