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Has anyone replaced their iPhone glass?

iMas70

iMas70

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Sep 4, 2012
1,454
210
MA
My daughter dropped her iPhone and cracked the glass. I guess one of the cases that she bought for it should have been in use that day but it wasn't. I've found that I can buy the glass and tools to install it for about $10.00. It's the glass only (no digitizer). From what I've read, it can take a few hours to do with the correct tools the first time.

If you've done it, how hard is the process?
 
It depends of what iphone you want to repair, if its the iphone 5 for example, ifixit have some new videos of iphone 5 being repaired (one of them its the glass repair procedure) it doesnt seem that hard :3
 
I've replaced the glass on a couple of 3Gs. (Same reason as you. Kids and their aversion to cases! Arrrgh!). Not a difficult job. Maybe an hour for the first and 30 mins for the second.

Are you sure you don't need a new digitizer? They're usually bonded to the front glass anyway aren't they? (IIRC my cost was about $30-40 per phone)

iFixit are great. Maybe follow their directions and disassemble the phone FIRST, before ordering parts? Just so you can see exactly what component(s) is/are damaged.
 
I replaced my iPhone 4 back glass a few days ago, and it was pretty easy; all you need to do is to follow the instruction on ifixit.com. I should not take you more than 5 minutes.
 
The iPhone 5 "glass-only" procedure looks pretty tricky...involving a heat gun to remove the glass from the digitizer and special glue to reattach the new glass.

Much easier would be replacing the glass/digitizer/front camera etc assembly which I've seen priced on Ebay in the $130 range.

It's the older iPhones that are easier/cheaper to fix glass-wise.
 
iMas70 said:
My daughter dropped her iPhone and cracked the glass. I guess one of the cases that she bought for it should have been in use that day but it wasn't. I've found that I can buy the glass and tools to install it for about $10.00. It's the glass only (no digitizer). From what I've read, it can take a few hours to do with the correct tools the first time.

If you've done it, how hard is the process?
Click to expand...

Are you trying to replace the back glass or screen glass?
 
I missed an important detail in my first post. It's an iPhone 5. Looks like just the glass needs to be replaced. There is a crack that starts in the upper right hand corner and goes about half way down from the top and one that branches off of that to the left about a quarter of the way down.
 
iMas70 said:
I missed an important detail in my first post. It's an iPhone 5. Looks like just the glass needs to be replaced. There is a crack that starts in the upper right hand corner and goes about half way down from the top and one that branches off of that to the left about a quarter of the way down.
Click to expand...

That is an important detail. I just watched a 5 glass replacement video on YouTube. It's a complicated process compared to the 3G's I've worked on. Things that scare me:
  • The heat gun being so close to the sensitive LCD screen,
  • The fragility of the digitizer, LCD and the flexible connectors,
  • Their close proximity to the broken front glass,
  • Potential seepage of the solvents used to clean everything up,
  • The firm but precise force needed to remove the plastic film between the old glass and the digitizer (I snapped an iPod touch glass once - just while trying to open the case).
  • The liquid goo needed to bond the new glass to the digitizer (high chance for dust and air bubbles being permanently embedded in your repair)

It makes Apple's $150 glass replacement seem a safer bet. Having said that, for $10 I'd give it a try if I had nothing to lose. The downside might be that if self-repair goes wrong, Apple might then refuse the $150 replacement since the phone has been tampered with.
 
Do not even bother trying to do a glass(digitiser) only replacement on a 4,4s or 5 it'll only end in tears! You need to buy a digitizer/LCD Kit that's already bonded or goto apple and pay the $150
 
iMas70 said:
My daughter dropped her iPhone and cracked the glass. I guess one of the cases that she bought for it should have been in use that day but it wasn't. I've found that I can buy the glass and tools to install it for about $10.00. It's the glass only (no digitizer). From what I've read, it can take a few hours to do with the correct tools the first time.

If you've done it, how hard is the process?
Click to expand...

It is impossible, the digitizer is fused with glass.
 
Arran said:
That is an important detail. I just watched a 5 glass replacement video on YouTube. It's a complicated process compared to the 3G's I've worked on. Things that scare me:
  • The heat gun being so close to the sensitive LCD screen,
  • The fragility of the digitizer, LCD and the flexible connectors,
  • Their close proximity to the broken front glass,
  • Potential seepage of the solvents used to clean everything up,
  • The firm but precise force needed to remove the plastic film between the old glass and the digitizer (I snapped an iPod touch glass once - just while trying to open the case).
  • The liquid goo needed to bond the new glass to the digitizer (high chance for dust and air bubbles being permanently embedded in your repair)

It makes Apple's $150 glass replacement seem a safer bet. Having said that, for $10 I'd give it a try if I had nothing to lose. The downside might be that if self-repair goes wrong, Apple might then refuse the $150 replacement since the phone has been tampered with.
Click to expand...

Arran hit the nail on the head! I could not have said it any better myself. The best way to go about this is to A) Purchase the LCD Digitizer assembly and do it yourself. Or B) Pay the $150 to Apple.

I can tell you from first hand experience the high quality LCD Digitizer assemblies cost $90+ wholesale on a bulk order. So you can expect to pay around $150 for the part itself. With the price point of a high quality assembly where its at right now, I would recommend just going through Apple for the repair atm.

If you could save a few bucks by doing the repair yourself, of course that would be a better option, but right now its not really worth it.
 
toshibauser said:
I replaced my iPhone 4 back glass a few days ago, and it was pretty easy; all you need to do is to follow the instruction on ifixit.com. I should not take you more than 5 minutes.
Click to expand...

There's a major difference between the front and rear. The one you changed is far easier & less expensive than the display side.
 
I don't have patience and want everything done when I start it so I think I'll pass on doing the fix myself. So it's $150.00 to have it replaced at an Apple store?
 
iPhone 4S shattered glass

I live in Alberta, Canada. I dropped my phone and the camera side shattered. I went to the Apple Store and just let them fix it. $30.00 and good as new. It was the same price if I bought and installed it myself. :)
 
rabidz7 said:
It is impossible, the digitizer is fused with glass.
Click to expand...

It's not impossible just very very hard. You can use a hotplate and metal string to remove the lcd from the glass but it is not recommended. In order to reattach the new digitizer properly you also need a autoclave. Stick with the apple repair, replacing the whole assembly yourself, or a third party repair company.
 
GO4theau said:
I live in Alberta, Canada. I dropped my phone and the camera side shattered. I went to the Apple Store and just let them fix it. $30.00 and good as new. It was the same price if I bought and installed it myself. :)
Click to expand...

30 dollars is really good, but that is not the case in US. If you don't have the warranty, the back class cost 49.95 for the part plus 99 dollars for the labor. This was what apple store told me when I called them. So, I ordered the parted from ifixit.com and replace it myself, which still costed me 50 dollars.
 
maxosx said:
There's a major difference between the front and rear. The one you changed is far easier & less expensive than the display side.
Click to expand...

I dropped my iphone4 too, how do u get the front off, mine is cracked in front. What is the digilitizer
 
Carlitamaderis said:
I dropped my iphone4 too, how do u get the front off, mine is cracked in front. What is the digilitizer
Click to expand...

It is really complicated and expensive to replace the front glass. I don't think it is worth it to replace since it has been 3 years since its release. If I were you, I would rather seller the phone for parts and get back money for the down payment for iPhone 5.
 
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