Opening the Palm Vx Back Cover

Opening the Palm Vx is not a simple task as there are no screws securing the front and back anodised metal plates. In order to save space, the metal plates are stuck with glue to the centre chassis, which is made of plastic. The manufacturers have used resin glue, which melts when heated. It is similar to the glue found in hot melt glue guns. In order to melt the glue, a hairdryer heating only the edges works well. A powerful hairdryer usually works best as the glue from all four sides has to melt together for the plates to release.

Melting the Glue

On the turbo setting, it takes approximately 40 seconds to heat the edges and thereby melt the glue. The glue is only around the edges of the case therefore it is logical to heat only the edges and no other parts. Applying heat un-necessarily to other parts will damage the components and render the unit inoperable. The amount of heat needed to melt the glue is actually very little and the front and back plates get very hot quickly as they are made of metal, which conducts heat well.

Safety Precautions

Extensive safety precautions, including thick leather gardening gloves, and safety goggles, are highly recommended. Do not try this if you are not a fully qualified engineer with experience.

It is not necessary to melt the glue completely; it has to be just soft enough to pull the plates apart. I minimized the amount of heat to the unit by periodically checking every 10 seconds to see if the plates could pry open with the edge of a screwdriver.

Foil Protection

Some foil folded over a few times covered the LCD panel to reduce the temperature to that region by a few degrees.

Changing the Battery

When changing the battery, only the back plate needs to be removed, however if you are going to change the LCD assembly, then the front plate will need to be removed as well.

When the back is heated, the glue to the front panel also melts; hence, it is possible to remove that also. Usually the same resin glue attaches the rechargeable battery to the LCD panel, therefore, as soon as the back plate comes off, you should try to remove the battery as well whilst the glue is still soft.

Back Plate

As you can see, the glue resin has a low melting point and exists only around the inner edges, however the only way heat can get to it is by conduction, which means that the outer metal case will have to get very hot before there is any effect on the glue.

Front Plate

Keeping the heat to a minimum and using a screwdriver between short intervals to pry open the case helped to minimize the heat to the unit. It is possible to pry it open just as the glue begins to melt.

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