Introduction
This repair guide was authored by the iFixit staff and hasn’t been endorsed by Google. Learn more about our repair guides here.
Follow this guide to remove and replace the motherboard for the Pixel 3. The procedure involves removing many small grounding clips, which are easy to lose.
Note that removing the loudspeaker will compromise its ingress seal.
What you need
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Heat an iOpener and apply it to the bottom of the phone for one minute.
Ask FixBot
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Apply a suction cup to the heated bottom edge of the back cover.
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Lift on the suction cup with strong, steady force to create a gap.
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Insert an opening pick into the gap.
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Slice the adhesive along the bottom edge of the phone and around the right corner.
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Leave a pick in the bottom edge to prevent the adhesive from re-sealing.
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Heat the right edge with an iOpener and continue slicing the adhesive with an opening pick.
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Continue heating and slicing through the rest of the phone perimeter. Leave a pick in each edge to prevent the adhesive from resealing.
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Once you have sliced around the perimeter of the phone, carefully lift the left edge of the back cover.
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Flip the back cover along its long axis and rest it so that the fingerprint sensor cable is not strained.
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Tool used on this step:Magnetic Project Mat$19.95
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Remove the two 4.1 mm-long Phillips screws securing the fingerprint connector bracket.
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Use the point of a spudger to slide the fingerprint connector bracket out from under the NFC coil.
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Remove the fingerprint connector bracket.
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Use the point of a spudger to pry up and disconnect the fingerprint connector from its socket.
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Remove the five Phillips screws securing the wireless charging coil:
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Two 1.9 mm screws
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Two 4.2 mm screws
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One 4.3 mm screw
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Use the point of a spudger to pry up and disconnect the battery press connector from its socket near the right edge of the phone.
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Remove the two screws securing the camera bracket:
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One 4.1 mm Phillips screw
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One 4 mm standoff screw
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Remove the camera bracket.
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Use the point of a spudger to pry up and disconnect the connector for the camera(s) you are replacing.
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Insert the point of a spudger behind the edge of the camera module and pry up to loosen it from the frame.
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Tool used on this step:Tesa 61395 Tape$8.95
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Use a pair of blunt nose tweezers to remove the camera(s).
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Use the point of a spudger to pry up and disconnect the loudspeaker connector from its motherboard socket near the right edge of the phone.
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Remove the following four Phillips screws:
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One 1.9 mm screw
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One 4.3 mm screw
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Two 4.3 mm screws with thinner shanks
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Remove the tiny grounding clip from the left screw hole. Be careful not to lose it.
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Remove the small plastic insert from the right side of the USB-C port.
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Insert the point of a spudger under the bottom right corner of the loudspeaker.
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Pry up to loosen the loudspeaker from the phone.
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Insert the point of a spudger under the top left corner of the loudspeaker.
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Pry up to loosen the loudspeaker.
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Insert the flat end of the spudger under the top edge of the loudspeaker, towards the left edge.
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Pry up to loosen the loudspeaker.
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Remove the loudspeaker.
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If it is in good condition, you can re-use the gasket. Make sure that the gasket does not cover the exit hole.
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If the gasket is pulled out of place, remove it and replace the adhesive with a pre-cut strip or Tesa tape.
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Use the point of a spudger to pry up and disconnect the blue antenna cable from its socket on the charging assembly.
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Use the point of a spudger to carefully pry up and release the blue antenna cable from its grounding clips.
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Use the point of a spudger to pry up and disconnect the black antenna cable from its socket near the USB-C port.
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Carefully de-route both antenna cables and move them away from the charging assembly.
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Use the point of a spudger to pry up and disconnect the charging assembly's connector from its motherboard socket, near the right edge of the phone.
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Carefully peel the flex cable from the top of the SIM card reader.
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Use the flat end of a spudger to carefully pry up the black tape holding the display flex cable in place, near the right edge of the phone.
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Use the flat end of a spudger to pry up and disconnect the display connector from the motherboard.
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Slide the point of a spudger in the crevice underneath the black tape bridging across the battery and the motherboard.
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Slide the spudger along the crevice to pry up the tape from the battery side.
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Carefully peel the tape from the battery and fold it out of the way.
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Use a spudger to pry up and disconnect the following seven press-fit connectors from their motherboard sockets:
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External buttons connector
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Top microphone connector
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Earpiece connector
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Left squeeze sensor connector
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Touchscreen (first picture) and OLED display (second picture) connectors
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Right squeeze sensor connector
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SIM tray connector
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Use the flat of a spudger to carefully pry up and bend the earpiece speaker's flex cable upwards, out of the way of the motherboard.
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Remove the six screws securing the motherboard in place:
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One 4.2 mm Phillips screw
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Three 1.9 mm Phillips screws
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One 4.3 mm Phillips screw
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One 3.83 mm standoff screw
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Remove and retain the three small metal grounding clips.
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Carefully remove the antenna bracket from the top left edge of the phone.
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Orient the clips such that the silver side is facing upwards.
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The teardrop shaped clips should have their points facing towards the phone edge.
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The double-holed clip dips downwards towards the frame's top-right screw hole.
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Insert the point of a spudger near the top left corner of the motherboard, right below the rear-facing camera.
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Pry up gently to loosen the motherboard, bending all flex cables away to accommodate for the movement.
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If the motherboard feels firmly seated, check for any flex cables or screws that may still be connected.
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Insert the spudger underneath the top edge of the motherboard and carefully pry up to loosen the motherboard.
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Lift the left edge of the motherboard and carefully swing it upwards towards the right. Carefully push any press connectors snagging the motherboard out of the way.
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Carefully lift the top end of the motherboard away from the frame.
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Remove the motherboard.
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To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
Take your e-waste to an R2 or e-Stewards certified recycler.
Repair didn’t go as planned? Check out our Google Pixel 3 Answers community for troubleshooting help.
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7 Guide Comments
I followed your instructions to the letter. Got it all put back together, but before affixing the back glass, I powered up the Pixel 3 to make sure all features are working. The touch screen does not work, now, but it did before. Any advice?
Hi Philip,
Does the screen light up? If it doesn’t, I would suggest disconnecting the battery connector and double-checking the display connector to make sure it is properly seated. As I looked into your question, I noticed that the step was missing a disconnection procedure—so thank you! I’ve amended that step.
Where can I buy the motherboard? Is the 128 GB motherboard different from the 64 GB?
