Motorola^® MicroTAC Cellular Phone: Disassembly and Reassembly

My Motorola cellular phone (a MicroTAC Lite^™ Limited Edition) suffered a broken hinge. I took it apart to repair it. In doing so, I learned how this phone may be quickly and easily disassembled and reassembled. However, the designer evidently intended to frustrate the casual tinkerer, and it took me over an hour to discover the procedure without destroying my phone. By sharing this information I hope to save you the same trouble. If I have been helpful, or if you have a suggestion for improving this document, feel free to send me a comment using the form available on the main page.

The illustrations in this document were created as Windows Bitmap (BMP) files with Windows NT 4.0 Paint, then converted to JPEG format by AOLpress 2.0 to make them compatible with both Navigator 4 and IE 4.

Ed McGuire
February 27, 1998

Caveats

• Disassembling the phone voids the warranty.

• You risk damaging your phone because you must apply force to small plastic parts.

• I have not tried this procedure with any other phone model. If you do, you risk damaging your phone because your model may be designed to come apart differently.

• I take no responsibility for the consequences if you decide to follow these directions.

Body Disassembly

1. Remove the battery, and lay the phone face down. This step gives you access to the back of the phone body, where you will be doing the rest of your work.

2. Unlock the hinge pins. (This is the tricky operation because you can't see what you're doing. I have listed it early, so that you don't need to undo anything if you are frustrated by this step. However, it's easier to do than to explain, so take heart.) The mouthpiece is attached by two plastic hinge pins. The hinge pins also serve to lock the plastic shell of the body together, and so must be unlocked to disassemble the phone. Each hinge pin is kept in place by its own internal locking tab, accessible through an 0.5" wide slot at the base of the phone body. Each hinge pin has two holes, which are aligned with the slot and with one another, so that a tool can be threaded straight down (1) into the slot, (2) through the upper hole, (3) over the locking tab, and (4) through the lower hole (total depth about 0.5"). I found a large unfolded paper clip to be an effective tool. Refer to the accompanying diagram; the locked positions of the holes are shown by a red dot and a green dot, and the unlocked positions are shown by white dots.

   • To unlock the left hinge, insert your paper clip in the left end of the slot (red dot position). Thread the paper clip completely through the hinge pin. Then, apply force diagonally down and to the right (in the direction of the red arrow) until the hinge pin pops to the right (white dot position).

   • To unlock the right hinge, insert your paper clip in the right end of the slot (green dot position). Thread the paper clip completely through the hinge pin. Then, apply force diagonally down and to the left (in the direction of the green arrow) until the hinge pops to the left (white dot position).

3. Remove the antenna cap. At the base of the antenna, there is a cap through which the antenna protrudes. There is a small slot on the back of the body at the base of the cap. This slot is marked in red on the diagram. Extend the antenna, then insert a small screwdriver into the slot and pop the cap off (in the direction of the red arrow). I actually popped it off with my thumbnail.

4. Remove the center screw. It is located on the back of the body, recessed and concealed behind a sticker reading "PHONE DISASSEMBLY WILL VOID THE WARRANTY." Use a screwdriver with a star bit (Torx^® bit) if you have a set. I don't know the T-number of the screwdriver, because I found that my video monitor adjusting tool was the right size to engage with the star head and so didn't bother to buy a Torx screwdriver just for this repair job.

5. Remove the back part of the shell. On the back of the body, look for four plastic tabs near each corner, which lock the back part of the shell to the front part. Press each tab in turn away from the center of the body with a finger, while simultaneously separating the the shell with your other fingers.

6. Remove the circuit board assembly. The assembly simply lifts off the front part of the shell, et Voilà!

7. Remove the mouthpiece (if desired). The mouthpiece and hinge pins lift together out of the front part of the shell. Be careful as you lift them out to note the position and orientation of the hinge pins. If you remove the hinge pins from the mouthpiece, you will have the tricky task before you of respringing the hinge pins, so I suggest you leave them in place unless absolutely necessary to remove them. Note that the hinge pins are interchangeable with one another, an example of smart design.

Mouthpiece disassembly

Note: you will need glue and lubricant to reassemble the mouthpiece. Read ahead before you decide to proceed. Place the phone on its back with the antenna pointing to your right.

1. Remove the access cover, a "D" shaped piece of flat, flexible plastic which is glued over the spring mechanism. There are slots in the mouthpiece at the top and bottom of the "D". Insert a screwdriver through one slot, then lift and gently peel the cover back.

2. Remove the spring guard, a "D" shaped piece of rigid plastic beneath the access cover. There are two slots at the right side of the "D". Insert a screwdriver into each slot and gently pry the access cover upward. Be careful; the spring might go flying.

3. Remove the spring parts found in the "D" shaped cavity in the mouthpiece. There are three parts: a curved length of spring steel, a magnetized metal tab, and a black plastic tab. Note carefully the original position and orientation of each part.

Mouthpiece reassembly

1. Replace the spring parts in the "D" shaped cavity.

   • Lubricate the plastic tab. Petroleum jelly (Vaseline) would work; so would plumber's grease. I had a wax based lip stick (Blistex^® SPF 30) handy, so I used that.

   • One edge of the plastic tab is rounded. Flip the tab over so that the rounded edge faces away from you, and orient the tab so that the rounded edge faces to the left (toward the hinge pins), then insert it into the cavity in the upper hinge pin (so that the rounded edge rests against the pin).

   • Insert the magnetized metal tab into the cavity in the lower hinge pin. It was originally held in place by a spot of glue for convenience in assembly; you may reglue it or not if you wish.

   • Orient the spring so that the ends are to the left and the curve to the right, with the "S" shaped end below the "C" shaped end. Mate the "S" shaped end with the plastic tab in the "D" shaped cavity next to the magnetized metal tab. Gently straighten the spring until it fits completely within the cavity, with the "C" shaped end creating tension against back of the plastic tab.

2. Replace the spring guard. Insert the left side of the "D" first, then snap the right side of the "D"down into place.

3. Replace the access cover. Press it into place. The original glue seemed to work for me. If the original glue won't hold it in place, you'll need to apply some glue which does the job. Don't use super-glue, epoxy, or any permanent glue.

Phone Reassembly

Reassembly is simply a reversal of the disassembly process. Here are some things to watch out for.

1. Replace the mouthpiece. With the body face down, the extended mouthpiece should be convex side (outside) up. The hinge pins should be replaced with the holes toward the middle of the bottom, and the locking teeth facing up and located between the two matching tabs on the body.

2. Replace the circuit board assembly in the front part of the shell. Warnings:

   • On the front (display) side of the circuit board assembly, there is a plastic part which wraps around the display and carries the LED output to the front part of the shell. It tends to fall out of place; be sure it stays in place.

   • Be careful that the the rubber grips are properly aligned with the shell and not pinched by the edge of the circuit board.

   • The circuit board assembly makes an electrical connection to the front part of the shell through a connector on the bottom left side of the circuit board. Be sure it is fully seated.

3. Replace the back part of the shell. This snaps in place over the four plastic tabs. Warnings:

   • Be careful that the rubber grips are properly aligned with the shell.

   • You may need to use your paper clip to pull the hinge pins out of the way as you press the two halves of the shell together.

4. Replace the center screw.

5. Replace the antenna cap. This snaps straight on to the body.

6. Lock the hinge pins. The operation is similar to unlocking the hinge pins. Use your paper clip to snap the pins into the locked position. As the accompanying diagram illustrates, the force is applied diagonally down and out, instead of down and in.

7. Replace the battery. And, if you're lucky, the phone will still operate when you switch it on! (I was lucky.)