90 Comments How to fix an iPhone Screen

Article written by the brilliant TechSpank on the 28 Jul 2009 in How To,TechSpanks


If your iPhone has a cracked screen you might want to run to the Apple Store and buy a new one right away. Well, for those of us who like to live life on the cheap and feel like MacGuyver, take a look at how to fix that damn phone yourself!  Using nothing more than a kit from iFixIt.com, some time, and a blowdryer (yes, a blowdryer), you can fix your busted iPhone screen too!

Keep in mind, it’s a little tough to do if you’re not used to working inside of electronics, and you’ll need some tools. If you buy the kit from iFixIt, you can order the tools along with it, if you get it off eBay, even though it’s a LOT cheaper, you might need to head to RadioShack to pick up some tiny electronics screwdrivers.

Either way, watch the whole video before you try fixing your phone and find out how to get past the tricky parts! When you’re done, make sure to send your success stories to us!!

90 Comments Subscribe to these comments.

July 3, 2010 1:30 am moron902 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] Amujo put it in a bowl of rice

July 3, 2010 6:14 pm bAdPoPPiN1 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] watch?v=lEwyHhCu1Ow

July 4, 2010 7:31 am gowens1985 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] any iPhone repairs taken with 100% guaranteed completion within 24hours. for more info contact g.owens1985@gmail.com

UK ONLY

July 6, 2010 10:05 am bhugeloo95 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] @TechSpank yes,duh duh duh duhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh da duh duhhhhhhhda duh duhhhhhhhhh duh duh da duhhhhhhhhhhh ppppppppppppssssssswwwwwwwk hello welcome to will it blend………..

July 8, 2010 8:16 am ReaganPatriot @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] cool video, real for sure!..Thanks

July 8, 2010 4:26 pm woundedx @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] how to play FLASH on you iPhone Devices, check it out at inbyteme.com/technology/frash-flash-10-1-ported-to-ipad/

July 9, 2010 1:12 pm Thecarfreak100 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] theeee beeeest video on how to fix a iphone display ! love this

July 10, 2010 10:08 pm mazmorbid @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] @U2RxPoLaR I actually though it was good he made the mistakes he did because they are common mistakes and it’s good to know these before you do it yourself and stuff it all up!

July 11, 2010 10:35 am lner111 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] @wraithsrock5 Turns out I was using a 3G digitizer on an iphone 3gs phone – I hadn’t realised that there was a difference. When I bought a 3Gs digitizer and did this again it all worked good!

July 13, 2010 1:31 pm izallindaeyez @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] LMFAO, @ 7:34

July 14, 2010 9:32 pm Triple20Two @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] Best fix it do it yourself video I’ve seen well in depth and good step by step! Now try do this with an iPad lol!

July 14, 2010 10:54 pm Cortake @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] Too much screw screw screw !! SCREW SCREW SCREW !! SCREW YOU !! …. nah nice video man!!

July 14, 2010 11:22 pm AndrewSpatInc @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] Thank you so much TechSpank! This is a real good video and it really helped! Now my iPhone is as good as new! I give y’all 5 broken iPhones, out of five!

July 15, 2010 11:57 am Davematee @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] Good vid.. nice u left the opps in it too :D

July 15, 2010 7:39 pm vinnnnnnnnyyyyyyyy @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] its was hard! good video explains alot! it worked for me

July 16, 2010 6:31 am gunnahh @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] i swear it isnt working properly, whats that black screen about?

July 16, 2010 9:02 am maskeddude1997 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] OMG he was so lucky not ripping those rippin cables i ripped mine but my dad some how fixed them

July 16, 2010 1:16 pm docnyt @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] THANK YOU!!!

July 17, 2010 9:41 pm arulflorance @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] must why give a shop to repair it!

July 18, 2010 1:37 am djroo200 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] i live in Australia and was wondering will they replace it in store?

July 19, 2010 10:21 am burhankobe @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] epic fail with the suction cup

July 19, 2010 1:02 pm TheCalebCollage @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] But the question is: Will Water Cut It?

July 19, 2010 3:17 pm dpark76 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] Thanks for that note about the ribbon cable at 7:50.

July 19, 2010 10:39 pm jadyn54321 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] lol

July 20, 2010 1:36 am repairtechie @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] CHEAP replacement parts at repairtechie(DOT)com

July 21, 2010 8:50 am PefydRezyxexu @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] Do you want to win new iphone 4g completely FREE? Check out gifter7, com!

July 21, 2010 10:40 am boywin37 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] myPadMedia allows users to access thousands of eBooks, Comic Books and Newspapers and download them directly to the new Apple iPad! Includes bestselling novels, fiction, nonfiction & more! Better than movies & tv! Compatible with the iPhone & iPod too!
goto h t t p://f50bejkh27jubz7h4oj9sahcbr,hop,clickbank,net/?tid=YT

July 21, 2010 5:40 pm ArmenSur @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] 50 bucks, I got my repair kit on ebay for 5!

July 21, 2010 6:24 pm loneknight97 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] $70 and risk the possibility of messing up and damaging your $200+ iPhone? No way. I had a similar problem and took mine to the apple store. Cost me $118 but they did the job right in a few hours.

July 21, 2010 10:50 pm athlon2046 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] bought the front panel for $39(canadian), I don’t have hair dryer or heat gun. I just heated it on the stove..LOL. It works well. Thanks!

July 22, 2010 8:25 am jarhat @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] @athlon2046 AW MAN I BOUGHT MINE FOR 99CENTS MEXICAN ON EBAY AND THREW MINE IN THE TOASTER THANKS FOR THE VID

July 23, 2010 12:06 pm aberges99 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] @athlon2046 hi u can hlp me my iphone 2g 16gb digitizer its dead, i have the replacement but cant figure out how fix it, when use hair dryer screen goes black

July 23, 2010 1:15 pm romonabeske @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] Hey guys. Want to get in on this limited time iPhone 4 test promo. This place will send you one. You just gotta give your opinions of it.

I got the link for it over on my channel.

July 23, 2010 10:10 pm fuadskreb00 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] do u mean she has a harry pussy

July 25, 2010 2:34 am adorkabule @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] LMAO @ 2:00 hahaha that was funny!! :)

July 26, 2010 5:17 pm eriksaidyo @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] so, i followed everything.
anddddd i cant really get the wirse to stick onto the pieces inside the iphone.
so my screen wont turn on.
anyyy suggestions haha

July 26, 2010 8:26 pm ponce2346 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] Wat if the lcd screen doesnt want to work

July 27, 2010 12:31 am crazyaznpower12 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] Jesus Christ, its like a fucking jigsaw puzzle in there.

July 27, 2010 4:06 pm athlon2046 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] @aberges99 , screen went black? u must have overheated it. You ‘ve got to heat it evenly.

July 30, 2010 10:47 am curlii85 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] I did it on my 3GS… i didnt have a suction cup so i used the vacuum cleaner. But my iphone now have a brand new screen thanks to this guide. Remember to clean the iphone complete after removing the old screen so the new tape can stick to it. If your touchscreen doesnt work, your didnt connect Ribbon #2 cable correctly, open and try again. thanks for the help techspank. It took me around 2 hours to do this. Patients is key!

July 30, 2010 11:00 pm MrRenee90 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] Hi just a quick question, does replacing your screen like this reset your phone? I don’t want to lose all my apps :)

July 31, 2010 8:00 pm speedomike747 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] your channek should’ve been called TechGasm

August 2, 2010 5:47 pm yoni662 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] @MrRenee90 absolutly nothing will happen to your apps if you replace the screen since the front panal does not affect the internal memory

August 4, 2010 12:07 am JeffreyJons @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] There is iphone 4g giveaway at gifter7. c0m. Go and get yours
marvellous video.

August 4, 2010 12:45 am JeffreyJons @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] There is iphone 4 giveaway at gifter7 , com You can get one NOW
terrific video.

August 4, 2010 1:24 am JeffreyJons @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] They are giving away iphone 4g at gifter7 . com Take your chance NOW
gorgeous video.

August 4, 2010 11:35 am jtoffroad250 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] Kit i bought was $10.00….. eBay !!!

August 5, 2010 5:14 am ToxicParabol @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] Remember kids, you don’t ever EVER want to use ANY magnetic tools around sensitive electronics such as your iphone. You would be asking for trouble if you did.

August 5, 2010 5:33 pm rooow @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] when i replaced the digitizer from my ipod touch, the wi-fi intensity decreased a lot. i hav 2 b beside the router so i can get wi-fi connection. does it happen with the iphone as well?

August 5, 2010 10:20 pm cwgreise @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] ive been trying to get ribbon 2 back into it’s spot for an hour now. i’ve been so patient, but now im thinking that ive ruined the connector. suggestions?

August 7, 2010 4:01 am 123halloder @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] @monsivais214 Relax you fucking idiot!

August 7, 2010 2:41 pm CARLITOS1995ify @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] damn dude u ar so cool

August 7, 2010 8:57 pm dogland12 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] I like your video. However can do you have any knowledge of Acer liquid smartphone or point me in the right direction has to how to replace the LCD screen for the phone.
Thanx.

August 9, 2010 1:12 am sawyerg13 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] i broke an iphone and the screen doesnt work touch wise…will this fix that

August 10, 2010 9:58 pm TheMsbitch4ever @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] @sawyerg13 that happend to my phone too and i had to pay $86 to fix it from thr inside and out

August 12, 2010 5:18 pm chambercbs @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] I followed you and for some reason and when i touch a app it will open the app to the left. It is offline somehow. Any ideas?

August 12, 2010 8:52 pm HaZ342o @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] Ifixit? you mean you Break it!

August 13, 2010 4:46 am spaceinvader79 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] “i dont make mistakes” – saying that was begging for trouble ;)

August 13, 2010 7:33 pm 09858943 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] great

August 13, 2010 10:29 pm oakland002 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] Your video was near perfect, if only there was some zooming in, it’s kinda hard to see suck small parts from that distance, but it was great.

August 13, 2010 10:39 pm oakland002 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] I also bought the $10 eBay kit, but had to go get extra tools, like the tiny screw driver, and suction cup, got it at home depot, (extra $20.29) but the tool was a very nice kit and the suction cups came in a pack of 3 with able to hold 5 lbs weight.
I did this last night, took me maybe 2 hours, the longest part was trying to put the wire #1,2 back, they keep poping off , but if you don’t feel a small click then it’s not set in yet n the touch screen might not work.

Be careful with wire #3 ,

August 15, 2010 2:38 am VincentVegas76 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] @TheMadkent im hearing u brother same with mine. tho telstra

August 15, 2010 3:52 am megavolt995 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] ” i never make mistakes ” except on this video :D

August 15, 2010 5:36 am koolenboer @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] I fixed my wife’s iPhone 3g which she had dropped.
I also replaced the battery. The battery was easy but i hated the glas from the frame bit ! which you have to do with a heatgun. That part sucked !
But i iphone looks pretty now.

And for other noobs who are thinking about doing this.
The whole proces took me about 2 hours.

August 16, 2010 4:45 pm auxpower13 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] Nice write up! I just finished this repair on my phone. By the way, there is a thing called a screwdriver magnetizer. They sell them at Sears and Ace. They cost less than $5. Welcome to the 20th century techie.

August 19, 2010 2:35 am JimmyJamesonMcNulty @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] fail

August 19, 2010 12:42 pm indierocktv @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] Hey All: After dropping my iPhone and having the screen cracked, and fighting with Apple about it, I almost gave up. But I found Repairsuniverse dotcom which had the exact replacement screen I needed for a darn good price and customer service was sweeet.

August 19, 2010 1:55 pm rockrock3090 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] how olds ur sister?

August 22, 2010 6:19 am bhugeloo95 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] 1:56 lol

August 22, 2010 11:17 pm nigggga420 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] @sawyerg13 that happened to my iphone to if you figure out how to fix it please let me kno

August 22, 2010 11:23 pm nigggga420 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] i cracked my iphone screen, half the screen does not respond when i touch it, will this fix my problem?

August 23, 2010 3:33 am D4NC3101 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] @nigggga420 i dont think that will fix it. My iphone did that and from taking it apart i found that the glass and the touch panel thing underness was proken. i think you can get it fixed but i just sold my iphone on ebay and got another.

August 23, 2010 10:29 am LeslieYoungs @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] You cannot afford iphone 4g? Check out offer at gifter7, com Take your chance NOW
Liked it

August 24, 2010 5:42 pm markeeinsik @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] great vid!…

August 25, 2010 2:53 am 0BabeeyCakees0 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] i dropped my iphone and the screen is COMPLETELY cracked. What a peice of useless shit.

August 28, 2010 6:35 pm intraterrestre @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] Is ur sister hot?

August 30, 2010 5:48 am JWisting @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] Really nice vid.. Fixed my screen today and this made it a breeze…

August 30, 2010 12:58 pm playboylover4u6 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] nice video man

August 30, 2010 4:04 pm OSBcrew @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] i cant get the screen off

August 31, 2010 9:17 pm CrazyArowanaKeeper @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] Dude you supposed to shut off the device first…. U r doing totally wrong!

September 2, 2010 1:37 pm mrsBLacKgr @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] geia sou james papadopoulos :p

September 3, 2010 2:05 pm iphonehacker42 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] i’m looking for a broken iphone or ipod touch under $20.00 please respond…..

it can be water damaged or anything.

September 5, 2010 9:10 am MrBoomtube1 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] what if the screen underneath doesnt work the (lcd) and a bar code comes up

September 5, 2010 11:22 am FrederikEngelmand @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] magnet screwdriver and screen not a got mix

September 5, 2010 3:26 pm kc88kc @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] right when he slides to unlock it …the fucker just blows up

September 6, 2010 3:54 pm B4DH4cK3r @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] or dont buy an ipone…

September 7, 2010 3:50 am TheOowaoowa @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] 1:55 owned

September 7, 2010 9:32 am unicorn7337 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] @FrederikEngelmand You’re an idiot. You think the amount of magnetic force present on the tip of a screwdriver is enough to damage an LCD? How do you think electronic engineers work in with such small screws in close proximity to LCDs? It’s HARMLESS.

September 8, 2010 9:34 am FrederikEngelmand @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] @unicorn7337 WTF? what did i say to deserve that comment ? if someones an idiot its YOU!

September 8, 2010 11:20 am mystarburst1 @ Website Reply

[..YouTube..] hey mann i really appreciate the video.. 123 fix and very easy to follow!!!

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