Cracked screen. Safe to repair? - Sprint Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshoot

Okay I dropped my phone and the screen cracked. Everything is fine except that the glass cracked. Ive seen videos on youtube on how to repair and I feel that I can do the repair but Im scared I might damage something like the digitizer. Is the digitizer easy to break? Should I try to repair it or should I just suck it up for a while?

Rum2rum said:
Okay I dropped my phone and the screen cracked. Everything is fine except that the glass cracked. Ive seen videos on youtube on how to repair and I feel that I can do the repair but Im scared I might damage something like the digitizer. Is the digitizer easy to break? Should I try to repair it or should I just suck it up for a while?
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From what I've seen the digitizer is very easy to break. You have to heat up the glass to loosen up the adhesive so you can separate it from the digitizer and if you're lucky enough to get it off without damaging the digitizer there's a good chance you're going to end up with bubbles under the replacement screen, especially if you've never done this sort of thing before.
Is it possible to fix? Definitely. Just don't be surprised if you end up needing a new digitizer as well.
If you're really wanting to fix it you'd be better off either buying a used S4 for parts (you can get one with a bad ESN pretty cheap) or just buy a new replacement digitizer/glass assembly and swap it out.
I bought a used S4 with a broken screen with plans on using it with TING. It had a single crack in the glass but the digitizer also had a single crack as well (and wouldn't display anything). I knew I'd have to replace the assembly but just for giggles I decided to try to separate the glass without damaging the digitizer further using a heat gun and although I was able to separate them I managed to crack the digitizer in several other places in the process. Granted I wasn't being extremely careful but still it seemed to break extremely easy.
The digitizer/glass assembly cost me about $200. I paid $200 for the phone. Then I found out it wouldn't even work with TING so I ended up selling it. After shipping, fees, etc I got about $335 taking a bath of about $65 on the project. Oh well live and learn.

Related

New HD2 Display Case?

Hello guys,
today my hd2 fell on the floor and the display cracked. the lcd and touchscreen are still working fine, even in the area where its cracked.
Is there a chance just to replace only the plastic case on the lcd? Or do i have to completly renew it?
Thanks!
Nope, sorry.
There's no plastic display on the HTC, nor anything plastic. The LCD is soldered to the digitizer and normally both should be replaced. They cost around 100$, and the replacement is about 200$ in the HTC center. You do the math, it's the price for a sec hand HD2. Otherwise, you can buy and change the digitizer (costs around 50$). But this is a very delicate operation to do by our own -you have to cut the LCD from the cracked digitizer and do many other things. As someone have said for some other reason "it is an easy operation, but if you have no experience in soldering, do not try to learn it on your laptop motherboard". So, your choice is between repairing it in HTC for 200$ and "repairing" it some other service for 100$, with questionable quality and voiding your warranty.
As you may guess, I have walked that road already. My HD2 was 1 week old. After some sleepless nights (as I was wondering what to do AND because the "perfectly working cracked screen" had cut my fingers) I sold it 100-120€ under the second hand market price and found a new one. That's also my advice to you. I.e. the first one. The second one is to buy a silicon cover for your next HD2.
ingrdgrbl said:
Hello guys,
today my hd2 fell on the floor and the display cracked. the lcd and touchscreen are still working fine, even in the area where its cracked.
Is there a chance just to replace only the plastic case on the lcd? Or do i have to completly renew it?
Thanks!
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[Q] Digitizer replacement questions

Hi All,
Broke my glass + digitizer, but lcd ok. Got a replacement and managed to separate the original lcd, what I'd like to know is do I really need to glue the lcd to the new digitizer? I've put it back together just loose for the time being and seems to look and work fine. Any risks to just glueing the digitizer/screen to the frame and leaving the lcd loose inside?
Also, I still have glue gunk on the lcd screen, I've ordered some "151 sticker remover" to get rid of it, but it occurred to me it might damage it. Anyone know if it would be ok? If not anything else recommended, maybe something I could make at home?
Thanks!
kaligula1234 said:
Hi All,
Broke my glass + digitizer, but lcd ok. Got a replacement and managed to separate the original lcd, what I'd like to know is do I really need to glue the lcd to the new digitizer? I've put it back together just loose for the time being and seems to look and work fine. Any risks to just glueing the digitizer/screen to the frame and leaving the lcd loose inside?
Also, I still have glue gunk on the lcd screen, I've ordered some "151 sticker remover" to get rid of it, but it occurred to me it might damage it. Anyone know if it would be ok? If not anything else recommended, maybe something I could make at home?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am in search for digitizer. How much you got it for? Any sources?
I believe this video should help you. It mentions that you have to glue digitizer and lcd.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MI55gTtLYHI
1078
IndianSuzuki said:
I am in search for digitizer. How much you got it for? Any sources?
I believe this video should help you. It mentions that you have to glue digitizer and lcd.
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Thanks, on closer inspection I htink my colours are a little washed out without the glue, so am just going to go ahead and do it.
I got my digitizer off ebay, interestingly I see the ones on ebay in India are twice as expensive though, I would have thought they'd be cheaper. I'd recommend just getting a digitizer and lcd in one though. Like this one:
ebayDOTin/itm/For-LG-E960-Google-Nexus-4-E960-LCD-Display-Touch-Screen-Digitizer-Black-/121465367279?pt=IN_Mobile_Accessories&hash=item1c47e66aef
Costs twice as much, but it's much easier to install; you don't need to buy as many tools, UV glue and gunk remover. Plus there's a high chance of breaking the lcd when separating it from your broken screen, so you could well end up having to buy both anyway.
I read something about the replacement lcds being lower quality though, I don't know how noticeable that would be, but if you pay with paypal you'd probably be able to get your money back.
kaligula1234 said:
Thanks, on closer inspection I htink my colours are a little washed out without the glue, so am just going to go ahead and do it.
I got my digitizer off ebay, interestingly I see the ones on ebay in India are twice as expensive though, I would have thought they'd be cheaper. I'd recommend just getting a digitizer and lcd in one though. Like this one:
ebayDOTin/itm/For-LG-E960-Google-Nexus-4-E960-LCD-Display-Touch-Screen-Digitizer-Black-/121465367279?pt=IN_Mobile_Accessories&hash=item1c47e66aef
Costs twice as much, but it's much easier to install; you don't need to buy as many tools, UV glue and gunk remover. Plus there's a high chance of breaking the lcd when separating it from your broken screen, so you could well end up having to buy both anyway.
I read something about the replacement lcds being lower quality though, I don't know how noticeable that would be, but if you pay with paypal you'd probably be able to get your money back.
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The link is dead. But i guess the product refers to complete front panel of phone. I did same thing. The panels are China made. The quality is no where close to original. I suggest you to not buy it online. You should go to mobile repair store and ask them to do it. The reason is the panels are faulty and if so then they will quickly replace it. I did couple of time after which got a better one.

Anyone gone through front glass replacement?

Recently got a GS5 and my mom doesn't have a phone right now so I'm handing my N4 down to her. The front glass is cracked and I wanted to get that fixed before I do. The digitizer and lcd are not broken, just the glass, everything else looks and functions fine. I guess what my question is, if I take it to a repair shop can they just replace the front glass or am I looking at around 100ish to replace it all? I'll be going in and getting quoted but just wanted to see if I got any input from here first, it will likely be a week or so before I take it anywhere due to this damn weather.
wareju said:
Recently got a GS5 and my mom doesn't have a phone right now so I'm handing my N4 down to her. The front glass is cracked and I wanted to get that fixed before I do. The digitizer and lcd are not broken, just the glass, everything else looks and functions fine. I guess what my question is, if I take it to a repair shop can they just replace the front glass or am I looking at around 100ish to replace it all? I'll be going in and getting quoted but just wanted to see if I got any input from here first, it will likely be a week or so before I take it anywhere due to this damn weather.
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The same thing happened with my friends N4. The glass, digitizer and LCD all had to be replaced as they all come as one unit. Cannot get them separately.
Amazon/ebay has parts where you can just order the LCD/Digitizer etc, but then to separate them you have to have a heat gun etc. if you touch any part by mistake you will get finger prints or smudges permanently. So not a good idea unless you are one of those super careful person. http://www.ebay.com/itm/LG-Nexus-4-...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
if you are handy, you can order the whole assembly online (amazon) for about 60 bucks or so) http://www.amazon.com/Touch-Screen-...r=8-1&keywords=nexus+4+lcd+screen+replacement
I personally got it replaced in So Flo for about 95 dollars + tax. I have been quoted about 140 at a chain fix up places.
bluesteve3 said:
The same thing happened with my friends N4. The glass, digitizer and LCD all had to be replaced as they all come as one unit. Cannot get them separately.
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Sure they do. FYI, the "glass" is[ the digitizer. If "everything works", then technically all that needs replacing is the digitizer.
However, digitizer replacement is far from an easy thing to do. Not only does it require some specialist equipment (suction cups, heat gun, glue), you're probably going to screw it up unless you've done it before.
wareju said:
Recently got a GS5 and my mom doesn't have a phone right now so I'm handing my N4 down to her. The front glass is cracked and I wanted to get that fixed before I do. The digitizer and lcd are not broken, just the glass, everything else looks and functions fine. I guess what my question is, if I take it to a repair shop can they just replace the front glass or am I looking at around 100ish to replace it all? I'll be going in and getting quoted but just wanted to see if I got any input from here first, it will likely be a week or so before I take it anywhere due to this damn weather.
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You can buy just the screen assembly off eBay for about $45, which has the digitizer already mated with the LCD. However, this requires removal from the bezel (again, a heat gun is recommended), then gluing the new one back in. For $60 you can get the entire front assembly (hey, brand new phone!), which is the easiest way to go about things. I'd also recommend buying a new battery ($20) and replacing the old, tired one while you've got the phone apart.
It's not all that difficult to do it yourself. You'll need a T5 TORX driver, something thin, sturdy and plastic to pry the phone halves apart (you can buy screen assemblies that come with all these tools), and some patience. Do everything on a fluffy white towel so the little screws don't get lost. The tricky part is the little rubber gasket thingy that goes over the proximity/light sensor module. Most people who have done a screen replacement have found that reassembly screws up the prox sensor, causing it to always read "near" (meaning during a call the screen will stay off and you can't hang up or use the dialer). The common fix is to put the gasket in backwards.
There are a number of threads here, some youtube videos, and a good teardown tutorial on ifixit.com.
I thought the digitizer was what recognized touch input? Either way I don't think I'll be doing any of this work myself, I'll just take it up somewhere for her for the repairs.
wareju said:
I thought the digitizer was what recognized touch input?
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It is. It's built into the front panel of glass (which is made up of a bunch of different layers of stuff). Don't ask me how it works, it's all magic to me. But when you break the front glass, yet everything still works, that's the digitizer. If you look up digitizers on eBay you'll see that it's the front glass panel, with a cable and other electronic stuff attatched.
Either way I don't think I'll be doing any of this work myself, I'll just take it up somewhere for her for the repairs.
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It's honestly not all that difficult to do yourself. Hell, send me the phone and screen assembly, and I'll do it for free. Seriously. I'll even through in a couple TPU cases I'm not using.
If you do take it somewhere for repairs, make sure you ask what they're doing. Replacing the screen assembly, or replacing the digitizer. For a $100 fee, it could be either. They could buy a $20 digitizer and the remaining $80 is in labor, but it'll take them a lot of time and effort, or it could be a $45/$60 screen assembly that takes far less time and effort to do. Personally, it costing the same, I'd rather have the screen assembly replaced, since replacing only the digitizer can lead to complications. Since it has to be reglued onto the LCD, you might get bubbles, dust/lint, dead spots, and that rainbow affect when you hold it in the light at the right angle.

broke my screen!

Let a buddy hold my phone and my luck kicked in, he dropped it. It was a very light fall and only have it 2 cracks on the edge and one hairline Crack across the screen. Phone works fine and I can see and touch everything. I've heard it's pricey to replace the screen on this thing because the screen assembly is one piece? Meaning I can't just buy the glass? Any advice or helpful links to reputable sites would be greatly appreciated. I've always just bought a new phone when I Crack my screen but this phone cost too much to just sell off for cheap. Thanks in advance
I need some help guys. No repair shop will touch the phone without replacing the glass and lcd and charging $399. I've seen multiple people claim to have changed the glass only and looking online that part isn't expensive at all. If anyone can confirm their success I may make the attempt to do it my self. I've already spent $400 on this phone so I'd like to spend as little as possible to fix it
Called every shop I could and all said it would he anywhere from 350-400 for the whole lcd assembly. I asked every store (in my state and neighboring state) if they could just replace the glass and all said no. So my question is if anyone reading this has a link to a reputable site to get the lcd assembly, under $270 if possible. And lastly, if I buy the necessary tools and watch videos, what's the chances of messing up the phone replacing the WHOLE lcd assembly, if I've never used a heat gun to remove glass? I've replaced the lcd assembly on my lg g2 but the back being plastic eliminated the need for any heat. I'm lost and don't want to spend $400 more.
No way to replace only the glass without risking damage to the AMOLED screen or digitizer. The screen is glued together, and a slight force will cause the screen to shatter. If you want to take that risk, you can go ahead and look up a tutorial, but it seems to be very difficult to only replace the glass and not the entire assembly(Thats why repair shops don't do them as the chance of failure is too high)
Eric1084 said:
No way to replace only the glass without risking damage to the AMOLED screen or digitizer. The screen is glued together, and a slight force will cause the screen to shatter. If you want to take that risk, you can go ahead and look up a tutorial, but it seems to be very difficult to only replace the glass and not the entire assembly(Thats why repair shops don't do them as the chance of failure is too high)
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What's the cheapest option? Buy the whole lcd assembly and change it my self? Or pay samsung and wait? I bought this second hand from a guy who come to find out still owed payments so no insurance route is possible. I'd have to send in my phone and wait
brd912 said:
What's the cheapest option? Buy the whole lcd assembly and change it my self? Or pay samsung and wait? I bought this second hand from a guy who come to find out still owed payments so no insurance route is possible. I'd have to send in my phone and wait
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Well, cheapest option is to do as you said, replace the glass. But if you fail during the process, your only bet would be to replace the whole assembly, and even if you had warranty, that would be completely voided. So if you are going to replace the assembly anyway, might be worth a try to separate the glass, and replace only the glass. And if it fails, you can just replace the entire assembly. But if you plans to send it to Samsung anyway, I would suggest you to do that without any diy modification to the device. If you are planning to buy the assembly, make sure you get a genuine OEM screen. I saw a lot of fake China lcd assembly, and S7 have amoled at much better resolution.
I had a S6, and display while glueing? itself off, cracked the whole amoled screen completely. And Edge is even more dangerous. So all You can do is to pretty much either replace it Yourself (not too difficult if You ask me) but You will eventually make it not waterproof anymore. And You might break something while fixing it(like the paint or the back panel, although paint 90%) and then You will have to pay even more. Or just take it to repair service, pay.. I don't know. 50-100$ more and get a professional repair without any risk. And if it's going to be made by Samsung, You still might have waterproof phone after that. So I guess You should take it to a repair service. 50-100$ more, but trust me. You will most likely mess up the pain and ruin Your phone visually. As well as You will need to buy tiny screw drivers, some flat plastic tool, and adhesive tape. And sometimes using a hair dryer to open the back, will destroy some components inside. So be careful with that as well.
Or sell Your friends kidneys and pay for the repair
This sucks dude. I could literally purchase a nexus 6 for less than the price to fix this phone. I've looked at every phone out right now and nothing catches my eye like this one. I'd almost opt to buy the 3t before spending 400 to have a shop repair this one
If ur friend has insurance maybe they would pay for it. If not.
A new screen costs around 200$ from ebay or etrade supply. Those one come even without a samsung logo like the models in asia. Which imo looks super cool. If you a that screen transfering the old stuff isn't that hard. And there are many tutorials online. Maybe you could split? I mean he dropped it even if it's on accident he could give like 100$ then you have to spend 100$.
You could sell ur S7 edge. Trust me if it's just cracked and everything else is working you will find someone that buys it. In Germany you could get something between 250€~ 300€ for that. And then you spend again maybe 200€ and get a new or used one thats in good condition.
There are few options that you have. I wouldn't go to repair shops because they are often overpriced and don't treat ur stuff well.
And one last thing. Forget about replacing only the glas because that is impossible.
So if I buy the whole lcd assembly, all I need to do is heat up the back, cut the adhesive with a guitar pick, remove screws and unhook the connectors and replace?
yes exactly like that. like i said there are a ton of guides like on ifixit or on youtube. bur instead of a guitar pick i would you a playing card or pokemon card or something. the guitar pick or metal tools can scratch the backplate and the "sticker".

Replacing just front glass and digitizer?

hey i was wondering how difficult it is to replace just the front glass and digitizer on my S7E? mine is cracked at the bottom, the lcd and digitizer are both good, but the crack is getting worse and pieces are flaking off so i feel like if i dont fix it it might end up screwing up the lcd. I can get a glass/digitizer assembly for about 35 bucks, but if i buy this am i going to be able to install it without f*kn up my phone? ive been looking at youtube videos n stuff and pretty much every one i see theyre replacing the whole assembly with the lcd, which is like $200, is it possible to seperate the lcd from the glass/digitizer fairly easily at home? or should i just let it be and not mess with it?
Hi to be very honest here I've never ever had to replace or fix the glass to my $7 Edge, my $7 Edge is on excellent condition but I'm thinking of one day either updating to the Note 8 or even Note 9. Have you got any quotes yet from repair places
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BDog21 said:
hey i was wondering how difficult it is to replace just the front glass and digitizer on my S7E? mine is cracked at the bottom, the lcd and digitizer are both good, but the crack is getting worse and pieces are flaking off so i feel like if i dont fix it it might end up screwing up the lcd. I can get a glass/digitizer assembly for about 35 bucks, but if i buy this am i going to be able to install it without f*kn up my phone? ive been looking at youtube videos n stuff and pretty much every one i see theyre replacing the whole assembly with the lcd, which is like $200, is it possible to seperate the lcd from the glass/digitizer fairly easily at home? or should i just let it be and not mess with it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On the newer phones is not really possible to separate the different layers on the display. (even back in the days when the layers where a lot easier to separate - it was hard, only on some displays and always the new layers started to separate leading to dust behind them and so on). You must change the whole screen as a one. Sorry... :/
Im a cell phone repair guy. Like stated above you must replace the entire digitizer/lcd assembly. They are pricey. If you have insurance it may be cheaper. Your looking at $200-$250 for a quality unit.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/LCD-Displa...hash=item4b178e5337:m:mtuyciust4Tmlx1CeklwU-g
Then you will want to get a good tool kit like so. Thats another $60
https://www.ifixit.com/Store/Tools/...pEP-Ge4NWU0H9RKOGFUtVKLOoWZ-d4BBoCMwkQAvD_BwE
Then you can follow this for teardown. Just remember you can damage more stuff when working the first time on something like this. It will cost even more money. It might just be better to use insurance or have a pro do it.
https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Samsung+Galaxy+S7+Edge+Teardown/56845
BDog21 said:
hey i was wondering how difficult it is to replace just the front glass and digitizer on my S7E? mine is cracked at the bottom, the lcd and digitizer are both good, but the crack is getting worse and pieces are flaking off so i feel like if i dont fix it it might end up screwing up the lcd. I can get a glass/digitizer assembly for about 35 bucks, but if i buy this am i going to be able to install it without f*kn up my phone? ive been looking at youtube videos n stuff and pretty much every one i see theyre replacing the whole assembly with the lcd, which is like $200, is it possible to seperate the lcd from the glass/digitizer fairly easily at home? or should i just let it be and not mess with it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well yeah its really hard to do it yourself, but changing only the glass is possible. I have tried it on my old samsung galaxy s6 edge. Although i have brought it to a repair shop which supports such change. They use a special separation machine. Try asking around your place. Btw, where you from?
awerqw22 said:
Well yeah its really hard to do it yourself, but changing only the glass is possible. I have tried it on my old samsung galaxy s6 edge. Although i have brought it to a repair shop which supports such change. They use a special separation machine. Try asking around your place. Btw, where you from?
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nebraska
BDog21 said:
nebraska
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So were continents away. Lol. Buy yeah its possible, with the right tools. You can do it yourself but its very risky. Some do it manually some use tools. Some separation machines use dry ice.
Also, remember that if you're replacing the entire OLED, glass and digitiser as a single unit, if you're buying a generic replacement rather than Samsung parts, the OLED panel in particular could easily be of inferior quality. Or perhaps not even OLED at all, rather a standard LCD replacement. I'd rather not think of this phone without the quality of screen it has, it's half the appeal and what makes it a premium device in the first place.
its possible, repair is done within 3h.
you can try it at home, you need slim cards and wire, but it's not worth the risk.
I paid 120$ in Poland for glass replacement. they have separating machine - it freeze the glue so it's easy to take the glass off the screen. later it's just loca or oca

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