Database Users

Replacing the digitizer is very stressful.

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
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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.
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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.

[Q] New Screen Adhesive Advice

Ok, So a bought a replacement lcd with fitted digitiser, and it came with pre installed adhesive around the perimeter of the screen.
This is the one I bought http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/351392704208?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
Anyone though it claims this screen is OEM I can for one believe this is the adhesive used by Samsung as it may as well be non existent, it does not hold the screen onto the phone well and I find I am forever having to run my fingers around the edge of the screen to give it a bit of hold before it gradually comes away from the chassis again. To confirm before fitting the new screen I did clean up and remove all bits of the hold adhesive and bits of broken glass etc .
So what do you recommend how can I best adhere my screen and also is there a tried and tested adhesive that will give my phone back its IP67 rating?

To replace broken screen on p7000

Guys, please, I need ur help on screen replacement on p7000, was able to unscrew, remove d upper and lower panels, but was unable to get rid of the screen from the frame, in order not to damage d frame I left it, and ran here for help d procedure to get the screen out of the frame, thanks in advance
Sent from my Elephone P7000 using Tapatalk

Sorry to read it so late. Did you solve the problem? I succesfully replaced a broken screen weeks ago. I had to use an hair dryer to melt the LCD adesive, then succesfully removed the broken LCD. Did you try this?

Alrighty dude, here's the trick.
Get everything, and I mean EVERYTHING out of the frame except for the screen. All that is holding the screen to the frame is just some glue. Get a razor blade, or a plastic razor, or even a guitar pick, if you can wedge it in between the glass and the frame, and start CAREFULLY prying the screen out. Don't worry about damaging the screen, it's an OGS, you'll have to replace it all anyway.
A little heat never hurt either. Anything from a hair dryer to a bernz-o-matic ought to do the trick. If you're brave, you can try pushing the screen out from the back of the frame, but I'd be EXTREMELY careful, because the frame is pathetically malleable.

Permanently bent

Hello there,
just bought a used X Style in good condition. However the phone is slightly bent, distorted possibly from heat. So when you put it face down on an even surface as on a table, it actually rocks... One of the things I cannot do now is to actually put a glass protector on its screen as it will not stick.
Anyone with a similar experience ? Is there anyway to rectify the problem apart from buying a new front housing? I can easily open it up and disassemble it but would it offer anything at all?
Thanks for your ideas

axolotl98 said:
Hello there,
just bought a used X Style in good condition. However the phone is slightly bent, distorted possibly from heat. So when you put it face down on an even surface as on a table, it actually rocks... One of the things I cannot do now is to actually put a glass protector on its screen as it will not stick.
Anyone with a similar experience ? Is there anyway to rectify the problem apart from buying a new front housing? I can easily open it up and disassemble it but would it offer anything at all?
Thanks for your ideas
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is the back of the phone slightly curved from bottom to top, thicker in the middle? This is not bent, this is design.
Are the edges of the screen slightly higher than the rest of the screen? This is normal, it's a huge piss off, but it's normal. Research glass screen protectors moto x pure and you'll find that there are very few which stick to the moto x, let alone stick well. My guess is the phone is not actually bent, the back is curved as it should be and the screen is made slightly different, and not many glass screen protectors work.
Edit : face down it rocks...that's odd I've not experienced that, maybe it is bent and I don't know what to do about that

Thanks for your reply. But yes the phone is bent, and I am not sure which structural part is bent and which part of the phone actually follow suit. If I could identify the part that is bent, I could take it apart, replace the bent part (middle frame?) and then it would be perfect. What is also really funny, is that the screen is not broken nor split, as it seems to be elastic enough to bent without breaking...

axolotl98 said:
Thanks for your reply. But yes the phone is bent, and I am not sure which structural part is bent and which part of the phone actually follow suit. If I could identify the part that is bent, I could take it apart, replace the bent part (middle frame?) and then it would be perfect. What is also really funny, is that the screen is not broken nor split, as it seems to be elastic enough to bent without breaking...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No worries. I have no idea what part could be bent, but it's possible that there's a lot of stress on the glass and it could break at a later point in time. You could try taking it apart and see if you can identify what is bent, had the phone been taken apart or had the screen been repaired before you got it?
I ask because I had to repair my screen, did it myself, but had to glue the frame to the LCD. In doing so I used crazy glue, and then 3 months down the road the bottom quarter of my screen stopped responding to touch due to the crazy glue pushing up on parts of the screen and wrecking something inside.

Phone screen repair glue recommendation

Hey guys,
I've noticed the black (plastic/glue?) part at the edge of my screen has fallen off right at the left upper corner. Now I can see light sipping between the screen and the edge of the phone. Do you guys have any recommendation for repair glue so I could seal that part to prevent any water damage? Thanks.

c19932 said:
Hey guys,
I've noticed the black (plastic/glue?) part at the edge of my screen has fallen off right at the left upper corner. Now I can see light sipping between the screen and the edge of the phone. Do you guys have any recommendation for repair glue so I could seal that part to prevent any water damage? Thanks.
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Click to collapse
is that the speaker strip? Don't be filling that with glue!

IronRoo said:
is that the speaker strip? Don't be filling that with glue!
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Click to collapse
No it's not the speaker strip even that part is also coming off :silly:

Do it fast, I got the same Problem and just after I noticed I got a whole lot of dust between my camera and glas.
Luckily Essential shipped me a new phone...

c19932 said:
No it's not the speaker strip even that part is also coming off :silly:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, that little strip was a bad design.
The LOCA glue normally used for mobile phone screen probably a bit too thin & runny to fill an open hole, so I'd be looking at a ceramic chip repair kit (if you can get suitable colour) or maybe a clear epoxy (though not sure how well it'll stick to ceramic). I don't think anyone has a proven solution so far.

IronRoo said:
I'd be looking at a ceramic chip repair kit (if you can get suitable colour) or maybe a clear epoxy (though not sure how well it'll stick to ceramic).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From my experience replacing the display on this phone, the thin frame/bezel where the glass fits is actually not ceramic. It feels like some sort of a hard plastic that you can actually scrape and shave a thin layer off with a sharp blade (i discovered that while cleaning out the old adhesive). I tried scraping a semi-exposed edge of the back ceramic plate with a blade - very different feeling. My phone also has a tiny damage to this front bezel in the corner which is a "nick", unlike a chip or a crack you would expect in a ceramic material.

so do you guys have any advice for the type of glue that could be used to fill up the gap?

I have replaced the screen on my phone and used E6000 glue, it is clear and does not run like super glue.
Edit: they also make it in black.