Category: Mobiles and Smartphones Repair and Service
Contents of this article
- How to replace the display
- step by step instruction
Apple iPhone 4
DISPLAY REPLACEMENT PROCEDURE
Before disassembling your iPhone, be sure it is powered off. Your iPhone 4 rear cover may have either two #000 Phillips screws or Apple's 5-Point "Pentalobe" screws.
Before disassembling your iPhone, be sure it is powered off. Your iPhone 4 rear cover may have either two #000 Phillips screws or Apple's 5-Point "Pentalobe" screws.
Check which screws
you have, and ensure you also have the correct screwdriver in order to remove
them.Push the rear panel toward the top edge of the iPhone. The
panel will move about 2 mm.
Pinch the rear panel with your fingers and lift it away
from the iPhone. Alternatively, use a Small Suction Cup . Be careful not to
damage the plastic clips attached to the rear panel. If you are installing a
new rear panel, be sure to remove the plastic protective sticker from the
inside of the camera lens and the sticker from the large black area near the
lens.
Remove the single 2.5 mm Phillips screw securing the
battery connector to the logic board. Some devices may have two screws, one of
which holds down the contact pad which is located above the screw indicated in
red in the photo.
Use a plastic opening tool to gently pry the battery
connector up from its socket on the logic board. Pry from the top and bottom of
the connector bracket—there isn't as much of an overhang on the sides, and you
may damage the connector.
Be very careful to only pry up on the battery connector and not the socket on
the logic board. If you pry up on the logic board socket, you may break it
entirely.
Remove the metal clip covering the antenna connector.
Remove the metal clip covering the antenna connector.
Use the clear plastic pull tab to gently lift the battery
out of the iPhone. Do not remove the plastic tab from the iPhone. You may need
to use a plastic opening tool to loosen the adhesive under the battery. Remove
the contact clip from the iPhone. Before reconnecting the battery connector, be
sure the contact clip (shown in red) is properly positioned next to the battery
connector. Before reassembly, be sure to clean all metal-to-metal contact
points on the pressure contact as well as its contact point on the rear panel
with a de-greaser such as windex. The oils on your fingers have the potential
to cause wireless interference issues.
Use a SIM card eject tool or a paperclip to eject the SIM
card and its holder. This may require a significant amount of force. Remove the
SIM card and its holder.
Remove the following two screws:
One 1.2 mm Phillips
One 1.6 mm Phillips
One 1.6 mm Phillips
Remove the thin steel dock connector cable cover from the
iPhone. Before reassembly, be sure to clean all metal-to-metal contact points
on the dock connector cable cover with a de-greaser such as windex. The oils on
your fingers have the potential to cause wireless interference issues.
Use an iPod opening tool to gently pry the dock cable
connector up off the logic board from both short ends of the connector.
Use a plastic opening tool to pry the lower antenna
connector up off its socket on the logic board. Remove the 1.9 mm Phillips
screw securing the bottom of the logic board to the inner case.
Remove the following five screws securing the Wi-Fi
antenna to the logic board:
One 2.3 mm Phillips
Two 1.6 mm Phillips
One 1.4 mm Phillips
One 4.8 mm Phillips
Two 1.6 mm Phillips
One 1.4 mm Phillips
One 4.8 mm Phillips
When re-assembling, start off with replacing the 4.8 mm
Philips screw first, then the 2.3 mm. This is to ensure there is no mix-up, and
avoid rendering the LCD and digitizer useless. Also make sure to put the long
4.8 mm Philips back in correctly when reassembling. This is the ground for the
Wi-Fi antenna and is often the culprit if you are having bad Wi-Fi reception
after reassembly.
Use an iPod opening tool to slightly lift the top edge of
the Wi-Fi antenna away from the logic board. Use the tip of a spudger to pull
the Wi-Fi retaining clips away from the inner frame. Remove the Wi-Fi antenna
from the iPhone. Make sure you don't lose the metal clips on the top of the
cover where the 4.8mm screw attaches or the 4.8mm screw. That's the primary
reason for abnormal Wi-Fi performance after the reassembly. Before reassembly,
be sure to clean all metal-to-metal contact points on the connector cover with
a de-greaser such as Windex. The oils on your fingers have the potential to
cause wireless interference issues. Do not clean the connectors themselves with
Windex.
Use an iPod opening tool to carefully lift the rear
camera connector up off its socket on the logic board. Remove the rear camera.
Remove the small circular white sticker (warranty sticker
and water indicator) covering the screw near the battery pull tab. Remove the
2.4 mm Phillips screw that was hidden underneath the sticker.
Use the edge of a plastic opening tool to gently pry the
following connectors up and out of their sockets on the logic board:
Digitizer cable (pry from bottom)
LCD cable (pry from bottom) Headphone jack/volume button cable (pry from top)
Top Microphone/sleep button cable (pry from top)
Front camera cable (pry from top)
LCD cable (pry from bottom) Headphone jack/volume button cable (pry from top)
Top Microphone/sleep button cable (pry from top)
Front camera cable (pry from top)
Use a small flathead screwdriver to remove the 4.8 mm
standoff near the headphone jack. When reassembling the device, this standoff
sets the height of the Wi-Fi shield removed in step 13. If not torqued down,
the shield will be above the plane of the frame and the back will not slide into
place in step 2. The shield should be flush with the headphone jack.
When reassembling the motherboard, ensure that its edge sits under the circled
standoff, otherwise the screws will not fit. When reassembling ensure that the
small rubber spacer attached to the top of the motherboard is in place. Without
this part the motherboard could damage the ribbon cables around it.
Carefully remove the logic board from the iPhone, minding
any cables that may get caught. Be careful not to damage the small gold prong
(marked in red, near the top) as it's very fragile.
On reassembly, be careful not to trap the lower antenna cable beneath the logic
board.
Remove the single 2.4 mm Phillips screw securing the
speaker enclosure to the side of the inner frame.
Remove the speaker enclosure from the iPhone. Before
re-fastening the speaker enclosure to the inner frame, be sure the four small
EMI fingers rest below the lip of the LCD frame. Before reassembly, be sure to
clean all metal-to-metal contact points between the EMI fingers and the
internal frame as well as the brass screw mounting point with a de-greaser such
as Windex. The oils on your fingers have the potential to cause wireless
interference issues.
Remove the following two screws securing the vibrator to
the inner frame:
One 6 mm Phillips
One 1.4 mm Phillips
One 1.4 mm Phillips
Remove the vibrator from the iPhone.
Remove the 1.5 mm Phillips screw securing the front panel
near the headphone jack.
Remove the three large-headed 1.5 mm Phillips screws
along the volume button side of the iPhone. Keep track of the washers under
each of the screws.
Tip: It can be tricky, but it is also possible to just loosen the large headed
1.5 mm Phillips screws slightly, without having to remove and replace the
screw-and-washer set.
Remove the 1.5 mm Phillips screw near the lower
microphone.
Remove the 1.5 mm Phillips screw near the dock connector
ribbon cable.
Remove the three large-headed 1.5 mm Phillips screws
along the SIM card side of the iPhone. Keep track of the washers under each of
the screws.
Tip: It can be tricky, but it is also possible to just loosen the large headed
1.5 mm Phillips screws slightly, without having to remove and replace the
screw-and-washer set. Remove the small-headed 1.5 mm Phillips screw near the
rear camera.
Carefully insert the edge of an iPod opening tool between
the rubber bezel around the front glass panel and the steel inner frame. Do not
attempt to insert the tool between the glass and the rubber bezel. Carefully
pry the upper edge of the front panel assembly away from the steel inner frame.
Slowly and gently lift the top edge of the front panel
assembly away from the steel inner frame. Continue to rotate the front panel
assembly away from the steel inner frame until it slowly begins to peel off the
adhesive applied below the home button area. It may be easiest to insert a
spudger at the top and work it around the edges, spreading gently as you go.
Carefully pull the lower edge of the front panel assembly away from the steel
inner frame. Be careful, if the home button sticks to the front panel you may
tear the home button cable. Do not flip the front glass completely away from
the frame. Doing so may result In damage to the digitizer cable. If the glass
is cracked (which it probably is since you're replacing it) removing the panel
is likely to cause it to bend, kicking off small shards of glass. Before you do
this step, cover the front with clear tape, then perform the actual removal
over a trash can. Protective eyewear would also be prudent.
De-route the digitizer and LCD cables through the steel
inner frame, and remove the display from the iPhone. When reinstalling the
display, carefully straighten the digitizer and LCD data cables, and feed them
through the slot cut in the steel frame. This photo shows the display assembly
being installed incorrectly, with a fold in the digitizer cable. When the front
panel has been correctly installed, both the LCD and digitizer cables should be
immediately next to one another and should be the same length, as shown in the
second photo.
If the digitizer cable has not been installed correctly, it will not reach its
socket on the logic board. Do not attempt to pull it through by force, or it
will tear. Remove the displa assembly, straighten the cable, and feed it
through to its full length, as shown.
During reassembly, do not touch the metallic area at the base of the LCD data cable, as this can cause problems with the LCD. If you do touch it accidentally, clean it gently with an alcohol wipe before continuing
During reassembly, do not touch the metallic area at the base of the LCD data cable, as this can cause problems with the LCD. If you do touch it accidentally, clean it gently with an alcohol wipe before continuing
