Nook Color Screen Replacement

Today I fixed Little B’s Nook Color.  Last week she came to me sobbing.  She’d dropped her nook from her bed and it landed screen-first into a chair.  The LCD was shattered.

I followed this YouTube video to disassemble the nook.

 

Warning: This video is WRONG about one part of the disassembly.  Removing the front bezel before removing the LCD and PCB damages it.  There is a small brass bushing molded into the bezel that is ripped out of the plastic by doing it this way.  

 If you reuse the same bezel you won’t notice this, but installing a new bezel will cause an ugly hump in the plastic next to the “n” button.  Instead you have to pull the Bezel/LCD as an assembly to get to the screw holding this bit on.

The corrected the disassembly procedure is:

1. Open the MicroSD card slot.
2. Remove the MicroSD card, if equipped.
3. Remove the two stickers covering the two screws
4. Remove the screws.  They are a Torx T-5. 
   
• As an aside, I bought this screwdriver from Home Depot for $5 for this project.  It has T4-T10 and T-15.  It’s not magnetized by the manufacturer, so I rubbed it across a magnet to make this job easier.  Chasing dropped screws _sucks_.  I also bought some other new tools, but that’s a post for another day. 
  
5. Using a thin flat blade, gingerly pry the locking tabs out to remove the back cover.

• This is easier if you start in the middle of a long edge.  I didn't know that when this was taken. 
6. Remove all of the visible screws, and the ones hidden under the tape in the corners.
   
• At this point, my instructions diverge from the youtube video.
7. Using your thin flat blade pry the battery, volume control, and power button cable connectors straight up.  Try not to knock the soft foam blocks off of them, as they help keep the cable from vibrating loose.
   
8. Push on the PCB/LCD/Bezel assembly from the corner where the microSD card goes.
9. Simultaneously, use your flat tool to pry the front bezel latches away, loosening the PCB/LCD/Bezel assembly from the aluminum nook body.
10. Remove this screw to free the bezel.  It is now held on only by the sticky tape.
    

The PCB/LCD disassembly matches the process in the video.

Reassembly tips:  When replacing the back cover of the nook put the microSD slot cover corner together first.  It won't snap in properly if you leave it for last.  Also double check to make sure the power and volume buttons are lined up neatly before you screw it all back together.

I got my parts from this ebay auction “Nook Color Display and Digitizer Assembly”   by the seller wallachee.  It is the complete LCD/Digitizer assembly with the bezel.  The auction describes it as used, but the one I got was flawless.  I would have guessed it was NOS if I didn't know better.


Post-nook-fixing we had dinner at the Bell Buckle Café and I played Modern Warfare on the xBox with Big B.  He gets hilariously annoyed when I kill him in the game.  Muahaha.