Mijn probleem
My wife had dropped her iPad Air onto our front steps, actually it slipped out of her hands and only fell about a foot or so, but that was enough to put spiderweb cracks through about a third of the screen. She did have a cover (and integrated shell and keyboard one) but it had broken itself earlier that same day and she was using the iPad without a cover. Oops!
Mijn oplossing
First of all, I never would have attempted it without this guide. Thanks to iFixit!! I did use the all in one iFixit kit with the OEM screen and the tools included.
The initial step of removing the screen glass is much more tedious with the glass already broken. The suction cup doesn't stick in some areas and it doesn't pull up on all of the glass.
Additionally I had to use the iOpener to heat the adhesive several times before it really got soft enough to lift.
Once I got it going, it wasn't too bad and it mostly went as instructed; although the already shattered glass did slow things down.
The final struggle was the LCD screen - I got some adhesive and small pieces of dirt on it. Following some advice I found elsewhere, I used a microfiber cloth drenched in 90% isopropyl alcohol and wiped in overlapping paths in 1 direction to remove the oil, dirt. I had to do this a couple times, plus use another microfiber cloth to "dry" away the liquid alcohol (otherwise some streaks were left behind). I don't know if this is proper technique but it worked for me and there are no discernible streaks left behind.
Mijn advies
If you have a relatively undamaged screen this guide is very accurate. If you screen is already heavily damaged, then you might need to use a different tool along the edges to get the glass lifted off. There is a 4-5mm metal lip along most or all of the front panel, so you can use a wedging action with a thin metal tool to get the glass started. Then switch to a plastic pick as soon as you can.
And do your best to not smudge the LCD screen, it's a pain to clean. You may want to put on a pair of nitrile gloves once you're done lifting the glass and will be exposing and handling the LCD screen.
Once I reconnected all the cables, I turned on the iPad to verify that the LCD and digitizer worked. I didn't want to glue the new screen on and find out one of the cables wasn't connected properly! But this was a hassle - I would suggest getting a helper to tap the digitizer screen (which I was holding vertically) to verify operation. I did shut it back down before completing the re-assembly.
I would suggest the iFixit repair kit include a microfiber cloth and maybe even a small spray bottle with the proper cleaning solution for the LCD screen.
I've had no issues with ghosting or random touches on the screen that some have reported. I wonder if they use the same replacement digitizer; there were some cheap ones on Amazon.com with mixed reviews that had similar problems reported.
Finally, and this is off-topic, get an **armored case** for this fragile tablet. You all know how nice these iPads are but it is ridiculous how easy it is to break the screen.
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