Samsung Impression ( Phone Model SGH-A877)

See here for samsung impression parts


I've had a Samsung Impression phone for about a year-- I bought it refurbished. It's worked fine until now, when the touch screen or digitizer suddenly stopped working (I guess you get what you pay for) which led me to do a lot of research on how to fix it. I hope to save you the trouble of doing the same, by posting as much as I can on how to go about fixing this problem in my next two blog posts. Before we get into the touch screen fix however, let me pitch the Impression to those looking to get one :).

Search Amazon.com for samsung impression digitizer

The Samsung Impression is a pretty nice phone to have. Yes, it's a little dated (2009, I think), but if you're like me and don't particularly care about the current trend (iphone-mania) as long as you have a nice looking phone that works well, then consider this phone.


Pros

• It has a great touch screen (when the touch screen isn't broken)
• Semi-easy and VERY inexpensive to replace the touch screen/ digitizer yourself
• It has a very roomy keyboard
• Awesome call quality, and has never dropped a call (had it for a year)
• Great for multi-media purposes
• Smaller than an iphone

and Cons:

• IF the touch screen "dies", your phone becomes virtually useless, unless you know people's number off hand
• Proprietary headset/ charger jack
• Camera doesn't have a flash

Touch Screen/ Digitizer FAIL

See here for samsung impression parts

So, back to the original reason I decided to write this-- my Samsung Impression touch screen stopped working. Let me offer two pieces of advice to anyone who is having this problem:

1. DO NOT press on, bend, or flex the screen to try to get it to work, unless of course you plan on buying a new phone. Doing any of the above could damage much more than just the touch screen and make it more expensive OR impossible to fix.
2. IF you're not afraid to take electronics apart (and/or if your warranty period is over), try fixing this phone yourself rather than sending it off to some repairman. They'll probably charge you over a $100 when the digitizer only costs less than $10.

Search Amazon.com for samsung impression digitizer

Check out my next blog post for instructions on how to take apart the Impression, how to change the digitizer, and some photos and links to Youtube resources that can help too!

UPDATE


I took over 30 photos to illustrate the disassembly of the phone. Click here to see them.

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