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Announced on October 13th, 2020, the iPhone 12 mini is a smaller version of Apple's iPhone 12. It features a 5.4-inch OLED display, an A14 Bionic processor, and dual rear cameras.

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Somewhat messed up trying to change the battery — is this fixable?

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So, I followed the iFixit tutorial along with a few YouTube videos and the manual included in the replacement kit I bought (from Amazon). Even though this was my first attempt, without feeling too confident, I thought I might be able to pull this off, and get myself a "brand" new iPhone 12 mini for the cost a few dozen bucks.

Separating the screen from the device was pretty much a nightmare, and I knew from the comments I needed to be patient with it, so I took my time; heated up the edges, tried to apply succion, etc. Eventually I pulled it off.

But it was only an hour or so later that I realized something was odd. The inside of my iPhone 12 mini wasn't looking exactly like the pictures I saw online, so I tried figuring out the puzzle.

Turns out, somehow I managed to separate (I think?) the display from the display frame, which stayed on the rest of the device. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. Don't really know how it happened — FYI, this is a refurbished iPhone 12 mini, so likely been opened up before, which may have added to the difficulty.

I've already changed the battery and tried to power up my iPhone, but alas, it's a black screen so far with occasional vertical stripes of green lights, as if there was falsy contact (I don't think the screen is broken though, but again, I may be wrong). When I try to turn on the iPhone, taptic engine seems to be responsive and my Apple Watch recognizes the phone as being on, despite the unresponsive screen.

I've included photos of how it's currently looking so you get a better understanding of my situation.

Would greatly appreciate any help. Thank you!

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Hi Nathan,

Yup, I'm afraid you are exactly correct as to what's happened; instead of separating the screen's frame from the phone frame, you've instead gotten between the screen itself and the frame that's supposed to be mounted on it.

I've run into this exact scenario on an iPhone X when I've been using some very cheap screens from AliExpress. The glue holding the display frame on isn't very strong, and definitely not as strong as that holding the screen onto the phone. So when you heat up the display, it's the cheap frame glue that gives way first, rather than the adhesive on the phone itself.

In the cases where that's happened to me, the screen itself either didn't survive or had obvious issues afterward. In your case, it's fairly safe to say you're now in the market for a replacement screen, sorry to say.

Here you can see a picture of the rear side of the display with the display frame intact. Compare that with the picture of yours, which is now missing the display frame - and can be seen still mounted on the phone itself.

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Next steps for you:

  1. Order a replacement screen (sorry)
  2. Follow the screen replacement guide again, this time making sure to get between the display frame and the phone. You may be able to pry up from the inside to get it started since you obviously can't use a suction cup now. Go around the phone and separate the display frame; once that's done you can flip it back over onto the display and continue the screen replacement guide.

iPhone 12 mini Screen Replacement - iFixit Repair Guide

Update:

A couple more notes to add.

With two young grandchildren, both of whom have iPhone X phones, I have had to replace a LOT of screens; I have quite literally lost count of how many screens I've put on those phones. Fortunately, the iPhone X screens have dropped to rock bottom prices; I can buy OLED screens for about $15 now, where I thought I was getting a deal when I found them for $80 when I first started replacing them. The screens for your phone aren't going to be as cheap, but I did find some that weren't too bad in price. Here are some examples.

Amazon.com: TBUSKEJIE for iPhone 12 Mini OLED Screen Replacement Kit Full LCD Display 3D Touch Digitizer with Repair Tool for Model A2176, A2398, A2399, A2400 Black 5.4 Inch : Cell Phones & Accessories

AAA+++ OLED X Display For iPhone XR XS Max LCD Replacement For iPhone 11 12 Pro Max Display 13 14 Plus LCD 12 Mini 13 Mini 15

AAA OLED For iPhone X XR XS MAX Display 3D Touch Screen Digitizer For 11 Pro 12 Mini 13 Pro Max 14 Plus 15 LCD Replacement Parts - AliExpress 509

The Amazon screen is about $60 USD, while the AliExpress ones are $38 each. All three are OLED displays rather than the cheaper LCD replacements, although you can indeed spend less money if you want to go with the lower resolution, cheaper LCD parts. Be aware that your battery life will go down a bit since the LCDs have to add a backlight which takes more power to run.

Anyway, you'll note that the Amazon one says "LCD" in the title; despite that it is indeed an OLED screen; many vendors still use the term "LCD" to refer to a screen whether it's actually an OLED or not, so look carefully at any listing you come across to verify which it is. If the listing contains the word "Incell" then it is guaranteed to be an LCD not an OLED, since that's all they make.

To get the display frame off, you'll basically want to follow the screen replacement guide again, only this time make sure you're between the display frame and the phone itself. Since you won't be able to use a suction cup on the frame, you'll probably need to pry it up from the inside far enough to get a guitar pick in between; from there you can go around the phone slicing the adhesive.

Oh, just to be sure, you did remove the Pentalobe screws first, right? That's were a few of these problems have originated; from people trying to remove the screen without taking out the retaining screws, resulting in exactly this scenario. So if they're still there, be sure and take them out now before proceeding.

Good luck, and let us know how it all turns out!

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Thank you for your thorough answer — much appreciated. Any ways I could further troubleshoot what is wrong with the screen? Pretty much everything seems to work except for the screen lighting up. I tested the audio speakers and other components too, they all work... quite frustrating indeed!

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@nathan52967 If you haven't unplugged the display, then you've basically done everything possible to assure yourself that the phone is indeed working outside of the screen.

If you have disconnected the screen, then you can try checking the connectors on both sides for bent or broken pins, and examine the flex cable for any sharp bends or tears in it, Then clean the connectors with 90% or higher isopropyl alcohol, give it a moment to dry, then reconnect and retest.

Outside of those possibilities, the only other thing to do is to test it with a known good screen, which of course, you don't have.

Note that most sellers will allow you to return the screen as long as it hasn't been installed; in fact they encourage you to plug it in and power up the phone to make sure everything works before you install it. If you still don't have a display even with a brand new screen, then you could return it and you'd know you had other problems.

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Thank you, Jerry. Your insights have been extremely helpful.

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Just saw the update to your first message — thank you for the recommended links, I will check these out! And yes, I did remove the Pentalobe screws ;)

I think I am going to give it one last shot by carefully removing the display frame that is still stuck to the device and inspect every component. I got a notification earlier and the screen somehow lighted up for a fraction of a second. It was in my peripheral vision so I couldn't get a clear look at whether it was displaying things properly or not, but I am positive the entire screen lighted up... so I'll investigate that a bit further.

I'll keep you posted!

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Update:

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Following my discussion with Jerry (see comments on his first post), I went ahead and detached the display frame that was still stuck to the rest of the device. It's not in amazing shape (some of the metal seem to have bent in the process); on the plus side, it was a lot easier to remove from the inside 😅

Unfortunately, it really does seem like something went wrong with the screen. Which is a shame, since none of the connectors seem broken or even scratched in any ways.

Right now I'm debating going with the initial plan I had if I failed the battery replacement (i.e. buy a refurbished iPhone 13 mini, which would be a modest but welcome upgrade from my current device — I can get one for about €400 right now where I live) or make all-in on a new replacement screen. Which is tempting, because I did manage to replace the battery after all, and it's frustrating to stop here. On the other hand, I might break something else trying to replace the screen — or realize too late that something else has broken which I haven't noticed so far.

Though it would probably be a useless operation now, I wonder how hard it would be to fix back the display frame to the display? I obviously don't have any replacement tape for that, so I'd have to get creative. I'd be curious to know (in case the display was still functioning, which it doesn't appear to be the case, but I'd still like to know!)

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Under normal circumstances you'd want to use precut adhesive to give you your best chance at water resistance, but nobody sells precut sheets for the display frame itself. Given that, your best option would be to use glue; something like B-7000 would probably work, but there are several options available.

As far as the screen being damaged, I suspect what happens is the display is connected to the flex cable by delicate connections to the glass or plastic and running the tool around the edge disrupts those connections, whereas when there's a frame the frame protects the display from that disruption.

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This seems like the most sensible explanation as to why the screen broke. I guess this was a good learning experience, at the very least. I found a really nice deal for a refurbished iPhone 13 mini (256 Go and brand new battery) for even less than the price that I was hoping for, so I went ahead and ordered it.

Not sure what to do with my current 12 mini — I do have a small online eBay store, so I might try my luck and sell the parts that are still working there. It would be pretty fun to disassemble the whole phone and get a better understanding of how all the parts connect together along the way, while I may recoup a few bucks on my new investment.

In any case, your help was once again super appreciated Jerry. Thank you so much for taking the time.

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Nathan will be eternally grateful.
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