why people insist on separating the front bezel + infrared guide is beyond me
it's supposed to stay together
yes there is a lot of glue all around, but even so, you can pry the front bezel (including the IR layer) off using no tools other than your fingernails. start in the top corner, it comes off. the water-seal glue is sufficiently soft/flexible at room temperature, no heat guns required neither. there's a youtube vid where someone stabs in with a guitar pick, and even says you should be harsh with it, too much... patient and gentle does the trick
or well, at least that's how it worked for me (old post)
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...66#post2998466
front bezel + IR stayed as one part. re-gluing the IR to the bezel is not something I would look forward to
in the end I only had to remove some glue lumps from the water seal, not re-glue anything myself
obviously not water proof anymore but I doubt it ever was - for my other H2O the front bezel was lifted up in one corner when snapping it into a protective case so that's not waterproof either despite never opened all the way