Top 5G mmWave Antenna Removal

Written By: Spencer Day

Comments: 3

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

Time Required

No estimate

Introduction

This is a prerequisite-only guide! This guide is part of another procedure and isn't meant to be used alone.

Tools

Parts

Tesa 61395 Tape

Step 1

Completely power off your phone before you begin.
Heat an iOpener and apply it to the back cover's left edge for two minutes.
A hair dryer, heat gun, or hot plate may also be used, but be careful not to overheat the phone—the back cover and internal battery are both susceptible to heat damage.

You should include more pictures for this part, especially because there's some ambiguity about meaning of "left" vs "right" when you're discussing the BACK of a device.

Jeffrey Skarski -

Step 2

Apply a suction cup to the back of the phone, as close to the bottom left corner as possible.
Pull up on the suction cup with a strong, steady force to create a gap between the back cover and the midframe on the left edge.
Depending on the age of your phone, this may be difficult. If you're having trouble, apply more heat to the edge and try again.
Insert an opening pick into the gap.

Step 3

Slide the pick along the left edge of the phone to slice the adhesive securing the back cover to the frame.
Leave the pick inserted in the top left corner to prevent the adhesive from resealing.

Step 4

Apply a heated iOpener to the back cover's top edge for two minutes.

Step 5

Rotate the pick around the top left corner to slice the adhesive.

Step 6

Slide the pick along the top edge to slice the adhesive.
Leave the opening pick inserted in the top right corner to prevent the adhesive from resealing.

Step 7

Apply a heated iOpener to the back cover's right edge for two minutes.

Step 8

Rotate the pick around the top right corner to slice the adhesive.

Step 9

Slide the pick along the right edge to slice the adhesive.
Leave the pick inserted in the bottom right corner to prevent the adhesive from resealing.

Step 10

Apply a heated iOpener to the back cover's bottom edge for two minutes.

Step 11

Rotate the pick around the bottom right corner to slice the adhesive.

Step 12

Slide the pick along the bottom edge to slice the adhesive.

Step 13

There's a significant amount of adhesive to the right of the cameras that secures the back cover to the motherboard cover.
Apply a heated iOpener to the right of the cameras for two minutes.

Step 14

Insert an opening pick between the back cover and motherboard cover on the top right edge.
Gently pull up on the back cover while sliding the opening pick back and forth along the right side of the cameras to slice the adhesive.
The back cover should detach from the phone at this point.

Does anyone know if the clear lens over the 3 camera lenses is part of the COVER?

J D -

Hi! The 3 camera lens covers are part of the motherboard cover, which you can see being removed here.

Spencer Day -

Step 15

Lift the back cover from the phone and remove it.
If the back cover is still stuck to the midframe, slide an opening pick around the edges of the phone until the cover separates completely.
During reassembly:
This is a good point to test your phone's functionality before sealing it up. Use this guide to run a hardware test. Be sure to power your phone back down completely before you continue working.
Follow this guide to replace the back cover adhesive.

Step 16

Use a Phillips screwdriver to remove the 13 4 mm screws securing the motherboard cover.

Step 17

Insert a spudger between the motherboard cover and midframe on the top right edge of the phone.
Pry up with the spudger to release the clips securing the motherboard cover.
During reassembly, press down around the perimeter of the motherboard cover to engage the clips.

Step 18

Gently pull the motherboard cover up and away from the phone and remove it.
Don't pull quickly or forcefully, as the heat spreader very loosely secures the motherboard cover to the battery.

Step 19

Use the pointed end of a spudger to pry up and disconnect the battery's press connector.
To re-attach press connectors like this one, carefully align and press down on one side until it clicks into place, then repeat on the other side. Don't press down on the middle. If the connector is misaligned, the pins can bend, causing permanent damage.

Step 20

Use the pointed end of a spudger to pry up and disconnect the display's press connector.

Step 21

Use the pointed end of a spudger to pry up and disconnect the 5G mmWave antenna's press connector.

Step 22

Use the pointed end of a spudger to pry up and disconnect the interconnect cable's press connector from the motherboard.

Step 23

Use the pointed end of a spudger to pry up and disconnect the button assembly cable's press connector.

Step 24

Take care not to puncture the battery with your tweezers—a punctured battery may leak dangerous chemicals or cause a fire.
Use tweezers to grip the top and bottom of the blue antenna's coaxial connector, as close to the connector head as possible.
Lift straight up to disconnect the cable.
Be gentle when disconnecting the cable, as it's very easy to tear the socket from the motherboard.
During reassembly, make sure to put the cable back in its clip on the motherboard.
To re-attach coaxial connectors like this one hold the connectors in place and gently press them straight down with your finger or the pointed end of a spudger.

Step 25

Use the same method from the previous antenna cable to disconnect the white and black antenna cables.
During reassembly, make sure to put the cables back in their clips on the motherboard.

Step 26

Use the pointed end of a spudger to bend the 5G mmWave antenna cable out of the way to access the screw securing the motherboard.

Step 27

Use a Phillips screwdriver to remove the 3 mm screw securing the motherboard.

Step 28

Insert the pointed end of a spudger between the midframe and motherboard in the opening near the coaxial connectors.
Gently pry up with the spudger to release the motherboard from the midframe.

Step 29

Remove the motherboard from the phone.
During reassembly, make sure that all of the cables that connect to the motherboard (interconnect, battery, antennas, display, and button assembly) are out of they way so they don't get stuck under the motherboard when it's reinserted.

Step 30

Clean off the old thermal paste from the midframe and motherboard using isopropyl alcohol and a microfiber cloth. Apply new thermal paste before reassembly.

Step 31

Apply a few drops of high-concentration (90% or higher) isopropyl alcohol under the 5G mmWave antenna.
Wait one minute for the isopropyl alcohol to penetrate the adhesive.

Step 32

Insert the pointed end of a spudger under the 5G mmWave antenna on the side closest to the center of the phone.
Pry up with the spudger to detach the antenna.
It may take significant force to detach the antenna. If the antenna isn't moving, apply a few more drops of isopropyl alcohol and try again.
Remove the antenna.
During reassembly, remove the old adhesive from the bracket and frame, then apply new adhesive.

Conclusion

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

Author

Spencer Day

Member since: 14/09/22

117606 Reputation

Top 5G mmWave Antenna Removal

Introduction

Tools

Parts

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