✏ A little guide to... repairing an FP1

This #wiki is here to explain what things to test when you replaced a faulty FP1 part. After replacing any part of an FP1 where you have to use the screwdriver it’s best to test all basic functions, to make sure everything is connected well and you didn’t unintentionally put in a faulty part.
This will be especially helpful for #fairphoneangels who repair devices of FP1 owners with spareparts they might have.
For the actual repair instructions check out iFixit.

What and how to test:

  1. booting
  2. charging
    • in settings > battery does it actually say “charging”? Sometimes the LED indicates charging, but nothing really happens. Only if it says “charging” in the settings you can be sure it really works.
  3. screen backlight
  4. touchscreen
  5. mobile data
    • obviously you’ll need a SIM for that
    • if at first it doesn’t work check the APN settings
  6. wifi
  7. automatic date & time
    • should work with either mobile data or wifi. As long as date is not set though you might have issues loading sites in your browser because of “expired certificates”.
  8. cameras
    • see if you can take sharp images with both cameras.
  9. storage
    • if you can save images taken with the camera that means the storage seems to work. If a picture taken doesn’t show up in the gallery where you’d expect it check if date & time is set correctly, otherwise the picture might be saved under 1970.
  10. calling
    • obviously you’ll need a SIM for that.
  11. audio
    • while test calling someone see if you can hear each other - both in normal and in speaker mode. This will make sure all speakers and the mic are working.
  12. updates & storage upgrade
    • while you’re at it check if the phone is “up to date” with kola nut 1.8.7 and if the storage is unified (in settings -> storage there should only be an internal storage and no phone storage)
  13. GAPPS + private data
    • if you just installed someone a used motherboard make sure it doesn’t contain any private data (photos, videos, audio, …) from the previous user. If it does go to Settings -> backup & reset -> factory data reset and check the checkbox to include internal data in the reset.
    • if the user doesn’t want GAPPS but they are installed you’ll have to reinstall the OS to get rid of them.

What function is associated with which part?

From outside to inside:

  • battery cap: none (you can just check if it sits well - if not check if the battery might be bloated!)
  • battery: power & charging of course
  • midframe: none per se, but it includes the speaker (for calls in speaker mode or music).
  • main board: pretty much everything
  • main camera: taking pictures - make sure it can still focus after reassembly (lens breaks off easily and then focusing will never work well again)
  • screen: backlight & touch
    • once you took off the mother board and camera there is still the daughterboard, earspeaker and RF cable attached to the screen. These parts rarely break, so if you’re exchanging a screen it’s probably easier to leave them on each screen.
    • daughterboard: performance, speaker, signal
    • earspeaker: hearing the other person during call
    • RF cable: antenna for mobile data
  • cables. Make sure these 4 cables are connected well.
    • cable behind the motherboard connecting to screen: backlight
    • cable in the top right corner of motherboard connecting to screen: touch function
    • RF cable: no obvious effect if not connected, but connectivity will be worse
    • cable connecting daughterboard and screen: no immediate effect (performance issues?)
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