I smashed the screen on my Tab a few weeks back. While I didn't take a video of the replacement, here are some notes and tips on my experience:
If the glass is cracked but you can still see the display fine (i.e. no rainbow or black ink spills) then it is just your digitizer that is broken. Your top priority at this point is to not break the LCD because the digitizer is relatively cheap (~$35 shipped from China, $60 from the US). This also goes for the picture being fine but the touch not working at all.
Buy a replacement digitizer. I got mine from ebay ( http://www.ebay.com/itm/270938561127 ).
Gather tools:
A clean towel to use for your work area to prevent scratches and scuffs
A little plastic prying tool (likely to come with your ebay order)
A thin and sharp utility knife/razor
A three prong screwdriver. The seller I used sent a few other screwdrivers but not the three prong one. I used one I got from a Nintendo DS repair a while back.
A heat gun will make this a lot easier. I guess a hair blow-dryer might work in a pinch.
I did not see any good videos for the disassembly. The one I watched ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thTt6G27NV8 ) really screwed me over because it didn't show removing two screws first.
Here are my written steps for replacement:
Use a needle to pry out the two caps on either side of the USB charging port
Use the three prong screwdriver to remove those two screws
Insert the pry on the bottom middle between the plastic frame and the glass. Push down firmly so it wedges in up to the L shape.
Slide the pry along from the middle to either end and around the corner. You will feel the frame pop away from the innards.
Continue working the bottom half of the frame apart until you can insert tweezers or something else under the unit and lift it up and out of the frame.
Be careful to lift the bottom half then pull it out away from the top. Otherwise, you will crack the audio port which extends from the unit and fits into the hole in the top of the frame.
Set aside the frame and place the unit on a clean towel. If you have a broken screen, you are going to be dealing with lots of tiny slivers of broken glass.
On the circuitry side of the unit, you will see three big flat ribbon cables. The middle one is the digitizer. Use tweezers or the pry to *gently* lift up the tan colored plastic locking hinge on the far side (opposite the cable). It will pop up and the cable will easily slide out. Go very slow and carefully here. Don't mess with the black plastic because it will chip right off.
Now comes the painful part. Removing the old digitizer. Take a cigarette break if you need one. Maybe a Valium. Basically, almost all of the black trim part of the glass is thick strong glue binding it to the unit. You need to separate this glue to be able to peel the glass digitizer away.
Hold the unit upright with one hand and use the heat gun to loosen up the glue holding the digitizer to the unit. Run it along one edge for less than a minute until the glass is a little too hot to touch.
Quickly insert the razor as close to the glass as you can and about 6 centimeters in. Slide it along the side that you heated. Don't make any prying motions or you'll just crack the glass more.
Continue with the remaining three edges. Heat then separate. You may not make much progress the first time around, but by the second time, you should see the glass starting to peel away. It took me about 5 to 10 minutes per edge and it is grueling work.
Once you can safely peel the entire glass digitizer away from the unit, use the razor to lift up and peel off any of the flat black tape/glue that was left behind. Most of the unit where the glue goes is gray. On the sides there are two parts where you see black plastic. It is okay to leave glue residue as long as it isn't bunched up.
Vacuum up any stray glass slivers. Make sure you set aside tools screws and screw-hole-plugs before vacuuming.
Installing the new digitizer
Use an LCD spray and cleaning cloth to clean your LCD. Don't leave any dust or fingerprints as it will look bad once everything is put back together.
Remove the back covering of your replacement digitizer revealing the glue. Obviously, try not to touch the glue.
Align the digitizer above the unit, make sure the camera hole is on the correct side. Very slowly lower it down and try to have it perfectly in alignment when it touches. You will be able to nudge it a tiny bit, but the glue is strong and if you get it crooked, you are going to have to try to quickly lift it back up without cracking your new digitizer.
Once you have it in place, remove the front protective film and free the new cable. Wrap the cable around to the back and very gently insert it between the contacts then push the locking hinge down.
Testing and reassembly
Power it on and see if it works. Just push down the little metal bump closest to the edge where the power button would be on the frame.
When happy with the test, turn it off again and hold the unit above the frame.
Check the orientation then insert the top part first to fit the audio port into the hole. Line up the rest and then push down on all the edges to snap it into place.
Breathe a deep sigh of relief.
Appreciate the time you put into this, hopefully I never end up in a similar situation.
Could have used some more return key though lol
Sent from my Ceramic White LTE Galaxy Note using XDA Premium App
Wish I would have read this first. I broke the housing by the 2 bottom screws. Dayum! I haven't touched it since. Supposed to get the digitizer Friday. Wish me luck!
Its really easy to replace the digitiser on WiFi version. Use Stanley knife and hair dryer to loosen it off and remove middle flex cable. Videos on youtube
Sent from my GT-P7510 using xda app-developers app
Any picture of these 2 screws cause i do not see it on a p4 here.
I still have one here with a cracked glass but it all still works even the touch screen.
But i do not see the screw so a pic would be nice
Opuske said:
Any picture of these 2 screws cause i do not see it on a p4 here.
I still have one here with a cracked glass but it all still works even the touch screen.
But i do not see the screw so a pic would be nice
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They are covered by plugs on either side of the charge port. Gotta pry the plugs out first.
Sent from my EVO using xda premium
Ok so i am on a mission this weekend then to try and do that then
Opuske said:
Ok so i am on a mission this weekend then to try and do that then
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One tip: be really careful not to touch the inside surface of the glass. I ended up with a fingerprint on the inside that drives me nuts every time I clean the screen. Wear gloves if you've got them.
Otherwise it was no sweat. I used this as a guide but with a hair dryer instead of a heat gun.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUI2gDQbdDY&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Sent from my EVO using xda premium
Quick question
I really found this post very helpful, but I do have one question. What if when I was trying to pry the tab up to pull out the digitizer, I cracked the black plactic on the other side. Would this cause the new digitizer not to work when I finished replacing everything and put it back together?
Best tutorial on the web (much better than those godawful youtube videos).
Thank you!
Did u get an answer??? I need to
AylaAtreides said:
I really found this post very helpful, but I do have one question. What if when I was trying to pry the tab up to pull out the digitizer, I cracked the black plactic on the other side. Would this cause the new digitizer not to work when I finished replacing everything and put it back together?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you get an answer??? I did the same thing...
DEinspanjer said:
I smashed the screen on my Tab a few weeks back. While I didn't take a video of the replacement, here are some notes and tips on my experience:
[*]If the glass is cracked but you can still see the display fine (i.e. no rainbow or black ink spills) then it is just your digitizer that is broken. Your top priority at this point is to not break the LCD because the digitizer is relatively cheap (~$35 shipped from China, $60 from the US). This also goes for the picture being fine but the touch not working at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just when I thought I knew the difference between the LCD and the digitizer I read your post. You said if the glass is cracked but you can see the display just fine the digitizer is broken. When you say "see the display fine" I presume when the device is on you can see whatever it should be showing? Correct me if I am wrong. Silly me I would have thought if the glass was cracked you need the LCD. Are the glass, LCD and digitizer 3 separate parts?
Anyway on my Note 10.1 2014 edition the display suddenly went black while I was using it. All indications are the device is working because I hear notifications if I sent email to one of the accounts registered on the device. Given this limited info which part(s) do I need. The glass is pristine in that there are no cracks or scratches. Do I need the digitizer, lcd or both? How can I determine what I need for sure?
Thanks in advance,
~metafizik
The digitizer is the touch sensitive glass, the LCD is under that and it makes the pictures.
If you crack or damage the LCD, you will frequently see something that looks like an ink spill or a rainbow pattern.
If you crack or damage the digitizer, you can still see pictures fine, but some or all of it might no longer respond to touch.
In your case, it sounds like your LCD is not working, but unfortunately it is hard to say whether that is the only part that stopped working since it wasn't due to damage to the screen.
DEinspanjer said:
The digitizer is the touch sensitive glass, the LCD is under that and it makes the pictures.
In your case, it sounds like your LCD is not working, but unfortunately it is hard to say whether that is the only part that stopped working since it wasn't due to damage to the screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the information. I agree there is no telling what might have caused the problem especially given some other problems that proceeded this. I had recently replaced the battery and even with the new one it was draining way too quickly. I concluded it might be the ROM I was running had become corrupted because Google services was using the lions share of the battery instead of the screen. I downloaded and installed a factory Lolipop image and it was running fine for about half a day when the wife started playing around with live wallpapers we had never tried when it went black.
At this point I am reluctant to spend $ replacing the Lcd given it might be something else altogether.
Thanks again,
~metafizik
Accepting offers on my 32GB Note 10.1 2014 edition. As described above the display has gone dark but system is otherwise working fine. Includes very nice MoKo Wireless Bluetooth Keyboard Cover Case and the tablet's battery is new.
Want to gain access to the internals of your Nexus 7? This repair guide will walk you through replacing a broken or damaged screen or any other internal components on your Nexus 7.
This repair disassembly guide will help you to install the following Google Asus Nexus 7 parts:
Google Asus Nexus 7 LCD + Touch Screen Digitizer
Internal parts on the Nexus 7
Tools Required:
Safe Open Pry Tool
Small Phillips Screwdriver
Adhesive Strips (For Touch Screen Replacements)
Hot Air Gun / Hair Dryer
Google Asus Nexus 7 tablet Take apart guide:
Power off the device
Begin by using the safe open pry tool to separate the back cover from the device by sliding the pry tool which release the clips and the back cover should come right off
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Figure 1
With the back cover removed, disconnect the battery by simply pulling out the connection with the safe open pry tool
Figure 2
You can now remove the battery using the safe open pry tool
Starting from the lower right side, slowly start pulling up the copper tape
Gently remove the black tape covering the LCD connection, Note- the metal shield may come off with the tape which is fine
Next you will need to release 5 connections located in this area, the 2 for the yellow ribbon (jaw connection) is for the USB and audio jack, the 2 jaw connections next to each other are for the touch screen digitizer and the single pop connection is for the LCD
On the top left (under the information sticker) you will need lift up and release the jaw connection holding in the volume button flex cable and then remove the cable which is held in place by adhesive
Using the small Phillips screwdriver you will need to remove 7 Phillips screws which are holding the motherboard in place
Figure 3
On the bottom remove 5 Phillips screws which are holding the audio jack and USB charging port
Figure 4
Around the perimeter there is 14 more screws that will need to be removed in order to remove the mid frame
Next remove the jumper flex cable by releasing the jaw connection
Figure 5
Now you will need to apply heat, use a hot hair dryer or heat gun for about 15 seconds on each side warming and loosening the adhesive
You can now separate the screen assembly from the frame of the front assembly
Simply replace the damaged parts with the new ones and reverse the order to put your tablet back together again.
repairsuniverse said:
Want to gain access to the internals of your Nexus 7? This repair guide will walk you through replacing a broken or damaged screen or any other internal components on your Nexus 7.
This repair disassembly guide will help you to install the following Google Asus Nexus 7 parts:
...
...
[*]Simply replace the damaged parts with the new ones and reverse the order to put your tablet back together again.
[/LIST]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is said everywhere that the touchscreen is "fused" to the LCD, so as to make an effort to separate them royally futile. How that's determined goes unsaid, but my understanding of "fusing" means that the 2 pieces of glass are melted by heat together, which process would merge them into one unit. Which I don't think is the case since digitizers and LCDs are sold as separate units all over the place, and scrutinizing the edge of new and old LCDs from high-resolution pics suggests they're just bonded to the digitizers.
The attached thumbs below are examples: Pieces of the digitizer where highlighted (jagged border) broke off it, revealing the perfectly symmetric shape of the LCD beneath. Should they be fused, breaking one would necessarily break the other in the same pattern. Of course, I may be wrong, but until someone other than an Asus apologizer can prove otherwise...
If they are just bonded - not "fused" - together, then there could be a way to separate them. The question is whether it can be done without damaging one or the other, depending on what needs to be replaced. The majority of cases I've seen deal with broken digitizers. At this point, I'm willing to tackle this task just to find out, but would like as much input as possible before engaging, whether it be heat, solvents, or other means. So please, voice your thinking and experiences. (People with experience in glass working and their ideas as to what kind of glue would've been used for this would be immensely helpful).
The unit is obviously poorly designed unless your aim is to coerce consumers to buy some part they don't need. Some claim it is to prevent dust specks from getting in between, but I'm not aware of countless other tabs with separable pieces representing a major problem when replacing one or the other. Again, do pitch in to help. Thank you.
I would have to agree with you about the term "fused" compared to "bonded". The Nexus 7 is definitely bonded (by our definition). It is an EXTREMELY sticky bonding adhesive holding the screens together. Like many other "bonded" screen assemblies, the screens can be separated, with enough time and heat. However, there is where you run into the big issue - how to clean off the leftover adhesive.. The LCD is obviously going to be fragile, so an extreme amount of patients would be needed. Using an adhesive solvent to remove all the adhesive would raise a few issues - weakening the LCD screen (possible long term damage?), scratches, and other surface damages to the LCD.
The final issue with this will be how to attach the new screen. Using traditional adhesive may cause the touch screen to press against the LCD causing bubbling/discoloration/etc. We have seen many companies who have the same (or similar?) adhesive used to initially bond the two screens and performed this repair successfully, but without the right tools and experience with it, the full screen assembly is highly suggested.
Adhesive
repairsuniverse said:
I would have to agree with you about the term "fused" compared to "bonded". The Nexus 7 is definitely bonded (by our definition). It is an EXTREMELY sticky bonding adhesive holding the screens together. Like many other "bonded" screen assemblies, the screens can be separated, with enough time and heat. However, there is where you run into the big issue - how to clean off the leftover adhesive.. The LCD is obviously going to be fragile, so an extreme amount of patients would be needed. Using an adhesive solvent to remove all the adhesive would raise a few issues - weakening the LCD screen (possible long term damage?), scratches, and other surface damages to the LCD.
The final issue with this will be how to attach the new screen. Using traditional adhesive may cause the touch screen to press against the LCD causing bubbling/discoloration/etc. We have seen many companies who have the same (or similar?) adhesive used to initially bond the two screens and performed this repair successfully, but without the right tools and experience with it, the full screen assembly is highly suggested.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To me the pressing issue is how to separate them. Once that's done, instead of using optical adhesive patch that would cover the whole LCD surface, why not use strong adhesive along its borders only? Such way doesn't differ from bonding the 2 components in other tabs and won't raise any specter of air bubbles trapped in between. In the alternative, should one break both in the process, one can buy the 2 parts separately and bond them together on one's own. Granted, the saving will be minimal for now, but it gives the knowledge, and the ease of replacing just one part next time either cracks. Am I making sense?
Add: cleaning off the leftover adhesive shouldn't be too much of a problem with solvent like goo-gone if you leave it on the surface for half-a-day. I've done it with another Asus LCD screen and no damage resulted therefrom.
graphdarnell said:
To me the pressing issue is how to separate them. Once that's done, instead of using optical adhesive patch that would cover the whole LCD surface, why not use strong adhesive along its borders only? Such way doesn't differ from bonding the 2 components in other tabs and won't raise any specter of air bubbles trapped in between. In the alternative, should one break both in the process, one can buy the 2 parts separately and bond them together on one's own. Granted, the saving will be minimal for now, but it gives the knowledge, and the ease of replacing just one part next time either cracks. Am I making sense?
Add: cleaning off the leftover adhesive shouldn't be too much of a problem with solvent like goo-gone if you leave it on the surface for half-a-day. I've done it with another Asus LCD screen and no damage resulted therefrom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tried it
Yes I understand what you are meaning.
If you increased the lift of adhesive to avoid bubbles or LCD pressure I would be slightly concerned about how the digitizer would then fit in the frame/device. The glass could be protruding from the frame slightly, allowing it to get caught. But if it is possible to just stack the adhesive a bit more than then that is a great way to only have to replace one screen for the rest of the device's life.
Interesting about your note about Goo-Gone. I would have suspected that a solvent like that would cause some damage to the outer layer of the LCD. From experience and other techs I understand that that aggressive of a solvent can cause brittleness.
xavierxxx2p said:
tried it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And what was the outcome, if you care to share?
---------- Post added at 11:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:20 PM ----------
repairsuniverse said:
Yes I understand what you are meaning.
If you increased the lift of adhesive to avoid bubbles or LCD pressure I would be slightly concerned about how the digitizer would then fit in the frame/device. The glass could be protruding from the frame slightly, allowing it to get caught. But if it is possible to just stack the adhesive a bit more than then that is a great way to only have to replace one screen for the rest of the device's life.
Interesting about your note about Goo-Gone. I would have suspected that a solvent like that would cause some damage to the outer layer of the LCD. From experience and other techs I understand that that aggressive of a solvent can cause brittleness.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would think a thin layer of flexible epoxy wouldn't add that much to the thickness of the glass, given that the bezel still allows a thin margin in height.
I would think a thin layer of flexible epoxy wouldn't add that much to the thickness of the glass, given that the bezel still allows a thin margin in height.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A bit of epoxy may be the trick. Let us know if you follow through with the project and let us know the outcome!
repairsuniverse said:
A bit of epoxy may be the trick. Let us know if you follow through with the project and let us know the outcome!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm kind of tied up for the time being, but certainly will let you know how it turns out.
graphdarnell said:
I'm kind of tied up for the time being, but certainly will let you know how it turns out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi there,
I wonder if you were successful in separating the digitizer from the LCD. I will get a broken Nexus 7 and am also looking for a solution. I looked a bit into this and found these informations that could help...
I assume the pro's do it somehow like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfuTVjI_Wao
They use heating plates like this one: https://www.gounlock.com/details.php?itemId=7192
There's an interesting note about temperatures:
Different materials of LCD, digitizer and glue requires different temperature. If the temperature is too high, it may damage the part. So it's better to start at a lower temperature first, and increase it when it's necessary. For example, you can start at 100C, put the LCD/digitizer combo on the board for 5 munites. If the glue is still not softened, then increase by 10C or 20C each time until you get to a working temperature. Next time when you work on the same LCD/digitizer combo, you can start with this optimum temperature right the way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd start at lower degrees, maybe 60° C and see if I can get some kinde of wire beween digitizer and glass. Maybe I'd start with fishing line or dental floss?
And here are some more machines, which are capable of doing this. Note that they always heat the things:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0r7hacgrIO8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAF6tfgZnWc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgbNz8mLWRs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=FL6s5F-0yqc
you see that there is a small line or wire that cuts the digitizer off the glass...
The same method could be possible to do with tablets, if you beleive this chinese vendor of "refurbishing machines":
http://www.aliexpress.com/item-img/...eperator-refurbishment-machine/939659104.html
This one is also interesting. Look how he takes off the glass of an iphone 4 [at 2:00] and then removes the glue form the LCD screen [around 7:41] : http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=QQOVuZxj8oM
Or you can use a product like this:
http://lcdglue.com/LCD-Glue-Remover.html
One problem could be the size of the Nexus 7. It's bigger than all the devices we see in these videos. But theoretically it should work exactly the same way...
If that is all true, one needs:
1. A controllable heating plate (or a hot air gun and an infrared thermometer to check temperatures)
2. Some kind of wire that is good enough to stand the heat but doesn't hurt the LCD
3. Something to hold the glass while you saw with the wire
4. If successful, you need the right liquid to remove the glue off the LCD
5. A replacement glass/digitizer unit and your recovered LCD
6. An idea how to align the LCD right (ar an LCD calibration app for afterwards)
7. A liquid adhesive for touchscreens (Liquid Optical Clear Adhesive) or any other method to stick the digitizer to the LCD
This is all theoretical, but points 1-5 seem to possible. I am not yet clear how to achieve points 6-7.
I'll get a broken Nexus 7 in some days and I'll try to experiment with the broken display unit. In the worst case I have to replace LCD and digitizer...
Thanks for letting us know once you try something...
rgds
DeGon said:
Hi there,
I wonder if you were successful in separating the digitizer from the LCD. I will get a broken Nexus 7 and am also looking for a solution. I looked a bit into this and found these informations that could help...
I assume the pro's do it somehow like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfuTVjI_Wao
They use heating plates like this one: https://www.gounlock.com/details.php?itemId=7192
There's an interesting note about temperatures:
I'd start at lower degrees, maybe 60° C and see if I can get some kinde of wire beween digitizer and glass. Maybe I'd start with fishing line or dental floss?
And here are some more machines, which are capable of doing this. Note that they always heat the things:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0r7hacgrIO8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAF6tfgZnWc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgbNz8mLWRs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=FL6s5F-0yqc
you see that there is a small line or wire that cuts the digitizer off the glass...
The same method could be possible to do with tablets, if you beleive this chinese vendor of "refurbishing machines":
http://www.aliexpress.com/item-img/...eperator-refurbishment-machine/939659104.html
This one is also interesting. Look how he takes off the glass of an iphone 4 [at 2:00] and then removes the glue form the LCD screen [around 7:41] : http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=QQOVuZxj8oM
Or you can use a product like this:
http://lcdglue.com/LCD-Glue-Remover.html
One problem could be the size of the Nexus 7. It's bigger than all the devices we see in these videos. But theoretically it should work exactly the same way...
If that is all true, one needs:
1. A controllable heating plate (or a hot air gun and an infrared thermometer to check temperatures)
2. Some kind of wire that is good enough to stand the heat but doesn't hurt the LCD
3. Something to hold the glass while you saw with the wire
4. If successful, you need the right liquid to remove the glue off the LCD
5. A replacement glass/digitizer unit and your recovered LCD
6. An idea how to align the LCD right (ar an LCD calibration app for afterwards)
7. A liquid adhesive for touchscreens (Liquid Optical Clear Adhesive) or any other method to stick the digitizer to the LCD
This is all theoretical, but points 1-5 seem to possible. I am not yet clear how to achieve points 6-7.
I'll get a broken Nexus 7 in some days and I'll try to experiment with the broken display unit. In the worst case I have to replace LCD and digitizer...
Thanks for letting us know once you try something...
rgds
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have the feeling that either fishing line or dental floss wouldn't do: they might either melt or snap, since the adhesive seems pretty strong, though I doubt they applied anything stronger than that used on other tablets. I would try an E guitar string (1st one and the thinnest) in lieu of a metal wire you see in the youtube video. Since it's smooth, it hopefully won't scratch the LCD. I would do one corner at a time, and would not saw, but rather slice through when the glue is sufficiently softened. Still busy and haven't gotten around to it yet, but would welcome any progress report.
graphdarnell said:
I would try an E guitar string (1st one and the thinnest) in lieu of a metal wire you see in the youtube video.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good Idea. I'll try that. Fishing line would maybe work if it's not too hot.
Another idea I had for the warming plate was to take an iron you use to iron clothes. Attach it somehow to an aluminium plate and turn it upside down, then heat on the weakest level you have (but inform yourself how hot that is befre you do that), Mybe you have to turn it on and off to get a low temperature.
I'll try it with a plastic welding plate (http://www.rothenberger-asia.com/products/producttype/slgdazgj/roweldr-he-heating-plates.html) as my father has such a thing.
That's another thing I found. The specs of the LCD that is used in the Nexus 7 (or at least in most):
HYDIS HV070WX2-1E0
http://www.azdisplays.com/PDF/HV070WX2-1E0.pdf
On one page there are reliability tests. There it is noted, that the LCD can stand 80°C in dry atmosphere. So that could be the first temperature to try to separate the LCD form the digitizer.
Today my broken Nexus 7 16GB I picked up for 45$ arrived. i couldn't wait to try separating the LCD from the digitizer.
Tatttatataaa! Success! I just completed steps 1-3 from my previous post.
LCD and digitizer are separated now. At no additional cost, just around 90 minutes time and some things from my personal scrap yard.
Digitizer and LCD are separated. LCD is still working, but has still glue on it.
This was my setup:
- The disassembled screen unit (only digitizer and LCD)
- A copper plate, bigger than the nexus clamped in a workbench (I had that one by accident, other metal or aluminium plates could work too)
- Two metal bars and c-clamps to fix the glass (digitizer) onto the copper plate. The whole thing shouldn't move
- A hair dryer with enough power to heat the coopper plate towards 50-70° C (That's what I think it was)
- Fishing line (Extra strong black line, has some kind of structure, thats good for sawing)
- two handles I could tye the fising line to, to have a good grip
First I tied the fishing line to my handles (the red tool and the metal tool in one of the pictures). Then I warmed the whole thing for about 5 minutes looking for a good heat dissipation, not too hot on one spot but as equally hot as possible. I left the hair dryer blowing next to the copper plate so it would not cool down so fast. Then I took my handles and started sawing slowly and carefully by tearing the line trough the glue between LCD and digitizer. I remarked that it is easier when sawing a bit, than just pulling it true the glue (the line then snapped faster). I paid attention that I didn't lift the LCD with the fishing line. 4-5 times the line snapped and I had to start over, but it finally worked. I always had the dryer on but changed position sometimes that the whole thing won't heat up too much. Finally I was able to tear the LCD carefully off the shattered glass. The glass stayed compact so I think theres another film layer on it. Finally I tested the LCD and it worked fine. I couldn't see any flaws.
You can see an album of pictures here: http://imgur.com/a/L1Ya0
Now the next step is to clean off the glue... Have to find the right liquid...
btw. excuse my bad english but I was a bit excited and in a hurry...
Here's another video showing the same principle on a phone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=96K8cr0id0Q
DeGon said:
Today my broken Nexus 7 16GB I picked up for 45$ arrived. i couldn't wait to try separating the LCD from the digitizer.
Tatttatataaa! Success! I just completed steps 1-3 from my previous post.
LCD and digitizer are separated now. At no additional cost, just around 90 minutes time and some things from my personal scrap yard.
Digitizer and LCD are separated. LCD is still working, but has still glue on it.
This was my setup:
- The disassembled screen unit (only digitizer and LCD)
- A copper plate, bigger than the nexus clamped in a workbench (I had that one by accident, other metal or aluminium plates could work too)
- Two metal bars and c-clamps to fix the glass (digitizer) onto the copper plate. The whole thing shouldn't move
- A hair dryer with enough power to heat the coopper plate towards 50-70° C (That's what I think it was)
- Fishing line (Extra strong black line, has some kind of structure, thats good for sawing)
- two handles I could tye the fising line to, to have a good grip
First I tied the fishing line to my handles (the red tool and the metal tool in one of the pictures). Then I warmed the whole thing for about 5 minutes looking for a good heat dissipation, not too hot on one spot but as equally hot as possible. I left the hair dryer blowing next to the copper plate so it would not cool down so fast. Then I took my handles and started sawing slowly and carefully by tearing the line trough the glue between LCD and digitizer. I remarked that it is easier when sawing a bit, than just pulling it true the glue (the line then snapped faster). I paid attention that I didn't lift the LCD with the fishing line. 4-5 times the line snapped and I had to start over, but it finally worked. I always had the dryer on but changed position sometimes that the whole thing won't heat up too much. Finally I was able to tear the LCD carefully off the shattered glass. The glass stayed compact so I think theres another film layer on it. Finally I tested the LCD and it worked fine. I couldn't see any flaws.
You can see an album of pictures here: http://imgur.com/a/L1Ya0
Now the next step is to clean off the glue... Have to find the right liquid...
btw. excuse my bad english but I was a bit excited and in a hurry...
Here's another video showing the same principle on a phone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=96K8cr0id0Q
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That was awesome!:good::good: For once I'm glad someone beat me to it. Congrats, you should be nominated Nexus Man of the Year. This would certainly encourage a lot of members with broken digitizers. One small favor to ask: is it at all possible for you to post a hi-res picture of the LCD's edge? I'd like to see how it was originally glued to the digitizer so as to find a way - hopefully safe - to remove the residual adhesive. A caution earlier that Goo-Gone might render the glass brittle bothers me. Depending on the kind, maybe we can use acetone instead. The speed at which it dries might prevent the chemicals from attacking the glass surface. Thank you much.
---------- Post added at 10:38 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:36 AM ----------
repairsuniverse said:
A bit of epoxy may be the trick. Let us know if you follow through with the project and let us know the outcome!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's your answer, my man.
I'll post you these pictures tonight. The glue is all over the LCD module. I tried different liquids on the brocken glass digitizer, to see which one is best to remove the glue and I think pure alcohol, some heat and a razor blade could do the trick. I tried 36% cleansing alcohol and the glue came off already quite well. But cleansing alcohol has other stuff in it you don't wanna see on a LCD. So maybe pure alcohol will be better....
I am not sure of which material the top layer of the LCD is made. I don't think its glass. The only hint I have is from the manufacturers specification:
13.2 Cautions for handling the module
As the electrostatic discharges may break the LCD module, handle the LCD module with
care. Peel a protection sheet off from the LCD panel surface as slowly as possible.
As the LCD panel and back - light element are made from fragile glass (epoxy) material,
impulse and pressure to the LCD module should be avoided.
As the surface of the polarizer is very soft and easily scratched, use a soft dry cloth
without chemicals for cleaning.
Do not pull the interface connector in or out while the LCD module is operating.
Put the module display side down on a flat horizontal plane.
Handle connectors and cables with care.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could it be some kind of epoxy? Or is it acrylic?
I think in any case pure alcohol will be far less agressive than acetone. Rub alcohol into the glue with a paintbrush or an old toothbrush, wait a bit, heat a bit, rub some more alcohol on it and then take the razor blade in a flat angle and start carefully to scrape the softened glue away... I think that is what I am going to try.
DeGon said:
I'll post you these pictures tonight. The glue is all over the LCD module. I tried different liquids on the brocken glass digitizer, to see which one is best to remove the glue and I think pure alcohol, some heat and a razor blade could do the trick. I tried 36% cleansing alcohol and the glue came off already quite well. But cleansing alcohol has other stuff in it you don't wanna see on a LCD. So maybe pure alcohol will be better....
I am not sure of which material the top layer of the LCD is made. I don't think its glass. The only hint I have is from the manufacturers specification:
Could it be some kind of epoxy? Or is it acrylic?
I think in any case pure alcohol will be far less agressive than acetone. Rub alcohol into the glue with a paintbrush or an old toothbrush, wait a bit, heat a bit, rub some more alcohol on it and then take the razor blade in a flat angle and start carefully to scrape the softened glue away... I think that is what I am going to try.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the top is glass, thin glass. i used pure citrus spray and it dissolves it, but i would like it to be faster.
graphdarnell said:
...post a hi-res picture of the LCD's edge? I'd like to see how it was originally glued to the digitizer so as to find a way - hopefully safe - to remove the residual adhesive...
Here are the pictures in an album on imgur.
http://imgur.com/a/CWioq#0 (note that there is a way to see these pix in full res, just click on the little symbol on the top right corner)
As you can see, the adhesive was not liquid glue (as I thought before), it was some kind of optical clear adhesive, a double-side glue tape that was applied to the LCD and the glass. On some pictures you can see that the tape does not cover the LC panel exactly to the edge. 1-2 mm of the LC panel are blank. (picture above)
On two sides of the LC Panel, the metal frame is a bit thicker (left and bottom edge), on the other two sides its just some milimeters (top and right edge), that will make it difficult to attach it on a new glass by only applying glue or adhesive tape at the edge of the LCD... I will see if I can do it without glueing it fully down... Maybe Sugru comes for the help...
As I said I tried to remove the tape from the broken glass digitizer. Cleaning alcohol (38% Ethanol and distilled water) already made it relatively easy to remove the adhesive with a razor blade. I think if the LC panel is really sealed by glass or even by an acrylic material, pure alcohol should do the trick, combined with a little pre-heating and a bit time to let the alcohol and glue react.I'd just aply the alcohol with a peintbrush or similar. I will get pure alcohol during the next days and then give it a try... will let you know my results...
---------- Post added at 10:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:17 PM ----------
lastot069 said:
the top is glass, thin glass. i used pure citrus spray and it dissolves it, but i would like it to be faster.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What kind of spray is that? Brand? What are the ingredients?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DeGon said:
What kind of spray is that? Brand? What are the ingredients?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the brand is pure citrus, it comes in a spray can and can be found by most cleaners. and it is just citrus oils. works an a lot of glues.
Hmm. I am really not sure about using alcohol. It could damage the LC Panel if it is not glass, but epoxy or something.
Most people seem to use some kind of citrus cleaner. Like the guy who uses Orange Glo. 3M has some kind of glue remover, that contains Lemonene.
Limonene is used as a solvent in degreasing metals prior to industrial painting, for cleaning in the electronic and printing industries, and in paint as a solvent. Limonene is also used as a flavour and fragrance additive in food, house- hold cleaning products, and perfumes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also other companies offer glue removers with that stuff. It seems to be pretty harmless to a variety of materials....
As a photographer, I especially apologize for the lack of photos of the process... this is a story of my S5 getting broken and repaired.
I left my S5 on the hood of my girlfriends Jeep while cleaning up the dog's feet and being distracted, I forgot to grab my phone. Driving down the canyon road 50mph back home, noticed something thunk off of the front of the car... yep it was my phone. It was in an Otterbox Defender series case.
Upon inspection, I was very impressed to find the phone in very good condition. The front glass totally unbroken with no scratches, the only visible damage was a scuff on the chrome of the top right corner and what looked like a tread mark from the tire. The otterbox case looked very good as well, it took some damage where the tire marks were on the upper right.
The phone's internal display took too much shock/flex and was shattered but still hard a partially visible image and the digitizer worked fine. I ordered a new display around $150, it came with a pre-installed homebutton/fingerprint scanner module. The display I ordered was pre-owned in a+ condition, so it had the old factory adhesives stuck to it.
I removed the small plastic cover on the rear to unplug the home-button cable, removed the old display using a heatgun to ease up the adhesive and it come off pretty smoothly (start at the top from the earpiece), you have plenty of room to get tools behind the screen to unplug the display's flex cable and pull the home-button's cable free.
I was impressed in how well adhered the glass is and how the home-button works, very waterproof design. The metal frame has a texture etched into it to promote even better adhesion.
-I carefully removed the old adhesive from the new display and from the frame. I used alcohol and microfiber rags and took my time, both parts come very clean with some fingernail force and patience. I applied the new adhesive, this part was very easy, the applicator-design the adhesive comes packaged in makes it a breeze to line up and entirely avoid wrinkles or mishaps. I'll link what adhesive I used, it seemed to be factory OEM and ridiculously sticky stuff, several times more powerful and pliable than the 3m strip-tape.
I made a double-check that the frame adhesion area was clean and began to hook the connectors back up, plugged the home button and LCD connector back in, I started applying the screen from the earpiece (earpiece metal fits through the hole in the glass to make lining up perfectly easy. and pressed the entire display into place. Bam, brand new. That adhesive WORKS perfectly. It grabs and holds, very tight. I feel very confident that the phone still carries its same waterproof spec.
I hope this helps any others with broken screens that want to bring their S5 back to life and to be unafraid to dig into this yourself.
Tips:
-You can likely use a hair dryer to heat up the old display when removing, feel it with your hands, don't get it so hot that you can't keep your fingers on it for a few seconds, you don't want to damage your earpiece, front sensors, camera, etc.
-When removing the old adhesive from a good-used display, use plastic to scrape at it, metal will remove the black dye and make scratched in the bezel around the screen.
-The capacitive sensors for Recents and Back have tabs that allow you to push them into the frame of the phone before applying the new screen, makes it much easier to align and worry-free.
The adhesive comes from Ebay seller diy_iparts "Pre-Cut Adhesive Tape for Samsung Galaxy S5"
(unsure if I'm allowed to post direct links to ebay) I am giving you this information because I read that a lot of pre-cut adhesives from other sources are bad quality and not up to OEM spec, made of totally different materials, etc. This won't matter too much if you aren't worried about the water resistance of your phone and the display sitting perfectly flush to the frame.
Hello,
I got a Nexus 7 tablet with a broken digitizer for free, I started watching info and videos on the net on how to separate that digitizer from the god LCD.
The heat gun solution looks a bit too hard to control. I chose to try to make my own heat plate.
I have made the heating plate based on stuff found around the house, also I borrowed some stuff from work until I will receive the controller I ordered from Ebay.
Basically, I got an aluminum plate cut from a scrap piece, drilled holes to hold those lock down clamps, everything is just made to resemble those professional separation machines.
There are 2 small round heaters underneath, each around 200W, more than needed for this application.
I tried heating the assembly up to 85 deg C and the lcd metal back cover starts to lift up, separating from the lcd glass itself, oops, had to press down on it and lower the temp to around 65 C ,now it sits in place.
I bought 2-3 broken digitizers with screens from a guy that repairs tablets, just to practice before I really try to do the change the digitizer on my tablet.
I will put pictures of the removed and cleaned LCD’s, the digitizers were just used to practice the LOCA glue removal, I throw them away after. Too much glass pieces.
Here is the name of the video: Nexus 7 LCD separation from digitizer, fast LOCA removal. Please turn on CC on the video to see more info.
The separation of the lcd is done with some guitar wire 0.007”, not sure if smaller diameter it will do better or not.
I had a problem on one practice screen, I cut thru the front polarizing film on the lcd. that’s why I started the separation from the lcd connector side, wire gets better there between the digitizer and the lcd.
One great thing I found is by using silicon grease, it makes the sawing much easier and you only need one pass to separate the lcd.
After separating the lcd, cleaning up the loca glue is also easy, thanks to my other interesting finding I did, by using essential oils.
There are so many out there, like tea tree oil, oregano oil, tried them, they all do a good job.
I finally used the citronella oil because it was only 4$ for 15ml, probably you can do lots of cleaning from one bottle and also repelling the mosquitos around you.
As you can see, apply small drops, spread uniformly with your finger, then wait, after 4-5 hours the glue comes off very easy.
If any excess oil, absorb-it with a paper towel. If it’s too much oil, not good also.
The good thing about oil is that it will have much less ( more like zero) chances to go inside the LCD panel and make spots, like the alcohol can do.
Finished the cleaning with some 99% isopropyl alcohol ( from the pharmacy).
I’m sure after this, some people will try to sell “ miracle” loca glue remover. Hope this post will remain here to give some great info to those searching.
This is valid for any kind of lcd loca glue cleaning, is it a phone or tablet, it will work.
I think I will try to reapply the uv loca glue to the new digitizer, I will wait for the ordered glue to come.
With all the things I purchased maybe is not economical for one tablet, but the experience I got is priceless, I’m happy to share with others.
Hello,
I just realized I have posted before on the Nexus 7 first gen forum, then I came back here to share my experience with my 2013 model.
I got a Nexus 7 2013 tablet with a broken digitizer for free, I started watching info and videos on the net on how to separate that digitizer from the god LCD.
The heat gun solution looks a bit too hard to control. I chose to try to make my own heat plate.
I have made the heating plate based on stuff found around the house, also I borrowed some stuff from work until I will receive the controller I ordered from Ebay.
Basically, I got an aluminum plate cut from a scrap piece, drilled holes to hold those lock down clamps, everything is just made to resemble those professional separation machines.
There are 2 small round heaters underneath, each around 200W, more than needed for this application.
I tried heating the assembly up to 85 deg C and the lcd metal back cover starts to lift up, separating from the lcd glass itself, oops, had to press down on it and lower the temp to around 65 C ,now it sits in place.
I bought 2-3 broken digitizers with screens from a guy that repairs tablets just to practice before I really try to do the digitizer change on my own tablet..
I will put pictures of the removed and cleaned LCD’s, the digitizers were just used to practice the LOCA glue removal, I throw them away after. Too many glass pieces.
Here is the name of the video: Nexus 7 LCD separation from digitizer, fast LOCA removal. Please turn on CC on the video to see more info.
The separation of the lcd is done with guitar wire 0.007”, not sure if smaller diameter it will do better or not.
I had a problem on one practice screen, I cut thru the front polarizing film on the lcd. that’s why I started the separation from the lcd connector side, wire gets better there between the digitizer and the lcd.
One great thing I found is by using silicon grease, it makes the sawing much easier and you only need one pass to separate the lcd. Apply in small quantities beside the lcd before you pass the string.
After separating the lcd, cleaning up the loca glue is also easy, thanks to my other interesting finding I did, by using essential oils.
There are so many out there, like tea tree oil, oregano oil, tried them, they all do a good job.
I finally used the citronella oil because it was only 4$ for 15ml, probably you can do lots of cleaning from one bottle and also repelling the mosquitos around you.
As you can see, apply small drops, spread uniformly with your finger, then wait, after 4-5 hours the glue comes off very easy.
If any excess oil, absorb-it with a paper towel. If it’s too much oil, not good also.
The good thing about oil is that it will have much less ( more like zero) chances to go inside the LCD panel and make spots, like the alcohol can do.
Finished the cleaning with some 99% isopropyl alcohol ( from the pharmacy).
I’m sure after this, some people will try to sell “ miracle” loca glue remover. Hope this post will remain here to give some great info to those searching.
This is valid for any kind of lcd loca glue cleaning, is it a phone or tablet, it will work.
I think I will try to reapply the uv loca glue to the new digitizer, I will wait for the ordered glue to come.
With all the things I purchased maybe is not economical for one tablet, but the experience I got is priceless, I’m happy to share with others.
Thanks for the tip!
How did you assemble new digitizer with the LCD back together? Did you use LOCA glue? If yes, where did you get that?
Hellou,
Thanks for the tips.
Do you know where to find aluminium bar at size 7-10" diagonal in RO?
Thanks
Appreciated your tips re grease and oil. I've done this several times, so I know it can be done with some patience. The big question is, where do you get a separate digitizer that works. I've tried at least 5 that partially worked (dead bands, mostly), but found none that totally did. If you have a source, it'd help greatly. Thanks again.