Introduction
Use this guide to replace the case buttons and ribbon cable in your iPad Air.
It's possible to complete this guide without removing the right antenna, right speaker, and logic board (steps 42-96). However, removing these components will give more room to work and reduce the risk of damage to the case button ribbon cable.
Warning: the battery isolation method in this guide is outdated, and may result in irreversible damage to the battery pins of the logic board, effectively destroying it. If you choose to isolate the battery this way, heed all warnings and work extremely carefully. If you choose to complete the guide without isolating the battery, avoid using metal tools except when completely necessary (like when removing screws) to prevent shorting the battery and damaging sensitive circuit components.
What you need
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Fill a pot or pan with enough water to fully submerge an iOpener.
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Heat the water to a boil. Turn off the heat.
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Place an iOpener into the hot water for 2-3 minutes. Make sure the iOpener is fully submerged in the water.
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Use tongs to extract the heated iOpener from the hot water.
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Thoroughly dry the iOpener with a towel.
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Your iOpener is ready for use! If you need to reheat the iOpener, heat the water to a boil, turn off the heat, and place the iOpener in the water for 2-3 minutes.
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If your display glass is cracked, keep further breakage contained and prevent bodily harm during your repair by taping the glass.
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Lay overlapping strips of clear packing tape over the iPad's display until the whole face is covered.
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Do your best to follow the rest of the guide as described. However, once the glass is broken, it will likely continue to crack as you work, and you may need to use a metal prying tool to scoop the glass out.
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Tool used on this step:Clampy - Anti-Clamp$24.95
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Pull the blue handle backwards to unlock the Anti-Clamp's arms.
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Place an object under your iPad so it rests level between the suction cups.
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Position the suction cups near the middle of the left edge—one on the top, and one on the bottom.
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Hold the bottom of the Anti-Clamp steady and firmly press down on the top cup to apply suction.
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Wait one minute to give the adhesive a chance to release and present an opening gap.
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If your screen isn't getting hot enough, you can use a hair dryer to heat along the left edge of the iPad.
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Insert an opening pick under the screen when the Anti-Clamp creates a large enough gap.
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Skip the next two steps.
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Take the first pick you inserted and slide it up toward the top corner of the iPad.
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If you can see the tip of the opening pick through the front glass, don't panic—just pull the pick out just a little bit. Most likely, everything will be fine, but try to avoid this as it may deposit adhesive on the front of the LCD that is difficult to clean off.
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Slide the lower left pick to the lower left corner to cut the adhesive on that corner.
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Leave the pick at the corner. Do not pry any farther, and do not remove the pick from the iPad.
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The following steps will direct you where to pry to avoid damage to these components. Only apply heat and pry where directed.
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Use the flat end of a spudger to pry the LCD out of its recess just enough to grab it with your fingers.
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Flip the iPad LCD like a page in a book, lifting near the camera and turning it over the home button end of the rear case.
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Lay the LCD on its face to allow access to the display cables.
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Tool used on this step:Polyimide Tape$9.99
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Remove the front panel assembly.
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If you experience "ghost" or "phantom" touch input issues with your new display, this can be resolved by adding a layer of very thin insulating tape, such as Kapton (polyimide) tape, to the highlighted areas on the back of the panel. iFixit panels come with the proper insulation, and should not require the addition of any tape.
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Insert a spudger under the antenna cable closest to the edge of the iPad and lift upward to disconnect the antenna cable connector.
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Insert a spudger under the left antenna cable and lift upward to disconnect the antenna cable connector.
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Remove the three 1.4 mm Phillips #000 screws securing the upper component cable bracket.
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There are two remaining pieces of tape securing the left antenna cable to the rear case.
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Peel the tape up from the rear case.
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Insert a plastic opening tool in the rectangular gap in the upper area of the logic board, and pry the logic board up from the rear case.
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While keeping the opening tool underneath the logic board, slide it down the length of the gap to free the upper end of the logic board from the adhesive.
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Slide a plastic opening tool under the rear facing camera and pry upward to free it from the adhesive securing it to the rear case.
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To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
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2 Comments
This guide was absolutely invaluable. I am v. grateful to Sam for posting it. I ran into two problems implementing it.
One, I have an ongoing problem re-attaching the glass to the iPad with the ribbon cables failing to slide smoothly into the case, making the seal of the glass on the right side problematic. Any tips/tricks here would be welcome.
Second, the iPad Air now refuses to charge. Attaching a power cable does nothing. I suspect that I have may have mixed up a couple of screws in reassembly or at least that is what I have understood from reading this thread ipad does not charge after screen replace Steeling my nerve for another go at it.
For the record, it was mixing up two screws in re-assembly that caused the iPad Air to stop charging. I reversed my steps, unscrewed everything and meticulously examined each screw placement. Turns out, I accidentally used a slightly longer screw in one of the three screws holding down the screen ribbon cable connector. Sigh... all good now.
