Pro1, Ghost touches and other digitizer and display issues

[SCΛRECROW 57]

Thanks @Hook and  @vvv

So I contacted support, who are saying that they've investigated this type of failure and they've determined it's caused by some sort of impact that has damaged the touch layer, but not the OLED layer. As such, it's not covered under warranty...I'm not going to argue the point because I can't prove what caused the malfunction either way. Annoying, but that's life I guess.

I've migrated to using my spare phone because the random touch inputs are making my Pro1 unusable. ☹️

In any case, I've ordered 2 replacement displays from aliexpress, which are cheaper than the complete display assembly and should arrive way before fxtec can ship out the part.

I hope that any planned Pro2 has a flat display which is less susceptible to damage and easier to protect.

[VaZso 1,988]

1 minute ago, SCΛRECROW said:

In any case, I've ordered 2 replacement displays from aliexpress, which are cheaper than the complete display assembly and should arrive way before fxtec can ship out the part.

That should work well (I also use one of them), but expect some potentially minor problem at some corners.

3 minutes ago, SCΛRECROW said:

they've investigated this type of failure and they've determined it's caused by some sort of impact that has damaged the touch layer, but not the OLED layer.

It may happen, but I think the cause is most likely connection problem at the glass-ribbon contacts on the display.
So if display can move relative to its frame, it will result in a similar problem sooner or later.

So one cause may be the release of its glue holding the display in the frame (which may also be related to impact and glued area) and another cause may be related to the impact itself.

[Hook 2,821]

18 minutes ago, SCΛRECROW said:

hey've investigated this type of failure and they've determined it's caused by some sort of impact that has damaged the touch layer, but not the OLED layer.

Guess I was lucky and got mine in before the investigation was complete.  They did have me take a lot of pics of my Pro 1 to rule out damage before I sent it in.  I don't think it was unusual impact and thus suspect @VaZsois correct that there are a number of possible internal causes.

So it's basically a digitizer problem (well, what else would it be).

Reminds me a lot of the problems the old Palm TX had, which Palm never took much responsibility for.  The digitizers were plastic and developed a severe difgitizer drift-- the screen activating a point away from where the stylus was pressing.  Luckily, there was Chris Short who ran the PalmDr site.  Developed a glass-backed digitizer which he still installs in old Palms to this day (my old TX has been fully refurbed and runs great).

We need Prawn Doctor. 😉

[SCΛRECROW 57]

20 hours ago, Hook said:

So it's basically a digitizer problem (well, what else would it be).

I see a lot of damaged devices at work and I've never come across a digitiser fault without the display or glass substrate being damaged. But as they say, there's a first time for everything.

I'd be interested in knowing the frequency of this type of damage in phones with curved screens vs flat screens vs the Pro1.

[tomthegeek 4]

Just created an account as I am having this issue as well. Digitizer just going crazy unless I hold the screen steady against the base. Guess I'll need to order a couple screens from aliexpress. Anyone got a linK? Phone has been great up until now. 

[Hook 2,821]

20 hours ago, tomthegeek said:

Just created an account as I am having this issue as well. Digitizer just going crazy unless I hold the screen steady against the base. Guess I'll need to order a couple screens from aliexpress. Anyone got a linK? Phone has been great up until now. 

There's a bunch of sellers that have them on AliExpress.  They will sometimes sell out and you'll have to go looking for another.  This one works for now:

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

Edited July 1, 2021 by Hook

[auvo.salmi 135]

On 9/17/2020 at 3:56 PM, auvo.salmi said:

Yep, they said they'll ship in 1-2 weeks. If I was pessimistic, I'd expect that the schedule will change... But anyway my device is still fairly usable so even if it takes two months it should be just fine. I just hope they'll get the issue fixed in new production units, so they don't need to replace display from every produced unit.

Yep yep yep... Almost a year of waiting, and I haven't got my spare display yet... The ghost touches issue kinda fluctuates on my device. For some reason, once for a while the issue gets stronger and renders the device almost unusable for a day or so. Then it goes away for some time again. The unresponsive line on lower screen stays all the time, but the amount of ghost touches fluctuates.

I have been thinking if I should order a new display from aliexpress, but it seems to be so many issues on my device that I don't know if it's reasonable to pay for a fix for this issue. I have had the camera autofocus issue all time. Now the keyboard double character issue. Also the hinge is getting loose and makes squeaking noise. Don't know if it's worth to replace the screen at this point 😐

[ToniCipriani 194]

So by means... they pushed me to August, guess I'm expecting them to push it further out again.

[SCΛRECROW 57]

Got aliexpress replacement display and replaced the faulty one successfully. Can confirm, no more ghost touches. Such a relief to get the keyboard back.

[Milly 32]

On 10/23/2020 at 5:16 PM, Milly said:

Alright.... I received my screen today, replaced it. Phone works again as it should!

That was October 2020. Now, the replacement screen has developed exactly the same issue. Ghost touches, on exactly the same locations on the screen. Incredible. This is just a major design flaw, must be. I have been really careful with the device, but even then it should be able to withstand normal everyday use. I have asked for another replacement, and ordered one from Ali as well. Best case I have two, and assuming the problem will pop up again sometime early 2022, that may be a good thing.

[tomthegeek 4]

The issue has been fixed after installing the screen that arrived today.  Ordered two so I have a spare. Pretty easy replacement, but I am having issues with the screen sticking. I used the 3m strips all the way around but doesn't seem to be working. Will leave some weight on it overnight. 

[SCΛRECROW 57]

52 minutes ago, tomthegeek said:

The issue has been fixed after installing the screen that arrived today.  Ordered two so I have a spare. Pretty easy replacement, but I am having issues with the screen sticking. I used the 3m strips all the way around but doesn't seem to be working. Will leave some weight on it overnight. 

I'm having the same problem, used the 3M tape, left it under a couple of heavy books for 2 days but one corner is still popping up.

[EskeRahn 5,350]

@tomthegeekand @SCΛRECROW. Maybe a silly question, but did you remove all residues of the old strip and put the new adhesive strips the same places? It could be hat you are supposed to cut it to fit?

[tomthegeek 4]

6 hours ago, EskeRahn said:

@tomthegeekand @SCΛRECROW. Maybe a silly question, but did you remove all residues of the old strip and put the new adhesive strips the same places? It could be hat you are supposed to cut it to fit?

I pulled all the black stuff off yes.

However just realized now ATT won't activate my SIM in this phone even though the towers are still up until Feburary???

This 5G shit has me really worried. We've never been forced to upgrade before and now phones have to be approved instead of just the SIM card. That is a huge change in policy, before I could move the sim to any unlocked phone that was compatible with the towers and it would work. Now there's a specific list of phones that I can use.

Time to finally start looking for a new carrier although it wouldn't surprise me in the least if all of them are going to be exactly the same way. Because of course there are no small independent carriers left.

[VaZso 1,988]

@tomthegeek, @SCΛRECROW, I suggest you to find a better (but removable) glue which is able to hold the display without allowing it to move.

There is a ribbon cable at the bottom of the display (if I remember well) which is better to remain in fixed position.
If that ribbon cable breaks, it may lead to ghost touches, display distortion, etc.

Sometimes there is another glue comes with a display (maybe B-7000 for example), it seems to hold it good enough.

Do not allow the display to move in the frame.

Edited July 14, 2021 by VaZso

[SCΛRECROW 57]

16 hours ago, EskeRahn said:

@tomthegeekand @SCΛRECROW. Maybe a silly question, but did you remove all residues of the old strip and put the new adhesive strips the same places? It could be hat you are supposed to cut it to fit?

Yes, indeed, removed the old strip and cleaned the frame with isopropyl alcohol before applying the new adhesive tape, which was also cut to size.

1 hour ago, VaZso said:

Sometimes there is another glue comes with a display (maybe B-7000 for example), it seems to hold it good enough.

Thanks for the tip, I'll give the B-7000 glue a shot.

[Doktor Oswaldo 901]

On 6/29/2021 at 4:09 PM, SCΛRECROW said:

 As such, it's not covered under warranty...I'm not going to argue the point because I can't prove what caused the malfunction either way. Annoying, but that's life I guess.

That is exactly the reason why nobody should EVER pay for extended warranty as long as the burden of proof is not reverted.
But at least this phone can be repaired.

[tomthegeek 4]

Re-did the screen tape tonight. I used some really thin tape I have for RC stuff instead of the included tape. The other thing I did different was to use just a dab of Shoo Goo in the 4 corners and tape in the middle not just the edges. The screen is much better fixed in place and I think the shoe goo will hold when temps get really hot.  I suppose RTV silicon would work just as well. 

[SCΛRECROW 57]

Managed to find some time to re-glue the screen with B-7000, which works nicely. Left the phone under a stack of books overnight and just rubbed the overflowed glue residue off with my fingers.

Also, I forgot who had the idea of adding a diffuser to the notification LED window, but thank you. I added a bit of magic tape to it and it's a much better look now.

[EskeRahn 5,350]

13 hours ago, SCΛRECROW said:

Also, I forgot who had the idea of adding a diffuser to the notification LED window, but thank you. I added a bit of magic tape to it and it's a much better look now.

Ah nice! I was looking forward to someone testing that 🙂

[VaZso 1,988]

4 hours ago, EskeRahn said:

Ah nice! I was looking forward to someone testing that 🙂

Err - it also seems to be better on my phone anyways. 🙂

[Rob. S. 1,616]

20 hours ago, SCΛRECROW said:

Managed to find some time to re-glue the screen with B-7000, which works nicely. Left the phone under a stack of books overnight and just rubbed the overflowed glue residue off with my fingers.

Also, I forgot who had the idea of adding a diffuser to the notification LED window, but thank you. I added a bit of magic tape to it and it's a much better look now.

Bummer! I just did my first own screen replacement (which seems to have gone well and was easier than I thought, and I also used B-7000 which is much easier to work with than any other glue I ever used for anything before, thanks to the tiny metal nozzle) but I forgot about the LED issue! 

[VaZso 1,988]

12 minutes ago, Rob. S. said:

Bummer! I just did my first own screen replacement (which seems to have gone well and was easier than I thought, and I also used B-7000 which is much easier to work with than any other glue I ever used for anything before, thanks to the tiny metal nozzle) but I forgot about the LED issue! 

I have also forgot it when I have replaced my screen the first time although I was thinking on it the very beginning I tested my new phone...

However, I really put a diffuse tape the next time when I had a screen replacement - so, I would say... maybe next time. 😛

[ToniCipriani 194]

So support FINALLY replied to me after sending 3 emails and a tweet, now my screen has been further pushed out to October.

Think I'm about to just give up on this phone and move my Moto One Hyper as the primary. And the screen isn't the only thing that's bugging me now, I recently found out that my reception problems was the phone itself. I couldn't sustain a phone call properly in my room, but when I put my SIM into the Moto, it conducted phone calls perfectly fine even with just the 1 bar of signal.

[Rob. S. 1,616]

On 8/16/2021 at 10:09 PM, Rob. S. said:

Bummer! I just did my first own screen replacement (which seems to have gone well and was easier than I thought, and I also used B-7000 which is much easier to work with than any other glue I ever used for anything before, thanks to the tiny metal nozzle) but I forgot about the LED issue! 

Better still, there actually is something between the LED and the display glass now although I don't think it does much to diffuse the light: After I glued on the display and finally removed the protective film, I sat there and scratched my head and asked myself why there still was a red tab on the upper side of the screen!