The complete guide to DIY smartphone repair
SAVE MONEY BY REPAIRING A DROPPED OR DROWNED SMARTPHONE YOURSELF — IT’S OFTEN EASIER THAN YOU MIGHT THINK!
ONLY THE LUCKY (or very careful!) few have never dropped and broken a smartphone screen — it’s an easy-to-do but ultimately costly mistake. Just as bad is getting it wet, or other accidental damage. Fortunately, though, a lot of the fixes are relatively easy as a DIY project, and there are loads of online guides and resources to help out.
REPAIR RESOURCES
Our go-to is iFixit.com, which has full-on teardown and repair guides for just about every major phone, as well as other tech. If you can’t find your particular model, try just doing a Google search, such as “Huawei P10 broken screen”. iFixit typically lists the tools and other parts you need as well, and sometimes has links to buy them. YouTube.com also has loads of repair and teardown videos that can walk you through fixing common problems, step by step. We have focused on cracked screens and water damage for this guide, but plenty of other parts of your phone, such as charger ports, cameras and buttons are also easily DIY repairable. Depending on the model, it can also be very easy to replace the built-in battery with a new one if it no longer holds charge.
BUYING TOOLS AND PARTS
Once again a Google search is the best place to start, but often leads to websites that don’t sell to Australia, or where shipping is very expensive. For basic phone repair tools as well as spare parts, eBay.com.au is still one of the best choices. Make sure to enable searching of items worldwide for extra choices. Double-check your specific device model name before buying any parts, as there can be a few variations. eBay sells a range of phone repair specific tool kits, with the required torx bit screwdrivers, spudgers (yes, that is the real name), pry bars and suction cap lifters. Local retailers such as Bunnings ( bunnings.com.au) have very affordable precision screwdriver sets that include a range of sizes and head shapes needed to open a variety of different devices.
PHONE SCREEN REPAIR
Many touchscreens still work when cracked, but jagged edges can easily cut a finger or two.
MAKE SURE TO ENABLE SEARCHING OF ITEMS WORLDWIDE FOR EXTRA CHOICES. DOUBLE CHECK YOUR SPECIFIC DEVICE MODEL NAME BEFORE BUYING ANY PARTS, AS THERE CAN BE A FEW VARIATIONS. EBAY SELLS A RANGE OF PHONE REPAIR SPECIFIC TOOL KITS
While waiting for parts for a repair, try putting a cheap flexible plastic type screen protector over the top. It will vary depending on your specific phone, but we find that a DIY phone screen repair costs about half the price of getting it done elsewhere. Still, for some models, it can be cheaper to get someone else to repair it, so it’s always worth checking.
Gumtree.com.au is a good way to find a repair shop in your local area. Depending on your phone, there can be two different types of screens for sale. Except in rare occasions, the replacement LCD is bonded to the touchscreen, and are not easily replaced separately — so you need both, even if the screen under your broken touch layer still works fine. Importantly, though, some screens come pre-bonded to the front half of the phone chassis. Even though they usually cost a little extra, the screen + frame is well worth buying as it avoids the difficult part of having to heat up and loosen the glue on the old frame, and accurately stick it onto the new screen. Be extra careful if your phone requires the battery to be unstuck, as they can be very easily damaged. Also look for replacement screens that include any double-sided tape needed to stick down cables.
WATER IMMERSION
One of the easiest way to ruin your tech is to get it wet. It’s also one of the easiest to fix yourself, as long as you act fast and take the appropriate steps. A common ‘cure’ for damp electronics is to drop it in rice, which will supposedly absorb all the moisture. Don’t bother, though, as it doesn’t absorb enough water to have any real effect. What really kills wet electronics is corrosion while it’s wet so it’s important to get it dry as fast as possible. The other problem is that water can be trapped inside and be very hard to remove. Safely disconnect external power, switch the device off and, where possible, remove any batteries. Dry it off as much as possible — rotate and turn it in all directions to get any water out, and consider using a vacuum cleaner on larger devices to help suck any water free. If possible, disassemble the device and dry it gently with a hair dryer. Alternatively, place the parts somewhere warm and dry. Small items can sit on top of a modem or under a lamp. If nothing else, place in front of a fan. For tech dropped in salt water, or a coffee or other spill, you need to clean out any residue. The best choice is Isopropyl Alcohol (available from Bunnings) and gentle cleaning with fine toothbrush or paintbrush. After at least 72 hours of drying (longer is better), reassemble and test the device carefully. So what if you can’t disassemble the device? It’s still possible to fully dry it out, but it takes a lot longer. The trick is to warm it up gently, which evaporates the water inside, and causes the moist air to expand — some of which escapes. Allowing the device to cool means the air inside shrinks, pulling fresh, drier air in from outside. Repeating this process over and over can successfully get water out of hard-todisassemble devices such as phones. For example, leave a phone on top of a modem or router for a few hours to warm through, then leave it to cool somewhere dry, and repeat. A hair dryer can help speed up the process, but be very careful not to get it too hot. If the item has been dunked in salt water or an acidic substance such as soft drink, then drying without disassembly and cleaning is much less likely to work.