Replacement iPhone 5 backs

[dabbler]

Has any one found any sites etc selling the aluminium backs? - I haven't found any yet.

Back with the 4/4s replacement backs were so cheap and easy to buy. Would be great to know that if you do scratch up the back a replacement is cheap and easy to order.

 

[AppleFinn]

It's not going to be easy to replace the back of the iPhone 5. The iPhone 4/4S had the back slide off when you take the screws out, while the iPhone 5 has reverted to the design of previous designs where the screen comes out. The rear casing in this case is effectively the entire enclosure minus the display. To replace it you would need to take apart the entire device and it is going to be much more expensive not even factoring labor.

 

[pcguru83]

Has any one found any sites etc selling the aluminium backs? - I haven't found any yet.

Back with the 4/4s replacement backs were so cheap and easy to buy. Would be great to know that if you do scratch up the back a replacement is cheap and easy to order.

I don' think this is possible. Apple has gone to a true unibody construction on the iPhone 5 and the back aluminum panel is actually part of the main structure of the phone.

If you look at iFixit's tear down you can see that you now access the internals from the front again, and not the rear. Here's them accessing it from the front:

And here's the best one I could find showing the unibody construction:

Replacement panels aren't happening this time!

On a side note, I never understood all the complaints about the back glass. Sure it might shatter if you drop it, but I don't think people fully appreciated just how much having a back glass made it incredibly scratch resistant. I for one will miss the full glass black. I thought it was genius.

 

[dabbler]

I see! I had no idea the 5 was constructed like this (mine haven't arrived yet), still there is hope for a oem rear/side shell I guess. It would be great for an oem to make a rear/side shell and powder coat it. Would be a lot tougher id guess!