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  • How hard is it actually to desolder / remove mics and sensors from a Pixel?

Hey all,
After a lot of research I'm considering getting a Pixel with GrapheneOS from Nitrophone with the mics, sensors and cameras physically removed. Then using a plug-in headset to make and receive calls.

Before I spend the extra 300€ for desoldering plus the cost of the marked up Pixel with GrapheneOS pre-installed though from Nitrophone, just wanted to check how hard it would actually be in reality for someone without soldering experience to remove the mics, sensors and cameras? I haven't been able to find any guides on how to do that with the Pixel 6A, 7 or 7 Pro.

If it's not hard to learn how to do, I might just buy a cheap soldering / de-soldering kit and try to do it myself and save a lot of money, as it's the desoldering service that attracts me to Nitrophone the most. If I was keeping everything intact I'm fine getting a Pixel and installing GrapheneOS on it myself.

I guess another way to look at it is: Without any soldering experience am I likely to end up damaging the Pixel and making it unusable? So then maybe the extra money is well-spent?

Much appreciated for any replies!

    You are EXTREMELY likely to destroy it in such an attempt. You would need a hot air reworking station in the very least. Chances are very good that you would damage the screen while trying to remove it. You DEFINITELY will lose water seal upon reassembly. Pieces inside are incredibly fragile and easy to damage, and if you heat up the board with the component you're trying to remove, you'll probably also desolder other components on the board.

    I would very strongly recommend AGAINST trying to do this yourself, unless you are already extremely proficient with the kind of tools you will need to use in order to accomplish this.

    I would also suggest that removing these components is way over the top overkill. Microphones and cameras are only active when you run some program that is granted permission to actually use them. Don't want anything using them? Deny all software the permissions. Go into System Settings --> Privacy. You can even blanket disable camera, microphone, and sensors to EVERYTHING (except microphone to emergency numbers, which is a reasonable exception).

    Oke I can tell you the following:

    First of all I don't believe you need to go to such an extent of removing components, the GrapheneOS itself is secure enough and removing these components is just paranoid overkill. But I understand where you come from as I was in the same position like you before. So here is the following:

    Is it possible to remove all components without experience? Yes it is! I've done this before without any experience, I bought a ifixit kit en a heat pistol and that was all I need in terms of equipment. But let me tell you another more important detail, if you were to do this operation on a google pixel 6 gen or higher you will most likely end up destroying your screen or equipment of the phone. Everything from Google pixel 4 and upwards is harder to disassemble than the Pixel 3a / 3 XL series.

    So I won't advice to do this from 2 perspectives:

    1: Its overkill and not needed
    2: Current pixel phones are way more likely to be damaged.

    You will damage your phone in the process.

      Can confirm - soldering and de-soldering micro components by the inexperienced WILL almost inevitably lead to a mass of obliterated electronics!

      I will add my voice to the chorus saying “Do not do this!”

      The main problem with removing these items is you have to open the whole phone, which is sealed. If you wanna do this I recommend you give it to an actual repair person with professional equipment and experience to do it. It might cost you somewhere around 60-100 dollars. Breaking the water seal is not that important IMO.

      you don't really need to remove the cameras because cameras can easily be blocked with black electrical tape. This leaves you the option to be able to use your camera when you want to. Electrical tape works pretty nicely.

      Microphone and speaker are more difficult to mask as sound penetrates everything. So if you want that kind of assurance of security then its best to remove them entirely. These 2 components are rather easy to remove or disable without removing (cutting wire), but still require to open the phone.

      The other sensors like accelerometer, barometer, and compass, do you really need them removed? I don't think they'll do you that much harm. Also removing them might be more difficult as they might all be packed together (and with other components) and close to critical components. I can't comment on them. Same goes for GPS. Remember, your location is always tracked using cellular triangulation, removing the GPS may not make much difference.

      I would say don't worry so much about the other sensors (Although its your call). But mic and speaker could be disabled/removed, and a repair person could do it for you. But I would say don't do it yourself. You can also consider buying accidental damage coverage for your phone so if the repair person damages it maybe the accidental coverage will cover it.

      This is all "IF" you think removing these is really that important to you.

      Is it effective to just stick a sewing needle into the microphone holes? You can use an app like specdroid to see if that kills the sound.

        Graphite I'm pretty sure that there is a convoluted path from the hole to the actual microphone in order to help with water seal. I could be wrong though.

          Thanks for the replies everyone, sounds like it would be challenging to try and do it myself.

          @User2288 re: speakers - from the reading I've done the speakers in smartphones are not really an issue in themselves, as they're not set up in a way that they can be turned into listening devices. It seems like it's more the microphones and the other sensors which can record sound. Is that correct?

            Blastoidea From a mechanical point of view, yes, you can wire a speaker into a microphone jack and it will operate as a microphone. But what he's asking is if the speakers are wired into anything capable of sampling FROM them. They are not.

              It's not problem at all to remove all these parts including the sensors. The biggest problem is to remove the baseband and just let it connect through Ethernet. We are heavily working to achieve this. Neither me nor nitro succeeded in this so far

                Has anyone tried Mic-lock. I've taken phones apart (not a pixel yet) from the past and isn't something I'd recommend for someone who never done one, 9 times out of 10 its never the same unless you know exactly what you are doing and use a new gasket. Ribbons can easily rip, removing the battery can cause a fire if not done properly, some screws are super micro size and easily dropped into places hard to get out. It may be possible to destroy the mic from the outside maybe with a pin or something. Gen 2 mic-lock might be what you are looking for.

                I've tried the first gen mic-lock before and it didn't seem to do anything, as it blocks one microphone, but the others can still stay active. Not sure if the 2nd gen would be any better / different.

                rustam @User2288 re: speakers - from the reading I've done the speakers in smartphones are not really an issue in themselves, as they're not set up in a way that they can be turned into listening devices.

                From the reading I have done, "turning the speaker into a listening device" is an old trick that goes back to the 80s in fact. An old trick that's been in the books a long time and is used by sophisticated attackers.

                I can tell you that my LG v30 phone actually used the speaker as a 3rd microphone. Its in the marketing materials. Whether this can be done on a pixel or not I really can't say.

                    Nuttso

                    There is another way to remove the baseband which involves rooting your phone and deleting the baseband software packages, you can remove the IMEIs and after that it won't ping cellular towers anymore even after unrooting the phone. We have tested this with a Radio frequency tracker.

                        The reason is because even if you delete the whole baseband stack an adversary with full control could still manage to make it connect to a base station. We would really appreciate if someone could help with this. We would also pay for the devices.

                          Nuttso I will have a look into this, if I come across a solution I will let you know. I will play around with my ifixit kit with some older pixels that I've laying around at my place.