#3DS XL shell replacement, worth it?

10 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

sharp mango
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Hello guys. Recently, I got a 3DS XL for free from a friend, but it’s not in the best condition: it’s all scratched up, the buttons rattle, and you have to press some of them hard for them to work. I was wondering if it’s possible to completely replace the shell, because after watching a teardown of the console, I realized it’s a bit more difficult than replacing the shell on a DS Lite, which I did recently. But after seeing what chinese sellers offer and reading the reviews, I understood that the quality isn’t great. Is that really the case? Is it worth doing this, or is it easier to just buy a New 3DS LL on ebay?

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native tide
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Honestly, the inside of the console doesnt looks that bad, if anything get an aftermarket replacement for the outside and replace that, for the buttons you most likely need to clean off the pads on the inside of the console, but as a whole, just get the outside, aftermarket shells can be pretty hit or miss, but i'd say just replace the outside if it bothers you too much, otherwise just clean the inside of the buttons and call it there

tiny valley
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Upper and lower outer shell arent too hard too change if you already have some experience, if thats good enough for you (i agree with santy)

The real hard part like you got from the tutorials would be changing the inner parts of the shell, since that would include the hinges (like the ds lite the ribbons are rolled up in and through the hinge but anecdotally the 3ds ones are even more delicate, even if you manage to get them through its not garaunteed they wouldnt be broken)

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and yeah, aftermarket shells are hit or miss but you get what you pay for, some of them could be just good enough to call it a day

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if you dont have a system for spares you could buy one, obviusly at a higher price (vs buying aftermarket shell) and of course they could be still not in top notch shape

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IMO to answer your last question, yeah with not a lot of effort put into these fixes you can easily keep this system (if these are the only problems of course)

native tide
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lets say for example my case, im doing also a full case replacement, but mine is in even rougher condition and its missing the battery cover, (backplate) the front is badly scratched and the bottom screen digitalizer is really scratched, how hard is getting the LCD ribbin trough the hinge? i've attempted to remove it from a DSi that had a bad top screen but ended up damaging the ribbon on both attempts, so im really nervous, but mine is in even rougher condition both inside and outside, i have to do a full case replacement

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worth noting that im impacient most of the time and im used to work rough with stuff, but at the end of the day i never damage anything, my big concern is the metal ring where the ribbons go trough

tiny valley
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i did the digitizer on mine, not too hard but the ribbon cables were already a pain there