iPhone 5s Rear Camera

My Problem

Girlfriend's iPhone 5s' rear camera stopped working one day, plain and simple.

My Fix

I did the main steps of turning it off and back on as well as resetting the phone, but still so success. After receiving the replacement and finally sitting down to fix it, it took me less than 10 mins to get inside and find the problem. I asked her if anything else had not been working as well and she explained the the flashlight hadn't worked either since the incident. Come to find out, I was too excited to order a new part and take her phone apart to ask what had actually happened; she had dropped her phone a few weeks back and in the process the ribbon connecting the Rear Camera was dislodged causing the camera and flash to stop working. I reconnected it screwed everything back together and BLAM, everything was perfect!! I told her it was a tough job but I managed to get it fixed so all is good. I don't have the heart to tell her how easy it was, more or less because I'm embarrassed for my mistakes.

My Advice

See title above...

My Problem

Camera was broken and Apple said it was water damaged so they wouldn't replace it. So I rolled the dice, ordered one (used to keep it cheap), and replaced it without a hitch. It even restored my flash.

My Fix

Repair was fine. I wish I had the proper tools but I got by with a razor blade and a set of tweezers. The first time I went to boot up the phone I didn't have all the connections solid, my touch screen didn't work. I took it apart and rechecked connections and then it worked fine.

My Advice

take your time, use a lot of lamp light, and don't drop those tiny screws. Also, watch some videos on youtube. Very useful. The suction cup trick for the screen didn't work. I had to pry it open, the seal was too tight for the suction cup.

My Problem

I noticed some debris or dirt or something on my photos and had already disassembled the iphone 5s to clean but it didnt fix a particualr spot. I purchased a new rear camera to do the repairs myself.

My Fix

Repair went smooth with the tools I had purchased from ifixit! Just take your time and go slow. Pay close attention on the orientation of the metal clip for the first connector. make sure to do a good cleaning once you have the unit open

My Advice

Go slow and put the tiny screws in a safe location once you have them removed.

My Problem

That was my eldest kid's phone which had a broken lightining connector and a unnusable camera. I got the chance to change the old battery for a new one too, since it had almost 3 years of use.

My Fix

It was relatively easy to open and disassemble the iPhone, though I had some trouble to reassemble it. I had to reopen the phone cause the digitizer cable wasn't correctly connected, but in the end everything went perfect.

My Advice

Please pay strict attention to the disassemble steps, lest you can get caught with cables you don't know where to connect. And would be important to alert people that the spare parts are different from the originals.

My Problem

This time of year my hands are very dry and, foolishly, I was holding my phone while lifting a product from the shelf at Home Depot. My phone hit the concrete on the corner next to the rear facing camera(the one with the flash) as evidenced by the dent in the protective case. At that point the camera was very unreliable. the preview looked over exposed most of the time if there was any image at all and the shutter release mostly didn't work. Once about every 20 times attempting to take a picture the camera would function properly. The forward facing camera was also effected, but not to such a great extent, only about a 50% failure rate. I decided to replace the rear facing camera, but my fear was that the problem might be related to something other than the camera module because both cameras were effected by the accident.

My Fix

I went ahead with the rear facing camera replacement and that solved all of the problems. I have some experience opening and working on iPhones, my bride sent her 5c through the laundry and I attempted to bring it back to life, so opening the phone was not new to me. I do not have a proper suction cup to open the case, but with a single edge razor blade inserted along the bottom edge of the phone to lift the glass, a spudger and with great care the phone opens easily. The iSclack looks like a pretty cool tool.

My Advice

I used a lighted magnifying glass on a stand and I'm not sure I could have done this repair without it. Suffice to say, it would have taken me a lot longer. I wish my fingers were a bit smaller, the connectors seem to go back together better when I can feel them snapping into place. I would caution that the screws holding down the cover plates are extremely small and require a very gental touch when you are replacing them, I think it would be very easy to over tighten them and strip the threads. While I was in the phone, I took some time to clean out dust and took special care to make sure there was no dirt where the camera lives. I would also suggest that the ribbon cable on the camera module be pre-bent to mimic the cable on the old camera before installing. Be careful not to touch the lens on your new camera.

All-in-all this was a great experience.