Customer Reviews

Apple Iphone -3gS Only- Replacement Front Glass and Digitizer -2 Tools, Suction Tool and Adhesive - Repair Your Cracked Glass

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The kit arrived quickly and included several additional "guitar pick" tools not shown in the picture. Unfortunately, no directions are included, so I had to search for a YouTube video (from DirectFix)which made it look easier than it was.

I'm an electrical engineer with a lot of experience in do-it-yourself repair projects, but ran into problems following the video instructions. The pry tool was not strong enough to lift the panel, and quickly broke. (In retrospect, one of the "guitar pick" tools might have worked better, if I had known that's what it was for.)

The next problem came when separating the LCD from the glass panel. The video showed it being pried from the bottom edge. Unfortunately, the screw holes on the sides snap together, even with the screws removed, so you really have to release the sides first. But I followed the video, pried from the bottom, and cracked the LCD display in the process.

Finally, if the old glass is shattered, separating it from the plastic frame is messier than advertised.

In my opinion, it's the type of repair that most skilled people could do correctly the second time, after learning from their mistakes on the first attempt. A link to more complete instructions might have helped.

For those wanting an easier (but costlier) do-it-youself repair, you might want to consider ordering the complete panel, digitizer and LCD as an assembled unit. That makes it more of a "plug-in" replacement job, with less potential for grief.

I purchased from New Harbor and before installing the replacement I looked at the part number. 821-621-A (which they sent) is the digitizer part number for the 3G, not the 3GS. When I contacted the company they admitted that's all they have. The correct part number is 821-766-A. Although they are the same size and the connectors are similar, they are not the same and searching the web will find that this will cause the touchscreen to behave erratically (which is also documented on Amazon). Don't buy this.

Worked great until she broke it again... and again... and one more time for good measure. At least they're cheap so I can just keep buying them. It's as strong as the original... broke just as easily. Install is simple, check the youtube video.

There is no doubt that this product was the right one for my Iphone 3GS. I changed the digitizer in less than 25 minute$. Something about this item that brought the attention to me, was the price. The shipping was also fast enough to fix my client's phone fast. No doubt we will do business again.

I don't understand why so many people are giving this bad reviews because it's difficult to install. That's Apple's fault, not the manufacturer of the replacement glass.

Anyway, this is the second one of these I bought (last one was from different seller). The other one I bought came with a non-magnetized screwdriver (try dealing with those little screws the size of a gnat with one of those). It froze up all the time and the ear sensor didn't work so I'd be muting people with my ear all the time. I haven't had any of those problems with this one.

Is installation easy? Not really, but why would you try taking apart your expensive phone if you're not good at these things? Are instructions included? No, but it's way better to watch YouTube videos anyway. I used this one: [...] ... It should come with a card saying "watch our video here" though and provide a link. It's not rocket science, though. Replacing the screen a second time (replacing my other replacement with this one) took about 10 minutes and I didn't need instructions the second time around (so the process isn't THAT involved).

What is the guitar pick for, though? Still haven't figured that one out.

whatever you do do not buy from LowerPriceUSA.
They do not give you the "tools" that are suppose to come with this product.
and the promise date for your item is incorrect, because it arrives 4 days after the
last promised date for your item(s).
LowerPriceUSA also does not give you the "3M" tape for the digitizer they
give you an off brand that only sticks for a day or two.
When LowerPrice saw my last review they where suppose to fix the problems
i had with them. they said they would ship out the products they promised me
but never did.
I highly reccomend you buy from another company. Try Zeetron theyre great!

First of all let me start off by saying that every one should be reviewing the kit not the difficulty in replacing the screen, this kit has everything you need to replace your iphone screen. The kit does lack instructions but refers you to youtube. To search how to guides, which was fine by me instructions on paper for this task would have been confusing anyway and reviewers would have complained about that as well. Replacing the screen was very difficult but not impossible if you do your homework and are patient you should have no issue's. I replaced my wifes screen and have had no problems even after the fact that I damaged the ribbon #3 clip that holds the ribbon cable in place. If you want to save yourself time and money including the hastle of shipping it out and probably not getting more that a 30 day warranty on the work plus having some disgruntled employee put half an effort into it. I would suggest using this kit.

Kit came quickly. The adhesive is not 3m as shown in the picture. I would've preferred 3m for the piece of mind that it would hold. Seems to be working fine though. The three spots where there are sensors under the glass have a much more pronounced purple tint than the original but not really noticeable, beyond when you're checking the new part out. Other than that it was well worth it for the $15 I paid vs $200 for a repair. Kit worked great and I'm quite happy with it but I can't give it five stars when it's not as shown.

The install however is rather involved. DirectFix's video shows the steps very well. Except when lifting the glass and removing the LCD.
[...]

For the glass use the suction cup from the kit, not the blue tool, you will tear up the rubber surround between the chrome trim and glass. If your glass is busted as bad as mine was you will have problems getting a good seal near the home button with the suction cup, I lifted mine from the center and it worked fine.

For the LCD you need to use a small screwdriver or something to separate the metal on the sides. This video shows what I'm talking about.
[...]

Beyond that go slow with the heat gun to avoid melting anything and budget a few hours to get the whole thing done. Most of your time will be spent cleaning out tiny glass pieces and the old adhesive if you want a good fit and to avoid getting junk under the glass.

The end of the story is that I fixed my iPhone 3GS using this kit, and it works. Getting there could have been smoother, however, with some small accommodations on the part of the manufacturer (or packager).

The little screwdriver included with the kit may as well have been made of cheese -- it stripped itself removing the third screw (there are eight). Fortunately, the screw was fine and I had another screwdriver.

There are no instructions included. Not even badly-translated instructions -- just the replacement glass with the digitizer attached, the cheesy screwdriver, a suction cup on a keyring, a guitar pick, and a scraper/pryer. I have no idea what I might have done with the guitar pick... From the YouTube videos I watched (thank you, walap, for mentioning the tutorial videos in your review), I got the idea that I was supposed to use the suction cup to pull the old glass out, but the glass was shattered (which, you know, is why I was replacing it), and the suction cup couldn't form a seal. With some prying using various sharp instruments, none of which came in this kit, I got the old one out.

Because none of the YouTube videos used THIS kit, and there were no instructions, I suspect that I've installed the new glass having left a protective film on the inside that was meant to be removed -- but I didn't want to chance removing it without being sure it wasn't necessary. There are pull-tabs on the other pieces of film that you take off and no pull-tab on the piece in question; on the other hand, the replacement is not as crystal clear as the original.

But it does work. And that counts for a lot.

PS There's a tiny sticker over the earhole. If you get your phone all fixed up and but can't hear very well, look for that...

Got the glass and digitizer I wanted with the stickers to install, just never got the tools listed in the item headline and described in one other reviews. Shipping was super quick, the item was correct and packaged nicely, just be aware you will have to order tools. -on that note I installed this glass using a small eye glass screwdriver, a cheap bathroom suction cup, and a blow dryer while following instructions from a youtube video. Ordering tools turned out to be unnecessary.