My experience fixing Xperia PLAY phones.

In addition to the constant influx of iPods and iPhones friends, family, and coworkers bring me to fix, I've taken apart a few different Xperia PLAY phones more times than I can count, so I thought I'd give a few "pro tips" to people who need to know the ins and outs of it. This isn't a disassembly, assembly, or even a repair guide, it's just the stuff I think those guys missed.

First, don't use a heat gun to loosen the adhesive on the front glass + digitizer. The plastic frame wrinkles and melts readily, particularly right under the face buttons.

Second, make sure you transfer as much as possible when you replace the frame. Replacement frames usually do not include the rubber shroud for the proximity sensor and it will not work right without it. I had one phone that seemingly worked fine until the screen protector peeled off while inserting in a pocket and then no amount of clear tape, screen protectors, or Sharpie-marking would fix it. A salvaged rubber shroud fixed it right up. Some replacement frames have a film-backed adhesive for holding it there and some don't. It probably depends on when they were yanked from the manufacturing line, assuming that they are original parts and not replica parts. You also want to make sure you transfer are the inner dust gasket that goes underneath the frame/glass or else things will be filling up with dust quickly. There is no speaker grill and the foam around it does not stop intrusion. A salvaged frame/glass adhesive is likely to allow dust in unless you didn't have to pick much out of it when swapping (usually glass shards). There are also little metallic grounding foam rectangles crammed in the corners that only one replacement frame I've seen has ever included (was probably salvage though listed as "new"). They probably aren't necessary and I've gone long periods without them, but why wonder if a static charge build up is responsible for your erratic touch screen?

Next, be extremely careful separating the glass from the frame. I've managed to crack good ones even going slowly and leaving gaps filled with picks and pry tools. Heat didn't seem to help much and, as mentioned earlier, is discouraged. Cleaning the screen after man-handling it isn't always easy, but don't avoid touching the back side because you will probably need the area to spread the pressure and avoid a crack. I use a levered "mini suction cup" from Harbor Freight on the top side and as many fingers as spread out as I can on the bottom, but the suction cup is near useless on a cracked screen (even tape-coated). I do suggest covering a shattered screen with tape to hold all the bits together but you are still going to have a hard time cleaning the adhesive up. You can always buy a frame with digitizer pre-installed but I know a lot of you want to buy complete replacement housings instead and it's kind of a waste, but at least you don't need to worry about that adhesive (still: don't forget to transfer the other bits!).

The digitizer parts I've salvaged from phones had higher version numbers than the ones I've seen sold as replacement parts and seemed to be more erratic so I prefer salvaged ones. There can be other problems as well. The flat flex cable from the digitizer is supposed to have an adhesive backing that holds it still where it connects to the tiny cable from the earpiece. Replacements often do not have it, which is yet ANOTHER reason to prefer salvage parts. It may not seem like such a big deal considering that there is a black plastic piece screwed down over it to protect it from getting caught in the mechanism, but the connector does not hold on very well and the phone will not boot if it is slightly out of alignment. If you reassemble it and just get a buzz from the vibration motor with no display and no other sign of booting, check this connection (same thing if the digitizer suddenly stops registering touch). Even a small drop/impact will cause it to happen again, so I recommend securing it with precisely cut tape or hot glue (stay clear of the sliding rails).

Now, keep it clean while you work or you will be staring at that contaminate or thumbprint for a long time. I usually wear fresh latex gloves when working on the glass but it doesn't do much good if you keep transferring oils from the rest of the phone. Wash your hands right before you start and clean the outside of the phone. Before you begin, try just touch a used dish soap dispenser with a damp thumb and run all along to screen except the buttons and earpiece. Do it again with just the damp thumb (dilutes the soap that remained from the first pass) and wipe it with a clean lint-free cloth. Your own clean and dry fingertips/palm should readily absorb any remaining streaks/oils. Be sure to wipe down the rest of the phone too and don't transfer it back to the glass. Once inside I use layer after layer of clear tape to lift gunk from the earpiece (no mesh, remember?). Put on new gloves before you start handling the glass after disassembly, even if you were wearing some for disassembly. To clean the back of the glass I put the adhesive between wax paper while I clean using lint-free cloths, 90+% alcohol, and acetone. For the LCD, use tape to lift most contaminates and resort to alcohol + lint-free cloth if that doesn't work. It doesn't need to be too perfect, especially if scratched from cracked glass. Most imperfections only show when it's off.

Hot glue is great for removing adhesive screw covers without showing pick marks or other signs of tampering but you have to make sure to leave an edge exposed so that you aren't just picking it out of the glue instead. I've been getting mine off cleanly without any tricks like this but it came in handy when I was first disassembling one and there weren't any guides to tell me that there weren't screws under the large silver strip (just covers rivets or injections mold points, IIRC). It's also good for sealing off water sensors, like the one you see through a hole under the battery door. There's another one by the contacts on the battery itself, one by the microphone under the gamepad, and one in the opposite corner under the PS Certified logo. I had an AT&T rep tell me that a brand new phone had a tripped water sensor (LIES!) so I would look for ways to do this with most any new phone.

I can't count how many times I've left the power button out while reassembling. It's not usually that I forgot: It's that it falls out while snapping the back on. I've left the face buttons out a few times too.

My first one had the cable folded wrong after reassembly. It still worked fine for a couple years but did eventually require replacement. Once it folds wrong it'll probably stay that way even after correct reassembly (like mine did). Do not try to attach it to the main PCB using a spudger, butterknife, or whatever to awkwardly push the connector down with everything pulled apart. The only thing you need to do is to slide the cable into the phone's closed position, align the plastic posts on the connector with the corresponding holes on the PCB, and then push down on the PCB until it snaps. I'm sure I tried this first back then but chickened out because the connector didn't snap very easily but that is how you are supposed to do it.

Before I talk about the replacing the slide cable, I want to express my annoyance at all the eBay/YouTube/iFixIt.com people who call it a "flex cable." I don't like the term flex cable because generally ALL cables should be flexible and that doesn't distinguish what it is well enough for people looking for the part. Technically, it's a flat cable or a slide cable, though I wouldn't object to it being called a flex PCB (flex PCBs usually have components other than just connectors like a rigid printed circuit board would). "Flex cable" is silly, redundant, and does not describe anything more specific than just "cable." To complicate matters, there are several actual flex PCBs in this phone to distinguish from when ordering the part. Why did so many people start calling flex PCBs "flex cables" in the first place?! In our case the sliding portion is a *flat* cable, so I can see where "cable" was introduced from, but people say "flex cable" for any flat cable made like a flex PCB these days whether fixed or sliding. At least you know now that you are probably going to have to use the incorrect terminology to find what you want online and sift through many useless results.

*whew*

Now, slide cable replacement is easier than it would seem but intact removal isn't and brand new replacements can be defective. It was a troubleshooting nightmare when I encountered a defective one because I replaced the LCD and glass + digitizer at the same time and suspected/checked everything else first, even taking apart my personal phone multiple times to test parts. The plastic part of the connector on the PCB end must be transferred to the new cable and the old one will not reliably stick back down to it even if you did not contaminate the adhesive. I successfully transferred a cable from a water-damaged phone to my personal phone before fixing up the water-damaged donor phone with a new one, so the adhesive on the salvaged part was weak and I didn't realize how hard it was to remove intact until later. When separating the defective new one there was seemingly no place to pry on one end other than underneath the part where the earpiece/camera connector was located. This broke the side of the connector that holds the locking flap though I was still able to use/lock it. I claimed warranty on the defective part anyway because the connector was not needed for proving the cable was defective (a functional cable works with that connector populated or not). This new part was slightly different from those found originally installed in the phone (different colored plastic connectors and such). The second new one I ordered from elsewhere had double-sided adhesive down the middle, a foil quality control sticker, and the same odd connector colors. I didn't think there was a market for replica parts on this phone but it does seem like more than simple factory revisions. Anyway, removing it involves removing metallic tape then lifting a plate that is still adhered underneath with amber-colored Kapton tape. You can see it from the slide mechanism below. I pinch the plate from above and below with two fingers and lift, gradually peeling the tape which I then fold inside and secure to avoid contaminating the adhesive. The cable has a plastic band across it that fits between fingers on this plate. When secured, this isolates the end with multiple connectors from the movement of the sliding portion, so make sure this is in place when reinstalling. It may be best to avoid removing the adhesive backing paper until after the plate and cable are securely taped back down with both the Kapton and metallic tape while the fingers are holding it in position. If you stick it down first and then secure the plate you may find it slightly too long or short to position inside the plate when securing it all back down. To thread the main connector through the slide board opening it may seem that it will only fit by folding the cable but DON'T! Coil it. Without flattening it, bend the connector 90-degrees over from the cable path and then adjust the angle until you have a coil-shape that you can work through with the connector sideways.

I ordered a "no useable parts" dummy phone just for the heck of it and, other than the Sony Ericsson logo on the fake battery door and maybe the stickers that cover the screws, they really don't have any salvageable parts. You can't swap any buttons, keys, springs, covers, etc into a real phone. The closest would be the face buttons. They will fit in a real phone, but they are too tall and put constant pressure on the PCB switches causing unintended key-presses (especially back and search buttons). The extra height easily protrudes out the top and is not the issue so filing them down vertically won't fix anything. I snipped some excess rubber to more closely match the design of the original buttons but it didn't help. I unscrewed the screw in the corner under the search key and unsnapped the bottom edge of the frame from the back/slide board and they work great until the phone inevitably snaps back together. I'd say they felt better then the original with the extra height (I can't stand how close they are to the screen). It's tolerable with ICS/JB's Navigation Bar (on-screen key functions), but I would rather salvage real buttons or pay too much for the eBay ones ($10-$20; very uncommon part; always sold with crap you probably don't need).

I have yet to find a replacement battery door that includes the rubber trim around the speakers and the foam piece surrounding the rear/noise-canceling microphone. I've ordered a few auctions that show them in the pictures but they always arrive bare. You can transfer them with a razor but it likely won't be perfect. Without them the speaker audio will probably echo around inside the battery compartment and make its way into the mic, though people usually don't notice it. Painting on some Plasti-Dip might do the trick, so try that if it bothers you.

Unlike an iPhone with a million different screws, you don't have to keep track of what goes where and everything is easily accessible. Bare minimum to take it all apart: Some fingernails, a T5 or T6 (pick one) and a PH0, 00, or 000 Phillips (pick one). There don't seem to be any tamper/warranty seals and the only concealed screws are the two obvious ones underneath metallic cover stickers on the display/slide board. There are no screws under tape or labels and no water sensors covering them either. All 6 Phillips screws are the same size but you'll likely want to keep the two with adhesive in their original holes to re-use the covers (adhesive usually remains on the screw instead of the cover). There are only two different Torx screw types but it's obvious what goes where (6 stubby flat ones on the top and bottom, 7 long thin ones around the battery area).

There are bits and bobs taped to and embedded in the rear housing including antenna/RF stuff, some more obvious that others. I've compared and the R800x is very different from the R800at even though the plastic frame looks really similar (R800x has a blocked SIM slot, of course). IMO, any housing swap should be limited to the front frame, the gamepad, and the battery door (only colored parts anyway). If you nicked your chrome, hopefully it was on a button or something that can be swapped (springs are a pain). It may be possible to transfer everything but I wouldn't trust it after all the peeling and picking. The one report I've seen of someone transferring between a GSM/CDMA models seems blissfully unaware of the metal wire behind the volume keys on the CDMA model that isn't there on GSM (at least it's not there on my R800at GSM).

That's all my advice for now. If you are having any trouble, let me know.