Introduction
Is your phone not detecting your charging cable? Does your charging port feel loose? Has the microphone gone deaf? It might be time to replace your Lightning connector assembly. Use this guide to replace the Lightning connector assembly which includes the lower microphones, antenna cable, and Lightning connector.
Note that this repair does require a fair amount of disassembly, and it will require time and caution.
What you need
Video Overview
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Power off your iPhone before beginning disassembly.
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Remove the two 3.4 mm pentalobe screws on the bottom edge of the iPhone.
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Tool used on this step:Anti-Clamp$24.95
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Pull the blue handle backwards to unlock the Anti-Clamp's arms.
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Slide the arms over either the left or right edge of your iPhone.
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Position the suction cups near the bottom edge of the iPhone just above the home button—one on the front, and one on the back.
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Squeeze the cups together to apply suction to the desired area.
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Pull the blue handle forwards to lock the arms.
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Turn the handle clockwise 360 degrees or until the cups start to stretch.
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Make sure the suction cups remain aligned with each other. If they begin to slip out of alignment, loosen the suction cups slightly and realign the arms.
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Heat an iOpener and thread it through the arms of the Anti-Clamp.
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Fold the iOpener so it lays on the bottom edge of the iPhone.
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Wait one minute to give the adhesive a chance to release and present an opening gap.
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Insert an opening pick into the gap.
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Skip the next three steps.
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Heating the lower edge of the iPhone will help soften the adhesive securing the display, making it easier to open.
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Use a hairdryer or prepare an iOpener and apply it to the lower edge of the phone for about 90 seconds in order to soften up the adhesive underneath.
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Apply a suction cup to the lower half of the front panel, just above the home button.
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Pull up on the suction cup with firm, constant pressure to create a slight gap between the screen and the frame.
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Insert an opening pick into the gap.
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Slide the opening pick up the left edge of the phone starting at the lower edge and moving towards the volume control buttons and silent switch, breaking up the adhesive holding the display in place.
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Stop near the top left corner of the display.
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Re-insert your tool at the lower right corner of the iPhone, and slide it around the corner and up the right side of the phone to separate the adhesive.
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Gently pull up on the suction cup to lift up the bottom edge of the display.
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Pull on the small nub on the suction cup to remove it from the front panel.
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Slide an opening pick underneath the display around the top left corner and along the top edge of the phone to loosen the last of the adhesive.
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Slide the display assembly slightly down (away from the top edge of the phone) to disengage the clips holding it to the rear case.
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Open the iPhone by swinging the display up from the left side, like the back cover of a book.
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Lean the display against something to keep it propped up while you're working on the phone.
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Tool used on this step:Tri-point Y000 Screwdriver$5.99
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Remove four tri-point Y000 screws securing the lower connector bracket, of the following lengths:
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Three 1.2 mm screws
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One 2.4 mm screw
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Use the point of a spudger to lift the battery connector out of its socket on the logic board.
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Use a spudger or a fingernail to disconnect the two lower display connectors by prying them straight up from their sockets on the logic board.
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Remove the two 1.3 mm Phillips #000 screws securing the bracket over the front panel sensor assembly connector.
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Remove the two 1.9 mm Phillips screws securing the barometric vent to the rear case.
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Use the flat end of a spudger to disconnect the Taptic Engine connector from its socket on the logic board.
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Remove the Phillips screw securing the Wi-Fi diversity antenna to the rear case:
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One 3.2 mm screw
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Remove the following three Phillips screws securing the speaker to the rear case:
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Two 1.3 mm screws
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One 2.0 mm screw
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Use the point of a spudger to lift the two antenna cable connectors up off of the sockets on the logic board.
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Use the tip of a spudger to slide the speaker assembly towards the logic board and off of the rear case.
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Insert a SIM card eject tool or a paperclip into the small hole in the SIM card tray.
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Press to eject the tray.
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Remove the SIM card tray assembly from the iPhone.
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Use the flat end of a spudger to disconnect the rear-facing camera connector.
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Remove the following Phillips screws securing the rear camera bracket to the rear case:
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One 1.3 mm screw
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One 2.5 mm screw
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Use the pointed end of a spudger to pry up and disconnect the antenna bus connector, just left of the rear camera module.
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Remove the four Phillips screws securing the Wi-Fi antenna:
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Three 1.2 mm screws
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One 1.7 mm screw
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Use the point of a spudger to disconnect the lower cable connector.
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Remove the following screws:
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One 1.4 mm Phillips screw
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Three 2.2 mm standoff screws
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In a pinch, a small flathead screwdriver will do the job—but use extra caution to ensure it doesn't slip and damage surrounding components.
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Use the flat end of a spudger to gently lift the battery connector end of the logic board up.
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Remove the two stickers covering the screws that secure the lightning connector to the bottom of the rear case.
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Use the pointed end of a spudger to separate the two microphones from the bottom of the rear case.
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Use a hairdryer or reheat your iOpener to heat the lower edge of the phone.
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Wait for about a minute, allowing the adhesive to warm up before proceeding to the next step.
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Starting from the middle of the phone, slide an opening pick underneath the lightning connector to separate it from the rear case.
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Continue to slide the pick towards the lightning connector to further separate the assembly from the rear case.
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Continue to slide the pick underneath the lightning connecter assembly.
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Stop sliding the pick once it passes the battery.
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Starting at the corner of the phone, slide the pick underneath the assembly towards the lightning connector.
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Stop sliding the pick when it reaches the lightning connector.
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Slide a pick below the lightning connector to further separate the lightning connector assembly from the rear case.
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Continue to slide the pick until the lightning connector assembly is no longer adhered to the rear case.
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Remove the lightning connector assembly.
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Use a plastic tool to scour any bits of adhesive residue from the rear case.
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Make sure the Lightning connector assembly is correctly positioned so that the two white dots on the iPhone's rear case show through the two circular cutouts in the Lightning flex cable. If they don't, the flex cable will remain misaligned and you won't be able to reconnect it to its socket on the logic board.
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