Can the digitizer be separated from the LCD in the iPhone 4?

5/17/2011

So you dropped you iPhone 4 and cracked that attractive yet fragile screen. Welcome to the conundrum that many of us iPhone owners are all too familiar with. Now with a broken iPhone 4 screen you have a few options:

1. Buy the parts and attempt to fix it yourself. ($70 - $140) 
2. Pay a local iPhone repair shop $120.00 to fix it.                                                                  
2. Pay Apple $200 to fix it.

 If you are bold enough to chose the first option you will do some research and eventually run into the following question:

Can the digitizer be separated from the LCD in the iPhone 4 like the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3Gs?

The straight answer is no, the digitizer cannot be separated from the LCD with the iPhone 4 due to Apple fusing them together at the factory. Gone are the days of cheap iPhone screen repair. Apple decided to seal the glass and LCD together to stop the issue they were having with dust getting between the digitizer and the LCD. Yes it makes sense, but it also makes the iPhone 4 repair more expensive because you have to replace the LCD with the digitizer as one part even if you have a fully functional LCD. Which brings me to my issue I have been seeing with sellers on Ebay and Amazon.  There are people on the internet that are selling the iPhone 4 digitizers without the LCD. This is a OUTRIGHT SCAM! With just a quick search in google for iphone 4 digitzer replacement this is what I came up with:

Oh my! It even comes with tools!  .....I smell SCAM!!!

 "Oh well I will just fix it like my cracked iPhone 4 screen just like I fixed my old iPhone 3G."

 NO! THIS IS NOT THE CASE! You will be wasting you time and money!
   Even if you are to buy the LCD and the digitizer separately and put them together the screen looks weird. I have seen these shoddy jobs for myself and it does not look right.

The iPhone 4 Digitizer by itself.

Here is what happens when you attempt to remove the LCD from old broken screen.

The Left is what your iPhone will look like if you buy just the digitizer. Bad idea.

 I am not sure how Ebay is allowing these defective products to even be sold. My only guess is not enough people know that the digitizer/screen cannot be separated from the LCD. Performing a screen replacement on an iPhone 4 is not an easy task as it is. These days I can understand why an iPhone owner would resort to repairing their broken iPhone by themselves to try an save money. As a iPhone repair specialist I run into people that have been scammed by this product more then I would like to see. Tech Life has had to put back together what many iPhone owners have attempted to fix themselves.

I have even had mechanics and electrical engineers call me because they bought the digitizer alone thinking they could replace the screen just like they did on the iPhone 3G or 3Gs. This is not the case! If you are to attempt doing this repair yourself please look for the iPhone 4 front assembly. It should include the screen, digitizer, AND LCD. Most likely it will run you anywhere from $70 to $140 with shipping. There repair takes about an hour and a half if you follow the videos carefully. So far I have yet to find a precise and accurate video on youtube of a iPhone 4 screen repair. Most of them give you a general idea of what to expect but I have not seen any iPhone repair videos that are not missing something. With that said I implore you not to attempt the repair yourself. Have a professional perform the repair. Tech Life have been replacing iPhone 4 screens in Jacksonville Florida since the iPhone 4 first came out.  Tech Life’s website is http://www.TechLifeMobile.net for more information on pricing and services. Good luck with whatever you choose but if you find yourself in over your head give us a ring.

-Live the Tech Life