Swapping memory?

[supermaughan]

So I had a 16gig Nexus 7 that took a short dive to the driveway and broke the screen. Still works except for the screen. I'm now looking to replace. I was thinking that if I buy a 8gig version I may be able to swap the memory from my broken one. I haven't had it apart yet to see how hard this would be but thought I would ask the question to the clever hackers of the internet. Any thoughts?

[radiocycle]

There are a couple different N7 'Teardown' vids on YouTube that you might want to watch.  Might give you some insight on what's possible in that regard.

radio

[birdastrompgman]

I suspect it's a very non-trivial desoldering/soldering job into a multi-layer motherboard - not something I'd want to do - with a very low chance of success.

[supermaughan]

After watching the teardown vids I think I can just swap out the entire main board. I'll take apart the broken one first to see how difficult is is going to be. Nothing to loss there.

[birdastrompgman]

That should work, and it sounds like the logically easiest way to swap parts.

[supermaughan]

The transplant was successful. Although I almost didn't survive it. The first time I tried to power it up my heart skipped a beat when nothing happened. After a few attempts I realized it was one because the processor was getting hot. I just had no lcd. I eventually had to replace the lcd cable with the old one and it worked. I don't know if I damaged the cable or if it was just not plugged in correctly. I should have payed closer attention to the teardown vids. There is a clip on the small ribbon cables that I did not notice so I was just pulling the cables out. Much easier when I discovered the clips.

[S.Prime]

@ supermaughan

Excellent, Congratulations on your success. 

Now, considering your success and the apparent skyrocketing sales for the Nexus 7, can we expect to see the availability of OEM replacement screens or even 3rd party resources?

[birdastrompgman]

It does seem crazy to pay $200 for an 8GB N7 just to get its $40 LCD .

[supermaughan]

The lcd and digitizer are fused and the assembly is around $130. Plus they are hard to find. To ship it to Asus and have it repaired cost around $170 and takes who knows how long. I found the 8gig on craigslist for $190 and well I guess I have some spare parts now. I was going to just go buy a new one from Walmart but this way I saved a little.

[loociddreemr]

Early this year I upgraded from my OG Droid to the Razr MAXX.  My wife had the OG as well, and I had one that was dropped in the bathtub.  I took all of them apart and made a frankenstein of the three.  The one that was dropped in water was only two days old, so I used the LCD and digitizer along with most of the case.  I had many mods on one device, but the other had been ridden hard, so I picked throug what was in the best condition.  I too damaged the ribbon cables on the teardown, but in the end I came out with a nearly new OG.