Well Dave, I've been doing this over the last couple months in a small repair shop, and I gotta say you have better equipment than 80% of the shops that do these repairs for a living.
Thank you for your video! I've just saved my phone by following your guide. I didn't have a heat gun so used a household iron with a t-shirt between iron and phone. Only needed 20-30secs of heat. Job done!
My 1 year old son killed the display/touchscreen of my wife’s z3 compact last week. Funny to find the video on your channel. Decided not to repair it. After watching I think that was the correct decision.
This phone has a pressure sensor that shows the air pressure. You can access it through the service menu (the *#*# combination for it is widely available on the internet, I just don't remember it out of the back of my head). This pressure sensor is one way of testing how likely it is to be waterproof. I have the same phone, and when I access the sensor and press the phone on its front and back sides with my index finger and thumb, it increases by about a value of 20 (I think it's millipascals, but I'm not sure on that) and goes back down. Also, when I let go of the pressure, it goes down, before it will level out again at whatever the current air pressure is.
+TheEPROM9 Including the parts not filmed, it appears Dave spent the equivalent of a day on the job. Worth it? _Only_ if the alternative is buying a replacement phone at regular price. For a friend, or even a paying customer, not a chance. You can't charge enough to justify the time, and with hams like mine there is a real risk of causing further damage. I damaged my own phone while replacing the battery (broke the LCD connector). After wasting many hours I brought it to a guy who specializes in such work. He replaced the LCD and it was cheap. Should have gone there in the first place.
***** Interesting. My phone was an iphone 3GS from back in the day. Only 2 screws and I was in _like a guy opening his phone._ The only adhesive was to hold the battery to the back panel. On that phone, replacing the battery is the most difficult job because everything else has to come out (from what you say, it sounds like current iphones are similar). If not for my giant hams, it could have been fine. About 11 near-microscopic connectors have to come off and a few screws. I unknowingly broke the connector on the LCD and then spent all night trying to figure out why it was dead. If I did it again I would use a microscope and tweezers, but most phones now seem to be nightmares in comparison (e.g. this Sony).
+AffnKop But 200 Euros to change the front glass/screen assembly on the Motorola Moto X 2014 was just too much, so I tossed the phone in some drawer and got me a Sony Z3 compact (I like the smaller form factor anyways). The Moto X was basically a total write-off, since used phones without cracked front glass were sold for around 200 bucks. And this although the digitizer and all that stuff still worked. I just didn't like running around with the spider app installed...
Reminds me of the Ipod my mate was gonna throw away because nothing came up on the screen. Bought it off him for $5, new screen for ~$30ish and fixed the thing. Will never forget his face when I walked in listening to his old ipod :D
FYI, had my Sony Z3 Compact for repair. Got the jack socket replaced. Still under warranty so I did not want to do it myself. What I got back was a repaired phone with a complet new back plate. So looks like it's a rip and replace. So you did quite good:)
This could/would be absolutely ok on your main channel! Thanx for this one, Dave - i know why i don´t go for a CellPhone repair....this video shows why.... By the way, i´m currently working on a W48 phone every now and then to bring back its former glory....;)
Sometimes it's easier to give a push than a pull. I would have tried to pull out all the innards and then give it a push from the back of the screen. Also Mr. Dave really is dexterous with handicraft thing like soldering and disassembling, really superb for a first time repair.
Hi Dave, I have the exact same phone even the color is the same. Hopefully you've updated it to Android 6 battery backup has increased for me. Love this phone!
Yeah, that will be good for the WiFi, BlueTooth and GSM antennas, nothing quite like injecting 1000 watts of RF into the frontend of a transceiver rated for less than a watt. What could possibly go wrong? :-) But it would probably be some beautiful fireworks, especially when the lithium battery finally blows!
Owned a lot of Sony devices. The Z3 is my latest one and I got to say although I have had issues, Sony have repaired them all under warranty in a matter of days, and it's even retained it's water resistance. It's not Sony's fault, I do use my phone all the time barely giving it any rest. Just bought a Z5 Premium today gonna see how that one goes but overall amazing phones.
Just did this replacement. Of course it's not going to be waterproof - at all- when there's no seal on those adhesive stickers going around the top speaker. I have put silicon gel around the top speaker on mine. I doubt it made any difference, but it's better than absolutely nothing.. The company who makes those adhesive stickers should be ashamed for that oversight. Also I got the front glass removed on mine by putting the phone into the fridge for a while (to keep the battery cool), then using maximum heat on the front glass. It popped right out, but I overdid it slightly - a tiny bit of the green plastic bezel melted. However I then tried to separate the digitizer from the display, and cracked the display. Therefore I had to do the exact same thing as EEV and buy a new combined unit. I would recommend buying the combined unit to anyone who has to do this job.
Did the same thing on an iPhone 4S twice for my dad, but I told him that next time he either has to buy a new phone or get it repaired elsewhere :D Had to remove everything from the inside to get at the screws holding the front of the phone... this seems to be much more sensible.
I think your difficulty in removing the front screen is because you are using the succumb pad over the crack(not every time, but a good few times i noticed it) in the screen and its not maintaining its vacuum.
As suggestion, don't wet it again. I work in a warranty center and each time that we open water proof phones we most change the adhesive. Believe me, if you don't change that adhesive it affects a lot the hermetic closing.
I'm due for another glass replacement on my Lumia 520. it works with a broken front glass still, but there's no money to get another yet. last time I did it I got a new microsoft replacement frame and screen/touchscreen setup instead... just swapped my board in and it looked brand new. but that was fairly more expensive, and cheaper than getting both parts last time.
just a tip pretty much every phone released after 2011 or 2012 has the lcd and the touch screen fused together, which means you have to buy both combined
I feel your pain... broke an ASUS TF201 tablet LCD while attemping to replace only the broken digitizer. Of course the LCD broke and had to order the combo next.
That's not the end of your problems with Z3c. I can see the metal shielding is warped and out of it's place - it will push the screen out at some point. I recommend buying screen with the frame - it's just a little bit more expensive, but you don't have to glue the front to the frame.
Is the new LCD the same quality as the old one? I remember when I fixed an iPhone 4, the replacement panel has terrible viewing angles compared to the old one.
Was it a drop that broke the screen or one of sony's self cracking screens? My partner's phone (Xperia Z1) recently self cracked, not going to be a fun repair I'm sure.
+Andrew Joy Stronger than plastics or metals, and also incredibly scratch resistant. You can rub the edge of a razor across it, and it won't scratch. Try do that with a metal or plastic!
+Mythricia its definatly not as storng as plastic and metals. i have knifes made out of glass and they are very fragile. the only way its stronger is when its hit on the biggest surface, but even than its not very strong. glass panels often break because they are hit on the edges, because of glasses unbend able nature the shock wont be absorbed well and the energy releases by breaking the bindings of the glass. but maybe thats different for the glass used on phones. or maybe its a special technique i dont know exactly. i just know that the phones they made where a lot sturdier (iphone 3gs is almost unbreakable compared to glass phones)
tjeulink It's not just regular glass, it's Corning glass. Can basically be bent 45* and doesn't break. iPhones use the same type of glass for the display - which is what we're talking about here, and it would shatter too from the same impact. If the entire case shatters, then that's hardly the fault of the manufacturer. These are fashion phones, not shock-tolerant work-environment devices. I've seen more shattered iPhone screens than I care to count, so I really don't see the argument that they're sturdier.
Hi there. I think have connected the lcd screen properly, in fact it turns on, but the touch screen is not working. Can you help me to get why and fix it?
(((( Would you mind telling me how long I should let the hot air on it and also the temperature ? )))) it seems to be very quickly, but still don't know the temperature..thank you.. your videos are very helpful and informative. keep it up.
I've just changed the battery on my Z3 compact and since then there is no GPS or Wifi. I tripple checked that I put all connectors back in place and can't find the fault. Any idea where this antenna is? Thanks
Sony does this in order to prevent user repair. They glue the digitizer to the LCD, and then take many other steps to prevent user repair. Phone makers have been trying to find ways to more effectively push people into a 1 year upgrade cycle for their phones, and that involves things like non user replaceable batteries; li-ion batteries lose capacity with each charge cycle, thus they know how long a user can get by before the phone starts requiring multiple recharges per day. Before buying a phone, always check to make sure you can replace the battery and expand the storage. A phone that offers that in addition to having 3rd party ROMs available, will allow you to get multiple of years of use out of it with no problem.
+Razor2048 the screen is glued to glass to reduce optical losses. Internal batteries make sense if your trying to reduce the over all thickness of the phone. this all has a knock on effect though of a device that is hard or even imposable to repair. i wonder sometimes if its just modern manufacturing or step up to truly disposable devices, let alone the consumer cost and environmental impact this has.
+Razor2048 No, it's not the companies trying to prevent user repairs, it's almost entirely the users fault. It's the consumers wanting cheaper, thinner, faster, newer, whatever stuff. They know well that most people want a new phone almost every year anyway. Any company that would design a product to last forever (which is more expensive) under these circumstances won't be a company long. I know many more people that get rid of a perfectly fine and maybe a year or two old phone/TV/laptop/tablet than people that have to throw out stuff because it's broken. Using glue is easier to design, cheaper to produce, allows smaller devices and as bonus makes it almost automatically waterproof. Using a non-exchangeable battery, again easier design, cheaper production, thinner device. Don't get me wrong. I'm all for repairing things and hate the waste that is going on. I never bought a LCD or wireless router in my life, because all were given as broken to me and I repaired them. I also got my projector, fully automated coffee machine and first microwave oven that way. I have a phone where I exchanged the screen, two laptops where I did something similar, and repaired our washing machine 3 times to make it last 6 or 7 years longer. I've fixed/repaired so many things that I don't really remember most of them. Needless to say I'd almost certainly never pick up a phones like that. *But most people just don't care. And companies know that.*
the same thing happened to an friend's phone: samsung galaxy s3, as usual broken glass and glue everywhere, the result was an broken oled display. I wonder why they don't use screws like iPhone3 and 4 (they are pretty easy to fix) in their top class phones.
The pucks (as you call them) are way to thick, get your hands on a guitar plectrum, equally as strong but much thinner... Also the sucker I found on ebay would pull you out of bed, the one your using seems to give up easily... BTW, exact same problem with the same phone ;)
Sony Experia ?? Sony Xperia ( Z3 Compact D5803/D5833)? 1. first cover with tape all microphone and speakers 2. use thin tools ( search eBay cheap plastic "Picks" 0.46mm & 0.58mm) and use sucker same time when heating (you used these tools, it is for me a trash). 3. Never do not rush (Double-tape to be very slow to take off), if you rush then the bent glass too much, the glass breaks (speed 0.5mm/s or slower is good. Never do not use force. Sometimes helps to cut through thin gilette stretches adhesive. "10 twice measure and cut once", "Use mind not to force", "думать надо, а не прыгать"). Test touch-screen with (enable in Settings hidden menu "Developer Option" and check checkbox "Show Touches" & "show pointer location" (and then you try to draw on the screen very slowly mail envelope image, diagonally from corner to corner and edges borders. in most cases the problems are: touch-insensitive regions, wrong touching (touching self spontaneous) and so on) I only to switch on these "touch-lens" so that the LCD screen will remain the same (remove the broken glass and a glue a new "touch of glass" apart). Of course, this is 10 times more difficult. XD (Only digitizer part is ~10$ and much more work time, LCD+digitizer is ~40$ :) )
I can't get the screen to stick to the frame. It is lifting up on the sides, I've used the pre-cut adhesive, that didn't work, I tried using red VHB adhesive, that didn't work. I even tried using super glue to stick the screen to the frame, but that didn't work either.
If the phone is totally flat, use a flatiron. Heat up the iron a couple of seconds and use it upside down. Put the phone on the iron and move it around a minute or so and tada, easy peel off.
Hello. I have a problem. I have the same phone, laptop fell on it and my glass broke, but not too much, just a little bit at the bottom of the phone, upper half of the phone is working and bottom half is not. What I have to fix, just a glass ? or complete display ? Please help. Please.
You should have not put the back plate back on. If your wife always uses her phone in the case with the transparent back, it would definitely looked awesome
Great video! Everything was going great for me up to a point, got the new screen on, tested it, everything was working. Then I turned the phone off, detached the screen again, attached the speaker, and added the adhesive but when I now test the screen, the display is working but the touch screen is not responsive. I have no idea why this could be. I've detached and re-attached it so many times but it's still not working. Any ideas anyone???!!!
Thank you for this video. I have a question. After I did the LCD replacement, so far I can only see on my screen something like the white noises on TV when I reboot it. What might go wrong? A faulty replacement of LCD screen? Thanks a lot.
I have Z3 (not compact) and after few months of using back panel is sticking out on the top part of the phone =( Now looking at this video, i have suspicion that this maybe be because heat from CPU when phone is under high load melted the glue. After googling little bit i see that this is common problem with Sony Z series phones... and this is really sad, because otherwise it's very good phone, and mine is probably no longer water resistant. Should I maybe try to reheat it and press it back? And yeah, battery life is very good.
Did a similar thing with a S4 the bloody front glass exploded on me like safety glass. Shards everywhere, nasty stuff. Most phones have optically bonded panels so it's useless ordering just the glass :(
what if u didnt have the lcd with it ? on ebay i find the display with the touch without the lcd. do u think it'll work? have the exact same problem ur wife had
Hah, i remember replacing screen on XperiaV, almost impossible to remove without cracking it more. I didn't have special adhesive, so i just resealed it with hotglue, seems water resistant enough.
I do this for a living. Sony Xperia series are the worse. after that it's iPad. This one was quite easy inside because of the lcd cable. the non compact Z3 and other versions are more worse.. you have to take out almost all the components to reach the lcd cable. AND.. most of the time, the casing is bent, a little bend is enough to break the screen again in a few days.
Sometimes it's easier to flick a fingernail under the screen as soon as you've heated it up, pressing down on the screen with the suction cup just sticks it down harder! Plus scrabbling around getting the tools takes time and the screen is cooling down while you're doing that. So, here's to the wonder of fingernails. You only need to shove 1mm of your thumbnail under there to get it started, then the plectrum will slide in.
If I couldn't get an iPhone for some reason, my next choice would be either a Samsung, or a Sony. It seems people I know that have those tend to have few problems with them.
Would some one answer my problem of Sony Xperia Z3 compact? I have already disassembled and put the new ordered LCD touch screen. I think I connected properly as this is 3rd time challenge. Then the screen was not coming up although I see the back of screen lighten up. Is it caused by failure of the new screen?
try to mess up the screws on iphone 5 or 5s and you will ruin your main board... there are 3 lenghts of screws even when you just need to change the lcd. two 1.7mm one 1.3mm and 1.2mm.. put the 1.3mm one in the hole of 1.2mm and you are screwed... just trown 200 dollars out of the window. Logic board dead, unrepairably damaged..
+Jared Reabow (Jazza) Yeah, seemed like a good idea at the time, as it had the glass panel + the touch screen which was the only thing faults. Turns out looks like it's not possible to just replace the touch screen. Not sure why they even sell it?
+EEVblog I believe it is possible, but it requires infrared heating setups to debond the old digitizor from the LCD, and UV-cure epoxies to bond the new one.
+EEVblog I had the same problem when replacing on many other phones. In most cases it isn't possible at all, the only reason I can think of is if you bought them both separately yourself and installed them together, you could potentially save yourself the hassle in the future if they broke again. Oh, and to rip off unsuspecting customers.
+EEVblog Some shops that do this professionally can debond the digitizer with a special heated plate and a monofilament wire. Don't think they were intended to be replaced separately and I doubt it's an authorised Sony repair procedure, but someone found a way anyway. Means they can charge less.
hehe, last time I broke a digitiser was on an old Compaq ipaq PDA, first day I got the thing (used, off ebay), I dropped it, cracked the bloody thing right away had to wait a couple of weeks to get a replacement from the US of A... :P
What's the thermal limits on LCD screens? I've seen a few horrible phone repair fails where people have burnt the display trying to heat the glue up. It's almost like they don't want us repairing the stuff (or that as consumers we want thin phones that are "built to a price").
+James Grimwood Hardly built to a price, these are like 700$ machines. The way they are constructed is simply because it's the only sane way to do it. Hardly Sony's fault that people drop their phones which are literally made of glass!
Elvis Duron All electronics is dirt cheap. The total cost of the components inside is probably not even 50$, and the materials (plastics, glass, metals) is probably less than that. This low material cost is not because they choose cheap materials, it's because they literally don't cost any more. And they buy enormous bulk amounts and pay a fraction of the price as a result. You pay for research & development, tooling costs, handing, deployment, licence fees, software development, and on top of that, they actually have to make a profit too (else you'd never have these devices to start with). This is how most products in the world works. The material cost is very small!
