Skip to content

1. Disassmbly

Jeff Chen edited this page Jul 23, 2022 · 18 revisions

⚠️⚠️⚠️DO NOT attempt to disassemble the buttom half⚠️⚠️⚠️
⚠️⚠️⚠️before the top cover on the screen portion is removed!⚠️⚠️⚠️

Screen Portion

Screws

Tops Screws

First, let's take out the rubber covers to get access to the top screws.

Dab some isopropyl alcohol (IPA) into the seam around the rubber to soften the adhesive under it. Wait a few seconds, then use something pointy to stab into the side of the rubber cover and lift it out.

Then, undo the screws.


Speaker Screws

⚠️⚠️⚠️Do NOT try to remove these grill pieces with heat.⚠️⚠️⚠️
⚠️⚠️⚠️The plastic piece will shrink and/or crack under heat.⚠️⚠️⚠️

Apply some IPA on top of the speaker grill and wait. Then use a thin blade to gently lift the white part away from the black mesh underneath.

⚠️⚠️⚠️DO NOT bend the white plastic piece too much as it tends to crack and snap.⚠️⚠️⚠️

Note the screw is just below the black mesh, but focus on completely removing the white plastic piece first.

Add a bit more IPA to the corners of the black mesh to soften the adhesive. Only peel away just enough area so you can undo the screws.

Try not to touch the underside of the black mesh with greasy fingers. The adhesive can become potent again after the IPA dries up, if not contaminated. You can de-grease your fingers with the IPA.

Repeat this process on the other side as well.


Clips

Now moving onto the clips. The location of the clips are as shown in this photo:

Note the one on top does not need undoing.

Bottom Clips

Focus on the bottom clips first.

For the clips on the two sides, insert a guitar pick or something very thin from this spot, going upwards - ⚠️⚠️⚠️NOT inwards⚠️⚠️⚠️ - then slide to the right side, to undo this clip.

Repeat on the other side.

The two middle clips are located like this. Use the same technique to open these clips.

Side Clips

Moving onto the clips on the two sides of the screen.

Insert the thin tool upwards from the crack and slide to the right and undo the clip.

Repeat on the opposite side of the screen.

The top clip does not require undoing as the top cover should be removable already with all the rest of the clips undone.

PCB removal

To remove the PCB, remove the plug on the upper right corner of the photo by carefully pulling by the white plastic body.

With your fingernail or something thin, undo the brown flap on the ribbon cable connector and pull the flex cable loose by pulling on the brown translucent tab.

(Don't forget to thread this flex cable through the hole on the PCB when reinstalling the PCB!)

Then, undo the 5 screws.

The PCB should flip back out now.

Be careful that the entire screen & backlight assembly box is free and can flip out and fall.

Try to set the screen at half-open or less to prevent that surprise.

To completely disconnect the PCB (not very necessary to normal repairs), undo the indicated plugs and the PCB will be freed.


Connector Hub

The lower part with all the connectors can ONLY be disassembled AFTER the top cover is removed.

⚠️⚠️⚠️DO NOT attempt to disassemble this before the top cover is removed!⚠️⚠️⚠️

It's only held together with 3 screws. Undo them and you should be able to remove the cover from the back by wiggling it.

Re-apply The Speaker Grills

The removal of the speaker grill is irreversible. But with the help of some phone screen adhesive from 3M, it will be quite unnoticeable.

Cut and apply the adhesive like this.

Peel away the backing with a blade without contaminating with your fingers.

Press the grill on firmly. That's it.

You simply cannot tell!

3D-Printed Speaker Grills

Just in case your speaker grills are missing or broken, I have designed some 3D-Printed replacements. There are a couple of FDM-friendly versions, and a version that resembles the original one but only printable with a resin printer.

You can find them on Printables.

Clone this wiki locally