Google Pixel 2 Back Camera Lens Replacement

Step 1

If your display glass is cracked, keep further breakage contained and prevent bodily harm during your repair by taping the glass. This also makes a smooth surface allowing the suction cup to bond.
Apply a suction cup as close to the volume button edge of the phone as you can while avoiding the curved edge.
The suction cup will not make a good seal on the curved portion of the glass.

My screen is severly cracked. I would recommend clear packaging tape as it is wide enough to accomodate the suction cup. Thinner cellophane tape won’t seal properly.

John Tippitt - 18/08/20

Does the Google Pixel 2 have be powered off before removing the digitizer screen? Its not mentioned in this article...

Will the phone be damaged if the power is still on when disconnecting the broken screen?

Alex -

Replacing the battery in my Pixel 2 was successful because I read the comments. They are invaluable in this endeavor.

David Castro -

Suggest procedure revision:

Step 1: Read all steps and associated comments before proceeding.

Step 2: Ensure they supplied you with the right F$%^ING TOOLS in the kit before proceeding.

I'm F$%^ED because any store around me that might have this T4 Torx bit is already closed and my screen is already off. My kit came with a T2 Torx bit which is not used anywhere in this entire process.

Jens Davidsen -

I bought one of the kits and it had everything needed to change the battery except the alcohol, including spudgers, screwdriver, torx (2 sizes), tweezer, alcohol dispenser, glue strips and die-cut glue card that fit the phone case perfectly. I followed these instructions and read the comments. Applied alcohol and patience, took my time and got the job done without any damage to the phone. Thank you ifixit!

Jeffrey Price -

Step 2

Pull up on the suction cup with firm, constant pressure and insert an opening pick between the front panel and rear case.
Do not insert the pick deeper than 1.5 mm, or you risk damaging the OLED panel.
This requires a significant amount of force and patience. If you have trouble, rock the suction cup and screen to weaken the adhesive, or apply heat with an iOpener, heat gun, or hair dryer.
The display panel is fragile. If you plan to re-use your display, take care to insert your tool only as far as necessary to separate the adhesive. Inserting the tool any further can damage the OLED panel under the glass.

They cannot emphasize enough how careful you need to be when separating the screen. The iOpener does not work well enough to prevent breakage (opinion). I spent a majority of the hour and forty five minutes replacing my battery on removing the screen, i.e. reheating the iOpener, warming the device, slowly, with multiple passes, separating the adhesive. Use a heat gun or blow dryer.

Devin McMillen - 10/10/19

How many passes do I need? I do have a heatgun but I’m afraid to discolor or damage the screen. Anyone know the best temp before stopping to seperate the screen?

Sen Lin - 05/12/19

try the alcohol as instructed instead of heat. “Do not heat your phone. If needed, you can use a dropper or syringe to inject isopropyl alcohol (90+%) around the edges of the back cover to weaken the adhesive. “

Rogerio Sa - 15/01/20

Make sure to remove the adhesive under the top and bottom speakers to make it much easier to remove the screen.

Chibi Chica - 09/08/20

Isopropyl alcohol works well to loosen the adhesive. However - GO SLOW. Slide the pick a bit, then apply some isopropyl alcohol into the gap where you’re sliding toward. Wait a moment, then slide a bit more. Move very slowly, particularly around the corners!

Raquel Smith - 12/08/20

Any idea on what to do when the suction cup pops off of the screen before there’s enough clearance to slide the pick in?

Douglas Leenhouts - 15/08/20

I used a hairdryer to weaken the adhesive. If you place your finger in the path of the hairdryer you’ll have a good idea of when too much heat has been applied (when your skin becomes unhappy at the temperature). BE VERY GENTLE. I cracked my screen because I didn’t weaken the adhesive enough. I also chipped(dog eared) the corner of the OLED screen underneath with one of the plastic tools. Don’t stick it in too far. As the guide says, use the flat edge or the pick to help control this.

Alex Lawson - 21/09/20

I did the 90% alcohol and the iOpener. Took a while but finally got the screen off. As others have mentioned, there is lots of adhesive around the top and bottom speaker openings. I ended up reaching in with a small brush and more alcohol to get it. I used a tooth pick to break the final adhesive.

I also had a set of dental tools and a set of magnifying goggles (I’m a model railroader) which helped greatly.

John Reagan - 14/03/21

Like others have said, THIS STEP IS THE MOST DANGEROUS!!! You must be extremely gentle (no real force should be necessary to separate the screen from the glue) with the screen and take your time. (IMO if it takes you less than 30 mins to get the screen loose, your going too hard at it). Two suggestions from my successful battery replacement that I can give, use alcohol instead of heat (seems to work better with this phone) and start with a much thinner plastic tool that is also flexible (I used a metro card from the NYC MTA). This will allow you to get at the tiny gap without using any significant force and then get some alcohol into the gap by dripping it down the thin plastic tool. Honestly, IFIXIT should make a small thin rectangular card to use for this with lines around it for measurements…

Aleksandr Demidenko - 14/03/21

The first pry to get the pick inside the edge of the screen needs A LOT OF HEAT and a very firm pull, and just as someone else mentioned, the iOpener did not work well, instead, a regular hair dryer proved more beneficial in applying a controlled amount of heat until its almost too hot to touch. Then, once the pick is inside 99% isopropyl alcohol worked wonders, use a syringe or dropper to apple some at the edge, wait for about 15 seconds and move the pick centimetre by centimetre. Make sure to not insert it more than 2mm at the sides. I took more than an hour just to get the screen off.

A Sid -

As an experienced (1) screen remover, I’d recommend that if you don’t plan to change your screen, change your plans. You will be less disappointed that way. I managed to get mine for just over $10 with shipping and test it first (weak Battery). Pixel 3’s (Not 3a or XL) sure look a lot better now. They have removable backs. My pixel 1st gen was a cheap lesson. Looking for another cheap one to try alcohol on.

Scott Graham -

Used a hairdryer on medium heat (very warm but not burning hot), suction cup, and applied isopropyl alcohol into crack made when applying pressure. Rinse and repeat until loosened enough to get a pick in. Took many attempts. Don't try to force the pick in, as you could chip the edge of the thin glass of screen this way. The suction cup pressure and weakened adhesive should do the work. Once the pick gets it, you can work a little faster but did the same basic steps minus needing the suction cup anymore, working around the edges. Good lighting is a must to see the crack forming.

Arthur Kay - 18/12/22

I have to disagree with folks who said this is the longest step of the whole process...for me...the longest step was having to drive around and find a T4 Torx bit because this kit came with a T2 Torx which proved absolutely USELESS...

The screen came off very easily with the liberal application of 90% Isopropyl Alcohol. Took around 15min to get the screen off and I hardly had to use picks except for the top and bottom.

That Torx bit though... F$%^ED ME

Jens Davidsen -

Step 3

In the following steps, extra caution is required in certain areas to avoid damage to the phone:
Do not insert the pick more than 9 mm into the bottom edge of the phone. If the pick contacts the folded portion of the OLED panel it can damage the display.
Only make very shallow cuts in the upper left corner, prying deeply can damage the front-facing camera.
Inserting an opening tool deeper than 1.5 mm into the sides of the device, or 9 mm into the top and bottom can permanently damage the display.

This is inaccurate. The Pixel 2 phone’s back comes in two parts: a plastic main section and a glass back upper section. Only the glass section is required to be removed to replace the camera. Once the glass back is removed, the camera can easily be replaced without removing the motherboard, battery, or any other components. What is picture here looks like the original Google Pixel Phone.

hunter alden - 19/08/20

Firstly, I disagree with hunter’s comment above - my Pixel 2 looked identical to this when I had it opened up.

Secondly, the whole thing about 1.5mm at the sides - literally scared the cr*p out of me when I started this as it’s such a tiny margin - but what this doesn’t say is that you can see these limits on your phone - just turn the screen on and it’s where the display ends - the digitiser starts there and is a couple of mm deep - hence the need to be careful. You can also see it (though less obviously) when you have the screen off - the jet black part at the edge is where the adhesive is - just make sure you don’t push in past there. It’s not like you can’t make very gentle contact with the digitiser when clearing the adhesive - I believe it’s just any kind of real pressure which will render the screen useless.

Dave Watts - 17/10/20

I think it would be helpful to highlight the adhesive patches around the microphone/speaker areas and that you do need to project your pick in quite a distance to break this adhesive. I think simply creating a highlighted tracing of all of the adhesive areas would be helpful and pretty simple to do. It is shown to some extent, but in my opinion it could be more clear. In all of the prefaced concerns for digging too deep, I spent extra time and effort carefully prying upward and cracked my screen and OLED rendering my phone useless. Eventually I decided to probe more deeply toward the mic/speaker and broke things loose which allowed me to remove the screen easily.

Matt Escher - 22/02/21

Yes your right. I didn't e that and I disassembly the scree from it's digitiser layer. If i would know in advanced the adhesive borders it wouldn't happened.

Ronen Stolarski -

I took my time but a few times I slipped in more than I wanted. No harm. The bottom is the more tricky. The adhesive around the bottom opening goes right up against the ribbon cable for the screen. I got the edges unglued with alcohol & iOpener. I then gently pried the screen away and reached in with a small brush and more alcohol. I then used a toothpick to break the last pieces of adhesive.

John Reagan - 14/03/21

Besides the adhesive at the edges, there are 2 rectangular shaped adhesive patches at the top (around the speaker) and bottom (around the microphone). These are pretty thick, but can be easily chipped away with the pick. You start to see these as you gently lift the screen upwards with the suction cup and peer inside (use a flashlight). I did not need to use a heat gun or blow dryer. Just the pick and some isopropyl alcohol.

Hasan Akhter - 18/04/21

Use isopropyl alcohol with a syringe at the top and bottom speaker to weaken the adhesive, gently pull apart (about 2mm) and use a finer piece of plastic (like a milky file plastic sheet) to cut through the adhesive at the speakers, but still do not take the screen off completely yet! After extensively reading about failed attempts to get the screen off (instances where people damaged the OLED underneath) one thing is in common: few devices have little adhesive underneath the ribbon cable as well, which people failed to notice and while separating the screen and in turn, damaged the OLED because of the pull from the ribbon cable. Thanks to having this information beforehand I found the same issue in my phone after I separated the screen (not completely) from the frame, I used a piece of finer sheet of plastic to cut the adhesive holding the ribbon cable. You will have to be extremely patient and take your time.

A Sid -

Word of warning - it is incredibly easy to slip and damage the ribbon cable at the back of the screen (where it folds over on the left in the image)! I accidentally did this removing the screen on my phone and it killed the touch functionality.

Joshua -

i spent probably 3 hours on this step only last night, incredibly difficult. turned out that the OLED itself was glued to the midframe which made it extra hard (and ended up breaking the screen in the process. I did buy the phone refurbished so I don't think they are all glued this way but it is definitely worth knowing.

Sally Bascombe -

Using 91% isopropyl alcohol worked way better than applying heat. Was applying heat for 20 minutes with no luck to get the initial opening. IPA did the job in 2 minutes. I would be cautious with how much alcohol you are dropping. Do not be too generous as some have mentioned and just drop along the edges at incremental distances. The alcohol will dissolve the grey foam in the picture with X marks and flatten it. Not that big of a deal but if you are picky about not damaging anything in the process you should be careful about it.

Bhavesh P -

Nope. I'll have to update this guide. The top and bottom required exactly 11mm of cutting (measured correctly from the glass's edge to the speaker glue's edge), while the guide said 9mm. Cutting 9mm didn't cut enough of the speaker adhesive to even allow forcefully prying it open with the use of a heat gun. If you only cut for 9mm, you'll break it. Also, the bottom ribbon begins at 11.5mm (better get a thin cutting tool with a measure) and the top has no ribbon, giving you 16.5mm of leeway (and you only need 11mm). I don't know who wrote this guide but it's wrong. Also, you won't damage the forward-facing camera, as it has a plastic frame all around. Furthermore, I was unlucky enough to find out that the display was glued to the midframe, making it physically impossible to safely separate it.

Krzeszny - 07/11/24

Step 4

In the following steps, use the flat of the opening pick, rather than a corner, to cut here. This will help prevent inserting the pick too deeply.
Slide the opening pick up the right side of the phone to separate the display adhesive.
Take extra care with the side bezels, which are only 1.5 mm deep.

Step 5

Slide the opening pick around the upper-right corner and along the top edge of the phone.
There's a mesh covering the earpiece speaker on the top edge of the screen. If you don’t have a replacement mesh, take care not to damage or lose this component.

Leaving one pick inserted at each corner will help prevent it from sticking back.

A Sid -

Step 6

Slide the pick around the upper-left corner of the phone and down the left edge of the phone.

Step 7

Slide the pick around the bottom-left corner and along the bottom of the phone. Keep pick at a slight angle away from the screen to avoid damage to the OLED corners.
Take extra care not to insert the opening pick more than 9 mm to avoid damaging the OLED panel.

Step 8

Reinsert the pick at the top edge of the phone and gently pry up the display.
If the display doesn't readily lift, do some extra prying to separate the last of the adhesive. The adhesive near the upper speaker is thicker than other places.
Don't try to fully separate the display yet, as a fragile ribbon cable still connects it to the phone's motherboard.

This for me was by far the hardest step. What this guide fails to say is just how much adhesive you’ll encounter - mine was heaving with the stuff - so I wouldn’t attempt this fix without the rubbing alcohol, and I would be prepared to spend 30 mins on this - the images above make it look like as soon as you can get the pick in and around the whole phone the display will come off - this wasn’t true on mine, and I put a small crack in the top of my screen as I applied a little pressure to lever the top - the edges were ok, but there was so much adhesive at the top and bottom - right down and around the speaker grills - that I used scissors to cut the remaining strands as I managed to lift the screen higher enough! Don’t be shy with the rubbing alcohol, it really helps - and you really need to feel all sides loosen properly before you attempt to lever - but if you’re patient, it’ll be ok.

Dave Watts - 17/10/20

agree, way more adhesive at top and bottom than guide implies. go really slow on sides with thin plastic but top and bottom speaker needs a bigger dig

Erik Sorensen -

Agree, finally my screen cracked while lifting without fully cut off all the adhesive, I had to buy another screen.

Logeter -

Step 9

Carefully lay the display down on top of the rear case as shown, making sure not to crease or tear the display ribbon cable.
Remove the two 4.0 mm T5 Torx screws securing the display cable bracket.
Throughout this repair, keep track of each screw and make sure it goes back exactly where it came from.

I cannot imagine how much easier this project would be if they provided the bit for this screw and the others of the same size. The torx bit included in my kit is a 2mm - entirely useless here. Only other bits are Philips...also pretty useless...

Jens Davidsen -

Step 10

Remove the display cable bracket.

Step 11

Use the point of a spudger to lift the display cable connector up and out of its socket on the motherboard.
Avoid touching the motherboard with the tip of your spudger. The components surrounding the socket are fragile.
To re-attach press connectors like this one, carefully align and press down on one side until it clicks into place, then repeat on the other side. Do not press down on the middle. If the connector is misaligned, the pins can bend, causing permanent damage.
If any part of your screen doesn't respond to touch after your repair re-seat this connector, making sure it clicks fully into place and that there's no dust or other obstruction in the socket.
During reassembly, pause here and replace the adhesive around the edges of the display.

Wow, I think I damaged my motherboard on this step. It would be helpful if there was a warning in this step to avoid doing that! Now my pixel 2 is reduced to a cool paperweight with a static display.

Zach Laporte - 07/12/20

Yep, there’s a small surface mounted component below the connector that is super easy to dislodge from the circuit board. Shown in this YouTube video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BEpgqpI.... Unfortunately, the part is smaller than a grain of sand, so not really practical for the average fixer to put back on the board.

jlyonsmith - 09/03/21

I also knocked the tiny chip off of the board while removing the ribbon cable in this step. Use the spudger exactly how it’s shown in the photos.

John Ware - 25/03/21

A spudger is the wrong tool to remove the video connector. You cannot see where you are poking with that tool and I wound up dislodging one of the surface mounted devices hidden by the connector and ruining the phone. I also broke a ground path near the corner of the middle frame that is not mentioned in this repair procedure. Watch this YouTube before you begin disassembly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKULr67Z...

jamesdrobinson -

None of the tools provided in the repair kit seemed slim enough to fit the space required to pry this up. I ended up using a thin / flimsy plastic health care card to get under and pry up. It popped up with enough pressure.

Arthur Kay -

Step 12

Use the flat end of a spudger to disconnect the charging assembly connector.

Removing the battery is not necessary to replace the motherboard, steps 19-21 can be omitted

Robert - 17/05/19

Hi Robert,

Thanks for the input! I’ve re-ordered the guide to remove the unnecessary steps.

Arthur Shi - 20/05/19

Thank you Robert

shady mohamed - 09/08/20

Step 13

Fill a plastic dropper or syringe with high concentration isopropyl alcohol and apply a few drops of alcohol under each corner of the battery. Give the alcohol a minute to weaken the battery adhesive.
Alternatively, apply a heated iOpener to the back of the phone over the battery for at least two minutes. Reheat and reapply the iOpener as needed until the battery adhesive is sufficiently weakened.

Step 14

Hold the charging assembly cable out of the way and insert an opening pick along the bottom edge of the battery.
Apply steady, even pressure to slowly lever the battery up and out of the phone.
Only pry from the center of the battery to avoid damaging the delicate ribbon cables beneath either side of the battery.
Try your best not to deform the battery during this process. Soft-shell lithium-ion batteries can leak dangerous chemicals, catch fire, or even explode if damaged. Do not use excessive force or pry at the battery with metal tools.
If you are having trouble, apply some more alcohol under the battery and try again.

This is another place where the amount of adhesive they’d used in the factory seemed understated - it took ages and plenty of heat and rubbing alcohol to get the battery out. Again, patience was needed - and I thought I might have messed it all up as I must have missed the “only pry from the centre” comment in the guide and went under the right and left bottom corners with a cotton bud and rubbing alcohol - I was lucky I think.

Dave Watts - 17/10/20

With the bottom of the phone resting against the iOpener, I used leverage with one of the plastic picks from the top and bottom of the batter and blue opening tool from the left side (below the volume rocker). It gripped it perfectly where I could pull it up a bit and slide the pick further underneath. Be careful of the volume ribbon cable (thin copper color at the top right of the battery) and what I assume to be an antenna cable. - a single thin black wire leading around the bottom left of the battery itself.

Avi Baron - 30/11/20

I think those cables to the left and right are for the “squeeze” sensors on the case.

I used lots of alcohol as other suggested. I got it out.

John Reagan - 14/03/21

Step 15

Remove the battery.
Do not reuse the battery after it has been removed, as doing so is a potential safety hazard. Replace it with a new battery.
To install a new battery:
Use a spudger to scrape away any remaining adhesive from the phone, and clean the glued areas with isopropyl alcohol and a lint-free cloth.
Secure the new battery with pre-cut adhesive or double-sided adhesive tape. In order to position it correctly, apply the new adhesive into the phone, not directly onto the battery. The adhesive should not touch any of the cables under the battery.
Press the battery firmly into place for 20-30 seconds.

Why I have to replace the battery if it doing well??!!

And is it necessary to remove the battery to reinstall the rear camera?

shady mohamed - 09/08/20

Lithium-ion batteries are susceptible to damage when they are bent or creased—the thin layers inside the battery may short, resulting in swelling and potential fire hazard.

You should be able to replace the rear camera without removing the battery. I will adjust the rear camera guide to reflect this.

Arthur Shi - 10/08/20

Re-assembly note -

Getting the battery to connect to the charging cable was a challenge for me. However, once it’s connected, if there’s any juice in the battery or if you want to be brave and plug it in, you can test to see if the phone is receiving power by trying to start it up and seeing if it vibrates. The combination of gently adjusting the charging cable, testing power, testing power with the phone plugged in got me to identify when the cable was attached properly.

Using my squishy finger worked better for re-attaching that cable than using the spudger.

This is a much better place to test for power than continuing reassembly and finding out it doesn’t work. If the phone cables are connected correctly and the battery has power (mine shipped with some charge in it), the phone will vibrate when you hold power.

Thomas - 19/11/20

Like Thomas, getting the battery cable back was a pain as my positioning of the new battery made the u-shaped cable slightly askew. I finally got it. I was afraid I was going to bend a pin but all good. And I also did the “press power and check for vibrate” trick. The battery (as I would later see) was 52% out of the box.

John Reagan - 14/03/21

Once you remove the battery, you may notice parallel lines of adhesives on both sides of the surface, where the battery was. No need to scrape away these lines. They should be still sticky and usable. Removing these would be a hassle. Just add a strip or two of the double sided adhesives in the middle where the battery was, before putting in your new battery.

Hasan Akhter - 18/04/21

after adding the battery, the turn on a vibrate trick does work, it vibrates, but then it never does again, and the display does not turn on:/ charging it for 10 min did nothing

Martin The Orange - 05/06/21

Thanks to Thomas, I did the turning on to know if it vibrated or not trick, and in my case, it did not. I had to plug out the battery connection and plug it in again with a finger and it was then when I heard a little “click” sound, and then the phone vibrated. You have to ensure that the battery side connector, sits right over the battery connection, before pressing it firmly.

A Sid -

Pro tip, plug in the battery before laying it down. Once the battery is in, you only have so much room to bend before it damages the cable or puts too much tension on the board.

Lance Garcia -

Be conservative with the alcohol as the adhesive is good enough to reuse. It would be a pain to scrape all that adhesive and apply the thin 2-sided tape.

Bhavesh P -

Is there a reason to replace the adhesive? The battery fits snugly in the cavity and seems to be held securely in place even without any adhesive applied. I decided to not apply new adhesive to make future repairs easier, but wondering if there will be negative consequences to this.

Jiri Bednar -

Step 16

use the flat end of a spudger to disconnect the charging assembly connector from the motherboard.

Step 17

Insert a paperclip or SIM eject tool into the small hole on the left side of the phone and push until the SIM card tray pops out.
Remove the SIM card tray.