Kyaw Soe O
New member
As has been mentioned in the Nokia Europe discussion forums, the Nokia 5500 face (keyboard & LCD cover) isn't the most durable.
This is owing to the fact that it is rubber attached to the phone with what looks like strong double sided tape, and the navigator is chrome-plated plastic.
But...the next best thing to a truly durable phone is a cheap & easy to repair phone. So after my navigator started flaking & looking pretty ghetto, I went to cnn-dot-cn (not sure if this is one of those forums that won't let you post actual sites) and found the 5500 keypad selling for $5.00.
Basically all you have to do to replace the keypad is:
Remove the rubber cover with your fingers & nails (it's shockingly easy);
Remove a clear plastic intermediate layer, including the LCD cover, with a pick-like tool (I used a soldering helper), taking care not to disturb the black adhesive underneath;
Pop the new cover on.
Goof up the adhesive? Probably nothing a $5 bottle of rubber to metal cement couldn't solve.
Goof up completely? Then just get the full case for $36 or so from the same site.
By the way, this will take care of LCD cover scratches too.
Enjoying my like-new phone...
This is owing to the fact that it is rubber attached to the phone with what looks like strong double sided tape, and the navigator is chrome-plated plastic.
But...the next best thing to a truly durable phone is a cheap & easy to repair phone. So after my navigator started flaking & looking pretty ghetto, I went to cnn-dot-cn (not sure if this is one of those forums that won't let you post actual sites) and found the 5500 keypad selling for $5.00.
Basically all you have to do to replace the keypad is:
Remove the rubber cover with your fingers & nails (it's shockingly easy);
Remove a clear plastic intermediate layer, including the LCD cover, with a pick-like tool (I used a soldering helper), taking care not to disturb the black adhesive underneath;
Pop the new cover on.
Goof up the adhesive? Probably nothing a $5 bottle of rubber to metal cement couldn't solve.
Goof up completely? Then just get the full case for $36 or so from the same site.
By the way, this will take care of LCD cover scratches too.
Enjoying my like-new phone...