I'm writing this up because someone else might like to benefit from my experiences with doing this repair.
Get your tools together: Multimeter, Torx T5, jeweler's Phillips (size 00), 15w soldering pencil, a bit of flux, some thin (I used 0.38mm 63/57% tin/lead) solder, and a clean place to work. You may want to grab a small ice cube tray or something similar with compartments to toss the screws in so you remember where they go. I highly suggest you get Kapton (3M) tape but you could use cellophane tape or a cut piece of packing tape. I had Kapton on hand so that's what I went with. You also need to either make sure the seller provides the double-stick tape gasket that binds the digitizer to the LCD shield or that you managed to salvage the one that secured the old digitizer. I was lucky and it came off the glass and stayed on the metal.
First of all, I've always had horrible problems with alignment with my Vario. The top of the screen was usually fine but the bottom would start drifting up. Cleaning the crap out of the edges under the bezel with a business card or doing the thumb rub was fine for that particular session but when I would sleep it and put it in my pocket, it was screwed up the next time. Dropping my Vario on the floor has managed to create a triangular dead zone that peaks at 1/2" from the bottom center and degrades towards the bottom left and right corners.
I bought a digitizer on Ebay from a seller in Hong Kong. It arrived about two weeks later and came with a T8 Torx and a case cracking tool. The T8 was thrown aside because it's obviously the wrong tool so I used my T5 and cracked the case. I won't get into disassembly/reassembly because that isn't the object of this and you can google the directions. Suffice it to say, when you reassemble the back half, ensure the volume slider on the case isn't going to snap the tab off of the volume switch on the board like I did the last time I disassembled it.
A note on this particular digitizer - It's NOT a HTC brand part. It's a generic part and doesn't have the glossy top sheet. I paid $20 shipped and for $20 it ain't bad. There is slightly less light transmitted and it's harder to read outdoors in direct sun but no big deal - it hasn't had to be realigned yet.
Now that you've removed the back cover, lifted out the board, unscrewed the LCD slider from the front cover, disassembled the two halves of the LCD slider, removed the screws that secure the top and bottom button pads to the LCD top frame and lifted out the LCD/button assembly and it's sitting in front of you - lets get to work!
First of all, you need to commit to this before you start making irreversible changes. If you've never soldered before, put this thing back together or find someone who has. You don't need a SMT station or the ability to solder 0605 components but since you're soldering on the plastic ribbon carrier, you need to be sure of your skills in order to not trash the LCD ribbon.
Now that you're ready to do this, examine the LCD panel and you will see that the digitizer is attached to the frame of the LCD panel. Use thin blade like a single edged razor to slide between the glass panel and the metal case and start lifting up the glass panel. If you're lucky, it'll want to stick to the metal case. As you lift the glass, poke in some tooth picks or similar to keep the glass from seating again. Start at a corner and work around going SLOWLY. I got to the bottom, rushed, and smashed the old part causing glass dust to go everywhere!. Try to avoid that.
Now that the old panel is off, cut the ribbon cable going from the base of the digitizer to the back of the LCD. Just slice it in half to get the old part out of the way.
At this point, align the new digitizer at the top of the frame first and then gently press it down. Ensure that ONLY the back's protective plastic sheet has been removed to avoid smudges and scratches. Now place the unit face down on something like a mousepad or similar surface.
There is a piece of Kapton tape across the digitizer ribbon and the backlight ribbon. Peel from the side with the digitizer FIRST! I started pulling from the backlight cable side and damn near pulled the backlight ribbon off!
GENTLY GENTLY GENTLY peel the old ribbon cable from the digitizer DOWN and ensure that it isn't ripping the pads away from the LCD cable. There may be a better way to do this but this method worked for me, I grabbed a corner with needle nose pliers and slowly pulled at a 45 degree angle. You want to pull the top which is the side soldered to the ribbon, not the bottom, which you cut earlier.
Plug that soldering pencil in, make sure it's set to 15w.
Now, with my el-cheapo digitizer, the ribbon from the front was slightly misaligned and I had to angle it over to the right. Otherwise if I went straight up it would've been misaligned about 2mm to the left. Ensure you have the traces parallel and directly on top of the existing ones and tape the bottom of the cable so it stays put. Another thing with my digitizer was the end required trimming. This made it easy to position when I had it bent back.
Now that the bottom is aligned and you don't have to mess with it, bend the cable back so that the copper traces are now facing up. The bend should be at the bottom 3rd of the exposed traces on the LCD cable. Make a nice sharp fold on the cable. Swab on a little bit of flux to make things easier to manage. Grab a popsicle stick or similar to push the new ribbon to the LCD ribbon, get the solder ready, and try to keep the heat on very shortly. You should only need 3 seconds of heat to get a decent solder joint because there is almost zero copper to heat up. Ensure the first joint is good by a quick tug of the cable and do the next three. After they are done, test with the meter going across to ensure the joint is good and from one side to each neighbor to make sure you have no shorts. Do the next three and then cut the extra ribbon cable off leaving maybe 1/4". Grab your tape and put a nice big piece across the back of the LCD covering both ribbon cables just like it was.
Now, reassemble your phone, turn it on, align the screen, and you ought to be good to go.
I don't take any responsibility for anything you might do to screw up your phone. These were my steps to fix my phone and they may not work for you and your phone.
As an aside, the new matte screen doesn't accumulate 'face gunk' quite like the old glossy one did. Also, the sensitivity is down a tiny bit and it needs more finger pressure to use Slide2Unlock. The digitizer also gets Newtonian Rings (google it) whereas the OEM one didn't. Also, there is a faint hum from the backlight (?) when it's on now that I didn't notice before.
So far, so good... The alignment on the bottom right corner is about 1.25mm above where the stylus point is but that might just be a problem with the screen itself. The alignment has stayed rock steady since I aligned it yesterday morning.
I cracked my aria screen pretty much right after I got it, Managed to get my hands on a new digitizer and replaced it. I found a quick walkthrough on Android forums. It helped but had a few points that could have been more succinct.
Posting here in case anyone needs.
Took me about an 1hr 30min the first time trying to figure it out on my own.
My additional comments are indicated by **.
I put some addendums to @Jcawesome's steps...
( http://androidforums.com/1211507-post42.html )
1. Remove backcover
2. Remove Battery, sim chip, and memory card
3. Unscrew the top two screws (meaning the end farthest from the memory card.)
4. Using a flat plastic wedge, (I used the one that came from my ebay order, it looks like the blue tool in this pic )
5. Carefully pull off the parts at the top being very cautious not to break anything. (Do not pull the circuit board out, only lift the end closest to the edge of the phone)
** there are two pieces to pull off....with the phone laying flat (screen down and the top facing away from you) a larger yellow piece with an attached back speaker comes out towards you. a second piece pulls up (north as if on a map)... but becareful because there is a bunch of tape and tackiness all throughout this thing (literally I felt it was held together by tape). I actually pulled off the grill on front as well.
** the circuit board is kept attached near the top right. the element that is the power button snaps off. (there are two little dots just to the right of the speaker with what looks like blackish tape that connects to the circuit board... you can pop this off.
With that off, I could lift the circuit board about 30 degrees or so... I wasn't comfortable pulling it back any farther than that.
I did step 5 AFTER I got the screen off.
6. Using the flat plastic wedge again, push the wedge tool between the phone and the broken screen. (It will feel like you are breaking it but it is fine, it is held on by a sticky paste that will slowly give way)
** careful on this part... especially difficult depending on how your screen is cracked. but it is just a bunch of sticky tape that is keeping it attached.... I had to peel away the goo and connection near the top sensitive areas as my ear piece speaker came off with the goo.
7. Disconnect the connecter from the old digitizer to the new one and remove the old digitizer.
**I used a small little tweezer and sneaked it in underneath the circuit board to pull the digitizer connection out.... a little difficult to push back in, but just took some patience.
8. Being careful not to put fingerprints on any exposed surface of either the phone lcd or the replace screen, place the new digitizer in the exact spot of the old one.
** have some lint free microfiber cloth handy and perhaps some screen cleaner.... I spent about 15 minutes cleaning the lcd screen before laying the replacement digitizer back on.
I actually did step 9 before step 8.
9. Connect the connecter from the new digitizer to the board, be careful not to pull the circuit board out and do not scratch the board.
10. You may want to use some glue to hold the new screen on, hopefully this will not happen again. My phone still had enough of the sticky paste left to hold the new screen fine.
** I agree... the first time you replace it will be fine.... afterwards tho, I can see it running out of tackiness.....
11. Put the phone back together in reverse order.
12. Turn it one and everything should be working again.
** in a nut shell
1) take out two screws
2) detach two yellow shell pieces
3) unhook a latch that is the power button
4) pry off the screen
5) lift the circuit board approx 30 degrees.
6) detach digitizer connection from underneath using tweezer
7) replace digitizer connection, return circuit board flat
8)position digitizer and press down to adhere
9)replace two plastic yellow shell pieces
10) screw it back together
done.
let me know if you have any questions.=)
enjoy your "brand" new aria.
dude,, this is a PITA,, I did,, was about 1hour, the hardest part,, is to not put the fingers on the LCD and cleaning the new screen..... dust particles everywhere... and at the end still got one...
Sorry eortizr, If I made it seem easier than it was. I spent quite a while cleaning the lcd screen when I replaced the digitizer... I don't think it's possible to change the digitizer without getting fingerprints on it though. But with some diligence and working in a clean area, I was able to keep all dust and finger prints out of the final product.
My wife dropped hers. Cracked up pretty good but still functional. Think I might just go ahead and pay the $100 and have someone who does it for a living do it.
I can totally see me trying DIY concentrating real hard dripping sweat all over it and ruining the MB. LOL
Replaced the screen today. Half way in I thought I definitely bit off more than I could chew. I got it done though. A couple of things I learned:
The digitizer unplugs away from you or toward the screen with the phone laying flat (screen down and the top facing away from you). I kept thinking i had to unplug it by pulling it north, toward the top of the phone.
I dropped and threw away both the front speaker and the very small rubber piece that covers the proximity sensor so... when I turned the phone on everything looked good, until I answered my phone. The screen went blank and I couldn't hear anything. I found the speaker and the proximity sensor cover and replaced them.
I would do it again, its worth saving $50 or so.
Thanks for the tutorial dreamflux.
I found the whole kit including the adhesive here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180643624141
This is the seller in case the sale ends and the link breaks: http://myworld.ebay.com/chinaphoneaccessories/?_trksid=p4340.l2559
I found a replacement digitizer from tmart dot com for $55, free shipping. Just search Aria on their site, you'll find it. Sorry, I can't seem to post links yet.
What was peculiar, was that it has only the HTC logo in the center, and no ATT logo. Looks nice and clean. They included plastic separator tools and torx drivers, though nothing in this phone uses torx. The site is a little shady, and while their headquartered in Hong Kong, it shipped from Brooklyn NY about 5 days after purchase, priority mail. The swap wasn't bad, but my only complaint is that the lights from the softkeys seem to shine up onto the screen, but you get used to it. It's probably because I didn't transfer the stickers over on the bottom of the digitizer.
Thanks for the directions ... I just replaced my digitizer. I had 2 major problems: 1) my power button doesn't work any longer (I'm going to take it apart and try to put it back together and see if that fixes it), and 2) you HAVE to use BLACK sticky stuff to seat the bottom of the digitizer - I used the clear stuff that came with the digitizer, and now I have tons of light bleeding into the LCD from the button backlights. I'm not sure what to do about the bleed ... I guess I'll have to tear it down again and put black stuff in ... damn.
That's the deal with that excess backlighting! I thought it was just a matter of the screen being misaligned. Terrible that I have to replace that black foam, it got shredded while I was dismantling the thing to replace the digitizer.
eortizr said:
dude,, this is a PITA,, I did,, was about 1hour, the hardest part,, is to not put the fingers on the LCD and cleaning the new screen..... dust particles everywhere... and at the end still got one...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its always suggested to work in a dust-free space but we all know that's virtually impossible.
I had a bit of fun with dust & fingerprints when replacing my LCD after getting my Aria, After a time or two of taking apart and being unsuccessful, I left it as is with one visible flake.
If you take a hot shower the steam in the air sticks to dust particles leaving no dust
Sent from my Liberty using XDA App
aria
use electrical tape to cover up the lighting that comes through the digitizer
use 3m double sided tape to hold digitizer to lcd
use rubber gloves to change screen to not get finger prints on it
dust906 said:
use electrical tape to cover up the lighting that comes through the digitizer
use 3m double sided tape to hold digitizer to lcd
use rubber gloves to change screen to not get finger prints on it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
*Just to make sure I'm putting the electrical tape on correctly*
put the double sided tape on and then put the electrical tap (sticky side facing up) on top of the ds tape then apply the screen to the lcd
Thanks for the explanation dreamflux.. This, along with some youtube videos helped me out to change the digitizer, but patience is THE key...
Brought my phone with me to Cedar Point the other day. Survived the entire day....until I stopped at the bars on the way home. Got out of the car, forgetting I had my phone on my lap---shattered right by the track pad.
Just got my digitizer today for $22 on ebay (not bad) After 2 hours and a migraine later, everything came out great.
The only 2 things wrong now are the light from the softkeys bleeding onto the screen and out the sides (I'm just going to shut those lights off), and the trackpad sits a little lower than the screen now. Either I didn't align it right, or the glue isn't holding well. It's weird, if you press on the glass anound the trackpad, it wakes the phone (cm7 trackpad wake).
I only plan on using the phone for a few more months, so I'm happy with the results.
Uhhggg, did the replacement on my son's Aria. It wasn't so bad, but now the LCD screen doesn't light.
I get the vibration when you first hit the power button. Is this correct? I'm not too familiar with the phone.
Rececked the connector for the LCD and it seems to be snapped in.
brivette007 said:
Brought my phone with me to Cedar Point the other day. Survived the entire day....until I stopped at the bars on the way home. Got out of the car, forgetting I had my phone on my lap---shattered right by the track pad.
Just got my digitizer today for $22 on ebay (not bad) After 2 hours and a migraine later, everything came out great.
The only 2 things wrong now are the light from the softkeys bleeding onto the screen and out the sides (I'm just going to shut those lights off), and the trackpad sits a little lower than the screen now. Either I didn't align it right, or the glue isn't holding well. It's weird, if you press on the glass anound the trackpad, it wakes the phone (cm7 trackpad wake).
I only plan on using the phone for a few more months, so I'm happy with the results.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did you have any problems with the digitizer responsivenes or something like that? I'm need one and curious about the quality of the cheap digitizers in ebay.
so I replaced my friends screen and now the phone turns on, has sound, vibrates, but just doesnt turn the screen on... the light sensor works and all, and if I call it, it rings and everything, just the screen won't turn on it stays black... I've checked the 2 ribbons and everything is fine, anyone have a suggestion..??
jdmsohc22 said:
so I replaced my friends screen and now the phone turns on, has sound, vibrates, but just doesnt turn the screen on... the light sensor works and all, and if I call it, it rings and everything, just the screen won't turn on it stays black... I've checked the 2 ribbons and everything is fine, anyone have a suggestion..??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so what I meant was the digitizer turns on, but it is just a dark lit screen, no visual anything going on.. If i call it from another phone it will ring, but when i swipe right to left to answer and press around where the answer button is it doesn't respond either, just rings and rings... anyways just wanted to elaborate a little more..
---------- Post added at 02:28 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:08 AM ----------
msailer said:
Uhhggg, did the replacement on my son's Aria. It wasn't so bad, but now the LCD screen doesn't light.
I get the vibration when you first hit the power button. Is this correct? I'm not too familiar with the phone.
Rececked the connector for the LCD and it seems to be snapped in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same thing is happening with me as well..
^^^^ Soooooo.....I got the same thing on my wife phone, the BLACK SCREEN. I did my homework and read and watched videos on how to replace the digitizer. I was in a steamy room with all my tools from work with pre-cut electrical and .005" double sticky tape. im a mechanical assembler. I did everything to the tee and was very carefull. i think i got a bunk one from china. I bought mine for $19 from china. It had at&t logo and everything. you get what you pay for? So I've got to pay now $50 for a replacement phone through ins. Not bad because before i made the claim i thought the replacement was $150. Anyways just a heads up. Now i got a phone of spare parts Whats cool is that i get to root her phone all over again. So if anyone here has had the black screen. let me know what happened next with your situation. Did you fix it? replaced it with another one? thanks
Hey anyone already opened up their HD2? I need to open mine since my back button got stuck while my baby girl tried to press too hard on it. Now the back button feels like it's not presing at all compared to the other buttons.
i also have a spare housing that I am thinking of putting in.
Anyone can point me to the right direction?
Thanks
i've had the back off mine.
first search youtube for leo disassembly and you'll find an htc disassembly video: "leo Ds" (and another "leo As" for reassembly). they are somewhat daunting, but do not despair!
mine came back from a htc warranty service with a fingerprint on the inside of the lens glass and i couldn't be bothered sending it back again for cleaning so i did it myself. cracking the case isn't all that easy, or wasn't for me.
after you remove the 4 screws (get the void sticker and moisture indicator out with a pin), you still have to unclip the back from the chassis. WHY do electronics manufacturers design them like that??! in the video the tech uses a plastic hooked tool which i do not possess so i had to rely on my fingernails -- which i nearly pulled out! i tried for a good 15 minutes before it finally separated (with me sweating all the way that i was going to damage the LCD with the force i was having to apply). but it all finished happily in the end.
good luck with yours!
Not sure if it's worth it.
1st things 1st, watch the video on youtube..
.
Assuming u broke the keypad (just like me, but mine is right in the middle) at about the 6th minute of the disassembly video, they'll show u where u'd be replacing the keypad.
Removing the 'lcm and follow the indicator' isnt as simple as it look. you'd find the glue to be really tough. Putting it in an oven, sure, it'd be hot to the touch, and let it cool down a bit it'd be hard again. Hairdryer? Still too hot. Gloves?u'll lose touch sesitivity. So what i did was use a small blade/box cutter and cut which ever visible glue... and assembling, i had to replace all the double sided tape with some cheap ones...weak ones. Could be a good thing.. or a bad thing. Good, cos i know i dont have to wrestle with some really tough glue..in case i ruined my lcd again.... bad.. cos its..not that secure, i rmember that i nearly ripped it open unintentionally!
Neway replacing my digitizer+lcd took about 3 hours...had a couple of breaks, and spent 15 mins looking for the proximity sensor or was it the ambient light sense 'lense'..very tiny things those things are. So be careful...cos i eventually lost it..grrr
Anyway, Best of luck.. .now to find a replacement keypad that cost less than 5usd..hehe
dsx2b said:
1st things 1st, watch the video on youtube..
spent 15 mins looking for the proximity sensor or was it the ambient light sense 'lense'..very tiny things those things are. So be careful...cos i eventually lost it..grrr5usd..hehe
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
a good tip here is to work with the phone in a large tupperware box so that if something drops out it can't go anywhere.
note to the OP: i've read several posts where people damaged the ribbon cable connecting the bottom buttons to the mainboard so be careful. it looks very delicate.
Having just opened mine up several times recently I can offer a couple of tips.
1. Unscrew the four screws - they are T5 torx size.
2. Use thin stiff plastic pieces (I found the plastic case that nails are sold in to be the right stiffness and thickness). Cut some up and push them between the case and the phone works so that they hold each of the locking tabs out in turn. I used five or six bits to do this. Three on the vol control side, two at the top and one on the top area of the other side.
3. Then pushing out at the top where the battery would sit while prying with finger nails outward on the long vol control side you can work each of the locking tabs out so the plastic bits hold them unlocked. Do this along that side, across the top and down the other side working each one a little bit as you go and repeat.
4. This should allow the top edge to come out allowing you to lift is out and "up" so that the button end slides out.
This worked very well for me..several times.
The display is held to the electronics portion by double sided tape and yes it is very strong. But you can soften the adhesion significantly using a heat gun. But you must be careful to heat the whole area to avoid thermal differences cracking the screen. The heat will loosen the tapes grip allowing you to pry the screen away from the electronics side.
Note that the screen is made up of the LCD covered by the glued on digitizer and they are connected with a single ribbon cable on the lower right hand side (I think from memory). This means the screen has to lift off with a hinge action. Lifting along the opposite long edge to the ribbon cable, rather than lift from the top or bottom.
Hope this helps.
Hi, I tried to open mine and followeed the video, be careful as the video makes it look much easier than what it really is, I ended up ruining my device, just take your time and do it slowly.
Thanks guys! Gonna try it over the weekend. Worst case is that I break my case or put some cosmetic damage. I have a spare case though hehe.
The problem about the key is the back button feels stuck.... the other buttons are snappy and have a tactile sort of feel, where as the back button doesn't have the same feel. looks like it was pressed to hard and never popped back up...
just annoying when i've been very careful with the phone.
ok looks like i wouldn't have to open my phone.... i tried to but then there's a warranty void sticker, so I just called tmobile and explained about the back key being stuck.... and they're sending me a replacement.
i'm gonna lose my invisible shield full body though... but better than risking breaking my phone....
Hello all. Yes I am a noob to the forum, but not to small electronics and the dismantling of them. After getting everything set up on my machine necessary to Root my TF and side load the netflix app, I noticed my power button wasn't being as responsive as it should. Doing a quick google search I found that this was a common thing, even on TFs with stock firmware, so I took to dismantling the thing to figure out what is causing it.
I did a quick search to see if anyone has cracked the case open and found this thread. I didn't use a guitar pick, but rather a plastic and metal spuder set I had from repairing my mom's ipod touch (damn soldered batteries!).
Tools:
Tool Kit
Or
A T5 Torx bit
A spudger
#0 Phillips screwdriver.
Lock-Tite super glue gel (optional!)
1. Start by removing the two T5 torx bits from both sides of the charging/dock port
2. Use the plastic spudger or guitar pick and loose the seam around the entire case. If you look closely at the face, you will see the glass meet a black plastic rim and then the metal rim around that. What you are aiming to do is separate the black plastic from the glass. The plastic is glued to the metal so if you see adhesive separating, you are prying the wrong spot. There are various plastic tabs around the glass like a TV remote so using the plastic spuder is safer until you get some visible room to go in with the metal one.
3. Once you have the frame off, there are 4 #0 Phillips screws on the face, one at each corner, then 3 screws on the top and bottom of the frame (previously under the metal case
4. Removing all 4 face screws plus 6 rail screws will allow you to remove the back plastic. Now you can see everything
5. Bonus points for ASUS for giving us a battery that unplugs vs one that is soldered in (damn you apple). If you want some peace of mind, you can pop off the battery cable. I did not see any side effects from doing this (no data loss, etc).
6. On the side with the power and volume buttons, you will see a blue-tipped silver cable under a black tab. This black tab is what holds the ribbon down and lifts up like a toilet seat. It does not pull forward, it does not pop off (unless you broke it), but because it is plastic, be gentle. Once the tab is lifted, the silver cable will come out.
7. Unscrew the 3 #0 Phillip screws holding down the button board for easier access remove it.
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It doesn't matter whether you are having a volume issue or power button issue, so long as you know its hardware related. The way these buttons work is under constant pressure is "off" and removing that pressure turns it "on". So the metal tab pushes down on the plastic button, which pushes down on the switch. What is happening is over time, that metal tab gives way to less pressure on the daisy chain and the button stops working. The good news is, this metal tab is just held on via 'wings' around the soldered base. A razer knife is enough to gently lift the wings to pop the assembly apart for repairing. Given the construction of these switches, I wish ASUS just made the entire board available, but oh well.
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8. With the offending metal cap off, bend the middle thumb further down and back in to position and re-assemble the switch.
9. (Optional). I bent my tab further in to prevent me from having to re-do this operation several months from now, but doing so meant that ANY pressure on the button caused the metal cap to pop back off. That is really bad if the case is re-assembled. My solution was to swab some lock-tite super glue gel on the bottom wings and base of the metal cap and put it back on the switch. A very thin film is sufficient because it is a gel, it dries in seconds. WARNING> Once you reassemble the switch, keep pressure on the metal cap while you keep pressing the black button. If you don't, any glue leakage will lock that button in place.
My Evo 4g started to develop the dreaded power button failure problems with it randomly not waking up the phone up or putting it to sleep. Over the past few weeks it got progressively worse until it fully failed over the weekend and the only way I could wake my phone up was to plug in the USB cord or have someone text or call me. I was super bummed because my Evo has been a great phone and I don't want to waste my upgrade on a new phone until they get LTE here ... maybe sometime in 2013?
So the good news is that I tried to repair it and found a fix that works! I can't guarantee that it will work for you, but it did for me! Here is what I did:
1. Remove the battery.
2. Remove all 6 torx screws (T5) that secures the red internal frame to the display. One of the torx screw is covered with a black paper-like covering - don't miss that one. It's easy to push the torx wrench through the black paper material to get to the torx head.
3. Carefully pry the red internal housing from the display housing. Start on one side and work around the phone.
4. With the red internal housing removed, unscrew the small phillips screw in the upper corner to remove the motherboard from the display housing. The motherboard will now lift out of the display housing. Don't detach any cables.
6. As you remove the motherboard, look at where the power button is located in the display frame. Just under the power button - but attached to the underside of the motherboard - you will find the actual power button. It is a small silver square at the top of the motherboard with a black button at the top of the motherboard.
Now here is the fix that worked for me...
7. Flip the motherboard over and away from the display so the power button is facing up. There will be some cables holding the display and the motherboard together.
8. Get a can of Radio Shack Electronics Cleaner (contact cleaner). See attached picture of what I used.
9. Hold the phone unit so the power button is lower than the rest of the phone and spray the power button electronics with the contact cleaner using the contact cleaner with spray tube. I was careful not to overspray the mother board (but some did get on the motherboard), and I made sure I didn't get any on the display housing.
10. Let contact cleaner dry for a few minutes, reassemble, and test when completely dry.
That's it! The contact cleaner must have cleaned out whatever corrosion or material was in the power button because it works perfectly now. I did this on Monday of this week and still no problem three days later. Total repair: about $14!
If you are apprehensive about taking apart your phone, here is a link with step-by-step instructions: http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/HTC-Evo-4G-Teardown/2979/1
So if you are experiencing the dreaded power button failure and you are out of warranty, give this a try before you throw your money away. Hopefully it will work for you!
IT WORKS!!
You sir are a genius. Thank you for the walk through.