Fast forward a couple of weeks and my wife is trying to take a photo with the iPhone's camera but the software hangs at the iris screen. It's a weird issue, and the camera looks like it is trying hard to get things to work. I downloaded some images to the camera roll, that's all fine. But I realized my wife hadn't taken any photos with the iPhone since I wiped, unlocked and activated it on T-Mobile.
So I'm off to Google to see what comes up with a quick search. Hhhhmmmm, lots of options: factory reset camera, restore from backup, try taking a photo from a message, contact Apple for a replacement etc. There were videos on youtube and posts on several forums with unhappy people not getting any answers. So I logically think back to the possibility of it being a physical issue instead of a software glitch... did I put the phone back together correctly? During the disassembly process there are several connectors that need to be released. I'd run into issue with them when I replaced the battery but thought I'd got them all placed correctly. So having replaced the battery, I wasn't so scared about re-opening the phone a second time, other than I am aware that these connectors are only ever rated for a few connect/disconnect cycles before I manage to break something!
With the 3GS you have to remove the sim card, the screen, then release several ribbons/connectors before the main logic board can be removed. Once the logic board is out it exposes the battery. The connector for the camera assembly sits by the battery (under the logic board) and is the only connection that needs to be made when placing the logic board back into the phone during reassembly. This isn't an easy connection to make as it is tiny and the logic board is relatively large to maneuver. I wasn't convinced the connection was sitting correctly, and this might be the camera iris issue. I decided to try something different, instead of what I had seen on the youtube video. I dropped out the single screw holding the camera lens and cabling and removed them. I then fitted the camera connector to the logic board before reassembling the phone. This makes it a lot harder to put the logic board back in, but with gentle handling, and careful maneuvering of the other connector cabling I finally wiggled the logic board and camera module back into the phone. The picture below shows what the logic board and camera connector look like together. This crop comes from a useful website ifixit.com which has strip down references for a lot of different phones etc.
I completed the reassembly of the phone and rebooted, waiting patiently for the login to appear. I selected the camera application, iris appears, iris disappears :)
So I successfully corrected a problem of my own making. I'm not sure if that is a success or not, however my wife is probably happy her phone works correctly. The reason I wanted to post this slightly embarrassing repair is the fact that there were SOOOO many other people with this issue. I guess that some of those camera problems may be related to that connector working loose over time. It's possible that the photo software queries the camera assembly and only opens the iris animation once it receives a successful "I'm okay" from the camera. With the cable incorrectly seated it never gets that message. Potentially opening the camera up and reseating this connector could be the answer.
On a separate iPhone related note... today is the release day for the 5C and 5S cameras. Matt has been in line this morning (in the rain) waiting to pick up a new shiny 5S. Hopefully I can get him to write something about it for the blog.
No comments:
Post a Comment