Steps 1–26: Teardown
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iPhone 1st Generation Teardown
Introduction
We disassembled this iPhone on June 29, 2007.
Teardown
Teardowns provide a look inside a device and should not be used as disassembly instructions.
Paginated Single Page Steps
Step 1
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Teardown
We've procured our iPhone, and it's on the way to our photo studio now.
We purchased two 8 GB iPhones.
The phone has arrived!
Who wants to take bets on how long it'll take us to start selling iPhone parts?
Step 2
OK, so here's a quick overview of the basics.
The iPhone is 4.5x2.4x0.5", and weighs 4.8 ounces (0.3 pounds). For reference, 18 iPhones weigh the same as one MacBook Pro.
The display is 3.5" diagonal, 480x320 resolution. That's 153,600 pixels, or 12% as many as a 15" MacBook Pro.
Step 3
If you can't tell, we're stalling while we figure out how to get it open.
The iPhone supports four major different wireless protocols.
The List: Quad-band GSM (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), 802.11b/g WiFi, EDGE, and Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR.
Step 4
Random facts:
The iPhone has H.264 video decoding, most likely in hardware.
It also has a two-megapixel camera.
Last March Micron told setteB.IT in an exclusive interview that the camera is an MT9D112D00STC model (code name K15A or MI-SOC2020).
Step 5
Front of the iPhone. The battery was partially charged when we got it.
The large touch screen is manufactured by Balda, a German company. Hopefully, this screen will be more durable and scratch-resistant than those we've seen on iPods.
Step 6
iPhone's back.
The SIM card is removable. Push a paperclip into the hole on top, and the card will come out (you may have to apply more force than you'd expect).
You cannot use a SIM card from another provider without unlocking the phone first. Currently, there is no way to use the iPhone on a non-ATT network. The only way to use it internationally is roaming with a US plan.
Step 7
We've got the iPhone apart. It was a little bit tricky.
We removed the black antenna plate first.
You can see the grounding screw on the back panel holding the antenna cable and connecting the front and back case.
Step 8
Separating the front and back case.
There's a headphone jack cable to disconnect before you can completely remove the back panel.
The headphone jack is recessed into the case, so most headphone jacks won't fit without an adapter (even if they're the right 1/8" plug).
Apple did this to reduce the strain on the narrow metal jack when you yank on the headphones. With this design, the hard plastic cable jacket absorbs most of the impact.
The headphones have a microphone built in, with a button that you pinch to answer a phone call.
How take out the black antenna plate ? Which tool I can Use ?
Yes, please. How did you get the iPhone apart? Saying it was tricky isn't helpful.
iFixit Staff
Take a look at our iPhone 1st Generation guides to see how to take the iPhone apart. The case guide tells you how to remove the rear panel of the iPhone.