Separating the Glass, Digitizer and LCD - Nexus 5X Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi there everyone,
I bought my Nexus 5X with a cracked screen off eBay when I got it. I lived with it until a side drop cracked it further today, and it's now much more noticeable than before. However, it's just the glass that's cracked - from what I can tell, the LCD and digitizer are completely unscathed. So I thought, hey, it'll be tricky, but I bet I could separate the parts and just use a glass replacement like this. The entire assembly is five times more expensive.
Now, obviously I don't want my daily driver to become a piece of plastic on a shelf. I have access to heat guns and spudgers, but no experience with a repair like this. Has anyone done this? Do you have any advice? Are they three separate layers that I'll be able to clean and readhere? Thanks in advance!

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[Q] Shattered glass

So, I shattered the glass on my Galaxy S3 today. It's pretty messed up (see the attached picture), but the touch works, even in the damaged areas. So it seems it's only the glass that needs to be replaced, with something like this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Blue-Fron...K_Replacement_Parts_Tools&hash=item417515ee67
Correct?
Yep, goodluck. Replaced the same on my Galaxy Note 2. all good now.
Yeah.... if i were you and have the funds, I would replace the complete assembly ($100-$150 on ebay) and be happy.
I shattered the screen on mine and replaced the digitizer alone and now the screen has freezing/unresponsive issues. I should of known better and replaced the complete assembly, I got what i payed for, literally less than that actually. Now i have a semi-new gs3 collecting dust until i save up for a complete lcd.
1slow4G said:
Yeah.... if i were you and have the funds, I would replace the complete assembly ($100-$150 on ebay) and be happy.
I shattered the screen on mine and replaced the digitizer alone and now the screen has freezing/unresponsive issues. I should of known better and replaced the complete assembly, I got what i payed for, literally less than that actually. Now i have a semi-new gs3 collecting dust until i save up for a complete lcd.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The screen seems to work fine, touch/responsiveness is working fine in the areas. I have no intention of spending the £100-120 on a complete new screen (again...). I'd rather save that for a Nexus 5.
I'll post again when I receive the part and it's been replaced.
MadsBen said:
The screen seems to work fine, touch/responsiveness is working fine in the areas. I have no intention of spending the £100-120 on a complete new screen (again...). I'd rather save that for a Nexus 5.
I'll post again when I receive the part and it's been replaced.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine was working fine with cracked digitizer as well. The problems started with new digitizer. Seems that when typing hard enough the digitizer touches LCD and causes to freeze up. Anyways, Good luck.
Sent from my neXus⁴ using Tapatalk 2
Actually the glass on an s3 is just that, glass. The digitizer is fused together with the LCD. However glass is glued to the LCD which can make it very difficult to replace. If you've never taken on the repair of a screen before then I would say you'll be more likely to break the LCD than not in your replacement of the glass. But again it is possible if you are very slow and very careful. As someone else mentioned though it's much easier to replace the whole assembly.
It didn't went well. I wasn't too carefull. In the bottom, the glass was too shattered, so when I tried to lift it, a piece with glue got stock and lifted the digitizer. So now that don't work. I'm not gonna spend £100-120 on a new digitizer, I'm gonna settle for my good old Nokia 6300i (and Nexus 7...) and wait for the Nexus 5.
I would wait for the n5.. gs3 is a dying trend already.
Its hard like everyone said , if your really gunna do it watch videos online and be prepared. If you know anyone that has done it successfully ask for help or tips
ouch didnt see u tried it already
the same happened to me on my wife's white sgs3 trying to be the savior of the day turned out to be an expensive digitizer replacement of $200 instead of the $8 glass replacement. I rushed the glass removal and cracked the lcd screen. I could have ordered one on ebay for $100 but wife needs the phone the next day so i decided to get it repaired locally.
Just replace the glass. A lot of care for changing it, but it is not so hard to do. I did it 2 weeks ago, and all is all right.
My 2 cents
bidibull14 said:
Just replace the glass. A lot of care for changing it, but it is not so hard to do. I did it 2 weeks ago, and all is all right.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wanted to warn that changing the glass is not for everyone. It takes patience and zen. If you rush it, you will likely break LCD and spend even more $$$ that you would have otherwise. Also following notes:
1. Watch at least a couple of youtube videos before starting.
2. Heavy duty heat blower works much better than a hair dryer. Of course, don't go crazy, as it's possible to melt the phone with it
3. S III has a wire at the bottom (the one which goes to the buttons). If you damage it, you will need to replace whole LCD, there is [almost] no chance you will be able to fix this wire. So, always start removing glass starting with the top of the phone
4. Heavily cracked glass is hard to remove, as it crumbles. To make it easier, a) put a scotch tape on top of glass, so that the small pieces stick to it, and b) use a lot of heat
5. Everybody advises to use plastic tools, personally I used swiss army knife with high level of success, and never had a problem scratching LCD. Your mileage may vary, but using metal blade certainly makes life much easier, especially in heavily cracked glass situation.
6. If you do use blade, it often is enough to get blade just a little bit under a glass, and then simply apply heat. Big chunks will unglue all by themselves.
7. Remember, that failure is always an option. Don't use it on the phone, if you know that you desperately need it working right this day, if you don't have a plan B.
1slow4G said:
Mine was working fine with cracked digitizer as well. The problems started with new digitizer. Seems that when typing hard enough the digitizer touches LCD and causes to freeze up. Anyways, Good luck.
Sent from my neXus⁴ using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same freezing issue on mine... apparently the hardness of Gorilla2 is much greater than the knockoff glass replacements. The replacement glass on ebay and kijiji may not be authentic and that is why it bends slightly when pressed harder (in fact mine cracked completely when I applied too much pressure)
i replaced my glass too (about month ago), and discovered that , the "freezing issue" come's when you press too hard.. that the glass touches lcd.
after quick google-ing , i've found that they suggest to apply uv glue (octa glue) , to fix that.
have somebody tried that ? is it worth that much effort to mess with liquid glue ?
hani93 said:
i replaced my glass too (about month ago), and discovered that , the "freezing issue" come's when you press too hard.. that the glass touches lcd.
after quick google-ing , i've found that they suggest to apply uv glue (octa glue) , to fix that.
have somebody tried that ? is it worth that much effort to mess with liquid glue ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've heard about that glue too. I'm considering switching mine, because when I repaired I reused the glue of the original glass, and know I had dust between the glass and the lcd -.-
My concern is about the uv light, don't know if we could put in the sun to substitute it.
I was researching how to replace the glass on an iPhone not too long ago and watched a video where the guy used the UV bonding agent. Long story short he said you can use sunlight to cure it but it takes substantially longer than using a UV lamp. I don't know exact time for sunlight but apparently it would work.
Also it appeared to be a long delicate process of removing the current glue from the digitizer and LCD without damaging it. But I'm sure anyone who has already replaced the glass knows how tedious the process is.
m1batt1 said:
I was researching how to replace the glass on an iPhone not too long ago and watched a video where the guy used the UV bonding agent. Long story short he said you can use sunlight to cure it but it takes substantially longer than using a UV lamp. I don't know exact time for sunlight but apparently it would work.
Also it appeared to be a long delicate process of removing the current glue from the digitizer and LCD without damaging it. But I'm sure anyone who has already replaced the glass knows how tedious the process is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it's not that hard to remove factory gle there..
for example, i removed mine, by rolling the glue with fingers.
just make sure, that you don't apply too much pressure to lcd.
and after that, clean up lcd form dust/fingerprints, and you are good to go.
and for removing glass, i used usual/ stronger kitchen knife (attached picture).
i replaced my glass 3 months ago.
i use normal hair dryer to remove glass and glass comes out almost as whole except for small broken pieces.
i think my scratch guard help in that.
i didnt use any additional glue or uv light.
nonresponsive screen is issue but only when you press too hard and press of power button resolve this issue.
but whole process of replacing galss took 2hrs

LCD or Digitizer?

Hello everyone, So I recently bought a Nexus 7(2013) about two months ago, It's a great device and for $229 I can't go wrong with it.
But recently I was using it for reading a book in bed and it dropped from the side of my bed (about a 2 feet drop) I picked it up and to my surprise there was a hairline crack at the lower right edge of the screen and most parts of the screen are not responding to touch but there aren't any flaws with the display . I went to ebay and checked replacements, I saw two different things an LCD screen(about $40) and a digitizer(about $20), There are also LCD+Digitizers for about $60. What I want to know is should I replace the digitizer or the LCD or both? also are they easy enough to do by myself or should I leave it to an expert? Thanks in advance
Seems like it's just the digitizer. A broken LCD wouldn't display properly.
nhizzat said:
Seems like it's just the digitizer. A broken LCD wouldn't display properly.
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Click to collapse
So should I order just the digitizer? cause those are a lot cheaper than the combos
I wouldn't do that. The glass is glued down and is almost impossible to remove without breaking the LCD. Lots of work with a heatgun or hairdryer and trying to cram plastic cards in between to get them loose. It is very stressful on the parts. Best to buy the entire unit and put your broken one on ebay. I've broken two similar units this way.

[Q] Screen Shattered

Hey All.
Been using nexus 7 2013 since last 2 years. My nephew dropped it and the screen cracked from the side. The device is working fine. The touch doesn't work at the the area of the cracks on the top right, and a few other places. But works everywhere else on the screen. My question is what has to be replaced, the digitizer or the entire LCD. My personal diagnoses is only the upper glass needs to be replaced. Please advice further!
Digitizer is for $15 and the whole thing is for $50. What has to be replaced and how to find out?
Please see the pictures and help me please
Get the whole thing. Replacing only digitazer is very difficult and compromises the tablet's construction.
no_cannabis said:
Get the whole thing. Replacing only digitazer is very difficult and compromises the tablet's construction.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
agree with you
barriecary said:
agree with you
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Click to collapse
how much cost to replace?
I did it, two times, buy the glass+lcd+digitizer combo, you can find it at ~ $40
It takes 10 minutes to disassemble the tablet and 1h+ to separate the glass from the frame, the glue is very strong and the melting point is so high that you can melt the frame when trying to separate. Even doing this you will have to scrap the glue and zillions of microscopic bit of glass embeded in the glue. It's doable of course, but be patient!
I bought the screen + digitizer from Aliexpress about $20 last month
This was the guide I followed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAlNuGrGDuU
I didn't have heat gun or other thing, I just scratched the whole screen away from frame, took me couple of hours to completely replace the screen, but works nicely. This was the first time ever I've replaced a screen.
Just make sure you have double sided adhesive tape before you start, about ~3mm or so. My replacement screen didn't include that adhesive so I had to buy it separately.
well done..patience is the key, so id be not very good at it..haha..touch wood ive never dropped any of my tablets/mobiles, hopefully the cases i always put on would cushion any blows, i bought a used nexus 7 2013 and although cosmetically its in great shape, the lcd is showing blue blobs, like ink leakage..stuck pixels maybe, but i dont think you can just do the lcd change, the whole front would need buying which is pointless as i only paid £45 in the first place.. but im so impressed with it performance wise, i got a samsung t280 in the latest sale, returned it after 3 days, the chip inside was shockingly rubbish..

[q] please help screen needs replace

Hey All.
Been using nexus 7 2013 since last 2 years. My nephew dropped it and the screen cracked from the side. The device is working fine. The touch doesn't work at the the area of the cracks on the top right, and a few other places. But works everywhere else on the screen. My question is what has to be replaced, the digitizer or the entire LCD. My personal diagnoses is only the upper glass needs to be replaced. Please advice further!
Digitizer is for $15 and the whole thing is for $50. What has to be replaced and how to find out?
Please see the pictures and help me please
Unless you have a way of separating the glass/digitizer from the actual lcd you need the whole assembly. It's all glued together you can't just lift off the glass.
Heeeboo said:
Hey All.
Been using nexus 7 2013 since last 2 years. My nephew dropped it and the screen cracked from the side. The device is working fine. The touch doesn't work at the the area of the cracks on the top right, and a few other places. But works everywhere else on the screen. My question is what has to be replaced, the digitizer or the entire LCD. My personal diagnoses is only the upper glass needs to be replaced. Please advice further!
Digitizer is for $15 and the whole thing is for $50. What has to be replaced and how to find out?
Please see the pictures and help me please
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'd be much better off replacing the whole assembly. Separating the digitizer from the lcd can be done, but the problem is with locating a digitizer that works. I've tried this for about 5 times, and each time I had to return the digitizer to the vendor.
Also, since the bezel (frame) is designed so the digitizer back always touches the lcd surface (they are glued together on the original assembly), you'll have those strange "rainbow" spots on them when the device is turned off.
Not to mention that if you use an adhesive that's too thin, there's a chance the digitizer might be bent, not enough to crack it, but enough to distort touch sensitivity, resulting in some spots being unresponsive. In short, too much of a hassle for a 30-buck saving.

Should I replace touch screen digitizer alone (without LCD)?

I recently shattered the front glass on my Z1C. The display still works, but I get so many random ghost touches that it is unusable. Just wondering if anyone here has replaced the screen digitizer by itself rather than buying the digitizer + LCD screen together. Obviously it would be more difficult, however many posts about replacing both have mentioned the lower quality of the LCD image. Since my LCD still works, it would seem like a better option to use the stock one rather than a cheap knock-off. Not to mention it would be a little bit cheaper (I saw a kit which included glue, UV torch, tools, cleaner, and the digitizer for around $18 US). But on the other hand, with the added complexity comes additional risk that I will screw it up and end up worse off than just living with a duller display.
I’m still on the fence about which way to go here. Quality is subjective, so maybe I’m worrying over nothing and the new LCD would be good enough for me. I’d really appreciate your opinions.
Thanks!
Replace all.
I would suggest you to replace the LCD and digitizer completely. I broke mine in December last year. A small glass crack along the power button side made the top half of the digitizer stopped working. The LCD was fine though. I had to connect a wireless mouse to make a backup, copy some stuffs and use my old phone, while the replacement part came. Bought mine from Witrigs.com for $42 including front housing adhesive and shipping. Repairing was easy. Just heat the front part, lift it carefully. Swap the old part for the new one.
But like you I wanted to separate the glass digitizer from the LCD first. After several attempts removing the glue and the glass, the LCD had burnt spots. Maybe I applied a little too much heat in trying to remove the glass. And the broken glass left some permanent scratch marks on the LCD even after cleaning.
In all, trying to separate the LCD and glass has become very hard since last year. I've been repairing phones and tablets for years, mainly broken LCD or glass or both. From my experience, its better to change the whole part now.
Wish you good luck for the repair. Lets hope your phone lives again!!
same here. its very hard without professional stuff to change the display glass without damaging the touch under it. best way is to buy a new "complete" display module (glass, digitizer, touch) so that u only have to press the felx ribbon to ur phone. then using the glue stripes to fix it (using a hair dryer makes it easier to press it in).
Before the installation test the functionality
Hi there!
Can someone trustfully confirm, that witrigs.com is a good source for parts?

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