Bulging battery needed to be replaced

Mijn probleem

Bulging battery: I noticed that the screen of the iphone 5 was bulging up and light was leaking from both long sides of the screen. Immediately figured it was the battery that was bulging. Promptly unplugged the phone from the power, turned the power off. Thought about taking it to either the Apple store or repair centers to fix it. Then, I remeber that iFixit sells kits for these kind of problems. Shoped around for prices, Apple Store was charging $79 for the repair, other repair centers were charging between $60 and $69, iFixit kit was only $19, so I decided to give it a try.

Mijn oplossing

Repair went smoothly. It took about 40 mins to complete it. However, since this was the first time I opened an iPhone, I was very cautious and took my time at each step.

Mijn advies

iFixit's video was good but did not give enough details. Found another video on youtube, I am glad I did, which showed me step by step how to disassemble the phone, test the new battery, change the battery and put the phone back together. Found the following tips useful:

1) When prying open the screen, one have to be sure to include the plastic gasket around the screen as well. There is a notch (~0.5 cm) on this plastic gasket located at the bottom left of the screen, where the headphone's plug sit. You can use that notch to start prying open the screen.

3) Make sure to write down where each screw goes, since most of them are different sizes.

2) Before disconnecting the screen or anything else, disconnect the phone battery first and connect the new battery and turn on the iPhone. This is to ensure the replacement works as advertized. (You do not want to find out that you got a bad replacement after you have put your phone back together). If it works, turn the iPhone back off, remove the screen, remove the old battery and install the replacement.

3) Use a hair dryier on low heat, to heat up the back of the iphone directly where the battery sits to loosen the adhesive and remove the old battery.

4) To make sure the battery cable sits straight, first connect the new battery, then put it in place.

On the apple battery connector there is a small sponge-like sticker, this is to ensure a solid connection. The replacement battery kit did not come with it. I removed the sticker from the old battery using a hair dryer.

The replacement battery kit did not come with a battery adhesive either, so make sure you do not mess up the one that is already in the phone.

The suction cup included in the kit did not work at all. Luckily my screen was already bulging out so I did not need it.