I keep the family’s old iPhones for software dev (I’m an Android user). My current iPhone 6 has a shattered screen. I bought a kit off Amazon and went to replace the screen. Unfortunately the two screws at the bottom of the phone seem to be stripped so I can get them out.
Does anybody have a way to get them out without further damaging the phone?
Age old battle… just use a drill or saw and “change” it into a flat head instead.
I have had some success with melting BIC pens into screws on electronics. Might give that a try since its non destructive and only a few cents for a pen.
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Head is stripped or thread is stripped? If the head is stripped you could try that grip liquid that is just grit suspended in liquid.
For example, https://www.amazon.com/Align-Rite-Screwgrab/dp/B0000DD2JZ
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If the head of it is stripped try placing a rubber band over it then use the screwdriver or whatever as normal and the rubber band should get enough grip, hopefully
Also I recall Apple using their own special bolts along the lines of security torx on a lot of their products
yes, its not hard to get those tool either.
Thanks for the suggestions. I was thinking of using a small dot of superblue on the end of the driver to see if it would hold it long enough to pull it out.
Is there a large magnifying glass in the electronics lab? I hate to admit it, but I can’t even really see the screws.
Also: do we have any of the pentalobe screw drivers in the lab?
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They use (used?) Pentalobe fasteners. Like torx but with 5 lobes that are rounded rather than sharp.
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Yeah, there are big magnifiers in the lab. If you can’t find a pentalobe driver, I have one you can use. Can meet you at the space over the weekend.
I plan to work on a few projects on Saturday. I’m doing the Woodlathe class (~3p)
The big white magnifiers on each bench have a wee bit of magnification that might help. The digital microscope probably has way too much magnification to be useful. The stereo microscope set to a low magnification might be just right and I think it might have just enough working distance to fit a screwdriver in there.
Of course if you’re just wanting to closely inspect the condition of the screw head then either microscope should show you everything you want to see and more.
The screws on the bottom of the phone are pentalobe, as others have pointed out. I have a driver, but I probably can’t find time to stop by. Some other things to keep in mind, when you remove the screen use a guitar pick or other thin thing at the bottom by the home button. Slide it down the sides to remove the adhesive and lift the screen up. It folds open bottom-to-top like a flipbook. Just be careful at the top where there are 4 flex cables connecting the screen to the device.
I’d recommend disconnecting the battery first. Its flex cable is under the small horizontal plate in the center-right of the device. The connectors are easy to pop off but the cables themselves are pretty weak so I’d pry from right under the cable. Also, try to keep track of where each screw came from (like, make constellations) because they’re all different lengths, and if there are any protrusions into the screen it can cause errors and eventually crack the LCD again.
You may want to frankenstein-test your new screen before completely replacing it. The only thing the phone needs to start with the screen is the home button. Be careful with it. The button will still work but if you’re not careful (don’t overtighten screws, try not to touch components by the button) you’ll ruin touch-ID. But be glad you don’t have a 7 (where the whole button stops working irreversibly) or an 8 (where the phone is hard-bricked).
After removing the plate over the home button, and disconnecting the flex, you’ll want to apply heat (with a heat gun) to the area, from the front of the old screen to loosen the adhesive. The button will push in from the outside and if you used enough heat (but not so much as to melt everything) it should feel like fall-of-the-bone ribs. Transfer to new screen, plug the flexes back in, reconnect the battery, test screen…
If it works, great! unplug everything again. Remove home button plate because the screen’s rear plate should ideally go below that.
The proximity sensor array is gonna be a little weird. The front camera flex is resting over the speaker which is sitting on the other two sensors. After popping that plate off, go ahead and gently pull the camera out of the little plastic socket, then remove the rectangular speaker (it’s not really held in by anything). Use heat from the front like you did with the home button, fall-off-the-bone is good, but be aware that you might accidentally melt the plastic socket on the old screen and/or the speaker grille, which will stick to the prox array and confuse you later. Just to be sure, look at the two small rectangular bits and see if they have a clear plastic ring stuck to them. The new screen has its own sockets, so you’ll want to remove that. Also, the ear grille sometimes gets stuck to the part of the flex with the little silver components (just above the thin one with the 4 gold contacts if it’s the phone I’m thinking of, if not ignore that) and you may need to carefully peel it off the back.
The rear plate of the screen is screwed in on the sides. There might be a weird sideways one at the top.
Putting the prox array back on the new screen can be a little confusing. The top thin part of the flex should fold in such a way that the two tiny black rectangular sensors are facing the same way, then they get pushed into the two rectangular slots at the top (remove any obvious protective plastic from the new screen first btw, like the red one over the lcd). The rest of the back part of the flex should fit where the little posts in the frame go into the small holes in the flex. The speaker goes on top of the gold contacts and into the little rubber thing, then the camera goes over this and sits in the camera socket (you may need to hold everything down with your finger but it should still sit nicely in place). Lastly, the plate goes back on.
If you have an issue where, when putting the phone back together, the flexes don’t seem to fit anymore, they’re probably sitting in the wrong order. The prox flex is able to fold out of the way of the other ones can be positioned below it, where they should be. If you run into any snags, or have any questions, just lemme know! I fix iPhones all the time at work!
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