so, i bought a broken 3ds, it had the common screen pop issue, the top screen wasn't working, and if you open it too far it turned off with a 'pop' sound.
i went to open it up, it had a screw under the battery cover completely stripped since the previous seller tried to fix the issue himself, or gave it to someone inept lol, so i couldn't get in, i left it a few months and like a week ago i decided to work on it, i bought a replacement housing off ebay.
it was a 3rd party one, it came with 'everything', complete set of screws, stickers, led diffusers, stylus, you name it (but not the rubber circle pad...
). i'm guessing all replacement ones on the internet are the same/from the same company.
i used a small hack saw and ripped the back case off to get around the stripped screw.
a while later, the new housing was on. everything was bascially perfect about it.
although, a few tiny problems:
the area for the wifi cable to sit in, all around the case, it wasn't tight enough really to hold the cable still, i just put a tiny bit of super glue so it would stay put more than it did.
the bottom of the battery cover, which i forgot to take a picture of, does not sit completely flush to the 3ds, not a big problem... if needed, you can buy a real replacement battery cover from nintendo, on their .com shop
the 3d slider and the volume slider plastic parts needed a little filing/sanding to become flush enough.
the top of the 3ds, where it has the like, shiny fade to black effect, it's not done as well, but... whatever. i'm happy with it.
the biggest annoyance is the sticker for the select home start buttons, it didn't come out perfectly, it's ok though.
the plastic is not as good quality/dense as from nintendo, and the leds can bleed a little when they come out, i will try to take a picture in the dark, if i remember.
i couldn't see any real reviews, apart from a short thing on amazon about what people thought about the housings, so, anyone thinking to put a new shell on their 3ds, i think they are fine. it's just difficult to get the ribbon cables out of the hinge, it was the worst part for me. i recommend using tape, and wrapping the end of the speaker cable in it, and 'threading' it through the hole, the same with the display and camera, tape to keep them in the rolled up shape, and thread them through, it really helped me
i used white buttons, switches, and sd card cover with the red shell, i bought them separately. (i wanted mine to look different, i like it)
here are some images:
i went to open it up, it had a screw under the battery cover completely stripped since the previous seller tried to fix the issue himself, or gave it to someone inept lol, so i couldn't get in, i left it a few months and like a week ago i decided to work on it, i bought a replacement housing off ebay.
it was a 3rd party one, it came with 'everything', complete set of screws, stickers, led diffusers, stylus, you name it (but not the rubber circle pad...
). i'm guessing all replacement ones on the internet are the same/from the same company.i used a small hack saw and ripped the back case off to get around the stripped screw.
a while later, the new housing was on. everything was bascially perfect about it.
although, a few tiny problems:
the area for the wifi cable to sit in, all around the case, it wasn't tight enough really to hold the cable still, i just put a tiny bit of super glue so it would stay put more than it did.
the bottom of the battery cover, which i forgot to take a picture of, does not sit completely flush to the 3ds, not a big problem... if needed, you can buy a real replacement battery cover from nintendo, on their .com shop
the 3d slider and the volume slider plastic parts needed a little filing/sanding to become flush enough.
the top of the 3ds, where it has the like, shiny fade to black effect, it's not done as well, but... whatever.
i'm happy with it.the biggest annoyance is the sticker for the select home start buttons, it didn't come out perfectly, it's ok though.
the plastic is not as good quality/dense as from nintendo, and the leds can bleed a little when they come out, i will try to take a picture in the dark, if i remember.
i couldn't see any real reviews, apart from a short thing on amazon about what people thought about the housings, so, anyone thinking to put a new shell on their 3ds, i think they are fine. it's just difficult to get the ribbon cables out of the hinge, it was the worst part for me. i recommend using tape, and wrapping the end of the speaker cable in it, and 'threading' it through the hole, the same with the display and camera, tape to keep them in the rolled up shape, and thread them through, it really helped me
i used white buttons, switches, and sd card cover with the red shell, i bought them separately. (i wanted mine to look different, i like it)
here are some images:
