Replace back cover housing and chrome bezel for iPhone 3G

[applephysci]

I've been wanting to replace my cover housing for a while. I've looked around quite a bit, and have found several sources that will provide the back cover housing and the chrome bezel. I've also found posts where people state that certain videos on youtube shows one exactly how to do this, but apart from finding videos that show how to replace the screen, etc.., I couldn't find a specific video.

I understand that this may well void one's warranty, but if I really wanted to have my iPhone checked out by Apple, I could well put my original housing cover back on. I've never had to take my iPhone into Apple, because all my questions have already been answered by previous posts from the good folks here at macrumors.

Questions..
Are there any videos? Has anyone here at macrumors attempted this? How long does it take? Is it worth it?

Thx.

 

[maflynn]

Will the chrome be metallic? If so, wouldn't that affect reception.

I was under the impression apple went with the plastic back because of reception. Another point to ponder, if you have your iPhone in a case (I use the incase slider) then the back is going to be covered and nobody will see it. Also another point, scratches on the chrome will make it look worse then just have a black back, so you'd need a case to protect it, and thus we go back to my first point that nobody will see the back when enclosed in a case.

 

[John T]

Do you really have to replace the back cover - bearing in mind you keep the 'phone in a case? Have a look here where there's a good description of the dismantling of the iPhone.

As you can see, replacing the back cover involves completely stripping the 'phone down. It's up to you to determine if it is worth all that effort for purely cosmetic purposes!

I know what I'd do if I was in your position - leave well alone!

 

[The Californian]

That's a pretty big risk for very little gain.

 

[Cask]

Yeap, replacing the screen on the iPhone 3G is very easy, but the back is a whole different story. Everything is mounted on it, you will basically have to disassemble everything.

 

[chiltonl89]

Helppp

hi, ive recently replaced the back cover on my iphone 3GS. once i finally finished replacing it the software update came out, so i upgraded to the 4.1 OS. once this was done i found that my iphone turns itself off every now and then. Now i dont know whether its a hardware issue - battery or whether its the software that didnt work propperly. any comments will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Tito Georgie]

If your iPhone still has warranty just go apple store genius bar and say battery sucks or something so they can replace the whole phone for you that's it.

 

[Pink∆Floyd]

hi, ive recently replaced the back cover on my iphone 3GS. once i finally finished replacing it the software update came out, so i upgraded to the 4.1 OS. once this was done i found that my iphone turns itself off every now and then. Now i dont know whether its a hardware issue - battery or whether its the software that didnt work propperly. any comments will be greatly appreciated.

Maybe you replaced it wrong?

just maybe

 

[OBAMANIZER]

I have done some research about it and as people have said here before, it's just simply not worth the hassle. It's harder to replace the backing than you would think and it actually requires dismantling the entire phone. If your backing is really scratched up I would recommend you check out this option -


https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/871308/

 

[klpeake]

My 13 year old did it

My son got a phone from his cousin that had been smunched under the electric seat in her car. So he didn't have any option but to take it apart. So we ordered the parts off of Ebay (digitizer, LCD, Back cover, home button) and using videos on Youtube he took the whole thing apart very slowly and then put it all back together. I sat there and watched to make sure that he didn't miss anything (I had never done this either). 3.5 hours later, he had a fully functional iphone 3GS! I then acquired another smashed phone from a friend and did it again. Not that hard, just take it slow and go step by step. Make a diagram on paper of where the screws came out of so that you can put them back in the right spots (there are a couple of different lengths). Search youtube for videos specifically on replacing the back cover.