Category Archives: Mobiles

Finally, fixed my phone’s screen and broken earpiece. This is a continuation of my previous post (Disassembling my Honor 4C ) where I dismantled my old bae – Honor 4c and this is my first DIY phone repair.

Here is the repair log:

So, I bought the display and the touch screen digitizer from ebay and it got shipped in a week.

While trying to replace the screen, I accidentally damaged the earpiece (located on the top of the phone) as I pulled it out the wrong way.

The red rectangle shown below is the location of the earpiece(next to the secondary camera):

Well, that didn’t go as planned 🙁

Then, I did weeks of research trying to source the earpiece for the Honor 4c online but the earpiece was not available anywhere. Finally, I found it on aliexpress for $4.53 (Link) which was a good deal (including shipping from China).

I got the earpiece delivered in 1 month. It was actually pretty fast shipping considering it was shipped from another country and cleared customs in my country which usually takes a long time. Infact, this is my first item that I purchased from China and from aliexpress.

Dismantled the phone (again), fixed the earpiece, and mounted the display. And here comes the moment of truth!!!

Booot was successful.

Tested primary and secondary camera, wifi and earpiece and it was all back to normal. 🙂

Yaayyyy!!!

Well, this project had its ups and downs, took long to complete but am am happy that I completed it.

Regards,

ΞXΤЯ3МΞ

Mobiles, Technology

Disassembling my Honor 4C

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I dropped my phone while running to work and the screen broke due to the impact. I have been using this phone for a very long time (since 13th June 2015) and I dint want to let go (probably due to sentimental value). Most people would just throw the old one away and get a new one but honestly I didn’t really feel the need to get a new one. As of now, I will wait and see. Maybe eventually I might get a new one (Honor 8 Pro maybe?) but I don’t know. So I thought I would keep it with me, give it time, learn and fix it myself even thought I have no clue what I am doing. LOL! May be this whole repair thing is a bad idea and might fail, but its definitely worth a shot.

Here is the picture of the broken screen 🙁

This is the first time ever that I am taking apart a phone completely so pardon me for any mistakes. I had completed dissembling this phone a while back but just didnt get the time to post about it due to work.

So, I googled for weeks on tutorials on stuff like how to open up this phone, the tools you need and stuff like that.

So, I bought a mobile repair kit which basically has a few screwdrivers, 2 x guitar strum looking things, 2 plastic crowbars and a suction cup. Here is a picture of the kit:

So, first thing I did was to remove the back shell.

So, this is how the back portion looks after removing the back shell.

So, I started off by removing the screws near the battery and then the outer ones. Attaching a picture for their location for reference:

It took me a while to figure out that there under the “Torn invalid” sticker, there is a star screw hidden underneath it. Attaching a picture for reference below:

Now, we can gently take out the blue casing. This is what looks like once we remove the blue casing on the Honor 4c.

My baby is so pretttyyy on the inside!! 🙂 😛

To remove the battery, I had to remove the two screws on the right side of the battery as shown in the red box below:

Now to pop the battery out, I had to lift and disconnect the battery connector as show below.

After disconnecting the battery cable, I was able to remove the battery by simply lifting the battery up.

So, this is how the battery looks like:

After the removing the battery, disconnect/pull the below cable.

Then disconnect the below two cables.

Now, we can separate the motherboard from the phone.

This is what my Honor 4c motherboard looks like.

This is what the backside of the display looks like:(which has the Frame which holds the Display and the Touch Screen Digitizer).

So, I was able to disassemble my phone successfully! Wohoo!! 🙂 I know this is not a big deal for most people but its a big deal to me. I honestly didn’t think I could make it this far as I was alone in this learning journey. I am glad that I gained some knowledge on dissembling phones which is something I had never done before. I did make a video with audio instructions on the whole disassembly process but I am not sure I should upload it to my youtube channel or not. Lemme know what you think below in the comments section.

Do you think its worth repairing this and having it fixed? If you were in my shoes, would you hold on to your old phone?

Leave your comments in the comment section down below. I would love to hear what you have to say.

As always stay happy! 🙂

Happy blogging!

Regards,
ΞXΤЯ3МΞ

Mobiles, Technology

Nokia 3310 refresh will be re-launched this month at MWC 2017

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Nokia is set to re-launch the iconic Nokia 3310 this month. It was one of the best phones back in 2000 & was built like a TANK! Remember the epic snake game? 🙂 The snake game that came pre-installed in this phone was so popular that you can even downloaded and play it today on your Android/Apple phones.

The phone is set to be launched at about $62 (USD) and will be revealed in MWC 2017 which is happening this month. If you are wondering, didn’t Nokia stop selling phones? Well, it was sold to another Finnish company “HMD Global” that bought rights to the “Nokia” brand.

Personally, I would love to get hands on one of these, wouldn’t you? Daymm, it would feel so retro! 🙂

Here are few hilarious memes about the indestructible Nokia 3310 that will get you laughing hard.

Do leave a like and subscribe if you liked this article. Feel free to drop a comment on what you think about this phone. Cheers!

Source: Independent.co.uk

Image sources & Credits: quora.com , phonearena.com

Mobiles, Technology

Unlock Bootloader Honor 4c + Screenshots

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This is a guide on how to unlock the bootloader on Honor 4c running Android 6.0 from a Windows 10 PC.

Requirements:

HiSuite software
Minimal ADB and Fastboot
Unlock code
Your Honor 4c phone- For obvious reasons 😛

Disclaimer: Please follow this guide at your own risk. Following this guide will void your warranty and may result in a bootloop and I assume you would know how to fix bootloop. If your phone gets bricked, don’t blame me.

Step 1. Get required phone details

Model Number:

In your phone, click on Settings>About Phone and you would find “Model Number”. For example, mine is CHM-U01.

IMEI number:

You would have two IMEI numbers, take a note of the 1^st IMEI number that you see in the “About Phone” under Settings.

Serial Number:

Go to Settings>About Phone>Status and you should your phone’s serial number.

Product ID:

Open your phone’s dialer and type the following code: *#*#1357946#*#*

Step 2. Enable Developer Mode + USB debugging

Go to Settings>About Phone and keep tapping on “Build Number” until it says You’re a developer.
Now go back to Settings, you should be able to see “Developer Options”. Click on it and then move the slider next to “USB debugging” to enable it.

Step 3: Install HiSuite

Go to http://consumer.huawei.com/minisite/HiSuite_en/index.html and then click on “Download”.
Install HiSuite in your PC.

Step 4: Get your unlock code:

To get the unlock code for your Honor 4c device, go to the following link: http://emui.huawei.com/en/plugin/hwdownload/download
Click on “Unlock Bootlader” next to FAQ. See screenshot below:

Login to your Huawei Account, click “I have read and accept all terms above” and then click “Next”.
Fill in your phone details and you will get your unlock code Please take a note of it as we will need it to unlock the bootloader.
In case you do not get your unlock code, please send an email to Huawei at [email protected] and they should be able to provide you with the unlock code.

Step 5: Install Minimal Adb and fastboot

To download and install Minimal ADB and Fastboot, use the download link below:

https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=24521665358595410

During installation, please take a note of the installation directory. By default it would be installed to “C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot” for a 32-bit OS and “C:\Program Files\Minimal ADB and Fastboot” for a 64-bit OS.

[Note: For more information about Minimal ADB and Fastboot package, please visit XDA and support the original creators of the software. (XDA Link)]

Step 6: Unlock bootloader

Connect your Honor 4c via a USB cable to your PC/laptop and then unlock your phone.
Now browse to the Minimal ADB and Fastboot installation directory. Press and hold SHIFT in your keyboard and then right click on any blank space in that folder and click on “Open command window here”.
You should be able to see command prompt window like the one below:

Now we need to verify that your phone is accessible via adb run the following command:

adb.exe devices

You may receive a message in your phone to allow the connection, click Allow when prompted. If the above command does not display your device, then something went wrong with the installation of Huawei HiSuite drivers or your phone is not connected properly to your PC. Below is a screenshot when adb was able to detect my device.

Now type the following to boot into your phone’s bootloader.

adb.exe reboot bootloader

You would see a screen with a white background titled “FASTBOOT&RESCUSE MODE” with the message “BOOTLOADER LOCKED”.
Verify that you are fastboot is able to recognize your device by running the following command:

fastboot.exe devices

To unlock your bootloader, run the following command “fastboot oem unlock keyyourecieved” from your pc after replacing 123456789 with the unlock code that you received from Huewai’s website:

fastboot oem unlock 123456789

You should see the message “Phone Unlocked” message in the bottom after the bootloader has been successfully unlocked.

Now, reboot your phone by typing the following command:

fastboot.exe reboot

Congratutaions, you should have unlocked your bootloader by now. I will link another article soon on how to root and install custom recovery TWRP on Honor 4c running Android 6.0 (Marshmallow).

Do leave a comment below and share if you liked this guide. Cheers!

Source:
Minimal ADB and Fastboot: XDA

Mobiles, Technology

Most powerful Ubuntu phone: Meizu PRO 5 Ubuntu Edition

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The world’s most powerful Ubuntu phone “Meizu PRO 5 Ubuntu Edition” has just been launched with some serious hardware. Take a look at the specs below:

8 core Exynos 7420 processor and MALI T760 GPU.
32GB of internal memory.
3GB LPDDR4 RAM.
5.7 inch 1080p screen with a re-tuned delta cool color AMOLED screen.
Corning Gorilla Glass 3 with improved damage resistance and toughness.
21.16 megapixel rear-facing camera with PDAF phase laser-assisted focusing and LARGAN 6P lenses for improved resolution.
5 megapixel front-facing camera.
Hi-Fi Sound.
Slots for two micro-SIM cards.

meizu Pro 5 ubuntu phone picture — **Image: Meizu Pro 5 Ubuntu Edition [Credits: Ubuntu.com]**

This device as you all know is joint initiative of Canonical and Meizu and have had successful launches of Ubuntu phones in the past. The launch of the device will definitely conquer hearts of all Linux lovers (myself included).

The company states that the phone is running the latest code and is capable of providing a desktop experience (which basically allows you to connect your phone to a monitor and use it as a normal desktop). This phone weights about 168 grams with dimensions of 156.7x78x7.5 mm. Also, the Meizu Pro 5 ubuntu phone does not support MHL output. It does come with applications such as Instagram, Twitter, Telegram and Soundcloud.

The phone is available for pre-order during the Mobile Congress 2016 event.

What do I think of this?:

Dayyymmm!! I need me one of those!!!

If you are an Android or Apple user, would you switch to the Ubuntu phone? Feel free to leave a comment below!

Do share this article on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ by clicking on share buttons in this page. And don’t forget to subscribe to get latest updates! Stay Tuned! 🙂

Source: Ubuntu, Image Source & Credits: Ubuntu Phones

Mobiles, Technology

7 reasons NOT to buy the Freedom 251 mobile

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Here are 7 reasons NOT to buy the Freedom 251 mobile now:

Reason 1:No SAR mentioned

It wont burn a hole in your wallet but will burn one in your pants.

There is no mention of the SAR value anywhere in the website which is suspicious. According to the Indian law, every phone that is to be sold in India must have a SAR value less than 1.6W/kg.

[Note: If you need to see the specifications of the phone, you can find it here.]

Reason 2: Actual manufacturer logo hidden with whitener. You gotta be kidding me???

According to bgr, the device is actually manufactured from a company “Adcom” and the logo was essentially masked with Whitener ink(see picture below). I mean who does that before such a huge launch? Atleast they should have re-branded the device or changed the mobile shell casing. I would love to meet the PR guy of Ringing bells in person someday and say “Hey, nice try douchebag“.

freedom-251-ripoff — **Image** **Source**: **BGR.in** (See below for credits)

Reason 3: No proper Wiki Page

Here is a screenshot that I took a few hours before the launch of the device on 18th Feb 2016:

Freedom 251 - Wikipedia page as on 18th feb 2016

Here another screenshot of the manufacturer Wiki page that I took on 18th Feb 2016 a few hours before launch.

Ringing Bells Private Limited - Wiki page

It sounds like the Ringing Bells is just a re-seller who basically has no idea what they are doing or this is an elaborate scheme to market as the cheapest phone.

Reason 4: Not accredited by ICA

The phone is not accredited by ICA (Indian Cellular Association) and so legally it cannot be sold in India.

Reason 5: Website lacks basic security and optimization

Here is one major security problem that will make you think twice about entering your personal information in their website:

The website uses Plain Text form of Authentication which basically means the data is send across your PC to their server in plain-text format. So, basically any hacker who has access to your network can easily sniff your username and password.

I did a whois lookup on the domain freedom251.com and found it is registered on through registrar Bigrock.in and also it is hosted on Amazon EC2. For those who are not aware, websites such as www.quora.com run on Amazon cloud and have little or no downtime and handle traffic well. The best part is Amazon’s EC2 are well known for its strong network infrastructure and the fact that you can be easily upgraded to a larger instance depending on your website and traffic requirements. I wonder how the mobile manufacturer’s website was unable to handle the traffic and was down couple of times/had to shutdown service on the launch date itself.

freedom 251 domain lookup info

I really hope they did not choose the AWS free tier micro instance for hosting their website to handle such huge amount of traffic.

Reason 6: Long Shipping period

According to Ringing Bells, If you place the order for the mobile today, you will get it only after 4 months. Since most of you already know that its not a Ringing Bells product and its actually from another manufacturer Adcom, you should have already guessed the reason behind the 4 month waiting period. I believe that its one of two reasons:

Make customers place the order and accordingly import the Adcom mobiles from China and courier it to the customer (and obviously hide the Adcom branding with whitener before shipping).
Its possible that they were trying to adopt the marketing technique from Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi and failed miserably. The difference was that Xiaomi had the mobile shipped and stocked in India to be delivered without the long waiting period unlike the Freedom 251.

Reason 7: User Interface

Looking at the device user interface, it closely resembles Apple’s iOS. Matter of fact the device itself reminds me of my ancient Iphone 3Gs.

There are 1000s of twitter users already angry with the turn of events. What do u think about the turn of events? Do, leave a comment in the comments section below, I would love to hear from you.

Feel free to share this article in facebook, twitter, google+ by clicking on share buttons you see in this page. Do subscribe to get future updates! 🙂

Sources: bgr.in,

Tech Antidote

Category Archives: Mobiles

DIY Honor 4C earpiece and Screen replacement

Disassembling my Honor 4C

Nokia 3310 refresh will be re-launched this month at MWC 2017

Unlock Bootloader Honor 4c + Screenshots

Most powerful Ubuntu phone: Meizu PRO 5 Ubuntu Edition

7 reasons NOT to buy the Freedom 251 mobile

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