Need help with broken screen replacement.

Sophos · Nov 18, 2012

Hello guys, my iPhone 4 screen and back mask got broken a few days ago, and since my warranty is out, I'm thinking of replacing it myself, since buying a new iPhone isn't currently financialy possible for me.

Here is the picture:

Now, the weird thing is that my touch screen is working perfectly, despite the shattered glass which made me wonder, is it really neccesarry to replace the digitizer or I can just use a new glass (or maybe they are the same part, I don't really know much about this). From my understanding, regular glass is on the outside, digitizer in the middle and LCD inside. I could be completely wrong though.

Another question I have is, when I'm already buying complete new mask, can I buy it in white, or I'll have problems with that, like the flashlight ones Apple mentioned?
I'm probably not allowed to link the website I'm buying the parts from, but if someone wants to, I can PM him with exact parts, so they can help me better.

Thank you all for reading this!

Thomasjtsi · Nov 18, 2012

You'll need to replace the entire front assembly. The LCD, digitizer & glass are all glues together & are a complete pain to take apart. That doesn't go w/o saying that it isn't possible... the chances, however, of damaging the LCD & digitizer are ridiculously high.

Yes you can change over to a full white front and back for your iPhone. Just be sure when ordering that you're purchasing one for your model iPhone. Whether it be GSM or CDMA.

Sophos · Nov 18, 2012

Thomasjtsi said:
You'll need to replace the entire front assembly. The LCD, digitizer & glass are all glues together & are a complete pain to take apart. That doesn't go w/o saying that it isn't possible... the chances, however, of damaging the LCD & digitizer are ridiculously high.

Yes you can change over to a full white front and back for your iPhone. Just be sure when ordering that you're purchasing one for your model iPhone. Whether it be GSM or CDMA.

Thank you for your help, I will replace it with white case then.
Does £21.65 ($33.44) sound like the right price? Maybe you know of some better places to buy the screen from.

Thomasjtsi · Nov 20, 2012

Sophos said:
Thank you for your help, I will replace it with white case then.
Does £21.65 ($33.44) sound like the right price? Maybe you know of some better places to buy the screen from.

From my experience... the cheaper the screen the more prone you'll be to having issues w/ it. I recommend that users purchase OEM replacement parts from a trusted supplier like www.ifixit.com. Yes, the product is going to be more expensive. However, it comes w/ a 6 month guarantee should anything arise.

drchiou · Nov 20, 2012

eBay is a great source for finding repair parts for damaged iPhones. I've gotten many back cover housings, not for repair but for personal, embellished reasons. I've seen many OEM front glass+digitizer for a very reasonable price. But do search queries from users with high ratings. The purchase will give you the tools to make the repair. Youtube has tutorials on how to properly replace the front screen, step-by-step. This, or you gotta have an outside source do the repair. Cheers,