u/eric_gm

So after this happened: https://www.reddit.com/r/iPhone13Pro/s/ab6xAktPPf

I had the “IC fix” done to the screen and it was back to working again in a few minutes.

Now we’ll see how long it lasts. Of course a full screen replacement is the proper fix but at ~$400 it just doesn’t make sense when my trusty 13 Pro is just a secondary device at this point. This workaround is around $100.

I’ll keep you posted if it fails again but hopefully it stays alive for many more years.

Bonus shot of the battery health with its still original battery, never replaced.

Last night I saw a few white flashes and then all green. Never recovered. This is a launch day 13 Pro always owned by me and always babied. I always thought the green screen issue was overblown. I guess it does happen.

Apparently some shops can repair the damaged trace on the screen flex cable so I’ll attempt that first.

So sad to see my beloved 13 in this state.

UPDATE: It's alive, boys! https://www.reddit.com/r/iPhone13Pro/s/HDXfGrxTqz

As the title says. I own a very old 1978 Toyota which nowadays I drive mostly to car shows and road trips with fellow club members.

It has a ~15 year old Pioneer head unit with Bluetooth and a pretty comprehensive set of DSP settings (LPF, HPF, time alignment, great EQ, etc.). This was back when Pioneer was still producing good stuff. The head unit doesn't look anywhere near period correct but it sounds great. Speakers are Infinity components, with a powered Infinity sub and a small amp and lots of sound deadening. It's nowhere near audiophile quality but considering the car's limitations, it's pretty good.

My other cars are all CarPlay enabled and one thing that has gotten old real quick is using a phone holder, with the phone screen always on (you can see the mount stuck to the windshield). It especially ruins the looks of an old car like this. Maps with traffic is terribly necessary where I live, it's a non-negotiable.

So I'm faced with the decision of replacing the Pioneer with something like the PowerAcoustik CP-71W(A/K) which for being a PowerAcoustik has relatively good reviews, looks a bit more anonymous when off and has wireless CarPlay. I would lose most of the DSP settings with it only having an EQ.

Would you replace it? I do enjoy not having any screens in a car, but realistically, I almost always have to mount the phone up there so I can't pretend I can go back to the 70's every time I drive it.

Like it happens to most 5th gen owners, the backup camera either dies completely or slowly becomes hazy until it's essentially useless/dangerous (you can see how it looks here). An OEM replacement costs anywhere between $300 to $500 which is insane. I put a generic one in for like $25 which is far from perfect but does its job.

So I wanted to inspect the old camera mostly to understand what fails. Bear in mind these things are NOT serviceable, everything is glued together or friction mounted so the moment you try to take things apart, be clear you won't be reusing the camera.

Picture #1 shows the circuit board with the camera sensor right in the middle (the tiny rectangle), the back of the housing with a thermal pad, the lens gasket, outer lens element and the front of the housing with the middle lens elements.

Picture #2 shows the same parts flipped so you can see the other sides.

Picture #3 is what I believe to be the problem, the middle lens. My suspicion is that very fine dust, moisture and other contaminants find their way through the rubber gasket and get sandwiched between the lens elements. As time goes on, it degrades image quality until you can't see a damn thing. There's a computer keyboard on the other side of the lens. If you zoom in you can see how blurry it looks and the lack of contrast. The sensor seems to be perfect as well as the outer lens.

So chalk it up to Ford for not sealing up the camera properly. If you buy a replacement, it will happen again as it's clear from the part numbers that the camera hasn't been revised (Edit: there may be a change to the camera as they went from GB5T-19G490-AB to GB5T-19G490-AE, denoting at least 3 revisions to the part). Mine was an "AB". If you want to buy a used one, try to find the latest "AE" version.

It's a shame Ford didn't use screws here, otherwise you could just take the factory camera apart, buy a Chinese clone and simply swap the lenses while retaining the original sensor.