Database Develop

is this housing a rip-off?

is this housing http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260453968402&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:US:1123 a FURTHER rip-off in quality as the OEM found here http://cgi.ebay.com/OEM-SONY-ERICSS...ries?hash=item2ea6dd8d1e&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14
i want to buy a new housing but i don't wanna buy one with less quality than the original
what are your thoughts on the pics there?

Judging by the pics both fascias seem identical. Although don't know why this big pricing difference. Maybe the first auction is for a replica housing? Don't have large pics as the second auction so we can tell for sure.
Also, at CNN http://cnn.cn/shop/sonyericsson-xperia-c-28_638.html the housings are pricey. For me go for the second auction or buy from CNN, you will be 100% sure that the housing is the OEM.

yeah i was looking at the $24.00 on ebay too... someone should buy it and tell me how it is

i think im gonna let this pass and sell my x1 as it is, im thinking of leaning towards the touch diamond 2 i will miss my keyboard but what the heck

Yo!
I ordered the $24.00 last week... When I receive the housing parts, I will take pictures and spread the message....
Fingers crossed......

Damn the cracks....Its a pity to sacrifice a gd device just now that some gd new things are coming....senseUI....Leo...sure it'll come for d2 too.....but no KeyBoard there.....I have ur very same problem...but I'll try the case !!

Received the housings yesterday.
They're certainly not OEM (maybe the backcover is, the rest not). The outside looks quite nice finished, the set is quite complete (with some tools for the fitting). From the two sets I ordered, one has a large gluestain on the top part of the housing (below the LCD). This gluestain damaged the paint. So I decided to start transferring the phone in the other housing.
After dissecting the phone I started with the assembly of the screen part. The speaker fitted not quite nice, so took some feddling to get mounted. At last it fitted (the print on top of the speaker fitted just). Closing the top part of the housing was a mess. The snap-locks didn't snap (partly) and on one side the housing did not flush fit. The (original) screws did not fit in the thread bushings.... With some fiddling I sort of managed to fit them. Then on with the bottom part. The new chrome buttons do not fit in the new chrome housing part.......
This is were I give up for yesterday. I think I'm going to rebuild the old housing en give up on the new one....
So.....
Decide for yourself if it's worth the trouble.... The housing looks quit neat (not as good as OEM though) but the fitment process is quite troublesome. Delivery was fast and the package is complete (including self-adhesive rubber for screen and speaker fitment). I will get in touch with the guy from Ebay with my findings.... Maybe I'm doing something wrong....
Will post some pictures tomorrow or something....

thnx ur comments were of gr8 benefit to me.....will be gladly w8ing for the pics !

thnx, ur comment were of gr8 benefit to me.....will be gladly w8ing for the pics !

thnx dude, im waiting on mine to be delivered,

looking forward for more reactions...
@Fliptil
From a scale from 0-10, how hard was it to do?
Before starting myself, I want to know if i'm capable of doing this.
To be honest, I know how to fix stuff, but don't know if I can do this trick..
Thanks for sharing anyway

Does anybody know, where i can buy a non branded battery cover for my sliver x1?
It is branded with T-Mobile, but i would like to have it blank or non-branded.
An original one is 25 € in ebay Germany. That's too much. So a cheap one would be fine.
Thanks in advice for all tips!
Best regards
Jog

ebay dude, i purchased one 2 weeks ago for about 10 GBP
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170363212269

OK guys....
I managed to revive the Xperia tonight.... It has become a hybrid with the metal (original) front and black backside. The middle part is also left original. So the only part I ended up exchanging has been the back cover.
First of all; kudo's to HTC for making the Xperia somewhat sturdy (at least the inside is...). The amount of mechanical havoc tha has been put through the innards of the phone are substantial... And still everything functions!!
After the initial assembly attempt a few weeks ago, I was sure that I had wrecked my phone trying to assemble it with the new housing. Some parts did not fit really well, and the (original) screws did not quite fit the (new) threaded bushings. Halfway through the assembly process I ran into the new chrome buttons not fitting in the new chrome middle part and I gave up on assembly for the time being. After recharging myself for a couple of weeks I forced myself to take up the task of finishing the assembly of the phone tonight...
First I had to disassemble the phone (I was halfway assembling it...) again. I decided to use the original front (had some scratch damage and a very small crack) to surpass the not-fitting thread bushings in the new part. This was a problem... One of the screws had settled in the not-fitting thread bushing and decided to not unscrew, but turn the bushing in the plastic instead. After trying careful and not damaging anything for some time I decided it was time for the hobby knife and screwdriver (as crowbar...). The new front cover did not survive this operation. The screw and the innards of the phone did however!! Reassembly using the old front cover was quite easy, as was reassembly of the back using the original middle part. In the new back part was the thread bushing missing for fixation of the speaker... I used the not-fitting bushing from the front cover as bushing for the speaker fixation. Off course after I made the bushing fitting by forcing the screw in the bushing using a sturdy screwdriver and a set of pliers. This bushing was hammered (carefully...) into the location where the bushing should have been.... This sort of worked. The new back cover does not fit as neat into the original middle part as the original back cover, but it did fit (with some force). The plastic lip that fixes the SIM card was a bit to long, so I had to cut of 0,5mm to make it fit the SIM card. And last but not least only one of the two new battery covers was able to get a grip on the phone...
Then came the thrilling moment to switch on the phone.... Everything worked as if nothing had happened!! So end good all good; I have a phone that looks quite neat (part brushed metal - part black) and functions.
If it was worth the hassle... I doubt it... When you've got a phone that is in pieces and you want spare parts to repair it (as cheap as possible and you like some hobbying) then go ahead and buy this housing. If you want a phone that looks as good as new (and you don't want to risk a heart attack or nervous break down) then I guess you're better off leaving this housing as it is.... For a phone that's worth a few hundred bucks I think this housing is not OK. For a scrapheap phone that needs revitalisation for a small amount of money than it's OK.... If I had to do it all again I think I would have gone for an OEM housing.... After all, I'm happy that my phone functions again so I can leave the TYTN at home. I was to stubborn to buy another housing...
This has become quite a story, hope it will be of any help to somebody. Now I must see if I can post some images....
Grreetz,
Ronald

Some pictures.... try if it works....

Hmm i've dropped my poor x1 on the concrete sidewalk as i got out of my car.
Amazingly it must be good quality because there are a only a couple of scratches on the front and some damage on the rubber around where the
stylus is, but otherwise everything works and is functional.
What this experience did, was got me lookin for spare parts in case I'd
ever need them. As a result I ordered from the same person on eBay 2 days ago
and I just now found this post. Needless to say, I'm damn scared that I've
wasted the money. You tried to fit the black parts on a silver X1, and mine is black,
so I'm crossing my fingers that for some unknown odd fantastical reason, it fits better on the black version. Also may ask whether your model is an x1i or x1a?
I'm guessing b/c its silver its an x1i but u can nvr be to sure. As for me, mine is
a black x1a. I'll post back if i have any updates.

Hi Nick.
I've got a X1i, as you had already guessed.... The mixing of the parts is also a bit of a risk.... The chrome middle part (original) has suffered some damages during my disassembly actions to start with... And has developed some new cracks in the use as a hybrid. Maybe I've overtightened some screws, or maybe the bottom part does not fit well enough so it develops to much tension I don't know...
I've decided to use the X1 till it dies, and to buy something else (no slide keyboard) a little bit more sturdy when it does. I am not going to do any repairwork on it. The design is simply flawed, I have had it repaired at SE once, when it came back it was broken again within two months. These stories can be found al over the internet, so I am not going to repair it again (just to get it broken again). I am not careful enough for a phone like this (however, my colleague also has a X1 that's broken and he is very careful...) I guess.
Just my two cents.

thanks fliptil I'll keep those things in mind.
Before i dropped my x1 for the first time. There was some kind of defect in the silver middle part. At first it was a slight crack so i thought nothing of it, until a piece fell right out of it. Until now i've never needed to go through the process
of getting something fixed and was my experience painful. I got mine through a carrier (Rogers) so I called them on the phone. I was on hold forever, and when I finally got through they told me I had to go to a rogers store to have someone
personally take a look at it.
I got to the store, got on their phone, and was on hold for 20 minutes. When I got through they told me they would connect me to a specific department.
Another 20 minute wait.
I got through and then gave the phone to a rogers employee there. He confirmed that it should be a defect as there were no signs of dropping it and then HE waited 20 minutes while the guy on the line called sony.
I waited all that time to find out that I cannot get it replaced through my carrier but had to go through sony themselves.
I looked up some stories of experiences with SE's services and found that most (if not all) of the time they replace your x1 with a refurbished one, and I wasn't about to trade a perfectly brand new one with a minor ding in it, for
one that could be potentially scratched up and badly treated.
Now that I've dropped it though I fear that whether the defect gets worse or not I cannot get Sony's warranty on it. However, after what you've just told me I don't think I want to. Here's to hoping that i won't have to do x1
surgery anytime soon...

Z3 compact 2016 ..... has the cracked screen issue been sorted out?

I have read lots of threads and comments on the Internet regarding screen cracking on the z3c but most are dating back to early 2015.
As I am now considering buying a Z3C does anyone know if improvements have been made by Sony to address these issues for the 2016 models?
Thanks for any comments.

Nothing has changed. On the bright side, replacing said-glass is very cheap and easy to do. On the minus-side. Say bye-bye to any form of water-resistance. This long with the Z3C: I've grown to accept this phone won't be water-resistant unless I use a case because the seals and IP-68 rating is only for fresh-water and the rating completely depends on the ability of flap-seals and sealant of the back cover to to do its job. I hope I can convince you to disregard water-resistance factor in your purchase. Notably because Sony won't cover any repairs if the damage is a result of water-damage(personal experience). That way, you can swap back glass covers as you please. They go for like $2.

My z3c screens right top corner today unglued. Lasted for about 8 months since purchase, without case, without any water interference. Still under warranty, sending it for repair.

alpha-niner64 said:
Nothing has changed. On the bright side, replacing said-glass is very cheap and easy to do. On the minus-side. Say bye-bye to any form of water-resistance. This long with the Z3C: I've grown to accept this phone won't be water-resistant unless I use a case because the seals and IP-68 rating is only for fresh-water and the rating completely depends on the ability of flap-seals and sealant of the back cover to to do its job. I hope I can convince you to disregard water-resistance factor in your purchase. Notably because Sony won't cover any repairs if the damage is a result of water-damage(personal experience). That way, you can swap back glass covers as you please. They go for like $2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply, if I understand you correctly replacing the back glass is not a big issue and is cheap, but what about the front screen? I did have a quick search around the net and it looks quite complicated and expensive to replace the front one.
Have you done the front one yourself?
Thanks.

vilx01 said:
My z3c screens right top corner today unglued. Lasted for about 8 months since purchase, without case, without any water interference. Still under warranty, sending it for repair.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, mine has unglued as well, after 7 months of usage (bought it brand new), I am sending it for repair also. When my warranty expires, I will replace case on my own, because I have black one, and I want black screen + white case

bmg777 said:
Thanks for the reply, if I understand you correctly replacing the back glass is not a big issue and is cheap, but what about the front screen? I did have a quick search around the net and it looks quite complicated and expensive to replace the front one.
Have you done the front one yourself?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I service my own phones often enough to kind of say that replacing your own front screen is easy to do if you're starting out with this phoneYou take out the front-screen the same way you take apart the back screen.. As long as your motherboard components are in good condition like the USB Port, antenna, SIM/MicroSD slots, and the battery(cause this is glued very well to the motheboard), nearly everything on the Z3 Compact is expendable and easily replaceable.

alpha-niner64 said:
I service my own phones often enough to kind of say that replacing your own front screen is easy to do if you're starting out with this phoneYou take out the front-screen the same way you take apart the back screen.. As long as your motherboard components are in good condition like the USB Port, antenna, SIM/MicroSD slots, and the battery(cause this is glued very well to the motheboard), nearly everything on the Z3 Compact is expendable and easily replaceable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been using Z3C (15W33) since early september and this phone has really rough life. I mean working in very hard conditions (very cold outside > pretty warm inside the house) and I never really cared about it even when I know there are problems with the glass. Also I have a custom s-line case and that's the only protection... I dropped the phone twice or three times...
but it's still running pretty nice and there are no signs of any damage, the glass is more than OK

Great, cracked the screen of my Z3 Compact

This morning I was cleaning my phone (getting rid of the finger prints/smudges) while standing up when it slipped out of my hand and hit the tiled floor. Everything is fine except the screen (which is cracked). Screen works fine but is unresponsive no matter where I press or touch the screen. How much does a Z3 Compact replacement screen cost? I searched around and it seems it is about $100?

Screen replacement costs in Poland +/- 135$
(authorised sony service)

Yes' it's hard to get original one cheaper than 100-120$. You can search for some Chinese replacement cause sometimes it looks quite similar to original one but You must check it before buying. Last time I had a client with Z1c replacement screen which he bought for 40$ and there was no white color, everything what should be white was purple.

Voids warranty, cheap replacement
Got mine from here replacebase dot co dot uk (can not post links ), of course you void your warranty if you do it yourself.
Parts are good quality till now. I advice to order a back glass too, I broke mine when taking it out and had to reorder again (costs approx 6 pound).

Next time just heat up back glass with hair dryer and You wont break it.

Chamelleon said:
Next time just heat up back glass with hair dryer and You wont break it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the input
The problem was a small crack which did not matter until you have to remove it, you can not pull on it when its cracked. Anyway I will use a hair dryer to put it back together (assemble, heat up, press with books).

Thanks for the replies.
I'll be getting the repair done from the official Sony shop/distributor I bought the phone from. Just wanted to get an idea of how much it "should" cost before I approach them.

m4mbax said:
Thanks for the input
The problem was a small crack which did not matter until you have to remove it, you can not pull on it when its cracked. Anyway I will use a hair dryer to put it back together (assemble, heat up, press with books).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello
I have tried to change my backglass 3 times but after a few hours the glass falls off... (Yes, I cleaned the phone removing all the old adhesive - and yes, I had pressure on it over night ) But all the instructions I have found on the internet never mentioned anything about putting the glass on, and HEATING it up, and the putting pressure on it... Where have you found that advice? You could imagine that heating up would ruin the adhesive/making it thinner and thereby not waterproof...? But on the other hand your succesrate probably beats mine...

Foxhunter123 said:
Hello
I have tried to change my backglass 3 times but after a few hours the glass falls off... (Yes, I cleaned the phone removing all the old adhesive - and yes, I had pressure on it over night ) But all the instructions I have found on the internet never mentioned anything about putting the glass on, and HEATING it up, and the putting pressure on it... Where have you found that advice? You could imagine that heating up would ruin the adhesive/making it thinner and thereby not waterproof...? But on the other hand your succesrate probably beats mine...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it was a comment below the iFixit tutorial. But one big warning here, I did extra maximally stupid and put it to 'press' under my table (with books around it). The table was too heavy and cracked my front screen once again :crying:
+ The rear glass sits fixed and has not loosened.
- Don't put too much pressure or you destroy it yet again like stupid me

m4mbax said:
I think it was a comment below the iFixit tutorial. But one big warning here, I did extra maximally stupid and put it to 'press' under my table (with books around it). The table was too heavy and cracked my front screen once again :crying:
+ The rear glass sits fixed and has not loosened.
- Don't put too much pressure or you destroy it yet again like stupid me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doh!!! ? I have also read on Ifixit and can see there are different opinions about if it is nessesary to heat or not. But I think I will follow your advice and heat the new back before putting it under (less pressure) ?.
Another thing I read on Ifixit is that someone writes that you should put on an adhesive sticker - eventhough the new back comes with adhesive already on...? What is your advice on this?

Most pre-glued adhesive stickers on back are useless. Now everytime I change back in Xperia Z, Z1, Z2, Z3 and compacts I need to remove pre-glued sticker and change it to original one. Many times I had complaint on it from my clients saying that back glass came off. So it's better to order original back glass or just original adhesive.

Foxhunter123 said:
Doh!!! I have also read on Ifixit and can see there are different opinions about if it is nessesary to heat or not. But I think I will follow your advice and heat the new back before putting it under (less pressure) .
Another thing I read on Ifixit is that someone writes that you should put on an adhesive sticker - eventhough the new back comes with adhesive already on...? What is your advice on this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good
Mine came with the adhesive ON the screen, I used that one, I didn't have a separate one. Be extra careful when 'placing' the adhesive where it belongs because you can not remove it once place (okay maybe slightly). Its important that it fits on the first to first and a half try. More adhesive means thicker layer --> glass will stick out
Anyway, most of the stories you read online are partially BS, the phone will work even when the glass is a tiny bit loose or when the adhesive rotated and is a bit thicker in one place. In my eyes, when you dared to order, you are very much capable of assemble the parts.
In btw, ordered new glasses today, hope my two left hands fix it this time.
PS: A lesson I learned on a friends Galaxy S2, do NEVER EVER try to use force when something sticks or is not as loose as in a video. Google or ask another person maybe you just dont do the trick. A connector didnt want to come off so we used a lever to lift it, CLICK, the place where the lever levered broke the board... :silly:
Edit 1: I think its not necessary to HEAT it, it just has to be a lil bit warmer than in your pocket or when calculating heavily. 30s under a hairdryer will be more than enough i guess.

Forgot to update this thread. I received my fixed phone last week. They replaced the screen and even the "bumpers" around the phone for $98. They even delivered the phone to my home free of charge. Looks brand new, all the minor dings I had on the phone are gone.
On another note, I also bought my first iPhone. Got an Space Gray iPhone 6s 128 GB with the official/Apple leather case for the 6s. Got it last Thursday. Been playing around with it a lot and, overall, I love it. Deciding on whether to keep my Z3 Compact as a back-up phone or just sell it. But geez, does the iPhone 6s load games and other apps fast (thanks to its NVMe storage).

How to replace rear glass

My son had his X4 with him at school today in his book bag, when another student decided to throw his book bag at the wall breaking both the back cover and the camera lens cover. While I plan to take this up with the school, I suspect unless there are any witnesses, there is about a zero percent chance on any outcome along the lines of the other kid's parents paying to repair the phone.
Which leads me to looking into how to repair it myself, it seems a new rear cover and camera cover are fairly easily available, but I cannot find any instructions on how to replace them. Does anyone know of any instruction on replacing these pieces? I am fairly confident to swap them as have worked on numerous other tablets / phones but don't want to break anything on this one while trying to repair the back.
Pretty pissed off that he has only had the phone barely 2 weeks, we plan to get a case for it but had not yet picked one up. What annoys me is that he was keeping the phone in his bag instead of sitting in class texting like many other kids do and this is the result.

naiku said:
Which leads me to looking into how to repair it myself, it seems a new rear cover and camera cover are fairly easily available, but I cannot find any instructions on how to replace them. Does anyone know of any instruction on replacing these pieces? I am fairly confident to swap them as have worked on numerous other tablets / phones but don't want to break anything on this one while trying to repair the back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not a full instruction, but at least the disassembling part is covered:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiGPtAMV2-U

Moto G6 lterally coming apart at the seam

Hi, I have an almost 2 year old Moto G6 (just the G6, not Play or Plus). Had it in the same case that length of time. About a month ago, found it was hard to press the power button. I finally just took it out of the case, and in doing so, found the allegedly permanently sealed back cover was coming loose on the side with the power button as well as the bottom where the USB-C jack is. Looks like the adhesive is stretchy but no longer very tacky, and trying to manually press the back cover into place is futile as it won't stay and won't even go all the way in. The phone still works, and after removing it from the case, I now see the power button is fine. I assume it's out of warranty now, I think 1 year and I have no add-on protection plan on my T-Mobile bill. I seen videos of people removing the back cover with a heat gun and razor blade to replace the battery. On what I can see, doesn't look like my battery is bulging. Tempted to crazy glue where the cover is separating, but I doubt that would hold with the pressure that makes the cover pull out again once pushed down. I would think at this point I could carefully just manually remove the whole back cover by hand.My dexterity is awful on repairing small delicate things. Can a shop repair this fairly cheaply? Any advice? I'm in Ohio/USA. Thanks!

I took mine out of the case tonight to clean it and discovered I have exactly the same problem! My case is such that if I put the phone back in it, the case "snaps" together and hence keeps the phone together. Mine is probably two years old too, so I'm sure no fix is possible (but I'll keep my eye on this thread). I'll leave the case on and begin looking for a new phone.
I'm with Sprint so I'm anticipating the conversion to TMo, so I'd rather wait until that happens before I buy a new one.

dannykewl said:
Hi, I have an almost 2 year old Moto G6 (just the G6, not Play or Plus). Had it in the same case that length of time. About a month ago, found it was hard to press the power button. I finally just took it out of the case, and in doing so, found the allegedly permanently sealed back cover was coming loose on the side with the power button as well as the bottom where the USB-C jack is. Looks like the adhesive is stretchy but no longer very tacky, and trying to manually press the back cover into place is futile as it won't stay and won't even go all the way in. The phone still works, and after removing it from the case, I now see the power button is fine. I assume it's out of warranty now, I think 1 year and I have no add-on protection plan on my T-Mobile bill. I seen videos of people removing the back cover with a heat gun and razor blade to replace the battery. On what I can see, doesn't look like my battery is bulging. Tempted to crazy glue where the cover is separating, but I doubt that would hold with the pressure that makes the cover pull out again once pushed down. I would think at this point I could carefully just manually remove the whole back cover by hand.My dexterity is awful on repairing small delicate things. Can a shop repair this fairly cheaply? Any advice? I'm in Ohio/USA. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could try using a hair dryer to heat up the glue to make it stick together again.

You could try using a hair dryer to heat up the glue to make it stick together again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought maybe excessive heat and sweat from being in my pocket on hot days loosened it up.

Thanks for the replies FrogFan and Ragarianok. Sorry for the long delay. In the meantime, I got the back case half off, and indeed a swollen battery. I am going to order a new battery for $4 from Mobile Defenders in MI, battery image says Motorola on it, and they say authorized OEM. A nearby repair shop said they will put it in for $20. They said a decent battery should run $20+, but all those higher priced ones on ebay and Amazon are no-names.

Thanks for coming back, dannykewl. I wasted some time inquiring about a fix from Motorola and found out that their "fix" would cost more than the phone was worth. A local shop quoted a ridiculously high price to fix it, too, but they did say the problem could be caused by a swollen battery. I will check with other local shops to see what they'd charge to replace the battery and seal it back up.
Did you get yours fixed?

POP!
My phone separated today and it is a swollen battery. I suspected for about 2 months the battery was swelling because of pressure points showing up on the screen as bright circles. I was just going to buy a new phone as this was a cheap phone and 2 years old, but the battery did the hard work for me by separating the phone from it's back, so I decided to fix. I removed the battery, ordered replacement battery on ebay and will put back together myself for $12. The $4 batteries are out of stock. The phone has enough stickiness left to hold the backplate and phone together on it's own, and it'll be in the phone case so no worries. Might apply a little Elmers to the surround. From what I read online, and saw on Youtube, be careful with the back, it's actually a glass metal hybrid and not safety glass at that. It will shatter off the metal and into little tiny razors and knives. The screen artifacts disappeared when the back was removed, relieving pressure on the components mashing up against the screen from the inside.. No permanent damage. This new battery should tide me over long enough for the affordable 5g phones to come out. I don't buy pricey phones. Oh, fyi... this is a SUPER easy repair. Have faith and go for it.

I took mine to a local repair shop today and confirmed my problem was also a swelling battery. They will replace the battery for me for $75.
Oh, fyi... this is a SUPER easy repair. Have faith and go for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I checked out a YouTube video on this topic and quickly confirmed that this repair is way over my head. I don't have the tools or the patience to change the battery in this phone.