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Help Sprint HTC Hero Disassembly DIY

Very cool and brave undertaking. So far, no dust with mine and I alternate between the Sprint silicone case and nothing.

As a side note, can you confirm that the screen is glass? I have read that it is and am pretty much convinced it is but you could seal the deal. I don't use a screen protector film but have covered the rest with a skin from Phantom Skinz. I left the screen piece off.
 
Hi! Great post, but I could you a little help.

So ... I'm sitting with the back cover removed, and I am at the "prying" stage. But I'm just a bit too timid to put too much force on the device. How exactly should the prying go? Is there an easy way to make it happen?

Thanks in advance for any and all help!
 
just finished putting my hero back together, looking brand new dust free! thank you very much for the picture tutorial.

some tips from my experience...

when "prying" the housing cover off, i found it best to slide my thumb nail down the crease between the chrome and the back piece and it popped out with ease. same with the bottom where he indicates to "push in" the two tabs, i just continued to run along the crease with my nail and it popped out.

the screen i was slightly more cautious of being a more fragile piece. it felt wrong but if you slightly pry at it from the side as indicated you can begin to hear it unstick from the tape holding it on the front. one you get it started its a lot easier to remove the whole lcd.

here in lies the issue i think as well. clearly the foam tape holding the lcd to the front isnt sufficient enough in some places. mine happens to only collect dust in the lower left corner. when reapplying the lcd i made sure the lower left corner was pushed in very snug hopefully to help with the issue.

if i do this again, i will look into adding a small bit of foam tape in the trouble area to hopefully seal it better. though this was my first time, i will see if it comes back soon or not.
 
Whew! Thanks very much.

I actually finally got it to go! Wow ... so nice looking! So much for the warranty.

Thanks again for this post. Excellent work!
 
great thread...

I spoke with a rep and a Sprint Repair Store and he said he would do this for me, which put my mind at ease. I will let you know how it goes
 
would these be a good instruction set to use when cleaning the rollerball? from the picture, it looks like it's a sealed unit.
 
furthermore....to anyone who has done this before...how has it held up? have you noticed dust come back quicker/slower? any new dust at all?... i just finished re-assembling it and I'm just wondering how long this will look brand new for.
 
blindfaith76 said:
furthermore....to anyone who has done this before...how has it held up? have you noticed dust come back quicker/slower? any new dust at all?... i just finished re-assembling it and I'm just wondering how long this will look brand new for.
Click to expand...

obviously according to my post i only completed it 4 days ago, but very satisfied so far. no sign of returning dust yet and i keep it in my pocket.
 
Bump until it's stickied...

I really don't understand the dust issue... For all the odd places my phone has ended up, I don't have any issue with dust, or scratches, or anything at all...

Some of y'all would stroke out if you saw what my phone has been through .lol.
 
NCKK said:
Bump until it's stickied...

I really don't understand the dust issue... For all the odd places my phone has ended up, I don't have any issue with dust, or scratches, or anything at all...

Some of y'all would stroke out if you saw what my phone has been through .lol.
Click to expand...

oddly enough, I don't have dust either. Pretty much every other electronic device I've owned had dust in the screen within a couple months, especially those carried around in my pocket. Not the Hero so far (knock on wood).

I am curious about the trackball though, if taking the phone apart makes it possible to clean the trackball, because that's guaranteed to get gummed up eventually (but it's a heck of a lot easier to use than that goofy optical thing on quite a few other phones)
 
glorify said:
I had a Moto Q9C, the original dust magnet. The thing that worked for me was a hip case and that's it. The rubber sleeve actually HELPED the dust collect. From what I read about the Hero tho, the dust is getting in thru the volume rocker and a rubber sleeve may help.

Goodbye old dust collecter, hello new.

You just can't fix design errors, you just have to learn a way around them.
Click to expand...

Who says you can't fix design errors? That's crazy. The military is constantly fixing things and improving flaws in weapons systems.

Anyway, where'd you hear the dust is coming in through the volume rocker? I would've guessed it's the massive space between the screen and the silver button area that's the culprit. And that's where most people are saying they have dust anway....

In this case, is there room for a small, flat and thin black rubber gasket behind the silver button area that would run around the entire perimeter of the phone? Seems like that would help keep dust out....let's start an aftermarket company to do this...
 
Thanks for the post and here are some other ideas for sealing out the dust if you don't want to use a traditional cover. I have the Zagg product on the phone and don't really want to switch.

I put some clear slicone sealant between the inner back cover (the layer that the battery sits in) and the front of the phone. Put some on the table you are working at (no more than 1/4 tsp) and using your finger paint on a very small amount just to cover the mating surface -- be even in the amount all the way around. There are a bunch of places for dust to get in but this seems to be the closest point to the LCD screen and may be the main culprit. Another easy spot is the speaker area around the camera. I put a couple pieces of scotch tape on it. Mutes the sound a little but this was a major source of dust coming into the back cover.
 
what kind of screw driver do i use? i have a bunch but i cant fine a small one like that. do they sell them at wal-mart or something?

whats the name of the screw driver?
 
marcelo0292 said:
what kind of screw driver do i use? i have a bunch but i cant fine a small one like that. do they sell them at wal-mart or something?

whats the name of the screw driver?
Click to expand...

you somehow missed the tools needed part of the OP's directions. Right at the very beginning of his post, he tells you exactly what type and size screwdrivers you need to get. You can get them at Wal-mart, or at your local hardware store. By the way, it's a torx-driver you need, but go back re-read the post from the beginning, and good luck if you decide to dismantle your phone. I followed the directions and took mine apart, and put it back together. Take your time, wash your hands to avoid getting hand oil/sweat on the glass, and you should be fine.
 
im not sure if this was posted yet, but in step 2 you should put to remove sd card, i ruined my card trying to pull the housing cover off
 
Wow I actually did it and I successfully removed the large spec of dust (I called it my Hero crumb) that was under the screen.

Thank you dreamliner and the other guy that talked about using your fingernail.
 
Niiiice! Thanks for the write up. I had to go to Home Depot to buy tiny small torx tools. Then when i opened up the back of it and saw how tiny uber small is that philips screw was... i had to go back to home depot again :(

So when i reassembled it i managed to destroy my SD card and crack the plastic around the charger part. :mad::mad::mad:

TAKE YOUR SD CARD OUT before you take the phone apart!!! VERY IMPORTANT! all my pic and music is gone :(
 
Thanks for the guide dreamliner, helped me out when I had to clean out the dust from my screen.

I will say, that the screen on the inside definitely has some form of adhesive to it. While I was looking at it, I had on some surgeons gloves, and touched the screen and some sticky adhesive came off. It hasn't impacted the performance of the screen in anyway though.
 
I had lots of Dust under my screen in the lower left corner. I always just put in my pocket with no case. ALL I DID WAS VACUUM ALL THE DUST OUT! Not one spec there. I used a 59.50 vaccum (the
Shark NH15 Multi Vac
 
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