Google Pixel 4a 5G Screen Replacement

Written By: Sam Omiotek

Comments: 21

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

Time Required

30 minutes - 2 hours

Introduction

This repair guide was authored by the iFixit staff and hasn’t been endorsed by Google. Learn more about our repair guides here.

Follow this guide to replace the screen on your Google Pixel 4a 5G.

Tools

Parts

Step 1

You will need to pry the screen up to remove it from the phone. Read the following notes carefully before proceeding.
Take note of the two seams on the edge of your phone:
Screen seam: This seam separates the screen from the rest of the phone. This is where you have to pry.
Frame seam: This is where the plastic frame meets the back cover. It is held in place by screws. Do not pry at this seam.
Before you begin, note the following areas on the screen:
Screen flex cable: Do not insert the opening pick deeper than instructed or you risk damaging this cable.
Adhesive perimeter: Prying beyond this narrow perimeter without angling the pick will damage the OLED panel.

Step 2

Apply a heated iOpener to the right edge of the display for one minute to soften the adhesive.
A hair dryer, heat gun, or hot plate may also be used, but be careful not to overheat the phone—the display and internal battery are both susceptible to heat damage.

Step 3

If your display is badly cracked, covering it with a layer of clear packing tape may allow the suction cup to adhere. Alternatively, very strong tape may be used instead of the suction cup. If all else fails, you can superglue the suction cup to the broken screen.
Place a suction cup as close to the right edge of the screen as possible.
Lift the suction cup with a strong steady force.
Insert the tip of an opening pick into the screen seam no more than 1 mm.

Step 4

This step shows how to insert your pick without damaging the OLED panel. Do this before slicing the adhesive.
With the pick 1 mm into the gap, pivot the pick upwards to a steep angle.
At a steep angle, carefully push the pick into the gap about 1/4 inch (6 mm). The pick should slide in below the OLED panel.
Stop if you feel the point of the pick hitting a ridge. The pick may be pressing against the edge of the OLED panel. Angle the pick and try again.

Step 5

Slide the pick along the right edge of the screen to cut the adhesive.
Do not insert the pick more than 1/4 inch (6 mm) or you may damage the screen's flex cable.
Leave the pick in the bottom-right corner to prevent the adhesive from re-sealing.

Step 6

There's a mesh covering the earpiece speaker on the top edge of the screen. If you don’t have a replacement mesh, take care not to damage or lose this component.
The screen adhesive is weak, so you should not need to re-apply heat. If the screen is hard to slice, apply heat to the difficult area for one minute and try again.
Insert another opening pick into the right edge of the phone at an angle where a gap has already formed to prevent damage to the OLED panel.
Slide the opening pick around the top of the phone to cut the adhesive.
Leave the pick inserted along the top edge to prevent the adhesive from resealing.

The replacement screen I purchased from iFixit Oceania in Sept 2022 included a new speaker mesh, already attached to the screen.

Chris -

Step 7

Insert another opening pick into the top edge of your phone at an angle where a gap has already formed to prevent damage to the OLED panel.
Use the pick to slice around the top-left corner where the camera window is.
If the screen is hard to slice, apply heat to the difficult area for one minute and try again.
Leave the pick inserted along the left edge of your phone to prevent the adhesive from re-sealing.

Step 8

Slide the opening pick to cut the adhesive along the left edge of your phone.
If the screen is hard to slice, apply heat to the difficult area for one minute and try again.
Keep in mind that you are now slicing near the screen flex cable and digitizer.

Step 9

Slide the opening pick around the bottom-left corner and across the bottom of the display to cut the rest of the adhesive.
If the screen is hard to slice, apply heat to the difficult area for one minute and try again.
Keep in mind that you are now slicing near the screen flex cable and digitizer.

Step 10

Once you have cut around the perimeter of the phone, carefully lift the right edge of the screen, partially opening the phone like a book.
Do not remove the screen yet.
Use an opening pick to carefully cut through any remaining adhesive.

Step 11

Lift from the top edge and swing the screen over the bottom edge until you can rest it glass-side down.
Be careful not to put any stress on the attached ribbon cable.

Step 12

Use your fingernail or a pair of tweezers to carefully peel off the tape covering the screen connector.
If it is in good condition, you can re-use this tape during reassembly. Otherwise, replace it with a piece of Kapton tape.

The replacement screen I purchased from iFixit Oceania in Sept 2022 included a new piece of tape.

Chris -

Step 13

Insert the tip of a spudger into the opening of the plastic cover securing the screen flex cable.
Pry the plastic cover straight up until it pops out of place.
The plastic cover may spring into the air.
Remove the plastic cover.

Step 14

Use the tip of a spudger to pry up and disconnect the screen flex cable.
To re-attach press connectors like this one, carefully align and press down on one side until it clicks into place, then repeat on the other side. Do not press down on the middle. If the connector is misaligned, the pins can bend, causing permanent damage.

Step 15

Remove the screen.
Compare your replacement screen with the original. You may need to transfer additional components (such as the speaker mesh to the new part).
To install the new screen:
Follow this guide if you are using custom-cut adhesives.
If you are using double-sided tape such as Tesa tape, follow this guide.
During the boot-up process after reassembly, the screen will go through a calibration sequence. Do not touch the screen during this process, as it could result in improper touch calibration and create touch issues.

Conclusion

Compare your new replacement part to the original part—you may need to transfer remaining components or remove adhesive backings from the new part before installing.

To reassemble your device, follow the above steps in reverse order.

Take your e-waste to an R2 or e-Stewards certified recycler.

Repair didn’t go as planned? Try some basic troubleshooting, or ask our Answers community for help.

19 comments

Where is the best place to purchase a replacement screen?

SoYouWantMoore -

I was just wondering the same thing and it seems everywhere is sold out, only place I can find it is on eBay…

Brandon Baggett -

This was an excellent tutorial. One thing I would add here that caught me in reassembly: the proximity sensor is built into the inner lip on the top of the screen about 3mm to the right of the speaker grill (if you shine a bright light in that location, you will see a little blue dot where this is locate through the screen). If you are putting new adhesive on make sure not to block this proximity sensor with the adhesive.

BvZ -

Great tutorial. I just used the new original google pixel parts and this guide worked great! Only thing i wish was that there was a bit more clarity on how to apply the adhesives

Quan Dao -

This guide is let down by next to no steps on applying the adhesive. Expected better, you give everything and then go missing on the last steps!?

Shane Crawford -

No adhesive steps. Too bad!

cbdude -

Very sad to see what appears to be 2/3rds of a guide on how to replace a screen

Seb H Miller -

al in all 8/10 guide- the process was pretty simple and along with a few youtube videos to clarify a few points, I found the repair to be pretty smooth. The only thing I would have liked to see was instyructions on the double sided tape provided with the kit but I understand how varied these might be depending on the vendor. THANK YOU IFIXIT! You've allowed me a few more years with a device that is otherwise perfect and have prevented unecessary waste and purchase of a new device. I will definitely recommend and use your service again

Seb H Miller -

Update: The adhesive strips do not cut it and the screen keeps lifting. Also the multitouch does not work on the screen- still unsure if this is a hardware or software issue. Anyone getting the full kit from ifixit would do well to also get some B-7000 to re-glue the screen as the provided adhesive strips are not enough. I would recommend supplying a small tube of this stuff instead of these custom adhesive strips.

Seb H Miller -

Great guide and really helped me to install the genuine replacement part I bought from iFixit!

My recommendation would be to line the holes on the adhesive strips up with screws and indents on the device.

Also when you're reconnecting the screen flex cable, you need to use some force - don't be too scared like I was for a while :)

Jordan Keightley -

Got my replacement screen and tools today. Getting the screen off was the easy part since it was already broken. Getting it attached was a bit of a struggle but the trick is to connect the ribbon cable then insert the plastic part. Make sure to reboot when you do.

Jesse Earl -

This guide told me the tidbits I needed to know to do this successfully. I purchased the replacement screen and tool kit for this (mostly for the "iOpener" heat tool) and it worked like a champ. I did have one small issue with the pre-cut adhesive that came with the screen: the piece for the top of the screen was "mirrored" so I had to do a bit of fiddling to cut it into a couple smaller pieces and apply it that way to avoid blocking the proximity sensor. But if you're doing a repair like this odds are this isn't going to be a big deal for you if yours comes this way too.

Brian Trump -

This guide was written for removing an intact screen. If your screen is shattered there are extra steps to take. A piece of packing tape on the screen will help the suction cup work over cracks as well as help to contain the many tiny glass fragments. If it's the right side that has the most cracks then start on the left side. If your screen was badly shattered you will have to spend some time removing all the tiny pieces that remain around the edge of the phone. Avoid getting the shards into the body of the phone. I temporarily covered the larger openings with small pieces of packing tape. The packing tape is also useful for collecting all the tiny shards from the surface of your work area.

Chris -

Even if your screen is in one piece, you'll still need to remove the glue remnants from the rim of the phone so that the new screen has a perfectly flat surface to be installed onto. A bit of isopropyl alcohol will aid in loosening the glue and preparing a clean surface for the new adhesive. A piece of tape over the rear cameras housing will help protect it from being scratched by any glass fragments on your work surface as you move the phone around cleaning up the old glue.

If your screen shattered from a drop, there will inevitably be some damage to the plastic frame. Ensure that any deformation is addressed, perhaps with a razor blade, so the new screen can sit flat.

Chris -

I didn't understand how the pre-cut adhesive strips worked until I used them. It's only the black goo that is the adhesive. Once you peel off the clear side, place the strip and then peel off the coloured side, all that's left is the black goo, hopefully exactly where it needs to be. Mine could be carefully re-aligned with tweezers as necessary before setting the screen into place.

I bought a tube of glue as a previous commenter recommended, so I can repair again if the screen lifts but I have faith in the adhesive supplied on the pre-cut strips, since the surfaces were clean and flat.

Chris -

Used this guide to replace a shattered screen using the iFixit kit. Heating the adhesive thoroughly was important, especially when having to reinsert the picks because the pick wasn't able to slide smoothly across the cracks. As others have said, the instructions about where to apply the adhesives wasn't super clear, but the success of the assembly doesn't seem to have been too dependent on precise placement as long as they were in the rails.

Brian Erly -

how important is the plastic cover in step 13?

yeah it went flying, she gone

sell replacements?

lukey -

After placing the screen back on the phone if you notice it is not aligned perfectly just heat up the glue with the iOpener and move the screen into place, this worked for me.

Harry -

I agree with the adhesives comments! However, it seems like the two long strips are interchangeable.

My new screen actually came with the top adhesive already in place. The blue protective plastic peeled away with the bubble wrap when I opened it. Apart from the strip coming off sooner than I wanted, it was actually very helpful to have the adhesive in place already. Especially since the bottom adhesive strip had rubbed against the package for the alcohol swab during shipping and was stuck firmly to the paper packaging. I was able to salvage some of it and then apply the extra strip from the top onto the bottom.

The ribbon cable was really tricky to re-attach. That took longer than any other step.

Prying the old screen off was made easier by inserting the pick underneath where the glass had already broken. If you are replacing the screen (and not just opening the phone for other repairs) there's not much point in worrying about damaging the edge of the OLED since you are replacing that too!

Lead Sheep -