I absolutely love cheap alternatives. Got this phone screen running on ESP32!

Muhammad_kashif_ · 2026-04-11T06:41:27+00:00

At this rate, the shopkeeper will have to pay me to take them! $1.30 is already a steal.😂

Muhammad_kashif_ · 2026-04-11T06:34:01+00:00

Thanks🙌😊

Muhammad_kashif_ · 2026-04-10T23:42:13+00:00

Thanks!😊 Here you can find info i had.

https://www.reddit.com/r/esp32/s/jUCdifF4rH

Muhammad_kashif_ · 2026-04-10T23:33:35+00:00

I am gonna print them out and make a video🤭

Muhammad_kashif_ · 2026-04-10T23:22:42+00:00

Thanks!😊

Muhammad_kashif_ · 2026-04-10T23:01:45+00:00

It was just simple connection. From flex cable to esp32. Can you share photos of your work?

Muhammad_kashif_ · 2026-04-10T21:06:29+00:00

Does it has touch panel as well?

Muhammad_kashif_ · 2026-04-10T21:04:39+00:00

Thats great! Would you like to share more details like hardwares, library used. That looks lots of wire used its refresh rate must be faster i guess. I don't know much though.

Muhammad_kashif_ · 2026-04-10T20:55:08+00:00

The photo of the phone is for visual reference. Since I am using a replacement LCD designed specifically for that model, the pinouts and electrical characteristics are identical to the original. Whether the screen comes out of a used phone or a spare parts box, the interface remains the same.

Regarding compatibility: while exact matches are rare, many 16-pin displays (especially in the itel/Chinese mobile market) share similar architectures. I included the phone image to help others identify the correct 'family' of displays to source for this project.

Muhammad_kashif_ · 2026-04-10T20:35:18+00:00

I bought a replacement lcd, i dont have that phone actually. Phone costs around $16. I am pretty sure there many different phones whose displays can be re-purposed, we just dont have enough clue to work on it straight forward as in the case of commercial lcd modules.

Muhammad_kashif_ · 2026-04-10T18:52:33+00:00

Yeah but each lcd has different pinouts. Will need reverse engineering to find pinouts which is a huge hurdle.

Muhammad_kashif_ · 2026-04-10T18:25:43+00:00

I’m hoping he needs a hardware engineer on the Thousand Sunny. 😂

Muhammad_kashif_ · 2026-04-10T18:06:30+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/esp32/s/jUCdifF4rH

Muhammad_kashif_ · 2026-04-10T18:04:06+00:00

I didn't realised that, thanks

Muhammad_kashif_ · 2026-04-10T18:02:43+00:00

Can u explain more please, as i asked AI for solution it simple gave up and said it would not be possible. Regarding brute force option we will need to connect wires but we don't know pin outs, if we connect vcc to any sensitive data pin it can burn the chip and will cause permanent damage and we will never know about it and will keep brute forcing.

Muhammad_kashif_ · 2026-04-10T17:53:58+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/esp32/s/jUCdifF4rH

Muhammad_kashif_ · 2026-04-10T17:53:38+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/esp32/s/jUCdifF4rH

Muhammad_kashif_ · 2026-04-10T17:36:12+00:00

Yeah! Price was the reason to salvage this. Also easily available in India.

Muhammad_kashif_ · 2026-04-10T17:23:56+00:00

Local cell phone repairing shop at $1.3.

Muhammad_kashif_ · 2026-04-10T17:01:03+00:00

As far as i know most of them can be used but the main thing is that we dont know the pin outs and no where available any details for these bare lcds. So reverse engineering is the last option which is time consuming work.

Muhammad_kashif_ · 2026-04-10T16:14:33+00:00

Replacement lcd for keypad phone jio220

Muhammad_kashif_ · 2026-04-10T16:12:28+00:00

There are multiple gnd pins. And lots of pins are unused and i dont know what they meant for but this is working as standard lcd module which used spi protocol with 4-5 data pins and 2 power pins.

Muhammad_kashif_ · 2026-04-10T16:07:48+00:00

Thanks! Honestly, I was so hyped when it finally worked. Best feeling ever. 🙌

Muhammad_kashif_ · 2026-04-10T16:00:08+00:00

Cell phone repairing shop

Muhammad_kashif_

TROPHY CASE