[Motorola Droid RAZR] Faekie:
RAZR to RAZR MAXX conversion guide

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The OG RAZR is, imho, an awesome phone. I have had my XT910 since november 2011 and I still love it.

However when the RAZR MAXX was introduced I felt a bit cheated since, by that time, I wanted more out of the RAZR's somewhat weak battery performance.

I have since then seen the RAZR to RAZR MAXX conversion kits but thought they were too expensive.

When the external speaker gave up on my phone after a heavy fall to the ground, and the warranty had expired, I decided to replace it myself. I started thinking about perhaps making the upgrade to RAZR MAXX capacity at the same time since I felt I had the cash to spend on it.

This is a walkthrough of how I modified my Motorola RAZR XT910 into a Motorola RAZR MAXX XT910

Cellphone repair shop

provides the kit for upgrading your RAZR to a RAZR MAXX however the didn't seem to ship to my country (Sweden) when I wanted to order.

The I found this site: ETrade Supply that had all the necessary parts for the upgrade. It was a bit cheaper as well, the total was about $150 with shipping.

Before you start

Prepare yourself for the worst, make a full backup of your phone just in case.

Remove SIM card

Remove memory card

What you will need

Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX Battery Frame

Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX Rear Housing make sure you get the correct version for your phone: B for GSM, A for CDMA. Includes the external speaker and flash.

Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX Battery Door

Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX Decorative Camera Lens Bezel

Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX Battery (EB40)

Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX Logo (Optional)

Torx T3 screwdriver (T4 may work, it is what I used but it is not recommended)

Torx T5 screwdriver

A case opening tool for opening the phone, flat screwdriver is what I used but that may leave marks if you are not careful.

Double sided adhesive 3mm wide or 10 mm wide or both. I used 6mm.

WARNING! ATTENTION! CAUTION!

I don't take any responsibility for any damage, either on a person or object, that may come from using this guide.

Proceed on your own risk!

The parts from left to right:

Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX Battery Frame

Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX Battery (EB40)

Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX Battery Door, black without carrier logo

Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX Rear Housing, version B

Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX Logo

And the part I missed since I thought it would be included with the rear housing:

Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX Decorative Camera Lens Bezel

Battery door removal

After you have powered down your device and removed SIM and memory cards, start removing the battery door.

Do this by sticking your chosen prying tool in the crack between the battery door and back housing.

Start prying from a corner on the phone.

Keep prying loose the battery door by working your way all the way around the edge of the phone.

It can be a bit tricky at the SIM/memory card lid but be careful and nothing will break.

When the edge of the battery lid is loose it will still be attached to the battery with a piece of "glue strip".

Pull the battery lid carefully towards you and it will detach.

From left to right: old XT910 battery lid, XT910 without battery lid, XT910 RAZR MAXX battery lid.

Back housing removal

In this picture you can see the rubber cap that protects the screws holding the battery ribbon cable attached to the PCB.

Remove the rubber cap to gain access to the two torx T5 screws beneath.

I removed the battery ribbon screws in this step, however it is not necessary to do just yet.

The screws doesn't need to be removed until we are ready to detach the battery and battery frame.

Remove the plastic bezel at the top of the phone to gain access to a hidden T3 torx screw.

This is one of the screws holding the back housing in place.

If you are not careful the bezel will look like mine in the picture :p

Proceed by removing the screws holding the back housing in place.

In total there are 7 T3 screws and 3 T5 screws. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of this.

I didn't have a T3 screwdriver so I used my T4 which worked but I strongly advice against it.

When all the screws are removed (put somewhere safe) you can remove the back housing the same way as the battery door.

Start at the bottom of the phone and work your way to the top since the housing needs to be "lifted" to clear the connectors at the top of the phone.

The internals may be this dirty after >1 year of usage!

Battery and battery frame removal

This is what the phone looks like without the back housing in place.

Remove the 3 T3 screws holding the battery frame in place.

It's not until this step that the rubber cap and screws for the battery ribbon cable needs to be removed.

Remove the batter by pulling the "battery removal" plastic tab to the left towards you.

The battery is attached to the EMI shields beneath it with a double sided adhesive so you may need to pull quite hard.

Be careful not to break/bend the battery!

The frame and battery is removed in this picture.

At the top of the phone you can see a piece of my broken external speaker.

Battery and frame reassembly

To the left is the old XT910 RAZR battery frame. To the right is the new XT910 RAZR MAXX battery frame.

Mount the new battery frame to the phone with the 3 T3 screws, 2 on the left side and 1 on the right as seen in this picture.

The new battery doesn't come with the double sided adhesive so I didn't use any at first.

However after I put the phone back together it became a bit squeaky and "loose".

I took the phone apart again and put a few bits of double sided adhesive tape on the back of the battery to hold it firmly in place.

I recommend that you do the same.

Reattach the screws for the battery ribbon cable and cover them with the rubber cap.

Before you attach the new back housing, remove the protective strips from the back of the battery and the camera lens (inside).

Back housing reassembly

Start attaching the back housing by "hooking" it into place at the top of the phone.

The housing snaps into place when pressure is applied.

Work your way from the top to bottom of the phone.

It's a bit tricky at the card lid, by opening the lid and pressing carefully, with a screwdriver between sim and memory card slot, it will snap into place.

Back housing in place! To the right is the battery lid.

On this picture I have secured all of the 10 T3/T5 screws again.

Before you reattach the battery lid, remove the protective strips from: microphone, camera lens, flash and two on the battery lid. 5 in total.

This is something you don't want to see when you remove the protective film from the camera lens :eek:

I had to go back a few steps and remove this little bugger!

Battery lid reassembly

This picture illustrates where I fitted double sided adhesive tape to make sure the casing would'nt flex when applying pressure.

I also had to put a piece of paper in between the back housing and battery frame, opposite the power button, to prevent the case from flexing.

Red marks where I put adhesive tape and light blue where I put the paper, unfortunately I don't have a picture of this.

If you use double sided adhesive tape then start attaching the lid at the base of the phone to make sure you get a snug fit.

The battery lid should snap easily in place.

Press all around the edges to make sure it snapped into place everywhere.

In this picture I still have the blue protective film on the LED flash since I didn't have the cover yet.

Optional logo replacement

I like it better in black ;)

I used a small flat screwdriver and carefully pried away the old logo.

Be careful so you don't scratch that gorilla glass screen! (It is possible :silly:)

Perhaps remove some dirt as well before putting the new logo in place :D

New logo in place, looking good! :victory:

All done!
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The phone feels imo a bit nicer to the touch since the back is more round now, though I am still unaccustomed to the feel of the phone :p

After I put double sided adhesive tape in between all the pieces the phone feels solid again as it did when I forst bought it.

Without the double sided adhesive the case would flex a bit and be a little squeaky when applying pressure at the corners.

I also had to put a piece of paper in between the back housing and battery frame, opposite the power button, since it would flex there otherwise.

I am running the excellent D-WiZ ROM (without Llama running) and did so before the swap as well.

Before the swap I would last perhaps a day or ~2-2,5h screen on time on this ROM.

After the swap the phone can last up to 3 days or 4-5 hours screen on time.

Now, after normal usage, I put my phone on charge every third night when I go to sleep :good: