Introduction
If your iPhone XR screen is cracked, not responding to touch, or not showing a picture when your phone is powered on, use this guide to restore your iPhone to working order with a new screen, a.k.a. display assembly.
This guide is meant to be used with complete replacement screens only. The replacement screen should come pre-mounted on a frame and have a thin metal LCD shield pre-installed on the back. If that LCD shield is missing, follow this more in-depth guide to replace the screen while keeping your old LCD shield.
The combined earpiece speaker + sensor assembly affixed to the back of the display is paired to your individual iPhone from the factory, so you must transfer it from your old display to your new one during any display replacement. It contains the flood illuminator, which is part of the biometric Face ID security feature. If it is damaged or replaced, Face ID will cease to function, so take extra care not to damage any of these components during this procedure. If damaged, only Apple can restore Face ID function.
Note: True Tone functionality is disabled after a screen replacement, even when using an original Apple screen.
Tools
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Power off your iPhone before beginning disassembly.
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Remove the two 6.7 mm-long pentalobe screws at the bottom edge of the iPhone.
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If your iPhone has a cracked screen, keep further breakage contained and prevent bodily harm during your repair by taping over the glass.
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Lay overlapping strips of packing tape over the iPhone's display until the whole face is covered.
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If the broken glass makes it difficult to get a suction cup to stick in the next few steps, try folding a strong piece of tape (such as duct tape) into a handle and lifting the display with that instead.
How to detect my Iphone what screen it is, OLED or LCD?
It’s OLED. You can find the specs here, https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201296
When you find your phone, at the bottom of the description click on, See the tech specs…
mcr4u2 -
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Use a hairdryer or heat gun, or prepare an iOpener and apply it to the lower edge of the iPhone for about a minute in order to soften up the adhesive underneath.
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If the plastic depth gauge is attached at the center of the iSclack, remove it now—it's not needed for larger phones like the iPhone XR.
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Position the suction cups near the bottom edge of the iPhone—one on the front, and one on the back.
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Press both suction cups firmly into place.
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Pull up on the suction cup with firm, constant pressure to create a slight gap between the front panel and rear case.
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Insert an opening pick into the gap.
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Slide the opening pick around the lower left corner and up the left edge of the iPhone, slicing through the adhesive holding the display in place.
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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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Remove three 1.2 mm Y000 screws securing the battery connector cover bracket.
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Remove the bracket.
Definitely make sure all three lobes of your tool are aligned before use (it’s a little harder to tell with this style of bit) and apply even and adequate pressure to ensure it grabs as you spin the driver to prevent disfiguring the lobes/slot of the screw head.
Unfortunately my Y000 tool was perhaps not the best fit (tolerance a bit off) in these screws and I ended up stripping out the heads of all three of these. I started to panic but after I sanded the tip of my Y000 bit down a little with super fine grit (1000CW-C) sand paper to flatten the domed tip (visible with macro lens) and give it a bit more bite I was able to remove and reinstall without issue—in fact I had to remove and install them twice since I forgot my adhesive tape during reassembly, so the screws survived and the sanded bit worked.
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Use the point of a spudger to pry the battery connector straight up out of its socket.
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Bend the connector slightly away from the logic board to prevent it from accidentally making contact with the socket and providing power to the phone during your repair.
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Remove the two 1.2 mm Y000 screws securing the display connector bracket.
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Remove the bracket.
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Use the tip of a spudger to pry up and disconnect the digitizer cable.
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Use the tip of a spudger to disconnect the display cable connector.
The new display cable isn’t snapping in but I was just able to snap in the old one. Did I break the new one somehow?
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Remove the five screws securing the logic board connector bracket to the rear case:
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One 1.3 mm Phillips #000 screw
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One 1.5 mm Phillips #000 screw
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Three 1.2 mm Y000 screws
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Remove the bracket.
I’m not sure it makes much if any difference, but we went ahead and swapped the order for you guys. Thanks for your comments!
I just repaired another XR, and you are right! It doesn’t make any differnerce in the order these screws come out. I still damaged this fragile piece. As I work on more of these, I’ll figure out a way to remove this screw without damaging the clip. For now everyone, just use extra caution when removing the 1.3mm phillips screw! Thanks Jeff
Is this piece important for the repair if broken? I have broken it on a home repair. What is it used for? Is it a grounding connection or is it completely unimportant. More information needed please
I can confirm that taking out the 1.3 mm screw first then the 1.5 mm screw works the best. If done correctly, you should be able to to remove the rest of the screws and pull the panel off with the clip still attached to the panel. For reassembly, start with the 1.5 mm screw then the 1.3 mm screw.
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Use the tip of a spudger to pry the front sensor assembly connector up from its socket.
During testing, make sure your proximity sensor is not on upside down, as it’s easy to connect upside down. Your phone will boot loop if it’s on incorrectly.
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Remove the four screws securing the speaker/sensor assembly to the back of the display:
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Two 1.6 mm Phillips screws
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One 2.3 mm Phillips screw
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One 1.2 mm Y000 screw
Do you really need to do step 21-30, because it says to replace, do it in reverse. Which means you are taking the components off and putting them back on without touching the screen? sorry if this is a dumb question, i’ve never done this before.
Good question! It depends on which guide you are completing. If you are replacing the screen, you do need to complete steps 21-30, in order to remove the front assembly and transfer it to your replacement screen. The front assembly contains the Face ID hardware, which is biometrically linked to the logic board.
Now, if you are completing other guides, you may not need to remove the front assembly. Guides should have the steps slotted in only if they are pertinent to the procedure.
Im reassembling and notice there are no threaded screw holes to secure the speaker/sensor assembly on the new display. no way to secure it at all. Do i not need to secure it?
Hi Ashley,
There should definitely be screw holes to secure the assembly to the new display. If you purchased the part from iFixit, please contact our customer support, and we will sort things out for you!
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Using tweezers, gently flip the speaker assembly over—down and away from the top edge of the display.
I don’t understand. It clearly appears that one should stop disassembling after this step. Peeling off the tape here should provide access to the solder connections. Why remove a bunch of other adhered parts? ESD concerns?
Of course, taking care not to transmit heat to the screen assembly below would be prudent. But it’s unlikely much if any heat would conduct even without using any sort of insulating spacer, assuming one’s soldering technique is acceptable. With a thermal mass that small, overheating the connection is the big concern. Especially since it is lead-free solder.
(It has a high melting point. If you didn’t already know that, this is definitely not the best project to develop your soldering skills! You can still do it, but should def practice on similar connections until you feel proficient. Lifting a pad or overheating a nearby component are both dangers. Yet, the cost of the part is low enough you could buy two (just in case) and still come out ahead of Apple’s fee. Use flux or you’ll struggle!)
Hey Ryan,
You are right in that after this step, you could de-solder and replace the earpiece individually, if you choose to do some careful de-soldering and soldering. Alas, not everyone has the background and skill to do so! By instructing users to replace the complete assembly, we bypass the need to solder, and allow a wider audience to successfully complete the repair.
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Use a hairdryer, a heat gun, or a heated iOpener applied to the top front of the display for about a minute, in order to soften the adhesive securing the sensors.
Review steps 24-29 prior to doing this. Step 27 shows removing ambient sensor. It is attached….barely…to the rest of this assembly. I thought I was being overly cautions, and it still broke. Don’t be afraid to use heat. Do not force. Any resistance, do not force it.. Heat it up and then try. Other than that, sound and camera works fine, and it appears that FaceID works. Not my phone, so I can’t test that part without unlocking customer’s phone. No error messages appeared, so Im assuming all is good. With the touch home button on older models, if touch wouldn’t work, you’d receive a message as soon as you booted the phone up. OK.. That’s enough. Just be careful over the next 5 steps..
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Carefully slide the flat edge of a spudger underneath the flex cable below the microphone.
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Twist gently to separate the microphone, while being careful not to strain or damage the flex cable.
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If needed, use the point of the spudger to finish separating the microphone from its notch in the front panel. If the microphone remains difficult to separate, apply more heat.
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Working left to right, slide an opening pick beneath the flex cable and underneath the proximity sensor + flood illuminator module.
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Gently wiggle and lift to separate the module from its notch in the front panel.
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Use tweezers to slide the small bracket straight up and off of the ambient light sensor.
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Use tweezers to wiggle the ambient light sensor and lift it from its notch in the display.
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If you successfully removed the entire ambient light sensor, as shown in the first photo, continue to the next step below.
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If the white diffuser strip is detached and remains embedded in the display, as shown in the second photo, you will need to carefully lever it out along the top edge using a thin blade or pry tool. Re-applying heat first may make this task a bit easier.
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Remove the earpiece speaker and front sensor assembly.
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Proximity sensor
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Flood illuminator
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The module must be positioned so that these components are not obstructed by any adhesive.
To replace just the earspeaker, you will have to re-use the the flex assembly which is soldered to the earspeaker…….
the 2 solder connection are hidden under a tiny piece of thin black tape, on the underside of the speaker.
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Compare your new replacement part to the original part—you may need to transfer remaining components or remove adhesive backings from the new part before installing.
To reassemble your device, follow the above steps in reverse order.
Take your e-waste to an R2 or e-Stewards certified recycler.
Repair didn’t go as planned? Check out our Answers community for troubleshooting help.
Compare your new replacement part to the original part—you may need to transfer remaining components or remove adhesive backings from the new part before installing.
To reassemble your device, follow the above steps in reverse order.
Take your e-waste to an R2 or e-Stewards certified recycler.
Repair didn’t go as planned? Check out our Answers community for troubleshooting help.
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25 Comments
Man, you guys have the best jobs. You get to take apart electronics and make outstanding repair guides for a living!
Where I can buy the screen?
Hi, you can buy the screen here in our store! Good luck with your repair!
What about the half dozen other steps of removing the back plate, transferring components and reassembling the device?
We put those steps into a separate guide, since not everyone needs them! If you need the more in-depth version, look here.
Has anyone Noticed the LCDs on the X series replacement screens crack very easily or is it more than likely I’m just receiving cheap parts?
Any idea if you will be selling the iPhone XR Display Assembly Adhesive, Item code: IF408-008? If not, any recommendation for where to get this? Thank you,
J
@jtullbane It’s available again—not sure why we had the product disabled. Thanks for asking!
Thanks for the write up. I just replaced my screen with your kit and I’m unable to use FaceID. I’ve reset it it but I am unable to set it up fresh as the system can’t detect my face during the setup wizard. What is interesting though is that Animoji are correctly projecting my face. Does anyone’s have any tips for further debugging before I take it apart again
In my experience this is usually a hardware rather than a software issue. Double-check the tips in the final step. Make sure there’s no dust or fingerprints on the Face ID lenses and projector. Make sure nothing was damaged during the repair, particularly those thin flex cables. Reseat the connectors, reassemble, and test again. If all else fails, try reinstalling the old screen and see if you get Face ID back—in theory, a defective coating on the new screen could interfere with the Face ID hardware. Good luck!
When you buy the screen, does the necessary screwdrivers come with or do you have to purchase them separately?
Hi Cody,
If you purchase from iFixit, you have the option of buying either the replacement part by itself, or in a kit with all the necessary tools and adhesives. As of now, we don’t have a kit built for the screen, so you would need to supply your own tools.
what is the small bracket for in step 18?
Awesome repair guide. I just finished with my screen replacement and am amazed at how relatively simple it was. I only have one critique and that is to add a bit driver to the tools required. I didn’t realize that the ph000 and the y000 were thinner than regular bits so it took a little bit more time for me. All that said I am happy with my repair and thank you guys for the fight for the right to repair. You all are awesome
The adhesive for the XR is only available from the US store but I need to get it in the EU one. Is there a link for it in the EU store not the US one?
Does the part you sell have the lcd shield included?
also what is the thermal paste on this model….other sites say “thermal paste pre installed” what does that mean?
Hi! The part we sell is only the LCD panel and digitizer only. It does not have the shield—you will have to transfer the part over. I’m not sure about thermal paste other sites are speaking off…it may be a poor translation to mean screen adhesives?
I have an two iphone xr red, one donor and one to repair, the screen works on the donor vice versa but doesnt work on the other one(touch screen work on bottom half only…) you guys know why?
I am not a seasoned technician by ay stretch of the imagination, though I have tinkered with many things over the years. I followed the guide step by step, and took my sweet time. So far, the phone and all of it’s peripherals work like and look new, face recognition included. I highly recommend the iFixit Mako Driver kit for this project, but I suppose that as long as your tools are of a high quality, you won’t have many if any issues. I used a cheap low wattage heat gun, but after completing this project, I have drawn the conclusion that I really wish that I had the iOpener and am going it order soon. I also could have used a few high quality spudgers and prying/seperator tools. This was a great step by step guide, and I believe that a budding professional could likely take any advice that they can find on iFixit. Excellent work.
I recommend buying the magnetic project pad or be well prepared to organize the screws and parts. The screws are tiny, so you might consider a head-mounted magnifier if your vision isn’t perfect. Excited to have this repair under my belt and not have to run to the genius bar for cracked screens any longer.
One of my gaskets was as shown in your second photo, the other had been worked into the threads (as if smeared) probably from the factory and was completely unusable.
In place of replacements (unsure of where to purchase) I just used a clear silicone caulking on both screws upon reassembly to offer at least some water seal. I wish these gaskets were included with the gasket waterproofing sealant kit!
Erica - Reply