Replacement of iPad Air Screen and Battery - Watch the Edges!

Mijn probleem

My son dropped his Xbox One controller on his iPad screen. The screen shattered so we needed to replace it. I decided to replace the battery in the iPad since it was three years old already.

Mijn oplossing

Removing the screen went as well as expected. The broken pieces were hard to remove and we had to use tweezers to pick out the individual shards of glass. The battery replacement also went well. We followed the 100+ steps in the iFixit guide and took the entire iPad apart.

When I went to put the new screen in place, I checked the response before I removed the adhesive strips. After I pressed the screen down, it started glitching - icons were jumping around and the keys on the right side of the keyboard would not work. I removed the screen successfully and tried to re-seat the connectors. I laid down the screen again with the same result. The second time I removed the screen, it cracked. I put the iPad aside for the night.

I was eventually able to fix the iPad after purchasing another display from Amazon along with a roll of Kapton tape. The trick was watching YouTube videos - there is a known problem with third-party screens shorting out against the edge of the iPad Air case.

Mijn advies

Buy Kapton tape before starting this procedure. Tape the inside edges of the iPad, especially where the cables for the display touch the case (lower right-hand side of the iPad). Place everything back in the case and test the new display/touchscreen before removing the adhesive pads. Press on the right side of the screen near the cables and make sure there is no shorting before applying the screen adhesive.