Note 2 Digitizer Connector Is Missing Pins

[MeanTomatoes]

My Note 2's digitizer stopped working and when I took it apart to look at it, the main connector was missing gold pins/stripes.

I drew on the pins that should be there As a result of the pins missing, it only has a staticy layout of grey, red, green, and blue dots everywhere. Is there any way to fix this other than replacing the digitizer entirely?

EDIT: The pins disappeared due to corrosion, my phone was water damaged, but this connector is the only thing that's not working.

 

[MeanTomatoes]

I should also note that I tried cleaning it with electrical connector cleaner, but upon further inspection it wasn't smudges but just missing pins.

 

[mikedt]

My Note 2's digitizer stopped working and when I took it apart to look at it, the main connector was missing gold pins/stripes.View attachment 92399I drew on the pins that should be there As a result of the pins missing, it only has a staticy layout of grey, red, green, and blue dots everywhere. Is there any way to fix this other than replacing the digitizer entirely?

EDIT: The pins disappeared due to corrosion, my phone was water damaged, but this connector is the only thing that's not working.

Gold plated pins actually dissolved completely, leaving no trace whatsoever? More likely they weren't there in the first place, as they're not used. The display problems could be something else has corroded and gone bad, but isn't visible to the naked eye.

 

[MeanTomatoes]

Gold plated pins actually dissolved completely, leaving no trace whatsoever? More likely they weren't there in the first place, as they're not used. The display problems could be something else has corroded and gone bad, but isn't visible to the naked eye.

Sorry for the bump, but I got interested in that digitizer just laying around.

Pretty sure it's the connector. All other digitizer connectors have every pin and it works perfectly. It could be corroded somewhere else but I think this is the culprit. Is there any way to replace the connector without replacing the whole digitizer?

 

[mikedt]

Well home surface mount repairs is possible...with a toaster oven!
http://www.freetronics.com.au/pages/surface-mount-soldering-with-a-toaster-oven
But I don't think the flexible plastic print pigtail will withstand the heat.

 

[MeanTomatoes]

Hmm, that's annoying. Here's a higher quality picture if anyone wanted one.

 

[mikedt]

Problem is, trying to desolder and resolder by hand, a component on a flexible plastic printed circuit is pretty much impossible to do without melting it.

It was originally made in a factory with a machine. I think it's first glued on, and then soldered using very precisely applied and controlled hot air.

Have you looked at replacing the whole digitizer assembly?

 

[MeanTomatoes]

Problem is, trying to desolder and resolder by hand, a component on a flexible plastic printed circuit is pretty much impossible to do without melting it.

It was originally made in a factory with a machine. I think it's first glued on, and then soldered using very precisely applied and controlled hot air.

Have you looked at replacing the whole digitizer assembly?

Replacing the whole assembly is the thing I don't want to do which is why I started this thread.

 

[mikedt]

Well quite frankly now I think you'll end up buying a new phone, and sending this Note 2 for recycling or selling it on Ebay for parts. Please don't just throw it in the trash.

 

[MeanTomatoes]

Well quite frankly now I think you'll end up buying a new phone, and sending this Note 2 for recycling or selling it on Ebay for parts. Please don't just throw it in the trash.

Agreed, I hate to throw away electronics only to end up in a dump. I have a different phone already, but this digitizer has been sitting here so whatever.

 

[ML192168]

I know this is an old discussion, but I was wondering if you ever managed to source that cable connector. I believe it's actually the display connector rather than the digitizer. I have a couple Note 2's with similar problems from water damage.
I found a relatively easy way to remove the old connector, but can't find where to buy new ones.
It looks like the same connector as the S-pen sensor. I may try to find broken displays to scavenge from, but isn't easy to remove the connector undamaged. Once removed, a new one is not so difficult to install. I may try a technique I saw for removing surface mount IC's, but not sure it will work and have to get phones to pull from first.