Introduction
Follow this guide to replace the Taptic Engine in your iPhone 6s Plus. The Taptic Engine is the iPhone's vibrating and haptic feedback motor. If your phone isn't vibrating or produces a rattling sound when it does, replacing the Taptic Engine can remedy your issues.
What you need
Video Overview
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Power off your iPhone before beginning disassembly.
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Remove the two 3.4 mm Pentalobe screws on either side of the Lightning port.
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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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Slide the arms over either the left or right edge of your iPhone.
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Position the suction cups near the bottom edge of the iPhone just above the home button—one on the front, and one on the back.
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Squeeze the cups together to apply suction to the desired area.
I found that the single suction cup from the kit worked very well. It didn’t take that much force to separate the front panel from the phone. I think any suction cup that you are able to get a firm grip on will probably work as well. There isn’t any adhesive holding the front panel in. It just snaps in and out. If you have a cracked screen and no screen protector, it may be hard to get a good suction seal. If that’s the case, someone else here suggested applying clear tape to the front glass to get a good surface for applying the suction cup. In my case, I already had a screen protector that was still intact so the suction cup sealed easily.
WORKED PERFECTLY… easy, no harm at all…. thanks a lot
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Tool used on this step:Clampy - Anti-Clamp$24.95
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If you don't have an Anti-Clamp, follow the next three steps to use a suction handle.
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Apply mild heat to the lower edge of the iPhone using an iOpener or hair dryer for about a minute.
This is important. I’ve serviced a lot of iphones/ipads for my family as a hobby in the past.
The adhesive was so tight, I cracked the screen trying to pull it/pry it off.
I highly suggest heating at least the bottom edge enough to soften the adhesive
I would suggest that you are not shy with the hairdryer. A high heat on the bottom of the phone for at least a minute, if not more, if required.
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Apply a suction cup to the lower left corner of the display assembly.
take out screws first!!
Make sure you use the right screw driver tip for i phone 6s Plus, which is the P-2. If the screw will not come off once is lose, try using a magnet.
My cracked screen prevented the suction cup from sealing. SOLUTION: With a piece of clear packing tape across the screen, the suction cup will seal and pull.
I broke my iphone screen in the first step!
Ok - just got my battery replacement kit and even got the opening kit for added insurance just in case. Settled down to startwork after carefully cleaning my (immaculate) screen - no scratches or anything, with rubbing alcohol, removing screws and warming with a hair dryer, only to find the suction cup provided in the kit is worse than useless! It won’t stick to the screen well at all. When it does - it pops off at the lightest pull :-( Now what do I do to get this started?!
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Pull up on the suction cup with firm, constant pressure to create a slight gap between the front panel and rear case.
I had a shattered front glass panel so I could not get the suction cup to seal properly. I tried a couple of different ways to get good suction but to no avail. I eventually used a Stanley knife to pry up the corner so I could get the spudger into the opening.
A really high quality packing tape over the entire screen will usually be enough to use the suction cup on a shattered screen.
djwooten -
This was by FAR the most difficult part of this whole thing. I confess the spudger was not cutting it so I used a butter knife to get into the small opening first, then used the spudger to go around the screen.
Hey everyone, if you never have done this part before be aware there is an extremely strong adhesive around the lip of the screen and once again is extremely strong. I had to get a friend to insert the pry/pick into the small gap while I used one hand to brace the phone down and the other to pull the suction cup without it digging into my hand. Go slow, it took me 5 tries because I didn’t realize how strong the adhesive was.
I also had a badly cracked lower screen - that glass was actually threatening to pull off the phone in chunks during this step, even with packing tape. Resorted to @j2arch’s tip and inserted a utility knife vertically into the seam between the display and phone body. Was able to lever the glass enough to get the spudger in there.
I have replaced sevrel screens for my sister in law and my niece. The packing tape has worked every time and that’s with it Shattered and pieces already falling out. You have to make sure the packing tape goes to the edge of the screen but doesn’t touch the frame. I have the plier like screen remover and use that it is much easier to remove the screen by your self with that tool. I also have the little finger suction cup that comes with the kit here. I bought the plier suction cup tool When I had to replace the screen that had the pieces of the screen missing and I don’t regret spending the extra money for that it has made a world of difference. I do this as a hobby it’s not a job for me. The electric divide repair kit from Lowe’s is also a very good kit to help. If you’re only going to do it once the kit that comes with the package is a great deal from ifixit. Well worth the money to spend the little extra to get the kit if you all ready don’t have the tools.
If you try to use the spunger near the home button and try to pry it can crack your screen. This happened to me.
Same thing happened to me. This should be a big warning in these steps. If you have a small to moderate crack in you screen, but you weren’t planning on replacing the screen at the same time as another repair inside, there’s a risk of damaging the screen further and making it inoperable.
DW7ACCT -
I found it easiest to use two suction cups. One on the front as directed, and a second one on the back. Give the spudger to your assistant, and have them slip it in place while you pull the display from the case.
I gave up with the suction cup as it wasn't working for me with a cracked screen. Having heated the bottom of the phone with a hair dryer with a high heat for a good minute or so, I used a safety scraper (essentially a razor blade in a holder) along the bottom of the phone to separate the screen from the body of the phone. I used the scraper vertically between the bottom of the screen and the phone body and levered it sufficiently so that I could fit the spudger between the screen and the phone body. My experience when I first used the spudger around the frame was that the cracks in the screen caused the screen glass to separate from the frame, so I had to re-do it and ensure that the screen frame was separated from the phone body.
Safety scraper:
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The safest place to pry from is the notch in the front panel above the headphone jack.
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While still maintaining pressure on the suction cup, insert the flat tip of a spudger into the gap, directly above the headphone jack.
For me this was the most time consuming task. I used a hair dryer for heating. I found a very tight adhesive. For a moment I thought of abandoning my efforts and take the assembly to a professional repairman. But as they say, patience is a virtue.
After fiddling for about 20 minutes, I achieved a barely noticable opening. So I decided to change the strategy. Instead of applying heat all over the base, I preceeded with small steps with heat concentrated near the opening. I applied intense heat only for about 15 to 20 seconds and immediately working with spudger. It took about an hour to completely open the case. It worked.
Thanks for reading.
- Mr Gamma
I also struggled with this step. Lots of heat, 3 different suction cups, I finally could see a small gap... much too thin to fit even a piece of paper into. A video on another site said it was the easy way. I used a sharp craft knife barely into the seam between metal and glass and pried slightly. And it started up. Still a pain freeing the rest of the adhesive. Perhaps the adhesive really sets up over the course of 5 years? I have it hinged open now, so onto the next steps.
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Twist the spudger to widen the gap between the front panel and the rear case.
just changed the screen, but due to the tape along side the screen , it is best to heat a little so the glue losses and you can get the screen off better, like indicated
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Pull up on the small nub on the suction cup to remove it from the display.
Remember to apply the screen gasket on the re-assemble. The gasket is provided in the kit but not mentioned here on the instructions.
There’s a link to the entire gasket replacement procedure in Step 21.
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Gently grasp the display assembly and lift it up to open the phone, using the clips at the top of the front panel as a hinge.
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Open the display to about a 90º angle, and lean it against something to keep it propped up while you're working on the phone.
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Add a rubber band to keep the display securely in place while you work. This prevents undue strain on the display cables.
if the display cables are damaged how can you tell ?
In theory, I like the idea of propping up the screen with a rubber band and box/soda can like this, but after ripping the FaceTime camera cable twice, I realize that this method puts too much stress on the cable because it places the screen so far back. Even in this photo, you can see that the cable is taut. I’d recommend just holding the screen with your free hand to put the least amount of stress on that cable as possible.
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Tool used on this step:Magnetic Project Mat$19.95
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Remove two Phillips screws securing the battery connector bracket to the logic board, of the following lengths:
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One 2.9 mm screw
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One 2.3 mm screw
FYI - I used some blue painters tape wrapped around a piece of cardboard to hold the screws and brackets in place, in order, so they did not get lost. Some of those screws are MICROSCOPIC so be careful!
I also suggest having very good lighting, even a camping headlight for hands-free well lit work space. You will thank me later :-)
Use the bit labeled “PH000”.
PH000 bit just wants to free-spin in the 2.3 mm screw. no bite in the head at all. had no difficulty removing the 2.9 mm screw with the same Phillips. had to abandon battery replacement effort.
For this part, neither PH000 or Y000 worked. Technically, it’ll set you back 31$ because you will need the PH00 screwdriver for this part, and the part where you need to open the screen. They have ph00 screwdrivers in every hardware store and even ifixit.com. just know that they put the wrong screwheads for you
Do not lose track of which hole these screws go into. They MUST be put back into the correct hole that they came out of. If not, you will get the dreaded “long screw damage” on the mainboard, and that will be the end of the show.
Just remember where these screws go, and it will be fine.
Ended up employing a Philips #0 from a regular jeweler/precision kit on the 2.3mm screw. Bits seem a bit off for this step.
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Remove the battery connector bracket.
Does it matter if the brackets arent put back in the phone? I bought a used phone and brackets are missing. Thanks!
Auch die Abdeckung ist angeklebt. Also mit etwas Vorsicht und Geduld rangehen.
If you have forgotten your High School German -
The cover is also glued. So take some care and patience.
My bracket actually has a black wire connected on the underside that is attached to the metal bracket (with screw) below it in the picture. I decided to leave it on and just move it to the side.
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Bend the connector back to ensure it doesn't make contact and power the iPhone on while you're working on it.
When putting the new battery in, make sure to line up the plug and not to the top of the battery… our battery was smaller so the plug would NOT have lined up if we used the top of the battery. ALSO, the plug was NOT 90 degrees so we had to finagle the plug. Also, make sure there is a clear CLICK when you plug in the connector or it may not work. Ours went in but guess didn’t go far enough so we had to take the screen off and push it harder until we heard the “click” then it worked fine.
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Remove the following Phillips screws over the Taptic Engine cable bracket:
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Two 3.5 mm screws
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One 2.7 mm screw
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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
Great! Was able to replace my wife’s engine which started to be very buzzy for some reason.
Make sure you use the correct screw driver tip to remove these screws, which for the iPhone 6s Plus is the P2, otherwise you may strip the tip of the screw making it 10 times harder to remove. If once the screw is lose, it will not come off, use a magnet to remove it.
Miguel Perez - Reply
If I do it by myself, will it damage the water resistant strip?
I know iphone 7 have it ,but I am not sure 6s plus have it.
Ganqian Zhu - Reply
iPhone 6s has an adhesive gasket under the display, similar to the iPhone 7—however, it doesn’t add much in the way of waterproofing since the 6s has non-sealed openings in other parts of the phone. Water resistance on the 6s is primarily internal (seals around the logic board connectors, etc.). It may still be worthwhile to replace the adhesive on the 6s in order to help keep the display firmly seated so it doesn’t move/wobble at all under pressure, but the phone will continue to work fine whether you replace the adhesive or not.
Jeff Suovanen -
Salve nella procedura iniziale di smontaggio display con la ventosa non è menzionato il fatto di scaldare i lati del display per “ammorbidire” la striscia che incolla il display alla scocca.
Non è necessaria la cosa o è consigliabile ?
grazie
Hello, in the initial disassembling procedure with the suction cup, it is not mentioned how to heat the sides of the display to "soften" the strip that glues the display to the body.
Is not the thing necessary or is it advisable?
thank you
Daniele - Reply
You’ve probably received your answer by now but for future enquirers, it does help the process of taking the screen off if heat is applied to the screen. If you have a hair Dryer use that on a low setting to heat the edges of the screen until it’s almost too hot to touch then slip very thin metal spudger around the edge to cut the adhesive. The carefully lift the screen with the help of the spudger and continue with your repair
Cheers Wayne
Wayne Lyell -
How do I know that the Battery has ZERO Charging Cycles on it when it arrives ? Is there a (downside) to Higher Capacity batteries ? It is INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT to maintain a “Zero Chinese Products Lifestyle”, so how do I know that I’m not getting a deficient Chinese battery, potentially a refurb. battery ?
integritybuilders - Reply
When your repair is complete, you can use coconutBattery to check your new battery stats and cycle count. (A properly tested battery may already have a charge cycle or two on it.) Avoid higher capacity batteries on iPhones—they’re generally either gimmicks, unsafe, or both. As far as the quality of the part, that comes down to how much you trust your supplier and whether they guarantee the product.
Jeff Suovanen -
So I need to empty the battery to zero percent?
johnpatrickanat - Reply
Below 25%, exactly as stated in the instructions. There’s no benefit to draining it further than that, and in fact you’ll slightly shorten the service life of the battery by draining it all the way to zero. Follow the instructions exactly as written—if you go off-script, you’re a lot more likely to break something.
Jeff Suovanen -
So my screen shattered completely and the screen first had colored lines on tge while right side then it went out completely. If i get an lcd and digitizer replacement I'd that oing to fix it
shellietheleo - Reply
I would initially recommend a well-lit, comfortable area and placing the screws on a white piece of paper with the screw sizes written down (apparently there are magnetic mats, also). Also, I found placing the phone on a paper towel is good so that if a screw is dropped, it will lessen the likelihood of bouncing away.
Lou Fazio - Reply
I recommend that, before you even lift a screwdriver or plug in the hair dryer, get a piece of paper and a pencil. As you unscrew and remove the parts, write the size and/or number for that step and put them by their label. I also used a microscope to identify the screw heads (I'm 75 and my vision is not what it used to be). Laying them out in order, I just went backwards when putting them all back in. I used an anti-static cleaning cloth instead of paper, but I should think they both will work.
N.B.: my kit had a nice pretty blue plastic sheet with a black outline on it. It was only when I put the whole phone back together and was packing up the supplies and tools that I realized it was a replacement gummi seal. A LABEL WOULD BE VERY USEFUL HERE!
I am a retired engineer, and aside from the size of the bits and bobs, it was a piece of cake! Thanks...you saved me $75!
P. Roberts - Reply