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Game Boy Advance Teardown

Device	Game Boy Advance
Difficulty	Very easy
Time	No estimate
Steps	12

This guide is by Adam on iFixit and is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0. ByteRot mirrors it for non-commercial preservation: formatting changed and photos resized for old browsers; full-size photos and the text are on the FTP in /DOCS/REPAIR. Original guide >>

Use this guide to disassemble all or any of the parts of the Game Boy Advance.

Tools: Phillips #00 Screwdriver; Tri-point Y0 Screwdriver

Step 1

• Remove the back battery cover by pinching down on the tab and pulling outward.

Step 2

• Remove the six back panel screws using a Y1 screw driver.

Step 3

• Remove bottom back panel screw with a Phillips #1 screw driver.

Step 4

• Remove the back panel by pulling away with one hand and the front secured in the other hand.
• CAUTION: Beware of right and left triggers, the right and left panels, and the power switch falling off as the back panel is removed.

Step 5

• Remove left and right triggers by lifting and pulling them away from the system.
• Do the same for side panels.
• NOTE: For finicky or jammed triggers only. Adjust and correct triggers and reassemble. Most jammed triggers are caused by buttons misplaced or jammed in its enclosure.

Step 6

• Remove the gray On/Off Switch by pulling up and away from the unit. Replace with another switch if necessary.

Step 7

• Remove the three screws on the circuit board with a Phillips #1 screw driver.
• NOTE: The last screw on the right is not included on some Game Boy Advance systems.

Step 8

• Pull circuit board away from the front panel by pulling up at the bottom of the circuit board, keeping the top ribbon still connected.
• CAUTION: Beware not to damage the top ribbon by pulling up gently.

Step 9

• Remove the rubber button pads from their pockets.
• Remove the plastic buttons and the D-pad from beneath the rubber pads with tweezers (https://www.ifixit.com/en-ca/products/tweezers) or by hand.

Step 10

• Use a spudger/tweezers/fingernail to unlatch the LCD ribbon port by pulling the grey tabs on the sides upwards (towards the top edge of the PCB).
• Once the LCD ribbon port has been unlatched, the LCD ribbon should very easily slide out and can be removed with zero force using fingers or tweezers.

Step 11

• Use the spudger to lift the screen from the front panel. Place the spudger in the space directly left of the D-pad.
• CAUTION: The screen and the front panel is connected by a black tape that could rip if not removed carefully.
• NOTE: You can use an iOpener or a hair dryer on the other side of the front panel in order to soften the black tape.

Step 12

• Use the tweezers to remove the black tape if needed.

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