I cracked my I Phone glass… twice. The first time I shattered it…the phone was unusable. The second time, it was at least still usable…see below. Both times, the BF came to the rescue! He is kind of a pro now 
It takes 20 minutes (depending on crack severity), a few tools, a 10$ I Phone replacement glass, and patience!
It takes 20 minutes (depending on crack severity), a few tools, a 10$ I Phone replacement glass, and patience!Two things before we start:
1: We buy the replacement glass from Amazon:
and here is a Andy says not to spend more than $10 and read the reviews and make sure most people have good things to say about the company.
2: The glass repair kits are model specific (i.e. if you have an I-Phone 3G you will buy a different screen than if you have an I-Phone 3GS)
*BF says the mini magnetic screwdriver is a MUST and he uses a kitchen towel so the tiny screws don’t roll around and fall off of the table.
The damage:
1: Remove 2 screws at the bottom of the phone
2: Use suction cup to lift the glass out of the phone body
3: There are 3 wires that attach the glass to the phone. You need to detach all of them. –WATCH you tube VIDEO at the bottom of post for more info!
4: Remove the 6 tiny screws on the sides of the phone…
5: Remove the glass from the touch screen…
This is the phone without the glass or touch screen parts… kind of neat, huh
Here is the old glass
6: Heat up the old glass to melt the glue…You have to remove the metal frame from the glass
Still heating up
7: Remove broken glass from metal frame
8: Remove the goo. We attempted some vlogging…don’t laugh!
9: Use supplied 3M adhesive to attach new glass to metal frame!
One more vlogging attempt
10: Repeat steps 1-7 in reverse order Easy Peasy!
This is the original You Tube video the BF watched to learn how to do it–super helpful!
While I hope that you never need this tutorial…
But, just know that it is here and is EASY and CHEAP to fix
35 Responses to “C.R.A.F.T. # 76: How to Fix A Broken/ Cracked I Phone Screen”
Comments (35)
You have a VERY brave (and talented!) boyfriend!
They're excellent skills for water damage too. While warranties are voided, opening it and letting it completely dry out on it's side can totally bring a phone back to life! (Not tested on iPhones, just old LGs and several Blackberries)
Terrifying!
Kudos to you and your boyfriend for taking on the challenge!
SO COOL!!! This happened to me when my 2 yr old daughter threw my phone in a bit of a fit in the middle of the fabric store. I had to walk around for weeks with a cracked iPhone that still worked. We ended up swapping it for a new one, but I am keeping this tutorial on hand! I think I might still have that cracked phone stored away, so this might really come in handy! So glad you have a handy friend
It looks like quite the project here! Thanks for being the testers for the rest of us!!
we love do it yourself repairs around here, too!
Perfect timing to find this one! Thanks for sharing and for helping us save our dollars!
I've had this happen too! My husband is super techy and did the same. Way better than throwing money away on a new one!!!
Congrads. This was the most viewed link last week at the Whatever Goes Wednesday party. I am highlighting it today!
AMAZING! I'm wondering if this might work to help my iPhone 4 that did about 15 minutes in the washer. I've had it drying in what we call the "rice coffin" for over a week and it does turn on and functions (with the exception of the speaker) but still is acting funny. Maybe a little open breathing time might do the trick!
Wow thanks for sharing. I will have to pass this on to my sister. She has had her glass replaced twice at $60 a pop plus shipping. Now she has cracked it again and she was holding off on fixing it because she didn't want to spend another $60
Amazing!! I just got a new one because mine shattered like a firework was spread across it! I don't know if this would've fixed it or if it was too far shattered, but for $10 it's worth a shot! I ended up with a new, better iphone for cheaper than to replace my old one so I was happy, but now that I used up my upgrade, I'll be keeping this for future reference!
I just got my iPhone, and the thought of the glass breaking makes me break out in a sweat…but thank you so much for providing such a thorough tutorial in case it happens!
I just pinned this this morning and this afternoon my 23 month-old actually broke the glass on my phone!! so frustrating but amazing timing :S
Thanks for the demo! wish me luck
Very handy and helpful! Found this tip on Pinterest
Visiting from Pinterest…Marry that BF, it doesn't get any better than that!
Found on pinterest my daughter has broken hers twice and is gutted at the cost of a repair I have looked at doing this
I was just going to say the same thing as Laura, marry the BF!
Found this on Pinterest and pinned. Also have a friend that just cracked her new iPHone 4s, so shared with her. I know that it works because a local techy friend actually was telling us how to fix ours if it happens. And actually our U-Verse installer dude last year was telling us how it can be done as well! Great tut! Thanks for sharing the knowledge and solution.
thanks for sharing this!! i will have to refer back to it if i am ever in need!
krissykreates.blogspot.com
Has he ever fixed an Ipod touch? Looking at the step by step directions, I dont see any actual screws on the thing we have. Any ideas?
Hmmm. Wonder if this would work with my mom's touch screen android phone?
Would this work for an iPad? My boyfriend has now cracked his TWICE, and the first time he spent $400 to replace the thing, even though it still worked–the factory just didn't want to go to the trouble when it was easier and more expensive just to send out a new one! iPads are just bigger iPhones, right…? This will need some looking into…
Erin, I have not tried this with an IPAD… I would look for a you tube video
I am SURE that is can be done !
You sure can do replace the screen on an iPad! I work for iFixit (our goal is to teach everyone how to repair everything, for free), and I do all of our repair tutorials. Here's the video for the iPad screen swap: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnGZy74xMOY But, whenever you're performing a repair, I'd always recommend following the actual guide, which can be found on our website. Hope that helps!
My husband swapped the screens out on bg's ipod this morning. He said all the tutorials he looked up didn't completely explain how they come apart. He ended up cracking the glass in two places. But the digitized screen was cracked to begin with, so no biggie. We stuck it in an otterbox, and she has been playing with it for an hour.
I wonder if this would work on a flip camera? I dropped mine and it cracked the face of the camera.
Thank you so much for this! I just replaced my iPhone screen and it works like new!
Note: place suction cup at bottom of phone near home button to avoid accidentally pulling out wires at top of phone. Also, when removing broken glass, be wary around the home button and light sensors (at top of phone), you don't want to break the pegs holding the home button, or gouge the sensors.
Thank you for inspiring me to fix my phone… for $11 (including shipping)!
you're welcome! i'm happy it worked so well for you and thanks for the tips!
Put some bleach on a Q-Tip to make the red water damage spot white again!! No more proof of water damage
Working on this as we speak…but I think my glass may be too shattered to get a good seal on the suction cup. No luck getting the glass up. Ugh. Any tips?
Hmmm my son cracked his ipad about a month after he got it. It still works fine and he has been living with it since the cost of fixing it was close to buying a new one. I might just have to see if he and dad are up for a project!!
too much work, that's why I bought the warranty! also, if your phone is under a year old all warranties are void when you mess with the phone. Of course, if money is not an object – who cares?
What did you find out? My son just stood on my iPad and cracked the screen all to crap. uggh. It's going to cost me anywhere from $79 to $279 (best buy and apple care) to fix, and my darling husband didn't buy the blacktie insurance. GAH!!! So—did you replace the glass yourself or what??
And seriously, you would think that they would make it PLEXI glass, not actual glass. idiots!!
feel free to email me!
Yes you can fix an iPad! Check out the comment from lifewithabean (2 below this one)Here is the link she left: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnGZy74xMOY