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Apple's October 2020 refresh of its iPad Air tablet, sporting an A14 Bionic processor, a 10.9" screen, a new design, and in-button TouchID.

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If I had read the iFixit guide before replacing the display, maybe...

Hello! Unfortunately, I read this guide too late and replaced the display without performing the procedure that isolates the battery connector; I essentially removed the display while it was powered on. Everything else was done perfectly without any damage, but now the display won't light up. The Apple icon doesn't appear, but if I repeatedly press the power button, I can briefly see that the iPad is on. With very low light intensity, I can read the time at the top of the display.

I've done the forced restart several times, but nothing changes: no Apple icon turns on, the display is black, but, as described above, the iPad is on.

Can you help me figure out if I've permanently damaged the device or if I'm just missing something that's causing this?

Thank you very much.

Mario

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Unfortunately, I tried two screens with the same procedure without disconnecting, or rather isolating, the battery contacts. The two screens behaved the same way: you can see short flashes, and then for a second the home page, but only when you press the power button repeatedly. I will try your advice of using a light bulb to create backlighting. Thanks so much for your help, I'll let you know how things go.

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The main reason for disconnecting the battery is to protect the display circuitry. LCD screens require higher backlight voltages and current that can get shorted when trying to fit the connector in the socket. A common problem that happens is the backlight gets blown, usually on the screen but sometimes on the motherboard.

First thing to do is to figure out if it's just the backlight that's out. Take a flashlight and hold it at an angle to the screen in a darkened room and see if you can make out an image. If so, the display is okay, but the backlight has gone out.

Next we want to know if it's a screen problem or a logic board problem. Best way is to try another screen; if your old screen is even partially functional try swapping it back in, as the backlight is usually shorted when trying to plug the connector in, not when you're disconnecting it. If the original screen works, welp, I guess you're in the market for another screen. Naturally you disconnected the battery before you swapped the screens, right?

If neither screen works it may be a bad sign. A repair shop should be able to plug in a known working screen to verify whether it's a motherboard issue or not; diagnosing board issues is an advanced topic and pretty much needs a set of schematic diagrams to do.

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