Ok! I got the hookup for all you damaged screeners out there...
This is 7100 specific, but I'm sure it will apply to most other models as well. This might not be new to some folks, but I'm not all that savy with this sort of thing, and am posting this for folks like me, that might tear some stuff up trying to mess with replacing the screen.
In another thread, someone was asking how to get to all the screws. You have to remove the plastic shield cover over the speaker on the back. To remove the shield, apply pressure to the bottom two retainer clips, as the top two aren't made to release. It pops off from the bottom.
So that's 2 screws under the battery cover, and 2 under the speaker shield. The screws themselves are STAR shaped, so you need a star shaped allen wrench to get them out. We ordered an 8 piece star set, and it was the smallest size (T6?). Turns out they sell one at
www.blackberryrepairs.com in the "Parts" section for the phone itself. It was listed there for around $7 bucks.
There are retainer clips on the sides of the screen. You could probably do it without removing the keyboard component, but I took that off as well. 4 more star screws on the back, and it's free.
Now, the biggest thing that I figured out was how to release the ribbon cable without tearing the crap out of the thing. There's a brown piece that you'll see, which appears to be part of a "plug" on the end of the screen's ribbon cable. Actually, it's some sort of retainer piece that FLIPS DOWN allowing the screen's ribbon cable to be easily removed.
When you get your new screen from the same place that I listed above (or other place if you find one), put the ribbon cable in the jack, and just flip up the brown piece, which will click into place.
EASY AS PIE!
Hope this helps...
Chuck
Screen Replacement: Lesson's Learned!
BB Tour 9650
