yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] debonairone:
How do you spell Eureka?? Oh yeah, I remember... E - U - R - E - K - A . . .

Phone has been working as if it was brand new for almost 30 minutes... Has survived soft resets, wake up from standby, power downs, text messages, email, phone calls, etc... Will edit this post later this afternoon to see if it still works...

How did I fix it? I followed the steps in the first post to add the foam in the two locations beneath the D-Pad, I also added the foam beneath the Messaging/Internet pad (as suggested in another post)... While I had the phone apart, I used regular rubbing alcohol and cotton swabs (would be best to use a lint free cloth) to clean some of the inner workings, then I reassembled it... I followed the disassembly instructions from the you tube video posted earlier, I also noticed that they never mentioned the removal of the screw in the antenna housing above the camera... That screw has to be removed to lift the mainboard from the housing... It is also easier to disconnect and reconnect the connector from underneath the mainboard, if you slide out the keyboard, this gives more room for the ribbon cable to move around...

I love community forums such as this...
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] gigafunk:
I fixed mine! Forget foam!!! I found the new board for 60 bucks!

Hey guys,

First off let me say THANKS to the original poster for targeting the problem area. I fell with my phone in my poccket and got a solid white screen.

So I found this post and took it apart and put it back together. It worked, for three days then started intermittently with increasing frequency. So i took it apart again, added foam, and its work again at first then crap out. So I took it apart again and took off the foam and pulled off one of the tiny cubic resistors. CRAP!! I thought. I put it together and it worked! But still would crap out, and i would have to hit power, slide it open and but pressure on it just the right way and it would work till the pressure was gone, same as always.

Heres the point, I found the replacement d pad board online, ordered it and BLAM!!! IT WORKS PERFECT!!!!! I AM SOOOOO THRILLED. I mean Perfect like brand new. Imagine, being able to use the wonderful phone you originally fell in love with. Like a middle aged wife whos husband just gave up the bottle for good, i cant be happier. Heres the link

https://www.cellulardr.com/Cingular-8525-OutsideKeyboard.htm

and the link text incase i linked it wrong

https://www.cellulardr.com/Cingular-8525-OutsideKeyboard.htm

If you are struggling with this, buy the new part. I know the description is strange on that link, but it is the right part. The connector isnt the problem. Its something in the board that connects when flex is applied to it( the pressure of the doam probably applies this force)

Thanks again Alkizmo for the great post that got me on this.
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] debonairone:
Happy to report that my free foam is still working after several days... But if it does crap out again, I will purchase the dpad and replace it.... Thnxs for the link...
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] airjer:
Finally got around to doing this and it so far seems to have worked.. I've been jamming on my d-pad, soft keys, and phone buttons... normally they would have stopped within a few seconds or immediately, but now they're doing fine. In place of the foam I used some of those sticky pads that go with the hooks you hang on the wall... just cut them to size. I'll report back if the fix doesn't last.

Thanks alot :]
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] schizo:
First of all, I'd say I'm glad I'm not the only one with the problem, and would like to thank to you all for all your analysis and help already provided in this thread.

Originally Posted by fone_fanatic

have you guys noticed that when the d-pad and other buttons die, if you rotate the scroll wheel up and down several times the buttons will start to work again...

Here's my analysis:

I noticed these behaviors on my JASJAM for about 1 week now. D-PAD (and all hardbutton in upperhalf body) will stop working, and the screen goes white now and then. But after power off/on the screen will work and then goes white sometimes later. D-Pad will work after using hardkeys in lowerhalfbody (not only scroll, but also notes/OK/comm manager/camera), then not responding a few moments later.

One conclusion, this problem only affect parts in the upper half body, so the troubleshooting variances which have been tried is correct.

However, there is certainly something about "timing". Since the symptomps will fade away in some amount of seconds after I use lowerhalfbody keys and/or powering on/off.

Did anybody have any idea on how to utilize this fact? I mean, maybe it will solve problems where the tricks with the foam is not 100%.

As in my case, I still have my warranty until August, so I will certainly return mine to the reseller. However, since iMate is not "officially" selling products here in Indonesia, I'm in big doubts that the reseller could fix it well, and on time. Different case if I were bought a Dopod/HTC.

So, Should I print out the first page of this thread as to provided them the clue? At least, to give them a jump start analysis.
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] irockash:
I fixed my problem: bought a Tilt.

I thought it might just be how hard you hit the keys; the screen would go blank after a hard press... but no go. I did use the "bend it backwards" trick a few times with success.

But after driving on the highway trying to work with TeleNav only with a touchscreen made me jump over to a Tilt. Anyone want to buy an 8525?
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] danielad:
I have found that the double stick foam doesn't work for me. I've taken mine apart and added foam. It onlly made it much worse. Now it's unusable. I'd really like to know if anyone else has sent their phone in for repair at Pocket PC Techs, or if replacing either the LCD or d-pad circuit really work beyond a few people. I'm getting pretty fed up of opening this phone up! I am now at 100% white screen with all the tricks tried. Some help would be greatly apprectiated.
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] philw007:
Fix

I've had the same problem. I believe its related to how tight the screws are in...u have to take most of the phone apart to get to all 4 screws for the "screen" part as 2 are hidden under keyboard part. The screws loosen over time esp if u are rough or drop the phone. I just periodically tighten the screws whenever I start getting white screen or the d-buttons/phone buttons dont respond. Always has fixed problem until screws loosen again.
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] arawata:
Big thanks

This suggested fix (post 1) solved all problems with my JasJam white-screening and d-pad failing. Big thank you to the OP for this - you've saved one more JasJam from an early demise.

Cheers. I owe you a beer!
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] pedro2k:
Are you talking about the four screws in the 8th pic of this page? Thanks!

http://inuchanbt.blog54.fc2.com/blog-entry-100.html
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] rajbsn:
Hi,

Do you know where can I find 8525 service manual? I tried to search the internet and couldn't find it.

Thanks

Raj
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] debonairone:
1.5 weeks later and the phone is still running strong... hopefully, it will continue to work properly...
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] airjer:
Mine has started to act up again... soon as it warmed up outside heh...
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] danielad:
Yeah, the screw thing didn't work. A friend of mine aquired a 8525 that I can use for parts. I'm thinking of just replacing the whole thing or just the d-pad. Though working with the screws inside has me a little worried that it'd make that one go bad too. Maybe I'll just use that one since it works fine... only, it has a tarnished housing.

UPDATE:

I changed out the screen and d-pad, and housing (basically didn't open that part up) with another one. Works fine (go figure). I decided to go into the old screen and d-pad housing to try to fix it one last time. I wrenched the screws holding the d-pad circuit board and also the smaller ones connecting the d-pad to the rest of the phone to almost unsafe levels. Put it back together, and now THAT phone works wonderfully as well! It's been about a day now with no white screen. So the screw thing does work. I just had to tighten a lot tighter than I probably would have liked. This explains possibly why those who have dropped theirs got a white screen.
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] Jc61990:
this just saved me from getting a 4th hermes. ive sent my phone to AT&T twice already for this problem, this is my 3rd phone and it started acting up, and since the warranty expired this month.... i thought hell ill give it a shot, good thing i had double sided felt tape laying around :P
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] champsk:
Thanks alkizmo, Looks like that foam you recommended works.

I spent hours looking around my place to find a bit of foam, used to have lots of them from my boxes of computer hardware but it seems like i have got rid of most of them

Before I found your post i have been opening my phone everyday trying to clean it, i though my connection was dirty but it was loose after all

Now my phone is all loose from opening it too many times...

Thanks a lot for this post, my phone is now back in action :D
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] ause46:
I had purchased 2 flex cables thinking that was the problem but as it turns out it was the D-PAD. But i've done some damage to the pins on my d-pad. Any suggestions where I can find one of these?

Thanks to all for identifying the source of the painful problem.
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] drakkahn:
http://www.cellulardr.com/Cingular-8525-OutsideKeypad.htm
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] ause46:
Thanks drakkahn. But i'm not having any luck ordering parts from that website. For some reason they will not ship to me in Australia yet they have Australia as a valid option in the drop down lists.

I tried placing three orders with CellularDR and each time the order was cancelled with some dodgy excuse:

View Order Status

This is the current status for your order number #

Status :	Order Cancelled

Date :	March 12th 2008

Time :	23:15

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION :

03/12/08 We are very sorry but we can only ship your order to a confirmed Paypal Address or your credit card billing address. We have cancelled and refunded your order in full.

What difference does it make to them if my address is confirmed or not as I've paid the shipping fees. On the last order their reason was:

View Order Status

This is the current status for your order number #

Status :	Order Cancelled

Date :	March 16th 2008

Time :	22:06

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION :

03/16/08 Canceled and refunded in full. PLEASE DO NOT PLACE ANY MORE ORDERS. WE WILL NOT SHIP TO YOUR LOCATION. THANK YOU.

Great customer service!!! I'll definitely be ordering from there again!! Or MAYBE NOT!

CellularDR.com = WE WILL NOT SHIP TO AUSTRALIA
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] rpleasan:
Worked so far

I didnt have foam but had little chunks of felt. I took apart my unit using Mike's step-by-step guide and insert the felt at the blue indicators. Keys seem to be responsive so we'll see how well it does.

Also...... tightened my keyboard slider screws too. ;-)

rodd
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] drakkahn:
Hey Ause46. Sorry you have had such a hard time with them. I personally haven't ordered anything from them and if I can keep from it I won't.

I tried doing more searching for parts and didn't have much luck.

Although I never buy anything over the internet from Hong Kong, this company http://cnn.cn/shop/8525hermes-outer-keypad-p-1610.html shows the pad for $7.99.

I also found an old thread http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=264563 that has some US #'s to buy parts directly from HTC.

You might also want to try contacting HTC directly. They are how I found the company that repaired my screen.

Good luck, if I see anything else I'll let you know
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] jazzx:
Great Fix

Thanks so much this fix was great! Easy to follow instructions :)
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] ause46:
Hey Drakkahn, thanks for your help. I had emailed the sales guys at cnn.cn and they were very prompt in their reply and unfortunately advised me that they no longer supply that part as they cannot get that part brand new. So yeah back to searching. I will try and give those numbers a call and see if I can get the parts direct from HTC.
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] alkizmo:
You can look for dead phones or damaged phones on ebay as well.

If you can find a D-Pad of any other hermes, no matter the layout, it should be compatible. Only the PCB is different to accommodate the alternate layout, but the flex cable will fit and the phone will recognize the buttons.

Im fairly certain that other HTC/DOPOD/IMATE models would have compatible d-pad as long as it would fit in the casing.

There are parts in my phone that are dated early 2006 before the phone was even announced, that's because they re-use older model phones parts. A QVGA screen is still a QVGA screen after all :p
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] C Brown:
Get a T-5 and a T-6 driver along with a 00 phillips
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] Vlaunir:
It really works !!!

Thank you all so much. My ATT 8525 is back from the dead.

I followed the guide to disassemble, tightened the screws over dpad ( marked in red circle in the picture). Placed foam in areas marked in blue. I used a piece o foam from a plantronic's ear cushion. It worked like a charm.

It feels good to be free of the white screen nightmare !!!

Regards

Vlaunir
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] madman604:
works intermittently for me but better than a whitescreen, thanks!
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] YorYor:
Tried this for a 8525 I had, and it works so far.

What happened was the 8525 wasn't turned on for quite a few days, and when I turned it on today it went a full whitescreen... had to wait until it booted into WM before I turned off and on the display using the power switch before it resumed the normal display... but the display was skewed slightly off to one side (about 1 or 2mm of the bottom was appearing on top).

Dismantled everything and put everything back in with the foam in the places mentioned in the first post. Looks good as of now... will update again after leaving it powered off for another day or two.
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] abakus:
Worked on my SPV M3100 too. For now, it forks perfectly. I just placed thin foam on blue marked places....

Abakus
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] ring_bling:
touch screen wont respond to tap

Hey guys the xda community has been very helpful to me with my s620, but this is making me pull my hair out. I got an 8525 on trade for repair of a friends pc and white screen started after a few days, so I took it apart and reset the cable under the yellow tape screen is perfect but now I get no response when I tap the screen only d-pad and other buttons work any help would be very appreciated thanks in advance for all suggestions.

*oh yea and I didn't use any foamin the phone I tried it and it made no change*
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] YorYor:
Double check all the connectors, and you have to hope you didn't damage anything in the process. Alternatively, you may have put too much foam, causing the screen assembly to get too jampacked.
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] Perozzz:
Trouble with front side button

Can anyone help me ? I have T-Mobile MDA Vario II and recently windows button (front side under display) dont work anymore.

When I set click sounds for buttons in control panel and try press every button all buttons works fine and I can hear click sound.Only windows button dont produce click sound.I assume that cause for this problem is oxidizing of "small isolated concave metal disks" which I suppose is under plastic button which I am pressing.Photo of inside qwerty keyboard is similar (http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=1399157#post1399157).But I'm not sure 100% for that.My suspicion for that is because that week when windows button stop working i notice moisture and dust in front mask of my MDA Vario .Reason for dust and moisture is because I have MDA Vario in pockcet of my pants when I working that week.Several time I was sweat and dust was also present in place where I was work.

My question is does anyone here have similar problem with buttons (front side buttons under display) and how to resolve that?

Also ,can anybody could confirm that my assumption mention before is correct ?

I will be very grateful for help on this problem. :)
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] billuk:
White screen to bricked + best place to sell in UK?

Sadly not every tale has a happy ending. I was getting the occasional white screen so I bought the screwdrivers, opened my Tytn up and added the material and put it all back together. It was still white screening. I went to reopen it but one of the case screws just turns without coming out but it's still holding the case on.

Still it's replacement (Tytn II Kaiser) should be arriving today :)

Any recommendations on the best place to sell a bricked Tytn. I also have a Dell Axim x3i (white screen also!) and a working HP Jordana 545 (6 years old but working) which could go.

Thanks

Bill
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] leetheslacker:
so i bought my 8525 a week ago.

and today i look at it and the screen is white.

reset it a few times before sighing loudly as it just stayed white.

tried putting pressure on the screen without taking it apart and accidentally called my sister.

so i tore into it. when i put pressure on the connector nothing happens, but when i let up off that pressure the blue light by the message button and the lights on the call and end call buttons light up for a split second.

i tried some foam i had but when reassembled it was still just all white.

im very upset with my $200 paperweight right now.

when i cracked it open i found some electrical tape over a few connections and about 75% of the screws missing. pretty sure its not supposed to come like that.

im frustrated and confused with this whole thing.
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] leetheslacker:
okay so i figured out the tiny chip thing is loose and pressure would turn on the buttons, but that stopped working so im assuming one of pins is now shot completely.

anyone want to sell me a keypad board or know where to get one?

i have a permanent white screen, would fixing the buttons really fix the screen?

im not getting the connection here.
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] madman604:
Huzzah! my phone is back from the dead! i needed a double layer of foam on the BIG ribbon cable (as i broke the black lever) but it finally works!

many thamks guys!

lets hope it lasts :D
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] kiekf1:
I`m testing this.

It looks well (the white screen haven't appeared...)

I'll tell you in a few days.
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] Gale1974:
Very thank alkizmo! I've just bought a Tytn SPV M3100 brande by Orange from ebay and I've the problem of white scren and the buttons dont't responde anymore. I've tried yuor guide step by step and now my tytn is perfect: 1 week and no white screen or buttons problem. The D-pad connection was the problem for me.
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] Skeldrath:
Well putting slight pressure on my phone has kept it on the road for a good 5 months now :P And no need to open it.

but the whitescreen is finally so prolific that i've given up and ordered a Vario 3

from tmobile!

i note that the new model has the D-Pad on the OTHER side..

Coincidence? :D

think they may have worked out a few design flaws, now if only they could sort out the video driver issues with the Kaiser.

since my vario 2 is now retired, i may rip it apart and try a few of the suggestions in this thread, screwdrivers a-plenty!

Good luck to all with the issue, it's a nightmare.
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] anothersmith:
sucess

Sweet. The fix worked for me. I had my 8525 on my hip and caught the side of my sliding door sending the phone flying. took it out of standby and nothing but white screen. I had Soti pocket controller installed and could see that the phone worked just a white screen. Followed the instructions and i'm back in business. Now looking to flash...it's been out of commission for a while so looking to see what's new.

Thanks as always!
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] lapsed:
I think I've killed my Hermes. :(

I had it balanced on my knee and let it slip off, dropped a maximum of two feet onto carpet and now I have a permanent white screen. Course, the thing happens to be about 13 months old, so no warrantry for me.

Following the excellent instructions in this thread (thanks to all who contributed) I have stripped it down and fiddled with the D-pad/screen connectors but to no avail - I still just get a white screen when the phone is on.

The phone also appears to be invisible to Activesync - I don't even get the "you have connected a new USB device" beep when I plug it into the PC, let alone a connection to Activesync. I get the orange charging light and that's all she wrote.

Is my goose cooked, or can anyone suggest anything else?
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] Lancealot:
Hope is not lost. All that is required is patience, a steady hand, and some good luck. I've managed to use this guide to become more familiar with the guts of my Hermes and to make a few minor adjustments. I too was having issues with my d-pad, messaging and internet keys, however I took a methodical approach to solving this problem and all worked like a charm after she was snapped back together.

My device even feels considerably more solid in my hand, as if it has just come assembled tight straight from the factory.

This website proved to be invaluable in my disassembling of this little machine. Check it out and study the pictures carefully. You can make it work as new just as I did.

Cheers and good luck!

PS: If after considerable fumbling around with your Tytn and taking it apart you find that you are still experiencing the white screen issue, then try to enter into the bootloader. If this fails, then you may wish to try examining your device for bad blocks. Hope this helps!
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] egekeskin:
I've been experiencing same problem for 3 months now! This has solved it, thanks a lot. What I realized was when there was white screen keyboard lights were not on. It was the same problem.
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] marfab:
No work for me!

I try this solution in my Hermes but the buttons still don't work.

Are you that is a hardware issue?

I say that because if you try to make a hard reset with the two front button, it work and you can make the hard reset, so i'm thinking that the button on the d-pad are working good!

Any idea about that?
[8525, TyTN, MDA Vario II, JasJam General] u2pop:
It Works!

Few months ago I got this white screen and hard buttons not working problem once in awhile. At first rarely then becoming more often. Usually it takes only soft reset but about 2 weeks ago the white screen became permanent.

Found this solution and I encourage myself to follow your instructions. Its been 2 weeks now and My Dopod 838 pro now working flawlessly. No more white screen and buttons work perfect! Although its not that hard to dismantle the unit, I hope that was the last time i had to do it.

Thank you for this nicely done instructions!