Introduction
Tools
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Power off your iPhone before beginning disassembly.
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Remove the two 3.4 mm pentalobe screws at the bottom edge of the iPhone.
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Pull the blue handle backwards to unlock the Anti-Clamp's arms.
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Slide the arms over either the left or right edge of your iPhone.
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Position the suction cups near the bottom edge of the iPhone just above the home button—one on the front, and one on the back.
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Squeeze the cups together to apply suction to the desired area.
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Pull the blue handle forwards to lock the arms.
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Turn the handle clockwise 360 degrees or until the cups start to stretch.
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Make sure the suction cups remain aligned with each other. If they begin to slip out of alignment, loosen the suction cups slightly and realign the arms.
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Heat an iOpener and thread it through the arms of the Anti-Clamp.
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Fold the iOpener so it lays on the bottom edge of the iPhone.
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Wait one minute to give the adhesive a chance to release and present an opening gap.
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Insert an opening pick into the gap.
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Skip the next three steps.
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Heating the lower edge of the iPhone will help soften the adhesive securing the display, making it easier to open.
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Use a hairdryer or prepare an iOpener and apply it to the lower edge of the phone for about 90 seconds in order to soften up the adhesive underneath.
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Pull up on the suction cup with firm, constant pressure to create a slight gap between the screen and the frame.
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Insert an opening pick into the gap.
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Slide the opening pick up the left edge of the phone starting at the lower edge and moving towards the volume control buttons and silent switch, breaking up the adhesive holding the display in place.
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Stop near the top left corner of the display.
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Re-insert your tool at the lower right corner of the iPhone, and slide it around the corner and up the right side of the phone to separate the adhesive.
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Gently pull up on the suction cup to lift up the bottom edge of the display.
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Pull on the small nub on the suction cup to remove it from the front panel.
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Slide an opening pick underneath the display around the top left corner and along the top edge of the phone to loosen the last of the adhesive.
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Slide the display assembly slightly down (away from the top edge of the phone) to disengage the clips holding it to the rear case.
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Open the iPhone by swinging the display up from the left side, like the back cover of a book.
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Lean the display against something to keep it propped up while you're working on the phone.
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Remove the following four tri-point Y000 screws securing the lower display cable bracket to the logic board:
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Three 1.2 mm screws
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One 2.6 mm screw
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Use the point of a spudger to lift the battery connector out of its socket on the logic board.
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Use the flat end of a spudger or a fingernail to disconnect the two lower display connectors by prying them straight up from their sockets on the logic board.
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Remove the three tri-point Y000 screws securing the bracket over the front panel sensor assembly connector:
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One 1.3 mm screw
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Two 1.0 mm screws
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Remove the bracket.
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Remove the four Y000 screws securing the bracket over the home/Touch ID sensor:
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One 1.1 mm screw
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Three 1.3 mm screws
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Pry under the left edge of the home button cable connector to disconnect it from its socket.
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Carefully pry up the underlying connector and move it out of the way of the home/Touch ID cable.
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If the connector doesn't pry up easily, use a hair dryer or iOpener to heat and soften the adhesive securing the connector, and then try again.
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Flip the display assembly over. Use a hairdryer or prepare an iOpener and apply it to the lower edge of the display for about 90 seconds in order to soften up the adhesive underneath.
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Use an opening pick to gently separate the adhesive holding the home/Touch ID sensor cable to the back side of the display panel.
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Remove the home/Touch ID sensor assembly by lifting it through the front side of the display.
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Compare your new replacement part to the original part—you may need to transfer remaining components or remove adhesive backings from the new part before installing.
To reassemble your device, follow the above steps in reverse order.
Take your e-waste to an R2 or e-Stewards certified recycler.
Repair didn’t go as planned? Try some basic troubleshooting, or search our Answers forum for help.
60 comments
Only the glass is broken on my screen. I don't need a new digitizer. Is there a way to just replace the glass? Seems like that would be much cheaper. Thanks!
Unfortunately, by the nature of the technology, cracked glass likely means your digitizer is out of commission (does touch still register on the cracked screen?). Below that is the LCD, and that might not be broken (if the image is fine, then the LCD is likely fine). The problem is that these components are VERY VERY difficult to separate. This makes the individual replacements a nightmare. I hate to say anything is impossible, but separating these components will feel impossible without expensive tools and extensive knowledge. It will also likely end in a mess of broken components. When there is a will, there is a way. But the separation project will demand a lot of will.
Our store is having trouble with the earpiece speaker working after screen repair on just the 7 Plus, not with the 7. We have tried different techniques and still get figure what we are doing wrong. Has anyone else had this problem and know the solution?
Joe Cox -
My earpiece speaker also won't work with new screen... this is frustrating. Any solution
Ben -
There are some connections for the earpiece speaker that can be a little tricky to get properly connected during reassembly. If you look at the third photo in step 22 of the iPhone 7 Plus teardown you can see four copper pads on the cable, and four protruding copper connections on the speaker. For starters, make sure that these are all clean. When reassembling, make sure that the metal pads on the cable firmly touch the metal pins on the speaker. These are actually electrical connections, and are a little tougher to seat properly because they don't snap in like press or ZIF connectors. If the metal is all lined up and pressed against each other, then electricity should be flowing and sound should result! If the earpiece speaker was not removed and this guide was followed as is, it is most likely an issue with the connectors in step 19 of this guide.
I am an amateur and have successfully transferred all components to a replacement screen earphone and home button as well as the large metal bracket on the back without a problem. During the process though the flex cable for the ear piece gave me some issue because the flex cable is actually 2 separate pieces that are held together by some adhesive. Underneath it there are some connectors that have to line up perfectly. If you are doing repairs on a hot surface that adhesive will become more likely to separate when you try to relieve it from the broken screen. Keep that in mind. If it does come separated like mine did during replacement simply line the connectors up and give it a squeeze for a few seconds to get the adhesive to take then let it cool down before re installation.
Make sure when you are connecting the earpiece ribbon cable you attach it the correct way. It seems like it should be connected with the excess of the ribbon cable going upwards but that is incorrect and will render the speaker useless. You have to make sure when you connect it the the excess is going downwards. This will make the ribbon cable appear as though it is twisted tangled but that is how it has to be connected. I wish I could upload pictures
why do you need to change the touch ID sensor? if your replacement screen comes with a touch ID, do you still need to swap it?
kjding -
For security reasons, each iPhone's Touch ID sensor is uniquely paired to the logic board at the factory. If you replace your screen without transferring over your original home button, you will lose Touch ID functionality. If your replacement screen came with a replacement home button anyway, take it off and carefully replace it with your original home button.
For the 7, the home button also must detect a fingerprint in order for the home button functionality to work. Because the security feature turns off the TouchID function, the iPhone stops trying to detect a fingerprint and makes the home button not work at all. You want to keep the original home button and be careful not to rip the cable because for this particular generation of iPhone, there is no replacing the home button.
The recommendation of discharging the battery is completely unnecessary. Even a 25% charged battery can explode. Completely ridiculous suggestion.
pargoff -
The risk of thermal runaway on these batteries decreases with the battery's SOC (state of charge). Below 50% charge the risk is fairly low, and at 25% charge the risk of a thermal event is near zero. If I recall correctly, the same suggestion appears in Apple's official (non-public) service manuals for the iPhone.
Jeff Suovanen -
@jeffsu Yes, that is correct. Apple does require all certified staff to discharge the battery below 25%. This is an industry standard for all LiION batteries. If you don’t want to do this, just make sure to not puncture the battery and disconnect it first thing.
iHelpU.Tech -
Hang on a second here, doesn’t the Ifixit part I ordered come with the seals? The display assembly? It doesn’t. Now I have to wait another week?!
Vanessa Pinter -
How do you turn off if the screen isn’t responding to touch?
adam -
The replacement battery came with the seal—but how do you put it on???
lkollar -
Instructions for replacing the seal are here: iPhone Display Adhesive Replacement
bester -
I just found the instructions on how to install the seals AFTER I was completed and had to figure it out. Maybe, just maybe you should link this somewhere on the guild instead of buried in a comment. Just a thought.
Charles Meitin -
Step 1 is: Read through all the steps and comments or the method prior to starting on this Step 1. There's a lot of much needed information and experience that you can learn from which will reduce the chance of struggling, wasting time or even breaking your device.
My favourites are:
Use a hot water bottle.
Label all screws you remove with their size and location on a piece of paper with double sided sticky tape.
Test the lightning assembly at step 13
There is a Standoff driver bit in the box, don't use a screwdriver.
etc...
Neil Eriksen -
A tip for looking out for all those little screws. I used an ice block tray, for all the little screws etc. I numbered each with the step number, as in the instructions, but not all steps have bits to look out for. Where two different size screws are used I had a tray for each size and marked step a and step b. For this I coloured each tray sticker with the colour of the screw as shown in the instructions. All this worked a treat with no confusion or using the wrong part.
Herb
Herb Adler -
The screw size for those with a screw set is P2.
Gareth Flandro -