Hi!
I have a problem with my FP3 : it turned off and I couldn’t turn it on, so I opened it and open all the screws to clean all the pieces with white vinegar, then dry the pieces. I reassembled the phone, it worked 2 minutes, then turn off again. So I tried to re-open the phone, but 2 screws are blocked, I can’t unscrew them anymore. What can I do?
Thank you for your help!
Welcome to the Fairphone community.
What exactly do you mean with ‘blocked’? Does the screw driver fit and you can’t turn it? Or is the screw head damaged and the srew driver can’t find a grip?
Also, sidenote: vinegar will etch metals over time, so please rinse with water thoroughly after using it, allow to dry completely and follow up with isopropyl alcohol to make sure there’s no residue.
It’s best to only use vinegar to remove oxidation from components; for general cleaning, isopropyl alcohol is recommended.
It depends on how handy and confident you are with doing it yourself.
First thing to try is different types of screwdrivers, so pentalobes or flatheads and the like, see if you can get a grip and unscrew to the point where you can get a grip with pliers.
If that doesn’t work, I’ve had some luck with using superglue (cyanoacrylate): putting a drop on a screw head, then sticking in the screwdriver, leaving it to set and then unscrewing. You have to be careful and use only a tiny amount of glue, because if it spills over you’ll affix the screw to the phone, making things worse still.
A friend of mine swears by Screw-Grab - don’t know where they got it but they tell me it works every time, including on stripped screws in phones.
Your last resort is to destroy the screw head with something like a Dremel tool. Then you can take the part out and use pliers to unscrew the remainder of the screw. Very finicky but if a screw is truly stuck, this is all you can do.
Yeah, I imagine it all comes from the same hose. Probably just walk down to your local hardware store and ask for something to make stripped screws grippier and they’ll offer you something similar.