Hello everybody,
First of all, I've been following the XDA Forums for many years now, having owned and played around with quite a few different phones. I've always found the answers and solutions I need from the community so I just wanted to share my recent experiences with my GT-N7000.
Now while I'm certainly no expert in electronics, I do have a good understanding and hope this information could really help somebody else out.
The Problem
A few months ago, I managed to trip over the trailing USB cable, pulling the phone off the table with some considerable force. After this, it started with intermittent connection problems, combined with poor / slow charging. I would often find that it would report charging absolutely fine, whilst still draining the battery. Maybe worth mentioning, as far as I can recall, the phone never reported being charged / plugged in when it wasn't.
After some time, the problem worsened until I was unable to charge the phone at all. Also note that the USB connection to the computer also didn't work. I came across a very useful youtube video, to which I would like to thank the author.
OK, so I can't post links, but head over to youtube and enter "watch?v=pD9R-YUT69Q" at the end of the URL
I found the part that needed replacing for £12.95 on amazon, which arrived within a few days. I've put some helpful hints at the bottom with regards to actually dismantling the phone to avoid too much text up here
again, no links so go to UK Amazon and enter "/Samsung-GT-i9220-Charger-Connector-Replacement/dp/B009X6BGDM" at the end of the URL.
I found that this seemed to largely fix the problem, however, issues still remained with maintaining a consistent connection. These issues got worse over the following few weeks, until again, I could barley charge the phone. The steps to make it charge consisted of using a specific few chargers (any HTC or Samsung branded cable would work, *perhaps because of the extra 'clips' on the metal shield*), firmly push the connector into the phone, then apply a reasonable amount of pressure downwards when holding the phone flat and level. This would usually charge the phone, however, on occasion charging would randomly stop, or after unplugging at 100%, the battery level would instantly drop to around 70%.
Other odd anomalies such as entering recovery mode when plugging in with the phone switched off, or entering driving / docking mode while connecting the charger with the phone switched on occurred too.
* Complete speculation
The Solution
After much frustration, it wasn't until I considered the 'orange' plastic unit which covers the charging board (secured by three screws). It was orange on my phone, however, could be different on yours.
On the underside of this removable unit, are two copper plates approx 1mm by 1mm. These lined up with two spring loaded 'arms' on the replaced charging board underneath. In my case, these two cooper plates were slightly dented meaning that a poor connection occurred between the board and the unit.
The solution was to a) Pry the metal arms further apart using a very thin piece of plastic, raising them slightly and b) raise the entire circuit board underneath very slightly. This was done using a very thin piece of plastic (I used a small cut-off from a pill packet, and removed the foil coating, then folded it over on itself to increase the thickness), and placing it directly underneath the two metal arms under the charging board.
And since then, I can report that my phone will now consistently charge again. I am once again, able to both use and charge my phone at the same time.
It maybe worth noting that if you're suffering from similar problems that this board may not need replacing, although in my case, I also suffered damage to the micro usb port so had no other option. This is still by far cheaper than sending the phone off for repair as this is something that most people can do if, like me, you are no longer covered under warranty.
Taking the phone apart
This was actually remarkably strait forward and easy to do with some basic tools. The tools I used are:
A very small Philips screwdriver (preferably magnetic)
A small spring loaded hair clip (for separating the front and back)
Plastic tweezers
A small plastic container (for the screws you remove)
And finally, some common sense
The hair clip I found to be the best tool for removing the front and back because of its thin width and plastic coating which prevented scrape marks, although anything extremely thin and plastic should just about do.
Hopefully from the pictures I'm going to attempt to attach, you'll see my N7000 is white (what a bad choice that was ) and the gap was between the very delicate white plastic lip and silver plastic body, I imagine the black version is constructed in an identical manner although I cannot confirm this.
I found the best place to start (assuming the screen is towards you) when prying the front and back apart was just below the volume buttons on the left side. I then worked my way down that side, attacking directly to the left and right of usb port next. Then just below the power button and continue down the lower right hand side. The top I found to be slightly trickier, but start just to the left of the headphone port, then pry the corners.
Now, I can at times be a little clumsy, so my phone naturally has some ware and tare. All in all, I added two very small scuff marks on both the top and bottom, and have taken the phone apart several times. I would video it, however the similarities between the video above and the N7000 are minimal in terms of de-constructing.
Also worth noting, on one occasion, I didn't have the plastic tweezers available, and I found that if you're incredibly careful, you can detach the mini flex cables using a small plastic disposable spoon, the like you find in service stations . Additionally, the screws used in the casing are a different size to the three on the removable plastic unit, so don't mix them up.
Conclusion
I think that is everything useful, however, feel free to ask questions if I didn't cover anything. I've seen a lot of charger related problems in this thread, and haven't found anything like this, so sorry if this information is not beneficial or of use.
I would also like to comment that before I replaced this board, I experienced many of the described problems in relation to the cable used. I have found that as long as I use a reasonable quality cable and any USB wall adapter rated at 1A, I get a consistently good charge every time. I have experimented with a few cheap cables, including a few from the 99p store which seem to charge slightly slower, although since replacing the board and adjusting the metal arms I rarely have issues when charging now.
Regards
Tom
My phone has done the exact same thing. would you recommend sending the phone away to be fix or is it easy enough for a average person to fix it by them self?
william_1434 said:
My phone has done the exact same thing. would you recommend sending the phone away to be fix or is it easy enough for a average person to fix it by them self?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I literally just got done with this process myself....Took all of 15mins. Very simple to do. Definitely the average person can fix themselves.
Go ahead and give it a shot!
tb_tom89 said:
Hello everybody,
First of all, I've been following the XDA Forums for many years now, having owned and played around with quite a few different phones. I've always found the answers and solutions I need from the community so I just wanted to share my recent experiences with my GT-N7000.
Now while I'm certainly no expert in electronics, I do have a good understanding and hope this information could really help somebody else out.
The Problem
A few months ago, I managed to trip over the trailing USB cable, pulling the phone off the table with some considerable force. After this, it started with intermittent connection problems, combined with poor / slow charging. I would often find that it would report charging absolutely fine, whilst still draining the battery. Maybe worth mentioning, as far as I can recall, the phone never reported being charged / plugged in when it wasn't.
After some time, the problem worsened until I was unable to charge the phone at all. Also note that the USB connection to the computer also didn't work. I came across a very useful youtube video, to which I would like to thank the author.
OK, so I can't post links, but head over to youtube and enter "watch?v=pD9R-YUT69Q" at the end of the URL
I found the part that needed replacing for £12.95 on amazon, which arrived within a few days. I've put some helpful hints at the bottom with regards to actually dismantling the phone to avoid too much text up here
again, no links so go to UK Amazon and enter "/Samsung-GT-i9220-Charger-Connector-Replacement/dp/B009X6BGDM" at the end of the URL.
I found that this seemed to largely fix the problem, however, issues still remained with maintaining a consistent connection. These issues got worse over the following few weeks, until again, I could barley charge the phone. The steps to make it charge consisted of using a specific few chargers (any HTC or Samsung branded cable would work, *perhaps because of the extra 'clips' on the metal shield*), firmly push the connector into the phone, then apply a reasonable amount of pressure downwards when holding the phone flat and level. This would usually charge the phone, however, on occasion charging would randomly stop, or after unplugging at 100%, the battery level would instantly drop to around 70%.
Other odd anomalies such as entering recovery mode when plugging in with the phone switched off, or entering driving / docking mode while connecting the charger with the phone switched on occurred too.
* Complete speculation
The Solution
After much frustration, it wasn't until I considered the 'orange' plastic unit which covers the charging board (secured by three screws). It was orange on my phone, however, could be different on yours.
On the underside of this removable unit, are two copper plates approx 1mm by 1mm. These lined up with two spring loaded 'arms' on the replaced charging board underneath. In my case, these two cooper plates were slightly dented meaning that a poor connection occurred between the board and the unit.
The solution was to a) Pry the metal arms further apart using a very thin piece of plastic, raising them slightly and b) raise the entire circuit board underneath very slightly. This was done using a very thin piece of plastic (I used a small cut-off from a pill packet, and removed the foil coating, then folded it over on itself to increase the thickness), and placing it directly underneath the two metal arms under the charging board.
And since then, I can report that my phone will now consistently charge again. I am once again, able to both use and charge my phone at the same time.
It maybe worth noting that if you're suffering from similar problems that this board may not need replacing, although in my case, I also suffered damage to the micro usb port so had no other option. This is still by far cheaper than sending the phone off for repair as this is something that most people can do if, like me, you are no longer covered under warranty.
Taking the phone apart
This was actually remarkably strait forward and easy to do with some basic tools. The tools I used are:
A very small Philips screwdriver (preferably magnetic)
A small spring loaded hair clip (for separating the front and back)
Plastic tweezers
A small plastic container (for the screws you remove)
And finally, some common sense
The hair clip I found to be the best tool for removing the front and back because of its thin width and plastic coating which prevented scrape marks, although anything extremely thin and plastic should just about do.
Hopefully from the pictures I'm going to attempt to attach, you'll see my N7000 is white (what a bad choice that was ) and the gap was between the very delicate white plastic lip and silver plastic body, I imagine the black version is constructed in an identical manner although I cannot confirm this.
I found the best place to start (assuming the screen is towards you) when prying the front and back apart was just below the volume buttons on the left side. I then worked my way down that side, attacking directly to the left and right of usb port next. Then just below the power button and continue down the lower right hand side. The top I found to be slightly trickier, but start just to the left of the headphone port, then pry the corners.
Now, I can at times be a little clumsy, so my phone naturally has some ware and tare. All in all, I added two very small scuff marks on both the top and bottom, and have taken the phone apart several times. I would video it, however the similarities between the video above and the N7000 are minimal in terms of de-constructing.
Also worth noting, on one occasion, I didn't have the plastic tweezers available, and I found that if you're incredibly careful, you can detach the mini flex cables using a small plastic disposable spoon, the like you find in service stations . Additionally, the screws used in the casing are a different size to the three on the removable plastic unit, so don't mix them up.
Conclusion
I think that is everything useful, however, feel free to ask questions if I didn't cover anything. I've seen a lot of charger related problems in this thread, and haven't found anything like this, so sorry if this information is not beneficial or of use.
I would also like to comment that before I replaced this board, I experienced many of the described problems in relation to the cable used. I have found that as long as I use a reasonable quality cable and any USB wall adapter rated at 1A, I get a consistently good charge every time. I have experimented with a few cheap cables, including a few from the 99p store which seem to charge slightly slower, although since replacing the board and adjusting the metal arms I rarely have issues when charging now.
Regards
Tom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im glad to see that you have managed to solve your usb issue simply.
Mine is out of warranty somehow and i have been searching all the possible ways since 2012 April..
This is the thread : "[Q] [q] USB BRICK - Devs PLZ HELP!!!"
william_1434 said:
My phone has done the exact same thing. would you recommend sending the phone away to be fix or is it easy enough for a average person to fix it by them self?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I too need to replace my usb port. This topic has helped cheers.
I called Samsung and the rep said that Samsung class any damage done to the micro usb connection to be external damage and thus not covered by warranty.
Seeing that shipping to Samsung is $16 AUD and the replacement part is $12 AUD I know what I will do .
Awesome post!
I've had problems with the charging port for a long time. Replaced the board 4 times from ebay and Amazon; sometimes reception was bad, other times the charging port didn't work unless forced down. So I thought it was just bad replica boards and gave up. Bought an external charger instead.
I had to use the phone recently so I thought I'd try fix the problem again. I got a hold of an original board form a broken n7000 and still same problem (hold down to charge). That's when I got suspicious...it should have fixed it this time. Even separated the metal pins more and didn't work.
Luckily I found your post and added some packing behind the board...and it worked!!! Separating the pins wasn't enough.
Great tip :good:. Definitely worth a bump even though it's an old post. Finally solved my problem and may help others who think the board is faulty.
You sir, are my hero,
Thanks so much for this post, saved me from a headache on rampage. Had the same problem and did replace the USB flexcable as well with the same result.
But this fixed it all!
Thanks again!
Found another cheapest and easiest solution of all, it works magic for me. Do refer to the video here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJcCK5ZVSAY
Thank you
tb_tom89 said:
Hello everybody,
First of all, I've been following the XDA Forums for many years now, having owned and played around with quite a few different phones. I've always found the answers and solutions I need from the community so I just wanted to share my recent experiences with my GT-N7000.
Now while I'm certainly no expert in electronics, I do have a good understanding and hope this information could really help somebody else out.
The Problem
A few months ago, I managed to trip over the trailing USB cable, pulling the phone off the table with some considerable force. After this, it started with intermittent connection problems, combined with poor / slow charging. I would often find that it would report charging absolutely fine, whilst still draining the battery. Maybe worth mentioning, as far as I can recall, the phone never reported being charged / plugged in when it wasn't.
After some time, the problem worsened until I was unable to charge the phone at all. Also note that the USB connection to the computer also didn't work. I came across a very useful youtube video, to which I would like to thank the author.
OK, so I can't post links, but head over to youtube and enter "watch?v=pD9R-YUT69Q" at the end of the URL
I found the part that needed replacing for £12.95 on amazon, which arrived within a few days. I've put some helpful hints at the bottom with regards to actually dismantling the phone to avoid too much text up here
again, no links so go to UK Amazon and enter "/Samsung-GT-i9220-Charger-Connector-Replacement/dp/B009X6BGDM" at the end of the URL.
I found that this seemed to largely fix the problem, however, issues still remained with maintaining a consistent connection. These issues got worse over the following few weeks, until again, I could barley charge the phone. The steps to make it charge consisted of using a specific few chargers (any HTC or Samsung branded cable would work, *perhaps because of the extra 'clips' on the metal shield*), firmly push the connector into the phone, then apply a reasonable amount of pressure downwards when holding the phone flat and level. This would usually charge the phone, however, on occasion charging would randomly stop, or after unplugging at 100%, the battery level would instantly drop to around 70%.
Other odd anomalies such as entering recovery mode when plugging in with the phone switched off, or entering driving / docking mode while connecting the charger with the phone switched on occurred too.
* Complete speculation
The Solution
After much frustration, it wasn't until I considered the 'orange' plastic unit which covers the charging board (secured by three screws). It was orange on my phone, however, could be different on yours.
On the underside of this removable unit, are two copper plates approx 1mm by 1mm. These lined up with two spring loaded 'arms' on the replaced charging board underneath. In my case, these two cooper plates were slightly dented meaning that a poor connection occurred between the board and the unit.
The solution was to a) Pry the metal arms further apart using a very thin piece of plastic, raising them slightly and b) raise the entire circuit board underneath very slightly. This was done using a very thin piece of plastic (I used a small cut-off from a pill packet, and removed the foil coating, then folded it over on itself to increase the thickness), and placing it directly underneath the two metal arms under the charging board.
And since then, I can report that my phone will now consistently charge again. I am once again, able to both use and charge my phone at the same time.
It maybe worth noting that if you're suffering from similar problems that this board may not need replacing, although in my case, I also suffered damage to the micro usb port so had no other option. This is still by far cheaper than sending the phone off for repair as this is something that most people can do if, like me, you are no longer covered under warranty.
Taking the phone apart
This was actually remarkably strait forward and easy to do with some basic tools. The tools I used are:
A very small Philips screwdriver (preferably magnetic)
A small spring loaded hair clip (for separating the front and back)
Plastic tweezers
A small plastic container (for the screws you remove)
And finally, some common sense
The hair clip I found to be the best tool for removing the front and back because of its thin width and plastic coating which prevented scrape marks, although anything extremely thin and plastic should just about do.
Hopefully from the pictures I'm going to attempt to attach, you'll see my N7000 is white (what a bad choice that was ) and the gap was between the very delicate white plastic lip and silver plastic body, I imagine the black version is constructed in an identical manner although I cannot confirm this.
I found the best place to start (assuming the screen is towards you) when prying the front and back apart was just below the volume buttons on the left side. I then worked my way down that side, attacking directly to the left and right of usb port next. Then just below the power button and continue down the lower right hand side. The top I found to be slightly trickier, but start just to the left of the headphone port, then pry the corners.
Now, I can at times be a little clumsy, so my phone naturally has some ware and tare. All in all, I added two very small scuff marks on both the top and bottom, and have taken the phone apart several times. I would video it, however the similarities between the video above and the N7000 are minimal in terms of de-constructing.
Also worth noting, on one occasion, I didn't have the plastic tweezers available, and I found that if you're incredibly careful, you can detach the mini flex cables using a small plastic disposable spoon, the like you find in service stations . Additionally, the screws used in the casing are a different size to the three on the removable plastic unit, so don't mix them up.
Conclusion
I think that is everything useful, however, feel free to ask questions if I didn't cover anything. I've seen a lot of charger related problems in this thread, and haven't found anything like this, so sorry if this information is not beneficial or of use.
I would also like to comment that before I replaced this board, I experienced many of the described problems in relation to the cable used. I have found that as long as I use a reasonable quality cable and any USB wall adapter rated at 1A, I get a consistently good charge every time. I have experimented with a few cheap cables, including a few from the 99p store which seem to charge slightly slower, although since replacing the board and adjusting the metal arms I rarely have issues when charging now.
Regards
Tom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice solution, i will try at home later.
So I'm in the process of replacing the ear piece speaker. It has always acted up but finally completely went out when I dropped the phone today. Tore the phone apart and pulled the bad one out, and put it back together, so for the time being it's a phone with no speaker, but strangely now the rear camera doesn't work either.
So I'm curious, maybe I still don't have the ribbon cable from the camera seated correctly. But do you think maybe the camera and speaker are on the same circuit and without the speaker in there the camera won't work?
The ear piece not working can usually be fixed by bending the metal pins. I've managed to fix3 Droid's this way. that being said, I don't think the camera has anything to do with the ear piece.
Check if you've inserted the ribbon properly. The ribbon goes in pretty deep. It's easy to make a mistake when connecting the ribbon.
You wouldn't have some instructions for that procedure, do you? Or is there an iFixit video? Have the same problem with the speaker.
Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk now Free
Bumping this old thread in the event that someone in the future finds it useful. Obviously, replacing the speaker will VOID YOUR WARRANTY in every way possible, and if you're not careful will ruin your phone! But, if you're like me, your D4 is long out of warranty and it'll be a cold day in hell before you give up your keyboard.
That being said, I just replaced the speaker in my D4, after the stock speaker fizzled and died after almost 2 years. Every now and then it would "fuzz out" and I'd gently tap the phone against my head (which I'm sure looked quite comical) and it would stop. Finally the speaker gave up the ghost entirely and it was nearly impossible to hear. I used resources from this site to guide me in taking it apart.
You'll need a torx T5 and T3 driver - DO NOT try to use any substitute drivers if you don't have an official T5 or T3, like I did - you will strip the screws (they strip VERY easily) and you'll need to bust out the dremel to drill/grind away the screw, or buy a whole new LCD/digitizer assembly for $~70 (which, as of this posting, are getting harder to find). You might think that you can fudge it with an eyeglass repair flathead driver, but you can't. Trust me. T3 and T5 drivers are cheap online, do it right.
For the actual replacement speaker itself, I got a speaker for a Nokia Lumia 610 on ebay for about 4 bucks (free shipping!). It's almost identical to the stock D4 speaker, but it looks to be a little better quality and the actual place where noise comes out looks to be ever so slightly bigger. It "sits" in a little pocket in the outer housing/screen digitizer, held in place by the flex cable. You'll see once you get there.
Make sure both the dual snap connector that connects the mainboard to the screen/digitizer is securely fastened, and also make sure that the tiny snap connector that goes from the screen to the digitizer itself is securely fastened as well - this second snap connector is up by the notification LED. I scared myself when I re-assembled everything and my touchscreen didn't respond. Also, when you're working up by the notification LED, there's a small piece of white-ish rubber that sits between the actual LED itself and the little hole where light comes out on the front of the phone. It's crucial that you don't lose this - the LED is a few mm offset from the hole, and this piece of rubber glows and creates the notification light that you see on the front. Without it, no notification light.
Be careful with the mainboard, replacement units are very hard to find and will only get rarer as the D4 ages. It's basically the heart of your phone.
Tweezers and a "safe-open pry tool" (basically a piece of soft plastic to ease apart the pieces of your phone) make this process easier as well.
Another note: there are 2 hidden T5 screws behind the bezel that surrounds the rear camera and flash. When you go to peel this up, you'll probably ruin it - this is poor design IMO, and mostly inevitable. Good news though, replacement camera bezel parts are available online for a few bucks.
All in all, this process isn't difficult, but requires really good light (super bright lamp or headlamp) and will give you a greater appreciation for your phone and how it's both a magical little black box as well as just a collection of shiny bits.
Good luck!!
Khiraji said:
You'll need a torx T5 and T3 driver - DO NOT try to use any substitute drivers if you don't have an official T5 or T3, like I did - you will strip the screws (they strip VERY easily) and you'll need to bust out the dremel to drill/grind away the screw
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Listen to him. I learned this the hard way and that is precisely what I had to do. Taking a dremel to my cell phone... I never want to sweat bullets like that again.
Hey guys,
I just swapped my silver one to a black shell.
Very simple change over for the most part.
Prior to snapping the back cover on, I made sure to test all functions. They all passed fine. I then snapped on the back and rebooted the phone. The lower speaker no longer played any audio, instead just clicks until the sound finishes. It's incredibly annoying during speaker phone calls. Any idea what it could be, or better yet, is there an app that can force the phone into mono mode with only the top speaker working?
Hey guys,
I just swapped my silver one to a black shell.
Very simple change over for the most part.
Prior to snapping the back cover on, I made sure to test all functions. They all passed fine. I then snapped on the back and rebooted the phone. The lower speaker no longer played any audio, instead just clicks until the sound finishes. It's incredibly annoying during speaker phone calls. Any idea what it could be, or better yet, is there an app that can force the phone into mono mode with only the top speaker working?[/QUOTE]
Alright, took it apart again and inspected it. Found the problem. at the base of the phone there is a ground clip that covers and grounds the usb board to the main board. Directly above that there is a very small connector with a black and red wire in it, those are your lower speaker connector. when reinserting it into the back cover the red wire moved onto the ground plate and wormed its way between it and a spring clip that ground it to the back cover.This spring clip applied enough force to lightly cut the casing thus grounding the positive speaker feed to the phone case. Kinda a b!tch to fix, full disassemble is needed to pull that board out, i then used liquid electrical tape on the damaged spot. Let it dry and reassembled. Now its black and perfect!
I attached a photo of the red wire and its location. Be careful with this area, I was lucky the board or phone didn't short out!
View attachment 2559853
How did you even get it apart??
Iz3man said:
Hey guys,
I just swapped my silver one to a black shell.
Very simple change over for the most part.
Prior to snapping the back cover on, I made sure to test all functions. They all passed fine. I then snapped on the back and rebooted the phone. The lower speaker no longer played any audio, instead just clicks until the sound finishes. It's incredibly annoying during speaker phone calls. Any idea what it could be, or better yet, is there an app that can force the phone into mono mode with only the top speaker working?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright, took it apart again and inspected it. Found the problem. at the base of the phone there is a ground clip that covers and grounds the usb board to the main board. Directly above that there is a very small connector with a black and red wire in it, those are your lower speaker connector. when reinserting it into the back cover the red wire moved onto the ground plate and wormed its way between it and a spring clip that ground it to the back cover.This spring clip applied enough force to lightly cut the casing thus grounding the positive speaker feed to the phone case. Kinda a b!tch to fix, full disassemble is needed to pull that board out, i then used liquid electrical tape on the damaged spot. Let it dry and reassembled. Now its black and perfect!
I attached a photo of the red wire and its location. Be careful with this area, I was lucky the board or phone didn't short out!
View attachment 2559853
Wow, you've got some courage man! I really want to convert mine to black, but I'm scared.. Never opened a phone before. Post some pics of the phone please.. Any gaps/other issues?
Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk
SaHiLzZ said:
How did you even get it apart??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Carefully and with a bit of swearing. The back cover is actually dead simple to take off, if it wasn't for the damned adhesive on the sides. Be prepared to need a new rear cover.
I used 3 different thickness guitar picks and a plastic pry tool ( those blue guys you get when you buy any part out of china). I would recommend heating up the sides to start, if you have a bean bag heating pad, use it, put it in the microwave for 2 mins and sit it on the sim card side of the phone. Because the plastic is a little flexible, I was able to slip a pick between the screen and the sim slot, then pry it upwards and slowly slide the pick toward the bottom of the phone. Once you get a little ways down stop and leave the pick in, take a thicker one and to the same, replacing the first with the new one. Repeat with another, the trick is to apply light bust constant pressure on the glue to break the bond. After a few mins of that and possibly reheating, you should be able to go around the corner and across the bottom. The glue is only of the sides. There are 4 clips of each side and 2 on both the top and bottom.
Make sure that the top assembly comes out from the bottom of the phone first or you risk damaging the power button/ir blaster.
I bought a full screen replacement with back cover from etrade, I also bought an empty shell from eBay, I used the etrade parts, but I'll swap the original screen to the ebay parts tomorrow.
Wow, you've got some courage man! I really want to convert mine to black, but I'm scared.. Never opened a phone before. Post some pics of the phone please.. Any gaps/other issues?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was too, I watched videos, I read the forums. In the end I just grabbed it and tried to see If I could even fit the first pick in, then I got farther and finally got it off. The guts are simple to change over, just be aware that the screws are not interchangeable, so take a piece of paper make notes and keep track of your screws. When I got it rebuilt I was bumbed out at the speaker, but because there is no glue on the new free I was able to get the back off in less then a minute.
I see no gaps or problems. Everything works and the phone looks great, in my opinion they should have never made a white and silver. I'll post some picks when I'm back home tonight.
I followed the videos from Go Cell Phone Repair, he has 2, one is the tear down the other is the reassembly, Google YouTube for them, he was very thorough.
So I discovered this trick a few weeks ago and I have been meaning to share with everyone but only got to it now.
The top speaker on my old S9+ was crackling when playing music and I decided to try and clean it. I put alcohol on an earpick and rubbed it in rounds, up, down, left, right and etc. The sound got better but not enough. Then I noticed the hydrogen peroxide 3% next to the bathroom mirror and used it instead of alcohol. I also decided to play a loud song at the time of cleaning it. As I was at it, I could see little bubbles flying off from the speaker grill and opening up all the tiny holes that were filled up with gunk over the years. This process restored the speaker clarity to 100% as original.
Then, since both mics of the S9 were muffled from all the dust (and likely baby powder from me powdering deez nuts as it helps with comfort ) I decided to fill them up with peroxide as well, instead of alcohol. I took a fat needle and was putting it up and down into the mic holes to push the peroxide out. While it was coming out I could see it bubble which is an indicator that it is dissolving particles. Then I tried it with paper and added some more peroxide and repeated 2 times.
Last, i took a dry earpick and pulled the cotton up while rolling it with my fingers to the point it became like a long fat cotton needle. Slim enough to enter the mic holes as I was turning it and pressing it slowly inwards. Did that part to absorb any peroxide leftovers, instead of waiting for it to dry out by it self.
The result was crystal clear sharp sound that I had thought was long gone and never coming back. I call this a full restoration.
Did the same thing with the s21u on all 3 mics and it worked splendidly. 2 of them had become somewhat muffled after a years use and when talking through the loud speaker people on the other side weren't hearing me clearly.
Note 0: To put peroxide into the mics, I fully soaked an earpick with it and then gently rubbed it on the mic holes until it went in.
Note 1: Putting a needle in the mic holes will not damage the mics as the holes are curved so the needle cannot touch a mic. (Samsung's preventative measure against people putting in the SIM pick in the wrong hole)
Note 2: You can test your MICs clarity through a sound loop by opening your dialer and typing *#0283#
Note 3: DO NOT attempt this on phones which are NOT waterproof. The only reason this works on our phones is because they were designed to withstand water.
Ingenious. As long as the water or oxidizer doesn't damage anything. That's a tough cleaning challenge many times.
If any of it makes it past the mic inside the phone better be ready to pull the rear cover, disconnect the battery, flush anhydrous isopropyl alcohol (min 93%) and completely dry.
I was wondering if there is a technique, when cleaning, to avoid pushing gunk further down into the mic which would clog them even more?
blackhawk said:
Ingenious. As long as the water or oxidizer doesn't damage anything. That's a tough cleaning challenge many times.
If any of it makes it past the mic inside the phone better be ready to pull the rear cover, disconnect the battery, flush anhydrous isopropyl alcohol (min 93%) and completely dry.
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Legit points, thanks god peroxide doesn't really affect anything rubbery or plasticky.. And given that the phones waterproof rating says it can withstand water pressure of about 1 meter's submersion, all should be good as applying little drops of peroxide puts no pressure at all.
But yeah, it is a bit scary for sure, aaand totally worth it once the sound clarity is restored
KingFatty said:
I was wondering if there is a technique, when cleaning, to avoid pushing gunk further down into the mic which would clog them even more?
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Yeah it's tricky. Best to clean it regularly a microfiber cloth before the junk gets pushed in.
A dry climate helps as does not putting the phone to your ear.
After over 2.5 years my N10+ ports are surprisingly spotless. They are partially shielded by the case which is antistatic it seems.
The Bolt case rarely requires much cleaning, another reason I wuv it.
KingFatty said:
I was wondering if there is a technique, when cleaning, to avoid pushing gunk further down into the mic which would clog them even more?
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Click to collapse
That's exactly what I had been afraid of when it comes to cleaning with alcohol.
The thing about the peroxide is that it starts bubbling up the gunk and essentially it helps is dissolve and carries it upwards. If the gunk has muffled your mic, it has already piled up at the bottom... No further down to go haha
blackhawk said:
Yeah it's tricky. Best to clean it regularly a microfiber cloth before the junk gets pushed in.
A dry climate helps as does not putting the phone to your ear.
After over 2.5 years my N10+ ports are surprisingly spotless. They are partially shielded by the case which is antistatic it seems.
The Bolt case rarely requires much cleaning, another reason I wuv it.
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Yea I live in the Mediterranean and during the summer the humidity can reach up to 90%+.. And in the winter I have the phone playing music in the bathroom when showering and the air fills with steam from the hot water.. Too many no no's...
babyboy3265 said:
Legit points, thanks god peroxide doesn't really affect anything rubbery or plasticky.. And given that the phones waterproof rating says it can withstand water pressure of about 1 meter's submersion, all should be good as applying little drops of peroxide puts no pressure at all.
But yeah, it is a bit scary for sure, aaand totally worth it once the sound clarity is restored
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Yeah just saying. Never trust that waterproof rating; it's waterproof until it leaks
The ports, mic and speakers are probably safe but the rear cover seal and buttons are suspect so try to avoid getting liquids on those.