Samsung Stratosphere Flex Cable Replacement

Use your fingers to pry along the groove at the top of the phone.

• Pull back on the rear casing until it comes free from the device.

The casing may make a cracking sound as it is removed, but this is normal.

Use your fingers to pry the battery loose from the bottom.

• Lift the battery up and away to remove it completely.

Locate the red and white SIM card above the battery housing.

• Slide the SIM card downwards from its slot using your fingers to remove it.

Use a Phillips #000 screwdriver to remove the seven silver 3mm screws holding the rear panel.

• Loosen the screws fully before removing.
• If a screw gets stuck, use tweezers to carefully dislodge it from the casing.

Prying too deeply may damage internal components.

• Use a plastic opening tool to pry around the rear panel and loosen it.
• Remove the rear panel from the phone with your fingers.

Use a Phillips #000 screwdriver to remove the four black 3mm screws securing the motherboard.

Identify the flex cable attachment marked by a green arrow on top.

• Pry from the direction indicated by the arrow using your fingers.
• The removal will produce an audible snap.
• Allow the cable to hang freely beside the phone.

Locate the side of the motherboard opposite the loose flex cable.

Careful not to damage the underlying components.

• Use a plastic opening tool to gently pry the motherboard away from the key pad, if stuck.
• Lift the motherboard out of the device from its original side.

• Insert the plastic opening tool into any side of the phone case.
• Pry the keyboard away from the casing using the plastic opening tool.

The keyboard should come off with almost no force, but be careful not to apply too much pressure and damage nearby components.

Remove the six (not seven) silver 2mm screws from the silver metal plate using a Phillips #000 Screwdriver.

Careful not to apply excessive pressure — risk of damaging components.

• Use the plastic opening tool to gently pry loose the golden metal plate.
• Apply moderate force as needed, but avoid over-straining the adhesive bond between the plate and rear panel.

Reposition the gold plate to allow it to slide under the keyboard casing.

• Lift the gold plate using your fingers.
• Remove the keyboard casing by sliding it off underneath with your fingers.

Release the silver metal plate by sliding it downwards towards the flex cable and gold metal plate.

The metal plate is held in place by springs, which may offer a slight resistance.

The plate will snap back into place once released.

Remove the rear panel using a Phillips #000 screwdriver.
Unscrew all 4 x 3mm black screws.

Insert the plastic opening tool into the groove at the top of the rear panel.

• Apply sufficient force to firmly slide the plastic opening tool all around the rear panel, as it may require considerable pressure to separate the pieces.

• The panel will audibly snap as it comes apart.

• Lift the flex cable, positioning it to allow removal.
• Pull the part with the metal plate away from the rear panel.

Remove the tweezers and use them to gently loosen the front-facing camera from the plastic casing.

• Pull the black rectangular piece, attached to the front facing camera, away from the rear panel.

Remove the blue tape from the bottom of the flex cable and set it aside.

Loosen the flex cable from its central housing using a plastic opening tool.

• Pull lightly on the flex cable to free it from the housing.
• The cable may audibly snap as it separates.

Use tweezers to gently loosen the flex cable and speaker from the bottom of the phone.

• Pull upward with the tweezers until the flex cable comes loose.
• The front-facing camera will still be attached to the flex cable. See our guide for further instructions on removing it:

Careful not to damage the flex cable or its connections during this process.