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This "glass only" thing worries me. I think that's biting off more than I'm willing to chew on a $600 phone. I'll see how it works out for the guy a post above me, though.

I don't know about all these glass backs for $10-$15. There is another one listed on ebay that is $80 from China and shows the back of the plate and advertises it as "full glass back housing". That would certainly do the trick.

Excited to see how it works for the poor guy who shattered his glass.... keep us posted!
 
This back replacement reminds of those old Nokia phones from almost a decade ago where we could change the housing, just more in the high-end and better materials.

Engraving names on the back, making it dual-color, changing the material, having our favorite teams logo on there, the Apple logo as a diamond, adding gold and wood, the possibilities are now endless! Maybe after all this whining about shattered glass, this was a blessing in disguise in the first place because your own clumsiness can turn into your own creativity and personal touch. The two little screws gave us hope. Just go buck naked and wild now! Nomore cases. Nomore worries lying the phone on the back because you think it would scratch. Show off all that beauty! And if the back breaks, heck, make it even more personal and make it look even better! You can decide now if you want to pimp it out!
 
This back replacement reminds of those old Nokia phones from almost a decade ago where we could change the housing, just more in the high-end and better materials.

Engraving names on the back, making it dual-color, changing the material, having our favorite teams logo on there, the Apple logo as a diamond, adding gold and wood, the possibilities are now endless! Maybe after all this whining about shattered glass, this was a blessing in disguise in the first place because your own clumsiness can turn into your own creativity and personal touch. The two little screws gave us hope. Just go buck naked and wild now! Nomore cases. Nomore worries lying the phone on the back because you think it would scratch. Show off all that beauty! And if the back breaks, heck, make it even more personal and make it look even better! You can decide now if you want to pimp it out!

This. I'm excited to see what we can get :D
 
I'm interested in purchasing one so that I can have a white back, but I'm not exactly sure what the distinction is between the "Back cover housing" and "Back cover FULL housing". They're both from the same seller.

White Back Cover Housing (US $24.99):
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Original-iP...Accessories&hash=item4aa2c6baa8#ht_1984wt_921

White Back Cover FULL Housing (US $89.99):
http://cgi.ebay.com/Original-iPhone...Accessories&hash=item4aa2df77e1#ht_1995wt_921

There are cheaper ones such as this one from another seller (US $9.69):
http://cgi.ebay.com/White-Back-Batt...Accessories&hash=item27b341338c#ht_3133wt_952
Though I noticed that the cheaper ones have the GB engraved on the back, which the real iPhone backs don't have anymore.

I'm not sure which I would need if I just want to change the back color from black to white.
 
I'm interested in purchasing one so that I can have a white back, but I'm not exactly sure what the distinction is between the "Back cover housing" and "Back cover FULL housing". They're both from the same seller.

White Back Cover Housing (US $24.99):
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Original-iP...Accessories&hash=item4aa2c6baa8#ht_1984wt_921

White Back Cover FULL Housing (US $89.99):
http://cgi.ebay.com/Original-iPhone...Accessories&hash=item4aa2df77e1#ht_1995wt_921

There are cheaper ones such as this one from another seller (US $9.69):
http://cgi.ebay.com/White-Back-Batt...Accessories&hash=item27b341338c#ht_3133wt_952
Though I noticed that the cheaper ones have the GB engraved on the back, which the real iPhone backs don't have anymore.

I'm not sure which I would need if I just want to change the back color from black to white.

AFAIK, The cheaper one is JUST the glass. You will have to pry out your old glass (and you will probably break it), glue in the new one, and not damage anything. The more expensive one is the WHOLE back piece. You take out two screws, remove the black back piece, replace it with the white one, put the two screws on, and enjoy it; and you will still have the fully intact black one.
 
white back

Has anyone found the white back which covers the camera and flash? I've purchased a couple and both just came with holes over these two items... Thanks
 
The guy that posted the two imagines of his back panel apparently forgot two very important pieces that the ebay glass panels DO NOT COME WITH: The silver lens bezel and the LED flash optics lens.

These two parts come permanently attached to the glass panel.

I'm sure it may not be a big deal for many but that silver bezel protects dust from going inside your phone.

Hopefully you saved both those pieces.
 
Iphone 4 back housing

I do repairs on iphones and also sell parts . Heres the run down basically on the iphone 4 back housing . The ones you see for 9.99 are cheap copys even though they are considered high copy right now and they either look unoriginal or they have the gb listed on the back , which the original does not . They are just the sheet and come with no frame to actually install simple .


The ones around 44 are the the original ones but they are just sheets , and do not come with the plastic frame , nor the inserts . These are a good choice if you wish to take out the cracked back out of the frame ( i believe someone here showed they did it ) . You will need to take out the old glass from the frame , insert the inserts and re adhesive the glass to the frame .


Now the ones for 90 + are the perfect ones to go with for the average user because its simple , requires no skill nor time and you dont have to worry about messing anything up or really just wasting time . With the full assembly ones , they come with inserts and the frame that pops into the back of the phone making it a very simple process to replace ...

In the end , there are quality differences with this stuff , i recommend anyone with an iphone 4 not to go with cheaper end stuff until it has been out a while and the replicas become a lot better , right now they aren't great . Second , as of this time you can not purchase the frame by its self , only the glass . So be careful if choosing to go the second rout . Although eventually , sooner than later they will have the frames also for sale , only a matter of time , maybe even within a few days or weeks .

Hope that answers your questions .
 
Thanks IphoneRevivers. That's helpful.

Do you know if the frame plays any functional role in the operation of the phone? In photos, it looks like there's some sort of contact plate on the inner part of it. Would a knock-off frame (that fit) still work?
 
Thanks IphoneRevivers. That's helpful.

Do you know if the frame plays any functional role in the operation of the phone? In photos, it looks like there's some sort of contact plate on the inner part of it. Would a knock-off frame (that fit) still work?

From my knowledge it doesn't . I have had the whole back off the iphone 4 and still used the phone with no problem . Anything generic thats made for it should fit , however the fit is never the same as an original . Since I have yet to see any custom backs , I'm not sure how it fits .
 
I wish someone would come out with some custom back replacements already! Preferably for $50 or less.
 
Has anyone found the white back which covers the camera and flash? I've purchased a couple and both just came with holes over these two items... Thanks

Yes they are available , however let me explain why you should not replace a black back plate with a white back plate using the frame from the original glass . The glass its self sits inside the frame and if its black then the frame rubber is black and will show black once the white is installed . If you want a clean install then right now you need to purchase the full assembly with frame . I will post some pictures in a bit to show what I mean .
 
Why not to replace white back to original black frame

Here is why you shouldn't buy a white glass back ( without frame ) and replace it with the original frame from a black iphone 4 . I didn't actually install it but only put it over the original black back so you can get an idea of what I meant by the black rubber showing. For now if your going to replace the back to white , you should buy the full back housing assembly , unless of course you think it looks cool like this .

http://img688.imageshack.us/img688/2563/img0229z.jpg
 
The next question is where does somebody buy a white back with frame? I can't seem to find them.
 
The next question is where does somebody buy a white back with frame? I can't seem to find them.

I just posted a place about two responses up.

iresq had them for $125 but are out of stock. Those were the cheapest I could find.
 
The next question is where does somebody buy a white back with frame? I can't seem to find them.

I sell them however I do not have the ones with frame in stock until next week.
I can also sell them for 120 . you can check my ebay auctions also under the name : iphonerevivers
 
I just posted a place about two responses up.

iresq had them for $125 but are out of stock. Those were the cheapest I could find.

Yeah, I saw that. Sorry I wasn't clear. Where can somebody buy them at the ~$90 price quoted above? :)

I guess I'll keep looking. It may be worth $120 to me though.
 
Here is something I saw on Gizmodo which is the concept Im talking about...though this is some exotic African wood and it costs $3000.

]

Why anyone would want to buy something for the iPhone that costs way more than the actual phone is beyond me.

Even if I'm Bill Gates would I not buy that.
 
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