How I fixed my Nokia E71 overheating/discharging problem

F

fiwigas

New member
Here's my story...

My E71-2 has been a really great performer. My battery used to last for days even with PushMail on all day through 3.5G.

Then the other day I dropped it inside my car while putting the phone on my dashboard PDA holder and the phone slamed on the shift stick from about 10" height. Not a big drop but it sure was a solid whack on the phone.

There's no physical damage on the phone (no dents or scratches) but since the drop, my E71 started to heat up like crazy right on the back camera area even with the phone turned off!

Today I began to wonder if the camera got damaged by the impact so I decided to investigate.

Since the day of the drop, I didn't use the camera until just now and that's when I noticed that the autofocus does not kick in when I press the T key. And as a matter of fact the camera image on the screen is very out of focus. Like if the lens got stuck on macro mode. Nothing happens if I click the T key, the red autofocus frame comes up never achieving a correct focus!

I'm no electrical engineer, but I'm sure there's some sort of piezo-electric/servo kind of thing inside the camera that moves the lens in/out to achieve the focus and I am sure the heat is coming from that stuck piece somehow, so I decided to investigate even further and here's my findings.

I opened my beloved E71 phone all the way to reach the camera module.

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I released the camera module.

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There's not much you can do to it except to tap it a bit with your fingernail.

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Reinstall and test.

This procedure worked just fine on my E71. So far no more camera failure and most importantly, no more battery drain/heat!

I hope this helps anyone desperate and not willing to wait for the Nokia support (or lack of) like myself.

Tools needed: Two torx tools (#5 and #6)

Of course you can avoid opening the E71 and just whack the E71 like crazy on your desk until the camera lens dislodges, but then chances are you will end up with a pretty banged up E71. :doh:

Cheers!
RayanMX
 
I had the same experience with my E71 a few months back. My son decided it made a neat little hammer. After that, pictures were very fuzzy (unuseable) and my battery was dying at a rate I needed to charge it before lunch.

I went through resets, firmware reloads, trying one application at a time as a problem...all to no avail. I noticed it heating up too. Basically, the same situation you had.

I wound up buying a set of Torx drivers and went into the hardware. I didn't "see" anything wrong, but I cleaned and reset the guts of the phone. Put it back together and wow! The camera was as good as new, no heat and back to 3 or 4 days of battery.

**And yes, I have a couple little scars on the corner of it from trying to bang it back into submission. That doesn't work. **

Nice tutorial by the way. I wish it was available back when I had my problem. It's not easy getting that thing apart.
 
Thanks for the post and the pictures...
Few days ago walking out of the grocery store I reached for my phone when it suddenly sliped out of my hand and hit the concreat from about 3 or 4 feet. It landed right on the top edge and rolled around few times... Ended up with couple of dings on the corners however nothing serious... Camera is OK, I might get a case now...
 
This was so helpful!!!

I gave my phone into vodafone to repair it as i had the same problems as you & I had 8 months left on my warrenty. 10 days later I got a call to collect it, i opened it in the shop and it wasn't fixed still the same problem?? They said moisture damage! I asked to see were and there was no sign of any moisure damage on any componants or circuit board. Im an electrician & engineer so i know what moisture damage looks like. They left a note saying that my phone that i paid 380 euro 14 months ago was unable to be fixed and basically either keep using it the way it was, with the battery lasting 1hr or buy a new one!!!
Thank god i found your tutorial & i took the phone apart did what you said and its bloody working perfectly!!
Just goes to show that they really tried to fix it??

Thanks a mill!
 
Is this procedure really works?

Im a little bit lost after you dislodge the camera (the third pix) is that the lcd?
Please help.. I just dont want to send my phone to nokia care and wait for 7 days before they can fix it.
 
Yes, that's the LCD display panel. You can use your nails to dislodge its connector.

I no longer have this phone, but let me know if you needmore help.

Regards,
Rayanmx
 
I was thinking it was going to be a "hard reset" thread. But this was cool. Must be hard to get the E71 open. It's put together like a tank.
 
Excellent post! Did exactly as instructed and my beloved E71 is working well again! Problem solved with a trip to the shop to buy Torx drivers and less than 10 minutes of tinkering with RayanMX's very clear instructions.

Thanks again! :)
 
I have encountered the same problem. Nokia care here are too slow. Bought the torx. However I can only find the 4 screws on the chassis that I removed with the T5. Can't find the other 2 in your pic & can't open the phone. Would appreciate you pointing me in the right direction
 
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