As you know, a while back I was able to get my hands on a few spare N800 faceplates, and took advantage of the opportunity to create my first ever camoflaged mobile device. Many of you wanted to know how easy it was to remove the faceplate, and I promised a walkthrough as soon as possible.

Well, possible is today! It’s hard to explain, but Texrat, of InternetTabletTalk.com has a pretty detailed walkthrough…

1. Open the stand. There are 3 very small slots along the front edge of
   the device that can only be seen with the stand open. At the bottom of
   each slot you can see a metal clip. These clips are V-shaped with one
   edge naturally joined to the faceplate and one clipping over a small
   tab in the slot.
2. To release the clips, take a small jeweler’s screwdriver (or similar)
   and push the tabs gently back from the edge of the device, while also
   applying very slight upward pressure. The clip will slip off the tab
   and move up a tiny amount. Do this to all 3 tabs. NOTE: be VERY
   careful! This process can warp the faceplate if you’re not cautious and
   in fact I only recommend this if there is no other recourse.
3. Once the clips are released, the faceplate *should* pop up a little.
   You may have to pry the front edge up a bit. There are 3 other clips
   along the top edge of the faceplate BUT they are of a different design.
   They have slots in them that mate up with plastic tabs on the case.
   When the bottom edge is freed, the faceplate will “hinge” up and at
   that point pulling gently forward on the faceplate will release it from
   the back tabs. From there you can lift it off and see where the buttons
   are supposed to be attached. Once they are straightened, simply reverse
   this procedure to replace the faceplate. You may have to pull the
   V-shaped lower clips out a bit if they were bent during the initial
   process.
4. Once the upper slotted clips are back on their tabs, lower the
   faceplate until all three of the V-shaped clips snap back over their
   tabs. There should be no springiness in the faceplate if you have done
   this correctly.

Here are some photos to go along with that, as well:

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