So you broke the screen on your iPhone and you are wondering what to do next?
I have written the following article to explain the options available, and the questions you may have going into the actual repair. I end this with instructions on how I was able to repair the glass on my Iphone and how I plan to do it better next time. Note this article assumes that the digitizer and LCD are not damaged, only the glass.
First and foremost, attempt to use your warranty if you have one. Granted Apple is probably not going to fix your glass problem as their warranty states "service may not be available if your iPhone has been damaged due to accident or abuse". One blogger has stated he wound up paying $250.00 for a refurbished unit when he brought his cracked iPhone to the Apple Store. My warranty had expired so this was not an option for me but may be an option for you.
Since Apple probably won't help you, lets forget about them and move on to 3rd party help.
For starters Google will turn up some great private repair services that will fix your glass for approximately $125.00. This is outrageous in my opinion if your phone works in every other regard. However this is half of what Apple will charge you and should be guaranteed to come back fixed. See the Google Adsense links at the bottom of the page if this method sounds good for you. Of course, you may not want to wait weeks for your phone to arrive back to you and you may be terrified to send it off to an unauthorized repairman. You should probably quit reading at this point and take the loss if you feel this way as we are about to get into the process of fixing it yourself.
Update:
Mission Repair is now running a special to repair LCD and digitizer for only $99.00, I would probably have opted to use them at this price had it been available.
Click here to visit www.missionrepair.com
Personally, I took the red pill and decided to personally fix the phone. After all, if the glass is broken all you need to do is get it off and put a new one on right? Easier said than done. The internet is full of tutorials on how to do this and I can say that most of them are outright ridiculous or were probably never really successful.
For example, at http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2007/09/fix-a-cracked-iphone-screen-on-the-cheap.ars they outline a method which involves cutting some plastic, blacking it with a marker, and cutting a hole for the home button. Why do this when OEM screens are available on eBay for $14.99?
uses double sided tape and for some reason melts part of the phone with a blow dryer? One has to ask why would you make it more difficult by disassembling the whole phone, when again, all you need to do is replace the glass on top.
So here is what you will need to be successful in your repair:
Some jeweler's screwdrivers, 1 phillips, 1 flat
Goo Gone Xtreme Remover
3M General Purpose 45 spray adhesive
Some cutips
1 sharp razor
goggles
gloves
All of this is available at Wal-Mart for about $25.00
Also, you will need an OEM replacement screen.
Keep in mind the following, 3G and 2G phones use different screens. Also, folks in Hong Kong will sell you imitation screens made of cheap plastic. You can identify that it is OEM by the Apple part number on the inside of the glass. I highly recommend buying from user legendzonetrade on eBay as the guy deals within the U.S. and sells only high quality OEM replacement glass and at a price of only $14.99.
Of course I must make the disclaimer that you are on your own at this point, and I can not be held liable if any information contained herein results in the damaging of your phone.
Let's begin!
I can not stress enough that you should wear gloves and goggles the entire time you are working on the phone. You can remove the goggles when the glass is completely removed but trust me, glass will shoot off of the phone in your direction while prying so protect yourself!
When you begin the process you will need to find the entry point where the glass is cracked the most. Swab some Goo Gone into the crack and wait a few seconds. The glass should lift slightly. Use your flat head to lift up on the shards but do so as lightly as possible becuase if you pry too hard you will damage pixels or the touch screen. Repeat this. When you find there are no shards use the phillips and apply a drilling motion into the side of the glass. This will cause it to crack more and you must then continue with the aforementioned process of dabbing Goo Gone and lifting. Use a razor for scraping the residue left over by the factory adhesive. This process requires a lot of patience so I would reccomend not working under the influence of an energy drink and would suggest a beer or two for streadying the nerves.
Here you can see that the screen is more cracked than before which is the only way to get the glass off as it is adhered completely to the digitizer/lcd.
You will notice that the home button has rubber under it to keep it seated high. Be very careful when lifting in this area to ensure it reseats properly upon reassembly. This picture shows the phone with even more cracks, and the home button removed. The cross pattern in the center was made using the drilling motion with the phillips screwdriver.
Ahh, finally all the glass has been removed. Ensure that all the residue is removed and clean with a light application of window cleaner. What you leave under there will stay there unless you decide to go back under the glass!
Also, make sure you are working with gloves at this point and that your digitizer is still working!
If it slow to respond, you may have gotten the phone wet and should allow it to dry. I had no problems with this but have heard it can be a boon.
In my left hand is a double sided adhesive. Some folks will suggest double sided adhesive, but ask yourself do you really want bubbles under the glass, because there is a high chance you will not apply it 100% correct. And then you have to go back in and fix it again. I wound up removing this because of bubbling and instead used the 3M spay adhesive on the black parts of the glass.
To the right is the OEM glass purchased from legendzonetrade.
Carefully apply the glass to the naked face of the iPhone.
Also, notice more, the crappy bubbling, you do not want this. Use the 3M spray adhesive instead.
After reapplying the screen with 3M spray adhesive.
I recommend spraying the adhesive into a bottlecap and then gently swabbing the adhesive under the black areas of the phone.
Hooray, hopefully you were able to repair your glass for $40.00 as I was able to. Please feel free to comment or make suggestions to better perform this repair. I have already acquired two more iPhones with broken glass and will try to get more detailed pictures and hopefully a video in the coming weeks. Thank you for reading, and good luck with your fixed phone!
