Hello world!
I’m Arthur—technical writer, teardown engineer, researcher, and photographer at iFixit.
I have the illustrious honor of taking devices apart, identifying components, figuring out how things work, and showing others how to fix stuff. In addition, I perform electrical analysis and research how emergent tech works.
A day at the office: working on Google Pixel 3 guides
Education
I graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo with a master’s degree in electrical engineering, with a focus on control systems and mechatronics. Along the way, I designed high efficiency DC power circuits, grew organic OLED panels in a vacuum, and programmed a small swarm of robots to autonomously navigate and map out a cluttered room. My thesis work involved training neural networks to detect hidden structural faults in commercial buildings using acceleration sensor data. I enjoy both the theoretical and practical hands-on nature of my degree.
Making single pixel OLED panels in vacuum
“By teaching, we learn”
Much of my time at iFixit is spent instructing people how to fix stuff by writing step-by-step repair guides. So far, I’ve written over 180 guides for devices ranging from Rug Doctors to iPads. As I research, disassemble, and document repair procedures, I’m always learning something new. Working on smartphones necessitated a good understanding of how lithium-ion batteries work; writing Rug Doctor guides taught me how to remove rivets— something I haven’t had to deal with in smartphones…yet.
Installing a rivet onto the Rug Doctor
I am also a member of iFixit’s team of teardown engineers, publishing informative, in-depth reports on the inner workings of newly-released gadgets such as the Magic Leap One and the iPhone XS. These teardowns include chip analysis and explanations for complicated concepts (such as waveguides) in layman’s terms.
Identifying chips for the iPhone XS
Interests
I’m curious by nature; I enjoy exploring long-forgotten roads, trying non-mainstream food, and disassembling new smartphones! I like retro, well-designed mechanical machines; I own four typewriters and drive a Suzuki Samurai.
Driving the Sammy on Quatal Canyon road
Teardowns I've Worked On
My Guides
Guides I've Contributed To
Guides I've Helped Translate
My Favorite Guides
Completed Guides
My Stories
iPhone 5s battery & home button replacement
iPhone 5s Home Button
I left the front camera attached to the motherboard when I removed the board, but you can remove it separately.
The vibration contacts are pretty heavily glued in! They have to—otherwise, the motor will shake loose :)
This is definitely possible, depending on which kit’s T3 bit you use, along with potential screw quality variances.
Hi Bryan!
You should definitely replace the adhesive. You can use some custom-cut adhesive made specifically for the S7, or you can use double-sided tape like Tesa tape. For this situation, the precut card would be more than enough.
Hi Benjamin! I added Tesa tape in the tools list as the adhesive to reattach the back cover. If you have replacement back cover adhesive on-hand, you don’t need Tesa tape.
Hi Alex!
I’m really sorry to hear about your experience. Can you describe a little more how the alcohol ruined the screen? This info can help with future guides!
Hi John,
We don’t recommend using Goo Gone because it’s a petroleum distillate based remover, which leaves an oily residue. The residue can prevent replacement adhesive from fully bonding with the surface. Be sure to clean any Goo Gone surface with a detergent-based cleaner.
Isopropyl alcohol and iFixit’s adhesive remover are formulated to evaporate quickly and leave little residue, which allows replacement adhesive to bond properly to the surface.
Hi Noe,
The Touch ID will no longer function if you replace the logic board. The button will still press, but the fingerprint security is paired with the original logic board.
We strongly discourage heating a battery with a heat gun, as there is a substantial risk of a thermal event.
Thanks Behrad for the tip! I’ve added the info into the step.
Hi Brian,
The screen replacement should not break the Apple Pay/Wallet functionality. It sounds like the NFC capabilities which Apple Pay uses may be disrupted. I would suggest carefully rechecking the press connectors to make sure they’re all fully seated, and look for any torn cables.
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