Smart phone screen question

Ewhizz

.
Joined
Oct 16, 2017
Messages
154
Likes
6
Hi,
I have been doing some research into the LCD's used in smart phones and am wondering if anyone has a better understanding of the technology then I do.

Basically my question stands:
I have a working android phone:
https://www.gsmarena.com/huawei_p9-7972.php
The screen is damaged and the battery is busted. Is it possible to remove the screen and connect a larger screen and a larger battery in a different enclosure, essentially making a DIY tablet.
Preferably the larger screen would be taken from another existing tablet?

The current screen the phone uses is this:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/328...88#3325#7_668#2846#8112#600_668#2717#7566#841

Any and all guidance is greatly appreciated!!!
Regards :)
 

Wesk

Undervolting....
Staff member
.
.
Joined
Jul 12, 2017
Messages
869
Likes
2,176
Location
Queensland, Australia
Phones and their screens have very specific communication methods, it's not just a typical HDMI or VGA signal, etc. It's possible but you'd have to find a screen that works the same way as the stock one.
 

YveltalGriffin

First Wii U Trimmer
.
Joined
Jun 7, 2016
Messages
306
Likes
1,142
Location
South Florida
Portables
5
Seconding what Wesk said. Mobile device screens use the MIPI-DSI protocol to handle the large bandwidth required for high pixel counts. It's a high-speed serial interface which means fewer wires connecting the screen to the device, but those data lines have serialized packets of data traveling at very high clock speeds. Here's a look at what kind of DIY hardware is required to drive simple MIPI panels.

Assuming you could find a larger panel with the exact same electrical characteristics (a difficult task considering you can't really find datasheets for OEM panels), you might be able to make a flex PCB adapter to connect the new panel to the P9's motherboard. This would be really difficult too since schematics don't exist for the P9 to my knowledge, and the connectors in question likely have ~0.4mm pin pitch.

I don't want to discourage you from experimenting, but phone screens are probably the toughest niche to break into, since they're designed specifically for the device they're used in from the beginning. It'd probably less costly in the long run to get a cheap Android tablet.
 
Top