[musiclover08]

Hi all. So I finally got a N97 (YAY!) but less than a week, I've already had a problem with the back battery cover. Apart from it being difficult to open, a piece of the clip that holds the cover to the phone borke of, so now I have this gap along the phone base. Does anybody know if I can get a replacement back cover? I'm in Johannesburg, South Africa.

[matt_t]

There are retailers selling spare parts for the N97 already, seen a couple here in the UK online.  Not allowed to post links to them though.

Google is your friend though, that's how I found them.  One retailer was charging a whacking £12.99 (GBP) for that plastic back cover!  Rip off.

[aritra39]

Really? It's that much?? :-o I've tried to google too... couldnt found any. Only end up with n97 casings instead of covers.

Btw, I just bought my n97. Somehow, a day after the purchase, I can't close the case properly. Each sides of the case close tightly except for the 2 locks near the camera. Now, that side of the case is slightly open and I don't know what went wrong.

I don't think I have broken anything cause earlier when I open it, it still work perfectly.

[gavw]

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aritra39 wrote:

[...] Each sides of the case close tightly except for the 2 locks near the camera. Now, that side of the case is slightly open and I don't know what went wrong.[...]

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Sorry if this is really patronising (not my intention - honest!) but you are putting the camera side tabs in first aren't you?  They don't clip in like the others, you need to slide them in first then work down towards the bottom of the phone.

[radical24]

hi there i had the same thing happened to my phone. i tried everything and it just would not slide in the top brackets. i ended up exchanging mine for antoher. hope you get it sorted but dont wait too long as you might have to get it swapped. 

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aritra39 wrote:

Really? It's that much?? :-o I've tried to google too... couldnt found any. Only end up with n97 casings instead of covers.

Btw, I just bought my n97. Somehow, a day after the purchase, I can't close the case properly. Each sides of the case close tightly except for the 2 locks near the camera. Now, that side of the case is slightly open and I don't know what went wrong.

I don't think I have broken anything cause earlier when I open it, it still work perfectly.

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[aritra39]

@gavw: Yea, I know..  I did press the case from the camera side to the other end but somehow, it still wont close up. The odd thing is, I managed to close properly earlier.. but not now... 

Anyhow Shall go to the dealer tomorrow, will see how..

[radical24]

Here is a pic of what happened to mine, there was nothing i could do but return it  

[witeshade]

nice sheets though

[stemcell]

I had the exact same thing happen to mine and I had to return it for a replacement. The strange part is, considering the high cost of the phone, why did Nokia equip it with such a flimsy piece of cheap plastic on the back which leaves a gap in your phone if not installed carefully? Not to mention the annoying creaking and squeaking some of the covers make, giving the phone a really cheap sound and feel. I know that issue can be fixed with a couple of ideas others have discovered (inserting half a business card atop the battery, or making small indentations to the cover’s side clips), but really, this is very poor design for a high-end “flagship” phone.

[celios]

Yes, the battery cover should have been made of aluminium or some other lightweight metal.  Mine creaks like a family of mice.

You can order new ones online from a supplier in HK. 

I would post a link but the moderators removed my last post due to me linking to a store that sells them.

[musiclover08]

I checked the HK site, they list it as $12.99 I believe. Converting it to RSA currence it works out to R102. It's not cheap, does anyone know if you have to pay import duties?

[musiclover08]

Oh btw, someone mentioned that for the cover, slide the front part (the one that is closest to the 3.5mm jack) into its slots as it doesnt clip in like the others.

[aritra39]

Oh, guess what!

I went to the dealer and he managed to repair those 2 bracket/clips for me - using a tweezer *amazed*

But it happened again (the same thing as seen in the picture posted by radical24)..today. All I did was opening the case to swap my SIM and try to close it, but to no avail.

Should I just go to the Service Center or what :/

[funtoosh]

I love my N97 but I hate it's back cover, Nokia should give a better cover for their flagship phone. I want to add a MMC card to my phone, but now i'm hesitating to open the back cover as it might break

Wondering if Nokia is going to work out something for their clients who bought their flagship phones

Cheers

[tikky1957]

i have had the same problem with my nokia n 97. the battery cover is a nightmare and is the worst piece of cheap plastic for a $600 flagship phone. i had to return my phone back to Amazon three times for the same problem and thanks to their wonderful customer service they were extremely understanding (something Nokia could learn from). i travel much and have to replace the sim card with international travels and use local cards for cost. the cover is simply NOT designed to withstand any thing other than a one time removal (at best if you are lucky!!) and forget about removals for either replacing sim or memory cards. ALSO to be abundantly clear, I have followed EVERY single instruction as noted by the manual and the advise on the various sites regarding the battery cover and how to put it back beginning with the two hinges and snapping the rest of the cover. it is isn't the case as it is a fundamental design problem. nokia has an obligation to redesign and send a new one to any customer encountering this problem!

[alexdrage]

Had exactly the same issue with my phone also....one of the clips above the camera has bent which is now leaving a noticeable gap. This was likely caused by the amount of times I had to take the cover off to get the battery out in order to force the phone to restart prior to the firmware update!

I have managed to do a temporary fix with some tweezers but I'm now very reluctant to remove the back case again! Given I'm locked into a two year contract with this phone, I think I'm going to need a new case at some point.

Will probably be taking it back tomorrow to see what the retailer can do but could someone PM with me the best place to get your hands on the covers, just in case??