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Is it possible to replace the front glass without replacing the digitizer and LCD? I have saw many, many glass only replacements on eBay for it. I want to do it myself. Is it possible? I know it is possible for the galacy necus but as the 4's LCD is on top i was wondering on bidding for a cracked screen one on ebay and fixing the glass only.
As far as I know, the digitizer and glass are glued together pretty tightly, and it's extraordinarily tough to separate the two without damaging either; plus, if separate them you have the constant worry of dust getting in there. It's usually worth it to just buy a glass+digitizer that are glued together.
Johmama said:
As far as I know, the digitizer and glass are glued together pretty tightly, and it's extraordinarily tough to separate the two without damaging either; plus, if separate them you have the constant worry of dust getting in there. It's usually worth it to just buy a glass+digitizer that are glued together.
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Click to collapse
I have seen videos of people seperating them on the galaxy nexus. Also, if the glass is cracked is the digitizer gone too? because the touch doesnt work and its cracked.
I have done a teardown of the Front display before. It is not easy. Yes the Digitizer and LCD are Glued together and I HIGHLY recommend NOT attempting to seperate them without the proper setup to do so. Once they are seperated it takes a SPECIAL glue to glue the Digitizer to the LCD and it has to be aligned correctly or you have to go through the process again. ALSO the LCD+Digitizer display is GLUED to the Bezel with an RTV type substance. I HIGHLY reccommend spending the extra few dollars to get the 3 piece setup. With that the repair is VERY Quick and easy. Takes about 15 min or so. (Half of which is getting the Back cover off without breaking anything).
Ohgami_Ichiro said:
I have done a teardown of the Front display before. It is not easy. Yes the Digitizer and LCD are Glued together and I HIGHLY recommend NOT attempting to seperate them without the proper setup to do so. Once they are seperated it takes a SPECIAL glue to glue the Digitizer to the LCD and it has to be aligned correctly or you have to go through the process again. ALSO the LCD+Digitizer display is GLUED to the Bezel with an RTV type substance. I HIGHLY reccommend spending the extra few dollars to get the 3 piece setup. With that the repair is VERY Quick and easy. Takes about 15 min or so. (Half of which is getting the Back cover off without breaking anything).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But one question. Is the digitizer broken if the glass is broken and it doenst recognie touches?
EDIT: I will buy a broken nexus 4 off ebay for a few bucks and replace the glass so I want to know if it works if you get it. And there is a 80$ difference between the glass and the 3 piece assembly
jacobreed222 said:
I have seen videos of people seperating them on the galaxy nexus. Also, if the glass is cracked is the digitizer gone too? because the touch doesnt work and its cracked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Top Glass is the Digitizer, the LCD is just that. I think the iPhone4s/5 has the Digitizer integrated into the LCD and I think this is a process that may start to become commonplace as LG announced that they have a LCD Display with Integrated Digitizer in production now.
jacobreed222 said:
But one question. Is the digitizer broken if the glass is broken and it doenst recognie touches?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup You can see the digitited touch grid if you look at in the right angle in bright light.
Ohgami_Ichiro said:
The Top Glass is the Digitizer, the LCD is just that. I think the iPhone4s/5 has the Digitizer integrated into the LCD and I think this is a process that may start to become commonplace as LG announced that they have a LCD Display with Integrated Digitizer in production now.
Yup You can see the digitited touch grid if you look at in the right angle in bright light.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So youre saying I am out of luck with these:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trk...=nexus+4+glass+replacement&_sacat=0&_from=R40
So why do they sell them anyway? zFor non broken glass?
jacobreed222 said:
So youre saying I am out of luck with these:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trk...=nexus+4+glass+replacement&_sacat=0&_from=R40
So why do they sell them anyway? zFor non broken glass?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Glass IS cheap but they do that so they can trick you into wasting your money. It is not an easy process to do. I have done a replacement on both the fron and back and it was very time intensive. (The front I just ordered the 3 piece and it was quick.) For anyone who has had little to no experience doing display repairs I reccommend the 3 Piece set. If you have SOME experience and have GOOD tools get the 2 Piece. ONLY get the Glass Digitizer IF you have Some professional tools and experience. Also the Special Glue for gluing the Digitizer to the LCD is about $20 by itself so that $15 Digitizer works out to ~$35-40 not to mention if you scratch or break the LCD by accident then you end up having to buy that too. I am not trying to be preachy here but trying to give you the REAL risks and obsticles associated with the repair on the N4. It is a VERY easy phone to repair in general EXCEPT the display. Just get the 3 Piece display and sell the broken one on ebay. It will sell because Professionals (who have the right tools) will grab them and refurbish them and then use them for repairs.
Take a look at this Vid, It's for the iPhone 5 but the process is the same for the N4 and N7.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbZwypAINYE
Ohgami_Ichiro said:
The Glass IS cheap but they do that so they can trick you into wasting your money. It is not an easy process to do. I have done a replacement on both the fron and back and it was very time intensive. (The front I just ordered the 3 piece and it was quick.) For anyone who has had little to no experience doing display repairs I reccommend the 3 Piece set. If you have SOME experience and have GOOD tools get the 2 Piece. ONLY get the Glass Digitizer IF you have Some professional tools and experience. Also the Special Glue for gluing the Digitizer to the LCD is about $20 by itself so that $15 Digitizer works out to ~$35-40 not to mention if you scratch or break the LCD by accident then you end up having to buy that too. I am not trying to be preachy here but trying to give you the REAL risks and obsticles associated with the repair on the N4. It is a VERY easy phone to repair in general EXCEPT the display. Just get the 3 Piece display and sell the broken one on ebay. It will sell because Professionals (who have the right tools) will grab them and refurbish them and then use them for repairs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK
jacobreed222 said:
OK
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey,
I have nexus 4. The outer glass is cracked, but lcd works perfectly. However the touch is unresponsive. If i buy just the outer glass from ebay and replaced using UV glue. Would the touch function will work? Its strange that all the other smart phones touch function work, if you break the outer glass; but on nexus 4 it stops working. looking forward to hearing your opinion. thank you.
saj
saj420 said:
Hey,
I have nexus 4. The outer glass is cracked, but lcd works perfectly. However the touch is unresponsive. If i buy just the outer glass from ebay and replaced using UV glue. Would the touch function will work? Its strange that all the other smart phones touch function work, if you break the outer glass; but on nexus 4 it stops working. looking forward to hearing your opinion. thank you.
saj
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I was asking in the first place. Let me know if you figure it out.
jacobreed222 said:
That's what I was asking in the first place. Let me know if you figure it out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the digitizer is so attached to the glass when the glass breaks it breaks the digitizer as well, hence why every n4 LCD that cracks has no touch response, the digitizer is glued to the glass and not the LCD as it is on the galaxy nexus making it a billion times easeyer to just buy a whole LCD unit
Sent from my Nexus 4 [NEO @1.836 GHz] on [PSX v4.1 4.3]
IRX120 said:
I think the digitizer is so attached to the glass when the glass breaks it breaks the digitizer as well, hence why every n4 LCD that cracks has no touch response, the digitizer is glued to the glass and not the LCD as it is on the galaxy nexus making it a billion times easeyer to just buy a whole LCD unit
Sent from my Nexus 4 [NEO @1.836 GHz] on [PSX v4.1 4.3]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It probably is easier to replace the whole unit, however it's too expensive for some people; cheapest unit I've found runs for around 120 USD, 10 times more expensive than just the glass. Specially now that Google lowered the prices, and a 120-130 USD screen doesn't make much sense when you can have a new phone for just 199 USD.
In my case, I cracked the lower corner of the screen and the lowermost buttons don't work (ie: home, back and switch app buttons). Otherwise, the screen works perfectly.
From what I've read so far online, it's fairly hard, although not impossible, to replace just the glass on a screen such as our Nexus 4's. The main difficulty is that the LCD, digitizer (the thing that takes your finger's input, in case you're wondering –as I did– what that is) and the glass are fused together. From what I gather (I am, by no means, an expert on this... take whatever I say with a grain of salt) this means that this partes are glued together with very strong adhesive.
I haven't found any videos or guides for our Nexus, but the process should be very similar to this one for a Galaxy S3. For the time being, I resorted to just rotating my phone when I need the back and home buttons. However, when it's time to buy a new phone I'll try to replace the glass on this one.
If anyone of you guys want to try this, I hope you take a video of the process and share it with the rest of us, unlucky/clumsy Nexus 4 owners.
ivancamilov said:
It probably is easier to replace the whole unit, however it's too expensive for some people; cheapest unit I've found runs for around 120 USD, 10 times more expensive than just the glass. Specially now that Google lowered the prices, and a 120-130 USD screen doesn't make much sense when you can have a new phone for just 199 USD.
In my case, I cracked the lower corner of the screen and the lowermost buttons don't work (ie: home, back and switch app buttons). Otherwise, the screen works perfectly.
From what I've read so far online, it's fairly hard, although not impossible, to replace just the glass on a screen such as our Nexus 4's. The main difficulty is that the LCD, digitizer (the thing that takes your finger's input, in case you're wondering –as I did– what that is) and the glass are fused together. From what I gather (I am, by no means, an expert on this... take whatever I say with a grain of salt) this means that this partes are glued together with very strong adhesive.
I haven't found any videos or guides for our Nexus, but the process should be very similar to this one for a Galaxy S3. For the time being, I resorted to just rotating my phone when I need the back and home buttons. However, when it's time to buy a new phone I'll try to replace the glass on this one.
If anyone of you guys want to try this, I hope you take a video of the process and share it with the rest of us, unlucky/clumsy Nexus 4 owners.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also found a series of videos for galaxy nexus to replace only glass
I've found this tutorial for repairing n4 cracked screen, but I don't know if what he's replacing is only the outer glass or the whole digitizer and glass together.
vickev.com/#!/article/repair-your-cracked-lg-nexus-4-e960-screen
and by the way, did someone find the glass with the digitizer for a good price? Not considering those tricky ebay announcements of outer glass, as Ohgami_Ichiro has already alerted.
found this one, but 85,85 € is kinda expensive.
spareslg.com/lcd-e-touch-lg-nexus-4-lg-e960-acq86270901.html
Erich M said:
I've found this tutorial for repairing n4 cracked screen, but I don't know if what he's replacing is only the outer glass or the whole digitizer and glass together.
vickev.com/#!/article/repair-your-cracked-lg-nexus-4-e960-screen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is LCD+digitizer+glass assembly replacement. Not easiest but one of easy ways, costs about $120.
Erich M said:
and by the way, did someone find the glass with the digitizer for a good price? Not considering those tricky ebay announcements of outer glass, as Ohgami_Ichiro has already alerted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For example ebay.com/itm/Original-OEM-NEW-Front-Touch-Screen-Digitizer-Glass-Lens-LG-Google-Nexus-4-E960-/181230445260?pt=US_Cell_Phone_Replacement_Parts_Tools&hash=item2a322d22cc
$38
Erich M said:
found this one, but 85,85 € is kinda expensive.
spareslg.com/lcd-e-touch-lg-nexus-4-lg-e960-acq86270901.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is glass+digitizer+lcd+housing assembly.
There are also glass+digitizer+lcd+housing+battery assemblies.
If you replace the digitizer only the screen will not respond the same. My galaxy s3 has touch issues now cause I only replaced the digitizer. Now need to buy a whole assembly
Sent from my neXus⁴ using Tapatalk 2
Nexus 4 LG E960 Screen replacement
Well, I was pretty keen on getting a chinese glass/digitizer. The one I had in mind was on ebay.
I was a bit concerned about waiting up to 2 or 3 weeks, but I thought at £28 it would be worth it, as long as I could fit it successfully when it arrived. The alternative was £100 approx from spareslg.com. I was a little concerned about the integrity of the LCD as I was getting some "flowing" around the cracks on the glass. I thought (as was posted earlier) tha it would be no harm in trying to remove the broken glass now, and prep the what was left of the screen for the new glass. If it went well I would know that the LCD was ok. If it went badly however I would loose the opportunity to sell the second hand screen for £20 or so (also posted earlier). I decided to go ahead and strip down the phone.
Getting to the nitty gritty, I warmed up the screen with a hairdryer, inserted a pry tool between the bezel and the glass and started to loosen. I had replaced a glass on a Samsung Galaxy Ace successfully before and this procedure felt very familiar. The procedure actually felt much easier. The glass lifted away from the lcd within three or four minutes, and I continued to heat and ease the glass for only 6 or 7 more minutes. As I was raising the glass while working towards the top of the phone, I noticed that the LCD was leaving the frame as it didn't appear to be held by much, if anything. I thought I would remove what was left of the screen assembly from the frame and continue separating the two parts outside the frame. It was at this point that I noticed that the the LDC panel appeared to be dividing into two parts; like two wafers. Wishful thinking made me hope that what I was seeing was a digitizer membrane or something; but I soon resigned myself to the possibility that the LCD was history.:crying:
I didn't bother to clean off the glue residue, I reassembled the phone and switched it on. The picture below shows that the LCD was ruined. What looks like glass is in fact the movement of the pry tool on the adhesive on the LCD. No flash was used either.
The second photo shows the split LCD. The final photo shows the digitizer grid in the old glass.
If I had the same problem again, I would probably try again. I'd be particularly careful around the edges, not allow the LCD to rise out of the frame (and possibly tear) and take it much more slowly, and possibly use a wire separation tool if around.
Ohgami_Ichiro posted earlier that the costs of digitizer only repairs can go high. If you add fancy glues and tape then it would have cost me at least £50. New at £100 minus sale of old, £15 ?(so net £85) That could be £35 difference, £45 if you skipped the UV glue.
It might not be the last time this phone breaks though!! so savings may increase!
I have no choce now, £100.
Bye the way can anybody recommend a good open case, mine had barely 1.5 ml above screen edge.
Hope you've enjoyed the how NOT to.
Hi dear friends,
Sorry for late answer but i recommend you to take lcd digitizer and replace with cracked one. Becouse generally such chinese complete assemblies (lcd+digitizer and housing) are problematic as lcd quality bit lower than original one. So what to do is; to take digitizer around 20$ (there also which 10$ cost but really lower sensitive digitizer ) and replace it yourself. What else you need for this replacement?
-First you need something thin and sharp like as your grandfathers shaving blade for pry lcd and digitizer. (cost 1$ maybe)
-Then you also need glue cleaner for clean old glue particles, (costs 5$ with uv glue totally)
-uv adhesive for glue lcd with digitizer and (costs 5$ with adhesive cleaner totally)
-3m sticker for attach new digitizer to housing. (2-3$ for piece)
and totally cost max 30$. Maybe you will work more harder but at least you will get phone which which works with original screen with better view. :good:
---------- Post added at 02:42 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:36 AM ----------
Just i need to warn you to definitely use heating gun or hair dryer(at max. temp.) while seperate cracked digitizer from lcd. Otherwise you will crack your lcd too. With my best wishes!!!
I've just bought a cracked 16GB Nexus 7 for £40
Prior to buying I read a few guides but another one I've read has got me confused. They say if the touch is affected the screen needs to be replaced but if not its just the glass.
I thought the glass digitizer is the glass and responsible for the touch as well? So if that breaks it wouldn't affect the LCD, would it?
Also, has anybody got any advice for the repair. What side to heat etc.
Thanks
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
As far as I know, the glass and digitizer can come separately... The glass overlays the lcd/digitizer panel. You can replace just the glass if you need to. The glass does have some effect on the touch, as it transfers touch input to the digitizer. However, if touch still works with the cracked display (which it very well can work just fine), you can save some $ and replace the glass only. It's much easier to replace glass + digitizer, but more cost-effective to replace just the glass. Use your own judgement. If the lcd panel works fine, touch response ok despite the cracked display, then replace the glass. If you have the money, or touch is affected, spring for the entire display assembly- that's what I did on my S3, but then again, my display had burn-in which is an entirely different problem.
To replace glass only:
First remove as many sensitive components (ie battery, speakers, etc) as you can. You don't HAVE to do this, but it's recommended to protect them from the heat. Then, use scotch tape to tape the cracked areas of the screen- this secures the bits of glass and makes removal easier. Next, heat with a heat gun or hair dryer to a maximum of 180*F. You should probably use a digital thermometer (like you use for cooking or electronics) to keep an eye on the temp. Heat only the glass-side/screen of the device. Move the heat over it evenly and constantly. Once the adhesive is warm enough, you can GENTLY slide a long blade under the glass and release it from the lcd digitizer. You can also use a plastic tool/plastic knife. Be careful not to scratch the lcd, and gently clean it with 90%+ alcohol after you remove the glass, and before placing the new glass. Watch some Youtube vids to see the process in action.
NOTE: I've heard both that the Nexus 7 screen is held in place by adhesive and that it's held in place by retaining clips. I'm assuming it's adhesive, but I would get that verified before you undertake this project. Good Luck!
Edited to Add:
Alas http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2431525
absinthesummer said:
As far as I know, the glass and digitizer can come separately... The glass overlays the lcd/digitizer panel. You can replace just the glass if you need to. The glass does have some effect on the touch, as it transfers touch input to the digitizer. However, if touch still works with the cracked display (which it very well can work just fine), you can save some $ and replace the glass only. It's much easier to replace glass + digitizer, but more cost-effective to replace just the glass. Use your own judgement. If the lcd panel works fine, touch response ok despite the cracked display, then replace the glass. If you have the money, or touch is affected, spring for the entire display assembly- that's what I did on my S3, but then again, my display had burn-in which is an entirely different problem.
To replace glass only:
First remove as many sensitive components (ie battery, speakers, etc) as you can. You don't HAVE to do this, but it's recommended to protect them from the heat. Then, use scotch tape to tape the cracked areas of the screen- this secures the bits of glass and makes removal easier. Next, heat with a heat gun or hair dryer to a maximum of 180*F. You should probably use a digital thermometer (like you use for cooking or electronics) to keep an eye on the temp. Heat only the glass-side/screen of the device. Move the heat over it evenly and constantly. Once the adhesive is warm enough, you can GENTLY slide a long blade under the glass and release it from the lcd digitizer. You can also use a plastic tool/plastic knife. Be careful not to scratch the lcd, and gently clean it with 90%+ alcohol after you remove the glass, and before placing the new glass. Watch some Youtube vids to see the process in action.
NOTE: I've heard both that the Nexus 7 screen is held in place by adhesive and that it's held in place by retaining clips. I'm assuming it's adhesive, but I would get that verified before you undertake this project. Good Luck!
Edited to Add:
Alas http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2431525
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
edit: ok, the internet doesn't even have a guide so I have no chance
UrbanDesigns said:
Nooooo
It can't be that hard to seperate the digitizer from the LCD.
It's got to be easier then doing a phone!
I'll just try it any way, worst that happens is I break the LCD as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True, lol... suppose it wouldn't hurt to try!
So im waiting for my digitizer/lcd to arrive but all things I read say the digitizer and lcd are fused and cant be seperated. I didnt even bother trying. So far dissasembly was a breeze. Used my daughters hair dryer and a small flat head screwdriver to seperate digitizer from the bezel with minimal breakage. This is my reference photo for reassembly
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app
rezistrat said:
So im waiting for my digitizer/lcd to arrive but all things I read say the digitizer and lcd are fused and cant be seperated. I didnt even bother trying. So far dissasembly was a breeze. Used my daughters hair dryer and a small flat head screwdriver to seperate digitizer from the bezel with minimal breakage. This is my reference photo for reassembly
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't look like it's even possible, can't find anything online about it.
I'll just sell it as new screens are £60 and I paid £40 for it (16GB WiFi)
Wouldn't be worth buying a new screen
That's probably the best thing to do, put that money towards a new digitizer assembly. I literally just changed the display on my Galaxy S3 and it was a breeze. Way easier than replacing the glass would have been (although I needed the LED panel, not the glass, so different situation)... Now I have a beautiful new screen. I hope my N7 screen never breaks! I would be extremely upset about that.
The thing that bothers me is, there's gotta be a reason they're selling the glass only and not just the assembly... apparently someone has successfully changed the glass only, otherwise I'd think they're just in it for a money grab- sell screens that are impossible to change and then cash in when someone destroys the lcd and has to buy that too. What a shame.
---------- Post added at 04:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:09 PM ----------
rezistrat said:
So im waiting for my digitizer/lcd to arrive but all things I read say the digitizer and lcd are fused and cant be seperated. I didnt even bother trying. So far dissasembly was a breeze. Used my daughters hair dryer and a small flat head screwdriver to seperate digitizer from the bezel with minimal breakage. This is my reference photo for reassembly
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So what are you doing with your old digitizer? If it's already bad, maybe you wouldn't mind giving it a go and confirming whether the glass screen can be separated or if it is hard-fused...? Or can you tell just by looking that it would be an impossible task?
absinthesummer said:
That's probably the best thing to do, put that money towards a new digitizer. I literally just changed the digitizer on my Galaxy S3 and it was a breeze. Way easier than replacing the glass would have been (although I needed the digitizer, not the glass, so different situation)... Now I have a beautiful new screen. I hope my N7 screen never breaks! I would be extremely upset about that.
The thing that bothers me is, there's gotta be a reason they're selling the glass only and not just the assembly... apparently someone has successfully changed the glass only, otherwise I'd think they're just in it for a money grab- sell screens that are impossible to change and then cash in when someone destroys the lcd and has to buy that too. What a shame.
---------- Post added at 04:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:09 PM ----------
So what are you doing with your old digitizer? If it's already bad, maybe you wouldn't mind giving it a go and confirming whether the glass screen can be separated or if it is hard-fused...? Or can you tell just by looking that it would be an impossible task?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The glass you're referring to is the digitizer, that's attached to the LCD.
There isn't 3 units, it's the digitizer which is glued to the LCD and the digitizer that is the hardest thing to replace.
edit: actually that's wrong, it's the glass>digitizer>lcd
I didn't assume 3 units.. But everyone calls the layers (exterior glass and underlying lcd or led panel) different things, and I may have gotten my wording mixed up because I'm doing many things at once... I will edit my post accordingly. But that wasn't the point of the question though.
Anyway, I know on my phone the glass can be separated from the led panel. We've heard its fused for the N7. I was just wondering if the other poster would be willing to attempt separating them if they're just going to be throwing the assembly out anyway (since they're getting a new assembly). That's something I would do with a display that's already bad. But that's me.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
absinthesummer said:
I didn't assume 3 units.. But everyone calls the layers (exterior glass and underlying lcd or led panel) different things, and I may have gotten my wording mixed up because I'm doing many things at once... I will edit my post accordingly. But that wasn't the point of the question though.
Anyway, I know on my phone the glass can be separated from the led panel. We've heard its fused for the N7. I was just wondering if the other poster would be willing to attempt separating them if they're just going to be throwing the assembly out anyway (since they're getting a new assembly). That's something I would do with a display that's already bad. But that's me.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After doing more research I know it can be done (it's bonded, not fused) but it's just hard, re-bonding looks like the hard part but it can be done:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2337288
It's actually not all that difficult with the proper equipment, my only worry is the backlight
Agreed... I'm watching a video now about replacing the assembly & pulling the bezel off... That part doesn't look too bad, reassembly looks simple enough too... But even they were like "it's impossible, get a new assembly. All you need to decide is whether to get one with a new bezel or one without and salvage your old one."
That sucks. :/
Edited to add: just saw that link, it looks like a PITA! It can be done, but should it be done?
absinthesummer said:
Agreed... I'm watching a video now about replacing the assembly & pulling the bezel off... That part doesn't look too bad, reassembly looks simple enough too... But even they were like "it's impossible, get a new assembly. All you need to decide is whether to get one with a new bezel or one without and salvage your old one."
That sucks. :/
Edited to add: just saw that link, it looks like a PITA! It can be done, but should it be done?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, the bezel part is easy enough.
not sure what i'm gonna do now though. might still try it anyway
[With pics] How to replace only the glass (not the whole "LCD") on a Galaxy S3!
You don't.
Although it is entirely possible, the chance of failure if done by people with absolutely no experience with mobile phone repairs is very high.
If you've broken the screen on your Samsung Galaxy S3 and have considered replacing the screen by yourself because your local mobile phone repair shops charge a hefty price for the repair, you should reconsider. You may have seen videos like the following that make it seem it is very easy to replace the glass only:
(skip to 3:00 in this one)
Maybe it seemed too easy. That's because it was too easy. Chances are those screens have already been replaced before by a third party who has access to professional equipment and skills. Possibly the screen has been broken more than once?
Even if you do successfully replace the glass only, it is guaranteed that you will get scratches, dust, fingerprints and adhesive marks on the Super AMOLED panel, no matter how much you clean it. That's because you won't be doing the repair with gloves on in a clean room free of dust. And that's not all - after a few weeks or months of use, dust will somehow find a way to get in between the glass and SAMOLED+ panel because you didn't use machine-cut adhesive that adheres your glass perfectly, leaving no gap for dust to get in. Your screen's touch sensitivity will drop as well, since it's not making adequate contact with the digitizer. And on top of that, the visibility will also drop.
Those problems don't show up on camera, and can easily be masked/hidden from the camera, too.
If this is only your first time breaking the screen on your S3, those tutorials won't work for you because your screen was manufactured as one whole piece by Samsung. The glass on your phone won't fall out by itself because the whole glass is optically laminated to the SAMOLED+ panel using a Liquid Optically Clear Adhesive, or LOCA for short. This kind of adhesive is a little bit sensitive to heat, but can't be completely removed because it is cured using UV light, not heat.
Optical lamination is a manufacturing process employed in more high end mobile devices that eliminate the air gap usually present between the display panel (usually either LCD or AMOLED) and the glass digitizer panel on top. Phones such as the Samsung Galaxy S3, S4, Note 2 and Note 3, iPhone 4/4S/5/5S/5C, HTC One X, One, Butterfly, Droid DNA, LG Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Sony Xperia Z, Z1, Z Ultra etc. have displays that are optically laminated. Optical lamination has a number of advantages:
Visibility is increased (especially under sunlight), since there aren't multiple layers reflecting ambient light creating optical interference
Screen clarity is increased, since optical lamination makes the display look like it is on top of the glass as opposed to being under it
It is impossible for debris like dirt and dust to get trapped in the air gap between the display and glass, because that gap is filled with LOCA
Higher contrast ratio, because there's less light reflecting off the parts of the screen that aren't emitting light
But the biggest disadvantage is the increased cost of repair. That's what you have to pay for all those aforementioned advantages. It also certainly doesn't help that the screens are getting thinner and thinner every year. The likelihood of breaking the screen increases every year too.
Here's a little photo album that I'd like to share with everyone documenting my experiences trying to remove the glass from full original Samsung screens that haven't been replaced or tampered with before. Click to enlarge.
This is a picture of the Black Samsung Galaxy S3 GT-i9300. Only the glass was broken, so I attempted to separate it from the AMOLED panel using a heat gun and some plastic pry tools. So far so good, until the AMOLED panel broke because it is optically bonded to the glass and also stuck to the frame underneath it. You can still see some LOCA on the AMOLED panel and glass.
Second is the Galaxy S4 GT-i9505. It was broken on the top half, so I started removing the glass from the bottom. Again, the LOCA wasn't very cooperative, staying quite solid throughout the removal. Eventually, the S4's AMOLED panel broke too.
It didn't look like the broken original Samsung screens wanted to be separated, so I moved on to fully intact screens.
It was a pain trying to separate this one. The adhesive was very difficult to remove, and the screen's touch digitizer circuit and polarizer started to separate from the AMOLED panel. As you can see, the glass came off intact, but the AMOLED underneath was completely destroyed.
It doesn't look like the digitizer circuit/polarizer is bonded to the AMOLED. It just gets sandwiched on top, so it is very easy to unintentionally separate it from the AMOLED instead of leaving it on and only removing the glass, especially if the glass is smashed into a thousand fragments. The glass was in one piece though, and you can see how that turned out.
This is a good representation of what the AMOLED sandwich consists of. From top to bottom:
Gorilla Glass
Touch digitizer circuit/polarizer (you can see the rest of the glass is a lot darker than the top left corner where polarizer was removed)
AMOLED panel (it looks very reflective without the polarizer on top of it)
Midframe
Some of the AMOLED panel itself came off and was still stuck to the glass!
You can see how thin and fragile the AMOLED panel is on the Samsung Galaxy S series phones. Sure, it's thin, but is it worth it? The panel has to be supported by the frame and the glass to stay intact. The panel on the S4 has a slimmed down bezel and was made thinner again, so it's a lot easier to break the AMOLED on the S4 than it is on the S3.
Ugh, don't even get me started with the iPhone 5 screen. LCDs are more robust than AMOLEDS but still...so much LOCA...so much glass...
Sure, these glass panels can be had for about $10, but is it worth all the effort to end up with a screen full of dust and fingerprints, has a warped frame and will eventually come loose and fall off, or simply just to destroy the AMOLED panel then spending extra money on a whole display assembly? Reapplying the glass leaving no gaps for dust to get in requires adhesive that is machine-cut perfectly for your frame.
Edit: Even then, you still don't have any LOCA or the necessary facilities to fill that air gap. (Thanks to @KrzychuG !)
Do you have what it takes?
Sorry for such a long post. I'm spending my time, efforts and money so you don't have to. I will occasionally add to this thread when I get more screens to experiment with.
This is a good video on how these screens can be separated and replaced with a perfect bubble-free and dust-free finish:
Most of the time its a better idea to just buy an entire replacement. I've replaced glass on nexus 7's and Galaxy Note2's a few times. it's not fun to replace glass or lamination, and it's just a whole lot easier to purchase a "parts" phone with a working display from ebay and swap out boards. Glass is one of my least favorite things to play with.
vantt1 said:
This is a good video on how these screens can be separated and replaced with a perfect bubble-free and dust-free finish:
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Click to collapse
Awesome dude! thanks alot for the tutorial, but i dont think people have industrial size vacuums in their house, lol,
Thank you so much, this is very helpful!
Can I ask how you got the information? That would be very useful to do further research about other devices
Thanks again!
I will never, ever separate the glass and the screen. I know that it will break for sure. When I replace phone glass, I replace the entire front screen assembly which includes the glass, screen, and any frame to attach it into the phone. Even if it's just the glass that's broken and the LCD still works, still replace the entire front assembly.
Pizza_Dox said:
Awesome dude! thanks alot for the tutorial, but i dont think people have industrial size vacuums in their house, lol,
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I think the point is that unless you have all this stuff you shouldn't be even attempting to replace the glass.
i have tried this multiple times and all i can say is for anyone at home wihtout the professional equipment your not gonna get anywhere.. this isnt like and iPhone 3G/S where you take the screen off and seperate the LCD from the digitizer with a heatgun or hairdryer, ive tried all possible ways an failed every single time, either broken AMOLED or in some cases half the AMOLED comes off with the adheasive...
just save your money and buy the digitizer with the AMOLED attached..
HankChill said:
I will never, ever separate the glass and the screen. I know that it will break for sure. When I replace phone glass, I replace the entire front screen assembly which includes the glass, screen, and any frame to attach it into the phone. Even if it's just the glass that's broken and the LCD still works, still replace the entire front assembly.
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but what will you do with the old screen with the broken front glass ?
andr3wchong said:
but what will you do with the old screen with the broken front glass ?
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Chuck it
I have replaced many screens, and in my experience, you're always best buying everything as readily assembled as possible. Out of 5 attempts at separating the S3 Glass from the AMOLED panel, I have managed it twice without breaking the AMOLED, and that involves also keeping the digitser intact as well, which is between the outer glass and the AMOLED.
Back when I was doing this, you were looking at £175+ for the complete assembly, so to some people, £20 at a risk was worth it if I could manage it. Now though they're cheap enough to replace the whole lot without the worry.
There is an app on Play Store called ifixit which gives pretty detailed step-by-step instructions for most DIY teardowns and fixes for phones, tablets, consoles and even some household applicances, and they have a website too. Unfortunately, it's only experience (and expense) that make you realise that just because they make it look doable, it doesn't mean everyone can do it easily. There are many, many pitfalls that you will only discover yourself when you take on these DIY repairs, to the point where I don't do them all that often anymore, just because it's too stressful and costly if it goes wrong. My first iPhone 4 (am I allowed to say that here? ) screen replacement took me 3 hours just because of how careful I was. Now I can do it in 20 minutes, just because of experience. But even then you can be plagued with problems for no apparent reason. If you don't handle stress well, my best advice is to leave it to the experts
matmaneyre said:
I have replaced many screens, and in my experience, you're always best buying everything as readily assembled as possible. Out of 5 attempts at separating the S3 Glass from the AMOLED panel, I have managed it twice without breaking the AMOLED, and that involves also keeping the digitser intact as well, which is between the outer glass and the AMOLED.
Back when I was doing this, you were looking at £175+ for the complete assembly, so to some people, £20 at a risk was worth it if I could manage it. Now though they're cheap enough to replace the whole lot without the worry.
There is an app on Play Store called ifixit which gives pretty detailed step-by-step instructions for most DIY teardowns and fixes for phones, tablets, consoles and even some household applicances, and they have a website too. Unfortunately, it's only experience (and expense) that make you realise that just because they make it look doable, it doesn't mean everyone can do it easily. There are many, many pitfalls that you will only discover yourself when you take on these DIY repairs, to the point where I don't do them all that often anymore, just because it's too stressful and costly if it goes wrong. My first iPhone 4 (am I allowed to say that here? ) screen replacement took me 3 hours just because of how careful I was. Now I can do it in 20 minutes, just because of experience. But even then you can be plagued with problems for no apparent reason. If you don't handle stress well, my best advice is to leave it to the experts
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you musty be really good out of i think 7 possible 8, i have managed to seperate once, but still i scratched the AMOLED...
ricky310711 said:
you musty be really good out of i think 7 possible 8, i have managed to seperate once, but still i scratched the AMOLED...
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It never feels like I'm very good when I see the screen go though. Just that sick feeling :/
Saying that as well, I gave the phones back to whoever they belonged to when they were done. There's nothing to say that a couple of weeks/months down the line they faced the problems of dust under the glass, touchscreen sensitivity reduced etc. They were just happy to get them back 'looking' perfect.
Never again
matmaneyre said:
It never feels like I'm very good when I see the screen go though. Just that sick feeling :/
Saying that as well, I gave the phones back to whoever they belonged to when they were done. There's nothing to say that a couple of weeks/months down the line they faced the problems of dust under the glass, touchscreen sensitivity reduced etc. They were just happy to get them back 'looking' perfect.
Never again
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your right, quallity also plays a BIG part aswell, like you said never know what could happen, but better brands generally have better touch respones and just generally more smoothe, i knew someone who had just got the digitizer replaced by a phone repair shop, they couldnt use their phone in the wind thats how bad the replacement was..
EDIT: response**
thank you, says my sii p
you saved a sii today, i'm using my phone without screen protection so it gets scratches after long times and i said to myself that's ok, i will replace the gorilla glass. that would be open the phone replace it then close it and i will have a new sii p again but sounds it's not that easy.
Very interesting thread.
I must be lucky,as on several occasions with most phones I have owned (HTC Desire hd, HTC One X, HTC One,Nexus 5, Samsung Note 3) I have accidentally dropped my phone. I've never had a case on and have on some occasions been unlucky to have the phone land on the screen, it has happened indoors and outdoors, on concrete and tarmac, despite this I haven't ever broken the glass.
andr3wchong said:
but what will you do with the old screen with the broken front glass ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HankChill said:
Chuck it
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I wouldn't follow the advice to "Chuck it". We purchase these cracked glass assemblies as long as the touch screen and LCD still work fine. We can pay up to $100 PER screen, depending on the model. PM us for prices for bulk orders.
I very recently bought myself an used Galaxy S3 and to my great disappointment the glass has no scratches because it has been replaced. Now I got ****ty touchscreen response and already dust is gathering between the digitizer and the glass. I might try to sell it off and buy myself another one, this time checking very carefully that everything is in perfect working condition!
So much for thinking I had found a bargain for this fantastic phone (which, despite the problems, is a nice upgrade from my Galaxy Ace!)
MobileEMT said:
I wouldn't follow the advice to "Chuck it". We purchase these cracked glass assemblies as long as the touch screen and LCD still work fine. We can pay up to $100 PER screen, depending on the model. PM us for prices for bulk orders.
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Really? I have a crapload
ricky310711 said:
Really? I have a crapload
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Good to hear! We'll PM you. Feel free to contact us if you would like to sell or refurbish them.
I have a z3 that had a cracked digitizer. The damn thing broke under my cheap tempered glass screen protector. I call bull**** Sony! I paid premium money for a less than stellar screen in my opinion. Anyhow, I'm thinking about replacing the screen but can't decide the wrought to go. I could get an oem pulled from a z3 but I have to ask if it's worth doing for another bull**** screen that will break on me again. I see lots of knockoff screens on eBay and though I've had bad luck not buying oem before I wonder if they might use a digitizer that's on par with the rest of the market. I've never had a cracked screen destroy all functionality of the touch screen. I can't believe Sony used a product like that on such a kick ass phone. Please share all your experiences with cracked screens and repairs. Not sure why I couldn't use silicone to reseal the phone. The speakers may be a bit of a problem but I've accomplished quite a bit with cell phone repair and I'm up to the challenge. Please help me and our community to replace our own screens and retrain the waterproof feature.
not broken after 1,5 years. Wife's screen also not broken after same time.
Mine also didn't broken, bought the phone while the phone start selling.
Maybe your smartphone using too overheat and let the glass cracked?
To remove the screen you will have start by removing the back glass and the bottom speaker set (at least for my D6643). You would have to be carefull in order to not damage the bottom speaker waterproof adhesive (it's hard to find a replacement), you also need to buy a a new back and front waterproof adhesive to hold the screen and the back glass. Between a stock screen pulled from another from phone (if not too expensive) and a chinese one ($24), I would choose the stock since you will not find a lcd with same quality. Keep in mind that your phone may not be waterproof anymore.
Unfortunately my G5 Plus had a little accident this weekend and now the front glass is cracked. As far as I can tell the phone is still fully functional and screen touch responsiveness seems good despite the cracks.
I see replacement LCD screen plus digitizer units available on ebay and other sources online, I was wondering if anyone had any good recommendations and any replacement tips after having gone through the process themselves. Thanks.
I would suggest do it from an authorised service centre even if you have to pay twice the price. I've had experience where I tried to search a replacement for cheap (which it was) and was disappointed with the quality, the screen wasn't as sturdy as the original one and cracked within a week. So it makes sense of your phone is new and. Want to make it work for atleast a year more.
Apply some pieces of single side tape on the crack screen, to prevent shatter glass injury, and heat up the new screen for a while after you finish the replacement, that could help to make the screen adhere to the frame tightly. I will recommend witrigs, they sell original screen and also adhesive and tools.
Good luck.
These are very hard for the average person to do themselves. Everything is glued together, and just a hair dryer or heat gun doesn't do it, without great care. I'm 50/50 on droid turbos, and after searching on line, these are slightly harder to do than that series.