So, I have got this Samsung Galaxy A10 (SM-A105F) from my cousin* which seemingly is in working condition except for the display. I think the phone is booting up normally since it vibrates on start-up and also gives an audible notification(charging tone) if I plug it to a charger. Moreover, the alarm which may have been set up before the screen was busted went off at effing 5am leading me to believe that it's just a problem with the screen.
I don't have a LCD tester nor do I have a spare phone to test whether the problem lies with the screen or the display circuit. I found some reference info and tested the LCD connector for voltage drop on the pins. I have attached an image of the same; the values in white boxes are from the reference info while the black boxes denote actual values.
Though I'm quite sure that the problem is with the circuit, I would like to rule out any other possibilities before I proceed to troubleshoot the same.
*Watching my miserable attempt to repair my Galaxy Grand Neo, my cousin has challenged me to repair this A10 too!
Update:
I tried hot-testing the phone and measured the voltages on the components according to the Samsung service manual i.e. LED_A_20V, VSN_5P5, VSN_-5P5 and VDD_LCD_1P8. All of them were out of range; please refer attached pic.
The service manual lists reballing/replacing an IC (U7006) but I believe the display IC (U6009) and/or related components to be the cause of the problem.
Any inputs??
Finally got this phone to work today. Got help from an acquaintance from an online group who suggested that I reflow/replace the backlight IC.
It was a good challenge and a worthy experience that I learned some things along the way. Onto the next one! 🙂