Key lock slider broken off Nokia N97 phone
Posted by Steve (fidgetwith.com)Sep 3
Disaster struck yesterday. My much loved Nokia N97 has had an injury. I went to unlock the keypad/screen using the side slider and PING! It flew off onto the floor. No, not the phone, just the tiny plastic slider switch. It just flew off.
The only way I could figure out to unlock the phone was using a paperclip to carefully slide the remnants of the switch – not ideal. I considered superglue, but the part was so small I know it would be fruitless.
So, I did what anyone else would do in this situation and headed straight to Google!
It seems I was not alone. Along with the self harming camera lens and dodgy GPS antenna (I had both replaced under warranty), it seems the key lock slider is also prone to failure. Quicker than you can say “flagship phone failure” I checked and alas, my handset is no longer under warranty.
Further searches see to indicate it is repairable, but would cost around £85 at a Nokia service centre – where I would have the added benefit of having my phone wiped (again) and have to reinstall everything.
Whilst i’m on the subject of wiping the handset – this would not be a problem if the ovi suite did it’s job properly when it does a backup. But quite often it won’t restore settings and for some reason will NEVER restore your directory stricture.
Anyway, back on to the issue at hand. I didn’t want to pay £85 or argue for it to be done under warranty as I really don’t want to have to reinstall all my apps. So I took a different approach. Was there a piece of software that could do the job? There sure is!
Looking in the Ovi store, I came accross a program called Best Screenlocker. It basically replaced the hardware slider with an on screen one and it works perfectly. The best thing? It’s only £1.50.
I suggest all users of N97′s grab this utility before you wear out your slider too.
Don’t get me wrong. I love my n97, but after 17 years of being a loyal Nokia customer, I’m starting to feel they have lost thier way somewhat. The N97 was supposed to be thier flagship device. This soon changed after it’s initial hardware and software issues became apparent.
I do know that Nokia will have to do something special in the next 6 months or so to keep me as a customer – or my next handset may well have an Android OS or an Apple logo on it…
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Thank you SO SO much! My unlock thingo just broke off, and I googled what to do and came across your page. The OVI unlock app works a treat, and I am also spreading the word! Cheers!
You are welcome – I’ve been using the unlock app for a few months now and it’s still working a treat!
Hey thanks for the tip!
My N97′s slider has given up too and for the life of me cannot find it? I have also run out of warrenty but luckily I have phone insurance, so fingers crossed they will fix this for me for my excess of £10.00. I will however change my settings when I receive my wiped phone back to eleviate this problem happening again.
Cheers