Hey guys,

My phone screen is cracked and all local cell phone repair shops around NYC say cost of replacing is north of $200. I am thinking of replacing it myself. How easy or hard is it to DIY?
Anyone who has done it?

Thanks,
Kunal

if you read the threads a bit, and look at the videos you will see it's not that hard.
A new digitizer costs about $20 max so it's really better to replace it yourself. You will need some tools.

i just did this, followed the multitude of manuals and the digitizer doesn't work most of the time or is way off - you can't even get to the screen to re-align the screen. one question i have that may have caused this issue - when i was ready to put the digitizer back on, there is what looks like a piece of plastic that would be on the inside of the digitizer - is this for protection or should i have left it on there?

my reason for asking is because this was a very easy fix compared to other stuff i do - smd design and prototype assembly, have a hot air station, have no issues assemblying down to 0402 components and leadless packages. so i am wondering if that internal 'shield' should have come off? as the phone is currently useless.

thanks in advance,
bob

There shouldn't be anything underneath the digitizer except for adhesive (around the edges) as far as I know... so I don't think you made a mistake. The only idea I would have is to make sure the digitizer connector isn't loose or something.

Originally Posted by drumist

There shouldn't be anything underneath the digitizer except for adhesive (around the edges) as far as I know... so I don't think you made a mistake. The only idea I would have is to make sure the digitizer connector isn't loose or something.

sounds good, will verify the connector did go in ok when i take it apart a bit later tonight .

I know what plastic shield you are talking about. I don't think it's an issue. I replaced the digitizer with and without this plastic shield on the chip.

Just make sure everything is connected before you close the phone and test it while it's open. You may just got a bad digitizer.

Originally Posted by CaptainMaki

I know what plastic shield you are talking about. I don't think it's an issue. I replaced the digitizer with and without this plastic shield on the chip.

Just make sure everything is connected before you close the phone and test it while it's open. You may just got a bad digitizer.

Excellent to hear. Thought I was going to get to this last night but things never go as planned. Hopefully soon . Thanks for the info, appreciate it greatly

Bob