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It's been almost exactly a year since we tore down the Galaxy S5, but Samsung has leaped light-years ahead with the design of the Galaxy S6 Edge. Only a teardown will tell if its glass-and-aluminum construction and curved-edge screen make it as future-proof as it is futuristic. Join us as we venture forth to the Edge of the (newest) Galaxy.
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This new handset has some serious six appeal. Notable upgrades include:
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5.1" Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen (1440 x 2560, ~577 ppi, 16M colors)
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Samsung Exynos 7 Octa 7420 Processor with integrated Mali-T760 GPU and 3 GB memory
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16 MP rear camera with HDR, LED Flash, and 4K video recording
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Built-in support for Qi and Powermat wireless charging
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32/64/128 GB storage options (but no microSD slot)
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Corning Gorilla Glass 4 backing
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The Edge is on, and so far we're impressed. With its sleek curves and sharp display, the S6 is like an infinity pool in the palm of your hand...
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...except that it feels a lot less ergonomic, and is a total fingerprint magnet.
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A quick peek from either side shows the Edge's information stream feature, bringing all of your important news, weather, and notifications to the side of your screen.
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We catch a glimpse of the proximity and gesture sensors, as well as the front-facing camera—all sealed behind the Edge's Gorilla Glass.
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Living on the edge of the new Galaxy are the phone's speaker and microphone, as well as the audio jack and USB 2.0 port.
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The now-familiar heart rate monitor is visible below the LED flash, next to the rear camera.
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Unfortunately, people are already having issues with the sensor.
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A second microphone takes up residence on the top edge of the phone, along with the IR blaster and SIM tray.
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crwdns2935267:0crwdne2935267:0Heavy-Duty Suction Cups (Pair)$14.95
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Now for a look at the back of this cutting-edge device. We note the model number—SM-G925T—and get to work dispatching the back cover.
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The rear panel is glued on rock-solid, and is a tight fit within the frame. Even with the adhesive patiently iOpened, we had to break out our Heavy Duty Suction Cup to slip in an opening pick. Definitely not fun.
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Throwback to when Samsung had ultra user-friendly battery replacement doors. RIP.
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crwdns2935267:0crwdne2935267:0iFixit Opening Picks (Set of 6)$4.99
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Our Opening Picks are instrumental in revealing the inside of the Edge.
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Even our slim picks have trouble defeating the edges of this glass.
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With a
littlelot of help from our iOpener friend—and gobs of patience—we edge our way around the perimeter. -
The back panel is removed (well, mostly). Underneath, we find a rather sticky situation... but it's nothing we can't handle.
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With a couple magic words (and some well-applied force), the adhered panel separates cleanly from the rest of the phone.
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With the panel finally off, the adhesive peels off the glass nicely, but leaves a sticky residue on the metal midframe.
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When we heard that the S6/S6 Edge shipped with a glass panel, we fell into 2011 flashback land; but after our sophisticated stress tests, it looks like glass has come a long way in four years.
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In every previous Galaxy phone—including even the repair-challenged Galaxy S5 of last year—this is the part where we got to pop out the battery with a fingernail.
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Our old friends, screwdriver and plastic opening tool, jump into the fray to help out. At least it looks like we're done with adhesive—the midframe comes off pretty easily, showing off all the goodies under the hood.
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With the midframe dispatched, we finally get a look at the battery and motherboard.
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By this point, we're also accustomed to being able to remove the expandable memory, in the form of a MicroSD card. Where is it? Oh, that's right—Samsung eliminated it. If you need additional storage, you'd better pay for it up-front; there'll be no adding it later.
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The midframe is littered with goodies—tons of spring contacts, an NFC/wireless charging coil, and a speaker.
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We'd love to get the battery out now and take a look, but for the moment we'll have to settle for disconnecting it from the motherboard.
Very detailed information
Where is the Baseband chip? inside the SoC?
I fix phones for a living, and today I ran across what seems to be a later revision of this phone that has BIG PROBLEMS here. The screws on either side of the charging port are missing from this one - the antenna runs straight across and the screw holes are gone. On the inside, the plastic part of the speaker includes an extra bracket that basically has the charging port sandwiched between the housing and the speaker. There's also a screw holding the headset jack to the front housing that can't be removed until the rear housing is off.
The end result is that taking this other version apart will probably result in the charging port flex destroying itself and the need to replace the back housing and speaker.
The model number on this one was SMG925VZWA, a US Verizon version. I didn't have any other ones handy to compare the model number, but you can definitely see the difference once the back glass is off. If those screw holes are missing, be VERY careful taking it apart, and expect to need more parts.
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Labelled antennas on the midframe, how cute.
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According to Samsung, the antennas are welded to the midframe via ultrasonic welding to provide stability and save on space.
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We also found a hole in the
spacetime continuummidframe for the power button.
Space continuum cracked me up.
Me too! I had to do a double read it made me laugh out loud!
whats the function of the golden belt lining that touches the black cover on 2 ends and goes round the camera
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With all of its connectors popped, the motherboard is almost free of the display—it shares the same wonky, wrong-side IO board connection that we first saw in the Galaxy S5.
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We pluck the main camera from the motherboard to get a better look at the hardware riding on its PCB:
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Winbond W25Q32FW Serial Flash Memory
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InvenSense IDG-2030 dual axis gyroscope for optical image stabilization
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The 16 MP OIS rear-facing camera dwarfs the 5 MP selfie cam.
Could the galaxy s7(/edge) camera possibly fit in the galaxy s6(/edge)??
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As ChipWorks noted in their recent Galaxy S6 analysis, more and more of the chips in Samsung's flagship phones seem to be originating in-house. On the front side of the mobo, we find:
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Samsung Exynos 7420 Octa-core Processor - 64-bit, 2.1 GHz Quad + 1.5 GHz Quad, with Samsung K3RG3G30MM-DGCH 3 GB LPDDR4 RAM layered in
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Samsung KLUBG4G1BD 32GB NAND Flash
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Skyworks 78041 Hybrid Multimode Multiband (MMMB) Front-End Module (FEM)
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Avago AFEM-9020 PAM
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Wolfson Microelectronics WM1840 Audio Codec and Maxim MAX98505 Class DG Audio Amplifier
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Samsung N5DDPS3 - Similar to the N5DDPS2 spotted in the Galaxy S6, likely NFC Controller
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InvenSense MP65M 6-Axis Accel + Gyro, and Samsung C2N89U (likely image processor)
Does the phone support MHL? I did not see the chip for MHL like S5
Which is charge ic???
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Flipping the motherboard exposes more control hardware and lots of power management ICs:
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Samsung Shannon 928 RF Transceiver
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Broadcom BCM4773 GNSS Location Hub
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Avago ACPM-7007 PAM
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Maxim MAX77843 Companion PMIC
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Various Samsung Shannon PMICs
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A glass back and a stubbornly glued battery? Samsung, have you been hanging out with Apple?
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Alass, the Apple tactics end all too soon. There are no handy pull tabs in sight, meaning this nasty adhesive needs to be picked away one strip at a time.
HAHAHAHAHAHA now THAT was hilarious :D
I loved the jokes. Thanks guys for making this article so fun
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Free of its clingy mucilage, we get a better look at the 3.85 V, 10.01 Wh battery.
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Samsung has stepped down from the 2800 mAh battery found in the Galaxy S5, and returned to a 2600 mAh battery like the S4.
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Samsung claims that the Edge's battery will provide 12 hours of LTE web surfing, 26 hours of 3G WCDMA talk time, and up to 58 hours of music playback.
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And it's fresh off the presses! Seriously, look at the date.
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In what seems like a(nother) major step backward, the S6 Edge dumps the lightning-fast Micro-B USB 3.0 port found on the Galaxy S5 in favor of a garden-variety microUSB (2.0) port.
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Welcome to the year 2000.
Any change we can replace this with S5's USB 3 module? :)
With the very least frame modding and loss of headphone jack. If you use the s5 modular cable. If it will even plug in or work.
hey can you tell me what that tiny little ribbon is that leads off to the small circuit. top right corner in picture number two above. I broke that little ribbon and guy off disassembling....do I really need that to part...what does it do.
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We put the Edge to bed in an iOpener nest—hopefully it awakes refreshed, with adhesive released.
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Lifting the glass and...wait—is that normal?
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Looks like prying into the curved display means we separated the display just a little bit. Whoops.
Did you just break the screen? Does it still work? If it doesn't is there any way to replace the home button without breaking the display?
My screen is cracked and I really don't want to pay 200 dollars for it to be fixed. Is it really impossible to replace just the glass without breaking the digitizer?
repair-ability is a 3 when the apple watch got a 5 where the majority of the apple watch is "unrepairable". Something needs to be done with yalls scale as currently it looks like your an apple supporter and Samsung basher. Having to mod your tool with a file just to remove the screws on the apple watch trumps a glued back or glued battery in my opinion of repair-ability. Not trying to create any waves just pointing out the lack on continuity across your repair-ability ratings. Thanks for giving me a heads up look at the teardown for these devices as it's much appreciated.
Look at what you have to do to replace the screen on both devices. the edge needs to have complete disassembly the watch just pops off. the battery on the edge requires removing the back glass and a complete teardown, the watch just remove the screen and there sits the battery
wesley burson, the phone doesn't need a full disassembly. At stage 8 you can remove the LCD.
Point taken for screen and battery replacements... what about everything else tho? On the apple watch jut about everything else was "unrepairable". How is a device with multiple components "unrepairable" ranked higher then a device that is reparable regardless of the difficulty. I would think "unrepairable" would have a lower score for the simple fact that if one of those components have an issue there is no repair option where with the S6 at least it's possible to repair. We are talking repairability here on an over all scale not just screens and batteries.
I believe there should be subcategories like:
1. Openability
2. Repraceability
3. Destructibility
4. Separability/Removability
Then the average will give the Repairability score. :)
dyanro -
Is the glass able to separate from lcd?
there is a missing part you didn't mentioned on top of the phone named "Ear Speaker & RCV Sensor - GH96-08091A" which controls proximty, front led and also speaker voice. why? http://i.hizliresim.com/BPLWZQ.jpg http://i.hizliresim.com/Zk9jLo.jpg
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It bends! Peeling the display up shows just how Samsung's display curves around the sides of the phone.
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Riding on the back of the display is the customary touchscreen controller, this time an STMicro FT6BH.
Hi
When removing the glass did you break the digitizer... from what I know the digitizer is glued to the screen glass but yet is connected to the lcd.. so when you remove the glass from the lcd you inadvertently break the digitizer in the process.. did you have any issues with this...
Many thanks
Steven Steward
Hi...I actually have a problem with the reciver of the phone and also the aux isn't working..which part should I buy to get it fixed..
Jayesh -
My phones voice reciver and the aux ain't working which paet do I need to buy to fix it...
Jayesh -
S6 egde voice reciver and the aux isnt working which part do I need to replace for it...model no g925t
Charge port handled all of those features
Wow! 50% yield. That's terrible. Very interesting reading iFixit! Thank you.
That's insane. That just gave me a reason to not buy a galaxy. They need to figure out a better way of manufacturing the screens. Which also explains why Samsung parts are so expensive compared to Apple. The yield. You are actually layig Samsung for 2 screens that's ridiculous.
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The last component to come off the display assembly is the modular home button.
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Also unlike the S5, there's no need for any secret trap doors.
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Thanks to ditching the display-out-first shenanigans of last year, we get a totally different path to the home button. Better? Meh. Probably not worse.
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Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Repairability Score: 3 out of 10 (10 is easiest to repair).
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Many components are modular and can be replaced independently.
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In an improvement over the S5's design, you no longer have to remove the display to get into the phone and replace the motherboard.
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Front and back glass make for double the crackability, and strong adhesive on the rear glass makes it very difficult to gain entry into the device.
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The battery is very tightly adhered to the back of the display, and buried beneath the midframe and motherboard.
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Replacing the glass without destroying the display is going to be very difficult.
Buongiorno,
complimenti per una guida così chiara.
Il punto è che avendola seguita, ho cambiato la scheda madre del mio S6 Egde (925F).
Funziona tutto egregiamente ma la ricezione e soprattutto l’invio dati sotto copertura 3G, 4G, LTE è lentissima.
Lo Speedtest spesso dice che la velocità di upload è zero. Ho anche fatto un factory reset, ma niente…
Cosa posso aver sbagliato? Cosa devo controllare?
Grazie mille in anticipo per la risposta
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crwdns2947412:024crwdne2947412:0
Holy He11 you guys got the phone that says "A S S" in it. I wouldn't rate this a "3" this is more like a 5 in my book. You guys rate a m7 as a "1" which is one of the more difficult phones out there but its still easier than some of the older Motorolas.
Do I know you??????
That sure looks like a MicroSD receptacle on image "Step 11" on the bottom left corner of the board. Is that the Simm Card receptacle or a MicroSD receptacle?
That's the SIM card receptacle.
Ryan -
SD Card Yeah Nelson Bush, that is an SD card slot. Everybody in Samsung forgot they put it there. Ooops.
where do i get the screen for $26?
what would be the minimum step i'd need to reach to access the sim port? I purchased a phone that had a nano sim inserted without the sim tray.
best way to remove back plate is heat and isclack. less chance of damaging the pait job
Hi,
I've just replaced a broken screen, everything went well, but soft keys (Back and Recent apps) not working on new screen ! Are those keys being controlled by screens digitizer of the daughter board that has the LEDs for them ?! should I send back the new screen as faulty ?! or sth happened to daughter board when I opened it (which I doubt).
Any suggestion ?!
Thanks
The soft keys are part
Of the screen on the s6 edge. The standard s6
Soft keys are on the charge port. So faulty screen
Incorrect. The touch buttons on the S6 Edge are also on the daughterboard, but are not ribbons that attach to the screen frame (as with the S6). Instead, they are on the opposite side of the daughterboard and are pressed into place by the natural pressure of the board against the screen. This makes the replacement of a charging port much easier due to not having to remove the LCD from the frame, which is tedious. Replacing the home button is the same as on the S6 - you will have to remove the screen frame from the LCD to access it.
mbrulla -
UPSM ON
UPSM OFF
Work?
I changed the screen but now my touch cover doesnt work anymore, where is this sensor located?
would the main motherboard from a G925T work with the parts from a G925i
i dropped my phone in water. is there any way to recover the data or fix the phone?
Replaced screen now having trouble getting it back together. Screen to midframe gap at the power button area. Any suggestions??
How To Remove The Wi-Fi Adapter? (For Kid-Safe Phone)
Iɴĸѕтer “Sᴛᴇᴀʟᴛʜ Aʀʀᴏᴡ” Roɢerѕ - crwdns2934203:0crwdne2934203:0
It's much easier to root the phone and disable the wifi chip in the build.prop file. Google that.
I would be more worried about disabling cellular than disabling wifi.
Hello! Where can one get a genuine battery replacement. Samsung in my country won't replace my faulty battery saying I didn't buy the phone from the region.
I have my s6edge+ all in pc's I need digitizer LCD battery. And the main belt wire front face glass weird mine was plexiglass and I'm ready to assemble.
Hi! I replaced battery then the microphone and ear speaker don’t work and loud speaker not working during phone call. Shall I change a new ear piece? How about microphone, I can’t find this part. Any help would be appreciated!
Hello Guys i have probleme in my phone samsung galaxy s6 edge the probleme is many stop in work and many time i restard my phone his stopped in samsung logo of depart please help me when probleme hardware or software thanks.
Hi, I replaced the sim card reader (not the tray) and now the phone does not turn on wifi. It attempts to turn on wifi for about 10 minutes and gives up. Would appreciate if you can suggest any solutions. Thanks
Why have a fake picture of the phone for this??
iliketurtuls - crwdns2934203:0crwdne2934203:0
Yeah omg i just noticed it!
allafman5 -
Good question.
HakanEr -
Wait, what? Which picture?
Lucas Gallindo -
I am so sick of being told no by manufacturers when it comes to repairs. The argument about needing to design a device this way to make it thin is a big fat lie.
gallardo - crwdns2934203:0crwdne2934203:0
Isn't the reversion to usb 2.0 for the rapid charging to work?
codycowgill - crwdns2934203:0crwdne2934203:0