Upper Main Flex Connector Disconnect Procedure

Step 1

Before you begin, switch off your phone.
Remove the SIM card tray.

Step 2

Remove the two Torx T2 screws (2.5 mm length).
The OnePlus 5T doesn't use a lot of adhesive to secure the backcover, however the clamps are very strong and require some force during the opening procedure.

Could you clarify the statement “The OnePlus 5T doesn't use a lot of adhesive“? Do you mean that it uses adhesive, but only a little? Or do you mean that it doesn’t use any adhesive at all to secure the back, just the clamps?

Avram Grumer - 19/10/20

Hi Avram,

there is a little bit of adhesive underneath the edges of the back cover, however it doesn’t require heating to soften it. In case the back cover doesn’t come of straight away it won’t help to apply an iOpener to further soften the adhesive but requires a little bit more force to open the plastic clamps.

Dominik Schnabelrauch - 22/10/20

i have tried t2 srewdrivers multiple times but they doesn’t seem work, could those be different screws?

Mr Kono -

I had the same problem. I tried a T1 screwdriver, that fit perfectly.

That said, the 'tools' section of this repair doesn't mention any torx screwdriver. That should be updated to include the T2 (or T1, for me!) screwdriver.

Akka -

I purchased the entire kit to do my battery replacement and found the opening tool was not capable of opening my One Plus 5t phone. I tried the tool for at least 30 minutes and couldn’t even get it started. Luckily I had a set of “plastic tools” for removing door panels from cars while doing stereo work. These tools have nice sharp points and are much longer and thicker, providing much better grip and leverage. With these tools, I had the back off the phone in just a few minutes. All the rest of the process was easy to follow and everything worked out great.

David Dery -

I have all of the necessary parts/tools for replacement. Upon removing the two screws from the bottom, one came out no problem first try. The second bolt slipped andbis now completely stripped out. Any advice?

Derek Basham -

Step 3

Insert an opening tool between the display and the backcover at the bottom end of the phone.
Use the opening tool to create a gap between back cover and display.
Insert an opening pick in the gap you created with the opening tool.

Don’t make the same mistake as i did and put the opening tool between the screen and glass rather than the screen and body. Make sure its the second line from the top where you insert your tool

Hayden Rooney -

This part is very difficult, i have been trying to open the phone up, still cannot.

Taz -

The easiest way to open the back cover, is by starting from the bottom right corner, try find a plastic tool that is slim enough to go through the display and back cover.

Taz -

I too had troubles with this step. I recommend having a look at the guide for opening up the back cover of the Oneplus 5 before proceeding. It has a lot of helpful images and the instructions go into far more detail than this one does.

OnePlus 5 Back Cover Replacement

Iceblade02 -

This step was the hardest step for me. I could only succeed with suction cup pliers and a metal pry tool, which unfortunately scratched the device’s edges a little.

Haggai Eran -

I found this hard. Look carefully and use a bright light. There are two small ridges. I worked ages on the top one which isn't actually a gap. You need to work on the bottom one of the two. I used a very small metal screw driver with a thin flat blade. I pushed this in to open the gap a fraction then put a plastic tool in the now slightly opened gap and worked it round.

Duncan Putman -

For opening up the device, OnePlus 5 Back Cover Replacement that Iceblade02 mentions is excellent. The tools in the kit also correspond to it since the new kit that I received last week had no guitar picks and instead had the suction cup.

Anirudh Ramanathan -

Be sure you are getting below the screen's LOWER lip, as in the photo, as HaydenRooney mentions.

Try to minimize flexing of the screen when you are wedging, the clamps (like snaps or tabs) will demand force and you want to avoid turning that into screen flex. There are several forum posts here about device working-but-dark after a repair. Too bad user input is rather folded away on ifixit, and few will see these.

Professor Z -

Step 4

Slide the opening pick to the bottom right corner of the phone.
Insert a second opening pick and slide it to the bottom left corner of the phone.

Step 5

Slide the opening pick around the bottom left corner and then up along the left edge of the phone to open the plastic clamps that secure the backcover.

Step 6

Slide the opening pick around the bottom right corner and then up along the right edge of the phone to open the plastic clamps that secure the backcover.

Step 7

Try not to remove the backcover all the way yet. The fingerprint and the charging port and headphone flex cables are still connected to the motherboard.
Flip your phone and carefully lift the bottom end of the backcover away from the phone assembly. Fold it to left and hold it at an 80° angle.

Step 8

Use a spudger to pry up and disconnect the fingerprint flex cable.

Step 9

Twist the backcover around 180° and lay it down to align the bottom end of the backcover the top edge of the battery.

Step 10

Use a pair of tweezers to remove the small metal shield which covers the battery and the charging port and headphone jack flex cable connectors.

Step 11

Use a spudger to pry up and disconnect the charging port and headphone jack flex cable.

Step 12

Remove the backcover.

Step 13

Use a spudger to pry up and disconnect the battery flex cable.

Step 14

Use a pair of tweezers to unhinge and remove the small metal shield that covers the main and interconnect flex cable connectors.
The metal shield is held in place by mild adhesive. In case you're having trouble removing it, you can apply a heated iOpener to loosen the adhesive underneath.