Bricked my iPad 3G trying to replace the battery.

Mijn probleem

Dead battery.

Mijn oplossing

1) The battery repair kit doesn't include the clips that you will inevitably break. It absolutely should.

2) The repair guide shows TWO metal tools, the repair kit only includes one. Brilliant.

3) There should be a diagram of how the spring clips hold the display into the back case - a photo of someone jamming a tool into the device doesn't give me an idea of what I'm trying to do. Not having insight into the mechanism leads to broken clips.

4) Everything else went okay, until I tried to replace the connector for the buttons. During removal, two of the pins were ripped off the surface-mount solder joint, and a third one came off while I was attempting to replace it. The iPad is now effectively dead. I'll plug it in to wipe it, then sell it for parts.

Mijn advies

Admittedly, this is one of the more complex and delicate jobs I've ever done. But not including clips in the repair kit is just dumb. Not including a video or diagram of how to release the clips without breaking them is also dumb. I'd dissuade others from doing this repair until the shortcomings above are addressed.