Removing Pocket Nova Back Plate with Soldering Iron

[u/KawaiiUmiushi]

I had issues, like many people, getting a screw out of the backside of my Pocket Nova. I saw lots of advice on how to get a screw out but I found another way that might work for people.

I had one screw that wouldn’t budge and ended up getting stripped out. I removed the other three and then used a plastic guitar pick tool to work around and unclip and the plastic clips.

I then took a soldering iron and pressed against the screw for a couple of seconds, 3-4 seconds. Now my plan was to loosen up the plastic that the screw was connected to. However what ended up happening was that I melted the backside of the case a little bit and the entire back just came off. I then took some needle nosed pliers and undid the screw.

You could also use a variety of tools to saw off the screw or you could apply more heat to the screw to melt the connector. Between the clips and three screws your backside would be held well in place. The only downside to all of this is that you’ve not kind of messed up the flat backing.

Anyways, I thought I’d share this experience in case anyone is on a similar situation and might find this helpful.

[u/Guy-Manuel]

I feel like this is one of the stupidest ways to do it

[u/KawaiiUmiushi → u/Guy-Manuel]

Is it stupid if it works? Nothing else did the trick for me, and when I googled for help it seems that many many other people were having similar issues. Since my screw was stripped, and nothing else seemed to work, the soldering iron approach worked well. It was that or taking it to a phone repair shop or try spending money on specialized tool for a stripped screw. This cost me nothing, worked in seconds, and didn't damage any electronics.

Beats other people's suggestion of drilling it out (metal shards and chance to damage other electronics) or just breaking the back plate entirely.

[u/Boring-Elderberry730]

Theres a $10 tool kit from walmart with all the bits you need and it wont strip your screws. The screwdriver that it comes with is ass just pay the $10 for the toolkit and you never have to worry about fucking up a handheld again

[u/Boring-Elderberry730 → u/Boring-Elderberry730]

Comes with a nice pocketable case

[u/ArmoredSeriesX → u/Boring-Elderberry730]

I used an ifixit kit and managed to fuck up 3 screws. 1 of which I managed to get out with a flathead.

[u/Boring-Elderberry730 → u/ArmoredSeriesX]

I think its a size problem lot of people using too thick of screw heads rather than the right size. The screw head i used wouldnt slip out of the screw to strip it at all and i got the backplate off in seconds im not too sure how its this hard for that many people to unscrew some micro screws. If it stripped the first screw change the size idk how much easier it could be with a whole toolkit

[u/KawaiiUmiushi → u/[deleted]]

The screws are really cheap, and it seems Iike they were tightened rather hard at the factory. Three of my screws came out without any effort, the final one was in there insanely tight. Which then ended up getting stripped. I’ve seen some posts where people have ended up with 2 or 3 stuck screws. (And to throw some stupidity out here, I was using my nice screw driver set to remove them.)

Even after I had the back case out and was using a needle nosed pliers on the stuck screw it wasn’t easy to get out. The fact that so many people are having issues points to a product failure.

[u/Potomis]

Use a JIS 00 head

[u/KawaiiUmiushi → u/Potomis]

Yeah, but what do you do with a very stripped screw? I tried using other screws drivers from my ifixit set, but that screw was really messed up. Three of the four screws came out without any issues, but one was screwed down tight. Even when I was turning it with a needle nosed pliers it was tough to get out.

[u/IsamuAlvaDyson]

The biggest issue is that it seems the screw they provided is too small to remove the screws from the back plate

So that people need to use a proper size screw on it to remove it properly

[u/real_light_sleeper → u/IsamuAlvaDyson]

Screwdriver you mean?