Fix the Earpiece of Your Motorola V551 Phone.

The earpiece of the V551 is reportedly flakey and tends to loose volume over time. Here is a cheap way to fix this issue if you are comfortable taking apart your phone.

**Please do _NOT_ do this Instructable if you are uncomfortable with small pieces, taking apart your expensive toys, or willfully voiding any warranty you might have still had. Make sure to fully read through the instructions first so you know what you're getting yourself into. I can, in no way, be held responsible for any loss or damages incurred by anyone attempting to follow these instructions.**

Step 1: My Phone Is Going Bad...

My V551 was loosing volume, but it did so very slowly. In fact, I only figured out something was going wrong when I realized I was holding the phone to my ear very tightly to hear anything. If you have trouble hearing conversations or end up with sore forearms from trying jamming the phone into your head so you can hear, this may be the fix you need.

Tools needed:
Assortment of jeweler's screwdrivers (Flat blade and maybe some very small torx)
Electrical tape
Rubbing alcohol (optional)
Q-Tip (optional)


Once again, just so we're clear:
**Please do _NOT_ do this Instructable if you are uncomfortable with small pieces, taking apart your expensive toys, or willfully voiding any warranty you might have still had. Make sure to fully read through the instructions first so you know what you're getting yourself into. I can, in no way, be held responsible for any loss or damages incurred by anyone attempting to follow these instructions.**

Step 2: Beauty Plugs

These 4 spots around the display of your phone are just aesthetic covers for the screws which hold on the back shell. They are held in place with a sticky substance that will allow you to reapply these plugs when you put your phone back together.
Pry them out with a jeweler's screwdriver or safety pin. The rubbery material that they are made out of is quite soft though, so take care not to cut them up badly when you take them out. Save the plugs for later.

Step 3: Take Off Your Top!!

Using a torx driver if you have one, or very carefully with a small flat blade jeweler's screwdriver, remove the four screws.

Once the screws are removed _carefully_ pry the blue cover off the phone. I started at the top edge and used two screwdrivers to work my way around the edge of the phone. Once you have unsnapped about half of the cover it will be much easier to remove the rest.

Step 4: The Crux

Now again brandishing your safety pin or other small object, carefully pry the metal cover off your phone. There are 4 places it clips to the plastic body and each will need to be released separately in order to remove the cover.

Good lighting and patience are a must.

Step 5: The Problem Spot

Pulling back on the tab of brown flexible circuit board reveals the problem connection. The pads on this circuit board are supposed to connect through the flexible rubber conductor to the speaker. Apparently they aren't or you wouldn't have read these instructions so far.

At this point you may want to use a small amount of rubbing alcohol on a Q-Tip to clean both the pads and the conductive strip. I know the pads are gold plated... but it couldn't hurt.

Step 6: The Secret Ingredient

Now take a few strips of electrical tape and layer them up. Two layers was thick enough for my phone. Cut out a small chunk of the layered tape and position it on the back side of the flexible circuit board, above where the pads are located (see picture).

Step 7: The End

Now reassemble everything just the way you took it apart.

The electrical tape you installed will cause those metal divots to press the flexible circuit board more firmly against the flexible conductor. This should result in a much improved audible signal.

Good luck!, and say Hi to Aunt Ginny!