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iPhone 3GS Teardown

Teardown

Teardowns provide a look inside a device and should not be used as disassembly instructions.

Featured Guide

This guide has been found to be exceptionally cool by the iFixit staff.

To get all the latest updates as we're doing the teardown, follow us on twitter! We also have some video clips uploaded through the iPhone 3GS courtesy of our fellow friend Richard Lai; he's created a playlist for all to enjoy. Many thanks to our friends at MacWorld UK, who let us use their office and equipment for the teardown.

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Edit Step 1 — iPhone 3GS Teardown ¶

We have the iPhone in hand!
We didn't have to travel quite as far as last year to get it. This year, it was only 5,400 miles away.
We lost the corporate jet due to the economic downturn. Our CEO had to settle for an Italian bi-plane. 47 hours later he was in London.
Apple claims the iPhone 3GS is "up to 2x faster." Why is the 3GS faster? We'll find out soon enough. According to rumors, the 3GS has a 600 MHz processor, 50% faster than the processor in the iPhone 3G.

Edit Step 2 ¶

We won't bore you with a lengthly unboxing, since there's nothing new to see here.
Which one's the 3GS? They look identical.
Apple doesn't make it easy to identify your iPhone 3GS, as they're all labeled just "iPhone." However, the 3G is model A1241, while the 3GS is model A1303.

Edit Step 3 ¶

The original iPhone was very difficult to open, but we expect the 3GS (like the 3G) to be quite serviceable. There are still two visible screws on the bottom of the phone, which is a good sign for easy opening.
Remove the two bottom screws with a Phillips #00 screwdriver.

Edit Step 4 ¶

A small suction cup is your friend. A large suction cup may also be a fun toy.
There are seven numbered connectors on the 3GS, up from six on the 3G. Connector number seven is in the lower right corner, just above the dock connector.

Edit Step 5 ¶

There are three cables holding the LCD and digitizer to the rest of the logic board. Disconnecting them is as easy as 1-2-3.
- 1: LCD panel
- 2: Digitizer
- 3: Ear speaker

Edit Step 6 ¶

We're looking forward to the improved 3 megapixel camera on the 3GS. According to our good friend Richard Lai, "Camera quality is much improved from the 3G one, close up shots were possible down to about 5cm, brightness adjusts well when picking focus area." We've seen some pretty impressive shots already.
Fortunately, as in both the original and 3G iPhones, the camera's a separate component, so removal is possible if necessary for security purposes.
In each image, the left photo is from the iPhone 3G, the right photo is from the iPhone 3GS.
For those who really want to examine the pictures: hi-res1, hi-res2, and hi-res3.

Edit Step 7 ¶

Here's the two halves.
All the chips on the logic board are hidden beneath two large EMI shields. We'll have those removed in just a bit.

Edit Step 8 ¶

Just like the iPhone 3G, the LCD is pretty easy to replace. After removing 6 screws, the LCD simply lifts out.
On the iPhone 3G, we see a lot more cracked digitizers than cracked LCDs. Replacing the digitizer is a little more work, and requires breaking out a heat gun or hair dryer.

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