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Easier Than Expected

ndh530 -

iPhone 5

iPhone 5 Screen Replacement

iPhone 5 Screen Replacement

15 minutes - 1 hour

Moderate

My Problem

Dropped my iPhone 5 in a parking garage and shattered the screen. It still worked, but the shattered screen really diminished the elegance of the design...

My Fix

Went perfectly. It took 30 minutes start to finish, and I took my time with it. I did use the repair part that comes with the home button, front facing camera, and mic already attached, and would do the same if I ever have to do this again--I think it saved quite a bit of time and it didn't cost very much more. When I was done, the new display clicked down into place and looks and works like new.

My Advice

These first two things are rather obvious: watch the iFixit video, then follow the on-line step-by-step instructions. Besides that, I recommend using a hands-free magnifier of some kind and having a pair of fine-point tweezers (like the type used to remove splinters) on hand to handle the one very small non-magnetic screw for the little plate that goes over the board connectors (the other two screws are magnetic and will stick to the tip of the supplied screwdriver). When I was removing the old display, I could get a bottom corner lifted up, but the clips wanted to pull it back down when I moved the plastic tool, so I lifted the corner, slipped the corner of a credit card into the gap to hold it open, and then worked the tool over toward the other bottom corner--the display then popped right off. The only part of the repair that took a bit of patience was getting the last of the three new connector plugs properly aligned so it would click down into place on the board because the ribbon cable tends to push it too far to the right. Tip: align it parallel to the RH side of the case, then push it a bit to the left with the plastic tool while maintaining downward pressure with your finger--you'll feel it when it aligns properly, then press it down.

One odd thing: the phone spontaneously powered up twice while I was working on it. I powered it off again each time. This was a bit disconcerting, but it had no impact on the final outcome.

iPhone 5 Screen Image
iPhone 5 Screen

$39.99

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