How to take the Nokia Lumia 920 apart - for the DIY crowd

By Sam Sabri
last updated

We’ve already shown a video with a Lumia 920 guts displayed, but it wasn’t a pleasant sight (I personally cringe when people destroy phones for no purpose). Now we’ve got a video where you can see the insides of your Espoo flagship device, but in a much more civilized manner. We’ve got a video of the process to disassemble and assemble a Lumia 920, in great detail too.  

This is a great video for those do-it-yourselfers who like to save a few bucks and do repairs the old fashioned way. Or if you’re happened to import your Lumia 920 and don’t have a warranty to fall back on for repairs.  The tools required are rather easy to obtain and if you’re brave enough to do something like this you probably already have them in your quiver. You’ll need the following:

  • Three Torx screwdrivers (T2, T4, and T5)
  • Small bladed screwdriver
  • Plastic separation tool
  • Tweezers
  • SIM removal tool
  • Adhesive.

When I said the video was detailed, I wasn’t kidding. It clocks in at 33 minutes in length and is really fascinating to watch. It helps one appreciate the physicality of the Lumia 920 by seeing what Nokia crammed inside. Bookmark this for when you want to step up your DIY game or if you need to fix any potential future problems.

So I’m curious, how many of you would ever do something like this or have done something like this?

Source: YouTube, Via: Windows Phone Central Forums

60 Comments
  • I've done repairs like this many times. The problem is, costs for windows phone parts are much more pricey than parts for idevices. This can effectively eliminate justifying repairs for most windows phones.
  • My TP2 and Wiz100 came under my knife several times. Hopefully I wouldn't need to do the same to my L920.
  • Can't wait for the gray housing to show up on eBay so I can get the color I actually wanted.
  • Think you'll switch em out? Be sure to share the before and after in the forums when you do!
  • I want to. Wasn't very hard to do on my 900 and the 920 looks just as easy.
  • Hey! Would you mind sharing with us any guide and links to the polycarbonate shell shopping sites? Thanks..
    Edit: Never mind. Checked his other videos and found it! 
  •   Love my job, since I've been bringing in $5600… I sit at home, music playing while I work in front of my new iMac that I got now that I'm making it online(Click on menu Home) https://goo.gl/raUd0
  • Ashley, please tell me more!
  • I'm happy with my shell color, but I would possibly switch it if something unique and custom came along. Something new and different. But I think it is a lot less tempting to risk opening it up just to switch to a color I may as well have bought to begin with.
  • In Canada all that's available is black. I could buy through through the internet or across the border but the warranty is not carried over :(. Although, doesn't this void your warranty?
  • I didn't see any warranty seals of any sort in the video. I guess if you do the job nice and clean, nobody would notice and your warranty will not be void.
  • I'd be willing to take a go at this in regards to the dust accumulation under the FF camera. I hope others, or perhaps the poster of the video, would too. 
  • Same if it becomes an issue for me
  • Same here, noticing some accumulating in mine. Looks alot easier than changing speaker on a pre lol stupid double ribbon
  • Try blowing a little compressed air in there through the right corner of the speaker.
  • Nokia Care, as I understand it, can arrange for the FFC dust issue to be fixed.
    Having a nearby facility is, of course, a primary factor in determining if this is the right course of action... :)
     
  • Used this guy's video when I needed to replace my L800 screen, that was a 5 minute job, the 920 is a tad more complex..;)
    He makes the easiest to follow videos I know,,
  • I definitely would, if I needed to do it... but thankfully, mine is in perfect working order, and I plan to keep it that way!
  • Maybe I can replace the LCD from my blue 920 with my white 920. Not sure if its a good idea though.
  • Blue 920❓❓
  • I was thinking the same thing...
  • Lol
  • cyan
  • Why not just take the case off the Cyan 920 and swap it with the White 920? The case replacement is actually very easy, if you have the case. :)
  • I would certainly consider this as a last resort if EE insurance refused to play ball. Or for some other compelling reason. For example, taking my old HTC 7 pro to bits to get at the SD Card, more than a few times.
  • I imagine I'd eventually do this when the battery has run it's course.
  • Holy hell this is a great video to follow. Makes me want to take apart my phone for giggles,but alas the warranty.
    And much credit for him taking the time to demostrate the annoying cause of rattle!
  • I had mentioned long ago in one of the article comments about the cause of rattle. Still, there are some phones with less rattle. I guess that would be due to the natural frequencies being slightly different or just the way camera is mounted. When the phone vibrates and you press on the outer casing slightly, the noise goes away.
  • Nice vid! Waiting for the yellow bezel to show up on eBay.. Then replacing my red one. I like the red but want yellow.. Buggers are hard to find here.
  • This is so amazing. Now I can change the housing or the screen if its broken
  • Did they find the slab of lead?
  • Go hit the gym and lift some weights to strenghten your biceps then maybe the "slab of lead" will not matter that much.
  • Do you even lift bro?
  • Did you pull a muscle lifting one of them bad boys?
  • Did this all the time on all my old BBs. But my 920 has no trackball or physical keyboard to repair :o)
  • For some reason it hurts me to watch this.. lol
  • This looks involved. I would like to swap my case color too, but I am concerned that I might damage some part. Great video.
  • Awesome. Very informative and straightforward. Not for the faint of heart though. I won't be attempting this for at least a year lol.
     
    Cool to see the CMOS sensor move independently inside the camera housing when he flicks it. 
  • I have a 920 and i enjoy it, but after watching both Lumia 920 and Iphone 5 disassembly videos you can see how much MORE effort apple put in making the device as it is: thin, compact, rattle  free. Comparing them two, the lumia 920 one almost look like an LCD TV disassemble . All respect to the guy!
  • I don't see any difference between the two. They both have screws, cables, and tape. 
  • LOL!
  • Lots of tape lol
  • Effort Apple put? You mean effort Apple put to make sure you can't repair it yourself even if you have a good disassemble guide, no thanks. I watched both videos and i can say an average Humanbeing might be able to disassemble lumia 920 but not an iphone5. The iphone5 uses at least more than 15 screws to put the small parts in place whereas the lumia 920's case was designed to fit all the small parts and has less than 10 screws if i remember correctly.
  • I just want to mention that the rattle is not due to bad assembly. It is a "compromise" we accept to get the technology packed in our awesome camera. Just as heat is the compromise we accept for high speed processors in our phones.
  • Well, now I see why above the camera becomes so much hotter than the rest of the phone.
  • People want thinner Lumia's? I don't want that if all this beautiful quality has to be subtracted just to follow the "Thin" crowd.
  • +1
  • Phones can only get so thin. iP5 and gs3, have definitely crossed the line. Same thing with weight too. I don't want to have to keep checking my pocket for my phone. I want to just know its there by wright and volume
  • I believe people are forgeting the stuff with the broom stick. If you have one you can break it easily but if you have a lot it becomes difficult. I don't know why people like thin phones, i mean having thin phones makes it:
    1. Difficult to repair
    2. easy to break
    3. easy to drop and so on.
  • This is how i see it also. I think Lumia 920 feels so much better in hand than for example light and thin galaxy S2/S3.
  • Great video! I'll definitely bookmark it in case I ever need to make a repair.
  • So the vibration rattle is actually from the camera..??? I've sent my l920 to Nokia repair center for vibration rattle... So it means they won't be able to fix the,problem..? I've read some, very few l920s have no vibration rattle.. How could it be if the problem is with the camera?
  • As long as the instructions are detailed and I have the correct tools and I feel confident I can put it back together, I don't mind taking apart anything. But having the right tools is the key.
  • Wow! The L920 is much easier to work on then the L900. I really thought it would be much harder to work on with it's Pureview camera technology. Great guide to follow.
  • Nice one...no more whining about the build in battery...so easy to replace ;-)
  • I went into an LG Quantum to replace a broken screen then got spooked by the adhesive job (expected pre-stickied, I guess, and didn't know what to use). Handed it over to a repair shop and then had to go in again myself to replace the keypad/flex-cable that they damaged by not reassembling correctly. Knowing what I do now, it would've been easier to do it all myself. It's not a bad phone to work on, IMO.
    Like doublebullout said, proper tools are important.
  • Can you remove spammer @AshleySophia2 this think keeps posting same old crap. As if we really care and willing click on link.
  • I have had Nokia Symbian Phones, N82, C6 and some S40s as well. I have had multiple issues with earphones an them.
    I see the earphones are shoved pretty down and one would need to open it completely to replace them.
    Just wondering how the quality of earphones on the L920 is?
  • HELP! I just dropped my Nokia Lumia 920 and the screen broke right beside the front facing camera. :( I am about to cry! I bought it last month. Does anyone now where I can find a replaceable? I am so sad! I
  • It's too bad the 32GB flash memory appears to be soldered to the board. I woulda switched that out for a 64GB+ card for sure. Still good to know.