iPhone 3GS Front Panel

My Problem

My daughter dropped her (our old) iPhone 3GS and shattered the front glass. Her phone needed frequent charging so while I was repairing it, I decided to go ahead and get a new battery also. Took the opportunity to go ahead and order a new 4S rear panel for my wife's phone that was also cracked from a different drop.

My Fix

The 4S rear panel is a snap! Anyone that can use a screwdriver can easily replace one in about 5 minutes.

Removal of the battery from the back of the 3GS case is a bit tricky, but it's not my first rodeo, so that went fine without incident. Replacement of the front panel took some time and patience, but it looks and works great. Thanks iFixit!

My Advice

Go slowly when removing the battery. Highly recommend using a hairdryer to loosen the adhesive to minimize the chance of bending the old battery.

Replacing just the front panel on the 3GS is not for the faint of heart. Separating the glass from the frame was tricky and it was challenging to keep from bending the frame. Watch out for glass shards! Also, be diligent to remove all the glue residue to ensure a tight fit. Carefully align the two pieces before pressing them together as the adhesive strips do their job well. Slow and steady is the way to win this race.

My Problem

Had a shattered front glass on an spare, working 3GS that was being used as a perfect music storage device [via usb hookup into a JVC car stereo]. Wanted to fix the glass to use it as a phone in Europe, since the electronics were all operational in the phone. Touchpad worked fine through the shattered glass!

My Fix

I was able to remove the front panel with the suction cup and unhook the cables w/o any problems. The display appeared to be a very tight fit and removal was a bit difficult, but all appeared ok at that point. iFixit directions were superb!

But it went downhill from there. It seemed to take forever to heat up and remove all the broken glass from the frame. Even cut myself (my fault). Removal of all of the glue residue was easy, and applying the adhesive strips went well. But after a frustrating time removing the adhesive covering, I took the new glass and began to line it up to attach it. What I had neglected to remove was a thin protective film covering on the glass. So of course, the glass and the frame lined up perfectly, and the adhesive cemented itself to the film covering, NOT the glass. (My fault - strike two). I had to redo everything using a spare adhesive kit which I happened to order not knowing the glass came with adhesive.

I put everything together carefully, snapped the panel back onto the phone body, and found to my horror that I must have damaged the 3GS display while prying it apart from the frame (see display discolorations in photo). The display now does not work. (My fault - strike three.)

So it goes...

My Advice

- Should have ordered the panel with the frame already assembled (glass, button, etc) to save frustration which lead to mistakes.

- Should have been much more careful when prying apart the frame from the display.

- Should have just not attempted the repair and perhaps applied a screen protector over the damaged glass.

My Problem

I got hammered one night and tried to jump over a fence to impress a girl. Instead of landing on my feet, i landed on my phone and shattered the screen.

My Fix

The repair went well, I highly recommend having the metal spudger handy when replacing the screen. The hair dryer i borrowed from the girl i was trying to impress worked remarkably well as a heat gun.

My Advice

Be careful of the glass splinters and of jumping fences when your tanked.

My Problem

My wife dropped her 3gs and the screen was pretty cheap. I already had a tool kit from a battery replacement, so this seemed easy enough.

My Fix

Getting the phone apart was easy having done that before with the battery. My kid unscrewed it. Peeling off the broken glass from the plastic part that needed to be saved was tricky. I didn't have a heat gun, so I held the whole thing in front of a small space heater until the glue got soft - this took longer than I thought. So it was heat, then scrape, heat, then pry, etc. Ended up peeling away some black rubbery trim that I shouldn't have, but overall was able to get it cleaned up. Placing the double sided tape took a steady hand, though it was forgiving if you messed up. Just peeled off and started over. After getting the glass in place, I realized it rests slightly higher than the original - meaning now the home button is recessed deeper, and not flush with the glass. My wife doesn't seem to mind this though, so I'm calling the repair a success.

Amendment: Her phone touch screen is slowly becoming non-responsive. Bummer, but despite my best efforts to replace just the screen, it actually didn't work. This was harder than I thought. Already ordered the full screen assembly to replace for about $40 shipped, which I guess is what I should have done in the first place!

My Advice

Use a heat gun...would have been way better than my space heater method. If you just buy the digitizer + screen combo for $30, you probably won't have the home button issue I had.

Amendment: unless you are a semi pro repair person, go with the whole screen assembly...waaaaaay easier and definitely worth the extra $.

My Problem

Broken front glass on an iPhone 3GS, Again.

My Fix

It was fast and much easier this time, maybe 40 minutes. But I had been in this iPhone several times before.

My Advice

Be careful pulling off inside screen protection plastic, mine started to pull off the standoff also. Just push it back down and don't touch the inside glass with the fingers.

My Problem

I have a friend that shattered the glass on his iPhone 3GS and did not want to spend a lot of money on a repair. He had tape all across the front of the phone and it still worked. He asked if i could help him out and not pay a lot of money. After finding your website, i found what i needed and the cost was extremely low.

My Fix

The repair was very easy. I have big hands, and the only difficult part was reconnecting the ribbon cables for the phone to work. Other than that, the instructions provided on your website were very easy to follow

My Advice

if the front panel glass is shattered on the iPhone you are working on, be sure to use something to pry off a small piece of glass first. once you do that, it is easy to get the remaining glass off of the front panel. Alternate with a hair dryer or heat gun and prying.

My Problem

I fixed it for the fun of looking how small these parts are. They made a good job of packing everything in a so small case. I changed the battery first and secondly the front panel. It works nicely.

My Fix

I am not as talented as your personnel, and I did not want to break anything more. So I took my time read twice the manual and did it. I'm a bit proud of adding more days to its 3GS life. Almost a vintage phone!

My Advice

It's fun to repair.

My Problem

Front Panel was broken.

My Fix

The Replacement went pretty well. But the supplied both side adhesive tape was just for the upper and the lower missing the sidelines, which are very thin. When I detach the old panel I did not care much to save the side lines. After reassembly, I found touch screen sensor does not work properly along the side lines. I guess that the contact between the glass panel and the lcd panel is not perfect and that's why the touch screen does not properly along the side lines.

My Advice

Be careful too save the adhesives in the side lines to reuse them, or you have to cut a both side adhesive tape vey slim to apply. I have not tried though.