Front Panel Removal

I know this is obvious, but backup your iPad with iTunes before you start. I'd also turn off your passcode if you have one.

Ther first time you heat up the iOpener for this repair when its room temperature I had to heat it up for more than 30 seconds. I remember I had to heat it up for around 45 seconds. However, after that when you need to reheat it again during the repair 30 seconds will be enough.

I used the wheat bag in a sensor microwave heating up to 65-70 deg C (155 def F).

Get yourself a cherry pit bean bag the size of your iPad. Heat it, put the iPad on it for 3 to 5 minutes or so, reheat the cherry pit bean bag, again put your iPad on it. Then heat the iOpener and start working. The cherry pit bean bag will have to be reheated several times, but it will soften the adhesive so you have less problems with the iOpener

The heating can be done very effectively (and quickly) with 3d printer heated bed. Make sure the bed is clean. Set the temperature to 60c, (130f ) and put the ipad face down for +/- 10 minutes. Repeat as needed throughout the “gentle prying” stages.

The iOpener did not work at all for me.

I had to use a heat gun and bring the edges of the case up to ~200 degrees (used an infrared thermometer to measure) before the glue would weaken. This obviously superheated the metal frame, so I also had to wear gloves to handle the phone while prying the back off with the included picks.

Repair instructions worked like a charm. Had to be patient with the iOpener and getting the screen off. I tried repeatedly without success until shifting the suction cup a bit to the left side where perhaps the glue had loosened up a bit more.

The iOpener, in my opinion, is of no help. Many warnings to say “don’t warm it too much”, but the glue doesn’t melt if not warm enough. As a result, a complete waste of time and energy. In addition, too much liquid in it, so it doesn’t lay on the device on a sufficient surface. I took a hairdryer and it worked much much better.

I used an immersion bath to heat this to 180F and applied it to the device until the outside temperature of the opener read 150F with an IR thermometer. Removing the screen took very little force with this method.

My experience. I was replacing the screen which had been cracked and a little shattered in some places. The iopener is pretty much useless, so was the suction cup. The suction cup would probably be more useful if I was doing something besides the screen. Also you probably want the clean the screen before using it so it can get good suction. I used a hair dryer on high for a couple of minutes at a time (someone on this tread suggested that). I used my exacto knife and a razor blade to get into the adhesive. First the exacto to get the initial cut, then the razor blade to go a little deeper. Could have probably just used the razor blade, but the exacto has a little more finesse. I got the razor blade in and a little under the glass then I used the picks to wedge in. I didn’t want to risk anything using the razor blade too much. Used tape to keep the shattered glass together.

My experience pt2

Fortunately the shattering was mostly on the edges and most of it had adhesive on the back so it stuck together. Just take your time and work your way around following the guide to get the screen off. Have some goof off or goo be gone to clean the frame when putting the new glass on or putting the existing one back. (someone suggested that also, very good idea). Be careful of the LCD (you should know that). The cable on my LCD was pretty tight, so I propped it up while taking the cable cover off and when I put it back on I did the same thing. I just put a bottle on the battery and leaned the back of the LCD on that while attaching the cables and putting the screws back on the cover. Also be careful with the home button and the bracket on the back of it. I had enough old adhesive on left on the bracket that it stuck back to the new glass fine. So far only 12 hours in, so we will see how that holds up when the kids get at it.

Another alternative if you do not have the iopener is to use a bed time hotwater bottle. Do not over fill it though. Just put enough hot water in to support the phone while you work around the adhesive.

I use both the hot water bottle and iopener together on Samsung's. It makes life easier

I followed the directions and heated my iOpener for 30 seconds in a 1000 watt microwave, and it came out at 160 degrees F, as verified by a infrared thermometer. This allowed me to separate the last bit of the back of my Samsung S8, which was already coming off due to a swollen battery (hence the reason for the repair).

Hallo,habe den Akku erfolgreich getauscht.Doch seitdem gibt es bei Telefonaten eine Rückkopplung für den anrufenden.Bei mir ist alles normal.Woran liegt das?Mfg

If you follow these instructions, you will crack your screen like I did. Heating the iOpener for 30 seconds, using it to melt glue, then waiting 10 minutes to reheat is useless. The iOpener can be used to maybe warm the glue on whatever side you aren’t working on. You need a hairdryer and/or a heat gun to melt the glue and separate the glass from the iPad.

Anyone want to buy an old iPad with broken glass and a dead battery?

Not everybody has a microwave. You should provide a target temperature for the iOpener and instructions for a conventional oven, or pot of warm water, or whatever. Although I will probably use a heat gun …

Three times heating opener and no luck. Tried pressing down gently on opener with a towel, and the opener broke. Wondering if I now replace table mats, fancy table cloth, etc. or will this stuff wash out.

Not impressed so far. Maybe the hair dryer next.

#### WARNUNG WENN MINIMALSTER SPRUNG IM DISPLAY IST FUNKTIONERT DAS NICHT!!! ######

Hatte einen winzigen, minimalen Sprung im Display. Ich dachte es könnte gehen, weil der Sprung “abgeschlossen” war. Er hat in einer Ecke ein winzige Glasteil rausgeschnitten. NEIN! Geht nicht. Habe alles mit viel Geduld dem iOpener und einem Föhn erhitzt. Es ist trotzdem sofort über das komplette Display zersprungen…

I’ve started with iOpener but changed very quickly to a heatgun. That was more efficient.

I could not get the iOpener hot enough to melt the glue on my ipad 6. I heated for 45 seconds once and it was boiling and it still never worked. Thank goodness contributors mentioned using a hair dryer. Using an 1700w hair dryer on high did the trick to get the screen off. Still took some time and the case got pretty hot but be patient. It took twice as long and a lot more patience to get the battery out.

I have an Ipad with touch screen issue, if i replace this part it should be Ok?

WARNING - DO NOT MICROWAVE ON A METAL MICROWAVE RACK

The metal microwave rack can heat up and melt through the iOpener cover letting the contents leak out.

Not a big issue for me as I have a heat gun and used that instead.

I opened my iPad with the iOpener. Be patient! It may take quite a bit longer to it the iOpener in the microwave than it says in the guide. My microwave can only do 800W and I had to put the iOpener in several times (maybe a total of 90-120 seconds). I recommend that you have the transparent side up an watch the bag carefully. As long a the bag doesn't bloat up and the liquid doesn't start bubbling you should be fine. But I recommend to take the iO out from time to time to check it. (More comments in Step 6.)

I gave upon the I opener and used a hairdryer. (Fixed an iPad 6)

iPad mini gen5. I used the iOpener. My microwave is 1200w with carousel. 30 sec got the iOpener to 155ºF. For the 2nd heating, after 10 minutes sitting, the temp was still around 125º so I only cooked it for 15 sec. Not enough increase so +5 sec more which me to 165-170ºF. This should be considered ballpark info because who knows the real output of the various microwaves and the quality of the IR tool used to determine temp.

To successfully open my iPad mini I applied the iOpener twice to the left edge and twice to bottom. & once to R edge. Using the suction cup was difficult for me (I'm in my 70's so my hands don't work too well anymore). I had trouble holding the guitar pick and slipping them in (at an downward angle). In the end, sliding my thumbnail along the edge opened it very slightly and allowed the pick to get into the gap. I marked the ends of all my picks with a sharpie pen for the recommended 2mm insertion to avoid going in too deep. To get the screen open it took me approx 1 hour.

Can’t you just use a hair curler instead?

A hairdryer or heat gun works, if heating is kept around 100 deg C (212 deg F - boiling point of water). But… heating this way is cumbersome. Using a hotplate, set to 100 deg C, measured carefully with a fairly inexpensive IR gun, is simpler and easier, if you can afford the hotplate (I used an old pancake griddle with a thermostat knob). It works great for phones, setting them face down for 2 minutes, then picking them up with insulated gloves - cheap, wool gloves work fine. This may require repeated reheating to continue the display removal, but its much simpler.

Because its almost impossible to repeatedly lay an iPad/tablet on the hot plate, I propose an alternative.

Initially lay the larger iPad/tablet, face down, for 2 min, to heat all of the adhesive surrounding the display. Lift and begin the picking process describe in your removal steps. Then lay an iOpener on the hotplate for 2 min (already set to the exact, desired temp) to bring it to working temp for the remaining operations.

For iPads in particular, it makes sense to construct a simple, aluminum window frame, laid on a hotplate (see my comment above) that only touches the edges of the display, heating only the adhesive underneath. This prevents general heating of the entire device. Four strips of aluminum, placed together as a frame, would be the simplest and allow variations for all devices - envision it as a pinwheel of strips, radiating outward. Use it for any size device.

BTW, always read all comments at each step. New, and possibly useful, suggestions appear on occasion that can be crucial.

I used a hot water bottle, works well as it covers the whole screen and stays hot for longer.

I ended up using a hair dryer. That iOpener thing took forever.

30 seconds sure isn’t cutting it… 45 didn’t get the screen of my iPad air 2 to budge either… even after resting on the ipad for 4 minutes.

60 seconds in the microwave, the iOpener burst.

I’ll get a new one and try once more with heating it 45 seconds and repeat that for 30 minutes like others have said here. If that doesn’t work it’ll have to be the heat gun.

K

Trust the directions! I forgot and left it in the Microwave too long and after 1 minute I had Mt Vesuvius - the iOpener burst and spewed the goodies out. The problem is, the Digitizer can be damaged by a hot air gun, so I had to tough out and remove the glue the hard way. I made it … with lots of patience! Tough lesson.

I also used a hairdryer. I used it on the low setting and I cut a piece of carboard to protect the rest of the screen. The iFixit tool and method is vert tedious and very time consuming in comparison. With the hairdryer method you can literally have the display apart in a few minutes. Using your other hand nearby the area you are heating it should be very hot but not enough to burn your hand. You only have to heat metal part of case near glass edge. If you have a cellular model then you need to be very careful because the black antenna area is plastic. So less heat and work your way up in adding heat just enough to separate around the area but not so much you melt the plastic!

iOpener was the worst part of the kit. Followed directions for :30 in microwave and took 4 trips to the microwave to loosen adhesive on left side of home button. I thought I was figuring it out and it was working well… even set a timer to wait 10 minutes between heating it up. Was on the right side and was on my 12th heat up when it exploded in the microwave. My only tip is that if you set it clear side up, as soon as you see any bubbles or boiling in the liquid, STOP! If you put a pot holder over the iOpener and press slightly to make good surface contact, that seemed to help. I finished heating with a “Corn Sack” that held heat better than the provided iOpener.

Get a heat gun.

I followed the directions and heated my iOpener for 30 seconds in a 1000 watt microwave, and it came out at 160 degrees F, as verified by a infrared thermometer. A second heating about 15 minutes later in the micro and it came out at 190 degrees F. Plenty hot enough to soften the adhesive for removing the back on my S8. Based on the comments above I think people just need to use more patience.

I used various time settings. It got very hot. It would soften the glue but not a whole lot. If my screen had been intact and I was replacing something that was not a digitizer, it may have worked. A broken screen makes the process significantly more difficult. I ended up breaking the home button cable. Good bye TouchID…

After reading previous comments I didn't even use the i-opener. Used the heatgun ( hairdryer ) which works great for me. Maybe I was lucky as this is my first attempt at replacing a cellphone battery. Motoz 3

It appeared 30 seconds were not enough, so I heated it more, by 5 seconds at a time until I got the right temperature about 70 degrees Celsius (measured with infrared pistol) to get the screen heated up to 60 C, the best for softening the glue. But the heat was quickly dissipating by the big aluminum back cover, so the best I got in 2 minutes of applying iOpener was around 45 C, which made the procedure difficult and having risk of breaking the screen. So I eventually abandoned iOpener and user a hot air gun with precise temperature setup. I set it to 90 C, which allowed me to open my iPad quickly and safely.

I, too, ended up using a hot air gun. I’ve done earlier versions of iPad before but the adhesive used on this IPad 5 A1822 was particularly difficult to remove.

Also, while the suction cup worked great when the glass is in tact, any cracks in the glass make the suction cup useless.

You need to remember here are different sizes of microwaves. I had the same issue.

Heating on a smaller unit I used 45-60 seconds. That worked but was time comsuming

Yeah, the iOpener didn't work for me either.... ended up using a hair dryer and that worked. The iOpener was too warm to soften the glue in my case.

I vote for the hair dryer. The other methods work too but if you aren’t having any luck, switch to the hair dryer. While holding the iPad in my hand, I found that I am aiming the dryer at my finger at the same time and it gauges how hot it is. I stop when my finger can’t take it - maybe five seconds up close. Repeat as needed like I did.

This thing melts when placed up side down in the microwave…

If the maximum temperature for this iOpener is lower than the gadget glue minimum temperature, this device does not make sense.
I think the maximum temperature for this iOpener is below 100⁰C and most gadget glue minimum temperature is higher than 100⁰C. So the iOpener is useless for many opening steps in repair guides. But who knows because temperature range is not specified for this iOpener.

When boiling in water you can put the iopener in a ziplock to keep it dry.

Even if you don't put in a ziplock bag, I found that the surface is mostly hydrophobic so drying it is very easy. I also didn't have tongs, but the bag is denser than water, so it sank and I attached clothes pins to the ends and was able to remove it with those.

2-3 minutes in near boiling water, then 2-3 minutes on my s10+ and it was super easy to cut the glue off.

I had the same experience. My glass was cracked all the way to the left side and the suction cup would not pull the glass up. The packaging tape also didn't help. The heat caused it to lift. I finally abandoned the tape, used a heat gun aimed very carefully at each broken piece of the screen. The picks did work with patience, but I just pulled off each broken part of the glass. I also found that pulling up on one broken part while heating in front of me would let the next piece pull up. I continued heating and breaking all the way around. Do the right side last. Took about 1 hour to get it off, and another hour to clean the old glue off the frame. BTW thanks to this web site and all the comments! No way I would have done this without all the help here! I am now clean and waiting for my new digitizer. I couldn't free the battery (below), so I left it powered up, and verified it till worked before throwing away the old glass. Vince

Taping with package tape doesn't work. You'll need a very large piece of tape if you go this route.

Just finished successful repair. I would add this: most folks will be here because of cracked screen. This is not easy; believe the 'complex' rating on this repair. I put tape on my screen because it was badly cracked. This made the suction cup useless, because it just sucked the tape off the scree.n. I used the razor blade technique which worked great, it should be used in the demo, and a good blade should be in the kit.

I found the hair dryer is far more effective and less dangerous than using the iopener. If you overheat the iopener you end up pulling a hot plastic bag spewing hot glycerine out of your microwave! Not fun!

I have an Ipad with touch screen issue, if i replace this part it should be Ok?

Packing tape won’t do anything. You need to use duct tape to prevent glass shards from spraying everywhere. If your screen is only partially cracked (mine was the top only), modify the directions and focus on the areas that aren’t cracked first. I was able to get the lower 90% of the screen off, and then worked the cracked pieces with a heat gun and metal razor spudger. The entire repair took around 3 hours, and prob 2 hours and 30 min of that was getting the shards out and pieces off. And lots of cursing. I also told my kids if they crack another screen they are out of luck. I am not doing this again.

I've done this with an iOpener and at least in my case, it worked fine. You may have to modify the heating instructions though, since not all microwaves are created equal.

ii i just did this and it took a while but i figured it out it is true this thing doesnt get hot enough BUT heat it 2 times and then the 3rd time when u place it on the ipad put the ipad box on top and then maybe a second ipad on top of the box so it kinda smashes i down but not too much for it to break and then wait for it to turn warm THEN use the succion THEN the gap appears. the glue is super strong on the ipads so yea it will take some time lol

Doesn't work. Perhaps include more copy on exactly how to do it?

The iOpener does not work. It simply it is not hard enough to soften the glue. The heat hair dryer method does not work either.

The goal is simply to weaken the glue enough that you can use your suction cup to open up a tiny gap under the glass, so you can insert an opening pick and slice through the adhesive. It doesn't actually take all that much heat; the picks will do most of the work once you get them in there. iOpeners, hair dryers, heat guns all work fine in my experience—the iOpener is just a bit more foolproof because it won't get hot enough to cook the display panel underneath.

I used iron..surprise!! yeah pretty fast tho…put a layer of fabric (towel in my case) ontop, along the edge of screen and start ironing..

:-)

If using a hair dryer or heat gun make sure it is not too high heat. My heat gun has two settings, one 750 degree and an 1100. After using it on high I discolored the digitizer and warped the LCD slightly (only shows on pure white backgrounds). Low worked for the rest of the repair just fine. Also using a razor blade or something besides the pick works nice for the initial pry. Once you have a gap big enough, insert the pic and you’re all set.

I don’t have an iOpener, my heat gun wasn’t handy. The last time I did something like this it was a 90-100 degree day, so I just put it out in the sun for a while, and it worked great. This time it’s fall, so I used a 420W halogen Light that I have for photography. (A standard heat lamp would probably work too, but might take longer.) I held it close to the light until it felt hot to the touch, just a couple minutes, then I left is sitting about 16” below the light for 5-10 minutes to sink in and warm uniformly. It worked great.

For me, steps 8-31 were basically one step "Carefully pry off the digitizer glass with the plastic tools" took all of 30 seconds.

Although very hard this does work. The first time opening the ipad after buying it 8+ years ago it took about 3 times of heating the iopener. It did require an amount of pressure I did not expect but it did come open as instructed. I did add a towel and apply pressure to the iopener to make sure the heat transferred.

The iOpener didn’t work for me at all, zero, it literally did nothing. I resorted to my heat gun on low and yeah you need to be super careful, but once I started the adhesive came off pretty easy.

I used a 2-level heat gun, too. Supposedly 707 degrees/923 degrees.

I kept the heat gun about 1” away from the glass and used only the low setting. Even so, I did alter the digitizer pretty quickly in a few locations around the edge. It still functions fine, and you only see it under certain circumstances, so not a huge deal. But irritating. Be cautious about too much heat. It just looks like sort of a faint, polarized grid.

Don’t be afraid to put tension on the glue and just hold it. If it is warm enough, the glue will relax under sustained tension. This isn’t a speed event. Don’t try to rush it, or you’ll break something.

Now that those infrared surface thermometers have become so inexpensive, it would be great if someone posted a target temperature for softening the glue without damage. That would take some of the guesswork out of this process.

If you heat the iOpener somewhat longer than they recommend, and get it about as hot as your hand can stand, then place it on the iPad and cover with a towel for at least 3 minutes. Then really be patient. I got a bit impatient, and took a chance and slipped a really fine “exacto-type” of blade vertically beside the suction cup as I lifted, and thankfully that worked. That made enough room to get one of the “guitar pick” wedges in. The rest went fine.

I used the iOpener to soften the adhesive. I was extra careful and it took me about 90 minutes to get to Step 30. With my acquired experience I would say, it may be done in about 30 minutes. Most important: Be patient! You may have to reheat the iOpener a few times until you will be able to do Step 9. Once I had this part done, it was a lot easier. So I would say the first 60 minutes I spent on steps 1 through 9.

I’ve been using a heat and isopropyl alcohol combo on iPhone screens with no problem. This specifically says “only” heat. I feel like she’s trying to tell me to keep a lid on my IA. Because I don’t know what other methods some rogue might be trying in their efforts to compromise adhesive.

I’ve been using a heat and isopropyl alcohol combo on iPhone screens with no problem. This specifically says “only” heat. I feel like she’s trying to tell me to keep a lid on my IA. Because I don’t know what other methods some rogue might be trying in their efforts to compromise adhesive.

The suction cup is useless if your glass is shattered. Use a new, sharp razor blade, and insert it vertically between the edge of the glass and the metal back of the iPad. Don’t worry about pressing too hard — there’s a lip that stops the blade from going in too far and damaging anything. You’ll probably have to do this several times, but eventually the blade will “bite” into the edge of the glass well enough for you to pry it up. Insert a pick underneath the razor, then remove the razor and continue as directed.

After having to read several comments on this screen removal and the clear packing tape, I too have to agree that the tape method does not work well at all if your screen is already shattered. I combined several methods, with lots of patience to remove the screen on my iPad Air 2. What I found it very helpful was the heat gun used for paint removal. The heat gun generates a lot of concentrated heat at lower air velocity, unlike generic hair dryer, so you must be very careful not to ruin the electronics, and risk burning your hands and anything around it. My heat gun that I purchased from Home Depot had a nozzle to direct and focus the heat on a small area. That was helpful in working small area at a time. This method work thoroughly well.

It would work if you leave iopener in microwave for 1 minute.

Don’t trust the instruction from ifixit.

you can put iopener in microwave for 1 minute without any harm.

Note. you have to make sure that it is in cold position before you put it into microwave.

Suction cup didn’t work for me either, went the razor blade route (using an exacto knife blade) with very minimal damage to the aluminum shell. Be warned, if your screen has cracked along the edge (as it almost 100% certainly has if you’re reading this guide), the screen will continue to shatter and splinter as you make your way around the edge. That’s when having the screen taped up well will be to your advantage. There’s also a good chance you’ll have to re-insert the razor blade on the other side of a fracture and start the lifting process again, but keep going, being sure to avoid the points called out in this guide and you should be fine.

Also, do not apply the suction cup to an area of the screen with cracks and no tape. If you’re near the edge you run the risk of brutally shattering that area of the glass if the glass gives before the suction cup.

In order to get this to work for me I had to heat the IOpener to over 104 C - I needed to get the screen over 40 C before the adhesive would loosen.

Also I had to put the ipad on a towel - the granite countertop it was on was sucking the heat out too fast.

This step was brutal on my nerves - read about too many people ruining their iOpener and I don’t have a heat gun. I had to keep heating the iOpener incrementally hoping I wouldn’t pop it. … but if you’re patient, persistent, and cautious, you can definitely tell when you’re seeing separation. The iOpener ended up being WAY hotter than 30 seconds was getting me - borderline scorching my hands.

Could not loosen the adhesive using the iOpener. Had to use hair dryer.

As the others noted, the suction cup is useless on a cracked screen, especially if you’ve applied tape (like the instructions say you should). The screen I was working on was busted up pretty bad, I ended up removing it and then going back to remove the edge glass and adhesive. When you have a really busted screen just take your time and use a heat gun or good hot hair dryer and it will eventually come off.

I used an iSesame tool vs a razor to pry the edge (from a previous replacement project) but again, the iOpener and suction cup are useless.

Thank you for the comments above. I was using the iOpener unsuccessfully, then turned to the hair dryer and heated it up for over 3 minutes. This gave me the gap I needed to insert the opening pick and begin the process. So, with patience and a hair dryer, I was able to get the digitizer off.

You really need a lot of patience here (30-45min). But then it works. The best way was with this plastic "crowbar" to get the beginning. You really have to press hard to get in between.

The suction cup provided in the toolkit didn't work on anything. Tape helped, but I eventually went in through a small cracked shard to create an entry point at the bezel

You have to heat the glue really much, or you will, as i did, crack the glass.

Best bet is to mark the pick with a sharpie line on how far your maximum limit is so you don’t damage the LCD.

The iOpener works well, be patient and keep reheating until you can see the screen start to give a little. I kept putting mine in the microwave and it worked faster when the iOpener was hotter. 40 second intervals did the trick for me eventually

I spent an hour trying to lift the screen of an iPad Air first gen. The trick I found was that its a combination of lifting the screen a millimetre and then wiggling a razor blade vertically in the slot between the screen and the metal frame (yes its a microscopic slot). I used a hair drier on a section of the edge of the middle of the screen as above. The middle area allows for a bit of flexibility in the rail - we’re talking 0.5mm which is just enough for the razor.

So hit a section of the screen edge with the drier till its hot to touch, do the suction cap thing as above, insert the blade vertically and wiggle it *ever so slightly* in the slot as you don’t want to break anything. Keep repeating this until you see even the slightest rise in the screen under the cap. At this point, remove the razor and insert the blue pick. It should easily dig in and under the screen, but no further than the black border.

Remember, small wiggly steps will avoid breaking anything. Better a number of small heat and wiggles than a lift and snap.

for those who need to open more than one iPad, the iflex is safer and more effective than a razor blade. i use it to get started then switch to a pick

iFlex Opening Tool

Yea, this suction cup cracked my glass. This made it near impossible to slide the picks around. I may try again another day, but I suspect it’s toast at this point.

I should have noted the difficulty rating before thinking I could replace the battery myself. I could have saved myself the cost of replacing a cracked screen, which happened when I attempted this step. I did not want to overheat the iOpener but consequently, I could not get a pick inserted underneath the screen. (I think the glue must take a lot more heat than expected to melt.) So just a warning to more novice tinkerers—this repair wasn't the same as fiddling with screwdrivers and a million small parts.

Like others, I damaged my digitizer cable while doing a battery replacement. It would be a good idea to use some blue tape to mark the spots to avoid during the glue slicing procedure.

I also damaaged the digitizer cable while doing a battery replacement. Use just the tip of the opening pick.

People need to realize iFixit routinely duplicates instructions for more than one type of repair/replacement. However, all of the comments are combined, which leads to confusion.

I attempted to put this protrusion underneath the LCD, and it kept coming up above the LCD. As there were no instructions, I put it as best as I could underneath the LCD as I cannot imagine that it folds up against itself?

I tried to put it ‘inside’ the case but was not able to - at the end, I just glued it against the front glass.

I must have done something wrong with the new home-button assembly as the fingerprint sensor does not work anymore - However, I am not going to go through that repair again so passcode it is.

My screen from ifixit had the rigid flaps with adhesive also. I removed adhesive and adhered it to the new glass, it worked fine and solved the problem with the flaps not pushing down.

Don’t throw away your old screen until you take the home button off of it! My screen was shattered and I kind of have a phobia of broken glass, so I bundled it all up and threw it into the trash can immediately. Next day when I went to continue the job I was sad that my roommate had finally taken out the trash for once and my home button was halfway to the dump by then.

Cleaning with isopropyl alcohol is not really working well. I am using it with a qtip. Is there a certain way you recommend in order to actually the adhesive off?

Yes, the flap seemed to want to be attached to the glass, not go down the slot. All went together well, except that my home button doesn’t work. I suspect the connections wasn’t right, although I did my best to (gently but firmly) push it in. Too late to do anything about it now.

quick question... if this is a replacement, why are we worrying about the digitizer cables? My glass is shattered pretty bad on the to the left of the home button where he says to work. So I can't apply suction cup there. I don't understand the need to be concerned about the cables if the digitizer is going to be trashed...

I'd like to add when at this stage and you notice some of the old black adhesive may be hanging off the digitizer DO NOT remove any of it. Wait until you have to thing fully removed. It's way too easy to tear one of the cables if you try removing it now.