The recently announced Galaxy S24 FE has yet to reach buyers who pre-ordered the phone. While it brings several improvements over its predecessor, according to its teardown video, it offers the same level of repairability as the Galaxy S23 FE. This is not a bad thing, as the Galaxy S23 FE is already easy to repair, but it is not an improvement either.
Galaxy S24 FE teardown video shows good repairability
The Galaxy S24 FE is the first Fan Edition phone from Samsung to come with a promise of seven years of Android OS updates. But people were rightful in asking whether the phone's hardware can last that long, and it looks like the phone will at least be pretty repairable in case something goes wrong.
A video posted by PBKReviews shows the teardown of the Galaxy S24 FE. The video starts by removing the SIM card slot using the supplied SIM card tray removal tool and applying a little heat to the phone's back. Then, the rear glass needs to be pried off. You can then see the phone's NFC and wireless charging coil, which are integrated into one unit and feature a graphite film for heat transfer. Before you remove this unit, you need to remove 21 Philips screws.
You can remove other parts once the battery ribbon cable connector is separated from the main board. The earpiece is connected to a separate plastic board, while the 10MP selfie camera is connected to the board using a connector instead of being glued in its place as the Galaxy S23 FE did. So, this is a good move from Samsung.
Now, after removing one more Philips screw, you can remove the main board, which integrates all three rear-facing cameras, LED flash, and a rear-facing microphone. You can also see the mmWave antenna (in the USA variant). This board also features an ambient light sensor, a SIM card reader, and a graphite pad to help transfer heat. After peeling off the thermal pad, you can thermal paste on top of RAM, which is placed on top of the Exynos 2400e processor.
The subboard at the bottom of the phone has the main loudspeaker, USB Type-C port, and primary microphone. It is connected to the main board using a couple of ribbon cables. Beneath the subboard, you can find the vibrating motor and the fingerprint reader. You can remove the battery using the pull tab, which makes the process a lot easier.
Galaxy S24 FE has a bigger vapor chamber for better cooling
Below the battery and its plastic film, you can see the vapor chamber system. It is slightly bigger than the one found inside the Galaxy S23 FE. You need to overturn the phone, apply heat gently, and pry off the glass to replace the screen. Overall, the phone got a repairability score of 8.5/10 by PBKReviews, similar to the Galaxy S23 FE.
