Changing a Samsung phone screen (A12)

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I am on holiday and my phone has died. The screen has gone black so rendered it useless. I have looked online for fixes but none seem to work. I have tried the forced restart and when I do this the phone vibrates so I presume this indicates that the internals are working.

I have had a quote from a shop to replace the screen for 60 Euros.

However, I intend to upgrade the phone when I get home so the cost would be wasted, but I don't want to lose all the things on it. I could buy a screen for around £20 and attempt it myself, but my partner also has an A12 and we are both replacing them at the same time, so hers will be redundant anyway so I could use her screen.

So some questions for you folks who hopefully have some experience of this:

1 - Is it easy to split the phones. A YouTube video shows heating it to around 75 deg C then prising the back off. Remember I will be doing this on two phones if I butcher hers for the screen.

2 - Rather than trying to use her screen, would it be feasible to just swap the main board from my phone to hers? Does the main board contain all the memory and contact details etc? Doing this will mean I don't need to take the battery out which is stuck in, plus not removing and refitting other bits.

I have a 3D printer so I can use the heatbed on that to warm the phone for splitting.

Any help and advice would be great fully received.

Mick
 
I'm no expert. Having watched a video or two on this idea, I'd leave to it to someone who knows what they are doing. Heating electronics and chips sounds a bad idea. All the ones I've seen use a heat gun and still have trouble getting the screen off, theres also a fair bit of delicate wiring to deal with inside.
Yes it can be done, but not by me. Oh I could get it apart.... but working after.... Nahhhh!
Pay someone if the pics are important. You kill the phone and your stuffed. Just my 2p worth.
 
Have you tried plugging it in to a computer?
Mose seem to default to charging now, not data transfer, but it may be worth a try if you haven't already
 
Sangoma said:
Have you tried plugging it in to a computer?
Mose seem to default to charging now, not data transfer, but it may be worth a try if you haven't already
Click to expand...
Unfortunately I don't have one to try. Thanks anyway.
 
swanseamale47 said:
I'm no expert. Having watched a video or two on this idea, I'd leave to it to someone who knows what they are doing. Heating electronics and chips sounds a bad idea. All the ones I've seen use a heat gun and still have trouble getting the screen off, theres also a fair bit of delicate wiring to deal with inside.
Yes it can be done, but not by me. Oh I could get it apart.... but working after.... Nahhhh!
Pay someone if the pics are important. You kill the phone and your stuffed. Just my 2p worth.
Click to expand...
The heat on the electrics is my worry to be honest. Not too worried about the phones afterwards as they will be getting replaced!
 
Mossberg said:
Unfortunately I don't have one to try. Thanks anyway.
Click to expand...

If you replace the screen, you would still need a PC to get the photos off the phone :) May as well leave it until you get back.

The electronics mainly have a max operating temperature of 100C or above, would be quite OK with the temperature needed to remove the screen, as the heat wouldn't have time to propagate through to the circuit board, it won't get as warm as the part you are heating.
You will probably need some basic tools though, and maybe adhesive.
 
I've had a quick look at some teardowns and it doesn't look too bad a phone to get into compared to others, your suggestion to swap the main board I think would be the most straightforward approach. From what I can see there's a single mainboard for the primary components and Samsung don't restrict the hardware so it should work in the other phone.

There is a significant risk you could damage something in the process though since it needs quite a bit of work to get the cover off and you'll need to remove some ribbon connectors so it depends on how valuable the data on the phone is to you. I'd certainly try getting it hooked up to a computer first to see if you can read any data although you may not get anywhere because you'll need to press accept on the touchscreen for the computer to connect.
 
It's a lot of faffing around. Especially when you are supposed to be on holiday. Can't you just wait until you are home and plug it into your computer? Should be simple enough to transfer your files.
 
There is another good reason to leave it until you get home.

It may not be the screen that has failed, it may be the back light.

It is possible that using a torch and trying all different angles of looking at the screen and angles of the torch, you may be able to see the screen, though it could well look more like a faint shadow, but enough for you to select files transfer when you connect it to the computer.

Some phones have the backlight driver on the main board, and some on the screen assembly. If it is on the main board and failed, it would be possible to fit a new screen and it still be black.

If you holiday is sunny, try looking at the screen in sunlight. It is usually easier to see if it is working if something is moving on the screen. Some samsungs also suffer from screen burn, which might make you think yoou can see something.
 
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