The BlackBerry Priv is a pretty complex device, but the most common repairs, a screen repair and a battery replacement, are not too difficult in the end. If you are curious about what is inside BlackBerry’s first Android device or need to fix something in the BlackBerry Priv you’ve come to the right place. After you’ve read this article watch the video on YouTube:
And follow along to JerryRigEverything!
Smart Phone Repair Tool Kit can be found at this link.
Replacement Screen with frame can be found at this link.
Replacement Screen without frame can be found at this link.
Gather these tools for the job: T5 screwdriver, plastic pry tool, a heat gun or hair dryer, T5 screwdriver, tweezers, razorblade, and a business card. Before you begin, as with most other repairs, make sure you have turned your phone off completely. Additionally, keep any screws, brackets and other pieces organized so you don’t mix them up when it comes time to reassemble your BlackBerry Priv.
Start off this teardown by removing the SIM card and SD card trays from the top of the BlackBerry Priv and peeling the back cover off of the phone allowing you to slide the phone out from the cover. Continue by removing the plastic shield that rests on the motherboard, unscrewing the battery cover with T5 screwdriver and unplugging the 3400 milliamp battery with the plastic pry tool. Next, take your heat gun or hair dryer to heat up the battery, this softens the adhesive that keeps it in the phone, to make removal easier. Use the pull tab located on the side of the battery to pull it out rather than using a pry tool because using the tool could rip the small ribbon cables located beneath the battery. Next, unscrew two screws for the loudspeaker, peel away the white glue that surrounds it, and remove the loudspeaker from its housing. Then, remove 8 screws located on the main board of the BlackBerry Priv and pry up the two screen connectors, the keyboard connector, and the power button connector to release the mainboard. The rear 18 megapixel camera can be pried carefully out of the phone. Now, switch to the T4 screwdriver, unscrew 8 screws which hold the keyboard unit onto the screen unit of the BlackBerry Priv, and separate the two units by allowing the screen ribbon cables to slide through the slot in the keyboard unit.
They keyboard is stuck relatively permanently to the frame, so if you remove it you will need to apply adhesive to it to return it to the frame. If you need to replace the keyboard check to see if your replacement part comes with a copper piece because it if does not you will have to keep the copper backing from the old keyboard on the phone when you make that repair. Removal of the sliding mechanism is not essential to repairing the screen, so try to avoid messing with it. If you need to reach the front facing camera, use tweezers to remove the metal bracket and a screw allowing you to carefully pry up the 2 megapixel camera.
To remove the screen, heat up the edges of the phone and take your razor blade to the earpiece area and open it up with enough space to squeeze in just the corner of a business card to keep it from sticking together again. Once the screen is loosened enough to let the business card get to the side of the phone you can slide the card all the way down the side, along the bottom, and along the other side, as long as the phone is almost too hot to touch, meaning that the adhesive is softened. Then, grab the plastic pry tool to disconnect the LCD ribbon cable from the screen extension cable and the screen is free. A discovery has been made: the screen can indeed be replaced without opening up the body of the BlackBerry Priv, you would just remove the screen and plug it into the exposed cables. Let’s put the phone back together with the screen going on last to prove that this method is possible.
To begin reassembly, return the front facing camera, its plastic pieces, its screw, and cover back on. Next, thread the screen extension cable through the keyboard unit, return 8 screws to the frame, plug the rear camera back into the main board, plug the power button back into the main board and screw the motherboard into the frame of the phone with 8 more screws. Plug all of the ribbon cables into motherboard, return the loudspeaker and its protective case to the phone, return the housing for the loudspeaker and the headphone jack and return 3 screws to the headphone jack housing. Your replacement screen should come with adhesive so plug in the connections, remove the protective covering for the adhesive, set the screen down, and press it into place. Next, plug the battery back in and turn the phone on without putting the cover back on to make sure your BlackBerry Priv works. If the screen fails to turn on or it does not look normal turn the phone back off and re-plug the cable connections to make sure they are pressed in completely. If the phone turns on normally, turn it back off, screw the battery back into the phone, tuck the phone into the back housing starting at the bottom and clipping it along the sides, return the SIM card and SD card trays, and you are done.
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