The connector/ribbon cable #3 controls the ear piece and proximity sensor.

The ear piece won't output sound but you should get sounds from the speaker on the bottom of the phone.

The proximity sensor senses when the phone is next to your head and it dims the screen to save battery life. (you can test this by making a call and holding your hand over the earpiece area, see if the screen dims)

If you're having both of these issues, the connector or cable is bad. You can use the phone, but it has to be via earphones with a mic, bluetooth headset, or by speakerphone.

You can find the parts on eBay - search iPhone FPC connector and iPhone light and proximity sensor flex cable - about $10 each. The FPC connector needs de-soldered from the logic board and the new one needs micro-soldered back on, so you may want to seek a professional's help if you decide to go that route.

Good luck

Hey guys, I developed and refined the process to replace this connector and if you look all over the web, I am the one to everyone goes to for the repair. I don't use any braid techniques, just a small iron, steady hands, and tons of experience. I can even fix instances where the solder pads have been torn off. This is a huge thing since other "shops" make this mistake, and I have had to fix their mistakes.

I had a broken lock on the No. 3 connector, and gave up trying to re-insert it.

Instead I put a kink in the ribbon cable about 1mm from the end, hoping it would help make good contact without the lock.

It works! (At least for now my 3GS is fully working after months of managing without the ear speaker.)

Can't tell you if I kinked the ribbon up or down - and I am not opening it up to check! The kink needs to pressure the contact sides of the ribbon towards the connectors in the socket.

Erribus

Hi oldturkey i have a 3g 8gb and a 3gs 16gb with this problem.. can you mail me your details please on gavinambler@ymail.com