[HTC Vivid, Raider, Velocity] bproulx:
And then it was fixed..! FTW! :D

Ok sorry for the delay getting back to you guys.. been frantically waiting for the screen to clear US customs (ugh) and arrive, which it finally did today. I was able to get my hands on it at about 3 this afternoon, but I wasn't able to actually look at it until about an hour ago..

So.. I open the package, big grin on my face..and the first thing I notice is that the glass is AT&T branded. Funny, considering I'm in Canada and using Rogers..but hey a digitizer by any other name...and all that. So! I open the bag that my "tools" came in.. There are 2 blue plastic tools, one a prying tool and one looked a lot like a guitar pick. Cool. There are also 2 screwdrivers included, and I'm momentarily excited, until I realize they're just tiny torqx bits. The Raider uses TINY philips head screws, so those were useless. I put them into my tiny tool set..for later consideration.

Back to the screen. Looks like it the real deal, so I watch half of the teardown vid on youtube.. As mentioned in an earlier post it isn't an english-language vid so aside from seeing the locations of the screws and the methods of levering off the internal components, there's no exchange of information going on. I would like to mention however that the video kind of glazes over the locations and removal processes for some sensitive connections, so having only experienced laptop repairs personally.. I was in fairly uncomfortable and unfamiliar territory - but I was determined.

I tried several ways at getting the phone down to its base components, and finally succeeded in locating the panel's ribbon connector interface on one of the phone's circuit boards. I had to remove the back of the phone, pull the batt, sim and sd, and pull the 4 main screws that lock the housing down onto the phone.. From there its a matter of levering off the black plastic shell and whats underneath is a whole lot of tech in a very tight space. There were 3 or 4 wires I had to disconnect, about 15 tiny screws in 3 different lengths, and then when all was said and done I had to pry the busted panel off using the supplied blue lever tool (pretty handy, actually.) and then lift the lcd away from the metal housing enough to slide the old connector out and the new one through.. This was a very tricky process - I drink way too much coffee to hold completely steady for long..lol.. Finally got it all through, but by this time I had smudged the inside of both glass surfaces pretty badly and it took some serious mechanical dexterity to hold the surfaces and wipe them down without wrecking any of the flapping, loose circuit boards, screens, etc.. it was a frightening experience.. I won't lie.. I definitely feared the worst possible outcome given my limited experience.

So.. the panel's ribbon cable is inserted, the white clip back down securing it.. I manage after several attempts to remember how to put the puzzle all back together, and after about 45 minutes of messing with it I had a visually complete phone again. I hit power, and miracle of miracles the HTC logo flashes on the screen.. I'm hopeful..

The phone boots up, looks great (aside from a few smudges I missed on the inside..grr) so I start touching the screen and here's where we have the first problem..lol.. its recognizing that I'm touching the screen..but not really accurately.. it seems to be that there are dead areas.. So now I'm thinking I broke something..lol..

Smoke break.

Took it all apart again, forgot to clean the smudges, removed and re-seated all the connections, and about 15 minutes later I had it back together again. I booted it up and waited.

Success!! It sees where I'm touching accurately now - I think the ribbon must have moved while I was putting it back together, I was shifting things a lot as I was trying to figure it all out, so I must have stressed the cable enough to move it slightly in the slot.. that, or I didn't have it all the way in / straight the first time I did it. Either way, it works fine now. I was successful on the 2nd attempt, and now the only difference is that this glass feels..rougher? less smooth? not sure how to describe it.. it feels different, anyway.. and the at&t logo of course. Aside from that, you'd never know it was in pieces an hour ago..lol.

Would I do this again? ..I hope I don't have to. Its not impossible, but man, if you're going to try this BE SUPER CAREFUL!! :eek: lol..

edit: and no - it didn't come with the double sided tape, but it seems to be staying without having to replace it.. it wasn't too hard to remove it from the panel, but getting it back on straight took some finesse.. lol.. it comes apart easier now when you're tryingn to disassemble it..but seems to be holding together fine on its own.