Nintendo DSi XL Front Bezel Replacement

Schritt 1

Remove the two Phillips screws securing the battery cover to the back of the handheld console.
Lift the battery cover off the back of the DSi XL.

rust/white powder built up on a screw and can’t unscrew it

Eco -

Schritt 3

Remove the four rubber screw covers on the lower case by prying them up with a push pin.

Schritt 4

Remove the following seven Phillips screws that secure the lower case to the rest of the DSi XL:
Four silver 5.3 mm screws
Two black 5.3 mm screws
One black 2.5 mm screw

Schritt 5

Turn the DSi XL over, and open the display.
Insert a spudger between the upper and lower case at the bottom left corner of the DSi.
Slide the spudger along the bottom edge of the upper case to release the latches securing the upper case to the lower case.

Schritt 6

Close the display and turn the DSi XL over.
Lift the lower case from the front edge.
Rotate the lower case away from the DSi.
The lower case cannot be completely removed yet, since it is still connected to the motherboard.

Schritt 7

Using a spudger, pry the SD card/right shoulder button connector off its socket.
Pry the volume button/left shoulder button connector off its socket on the motherboard with a spudger.

Schritt 8

Lift the Wi-Fi board up off its socket on the motherboard.
Do not attempt to completely remove the Wi-Fi board yet. It is attached to the motherboard by an antenna cable.

Schritt 9

Use a spudger to pry the Wi-Fi cable off its socket on the underside of the Wi-Fi board.

Can I use any other tool than a spudger?

Noe - 09/09/20

Schritt 10

Use a spudger to pry the microphone cable off the motherboard.
Pry from underneath the cable.

Note that the WiFi board has already been removed here! Including this extra step would be convenient here '-)

Sjoerd Hulshof - 24/09/16

Schritt 11

Using the flat end of a spudger, flip up the retaining flap on the camera ribbon ZIF connector.
Use the pointed end of a spudger to pull the camera ribbon from the ZIF connector.

Schritt 12

Using the flat end of a spudger, flip up the retaining flap on the touchscreen cable ZIF connector.
With the pointed end of the spudger, pull the touchscreen cable from its connector on the motherboard.

Schritt 13

Using the flat end of a spudger, flip up the retaining flap on the backlight cable ZIF connector.
With the pointed end of the spudger, pull the backlight cable from its connector on the motherboard.

Schritt 14

Using the flat end of a spudger, flip up the retaining flap on the lower display data cable ZIF connector.
With the pointed end of the spudger, pull the lower display data cable from its connector on the motherboard.

-This is where you can replace the charger port. i may change this comment later from May 21-June 5

Artemy Matveev - 06/05/18

Schritt 15

Using the flat end of a spudger, flip up the retaining flap on the ZIF connector for the D-Pad/power button cable.
With the pointed end of the spudger, pull the D-Pad/power button cable from its connector on the motherboard.

Schritt 16

Using the flat end of the spudger, pry the battery cable up off its socket on the motherboard.

The battery connectors (socket) on the mother board are extremely fragile, so care should be taken to avoid breaking them.

Other than this, the instructions given are precise and straighforward. I do agree with the other comments about step 20.

Paulette Williams -

Schritt 17

Remove the screws securing the motherboard to the upper case:
A single 2.5 mm silver Phillips screw
Four 3.7 mm black Phillips screws

the battery connector was (for me) extremely hard to remove. I broke the socket completely off the board hand had to hard solder it directly back.

Rohan Grant-Dawes - 28/03/17

On Step 17, I only had the 3 black Philips screws on the left to remove.

bfmackin - 29/04/17

Schritt 18

Deroute the microphone and antenna cables through the slot in the motherboard.

Schritt 19

Rotate the motherboard off the lower case.
The motherboard cannot be completely removed yet. It is still attached by the upper LCD's display data ribbon cable.

Schritt 20

Using the flat end of a spudger, flip up the retaining flap on the upper display data cable ZIF connector.
With the pointed end of the spudger, pull the upper display data cable from its connector on the underside of the motherboard.
The motherboard is now free from the upper case.

This step is unnecessary. The ribbon is a total pain in the butt to get back in, and if you dont get it PERFECT, the DS will not even fire back up. Unless it is absolutely necessary to remove it... DON'T !!! ( Personal experience, Everything else was SPOT ON) THANK YOU FOR THE HELP, saved me a lot of $$$

Jerod Cook -

Completed, worked perfectly! I agree with the comment about step 20, completely unnecessary.

ian -

Fantastic! Fixed my daughter's irreplaceable DSi XL - you should see her smiles!! Not sure about step 20 I did this before reading the comments (guess there's a message there). Thanks so much whoever wrote this - you're a legend and you've made a child very happy (and a dad too thereby).

lb9 - 17/06/14

I put mine back together for my daughter with the new bottom screen, but it won't power on. It tries but won't I'm assuming that this ribbon is the cause.

bigdrum1998 - 09/07/16

The instructions are perfect though! Great thing to have these instructions it's a tremendous help! :-)

bigdrum1998 - 09/07/16

YHWH is the god of all knowledge. Put a piece of transparent tape on the ribbon cable to give more leverage to pull the cable up to slide it into the slot. Also turn the motherboard slightly so that you can get it closer to the cable.

Deanna Cortez - 24/12/16

I didn't get mine completely reinserted at first. The symptom I experienced when powering it back on is the power light comes on briefly and the bottom screen light flashes, then they both shut off. No flash from the upper display. Had to try reinserting 3 times before I had it in completely. I agree, DON'T REMOVE if you don't have to.

bfmackin - 29/04/17

DONT follow this step, i missed these comments and removed my cable, it took me almost an hour (I know, way too long, I just couldn't get the cable far enough in to the slot) before the top screen finally worked. Was afraid I destroyed the cable, but it survived luckily enough.

SaakS -

Schritt 21

With the console still upside-down, open the DSi XL slightly.
Push the lower display away from the upper case.
Remove the lower display from the DSi XL.

Schritt 22

Turn the DSi XL over and open the display.
When re-assembling the device, be sure to re-install the ABXY and Start/Select buttons, as they are likely to fall out once the handheld console is turned over.
Use a pushpin to remove the four plastic screw covers on the front bezel.

Schritt 23

Remove the four 3.5 mm silver Phillips screws securing the rear bezel to the front bezel.

Schritt 24

Using two hands, gently slide the rear bezel upwards.
The rear bezel will move only about 2 mm.

Schritt 25

Insert a spudger into the gap between the front and rear bezel.
Rotate the spudger away from the DSi XL, prying the two bezels apart.

Schritt 26

In the same manner as described above, continue prying along the top edge of the front and rear bezels.

Schritt 27

Separate the rear bezel from the front bezel.
Do not attempt to completely remove the rear bezel yet. It is still attached to the front bezel by the rear-facing camera.

Schritt 28

Using the flat end of a spudger, pry the rear camera off the rear bezel.
Remove the rear bezel.

Schritt 29

Remove the Phillips screw holding the metal securing bracket in place.
Lift the metal bracket off the camera.

Schritt 30

Lift the Wi-Fi antenna off the front display bezel.
De-route the Wi-Fi antenna cable from its grooves at the bottom of the front display bezel.

Schritt 31

Pull the Wi-Fi antenna cable through the right hinge connecting the front bezel and upper case.
Use the pointed end of a spudger to guide the connector at the end of the Wi-Fi antenna cable through the hinge.
To replace the antenna, use a pair of tweezers to guide the connector through the hinge.

Schritt 32

Close the DSi XL and turn it over.
Using a pair of tweezers, pull the microphone out of its housing in the front bezel.
De-route the microphone cable, and pull it through the right hinge.

Schritt 33

Using the flat end of a spudger, pry the left speaker out of its socket on the front bezel.
De-route the speaker cable along the top edge of the screen.
Work carefully and slowly, holding onto the wire and not the speaker itself. The solder joints may break if pulled on too hard.
In the same manner described above, remove the right speaker from its socket on the front bezel.
Place both speakers on the back of the upper LCD.

Schritt 34

Ensuring that the upper LCD does not fall out of the front bezel, turn the DSi XL over.
Remove the seven 2.5 mm silver screws securing the power board to the upper case.
Lift the power board up off the upper case.

Schritt 35

Peel the rubber button pads off the backside of the D-pad and power button.

Schritt 36

Open the case slightly.
Push the D-pad up through its housing in the upper case. Remove the D-pad.
In the same way, remove the power button from the upper case.

Schritt 37

Using a pair of tweezers, remove the LED diffuser bracket and the LED diffuser from the upper case of the DSi XL.

Schritt 38

In the following steps, you will be using a spudger to remove the hinge pin from the left side of the DSi XL.
Place the tip of a spudger in the LED diffuser compartment, on the face of the clutch hinge.
Push the clutch hinge to the left.
Some force will be required. You will hear an audible "pop" when the clutch has cleared the lower case. It will move about 0.25".

Schritt 39

Lift the left side of the front bezel away from the upper case.
Do not lift too far, or else the hinge pin will break. Only lift enough to clear the LED compartment, about 1".
Pull the front bezel to the left, separating the front bezel from the upper case.
Do not attempt to fully separate the two halves yet. There are still ribbon cables running through the upper case.

Schritt 40

Grasp the camera and upper LCD ribbon cables between your thumb and forefinger, pulling them out of the upper case slightly, slide them down through the slit in the upper case.
Rotate the front bezel assembly clockwise so that the ends of the camera and LCD cables slide sideways through the slit in the front bezel.

Schritt 41

In order to remove the upper LCD and the cameras from the front bezel, it is helpful to coil the ribbon cables together.
Carefully coil the two ribbon cables together, so that the connectors are on the inside of the spool.
Wrap the ribbon cables tightly, but not too tight, as bending the connectors will render them inoperable.

Schritt 42

Holding the upper LCD and the cameras together, pull the cables through the hinge in the front bezel.
Pull slowly, making sure that the cables do not catch on the hinge pin and tear.
Uncoil the ribbon cables.