Hardware Repair New 3DS home button

[Wuigi]

After I disassembled my New 3DS and put everything back in place, my home button stopped working all of a sudden.

I immediately looked after it, but the cable with the button looks perfectly fine.
I thought that I saw that kind of button some time ago and I remembered that the power button of the "old" 3DS has the exact same shape, but I'm not sure about the size.

Because of that I want to ask, if someone knows if those button are the same, because replacement parts for the home button are not available at the moment and I already unscrewed my New 3DS and voided my guarantee so I can't get it replaced...

Edit:
Wiimote power- plus- and minus-buttons are a little bigger than the home button.
Edit2:
The home button seems to be an smd from ALPS with the device number SKRWAEE030.
I measured the button roughly with a lineal and my button is only 0.05 mm bigger, but it could be measurement problems on my side.
Edit3:
I ordered some buttons, in about 3 weeks I'm going to write how it went, I measured the home button again and I'm pretty sure it's one and the same as the ALPS one.
I really hope that the ribbon cable itself is not damaged, but I don't think that's the case, I can't spot anything unusual on it.

P.S.: I recently downgraded my EmuNAND from 9.5.x with sysupdater 0.4 to 9.0.0-20.
Even though the system menu stated 9.2.x I wrote it back to SysNAND and updated to 9.8.x afterwards, because exploits weren't working anymore, probably because some modules were really 9.0.x and some weren't and Ninjhax and GW got confused which offsets and stuff have to be used...
I noticed the broken home button right after the update, but I don't think it's related to it.
I plan on doing a NAND mod so it doesn't matter which version my N3DS currently has.

 

[atkfromabove]

Try pushing the ribbon cable housing down with some pressure and see if that does anything. I had the same thing happen to my home button on my n3ds when I took it apart. Turns out the ribbon cable housing is not like the other ribbon cable connectors.

 

[Wuigi]

Thanks for your answer, but I'm sorry that I don't understand what you exactly want to say, do you speak of the awkward zif connector? I already tried pushing it down with the cable inserted or do you mean the part the button is soldered to? I tried to add a little solder today but I still didn't get it to work...

Edit:
I started my New 3DS with opened case, and while pressing the zif down I could actually get it to recognize my button press, the question is now, how do I get the zif to be in that state without me pressing it down, would be a bit impracticable if you know what I mean.
Edit2:
A bit of tape did the trick, the question is now, what purpose have the 50 useless buttons I ordered?

Thread can be closed.

 

[Nuzzgok]

I am actually having the same issue with the home button, I was just about to create a topic on this. You said some tape did the job? I have tried using tape but I can't seem to get it to hold the connector down tight enough. I also tried folding some paper so that it would press against the case, but that didn't work either.

I think I'm running out of ideas...

 

[Wuigi]

Another thing I did was taping the cable of the power supply (the cable with black and red wires) to the problematic zif to apply some extra pressure.
I pushed down the zif with nothing inserted a couple of times without any reaction of the system after reassembly, prior to the taping, so I thought that this zif seems to be relying on the power supply cable, my home button now acts as if I never opened my New 3DS so this could definitively be a solution.
You can also try to boot the New 3DS opened at the bottom and manually apply pressure to the zif, e.g. via the touchpen to see if it works at least with that. If not I guess, the zif could be damaged, the ribbon cable or the button itself got damaged when lifting the touchscreen part.
Except the button and the zif part there seems to be no replacement part available on any major website I checked that sells third party replacement parts, but when my L-Button on my old 3DS broke after some extensive playing of Kid Icarus Uprising, I could find lots of 3DS parts, so maybe after a little bit of waiting some parts will be available, as the most complex part of the component is the button that is already offered by ALPS.

If you can verifiy that your zif got damaged, I think I found the right part and the manufacturer:
It's FA1004SA1-R8000 from JAE Electronics.
Hope I could help.

 

[atkfromabove]

I used a small needle on the top of the connector where there are holes to push down the connection on the ribbon cable.

 

[atkfromabove]

I am actually having the same issue with the home button, I was just about to create a topic on this. You said some tape did the job? I have tried using tape but I can't seem to get it to hold the connector down tight enough. I also tried folding some paper so that it would press against the case, but that didn't work either.

I think I'm running out of ideas...

I had to take the back of my N3DS again but here is what worked for me.

The 4 holes where the pins contact the ribbon cable for both the Home Button and Mic:

Try to find a small needle that can push the pins through the holes down. Be very careful when doing this.

 

[Nuzzgok]

Not the most elegant solution, but this is what I ran with in the end. I found a bunch of little foam pads that can provide just enough pressure when the back cover is screwed on.

Thanks for the replies!

 

[Wuigi]

Great that this worked for you, this zif sure makes a lot of problems.
Sorry that I didn't mention it until now, but I have the smaller New 3DS version, so my advice maybe wasn't that helpful...
In the specification of the part from JAE Electronics there is mentioned, that there shouldn't be force applied when inserting the cable or pulling it out.
The exact sentence is
"One-action mating, with no need for actuator
or slider operation during insertion and
removal".
I bet that most people like the three of us thought, that the upper part has to be bent up to get the cable out and the zif isn't made to withstand this kind of impact.

 

[Nuzzgok]

Great that this worked for you, this zif sure makes a lot of problems.
Sorry that I didn't mention it until now, but I have the smaller New 3DS version, so my advice maybe wasn't that helpful...
In the specification of the part from JAE Electronics there is mentioned, that there shouldn't be force applied when inserting the cable or pulling it out.
The exact sentence is
"One-action mating, with no need for actuator
or slider operation during insertion and
removal".
I bet that most people like the three of us thought, that the upper part has to be bent up to get the cable out and the zif isn't made to withstand this kind of impact.

Absolutely, and I can see why. With the other zif's needing to be lifted, and pretty much no documentation online, I can see a lot of people making the mistake of prying them open..

 

[carlitoB123]

ok so i followed the disassembly guide off youtube and the guy lifts these damn ribbon cable clips so here i am in this thread...

mine is actually a new 3ds xl but they are the same clips in a similar location.

i actually had both my home button and mic not working. i tried pressing down to bend the connectors back but that didnt work. both with ribbon cable in and out when pressing down on it. i then tried the 'pin in hole' as suggested earlier but that didnt work either. i then tried stickers on the none conductive side of the cables to make them thicker but when pushing the cable in it would just push the stickers off the cable.

i got it working by putting small pieces of paper in the connectors, ensuring they are pushed right to the back, then pushing the cables in. both my home button and mic are now working perfectly! sweet! (you need to actually push the cable away from the motherboard as the connection is made on the top side of the connector)

now im wondering what the other ribbon cables do incase one of the others doesnt work and i just havent noticed yet. does anybody know?

good luck people who have stumbled across this thread!

 

[sailor_moon]

Just posting my thanks for this thread; I too swapped my JPN/USA N3DSs [Small]\[Black and White models] then I ran into the problem of my home button not working; so I found this thread EXTREMELY helpful. I had to use the Sewing Needle tip to fix my pins; but all in all I am very glad my USA N3DS system works again.

 

[guerrierodipace]

thanks for the solution, I had home well connect but not woked.
i put a piece of paper under the flat and now it's ok.

 

[housingk]

I had the same problem, but when I tried to apply some pressure on the zif connector it just popped of the board.

What are my options now? am I screwed?


thanks

 

[Wuigi]

The whole zif or only the clamp thing?
If the contacts on the board weren't damaged, you could solder a new part, I mentioned the serial number above.
However, it is so small, that it will be pretty complicated.
Maybe a repair if your 3DS wasn't hacked or a replacement motherboard are the cheaper solutions and more doable.

 

[Jaggred]

Ive just repaired my home button with your suggestion.
Big thx! Didint think that it will be so simple

 

[jikky1800]

how do i fix this on my new 3ds

 

[Wuigi]

Seems to be broken on the connector itself, I guess you will need to replace the part that it is from.

 

[jikky1800]

Seems to be broken on the connector itself, I guess you will need to replace the part that it is from.

what wire should i use to just solder that connector back onto the motherboard, i would solder on a new conncetor but serface mount soldering is new to me and im not sure what to use, i do have some conductive silver glue that i could use or maybe liquid solder, thoughts ?

 

[milerwan]

I had to take the back of my N3DS again but here is what worked for me.

The 4 holes where the pins contact the ribbon cable for both the Home Button and Mic:

Try to find a small needle that can push the pins through the holes down. Be very careful when doing this.

Don't push the connector with the ribbon inserted !

Remove the ribbon than push otherwise you will stamp the contact surface on the ribbon tracks.