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I dropped my phone slipping on ice and the bottom corner of my back cover cracked. I've been looking for a way to repair it but it seems like its one of the more difficult parts to replace. Is it possible to just replace the back like the screen?
Is this a good question?
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Hi Nuq,
Whilst it is possible to just replace the back glass on the Pixel 8, I would not recommend it, as Google has secured this with very strong adhesive. Further more, It is very easy to damage your wireless charging flex cable, or the coil itself as it is also adhered to the back glass, making removal difficult and risky.
Here is a link to a video and replacement back glass in case you want to attempt this repair
Video: https: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6MFHuZ4T-g
Back glass: https://www.ebay.com/itm/155917192178?va...
another option, which whilst not risking your wireless charging functionality is more pricey is to replace the entire housing, back glass included. I will also attach link to a replacement housing however Ifixit unfortunately does not have a guide on performing this repair.
Housing: Google Pixel 8 Rear Case - Genuine
Whilst the broken back glass has removed your phones water resistance, It wont have any kind of impact on the phones functionality, so a replacement will only benefit the phone cosmetically.
I hope this helped, let me know if you have any other questions : )
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Thank you for the quick reply. I have a case for the phone. The only reason the back broke was because it happened while I was activating the phone and needed to put in the sim card. I dropped it about 12" and the glad back broke which !#^&@@ me off a lot that it broke that easily.
Anyway, thank you very much for the reply. I thought it would be easy to replace that small piece of glass but, considering the price for the entire back and my complete lack of experience I'll just leave me Pixel 8 the way it is. I don't plan on taking my phone swimming or driving with me hahaha.
Thank you
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@blairmrachek It sure looks like you're not alone. There's a whole thread over on Reddit of guys complaining of very short drops that cracked the back glass on their Pixel 8's.
It appears that the "official" Google response to broken glass is to replace the enclosure; basically the entire frame that houses the rest of the components of the phone. Here's the Google repair manual showing the procedure; as expected you'll be gutting the entire phone and transferring everything into a new frame.
Pixel 8 Repair Manual V2 English Final Version - iFixit
The good news is the enclosures are readily available; you can buy the genuine Google part right here on iFixit.
Google Pixel 8 Rear Case - Genuine
Of course the intent is for you to buy the one that matches the color of your phone, but I can't see any reason why you couldn't just pick any color you like at this point.
For those of you who are balking at paying almost $150 USD for the enclosure and are looking for a real challenge, it appears that it is actually possible to replace just the glass in much the same way it's been done for iPhones for the last several years; you carefully pick the broken glass from the rear of the phone then glue a replacement glass on in its place. I ran across a video showing a guy doing just that on the Pixel 8 Pro, although I don't know if there are any significant differences between the 8 and the 8 Pro.
Google Pixel 8 Pro Back Glass Replacement Repair - YouTube
For those of you who don't want to sit through the whole video, basically you're chipping away the glass at edges to start with. Once you've gone all the way around, you're left with the NFC/Charging coil that's glued to the rear glass. So it becomes a major pain in the a$$ to separate the coil covering most of the rear of the phone and being careful not to damage it in the process. The video spends several frames on checking the function of the charging coil at pretty much every step along the way.
The glass itself also looks easy to get; here's an example of the first one I came across being sold on Amazon.
In summary, it looks like the choices are between a painful repair involving an expensive part that requires gutting the entire phone, or a difficult but inexpensive repair that risks damage to the NFC/Charging coil if you aren't extremely careful.
Let us know what you find and what you decide! Good luck either way.
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My phone will always be in a case, so I don't care that much about how it looks (I have the light gray Pixel 8). I'm just worried about it getting wet if it's raining while I'm hiking but I'm assuming that the case and my pocket will be enough to protect it. I don't trust myself to do the repair. I was looking on Amazon & eBay for the glass piece that is broken but couldn't find any that were light gray. I thought about buying the black because it might look pretty cool w/ the back being gray & black hahaha. It's just very disappointing that Google used such a flimsy piece of glass on the back. I miss having the unbreakable Moto Droid Turbo 2. I thought, by now, they'd make phones with unbreakable screens, but corporate greed always wins. Why make an unbreakable phone when they can make easily breakable phones so that they can sell more parts and make you buy a new phone sooner than you need to.
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Does anyone have an answer? I also cracked the back of my Pixel 8. It was pathetic how easily it broke.
by Blair Mrachek