Chosen Solution

Hello community… Brief description. After disassembling (iPhone 3G black 16GB):

  • Proximity sensor is busted.
  • Ear speaker won’t work.
  • iPhone won’t display battery is charging.
  • iTunes will not detect anything.
  • If plugged to the computer/wall while off, will turn on.
  • The phone actually charges if plugged, but extremely slowly (powered off it goes faster). Long description: I had to replace the headphone jack + ribbon on my iPhone 3G. Therefore I needed to take most of it apart. When I put it back together, the headphone jack worked great, but there was no audio on the ear speaker. I realised I busted my proximity sensor once I made a test call, put the phone next to my face and the display didn’t go black (plus the ear speaker didn’t work, had to talk on the speaker or headphones). In addition, I noticed nothing happened when I plugged it in the computer. The battery won’t charge and the iTunes won’t detect a thing. If I plug it in while it’s off (computer/wall), it will turn on. I’m buying a replacement proximity sensor with ribbon cable to fix that bit, but I have no idea what to do with the battery issue. Everything seems intact in the logic board, I’ve checked for the SMD thing as described here. Any suggestions? UPDATE I’ve fixed the description of the problem to include my new findings. UPDATE #2 02/July/2011 I have replaced the proximity sensor and the dock connector to no avail. Same problems, which makes me believe it is something related to the logic board. I took the phone to Apple, but they refused to take it in for service because the phone has been opened. Any new ideas?

hey felipe, sorry to take so long in answering. first off… I’d check and clean all the connectors first , pay special attention to no.4 the dock connector(it’s the cheapest fix) make sure the battery contacts are clean and making contact with the bottom of the motherboard, that the battery contacts are in the right place on the rear case, and that the screws next to do not remove sticker are in tight enough to give good contact with battery. did you remove the battery? is there a chance that you have damaged it? A new battery is fairly cheap. Try and match the lot number if you can (you can buy graded seconds etc on ebay… I’d recommend buying here but there seems to be a bad batch going round so until it’s sorted..) Did you have trouble getting the motherboard out in the first place? there is a chance you have damaged the fuse or wiring for the battery connection… take a close look at the “wing” with the do not repair sticker and the tiny fuses at the top of that wing. be systematic, start with tip no 1 and if that doesn’t work move on.. let us know.

Let me get this clear… 1- you have no speaker working. 2- proximity sensor not working 3- usb works and charge works but really slow Right? Ok…. First i would do a full restore, that helps to solve SOFTWARE issues. (back up your data first if needed) I have solved the slow charge problem by restoring software only. But not always. If that doesn’t fix it, replace the dock connector, if you have no experience using soldering gun, get the complete part that includes speaker, mic and antena. Otherwise you will get in more trouble. Replace proximity sensor. I have fixed those, but just for fun, if you like to have fun messing with removing very small components and if you have at least 3 “ribbon cable” as you call it. You can try it, have fun. Be sure your speaker is in place and " intact", if you took it out of the plastic box that helds it, you probbably messed it up. Replace it. If you did not messed up with the speaker, just make sure is in place and clean any grease or dust on the ribbon cable connections. Note: if by any chance you have another iphone try exchanging the touch assembly and test speaker and sensor. Hope this helps :)

Hmm, seems as if i have the same problem. I opened my iphone to fix the home button and now I speakers dont work, no phone call, and proxmitity sensor isnt working. And it seems as if it isnt charging and computer wont detect it, My home button still broken so hard reset wont be possible yet. What now :/

Can I ask did we ever get to a resolution / what might be the problem on this topic, I have the same issue

I have exactly the same problem. : ( But in iPhone 4… Tomorrow I’ll change the dock connector too. I hope this works. Slow charging, sensor, detect USB (PC or MAC), and ear speaker. My old iPhone 2G, had the same problem and now it is a beatiful brick. TT Amora Update I found this: http://fonefixer.webs.com/apps/webstore/… Update Repaired!! Ok , for my luck my iPhone 4 is repaired. What I did is change the parts, USB connector, earpiece, proximity sensor and everything is normal now. I hope you have the same luck. Send to a technical!! Don’t do yourself, are a lot of screws and connectors to remember. In Brazil send me a email. Thank you to advise! Amora

I just took on the same group of problems with my iPhone 4 after opening it to attempt a home button repair. I don’t know the extend of the problems right now but the speaker still works. The only noticeable fault right now is the charging/recognition problem. I noticed that Leonardo put up a link that claims it is a VCC controller problem but then updated that he replaced the bottom assembly and it works now. Should I hassle with the VCC part (appears to be a difficult soldering job) or just do the repair of to the USB assembly? As a side note: I did tear the antenna ribbon a bit during my first attempt to disassemble the phone. I planned on replacing the assembly to fix that problem but could that be what is causing the phone to not charge or not acknowledge itunes when hooked to the computer? I put my phone in the dock of my speaker and it still plays music.

Well, I did my friend’s differently to have the same symptoms. I was trying to attach a LED unit to the back of his iPhone 4S. I have done it with my 4, and the 4S isn’t really much of a difference internally. Moving to the main point. I was on the phase of connecting the black wire to the base metal, and the red wire to the board. The black wire was successful, and so I proceeded to doing the second step. Note: I had most of the flippy-looking cables plugged in still… unfortunately, I wish I didn’t. I was in a rush, so I went ahead and tried to install the cable to the tinie-tiny small space in the board. When it made contact, the LED lit up, but my hands were very shaky, so the light had to flash. In a instant, I noticed a spark, then the phone turned off (I had to have it on due to the fact that I needed to see if the light was working.) I tried to restart it, but to no avail. That so, I plugged the phone to the wall using my Apple charger and it booted. I removed the plug, and it shuts off. One experiment I did was to try and listen to music with it, and that as well, nothing but blank. The controls for the phone is working fine, the lock button, the mute switch, volume control, home button, and the touch screen. I did notice that bar had been “Searching” for my service for a long time, and normally, this never happened. (All of the plugs were connected and secured again, even the transmitter plug.) I have an idea that I may have damaged the battery, and the board. Or can anyone else please assist me with this too?

I have a iphone 4 with a problem kind like the above problems. Prox. sensor quit working so got another one. I took the phone apart found out that the new sensor was the wrong one (go figure) so I put it back together & now the prox. sensor works BUT now it wont show the charge icon, wont be reconized by iTunes or comp. I verified that the cables are all fully plugged in, swapped batteries & charge port with known good parts. Still have the same problems WHY PLEASE HELP!!!!