Nokia 808 Case Replacement (disassemble and reassemble)

In this tutorial, I will show you how to disassemble and reassemble your Nokia 808 PureView.
You can use this knowledge for repairs or to switch the housing to change the colour.

A long time ago, I wrote a similar Review/How To about disassembling the Nokia N8.
According to feedback back then, my tutorial was missing pictures and detailed descriptions... I hope this time I did a better job in documenting the process ;)

Why do it and what are the risks?

Why you would do it should be obvious.
If your phone needs repairs, that are not covered by your warranty this tutorial can be helpful.
You can order the replacement parts and save a lot of money by fixing your phone yourself.
Personally I simply wanted to switch the colour from black to red.
Cleaning the phone from dust on the inside (or after you spilt something on it), may also be a reason to do this.

The risks are quite high and you should be aware of that!
This is not like flashing a custom firmware or modifying the software, where you can simply revert everything to its original state.
You can do real damage to your phone and obviously you void your warranty, if you leave any physical signs behind (breaking off stuff, scratching components, etc.).

If you follow this tutorial, the risk is all yours! I am not responsible for any damage you may cause.

Where to get replacement parts?

Ebay and Google are your friends here!
You can find almost every single part on ebay, finding it there is not a problem.
However, some countries/regions are probably out of luck when it comes to international shipment, which is why searching for another shop via Google may be able to help you out.

Make sure you order original parts and not cheap knock-offs!
I ordered my parts at a German online shop "gerry-mobilfunk.de".

Full disassembly video

Before you do anything, you should watch this video by LE55ONS on Youtube.
Take a look at what this is all about and make up your mind, whether you trust yourself to do it or not!

Case replacement (detailed tutorial)

I assume you already watched the video above, so you should know what your are getting your self into.
Another good source of information on this matter is the "Nokia Care Academy Service Manual" for the Nokia 808. Lots of pictures and detailed descriptions will guide you through the process.

So here is the description of my own attempt to switch the 808's housing:

• you need a clean environment
• wash your hands, tools and table (and make sure everything is dry)
• ESD protection
• if you have a anti static matte or gloves, use them!
  (I only used some anti static packaging from PC parts)
• be careful
• don't rush things, take your time
• handle the components with care and try to avoid touching the golden contacts

Get your phone ready, by removing the battery, SIM- and microSD card.

There's the replacement case, when you are ready prepare it and remove the protective foils/stickers.

Removing the screws on the rear housing, allows you to simply lift it away.

My new cover came with a new speaker and 3.5mm jack already included. So I only had to move xenon flash and antenna.

The xenon flash in it's new housing.

This is the GSM/3G antenna, removed from its original black housing...

...and plugged into the new red housing.

Put the phone back together and insert your SIM-, microSD card and battery...

...and you are done!

Quality Control

To check your results, you have to test your phone!
Just because it turns on again, doesn't mean everything is fine...

Test all the hardware features like GSM/3G antenna, Microphones, Speakers, Bluetooth, WLAN, Camera, Xenon/LED flash, etc.

If only one of the hardware features doesn't work, you'll have to open up the phone again and see if everything is in place.
Make sure all the contacts and connectors are clean and fit perfectly. Close the phone and try EVERYTHING again (maybe you fixed what didn't work before, but then broke something else in the process?).

Everything should work now, congratulations! ;)

Some final words

This wasn't the first time, I opened up a phone. So no big deal for me.
If you have some experience like this, for example building your own Computer, etc. you should do fine too (its basically the same, just with smaller and more sensible components).

If you do not feel 100% comfortable, you are probably better off paying for the repair by Nokia (or ask a friend with more experience). Don't take any risks if you feel insecure about this!

In my example here, I switched the housing.
I payed 60.- CHF for the new parts. Nokia's Care Center asked for 300.- CHF to replace the housing for me, so I saved 250.- CHF by doing it myself!

Another example would be my sisters Lumia 820. She recently broke the screen... fixing it via Nokia would cost more than 200.- CHF. Doing it myself with parts from ebay, it will only cost her ~50.- CHF.

So if you do feel comfortable and you think you can handle it, it will pay off to learn doing stuff like this.

I hope this tutorial helps some of you, if you have any questions just drop a comment below ;)