Thursday, March 28, 2024

OnePlus 2 gets the teardown treatment

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Although consumers interested in the OnePlus 2 have to continue to go through the OnePlus invite system to be able to buy the device, the team at iFixit was able to get their hands on one of the units to check out its repairability after putting it through the teardown paces. The original OnePlus smartphone scored a mere 5 out of 10 on the iFixit repairability scale. OnePlus wants the new device to be a “flagship killer” so keep reading to see whether easy repairability is considered part of that equation.

As has been the case with recent teardowns, the iFixit team was able to submit the OnePlus 2 unit they had to some X-ray vision, giving us an idea of what the inside parts look like even before the teardown starts. The unit itself has no external screws, so the first step is snapping off the back cover. iFixit notes this is secured with some plastic clips, making removal easy. That makes sense since OnePlus is selling StyleSwap covers for the smartphone this time around. Getting that cover off gives users access to the Nano SIM tray, but not the battery.

While the exterior of the OnePlus 2 does not have any screws, the midframe is chock full of them. iFixit counted 18 screws to be removed, some readily apparent, some underneath rubber covers, and one that appeared to be under a tamper-evident seal. Fortunately, OnePlus did not use any adhesives to secure this mid-frame cover, so it is easily removed once the screws are out.

With the mid-frame cover removed, one can access the “non-removeable” battery which is rated at 3,300 mAh. Considering all it takes is some time removing screws, replacing the battery is not the chore it is with some other smartphones. Once the battery was popped out, the iFixit team found removal of the motherboard only required one more screw to be taken out and some cables disconnected. As far as the many components, one item that will require some significant effort to replace would be the vibration motor which will take some soldering.

With the various circuit boards and components removed, the team moved on to the display. This meant application of heat and some prying tools to separate the screen from the mid-frame. Once removed, one thing iFixit found was that the soft home button sits below some cables for the side buttons, which will make replacement a bit of a challenge.

At the end of the process, the iFixit team determined the OnePlus 2 deserved a repairability score of 7 out of 10 (where 10 is the easiest to repair). There were many positives noted like the use of non-proprietary screws, modular components, and a simple flex cable for the USB-C port. Even the battery, which will require some disassembly, is not too terribly difficult to get to for replacement. Like so many devices these days, the glass and LCD are fused together which means they will have to be replaced as a unit, driving up the cost of repair.

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source: iFixit

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