[rickyscivic]

hi i wasnt sure if there was a repair/replacement parts post here....any 1 know where i can get a new screen mine cracked. I can still use it and the touch still works biut its all cracked up.

[jbreakfield]

A little pricey, but I ran across this the other day...

iPhone screen replacement

[zurie]

There is NO replacement part worth the trouble... and I mean including FREE.

if someone sent me that 195 dollar screen and said.. here, merry christmas, enjoy. I would ebay it and go pay 299 for apple to repair it.

Here is my experiences.

1) the 20 dollar plastic glass only screen part is "impossible" to apply to a 3G iphone because the lens is actually 2 pieces of glass glued together. there is NO way apart from ruining your device to get that cracked screen seperated from the touch panel.

so now you are looking at a minimum of 79 dollars for a touch panel ONLY and no LCD. and 195 dollars for the LCD part.


2) the iphone is SEALED. SEALED like a virgin nun. there is NO way to get in there. the videos on youtube are a flippin JOKE! they give you 2 half *** green plastic tools, yah, knock yourself out. i ended up breaking 1 nib off my green tool and resorted to using a thin razerblade and a flathead "superthin" screwdriver.

when I say sealed I mean, there is a rubber lining seal that goes around your screen.. you WILL NOT get this off without ruining the seal.. its just the way it is.. if you can magically get it off without ruining it, hey! you should be a brain surgeon.. its just not happening with the green tools and definetally hard if not impossible with the razer blade. but the video on youtube shows you a already opened iphone and all they do is gently pry it open.. very misleading video.

and this is JUST opening it up!


3) you then have to seperate the battery pack from the LCD screen. but like any sealed device this is not just clipped in, its GLUED in with adhesive. again, the website youtube video's make it look like a 3 year old blind kid with no fingers could pry it open but guess what.. its not that easy. I am good with electronics too, (solder xbox, install backlit LCD on a gameboy gen 1, etc, etc) I mod alot of stuff.. and this was very HARD to pry apart... i cracked my LCD screen trying. unless you heat up your device or figure out some magical way of getting something behind the LCD screen to losen up the adhesive. again.. is this worth 100 dollars? hell no.. because if you pay 100 dollars and you end up cracking a LCD screen then you are out 100 bucks and still have a broken phone.. no thanks. yes the 179 dollar part aleviates this issue but then you still have a broken seal, a half all install job, and for 100 bucks more you could have apple just give you a brand new one.


4) what else is broken? yah, the touch panel works, so you think.. but who knows whats messed up inside, is the blue tooth loose? did a piece break or crack or stress? does the accelerometer work correctly, etc... the thing is dropped.. why pay 200 bucks when you can guarantee a new unit is flawless both inside and out...



5) some random death defying disease is your friend. seriously.. i took mine to apple store and sat at the genius bar and looked like I was dying of some ailment as I dropped fake visine tears into my eyes and sigh'd about how my girlfriend of 5 years isn't getting a xmas present because im buying a replacement 300 dollar phone and the guy felt bad enough that he slipped me a new one for 0 dollars. rock on. gotta love good hearted people at the genius bar.

also - i tried 2 different apple stores - 1 was 45 minute drive, and the 3rd apple store genius finally hooked it up.. if at first you don't suceed, try again, and then if that doesn't work, fork out the 300 dollars.

[cpjr]

^Actually, as someone that has taken many of these apart.....its rather easy.

And you can buy the glass/digitizer as one part for as cheap as $40. IMO very easy to replace, and the LCD has nothing to do with the replacement either.

I would without a doubt swap it out.

PS- Most of your post is incorrect, for example.....saying the battery pack is glued to the LCD, also...not correct. It is glued to the HOUSING which has NOTHING to do with the screen. I could go on.

We are talking about a 3g not a 2g.....I assume, because his stats say 3g. BIG difference between the two.

[one1]

Yeah post #3 is pretty much wrong on all accounts.

Do the opposite of post 3

[DeMoney30]

Ok so since post #3 incorrect, i also have a cracked screen that i am trying to fix but i need to know where i could order a reliable screen/digitizer.

And I've also taken a look at this package from eCaseShop.com and i was just wondering, do you think the blue 3G housing replacment comes with a screen/digitizer in this package?

[cpjr]

No, the ecaseshop package comes with the glass (well, in this case plastic) only, no digitizer. Check my sig link for a look at an ecaseshop case.

You can order a glass/digitizer combo (which you want, because you WILL break the digitizer most likely swapping only the glass) in a few places on the net, or on ebay....i've seen them as cheap as $40.

[DeMoney30]

Ok CPJR.. So from what i can see, since you are an iPhone swapping God, (Case looks amazing) Do you feel that i'd be able to swap the cracked screen with a new glass plus digitizer with no problem? I have lots of confidence that i'll be able to do it, but would you say it is pretty easy?

and also, what exactly is a digitizer... I just know that i need it

Thanks

[2manyphones]

I was repair technician for years and was Nokia and Motorola level 3 certified. My first iPhone 2g 4gig had a half non-responsive screen after a little over a year. I had no fear of replacing it, so I did order the screen with digitizer and apple removal tool. It took me about an hour to do the swap and I WOULD NOT ever do it again. You will likely ruin the back metal case (I am only familiar with 2G model), the white antenna connection wires, one of the 3 ribbon cables or countless other parts while attempting the repair. So, can it be done? Yes. Should you do it? Not unless you have all the proper tools, grounding strap AND have experience doing component level repairs. As indicated above, for 99% of the people, it is not worth the price or potential damage to the phone.

In fact, my second iPhone also had the 1st generation screen issue and rather than fix it, I replaced it and now it lives in my car as a very expensive ipod - my car has ipod stereo controls.

Good luck to anyone brave enough (or stupid ) to go for it.

[zurie]

The truth about iPhone 3G Glass and Digitizer Replacement! « Mission:Repair Blog

ok.. to clarify some of my misinformation from post 3.

I am talking about a 3G iphone, and the 20 dollar replacement glass from ebay, which I specifically stated. and I am correct in saying that it is indeed impossible to apply.

2) I then said you need the 80 dollar touchpanel. ok correct this- its "digitizer" sorry... and its OEM 69 dollars. so lets assume you get it for 40? and then pay shipping, its still 40 - 70 dollars.


3) I am right about the phone seal, and the rubber seal around it... its still difficult for 99% of users.

4) So the battery is attached to the housing, not the LCD. well i cracked my LCD anyway, trying to undo the battery from the housing. so even though it may not be directly attached, it will cause potential trouble for someone else.

5) because I cracked my LCD... the price went from your 40 dollars (my 69 dollars OEM) to 179 dollars for the LCD, digitizer, housing, and front assembly.


so at this point to me, its not worth the "risk" of potentially having to shell out 179 dollars.

someone else seems to agree with me...

and I was talking about the iphone3G, so I cannot say much about the 2G because I never broke my 2G so I have no experiences with it.


regardless, good luck if you are brave enough to try. I personally don't think its worth it. Others may disagree.

[Chubbawokee]

screen can be pulled up with a small suction cup... there's a few youtube videos on this.

[gomer713]

it's alot harder then replacing most other things on a 3G, i'll give you that. but i can't seem to see how you cracked the LCD if it's connected to the screen AND you have to take the screen completely off (removing the 3 flex cables)the housing to get to the battery or housing.

the digitizer is connected with glue to the glass or "fuzed" some would say. to seperate the two you'll need a hair dryer or hot air gun on low setting to warm up the glue a little bit. the digitizer is VERY fragile so be careful. it's likely that one would brake the digitizer in the process of removing the broken glass glued on top of it. but it's most definitly not impossible and i could see how it would seem that way to some cuz it's kinda hard. another thing, if you don't seal it back up correctly you got another problem..DUST.so beware of potential for that. but for real if you take your screen OFF via the three flex cables you won't have anything to do with the housing. check this site for help
Installing iPhone 3G Front Panel

[lillewis51]

the worst part about it is actually removing the glass from that plastic frame. took me forever till i realized i needed to heat it :P its pretty strait forward. and no offense zurie but you must be retarded if u broke your lcd removing the battery because the lcd and screen are two different parts. they are connected by 3 cables which pop off. not even mentioning that the battery is also under the mother board which wouldn't even have to be removed to replace the screen. soooo something makes me think you have no idea what your talking about.

[gomer713]

^right ,the plastic part is also glued togther that too you'll need hair dryer. i forgot about that. so this is how it goes correct me if i'm wrong..the glass/digitizer are glued together-and they are glued to the plastic frame-which the LCD screws onto-which in whole, buckles to top of the housing and screws to the bottom, closing up the iPhone. now i sound like i don't know what im talking about

[lillewis51]

that is 100% correct but i wouldn't recommend removing the digitizer from the glass thats almost a 100% chance of breaking it. just get the whole thing.