When I heard about the upcoming iPhone 3GS I was excited. My iPhone 3G had a cracked screen that was getting worse by the day and I'd convinced myself that $299 was actually reasonable in lieu of taking on the risky effort of repairing my own phone. Then AT&T dropped the bomb that current iPhone 3G customers would have to pay a hefty $200 surcharge, on top of the $299, and in addition to extending your contract for two years, to get the new phone. Suddenly the repair effort seemed like the way to go, if only to avoid being intentionally screwed by AT&T!
 I'd originally noticed just a crack, but started losing pixels about a week later. Because of the pixels, I assumed that both the glass digitizer and the LCD were destroyed. Here I'm running the free Flashlight app so you can see massive number of the dead pixels.
 I bought the replacement parts from a dealer on eBay for around $80 including priority shipping. In addition to the digitizer glass, the LCD, and the adhesive pieces, they included a set of written instructions with a link to a video on YouTube, as well as all the tools I'd need to do the job (the toolkit, the suction cup, and a paperclip).
 The first step was easy, and not scary at all. Pop out the SIM tray, and remove the two screws from the bottom. The simple stuff ended here.
 Next, the small suction cup is used to pull the home-button end of the screen assembly from the phone. I can't remove it yet though, because three minuscule ribbon cables are connection this assembly to the motherboard.
 I've already disconnected the cables in this photo, they're numbered 1, 2, and 3, almost as if Apple had expected people to do this. While number 1 and 2 just pop off their connectors, number three slips into the connector and has a small white locking tab. Obviously the hardest part is that until you've done it once, you're scared you'll break a connector or rip a cable. It all came apart nicely though, the aforementioned video helped.
 The next part is to remove six incredibly tiny screws holding the screen assembly together. Two dozen of these screws would fit on my thumb nail.
 Once the screws are out, you have to apply a little pressure to separate the LCD from the glass digitizer screen. This part didn't go well and my broken LCD broke a little more, but eventually they came apart. At this point I learned that my glass screen wasn't actually cracked at all. This is good because it meant I didn't have to pry the thin plastic carrier and home button assembly from the glass, saving me a step that could involve breaking something that isn't already broken. It also means I can sell my new digitizer glass and adhesive pieces on eBay.
 You can see the ugly cracks, now worse than before, in the LCD panel.
 Here's the back of the new LCD panel, with it's mirror finish after removing some protective film. The metal piece is the carrier and is simply stuck on with some exceptionally thin adhesive strips which you can barely see running down the edges of the LCD panel. These were already in place, and revealed when I removed the protective film.
 Once the LCD and carrier are stuck together, the six tiny screws mate it back up with the digitizer glass. Here you can see the three ribbon cables sticking off of the completed screen assembly. We've come to the absolute hardest part of this entire process, getting ribbon cable 3 reinserted in the appropriate connector. It took me a few tries and some stressful minutes trying to get it into place, worrying that I might scratch or damage it somehow in the process. Argh.
Once done, cables 1 and 2 were a snap, literally. At that point I lowered the screen assembly down onto the body and lined up the two external screws that hold it in place before I thought to take any photos. After tightening those up and reinserting the SIM tray, it's time to boot the sucker up... waiting... stressing...
 It works! Again running the Flashlight app so you can see the screen. It works wonderfully. The only thing that seems to be different is that if I put pressure on the screen it seems to flex ever so slightly. It's probably impossible for me to get a factory seal on the gasket that surrounds the screen. And once the rubber case I use is on the phone I can't even feel the flex anymore.
I love it when a plan comes together. |
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