Galaxy Nexus Rear Housing Replacement

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sn0warmy

Senior Member
Jul 26, 2010
3,392
1,642
Boulder, CO
why cant the white be $14!!!! I am not trying to spend 100$ on that....

Buy it, sand it down with super fine grit sandpaper and paint it whatever color you want with plasti-dip or some similar spray paint.

I'm seriously considering buying a gray housing and spraying it flat black.

I've done this on interior and exterior car parts and computer stuff and if you are careful and spray it like you would paint a car it turns out 100% perfect.
 

sway40

Senior Member
Jul 11, 2009
1,001
245
Houston Tx
I think im fixing to order a replacement non white housing and do just that. Sand it down, paint it with white krylon plastic paint, or what would be the best paint...amy ideas. Im tired of waiting for the verizon version to come out and I can get the white battery door so should look pretty good just painting the housing.

~ Sent from my GNexus on Aokp ~
 

TEK112

Senior Member
Aug 18, 2010
2,180
479
Philadelphia
I think im fixing to order a replacement non white housing and do just that. Sand it down, paint it with white krylon plastic paint, or what would be the best paint...amy ideas. Im tired of waiting for the verizon version to come out and I can get the white battery door so should look pretty good just painting the housing.

~ Sent from my GNexus on Aokp ~

You are probably going to need a hobby airbrush set. The problem with krylon and things like that is that the intial coat will be too thick and make the phone feel weird. It will get indentations and probably start coming off in weird chunks. The model car set includes fine grit sandpaper to scuff the case and the airbrush will put a think coat on it which you can then fine sand, spray with a gloss or protective finish and then sand again. The kits are usually cheap.
 
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Shamrock13

Senior Member
Jun 7, 2010
864
33
PA
So where can I find the i515 housing for cheap? Cheapest I've seen was about $35 where as you can find the GSM version for 15 shipped.

I dropped my phone two nights ago and it has a nice chip in the corner. I want to get rid of it that instantly. :)
 

sway40

Senior Member
Jul 11, 2009
1,001
245
Houston Tx
So where can I find the i515 housing for cheap? Cheapest I've seen was about $35 where as you can find the GSM version for 15 shipped.

I dropped my phone two nights ago and it has a nice chip in the corner. I want to get rid of it that instantly. :)

It's on ebay for 26$ free shipping.

~ Sent from my GNexus on Aokp ~
 

tristan325

Member
Nov 14, 2007
23
0

The GSM i9250 rear housing can be found at the below places:

Link 2 (Perfect fit confirmed in post 195)

I purchased this after reading that it fit well on this thread, but upon installation, i found that the volume rocker does not sit correctly. It remains depressed because the cutaway does not allow enough space for the rocker to fit all the way through. When i tried to turn it on, the buttons remains depressed (forcing the phone into safe mode). You can clearly see that a piece of the plastic should be shaved off more but it was not made correctly. I do not recommend this one from ebay. I'm going to try to get my money back and try the one from parts4repair unless anyone has a better source.
 

stacio88

Senior Member
Sep 3, 2010
797
119
chicago
I purchased this after reading that it fit well on this thread, but upon installation, i found that the volume rocker does not sit correctly. It remains depressed because the cutaway does not allow enough space for the rocker to fit all the way through. When i tried to turn it on, the buttons remains depressed (forcing the phone into safe mode). You can clearly see that a piece of the plastic should be shaved off more but it was not made correctly. I do not recommend this one from ebay. I'm going to try to get my money back and try the one from parts4repair unless anyone has a better source.

I recommend parts4repair. I got one from them and it came with a small scratch on the cornet, I took pictures of it and emailed them. They sent me another housing and I got to keep the first one I received and they fit perfect.

Sent from my white Nexus Prime
 

funkdrools

New member
Jan 13, 2012
1
0
which one is perfect?

i read through the entire thread, but I just wanted to see if anyone could explicitly confirm that the model that the housing parts4repair site has, appears to be OEM, with the power symbol, and no dots on the volume rocker, and no fit issues.
 
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sn0warmy

Senior Member
Jul 26, 2010
3,392
1,642
Boulder, CO
I purchased this after reading that it fit well on this thread, but upon installation, i found that the volume rocker does not sit correctly. It remains depressed because the cutaway does not allow enough space for the rocker to fit all the way through. When i tried to turn it on, the buttons remains depressed (forcing the phone into safe mode). You can clearly see that a piece of the plastic should be shaved off more but it was not made correctly. I do not recommend this one from ebay. I'm going to try to get my money back and try the one from parts4repair unless anyone has a better source.

Thanks, I'll add this to the OP.
 

XterierK

Member
Jun 15, 2010
44
38
I'm trying to find replacement housing for the SPH-L700. Sprint Galaxy Nexus. I thought VZW might be compatible, it is not. I cannot find anything on the web..help?
 

sway40

Senior Member
Jul 11, 2009
1,001
245
Houston Tx
All the galaxy nexus' are different, verizon has a sim card slot where sprint doesn't, and att is totally different.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
 
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jeffwei8

Member
Jan 14, 2012
34
14
Just wanted to let you guys know that I ordered the housing from Link #2 in the op which post #209 reported did not fit properly.

It arrived today and I literally just finished installing it 5 minutes ago.

I had NO problems with the volume rocker not fitting. I tested it out beforehand to see if the volume rocker fits all the way through the cut-out and indeed it DOES.
So contrary to post #209, this one fit perfectly for me and my phone looks brand new again. Total steal for $15 :)

edit: Also wanted to add that this one looks IDENTICAL to stock housing. There are no dimples on the vol rocker and the power button symbol looks just like the original.
 
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malibu_23

Senior Member
May 18, 2007
959
115
Chicago
I'm trying to find replacement housing for the SPH-L700. Sprint Galaxy Nexus. I thought VZW might be compatible, it is not. I cannot find anything on the web..help?

ive been checking ebay daily with no luck on housings, but a few screens pop up here and there...any 1 with any info on sprint housings? L700?
 

daewond3r

Senior Member
Sep 3, 2009
913
220
Los Angeles
Just wanted to let people know...I ordered the middle housing from this seller on eBay. I don't think it's OEM. The edges near the screen are "sharper" than the original housing and have started to chip (still not sure how cause I baby my phone like crazy).

http://www.ebay.com/itm/25103820010...X:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649#ht_3327wt_1398

I think I might order from Link 1 and see if that one feels more like the original OEM case that I cracked.
 

tristan325

Member
Nov 14, 2007
23
0
Just wanted to let you guys know that I ordered the housing from Link #2 in the op which post #209 reported did not fit properly.

It arrived today and I literally just finished installing it 5 minutes ago.

I had NO problems with the volume rocker not fitting. I tested it out beforehand to see if the volume rocker fits all the way through the cut-out and indeed it DOES.
So contrary to post #209, this one fit perfectly for me and my phone looks brand new again. Total steal for $15 :)

edit: Also wanted to add that this one looks IDENTICAL to stock housing. There are no dimples on the vol rocker and the power button symbol looks just like the original.

Maybe i just got a bad one, i don't know. good new is that he refunded my money.
 

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  • 5
    Okay, I ordered this -> http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/260901222...sid=p3984.m1542.l2649&clk_rvr_id=304792461469

    And have installed it. Everything is working perfectly. Although, the two side by side are not identical.

    Heres a few pics:

    Tools which are included and shell:

    DSC_2611.jpg


    Front:

    DSC_2612.jpg


    Back:

    DSC_2613.jpg


    Side by Sides (New Left, old right):

    DSC_2624.jpg


    Old Left, new Right:

    DSC_2622.jpg


    Guts popped:

    DSC_2619.jpg


    Installed:

    DSC_2626.jpg


    DSC_2627.jpg


    DSC_2628.jpg


    DSC_2629.jpg


    DSC_2630.jpg


    DSC_2631.jpg


    Took about five minutes and the damged shell is a thing of the past. All for about £25. :D
    2
    I've started looking around the web to find places that sell the rear housing for the Galaxy Nexus i9250 (GSM version). I'm finding that the rear housing seems to be relatively cheap ($15-20). According to iFixit (step 6), the removal/installation of the rear housing is actually really easy.

    Video tutorial (Thanks to snidrx). Rear housing removal is 1:19 - 1:33:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wC0Wo7a_FqI

    Necessary tools to replace rear housing can be found HERE for $3.50.

    The GSM i9250 rear housing can be found at the below places:

    Link 1 (Perfect fit confirmed in post 79)

    Link 2 (Perfect fit confirmed in post 216)

    Link 3

    Link 4


    The i515 (Verizon version) rear housing can be found at the below place:

    Link 1 (Perfect fit confirmed in post 112 with pics)


    It's been confirmed by superlj in post #86 that the eBay seller cellphone_parts is selling a rear housing for the GSM Galaxy Nexus that is missing key features which make it unusable. BE AWARE!

    ** If you have successfully purchased the rear housing for the i9250 or i515 please chime in and post the link to where you purchased the housing from.**
    2
    I actually just replaced my rear housing an hour or so ago. It took me all of 15 minutes. Remove 6 screws from under the battery cover > separate housing edges from screen area > pry out core. Super simple really. Then just pop the core into the new housing.

    Also, if anyone is looking for the Verizon Gnex housing, I found a seller on eBay that is selling the OEM housing. Its EXACTLY the same inside and out and fits perfectly. Here is what I bought:
    http://r.ebay.com/9iDEYo

    I took a few pictures if anyone wants me to post them as well.
    I just ordered this, some matalic green model paint and some primer. My housing has some good scratches from a drop but they aren't deep so the pan is to put the new housing on as is, then sand and paint the old housing a custom color. I'll let you guys know how it goes
    2
    Sorry about the broken link, ebay shortened it for me.

    I bought a tool kit from iFixIt and used the blue separators to separate the housing edges from the screen and then stuck a few guitar picks in the spaces. Do this all the way around and the phone core just pops right out. It looks exactly like this:
    HkIZkbDMSlMnUa1V.huge
    Then the core just snaps right into the new housing.
    The new housing is ever so slightly darker/more matte than the original one, but I think that might just be due to wear. I actually like it better darker.

    As for the pics, I didn't take any during the actual procedure, just of the parts.

    _DSC0392.jpg


    _DSC0393.jpg


    LEFT = NEW / RIGHT = OLD
    _DSC0395.jpg


    TOP = NEW / BOTTOM = OLD
    _DSC0398.jpg


    _DSC0399%2520%2528edited%2529.jpg
    2
    Are there any tutorials on how the LTE/CDMA variant comes apart? I imagine its similar to the GSM one...

    Also since VZN is releasing the Gnex in white, will the rear housing be different to accommodate the smaller storage? I would kill to have the real housing on my 32 gig :D

    I actually just replaced my rear housing an hour or so ago. It took me all of 15 minutes. Remove 6 screws from under the battery cover > separate housing edges from screen area > pry out core. Super simple really. Then just pop the core into the new housing.

    Also, if anyone is looking for the Verizon Gnex housing, I found a seller on eBay that is selling the OEM housing. Its EXACTLY the same inside and out and fits perfectly. Here is what I bought:
    http://r.ebay.com/9iDEYo

    I took a few pictures if anyone wants me to post them as well.