The full QWERTY keypad on the Nokia E71 allows you to quickly navigate around the device and type out quick messages, so if the keypad gets damaged or stops working, the E71 can become mostly worthless. The keypad is simply a thin piece of plastic that sits inside the front housing, so if it gets damaged, it will probably be much less expensive to just replace the part, as opposed to buying a new device. To get to the keypad, first remove the front cover from the E71.
Instructions
1. Turn the Nokia E71 so that you are looking at the back side. Push down on the battery cover, which takes up almost the entire back side of the device, to remove it. Pull out on the E71's battery to remove that as well. Pull down on the SIM card to remove it.
2. Remove the four screws from the back of the E71. There are two screws on each side of the phone, with one at each bottom corner of the device and one at the midpoint of each side.
3. Locate the two small gaps on each side of the E71. The first gap is about an inch up from the bottom of the device, and the second gap is about a half-inch up from the first one. Push down on all four gaps, one at a time, to release the clasps that hold the front housing on the device.
4. Turn the E71 over. Insert your pry tool underneath the front housing. Move your pry tool around the housing until you can lift up to remove the housing from the device.
5. Push down on the front of the keypad to pop it out of the front housing. Turn the front housing over and place your replacement keypad into the opening at the bottom of the housing. The tabs on the side of the keypad prevent it from falling through.
6. Place the front housing back on top of the E71. Push down to snap the housing into place. Turn the E71 over and replace the four screws. Then replace the SIM card, battery and battery cover.
Tags: front housing, Push down, each side, back side, battery cover, four screws