Introduction
This repair guide was authored by a member of the iFixit community and hasn’t been endorsed by Google. Learn more about our repair guides here.
This guide will show you how to replace a Google Pixel motherboard. If you're having issues with the overall functionality of your phone and are unable to diagnose the root cause, consider replacing the motherboard of your device.
Tools
Parts
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Turn off the device.
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Prepare an iOpener to heat the edges of the display and soften the adhesive underneath. Alternatively, you may use a heat gun or a hair dryer.
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For reference, the back of the display panel is shown at left. Note the narrow clearance between the side of the display unit and the OLED panel. (The bezels indicate this spacing on the front.)
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Use a suction handle to pull up on the display and create a slight gap between the display and the phone's chassis.
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You may need to apply more heat if this doesn't come up. Don't be impatient, this will take time. Once you can gently insert a tool in the gap, move on to the next step.
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Insert an opening pick or a playing card into the gap between the chassis and the display assembly.
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Begin to slide the opening pick around the edge of the display, cutting through the adhesive that secures it.
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With the adhesive cut, slowly lift the display up from the top (the side with the speaker-grille cutout), carefully flip it over vertically toward the bottom of the device, and rest it on its face, as shown.
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Use a T5 Torx driver to remove the two black 3.5 mm T5 screws securing the display cable connector bracket.
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Use tweezers to remove the bracket that holds the display connector in place.
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This is just a piece of metal, and should come up very easily. (The cable is removed in the next step.)
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The midframe is held tightly in place by five clips. To release these clips, apply inward pressure with an opening tool as shown in the steps below.
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Wedge an opening pick into the notch that is located at the bottom right corner of the phone.
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Slide the opening pick up both sides of the device in the small space between the midframe and the rear case to release the clips holding it in place.
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Use a spudger to pry the earpiece speaker cable connector straight up, disconnecting it from the motherboard.
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Remove the mid-frame from the device.
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Use tweezers to lift up the adhesive strip at the top of the battery, and peel it back to expose the connector underneath.
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Use a spudger to disconnect the thin, black ribbon cable connecting the power and volume buttons to the motherboard.
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Use a spudger to pry up the black and white coaxial cables attached to the upper right and left-hand sides of the motherboard.
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Use tweezers to carefully lift the top (the camera side) of the motherboard out of the device.
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While holding the motherboard up with tweezers, use a spudger to disconnect the fingerprint sensor cable from the motherboard.
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Remove the motherboard completely from the device.
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Compare your new replacement part to the original part—you may need to transfer remaining components or remove adhesive backings from the new part before installing.
To reassemble your device, follow the above steps in reverse order.
Take your e-waste to an R2 or e-Stewards certified recycler.
Repair didn’t go as planned? Check out our Answers community for troubleshooting help.
2 comments
Where do you buy a new motherboard?
Look for a donor phone from used markets, I don't believe the motherboard itself was ever sold individually.
(I'm not 5 years late, you're 5 years early)
Noah -
When reassembling, does the adhesive still hold the phone together when closed or do we need to apply more adhesive?
Jess Haddow -
Step 10 addresses this: there should be a plastic sheet that looks like your screen in the repair kit. This is the new adhesive for reassembly.
Peter Karski -