Nokia E71 Screen A Little Dusty? DIY Temporary Fix
Posted on 02 November 2008, at 7:34 am, by Mitchell Oke
About a month after I bought my E71 I noticed a few specks of dust on the display, underneath the plastic covering the screen. I was a bit annoyed (particularly considering how well built the E71 feels), but it wasn’t too bad so just ignored it. Well the problem continued to get worse, to the point where a third of the screen had a grey haze over the top of it. Since this is the first phone I’ve actually bought in a while, I was pretty peeved!
I was going to take it to a Nokia service centre a few weeks ago, but just haven’t had the time. Also, I wasn’t sure of the warranty status since the one I bought came from eBay, and may have been a grey import (it was very cheap, so I’m pretty sure it is). Fed up, I decided to give fixing the problem a go, and surprisingly it’s not that hard.
Under the battery cover you will see four star-head screws. These are the only screws holding the front panel of the phone on. You need a T5 screwdriver to remove them, don’t try using a flathead screwdriver (I tried, only served to slightly strip the heads).
With the four screws out, press a small flathead screwdriver into the holes shown in this photo, on both sides of the phone. They are little clips that hold the front on (in addition to the screws, obviously). With those released, pull the front forward and slide it slightly up. There are two metal hooks holding the top of the front to the phone.
So, now you have the front off and can see the dust. Clean it off both the screen and the plastic that covers the screen, and reverse the process. All up this shouldn’t take you much longer than 10 minutes.
Before (after I’d wiped a bit off)
After (Nice and clean!!)
Obviously this isn’t a solution to the problem, but it is a temporary measure to fix it. When I get time I’m going to see if I can augment the foam that is supposed to stop this from happening. The question is how did Nokia manage to engineer all the stuff they did into the tiny E71, yet screw up on this?
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9 Comments For This Post
November 2nd, 2008 at 3:02 pm
This is so awesome! I was looking for this exact type of thing yesterday and had no luck, decided to try again this morning and this is exactly what I needed, thanks heaps!!!
November 6th, 2008 at 4:42 am
Brotherman! This is also exactly what I’ve been looking for; some sort of breakdown of how to properly open up the phone without screwing it up and finding out for myself. The e71 is an amazing device, but the dust is the BIG problem with it. WHY NOKIA do you always have one GLARING ISSUE with your otherwise perfect devices? Ah well such is the price of innovation and early adopters.
I’ve gone ahead and cleaned out the phone. Its been 2 days and I’ve already got some nice dust forming again. If you are able to find a way to augment the foam safely please do let us know. I will keep this bookmarked and check back again later. Thanks for this helpful guide man I will be cleaning out my screen on the weekends regularly now (lol)
February 3rd, 2009 at 11:21 am
Hi there,
my device is 4 weeks old i got it new… and already i have 3 big! chunks of dust under the screen … i try to fight it by using a white theme (it helps) but still quite a minus on otherwise a great device.
regards S.
February 6th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
Great advise and thanks for the pictures. It worked out just great!
February 9th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
Be careful when you guys try to put the front panel back in place. On the right side of the phone (where the volume keys are located), is a thin strip that connects the volume keys and the mute key to the main board. This can very easily get cut if you don't put the panel back properly.
The correct way to do it is by first sliding the top hinges back on and then gently wiggling the for holder in place on the keyboard panel.
Be careful!
February 19th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Idea of augmenting the foam screen seal got me thinking. I wonder would it be possible to put on double layer of this foam and still be able to put it back together.
I haven't oppened my device yet so I'm just guessing this could work.
I presume that nokia care points should have it in stock (the foam seal).
February 25th, 2009 at 11:15 pm
Great temporary fix. Used a T4 screwdriver which was good enough to remove the 4 screws but I over tightened the bottom left screw when putting it all back together. Now my shift and 'z' keys are pretty much jammed and the T4 can't get the screw out again. Urgh!! Have to buy a T5 now.
February 27th, 2009 at 1:45 am
DAMN, I LOVE YOU MAN…YOU JUST SAVED ME 60 BUCKS!!!
April 30th, 2009 at 12:09 am
Thanks for this how to! I also have dust particles under my screen after about a month. They are most obvious and annoying in direct sunlight.
On my phone they seem to get in through the gap between the keyboard and the screen. The protective foam is not perfectly sealed to the lcd at that place.
I think a way to solve it would be to have some kind of sticky foam instead of it just being pressed againt the lcd. I could glue it but I’m afraid the glue will drip on the visible part of the lcd.
Anyway this post goes into my favourites! If it becomes too much I can just clean it out.