[stormiscoming]

wow thats impressive and may i add your crazy

[udhaeshkronjave]

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?

Your knowledge is impacable! It makes me think RIM decided simply based on a cheaper cost production solutions.

[Deevod]

That is awesome!

[Devlyn16]

Thanks for sharing this with the community

You ROCK!!

[weizilla]

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

I don't see how this is a hard problem. If you take a look at audio speakers, every single one of them has rubber or foam along the edge. This is necessary because the center of the speaker is the moving part which produces the noise you hear and there is a gap between this part and the metal frame of the speaker. Something is needed to cover this gap to keep dust and contaminates out but still has to be flexible to allow the center to move. Good speakers use a rubber seal to cover this gap and cheap speakers use foam, but either way, they have to withstand millions of flexes. Seems like this solves the exact gap problem our phones face.

The part I'm referring to is called the "surround": Loudspeaker - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[TBacker]

I don't see how this is a hard problem. If you take a look at audio speakers, every single one of them has rubber or foam along the edge.

Good point. I hadn't thought of that but you're right. It would have to be of the rubber variety as foam would be too easy to damage with fingernails, pocket accessories, etc.

So I guess either RIM thought that dust and small amounts of moisture wouldn't be a problem, or chose to not increase costs and "wait and see".

With the exception of dust getting between the digitizer and LCD (a different issue), really there's no evidence yet that dust has caused any issue. However, my boss has the Storm and is at his beach house for the holiday - were placing bets whether or not he comes back with a "sand storm"

If we see a gasket around the Storm 2 screen, we'll know that enough people had a problem with it on the current model.

[Mark_Venture]

The part I'm referring to is called the "surround": Loudspeaker - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

But what is needed to translate that surround into the confined space between the screen and the housing on the Storm, yet still maintain flexibility?

[TBacker]

The confined space around the screen isn't really that confined from the inside.

There is space between the screen and the inside of the casing. The tolerances would be tight, but it's doable.

[RyanGrob]

neato burrito

[bigmo384]

Very Sexy ))

[margarita2k7]

Great Post. Very Informative, just one question, only thing I noticed was that the most obvious components were listed (earpiece, camera, flash), does anyone have a picture where it shows the microphone? I was testing the difference between call quality of a ATT(cingular) Pearl and the Verizon Storm and I must say the Pearl Blows the Storm out of the water. Maybe the network or maybe the microphone, just curious to see the difference. I've taken my pearl apart, but I don't want to even mess up the factory tightened torx screws, either over or under-tightening them upon re-assembly. Thanks in advance

[RobUM2011]

I originally had 2 pieces of tape, but it was still a little tough in some areas. So I added another piece, and it's perfect. I did a quick read through the thread but I just want to double check - 3 pieces of tape is still safe, correct?

[TheMisses]

PLEASE please please... post some higher resolution pic pack of this for us on a rapidshare link...

Would you?

[skarface08]

did u all take those pics with your blackberry!! lol j/k

[ActiveStorm]

Awesome pics thank you so much and i wish i had your time

[spezialk]

sweet post

[Quizno]

as to the surround for speakers... i do agree something of that nature could possibly work but the thing is, is that how thin the rubber would have to be to be able to flex with the storms screen would probably be way to week to handle much of any strain. meaning that if someone where to accidentally put there finger nail in that space they would possibly break the "seal" making the phone look that much cheaper... in turn making it a bad thing to put on the phone. but thats just what i was thinking... i could be wrong

[CFD323]

I'm gonna try this screen click fix and I had a question.

After applying the tape should there be a light indent (from the phone frame) on the tape? Or should it not be there? I'm just trying to figure out how do I know if I should use 2 or 3 pieces of tape?

[leakypipe86]

So does this electrical tape fix not have any diminishing returns because its soft? Post-Its and business cards mess with the click plate which can cause permanent damage because they are solid. The torx trick, sometimes requires you to periodically re-tighten the screws right? So I want to know if this electrical tape fix keeps the click plate stress free and stays that way after prolonged use. Anyone care to comment?

[LBZEE312]

Whoa!.....

[thunder88]

excellent work. i put a small piece of paper in that location (electric tape is at home) and instantly saw an improvement. i can't find it, but i saw a post last week with someone taking their storm apart, and simply putting a small disk of electric tape on the screen plate dimple. after having the phone apart, do you see this as a good permanent fix for those of us who can disassemble our phones (safely)?

[TBacker]

Well, it's almost 2 months since I posted this and did this trick.

The click is still great on mine. Torx are still tight. Life is good.

Yes, the tape is soft, and there are permanent indentations in it from the SIM retaining bracket, but it's still serving it's purpose just fine.

As to the rubber bumpers, felt pads, guitar picks, etc. that people are using, the bottom line is this - what ever works for you with three major requirements:

1. Thickness. Think of how thick 2 or 3 layers of electrical tape are. Much over that thickness and you're pushing things too far the other way. More is not better in this case. It may seem better short term, but I think you'll see issues long term. Plus, the back door is thin and the latches are delicate. Long term constant pressure from too thick of a repair will bow the door and stress the latches. You want to fill the gap between the back door and the mid-plate of the phone so it wont move when you click - NOT move the mid plate closer to the screen.

2. Stays put. The "target" spot is small and fairly critical. Whatever you put there needs to be right in that spot.

3. Don't get anything between the small brass contacts on the phone and the back door. They not only ground the door (think static electricity!), but the capacitive touch screen relies on having a good ground to "work against". If the back door is not grounded, the screen will become significantly less touch sensitive (not click - touch).

[TBacker]

i can't find it, but i saw a post last week with someone taking their storm apart, and simply putting a small disk of electric tape on the screen plate dimple. after having the phone apart, do you see this as a good permanent fix for those of us who can disassemble our phones (safely)?

I don't recommend that and here's why:

• The LCD back plate dimple has been designed (and revised) to mate with the button in a very specific way with tight tolerances. Tape there changes that and may affect the life of the button.
  
• Tape on the back door is replaceable when it gets old and either becomes gooey or looses it's stick. Loose or gooey tape between the plate and the button not only requires another disassembly of the phone to fix, but could be messy and / or bad for the phone.
  
• It doesn't address the problem directly. The problem is when you press the screen to click, the mid-plate gives (bows back) some before the button clicks. All the back-door fixes do is support the mid plate so it can't move back.
  
• If you return the phone for whatever reason, they might be a bit suspicious if they find some kind of shimming device INSIDE the phone

[TBacker]

Resurrection....

I've been seeing a lot of posts again about screen click so I am bumping this up again in case it can help someone.

[t_d_harvey31]

nicely done!! good work...very big cahonnas