[HOWTO] Replace Atrix 2 Touchscreen - Motorola Atrix 2

I recently destroyed the screen on my A2 and repaired it with ease. Honestly very ease to take apart. I wanted to share my experience and show others how to do so as well.
Hopefully, you will NEVER need this! But if you do, here is the how to!
Mods? Please sticky if you see fit to.
DISCLAIMER: I am not responsible if your phone does not work after the repair. However, if you follow these instructions you should be fine.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
1. Obviously you will need a replacement screen. I got mine for 30 bucks HERE and it came to my house VERY well packaged and quick. Otherwise if that link winds up going down, LET ME GOOGLE THAT FOR YOU.
2. A Torx 5 driver. You can find one at most electronics stores as this is a VERY tiny size usually only used on electronics. I got mine HERE for cheap! Once again if that link also goes down, I CAN GOOGLE THAT FOR YOU ALSO.
3. A magnet. This is for you to rub your new screwdriver against so it becomes magnetized. Makes it easier to get those pesky tiny screws out without dropping them and losing them forever.
4. A PLASTIC pry tool of some sort. You can be creative with this like I did (you'll see in the later pics) but make sure it's plastic so you don't damage your phone. UPDATE: Find one here, as well as a T5 driver.
5. Two small containers to put the screws in. Why two? There are two different size screws you will be removing and you DON"T WANT TO MIX THEM UP. They are different lengths. Jamming the wrong screw in the wrong hole is a bad idea.
6. A hairdryer or even a butane torch on low heat. Or, if you have none of those a razor blade. For separating the glass from the silver bezel.
7. A roll of 2mm double adhesive tape for adhering the new glass to the body. Also used for getting the proper gap in between the lcd screen and digitizer. Find it HERE.
8. GOOD glass cleaner and a microfiber cloth. I will touch on that later.
THE REPAIR
Once you get in a good lit area pull your battery cover off, (I felt no need to tell you guys how to do this) pull the battery out, the sim card and SD card. You will be left with what you see below:
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Next, you will find NINE screws around the circumference of the phone. At this point, if you haven't done so already, take your T5 driver and rub it like a madman on the magnet for a good 30 seconds. High school chemistry tells us that you have just magnetized the tip of your driver! Remove the screws and place them in one of your two containers. And for Pete's sake not close to the edge of the table either.
Next you need to separate the back of the phone from the motherboard. It is SNAPPED into place. Grab your plastic pry tool, and CAREFULLY start separating the two from each other. You will notice the Motorola conveniently placed "pry points" around the phone making this easier. Don't jam the tool too far in as the phone's motherboard is underneath and you don't want to damage it. Do this part correctly and you should have something looking like this:
Your next step is to CAREFULLY pop off the three connections for the touch screen digitizer, the LCD screen and the Ear piece speaker which I have circled for you in the pic located above. Using your plastic pry tool again, carefully pry straight up on the and they should pop off. See the two pics below for examples (yes my fingernails are dirty. Hush, I'm a VW tech.)
No you can see how I got creative with my pry tool.
Once you get those connections popped off, it's time to take the mother board out. At this point touch something metal in your house to discharge any static electricity you may have inadvertently built up. Probably not necessary, but I always do so when I am tearing down my PC, so why not? The MB is also just clipped into place, so using your Plastic pry tool (or bread tie LOL), CAREFULLY pry up on the MB and place it in a SAFE PLACE. Be careful that it doesn't grab on any of the three connections. Treat the MB like gold! You will then be presented with something like below:
At this point pull up on the ear piece speaker/LED and place it aside (you can see it in the above pic in the middle of the phone). Next, you will find the last set of screws you need to pull. There are eight in total holding the metal backing plate to the LCD screen. Remove them, and place them in the OTHER container, re-magnetizing your driver if you need to before removing. Once the screws are out, you can easily pull the metal plate from the back of the LCD screen. See below:
There are only two things between you and replacing your screen now.
BE VERY CAREFUL WITH THIS NEXT STEP AS YOU ARE ABOUT TO REMOVE THE LCD SCREEN AND YOU DO NOT WANT TO SCRATCH IT!!!!!
The LCD screen is slightly adhered in to place with double-sided tape around the circumference of the phone to separate the screen from the digitizer. Now using your pry tool carefully work around the screen until it comes out. Place it FACE DOWN on something soft so as not to scratch it and keep it clean. See below:
Now the HARD PART. First remove the small plastic piece in the upper right corner of the phone that covers up the glass/digitizer connector (see pic below). Now the glass is adhered STRONGLY to the case of the phone. I have heard of people using a hairdryer to heat up the glue to release it, which is the best idea as you will have a much cleaner surface after you're done. Carefully, and slowly, with NOT TOO MUCH HEAT heat up the edges of the screen to soften the glue and lift it out.
brandogg said:
Use a heat gun and warm up the glass first, then take it out. If you do it right, all of the adhesive will come out with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have not used the aforementioned method, (which is better and cleaner I would imagine) but not a lot of people have a heatgun or butane heater so I am leaving the following optional method:
Carefully take your razor blade and work your way around the the phone to separate the the glass from the body, carefully pulling the connector through the body of the phone. It wasn't too difficult for me. Be careful not to cut yourself! SAFETY FIRST!!!
You will finally be left with your old nasty screen and the body:
PREPARING TO GLUE ON THE NEW GLASS:
Depending on the method you used to to separate the glass you are going to be left with some old glue remaining. Using your razor blade, or whatever you see fit, remove the old glue COMPLETELY to get a good sealing surface for your new glass. If you used heat you might have even got the old glue clean off with the glass! Now my glass came with plastic on both sides, so at this point remove the side that is going to be glued to the body. Using the double sided tape in the link, run it around the silver bezel for your new glass and set the new glass in place.
brandogg said:
Also a huge is to heat up the adhesive right before you place the digitizer back on. This will give you a MUCH stronger bond and will also help any uneven bumps if you have any.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once the screen is set, use your GOOD (alcohol based is best) glass cleaner to clean the underside of the glass and the LCD screen if it got dirty in the process. CLEAN IT WELL!
ANY STREAKS LEFT WILL SHOW BEHIND YOUR GLASS ONCE THE REPAIR IS DONE FORCING YOU TO TAKE IT APART AND CLEAN IT AGAIN!!!!!
like I had to.
Next, you need to make sure that the screen and the digitizer are properly spaced. Unless you get clean lift on the lcd when you originally pried it up. If they're too close you will get a swirly effect as you touch the screen. Touch your computer screen and you'll see what I mean.
brandogg said:
I always do 2 layers directly on top of each other - this works perfectly every time so you don't get the "water effect" from the glass touching the LCD, and make sure you go edge to edge so that dust and lint cannot enter the display afterwards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It won't hurt the screen if they touch, it's just friggin' annoying, and will cause you to take it back apart.
At this point, installation is in the reverse of the removal, noting one thing. When going to place the three connectors back in place, just line them up properly and lightly push on them to pop them in place.
CONGRATS!!!! YOU HAVE REPLACED YOUR ATRIX 2 TOUCHSCREEN!
Thanks to BRANDOGG for his professional tips and links! GIVE HIM SOME THANKS LOVE ON HIS POSTS BELOW!
Leave your comments and I will update the OP as necessary!
If this helped you in anyway feel free to hit the thanks button!

Nice tutorial, I will use this if I break my screen.

Like I said, hopefully you'll never have to.
Sent from my MB865 using xda premium

nice, I will have to find this burried 10 pages deep, when I break mine. or maybe I could continue my streak of NEVER dropping it since I bought it in December. Seriously, never.

Good lord Kras, you might have just jinxed yourself.
And i'm hoping they'll sticky it so you don't have to find it that way lol.
Sent from my MB865 using xda premium

Very nicely put together. I hope to hell I'll never need it.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using xda premium

Oh my. This is so absolutely amazing. I cannot thank you enough Fall of Enosis. Great job X 1000 on this!

Nicely put together, and congrats on a stickie! :good:
Hope I never need to refer to this as result of a buzzed walking into/out of a bar with subsequent droppage and "Oh, $#!T... My PHONE!"

Fall of Enosis said:
Good lord Kras, you might have just jinxed yourself.
And i'm hoping they'll sticky it so you don't have to find it that way lol.
Sent from my MB865 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess I did. Dropped it today, but it didn't break. The screen is however slightly separated at the top. Do you think I can just put a little dab of super glue in there to get it back down?

Thanks for this guide. I broke mine yesterday. I bought the digitizer from there also today. Hopefully it isant too hard to break down and replace. Also would it be worth it to buy a whole new faceplate instead of taking the old digitizer out of this one?

lkrasner said:
I guess I did. Dropped it today, but it didn't break. The screen is however slightly separated at the top. Do you think I can just put a little dab of super glue in there to get it back down?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I would imagine that would be ok man. I don't see an issue with it but like I said go EASY on the glue. Cause you might get too much in there and it will go over onto the LCD portion and you don't want that.
Zackhery said:
Thanks for this guide. I broke mine yesterday. I bought the digitizer from there also today. Hopefully it isant too hard to break down and replace. Also would it be worth it to buy a whole new faceplate instead of taking the old digitizer out of this one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually man, if you bought it from the Link I provided, your new screen comes with the digitzer also. So no worries there.

Congrats on your success. Tried this on my ATRIX 1, no success. Pissed me off.

I got mine replaced. They did jew me out my shipping tho. I paid for Priority and they sent with cheapest one.
I would suggest a pair of nice tweasers. To scrape the old glue off. Alot more effective then a razor blade.

Zackhery said:
I got mine replaced. They did jew me out my shipping tho. I paid for Priority and they sent with cheapest one.
I would suggest a pair of nice tweasers. To scrape the old glue off. Alot more effective then a razor blade.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aside from that did it work okay for ya?

Fall of Enosis said:
Aside from that did it work okay for ya?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it works just fine.

Thanks for sharing it. I really appreciate it.

Ok so i also need to replace the screen and lcd . my question is what kind of glue did u use? i was under the impression that it had to be an adhesive glue. thanks for the advise

rlopezcomputers said:
Ok so i also need to replace the screen and lcd . my question is what kind of glue did u use? i was under the impression that it had to be an adhesive glue. thanks for the advise
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just bought $4 all purpose apoxy from radio shack to glue the digitizer back in and lcd will just sit in it. Lcd is glued in to start with but just but doesn't need to be.
Sent from my MB865 using xda premium

Use a heat gun and warm up the glass first, then take it out. If you do it right, all of the adhesive will come out with it. DO NOT use glue, that is just plain crazy. Buy a roll of 2mm wide double sided adhesive (that is made specifically for replacing digitizers, etc) and use that instead (costs about $4-5). Replacing the digitizer on an Atrix 2 is a very simple job, just spend the extra couple of bucks to do it the right way.

I never said I did this professionally. this is just how I did it. it has worked for me and for others as well! but thanks for your input! I will update the OP with your tips!
Sent from my MB865 using xda premium

Related

Brown splotch top left corner

So I recently replaced my headphone jack and speaker recently using parts I ordered from Parts Universe b/c my headphone jack stopped working after I had dropped my Captivate face down on my asphalt driveway...
Anyways, my headphone jack works great now. Only problem... about a day after I had replaced the headphone jack I noticed a dark brownish/orange splotch in the top left corner of my screen that comes down about 1/2" from the top of the screen and then back up to the top of the screen.
Did I mess something up when changing out my parts? I have taken the phone apart before just to see if I could do it, and nothing happened... I never ran into any problems when taking it apart/putting it back together... Has anyone ever seen anything like this before?
I have attached a screenshot of my homescreen with some editing in Paint to show what it looks like. It is transparent, almost like the screen is half-dead in that area.
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Here it is. It also seems to be spreading... was not like this a couple of days ago...
I was going to pass this up because I couldn't tell what was added in Paint and what's wrong, but thought I'd tell you that. How about an unmodified screenshot?
Also did you solder the new connector on with the board in the phone, getting the screen hot in that area?
CuriousTech said:
I was going to pass this up because I couldn't tell what was added in Paint and what's wrong, but thought I'd tell you that. How about an unmodified screenshot?
Also did you solder the new connector on with the board in the phone, getting the screen hot in that area?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I would post an unmodified screen shot if the defect was shown in it. But it's basically what I drew in, the area outlined in orange is the border of the splotch. It's like if you have a damaged monitor, but take a screenshot of your desktop it won't show that the monitor is damaged, it will only show what the desktop looks like normally.
There was no soldering involved in replacing the headphone jack and front speaker. I just stuck it in there and plugged it into the motherboard. That's why this is so puzzling... Just wanted to know if anyone else has had a similar problem?
Maybe I should try and re-install my defective headphone jack and see if the problem still persists...
I had dropped my Captivate face down on my asphalt driveway
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like your problem right there. To me, it sounds like your screen is physically borked (i.e. you need a new screen), but I'm not knowledgeable enough to say that is the case for sure. It might be helpful if you can grab a camera and upload a few pictures, both with the screen on and off, so we can better see what's happening.
jmtheiss said:
Sounds like your problem right there. To me, it sounds like your screen is physically borked (i.e. you need a new screen), but I'm not knowledgeable enough to say that is the case for sure. It might be helpful if you can grab a camera and upload a few pictures, both with the screen on and off, so we can better see what's happening.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will try to take a photo using another camera for sure...
Although I dropped my phone over two months ago and the screen was perfectly fine after (I did have a silicone case on it, so the extra width saved the screen), not a single scratch. This splotch came into existence after I replaced my headphone jack this week.
richuwo11 said:
I will try to take a photo using another camera for sure...
Although I dropped my phone over two months ago and the screen was perfectly fine after (I did have a silicone case on it, so the extra width saved the screen), not a single scratch. This splotch came into existence after I replaced my headphone jack this week.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just another guess - it's possible that the screen separated partially from the gorilla glass covering it. That opening could be causing the brown splotch you're seeing - almost like a bubble in between a screen protector and the screen.
could it possibly be a thumb-print inside the screen? In taking it apart did you ever come in contact with the backside of the screen. The oils from your skin can heat up under there and cause the discoloration.
jmtheiss said:
Just another guess - it's possible that the screen separated partially from the gorilla glass covering it. That opening could be causing the brown splotch you're seeing - almost like a bubble in between a screen protector and the screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That does sound possible... I will take it apart again tonight and give it a thorough inspection.
It's really not that bad, only b/c it's in the corner, but it does really bother me. It looks terrible on anything with a white background though, like when you browse the internet or some parts of the marketplace.
Thanks for the responses guys. I will report back with my findings.
So I took everything apart last night again, replaced my new headphone jack with the old part and the splotch is still there... so it's not the replacement part I got.
All of the components look good, there's no dust or dirt anywhere, nothing rattles when I shake it... I don't know what could have happened...
I don't think I'm going to be buying a new screen for it, they run about $150 and for that price, I might as well get a new phone.
I'll just have to deal with it.
richuwo11 said:
So I took everything apart last night again, replaced my new headphone jack with the old part and the splotch is still there... so it's not the replacement part I got.
All of the components look good, there's no dust or dirt anywhere, nothing rattles when I shake it... I don't know what could have happened...
I don't think I'm going to be buying a new screen for it, they run about $150 and for that price, I might as well get a new phone.
I'll just have to deal with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try to have it replaced for free. It's a knowed phenomenon in electronics of all kind. Your replacement of the headjack might have just exacerbate a existing problem.
Brown spot on screen
silvertag said:
Try to have it replaced for free. It's a knowed phenomenon in electronics of all kind. Your replacement of the headjack might have just exacerbate a existing problem.
Brown spot on screen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm... thanks for the info.
I will have to call up Samsung and see what they say. Only problem is that I have the AT&T version of the phone and using it in Canada.
Hopefully Samsung is nice enough to still honour the warranty.
richuwo11 said:
Hmm... thanks for the info.
I will have to call up Samsung and see what they say. Only problem is that I have the AT&T version of the phone and using it in Canada.
Hopefully Samsung is nice enough to still honour the warranty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how did you obtain this captivate? if you are not the original purchaser you do not have a warranty. and also if you are sim unlocked you had to root to do that which voids the warranty so before you send it to sammy relock the sim restrictions and odin one click back to stock
added photos to the OP.
What do you think?
It really looks like layer separation to me. As if the glass is pulling away from the digitizer or something.
I guess it is spreading, since it looks much larger than first described...
Yep layer separation.
joeybear23 said:
It really looks like layer separation to me. As if the glass is pulling away from the digitizer or something.
I guess it is spreading, since it looks much larger than first described...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, so how do I fix it? Nothing looks loose or out of place to me. Everything fits snug and is screwed in, not loose or too tight.
Maybe just the way I snapped the outer plastic shell to the digitizer? Last time I put it together I snapped it in from top to bottom. Maybe I should try bottom to top?
richuwo11 said:
Ok, so how do I fix it? Nothing looks loose or out of place to me. Everything fits snug and is screwed in, not loose or too tight.
Maybe just the way I snapped the outer plastic shell to the digitizer? Last time I put it together I snapped it in from top to bottom. Maybe I should try bottom to top?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it is layer separation, I don't think there is a way to fix it. I believe the two layers are most likely put together with a special adhesive by machine. The discoloration is probably the adhesive being exposed to elements that it was not designed to come in contact with. I suspect this would have happened regardless of your activities, unless you inadvertently pried away the corner of the glass in your maintenance.
If you didn't break any "do not remove" seals while you were working on it, you may be able to get it repaired under warranty as a factory defect...
Yep. That's not going back together. Most likely it's from flexing a corner out to hard. Fixing it would require 3M Vikuiti type material. Well, that's from LCD backing. Maybe a polorizor for the front. Take it all apart, clean the surfaces in a cleanroom. That kinda thing. Not fun.
joeybear23 said:
If it is layer separation, I don't think there is a way to fix it. I believe the two layers are most likely put together with a special adhesive by machine. The discoloration is probably the adhesive being exposed to elements that it was not designed to come in contact with. I suspect this would have happened regardless of your activities, unless you inadvertently pried away the corner of the glass in your maintenance.
If you didn't break any "do not remove" seals while you were working on it, you may be able to get it repaired under warranty as a factory defect...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info... I will have to contact Samsung.
All because of a stupid broken headphone jack...

HTC MyTouch 4G Slide Take Apart Repair Guide

This take apart repair guide will show the method on how to quickly and safely open your MyTouch 4G Slide so you can install a replacement LCD screen and glass touchscreen digitizer.
This guide will help you replace the following parts:
HTC MyTouch 4G Slide Touch Screen Digitizer Replacement
HTC MyTouch 4G Slide LCD Screen Replacement
And Other HTC MyTouch 4G Slide Repair Parts
Tools Required:
Safe Open Pry Tool
Torx T5 Screwdriver
Small Phillips Screwdriver
Adhesive Strips (For Touch Screen Replacements)
Hot Air Gun / Hair Dryer
MyTouch 4G Slide Take Apart/Repair Guide:
Remove the battery back door has it cover simply using a safe open pry tool and slide all around the sides. Once it has been removed you need to remove the battery, micro sd card, and sim card from the phone.
Next, using a Torx 5 screwdriver, you need to remove four (4) screws - two on top and two on bottom.. Remove the two (2) screws in the middle of the phone using a small Phillip screwdriver.
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Figure 1​
Next using a safe open pry tool you will remove the little plastic housing on the bottom of the phone. Once removed you can now release the bezel around the sides of the phone using the safe open pry tool and simply just go around all the sides of the phone releasing the bezel clips safely.
Remove two (2) additional screws on a top left as well as one screw on the top right , the two (2) on the left or Torx 5 screws (located in red on Figure 2) and the one (1) screw on the right is a small Phillip screw (located in orange). With those screws are removed you can now release three flex cables along the sides of the phone that are holding with adhesive one being the power cable, the volume up down ribbon and the third one is in the other side of the phone and that one should be release as well. These are held in place with adhesive and simply need to be released from the housing.
Once those three cables are release you can now release one more flex cable on the right side of the motherboard using a safe open pry tool and pop it right off.
Figure 2​
Next you can now release the motherboard from the actual phone, go along the sides releasing the clips holding the motherboard in place (being very careful not to actually damage your motherboard). Underneath you motherboard is a flex cable from the keyboard which is under your phone. You would need to release the flex cable and pop it right off. You can now separate the motherboard from the LCD display housing.
Release the eight (8) Phillip head screws on the back of the keyboard housing. Once removed you can now separate the keyboard from the actual LCD display monitor (be careful as the keyboard is still holding with the flex cable so you would need to release the flex cable very careful as it is holding on two sides, there is also an adhesive on the black portion so you would need to pry it very slowly).
Figure 3​
Next, using a safe open pry tool you will need to release the silver frame around the side of the phone this cover up two screws that you would need to remove as well. Once the frame is release you can go ahead and remove the two screws on the top as well as the two screws on the bottom of the back panel.
Release the bezel frame from the back of the phone. You may want to use a hair dryer or heat gun to warm the adhesive a bit, as it can be a strong bond. Simply use your heat on a medium setting and move quickly around the edges for about 30-45 seconds.
Release the digitizer cable holding into the back of the phone, slowly pulled back the tape and release the jaw connector, pushing it with upward with the safe open pry tool and pop out the digitizer flex cable of your touch screen.
Using a hot hair heat gun heat up the front as well as a little bit of the back of your screen, this will loosen up the adhesive securing your LCD touch screen and display together.
Once adequate heat has been applied use a safe open pry tool and run along the sides of the touch screen glass (be very careful not to damage the LCD during the process as it is very delicate piece of equipment). Once it is complete you can go ahead and replace your touch screen glass or your LCD display monitor.
Figure 4​Now you will be able to replace any parts on your HTC MyTouch 4G Slide. Simply replace the damaged parts with the new ones and reverse the order to put your phone back together again.
Pictures of the process above:
ifixsmartphone teardown of the doubleshot.
More pictures:
Internal Pics! Thanks dillalade!
Thanks for posting this repair guide!!!
Added to the dev reference here:
Device Specs and Manuals under hardware specifications near the top of that post.
Here's a nice video of the phone teardown as well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9CG7QU36pg
Very detailed and easy to follow
We also have a details video too -http://www.repairsuniverse.com/htc-mytouch-4g-slide-screen-repair-take-apart.html
We found tearing apart the MyTouch 4G Slide using our downloadable written guide in correlation with our Mytouch 4G Slide video repair guide will make for a great and easy repair. Let us know what you think!
I wonder if I can use led screen or if there is any?
Sent from my myTouch_4G_Slide using CM9
crimedave1987 said:
I wonder if I can use led screen or if there is any?
Sent from my myTouch_4G_Slide using CM9
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can only use the original screens on this. You can't upgrade the screen. You can find the screen replacements here - HTC MyTouch 4G Slide Screen Replacements
[deleted]
[deleted. i felt the question wasn't appropriate here. sorry ]
So I've been having all kinds of issues with my beat up device, when I went to get to the LCD and digitizer......the LCD literally fell out of the phone in 4 pieces wow right, would be reason for some issues but thanks for the guide
Sent from my myTouch_4G_Slide using Tapatalk 2
strapped365 said:
So I've been having all kinds of issues with my beat up device, when I went to get to the LCD and digitizer......the LCD literally fell out of the phone in 4 pieces wow right, would be reason for some issues but thanks for the guide
Sent from my myTouch_4G_Slide using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That poor Frankenstein phone of yours Hopefully, you can piece something together.
Fuzi0719 said:
That poor Frankenstein phone of yours Hopefully, you can piece something together.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its all good now thanks to jkilo. The device he sent me should arrive soon so I gave my mobo to cybot for his bricked device, the digitizer had hardly any adhesive holding it on along with all the other parts that were supposed to so I'm guessing this isn't the first time its been apart ( no void sticker either )
Sent from my myTouch_4G_Slide using Tapatalk 2
I dropped my phone yesterday and cracked the digitizer. I have a "spare" MT4GS I picked up that I thought was soft bricked. I tried swapping the mainboards but the spare LCD appeared to be shot. Then I pulled the phones completely apart and found that the spare digitizer was also shot. Great....
Parts are on order.
Warning! Easy to damage LCD
That step of removing the bezel frame from behind the LCD? Yeah, I ruined my screen doing that. As I gather have a bunch of other people. The problem is that there's so much adhesive, and on an older phone it gets really stiff, such that even if you heat it up quite a bit it's really easy to accidentally pull apart/bend/otherwise ruin the LCD trying to get that bezel off. My suggestion: don't do this yourself. Have a professional repair it or just get a new phone
Blue6IX said:
Pictures of the process above:
ifixsmartphone teardown of the doubleshot.
More pictures:
Internal Pics! Thanks dillalade!
Thanks for posting this repair guide!!!
Added to the dev reference here:
Device Specs and Manuals under hardware specifications near the top of that post.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're most welcome! Glad we could help!
Keyboard slide-out sensor?
I've been searching all over this forum and google regarding a hardware related problem I've been having. Although my problem isn't specifically related to the original post, I figured this thread might be the best place to ask, since my issue will involve disassembling my phone and locating a specific component.
This problem started 2 days ago during normal use (didn't drop it or get it wet):
Whenever my keyboard is closed, the screen works in portrait mode just fine. But after starting to slide out the keyboard, the screen freezes in portrait view and doesn't respond. Then if I slide the keyboard back in, the screen unfreezes and is working as if nothing happened.
If my screen is in standby and I open the keyboard, my screen does that multi-color pixelated thing where it almost looks grey, and then I close it and the screen is fine once again. (I know, it's most likely a loose connection)
**One factor worth noting is that the screen doesn't simply freeze/unfreeze at just any random point when sliding out the keyboard. Anyone who uses this phone knows how the keyboard kinda snaps open and snaps shut. After testing this problem countless times, I've noticed that the screen freezes EXACTLY after unsnapping the slide, stays frozen no matter how far I open the keyboard and finally only unfreezes exactly after the keyboard is snapped shut again. This is a very small and specific area, and this never changes.
So, the first logical conclusion I'd made was that the keyboard slide-mechanism had caused one of the screen ribbons to come loose whenever it slides out. But after thinking about how specific it was that this problem only happens within that tiny margin (snap/unsnap) and nowhere else, I'm starting to think it may not be one of those ribbons afterall.
And now I'm starting to wonder, what internal sensor/switch is responsible for telling the screen to switch to landscape once the keyboard is open?
I've watched quite a few youtube how-to videos, studied diagrams & close-ups up internal parts, but all I've seen so far are stationary-connections. There are so many different ways to design these tiny things that it helps to have an idea what I'm looking for.
So does anyone know exactly where this slide sensor/switch is, and what it looks like?
(I always prefer to research thoroughly & redundantly before attempting risky endeavors)
Thanks in advance.
Off hand I would say there is a small magnet, I know there is in other HTC phones and although I have opened my doubleshot many times I can't recall one, but I'm fairly certain there would be.
But I'm thinking you need the main flex cable
Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
demkantor said:
Off hand I would say there is a small magnet, I know there is in other HTC phones and although I have opened my doubleshot many times I can't recall one, but I'm fairly certain there would be.
But I'm thinking you need the main flex cable
Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright, I wasn't sure. I wanted to consider any other possibilities and what to look for. And I'm quite possibly over-thinking this, but it seems like whenever I go in assuming I'll figure it out, I end up making things worse...
(...Like the time I tried to reflow the CPU on an Xbox motherboard; lets just say I'm never trying that again)
Thanks
My Doubleshot of 2 years just got this problem about a month ago. Whenever I slide out the screen goes black... but not right away! it takes it about 1 second before it goes black. Also when the error was just developing (for about 1 or 2 days) the screen would turn black when slid out, but then if the screen was turned off and back on it would work perfectly! Clearly this wasn't just a simple torn flex cable...
Sorry I can't be more help... but there's definitely something else failing in our phones!
Ziida said:
My Doubleshot of 2 years just got this problem about a month ago. Whenever I slide out the screen goes black... but not right away! it takes it about 1 second before it goes black. Also when the error was just developing (for about 1 or 2 days) the screen would turn black when slid out, but then if the screen was turned off and back on it would work perfectly! Clearly this wasn't just a simple torn flex cable...
Sorry I can't be more help... but there's definitely something else failing in our phones!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm, it kinda would seem that something (not sure what) is sending a 'Standby' signal to your screen instead of the 'Landscape' signal; like a strange glitch between the power button and the slide-out sensor, crossed signals or something. But who knows, especially if the device is rooted (mine is, but my biggest problems are hardware related); I've had custom ROMs in the past that, over time, would develop a sort of 'hiccup' and cause certain common functions to misbehave. My point was, your issue could be either software or hardware related and without 1st-hand experience I can't say.
Mine is most likely hardware related because there were no recent software changes, and this just happened between text conversations; about 2 mins apart. Now it seems to be a condition that needs to be physically repaired and I really don't want to.... I kinda want to go all "Ol' Yeller" on the poor bastard and introduce it to my Walther P99. Nah, I couldn't do that.
F**kin phones. Hate em, can't live without em.
Mine's not software. I've flashed other ROMs and it even happens to the boot screen / recovery. I think HTC wanted $100 to repair it, too
ALMOST feels like a case of "planned obsolescence" except it doesn't seem to be happening to many people.

Motorola Droid RAZR HD Screen Repair Guide

Have you cracked the screen on your Motorola Droid RAZR HD? This repair guide will show you how to tear down your Droid RAZR HD in order to replace broken glass digitizer or LCD screen. The provided figures in this tutorial will help you reference screw and connection locations and other examples of the dis-assembly process.
This guide will help you install the following Droid RAZR HD parts:
Motorola Droid RAZR HD LCD + Touch Screen Digitizer Assembly
Required Repair Tools:
Torx T3 Screwdriver
Torx T5 Screwdriver
Adhesive Strips
Safe Open Pry Tool
Heat Gun or blow dryer
How to Fix a Motorola Droid RAZR HD (Tear Down Tutorial)
First you will want to make sure your device is fully powered off before you start the dis-assembly process.
Next you need to remove the sim card tray, you may use a small paper clip to pop it from the housing. Remove your sim card and micro SD cards.
Take your Torx T5 screwdriver and remove the two (2) screws circled in the figure below.
This will allow you to slide the screen assembly up and allow it to lift out of the housing.
The screen assembly will be connected to the motherboard with two (2) jaw-bone connections.
Take you plastic pry tool and lift up the tabs on the connection to release them.
See figure below for reference:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Now take your Torx T3 Screwdriver and remove the two (2) screws circled in the figure below.
This will allow you to remove the silver protective shield covering the ear speaker and front camera.
Next you will need to peel up this flex assembly from the metal housing. It is held down with some adhesive.
Then take your plastic pry tool to start peeling up the LCD and digitizer flex cable assembly located at the bottom in the figure below.
Be cautious not to rip or tear these flex ribbon cables when peeling them up from the metal housing.
See figure below for reference:
Next take your heat gun or blow dryer and begin applying heat to the front and back of the screen assembly to loosen the adhesive holding it in place.
You will want to do this on a medium setting for 30-45 second intervals and hover roughly 3-4 inches away from the screen.
Once the adhesive has been properly warmed you can take your plastic pry tool and gently pry the LCD and and touch screen assembly from the front housing.
Be sure to get underneath the LCD screen when prying it from the frame. This will help give the desired lift and help peel the rest of the screen assembly from the frame.
See figure below for reference:
Simply follow the steps above in reverse order to re-assemble your device. You will want to first clean up any broken glass shards and left over adhesive from the removal process. Then you will want to lay down fresh adhesive for a proper and snug fit. Cut your adhesive strips to fit in the inner bezel and lay down your new screen assembly.
NOTE: Repairs Universe guides are for informational purposes only. Perform this repair at your own risk.
Battery
Do the Razr HD and the Razr Maxx have the same battery? Also I was told that the battery is unremovable...Is that true? Thanks.
No that's why it's called the MAXX. It has a larger battery. And they are non removable but you can take it out if you try.
Sent from my PACMAN MATRIX HD MAXX
Is there a way???
One huge question that I have
Is there any way to separate the outer screen from the digitalizer???
The thing is that my screen has some small scratches and that bugs me, and also I saw that on ebay you could buy the outer screen for $12.00, instead of just paying 260.00 for the whole thing.
if you know how I will love to see the way that that can be done...
THANKS IN ADVANCE!!!!!
---------- Post added at 05:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:13 AM ----------
I checked online for the same thing and the problem that this battery (Razr MAXX) is tha it doesn't fit properly on a regular RAZR, the razr maxx has a bigger battery....
are you sure the screws at the bottom of the phone are T5?? i bought a T5 torx screw driver and it is too big for it...
know i've got a T3, it should get here tommorow.. hope it works :crying:
rodmc123 said:
are you sure the screws at the bottom of the phone are T5?? i bought a T5 torx screw driver and it is too big for it...
know i've got a T3, it should get here tommorow.. hope it works :crying:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On this particular phone the screws at the bottom were T5's Is it possible that the screwdriver you purchase could be an incorrect size? I would check the tip of your screwdriver to make sure the teeth look solid and are not deformed in any way. Be careful not to strip those screws. You would really be in trouble then.
repairsuniverse said:
On this particular phone the screws at the bottom were T5's Is it possible that the screwdriver you purchase could be an incorrect size? I would check the tip of your screwdriver to make sure the teeth look solid and are not deformed in any way. Be careful not to strip those screws. You would really be in trouble then.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the droid Razr HD white (verizon) has torx T3 screws... and the part where the power and volume buttons are located had another screws (smaller, i think torx T2 or T1).
I'm about to attempt this repair first time. Just had a few questions if anyone would be so kind as to advise me.
First off, the only video I can find if the repair shows the tech removing glass while leaving the digitizer mounted to the body. However, his screen is shattered while mine only has 3 cracks. I would assume being able to heat both sides of the assembly would make removing larger pieces of glass easier with less splintering? Also is the trim piece that wraps the screen part of the digitizer? Wondering because this devices screen is cracked from being dropped on this trim, so the trim itself is damaged.
If I have to pry on the trim there's a good chance it won't hold up well which in turn would greatly reduce the integrity of a new screen.
Second, what would be a good temperature range to work in? I have an inferred temp gun, although I am very capable and patient of such a tedious task, I have novice experience so knowing a safe range would be helpful. Also in relation to that question, can the digitizer separated from the body allow higher? Lower? Temps?
Any advise would be greatly appreciated. No need to worry about being accomplice to breaking the device, as I have made a full back up and carry insurance. I have dabbled in mobile phone repair in the past and enjoy the challenge. Thanks!
Huge question... I recently opened my razr hd to change the back speaker... the speaker that i set on worked prerfectly but the screen won't come up... i could hear the phone when i pressed the buttons but the screen remains off... any tips for this small issue??? Thanks in advance
Sent from my XT925 using Tapatalk 4
Does anyone ones how to fix this locker for the monitor cable??
Sent from my XT925 using Tapatalk 4
The screen won't turn off whyyyyyyy?????
Sent from my XT925 using Tapatalk 4
Could you elaborate?
Nope i plugged the hdmi cable and touched the screen and it didn't do anything
Sent from my XT925 using Tapatalk 4
@repairsuniverse I have cracked my screen and not the digitizer. I have seen the YouTube video where a tech take off only the glass with a pry tool and hair dryer. Then, he says he uses alcohol to rub the excess glue and whatnot off the LCD. Finally, use adhesive to put on a new glass. It looks good in the video.
Like I said before, I the LCD is fine and the glass is cracked badly would this method work better than taking apart the entire phone?
Here is the video: http://youtu.be/OAU6de6H-7Q
bmoresbest55 said:
@repairsuniverse I have cracked my screen and not the digitizer. I have seen the YouTube video where a tech take off only the glass with a pry tool and hair dryer. Then, he says he uses alcohol to rub the excess glue and whatnot off the LCD. Finally, use adhesive to put on a new glass. It looks good in the video.
Like I said before, I the LCD is fine and the glass is cracked badly would this method work better than taking apart the entire phone?
Here is the video: http://youtu.be/OAU6de6H-7Q
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you message me a link to this video?
@repairsuniverse http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAU6de6H-7Q
In my opinion it would only make sense disassembling the entire phone if your screen has only a few defined cracks. Otherwise you take to much risk of damaging the digitizer while not being able to easily pry only a few pieces at the edge of screen/digitizer.
Talked to a repair guy the other day, he charges 285 to replace just the glass. Also said he'd rather not do the repair 99% of them break. For that money you could buy a brand new digitizer, glass, adhesive, tools, and a decent steak. And that's retail prices.
I haven't done the repair yet but will respond with the outcome.
bmoresbest55 said:
@repairsuniverse http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAU6de6H-7Q
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for sharing. That method is just too sketchy because you can easily damage the LCD that way.
But that's not to say it can not be done of course. I've seen done on some Samsung models too. I just wouldn't suggest this method to my customers as most of them have never fixed a phone before, let alone perform a repair like that.
repairsuniverse said:
Thanks for sharing. That method is just to sketchy because you can easily damage the LCD that way.
But that's not to say it cannot be done of course. I've seen done on some Samsung models too. I just wouldn't suggest this method to my customers as most of them have never fixed a phone before, let alone perform a repair like that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree that this method is somewhat sketchy. I feel confident in doing it. However, if there is a better way I would like to know it. I would really rather not pay $200+ to buy another glass, LCD, digitizer because everything works great except the glass is broken.
Basically, is there a simple way to replace the glass without trashing the LCD and digitizer?
There really is no simple way. You would still have to separate the glass digitizer from the LCD and clean up all of the left over adhesive on the LCD with out damaging it.

[SOLVED] nano slim glas - how do you clean and reapply

Hey guys and gals,
So, a couple of weeks ago I've browsed the forum up and down, looking for the best screen protector, which seemed to be the 0.15 nano slim glass from spigen. Read also the problems with applying it property in less than 10 tries, watched some YouTube's and went ahead and ordered one.
So bathroom, steam, waited a while - maybe too long - and applied it. Easy peasy, but no bananas today. Button not quite perfectly aligned, but most of all the dreaded speck of dust somewhere in the middle. Hoped is on the screen, remove protector, more screen wiping and reapply. Of course it didn't went away, or I wouldn't be here.
Removed the screen protector and tried to clean it. Being frustrated and pissed off, I couldn't remember exactly the solution: was it water, computer wipes, glass cleaner? So I kinda took turns with all of those, but with all the liquid on it, I can't imagine how you make it go away before applying, can't let it dry off by itself, maybe the glass cleaner won't leave nasty traces, but it will obviously get dusty in the process.
I tried applying the original "back" plastic sheet to squeeze out the liquid, but now I can't even tell on which sheet are the finger marks,or the dust or other smudges.
Has anyone managed to properly clean and reapply a spigen glass? How exactly have you managed to do this? Please spell it step by step, cause it's driving me crazy ...
Obviously the frustration is high, if there's any thread with a solution to this, please kindly direct me there and excuse me for not finding it myself.
Any help would be greatly appreciated ...
LoveQwerty said:
Hey guys and gals,
So, a couple of weeks ago I've browsed the forum up and down, looking for the best screen protector, which seemed to be the 0.15 nano slim glass from spigen. Read also the problems with applying it property in less than 10 tries, watched some YouTube's and went ahead and ordered one.
So bathroom, steam, waited a while - maybe too long - and applied it. Easy peasy, but no bananas today. Button not quite perfectly aligned, but most of all the dreaded speck of dust somewhere in the middle. Hoped is on the screen, remove protector, more screen wiping and reapply. Of course it didn't went away, or I wouldn't be here.
Removed the screen protector and tried to clean it. Being frustrated and pissed off, I couldn't remember exactly the solution: was it water, computer wipes, glass cleaner? So I kinda took turns with all of those, but with all the liquid on it, I can't imagine how you make it go away before applying, can't let it dry off by itself, maybe the glass cleaner won't leave nasty traces, but it will obviously get dusty in the process.
I tried applying the original "back" plastic sheet to squeeze out the liquid, but now I can't even tell on which sheet are the finger marks,or the dust or other smudges.
Has anyone managed to properly clean and reapply a spigen glass? How exactly have you managed to do this? Please spell it step by step, cause it's driving me crazy ...
Obviously the frustration is high, if there's any thread with a solution to this, please kindly direct me there and excuse me for not finding it myself.
Any help would be greatly appreciated ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think there is anyway to reapply glass screen protectors.
It's a one off application. You screw up. That's it.
yeah these screen protectors are really a one shot thing. if you mess up on the first try most of the time you are SOL.
Watch the video I linked to in this thread.
Stealyourface said:
Watch the video I linked to in this thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you, I've seen it before but forgot afterwards, I was stuck on the idea of a glass cleaner, I'll try to find some alcohol and give it a try
Isopropyl seem to come in different concentrations: 100, 99, 90, 70%. Any advice on which one to use?
Also, sounds that it should be used in open, aired spaces. Which is the opposite of what you search when applying a screen protector.
Has anyone actually used this method? Can you share actual details please?
The crystal clear plastic screen protectors that I get from Spigen come with adhesive stickers that are meant to take small dust particles etc. off the protector.
Did the glast come with them too?
Attached a link to a pic.
http://www.vizbox.tv/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Dust-Removal-Stickers.jpg
No,it didn't.
lambstone said:
I don't think there is anyway to reapply glass screen protectors.
It's a one off application. You screw up. That's it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm very happy to report it actually can be done. I've done two almost perfect applications last night, with no bubble and no dust speck. The first one was not perfectly aligned around the home button, so after hesitating a lot, afraid I'll screw up next time, I removed it and proceeded again. After 2-3 tries I got a new "perfect" application, pretty well centered on the home button and around the screen/sensors, again no finger prints, no dust particle, no bubble. In certain angles ( with screen off ) I see some tiny-tiny-tiny whitish spots in several places, but I'm not sure where they come from. But they don't bother me at all, you can't see them when looking directly at the screen.
Oh, and the best part: you don't actually need a dust-free room, any normal room will do ( of course, given you haven't dusted off prior to installing the screen protector )
Method
LoveQwerty said:
I'm very happy to report it actually can be done. I've done two almost perfect applications last night, with no bubble and no dust speck. The first one was not perfectly aligned around the home button, so after hesitating a lot, afraid I'll screw up next time, I removed it and proceeded again. After 2-3 tries I got a new "perfect" application, pretty well centered on the home button and around the screen/sensors, again no finger prints, no dust particle, no bubble. In certain angles ( with screen off ) I see some tiny-tiny-tiny whitish spots in several places, but I'm not sure where they come from. But they don't bother me at all, you can't see them when looking directly at the screen.
Oh, and the best part: you don't actually need a dust-free room, any normal room will do ( of course, given you haven't dusted off prior to installing the screen protector )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you use the Isopropyl to clean the adhesive side of the protector or? Seems to me that as soon as you get some dust/dirt on the adhesive side, it will be very difficult to clean
MaggieBeer said:
Did you use the Isopropyl to clean the adhesive side of the protector or? Seems to me that as soon as you get some dust/dirt on the adhesive side, it will be very difficult to clean
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, because I wasn't sure what concentration should I use and I was worried if it won't damage the adhesive.
But in fact the solution is very simple and it should work every time.
The important part is that we're dealing with a glass screen protector, I'm pretty sure it won't work on regular, non-glass protectors.
And the part that does all the magic ... is this :
{
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"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
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Yes, a simple but highly sticky dust&lint roller ...
I basically placed the glass protector - adhesive side up - on a flat surface, surface that I've cleaned seconds before with the same sticky roller ( might stick a lot, depending of your surface, but no problem, you can peel away some sheets ). And then just roll the stick over the glass several times, especially in parts where I've noticed some specks of dust in the previous application. It doesn't stick at all to the glass, but it picks every speck of dust or lint - that's what it's made for, isn't it ?
Than you just apply it as usual - I've started with the home button, it seemed the trickiest to get right - and it falls in place and sticks by itself on the whole surface without any pressure or touching it or anything. If there's any speck of dust, just detach immediately and have a couple more rolls over that spot.
It worked perfectly for me.
LoveQwerty said:
No, because I wasn't sure what concentration should I use and I was worried if it won't damage the adhesive.
But in fact the solution is very simple and it should work every time.
The important part is that we're dealing with a glass screen protector, I'm pretty sure it won't work on regular, non-glass protectors.
And the part that does all the magic ... is this :
Yes, a simple but highly sticky dust&lint roller ...
I basically placed the glass protector - adhesive side up - on a flat surface, surface that I've cleaned seconds before with the same sticky roller ( might stick a lot, depending of your surface, but no problem, you can peel away some sheets ). And then just roll the stick over the glass several times, especially in parts where I've noticed some specks of dust in the previous application. It doesn't stick at all to the glass, but it picks every speck of dust or lint - that's what it's made for, isn't it ?
Than you just apply it as usual - I've started with the home button, it seemed the trickiest to get right - and it falls in place and sticks by itself on the whole surface without any pressure or touching it or anything. If there's any speck of dust, just detach immediately and have a couple more rolls over that spot.
It worked perfectly for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If that doesn't work for you, or you do not have a lint roller, scotch tape rolled up around your finger works great too. See my video here on my installation of the screen protector: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpsBbld0E2A
LoveQwerty said:
...In certain angles ( with screen off ) I see some tiny-tiny-tiny whitish spots in several places, but I'm not sure where they come from...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
24 hours later, those tiny spots are completely gone, and the glass protector looks and feels absolutely great :victory:
LoveQwerty said:
24 hours later, those tiny spots are completely gone, and the glass protector looks and feels absolutely great :victory:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After two of those things I gave up and been going without. First didnt' set right, adhesive in corner got messed up and bubbled. Tried again, much cleaner only two dust specks which I was ok with... until it chipped on the edge near ear speaker.
Yup. They were great, cut down on smudges. Just expensive and fragile.
I bought two spigen glass screen protectors, the .23 ones. One of them chipped on the top right in my pocket and the second one wouldn't adhere on the left side of the screen.
Since then I bought the tech Armor Ballistic screen protector that is thicker and with the suction cup they provided, application was easy, with no dust and went on perfectly. 3 weeks now and not one blemish at all.
I am growing tired of spigen, they have pretty cases and the packaging is nice, but their products are awful. I have the spigen neo hybrid case where the frame is already scratched and the white plastic shows, haven't yet once dropped my phone, yet the screen protector and case have either broken or have gotten scratched up. There is my rant.
I really screwed up applying the Spigen glass onto my phone when I got a small piece of dust on it and kept making it worse by trying different things to remove it. In the end there was so much lint that all I could do was take the screen, wash it off with liquid soap and reapply. The glass went back on without any problem. It's been on my phone for the last few weeks and is still snug with zero bubbles or dust.
doggiedog said:
I really screwed up applying the Spigen glass onto my phone when I got a small piece of dust on it and kept making it worse by trying different things to remove it. In the end there was so much lint that all I could do was take the screen, wash it off with liquid soap and reapply. The glass went back on without any problem. It's been on my phone for the last few weeks and is still snug with zero bubbles or dust.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was applying screen protector to nvidia shield and managed to stuff it up, all 3 of them just washed the with some dish washing liquid dryed them out and reapplied works like a charm. Also I used one of the protectors to remove dust from the screen first. You can add some alcohol to water if you want it to dry faster.
It works!
I'm glad I found this thread before giving up.
I've already threw away a piece of OEM glass sp before I got the Benks AKR glass sp, and the second try didnt go well neither. It was slightly misaligned, and caught some dusts under the sp.
The lint roller idea is great. I also used a few other tools to help with the 'operation' - guitar pick, alcohol wipe, static dust remover (that come with the sp), and a suction cup.
I used a guitar pick to lift the edge of the sp, and a suction cup to help taking it out from the phone. Had to be careful that the guitar pick may spoil the sp adhesive while lifting. As recommended, I used the lint roller to roll over the sticky side of the sp a few times, to make sure it is dust free. And used the alcohol wipe and static dust remover to clean the device screen.
Luckily the last attempt went well :good: and I can now enjoy playing with the device again.
zhuozhi211 said:
I used a guitar pick to lift the edge of the sp, and a suction cup to help taking it out from the phone. Had to be careful that the guitar pick may spoil the sp adhesive while lifting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You really needn't have worried about that. You can completely remove the adhesive and the glass will still stick to the screen just fine.
I screwed up applying my Spigen protector - getting fluff on the screen in the process. In a moment of panic I wiped it with the microfibre cloth, which only made it worse. After some Googling I tried Sellotape - and this worked perfectly. It took a few attempts to get the protector in the correct place without fluff underneath but I am now extremely pleased with the result!
Sellotape is king!

[GUIDE] Replacing the front glass on your smartphone; A Pictorial Guide

UPDATE: After playing around with a few different phones (and breaking a few displays myself) I should note that working with an LCD display is a lot more fragile than working with an AMOLED display (i.e. Samsung mostly). LCD displays are a lot thinner, bend and break easier, and are less forgiving to slight amounts of pressure on the display.
I found that using the thin wire cuts the polarizing filter and destroys the LCD most of the times for me, while working with the LCD and glass detached from the body is generally not a very good idea without a separation machine, as the LCD is at the mercy of the glass you're trying to remove.
My current technique with LCD screens, involve working directly on the phone itself, and purposefully shattering any large shards of the top glass/ digitiser to make it easier to remove as opposed to a large chunk. Basically what I found is that there's less chance damaging the LCD when removing small shards of glass vs large ones, as you're at the mercy of the dry times of the glue between the glass and the LCD.
As an additional note, if you have a way to maintain it, you'd want to keep the glass heated to about 70-80 celcius. Any hotter and the LCD will discolour.
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This was originally a reply that I posted on the N7000 General thread, but I feel that most of it's techniques apply to most modern smartphones, in particular most Samsung devices, so I feel that it's quite helpful if it's shared with the lot of you, in hopes that it makes your life when it comes to replacing your smart phone front glass (without Digitizer) ala DIY. I know for a fact that this works on the Note 2, S3, S4, Note 3 as I've worked on these devices before.
I'd like to chime in on this as someone who has managed to do this process successfully on a number of occasions. I've gotten good enough at it that I've taken on helping other people repair their phones for a fee, and am contemplating on just having an ad out there as side income for myself, so here goes.
The first thing I usually do, is with cracked displays, is to layer the top with packing tape, just to make sure that the shards of glass don't go anywhere.
From there, I use a heat gun set at very low heat and heat the phone evenly, moving around for about 30 seconds (do not stay at one spot, keep moving, either in a zig zag or circular motion. The display should be hot, but not overly hot till it burns you. All you're doing is just loosening the adhesive a little.
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Start by lifting up the glass from the top edge of the phone, where the earpiece is, and slowly and gently try and lift it up. I use plastic phone opening tools as well as spudges. It should give way relatively easily with light pressure. If it gets difficult, again with low heat, run the heat gun over the next effective area of lifting. I do not recommend metal tools as they can and WILL (from experience) damage the LCD below if you're not careful.
Slowly and gently make your way down the phone to the capacitive buttons, and if you hit little shards of glass, be patient with them. It's patience that will get you your screen replaced hitch free.
Once you get the display edges off, don't get too happy and rip the rest off, because the capacitive buttons are glued onto the display as well, with adhesive. Slowly heat up that area as well, and I recommend this time, with a pair of thin long metal forceps, go in and slowly peel it off the glass
Once you have that off, you can easily separate the glass from the body, and from there what I do is I clean up the body and the display with isopropyl alcohol, to get the remaining glue residue off the display, and prep it for a new pane of glass to go over. It is at this stage that you should work in a dust free room, or at least no AC/ no FAN. Those are my rules anyway.
This is the part that I highly recommend doing, which is fully disassembling the phone, removing all the internal components until you're left with just the inner body and the outer frame. What I do is that I snap the inner body into the outer body, free of any of the internal components (cameras, sensors, anything that you can remove), such that any excess display glue will not seep into them and damage the components (again, I've had this happen to me)
If the replacement glass that you bought does not come with replacement adhesives for the body (not for the screen), then what I suggest you use, (which I use as well) is a combination of 1mm or 2mm, 3M 9448 Tape for Electricals. Normal tape is not nearly as adhesive or thin enough for the job.
After having done so, this is the part where unless you have an autoclave unit lying around, you're going to be using LOCA (Liquid Optical Clear Adhesive) and not OCA (Optical Clear Adhesive). This is the adhesive layer in between your display and the glass. Apply the Loca on the display in sort of a Y shape on both ends, while leaving plenty of space on the borders
Above is how I apply the LOCA on my display, and I don't go too generous with it, otherwise you have to deal with a lot of leakage later. Remove all protective plastic from the new glass pane, and slowly lower it, bottom first, then top, such that the bottom becomes like a hinge for lowering the display on to. Do not be bothered if the liquid doesn't spread evenly at this point. Even a bit of air bubbles can be solved later. For now, press the glass down onto where you placed the 3M tape before, securing the glass on the body. This also helps the glue from coming out of the edges later. The glue will naturally spread a little after doing this.
I usually start by pressing the center of the display, to try and spread the glue out onto the whole display, and this process may take some time, especially if you're trying to get those pesky air bubbles out. What I do is that I slowly but surely get them into the edges, and make sure they don't appear again.
I then go over the display with a UV Flashlight of 365nm, on places like the corners where I'm happy with the results (i.e. no airbubbles), for about 15 seconds. The purpose of this step is to harden the glue a little there such that when you're doing your final bake, they don't suddenly creep up on you. Do this for edges where you have problematic air bubbles as well, and once you're done, it's time for the final bake.
I use a 48W UV light that I got off the internet, and I bake the top of the phone for about 20 minutes, then I remove the outer frame, leaving only the inner body + glass, and I bake the other side of the display as well for a further 5 minutes. This is to harden the excess glue as well, that way it's easier to remove and clean up.
When all that is done, it's time to put the phone back together, so I hope you remembered which component goes where and how, and where each screw goes as well.
The final results? A happy phone that's ready to be used again
Note: If you get a gummy/ Sticky home button with a bit of the glue seeping out, what I do is that keeping the phone upright at about a 45 degree angle, I drop about 3 drops of isopropyl alcohol down the home button, and let it go in a little, and using a cotton pad, keep mashing the button until the solvent thoroughly gets in and dissolves and excess underneath.
Sorry if this post was long, but I thought that my experiences would be helpful to others . Feel free to chime in on your own experiences/ thoughts on the process, as well as maybe some important information that I may have missed out that you feel should be added to the first post.
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EDIT: A bit of an addendum to add to this topic as I feel I need to address a few questions or concerns
FAQ
Q: Why would you want to repair the screen yourself? Why not just send it over to a shop to have it repaired for you?
A: The answer is quite simple. Cost. Over here where I am, Malaysia, the cost of getting a screen repaired via 3rd party repair shops is about 600 ringgit, or 200 USD. Consider that if you have the patience, skills, and materials to do so, you can do it at a fraction of the cost. For starters the glass itself can be acquired for under 10 USD if you're a smart shopper. Plus you're having fun!
Q: What do you need to perform this repair?
A: Here's a list of things that I use for repairs
- Packing Tape (prevents loose glass shards from going into your skin while you're working)
- Heat Gun (A hair dryer may do the job just fine as all you need is to heat up the glue to remove it)
- Plastic tools/ Spudges (chances are if you ever ordered replacement glass or what not, you should have some lying around)
- Forceps (thin metal tweezers. I use this to separate the capacitive buttons with greater precision, though if you have any suitable alternative, it could work just fine.
- Acetone (Isopropyl Alcohol. I use this to clean up the area after all the glass has been removed, to prepared for a new optical layer. I do not recommend the usage of thinner, as it's not very plastic friendly, neither should you use nailpolish.)
- 1mm or 2mm 3M 9448 Tape for Electricals (in the off chance that the glass that your order doesn't come with replacement adhesives to stick the glass to the body, this comes necessary. Standard double sided tape isn't adhesive enough so I wouldn't recommend it, though VHB tape could be an alternative; you just have to cut it into thin strips)
- LOCA (Liquid Optical Clear Adhesive. This is the glue layer in between the display and the glass. I do not recommend proceeding without it. It may look like a good idea at first, but once your phone gets exposed to the elements, or even pressure on the glass, chances are moisture is going to form in between the glass and the LCD, creating unsightly newton rings, and trust me, it's ugly; I've been there.
- UV Light for curing the LOCA glue (I use a 48W light. I tried using a UV flashlight to cure it before, but it didn't manage to cure the glue well, even after hours of exposure.)
Q: What are the costs of performing this repair?
A: The consumables in this repair don't cost much at all, though you will need to make a small investment in the tools. They still come up cheaper than sending it for repair however. Here's a list of my cost breakdown:
=Consumables=
- Replacement Glass, 5-10 USD : If you know where to look, you can get it for under 10 USD each time, sometimes even below 5 USD.
- LOCA, 9-10 USD: Good for at least 6 repairs, even if you decide to leak it all over the place.
- 1mm & 2mm 3M 9448 Tape, 6.50 USD: Good for more than a few dozen repairs. mine came in rolls of 50M in length.
- Your time. If you're experienced, you can get it done in 3 hours or shorter, depending on severity.
=Tools= (these can be reused for future repairs)
- Plastic Tools, 5 USD (Again, if you have anything similar that you would like to use to pry open the display, go ahead. I recommend them being flat and wide however.)
- UV Curing Light, 35 USD
- Heat Gun, 20 USD (Free if you decide to use a hair dryer).
- Packing Tape, 2 USD (again, free if you have any of them laying around.
Q: Why do you need to use LOCA?
A: Unless you have an Autoclave machine lying around, you can use OCA. Chances are you don't and an Autoclave machine is around 3,000 USD. Let's not go there. LOCA sits in between your LCD and the glass. I won't pretend to know what exactly it's purpose is, but I'll tell you that your phone looks a LOT better with it, has less chances of breaking your Glass + LCD as there's less chance for it to flex and crack inwards, and prevents moisture from forming in between your LCD and Glass (which is bad!), forming unsightly newton rings. It also prevents dust from getting in where you can't reach it, and trust me, it's irritating as hell if that happens.
Q: Does LOCA come preapplied when the phone comes straight from the factory and does that means that my new glass is forever bonded to the LCD?
A: When your phone is made in the factory, it has OCA instead, which is a pre-cured version of LOCA. The only difference between OCA and LOCA is that one is pre-cured, i.e. OCA, and LOCA needs to be cured with UV lights. LOCA is not highly adhesive, so you can easily remove it after being applied, so no it doesn't take down the LCD with it.
Q: Do you need to use the UV Lights?
A: The answer to this is sort of a yes and no. The world around is is full of UV light, so if you're up to the task and it's a sunny day, then you could technically leave it out in the sun for a while, for it to work it's magic. I don't recommend it, but it's possible. If you however live in the clouds, or have 24/7 winters, I suggest you get the UV light. LOCA does NOT cure with heat, or being left alone. It specifically cures in UV light as I know it.
Q: This all looks hard and difficult! I don't know if I can do it
A: As with many things in life, patience and perseverance rewards you. I admit that this is not for everyone, but for those who do attempt it, I will assure you that you will learn something new, feel accomplished with yourself for fixing your own phone, and have possibly developed a new skill set that is capable of bringing you a source of income.
Q: If I send you my phone will you do it for me?
A: If you live in Malaysia, and do not mind meeting up with me/ sending your phone over (and of course, waiting), I'd be more than happy to help you fix your phone, though I do have to incur my own costs on top of raw materials. Feel free to message me for more details
Great article...
But as an FYI, baking a functional AMOLED screen with UV light is not the greatest idea, since UV light degrades it just as bad as sunlight... Better cover it or use a heat-gun instead.
Thanks for the reply, but I don't think that's possible either as LOCA only specifically cures with a UV light. From testing things out it may not be necessary to cure it for 20 odd minutes, but the UV light IS necessary.
A++ poster, will buy from again.
This kind of homebrew fix is analogous with fixing your own car... sure you can, but is it worth the time and cost of the tools required?
That's why they have car and cellphone repair shops. But each to their own I guess...just my opinion...
billa said:
This kind of homebrew fix is analogous with fixing your own car... sure you can, but is it worth the time and cost of the tools required?
That's why they have car and cellphone repair shops. But each to their own I guess...just my opinion...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, its a homebrew solutions thats a lot cheaper than the offerings here in Malaysia. They charge 200 USD, but a diy solution comes in at just under 30 for me.
Besides, its in the pursuit of knowledge! And just tinkering with things and getting things done I enjoy repairing things, and smart phones are no different. I'm sure not everyone shares the same passion as me, but its still worth something.
billa said:
This kind of homebrew fix is analogous with fixing your own car... sure you can, but is it worth the time and cost of the tools required?
That's why they have car and cellphone repair shops. But each to their own I guess...just my opinion...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have access to the heat gun and UV lights, absolutely. I have seen S3 glass only sell for as little as $12. I have not seen screen repair services priced less than $100.
Even purchasing the heat gun and UV lights you can come out less expensive than the repair provided you shop around a bit. And then you will have the tools in case you break another phone, or if (like the OP) you want to repair other people's devices for a fee.
I agreed with you. repairing cost of smartphone at shop is totally expensive in malaysia. buying a new one will be a smarter way than repairing at shop
For those who are actually wondering, LOCA is used for mobile phone screen repairs, and yes, it is made to be cured under UV Light, as per below
Translated text says "UV Curing Adhesive"
I would like to state that having the adhesive around the edges and using a heat gun and a few tiny clamps work just as well as described, holds just fine, repaired this guy's iPod touch that way a few years back ran into him a few weeks ago and its still as good as new
Heat gun and clamps cost $11 total not sure how much the liquid adhesive and uv light to cure costs
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
You have the LCD Screen Separator Machine, SO you can separate the lcd with the broken glass. And you have the UV Glue, so you can make the new glass with lcd together. But we are common people, we can not afford to buy the machine. And we are not repair technical person, how can we do it ourself ? I think this job is very difficult for our common people...
billa said:
This kind of homebrew fix is analogous with fixing your own car... sure you can, but is it worth the time and cost of the tools required?
That's why they have car and cellphone repair shops. But each to their own I guess...just my opinion...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Knowledge is priceless. I'd rather pay a little extra the first time and learn something so I know how to help myself or others later on.
Teach a man to fish...
deathblade said:
I would like to state that having the adhesive around the edges and using a heat gun and a few tiny clamps work just as well as described, holds just fine, repaired this guy's iPod touch that way a few years back ran into him a few weeks ago and its still as good as new
Heat gun and clamps cost $11 total not sure how much the liquid adhesive and uv light to cure costs
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you're mistakened though. As the liquid adhesive actually sits in between the display and the front panel glass. You could go without it, and trust me, I've tried, but that makes it susceptible to physically touching the display below it, leaving newton rings that are unsightly. :/
ecparts said:
You have the LCD Screen Separator Machine, SO you can separate the lcd with the broken glass. And you have the UV Glue, so you can make the new glass with lcd together. But we are common people, we can not afford to buy the machine. And we are not repair technical person, how can we do it ourself ? I think this job is very difficult for our common people...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no separator machine, just a heat gun it doesn't cost much, you can get one for about 20 USD, and the same goes for the UV curing light, and its glue which totals about 30. All in all, its about 50 for raw materials, most of which are tools you can reuse again, and not just for this occasion
Again, some people who are hardware enthusiasts do have it lying around
Thanks dear for informative article.
The very best way to do this is use .08 wire. You can buy a roll for $10 and it'll cut through the glue like butter with a little heat. And since your not lifting on the glass the chances of breaking the lcd are alot slimmer.
deathknight842 said:
The very best way to do this is use .08 wire. You can buy a roll for $10 and it'll cut through the glue like butter with a little heat. And since your not lifting on the glass the chances of breaking the lcd are alot slimmer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks sir. A good alternative. I use plastic tools and I'm quite careful so I'm sure I'm on the safe side, though that wire method does sound a boatload faster.
It's alot easier. If you have a heat plate to keep the temp up on the phone it only takes about 1 minute to remove the whole screen.
Also a tip for anyone wanting to try this. After you get the lcd off your not finished. Be VERY carefull cleaning off the lcd. My first time I got solution on the edge of the lcd and it got under the lcd and washed out the color on half of it. Also when you add the loca to the lcd. Be very generous with it. I was being stingy my first time and wasted a good half bottle trying to get enough glue in there. You can always remove extra glue but you can't add it.. Plus you dont wanna be squeezing the crap out of your lcd and risk damaging it. And finally with people like me that have pets so a clean air room is pretty impossible. What you can do is take a large tub. Flip it upside down and cut two holes for your arms and clean the inside out with lysol. It makes a still air box and should keep a good majority of dust away as long as you don't lift it.
hamsteyr said:
I think you're mistakened though. As the liquid adhesive actually sits in between the display and the front panel glass. You could go without it, and trust me, I've tried, but that makes it susceptible to physically touching the display below it, leaving newton rings that are unsightly. :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand to purpose for the liquid adhesive I'm just speaking from experience I've never had an issue with no adhesive in between the LCD and glass also I'm just saying you take proper procedures to get the job done but while you have these tools that not everyone would like to pay for or knows exists there are cheaper ways of doing it with just a little more hassle but the outcome is the same(again from my experience ) but the tutorial you wrote up is nice and very detailed great job, only thing I would suggest is to post links to where you can get these tools so if someone wants may look into doing thus a little easier
Sent from my SGH-I997 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
LOCA ?
So, this adhesive isn't used from the factory, correct?
I'm also assuming that once you use it, if your digitizer breaks again, you will be replacing the LCD as well since they are bonded.

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