Absolutely shattered front panel=sad sad sad several months

Mijn probleem

I had set my phone on the rear tray of my hatchback vehicle to replace a blinker light in the back. While I was busy fiddling with the light fixture, the phone slid off and landed on the pavement. Had the phone for a whole year without a case and didn't drop it once. The entire screen shattered completely. Total colossal devastation! Luckily my screen protector held the pieces together and the phone was usable (barely). Upgrade was not possible, new phone purchase wasn't either. So I decided to try iFixit

Mijn oplossing

It was something else. I have to say it was quite difficult. This is coming from someone who does a LOT of arts and crafts and has nimble dextrous fingers. However, totally worth it. The disassembling was not too bad, just had to use caution not to bend/break/lose any important pieces. I found the tools in the iFixit kit very helpful. The assembly took the longest and was the most challenging. I had a lot of issues getting the motherboard to lay flat inside, I was nervous about bending the ribbons at the top, but some bending was absolutely necessary to get it to fit. I got quite frustrated at this step, especially since those screws are so tiny and screwing them in is a miracle. Honestly, I screwed in the motherboard a total of four times, first three times being a fail. Fourth try I finally just gave adjusting the ribbons more aggressively a try and then finally was able to screw down the main board securely. There was a lot of swearing. The rest was much easier. My boyfriend was beside me for the entire 2.5 hrs and guiding me with the step by step on the website. He helped me keep my cool, and as I was patiently assembling he said finally, and now put on the back panel and screw in the last two screws. Wow. The real test was to turn the phone on. It worked! No problems yet that I can detect, all my settings, all my files, all perfect.

Mijn advies

I wish I wore tight nitrile gloves for the whole thing, and had alcohol handy (had to improvise with TP and hand sanitizer for cleaning, but the inside of my phone now smells like coconuts!). Rather than use a tray for the screws, I laid out post-it notes facing with the glue strip up and wrote down the step # on the paper with a Sharpie. There were only a few screws per step and being as tiny as they are, a post it sticky strip had more than enough room for all the parts. Easy to place, easy to pick up, no bouncing or rolling. Have a friend or someone who is easygoing and reassuring with you helping to interpret the guides. Sometimes it is easy to mess up which thing you are supposed to tug on and which should not be tugged on at all. I suggest that in case you get frustrated and feel like something isn't going right, walk away for a few minutes. Get up and stretch, grab a drink of water and try to regain your cool. Just think about the end goal and how worthwhile your perseverance will be.