Rep: 11
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possible to change the upper protector layer of display's secreen only??
Secreen display, visuals & touch secreen still works perfectly.
I Cannot afford the shipping costs & dispaly pannel's charges. Just wants to replace the upper layer only.
So, please guide me and what will be the demarits of it ?
Is this a good question?
Rep: 57.4k
124
44
90
Hi Usama,
I understand what you want to do and why, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to advise against it. The problem is that the front glass and the LCD/digitizer are bonded together with a glue called OCA, or Optically Clear Adhesive, which can come in either sheets or liquid form.
The first problem is that in order to separate the old broken glass, you really need a vacuum table to hold the screen in place while you use a thin wire to cut through the adhesive. Once it's off, you need to use strong solvent to clean off all traces of the old glue or you'll see it when the new glass is put on.
After that, you'd put on the OCA and stick the new front glass on. So far, so good, but the next step is a problem because you need a vacuum chamber to remove all of the air from between the layers of glass so as not to have any bubbles in the display. If you used the liquid version of the adhesive, an additional step of curing the glue in a UV light chamber is also needed.
The upshot is that in order to do the job correctly, you need a vacuum table, a vacuum chamber and possibly a UV light chamber. I don't know about you, but I don't happen to have any of those devices in my workroom. Here's a YouTube video showing the entire process on the same phone you have.
Google Pixel 4a 5G Crack Glass Replacement
That being said, it is possible to do the job without those tools, but you would have to accept the likelihood that you'll probably have some amount of air bubbles in the display when you're finished. Rather than using a vacuum chamber, I'd guess you would want to put some weight on the display to bond the glass to the LCD, and you'd definitely want to use sheet adhesive rather than liquid.
My advice would be to try and obtain a screen, though, but I understand your concerns and limitations.
Good luck with whatever you decide! I'd love to hear how it all works out for you.
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4 Comments
Your reply is very appropriateable and important for me.
Its really very risky to do that. But as a student i can't afford full dispay panel which costs round figure 99 dollers/ pounds.
Is there any discounts on ifixit & any other facilities for students??
by Usama Tahir
@usamatahir I can't answer that as I'm not an employee of iFixit, just a volunteer trying to help people out with their repair issues. I'll tag @amber in hopes she can give you a response; otherwise you can contact them directly by emailing support@ifixit.com
by Jerry Wheeler
Thanks for the tag @dadibrokeit!
@usamatahir, we only sell the screen replacement in one piece.
by Amber Taus
@amber I think Usama was mainly inquiring about the possibility of student discounts, which could help with the affordability of the screen for them.
by Jerry Wheeler