Collins, Michael G.

After my unsuccessful attempt at open-iPhone surgery I was in a great deal of shock.  Obviously the thought of having to live without the comforts the iPhone provides can be unsettling.  Even more unsettling, though, is the thought of having to buy another iPhone without the benefit of the carrier’s subsidy.  There was some hope however, as the iPhone was still showing a few signs of life.  So I decided to purchase the combined LCD screen and digitizer ( that’s the touch screen ) that comes pre-assembled from the same site I ordered the original touch screen from.  This turned out to be a much better option, and with the benefit of hindsight I can see clearly that this is what I should have done from the start.

With the pre-assembled LCD and digitizer, replacing the screen is as simple as popping the old one out and sticking the new one in.  It did take a couple of reboots after I swapped the screens, but this may have been due to the fact that I had left the iphone sitting unplugged for about a week after I had so brutally disemboweled it, while I waited for the new screen to arrive.  I think it may have needed a reboot to initialize the new hardware, but ended up in a funky state after it attempted to reboot and then went into dead battery hibernation mode.  Luckily with a full charge and a few more reboots, my iPhone was back up and running just like before.  Well, to be honest, it’s mostly working like it was, but with a few minor quirks that I think were caused by collateral damage, such as the vibrator not working.  I think it was still working after I dropped the phone, which would mean that I probably knocked a wire loose that I forgot to reconnect.  Or it could have been broken the whole time - it’s possible I just overlooked it as I was more concerned with just getting the screen working again.  Either way, it’s something I can easily live without.

And lucky for me, my sister got me a case for my iPhone for Christmas.  It’s one of those clear plastic touch-thru types (if I could remember the brand, I’d mention it, but I forget which one it was), that completely surronds the phone, with cutouts for the buttons and ports.  I really like it, it looks good and doesn’t feel like it effects the accuracy or responsiveness of the touch screen at all.  I had held off on getting a case for my iPhone because I was concerned about the added bulk, but after your unprotected iPhone lands face down on the pavement that ceases to be an important concern.  After using it for several weeks with the case on, I’ve become so accustomed to it, that when I had taken the iPhone out of the case the other day, it felt awkward in my hand, like it was too small now.  It also seems like it might add a good degree of protection from impacts, but I’m not about to chuck it onto the sidewalk again just to test my hunch.

I had originally intended for this follow-up to my original post to be a step-by-step walk-through of how I deftly removed the cracked screen from my iPhone and installed the new one so expertly that no one would be able to tell the difference.  Sadly, as is too often the case, Reality did not see things my way.  In the end the iPhone was worse off than when I started, mostly due to the difficulties in removing the cracked glass from the LCD screen.  I was able to finally repair my iPhone by replacing the entire touchscreen/LCD assembly, which will be described in yet another post.

At first everything seemed simple enough.  I gathered all the necessary implements and started by removing the SIM card and taking out the two screws at the bottom of the iPhone’s case.  After that you just pry the screen out from the case.

The small plastic prying tool (far right) that they sell at the site where I ordered the replacement screen is like a mini-crowbar for the iPhone.  It actually works quite well for separating the screen assembly from the case - once you figure out which gap you should be prying open.  It’s not the one between the plastic on the back of the case and the silver plastic bezel.  It’s also not the one between the touch screen glass and the thin rubber strip that surrounds it.  I mention these because you can easily fit the ends of the pry tool into these gaps and start pulling things apart, but it probably isn’t what you want.  The touch screen and the LCD come out as one assembled piece, so you need to fit the pry tool into the gap between the silver bezel and the rubber that surrounds the touch screen, until you can pop the whole screen assembly out and fold your iPhone apart like an open-faced sandwich.

It is possible to order replacement screens that include both the touch screen and LCD pre-assembled.  This would be the easiest and safest way to repair a broken screen, in my opinion.  But if you are trying to be cheap, like I was, you can get just a touch screen or LCD.  The LCD screen is screwed into a plastic frame which also holds the speaker and home button.  The touch screen is glued onto this plastic assembly at both ends with some double-sided industrial-strength sticky goo.  Removing a completely intact touch screen from the assembly without damaging the LCD would be tricky.  Removing a screen that has already been shattered into many pieces is extremely difficult.

I ended up with a pile of touch screen shards and a mostly useless LCD.  Be forewarned, the images below depict graphic iPhone violence which some may find quite shocking or disturbing.

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It was a brisk autumn day, not quite freezing yet, just cold enough to remind you that winter was only a few days away.  The subtlest of breezes was capable of stinging cheeks and numbing fingertips.  Dire conditions for a touch-screen wielding SMS-ophile.

The chill in the air was evident even before I exited the borrowed car that I had driven downtown to meet my friend for lunch.  People who were out completing their holiday shopping moved hurriedly between the shops, a stark contrast to the strolling summertime pace I recalled from the last time I was here.

My right hand moved subliminally toward the pocket that held my iPhone in response to the gentle rumble of a new message.  Even as its amiable chirp still rang in my ears, my hand propelled the iPhone up towards eye level with ever-increasing velocity.  The realization that my grip on the device was inadequate came only microseconds after the iPhone became airborne, but it was still too late to prevent the inevitable.  Forced in an instant to accept what I had previously considered inconceivable, I watched paralyzed as the iPhone plummeted towards unforgiving concrete.

The sound of the impact jolted me back to reality, and I rushed to where my iPhone lay shattered, hemorrhaging its life-blood of elegant design and graceful functionality all over the sidewalk.

Luckily though, the reality is not nearly as bad as all that melodrama.  The LCD and touch screen are still functional, and my aforementioned friend Ingrid lent me the screen protector film off of her iPhone at lunch so I could use the touch screen without slicing my finger.  I don’t think I missed a single call, text, or email, and I was able to drum up some sympathy on brightkite.  A little googling and I was able to find plenty of sites willing to sell me a new touch screen, which turns out to be cheaper than I expected if you don’t also need a new LCD.  Now I just have to put my geek skills to the test to find out if I can successfully perform a touch screen transplant.  If you are thinking of trying this yourself, you should be forewarned that the procedure is not a simple "pop out the old, drop in the new" kind of replacement.  From what I have seen and read, there are a lot of tricky steps involved and it will certainly void your warranty.  So if this has happened to you and you are reading this in hopes of saving a little dough, you should really think about getting it fixed professionally. 

But if you can’t wait to get a peek at your iPhone’s inner workings and could care less about warranties, I plan on posting the results of the transplant operation in part 2.  I purchased the screen and some helpful looking tools from here.  I don’t think I’ve used this company before but I can say that their customer service was good and the shipping was fast, and they have helpful videos for the brave but ignorant. Soon after this is posted I will perform one final sync before I power down my iPhone and open it up.  Hopefully this story will have a happy ending.