Replacing a Flex Cable (D.I.Y.) with pics

[CZroe]

im an electronic engineer aswell, only a few years experience though nothing close to you but struggle to see the guide?

all i can really make out is that that tip is somewhere pretty dangerous...

maybe if i had an iphone to open i could make more sense of it ... havent managed to get hold of one to open yet....

But, yeah, the thread doesn't even say which phone is for.

For people who have never open theirs, it's kinda hard to tell because the only pictures are of the insides.

Anyway One1, my brother replaced his glass/digitizer on his 3G and now his mic only works when speakerphone is enabled. Sound like a flexcable issue to you? He used the phone with the shattered glass and it didn't have the problem before taking it apart.

[enriquesdrj2_8]

Anyway One1, my brother replaced his glass/digitizer on his 3G and now his mic only works when speakerphone is enabled. Sound like a flexcable issue to you? He used the phone with the shattered glass and it didn't have the problem before taking it apart.

Yea either

1. It is probably the flex cable got torn and u need to replace it
2. the flex cable somehow got out of its socket slightly so there is conflicting issues
3. There is always restore to me that can also fix it maybe
4. worst case being the logic board died. But i doubt it since it was just the screen and digitizer so im going for 2, and 3 that I said. Good luck


Regards

[kondylak]

Dear Sir,

I cannot figure out what are you doing with the microphone in figure 9. How do you connect the new flex with the mic??DO you have to heat the old cable to be removed??Any help would be greatly appreciated

[JCNapoleon]

Kondylak, my best advise is to replace the whole midboard, I bought one from Ebay for $34.00. This will have the flex cable, the wi-fi antenna, the mic and speaker, you just have to mount the screen and motherboard to it. I've replaced the flex cable twice and both times it torn no matter how carefull I was. If you want to experiment, you have to remove the mic from the old flex cable with a soldering iron, then solder it to the new cable. (Too much work, my friend). I've replaced the midboard and my iPhone came back to life, thanks to the advice to the people in here, specially to ONE1. See attached image of the midboard.

[hurt14]

Hey guys,

after seeing your marvellous pics, I decided to fix my iPhone's broken mic. I did not have prior experience regarding this and surely enough, I tore the flex cable in different places . So if you are thinking of opening your iPhone without strong prior experience, you can already order the spare parts because you WILL break it (just repeating ONE1's advice, but coming from a different perspective :P). That's in my experience due to the criminal amounts of glue Apple use.

I will shortly be in possession of a new flex cable and mic but I am unsure as how you should solder them together. By looking closely at the broken one I have, I am deducing that the shorter part of the microphone (see picture 1) would be facing outwards (towards the dock connector, in the direction the pen is pointing) such that the microphone protrudes very little outside the flex cable. Cable shown in picture 2.
So is this direction right?

Also, when soldering do I need to make sure I solder the two pins separately? I know it sounds obvious that I should, I just want to be 100% sure.

Finally, do you guys have any advice for soldering the mic? A special way that could make it easier? Or anything I need to know to solder it correctly?

Picture 1:

Picture 2:


Thanks.

[enriquesdrj2_8]

Hey guys,

after seeing your marvellous pics, I decided to fix my iPhone's broken mic. I did not have prior experience regarding this and surely enough, I tore the flex cable in different places . So if you are thinking of opening your iPhone without strong prior experience, you can already order the spare parts because you WILL break it (just repeating ONE1's advice, but coming from a different perspective :P). That's in my experience due to the criminal amounts of glue Apple use.

I will shortly be in possession of a new flex cable and mic but I am unsure as how you should solder them together. By looking closely at the broken one I have, I am deducing that the shorter part of the microphone (see picture 1) would be facing outwards (towards the dock connector, in the direction the pen is pointing) such that the microphone protrudes very little outside the flex cable. Cable shown in picture 2.
So is this direction right?

Also, when soldering do I need to make sure I solder the two pins separately? I know it sounds obvious that I should, I just want to be 100% sure.

Finally, do you guys have any advice for soldering the mic? A special way that could make it easier? Or anything I need to know to solder it correctly?


Thanks.

Basically the open part of the mic (with more green!) should be pointing towards the pen, of course u need that bit that covers the mic the rubbery insulation that was on it and u can be able to see its position it shouldnt be hard. What will be hard is getting that mic on! I had to learn the hard way what was the best way of soldering it hehe. They have to be soldered on separately a nice clean silver finish on both ends of the pins from top to button without any contact....When i realized that i had to carefully de solder and do that again the mic got damaged but somehow got better after a few weeks. Good luck

Regards

[CZroe]

Yea either

1. It is probably the flex cable got torn and u need to replace it
2. the flex cable somehow got out of its socket slightly so there is conflicting issues
3. There is always restore to me that can also fix it maybe
4. worst case being the logic board died. But i doubt it since it was just the screen and digitizer so im going for 2, and 3 that I said. Good luck


Regards

Thanks. He tried a software restore and it didn't fix it. He took it apart and checked/reseated all the cable connections and it didn't fix it. Remember though, it's a 3G.

Other than the behavior, nothing seems broken. Any ideas?

[zdr]

Can someone post the measured DC resistance (also with reversed polarity) on the pins of soldered mic, and with flex cable connected to motherboard? My second mic and second installed flex cable still don't work, but I can measure resistance in both polarities, which probably means mic has a good contact with mobo.

[zdr]

I replaced 4 flex cables on the same phone so far. Either mic flex connection does not work or home button each time! Where can I find da*n cable that can withstand VERY careful install???

[enriquesdrj2_8]

You can probably buy the whole flex cable setup (with speaker+mic pre-installed) and try that...which I think you did already. Otherwise I think you need to make sure everything is put together very nice and tight. Things could be shifting about inside possibly tearing the cable

[one1]

I replaced 4 flex cables on the same phone so far. Either mic flex connection does not work or home button each time! Where can I find da*n cable that can withstand VERY careful install???

Yeah I've said a million times on the ebay flex cables buy the most expensive one you can fine, it'll be OEM and will hold up better because the flexing of the cable when bending back the home button and mic and snapping the base cover into place will kill a cheap flex cable DURING the re-installation.

[thekobun]

What does the other end of the flex cable look like?
Is it similar to motherboard end (with the snap in end plugs)?


When I re-assembled, I made sure the motherboard flex cables snapped in, but my screen doesn't show up when turned on. I'm wondering if I pulled it too far from in from the motherboard side and un-snapped the other end.

[elbeasto]

hey one1, is there anything that can be done to an iphone antenna to increase signal strength. i lose reception in my apartment but i know i can get signal there because it will fade in and out. i plan on buying a broken one from a flea market anyway even if you say there isnt anything i can do( no disrespect ) but if there is something that can be done it would be awesome if you could tell me so that i can make my first attempt on a broken one lol.

[dutchiesmokah]

First of all thank you One1 for the nice manual you wrote and even the support your giving!!

A few days ago my girlfriend damaged the usb dock connector of my 2g (still love her though ), after this had happened my macbook is telling me that the usb port is asking to much juice and OSX is disabling this port... The iPhone also cannot charged any more..

After a long search on the net I finally found this topic and was immediately shocked by the difficulty.. I myself am working as an service engineer for nokia,sony ericsson, samsung, lg and blackberry for level1 and 2 repairs in the Netherlands but nevertheless I am afraid damaging my iPhone when switching the flex cable (it would be a different story if it was one of my customers ).

Isn't it possible to replaced only the dock connector without switching the flex cables because I found out that some dock connectors are sold separately on the net..

[dutchiesmokah]

Hi guys, installed successfully the ribbon with usb connector. Tested everything even the mic works! Now I only have new problems probaly due the old battery. The phone does not want to charge the battery for more than a few seconds after that he reboots in the red charging screen. Could it be that the battery is damaged? A few hours (and resets) later the phone seems to be dead, he is not reacting anymore... I am now waiting for my new 1400mAh battery. Could be a broken fuse? Do someone tell me were the fuse for the battery is located?

Btw is it also normal that the battery is a little bit flexible and soft (like old chewing gum?).

[bftiedt]

are you still fixing 2gs one1? i have one that i broke a flex cable on and the wifi connection on the comm board is messed up

[Melech518]

^Wow, I am shocked. What a douche!

[of1982]

Hello to you all.
i have iphone 2g 8gb. and i have some issue with the mic.
Sometimes during a call the other side can hear me {not all the time}
But if i turn the speaker the can hear me.

i try to restor and install the 2.2 and 3.0 edition and that dont help.

Is it the flex cable ?


Thank you very much

[cashiphone.com]

I heard of ways where a water damaged iPhone can be still fixed as there are companies that specialize in that. Usually the motherboard is affected most. Are there any ways where it can be fixed using different liquid solutions? I know one company uses 5 different liquid solutions in addition to ultrasonic cleaning and I'm guessing one of them is alcohol, wish i knew the rest.

[cpjr]

I heard of ways where a water damaged iPhone can be still fixed as there are companies that specialize in that. Usually the motherboard is affected most. Are there any ways where it can be fixed using different liquid solutions? I know one company uses 5 different liquid solutions in addition to ultrasonic cleaning and I'm guessing one of them is alcohol, wish i knew the rest.

Nope.

You cant fix a piece of hardware that is burned out by cleaning it. If its a corrosion issue thats different, but if the phone is on when it gets wet its toasted, not corroded. That would be like saying "I cracked my glass, but I wiped it with Windex and its not cracked anymore"