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Repair information and guides for the iPhone 8 that was released on September 22, 2017. Model: A1863, A1905

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Front facing camera not working after back glass replacement

Hello! I replaced the back glass on my iPhone 8 yesterday. This was the second time I’ve done it (first time was for a friend). First time it took about 2.5hrs, and there were no functionality issues after the repair. So this time, I replaced the back glass and it took just under 2hrs, but the front facing camera is not working. The proximity sensor, earspeaker, and ambient light sensors all work. Is it possible I damaged only a portion of the cable that connects the front facing camera? Not sure if the cable or components are exposed from the rear of the phone. I was using flat safety razor blades for the removal, but did use an x-acto when removing small bits of glass near the camera. It is possible I could have poked something around there perhaps.

Should I start by replacing the front facing camera/ribbon cable? Or is there something else I should be looking for? I used double stick tape to hold the back glass in, while I sort the camera issue out. So I can easily pop the back open to take a look if need be,

Ps. To those who don’t already know: the back glass repair is very annoying, and risky. I’m definitely never doing it again. BUT, if you are going to do it, make sure the razor blades you use are high quality. This second repair went way quicker because the quality blades weren’t breaking and dulling nearly as quick as they did on the first repair. And of course, were gloves and eye protection. The glass bits really shoot out of there.

Thanks!

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You’re a brave man for undertaking a manual, DIY back glass repair!

At any rate, the Front Camera/Sensor Flex shouldn’t be affected by the back glass removal but from a best practices perspective, you should have removed the screen, logic board, battery and NFC charge coil before doing something as destructive as a back glass removal.

Start by carefully inspecting the flex and connector on the logic board. If that looks good, you could try a replacement flex to see if that solves the problem.

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Will pop the front screen off and see how things look. Thanks for the quick response!

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Hello! Following up on this issue. My suspicions were correct, it is indeed possible to damage the front facing camera ribbon while removing the glass back. There are a few exposed points around the earpiece/camera area where something could poke through to the front, which is what happened.

Issue solved by replacing front facing camera ribbon.

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Ben will be eternally grateful.
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