Xperia Play, replacing Flex? fuzzy screen

[Ingcolchado]

Apparently many people has a problem booting their Xperia Play, but always seems to be after a force close o an android update, mine is after replacing the flex cable,

i had the fuzzy screen, opened the device, saw that the flex cable was ripped, powered On the mobile again cause everything was fine, i could still answer calls and i heard all day messages arriving to the phone, so i buyed a new flex and replaced it, and now, i have the same problem as much people, well, it's a long story,

my carrier updated stock rom was Telcel's 2.3.4, now i'm rooted, BL locked and flashed a custom rom (NXT  light) kind of a mix of 2.3.4 and 2.3.7  and worked fine for like 2 months, then i got the fuzzy screen with the digitizer still working so i could still answer to incoming calls turn on and off some stuff i knew where to tap on the screen so digitizer was fine, so i replaced the main flex, turned it on and everything looked great except for the digitizer, it was not working, i verified the conections under the lcd panel, turned on again and...nothing, got stuck on the SE logo at start up, i had that CWM-like recovery so i reinstalled the ROM the same that was working fine with the flex broken and still stuck at boot, i noticed that the mobile booted while plugged to my laptop or wall charger so i turned it on in flash mode (back key while pushing power button) so it booted, but stiil no digitizer nor speaker, so i've tried to fix with a updated pc companion  and SUS but pc companion said it couldn'd contact the server and sus says i've got the latest update, so i flashed the Generic UK 2.3.2 and it turns on (no flash mode) but still no digitizer, flashed the out of the box firmware, telcel's 2.3.3, boots ok but still no digitizer, updated with pc companion to get telcel's 2.3.4, reboot and stuck on SE logo, flashed again telcel's 2.3.3 then updated with SUS reboot and stuck on SE logo,same happens if i try this with 2.3.2, so i flashed again the firmware that was working fine with the flex broken and...stuck on SE logo,

So, with the 2.3.3 or 2.3.2 firmware it turns on but still no digitizer, i've even managed to update it OTA but then gets stuck at SE logo, looks like it only works plugged to the wall charger or computer on a updated firmware but boots fine with 2.3.2 or 2.3.3 tough no digitizer, now i can't even turn it on in flash mode with 2.3.4 this has been going for 6 days and my xperia play is getting closer to the wall...very fast,

so NO SUS wil not reinstall the update if you don't have a stock firmware neither PC Companion so thats not the solution that i've read a lot around here

i let it twice all night rebooting from an SUS and PC companion update after having flashed with flashtool 2.3.2 or 2.3.3 firmware and nothing, all night!!

how come the digitizer would broke just for replacing the flex cable? i'm not dumb, i've studied electronics and even before attempting anything i watched a lot of videos showing how to tear appart the mobile, i did it very carefully.

but the worst part is that not just the digitizer broke but that it appears that the main board is broken too,

should i replace the digitizer?

should i replace the main board? both?

i think i'll leave it on the sun for a few hours (all day) maybe humidity is the reason, but i've lost any hope, i'm not going to buy a new digitizer or/and main board cause it would be cheaper to buy a new mobile, i love the xperia Z and T, but here in mexico the warranty covers it for only one year, and then it's on your own, hence, if they cannot be repaired cause everything else will broke, then it's just a waste of money, i think i'll try the Tipo, and that's just cause i like Sony's desing, cause it's a lowsy mobile, i still have a K790a, and it worked fine for 5 years, still works, the R800 lasted for 21 months...

it's and old device, can we get a repair guide or something?

[Rickard]

It's hard to say what could be wrong with your phone and we do not have any repair guide that you can follow to fix it.

A service location might be able to repair it for you but as you unlocked the boot loader and the warranty is void it will probably cost more then a new phone.

[Ingcolchado · Accepted solution]

ok, phone is ok now.

a few people has read this, maybe they have replaced the flex cable too, so this was happening:

my brand new main flex cable had a price tag of about $20 US dollars and let's just say it is of a questionable quality, i managed to force the digitizer's flex cable to slip tighter into it's conector as well the front camera-speaker-ligh sensor flex cable into it's main flex cable conector, and that was it. a bad conection,

i just want to make clear that i dissasembled my mobile like 10 times to verify conections, clean and dry everything, and at the end i made the flex cables to slip tighter into their conectors, something that was around my head for several days, altough i was reluctant to do it cause it seem ridiculous and actually, that was the problem, i did it las friday and turned on my mobile until sunday (cause i had already lost any hope) just to see what happens and i noticed a even worst bootloop, cause the previous one keept the phone on the SE logo for hours and this new one was like the SE logo blinking for 3 times and then reboot and blinking again, so i figured out that there something different happening to the mobile, flashed with flashtool my latest carrier's stock fw and digitizer was ok, so i'm back to the custom rom i like, everything ok, yet, mobile is on sale now, or at least i'm still buying a new one

i hope my issues with the flex cable will help someone else

[metalcore]

Your xperia play working fine now ..? how didi you solve it.. can you explain it to me step by step .. cause we have the same problem here. Please. Thank you.

[metalcore]

ok I'm going to try what you've done. Because like me after I changed my Flex cable the same thing happens to stuck on SE logo, will only boot when connected to wall charger and USB. I've done also the software repair but nothing change. I can try that later. I only need tighten each connections right?

[Ingcolchado]

yeah.

just use magic tape, all flex cables make contact with their respective conector by the upper side, the lower side is just plastic, i sticked a couple of layer of magic tape there and done!, just be carefull conecting the felx cables back in, because it's gonna be harder, i bet you don't want to break them.

and... you were asking how to flash a firmware while the USB debuging is off, and you don't need to turn usb debuging on, just remove the battery, and put it back in, don't turn on your mobile, open Flashtool (http://androxyde.github.io/) load the firmware and when asked, push the back button and plug the usb cable to your mobile, flashing process will begin and after reboot your done, remember you need to have your mobile drivers installed, they should be in the drivers folder inside flashtool folder after installing it. hope it helps and remember to mark the correct answer in your post, it helps other people.

[jordan1]

my xperia play had also fuzzy screen . i think because of slider cable ..

im from phil. where i can brought my phone to repair.

i want to repair my phone i dont how and where i brought it .. please help ..

sorry about my poor english ..

[jordan1]

hi sonymobile  im live in Philippines im interested in your many product of xperia
i have an xperia play but now my xperia play is broken because of slider flex..
i need help where can i brought my xperia play in to nearest branch in philippines to repair it .
i love my xperia play  i hope you help me  thank you  for your concern

[Il_Blanc]

I have the same problem. I'll try to do the same thing. Thanks in advance for your posts