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Repair information and guides for the Apple iPhone 5s that was announced on September 10, 2013. Model: A1533, A1453, A1457, A1528, A1530, A1518

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Smashed screen, dead battery, replaced both, bad backlight and hot.

Got an iPhone 5s that looks like it was attacked by a flock of rabid woodpeckers. The screen was shattered, only the left half of the LCD was working (the right half was just gibberish), and about the top fifth of the glass was missing. The battery was completely shot; if I left it on the charger for an hour, I'd get just enough power to get to the "swipe to unlock" screen and then it would just die.

I (very carefully) disassembled it, replaced the battery, swapped the screen components over to a new screen, and reassembled. I'm aware of that little black tape square on the flex cable; I routinely touch that up with a bit of liquid electrical tape as soon as the screens come in and this one was no exception. When I powered it up everything looked fine, but almost immediately after getting to the unlock screen the backlight started dimming very fast. The back of the phone also started heating up equally fast.

I immediately shut it down and disconnected the battery, which is how it is now.

Google results show MOSTLY that it's a component level repair, but SOME results point to a bad camera flex cable. Alas, I don't have any more spares in stock so I can't test that right away. Given the damage to the front of the screen a bad flex cable seems possible, but I'm wondering if the damage has already been done -- if replacing the flex cable won't matter since there's component damage. Thoughts?

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It is most likely a board level issue; it sounds like the phone took quite a beating. However, why not just disconnect the camera/sensor flex and see how the phone behaves. If it works well, then order a replacement flex.

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I tried that after I posted. The problem persists even after disconnecting it.

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Then it is most likely a board level issue. You will need to find a repair shop that does micro-soldering repairs.

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Steve will be eternally grateful.
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