Replacing the cracked screen on a Blackview Tab 10 tablet
February 15, 2023 1 Comment
Blackview Tab 10 (in its protective case) with original touchscreen.
In a previous post I mentioned that the LCD touchscreen of my Blackview Tab 10 tablet had partially popped out of the tablet’s plastic housing and had developed a crack when I tried to push it back in, as can be seen in the photograph below.
Crack in top right corner of screen of Blackview Tab 10 (in its protective case).
I decided to try to replace the damaged screen, so in April 2022 I contacted Blackview’s customer support department in China to ask if they sell spare parts. They pointed me to the Blackview accessories section of online retailer AliExpress. AliExpress listed a replacement screen specifically for the Tab 10, which cost me just over GBP 87 including postage in May 2022. However, when I tried to remove the tablet’s original screen I damaged the FPC (flexible printed circuit) FFC (flexible flat cable) connecting the tablet’s PCB (printed circuit board) to the screen, shown in the photographs below.
Original FPC attached to PCB of Blackview Tab 10.
Damaged original FPC of Blackview Tab 10.
Basically, I was not careful when removing the part of the FPC that was attached to the back of the screen by a double-sided self-adhesive pad, and the tiny connector socket soldered onto the FPC cable broke off, as shown in the photograph above.
In December 2022 I decided to have another go at repairing the tablet so I contacted Blackview again to ask if they would be able to supply me with a replacement FPC cable for the Tab 10, which they kindly agreed to do. Thumbs up to Blackview for great service.
By the way, when I popped out the original screen from the tablet’s housing I discovered why I had been unable to push the corner of the screen back into the tablet’s housing. There is a row of small rectangular metal blocks along the inside top edge of the original screen, as shown in the photographs below. I assume they were intended to attract a magnetic flap on a cover for the tablet. Anyway, the metal blocks are glued into recesses in the back of the plastic surround of the screen. The block in the top left corner of the screen (looking at the screen from the back) – which I have indicated with a red circle on the second photograph – had come unstuck and had fallen between the back of the screen and the tablet’s PCB. When I tried to press the corner of the screen back into the tablet’s housing, the metal block prevented the screen from being pushed back in and the pressure cracked the screen.
Back of original screen of Blackview Tab 10.
Rear view of top right of original screen of Blackview Tab 10.
To complicate things further, when I removed the original screen I discovered that the replacement screen AliExpress had listed as a Tab 10 component is not exactly the same physically as the original screen; it does not have the same plastic surround as the original screen (see above two photographs) and it could not be clipped into the tablet’s housing. Furthermore, the overall dimensions of the replacement screen are very slightly smaller than the overall dimensions of the original screen, leaving a tiny gap between the edges of the replacement screen and the inside edges of the tablet’s housing, as shown in the photographs below. My solution was to use three double-sided self-adhesive pads to affix the back of the new screen to the inside back of the tablet. Initially I thought about using a silicone sealant or a very thin nitrile rubber cord to plug the gap between the edge of the new screen and the tablet’s housing, but the lip of the protective case that came with the tablet covers some of the gap and it is not very noticeable, as shown in the photographs below. Of course, the only thing stopping the screen falling out of the tablet’s housing is the double-sided self-adhesive pads attaching the back of the screen to the inner back of the tablet, but I am confident that is adequate.
Top left corner of Blackview Tab 10 (in its protective case) with replacement screen fitted.
Bottom right corner of Blackview Tab 10 (in its protective case) with replacement screen fitted.
Blackview Tab 10 (in its protective case) with replacement screen fitted.
Flap of protective case closed on Blackview Tab 10 with replacement screen fitted.
After clumsily damaging the original FPC flat cable last year, this time I was very careful when connecting the replacement FPC cable to the tablet’s PCB and to the replacement screen, and the new screen worked perfectly as soon as I powered up the tablet. In my earlier post I mentioned that the detection of taps was a little slow for the Blackview Tab 10, however the response is now as good as the response of the touchscreen of the Blackview Tab 11. Apart from replacing the Tab 10’s screen, the only difference from the as-bought Tab 10 is that it no longer has a SIM inserted, but I cannot see how that would have any impact on tap detection. Therefore I assume the new screen itself is somehow more responsive than the original screen fitted to the Tab 10.
In conclusion, I am happy to be able to use the Blackview Tab 10 again a year later, as I do not like throwing things away if there is a chance to repair them, albeit the repair cost me about GBP 96 for the replacement screen and FPC cable. My main regret is that, if I had popped out the original screen rather than trying to push it back into the tablet’s housing, I would have noticed the loose metal block and been able to glue it back in place and thus avoided cracking the screen. Still, I suppose I learned about FPC and FFC connectors, and the improved tap response is a welcome outcome.
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