How to access broken Android phone with no display but touch working

[CreativeMann]

Summary:

Phone affected: Samsung Galaxy F62

Issue: No display. But touch input working

Steps followed:

1. Performed media backup via USB connection. Confirmed connection prompt by guessing what part of screen to be touched.

2. Tried USB to HDMI adapter to brung up screen on TV and failed. Reason F62 doesn't support any such tech.

3. Used screenshot method to navigate and enable developer options and USB debugging.

4. Used Vysor app to access and control my phone.

Dear members,

I wanted to share via this post, steps taken and key learnings about to how to access and backup data from an android phone with a faulty screen with no display but touch working.

So what happened was a Samsung Galaxy F62 all of a sudden started to have charging issues. The phone would say 'charging' as soon as the charger was connected and stop charging after around a minute. I was able to use the phone but it was fast running out of power and it wasn't charging. In this way the phone ultimately died and I took it to the service center. I was hoping it to be a simple charging jack issue and quickly resolved. And because when I submitted the phone to service center it was dead they asked me to leave it there. As I was getting back home I got a call from service center saying the screen is faulty and needs to be replaced and they asked me to confirm in half an hour for replacement. This was a shocker for me as this would be an expensive business and requested some time to think. The next day I went to the service center and discussed the situation. In fact I spent some time inside in the techical area with the technician working on my phone and he was explaining to me that the display isn't working and convincing me that it needs a replacement also that it's a common problem in F62. However, my argument was that it was perfectly fine until it ran out of power and it was only the charging problem that I ever faced. Surprisingly, the charging issue was solved by then 😄 and they were only highlighting screen replacement. I started growing suspicious about this whole saga because the screen replacement would be a high income ticket for them in comparison to a charging jack rectification ticket. Moreover, it was end of the December month with them working on their targets. Unfortunately, I was not in a state to back this suspicion with proof and hence decided not to opt for screen replacement and got back the phone with no display. Fortunately, it was only the display that wasn't working. But touch input was intact. So this is how I ended up with a Galaxy F62 with no display but working touch input and no backup done. If at all something can be investigated with the service center guys is a story for another day.

It was clear to me that I need a new phone. But I had no backups. So, the next step was to backup my data. Since the touch was working and the phone had a pattern lock I was able to unlock the phone. Hence, connecting it via USB to a laptop and copying the media and other data was not that challenging. The biggest challenge was Google data. For this, I somehow needed to access the phone screen. I started looking out for solutions. The first attempt was trying to put the screen on TV. Casting was not an option as display was non functional. Therefore, I started exploring wired screen sharing options. I wasn't sure if F62 supported such a thing-HDMI or MHL. I could not confirm this from specifications. In parallel, I shot an email to Samsung support to know if F62 supported such an output. Also, I posted here in Samsung Members about this. Early inputs started coming in and @karthikparwal confirmed that there is no HDMI support. By that time, I had already got a USB to HDMI adapter and tried wired screen sharing and it did not work. This confirmed that F62 neither supported any technology like HDMI or MHL. This was followed with a confirmation from Samsung support as well. While I was heartbroken about this, a new ray of hope came in from @Kshitij5050 about the software called Vysor for acessing the cellphone on a laptop. @Kshitij5050 also mentioned about a prompt the would need a confirmation input. I was elated but soon realized that for this software on the laptop to recognize the connected android device, USB debugging needs to be enabled. Since this was not enabled in my phone, my next task was to somehow enable this. And here came is the most simplest JUGAAD - screenshots! And it was in this YouTube video -

https://youtu.be/tAChemeSbgo?si=Xjwx5r73LVG7HBkX

Like I had told earlier, it was only the display that was broken while touch input was functional. So I quickly set up thhe USB connection to the laptop and started navigating based on screenshots and was finally able to enable developer options and then USB debugging. And Voila! Vysor recognized and connected to the phone and waited for the confirmation prompt response as mentioned by @Kshitij5050. Here again, I used the screenshot approach to confirm and the screen came up on the laptop! What a sigh of relief! 

To me, this was an interesting exercise and I want to share certain key learnings

1. Never leave room for service centre people to leverage your situation for their gains. I went to them only when the phone died. Had I been there earlier with even some bit of battery power I believe they could not have played this trick of display malfunction. Like I said earlier, this is only my suspicion and I do not have credible proofs about my phone being tampered.

2. While most YouTube videos and articles mention that if the phone has Type C port it would support wired screen sharing, it's not the case. Though the Type C port is for universal purpose, it is down to the manufacturers about what to implement on the port. Hence, not all Samsung phones with Type C would support wired screen sharing. Same applies to other Android phones. What you need to look for in specification is MHL, HDMI, DP Alt mode etc

3. In this era, you cannot predict the life of electronic gadgets. Hence, always be prepared for worst case and have all backups enabled. I made this mistake of not enabling them.

4. Due to unpredictable life of the smartphones, always enable developer options and USB debugging. Sure, it might carry some risk but the benefits, if at all something happens will outweigh those risks. Moreover, you can mitigate the risks with proper securing of passwords/PINs and rotating/changing them on a regular basis. Also, it would be better that you allow your phone to remember your laptop for USB debugging. This will help in scenarios like mentioned in the point below.

5. This solution would work only if the input works. If it doesn't and you have no USB debugging enabled plus your laptop is not recognized by your phone for USB debugging, then this may not work. That's why I emphasize on the learning #4

Best Regards

Credits:

Samsung support team

@karthikparwal

@Kshitij5050

Oliva from YouTube

[saravanaSK]

This essay bro

[cs_member10]

Dear Samsung Member,

Greetings from Samsung Customer Support!

Thank you for sharing this, if you have any further queries kindly feel free to get in touch with us.

Warm Regards,
Samsung Customer Support