From my experience replacing cracked screens on the Epic...

1. Acquire a working unit from eBay for appox. $50.

On both units:
2. Remove back cover, battery, & SD card.

3. Remove the seven screws(#000 phillips) found on the black back housing , then gently pry around the edges to unclip it (bottom to top seems to work best & the buttons are going to fall out).

4. Unhook the antenna cable (only the motherboard side) and both flex cables attached to the motherboard.

Last step:
5. Since the motherboard is now free, simply put your original one in the fresh unit and reverse the above process.


If you've obtained a phone in fairly good condition, there's simply no need to disassemble either unit any further than what i listed above. Your goal should simply be to swap the motherboard.


BTW...You should definitely hang on to the remaining carcass because it has a bunch of good parts on it. Ex: camera, audio jack, loud speaker/antenna/vibrator ass'y

I sold mine after doing that exact thing for 40 on ebay, worked out very nicely.

Originally Posted by Mykon

For those of us who want to know why it's a single "part" that gets replaced:
(From the horse's mouth)
http://www.samsungvillage.com/blog/2...d-screens.html
Though they fail to explain how their long time partnership with Corning (Gorilla Glass) has allowed them to make even thinner displays...

If you can get a samoled replacement for $45 when they are charging htc, apple, and motorola $30 wholesale for samoled, that's not really a big mark up. Add my $.02 to the total cost =)

Actually, in the world of electronics, a 30 margin is huge. It's the American retailers of the parts that are raking it in. I'll give you an example from my recent past. I needed a new SATA cable for a drive in my pc. I went to Best Buy and bought one for around $20. I went online and bought from a broker who specialized in Chinese suppliers, and bought the exact same cable (less the retail packaging and name-branding) for $5 with 2 day shipping included. I promptly returned the one from Best Buy. The manufacturer and the broker all made money on that transaction. It's Best Buy and their suppliers that are running up the price for the American consumer.

Of course, going to China for parts in this fashion has some risk, especially if you don't know how to read Chinese. Finding reputable brokers that will help you if there are problems can be near impossible. So some people will prefer to go to a more reputable supplier and pay a lot more for some guarantees.

Now, if you can read Chinese, or have friends that you trust that will read it for you, it's possible to get even better deals, and have some guarantees. I don't read Chinese, and don't have any close friends who do, so I go to these brokers whenever I need stuff. I've only run into minor problems, fortunately.

Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium

how are you guys picking up a unit off of ebay for $50?
I can't seem to find one anywhere near that price.
so getting a lcd/digitizer combo set is not a good idea?

how are you guys picking up a unit off of ebay for $50?
I can't seem to find one anywhere near that price.
so getting a lcd/digitizer combo set is not a good idea?

Searching for a unit on eBay does take a bit patience to find the right auction. I've had to watch the listings for a couple weeks to come across a good deal.

My target is $50 +/- $25.

IMO, anything less than $100 is a good deal considering a replacement screen ass'y can be anywhere from $110 to $160 from a reputable source.

fwiw...Here's one that just ended...


Sent from my SPH-D700