Galaxy S6 Edge - Teardown

With the Galaxy S6 Edge, Samsung is raising the bar a little higher in the upper price segment. We’ll show you what to expect inside the Galaxy S6 Edge, and tell you whether repairs are easier than for previous models.

Let’s take a quick look at the key data:

• OS: Android 5.0 (Lollipop)
• Dimensions: 142.1 x 70.1 x 7 mm, 132 g
• Display: 5.1" FHD Super AMOLED (2560 x 1440), 576 ppi
• RAM : 3 GB
• Memory: 32/64/128 GB
• Rear camera: 16 MP (3840 x 2160 pixels)
• Front camera: 5 MP
• Battery: 2600 mAh

Like on most popular Samsung models, you have to remove the back cover of the smartphone first.

As with the similar model Galaxy S6, you have to take off the back cover to get to the inside of the smartphone. There’s no longer a convenient way to simply take the cover off the smartphone.

With the patience of a saint and the strength of Hercules, we manage to get the back cover off the smartphone. One good thing is that Samsung didn’t use cement.

Because the glass back cover is glued on, it looks more delicate and cohesive. We’re still not sure that’s an advantage.

Like in the Galaxy S6, the battery is really stuck in the enclosure. Once again, we have to work our way through the glue millimeter by millimeter. We heat the battery at regular intervals so the glue gets soft and doesn’t stick.

Work very slowly and carefully because the tool could damage the battery and cause fluid to come out.

Because batteries get replaced pretty often, this is another major step backward.

Once again, both S6 versions have the same structure here. The battery is firmly glued to the back cover of the smartphone. In older models, you didn’t need any tools to take out the battery. This is another minus point. More on that in step 7.

Now we have to remove 13 Phillips screws using our iDoc Wiha PicoFinish PH00.

After taking out the SIM card tray, we can detach the midframe using a suction cup, pick and pressure on the battery. It’s a lot easier than with the Galaxy S6.

You can also disconnect various buttons, the charging pad and the speaker from the midframe. The charging pad’s cables are very thin. Removing the speaker is pretty tough and takes a lot of patience.

The dock connector is very similar to the one in the Galaxy S6,but there’s one major difference. The navigation buttons are no longer directly connected to the dock connector, so you only have to unscrew two screws to take out the connector. In the Galaxy S6, you had to take off the entire back frame to remove the navigation buttons. Don’t try to do that on the Galaxy S6.

You shouldn’t disconnect the frame from the back of the display. The LCD is very sensitive and can break very easily if you try.

Because we don’t want to damage any parts, we’re going to end the teardown here.

First, you can remove the front camera. Then you disconnect more plug connections.

• Battery
• Display
• Earpiece
• Home button
• Antenna cable

Now the logic board is exposed and you only have to disconnect it from the dock connector. Then you can easily remove it. The main camera and microphone are connected to it.

We continue with a few simple steps. You can easily remove the earpiece and vibration motor. They’re just lightly glued in place.

The Samsung Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge have a very similar structure on the inside, but there are some differences when it comes to replacing the two smartphones’ displays.

For the Galaxy S6, you don’t have to replace the logic board or battery. All you have to do is disconnect the display connector from the logic board and remove the display from the “front.” This saves both time and materials, which will also be reflected in the prices for replacement displays.

For the Galaxy S6 Edge, on the other hand, you have to replace the entire enclosure, meaning repairs will take longer and be more expensive.

Aside from broken displays, the limited service life means replacing the battery will be an important repair. Up to Galaxy S5, it was still easy to replace. You’ll need a lot of patience if you want to replace the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge’s battery or display. The battery is glued firmly in place and could get damaged during removal. In other words, the major challenge is removing components that still work without damaging them.

One improvement on the previous model is that you can replace a lot of parts in just a few steps since you don’t have to remove the battery or display.

But because of the battery and display, we’re still giving this device a bad grade for repairs.

You can quickly remove the speaker, earpiece, cameras and vibration motor
Glued-on parts
The LCD and glass are a single unit and will make replacing the display expensive
Battery glued firmly in place
Back cover glued on