Steps 1–16: iPhone 3GS Teardown
Tools
Small Suction Cup
$2.95 · 17 in stock
Spudger
$2.95 · 196 in stock
Phillips #00 Screwdriver
$4.95 · 0 in stock
iPhone 3GS Teardown
Introduction
| Author: | Luke Soules |
|---|
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.
Tools used in this guide
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.
Paginated Single Page Steps
Step 1
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
Step 8
Just like the iPhone 3G, the LCD is pretty easy to replace. After removing 7 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.
i love my 3G and now im dying to get the 3GS but its a bit out of my budget. please help me find a site which sell the unlocked 3GS for cheaper than this... http://www.puremobile.com/apple-iphone-3gs-unlocked
thank you in advance.
hey u can find in youtube.com i send u the link.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxP3xJ3Yk...
you can get a 32gb 3gs from at&t for 500 bucks without a contract. then unlock it yourself. 800 bucks is way too much.
Hey,
Im new here on this forum, im from Germany so please excuse my bad eng ;(
Well, I bought an Iphone 3 G[S]from Ebay.Uk, for about 700 Euros. (in Europe Iphone is very epxensiv). So my probles is that it sometimes Crush without an reasen (but often after unlock with Ultrasn0w)and doesnt turn on again (display just keeps black)if i do it on my power adapter then it turns on again but when im putting the plug out display is getting black again. Now after many houers/day just spending on restoring i have recogniced that its an hardware defect because if i press 1 cm about the I from the Iphone letters it goes on but then stuck on restart. So i wanted to ask what hardware part is behind the letter I and above i would try to rapair it.
Have a nice Day.
personally i think the 3GS is a bit overrated. the 3G is a better phone in my opinion, but if you want to get some..i got mine off gsmallover.com. they sell both the 3G and the 3GS fully unlocked.
Actually, it's pretty easy to tell. The iPhone 3G S has text on the back that is MUCH easier to read because it's white and not gray this time around.
Sorry thats wrong!! Its gray (silver) as well!!
Where is the "magnetometer" or "compass". Is it software only application? SW only can't be *that* accurate!