UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES ARE YOU PERMITTED TO REPOST ANY IMAGES OR TEXT FROM THIS GUIDE, DIGITALLY OR OTHERWISE, WITHOUT MY WRITTEN CONSENT.
I can only offer limited advice as I currently do not have an LCD. That said, I have a better understanding of the layout of the board now.
I have had several messages asking 'Where can I buy this part?' Unless it is already posted in this thread, I do not know where you can buy it.
Possible parts sellers: (I cannot confirm details are correct. Purchase at your own risk!)
LCD: http://s.taobao.com/search?q=fpc-a50...l-b&rsclick=13
An EXPERIMENTAL antenna guide can be found in this post: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=46020544&postcount=61
Results of this here: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=46309271&postcount=68
I'm in the UK, using the O2 network so I do not know how it will affect US networks as they use a different frequency.
This guide is currently incomplete and will be updated as progress is made. Thanks to @henrykins111 and @PerisH-es for the helpful information.
Please note: This will void your warranty. I do not accept responsibility for this or any data loss or damage that may occur directly or indirectly as a result of attempting to follow any of the steps in this guide. Please take care and follow these steps at your own risk.
Tools required for the disassembly:
- Small (2-3mm?) Phillips head screwdriver
- Plastic pry tool or thin guitar plectrum.
Firstly, remove the back case, battery, microSD card and SIM card. Put these safely to one side.
Remove the 9 screws that surround the edges of the back of the phone. Put these in a small box or something, I've lost countless screws by just leaving them on the side.
Insert the plectrum (or pry tool) between the chrome and the brushed style sections of the phone. Take care not to use too much force or push the plectrum in too far as this could damage some of the ribbon cables, situated mostly towards the top of the phone.
You'll be left with two parts. The grey piece you just removed will have the ribbon antennas for wifi and cellular signal attached, as well as the loudspeaker and the camera lens and flash diffuser. The board is now also exposed.
To remove the camera, using the plectrum to carefully unplug the ribbon cable. The main camera unit can then be lifted out, but be aware that it is held down by some tape so be aware that a small amount of force may be required.
Now using the same method unplug the small black ribbon cable that is attached to the SIM and microSD card slots.
The card slots are held in with a little glue, and these can now be removed.
To remove the board, first undo the 2 screws located in opposite corners that hold it down. Make a note of their location as it is easy to confuse which holes to put them in. Then, remove this small strip of tape, being VERY careful not to tear the ribbon cables beneath.
Using the plectrum, you can now remove these. The bottom cable is a data cable that links to the bottom board and the top cable is the screen cable (I think - not sure)
Just above the socket for the SIM and microSD card slots is another socket. This has a small, black, hinged plastic tab that you must lift until it is 90degrees to the board. You can then slowly slide out the ribbon cable from the socket. Underneath this cable is another plug type socket. Unplug this.
Another antenna cable can now be removed. This can be quite stiff but be very careful not to dent the metal on the connections and also be aware that it is possible to pull the socket itself from the board.
After unplugging another small ribbon cable located on the top edge of the phone, the board can now be lifted. Lift the board as smoothly as possible, making sure to not tear any of the ribbon cables.
To remove the first infrared sensor and light sensor, simply pull it vertically out from the casing of the phone.
Just underneath the top of the headphone jack is a small indent in the white plastic. Use this to remove the headphone jack, but be careful not to apply to much force as joined by another thin ribbon cable is the LED and second infrared sensor. This may take some slight wriggling to remove as it is all held in with a small amount of glue.
Unplug the ribbon cable from the bottom left hand side of the board.
The other end of the metal antenna cable can now be unplugged. being careful of the components underneath and the round thing (microphone?) the board should now only be held in by a couple of strips of tape and a little glue.
The other side of the bottom board. This helps explain a few things. The round object connected via the wires appears to be the vibration motor. There are no numbers or letters written on it. Those of you having problems, it may simply be a broken connection on this wire, so it's worth checking.
The microphone is the small surface mounted silver box located next to the solder points for the wires.
The LCD/digitizer/glass assembly is now held in with a little glue. Use the plectrum to remove the screen. If it's stubborn, gently heat with a heat gun or hair dryer on low heat in a circular motion over the device. You may need to apply a small amount of pressure to the back of the LCD, where the battery would normally be. There is a risk of breaking it if you do this, but this won't matter if you're replacing it anyway.
NOTE: The LCD cables will not fit through the slot they are in without removing the small black divider to the right hand side of the slot, where the top speaker would be.
!Potentially important information!
As I broke the LCD I thought I would have a go at separating the LCD from the digitizer/glass. Turns out it is possible BUT almost impossible to do without breaking the LCD.
If your LCD is broken but your glass/digitizer is fine, then you could try removing it. The LCD is glued to the glass only around the edge. To remove it, you simply have to pull the LCD from the glue. Before you do this, be ABSOLUTELY sure that you are only pulling the LCD off and not the digitizer. The easiest way to check is to remove the LCD from the top down, as here you can use the ribbon cable as a reference to which layer is the digitizer. Picture of this to come.
As mentioned by @henrykins111, gently heating the screen and using a thin metal spudger or xacto knife will really help with this.
I can only offer limited advice as I currently do not have an LCD. That said, I have a better understanding of the layout of the board now.
I have had several messages asking 'Where can I buy this part?' Unless it is already posted in this thread, I do not know where you can buy it.
Possible parts sellers: (I cannot confirm details are correct. Purchase at your own risk!)
LCD: http://s.taobao.com/search?q=fpc-a50...l-b&rsclick=13
An EXPERIMENTAL antenna guide can be found in this post: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=46020544&postcount=61
Results of this here: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=46309271&postcount=68
I'm in the UK, using the O2 network so I do not know how it will affect US networks as they use a different frequency.
This guide is currently incomplete and will be updated as progress is made. Thanks to @henrykins111 and @PerisH-es for the helpful information.
Please note: This will void your warranty. I do not accept responsibility for this or any data loss or damage that may occur directly or indirectly as a result of attempting to follow any of the steps in this guide. Please take care and follow these steps at your own risk.
Tools required for the disassembly:
- Small (2-3mm?) Phillips head screwdriver
- Plastic pry tool or thin guitar plectrum.
Firstly, remove the back case, battery, microSD card and SIM card. Put these safely to one side.
Remove the 9 screws that surround the edges of the back of the phone. Put these in a small box or something, I've lost countless screws by just leaving them on the side.
Insert the plectrum (or pry tool) between the chrome and the brushed style sections of the phone. Take care not to use too much force or push the plectrum in too far as this could damage some of the ribbon cables, situated mostly towards the top of the phone.
You'll be left with two parts. The grey piece you just removed will have the ribbon antennas for wifi and cellular signal attached, as well as the loudspeaker and the camera lens and flash diffuser. The board is now also exposed.
To remove the camera, using the plectrum to carefully unplug the ribbon cable. The main camera unit can then be lifted out, but be aware that it is held down by some tape so be aware that a small amount of force may be required.
Now using the same method unplug the small black ribbon cable that is attached to the SIM and microSD card slots.
The card slots are held in with a little glue, and these can now be removed.
To remove the board, first undo the 2 screws located in opposite corners that hold it down. Make a note of their location as it is easy to confuse which holes to put them in. Then, remove this small strip of tape, being VERY careful not to tear the ribbon cables beneath.
Using the plectrum, you can now remove these. The bottom cable is a data cable that links to the bottom board and the top cable is the screen cable (I think - not sure)
Just above the socket for the SIM and microSD card slots is another socket. This has a small, black, hinged plastic tab that you must lift until it is 90degrees to the board. You can then slowly slide out the ribbon cable from the socket. Underneath this cable is another plug type socket. Unplug this.
Another antenna cable can now be removed. This can be quite stiff but be very careful not to dent the metal on the connections and also be aware that it is possible to pull the socket itself from the board.
After unplugging another small ribbon cable located on the top edge of the phone, the board can now be lifted. Lift the board as smoothly as possible, making sure to not tear any of the ribbon cables.
To remove the first infrared sensor and light sensor, simply pull it vertically out from the casing of the phone.
Just underneath the top of the headphone jack is a small indent in the white plastic. Use this to remove the headphone jack, but be careful not to apply to much force as joined by another thin ribbon cable is the LED and second infrared sensor. This may take some slight wriggling to remove as it is all held in with a small amount of glue.
Unplug the ribbon cable from the bottom left hand side of the board.
The other end of the metal antenna cable can now be unplugged. being careful of the components underneath and the round thing (microphone?) the board should now only be held in by a couple of strips of tape and a little glue.
The other side of the bottom board. This helps explain a few things. The round object connected via the wires appears to be the vibration motor. There are no numbers or letters written on it. Those of you having problems, it may simply be a broken connection on this wire, so it's worth checking.
The microphone is the small surface mounted silver box located next to the solder points for the wires.
The LCD/digitizer/glass assembly is now held in with a little glue. Use the plectrum to remove the screen. If it's stubborn, gently heat with a heat gun or hair dryer on low heat in a circular motion over the device. You may need to apply a small amount of pressure to the back of the LCD, where the battery would normally be. There is a risk of breaking it if you do this, but this won't matter if you're replacing it anyway.
NOTE: The LCD cables will not fit through the slot they are in without removing the small black divider to the right hand side of the slot, where the top speaker would be.
!Potentially important information!
As I broke the LCD I thought I would have a go at separating the LCD from the digitizer/glass. Turns out it is possible BUT almost impossible to do without breaking the LCD.
If your LCD is broken but your glass/digitizer is fine, then you could try removing it. The LCD is glued to the glass only around the edge. To remove it, you simply have to pull the LCD from the glue. Before you do this, be ABSOLUTELY sure that you are only pulling the LCD off and not the digitizer. The easiest way to check is to remove the LCD from the top down, as here you can use the ribbon cable as a reference to which layer is the digitizer. Picture of this to come.
As mentioned by @henrykins111, gently heating the screen and using a thin metal spudger or xacto knife will really help with this.
Last edited:
