vB Easy Archive - Does anyone know how to disassemble a sidekick color?

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Does anyone know how to disassemble a sidekick color?
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Posted by: Telegraph

I'm currently trying to take mine apart right now but i'm stuck. I was able to take off the back cover and what appears to be the antenna. Easy enough. The problem i'm having now is the part underneath the antenna (maybe its the antenna maybe its not). It seems to be attached to the battery with a flex cable. The only thing is i don't know where to unplug the cable. Any help would be appreciated.

Posted by: Telegraph

Never mind about the first post.

The next problem i'm having is trying to remove the Flex Cable from the board closest to the screen. Its the flex cable thats attached to the circle that supports the rotating screen. Again, ANY help would be appreciated.

Posted by: jgeorge

disassembling a color sk isn't for the faint of heart. You could pretty easily screw up your device. Those flex cables are fragile as all hell, especially the screen flex cable, that's the weakest link by far.

Back cover, one screw, T-6, take it off and run your thumbnail along the top and bottom edge to pry the snaps loose, then hingle the back cover off.

remove 2 screws on the black plastic clamp holding the radio module down, pop off the radio module (it's held on with sticky foam so pry carefully) this wil remove the gsm module and antenna all in one unit (don't detach this cable!! I think this is the one you're stuck on)

4 philips screws in the corners, then pry between the brown center frame and the top cover. CAREFULLY, but you'll need a lot of pressure right above the IR port but still be freaking careful, and you'll seperate the top cover - keyboard and screen - from the center frame. detach the scroll wheel flex cable (but note how it goes in). battery may sort of hang loose on its flex cable too, you can detach it if you need to.

logic board pops off with 2 retaining clips on the "large" end of the board with the aluminum cover. Board swings out from the headset jack for removal.

flip the top cover over and you can detach the screen flex cable and remove 2 small philips screws to remove the keyboard PCB and keyboard skin.

i seriously DO NOT recommend you removing the screen from the top cover. it can be done, i've been successful more times than i haven't been, but it's not easy and has a very high (and very extreme) screw-up factor.

Now, just out of curiosity, why are you disassembling your phone?

Joe

Posted by: Telegraph

Quote:

Originally Posted by jgeorge

disassembling a color sk isn't for the faint of heart. You could pretty easily screw up your device. Those flex cables are fragile as all hell, especially the screen flex cable, that's the weakest link by far.

WHEW! Indeed the SK was the biggest challenge yet in disassembling a phone. Even the Moto A630 wasn't that difficult!

Quote:

Originally Posted by jgeorge

remove 2 screws on the black plastic clamp holding the radio module down, pop off the radio module (it's held on with sticky foam so pry carefully) this wil remove the gsm module and antenna all in one unit (don't detach this cable!! I think this is the one you're stuck on).

The radio module was actually the 2nd easiest (is that even a word?) thing to remove.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jgeorge

logic board pops off with 2 retaining clips on the "large" end of the board with the aluminum cover. Board swings out from the headset jack for removal.
flip the top cover over and you can detach the screen flex cable and remove 2 small philips screws to remove the keyboard PCB and keyboard skin.

THIS is where i am having the problem. I can't seem to remove the flex cable from the logic board. I'm trying to pry it loose with a small flat head screwdriver (it looks like it would pop UP, allowing me to remove the flex cable and then i would push it DOWN to secure the flex cable to the logic board...)

Quote:

Originally Posted by jgeorge

Now, just out of curiosity, why are you disassembling your phone?

Good question! The nice folks over at T-Mobile denied my attempt to get my color sidekick repaired through the out of warranty program (they said that since it was more than 1 year old that they would not be able to help me... i say THEN WHATS IT GOOD FOR?!?!?). The color SK would freeze up, glitch, crash (big x on the screen), reboot, and constantly stay in vibration mode ...guess it was a common problem. So i remembered i had a color SK with a broken LCD screen and decided to combine the good parts of both phones and get 1 working phone.

Posted by: jgeorge

Quote:

Originally Posted by Telegraph

WHEW! Indeed the SK was the biggest challenge yet in disassembling a phone. Even the Moto A630 wasn't that difficult!

It's a hard phone to take apart. the SK2 is a lot easier.

Quote:

Okay, you'll need to clarify which flex cable from which logic board.

The main logic board (in the brown center frame of the phone) only has one flex cable on it that I can recall, and that's the battery - that cable is just a friction fit and will just pull loose from it's white connector.

If you're talking about the keyboard logic board, the one that the screen flex cable connects to, look where the screen flex cable goes into the connector and you'll see a thin plastic piece that's a different color than the rest of the connector This bit slides "out" (parallel to the plane of the board, in the direction of the cable) to relieve stress on the screen flex cable and it will slide out. It's a ZIF (zero insertion force) connector.

I really, REALLY dont suggest disassembly past this point. Leave the screen and hinge and top cover together unless you want a broken screen flex cable (swap boards all you want).

Joe

Posted by: Paolo

its easier to use the Hiptop1 with the good screen as your donor phone, put all the working parts into that one, dont forget that if you chane the imei label, you also need to move the radio module along with it so the imei stays correct.