[zee_shah]

Dear fellow forum members,

Advance apologies for a long post, this is a call for technical help in getting a cannibalized Z10 to work.

A long time ago, I too was a proud Z10 owner when this happened:



In Pakistan, there's no official Blackberry presence as mainstream device seller (market is dominated by a local player, Samsung, Huawei and Nokia etc.) so I did not want to spend the money on another set for which I had no warranty and support. So I bought a Lumia 1320 and moved forward. But my heart was with my Z10 (STL 100-1) so I decided to do some DIY repair and started ordering parts and the following happened:

• I ordered a screen+digitizer replacement hoping the rest would be OK. Didn't work. I examined the motherboard and it was visibly bent.
• I ordered the motherboard but the supplier sent me one from the 4G version. I have no way to know whether it is STL 100-2,3 or 4.
• I got my money back and got to keep the motherboard because seller didn't want to take the hassle of paying for shipment back from Pakistan.
• With the refund amount, I bought a screen/digitizer (4G), rear camera (4G) and housing (4G). All these were required as the 3G and 4G motherboards are completely different shape. One key difference is that in STL 100-1, battery is placed with connectors facing down while it is reverse in other variants.
• The housing arrived after middle plate, the most vital component, so I got partial refund on that and ordered another middleplate.

I know the above is superfluous but I've been away from the community for a long time and just wanted to share how much I cared about my Z10. During this time, my 1320 got stolen from a supermarket, and I had to buy a Lumia 535, Microsoft's first phone without the Nokia name and in the name of Microsoft itself. (My mistake. Never buy anything that is a first by Microsoft; they always screw up their first attempt in ways unexpected of a large enterprise).

So yesterday, the final component - the 4G middle plate - arrived and I immediately placed it and powered up the phone.

Good news: The recompiled phone started.
Bad news: It takes me to a repair interface which runs tests on all the components of the phone. Nothing else.

Below are the screenshots of what the interface looks like




If anyone of you is wondering, it's a defender case (albeit Chinese version). I also ordered it in hopes of protecting my Z10 better. I asked for Black and got Pink. No refund!

Anyways, I googled unbricking and found the "reloading of OS" techniques; tried them with the below results:

• The web update doesn't work.
• Link doesn't work. Screenshots below

So now I'm stuck with a Z10 with no idea how to get it to work, the pin number is strange and I don't even know if it's supposed to work. One thing remaining is to run the Autoloaders. I'm currently downloading all three autoloaders for STL100-2, 3, and 4 because I have zero idea what variant the motherboard is (UPDATE: At end of post). This is why I have looked up to the technical acumen of the Crackberry community. Please help!

Regards,
Zeeshan

PS: Anyone interested in seeing the motherboard can check the below pics out:



UPDATE:
I installed the Autouploaders one after another. All lead to red LED blinking in the 1-6 sequence (10111111). This indicates corrupt software and Google results show again the reload software solution. It's not working for me:



Really looking forward to a solution.

[A m I n]

Hi, i have a question you cannot see main page of your phone ? ( Home page )

[zee_shah]

I can't see anything buddy.

[zee_shah]

Bump, may be?

[baarn]

I'll bump the thread again for you, maybe one of the experts will chime in.

I think you are right with the autoloader. You are going to run into issues with the missing IMEI and PIN. If you can find a way to set them, then you can use the ones from you smashed device. That said, it shouldn't be easy to change the device IMEI for obvious reasons, but perhaps it's easier on a brand new motherboard that hasn't been previously initialized.
You've effectively built your own Z10, which is pretty cool, so I hope you can overcome the last hurdle.

Interesting post with regards to how things are in Pakistan...

[girinath]

Is there no service center in Pakistan?
Autoloader might not work because your phone doesn't have any OS installed. It is clean,with zero used memory. I got a problem like that with my z10 when it suddenly turned of and everything was erased. I tried autoloader and also reloading 10.2.1 OS in my BlackBerry but the thing was there was nothing left as entire memory was deleted and there's 0mb used. So I gave it to service center. They took two months to fix that. You might give it to service center and they take INR4,000 for this...

Posted via CB10

[benbraun322]

Sorry buddy you can't build a phone out of parts.

The motherboard you brought wasn't a motherboard to be used in a device the motherboard has no BlackBerry PIN and a device won't boot with no BlackBerry PIN.
The motherboard you bought is supposed to be used for replacing broken parts on your on motherboard.

For example if you broke the Micro USB port you can unsolder the one from the motherboard you bought and solder it on to the motherboard that came with your device and that should solve your problem.

But it simply cannot be used as a motherboard for a device.

Check in the description of where you bought it from but it will probably say NO PIN somewhere.

BlackBerry Z30 Chenpion

[benbraun322]

Although if you can find a cheap Z10-2/3/4 that has a working motherboard and insert that motherboard into your device you would probably have a shot of a working one.

The motherboard is what allows the device to run and if you get one that was in a fully working device and the motherboard is not harmed you should be able to use it.

BlackBerry Z30 Chenpion

[zee_shah]

Sorry buddy you can't build a phone out of parts.
The motherboard you bought is supposed to be used for replacing broken parts on your on motherboard.

Thanks for your detailed reply! This is unfortunate. But the vendor at DHGate did not mention NO PIN. Are you absolutely sure there's no possibility that this is not supposed to work? Because a thought came to mind based on your description that what if I want to replace the processor or storage? They would still be like this!

[zee_shah]

You've effectively built your own Z10, which is pretty cool, so I hope you can overcome the last hurdle.

Interesting post with regards to how things are in Pakistan...

Thanks, it's more of a hobby!

Pakistan's mobile phone market is one of the largest in the region. Nokia, Samsung, Huawei, Lenovo and more recently Apple all have attached strategic importance to Pakistani marketplace but the real market driver is a local brand, QMobile (Nokia would like to continue to be in denial about this)! BlackBerry exited the market long ago, they do have some liaison presence but nothing in terms of device sales.

Other than that, Pakistan is much more than what Homeland TV series depicts it to be!

[benbraun322]

Thanks for your detailed reply! This is unfortunate. But the vendor at DHGate did not mention NO PIN. Are you absolutely sure there's no possibility that this is not supposed to work? Because a thought came to mind based on your description that what if I want to replace the processor or storage? They would still be like this!

I'm positive that it isn't supposed to work because it isn't a motherboard that is used in a phone.

Am I positive it's impossible to get this working?
No
Everything is possible some way or another.

I'm not sure how you would do this...

I think your best bet would be to get a STL100-2/3 that's broken somehow.
Like broken USB port or SD slot or just a really cheap one if you can find it and take that motherboard and put it into the Z10 you built and then you can resolder the broken parts from the board you bought with no PIN onto the one with a PIN.

But before you buy one make sure the parts that are broken can be soldered on.
And that you are skilled enough at soldering small parts.


BlackBerry Z30 Chenpion

[scrannel]

Other than that, Pakistan is much more than what Homeland TV series depicts it to be!

Warning, Non Sequitur: I remember as a kid coming out of the Khyber Pass on a motorcycle, completely beat from driving through Afghanistan and stopping in Peshawar. Met some kids who took me to Jan's Bakery and bought me the best cream puff ever had in my life! Sorry for what happened there, BTW.

[zee_shah]

And that you are skilled enough at soldering small parts.

Thanks for the response, it clarifies a lot! Yes, soldering small parts (or any parts for that matter) is an issue for me currently. I'm just a chartered accountant! I agree with your approach and be on a lookout for dead STL 100-2/3. Don't wanna buy a new Z10 on impulse!

[zee_shah]

Warning, Non Sequitur: I remember as a kid coming out of the Khyber Pass on a motorcycle, completely beat from driving through Afghanistan and stopping in Peshawar. Met some kids who took me to Jan's Bakery and bought me the best cream puff ever had in my life!

Thanks. Tourism hasn't been a priority for the government but those who have traveled compare some northern areas more beautiful than any other place in the world.

Warning, Non Sequitur: Sorry for what happened there, BTW.

It was an unparalleled tragedy.

[benbraun322]

Thanks for the response, it clarifies a lot! Yes, soldering small parts (or any parts for that matter) is an issue for me currently. I'm just a chartered accountant! I agree with your approach and be on a lookout for dead STL 100-2/3. Don't wanna buy a new Z10 on impulse!

Yeah sorry man....

I don't know if you can find one in your area but the Z3 and Q5 are pretty cheap.

BlackBerry Z30 Chenpion

[Umaima_B_Dia]

Zee_shah, which city do you reside in?

If in Karachi, The Forum has a BlackBerry outlet where you can purchase a device w/ manufacturer's warranty. They usually import their phones from Dubai (although, that wasn't the case with Passport).

Although, I am unable to provide a solution to your issue; in my opinion DHgate and Aliexpress are not really an ideal destination for BlackBerry device/components. You could try homeshopping to order through ebay.