Possible DIY way to change HTC 8X colour

[anon(5334066)]

Hi all,

I found a website which sells HTC 8X parts... Everything from flex cables to the actually soft touch coating replacements.
Windows Phone 8x spare parts and accessories.

Here you can purchase replacement back covers, volume rockers/power/camera buttons. Using the parts on this site, it should be entirely possible to completely change the colour of your 8X. The only problem is the speaker grill on the screen, which is part of the screen. You would need to buy a new screen which could get pricey very fast.

Has anyone else found any sites similar to this one? The parts seem a bit expensive. However, I'm tempted to try it when I get some spare cash. This is useful to me because my carrier only launched the 8X in blue, and I really wanted red.

Most parts are out of stock right now :/

 

[WindowsPhone8User]

Might get mine in yellow, just how would you get the original back cover off tho?

 

[anon(5334066)]

The company has this video on disassembly

 

[ajua]

For the price, I might get a red and a yellow back
However, I'm not bold enough when it comes to disassembling phones. I have tons of experience with laptops and other electronics, but I have never disassembled a phone.

If someone here buys on those covers, please keep is posted.

 

[lucas.scott]

Good find. They are all listed as OOS right now though. Definitely something to keep an eye.

 

[tofu.]

Hi all,

I found a website which sells HTC 8X parts... Everything from flex cables to the actually soft touch coating replacements.
Windows Phone 8x spare parts and accessories.

Here you can purchase replacement back covers, volume rockers/power/camera buttons. Using the parts on this site, it should be entirely possible to completely change the colour of your 8X. The only problem is the speaker grill on the screen, which is part of the screen. You would need to buy a new screen which could get pricey very fast.

Has anyone else found any sites similar to this one? The parts seem a bit expensive. However, I'm tempted to try it when I get some spare cash. This is useful to me because my carrier only launched the 8X in blue, and I really wanted red.

Most parts are out of stock right now :/

I got excited for a bit. Been waiting for oem covers to hit the market. They're probably out of stock because they never were in stock to begin with

why is black $77?

Too bad the wireless charging assembly isn't there either

 

[gibbage]

Would be nice if you could buy the Verizon back and make your non-Verizon 8X into a wireless charger!

 

[hennessyevan]

After seeing the OOS status everytime I checked, I finally saw the black one come in stock.

I just bought a black cover from there and it said that it came with the wireless charging assembly :smile: (which is the only reason I sprang for the black).

I should be getting it in the mail in the next few days and I'll tell you guys how it goes after I attempt a little bit of plastic surgery to my HTC 8x. Wish me luck..

 

[01mggt]

If I currently have a Verizon 8x with wireless charging would I lose that of I change the back case?

 

[tofu.]

After seeing the OOS status everytime I checked, I finally saw the black one come in stock.

I just bought a black cover from there and it said that it came with the wireless charging assembly :smile: (which is the only reason I sprang for the black).

I should be getting it in the mail in the next few days and I'll tell you guys how it goes after I attempt a little bit of plastic surgery to my HTC 8x. Wish me luck..

wireless charging assembly?

that's great news!

 

[Agent-P]

I was thinking of getting a new backplate (with wireless charging) but leaving the speaker grill, volume/power/camera buttons, and sim tray the California Blue my 8X came in. Apart from black, does anyone think a red or yellow backplate would look good with these blue accents? (I haven't seen the red or yellow in person, so I can't judge it myself)

After seeing the OOS status everytime I checked, I finally saw the black one come in stock.

I just bought a black cover from there and it said that it came with the wireless charging assembly :smile: (which is the only reason I sprang for the black).

I should be getting it in the mail in the next few days and I'll tell you guys how it goes after I attempt a little bit of plastic surgery to my HTC 8x. Wish me luck..

Just quoting so you don't forget to update us on this because if I can get a wireless charging back for my 8X and be able to install it with minimal fuss, then I'll definitely buy one right away.

 

[gapost]

I have taken apart and repaired everything from car engines to camera lenses to cell phones. After reading some experiences with disassembling the 8X, I wouldn't do it.

 

[Agent-P]

I have taken apart and repaired everything from car engines to camera lenses to cell phones. After reading some experiences with disassembling the 8X, I wouldn't do it.

If you don't mind me asking, what in particular about taking apart the 8X makes you hesitant to do it?

 

[gapost]

If you don't mind me asking, what in particular about taking apart the 8X makes you hesitant to do it?

For one, the screen and LCD are "glued" to the back cover. It is very hard to separate and from what I have seen in some threads, very difficult to get it back to the original condition, ie screen flush with the body. In fact, I read one thread where a repairer said it was one of the worst phones he worked on. Just not worth it to change the color. Now, if it was my own phone, and the screen was cracked, and it was either buy a new one or try to fix it, I would probably try to fix it.

It is my understanding that in the disassembly video, that phone was taken apart once and it appears easier than it really is.

 

[hennessyevan]

Ok so here's an update! I got the backplate in black and naturally decided to disassemble right away using the video as a reference.
NUMBER ONE: Heating the phone is crucial. I have done a lot of decal work on my motorcycles and stuff so I had a heat gun that I used and that melted the glue. (there wasn't THAT much)
NUMBER TWO: There is no easy way to remove/replace the speaker grill (on the top) so I left it as california blue and left all the buttons blue as well (minus the sim tray)

Other than that, disassembly and reassembly was actually much easier than I thought. The whole process took me about an hour and a half and believe me, I was not rushing.
There are four small tongues that fit into adjacent grooves on either side of the phone and two on the top and bottom. Once the glue that holds the back to the bottom of the phone is melted, the back just snaps out of the grooves and replacing the new backplate is just as easy as snapping it in to place. The USB/Speaker assembly has six small screws and re-locating that to the new back was just as easy. There are three cables that attach the USB, speaker, and volume/camera button that fit much like any other motherboard.

I have a touchstone charger from my palm pre (frankenPre 2 actually) but that didn't charge it (as I didn't expect it to). I went to my local Best Buy and saw a wireless charging dock on display so I can confirm that it works well, and GOOD NEWS!

I didn't manage to take any real pictures during disassembly except for one accidentally because I can't exactly take a picture of my phone with my phone.

So all in all, it depends how much you value qi charging and for me.. ~$40 and give or take two hours of my time was worth it.
Cheers Guys!

 

[gapost]

Ok, well that's good to hear you got it done without too much trouble.

 

[Agent-P]

Ok so here's an update! I got the backplate in black and naturally decided to disassemble right away using the video as a reference.
NUMBER ONE: Heating the phone is crucial. I have done a lot of decal work on my motorcycles and stuff so I had a heat gun that I used and that melted the glue. (there wasn't THAT much)
NUMBER TWO: There is no easy way to remove/replace the speaker grill (on the top) so I left it as california blue and left all the buttons blue as well (minus the sim tray)

Other than that, disassembly and reassembly was actually much easier than I thought. The whole process took me about an hour and a half and believe me, I was not rushing.
There are four small tongues that fit into adjacent grooves on either side of the phone and two on the top and bottom. Once the glue that holds the back to the bottom of the phone is melted, the back just snaps out of the grooves and replacing the new backplate is just as easy as snapping it in to place. The USB/Speaker assembly has six small screws and re-locating that to the new back was just as easy. There are three cables that attach the USB, speaker, and volume/camera button that fit much like any other motherboard.

I have a touchstone charger from my palm pre (frankenPre 2 actually) but that didn't charge it (as I didn't expect it to). I went to my local Best Buy and saw a wireless charging dock on display so I can confirm that it works well, and GOOD NEWS!

I didn't manage to take any real pictures during disassembly except for one accidentally because I can't exactly take a picture of my phone with my phone.

So all in all, it depends how much you value qi charging and for me.. ~$40 and give or take two hours of my time was worth it.
Cheers Guys!

Sweet. Since it doesn't seem to difficult, I'm seriously considering doing this now. A couple questions though:

1. When putting the new backplate on, did you have to reapply any adhesive? I noticed you talked about melting the adhesive holding the phone together, but you didn't make any mention of it when attaching the new backplate.

2. Any chance you could take some pictures of the finished product, even if it's a mirror shot? I just want to see how it looks with a black backplate and blue buttons (that way I can decide if I should wait for the blue backplate to come in stock or not).

 

[tofu.]

is there another source for these parts? the site listed in the first post no longer carries anything

 

[Agent-P]

is there another source for these parts? the site listed in the first post no longer carries anything

Remove the "-en" from the end of the url after you click it. For whatever reason removing that shows all the parts.

 

[failed1234]

Did anyone else see the orange back? Never knew they made those...

EDIT: NVM, just red... Does anyone know if they make the blue one with wireless charging?