Gadgetory

if your iPhone's front panel or screen or cracked like this ones is you can either live with it buy a new one or as I'm going to show you here fix it just know that this isn't something you should do if you have an Apple Care Plus or other warranty that covers accidental damage and I suggest you watch my video on what to know before trying to fix a smartphone or tablet it will help you decide if you should repair the phone yourself or just take it to a shop and lastly know that by following these instructions you do so at your own risk before beginning you'll need to get the necessary replacement parts and tools as the iPhones front panel and LCD are fused together I suggest buying both as a single unit you'll find them online between 70 and 120 dollars just be sure that you buy the right one for your phone as for tools you'll need a few thin metal blades a plastic spudger or case opening tool tweezers Philips triple zero screwdriver a tiny flat-head screwdriver and a special pentalobe screwdriver which you'll use to remove the phone's tamper resistant outer case screws again you can pick these up online if you don't have them lastly I'll be replacing the panel on an AT&T iPhone 4 but you can use these same basic steps on iphone 4s from other carriers and the iPhone 4s you may however encounter differences such as the location and type of vibration motor and the position of the motherboard screws the first step is to backup all the iPhones data using either iCloud or iTunes just in case something goes wrong you'll also need to eject the SIM card using the eject tool or a paper clip with those tasks done you can open the iPhone by removing the two screws located along the bottom edge then slide the back cover upwards and lift it off unfortunately before we can install the new display in front panel we'll need to remove most of the iPhones internal hardware we'll start with the battery remove the battery connector screw and disconnect it from the motherboard now carefully remove the tiny pressure contact located underneath noting its location and position for reassembly by gently prying on and then pulling up on the battery's plastic pull tab it should come loose from the frame next remove the metal shields that cover the upper portion of the motherboard and the docking connector cable as you remove each screw note its location the screws are different lengths and will need to go back into their original position now disconnect and remove the rear camera and then detach all the cables along the top and side of the motherboard you'll need to gently pry the docking connector cable away from the metal shield underneath remove the hidden motherboard screw located under the round white sticker near the battery pull tab the screw under the docking connector cable at the bottom and the metal stand off from the top near the headphone jack then remove the motherboard lifting up from the bottom lastly remove the speaker enclosure and vibration motor at last we can turn our attention to the broken display assembly now it's held to the metal frame with ten screws three along each side and one in each corner you'll need to remove them all keeping track of the washers under the six side screws now carefully insert a thin metal or plastic tool between the metal frame and front glass panel along either the top or the bottom edge and gently pry the panel loose now two warnings here do not insert the tool too far or you may damage the phone's other internal components also if the glass panel is cracked take care not to injure yourself during the removal process now as you pull the panel away from the phone you'll need to thread its cables through the metal frame we're now ready to install the new display assembly so first remove the plastic film from the back of the display if it has one then carefully thread the displays cables back through the frame making sure not to crimp them in the process gently press the panel onto the frame and secure it with the appropriate screws and washers all that's left is to reassemble the phone by working your way back through the steps we just covered start with the vibration motor the speaker assembly the motherboard the rear camera the motherboard shields battery and back cover as you work through the process be careful not to damage any of the small metal contacts on the cable connectors speaker assembly or the battery connectors pressure contact as fixes go this one isn't too tough but it does take a lot of patience and attention to detail now if you have questions about this fix or mine cracking open videos you can contact me through Twitter and to see more teardown photos of the iPhone iPad or other gadgets go to TechRepublic comm forward slash cracking open for CNET and TechRepublic I'm build that way