iPhone 6(S)/Plus iPhone 6 Authentic Replacement screen

[dazman09]

Hi there, my iPhone 6, bought day one of availability has been going strong for me until February of this year. about 4.5 years old! The battery finally gave out on me so I went to a local mom and pop to have the battery replaced (im a 3 hour drive from the nearest apple store). The fellow swapped out the battery but discovered he broke the display ribbon cable in the process. He offered to replace the screen, and I accepted. But as soon as I got the iPhone 6 back I noticed right away the colors were quite washed out. I then quickly noticed that the screen blacks out when wearing my polarized sun glasses (I wear the sun glasses daily and look at my iPhone with them on all the time). And I later noticed that the new screen is thicker than the original so its not flush with the metal case of the phone. The viewing angle is also less with this screen, so I've noticed when I have my phone sitting on my desk, I have to change my position to properly view it (which wasnt a problem before). So it looks like this is a cheaper TN panel compared to the OEM IPS display.

When looking for replacement screens, how can I identify that a replacement is an authentic match to the higher quality IPS display on my iPhone 6? I want to find the proper display before I have the fellow replace it.
Thanks

 

[JPack]

You will find the Apple logo silk screened on the flex cable and the display assembly.

 

[supergt]

Ifixit has pretty good replacement displays but it may not be authentic from Apple. Mom and pop shops use cheap displays and it is unfortunate he broke the ribbon. I suggest asking the shop to pay for an authentic display replacement ($149).

 

[44267547]

Ifixit has pretty good replacement displays but it may not be authentic from Apple.

Ifixit will tell you directly their displays are _not_ from Apple, they might be similar in calibration and identically appear to be an Apple display, but they are not. FYI, Apple does not sell their displays/hardware to any third-party retailers.

 

[anonymous guy]

There are eBay sellers that part out old Apple phones and sell them for parts. You may be able to find an authentic screen that way, as long as you have the patience to dig through the 3rd party parts listings.

An oddity I ran into recently was the sale of "refurbished" screens, where shattered screen panels are replaced with new glass. The screen is original and bears the flex cable markings, but the glass panel is aftermarket.

I can't vouch for the quality of those screens, but they may also be a cheaper alternative.

 

[JPack]

An oddity I ran into recently was the sale of "refurbished" screens, where shattered screen panels are replaced with new glass. The screen is original and bears the flex cable markings, but the glass panel is aftermarket.

Those are in my opinion, the best option for end users. The glass is nothing special except for the oleophobic coating. The most important part of the display is the LCD and that's retained with these refurbished display assemblies.

 

[StellarVixen]

I have yet to see third party display that looks nice. I have seen several people with replaced screens, and all of them look horrible.

 

[JPack]

I have yet to see third party display that looks nice. I have seen several people with replaced screens, and all of them look horrible.

The difference between a refurbished OEM display and a clone part is about $50. Most repair shop customers are price sensitive, so repair shops aren't likely to stock good displays.

It's like going to Jiffy Lube, you can't expect a good quality oil filter from them. But if you buy your own parts for a mechanic to install, you'll know it's good.

 

[44267547]

I have yet to see third party display that looks nice. I have seen several people with replaced screens, and all of them look horrible.

I have first-hand experience with iFixit’s supply chain with displays, and I will say they probably are the best ‘third party’ that uses the highest quality displays that you can find for a replacement for the iPhone 8 and under. The caveat is, you (As a tech connoisseur) probably have a better insight of what to look for in terms of color, warmth, calibration, ect. for displays, versus the average consumer that has no idea what the difference is between an OEM and third-party.

The displays that I would definitely would recommend to avoid are the small kiosk centers in the middle of malls, they’re using $15 skewed displays and charging around $75, which is one of the cheaper solutions, but you will receive cheaper results.

 

[dazman09]

This place is definitely just a cheap mall kiosk. So 3 days after the guy changed the battery, and gave me the sub-par screen, the phone just turned off and wouldn't turn on at all. Nothing I did worked. So I took it back the next day, and he tried to reinstall my previous screen, and with some care and effort got the display working, but the touch was b0rked. The touch on most of the screen was off target, so typing was effectively impossible, touching a desired app would open the one next to it, etc. So I took it back, and they put a different screen on again, still a lower quality one, but at least it works. Now the phone just turns off randomly about once a day (one while sending a text, once while looking at maps, once while in my pocket listening to a podcast, and once while changing a song in spotify, not getting the "your battery iis weak" message, it just shuts down). I can get it to restart by holding the home and lock buttons. He wants to take my iphone and send it to their shop in a city 6 hours away, but I have a feeling its just his cousins house, and I cant be sure i'd ever even see it again, or if they'll do it properly. So I suggested to him that I will take it to an Apple store, and just have them fix it properly, and send him the bill. Worst of it is, it might be two months before I can get to an Apple store, short of making the 3hr (one way) trip earlier just for this purpose. He wants to know the cost before I do it though of course.

When I say its not the same screen, he agree's saying he broke the first screen, then I say I mean its not the same quality, but he just says "yes, its the same screen for iphone, but no, its a different screen because he broke the original cable. Theres a mis-communication / mis-understanding.

 

[supergt]

This place is definitely just a cheap mall kiosk. So 3 days after the guy changed the battery, and gave me the sub-par screen, the phone just turned off and wouldn't turn on at all. Nothing I did worked. So I took it back the next day, and he tried to reinstall my previous screen, and with some care and effort got the display working, but the touch was b0rked. The touch on most of the screen was off target, so typing was effectively impossible, touching a desired app would open the one next to it, etc. So I took it back, and they put a different screen on again, still a lower quality one, but at least it works. Now the phone just turns off randomly about once a day (one while sending a text, once while looking at maps, once while in my pocket listening to a podcast, and once while changing a song in spotify, not getting the "your battery iis weak" message, it just shuts down). I can get it to restart by holding the home and lock buttons. He wants to take my iphone and send it to their shop in a city 6 hours away, but I have a feeling its just his cousins house, and I cant be sure i'd ever even see it again, or if they'll do it properly. So I suggested to him that I will take it to an Apple store, and just have them fix it properly, and send him the bill. Worst of it is, it might be two months before I can get to an Apple store, short of making the 3hr (one way) trip earlier just for this purpose. He wants to know the cost before I do it though of course.

When I say its not the same screen, he agree's saying he broke the first screen, then I say I mean its not the same quality, but he just says "yes, its the same screen for iphone, but no, its a different screen because he broke the original cable. Theres a mis-communication / mis-understanding.

This is definitely a buyer beware situation. Cheap phone fixes are nice when they workout but are terrible if something goes wrong. He should pay for a genuine apple fix but now you know the problems of third party repairs.

 

[dazman09]

This is definitely a buyer beware situation. Cheap phone fixes are nice when they workout but are terrible if something goes wrong. He should pay for a genuine apple fix but now you know the problems of third party repairs.

Thanks for stating the obvious, and not providing any value.