bionic ear speaker replacement

[vdubnut]

Hey all, just wondering if anyone has tried to replace the ear speaker yet. I was cleaning my phone and like an idiot, blew canned air in the front speaker area to get some lint and crud out... Now it sounds distorted and crackling. I bought a replacement speaker /front camera assy, but I am gun shy about tearing into my phone. I've seen the teardown on ifixit, but they aren't super detailed. Doesn't seem too complicated, Any words of wisdom?

 

[FoxKat]

Words of wisdom. If there's adhesives (double-sided tape) holding parts together...patience and gentle but firm and even application of prying to separate the parts will yield a clean separation and won't tear the tape apart. Frankly, the slower, the better. As long as you hear the tape letting go, you're good. Much more tension will begin to separate the tape and stretch it leading to breaking.

Separating the case edges where the tiny tabs are, is also a learned skill. Gentle prying is better than pulling incessantly. Those tabs are easy to break and then the case halves won't remain closed tightly. If using a pry tool, make sure it's PLASTIC, NOT METAL, as the metal will scratch and break the plastic.

I guess overall, slow and steady as she goes.

Good luck!

 

[vdubnut]

Thanks, I'm sure I'll need it!

 

[deduct]

Try placing a vacuum up to the earpiece before you do anything drastic. I had this rattle in the past and vacuuming right over the earpiece did the trick.

 

[vdubnut]

I tried putting a suction on it with my mouth and it does help but only for a second or two.... Then it goes back to crap. Did you put a lot of suction? I guess it couldn't hurt at this point huh?

 

[deduct]

I used a shop vac so yeah. It won't hurt anything. I would get the static occasionally and vacuum it and it would be good for a long while.

 

[vdubnut]

I'll give it a try... Thanks!

 

[deduct]

It's worth a try