[Jorge Quiroz]

Hello, I have a GSM Unlocked Blackberry 8220 with a cracked screen and I also have a CDMA Blackberry 8230 that is almost brand new but there are no CDMA carriers in my country anymore so the 8230 was just gathering dust. I tried to swap screens, they both look almost identical and the connector fits nicely however the 8230 LCD doesn't work in the 8220 I get backlight but no image, does anyone know if the screens are interchangeable? perhaps I have a defective 8220, I cannot assure the phone's condition as it was given to me as is (because the person I got the phone from knew I had this 8230) the external screen on the 8220 shows no image though and also putting the cracked screen in the 8230 doesn't work either no image on the internal or external display, any insights?
PS: I've researched extensively through the forum and the internet and I haven't found anything regarding 8230/8230 compatibility
Next thing I'd try is swapping motherboards (in case the 8220 has a bad flex cable) but I'd still have to figure out how to fit the SIM card
Thanks in advance

[diegonei]

Welcome to the forums.

They may or may not be. You have to check the screen model to tell. That can be done by... open it up and looking at the LDC LCD (which you already can do).

If the model matches, then it will work (and from your post, we can already tell they don't ).

Don't try to switch moderboards. You'd just end up with a 8230 in a 8220's case. Hit ebay and get a replacement screen.

[Jorge Quiroz]

Thanks for the quick answer, I'll check them tomorrow since I don't have the phone here at the moment, this is very confusing though since they both have the exact same connector and gets backlighting when it's supposed to. Do you think I can fix this 8220 just by getting a new screen? since the external screen isn't cracked but also has no image I'm thinking there's something wrong with this phone beyond the screen (the phone apparently works, vibrates when I set it to silent mode, and I can even make phone calls when I put a SIM card), the original, cracked screen works the same way as the 8230 screen, the inner/external backlight works when it's supposed to and no image on either displays (internal/external) even though only the internal is cracked, a 8220 isn't worth that much nowadays.
Any way I hope this post will be useful for someone in this situation as I didn't find anything online regarding parts compatibility across both phones

[diegonei]

Hard to say... It could be a faulty screen... It could be something else. If you had another 8220 you could test better. Pretty much all legacy devices "suffer" from this: Perfectly identical screens that just are not identical - different models you can only tell by taking the phone apart and checking the number on the unit.

[Jorge Quiroz]

Just an update, the original cracked screen didn't show any image nor did the external screen which is not cracked.
So far I've replaced the screen, replaced the flex (by replacing the whole top part) and I got the same result, both screens blank, they turn on and off when they should and the earpiece, notification led, the camera and the flash work fine (so I'm sure the flex cable is indeed compatible) I also tried reinstalling the OS, with no results.
I can confirm the phone works by connecting to desktop manager and using the bbdm command line tool and requesting a screenshot, I found out the phone is actually unlocked (I tried several SIM cards) the wifi works and even the bluetooth works (I didn't expect it to work since its a common problem with the BB flip) but I'm just not getting any image, does anyone have any insight on this phone before I give up? I'd really like to get this phone working.

[diegonei]

Pal, go to ebay or TrueSupplier or some other site and buy a new LCD of the same spec. It's that simple.

THIS IS AN EXAMPLE. This is the shot screen from my 8310. This is not the one you should look for.



See the numbers? It's a 001/004 for the 8310. My 8310 will not work with a 002/004, or a 001/003 See the numbers on the original LCD and buy a replacement (and I have no idea why the picute is sideways like that).

[Jorge Quiroz]

You're right, I've given up trying to use the 8230 screen so now I'm trying to find the LCD part number for the 8220
(first pic is 8230 next to 8220 screen) second pic is my broken 8220 screen, there are no numbers on the front and numbers on the back are nothing like yours

[diegonei]

The numers are supposed to be there somewhere... If i had a Pear, I'd disassemble it to check, but alas, I have no more legacy devices here.

If not in the LCD itself, maybe somewhere around it's locations, maybe by the connectos... It has to be there or people wouln't know which part to use when repairing.

[hubermania]

You can get new replacement parts at Cellular Nationwide Network. Unfortunately their website is undergoing maintenance. In the mean time, make sure the ribbon connectors are securely seated on the motherboard. There's hardly any slack in the ribbon cables (as you've no doubt noticed), which makes the flat connectors a PITA to keep seated while reassembling the phone.

[Jorge Quiroz]

As an update
I finally got a replacement screen and it worked
but in case there's someone else in a similar situation I experimented and so far I found the compatible parts are
Flex
Earpiece
Camera+flash+notification LED
Keyboard and trackball
external buttons
top case
Battery and battery cover

Incompatible parts:
Screen
Speaker
MicroSd module (the 8220 has the SIM card reader included in the same part)
lower case (no sim card slot although they physically fit)

as an interesting fact I noticed in my 8220 cracked screen, the external screen doesn't work either even though it doesn't show physical damage.