3GS, dropped but NOT cracked, screen works intermittently, need advice!

[eyeheartny]

Hi folks,

I dropped my 18.5 month old iPhone 3GS last night, and today it started behaving weirdly-- if I touch the bottom of the phone wrong, the screen goes white. If I hold it wrong, or inadvertently squeeze/move the sides of the phone, the screen will sometimes display in opposite colors from what it should, or upside down, etc. There are no visible cracks in the screen and the touchscreen responds perfectly when I can see what it is I'm trying to touch. If I fiddle with it by repeatedly locking/activating the screen, it will sometimes come back to normal working order and allow me to use the phone. It's not ideal by any means, but it sorta works. I can receive calls (got a voicemail just a bit ago) and was able to retrieve it normally after I got the phone to sorta work again.

I am wondering if there would be any benefit to trying to open up the phone, or if anyone has any ideas, suggestions, etc. I don't have AppleCare (stupid, I guess). It seems more than anything like something is loose inside, rather than the screen itself being damaged, but I also have no idea what I'm talking about here.

I was planning on upgrading to the new iPhone in August. I renewed my contract in December '09 when I got the phone. I can't afford to get the iPhone 4 now as a replacement and ALSO get the 5 when it comes out in a few months.

Would really appreciate any advice, tips, suggestions, etc!

 

[ylerT]

It's your LCD. It's very common for the connection to become "loose". It's fairly simple to open and make sure the connection is seated properly. If it is and you still have issues, you may need a new LCD. Just make sure the connection on the logic board itself looks good.

 

[-aggie-]

It's your LCD. It's very common for the connection to become "loose". It's fairly simple to open and make sure the connection is seated properly. If it is and you still have issues, you may need a new LCD. Just make sure the connection on the logic board itself looks good.

I haven't heard of ribbon 3 becoming loose from a drop. Perhaps from opening the iPhone, but not being dropped. Also, if #3 is loose, it's probably stripped and can't be fixed.

 

[ylerT]

I haven't heard of ribbon 3 becoming loose from a drop. Perhaps from opening the iPhone, but not being dropped. Also, if #3 is loose, it's probably stripped and can't be fixed.

Well since ribbon #3 isn't the LCD connection and I said nothing about the proximity sensor/earpiece, he should be fine.