Develop Bugs

Looking for some input with modding d3o & powerskin

Ok everyone this will be my first mod-accessory, for a mobile device and i am looking for some input. I want the best of both of these two cases and am pretty sure that the end result will be some kick arsenic case loved by most people. Check my video out it says all I am trying to do. http://youtu.be/DZOKjY2YMzg

Fix your audio, get prepared, get to the point and try again. Oh and gorilla glue? Couldn't tell what you wanted to use it for, but not a good idea. It expands.

Kerns_JW said:
Fix your audio, get prepared, get to the point and try again. Oh and gorilla glue? Couldn't tell what you wanted to use it for, but not a good idea. It expands.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am wanting some input on how to go about using the inner top portion on the power-skin replacing the same area on the powerskin with the d3o portion. I know gorilla glue expands but nothing a razor blade can't fix after it cures.

Too many ideas, can you narrow it down?
Hard plastic kept or not?
Can hard plastic be removed if needed?
Room under the top section for an additional layer? Snug or decent room
Let's talk glue again. Wouldn't something that remains flexible be preferred?

Kerns_JW said:
Too many ideas, can you narrow it down?
Hard plastic kept or not?
Can hard plastic be removed if needed?
Room under the top section for an additional layer? Snug or decent room
Let's talk glue again. Wouldn't something that remains flexible be preferred?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I was thinking about losing the hard white plastic of the d3o and using the inner flexible black part. Right about the glue now that I think about it, will need some flexibility-any ideas on type of adhesive? I am thinking with the addition of the inner layer and losing the back phone coverage it will be comfortable in fit.
Sent from SGS II 4G Jelly Bean 4.1.1

okay
Cut off half of old and put on top of newer one. Issue looks dumb and unfinished. Use some type of cord to clean up the edge. Still may look bad and by removing hard plastic look nasty due to glue remains. Due to shown cracks, it's not likely you can use as hard case on top of new rubber.
Under newer one instead. Issue, it would look and feel off I think because of hump added. Maybe not sure due to hump caused by battery? Could be similar.
Fix cut old one slightly bigger than new hole. Glue edges only. Issue bump created around current lip from New hole.
Fix cut same size as new hole add inner layer such as felt. Glue piece to felt, felt to new inside part. If cut well and placed well, old piece fills void reduces lip. Issue of bad cut, looks bad. Cut slightly larger than hole and slowly trim to fit. Try to get edges to squash well together. Still may have nasty glue remains from removal of hard plastic. Fix may be tough to do and look off. Keep plastic attached, Trim both plastic and rubber to shape of hole and fit in hole. Use felt again as backer.
Eliminate felt use, trim plastic to hole, trim rubber slightly bigger. Glue old rubber to plastic and edges of old rubber to inside of new hole. Essentially, use old rubber as backer instead of felt. May still cause that hump around edge of new hole.
Fill hole with old piece as described above eliminate felt use, plastic if desired, and over size of old rubber. Create complete new back instead to glue piece to. Then glue this new back to the back of new case. This will cover up the old glue remains, bad possible cutting and lip issues. Tricky part, what to use for new back.
What's the inside of old case look like? Could it be used to create new back layer? If not sure where I am going, look at the back of a ballistic case.
Glue depends on decided application. If new back than semi rigid glue would work well. They have super glue that stays flexible. Rubber cement too flexible I think.

What would you suggest be my line of going forward? Cut the lip and buttons off the d3o
Sent from SGS II 4G Jelly Bean 4.1.1

Tough to say without being there and knowing the actual layout. Your video just made it to hard to see. Since the plastic is borked and underneath may be glued, you may want to hit up one of the mall vestibules and see if you can find some knock off cover that works to your needs.

Yeah I will probably grab some cheap cases similar & do some mock ups to get a feel for what it will be like. I'll post some pictures of my progress.
Sent from SGS II 4G Jelly Bean 4.1.1

[Q] How to open it up? (take apart?)

How do I take my 7b apart?
I'm guessing I just shove a knife into the crack between the textured plastic and smooth plastic near the glass? I'm a bit nervous with how close it is to the glass.
(Why? Because I have to move those buttons/usb/mics onto the dashboard for my car install)

zedri said:
How do I take my 7b apart?
I'm guessing I just shove a knife into the crack between the textured plastic and smooth plastic near the glass? I'm a bit nervous with how close it is to the glass.
(Why? Because I have to move those buttons/usb/mics onto the dashboard for my car install)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A better option for opening the device would be to use a case opener tool such as this one, it would be safer and more precise then using a knife.

Ifixit -now- has a teardown online.
The back has pegs, so you have to pry outward for the pegs to clear. You can't simply slide it off. Using a razor blade worked very well. I was able to pry the back over the pegs using the knife. Do the top first, and then the side opposite of the buttons. The rest is done by hand.
Now the real work begins!

One of the cool 'features' of the N7v1 was that the back removed just as easily as a cell phone. While the battery wasn't plug and play, it could be replaced easily enough. I guess they decided to make them more locked down this time.

Has the Z1 compact a anti shatter film on the backside

Hello, as you can read in the threadname, my question is, if the z1 compact has a anti shatter film on its backside. And does anybody know wich material it is. Plastic or glass? I own the european model.
Thanks a lot

European version has plastic... And there is no any anti shutter sadly you need to remove back plastic panel of you want change

Unfortunately I have tried to peel the film. So the bravo of my phone looks very ugly. Now I have to order a new backcover for assembly. Any tips or tricks about it. I know there are many videos,but..... I am a little bit angry about the water resistant of the phone,if I assemble the backcover.
Film is included an preinstalled on the inner surface of the backcover. That's good to know.
Once again any tips or tricks?
Thanks allot

Only advice from me is that you should go to company which is official service and check how much it will costs to change backpanel (you should by glass one) it will do on warranty and should keep water resistant(I think) but you can give it a try if you have something that in your city

Maybe putting on something like that is an alternative: http://m.ebay.de/itm/121335821880 I find it quite beautiful on mine, optically as well as haptically.

AlexandreVegetaroux said:
Unfortunately I have tried to peel the film. So the bravo of my phone looks very ugly. Now I have to order a new backcover for assembly. Any tips or tricks about it. I know there are many videos,but..... I am a little bit angry about the water resistant of the phone,if I assemble the backcover.
Film is included an preinstalled on the inner surface of the backcover. That's good to know.
Once again any tips or tricks?
Thanks allot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
- Make sure the plastic frame surround does not lift at all along with the back, or you'll end up ****ing the frame glue and it's goodbye waterproofing and hello phone that creaks when you hold it
- There's a reason why professionals use an evenly heated flat surface - hairdryers/heatguns/similar will increase your chances of ****ing the frame glue
- Use isopropyl or similar to get the internal surface absolutely clean
- Heat it again slightly after applying the new back
- Apply loads of pressure (eg put it under some books)
- After it's all dried, make sure you can't lift the back AT ALL if you put your fingernail in the groove above the LED flash. If it lifts you will end up with a foggy camera lens from normal use and a ****ed phone if you expose it to water

Custom metal back cover

Considering the new xperia x has one and that the back cover on the z3 is easily replaced, wouldn't it be a great idea to give your old phone an updated look by just putting a custom back on it!

Can be done. The camera plastic cover is glued to the back cover from the inside?

isn't it like a Faraday cage? does it kill the wifi + mobile signals?

bookworth said:
isn't it like a Faraday cage? does it kill the wifi + mobile signals?
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Click to collapse
Shouldn't kill them (maybe it will be tricky with NFC). The thing is that the frame around the phone is plastic, so that should be enough for the WiFi.

Guids said:
Considering the new xperia x has one and that the back cover on the z3 is easily replaced, wouldn't it be a great idea to give your old phone an updated look by just putting a custom back on it!
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Click to collapse
THat's a good idea. I thought about it and was wondering about the Faraday effect. But then again I would settle with anything that is not glass to be honest.
I'm sure that anybody with a CNC could make a custom backplate in POM or any other resistant plastic...
Now to find somebody on the forum with a CNC and spare time!

I made my own in acryllic plastic.
1. Cut out in 1mm acryllic sheet using the old back as a template and then cut with Exactoknife(Needs to cut/draw a line several times with exactoknife, acryllic is tough to cut, also needs to be sanded down to same size as old cover. Sanded evenly and not to fast to prevent friction heat that messes up the acryllic)
2. Take out camera lens from the old frame (Adhesive tape, easy to remove with exacto)
3. Drill a hole for camera lens using old back as template.
4. Sanded both sides from 80 to 120(Wood) then 400>600>800>1200 Silicone carbide paper(Wet)
5. Heated it up evenly with a flame on both sides to give it a darker smoked color then stuck it between two flat objects to prevent it bubbling or deforming until it cooled down.
(Heated back and forth so it didnt get too hot and had time to cool)
6. Once cool, washed with water.
7. A few smooth strokes against 1200 Silicone Carbide (Wet) to even out any irragularities
8. Dried, then a few smooth strokes with 1200 Silicone Carbide dry, sideways to have an even pattern and smooth surface.
9. Took the camera lens, glued into hole. Let dry then 1200dry sanded around camera hole to remove glue residue. (Dont sand the camera lens or you have to polish it. Major PITA..)
10. Took the top part of the black sticker from the inside of the old glass cover, cut out the top camera part as a square and stuck it around camera and flash to prevent flash bleeds.
11. Reapply new adhesive tape to the cover and reapply it and voila, waterproof again

This is my 3rd, made it last night, rushed job as I was tired wanting to sleep, so did not care about looks.
Also couldn't find one of my previous glass covers so I had to reuse the camera lens and sticker from the old plastic cover.
Resulting in the camera lens outer ring breaking off and the sticker being semi sticky and filled with bubbles. But it functions, which was the main idea.
Didnt bother about sanding it decently so there's still scratches, but it gives you an picture what it looks like.
If done properly and more patiently you can get a smoother texture, no air bubbles and a non broken lens, but once superglued that lens is stuck rocksolid.

Hey guys, is there a drawing of the back cover available?
I would like to try a 3D-print, after the second back cover is broken.
But I don't have a radius gauge and need the radius of the corners.
Thanks for your help.

@mike the pike
what a coincidence!
I have made a modell in FreeCad because I had the same idea like you. But I don't have a 3D printer, so my plan was to order it from a german company which offers to cut parts out of plastic plates.
I'am not a drawing or CAD profi, in fact this was my first experience with stuff like this, but I am pretty shure my modell is quite accurate. My only opportunity to test it, was to print a 1:1 sketch and compare it with the (broken) original backcover.
Feel free to use and modify my work, but please tell me if it works. :highfive:

Doing this, part one
I spent some time in the machine shop on campus yesterday, and, with the help of the assistants, made a metal back out of sheet aluminum.
The toughness is far superior to glass, and the strength is, too (the glass used on the Z3 Compact by default is somewhat pathetic).
From here, I was planning to first apply a brushed finish with an abrasive pad and WD-40 (thanks, YouTube) then either anodize (time to steal a HVPS from a hardware store?) black, or pay someone to apply a thermoset powder coat. Anodizing would probably yield better results, and be cheaper, but the scratch resistance on the aluminum is a bit low, so thermoset would help a bit. Oh, and the bottom left corner is a little bit off. Might get some silicone caulk and apply at the corner for waterproofing. Otherwise, it turned out extremely well. Filed down the corners myself to get the perfect fit.
One problem that I have is the flash. The normal back glass is a plane of glass stretching across the LED in the back. Will either 3D print it, or, more realistically, just stick a spare Z3 Compact camera lens cover on it and call it a day. Any other suggestions are welcome.
Also, I'm not allowed to post images, since I made this account for this . If you're interested in the result, PM me.
Eric
P.S.: NFC doesn't work but reception is perfect.

Barrel_Trollz said:
I spent some time in the machine shop on campus yesterday, and, with the help of the assistants, made a metal back out of sheet aluminum.
The toughness is far superior to glass, and the strength is, too (the glass used on the Z3 Compact by default is somewhat pathetic).
From here, I was planning to first apply a brushed finish with an abrasive pad and WD-40 (thanks, YouTube) then either anodize (time to steal a HVPS from a hardware store?) black, or pay someone to apply a thermoset powder coat. Anodizing would probably yield better results, and be cheaper, but the scratch resistance on the aluminum is a bit low, so thermoset would help a bit. Oh, and the bottom left corner is a little bit off. Might get some silicone caulk and apply at the corner for waterproofing. Otherwise, it turned out extremely well. Filed down the corners myself to get the perfect fit.
One problem that I have is the flash. The normal back glass is a plane of glass stretching across the LED in the back. Will either 3D print it, or, more realistically, just stick a spare Z3 Compact camera lens cover on it and call it a day. Any other suggestions are welcome.
Also, I'm not allowed to post images, since I made this account for this . If you're interested in the result, PM me.
Eric
P.S.: NFC doesn't work but reception is perfect.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I assume that the glass they use for the camera lens is of a convex design such to scatter the light intensity for maximum coverage of the subject. It won't be so easy as just using any untreated material unless you want a dull-flash. Assuming you've already made your cuts to good tolerances, then why not just source your adhesives from the OEM itself? Save yourself some work. The proper way to apply those adhesives(as such to retain the water-resistant nature) is to use a hot plate up to 100 C and place it on the plate for a few seconds before pulling it off.

I'm mainly worried about the cut at the bottom left. It's not at all made to a good tolerance. I did buy the adhesive sticker, and I plan to use it, but some silicone wouldn't hurt on that one place.
Also, there is a bit of distortion when I look through it, so you're right. Not much I can do about it, though, but pray to the gods of diffraction.

allerd said:
@mike the pike
what a coincidence!
I have made a modell in FreeCad because I had the same idea like you. But I don't have a 3D printer, so my plan was to order it from a german company which offers to cut parts out of plastic plates.
I'am not a drawing or CAD profi, in fact this was my first experience with stuff like this, but I am pretty shure my modell is quite accurate. My only opportunity to test it, was to print a 1:1 sketch and compare it with the (broken) original backcover.
Feel free to use and modify my work, but please tell me if it works. :highfive:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, I didn't visit this site quiet a wile.
I lent me a radius-gauge and I think I found some good values.
Unfortunately I don't have them in mind, because I gave them to a colleague, how will 3D-print the cover for me.
As I only made hand-drawing, he will transcript it into any 3D-data-file, which I will provide you here, as soon as I received the results.
So stay tuned.
The cover for the camera is still usable and I plan to insert it into the new back-cover, but I'm quite at a loss about the flashlight.
p.s. Yesterday I mounted my 4th back-cover

Accurate 3D model and curves for creating z3c back cover:
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1998130

Mission complete
Hi all!
I finished my metal back cover. Still a new user, so can't post images, but I just wanted to let you guys know that I completed it and the phone is 100% functional (aside from NFC, RIP).
In the end, I anodized the aluminum and used a thin plastic sheet sealed with superglue around the flash (flash works fine BTW), and gave it a little brushed finish afterwards that cut into the anodized piece ever so slightly.
I'm very happy with it, the finish on this phone is unlike any I've ever felt. Smooth, yet solid, soft, yet sturdy. The phone is cool to the touch when in standby. The camera was a bit wonky at first, but as I pressed down into the metal back it stabilized, and now seems very resilient. The anodization itself didn't go all that smoothly (took four tries), with the metal part itself ending up with an uneven finish. It being black and brushed helps, as the texture undulates, making up for the inconsistencies.
I made a post to /r/Android with images and more details. Same username as on here. Go check it out if you're interested.
Eric

Mission also complete
I finished now my 3D-printed backcover and it is quite satisfying.
I made it by using the file railpl posted.
Unfortunately it is about half a mm to short so there is a small gap on the short side, but for me it is okay.
I used the lenscover from my old glassback and drilled a tiny hole for the flashlite.
So I think it is not waterproof anymore.

[GUIDE][REPAIR] Repairing the camera lens and replacing the back cover

For anyone contemplating these repairs, they turned out to be much simpler than I expected.
Camera lens
The lens can actually be replaced without removing the rear cover of the phone. Simply use a knife to carefully gouge out the broken glass, clean off the old glue, then stick the new ones into place.
Rear cover
I bought an original Xiaomi cover on Ali Express for $60. They seem to be getting more and more scarce, so if you're thinking about doing it, do it sooner rather than later.
To remove, I heated the edges a little with a hairdryer, then wiggled a work knife into the gap and worked my way around, sliding the knife and lifting. Once you get it going it's not difficult, but you need a little patience. Once you get enough done, lift the cover to get the rest of it off.
Be careful with lifting because the fingerprint sensor is attached. To remove it at the phone end, the connector is very small but easy to get off, it's a press-in connector, so just carefully insert the very corner of your knife under the edge and lift. It comes off easily, so if you're having to work at it you're doing it wrong.
To remove the sensor from the old cover, warm it with the hair dyrer, then use a very thin knife or blade and work carefully around the edge. It won't come out until you've worked all the way round, lifting more than cutting. Once out, the glue is recessed slightly, so the sensor stands out and fits into the hole in the cover, which means positioning isn't a problem. You can probably buy the glue piece, but I didn't have it so I just put it back in the new cover using the old glue, I warmed it a bit and then weighted it back in place for a while. It seemed to be pretty firmly in place, and I don't think it's going anywhere anyway once the cover is back on, since it's up against the rest of the phone.
Check around the edges of the phone for remnants of the old glue. It comes out easily, just push a bit with the knife to get the end up, then lift and pull and it'll come out in a single strand.
The replacement cover comes pre-glued, although it's not really glue, more of a sticky seal. Starting at the camera end, position the cover and push it into place. There's a pop when it goes in, and I think even without the glue it would be fine. I then warmed the edges and weighted it down for a while.

Hello comrade, thank you for sharing your experience.
Now, it wouldn't be a bad idea to share with us the links (if XDA allows this kind of links) for the purchase of your spare parts.
Internet is very rough, and in my case, I buy almost everything in Aliexpress, it is very difficult to find good sellers with good prices.
This way, your contribution will be much more complete.
Thanks a lot, and greetings.

Hi
I will attempt a similar replacement but I just have some questions. How did you swap the nfc and wireless charging coil and do you think it is possible to do a "clear" version of the back cover (removing the interior paint)
thank you