The screen or «display» is still the most delicate component in current cell phones. Gorilla Glass technology does little or nothing when it comes to falls, and if it’s a strong impact, possibly not even glass mica will save us from breaking or damaging the screen.
I hope you are not in such disgrace, but if that is the case, perhaps the first thing you need to do is extract the data on your device or manipulate it to obtain some information. Yes, maybe you can do this yourself. If this is not the case, unfortunately the only solution will be to take it to technical service for a diagnostic or hypothetical screen change.
Contents
Why the display of a cell phone is damaged
As I already hinted, commonly due to a fall. This can cause the display connector to be disconnected from the main board completely or intermittently (something that obviously has an easy and convenient solution). In the worst case, the screen may break or crack.
What happens if the screen is broken or damaged
Whether it was disconnected or broken, the screen is likely to stop responding to touch , be completely black, or both. These are the typical symptoms of a damaged screen, beyond possible damage to the colors.
What to do?
To extract data from the cell phone …
Connect to PC : If you need to extract the data stored on the device, connect it to the PC using the USB cable to be able to access the storage from the “My computer” option on the PC. If it is a Windows computer, first install the device’s USB drivers on the PC.
If you do not see anything, possibly the problem is the lock screen, which must be unlocked so that you can access the content of your mobile.
Manufacturer’s software : Before making the USB connection, you can also choose to install the manufacturer’s software to manage the phone on the computer. For example, KIES for Samsung, HiSuite for Huawei, etc. Since these programs usually already integrate USB drivers, you should not install them separately.
ADB : A more “PRO” option is to use the ADB software. Here things are handled by text commands that you write on the PC and run on the mobile. For example, through the command «adb pull» you could extract some file from the mobile in the current path of the PC, like this:
adb pull /sdcard/algunvideodelcelular.mp4
Unlike the previous command, in this image the phone’s screencap.png file is copied to a specific path on the PC.
The disadvantage of ADB is that you must enable USB debugging on the phone, which can be impossible to do if the screen does not respond. If it is a Windows PC, you must also install the USB / ADB drivers.
Do you need to control the device?
Window on a Windows 10 PC, from where you control the screen of an Android with the mouse and keyboard.
Software : There are applications and programs that allow controlling the cell phone from the computer using the mouse and keyboard. However, here you also need to enable USB debugging on Android (in addition to USB drivers on Windows).
Assuming that you have done that in advance, you should only use a program to control Android from the PC such as Vysor, SCRCPY, etc. to be able to manipulate the screen. If not, you will surely see an “unauthorized” notice in the program, as you can see below, and you will not be able to do something.
“Unauthorized” notice that appears in the Vysor software when trying to control an Android device from the PC without having been previously configured.
OTG : Some devices support OTG technology, which allows you to control the screen using a computer mouse connected to the USB port. Test it! The only thing you need in this case is to buy an OTG cable that allows you to link the mouse with your device.
Technical service
To diagnose damage to the device, you will necessarily have to take the equipment to a technical service.
If the screen has broken it will necessarily have to be replaced. This is the most expensive component of the device, so you may want to buy another device rather than change it. So it is a good idea to put a glass mica on the screen to protect it from impacts.
Changing the display should not erase the data in the storage. One thing has nothing to do with the other. But if you fear for the information on your phone before sending it to a technician, try to back it up as indicated above.
Important
When the screen is damaged or does not respond, it is practically impossible to activate USB debugging, an essential requirement to be able to control the phone from the computer. For this reason, before something happens to the display, activate this option and verify that the control from the PC works.
When you first activate USB debugging on your computer, be sure to enable the “Always allow from this computer” option so you don’t have to confirm debugging the next time you connect to your PC, something that would be impossible with a screen that it does not work.