My Problem

Broken glass on iPhone. Why fix? Why not? The first company phone that was broken we purchased the tool kit and the repair kit. The second broken phone, we had to purchase only the repair kit. Both times have been a great success. And every time our person performs the repair, he gets a little faster at it. Regardless of saving money (which is always a good thing), we just love that we're not throwing something in the dump that is salvageable. Products are good quality and shipped very quickly. Would recommend iFixIt to any one.

My Fix

Very well

My Advice

iFixIt significantly beats throwing away a phone and buying a new one.

My Problem

A customer brought in an iPhone 4 with a badly cracked (smashed is more like it) front display. After scouring about the internet -- well, not really, I knew iFixit would be the place to go -- I ordered the Display Assembly and iPhone 4 Liberation Kit.

My Fix

The whole process went very well. The kit arrived as promised and the repair went very smoothly. From start to finish, it took about 2 hours. I've done many Mac repairs, but this was my first iPhone repair, so I went extra-slowly. I must also give a hat-tip to my lighted magnifier: some of those screws are the tiniest I've ever seen!

I did have one problem though: when I was attempting to reinstall the logic board (step 21 in reverse), a small rubber bumper came loose from 'somewhere' on the board (I think). I've attached a photo of the bumper, so maybe somebody can identify where it belongs. It's seldom good when you've got parts left over!

One other note: the screws that came with the iPhone liberation kit are shorter than the pentalobe screws in the iPhone 4 (CDMA/Verizon). Not being sure whether that would matter, I chickened out and reused the pentalobe screws.

My Advice

I had a few issues with the guide, and I left the following notes in the appropriate places:

For step 6: Be aware that the pull tab is not actually attached to the battery. It is attached to the iPhone chassis, and is only used to separate the battery from the adhesive. (Don't expect it to come out with the battery!)

Also, the adhesive is VERY strong. I had to use my plastic opening tool to assist in prying the battery loose. This was probably the most nerve-wracking part of the job. Fortunately, I had watched MJ's teardown video where she specifically mentioned that.

For step 16: Be sure to check the notes section of that page, particularly the one from 'boo' who very accurately describes what I saw too. Whether the guide is incorrect or there are actually two different order of arrangement, I can't say.

For step 21: Scout about and identify the location of that rubber bumper before it comes off!

Last note: this screen was so badly smashed that it did not come away from the chassis whole. A few small pieces, about 2x5mm, were stuck to the adhesive in the vicinity of the home button. I only noticed when the new display assembly wouldn't seat properly. Getting those glass shards off that adhesive was a real pain. (Not literally -- I didn't cut myself or anything.)

My Problem

After many drops, the display on my iphone 4 finally broke. A new iphone 4 is around $600 outside of upgrade time so I figured I'd try a repair.

My Fix

It took a bit less then 2 hours to perform the repair with the provided guide. I have clumsy gorilla hands so more nimble folks may have an easier time. The guide was good functionally, but the screw sizes they mention seemed to be different then what is in my phone.

My Advice

Line up the screws and small bits by step number since the sizes mentioned may be different from your phone. Use a well lighted work space. A rubber work-mat helps a lot so parts don't slide around. I have bad eyes so a magnifier was helpful.

My Problem

Original problem was a cracked front screen on our COO's iphone

My Fix

I ended up using another vendor's youtube video to walk me through the tear down and rebuild. I had trouble finding the correct video on your website. the only thing I could find was a vague guide that was more tips than a step by step walk through like the one i found. I cant' say if this is still an issue because our COO was literally standing next to me while I buttoned up his phone and powered it on for the first time because he was in a hurry to leave. I did notice a bright blue vertical line on the right side of the screen. He told me that he didn't care about that and took off. I haven't heard anything since to hear if it is still visible or not but I would have felt better if it never showed up.

My Advice

Give yourself plenty of time and take a break or two half way through. i was so stressed half way through the tear down that i had to get up and take a break to relax a little bit. All in all i'd say it went fairly well.

My Problem

Boss sat on his VZW iPhone4, destroyed the screen

My Fix

Used iFixit VZW teardown and it went well. One of the slides was out of order, but I figured it out when the images didn't match the work. Probably the most nerve-wracking teardown I've done. Way harder than all previous iPhones.

My Advice

The battery glue required more force than I was comfortable applying, perhaps using a hair-dryer on the back of the case briefly, pre-pull? Also, The iPhone liberation kit should be a mandatory pack-in or add-on.

I didn't even think to check the screws when I bought the screen. I hadn't ever seen pentalobe on an iPhone before. All other iPhones I've worked on were #00 phillips.

Perhaps a giant disclaimer or an opt-out to make people really examine the screws. I could have saved $8~ in shipping. No big deal, just a thought.