replacement screen.

[Juanjeste 4]

Hello. Where can I buy the replacement screen and is there a video on how to change it? thank you.

[VaZso 1,998]

3 hours ago, Juanjeste said:

Hello. Where can I buy the replacement screen and is there a video on how to change it? thank you.

Search a display made for Elephone U Pro for example at Aliexpress.
Usually displays sold at Aliexpress are not perfect, most probably there is at least one black part of a corner which is not a big problem but be prepared (so there are more or less missing pixels at one or two corners).

Also, a configration may be necessary of the margins of new screen which is atomatically performed by last stock firmware but not the LineageOS version. Prior to that, the very edges of the screen will not react of touching, that is a configuration mismatch.

[Hook 3,020]

4 hours ago, Juanjeste said:

Hello. Where can I buy the replacement screen and is there a video on how to change it? thank you.

We need to be clear here. IIRC, you have a Pro1x, not a Pro 1.  The Elephone U Pro screen will still work, but neither Stock Android 11 nor Lineage OS will fix the margin problem.  The only method that has been reported to work is first installing the display in a Pro1, doing the fix and then transferring to the Pro1x.  Be aware, I have not done this.  Since I don't believe you have a pro1, this is probably not a workable solution, sorry to say.

 

[Hook 3,020]

On 4/6/2024 at 12:32 PM, Juanjeste said:

is there a video on how to change it?

Here is the video for screen replacement,  It is for the Pro1, but that won't make a difference in this case. 

https://community.fxtec.com/topic/3222-new-at-least-to-me-pro1-pro1x-repair-videos/

However it shows you changing the whole display, including the frame,  You do NOT want to buy the Elephone U  Pro frame for the display (it's usually a choice or they don't include the frame at all), the Pro1x's frame is different. So the added removing the old screen (some glue to work loose) and lightly gluing the new display into the frame.

[Juanjeste 4]

21 hours ago, Hook said:

We need to be clear here. IIRC, you have a Pro1x, not a Pro 1.  The Elephone U Pro screen will still work, but neither Stock Android 11 nor Lineage OS will fix the margin problem.  The only method that has been reported to work is first installing the display in a Pro1, doing the fix and then transferring to the Pro1x.  Be aware, I have not done this.  Since I don't believe you have a pro1, this is probably not a workable solution, sorry to say.

 

Thank you. I don't know what the margin problem you mention is. It is difficult to get a new screen. Thank you.

[Juanjeste 4]

22 hours ago, VaZso said:

Search a display made for Elephone U Pro for example at Aliexpress.
Usually displays sold at Aliexpress are not perfect, most probably there is at least one black part of a corner which is not a big problem but be prepared (so there are more or less missing pixels at one or two corners).

Also, a configration may be necessary of the margins of new screen which is atomatically performed by last stock firmware but not the LineageOS version. Prior to that, the very edges of the screen will not react of touching, that is a configuration mismatch.

Thank you . How complicated all this is.

[Hook 3,020]

12 minutes ago, Juanjeste said:

I don't know what the margin problem you mention

The screens for the Elephone U Pro are made by the same company that made the screen for Pro1 and Pro1x.  However (and I don't know the technical details) they need a patch or there will be a wide margin around the screen where there will be no touch sensitivity, a dead area for a wide margin clear around the screen. 

The company used a patch for the Elephone U Pro models, but it requires Android 10 or earlier to use.  They never even officially released the patch, but FxTec was able to obtain and incorporate the patch into the Pro1's version of Android 9.  But the Pro1x runs on Android 11, so it can't be patched.  People have confirmed here in another thread, that it works to first put the display on the patched Pro1 (I'm not really technically knowledgeable, but I assume the patch must make a change to the firmware of the display), then transfer that screen to the Pro1x.  But there is no known way to patch the Pro1x.  Unless and until FxTec makes Pro1x replacement screens available, Pro1x owners who don't also have a Pro1 are stuck.

I would at least check with FxTec and see if replacement screens will ever be available.  I don;t think the odds are good, but can't hurt to ask.

[VaZso 1,998]

3 hours ago, Hook said:

However (and I don't know the technical details) they need a patch or there will be a wide margin around the screen where there will be no touch sensitivity, a dead area for a wide margin clear around the screen. 

I don't know if stock Pro1 is updating display's firmware but I doubt it.

What you write is basically correct, but display has some configuration options and default margin configuration is different for Pro1(x) and Elephone U Pro phones.
Maybe they are handling screen edges differently at kernel level.

So display is connected through I²C interface and display controller has a description where possible configuration options are written and display margin is among them.
So it is clear what should be done.
However, I don't know how Android could be told to stop using touch interface (I mean completely release it), then an application to reach that device through I²C for writing these values.

Earlier I have tried to do it but I mostly know Linux and not Android-specific things, so it was unsuccessful.
So the main question is how to do direct communication over I²C bus through Android.

Maybe there is a reason why stock Android do this communication at boot time...
So if there is a way to put a small program prior loading any touch-related Android parts, then that program should read some addresses of display then modify them if they are differs - that is what stock's solution is most probably doing.

[Hook 3,020]

9 minutes ago, VaZso said:

I don't know if stock Pro1 is updating display's firmware but I doubt it.

Yeah, I don't really have any idea-- this is all way over my head. However, for whatever reason, the display booted up on a Pro1, and then moved to a Pro1x, works properly. So something has to be being changed internal to the display by whatever the Pro1's stock Android 9 is doing at boot.  This is probably the communication you talked about?

[VaZso 1,998]

11 minutes ago, Hook said:

Yeah, I don't really have any idea-- this is all way over my head. However, for whatever reason, the display booted up on a Pro1, and then moved to a Pro1x, works properly. So something has to be being changed internal to the display by whatever the Pro1's stock Android 9 is doing at boot.  This is probably the communication you talked about?

Right.
I have just found my earlier message in this forum.

There is a long thread about this issue, here I have attached the technical description of touch controller in 2022.

In this document, there are registers at 0x805B and 0x805C addresses.
Former has 4 bits for setting up blank area of top part and 4 bits for bottom part, latter has 4 bits for left and 4 bits for right parts.

Most probably these two registers what are checked in stock OS and written if not equal to a specific value... that is maybe 0 or a relatively low number between 0 and 15 and our screen bought at Aliexpress has a relatively high number set here for some corners.

It is very simple but OS restrictions apply.

Edited April 7 by VaZso

[SchattengestaIt 559]

It's really hard to get elephone displays anymore. I've been in contact with the company that sold them and they are not going to ramp up production again (not even if you ordered 1000 pieces).

The little displays available often have huge black spots on the side or even in the middle. If you order displays, I recommend buying at least three in hope that one works out. If they all were fine, you could still resell them later.

Regarding the margin: I've used my phone with the margin for a long period and it isn't that bad. Only for some apps it will cause problems as the icons are too much on the side. I have to mention though that I decreased the element size of my display a lot so my icons and letters are way smaller than for everything else. So you might not encounter the same problems as I did.

For the Pro1 there's also the fix of installing stock rom over LineageOS and then aborting the installation. The display borders get installed correctly while everything else stays the same. I don't know if it works for the Pro1X though.

[FlyingAntero 871]

3 hours ago, SchattengestaIt said:

For the Pro1 there's also the fix of installing stock rom over LineageOS and then aborting the installation. The display borders get installed correctly while everything else stays the same. I don't know if it works for the Pro1X though.

Is the process described somewhere more closely? The screen of my Pro1 is still working fine but I have spare display waiting if needed. That trick might be handy someday.

[SchattengestaIt 559]

https://community.fxtec.com/topic/3204-display-units-with-large-tap-insensitive-margin/page/8/?tab=comments#comment-62230

It should be this thread. 

You have your current rom installed and try to overwrite it without wiping data. The installation starts and fails after a few minutes, however the display area is reconfigured.

I don't know if it works with the Pro1X, but the idea should be the same. Be sure to always backup your data though for the case anything goes wrong.

Edited April 9 by SchattengestaIt
corrected, ty Hook

[Hook 3,020]

4 hours ago, SchattengestaIt said:

I don't know if it works with the Pro1

I think this is a typo.  I assume you mean you don't know if it works with the Pro1x, since people do claim it works with the Pro1. But it raises an interesting question... is there anything in stock Android 11 on the Pro1x that handles the display correction (even though the original patch doesn't work on Android 11) that would work if reflashed? I can't remember if anyone has tried that. 

I can't imagine trying to flash the Pro1's Android 9 on a Pro1x would have any good result. 

[SchattengestaIt 559]

8 hours ago, Hook said:

I think this is a typo.  I assume you mean you don't know if it works with the Pro1x, since people do claim it works with the Pro1. But it raises an interesting question... is there anything in stock Android 11 on the Pro1x that handles the display correction (even though the original patch doesn't work on Android 11) that would work if reflashed? I can't remember if anyone has tried that. 

I can't imagine trying to flash the Pro1's Android 9 on a Pro1x would have any good result. 

Ty, I've corrected it.

 

I think, if the main parameters fit, it could still work out. The installation fails anyways so the result could be the same. But the installation probably won't even start since the hardware differs between both phone versions.

The approach would obviously be to learn what exactly hapens with the code and write a patch for all phones. Sadly, I'm not a programmer so I can't help with that. 

[Juanjeste 4]

Thank you all for the information. I think Fxtec should have provided for certain spare parts (screens, batteries, protectors, etc.) but I think that was not the case. Over time the battery will lose its capacity and it will be an expensive paperweight.

[Juanjeste 4]

I should have bought those spare parts when I ordered the device

[Rob. S. 1,661]

4 hours ago, Juanjeste said:

I should have bought those spare parts when I ordered the device

In principle, that would have been a good idea, but then again they never were shipped, as far as I can see... At least I never got the spare battery I ordered with the  Pro1X I backed on Indiegogo. 

[FlyingAntero 871]

It seems that you can buy replacement screen with the frame from AliExpress.

- https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005062900944.html

Just note that it does not include the front camera module and the board for the connector. So it is missing the piece that is going to be taken apart with tweezers in the picture below.

[Noir 112]

Nice find. Unfortunately the seller does not offer shipping to my region, I contacted him nevertheless if there is an option, i'll edit this post when I receive an answer.

 

edit: response was not too good, "if you can't buy it I can't ship it.". I'm not sure how the seller would respond to a request to buy it outside of aliexpress, but I did not ask further.

Edited April 19 by Noir

[VaZso 1,998]

On 4/17/2024 at 6:48 AM, FlyingAntero said:

It seems that you can buy replacement screen with the frame from AliExpress.

- https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005062900944.html

I have received my order from this seller today.

I have ordered both displays with and without frame.
The frame looks original part and display was declared to have small dots at the bottom.

Also, these displays look like if they were prepared or more probably installed earlier in Pro1s.

Original display has a blue foil to cover sticky copper part at a big area of its bottom as it arrives from manufacturer.
Pro1's display originally has a black tape to cover most area of sticky part (after blue foil removed) and also a conductive tape for shielding display controller area.

Two out of three displays arrived today has the very same bottom stickers what Pro1 originally has (black + conductive) and one has no stickers but original foil peeled.

Remember, F(x)tec had problems with screen issues which they tried to solve with original Pro1 manufacturer and I think these displays were removed from Pro1s as part of quality assurance because they had some screen issues at corners - seller correctly states this issue.
(At that time Chen has traveled several times to China to ensure everything go well and this is what he could not do for Pro1X because of COVID.)

However, there is nothing stated for displays sold together with frame which may also belongs to not manufactured Pro1s, spare parts remained at manufacturer or displays which also had quality problems but frames were not removed.

I have not checked how these displays are working but I will do it once my other order also arrives (I don't want to disassemble phone multiple times).

So I think these displays with and without frame came from the remaining stock of original Pro1 manufacturer company which went bankrupt and may also meets with information F(x)tec told earlier about manufacturing problems.

Edited April 29 by VaZso

[SchattengestaIt 559]

Can you provide us with photos why you think they are original displays? As far as I know, the Pro1 displays were originally displays from the Elephone which were repurposed. From reading your explanation, I could imagine the 'original' phone display you had in your hands was also from an Elephone.

Anyways, there are two more important factors: does the display have black notches on the sides or even on the middle of the screen?
Are the edges touch-sensitive? (I've had replacement displays with invisible edges and others that worked fine)

 

If both are answered with 'Yes' then we have actual alternatives for our Pro1.

[VaZso 1,998]

1 hour ago, SchattengestaIt said:

Can you provide us with photos why you think they are original displays? As far as I know, the Pro1 displays were originally displays from the Elephone which were repurposed.

Pro1 uses a display originally manufactured for Elephone U Pro.

Here is an original display (my handwriting of the amount of black spot problem was blured) made for Elephone U Pro:

Here are the displays arrived today:

1 hour ago, SchattengestaIt said:

From reading your explanation, I could imagine the 'original' phone display you had in your hands was also from an Elephone.

No, the original display I had in my hands was the original display of my Pro1 (early version).
It looked like the top/bottom displays in the photo above.

However, looking deeper of the most right one which is installed in frame, I suspect its sticky part was not covered with black tape (like the display in the middle).

I think it may be a replaced screen or later version and they tried to solve ghost touch issues by stronger gluing of the display (not covering most of sticky area).
I have an early Pro1 as daily driver and it had a black-taped display like above but newer Pro1s may have a fully glued version.

Anyway, my thoughts of ghost issues was the worn out of green ribbon cable what can be seen at the right part of display at the middle.
I think when sticky part releases, this ribbon starts moving which will cause it will break sooner or later.
I have replaced my display multiple times because of this ghost touch issue which generally disappears for a short while at earlier stages by pressing the bottom left of the display what means the issue is somewhere in the upper part of the display at the middle above.
Last time I have glued that ribbon cable to prevent it from moving, sooner or later it will reveal if that helps - but generally movement should be the issue.

1 hour ago, SchattengestaIt said:

Anyways, there are two more important factors: does the display have black notches on the sides or even on the middle of the screen?
Are the edges touch-sensitive? (I've had replacement displays with invisible edges and others that worked fine)

As of simple displays, seller states black dots at lower corners which is not a big issue if it looks like in seller's photo.
I don't think it has black dots elsewhere but I will see it later.

Also, as they seem to be originally taken off Pro1 screens, I think they do not have edge-related touch issues.

However, although I use LineageOS on my daily driver, I am planning to test them using an other Pro1 which has stock OS installed.
Moreover, as items to be sold look to be the old stock of manufacturing company, they most probably not have additional items of them on top of the already advertised quantity.
Also, their price is low and other Chinese sources also have one or two black areas of displays manufactured for Elephone U Pro.

So I will test them once I also receive my other package but I would say it may be one of the last chances to order these parts.

Additionally, Pro1s usually did not have display corner problems but I saw smaller problem in one corner of a manufacturer-repaired Pro1 screen...

Edited April 29 by VaZso

[guss 13]

On 4/29/2024 at 4:54 PM, VaZso said:

I have received my order from this seller today.

I have ordered both displays with and without frame.
The frame looks original part and display was declared to have small dots at the bottom.

Also, these displays look like if they were prepared or more probably installed earlier in Pro1s.

Original display has a blue foil to cover sticky copper part at a big area of its bottom as it arrives from manufacturer.
Pro1's display originally has a black tape to cover most area of sticky part (after blue foil removed) and also a conductive tape for shielding display controller area.

Two out of three displays arrived today has the very same bottom stickers what Pro1 originally has (black + conductive) and one has no stickers but original foil peeled.

Remember, F(x)tec had problems with screen issues which they tried to solve with original Pro1 manufacturer and I think these displays were removed from Pro1s as part of quality assurance because they had some screen issues at corners - seller correctly states this issue.
(At that time Chen has traveled several times to China to ensure everything go well and this is what he could not do for Pro1X because of COVID.)

However, there is nothing stated for displays sold together with frame which may also belongs to not manufactured Pro1s, spare parts remained at manufacturer or displays which also had quality problems but frames were not removed.

I have not checked how these displays are working but I will do it once my other order also arrives (I don't want to disassemble phone multiple times).

So I think these displays with and without frame came from the remaining stock of original Pro1 manufacturer company which went bankrupt and may also meets with information F(x)tec told earlier about manufacturing problems.

i also recived two of them, and there is black spots on bottoms right and left, and there is dead zone on left and right of the screen on first touch (if i touch on center and go to the edge my finger is detected on the edge, bu if i directly touch the edge, nothing is detected)

so I have the margin problem, and I don't know how to correct it, someone can explain how to do that?

Edited May 13 by guss

[Hook 3,020]

16 hours ago, guss said:

i also recived two of them, and there is black spots on bottoms right and left, and there is dead zone on left and right of the screen on first touch (if i touch on center and go to the edge my finger is detected on the edge, bu if i directly touch the edge, nothing is detected)

so I have the margin problem, and I don't know how to correct it, someone can explain how to do that?

As far as I know, there is no solution for the Pro1x unless you have access to a Pro1.  If you connect the display to a Pro 1, you can use the Pro 1 method of flashing/reflashing Stock Android 9 and then put the display back into the Pro1x and it will work properly.  However, there is no patch we know of for the Pro1x using those displays.