iPhone white screen of death

KhuntienNang said:

alright, i know this must be the n-th thread about white screen of death on iphone.

i did drop my iphone slightly last evening (i did many times before but the phone had always been fine), it's iphone 3G, wears a plastic cover as protection. i didnt check the condition of the phone when i dropped it, and only found out about the white screen right before i was going to sleep. i was too tired and thought i'd take care of it in the morning, and i let it charged overnight.

now, i have been working on it since morning. i tried the power/home combo, tried the home/up-volume/power combo, each done multiple times, none worked. i knew the phone was working because i could play songs, it rang / vibrate when i used another phone to call it, and itunes detected it, i even could back it up. the only problem is, the whole screen is white and i cant see anything else.

so, i decided to restore it on itunes. now, restore is done. and the screen is still white.

what sould i do? i have done every possible way, except going to apple store. it's weekend, and long weekend at that too. does apple store open on labor day? but i'd like to keep that to last resort though.

anyone has any other advice?

Click to expand...

try jailbraik and than restore

Sounds like your screen is messed up.

Try a DFU restore, otherwise take it to the store.

http://www.iclarified.com/entry/index.php?enid=1034

OKAY i'm only going to post this here. because I'm not going to register to 100 different sites to say the same thing. and... well whatever.
(feel free to plagiarise.)


There appears to be about THREE types of "white screen of death"
- white "apple logo" screen of death (which is really BSOD)
- white screen of death - software
- white screen of death - hardware

The former 2 appear solvable with a few button presses. IF however, you dropped your iphone or such. you may experience WSOD #3, which cannot be fixed with random button presses, DFU mode, restores, and other magical fixes.

IF you are under warranty. then go take it to apple or whoever.

IF you are NOT under warranty. Then time to take apart your iphone.

PROBLEM:
Basically, what has happened is the connection wire (1) has come loose. My theory is the heat from the iphone (and from your head) has caused it to stick to the screen portion, and consequently gets pulled off the board during a drop.

SOLUTION:
- TRY random button fixes before resorting to this. As you risk your iphone being damaged or voiding warranty.

- SEARCH youtube: open iphone (to find how to open your iphone. it's pretty easy actually)

- open iphone (well duh)
required tools:
- small phillips head screw driver (the kind from your local $2/discount store) note the screw size on the bottom of your iphone.
- dry steady hands (do not rip apart the iphone cover)
- suction cup (e.g. from a GPS holder) or a VERY small prying object (...)

- you will see a few stickers labelled 1 to 6. (LOOK ONLINE for pictures, optional)
- stickers (2) and (3) will overlap, so you might only see (2).
- sticker (1) however, should be visible. if it's not, it is stuck to the iphone screen. (refer to internet pictures or youtube to confirm where it is... from memory it's next to 2 & 3, but on the screen portion so it only appears as a black blob... as the number-side is stuck to the screen in case you were wondering)

IF sticker (1) not visible
- pull it off the iphone (screen portion, {cf. board portion}). it has glued itself on.

Cable 1 is currently detached.
- reattach it (might be a bit finicky; just picture yourself trying to plug in a miniature multi-pin power socket with your entire thumb obscuring your view. nothing to it)
- the attachment point should appear as... well the opposite of the plug. basically a bunch of gold pins. (or was that the other way around)

FINISHED.

to confirm the cable's whereabouts.
- SEARCH youtube: iphone repair assembly
- title: iPhone 3G Assembly - Repair Tutorial
- also useful is "iPhone 3G Disassembly - Repair Tutorial"


NOTE: This has been written for the iphone 3G.

NOTE2: If this did not fix your iphone or if it made it worse. you either were not careful enough, you have absolutely no luck or skills with electronics, or the information i gave you was not appropriate because you have an iphone 3GS, iphone 2G, ipod touch, ipod, or some other kind of i-device.
Or, your problem is something entirely different, like a nanobot entered your i-phone and chewed through cable 1.

NOTE3: I do not recommend opening your iphone 3G (it will void your warranty), and do not take responsibility for any damage you do to it. I do recommend you take it to your authorised apple service centre and give them a good sob story.

Enjoy!

hello!

i have the same problem, except that i have vertical black stripes on the screen.
tried restore and everything. nothing worked.
i am a month out of varranty.
i do not live in the us, so i don't have the option to get it replaced even if i pay. the only repair option i get is my carrier, where they told me they will fix it for $500+. that's not gonna happen obviously. so my other option is to take it to some private iphone-butcher store, where they charge $200 for a new lcd.
however if I can fix this by trying to reattach the cables, i will take my chances. only problem is the stripes. does it still worth to try or is my lcd surely broken?

i really appreciate the help,
thanks

White Screen of death - advise needed

Hi there,
I have got the white screen of death after I dropped my iPhone 3G and have tried all the above suggestions i.e. the holding in of the buttons, replacing the LCD and it still continues to have the white screen is there anyone out there that could possible offer any other suggestions that I could try other than throwing it against a wall which I feel like doing with this dam device. Any advise would be most welcome.

my best bet before opening your phone or anything crazy like that..I would take it to the Genius bar..more than likely they will fix it for you without charging the $199 fee. I have been out of warranty for about 3 months and have taken my phone up there 3 times since this problem and they have fixed my phone and replaced it once for free. It really just depends on which Genius you get and how upset/confused you seem about the situation lol If you go in there saying "well I dropped it so yeah" they won't care at all. Just act totally confused and baffled by the situation..chances are if they think you are being sincere they will just do what it needs for free.

If not and you are willing to risk jacking up your phone trying to open it go right ahead. I've opened my phone once and its harder than it seems..if you pull to hard the screen will come completely off and the ribbons will break and the wires will be loose and then you are screwed. Luckily the Genius bar fixed mine hahaha

another Genius bar tip..go to the new stores..they are more likely to help you because they are trying to build their customer service scores..so if its your first time going to the Genius Bar most def let them know that and they will take care of you.

hope this helps!

Lcd

when you have the blue lines in your screen your lcd is bad. most repair shops can fix it for $100 with an OEM Replacement Screen not some crap off eBay! or you can pay the apple store $199 for out of warranty repair. 99% of the time when the iPhone hits the ground it is not a software issue at all. and if you dont know what you are doing and open it yourself you can cause more damage. now if the phone is under warranty and you can see no marks on the phone showing it was dropped I would take it back to Apple and say when I tried to use this today this is what I found!

white screen backlight never completely shuts off

hello,
a few weeks ago I slipped on some ice, and landed on my 3gs whichwas in my back pocket. I've had the white screen ever since. Now it seems that barely noticeable, the backlight never completely shuts off. I only noticed this in a dark room. The phone seems to still function, (receive calls, voice recorder activates when I hold down the home button). I'm prepared to try to replace the LCD screen but I was concerned when I noticed the backlight staying on. I have had it apart and checked and reseated connectors 1,2, and 3. Any advice on this backlight situation?

Thank you
Larry

just replace the lcd you will be fine. that is the only light in the phone.

same problame as ribusa

I have the exact same problem as ribusa
any progress in finding the solution ?

thanks

zsoltipi said:

I have the exact same problem as ribusa
any progress in finding the solution ?

thanks

Click to expand...

then the solution is the same as ribusa.....replace the lcd and you will be fine!

I replaced the screen with one I got on ebay yesterday and all is well once again. I wound up paying $60.00 for the screen and really enjoyed doing the job. The whole job only took maybe 25 minutes even for a novice like me. Thank you for your advice. I not sure I would've tried this without your advice.

Thanks again
Ribusa

ribusa said:

I replaced the screen with one I got on ebay yesterday and all is well once again. I wound up paying $60.00 for the screen and really enjoyed doing the job. The whole job only took maybe 25 minutes even for a novice like me. Thank you for your advice. I not sure I would've tried this without your advice.

Thanks again
Ribusa

Click to expand...

did you replace the touch screen or the lcd? the OP has a lcd issue. for $60 you either replaced the touch screen or bought a used lcd cause the cost of a new lcd for 3gs is alot higher.

iPhone 3G white screen of death – solution!

I’ve had this 3G iPhone for a month now, and just pulled it out of my pocket to see a solid white screen. This is interesting at first because I have it locked and password protected, and know I have a half-full battery.

A quick press of the Sleep button shuts it down, but another quick press simply goes back to the white screen. WTF?

reconnected but still not working

I tried your fix, which thanks much for posting it, but I'm still stuck with the white screen. Does anyone have any ideas?

My white screen occurred immediately after dropping it, but the phone still responds normally to all other situations (receives calls, connects to computer fine, etc).

durstgt said:

I tried your fix, which thanks much for posting it, but I'm still stuck with the white screen. Does anyone have any ideas?

My white screen occurred immediately after dropping it, but the phone still responds normally to all other situations (receives calls, connects to computer fine, etc).

Click to expand...

i had the same issue and cable number 1 was detached. i put it back in and turn it all back on, but unfortunately. it did not fix my problem either.


please help!!

no doubt your lcd is bad..........it doesnt take much to damage them when you drop the phone. if your lcd was unplugged you would not get a white screen you would get nothing. sometimes you can drop a iPhone hard enough that it can damage the motherboard but 95% of the time it is ok.

Utter confusion

Okay so, I drop my iphone alot. There are a few cracks in the screen, but not on the actual part you see things on. I dropped it last night onto a hardwood floor and when I went to go pick it up, there was a white screen. When I press the home button with the lock button to reset it, nothing happens. If I press the lock button, the screen turns on and off. It won't sync with my computer but when I plug it into my dock it will play music. I can recieve and answer my calls but thats it. I've tried to unlock it but I can't get it without seeing the numbers. I can make emergency calls and anwers the phone so the touch screen still works. What happened to my phone? can I fix it or should I just move on and buy another?
-Alyssa Michelle

I have got the white screen of death after I dropped my iPhone 3G and have tried all the above suggestions i.e. the holding in of the buttons, replacing the LCD and it still continues to have the white screen is there anyone out there that could possible offer any other suggestions that I could try other than throwing it against a wall which I feel like doing with this dam device. Any advise would be most welcome.

white screen of death after LCD replacement

I have got the same prob as williamsmith.
I got water damage on my iphone LCD and it was white screen with gray lines on it. I confirmed everything else was working fine so I ordered new LCD from zeetron and replaced it. Now it has white screen without any lines and everything else still works(digitizer, speaker, mic, calling and receiving, play music etc). However, itunes does not recognize the phone so I am not sure what else can I do.
Please let me know if there is a solution...

jebi said:

I have got the same prob as williamsmith.
I got water damage on my iphone LCD and it was white screen with gray lines on it. I confirmed everything else was working fine so I ordered new LCD from zeetron and replaced it. Now it has white screen without any lines and everything else still works(digitizer, speaker, mic, calling and receiving, play music etc). However, itunes does not recognize the phone so I am not sure what else can I do.
Please let me know if there is a solution...

Click to expand...

well half of your problem is you ordered an lcd from zeetron. they do not sell genuine apple parts they sell aftermarket parts and say APPIE on them not APPLE. the guy will flat out lie to you about that. with that said you may have more water damage than you understand. you need to completely disassemble your iphone and leave every part in rice for several days. this will draw any remaining moisture out. now your charging port is the first piece to go bad when water damage occurs. you need to go to radio shack and buy a circuit board cleaner from them. I cant remember the name the bottle is in my office and clean the contacts real good when you take it out of the rice. you should also use a real soft tooth bruch to clean the board. you need to make sure any corrosion is gone. the dock assembly could be the reason you are having trouble with iTunes. at best you have a 50/50 chance of survival after being in the water.

good luck

thanks

Chargit,
I appriciate your reply. I do agree on your comment about possible more damage than I thought. I am planning to disassamble the whole phone and dry/clean all parts as there is no more choises left.
Will keep you guys posted.

Thanks
Jebi

Another sad iPhone..

Hi there,

Similar issue with my iPhone. Dropped it a few days ago from my pocket, with its hard cover on. I don't drop it often; this may be the 6th time it's been dropped over 1.5 years. I got the white screen, tried the dual button restart several times, and was not able to get rid of it. However, I also got a light blue screen with lines initially, which has disappeared since (white only now).

Got home and did a reset/"reformat." The phone responds to iTunes and I can hear new voicemails and emails. But when I call the phone, it doesn't ring and you can't hear me talking on the other line (even though apparently answering works).

Opened up the phone and Cable 1 was disconnected, but I reconnected it and no dice. Took it to the Genius Bar (I'm out of warranty) and they weren't able to fix it. The guy said it was definitely a display issue but didn't really go into more detail; I pressed for more info but just got a generic answer (which I probably didn't understand completely anyway).

I do have another iPhone I can take spare parts from. Does it seem like just an LCD problem or more in depth? Do you think there are any other parts that are potentially broken? I will probably try to replace the LCD myself in the next couple days and update.

Any help is GREATLY appreciated. Thanks so much for a great thread so far....really helpful.