Customer Reviews

Replacement Apple Iphone 3gs Cracked Lcd Glass Digitizer Touch Surface Screen Cover Replacement Part + Tools + Guide ( Not for Iphone 3g )

5 star:		(199)
4 star:		(107)
3 star:		(52)
2 star:		(54)
1 star:		(117)

 

 

I rated this Item 2 stars (I don't like it) because there are no instructions, as advertised. Everything else seems to be fine. My iPhone is working perfectly and it did save me more than $100.00!

In an effort to help others in the Amazon community, I will attempt to give some instructions on how to use this product.

If you appreciate this review, the please rate it highly. Thank you.

First, gather your tools.
Safety glasses.
You will need either a heat gun or a hair dryer.
A large tray or baking pan to catch all of the shards of glass.
Disposable plates.
Micro fiber towels.
A small magnet.
While not strictly necessary, I would recommend a small multi tip screwdriver available at any major home improvement store for under $10.00.
I would also recommend getting the iPhone screw kit available here on Amazon. (These screws are tiny!).

I would suggest at this point, watching a video on YouTube. There is one by Mission Repair that I found very helpful.

POWER OFF YOUR PHONE

Working over a disposable plate, start by removing the two screws on the bottom of the phone, next to the speaker and microphone holes. Set the screws aside on the magnet so that you don't lose them.

Put the key ring through the hole in the suction cup to give yourself a handle.

If the glass is not broken at the bottom of the screen then gently clean it and affix the suction cup. If the glass is broken at the bottom, then place a piece of packing tape over the screen and affix the suction cup to the tape, at the bottom of the screen.

Gently, but firmly pull the bottom of the glass away from the iPhone about 1/2 of an inch.
Now, slowly and carefully rock the glass back to access the cables.
Using the blue plastic mini pry bar, gently lift off cable #1 , then #2.
For #3, lift the white plastic lever and slide the cable out.
Leave the main phone body on the plate ad set it off to the side.

Working over a new plate, remove the six screws that hold the LCD assembly onto the frame. There are three screws on one side rail, two on the other side rail and one on the top left corner of the LCD next to a clip.
Place these screws onto the magnet.

Starting on the opposite corner from the clip, gently work your micro screwdriver between the LCD assembly and the side rail. Carefully free the LCD unit until it will slide downward past the clip. set the LCD unit face down on the plate and set it aside.

Now it's time to remove the broken glass from the plastic frame.
For this next part, work inside the tray,
WEAR YOUR SAFETY GLASSES
and be aware that the shards of glass can be very sharp.

Using the heat gun or blow dryer, gently heat the glass until the adhesive starts to soften enough to pry the glass from the plastic frame using the flat head screwdriver.
(I didn't have a heat gun or a hair dryer, so I used a space heater instead, but I imagine the hood of a car on a hot day Would work as well)
Remember, the object here is to soften the adhesive without damaging the plastic frame.

Once you have all of the glass and adhesive removed, it will be time to test fit the glass.
This will also give you practice for putting the glass in, for once the adhesive is attached.
Working over a micro fiber cloth, remove the small plastic protective strips at the top and bottom of the glass. Leave the rest of the strips in place.
Practice puting the glass into the frame, making sure that the cable goes through the opening in the frame and does not become trapped between the glass and the frame.

Once you feel comfortable dry fitting the glass, then it is time to apply the adhesive strips. Apply the adhesive tape to the frame then remove the backing. I'm sorry, but there really is no easy way of doing this.
Now just like you practiced, place the glass into the frame. Seal it in firmly.

Putting it all back together:

Slide the LCD screen under the clip and press into place making sure that all of the cables are in close proximity of each other. Install all six screws. (These will be the smallest screws.)
Reattach cable 3 by sliding into place and locking down the clamp. cables 2 and 1 line up over their connectors and are pressed into place.

Now slide the glass into the top of the phone and gently rock it down until it is in place. Install the last two screws.

Test your phone. it should work perfectly.

These instructions are my intellectual property and may not be sold transferred or duplicated without my expressed consent, in writing. They are being provided solely for the use in this review.

I give it four stars because my iPhone is working perfectly again for about 80% less than exchanging for a new unit at the apple store.. But I agree with the other reviewers that many things can go wrong.

It was really cool to take the iPhone apart and see the remarkably tiny components and connectors that make it work. It was even cooler when I got it working again.

I read the directions carefully, including the advice to test it before peeling the paper off of the permanent adhesive. Only on my fourth time reassembling the phone did I have everything perfect. So I took it apart one more time, peeled the adhesive, and permanently put it back together. Works like new.

I suppose there was about a 30% chance that I would break something and be unable to get it working again. If that had happened I would have given fewer stars and paid Apple $190 to trade my broken unit for a new one. I would have paid $30 or so to play with the insides of an iPhone.

I'm also investing in a better protective cover so it doesn't get broken again!

Best wishes for a successful project.

PS. I found that a pair of tweezers was very helpful for re-inserting one of the ribbon cables. Just make sure to put them back when you are done or your wife will be mad at you (like mine was).

Apple charges $[...] to replace a shattered screen so a savings of over 75% is a worthwhile DIY shot. This kit does give you all of the tools you'll need (although the suction cup is useless), but the instructions that come with it have little value. [...] has a number of video tutorials and the best I've found is this one: [...] .

It took me about 3 and half hours to make the repairs. The most time consuming part is removing the broken glass as this requires the use of a hair dryer on a very hot setting to melt the glue and a very sharp/thin knife or Xacto blade to dislodge the glass shards from the frame. The most tedious part is inserting the #1 connector from the display to the motherboard. The connector is about 1/4" in width and it's in a difficult location to work in. To be successful, you need patience, a good work area with plenty of light, good eyesight, and a steady hand. Did I mention patience??

You don't need to be a technology guru to tackle this project, but you do need to take your time and work carefully as you'll be dealing with broken glass, sharp tools, and very tiny connectors. There are different kits for the various iPhone vintages, so be sure you get the right one.

I purchased this product from Accessory One. The tools were very cheap. The Digitizer that they sent me was for the iphone 3G even though it was advertised as Apple iphone 3gs cracked lcd glass digitizer touch surface screen cover replacement part + tools (only for iphone 3gs, not for iphone 3G). I called accessory one but they weren't very helpful. They told me that they didn't guarantee that the product would work and they told me to e-mail support for issues, I did that but never received a call back. Amazon shouldn't let this company do business with their customers.

This product was horrible. It did not come with the guide as promised, forcing me to navigate through the many you tube videos for one that would work (if you do decide to buy this part make sure the video you are using is specifically for the 3GS as there are a few differences in where you will pry). The screwdriver fit the external screws on the phone, but was too large for the six internal screws used to hold the LCD to the glass. The screwdriver size needed is a Phillips 1.6mm screwdriver (which will work for all screws on the phone), I was given a size 2.0mm (you can find the correct screwdriver at radio shack if you still decide to buy this part). Also, the pre-cut adhesive provided was not properly trimmed and was bigger than the area into which it was supposed to fit. The worst thing about this set is that the case opener tools provided are too wide to fit into the cracks they are supposed to, making prying the screen assembly out a daunting task (I ended up using a very small, non-magnetic flat-head screwdriver, which worked very well). The case opener tools are also made of such malleable plastic that pieces of them broke off in the phone and my LCD was badly damaged, causing my entire phone to be useless. (whatever you do, do not use the prying method of removing the LCD from the glass, there is an alternate method involving wedging a kitchen knife between two pieces of metal (videos can be found on you tube) that is much more safe for your LCD, particularly since the tools provided with this kit are likely to break and cause further damage to your phone. This repair is not difficult if you have the right tools and your screen is not too badly cracked at the top and bottom frame. If is is badly cracked in those places, you have to heat the frame several times over and peel each individual shard of glass from the adhesive before you can begin to apply the new glass. I would recommend a full assembly product that includes new LCD screen, glass digitizer assemble already connected to the frame, home button, and earpiece. This will cost you about $60, but will only take you about 3 minutes to complete (even if you are not tech savvy) and will only require you to remove and replace two screws and three small cables, instead of a process which involves removing 6 screws, 3 cables, carefully prying your LCD off without damaging it, melting adhesive in order to do some more prying and getting glass shard all over the house, removing difficult excess adhesive, reapplying new adhesive without allowing air bubbles, replacing the glass properly, then reversing the whole process. And upon rubbing my hand across my sofa I have just discovered that I have a small splinter of glass stuck in my finger!

After much research, I decided on purchasing this 3gs repair kit. It came in a timely fashion and included the proper tools it described.. HOWEVER, they gave me 2 separate screens, the glass and the digitizer / touch component, which are sold FUSED TOGETHER from the factory, but THE OEM has neglected to tell anyone that when you buy it in this kit it comes SEPARATE!!!! Leaving you with the problem of separating your old digitizer to the new glass, which couldn't even work because it isn't the right size to fuse, nor do they give you any kind of adhesive (other than that for the frame to digitizer) to fuse the glass screen with the digitizer. I doubt I will ever get compensation and would like to leave the email I sent to THE OEM as fair warning to everyone, because I am now out an iphone 3gs.

The Email:

Dear The OEM Planet,

I just want you to know how great your shipping was, very fast and timely. However, when I received the parts, everything was there except that the glass screen and digitizer (touch component) were separate. After 6 grueling hours I had finally completely followed every step perfectly, I turned my iphone (3gs) on, and BAM it was on and looked brand new... But as soon as I slid my finger to unlock my Iphone, the touch pad was completely unresponsive... After 3 more hours and attempts to secure loose wires (1,2,3) as to assure that it was not on my own error that the touch component was unresponsive, I stumbled across some knowledge that really upset me. It turns out that the glass and digitizer come pre-placed together, which you guys neglect to mention on your amazon page for this particular kit. So after long hours, it turns out that what I purchased from you was not even sufficient to fix my iphone 3gs screen, which is still unresponsive, leaving me without a phone whatsoever. I think it is only right of you to either A) send me a new kit with the proper screen so that I can fix it, or B) please refund me my money so that I can put it towards another proper kit, or towards the eventual 200 or so dollars I will have to pay apple to fix this screen. What I don't understand is why you would sell this kit with 2 separate screens??? Obviously the average person is not going to be able to fasten them together.. I just can't understand the reason why you sent the one screen with the golden luminescent #2 attachment AND the other glass screen with nothing else on it... Maybe it was my fault and there was some way to put these together, but you ALSO didn't include any directions as so advertised on your amazon page for this particular kit. I would really love some answers please...


I hope they see this and either STOP selling the 2 screens separately, which other websites clearly state NOT to purchase (wish I had known that prior that they would send them separately..), or will send me a new kit with the 2 screens properly together.

I must say that I was very skeptical about the price. As a matter of fact I
had buyer's remorse and bought a higher priced screen hoping for better quality.
The screen from OEM arrived very fast and beat the delivery of the more expensive screen. I received it on Wednesday and decided to try installing the OEM screen rather then waiting on the more expensive one. I went very slowly to make sure nothing would be damaged. Be careful with the heat due to the potential to warp the frame. I watched several You Tube videos to get a feel for the process. I did not use the tools that came with the kit due to the fact that I had my own. After putting everything back together I was astonished that it worked. I fully expected it to not work at all or be insensitive to touch. It is unbelievable that for less then $10 dollars the screen looks like the original and works flawless. Again I was so skeptical but I can now say am very happy. I cannot stress enough to take your time and go slow. If you do not take your time and exercise patients, you will break something. It took a total time of 1 hour and forty five minutes for me working alone. Take your time and you will be rewarded.

I received these two screens, I changed one out and put everything together. Once the phone was back together the touchscreen was not responding to anything. I then replaced it with the second screen that I had order thinking that maybe I received a defective piece. Same results. I fiddled with the screens then gave up and took it to a cell phone repair. They informed that the screen that I had installed was for a 3G and not for 3GS. the cell phone repair shop charged me $75 for the whole thing. So thanks for sending me the wrong part. I will never do anymore business from with you again!!!!!

After try to install the wrong part, The iphone does not turn on any more. needed to send it to a Apple Store repair and cost me $116.00.

I would recommend this only to do it yourselfers who are used to dealing with very tiny electronics and/or mechanical assemblies. There are a number of videos on you-tube that show how to proceed that can make it look easier than I found it (but should be watched several times beforehand).

This is definitely the case that the first time is much harder to do than subsequent repairs (but hopefully you don't need to do it a second time!).

Things learned the hard way: the suction cup was useless in my case because the screen cracked such that the cup would not support a vacuum. I had to resort to using a very aggressive tape (3M VHB...used for car trim...other foam double sided tapes may be fine) and sticking the tape to the screen and a small chunk of metal to serve as a handle. The tip of the screwdriver in the kit was not small enough (sharp enough) to seat in the screws so was useless. I used a screwdriver with mini-tips that I bought from a big box store...the tips are like small versions of dry wall driver tips...very hard, very sharp...worth the $7. The biggest potential area for screw up is the home button and its associated contacts. They are flexible beams that press down on contact pads when the phone is buttoned up. They are **very** easy to hook and bend...a couple of bends and they break off! They are easy to damage, particularly in my case since the glass was in so many pieces and it took a lot of manipulation to remove them from the frame.

I understand a common problem is breaking the LCD module when you remove it. I recommend staring at it for a while and noting how it nests into the frame. There are a number of points where you can very gently pry the LCD module out where the pry tool (small flat blade screwdriver is what I used) does not press against the glass portion of the LCD. This is one where going really slowly and gently is a very good thing...fast and you risk the LCD.

The other thing that was not apparent to me was the various protective films on the panel...one on the inside surface looked like it might be associated with the touch screen and I was reluctant to remove it...but it was just a protective film. Bottom line peel off all films.
The screws are wicked small and easy to lose...I wound up losing one and substituting one from an old Ipod carcass I had in my junk drawer. I understand you can buy a screw kit separately...a wise investment. I used a binocular visor magnifier and good lighting (things I learned the hard way over years of "fixing"). Work over a swept floor in case you drop a screw...boy, those suckers can bounce! Go for it...no guts no glory...