[gzaha]

I did this yesterday and am very happy with the seal around the screen. However I am having difficulty with the clicking mechanism now after reassembling. No matter how many times I remove the case and carefully put it back together, I either have a crunching click where the screen needs to be pressed down once, then again to fully click, or now I have a perfect click on the top half of the screen and a very tight slow click on the bottom.

#1 - If you open your phone, be careful.
#2 - Can anyone think of something I can do to fix it? The phone is relatively simple to take apart and put back together and I was very careful in doing so. Any ideas?

[HDeuce28]

Very brave to do that to ur phone. Thx for the pics and info!

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Zelaya]

Hi TBacker, would it safe to do the electrical tape and place the thickness of a business card behind the battery at the same time?. I currently have mine with a piece of business card and it's accurate to my taste but to be frank with you I haven't check the edges yet even though I'm not having a lot of issues by testing nor sending emails. Currently I'm running version .85 in case that helps.

Thanks in advance for any information.

[TBacker]

#2 - Can anyone think of something I can do to fix it? The phone is relatively simple to take apart and put back together and I was very careful in doing so. Any ideas?

The only place the screen can bind is around the edges - there is nothing behind it to cause crunch-click unless there is a foreign object in there.

On each side of the front bezel, there are a series of metal tabs and catches that lock the two halves of the shell together. When you go to reassemble the phone, all of those tabs and catches should be straight vertical, not bent in. The caveat is that the catches (ones with holes to lock to the hooks on the back half of the shell) have a slight bend on the tip to help them slide over the hooks when reassembling.

Also make sure that the 4 "gummy" bumper pads are still present on the corners of the LCD backplate. They are very soft and it would be very easy to shear one off.

Other than that, it's hard to say where the misalignment is without witnessing the issue in person.

I'm going to warn everyone now -

If you are not experienced in electronics and precision assemblies, and you take apart your Storm, you do it at your own peril.

I'm hoping that my experience with the tape on the back cover will solve many click problems for other people without loosening screws, business cards, or disassembly.

[TBacker]

Hi TBacker, would it safe to do the electrical tape and place the thickness of a business card behind the battery at the same time?. I currently have mine with a piece of business card and it's accurate to my taste but to be frank with you I haven't check the edges yet even though I'm not having a lot of issues by testing nor sending emails. Currently I'm running version .85 in case that helps.

Thanks in advance for any information.

The business card fix is no longer a recommended way of fixing click issues - it's applying the leverage too far away from the center of the phone, where the button is. It also has a tendency to bend the back cover.

You should only apply / try one fix at a time.

If you do the tape fix, make sure your back cover is straight, make sure the screws at the center are tight, and only put the tape where it is shown in my pic. Start with 2 layers, but don't use more than 3.

If you do the loosening of the center screws, keep in mind that you will have to check them on a regular basis - they will loosen more over time and result in your screen not clicking at all or sticking down.

[Zelaya]

Thanks Tbacker for your quick response, however asuming that do the tape shim fix with the electrical tape, do I still need to loosening the center screw?

[TBacker]

Thanks Tbacker for your quick response, however asuming that do the tape shim fix with the electrical tape, do I still need to loosening the center screw?

As I said - one of the three is best, but you can try combinations if you like.

I never used the card shim under the battery.

I had the screws loosened, and it was somewhat better. A week later, my screen started getting wierd and sticking down. The screws had come loose further on their own.

I opened up the phone to verify that I didn't have other issues, and to take a good look at what was going on.

I reassembled the phone, tightened the center screws all the way down (very snug), and applied the tape fix. The click was IMHO perfect at that point.

The improvment wasn't from taking the phone apart as there were no issues inside - it had to be from the additional support in the center of the midplate that the tape provided.

[Zelaya]

thanks for all the help and giving us great information

[Jascias]

If you do the loosening of the center screws, keep in mind that you will have to check them on a regular basis - they will loosen more over time and result in your screen not clicking at all or sticking down.

I have found no evidence of this happening yet, not to say it you couldn't be right in the future. but you state it as fact. When you torx the screws properly(meaning not to loose,), there is still quite a bit of tension to them. I have done numerous friends/coworkers phones as well as mine, an I marked each screw points to see for later checking. I checked five yesterday including mine, which I have been greatly texting for a month, and none of the points have move at all.

If the screws do come loose for some people, a tiny amount of teflon tape would solve this.

[TBacker]

I have found no evidence of this happening yet, not to say it you couldn't be right in the future. but you state it as fact.

I'm glad you've had better luck!

As with all of these fixes, everyones mileage may vary for any given method. It's not my intention to "diss" anyone elses solutions.

I just know from my experience and a few other posts in these forums that further screw loosening does happen. I also know that the midplate and button board do flex and move when the screen is clicked. It's not far, but then again the button travel is only about 1/16".

I'm just offering any info and success I've come across for the benefit of the collective here

If the screws do come loose for some people, a tiny amount of teflon tape would solve this.

Excellent idea.

[mastermoe4]

amazing post...thanks for the pics

[BBLou]

I have 3 Storms in my house. Mine was fixed with the Torx screw mod and so far it's been fine. My wife's and my son's both have never been touched but my wife's definitely has an area that's hard to click. I will try the tape mod on hers to see how it works out and will report back.

Lou S.

[808bb]

thanks for sharing this great info with us

[FUSIBLE]

This is cool, nice job. Good for those with clicking screen problems.

[Bxchris]

Wow..Nice!

[claw13]

to be honest with you, from looking at the pictures. I think the biggest problem is those 4 gummy things, and it has nothing to do with how many fixes you try. I think overtime the gummy things are going to give out and won't give that "bounce" back feel which makes the storm has a click. So the more you layered with paper behind battery, pelts behind the battery cover, or loosen the screw, those 4 things gonna become weaker and weaker because too much pressure is on it.

The reason why I say this is because I've done the paper behind battery trick for a while and now the entire screen is hard to press. Now, I resorted to put another piece of paper behind the battery door.

[keys120]

POW! THANK YOU!

This was the only problem I had with the storm, I was thinking about returning it, but no more!

If the screen happens to go out over time, just take the tape off and send it in for a warranty!

[mastermoe4]

I remember reading this post thinking...wow I got lucky since I have never had a single clicking problem with mine...and sure enough not two days after reading this the bottom protion of my phone became hard to click. tried the paper behind the battery approach with no real success.

However this electrical tape idea (and making sure not to cover the grounding contactors) was a brilliant idea..fixed it completely... does not risk damaging the batter holder...and is completely removable and untraceable should I need to send the phone in to BB in the future.

Thanks again.

[lazyboyx15]

WOW! Amazing post! Thanks! Very detailed and informative!!!

[nan_c77]

thanks for posting the inside pics of the Storm. I've always want to see it.

[TBacker]

IMHO, it think the Storm only has three key mechanical design flaws that hopefully RIM is thinking about for Storm 2:

1. The midplate is too thin. This plate flexing and springing is the key to 80% of the screen click issues. The other 20% are the early versions with either the first metal dimple LCD backplate, or the flat metal backplate with a plastic dimple that doesn't stay put.

My gut says those who did the business card trick then saw diminishing clickability over time anyway is because this midplate has become permanently bent away from the front of the phone and/or the back cover has become bulged a bit. Remember, were talking 1/16" tolerances here.

A slightly thicker midplate would solve these issues 99.99%.

2. The bottom buttons. Mine haven't come off but are uncomfortably flimsy (the send and end buttons in particular). RIM seems to be fond of double sided adhesive tape in a lot of body panels on this phone, and it seems the buttons are included. Note to RIM: More plastic catches, less tape!

3. The infamous gap. Okay, after taking the phone apart, I can tell you that there is very little active circuitry (chips, etc) on the button board (below the screen), mostly circuit traces sealed in ribbon cable. Most of that is covered in a black epoxy I think for this very reason - they anticipated some intrusion of dust or a bit of moisture. The button itself is a sealed design. However, get enough fluids in the phone and they will leak down through the midplate and onto the mainboard where the real damage can occur.

So, the optimum solution obviously is some kind of flexible gasket around the screen assembly to the front bezel. I have to believe RIM looked into and perhaps tried this on prototypes, but didn't implement it. Maybe it was finding a material soft enough not to inhibit the click, but durable enough to withstand thousands of clicks and moves for the lifespan of the phone?

[benzo77]

Awesome pictures! Thanks for sharing!

[Netsquire]

This thread and the knowledge (and courage) contained herein is one of the reasons I have quickly become an addict. I can't stop reading. One sec honey im coming.....

[dewnay67]

I had added the post-it notes on the battery panel for improved clicking and it worked...for 3 weeks. Now the left bottom has a weird cranky-like sound when pressed. Sh*t! Being so lucky with all the updates so far (.85 rocks!), I am worried to depart with my phone for a new one! ARGH~!~

So be careful if you do add the business card/post-it notes...each one can be the death of your clicker~

[RobUM2011]

I'm on my third storm now. I had fixed my second storm with the torx trick, but while home from school for the holidays I needed a replacement for an unrelated issue. My third phone had a click problem too, and I was mad because I left my screwdriver at school. So I tried the electric tape fix, and I must say it worked very well.

Thank you