Hacking Broken DS Touch Screen?

lakaiskateboarding

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Oke, I bought two broken original DSes. I fixed one, but the touch screen doesn´t work. When I looked at it, I saw some kind of film was on top of it, which was getting loose. As it seems, it holds some of the connections of the touch screen.

My question is: if that small film is off, does the touch screen still work? Because I am not sure about this and I don´t want to buy a new touch screen if it isn´t broken. The connector is still fine, so that can´t be the problem.

Here is an image to make clear what I am talking about:
j8kz5z.jpg
 

lakaiskateboarding

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giratina16 said:
I don't think it can work, you could try but if you touch it I don't think it will register.
I have already tried if it works and it doesn´t. I was wondering if it is because the film is off, because nothing else seems broken.
 

giratina16

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danielkraak said:
giratina16 said:
I don't think it can work, you could try but if you touch it I don't think it will register.
I have already tried if it works and it doesn´t. I was wondering if it is because the film is off, because nothing else seems broken.
Well the film is to detect the difference in electrical currents, so when something touches it the currents change which is what makes the screen touch sensitive.
 

lakaiskateboarding

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giratina16 said:
danielkraak said:
giratina16 said:
I don't think it can work, you could try but if you touch it I don't think it will register.
I have already tried if it works and it doesn´t. I was wondering if it is because the film is off, because nothing else seems broken.
Well the film is to detect the difference in electrical currents, so when something touches it the currents change which is what makes the screen touch sensitive.
And it is true the film is really really thin? Almost like a screen protector? And when the film is off, there is still a thicker part of the touch screen module.
 

giratina16

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danielkraak said:
giratina16 said:
danielkraak said:
giratina16 said:
I don't think it can work, you could try but if you touch it I don't think it will register.
I have already tried if it works and it doesn´t. I was wondering if it is because the film is off, because nothing else seems broken.
Well the film is to detect the difference in electrical currents, so when something touches it the currents change which is what makes the screen touch sensitive.
And it is true the film is really really thin. Almost like a screen protector? And when the film is off, there is still a thicker part of the touch screen module.
The layers are film, adhesive, glass, adhesive. I think that's it, I can't remember.
 

lakaiskateboarding

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Oke, that´s clear. In that case it is definitely broken. I´ll be ordering a new one then. Thanks for the help.
smile.gif


I already was planning to get new ones, because they were so scratched up on both.

Edit:The film went off, because when lifting out the bottom screen it stayed attached to the adhesive in the DS casing.
 

fearofshorts

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Dude, the thin layer is called a digitizer. It's the bit of the touchscreen which sends off the data to the DS when you tap it. The good news is that it's dirt cheap (and easy as all hell) to replace.
The even better news is that the digitizer is actually what gets scratched, so replacing it will fix up your scratched-up problems.

You can find one for the phat DS on DealExtreme HERE for $2.59 (with free but slow-ass shipping).
 

martine4161

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danielkraak said:
Oke, I bought two broken original DSes. I fixed one, but the touch screen doesn´t work. When I looked at it, I saw some kind of film was on top of it, which was getting loose. As it seems, it holds some of the connections of the touch screen.

My question is: if that small film is off, does the touch screen still work? Because I am not sure about this and I don´t want to buy a new touch screen if it isn´t broken. The connector is still fine, so that can´t be the problem.

Here is an image to make clear what I am talking about:
j8kz5z.jpg
If you connect all the thing manually then I might have some doubt that you have some thing loose and your device. One possibility is also that your touch screen is really not working then how you can use them. Actually you have to check all the possibilities for the screen and then you can create some output.
 

lakaiskateboarding

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Yeah, I already knew about DealExtreme. I was just wondering if the thin layer had any function, because I didn´t want to risk waiting for DX´s slow shipping without being able to fix the problem with it.
 

fearofshorts

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... yeah, it does. Read my post again. The 'thin layer' is actually the digitizer, and is what sends the user's taps to the DS. It's actually what makes the touchscreen a touchscreen.
 

lakaiskateboarding

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Ok, new touchscreens have been ordered. I will post again as soon as they arrive to tell if it fixed the problem (I am pretty sure it does now).
wink.gif
 

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