
the microphone on my ericsson T39 suddenly died -- ericsson was going to charge me $100 for the repair (which is about street value for the phone). but being around christmas time, they weren't actually going to take the phone until after january. fortunately i had a spare t28 to use in the mean time, just swapped sim cards while i repared the t39!
with the delay and cost, this prompted me to hunt around the net for information, parts, or maybe just a replacement on ebay.
i found a helpful article, on the T28 and people speculating it would be the same mic in the T39. i was a little confused at first on how to get to the mic, and how to take the phone apart since there are no external facing screws. i found a place on the net to order the $10 part. i thought it would be worth trying, if that's all i needed to do.

i was able to tinker with the flip itself - figuring it just had to come off. you have to apply enough pressure (on the right side in my case) to get the flip off the phone. it felt like it was almost going to crack, but didn't. the flip is on a simple hinge. the mic is attached through a tiny two prong receptacle that rotates, located at the hinge on the left side (as you face the phone). you could in theory replace the mic without taking the phone apart, but the hinge is pushed forward by a spring. getting new mic back on the receptacle proved challenging. you can almost get a small screwdriver to that area from the back side of the phone with the battery off. i did that for a while until i think i fiddled with it so much i actually jiggled the mic wires off the main circuit board on the inside. i still wasn't able to get a snug connection.

so i found an article detailing how to take the cover off the phone and while it seem to require special tools, i was able to use ordinary small screwdrivers without scratching or warping the case too much.

you have to take the antenna off, it just comes off with enough force. you then slide the screwdrivers on the top, just enough to create room to slide another screwdriver down the side. the phone is held together, with clips along the sides. it's really amazing how small the phone is. it's just a ordinary, thin circuit board on the inside. that's it. the keys, battery and antenna give the phone its size.

anyway, with the phone apart i was able to test the wiring from the mic receptacle to the phone main board. sure enough (after reattaching the wires) it wasn't a loose wire -- the old mic was bad. with the phone part i was able to properly attach the new mic, snug into the receptacle. be careful putting the flip back together, as the mic rests inside the flip in just the right position - also be carful putting the phone casing back together (you have to get the volume slider in the right position). but once you get the phone apart once, it's easy to repeat. took me three times to get it right.
the new mic works great, it also seems to me that the mic black/red wires have to be in the right order, so take care to get them back in the right / orginal way (otherwise you reverse the voice / noise cancellation?)
also, i have noticed that the new mic picks up a lot more contact sounds. i think this is from the loss of some of the sticky rubber padding around the mic during the replacement. otherwise it works well.
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Comments HI I need to know how to go about replacing a microphone in a sony ericcson t39 (I am unsure as to whether it is the flip I need to replace, or something else on the motherboard? Can you help? Thanks Posted by saima at January 7, 2005 10:20 AM Thank you very much 7Hertz for your very useful advice, i am going to try out soon. Saima Posted by saima at January 8, 2005 06:32 AM Hello 7hertz, I was wondering in the picture with the flip in two pieces, how did you manage to separate it. I noticed that the edge of the flip nearest to the phone has a dipple, do I start here? Do you have to glue it back together? Thanks for you help in adviance. Erik. Posted by Erik at January 13, 2005 11:37 PM think i just used a small screw driver to pry the inner piece out, it just snaps in place, no glue needed. yes start with the dimple (dipple?) on the inside edge near the phone, as you point out. try not to bend it too much! Posted by 7hz at January 14, 2005 11:10 AM I see. Thanks for your help, I'll give it a try. Posted by Erik at January 18, 2005 12:40 PM HI! Thanks and look forward to hear from you. Posted by Thomas at January 12, 2006 07:09 PM hello!very intersting guide!i have a problem with my t39m. Posted by giuseppe at May 5, 2006 11:21 AM just a note to anyone reading this -- it's may not actually your mic, it could be the tiny red and black wires inside the phone itself (not in the flip) that connect the flip to the motherboard. I've had those break on me in two different t39s and a t28. A continuity tester verified that there was an internal break in one where the mic dropped out intermittently. If you can solder the wire (in one case I soldered them directly to the two small brass prongs on the flip) it'll probably fix it. And no I haven't found any source for replacement parts -- sometimes you can find mic assemblys on ebay but these phones are old enough now that a junk one may be your only source (although I've found that those are usually junked because of this same problem). Hope that helps somebody. Posted by tom at June 29, 2006 06:10 AM I just fixed my second t39 this way -- a few thoughts: If you do pop your flip open to check out the mic, be careful of an extremely thin copper wire that runs from the flip where the wire for the mic comes through to a circular metal disc that doesn't appear to do much of anything. I believe this is the flip open/close sensor. I thought it was a stray dog hair but it's actually metal, and I think that breaking it will cause your flip to either think it's always closed or always open -- that will make your backlight stay always on/off and may prevent you from answering the phone by opening the flip. There is no reason to take the flip off -- just open it and use a small (very small) screwdriver or other tool to push on the little dimple on the flip from the back of the phone. Push hard and get is lifted up part way, then hold it there and work something else down both sides on the front to pop it loose all the way. I used some rubber cement to re-glue the flip after I was done. The easiest way to re-solder a broken wire (assuming it breaks inside the little clear plastic connector which is where all of mine have broken) is to use a tool (a dremel tool in my case) to wear away the clear plastic to expose the end of the affected brass connector on the "back" of the plug -- that way you'll have something to solder to. Don't even try to fit solder and a wire down in the tiny hole, you'll never do it. Just be aware that the holes on the plug (where it connects to the flip) don't line up with where the wires go in the back, it all takes about a 90 degree turn inside somewhere. Use a continuity tester to figure out which wire goes to which hole/connector. There's no real risk of a short as this whole thing is contained more or less in the plastic frame so solder on the outside of the plug is OK as long as it's not so big that it prevents the flip from moving (in which case you may have to heat the solder and scrape it down until it's the same size as the original plug). That's about all I have, hope it all helps somebody, I love these phones and refuse to switch until I'm completely out of options. Posted by tom again at June 29, 2006 01:10 PM Dear sir\Madam, Posted by Anuroop at February 13, 2007 10:56 PM Great thread folk - just managed to replace the speaker on my T39. After taking the ariel off and parting the plastic section from the metal section carefully with a knife (be careful!) and screwdriver, I removed the four screws holding the screen and mspeaker. The screws need the right size allen key to remove. Also the new speaker did not come with the soft 0-ring type seal on its face so I had to carefully prise/scrape off the old one and re-use. Also, there was a little rubber 'spot' on the back of the old speaker which looks like it was to stop the speaker moving or rattling, again Ithis was not on the new speaker so had to re-use the old one. All-in-all a fairly easy and satisfying job - yaa-boo to the repair shop who wanted heaps of cash to do this! - Speaker cost £0.99 on eBay. Posted by John at April 7, 2007 12:47 AM Hello.. Thanks Posted by Yus at January 2, 2008 03:58 AM please required help regarding T39M my first unique phone using since last 5 years.... Phone has suddenly gone off and now while pressing the on/off key it gives beep and display blinks (without light).....if sumone can help me out ..if this is software problem or hardware problem ,till now i have never opened my phone never given me a problem,well after very long sum good site has found to get sum solution if possible. thanks in advance Posted by shashank M at February 1, 2008 03:21 AM This site inspired me to crack the thing open to check the broken mike... lo and behold, a disconnected wire! A bit of soldering later and (kinda) good as new.... Still life in these things yet! Don't be so quick to throw away seemingly dead phones! PS: Batteries do die after time ESPECIALLY if you leave them attached to your phone! Posted by The Genie at August 1, 2008 10:50 PM HI all, Posted by johnronni at March 5, 2009 01:09 AM Post a comment |