Defy housing sucks water resistant reassembling almost impossible

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x53

Senior Member
May 8, 2013
126
90
Yesterday I tried to change the housing of my defy. After watching some disassembling videos I started. Conclusion: To get the Defy water resistant after the intervention is an illusion. First most of the plastic screw noses were broken. They are really too fragile for a phone which will fit the IP67 standard. For replacing them you have to change the whole front housing. But with changing it you either have to buy a front housing together with the touch screen or you have to replace the touch screen which means you have to glue booth parts (front housing with touch screen) together!
Second the screws are a shame the reusing of them is a gambling game moreover they are setscrews within plastic. Screw heads wear out really fast because to soft material.
In the third place most of the parts are firmly connected with the housing, eg. the LED light, a few seals, some sheet metals, etc. Most of them you have to inherit to the new housing because of the lack within the new housing. With that in mind water resistance is gone, too.
Conclusing: The Motoroly Defy is a disposable device. The repair is too expensive (not even in money) and water resistance isn't guaranteed either. So buying a new phone or a barely used one is far easier than to try a repair of the old one. Too bad, but thats the way of market economy.
 
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shade0723

Senior Member
Nov 5, 2007
67
13
Galati
the front housing is indeed too expensive to be worth replacing. they replaced mine on warranty after i purposely damaged the touchscreen from the inside without leaving any trace. the rest of the housing is very cheap. about the side screw ears they are indeed too fragile and you may need to reinforce them from the inside by supergluing some paper that acts as fiber and then carefully sandpaper the excess so you can mount it back. you must lubricate the pink rubber seal from the inside with a little silicone oil to make it adhere better to the middle housing. also you have to lube the seal from the back cover to make it regain its elasticity. the lock from the back cover also has to be tighten by pressing with a heated spoon on its solder point. the usb seal usually gets too loose and cannot be fixed without replacing the whole middle housing.
i did all of this to experiment with it but the truth is this is too troublesome for most people and not worth the time or money.
 

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    Yesterday I tried to change the housing of my defy. After watching some disassembling videos I started. Conclusion: To get the Defy water resistant after the intervention is an illusion. First most of the plastic screw noses were broken. They are really too fragile for a phone which will fit the IP67 standard. For replacing them you have to change the whole front housing. But with changing it you either have to buy a front housing together with the touch screen or you have to replace the touch screen which means you have to glue booth parts (front housing with touch screen) together!
    Second the screws are a shame the reusing of them is a gambling game moreover they are setscrews within plastic. Screw heads wear out really fast because to soft material.
    In the third place most of the parts are firmly connected with the housing, eg. the LED light, a few seals, some sheet metals, etc. Most of them you have to inherit to the new housing because of the lack within the new housing. With that in mind water resistance is gone, too.
    Conclusing: The Motoroly Defy is a disposable device. The repair is too expensive (not even in money) and water resistance isn't guaranteed either. So buying a new phone or a barely used one is far easier than to try a repair of the old one. Too bad, but thats the way of market economy.