LCD digitizer replacement - Get full set with new camera and home button?

[EugW]

Hi.

When a relative moved, we found an old iPhone 5 in one of the drawers. The body is in great condition and the battery seems fine, but the LCD shows a blemish (bottom right of pic) and the digitizer doesn't work. There is no crack however. Power button and home button both work fine. I cannot test the volume buttons because I can't get into the OS, as the digitizer doesn't work.

I'm thinking of replacing the LCD and digitizer, but I'm wondering, is it worth it to get the entire full set with the camera, ear piece, and home button for something like $10 more? Or is it easy enough or better to just get the digitizer and LCD? The only concern I have with the latter is that some of that stuff is stuck on with adhesive according to YouTube videos.

Also, I'm not entirely sure what caused the damage. Can water damage do this?

 

[BugeyeSTI]

I'd do the LCD/digitizer.. You can swap the other parts easily and keep them original..

 

[EugW]

I'd do the LCD/digitizer.. You can swap the other parts easily and keep them original..

I found out from another family member that the phone did indeed get wet. Some water dripped on it. I opened it up just now (which was remarkably easy to my pleasant surprise) and I see that red dot near the bottom right of the battery. That confirms the water damage, correct?

In this context, is it a waste of time to try to replace the screen and digitizer? I'm still tempted to try it, considering AliExpress sells the digitizer and LCD assembly for less than US$15 shipped.

 

[BugeyeSTI]

Can you see any corrosion or other indications that water has damaged anything on the motherboard? I'd say its worth a try to replace the LCD/digitizer especially if everything powers up ok.

 

[EugW]

Can you see any corrosion or other indications that water has damaged anything on the motherboard? I'd say its worth a try to replace the LCD/digitizer especially if everything powers up ok.

Thanks.

I didn't want to remove the logic board, just because I'm lazy I guess.

I'm still tempted to try this, but it's not as if I actually need this phone. It basically would just be for fun. However, it turns out on AliExpress the screens with slightly better reviews are getting close to the pricing of entire more recent working phones on Kijiji.

EDIT:

Here we go. This is what I need, right?

Replacement White LCD Touch Display Screen Digitizer Assembly For iPhone 8 4.7'' | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Replacement White LCD Touch Display Screen Digitizer Assembly For iPhone 8 4.7'' at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.ca

Inexpensive, and free shipping to me. I am assuming all of these listings would include both the LCD and digitizer, because they are fused together. Is that correct? Just checking before I order.

 

[ptfuzi]

You can see that the liquid indicator is red, so I would suggest to remove the board if liquid came that far

 

[EugW]

You can see that the liquid indicator is red, so I would suggest to remove the board if liquid came that far

Well, this happened a couple of years ago, so it should be dry by now. It’s been unused all that time.

 

[BugeyeSTI]

Thanks.

I didn't want to remove the logic board, just because I'm lazy I guess.

I'm still tempted to try this, but it's not as if I actually need this phone. It basically would just be for fun. However, it turns out on AliExpress the screens with slightly better reviews are getting close to the pricing of entire more recent working phones on Kijiji.

EDIT:

Here we go. This is what I need, right?

Replacement White LCD Touch Display Screen Digitizer Assembly For iPhone 8 4.7'' | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Replacement White LCD Touch Display Screen Digitizer Assembly For iPhone 8 4.7'' at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.ca

Inexpensive, and free shipping to me. I am assuming all of these listings would include both the LCD and digitizer, because they are fused together. Is that correct? Just checking before I order.

That looks like exactly what you need. All you'll need to do is swap the home button etc..

 

[EugW]

Thx. Ordered!

 

[BugeyeSTI]

Thx. Ordered!

Let us know how it works out!

 

[EugW]

Can you see any corrosion or other indications that water has damaged anything on the motherboard? I'd say its worth a try to replace the LCD/digitizer especially if everything powers up ok.

Got the screen/digitizer today and went ahead with the repair. I didn't remove the motherboard but did notice right near where the screen was damaged, the screw on the metal backshield and the adjacent shield were rusted. I didn't see anything obvious anywhere else. My original screen underneath the shield was the bare screen back. On the new one there was this red-brown plastic cover. I saw one YouTuber do the repair and he just left that in place, so I did too. Not sure if that's correct or not.

The most nerve wracking part of the repair was peeling off the home button cable and peeling off the camera cable. They are glued on and took some prying and peeling. But luckily I did not rip the cables.

However, the actual hardest part for me was getting these tiny little fiddly pieces in place including a tiny little black rectangular piece around a screw hole and a plastic ring guide for the front camera. The black piece is loose and it took me way too long to install the camera without that black piece moving around. As for the plastic ring, it was glued in before but now it isn't so it is loose. However, it seems fine, and both the front and back cameras are working fine, as is the earpiece and the light sensor.

However, the phone has been worked on before. A couple of the screws were missing inside, but they didn't seem critical.

Anyhow, my relative told me the iCloud password so I was able to turn off Find My iPhone and set it up as a new phone. All buttons and ports work, as does audio. SIM works too. Yay!

Unfortunately, on iOS 10.x it's quite slow. I guess I can't complain though, given it only cost CA$14 (US$11) shipped for the replacement screen, and the screen looks as good as the OEM. I mean I didn't look too closely but on casual inspection it looks good. I've seen other iPhone 5 screens before that looked visibly worse.

Thanks for the help!

EDIT:

Oops. I see that my home button is not straight. Oh well...

 

[BugeyeSTI]

Got the screen/digitizer today and went ahead with the repair. I didn't remove the motherboard but did notice right near where the screen was damaged, the screw on the metal backshield and the adjacent shield were rusted. I didn't see anything obvious anywhere else. My original screen underneath the shield was the bare screen back. On the new one there was this red-brown plastic cover. I saw one YouTuber do the repair and he just left that in place, so I did too. Not sure if that's correct or not.

View attachment 1942172

View attachment 1942171

The most nerve wracking part of the repair was peeling off the home button cable and peeling off the camera cable. They are glued on and took some prying and peeling. But luckily I did not rip the cables.

However, the actual hardest part for me was getting these tiny little fiddly pieces in place including a tiny little black rectangular piece around a screw hole and a plastic ring guide for the front camera. The black piece is loose and it took me way too long to install the camera without that black piece moving around. As for the plastic ring, it was glued in before but now it isn't so it is loose. However, it seems fine, and both the front and back cameras are working fine, as is the earpiece and the light sensor.

View attachment 1942177

However, the phone has been worked on before. A couple of the screws were missing inside, but they didn't seem critical.

Anyhow, my relative told me the iCloud password so I was able to turn off Find My iPhone and set it up as a new phone. All buttons and ports work, as does audio. SIM works too. Yay!

Unfortunately, on iOS 10.x it's quite slow. I guess I can't complain though, given it only cost CA$14 (US$11) shipped for the replacement screen, and the screen looks as good as the OEM. I mean I didn't look too closely but on casual inspection it looks good. I've seen other iPhone 5 screens before that looked visibly worse.

Thanks for the help!

View attachment 1942188

EDIT:

Oops. I see that my home button is not straight. Oh well...

Nice job! I'd use it as an iPod unless you have other plans for it...

 

[EugW]

Nice job! I'd use it as an iPod unless you have other plans for it...

Not sure what I'll do with it yet. Probably not much. I'll just keep it as a backup, and maybe as an iPod for the kids too although they would normally just use their iPads.

Oops. I see that my home button is not straight. Oh well...

I have learned this is a known issue after screen replacement when you remove and transfer the home button.

It turns out the black rubber gasket around the home button has lost its stickiness after I removed it from the other screen, meaning that it no longer holds the button in place.

If I push the button and shift it up (or down), it can get stuck, and I have to push it the other direction to get it unstuck. Fortunately, I generally don't do that in regular usage. However, the button will rotate slightly in either direction with regular usage.

Thread here:

Home spinning iphone button

I have an iPhone 5, the home button is spinning when I press to go back, it turns left and right, I wonder how I can solve this button problem, it works normal so it's spinning.

forums.macrumors.com

I tried sticking the gasket back down, but no joy. Oh well, I'm just not going to worry about it. I'm not going to bother buying a new gasket/adhesive at this point.

 

[BugeyeSTI]

Not sure what I'll do with it yet. Probably not much. I'll just keep it as a backup, and maybe as an iPod for the kids too although they would normally just use their iPads.


I have learned this is a known issue after screen replacement when you remove and transfer the home button.

It turns out the black rubber gasket around the home button has lost its stickiness after I removed it from the other screen, meaning that it no longer holds the button in place.

View attachment 1942221

If I push the button and shift it up (or down), it can get stuck, and I have to push it the other direction to get it unstuck. Fortunately, I generally don't do that in regular usage. However, the button will rotate slightly in either direction with regular usage.

Thread here:

Home spinning iphone button

I have an iPhone 5, the home button is spinning when I press to go back, it turns left and right, I wonder how I can solve this button problem, it works normal so it's spinning.

forums.macrumors.com

I tried sticking the gasket back down, but no joy. Oh well, I'm just not going to worry about it. I'm not going to bother buying a new gasket/adhesive at this point.

It won't hinder the function of the home button it just might turn slightly with use. Not a big deal IMO..

 

[EugW]

However, the phone has been worked on before. A couple of the screws were missing inside, but they didn't seem critical.

---snip---

Unfortunately, on iOS 10.x it's quite slow.

It won't hinder the function of the home button it just might turn slightly with use. Not a big deal IMO..

I just checked and the prices are impressive. All the parts are really really cheap these days for these old phones.

I found out a full set of screws costs about US$1 shipped, and the gasket plus new button costs well under US$2.50 shipped. Not that these pieces are critical, but that's like a single cup of coffee.

Anyhow, I'm happy to report that if I turn off animation and transparency, this phone actually feels reasonably responsive. Makes a big difference, with much of the lag gone. That makes it decent for a backup phone.