Came across this NEW Nintendo 3DS. Initially I was going to pass on the console until I noticed something unique about this one. This handheld is the white version of the highly limited Super Mario edition that only sold on Black Friday in the USA. It came in 2 colors, white and black.

You can tell based on the unique cover plates that the console came with. The overall condition of the 3DS is good/very good. It has minor scratches. The major known problems are the broken top and bottom screens as well as the bottom touch screen. So I am going to repair this and get it working again. Until I start the repair I won't know if anything else is damaged as I am unable to get past the setup screen to test additional functionality. That being said I don't believe based on the condition that there is any further damage. It does turn on and it does display, which are both great signs and make for strong evidence that the only problem with this handheld are the screens.



Bottom screen has some damage as you can see it still works, but has lines running vertically and horizontally where the display is damaged. Touch screen doesn't function at all.


Top screen is cracked and doesn't display at all.

I started disassembling the 3DS in order to get it prepped for the screen replacements. Unfortunately the entire base and top sections needs to be disassembled in order to remove the LCD screens/touch screens for replacement. Additionally the base and top must be separated in order to slip some tiny ribbon cables through a small hole in the housing.

Base unit, back cover removed.



The unique top and bottom plates that come with this 3DS and how we know this is the limited Super Mario edition that only sold on Black Friday in the USA. 


Bottom housing open. Get a look at amount of tech packed into this console. Its impressive even today.


Bottom housing with mother/daughter boards removed. This exposes the bottom LCD screen & touchscreen.


Bottom housing after removing the bottom LCD/Touchscreen. What you are seeing is the top cracked screen through the opening.


Top housing opened exposing the top LCD Screen, 2 speakers, front/rear camera assembly and a bunch of delicate ribbon cables.

I am waiting for parts to repair this unit. I will post once they arrive. Looks like they might show up early next week.

Small update. The screens for this repair have arrived. I just haven't had time to install them because I have been working on repairing Wii U. I plan on getting to this repair soon, maybe even this weekend.

I Installed a new top and bottom screen today. It was a royal pain in the butt. Disassembling the 3DS is rather simple. It takes about 30 minutes. The most difficult part being removing the top assembly from the bottom. The reason its difficult it you have to take 3 delicate ribbon cables that go to the top display, speakers and cameras and roll them up and slip them through the right hinge. On the other hand, putting the 3DS back together is far more time consuming. Somewhat ironically the easiest part is getting the top assembly back on the bottom, as rolling up those 3 ribbon cables are much easier when its disassembled. That being said, the most time consuming part is reconnecting those same 3 ribbon cables to the motherboard of the 3DS. As 2 of them must be connected on the back on the board while all others are on the front. Aside from that the ZIF connectors on the board are the biggest pain. Being that they do not have a tab that opens and closes and are just friction fit its difficult to get some shorter ribbon cables to fully seat into the connector. I ended up using my microscope so I could see if the cable was fully seated or not. I could not imagine trying to this repair without one. A magnifying glass would probably suffice for this as well.

A tip for anyone who wants to take this repair on. If you get the 3DS back together and find that it powers on and then turns off with a audible pop from the speakers, its most likely one of the ribbon cables not fully inserted in the ZIF connector. Double check them all.



 
With the screens working I was finally able to test the 3DS. Turns out the D-pad has a problem, so I won't be assembling the 3DS fully yet as I need to replace that part. Thankfully Nintendo made the joystick and the D-pad on the 3DS a module part that connects to the motherboard via a ribbon cable, so replacing it is rather simple.