[Eee Pad Transformer General] tf101orbust:
Hello all. Yes I am a noob to the forum, but not to small electronics and the dismantling of them. After getting everything set up on my machine necessary to Root my TF and side load the netflix app, I noticed my power button wasn't being as responsive as it should. Doing a quick google search I found that this was a common thing, even on TFs with stock firmware, so I took to dismantling the thing to figure out what is causing it.

I did a quick search to see if anyone has cracked the case open and found this thread. I didn't use a guitar pick, but rather a plastic and metal spuder set I had from repairing my mom's ipod touch (damn soldered batteries!).

Tools:

Tool Kit

Or

A T5 Torx bit

A spudger

#0 Phillips screwdriver.

Lock-Tite super glue gel (optional!)

1. Start by removing the two T5 torx bits from both sides of the charging/dock port

2. Use the plastic spudger or guitar pick and loose the seam around the entire case. If you look closely at the face, you will see the glass meet a black plastic rim and then the metal rim around that. What you are aiming to do is separate the black plastic from the glass. The plastic is glued to the metal so if you see adhesive separating, you are prying the wrong spot. There are various plastic tabs around the glass like a TV remote so using the plastic spuder is safer until you get some visible room to go in with the metal one.

3. Once you have the frame off, there are 4 #0 Phillips screws on the face, one at each corner, then 3 screws on the top and bottom of the frame (previously under the metal case

4. Removing all 4 face screws plus 6 rail screws will allow you to remove the back plastic. Now you can see everything

5. Bonus points for ASUS for giving us a battery that unplugs vs one that is soldered in (damn you apple). If you want some peace of mind, you can pop off the battery cable. I did not see any side effects from doing this (no data loss, etc).

6. On the side with the power and volume buttons, you will see a blue-tipped silver cable under a black tab. This black tab is what holds the ribbon down and lifts up like a toilet seat. It does not pull forward, it does not pop off (unless you broke it), but because it is plastic, be gentle. Once the tab is lifted, the silver cable will come out.

7. Unscrew the 3 #0 Phillip screws holding down the button board for easier access remove it.

-----

It doesn't matter whether you are having a volume issue or power button issue, so long as you know its hardware related. The way these buttons work is under constant pressure is "off" and removing that pressure turns it "on". So the metal tab pushes down on the plastic button, which pushes down on the switch. What is happening is over time, that metal tab gives way to less pressure on the daisy chain and the button stops working. The good news is, this metal tab is just held on via 'wings' around the soldered base. A razer knife is enough to gently lift the wings to pop the assembly apart for repairing. Given the construction of these switches, I wish ASUS just made the entire board available, but oh well.

-----

8. With the offending metal cap off, bend the middle thumb further down and back in to position and re-assemble the switch.

9. (Optional). I bent my tab further in to prevent me from having to re-do this operation several months from now, but doing so meant that ANY pressure on the button caused the metal cap to pop back off. That is really bad if the case is re-assembled. My solution was to swab some lock-tite super glue gel on the bottom wings and base of the metal cap and put it back on the switch. A very thin film is sufficient because it is a gel, it dries in seconds. WARNING> Once you reassemble the switch, keep pressure on the metal cap while you keep pressing the black button. If you don't, any glue leakage will lock that button in place.