 You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
A friend has managed to crack the front glass on his girlfriend's iPad. I've checked on the internet for him and there appear to be lots of replacements for sale on ebay and instructions to do this. I have experience of replacing screens on laptops, but a bit nervous about the way the iPad screen is glued in.
Has anybody here replaced the glass/digitizer on an iPad and got any tips? Is it as simple a job as the videos make out, or one which he is better off sending to a specialist? Any recommendations on where to get one from, or tips for picking one on ebay (he's inclined not to go for the cheapest, but can't see any obvious reason why a more expensive one might be better quality)?
I managed to drop my iPad off a hotel balcony recently, unsurprisingly it didn't appreciate the 2 storey drop onto concrete, but apart from a smashed digitiser, some scrapes and a bit of a bend to the chassis, it was OK!
I bought [url= http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/330837756740 ]this[/url] from eBay which was good value, arrived quickly and with the right tools and it wasn't too difficult to fit. The most frustrating part was scraping off all the old glue and tiny fragments of glass, although if his screen isn't too badly smashed, the old screen may come out more easily and in one piece.
One criticism I have of the kit is that the tape doesn't seem to be all that good, although as my chassis is still slightly bent, taping a flat bit of glass to a non-flat bit of metal is going to present a bit of a challenge for whatever adhesive you are using. I am going to buy a proper 3M adhesive kit such as [url= http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3M-Adhesive-Sticker-Strip-Tape-for-The-new-iPad-3rd-Gen-Touch-Screen-Digitizer-/110955112070?pt=UK_Mobiles_Accessories_RL&hash=item19d570a686 ]this[/url], which should sort it out properly.
Just one other thing, this new screen doesn't seem to be quite as scratch resistant as the original item, but at a fraction of the price, this is perhaps to be expected.
Good luck, it's not that hard!
Cheers, Rich
Stood behind a woman in the apple store with the same problem, they charge a princely 250 quid in their to do it as its a "sealed unit" and the whole thing has to be replaced 😯
Someone's telling porkies!!!
One criticism I have of the kit is that the tape doesn't seem to be all that good, although as my chassis is still slightly bent, taping a flat bit of glass to a non-flat bit of metal is going to present a bit of a challenge for whatever adhesive you are using.
Am I missing something here? The instructions I've seen seem to suggest simply heating up the existing adhesive to get the new glass to stick in place rather than using tape. I thought the tape was simply for holding the ribbon cables in place? Though the chassis on [s]ours[/s] my friend's is at least still straight.
Just one other thing, this new screen doesn't seem to be quite as scratch resistant as the original item, but at a fraction of the price, this is perhaps to be expected.
Hence why I'm wondering about variation in quality of the replacements and whether it's worth spending a bit more. I don't believe the price of a genuine replacement glass ought to be much more than that - not before Apple start adding on their profit margin, and it's certainly nowhere near what Apple charge!
Though thanks for the advice - it sounds like I should just do it myself (I do after all fix lots of other stuff).
To be fair, the scratches on mine may be because I keep it in a bluetooth keyboard, and there are probably fragments of the old digitizer glass lurking which have scratched the new screen.
The heat is to soften the adhesive on the double-sided tape which holds the glass on. My tape was totally impregnated with fragments of glass so was in no way reusable. I therefore scraped all the residue off and replaced it all with new stuff. You may have a different outcome.
Cheers, Rich
Ah thanks - am hoping the glass might just about come off in one bit (am planning on sticking some tape to the top before I start to hold it all together). Just need to pick from the dozens of digitizers on offer on ebay then.
...sorry just one last question. Do I need a new home button, or can I reuse the current one? Just that most kits seem to come with one, but I'm looking at one without (the feedback is a bit better). Current home button works fine.
Mine came with a home button, but it just sticks to the back of the digitizer, so you should be able to peel the old one off and re-use it.
Cheers, Rich