Anyone who is curious about the internals of their Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 will probably be glad to check out this teardown guide. Disassembling the Xperia X10 is a tricky process, but thankfully McKebapp from xda-developers has gone through the hard work detailing the step-by-step process in taking your handset apart.
He has kindly allowed us to reproduce the guide here in full, bringing this information to the wider X10 community. If you are thinking about taking your phone apart, please read the instructions carefully and if you get stuck don’t force anything. Check out the full guide after the break.
Xperia X10 Disassembly Guide
[The Xperia X10 Blog absolves itself from any responsibility should you decide to carry on and you break your handset. Please proceed with caution and at your own risk.]
Step 1: Requirements
Torx 6 Screwdriver
Small straight-slot screwdriver
Credit card or guitar pick
Toothpick
Small knife
Step 2: Remove peripheral components
Remove all of the loose parts like the battery, sim card and memory card.
Step 3: Unscrewing
Take out the 8 screws from the handset, keep them in a safe place to avoid loosing any of them.
Step 4: Remove lower support
Remove the lower part of the phone that has small connectors to the PCB and is half-glued to the back cover. Use a small knife to pierce once under both sides of the handset. You should now be able to lift it open with your own finger nails.
Step 5: Create a gap between covers
Starting at the top, use a guitar pick to create a small gap between the back and front covers. Be patient and don’t use a knife otherwise the faux-chrome will start to peel off. Once the gap is big enough use a credit card (that is slightly thicker than the guitar pick) to force the upper end of the back cover off its clips. The smooth plastic should prevent the handset getting scratched.
Step 6: Create gap on right side
Continue creating the gap on the right side. Start slowly from the front cover and stick the credit card between the housing parts. The first clip should now be open but continue until you are on the lower right side. Be careful not to pierce too deep with the credit card, otherwise there is a chance of cutting the ribbons beneath. Now release the lower clips as you did for those at the top of the housing.
Step 7: Loosen left side
At this point, the right side and bottom should be loosened. The clips on the left side are too tight to get a credit card through. However, this is not needed, if you lift the back cover slowly and wiggle it a little it should come off by itself. Note that this step may require a bit of force to open properly.
Step 8: Prepare to remove sim and memory card holder
Now you need to remove the sim and memory card holder that has four clips. Two of these clips can be seen in the picture below (where the screwdriver is pointing to). Use a toothpick to lever between the PCB and clip from underneath. Now do the same to the two clips on the other side. DO NOT REMOVE THE HOLDER YET. Take a closer look at the next picture first.
Step 9: Remove holder
A ribbon sits underneath the holder so you have to be careful not to rip it. Lift the holder a little from the right side and use a toothpick to lift it off.
Step 10: Remove audio jack
The picture below shows the ribbon again. Take off the audio jack by simply lifting it with your fingers. The arrow shows you in which direction.
Step 11: Remove ribbons
Now loosen the three ribbons at the lower end of the PCB. Use a toothpick, guitar pick or credit card to remove these ribbons that should come off easily. Do not remove any of the SMD components beside these ribbons. If you do, it will require you to re-solder them back.
Step 12: Remove additional ribbon
Remember to remove another ribbon that sits underneath the audio jack. The red screwdriver is pointing to it in the picture below.
Step 13: Remove PCB
Now you need to loosen the clips that the PCB is attached to on the front cover. The PCB is attached via four clips. Use the straight-slot screwdriver to pierce between the PCB and upstanding part of the front cover. The screwdriver should be placed at a direct angle from the side (see the picture from step 15). Now wiggle a little and the PCB should jump out of the clips. Repeat this on the other three clips. You should now be able to lift the lower end of the PCB and pull it out in a flat angle.
Step 14: Separate display and touch module
Now you will need to split the display, touch module and front cover. Loosen the keypad, but be careful not to tear the ribbon.
Step 15: Remove copper-coloured ribbons
Slowly pierce underneath the copper looking ribbons. They are glued to the whole area. After you’ve cut a few parts you should be able to remove the ribbons with your fingers, start with the biggest and finish with the smallest one.
Step 16: Remove display
The display is also clipped in the same way that the PCB was. Once you’ve used a credit card to remove the clips it should pop off by itself. That’s it you’ve now successfully disassembled the Xperia X10.
Note: The touch module appears to be heavily glued to the front cover. It may be able to be removed by heating the glue (maybe with a hairdryer) but it hasn’t been tried.
Reassembly
To reassemble the whole phone, simply put it back together in the reverse order as described in the steps above. When reassembling the phone don’t forget to clip the ribbons again. Simply push them into the connectors with your thumb. Don’t forget the ribbon underneath the audio jack and sim, memory card holder. Make sure that all clips are tightened by pressing the display, the PCB and the back cover once around with your thumb.
Many thanks to McKebapp once again. His original (and more humorous) guide can be found here.
{ 75 comments… read them below or add one }
What kind of a lunatic would do that?!
Crazy…….
Are there any useful/practical reasons for doing this? ‘Because I wanted to see if I could pull one apart and put it back together again’ isn’t one.
this is crazy man!!!!!!!!
did u successfully reassemble it? Is the fone working?
this is so dumb, why would anyone take their phone apart for no reason
@all
This is for the great justice!
This is sooooo NOT pointless it has a great number of advantages to it. First it gives an idea of how hard it was to put this phone togeather, second it shows how much time it takes to take it apart, and third it shows us how to do it if we need to. I bet that who ever scrutinized this person will be very sorry that they didn’t pay more heed to him when they brake their phone and then go paying a good amount of money to get it fixed while the people who read this know how to do by themselves and save their money.
SO thx for the tutorial
I have actually taken my x10 apart to change the cover to white. and i needed the touch module off, and i dared to do what u proposed. i used a haridryer to warm the glue and take it off.. i got a little crack in the right corner of the screen. but got it succesfuly changed. still works as it should..
Just wanna say that taking the Touch module off is something i wouldnt recommend. i was scared shitless that i had broken it. i used a hairdryer and a hobby knife..
some pictures if anyone would be curious http://s179.photobucket.com/albums/w300/trustycpl/Phone%20disassembly/
@Mike Sommer
Wow, your phone looks damn amazing!
My X10 was in a damp pocket and got humid inside the unit. No water, just humidity and my screen was messed up. I put it in a bowl of rice for a day and all is dry and normal except for my camera lens cover. It still has moisture drops on it and I cannot take a picture and it has been 2 weeks since the accident.
This is why someone would do this to there phone or pay someone 100$ to do it otherwise. Thanks sooooo much for this info. MUCH appreciated!!!!!
Thanks. Great phone! and battery isn’t too bad with app manager clearing out some processes.
Excellent.
I have an accident at step #10, any idea where I can get the flexible circuit board with the SIM card holder and Memory card holder?
The only reason I would take x10 apart is to see if there’s a front camera (like SE p1i or iPhone 4)….fter all this is there a front video camera or not?
This tutorial helped me disassemble my phone to dry it after it fell in water, and thanks to this everything now works after i reassembled except that people complain my voice is faint when i talk to them.so i was wondering if anyone could point out where the mouthpiece is inside the phone.
@Patricio – cnn.cn is a great place to buy parts for phones. Cheap and very reliable. They only have one ribbon cable for the X10, not sure if it’s the one you need.
this tutorial is great. helped me replace my damaged housing so my phone looks new, and even helped me take it apart so i could spray paint just the chrome edge of the phone (: now i have a black and red phone ~
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=14303240&l=8da71b1279&id=559120581
@Andrew.
Thanks a lot, sadly they have the wrong one, I need the memory_sim card cable, I’m still looking for.
This is great! My X10 was ran over and I have no insurance on the phone but have sourced the parts needed so this guide will be great for me to replace the buttons, screen, digitizer and case
I found it very helpful, as I was not sure how to open it and didn’t wanted to cause any damage, so i’ve followed the instructions and managed to open it and fix my set.
Thanks.
To ppl who says pointless, pls remember everything has a reason beind.
Where is humidity sensor in X10 ? What color it should be normally?
Hi, Mike Sommer if your still using this site, how can I get in contact with ya? I got a few questions about replacing front cover on my X10 due to scratches.
My X10 get dropped in my salt water pool and although everything works (luckily) after putting into rice after two days, the screen shows streak of water trace, may be due to the salt. I am wondering whether I can unglue and take apart (or just open up a bit) the touch module from the front to clean it? Hi Mike Sommer, could you share your experience?
i use your post. thank you .
http://www.xperiax10.net/2010/05/10/xperia-x10-disassembly-guide <<i use your post.
sorry.. http://cafe.naver.com/disassemblemachine/5 <<i used your post. Thank you.
First of thank you for the great disassembly Guide despite the criticisms of some,im going to buy a new case due to the old one being battered round the edges,im just woundering if anyone one has successfully removed the touch module with out damaging it? and will i need some kind of glue with the new case to put it back in?Thank you very much for any help on this matter..
hi, thanks for the great guide to disassemble my phone. i did it exactly as you have guided. i need to replace USB/charger socket… could anyone help me…. many thanks..
I was thinking about doing that because i dropped my phone and the buttons on the front are scraped up (no more chrome
). would it be hard to replace them?
Cmon guys?
Why should this be unusefull?
What are ya gonna do if the screen broke? of course, dissambly it to replace it!
Thank you very much!
My phone wasn’t charging, I took it apart using this and realised the sim car/ micro sd board was shorting out on the mainboard. It seemed to be the heat sinks, so I coated them in a little silicone heat compound and voila it is charging again!
Thanks!
No Way….. This is Crazy. a Pros gota do it for me
hey can someone tell me how to put a new cover
this is the link with the cover its a full cover thanks
http://www.mytrendyphone.com/shop/sony-ericsson-xperia-29113p.html
If anyone who need back battery cover, please buy it on my website, thanks
http://www.acceport.com/original-sony-ericsson-xperia-x10-mini-pro-back-battery-housing-faceplate-cover-case-red.html
can anyone help me with my phone? it got wet then none of the buttons work. actually when i turn my phone on for the first 30 seconds they all work but after that only the touch screen and the power button work. so the phone is now useless! no back or home button! anyone knows whats the problem?! i disassembled it but every thing looked normal from the inside.
Well, i took my xperia x10 apart, i had to. My usb port is not working at all. Cant charge it or data tranfer via my pc. Turns out that the soldering has come away from the circuit board. Any tips on the best way to go about this????????
abc: Many people, like myself, NEED to disassemble their phone in order to replace a part that is defective, and have no insurance and/or warranty on the phone.
Thanks for a great guide! Now I’ll just get the part I need and break out the tools
The reason for this demonstration is quite simple, it is to familiarise us to the procedures necessary to access the phones hardware , and also if there are any hardware faults we may learn how reach and repair the affected component.
i have my xperia x10i but it its dead now because some parts would it blown, thats why i was pulling out from the board, lastly my x10 was drop to the floor, until it was come to hang up then off again, the power was on and off after a week my phone is totally dead now. to checking up the board, i was saw some kind of spare parts blown, i dont know what’s role of this parts, if you know what is it pls help..
and i hope you give me some answer of what could be the function of thi parts…
king_0325@yahoo.com
[IMG]http://i53.tinypic.com/b9ak1z.jpg[/IMG]
i have my xperia x10i but it its dead now because some parts would it blown, thats why i was pulling out from the board, lastly my x10 was drop to the floor, until it was come to hang up then off again, the power was on and off after a week my phone is totally dead now. to checking up the board, i was saw some kind of spare parts blown, i dont know what’s role of this parts, if you know what is it pls help..
and i hope you give me some answer of what could be the function of thi parts…
king_0325@yahoo.com
http://tinypic.com/r/b9ak1z/7
hi, urm my phone stopped charging so i need to take it apart, why wont my screws come out? i have unscrewed them, they are all very loose but wont come out? why is this?
Worked great!! Broke the glass on my brand new X10, bought a new spare set on the web, have used 30minutes and its WORKS!!!!! Perfect!
Tips from me, use a clean surface to work on(we don`t want dust on the touch screen..)
Remember to but the on/off rubberbutton in place, I forgot and had to de/re asemble twice…!
@ SP=K JELS OF NORWAY: I have also broken the glass on my X10, the LCD panel is fine as is the touch but the screen is a bit cracked and looks to be getting worse. You’ve given me confidence that it can be fixed without having to replace the phone but where did you get your replacement glass from?
I did everything in the tutorial to replace the housing to white. But now my buttons on the front don’t function at all. Has this happened to anyone else.
Hi can you just remove the glass screen without taking completely apart? on a x10 thanks.
Could someone please tell me what is the part that you removed in Step 4 called?
I need to purchase a new one.
Thanks for any help offered.
hi all!
i had usb connector problem since then i was searching a guide to dissasemble my xperia the first time i went through this guide i succesfuly done some steps until the hard time arrived when the second cover was to remove , then i stuck tryng with every tool to losen the upper cover , then i tried youtube and that was easy and amzing guide which was done by some guy and he used his nails rather then tools , i would suggest you guys if you didnt succesfully by this method then search by youtube
@Boberts I have the same cracking and i think this is what we need: “Digitizer Touch Screen for Sony Ericsson Xperia X10″ Search those terms on EBay and you will find many of them. Some come with some extra tools to help you take apart the phone. Even though it is the very top part I guess the entire phone still needs to come part. I was hoping to be able to pry just that level off and replace.
And if you are looking for the youtube that mentions search for “Xperia X10 Disassembly Walkthrough” by darkgoth678 on Mar 10, 2011
And if you are looking for the youtube that @zakhl mentions search for “Xperia X10 Disassembly Walkthrough” by darkgoth678 on Mar 10, 2011
thank great right up just changed my digitizer. I noticed that step 4 is not needed to be down unless you want to remove the wifi/blue tooth antenner
Thank you for this guide.It was job for 15 minutes and now i have no more dust under the screen and no more warrancy
,anyway in short time warancy expire.sorry for my english .
Hi folks
Great info on dismantling phone I had phone in for repair 2nd time same fault! this time the engineers report said it could not be repaired and they supplied a photo of the damaged circuit board it stated that the repair was not covered under warranty. As the phone was scrap i took it apart and guess what The board is nothing like the one in the photo. I have taken my own photos and will be sending in a complaint to the company who will be named &shamed VODAFONE If they are going to tell lies they could at least produce a photo off the correct phone parts I would never have known they conned me had i not taken it apart
I need the logic board and the screen as water killed the mini x10 I have, any ideas where you can get parts?
Thaks man my usb port was defekt but I have fixed it with yout guide
Jale29: I have had a problem with USB too, and now I can’t even charge it anymore… please explain more of how you did to fix it..!
Thank you very much, I had to replace a cracked screen and this was invaluable as i could find how to do it anywhere else. I have now become good at it as i left some finger prints on the inside of the screen and had to take it apart twice.
Thank you again
Thanks very much, I had a cracked screen courtesy of my 5 year old dropping it and I was quoted £100 to get repaired, paid £20 for the screen off Amazon followed your instructions along with a youtube vid and replaced it myself. Like the guy above I’m pretty good at taking it apart as I forgot to put the on/off button back in so had to dismantle it all again. Thanks
help ive followed all this to change my housing and now touch screen doesnt work help plz my beautiful fone is spoiled
Since this phone has become essentially a brick due to an apparent(blatantly obvious, really) manufacturers’ defect, I figure what have I got to lose by opening this P.O.S.(piece of shit) up and trying my hand at a home repair. Regardless, I still want to TRY to it without TOO much damage to the unit. So THAT is why I am thankful for someone else doing it first and sharing their experience with the rest of us poor saps that were enticed into buying this gussied up P.O.S.(pile of shit!). Wish me LOTS of luck.
Ordered a white casing to replace the black. Should be here tomorrow…so i’ll be following this guide. Good luck to me
to all those in need… i found both a white and black replacement case on ebay for my x10. just $9 each. bit look around first, cause the price varies to over $30. the tools are there also, for $2. cases come with everything external. all buttons and chrome pieces. thanks for all the help forums…
Works perfectly .. the instructions are very good..You just have to be handled carefully and know that the glass remains the same color and only replace plastics…
Can any one HELP ? I had crack lcd and digitizer so I replaced ,was so careful as I have fixed mums iphone 3gs my ipod ,blackberries and Nokia x6 in the past . But this time my xperia x10 has BLACK SCREEN the back light works so dos on and off the sound and the digitizer all work I have tried flashing to new OS with pc suite by swiping and tapping when prompted by suite but still black screen all ports look ok on logic board and it was working fine before replacing lcd and digitizer ,please please HELP
1st i want to say thanks!becaus i have one x10 touch screen broked,now ican change the touch,,,thangs again friend….take care
awesome instruction! just took apart my x10 a few minutes ago to remove something in the middle of the screen which i have no idea how it got there (big ass dust). putting it back on was a breeze.
thank you!
anybody tell me how to replace the ear piece speaker please
Hello,
I have a little problem. Which sticker I must use for paste Touch Screen Digitizer??
Ok, I broke the keypad connecting cable whoops! how can I fix it? thanks
Thanks McKebapp!! My sons phone had liquid damage and wouldn’t charge, this helped greatly to strip down & clean around the components.
I don’t understand these stupid comments.
This tutorial is awesome and very easy to follow if someone will have to fix their X10.
Good work!
Thank you,.Really it is helpful……….Keep it up
Thanks fo this very useful info!
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