Analysis of htc one. Complete disassembly of HTC One. Improvised and special means

Any modern smartphone is a technically complex device, consisting of dozens of assembled elements, and the clear leader in complexity can be safely called HTC One - it’s even hard to imagine how much the company’s engineers have packed into such a relatively compact and non-separable case. That is why the video with the disassembly of the flagship is doubly interesting.

We have already written that the iFixit portal, known for its demonstrative disassemblies, called the HTC One one of the most difficult devices to restore - they had the feeling that HTC simply did not count on possible repairs. But that information was an opinion-review, which was supplemented by several photographs. And now, thanks to the fact that the seriously damaged One fell into the hands of ETrade Supply, we can evaluate the entire process on video and notice some features that are not clear from the iFixit images.

If anyone has ever had to disassemble and reassemble smartphones themselves, they will probably notice that the One’s internals are indeed very multi-layered and packed as tightly as possible. When disassembling, you must be extremely careful, follow a specific order, and never use force.

The One often uses copper foil to protect the elements, which makes reassembly a frustrating experience - it bends and loses its shape too easily. In general, the protective foil and film, of which there are many in the HTC One, do not make a very pleasant impression; it feels slightly sloppy. Even the plastic that envelops the battery has uneven edges - some competitors do not allow this even in structures that are closed from the user.

Even with all these comments, one can feel the genius of the people who were able to tightly pack such complex elements and place them so that they do not interfere with each other due to heat and interference.

I have long wanted to write an article like this, but the opportunity has only now presented itself. From time to time we have to repair Android devices. We do this as an exception at the request of friends or business partners.

The impetus for this text was the extreme stupidity with which Android device manufacturers place electronic components in the housings of their gadgets. As a person who sees the insides of the iPhone and iPad every day at work, I was extremely interested in the design of the products produced by HTC and Samsung. It is interesting to compare not only the characteristics of devices, their capabilities, but also the potential of the departments that are involved in the design and layout of internal units and components of manufactured devices.

Let me note in passing that I decided to write a material based specifically on the results of dissecting a phone, because if, for example, we take a tablet as a basis, then the design of the iPad in terms of thoughtfulness, efficient use of internal space and compactness of parts leaves Samsung products far behind. HTC’s tablet solutions wouldn’t even dare to compare them in any way, because they differ in design from the iPad in much the same way as a black-and-white lamp-based TV differs in design from a modern LCD TV.

But let's return to our HTC One X. It came to us with a broken touchscreen. Having rummaged through the Internet, we were surprised to find that no one had done a detailed dissection of this gadget. For example, on iFixit there is no data on the opening of HTC One X at all, and the guys with GTV The device was only half disassembled.

This is what HTC One X looks like with the protective cover removed. Almost the entire top of the battery and half of the motherboard are covered with copper film.

computersart.com.ua

Ultimately, we had to arm ourselves with our experience and get to work. It would be logical to assume that in the process of disassembling any device, it would be most rational to resort to one by one dismantling the elements and blocks that make up the device, gradually moving towards the unit that requires replacement. But when we saw the insides of the HTC One X after we removed the back cover, we realized that our hopes were in vain.

Back cover of HTC One X. 1 - Bluetooth antenna, 2 - GPS antenna, 3 - GSM antenna, 4 - Wi-Fi antenna, 5 - NFC antenna.

Photo provided by service center computersart.com.ua

The mysterious place where the battery wires go.

Photo provided by service center computersart.com.ua

The first group of cable connectors that must be disconnected before removing the battery. 1 - connector for the volume control buttons, microphone and vibration alert. 2 - LCD display cable connector. 3 - dock connector cable connector.

Photo provided by service center computersart.com.ua

The second group of cable connectors that must be disconnected before removing the battery. 1 - connector for the button backlight and polyphonic speaker cable, 2 - connector for the touchscreen cable, 3 - connector for the battery. The reason why it was placed on the inside of the motherboard is a mystery to us.

Photo provided by service center computersart.com.ua

When we saw what needed to be done in order to de-energize the device, we were very surprised. It turned out that you simply cannot just disconnect the battery in the HTC One X just like that. Because the connector for connecting it is located on the inside of the main board. And in order to remove the battery, you must first remove the main board. I still don’t understand why it couldn’t be moved to the outside in order to radically simplify the battery replacement procedure for the same specialists at authorized HTC service centers.

To remove the battery in HTC One X, you need to do the following. The first step is to remove the back cover, which contains the polyphonic speaker, GSM/UMTC, NFC, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS antennas. The complexity of the design of the back cover is compensated by the ease with which it can be removed. This is good. Almost the entire area of ​​the battery and most of the main board are sealed with copper film. We need to peel off the part that covers the main board in order to free the battery. Then you need to unfasten the cable connector for the volume control and microphone buttons, the dock connector cable, the display cable, the polyphonic speaker cable and backlight buttons, the coaxial cable of the GSM antenna and, finally, if possible (yes, yes, because not everyone can do this) touchscreen cable.

Next, we arm ourselves with an industrial hair dryer and heat the battery so that it can be easily removed, since it is glued with good double-sided tape. This is done in order to weaken the adhesive properties of the tape, and it is relatively easy, using a spatula, to separate the battery from the seat. After the battery is peeled off, we unscrew all the mounting bolts that secure the main board to the base. Then carefully lift it and carefully, using a plastic spatula, unclip the battery connector from the main board.

I am very curious to read the service documentation for the HTC One X to understand whether it is really allowed to disassemble a device whose elements are energized? Or is there some other, faster and more efficient way to disconnect the battery, which allows you to bypass all the operations that we did to disconnect the battery.

For comparison. In the iPhone 4S, with which the HTC One X can be compared, the battery is disconnected quite quickly and easily. First, the back cover is removed, then the bolts that secure the plug that secures the battery contacts are unscrewed, then its connector is snapped off and, finally, after heating, in order to weaken the effect of the tape to which the battery is glued, the battery is removed using a special tongue.

Sadly. HTC still uses wires in the design of its smartphones. Apple abandoned this practice in 2008 (with the discontinuation of the first generation iPhone).

Photo provided by service center computersart.com.ua

Returning to the HTC One X, I will say that after disconnecting the battery, completely disassembling the phone turned out to be quite easy. The only difficulty is dismantling the LCD display/touchscreen assembly, which is very firmly glued to the supporting part, the frame. If it had not been broken, it would not have been possible to separate it without damage. Therefore, here we agree with our colleagues from GTV that the display module is non-separable.

Disassembled HTC One X: 1 - back cover, 2 - LCD with touchscreen, 3 - base on which the assembly with display and touchscreen, main board, battery and cables is mounted, 4 - proximity sensor cable, 5 - button backlight cable under the display, 6 - dock connector cable, 7 - main board, 8 - volume button cable, microphone and vibration alert, 9 - battery, 10 - SIM holder.

Photo provided by service center computersart.com.ua

In general, HTC One X was successfully repaired. No parts were damaged during the repair process. Separately, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the cables present in the device appear to be very fragile. Therefore, great care should be taken when working with them.

While dissecting the HTC One X, a few thoughts came to mind. Of course, I don’t claim their infallibility, but still. First. If you compare the design of the components of One X and iPhone 4S, you can draw a conclusion about how the R&D departments of HTC and Apple work. And the illustrations speak quite eloquently about how complex and non-trivial the process of repairing an HTC One X is, and how much simpler a similar operation with an iPhone 4S is. I can’t say for sure, but I think this affects the price of service. In addition, you can see that a non-separable iPhone (according to Apple service documentation) is more repairable than a collapsible HTC One X.

Second. There is a suspicion that HTC produces sophisticated devices with large diagonals not because it is cool and fashionable. Perhaps they simply do not know how to fit smartphones with comparable characteristics into a more compact body.

Third. It follows from the second. Less compact elements, bulky design of components and irrational placement of elements inside the case eat away precious space from the most important thing - the battery. The more compact the internals, the larger the battery can be placed inside the case. HTC has obvious problems with the efficient use of internal space in the case.

Now I leave HTC alone. I don’t think that in the future the design of the company’s devices will change qualitatively. R&D isn't cheap, and HTC's money is tight right now. I hope that in the future Samsung will join Apple in terms of using, finding and implementing some elegant solutions in phone design. The Koreans have every chance to seriously compete for first place in the technology race and it is strange that so far they have not taken serious steps in this direction. So far, under the hood of their devices there is the same mess as in HTC products. I hope that in the near future everything will change radically.

This is another attempt to finish translating the article. I hope not everyone has read it yet, because... in general terms, it appeared in many places. And I apologize for the layout. WordPress has limitations, you need to expand it with add-ons.

Source: http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/HTC+One+Teardown/13494/1 If you speak English well enough, read the original. Not because I translate poorly (which I do), but because it’s always better to read the original :)

Who is going to save the world this night? Who is going to give your life back? That's right, gentlemen, the HTC One is saving the world tonight. Machined from a single piece of aluminum, the HTC One can do a lot on its own. Join our analysis of One (note: in the original in these sentences there is a play on words One as the name of the device and as one of many) smartphone to rule them all.

Tired of being the last one to know everything? Planned obsolescence Are you upset and need to cheer up? Folovo iFixit on Twitter or friend us on Facebook to track new information about analysis!

For analysis you will need:

Step 1 - opening HTC One

• Some people spend their entire lives searching for "the one." We found a suitable candidate and decided to bring him to trial using the only method we know how: piecemeal.
• Technical Specifications:
  • One-piece aluminum construction
  • 4.7" display with a resolution of 1920x1080 (468 ppi)
  • Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 1.7 GHz CPU
  • RAM 2 GB DDR2
  • 4 megapixel camera with UltraPixel technology
  • HTC BoomSound

Step 2

• No wonder HTC is apparently trying to adopt the design iPhone 5 in creating nice aluminum smartphones
• While Apple makes the iPhone with a flat back, maintaining thickness across the entire width, HTC makes the back more ergonomic - rounded.
• HTC has stated time and time again that they want to make a device without any seams and the complete absence of any screws on the outside is a clear proof of this.
• Unlike the iPhone's volume buttons, which protrude from the surface, the One's buttons lie flush with the edge of the device and do not interrupt the line of the body.

Step 3

• First, we dive under the part of the HTC One that isn't aluminum: the 4.7" 1080p display.
• A little heat and a suction cup was all it took to create a gap in One's zero gap designs. Note: zero-gap can be translated as “gapless”, “unbreakable”. I don't know the correct term in Russian.

Step 4

• While the display is moving up and down, it cannot be removed, because still connected by the ribbon cable that was routed underneath during assembly.
• Hoping to find some hidden screws, we removed the large foam pad that had been glued to the top of the case.
• No chance.

Step 5

• With no clear path to access, we decided to get creative... for a good half hour
• Wielding the Metal Spudger Set with the precision of a skilled surgeon, we freed One's guts from its aluminum belly.
• Last time we checked, the word "eviscerate" was not a term that was used very often in all sorts of user-friendly disassembly instructions.

Step 6

• We won't lie when we say that getting inside the device is a difficult task. The amount of work involved in separating the aluminum body and front panel was enormous.
• Regardless, we can show off the insides of the One.
• Our wonderful Spudger seems to have ruined the plastic frame around the aluminum body. Perhaps opening at a snail's pace with constant heat would minimize the damage, but we're not sure. This device was not intended to be opened.

Step 7

• The One's most outstanding feature is, of course, its monolithic aluminum body, which required HTC a lot of special tools for superior fit and finish.
• Around the camera opening we found a near-field communication (NFC) antenna and pressed contacts from it. NFC has recently become fairly standard in smartphones. In particular, he helped Nexus Q have more sales last year.
• On the back of the case we found Report Card One. She's talking about 5+, but we're not sure the maintainability score will be the same.

Step 8

• The back of the One is covered in a sea of ​​copper strips and cable flexes, and it was only after some diligent searching that we were able to locate the location of the battery connector, although the path to the battery itself remains unclear.
• The battery connector is securely screwed to the motherboard. After a couple of turns of our 54 bit kit"With a new screwdriver, it was disconnected and ready to be removed from the device... but not now.

Step 9

• The HTC One motherboard is wonderfully protected by a copper coating. Two flat pieces of copper adorn both sides of the motherboard.
• Speaking of copper shielding. It dissipates heat and provides grounding. However, copper shielding is a headache when it comes to assembly. It's like trying to straighten crumpled aluminum foil.

Step 10

• All chips are located on the front side of the motherboard:
  • RAM Elpida BA164B1PF 2 GB DDR2 + Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 quad-core 1.7 GHz CPU
  • Samsung NAND memory KLMBG4GE2A 32 GB
  • Qualcomm PM8921 power controller
  • GSM/UMTS/LTE Qualcomm module MDM9215M 4G
  • Synaptics S32028
  • Amplifier TriQuint TQM7M9023
  • Broadcom BCM4335 single-chip 5G WiFi™ 802.11ac MAC/baseband/radio with Bluetooth 4.0+HS and FM receiver

Step 11

• Now that the motherboard is removed, we finally have access to the jammed battery. After some filing, we slowly removed the battery, which had held so well, from its compartment.
• The battery is 3.8 V, 2300 mAh and weighs 38.3 g. For comparison, iPhone 5 3.8 V battery, 1440 Mach, and Galaxy S III- 3.8 V and 2100 mAh.
• Less than a week after BlackBerry Z10 Wowed us with its ease of battery installation, the HTC One crushed our dreams of widespread device repairability.

Step 12

• Rivals of HTC One's 1080P, 468 ppi are modern HDTV 10.6" Surface Pro, but One has a 4.7" screen
• We tried to remove the display from the case nine more steps ago and finally we succeeded. But as we saw earlier with the battery, this component cannot be replaced without removing everything from the bottom of the case... and the motherboard in the first place.
• There are strange markings on the back of the display. We believe these are autographs of family doctors.
• To the side of the inspection marks is a cable marked XT6088C07B_FPC REV: 8 DATE: 2012.11.30, which indicates that at least this part has been in development for a long time.

Step 13

• Disabling the front 2.1 MP camera
• This tiny, tiny block is designated H1X1305 067521.
  • Chipworks took apart their HTC One and they had the OmniVision stamp on it.

Step 15

• We weren't given any respite - the entire rear camera is copper shielded.
• This is a camera with HTC technology UltraPixel, f/2.0 pinhole, focal length 28 mm, special HTC lens unit ImageChip™ 2.
  • Chipworks discovered a 4MP sensor from ST Microelectronics at the autopsy.
• After removing the rear camera, we found two small chips on the camera ribbon cable:
  • 515M 2L22 JP
  • IY21 3001D1 L1250A
• Manufacturing such a small camera that has such capabilities is a big and difficult task and the shortage of such component blocks is a good reason for official launch delays.

Step 16

• The underlying (daughter) board has been removed, but there remains an unsolved mystery.
• The phone does not work without antennas and the antennas do not transmit a signal through the metal case. Considering that this daughter board is on the receiving end of the motherboard antenna cable and is located under a plastic panel on top of the phone, we think it does something with the wireless signal.
• See those elastic contacts along the top of the motherboard? They are found on the back of the case in an area hidden by a plastic panel. If we guess correctly, this is where HTC placed the antennas.

Step 17

• And again, no surprises: our HTC One with stereo sound has, mind you, two speakers.
• HTC still uses Beats Audio in its mobile devices. Whether based on actual results or following the brand, Dr. Dre has risen to the challenge again - which means it's time to tweak, tweak and apply those settings to the One speakers through a software equalizer.