Clear iPhone 5 Kit Review

[iRevival]

OK. So yours truly went ahead and pre-ordered one of these kits when they first made them available. They finally shipped them on 2/1 and I upgraded to SpeedPost so I got mine a few days ago. I finally got the time to install it so I figured what better way to show off my new iPhone 5 and give a product review at the same time.



First things first, it does look badass when you're finished! But on to the review.

Build Quality:
Well, it's all plastic (obviously) so don't get your hopes up when it comes to durability. That being said it does feel nice when holding it in your hand. It is slightly larger than the OEM aluminum ones (it fits in my hip holster just a bit snugger) but I'd say that without noticing it in my hip holster I would not have been able to tell the difference via touch.

Another cool thing is that all the buttons and sim tray are clear as well. It just looks cool.

The back glass is actually plastic too. It feels like glass and is see through like glass, but definitely plastic. I actually broke the piece on mine (I used the see through blue so I'd match my home button a bit) but because of them being plastic still installed it and you can't even see it. The issue is that the holes cut for the camera and diffuser are very tight. Mine cracked a bit right by the diffuser while I was installing the diffuser. Oh yeah, while you're at it make sure you order some adhesive to secure the back glass because this kit does not come with it. (Harder to find than you would think too.)

Assembly:
The screw holes are in their proper places, however, when predrilling the holes some plastic remnants may be left over. The issue with this was that I could not get those remnants out and really had to push to get some of the screws all the way in. So some elbow grease is a must. That being said, 1 of the screw holes actually loosened from the plastic while I was tightening it. Anyone who attempts this really just needs to be cautious because it seems some holes can take the force of thor while others would crumble under my 6 year olds grip.

Also, those of us who have done OEM color swaps know they don't ship with the power button door pin. Well these don't either. A paper clip cut to size is the perfect replacement on the OEM kits, however they are slightly too big for the hole on this kit, thus my power button isn't quite as "clicky" as I like it to be now. This is a mild annoyance that I am sure I will find a fix for eventually. You also need to remember to transfer over the metal discs behind the buttons as these do not ship with the frame.

Signal:
I haven't noticed any drop in my 4G signal at all (although I was coming from a copy colored frame already.) I also don't live near LTE coverage so I'll update the next time I hit LTE to let you know if the kit affects that.

Price:
For $65 I'm pleased I suppose. Most will get there's for $45 (as this was the price with shipping available of their website. I upgraded to express later on) so I doubt too many will be displeased. These are also popping up at several of my other suppliers for about $20 so I'd assume these would be a popular repair and not a heavy expense.

Conclusion:
All in all, if I figure out how to secure my power button better I'd be in love. The install was a real pain and I'm sure more than a few curse worse were muttered (or screamed) during the process, but in the end I can't wait to pull this out in public. I would still recommend ordering 1 or 2 for those of us who have shops before stocking up on them. They come in several colors (I went with the basic "white" one) and I'd like to get my hands on a few more before thinking about offering them to my customers. Those of you DIYers out there will like this kit a lot.

[joshmoulton]

Yeah, I came across some of the clear/plastic ones different colors, just can't see myself wanting one. They look cool, that's the extent of my liking lol - nice review

[unklbyl]

Ok, pretty talk aside, pain in the butt factor on a scale of one to ten what would you rate these for the typical "not a telephone store owner" or alpha geek?
I love the look, and kind of want to play, but don't know.

[iRevival]

@unklbyl That's a tough question. These clear ones are definitely a bigger headache than their aluminum counterparts. On a scale of 1 to 10 for the average user of say these are a 7.5-8. They definitely aren't easy if you're going to attempt it with no prior knowledge of taking apart an iPhone. If you have tinkered with a previous iPhone model (especially tried a frame swap) then that number can drop a point or two because you understand how apple assembles things to an extent.

@josh I'm probably going to end up with 1 of every color next month lol

[Cowboy]

Nice write up

[Jonway85]

great write up