nokia 8290 dead? or just screen? **HELP**

[lukasz70]

hi, my brother just gave me his unlocked 8290 he got off ebay a while ago, its from voicestream and was brand new. anyway he gave it to me cause it doesn't work

im trying to figure out if its dead/software or just the screen,

when you turn it on, the things that apear normally on the phone (clock, battery/ signal bar....etc) you cant make them out, they are just wierd squares, but when i dial a number some will show up, some will just come up as squares.

next, when i put my sim card in, i can search the names and eveything, although i cant make out the numbers or names. but when i call from the phone i get nothing, one time had a wierd noise, it looks like it freezes, but then when i try to search the names right after trying to call, it says sim card not ready. and when i call to the phone, i get a busy. or "the cusomter you are trying to reach is .... "

is it the software? cause i heard if its the screen, you can still make calls and everything.

can it be fixed?:and how? new software
( i want to replace my 3390 with this one

[lukasz70]

Hi, a few more questions, im knew to this stuff, but what is the DCT-3/4 stuff? and what is my nokia 8290? a DCT-3?

also on another forum someone suggested that its my software (firmware) and that after i dial or call the phone, it does a soft reset cause when i try to scroll right after it says sim card not ready, they suggested to do a flash (firmware update)

any help on how to do that? can i do it from window? the 8290 has an IR port and i have a usb IR port, would that work, or do i need a cable?

[lukasz70]

i i've read up a little and yeah its a DCT-3 phone,
and i need special cables to flash:( can anyone provide a link where i can buy a flash cable? i've seen people here make them but thats just not for me:( oh and how much are they? cause i've seen some flashing kits on the net that go for a few hundred dollars!


i found a place that can flash it for me for $25 But if i have it flashed, do i have to unlock it again? cause thats another $30:( thats why i just want to get the flash cable for myself in case this happens again

[danwood76]

A flash cable costs very little
Here in the UK it is about £10 for a complete cheap dct3 kit and you only need a 'cheap' flasher for dct3 models
you will also need to buy a datacable if you are going to flash but again this is only another £5 in the UK
so thats about £15 in all :)
Mind you I built my own cable so I not baught much ;)

The fault you have described sounds partly to blame with the screen elastomer
This is the little rubber thing that connects the screen to the PCB, you should probably change that part first and see if the problems still continue
these are extreemly cheap, you can pick these up in the uk for about 50p or free if you know me ;)

regards,
Danny

[lukasz70]

thx for the reply, i went to a cell phone place that does repairs, they checked out the phone and flashed it 2 times and the screen is still like that, so i guess thats one problem i can fix

BUT now when i insert my simcard, the first thing the phone asks me is to put in a code, i cant make out what it really says on the screen, but when i press some buttons and press ok it tells me "CODE ERROR" :-?

so what kind of code could it be asking me for? do you enter a code after a flash? is it one of the ones on the back of the phone?

if i can figure this out and get it to work i'll get screen fixed, wut kind of stores sell the elastomer? i would assume electrical?

[danwood76]

The code would be the security code which is 12345 by default
this is the 8210s phone security one of the factory defaults

If the code 12345 doesnt work take it back to the shop where it was flashed and tell them to find out the security code, they should do it for free as it was them who did the reset, but check with 12345 first ;)

The elastomer can normally be found on say ebay but I would expect most mobile phone spare shops will sell them
you should check out the sales section at nokiafree to see shops for spares :)

You buy a whole new LCD unit which are also quite cheap but are probably easier to get hold of than just the elastomer

anyway when you get the screen repaired post up the symptoms of any other problems you get :)

regards,
Danny

[lukasz70]

thx alot for your quick reply,
but 12345 doesn't work:(
stupid question, but the code is locked into the phone right? not the software. cause its kinda wierd cause this phone was knew so the default should be 12345

oh, also, with the security code, is there a limit to how many times you can type it in befor it locks itself? cause i might have gone over that limit by now lol, :(

[lukasz70]

well the code worked :) but the phone is broken :(

i get the same problem as before, i put the code in, i can go through my sim card, i cen recieve a txt message but if i call my cell i just get busy signal, and the cell freezes, and i think resets itself cause it asks me to type the security code in again:( same thing if i call out of it, but when i click the call button i get a constant beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep then it resets itself again

[danwood76]

It sounds like the phone is blocked from the network

Maybee the IMEI is broken
type in *#06# and see if you can make out what it says

Sometimes 8210s do ask for the sec code every time if they have been badly flashed, best way to fix it is to do a full factory reset or just turn off phone security ;)

regards,
Danny

[lukasz70]

yeah, the imei is the same, a few #'s dont show up but all but the others match the back

as for the flash, this is a store that did the flash, they looked like they knew what they were doing, they had a whole workshop in the back cause they do repairs aswell, and they have their own tech guy (that wasn't in) for repairs.

could i do the reset myself or no? im guessing not :( cause id probably have to flash it again lol,

oh well:( they said the repairs would cost well over $40, they had a price list of different repairs (ringers, vibrator repairs etc) and they were all like $80. as much as i like this phone not will to spend that much on the repair when my 3390 works fine, honestly the 3390 can be used as a weapon lol, i've dropped and banged it so many times and still works fine

plus i have a $90 upgrade with fido, so im looking at their phones,
http://www.fido.ca/portal/product/product.jsp?lang=en

thinking of the motorola v60i, sony ericsson t237, siemens m55, or the cheap siemens a56

[danwood76]

I just did a quick conversion and it sounds like they want to charge you £25 for a screen

A screen here in UK costs £10 which is 16 USD I think
so it doesnt cost much and all you need to fit the screen is a T6 torx screwdriver :)

but if you get a new phone I guess this solves your problems also ;)

regards,
Danny

[lukasz70]

haha, no they didn't even talk about repairing the screen, they were just talking about the other stuff cause i told them i can get a screen off ebay for 20cdn with s/h cause i could change the part myself, i've taken this thing apart a few times in the last couple of days

i could use my brothers nokia 8390, but that phone just doesn't do it for me in the looks department,
but i think i might get the siemens m55, got good reviews,


thx for all the help

[azn_fella]

what did the store want to repair on the phone? becuase it really seems like its the screen's fault also you can now get a whole new phone off ebay for $30 USD.