this post was submitted on 22 Apr 2024
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I mean they're still this "easy" for the most part. Obviously some are harder than others but I've changed plenty of post 2020 phones and they're very similar to this. I would strongly argue that it should absolutely be waaaaay easier to do tho. I've only changed so many because it's too difficult for most people and they know I can.
It's ridiculous how hard they've made these damn things to repair and it pisses me off that it's even legal. We're slooooowly making headway in the right to repair department but it's really just kind of clawing back to where we were than actual progress.
I've been fixing cell phones and replacing batteries for literally 25 years now.
On all the higher end phones that people like to have, it is absolutely not nearly that easy anymore. Not even close. The most time consuming part is if they're waterproofed/resistant and glass backed. You have to be much more careful taking the backs off without breaking (much easier with a heat gun or heating plate) and then you have to remove every little bit of the adhesive used on the back and housing of the phone if you want to seal it up well, again.
Then theres often a lot more hardware you have to disconnect and remove in order to get to the battery.
Then many batteries (looking at you, samsung) adhere the batteries down extremely hard with no release tabs so you need to use adhesive removal and thin plastic to slip under the battery (use too much or pry too hard and you'll ruin the screen) in order to remove it.
Then, if you've done all that, you just have to decide if you're going to put the phone back, back on with a sticker like what it came with (aftermarket ones aren't very good, though) or if you can lay down a nice enough bead of something like t-8000 glue. I go for the glue, because I've done it enough times that I'm confident I can make it waterproof again and I have stuff to hold pressure across the phones while it dries.
This is such a bummer to hear. That makes sense because I have definitely not been working on high end phones. I've only worked on one where I needed to remove the back glass (which was a bitch until I figured it out!) but once I popped it open it wasn't too bad. Sounds like things are getting worse and maybe won't get better for a bit...
I'm curious, do you ever see any type of DRM or software locks if you replace any components? I'm just a weekend warrior so I don't work on a ton but I've tried to help out a friend or two by replacing components and there's been a few times it seems like everything is in place but the phone just won't allow the replaced components. I just assumed I messed something up but I've heard of some fishy business where phones won't allow aftermarket components on some parts of the phone (I've mainly only had this issue dealing with switching out camera components)
I haven't heard of any phone manufacturers that will completely brick a phone, but Apple is a heavy offender of "parts pairing" where it will give constant warnings or disable features if you swap out a part. Same for the optical drives in playstations and xbox'.
Good news is that a state in the US just banned parts pairing, so it looks like Apple and anyone else will have to stop doing it. I'm sure Apple will just do something else to make it extremely hard to replace parts instead, though. It seems like they always want to be anti consumer pricks.
Most "high-end cellphones" have their batteries glued in (applying heat near a battery is no fun at all), and in some cases to open the enclosure you've got to remove the front glass as there's no way to remove the back cover (surprise, it's also glass).
Honestly, I felt that after trying to replace a battery, they should hand me an EOD title.
Is it glued in though? Using a little acetone works well.
Usually you need one of these puppies though I heard you could actually use a hair dryer, though that might be for the more adventurous.
Hair dryer plus acetone is good enough. I was able to remove a chunky spicy pillow with zero risks a couple years ago, so it works.
I just checked and the latest iphone battery's adhesive can be removed with isopropyl alcohol.
Still, I'm not comfortable applying heat to anything spicy.
I'm glad you enjoyed the experience though ;)