Nintendo 3DS XL 2015 Top Display Casing Replacement

Written By: Ryan Butler

Comments: 63

Nintendo 3DS XL 2015 Top Display Casing Replacement

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

Time Required

25 minutes

Introduction

This guide will walk you through the process of opening and replacing the top display casing.

Tools

Parts

Nintendo 3DS XL (2015) Midframe & Digitizer

Step 1

Ensure your device is powered off before proceeding. Failure to do so may result in electrical shock or damage to the device.
Place the 3DS upside down. Remove the game card, headphones, charging cable, stylus, or anything else that may be connected to the device.

Step 2

Using a JIS #0 screwdriver, loosen the two black screws on the back.
The screws are held in place by captive washers and should not be completely removed.

My experience indicates that a JIS #1 is more appropriate here.

John Menden - 09/04/17

Same here, much more appropriate.

Jack Wilson - 27/05/22

Step 3

Once the screws are loosened, pry open the back cover.

Step 4

The battery is located on the left hand side of the 3DS - to remove, use the small gap located at the top-middle and pull up with a non metal pointed tool.

Also you should remove any SD card at this point

James Grant - 20/06/20

Does this battery work on a NEW 3DS XL model?

Froggy The Frog -

This guide is for the New 3DS XL, which is called the 2015 3DS XL here on iFixit. If you're asking about the 3DS replacement battery advertised in the iFixit store, I believe it works for both new and old models.

BabblingFishes -

Step 5

Using a JIS #00 screwdriver, remove the six 6mm screws around the edges of the secondary cover.

I used a #00 instead it works better for a model form 2016

matthewmccreary10 - 09/10/17

remove the micro Sd card or the shell wont come off and damage the Sd card reader and the connecter

Tyler Callander -

If the J screws are not working, 1.3mm flathead worked for me.

Dale J Peterson -

Step 6

Using tweezers, carefully pop out the rubber bumpers located at the top side of the 3DS. Removing them will reveal another two 6mm screws. Remove these screws using a JIS #000 as well.

Can the rubber bumpers be replaced once you reassemble the 3DS? I'd really hate to have to take them out and never be able to put them back in, if I'm honest...

Taylor Prince - 17/02/16

Yep, we were able to put them back in quite easily after repeated teardowns! If they ever refused to stay in for some reason, you could always put a little bit of something sticky on them. (I use scrapbooking tape on my laptop's bumpers.)

BabblingFishes - 18/02/16

What happens if I strip one of these screws? How hard would into be to remove them?

Thomas Ciavattone - 24/09/17

very hard. i stripped 4 screws on my new 3ds xl and i haven’t been able to get them out. i even bought the precision screw extrator set and nothing the set sucked.

marco martinez - 30/09/17

Step 7

To separate the cover, carefully lift it up and away from the hinges (in order to clear the headphone port), then pivot it towards the hinges to expose the circuit boards.
Don't fully remove the cover yet, or you may damage the delicate ribbon cable that still connects it to the motherboard.

I accidentally opened it and broke the ribbon cable to the r and zr buttons by accident. How do I fix it?

Spider Soda - 03/03/23

You have to replace the whole thing.

Kevin Canto - 27/09/23

Step 8

Use a pair of tweezers to lift away the two plugs that latch the L/R/ZL/ZR button ribbons to the motherboard. You can now remove the back cover completely and set it aside.

I discovered that there is enough clearance to slide the Game Cartridge Slot assembly out without removing the motherboard. Just remove the two connectors going to the Cartridge Slot assembly and take out the 3 screws holding it down. There were two screws that look like they are holding the assembly down, but they are only holes through the assembly and don’t actually hold it down. At least on the Pokemon version, New 3DS XL that I had.

Reed Deemer - 26/02/18

Can confirm, it's leagues easier to do it that way than to go to the trouble of removing the entire motherboard, potentially screwing something up in the process. Thank you so much for sharing this alternative method!

João Gaspar -

I third this alternative method for D-pad replacement. To add to the previously noted detail, you also need to disconnect a 3rd connector going to the Cartridge Slot assembly, the one going to the D-pad Board itself which is underneath the Cartridge Slot assembly, which is shown at a later step in this guide. Also, I found I needed to loosen the two screws on the motherboard located nearest the Cartridge Slot assembly in order to get enough clearance to slide the assembly out, as there are two plastic guide stands that hold the assembly in place which the motherboard otherwise holds too tightly to pass. Otherwise, incredibly smooth sailing, minimal connectors removed, and my New 3DS LL import model finally has a working left/right again. Thanks everyone!

Chris St-Louis -

Step 9

Use tweezers to flip up the small, hinged locking flap in order to unlock the ZIF connector securing the circle pad ribbon.
Slide the ribbon out of the ZIF connector.

Is not the right side, the switch must be pull to the left, otherwise people will brake it.

DartzSoryu - 07/07/19

I suggest removing the joystick first, swing to left side, then lift up on ZIF connector from the right. You’re able to pull ribbon cable out easier from the left at that point w/o breaking it, as I did.

Dylan Riffel - 16/09/19

2nd the removing of the joystick first via the two screws and to be careful handling the plastic washer underneath. It’s coated with a Teflon type material to aid in stick movement. also use a finger nail over tweezers any change you get. A nail is less rigid with natural give and less likely to break plastic latches. If it doesn’t open from the end you expect, stop, and try the other side right away. Be gently.

Shiftnumlock - 23/07/20

Step 10

Using a JIS #000 screwdriver, remove the two 8 mm screws securing the circle pad.

Step 11

Lift the circle pad casing upward to remove it. There will be some friction, but it should not require excessive force.

Step 12

Locate the gold terminal plug with a red cable at the top left of the motherboard. Using your fingers, carefully pull the plug straight upward to remove.
Use a pair of tweezers to disconnect the single ribbon connector.
Don't do what we did -- be very careful not to pull on the red cable.

MDR j'avais vu cette erreur il y a un petit moment... et vous pouvez ajouter, ne pas casser le connecteur comme sur la photo !

Sylvain Delreux - 08/08/17

Use a spudger to remove the red cable plug.

Luis Leon - 26/05/18

Step 13

Using tweezers, gently pull the five marked ribbons out of the ZIF connectors along the sides of the motherboard.
These ZIF connectors are held in place by friction and do not have locks—lifting the flaps on these connectors will break them! Note that in some models the upper-most connector may have a lock.
Three of the ribbon connectors have plastic clamping flaps that cover the ribbon to prevent slippage. Use the tweezers to flip them up before ribbon removal.
When reassembling the device, be sure to flip the ZIF clamps back down.
While the SD card reader is shown as removed in this photo, it is optional for the removal of the motherboard.

Hi,

Can you pls inform me the purpose of the topmost red marked ZIF transparent flex cable, I wish to repair my N3DS XL but I am missing this flex cable (for which part is this cable relevant).

Thanks

Khusro - 24/02/17

I don't have the model on me for reference, but if I remember correctly, it's for the bottom screen.

BabblingFishes - 25/02/17

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078WQY7N9?psc... I believe

Michael Zaeus -

I think it should be noted that the upper most ZIF is incorrectly labelled here as one to remove with tweezers and not to try to open the clamp. I did this recently and have now broken my brand new 3ds. This cable is for the digitizer at the front of the bottom screen. So my touch screen no longer works. I now need to carry out a further repair. Just a heads up.

Simon Lyell - 21/09/17

Accurate. I have to purchase a new digitizer because of this. I tore the conductors in the cable removing it from the ZIF connector. And I’m really very angry that no correction has been made in the almost 9 months since you posted.

Sabs Like Labs - 13/06/18

Sabs Like Labs, can you please share a picture of your connector ? last time I dismounted one I had no problems with this connector but maby there are different versions ?

Guillaume Blas - 14/06/18

Zoe, I don’t suppose you would know what part to search for to replace one of these lock-less friction connectors? Before this article posted I partially broke one of mine thinking it had a lock and would like to replace it. The old one still works but I have to fiddle with it to get a good connection now. The one I broke is nearest to the cartridge socket.

Arie Beugelsdijk - 14/11/17

&&^& all those tutoriel now is just break my new 3ds &&^& you internet

xavier delfini - 28/03/18

I broke my connectors the little gray pieces broke not the touch screen and the joy stick are broken.

mcoughlin625 - 16/06/18

Wish I’d read the comments first, messed up this connection pretty bad too.

bajah - 17/07/18

Glad I read the comments first! The topmost red connector DOES have a clamp you need to flip up to release.

BBW - 24/11/18

I can confirm there are two different versions of the clip. One flips up and just pushes in

thomas rhymestine - 22/01/19

As others have mentioned, the topmost red connector HAS A CLAMP that you need to flip up. It seems like the creator of this guide has a 3ds with older board revision. With multiple people already having brought up the issue, the creator should absolutely update this guide to note the differences as others have already broken their devices due to this guide.

Jason He - 18/12/19

Can confirm that the top most connector has a clamp on mine as well. tore the ribbon cable taking it out and now my bottom screen touch screen is unresponsive. also if you are on this guide looking to replace the game card reader, i also found out after trying to replace mine … You DO NOT need to remove the motherboard in order to replace it !

Harry Appleton - 30/05/20

I swear there isn't a new 3ds XL tutorial out there without wrong steps ending up in destroying your device… Can ifixit confirm they've read the comments and fixed the guide?

Anrei - 01/07/20

Then digitizer absolutely should be updated to note, I also broke the GREY clamp off, when treying to remove, and bought a new one.

I believe this to be the replacement https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078WQY7N9?psc...

Michael Zaeus -

I also ruined the digitizer connector thinking it had a lock (yes, I failed to read the guide correctly). I ordered another motherboard that cost me $100 (ifixit had none in stock, only option on ebay) only to find out it still doesn't work (now for some reason no button nor touchscreen work which doesn't even make sense since they all have different connectors). Please update this guide to point people to just remove the card reader without taking the motherboard off. I could have avoided all this by just replacing the card reader directly.

Aristeu Rozanski -

Wow...ifixit is flat out lying about that top connector. There is no such thing as 2 different board revisions. ALL models have the clamp type connector. If you zoom in you can clearly see the creator has broken off the clamp in the pictures and is misrepresenting it as a friction connector. Unbelievable.

deepakdamodara -

I just broke the not clip connectors thinking they were the ones that flip... Please, how can I fix the connectors?

[deleted] -

I broke the ZIF connectors by lifting them up, now from not being able to enable wifi to completely unusable. PUT THE WARNING BEFORE THE STEP!

If anybody want an actual, clear video breakdown and reassemble, I recommend this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUTVR3Ln...

luoisLL - 05/08/24

Step 14

Using a JIS #000 screwdriver, remove six 4mm screws along the edges of the motherboard.

Step 15

Carefully pivot the motherboard 90 degrees toward the hinges to reveal two more ZIF connectors on the underside of the motherboard.
Both have latches that must be flipped up. The left, longer latch is black; the right, shorter one is white. Flip up the flaps, slide the ribbons out and remove the motherboard.
Note which way the ribbons slide into their connectors carefully, as they are different.

9-15 aren't necessary at all. Its a super easy fix step 16 is sufficient.

Javier Rodriguez - 08/06/16

I think you might be confused; this is a guide for replacing the motherboard, not the entire bottom half of the unit.

BabblingFishes - 09/06/16

The top says this is a guide for the directional pad though

Jimmy - 05/07/16

Oh! Apologies; I didn't realize iFixit duplicated comments for duplicate steps. The message alert directed me to the motherboard replacement guide. Whoops.

Anyway, as I recall, the card reader was more safely and easily removed once the motherboard was out of the way. But I agree that it was likely doable without. Thank you for the input!

BabblingFishes - 26/07/16

What does changing the motherboard do, is it if u like bricked your system or what?

Josh TRW - 15/01/17

Agree here. I’m doing the job to replace the lower screen, and connecting these two cables at the corner was the hardest part of reassembly. I would have done the job without disconnecting these.

BBW - 24/11/18

Getting the ribbons back in can be a challenge but don’t give up. Pull them taught and try to work at an angle that give you the most length.

Shiftnumlock - 23/07/20

Do you know the name of the shorter zif connector, or how to order it? I am talking about the one that is on the botton side of the board,that sometime it is hard to connect the ribbon cable. I think it has like 30 pins. Thank you.

Marcos Cabral - 21/09/20

What is the name or how to order the small zif connectors that is on the bottom side of the board, I think it has like 30 pins. Thank you

Marcos Cabral - 21/09/20

I just want to swap out lcd screens, what steps can I omit? this is the only bottom screen guide online and so many bricks wtf can’t someone make a video like top lcds there are many.

joey grimes - 10/11/20

Update about the commentaries above :

If your goal is to replace something in the top part of the console, steps 9-15 are still necessary as all of the components up there travel through the R hinge to connect to the main board.

- Top screen and Audio/3D cable connect to the back of the motherboard shown at step 15 (screen is the left one shown on the illustration).

- Camera bar connects to the front of the motherboard (step 13, shown as the up-and-rightmost orange connector)

- Wifi antenna connects to the antenna connector (step 12), probably the easiest to replace without disconnecting the motherboard since it doesn't involve rolling up and threading a flat cable through the hinge.

Albert Enstein - 26/06/23

Step 16

Using a 1.5 flat head, remove the four red rubber stickers that are on the inside of the casing.
Underneath the rubber is a silver sticky
Using the PH00 screw driver, remove the screws.

Is it possible to get the rubber things back on?

Juli232 beutlin -

Step 17

From the hinge, slide the outer portion of the top shell so that it separates from the inner portion.
This step was edited recently because the previous version was risky. It told people to use a spudger and slide it around the edges. DO NOT DO THIS!!! It will snap tabs off!
The casing will become loose, and just lift the casing off.

In the second picture, you did not list that the removal of two screws were needed, that hold down the boards for the volume/3D controls.

Chelsea LaFleur - 21/03/19

just swype the top case UP side is OK

luyicheng99 - 13/07/19

DO NOT make the same mistake I did. Just slide the top cover forwards, away from the hinge, and it will come off. DO NOT do what this guide says! It will snap the plastic clips that keep the case together and if you don’t want to pay for a full replacement housing it will be impossible to undo!

Foam Rais - 16/03/20

I’d like to echo what Foam Rais mentioned. DO NOT pry the back cover off the display! Simply undo the four screws, close the DS and slide the back cover away from the hinge. If you attempt to pry the back cover off you WILL damage the slide clips that hold it in place!

boatplugs - 24/07/20

I will also echo Foam Rais. DO NOT PRY IT! … unless causing unnecessary damage to your stuff is your kink. (I also went in and edited it, but since I has like no rep, I’m assuming it gets reviewed first before going live)

Russell Haas -

If I’m replacing the top shell, what steps can I skip? It seems like the lower half section with the circle pad and similar bits are unnecessary but I could be wrong.

Trevor Lindsey -

Conclusion

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

Author

Ryan Butler

Member since: 10/02/16

1705 Reputation

3 comments

Why do we need to take apart the rest of the console? why not just do the last 2 steps to take the top off?

Hodoodle -

I don't see any reason why not to, I just tried it and doing just the last step worked perfectly.

mata413 -

The guide is incomplete, You do need to disassemble the entire thing if you plan to replace the top LCD. This is because the flat cables for the top display and cameras are channeled through the hinge and connect to the motherboard at the bottom. By the way, passing these flat cables through the cavity inside the hinge is the most difficult part of the process, I have done it myself and it's a real pain. Even people experienced in disassembling electronics will have a hard time doing it.

fabianoarruda -