iPhone 5c "Flip Phone"

Mijn probleem

I am 14, in the 9th grade, and I like to repair computers and video gaming systems. This however, is my first job with a smartphone. A friend of mine dropped her iPhone 5c without a case on it, and it continued to fall down an entire flight of stairs. When she picked it up again, the entire screen assembly was separated from the rest of the phone, attached only by the cords. She was showing it to different people around the classroom when I decided to walk over and ask her about it. She showed me how if she held it by the screen assembly, it looked just like a flip phone the way the rest of the phone hung at about a 80 degree angle or so. She doubted I could fix it, but I told her I could try, and since she had no other choice but to get a new phone, she decided to let me go ahead.

Mijn oplossing

It was a little difficult, being my first smartphone repair; more specifically, an Apple phone repair. In the end, I was able to completely fix the problem with a new screen assembly from eBay, for only $31.85, which included the front glass, digitizer, and screen. I managed to salvage the camera, speaker, home button, and all other brackets from the old assembly. It got frustrating at times, especially when I dropped the tiny screws, which looked to be maybe three millimeters long, if that, onto the carpet below. In the end, it all turned out well!

Mijn advies

I think this went well, but there is one thing I wish I knew before I started. That is how small the screws are. Most of them couldn't even be three millimeters thick. I would strongly recommend performing the work on a flat surface, and trying not to lift the phone up too much, to prevent any dropped screws from bouncing off the table. They are not very magnetic, so you can't really rely to well on a magnetic screwdriver/plate to hold them. Other than that, I think that the iFixit guides were very helpful, and provided just about all the information you would need for a successful repair! Sorry there are no pictures, I didn't expect to write anything like this, so I didn't think to take any. I will try to take some next time!