45 replies to this topic

[fluffcat1]

Tried this this evening. Took a good hour to get the face back on properly and even now I'm not 100% happy with it - the button press feel isn't quite what I'd like. But anyway....

First, a note of caution. This is a *guide* you follow at your own risk. If you are in any way unsure, don't try it. If you've done a C500 or similar before, you'll have no problems.

You'll need a good torx T6, a small philips, a small flat blade scredriver and a plastic tool to prise open the case.

( I am working on the phone face down for reference to directions )

First remove the aeriel cover using the flat blade screwdriver at a 45 degree angle in the two holes either side at the top of the battery. You can leave the connector cover in but it may be easier to remove it first. When you lever the edge up, use your finger to slide the aeriel cover slightly towards the top of the phone and then pull it away.

Remoe the two torx screws under the aeriel cover, and the two at the base of the phone.

Slide your 'case opening tool' at a 45 degree upwards angle between the fascia and the black plastic chassis on the right hand side as the phone is face down. There are three clips facing 'out' and one larger one facing in so it's a bit tricky. Do the same for the other side and turn the phone over. Start to lift the right edge away, hinging on the left side, using your case opening tool. Make sure the longer case clip is clear of the screen before hinging the fascia away fully else you'll bend the plastic. If you are replacing the face don't worry too much here, just be careful you don't snap the ribbon to the keypad.

Once the face is at 90 degrees to the chassis, remove the 4 small philips holding the keypad in place and the fascia just comes away :-)

Refitting is the difficult bit  :cry:

Make sure if you are fitting a new fascia, you transfer the rubber seal from around the screen surround, and also cut a bit of double sided tape to secure the speaker in place in the new face. It has a springy foam cover so it can be difficult to make stick but you do need it.

Put the keypad buttons in place and make sure they click into the locators in the frame. Press the keypad into the fascia and whilst semi-closing the fascia onto the chassis tighten the two screws near the ribbon. If slightly off centre you will chew the plastic and they won't hold. Once they're in OK check the location of the keypad is ok and put the other screws back in.

Power up the phone quickly to check all is ok with button operation.

Put the fascia directly on top of the chassis and press down hard around the edges so the plastic clips connect. Put the 4 torx screws back in, and be careful not to overtighten the top right as the plastic looks thin here and if you do it will chew out of shape and the aeriel cover won't re-fit ok.

Refit the aeriel cover and you're done  

Richard

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[awarner]

Nice work

[fluffcat1]

awarner [MVP], on Oct 25 2005, 23:46, said:

Nice work

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks...and for my next trick.... I'll make a black C550 like the one that everyone's seen in the promo pics :-)

The silver metal piece of the fascia comes away very easily, and could easily be repainted and refitted. There are also earthing strip 'teeth' in the black chassis that press against the metal piece, and the contact area underneath for these is 'roughened' where the rest is smooth. I cannot trace where these strips lead but they are connected to each other - and there is no earth connection between the face and the board unless it's through the screw holes which are brass. Will get my meter out and check.

Richard.

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[Pondrew]

Post made sticky  

[w411y]

Any1 else successfully done this? Or if your about to please post more pics
I fancy removing the dust and think it would look nice in black
Nice thorough guide mind i take my hat off to you

[fluffcat1]

w411y, on Oct 26 2005, 01:24, said:

Any1 else successfully done this? Or if your about to please post more pics
I fancy removing the dust and think it would look nice in black
Nice thorough guide mind i take my hat off to you

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sorry, pics won't be any better 'till I get a better camera that can do close focusing no problem.

I've sold a fair few faces so somebody else will have done it. If you just need to clear the dust you only need to open slightly and squirt with a can of compressed air to clear the particles.

If you still have a warranty you want to keep I'd get a spare face before going with the black.

Richard

[neargh]

hmm.i gotta crack on my facia.. =( .. on the see throguh bit that prtects the screen..you think i could cut some plastic to fit the gap and replace the snapped bit?
if you think its a bad idea..has anybody got a facia i can buy..are the dummy ones exactly the same?..

Edited by neargh, 27 October 2005 - 11:34 PM.

[fluffcat1]

neargh, on Oct 28 2005, 00:34, said:

hmm.i gotta crack on my facia.. =( .. on the see throguh bit that prtects the screen..you think i could cut some plastic to fit the gap and replace the snapped bit?
if you think its a bad idea..has anybody got a facia i can buy..are the dummy ones exactly the same?..

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You can remove just the clear plastic with it's silver surround, but as a large amount of pressure is required it may splinter into lots of pieces when you do if it's already got a crack in it so make sure you don't stab yourself! I tried this last night with the old face. Not stabbing myself you understand LOL...

See the topic in the ebay auction section here for my c550 spares.

Richard

[alexwils]

I've managed to crack my facia screen too. How much would Orange charge to repair it?  I don't have orange care but looking at their t&c's it doesn't look like they would cover it anyway.  How much are your replacement facias? - I can't get ebay at work.

[fluffcat1]

alexwils, on Nov 30 2005, 12:00, said:

I've managed to crack my facia screen too. How much would Orange charge to repair it?  I don't have orange care but looking at their t&c's it doesn't look like they would cover it anyway.  How much are your replacement facias? - I can't get ebay at work.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

HTC will do it as a chargeable repair - orange wouldn't do it anyway, they'd just refer you to HTC unless you rang up and put orange care on it.... then just be less careful with it

www.htceurope.com for prices / booking for a chargeable repair.

Unsure of what HTC charge for a c550, my fronts are £12 plus postage.

Richard

[alexwils]

Getting

Edited by alexwils, 30 November 2005 - 07:02 PM.

[alexwils]

Have you run out of facias?  I want to get one but your original auction is out of date.

[RufusA]

alexwils, on Dec 4 2005, 18:18, said:

Have you run out of facias?  I want to get one but your original auction is out of date.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I emailed Richard (Fluffcat1) the other day via his eBay profile, and he still has facias in stock, but doesn't list them on eBay anymore as they tend not to sell in sufficient quantities to justify the listing fee.

I simply paid him the £12 + £1.99 P&P via Paypal and he's hopefully posting one today for me.

HTH - Rufus.

Edited by RufusA, 05 December 2005 - 11:18 AM.

[fluffcat1]

alexwils, on Dec 4 2005, 18:18, said:

Have you run out of facias?  I want to get one but your original auction is out of date.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

More listed currently...

[RufusA]

I replaced my fascia yesterday (cracked screen) thanks for the part Richard. A few comments on the process.

1) You need to get the right sized screwdriver to pop off the antenna cover, the driver needs to be inserted some distance and if the shaft is too broad you'll distort the rectangular holes. Inuendos not intended! You'll know when you get the angle of attack right as it just pops off, but I found I needed to approach at slightly shallower than 45%.

2) The clips on the fascia are a real PITA to release. Lever one side up and the other side pops down etc. The big central clip doesn't want to release (particularly on keyboard ribbon side), and has a nasty habit of encouraging the others to close. Look at the replacement fascia for the exact location of the clips to learn where to put pressure, and you may need some improvised wedges (or fingernails) to stop the opposite side from closing.

3) The cable on the keyboard is very short, unless you get the clips full released it is very difficult to open up the fascia by 90 degrees to access the keyboard screws.

4) *IMPORTANT* move the earspeaker and foam padding on screen surround BEFORE fitting the new fascia back on to the case. I was so elevated about getting the old fascia off at @&#!ing last that I forgot. Then had to remove the new fascia *again* to fit them correctly.

5) The earpiece speaker comes in two parts an electronic bit (with metal contacts on the back) and a double sided sticky foam/mesh bit. The foam/mesh bit is a PITA to remove (I levered up an edge with a modeling knife then pulled with tweezers). Assemble the foam back on to the speaker then stick both on to the new fascia; I used dots of Uhu glue (applied with a cocktail stick) rather than thin strips of sticky tape, probably wouldn't recommend though.

6) The foam around the screen surround I found impossible to remove in tact. It is thin, not too strong and stuck down with very sticky tape. Managed to get most of it off, but the bottom strip tore and it curls and distorts badly as you handle it. In the end in frustration cut it in to 4 straight parts (by cutting out the corners), and stuck each piece down seperately. Probably didn't help I was trying to do this with the new fascia already with keyboard in place (see 4) so space was restricted. Also make sure it is out of sight of the front of the fascia - you don't want to be seeing distorted foam throught your qvga screen!

7) Heed the warnings about stripping the threads on the keyboard screws, I thought I had been careful but still managed to strip one on the ribbon side of the keyboard! A dot of glue on the thread will hopefully keep it in place.

8) Make sure you have some compressed air to blow all the dust off and use a "spectacles cloth" to clean the inside of the fascia and LCD screen (removing finger prints etc.) before clipping shut.

9) Check the side buttons are operating and clear of the fascia before tightening the torque screws, the volume control on mine was preventing the case from closing fully.

On the whole my effort is a bit of a bodge, and I've have benefited from using proper case lever tools rather than a thin penknife! You will need a *very* small Philips screwdriver and a magnet head wouldn't harm when trying to fit those pesky keyboard screws in restricted space without moving the keypad alignment. However case is now tight, and keyboard works, so I'm happy!

TBH if the HTC costs were less than £30 it would be worth sending the phone off to get the job done properly without the tears and pain. Unfortunately as Richard has pointed out HTC want over £60 for the job, so Richard's fascia is the best option.

HTH - Rufus.

Edited by RufusA, 12 December 2005 - 04:27 PM.

[fluffcat1]

RufusA, on Dec 12 2005, 11:28, said:

I replaced my fascia yesterday (cracked screen) thanks for the part Richard. A few comments on the process.

(snipped comments )

TBH if the HTC costs are less than £30 it would be worth sending the phone off to get the job done properly without the tears and pain.

HTH - Rufus.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It's not too bad once you've done a few with the right tools ;-) - and it's an awful lot easier if you're not bothered about voiding the warranty! But hey, no-one even thought this possible until I tried it first and you're keeping your warranty intact  

HTC's cost for a cosemetic refurb for a phone in warranty but with no other fault is as follows:

Full Cosmetic Refurbishment  £26.83  
Courier in UK (Less than 1 Kg)  £6.87  
Labour  £20.00

total 53.70 + vat = 63.09!!!

So getting a £12.99 face from me and doing it yourself is a bargain....

Richard

[greenturtle]

i bought my self a usb vacume cleaner for my pc is there any opening spot in the phone where i can suck the dust out ??

[fluffcat1]

mini_man, on Dec 25 2005, 11:32, said:

i bought my self a usb vacume cleaner for my pc is there any opening spot in the phone where i can suck the dust out ??

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Interesting idea, but i doubt you'd be able to suck it out past the seal around the screen? An opening to suck the dust out = an opening for more dust to get in  :evil:

Richard

[greenturtle]

I gave up on the idea, so i just removed the cover like you sed, the guide is fantastic. Although i mangaged to get some black dots behind the screen :S so  i will remove them again soon!

[Pug]

fluffcat1, on Dec 12 2005, 11:10, said:

It's not too bad once you've done a few with the right tools ;-) - and it's an awful lot easier if you're not bothered about voiding the warranty!

Just bought one of your fascias and to be honest I'm not looking forward to the fiddlyness of replacing it.
I'm not bothered about the warranty (chuffed to still having the phone work, dropped it in a bucket of water last year )so would be interested in any easier way to do it.

Cheers.