Google Pixel 3 XL Wireless Charging Coil Replacement

Written By: Arthur Shi

Comments: 26

Google Pixel 3 XL Wireless Charging Coil Replacement

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

Time Required

30 - 45 minutes

Introduction

This repair guide was authored by the iFixit staff and hasn’t been endorsed by Google. Learn more about our repair guides here.

This guide shows how to remove and replace the wireless charging coil for your Pixel 3 XL.

The coil is heavily glued onto the battery. To prevent damage to the battery, you will need to use adhesive remover or high concentration isopropyl alcohol in order to detach the coil from the battery.

Tools

Parts

Google Pixel 3 XL Back Cover Adhesive - Genuine

Step 1

Heat an iOpener and apply it to the right edge of the back cover for a minute.
A hair dryer, heat gun, or hot plate may also be used, but be careful not to overheat the phone—the display and internal battery are both susceptible to heat damage.
While you wait, note the following areas on the back cover:
Strong adhesive—there are large patches of adhesive near the bottom of the phone.
Fingerprint sensor cable—be careful not to slice through the cable as you pry

Step 2

Apply a suction cup to the heated edge of the back cover, as close to the edge as possible.
Pull up on the suction cup with strong, steady force to create a gap.
Depending on the age of your phone, this may be difficult. If you are having trouble, apply heat to the edge and try again.
Insert the point of an opening pick into the gap.

Suction cup doesn’t work on severely cracked glass.

Jeffrey Kongthong - 22/12/20

Step 1 - 2 took me about 50 minutes. Back and forth with heat and trying with suction cup. I could get my finger nail in but not the pick. Took two people, but we finally got a pick in. 2 year old phone.

Andrew Messier -

Took about 15 minutes and three total attempts. On the third attempt, I also used a thinner, metal, pick to widen the gap just enough for the plastic pick to fit (Though be careful as you can easily break it with a metal pick). The phone is three years old.

Hotohori -

Could not get in with the pick or in from the side. Targeted the bottom of the phone with the iOpener and managed to gently create some space for the pick with the opener tool.

Daniel R. -

I also struggled here for a while. I ended up working my way around the entire edge of the phone until I found one spot where I could pry up the back panel. I used a jimmy instead of the opening pics. I also used a hairdryer on lower heat instead of the iopener. 3 year old phone.

Bryan Wethington -

Took 30 minutes + to get the back cover off. Used another suction cup to grip from the busted screen and the ifixit suction cup for the back. A thinner Acoustic guitar pick was required opposed to the standard Blues picks provided in the kit (har-har). Would HIGHLY suggest getting a pick into both the back and the front before removing the panels as it will give you more surfaces to pry from. Made that mistake...

Brian Sommer -

Over 2 hours of trying, I keep reheating the pouch and let it sit on the edge for sometimes up to 10 minutes since the directed 1 minute wasn't working. Physically cant get enough leverage on the back of the phone; picks are too thick to get under the crack, and the suction cup pops off before I can get enough force to see any gap open. Phone is 5 years old. I really need some help

Grant Cooper - 02/03/23

Hey Grant!
I hear your pain—the adhesives on this phone are very strong. The initial gap is one of the hardest parts of the procedure. Here are some suggestions:
* If you have a hair dryer, give that a shot. Heat the edge until it is slightly too hot to the touch.

* These adhesives separate not with extreme force, but with constant steady force and time. Try heating the edge and pull on the suction cup with firm force for about a minute to let the adhesive separate.

* If you have an opening tool, you can try this procedure to get the initial gap.

Arthur Shi -

Step 3

Slide the opening pick along the right edge to slice through the adhesive.
The adhesive gums up and becomes hard to slice once it cools. If that happens, re-apply heat to the edge to make slicing easier.
Once you have sliced through the edge, leave an opening pick in the seam to prevent the adhesive from re-sealing.

Step 4

Apply a heated iOpener to the bottom of the back cover for a minute.

Step 5

Use an opening pick to slice around the bottom right corner and continue along the bottom edge of the phone.
Work slowly as you slice around the corner to prevent the panel from cracking. If the slicing becomes hard, re-apply heat.
Leave a pick in the edge to prevent the adhesive from re-sealing.

Step 6

Continue heating and slicing the remaining edges of the phone.
Be careful as you slice along the left edge of the phone. If your pick feels like it's stuck near the top, you may have snagged the fingerprint sensor. Retract the pick out of the seam slightly and try again.
Be sure to cut through the thick portions of adhesive near the bottom and right edge of the phone.

Step 7

Gently pry up the right edge of the back cover.
Use an opening pick to slice through any remaining adhesive along the edges.

Step 8

Swing the right edge of the back cover upwards and rest the flipped panel along the left side of the phone.
Be sure to maintain slack on the fingerprint sensor cable and prevent it from being pinched.
During reassembly, this is a good point to power on your phone and test all functions before sealing it up. Be sure to power your phone back down completely before you continue working.
During reassembly, follow this guide to install custom-cut adhesives for your back cover.
If you replaced the fingerprint sensor, you'll need to use this software tool to make the phone recognize the new sensor.

Reassembly is way harder. The adhesive guide is generic and not super helpful, so don't be surprised if things went smoothly until you get to this step and then everything starts sticking to things its not supposed to.

Christopher Trimby -

This is great but how you address that fact that the phone is tied to a particular fingerprint sensor and after replacing, the new sensor is not recognized by the original phone?

Dave -

Hi Dave!

There's a software calibration tool that you can use to calibrate your new fingerprint sensor. I've updated this step to include a link to the tool.

Arthur Shi -

I have a pixel 3 xl and I can't get the tool to work. I finally got the driver's installed after several hours and it says it's for pixel 6 and up basically. So I tried the other option and it's basically saying to do a factory reset? Did I mess something up on the install or what am I doing wrong here? Thanks

Cody L Paulsell -

Uhhh

So, apparently the connector on the motherboard for the fingerprint sensor is just ridiculously fragile, because after plugging and screwing everything in (pretty much reassembled except for the adhesive), I closed up the phone and powered it on to test if everything was working, and when I opened it back up and let the top hang off to the side, it just snapped off. I didn't even have it tensioned that much, it was just hanging off to the side and snapped. So now I've traded a non-functional camera with a non-functional and irreparable (unless I get a new motherboard) fingerprint sensor.

The guide really ought to emphasize how delicate that connector really is. I have a google drive link here to a photo of the remnants of my poor fingerprint sensor connector :( link

Mindle -

Step 9

User tweezers to carefully peel up the yellow tape over the fingerprint sensor connector.

This step is utterly unnecessary. It achieves nothing, and the tape is there for a reason (I'm not sure why, maybe to prevent short circuits). I didn't remove this tape while disassembling and it didn't change anything.

Krzeszny - 24/08/22

The Kapton tape should adhere to both the cable and the connector. It helps prevent the cable from slipping out of the ZIF connector. You're right in that you don't have to completely remove the tape—I've adjusted the step to reflect this.

Arthur Shi -

I just finished this guide, thank you. It would be nice to have a "before ribbon removed" reference picture that's also without the Kapton tape in place if possible. I was no longer certain how far back into the ZIF connector I had to place the ribbon cable as I simply forgot what it looked like before removing it. Basically, it "felt" like it was out too far, but since I had no reference I couldn't compare. Step 10 has good close up pics, but the ribbon cable is already out a bit so a bad reference.

teknomedic -

Step 10

Use the point of a spudger to carefully flip up the black lock bar on the fingerprint sensor's ZIF socket.
Grasp the cable's tab with your fingers or tweezers and gently walk the flex cable out of the socket.
To prevent shorting, be careful not to touch the metal contacts on the flex cable with your tweezers.

Step 11

Remove the back cover.
Follow this guide to correctly apply new back cover adhesive.

Step 12

Remove the following four T3 screws securing the metal cover bracket:
Three 4 mm long screws
One 3 mm long screw
Throughout this repair, keep track of each screw and make sure it goes back exactly where it came from.

Be careful when putting the screws back in that you do not over tighten. This will cause you to destroy some pixels on your screen.

Brian Retterer - 18/05/21

The long screw on my disassembly was adjacent to the lettering for the Qi inductive receiver, and not close to the silver exposed part of the battery as indicated

Andrew Munro -

In my case, all the screws are the same length.

Krzeszny -

Step 13

Insert the flat end of a spudger underneath the top right edge of the metal bracket and pry up to loosen it.
Remove the metal cover bracket.

There is a small adhesive pad under the metal bracket, between the two middle screws that will provide some resistance when lifting the metal cover bracket

Andrew Munro - 11/08/22

Step 14

Use the point of a spudger to pry up and disconnect the battery connector from its socket.
Do not use metal tools to to disconnect the battery, or you will risk shorting the battery.
Bend the battery cable such that the connector will not accidentally touch the socket.

Step 15

Use the point of a spudger to pry up and disconnect the charging coil connector from motherboard near the right edge of the phone.

Step 16

Insert the point of an opening pick underneath one edge of the charging coil.
Slide the pick along the edge to loosen the adhesive.
Slice as deep as you can while taking care not to puncture the battery's surface.

This step is completely not needed. The new battery already had a coil attached so i didn’t need to remove the coil from the old battery.

Mike Moffit - 12/04/21

^ Not in my kit.

Go slow, don't rush this one. It is harder than the case (at least for me)

Christopher Trimby -

My kit also did not come with a replacement coil or adhesive. Any suggestions on what to do here? Could I use adhesive strips to re attach the coil?

Glendon sowder -

Step 17

Tilt the edge you have been slicing upwards.
While holding the phone in a tilted position, apply a few drops of adhesive remover or high concentration isopropyl alcohol along the edge.
Keep the phone in that position for a minute or two to allow the adhesive to soften.

Step 18

Insert the flat end of an opening pick underneath a corner of the charging coil.
Push the pick slowly and firmly under the coil to loosen the adhesive.
The adhesive is mostly around the perimeter of the wireless coil. Use the opening pick to slowly slice through the adhesive.
If the adhesive feels difficult to slice through, tilt the phone up and apply a few more drops of adhesive remover.

Step 19

Remove the wireless charging coil.
To install a replacement coil:
Be sure to clean off the battery surface of any adhesive residue. Be very careful not to puncture the battery.
Connect the wireless coil connector to its motherboard socket. This ensures that the coil is properly aligned.
Peel off any adhesive backing on the replacement coil.
Lay the coil on top of the battery and firmly press it into position.

This step is a bit out of place. It is only relevant if you are replacing the charging coil and keeping the old battery.

Michael Stember -

My kit did not come with adhesive for the coil. So check for that before you begin.

Christopher Trimby -

My kit also did not come with adhesive for the coil. Where can I buy the replacement coil or the adhesive to reinstall the old coil?

Glendon sowder -

Conclusion

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

Take your e-waste to an R2 or e-Stewards certified recycler.

Repair didn’t go as planned? Try some basic troubleshooting, or ask our Answers community for help.

Author

Arthur Shi

Member since: 03/01/18

218169 Reputation

Google Pixel 3 XL Wireless Charging Coil Replacement

Introduction

Tools

Parts

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