Advise on attempting first iPhone repair

[timeshifter]

I'm going to try my hand at repairing an iPhone 7.

A client broke his phone. It was on a bed, he tossed his belt on the bed. Apparently the buckle from the belt hit the screen in just the right place. The display is not cracked or shattered. It just won't light up. He was able to use the phone by invoking Siri to make calls, etc. A rep at the Apple Store said that the belt buckle must have hit right where a connector is causing the failure.

He gave me the phone to do with as I please. My plan is to order this kit, which includes the display assembly and misc tools

https://www.ifixit.com/Store/iPhone...d-Digitizer-Full-Assembly--Choice/IF332-049-3

Biggest question: do you think that will fix it?

Concerned that maybe something else is wrong like the connection to the logic board or something.

Anyway, not too concerned if I screw it up. Just want to try this out for the fun of it and get me feet wet. No plans to get into the iPhone repair business, but feel like it's something I need to try once or twice... I've always been intimidated about opening and repairing a phone, kind of like getting on a plane to overcome a fear of flying.

 

[phaZed]

I don't really buy the "connector is causing the issue" part as it would be very unlikely that such a thing as a belt buckle would have enough momentum and force to somehow disconnect an internal connector that is sandwiched between other stuff, with nowhere to go. Unless it was one of these things, lol:

I would be surprised if a new screen didn't fix the problem seeing as the phone is working... If it were a logic board problem I would expect the phone to not work at all, Apple usually can't wait to 'stop operation' and pop up a message for an Apple care visit.

Biggest bit of advise I can give is when you put the new screen on and start to lay it down to the frame... if there is virtually ANY resistance for it to seat, there is something blocking it from seating.. pressing lightly.. to somewhat more than lightly can crack the screen pretty quick when it's obstructed.

 

[Tech Savvy]

I’ve seen connectors come loose. Especially when the phone already has been worked on.

First things first, do a hard reset. (Hold power button and home button), it probably won’t solve the problem, but it’s the easiest and you can rule it out in a minute, so always worth it.

Second,
Tell the customer that after you open it, it will no longer be waterproof, even if you’re experienced and you do all the right things to make sure it’s water tight just CYA.

Order the screen, open it up, unhook the battery, reseat the screen connectors and digitizer, plug the battery back in and loosely put it back together. You don’t need bottom screws or anything just to verify that the connector wasn’t the issue.

Finally, reopen, unhook the battery, replace the screen, rehook the battery, put it all back together, do a hard reset call it a day and collect your moolah

 

[Markverhyden]

They will have to go through some steps to make sure the device is not tied to their account. Otherwise it's a small paper weight.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201351

As far as will that kit fix the phone? Probably. If the screen itself is not cracked then I doubt it actually damaged the logic board as the phone still works.

Best of luck. I've worked on exactly 2 iPhones and came to the conclusion it's not for me. Tablets have not been too bad.

 

[Big Jim]

its nigh on impossible for an iphone connector to come loose.
The screen digitiser and camera connecters all have a metal plate that screws down over the top of them (as does the battery)
most likely you will find the buckle has actually cracked the LCD you just can't see the crack because it is small.

It *may* have shorted a component on the logic board (which is repairable) but unlikely.

Only thing I noticed repairing the 7, is there is an IC chip on the ribbon the back of the screen with a metal heatsink on top of it, I have done 2 7s myself and both times I had this slightly mis-aligned and the screen wouldn't sit flush. I then had to re-adjust it.
The one tech who works for me had no such issues on about 5/6 of them now.


and as Mark said it will need unlinking from his account if you intend to sell it on.

 

[coffee]

First thing you should do is check the fuse for the display. Evidently this is just a display issue as it probably turns on and functions according to what you said.

I think there are up to 2 fuses on the logic board.

 

[timeshifter]

Not sure the phone is any good at all now. It broke for the customer about two weeks ago. As I mentioned he was able to use it, sans display. I presume in the time it sat the battery drained. I've had it hooked up to my Mac to charge for over a day. Can't find any indication of life. I've tried to turn it on and off. Tried inspecting what's connect to USB on my Mac. Originally thought I'd be able to see it in iTunes, but now I think you need to unlock the phone to even have it show up in the USB inspector in System Information (that's what I just did with my iPhone X). No way to unlock the phone if I can't see or use the display.

Is there a way to see if it has a pulse before I begin the organ transplant?

 

[coffee]

Not sure the phone is any good at all now. It broke for the customer about two weeks ago. As I mentioned he was able to use it, sans display. I presume in the time it sat the battery drained. I've had it hooked up to my Mac to charge for over a day. Can't find any indication of life. I've tried to turn it on and off. Tried inspecting what's connect to USB on my Mac. Originally thought I'd be able to see it in iTunes, but now I think you need to unlock the phone to even have it show up in the USB inspector in System Information (that's what I just did with my iPhone X). No way to unlock the phone if I can't see or use the display.

Is there a way to see if it has a pulse before I begin the organ transplant?

Absolutely,

Unhook the battery and then hook the battery up to a linear p/s and take note of the amps its taking. It may be just not charged.

The iphones will quit charging after the battery goes below something like 3.5 volts in them. So, You charge it up manually. Set your p/s to 5v and connect to just the battery. Get it up to about 3.7 volts. Then hook it up to the phone and plug in the charger (hopefully you have a volt/amp usb display) and see if it pulls in about 1 to 2 amps while plugged in.

If it does then things are fine and let it charge up a bit. Then see if the phone starts up.

 

[Adept PC Repair]

You can buy an ammeter which goes in to the charger block and then you plug the charger cable in to that. This will tell you if the phone is pulling any power.

 

[coffee]

This --> https://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-LCD-De...hash=item489d3967fc:m:me3qV6HAboZDev_hPkQLo-w

And this ---> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00G0VRFUG/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1