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Snapped screw Head any Tips for me ?

5 replies · 5,773 views · Started 16 June 2008

A few month's back i splashed out for some new buttons b/c the chrome as come off and makes my phone look terrible,i got the correct tools for screws too,
Then i unscrewed all the screws apart from TWO when trying to loosen off last but one screw the head of screw snapped off so i could'nt get in to change the buttons.
Anybody got any tips for removing screw ?

If the screw-head has snapped off then there should be no problem opening it still? (but there will be a problem screwing it back together of course, perhaps once it is apart you can turn the stub remaining with some strong pliers, unless of course the broken screw body is in a part of the phone you are replacing.
If you just mean that you stripped the screw, then maybe a very small drill might help?
Regards

A very fine drill as has been suggested is probably the only DIY route.

I'd be very wary of this though as you'll probably need a drill stand and you'll have to be very very accurate.

If it were me I'd take it to an official Nokia repair centre. That way if anything goes wrong when removing the screw then they'll fix it as part of the repair.

Wombler

the screwhead snapped off still leaving leaving a wider part where it was on top of stub
so it cant just be parted by pulling stub through the hole once all other screws are out leaving the stub attached to one half of casing.
Also its on the slider where the screw is and the screen is milimetres to the side of screw, one false move lol
so even if i find drilll bit small enough it's hard to drill without damaging as it's only about 0.5mm thick with screen inside and srews are tiny
i suppose i'll take the chance but now i've lost my dam replacment buttons lol

before drilling, you could try supergluing/bonding a screw driver/screw bit/blunt nail/upside-down screw that you don't mind wasting or damaging, to the busted screwhead. Only problem is that there may not be enough space to get a decent amount of glue down. Use a rolled tube of paper or similar and place it around the damaged screw head when applying the glue to prevent it making contact with the casing.

Once you get something stuck to the damaged screw head you can get a grip on the item with pliers and try turning the damaged screw that way. At worst, the glue won't hold and you'll be back to square one.

ccraig wrote:the screwhead snapped off still leaving leaving a wider part where it was on top of stub
so it cant just be parted by pulling stub through the hole once all other screws are out leaving the stub attached to one half of casing.
Also its on the slider where the screw is and the screen is milimetres to the side of screw, one false move lol
so even if i find drilll bit small enough it's hard to drill without damaging as it's only about 0.5mm thick with screen inside and srews are tiny
i suppose i'll take the chance but now i've lost my dam replacment buttons lol

My initial thoughts were for you to file away the wide part of the remaining screw... unfortunately, metal filings would create havoc with the electronics in the phone, so the previous suggestions of drilling out the screw, or removing with very fine long nose pliers is your only likely DIY route...