iPod Touch 3rd Generation Front Panel Replacement

Geschrieben von: Andrew Bookholt
  • Kommentare: 10
iPod Touch 3rd Generation Front Panel Replacement

Schwierigkeitsgrad

Moderate

Schritte

8

Zeitaufwand

15 - 30 Minuten

Einleitung

Remove the glass front panel to access your Touch's internals.

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    • The glass front panel on the third generation Touch has a plastic frame glued both to its outer edge and also under the wide black strips at the top and bottom of the device.

    • The picture at left (front panel already removed) shows the locations of the metal clips (shown in red) that snap on to the plastic frame. In the next few steps, try to pry the front panel up from the gaps between these clips.

    • Also, be mindful of the very thin and delicate touch screen ribbon cable (connector location shown in green) attaching the front panel to the upper left corner of the Touch.

    Do be gentle when snapping your replacement front panel back on your iPod. There is potential for the Home button to be “squished” up against the internals and thus unable to be pressed in. If this happens, you must pry the panel up enough to let the Home button clear all the parts behind it and leave room to work.

    Matt Rausch -

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    • Gently insert an iPod opening tool between the glass front panel and its plastic surround near the volume adjust buttons.

    • Rotate the tool away from the Touch to pry up on the glass panel.

    • The key is to work slowly and gently to avoid breaking internal components.

    This is a poor place to start. You risk damaging the volume control. It makes more sense to start at the bottom, at the Home button, where there is plenty of room and nothing to damage.

    Esmond Pitt -

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    • Insert the iPod opening tool between the front panel and its plastic surround and pry up at several points along the left edge of the Touch.

    • Do not insert the tool and run it down the edge of the front panel, as it will damage the front panel itself and the rubber strip along the plastic surround. It is best to work at one point, pry up, then remove the tool and reinsert it at the next spot to be pryed up.

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    • Continue prying up the left edge until the top and bottom edges start to lift out of the Touch.

    • Once the top and bottom edges have lifted slightly out of the Touch, use the opening tool to assure the plastic surround is detached from the clips along the inside of the Touch.

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    • Continue the prying procedure, now focusing on detaching the plastic surround from the internal metal clips.

    • Pry along the top edge of the Touch to further separate the front panel from the rest of the device.

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    • Pry up the front panel along the right edge using the method described in previous steps.

    • Eventually work around the entire perimeter of the front panel until it is lifted slightly from the rear panel.

    • Also, ensure that the plastic surround is separated from the clips in the rear panel.

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    • Lift the front panel out of the rear case minding the cable still attaching it near the upper left corner of the Touch.

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    • Use the flat end of a spudger (or an opening tool) to very carefully pry the touch screen cable connector up off the upper logic board.

    • The touch screen ribbon cable is extremely fragile! Be very gentle in disconnecting this cable to prevent tearing the ribbon cable.

    • Now that the front panel is out, check it for damage. If the plastic surround is not flush with the front face of the glass panel, gently peel it off and stick it down.

    • Be careful not to scratch the front panel on the underside of the black portions, as the scratches will be visible once the device is reassembled.

    • Be sure to clean both the face of the display and the inner surface of the front panel, as any dust or fingerprints will be trapped inside the Touch once it is fully reassembled.

    I had a real challenge getting the ribbon cable connected; after 20 minutes of trying while carefully balancing the front panel and trying not to rip the ribbon, I grabbed the old screen, ripped off the connector and practiced getting it on.

    I had another challenge of the connector staying on...I had noticed a little piece of rubber had come off when I took the old screen off. That piece of rubber was EXACTLY the same size as the connector; I'd guess it is meant to hold the connector in place when the panel is put back on...So, I put it on top of the connector and closed it up..

    Perfect!

    Cheers, Rob

    rledwa2 -

    This was where I messed up, the adhesive on the digitizer was weak and when I tried to remove the original the bracket stayed in place, I figured that as I was installing the replacement and as I tried to put it into place and it wouldn't go I apparently jerked and broke the ribbon cable on the replacement there went my money now I have a faceless unusable iPod until I can order another, I did replace the LCD with little trouble though, not a completely failed repair.

    kcbennett -

Abschluss

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

Tinte & Feder

Andrew Bookholt

578335 Reputation

6 Kommentare

When prying up - make sure that you lift the black plastic frame. I got trouble because on side I managed to lift the glass of the plastic frame on one side, and lifted the plastic frame out of the clips on the other sides, making it very hard to get the panel out. When I at last succeeded it was because the plastic frame broke in the lower right corner – when I had lifted the panel off the right side of the plastic frame was still attached (it needed to break at the top too before I could lift of the panel completely).

Michael Villebeck -

will i because to put the panel back on easily?

Celeste Morley -

Patience and a can of compressed air are mandatory. The inside of my iPod Touch was pretty dusty after two years in my pocket. Before putting on the new digitizer, everything needs to be clean.

Also, I used my spudger to pry half the broken frame out of the left gutter (see Michael above). Doing that without damaging the screen was the hardest part.

reichman -

I'm getting ready to do this and have the old screen partially off to let things dry out. I am, however, unclear on what to pry on to release the ribbon. From past experience with other iPod products, I'm thinking it is a small clamp that needs to be pried up. Is that the case and, if so, is it located where the picture indicates? I think the clamp is under the small grey plastic cover.

adamorth -

I watched the iFixit video & read the steps. I found out that when removing screen...be very careful not to stick pry tool in to deep to lift out frame, it can crack the LCD, which is what I did.

Chuck -

Be careful not to put the replacement panel back on too tightly! Gently snap it into place when you’re ready to finish the job. If you push too hard on the panel, the Home button ends up hitting the internals and will NOT work.

Matt Rausch -