Difficulty
Moderate
Steps
19
Time Required
15 minutes - 1 hour
Introduction
Bring life back to your iPhone 5 with a new battery. If your battery is swollen, take appropriate precautions.
This guide instructs you to detach the front panel assembly; this is intended to prevent damage to the display cables. If you feel comfortable supporting the display carefully while peeling the battery out of the body, skip the display removal (steps 13-16) and go to the battery removal steps.
For optimal performance, after completing this guide, calibrate your newly installed battery: Charge it to 100% and keep charging it for at least two more hours. Then use your iPhone until it shuts off due to low battery. Finally, charge it uninterrupted to 100%.
You can also use this guide to replace the battery connector bracket.
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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 iPhone's display until the whole face is covered.
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Wear safety glasses to protect your eyes from any glass shaken free during the repair.
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Before you proceed, discharge your iPhone battery below 25%. A charged lithium-ion battery can catch fire and/or explode if accidentally punctured.
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Power off your iPhone before beginning disassembly.
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Remove the two 3.6 mm Pentalobe screws next to the Lightning connector.
I would recommend keeping multiple pieces of double-sided tape for each step that requires removing screws. Also perhaps label them, or take notes, so you know which piece of tape (and the screws attached to it) go with which step number. It's easy to confuse screws, especially if you go past these instructions to remove everything required to replace the ribbon cable that is necessary for the buttons.
To avoid misplacing screws or other elements, printout the instructions, apply transparent tape onto the print wherever you have colored circles marking different screws. Then, as you start removing screws, tape each one on top of its image on the instructions. At the end, to reinstall everything, proceed from the end of the instructions, removing each taped screw from its image, to return it to its original position. I have done this with many iFixit repair instructions, never losing or misplacing any screw!
bduault -
Ordered and received the Phillips #00 Screwdriver ($5.95 · 50+ In stock). It is a tiny Philips screwdriver. The screws next to the lightning port have tiny star-shaped holes. I will have to find a different screwdriver.
Unfortunately, the kit I ordered that was to come with a suction cup didn't include one; thanks for quality control, ifixit. Tape doesn't work. Now what?
btarver -
I'm sorry to hear that. I have a suction cup being sent out today (Tue 3/11/14) and it will be there tomorrow for you.
I've managed to replace the battery successfully in my iPhone5, but something went wrong with a friend's (battery status is stuck, sometimes the phone reboots for no reason).
So, i decided to open it up again and reseat the ribbon cables in case they came loose.
I can't open it now. The Pentalobe screwdriver is worn out! I can't open these screws no matter what. I don't know what to do now as I can't be sure I haven't worn out the actual screws themselves, too. Any ideas?
Saltank -
I seem to be having a similar situation. Attempting to open the phone again and either the pentalobe screws or the screwdriver itself is stripped. Any suggestion is welcome for removing the screws.
Battery replacement went well and works great. But I must have a loose (hopefully not damaged) display ribbon.
Saltank, thanks to your comment I didn't overtighten those little screws! I would try to get a better quality driver from a local hardware store to see that helps, the one ifixit sent are not very good quality. If that doesn't work, you may have stripped the screws.
Wish I ordered a back case as well with my repair being so easy!
my phones screen displays the dead battery sign and the plug below it sign too, when your phones battery is dead. Bought a new battery and charged overnight...... any ideas?
Hi Steve! I'm experiencing the same issue. Were you able to fix it? Please let me know
Steve. Please contact me asap re: the issue on your phone. Thank you.
Now here's an issue that would seem to apply to many users doing this repair: if the screen is nonfunctional, how do you power-off the device? When I dropped my iPhone, the screen went almost completely dark, midnight blue, actually. I can use the power button at the top of the phone to turn the display on and off, but I can't get the phone to power off. Seems the only way to do it is to wait until the battery is exhausted.
dwhyink -
Protip: take all the soda out of a case of pop and complete the repair in the empty cardboard tray. That way if you drop a screw it won't go flying off the table.
Ok, at the end of the repair, I tried to use the new pentalobe screws that came with ifixit replacement battery but they did not seem to fit. So, reverted to the original pentalobe screws for the final step to close up the phone. Beside that, everything went smooth. I also skipped the steps about detaching the frontpanel (seems not necessary if only replacing the battery)
Srikanth -
Weirdly I had to use two different screw attachments to remove the pentalobe screws so possible they use different screw heads for each one sometimes.
The “Pentalobe” screws require the STAR DRIVE driver, NOT a Phillips driver.
I seems the P2 is too big, My Iphone 5 seems to have 0,8 pentalobe screws. I ordered the new battery and your Pro Tech Toolkit and now I find out this bit isn’t in the kit? Am I missing something?
Naampje -
Hi, i am trying to remove the serews, i have all the tools neded for it but when i try to unscrew them, they turn but they don’t came out, any ideas of what to do? Tank you.
Joel -
Hi Joel,
Chances are, the threads may be slightly stripped. You can try to wedge the point of some tweezers behind the screw head to pry the screw out.
This was the second repair in the same iphone5. First was the screen, and all the screws came easily. After a year, I wanted to change the battery. From the two Pentalobe screws, one came easy. The other just turn but did not come out. I search and tried to glue the screw with superglue to the screw-driver, but did not work. Finally, I separated the glass from the phone, removed the button, and pushed the screw from inside to outside. It came just enough I could catch it with tweezers and turned meanwhile pulling. Finally came out. I know, not the best solution, but I did not find another way. I put the battery and works.
daniel -
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In the following steps you will be pulling the display up out of the phone body. The display is composed of a glass screen and a plastic bezel with metal clips.
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Regardless of the tool you use, you need to be sure you pull up the entire display.
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If the glass begins to separate from the plastic, as shown in the first image, slide a plastic opening tool between the plastic frame and the metal phone body to pry the metal clips out of the case.
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If you are reassembling a phone with a separated display bezel, you may want to place a thin strip of adhesive between the plastic bezel and the glass to keep the phone closed.
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The next two steps demonstrate the Anti-Clamp, a tool we designed to make the opening procedure easier. If you aren't using the Anti-Clamp, skip down two steps for an alternate method.
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For complete instructions on how to use the Anti-Clamp, check out this guide.
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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.
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If you find that the surface of your iPhone is too slippery for the Anti-Clamp to hold onto, you can use tape to create a grippier surface.
The iSclack is a marvel. I've had it in my toolkit for a while but this was its first use. I recommend this tool.
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Pull the blue handle forwards to lock the arms.
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Turn the handle clockwise 360 degrees or until the cups start to stretch.
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Make sure the suction cups remain aligned with each other. If they begin to slip out of alignment, loosen the suction cups slightly and realign the arms.
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Insert an opening pick under the screen when the Anti-Clamp creates a large enough gap.
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If the Anti-Clamp doesn't create a sufficient gap, apply more heat to the area and rotate the handle a quarter turn.
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Don't crank more than a quarter turn at a time, and wait one minute between turns. Let the Anti-Clamp and time do the work for you.
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Skip the next two steps.
Step 4 is a bit dangerous, as the Display is pulled out very fast and (depending on the position, the suction cups are placed at) it could stress the cabels connecting display and mainboard. So, please, hold the phone with finger and thumb at the top, to avoid the display is pulled out to fast.
I sure wish they did a better job showing in the video how hard it is to take of the front screen without the iSclack tool!
I had to position the suction cup _over_ the home button in order to get the screen far enough away from the frame to slide my trim tool in there. Putting it down above the home button just wasn't working at all...
Was someone able to answer this question? I have the same issue
without this suction cup clamp thing, removing (and replacing) the screen was the hardest part of this job. Especially when the screen is cracked badly as the suction cup loses suction due to air leaking through the cracks. In this case, use tape over the screen to create a smooth surface. ***Also, the screens have rubber running along the side, so use a heat gun or hair dryer to make the rubber softer for removal of cracked screen and installation of replacement screen
I am amazed how simple this is and to make a fortune off of. Wish I had thought of it.
Bigi44
wayne44 -
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Press a suction cup onto the screen, just above the home button.
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Be sure the cup is completely on the screen to get a tight seal.
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If you're opening an iPhone with cracked glass, neatly lay a couple strips of packing tape across the front and squeeze out as many bubbles as you can. This will give the suction cup a surface to grab, and minimize the spread of broken glass.
I found it was easier to start opening from the top left of the display and working straight down towards the home button as there are no clips in this particular area. I realize there are cables on the right side right next to the area, however, this way requires less force as a starting point. Let me know what you think.
boxerbc -
I think that's not a good idea as the top of the display is held in place with plastic tabs.
If you apply to much force they can break.
Johnny -
This part was the most frustrating part of the guide, granted I didn't do the whole thing. I was expecting to slip the plastic separator tool in-between the case and the display. This did not happen and I ate away at the tool in the process. For me after much pushing on the top edge of the case and pulling the screen away it released all of a sudden. I managed to make a dead stop at 90 degrees, but felt like I almost ripped off the ribbon cables(I didn't).
No matter how hard I tried, I could not get the screen to separate far enough to where the pry tool could get it. Reading through some of the other comments, I followed 2 other people's advice to work the bottom left corner above the headphone input and then use a pushpin at the same time. (this is not recommended, but it worked!) I made a couple of hard to see marks in the corner but was finally able to get the screen off. I also did NOT take off the connectors to the screen and skipped the next few steps all the way down to step 14. Looks like a lot of people damaged their phones that disconnected the top screen.
I'd recommend to use packaging tape to attach the upper edge of the display to the back of the phone so you won't rip off the ribbon cables if the display suddenly comes loose.
I took the suction cup off of an old navigation Tom Tom and it worked great!
My battery needed replacement because the battery had swollen and was warping the glass. Looking at it from the side it looks like gasket that was partly sticking to glass and partly to the case. This is actually part of the glass frame and you need to make sure to separate it from the case not the glass. I did it wrong and ended up removing the glass but there was a metal case covering the inside. I eventually got the rest of the top off but now I'll have replace it all because I can't find a good way to glue the glass to plastic.
I initially had trouble, but focusing on the area of the faceplate right above the headphone jack worked for me. There's a slight divot that allows you to slip in the prying tool earlier than in other places around the faceplate. Once I got the prying tool in there, I was able to pop out the bottom, and then continue up the sides.
IMPORTANT TO NOTE: The top of the screen is attached to delicate cables inside the phone! Pull up carefully and keep a hand on the top of the screen so it doesn't pop up.
My iPhone 5 only had a weak battery. Now it has a cracked glass panel. Suction cup is strong - so strong the glass breaks before the suction cup lets go. Apparently some of the tolerances in Apple's design occasionally add up to make a front panel assembly that refuses to let go. Phone not worth repairing at this point as it only cost $190 refurbished to begin with. A note of warning - you might want to have this done by an experienced tech - go ahead and spend the $100 or so to have someone experience replace the battery and keep the rest of your phone intact.
The suction cup with the blue plastic handle that came with the kit did not work, but I still had the cup with the silver ring that came with an iPad repair kit and it worked nicely. Also, I found that the guitar style picks that came with the iPad kit worked best for getting the screen started.
Top center worked for me best (success after 2nd attempt). Near the home button I failed constantly (I have the suction cup with the blue handle).
Marie -
I also found that a larger suction cup (from a Garmin GPS) which spanned the width of the glass screen worked better than the provided one.
Robert -
I used a heavy duty iFixIt suction cup (used for repairing an old iMac) for the job. Worked like a charm.
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Make sure the suction cup is firmly attached to the front panel assembly.
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While holding the iPhone down with one hand, pull up on the suction cup to slightly separate the front panel assembly from the rear case.
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Take your time and apply firm, constant force. The screen is a much tighter fit than most devices.
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With a plastic opening tool, begin to gently pry the rear case down, away from the screen, while you pull up with the suction cup.
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There are several clips attaching the front panel assembly to the rear case, so you may need to use a combination of the suction cup and plastic opening tool to free the front panel assembly.
The suction cup didn't work, because of my destroyed front glass.
So i take "tesa powers trips".
With that help, i had enough force to pull up the front display from the rear case.
Suction cup didn't work for me. I tried for half hour with my nerd biceps. In the end, I inserted an xacto blade below the home button to create a gap big enough for me to put in a guitar pick and finally able to pry it open. In the process I scratched the frame so you have to be very careful if you decide to take this approach.
Meng -
Where can you buy "Tesa Powerstrips?
The glass on my phone was completely destroyed, making the suction cup entirely useless. I was pretty close to giving up when i tried putting a strip of clear packing tape on the screen and squishing out all the bubbles. Put the suction cup on this and it worked perfectly.
Thank you. I broke the front glass with this technique..
Used a suction cup from my Garmin Navi. The one you use to stick it to your windshield. It has a nice plastic "handle" and made things a lot easier... almost too easy that I nearly pulled the screen off the cables. Go easy on this step.
I'd Advise Against The Suction Cup Here As It Will Separate The Glass From The Black/White Framing That You're Actually Supposed To Pry Under. I Found When Using The Suction Cup, The Glass Came Up, But The Framing Stayed Stuck. If You're Replacing The Entire Display It's Not As Much Of A Problem, But If You're Installing Any Other Part Or A Custom Housing, You'll Notice Your Screen Has A Bit Of "Play" When Pressing Down.
Mitch -
While holding down on the lower sides of the iPhone, I found inserting the plastic separator just to the right of the audio jack while gently applying pressure down and back from the edge popped the bottom of the display assembly up. Keep in mind to do this while pulling back on the suction cup ring, like the guide says constant, but gentle force at the same time. Another note is to have the suction cup ring vertical to align with the length of the display, that made the process much easier.
You rock! I was having trouble getting the thing to budge, but the moment I put the plastic tool near the audio jack, the screen immediately popped up.
Justin -
This should be in the guide. The front panel is actually recessed a bit here making it much easier to get a tool in at this point. No way I would have opened it without this tip. Thanks!
dave -
Thank you so much! This should DEFINITELY be added to the main guide.
After struggling for half an hour and nearly giving up, I was able to easily lift up the screen once I tried to wedge it near the headphone jack!
Thanks so much!
This was the key for me. Thank you so much for this tip :)
I was having a lot of trouble. Should be in the guide.!!
Coact -
Thank you very much, this worked for me!
I've been using a metal flat opening tool along with the suction cup to pop these bad boys open - remember the tape on the screen trick if you have a smashed screen - so the suction cup can grip and stops the glass going everywhere!
Definitely a difficult step. Make sure not to pry the screen from framing. Also, I kept pushing the power button on while attempting separate the frame. Keep your fingers clear from the top of the phone because having it turn on while the casing is popped is a little nerve racking!
Andrew -
I had trouble with this step too, since I had to apply quite a lot of force on the suction cup when pulling up on the screen while holding down on the frame with my fingernails. Eventually it popped free, but came almost to 90 degrees before I was able to stop it. No damage, but nerve-wracking, and if there was a better technique, it would be good to figure it out and share the information here.
Be very gentle! I overdid it and, though the repair was successful, there's now a bit of play when pressing on the top right quadrant of the screen.
When i was reassembling, the screen broke form the pressure. I recommend putting the screen towards your working surface and press your phone downwards. That way your screen is always straight.
My front panel flew right off after some puling on the suction cup - no prying was necessary.
Fortunately, no cables got damaged. Take care.
Leonid -
I can confirm, the Garmin sucker cup worked like a charm. Within 5 seconds it popped open.
Nolan -
everything worked but i got a problem i hope anybody can help me very fast !
when i lift the screen up it just lift the glass up not the whole display ....
what should i do ??
thanks in advance
edis -
Need extra careful while pulling the screen.
Once there is a gap between the screen and the frame, insert the plastic opening tools and move it around the screen. But don't use it for top area (near to power button) as there is a location for flexible ribbon cable.
Once the bottom part is free, the screen will pop out easily.
Suction cup is very difficult with a cracked screen. Stick something in the ear jack and carefully push it and the edge of the screen will pop up. Use the plastic stick to open it.
Julie To -
I had trouble opening the screen due to a warped suction cup that was bent up at one spot and also due to my cracked screen. My solution: used double sided tape between the suction cup and the glass. I had some command strips, but I think any double-sided tape could work.
Use needle its a best way
imran -
I could never even get the case open. Waste of $30.
The suction cup will hold if you put a piece of tape over the cracked screen.
BE VERY, VERY CAREFUL, HERE!!
-The repair went horribly wrong during this step, for me. I pulled-up on the suction cup, gradually increasing force. Instead of just opening a gap to get the plastic prying tool into, the whole thing gave way at once. This damaged the connection between the display assembly and the rest of the iPhone.
-During this step, I would recommend placing a rubber band around the phone, over the home button and one near the top of the iPhone for good measure. Even better, invest in the "iSclack". In my case, it would have saved me about fifty bucks and three days without a functional iPhone.
-When I reassembled, The screen was blank, but I could still sync with iTunes. I may have been able to replace only the cables, but I wasn't sure how extensive the damage was and I was done messing around with it. I replaced the whole display assembly, and now it works just fine.
-This was STILL cheaper than buying a new phone, and I learned a lot. Overall, it was a good experience.
my phones screen displays the dead battery sign and the plug below it sign too, when your phones battery is dead. Bought a new battery and charged overnight...... any ideas?
Was someone able to answer this question? I have the same issue
1. This is very difficult, you have to use much more strength than it appears and it's very easy to rip out the connector cords. Mine did not rip, thankfully.
2. Upon replacing the screen, I had to do this 3 times, I would not recommend putting the screws back in but turning on the phone and testing all screens before putting the panel back.
3. When I finally managed to ensure all displays were working, I was pushing the screen back in and cracked the glass just below the home button. This part is very sensitive as it is the thinnest portion of the glass so be careful and ensure you push from the top and go all the way around. I also had to do this twice because after cracking the glass on the first try, I also realised the top was not fully pushed back.
kkwang18 -
We highly recommend using the iSclack tool for opening the phone up. It simply pops it up with very little effort, and you won't risk damaging your screen or device.
My older phone had a swollen battery, it turns out it had distorted the display assembly enough that the suction cup only separated the screen from the display assembly. Not good.
robin -
I was in no mood to pay for the special tool and wait for it. Took the "right of headphone jack" suggestion and pushed down vertically at the edge of the frame with a "ice pick" sharp tool, " I had two of them. Who cares if you scratch the frame a little, I usually have my phone in a protective case anyhow. I kept working with this until the corner was up, and then the rest of the display was loose without any further work.
My phone is in pristine condition for a 5 year old phone, I have no cracks to speak of on the glass and the suction cup that ifixit sent me doesn't stick to the glass.
Holding the other side (top of the phone) down with another hand is extremely important. Plenty of people have damaged their screens by pulling the panel right off, ripping all the cables.
I made a series of gentle pulls and the front panel came up without problems. The opening started to appear next to the audio jack, as other people indicated. Then, I used the pry that came with the kit and the panel opened easily.
Upon reassembly, I cracked the glass at this step. The top of the screen seemed to have too play in it and on my phone—I suspect from right side brackets that may have been damaged already. Was nearly finished and applied too much pressure? to the top of the screen area to get it back into position. Snap!
I pulled and pulled on the suction cup with no results then read the comments! Ugh! Found a kiosk at the mall that will replace battery for $15. Should have saved the cost of tools. They were very pretty and well packaged though! Good fortune to all that succeeded.
Suction cup does not work. I also had to use the Garmin suction cup
K G -
This went easy. Place the opening tool in the seam near the earphone jack to pry as others have stated. Also, as insurance I wrapped a rubber band around the top end of the phone (covering the listening speaker and camera lens) so if the cover suddenly popped open when pulling the suction ring, (which it did!) the cover would not pop entirely off and damage the connector ribbon inside.
I used the suction cup that came with the replacement battery kit. It took me quite a while to get the screen loose, but ultimately it came open. They are not kidding when they said this device is tighter that most. I also use the iOpener to get the battery to let go. The iOpener worked like a charm.
ershler -
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Continue to pry up around the sides of the front panel assembly, detaching the clips along the left and right side.
while opening the front panel, i lose control and it gone so fast. And now, after putting it back, the screen is not working. What am I supposed to do? I dont have any other phone in hand and I need to repair it immediately.
yakbu -
as I wanted to close the display again, the sealing ring wasn't attached to the edge of the glass anymore. did someone have the same issue? thx for help!
luc -
I didn’t see any side clips! Could they have fallen out previously because my screen was bulging out from the case? Or did I miss them somewhere? I managed to separate the front panel from the body, but there is yet another metallic looking panel on the body. The back of the panel still attached to the front part is mirror shiny on the back of that panel.
tom -
Hey Tom! Unfortunately you only separated part of the display panel, try to reseat the display and open it again, paying special attention to step 3 which shows you where you should be prying to get those clips on the metal rail out of the phone body.
The thin glass front panel has partially separated from the plastic frame along both sides. Should I try to put a small amount of adhesive to keep it from popping out? It was pushed out by an expanding battery!
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Do not try to completely remove the front panel assembly from the rear case, as there are several ribbon cables still attached at the top of the iPhone.
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Once the clips have been released on the bottom and sides of the front panel assembly, pull the bottom of the assembly away from the rear case.
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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.
When reinserting the screen, be sure to start from the top and insert the plastic tabs on the screen into the case before advancing the rest of the screen into place, finishing at the bottom. The screen will snap into place once lined up to complete the insertion.
jeff -
This is actually very important, I was having trouble getting the front panel to go on by starting at the top. I started from the bottom instead and the bottom ended up secure, but not the top. I then tried to take the front panel back off, but because the top portion was already loose the force required to pull off the bottom led to one of the ribbon cables at the top of phone breaking.
When reattaching the screen, please start from the top. BEFORE you try to push the bottom of the screen down and snap it in, use some pressure from the bottom edge to push the screen towards the top of the phone. I suggest that by the time you get to the middle of the phone (starting from the top), you do this. It will allow for getting the clips at the bottom by the sync cable clipped in and will sit nicely and allow for you to use overall pressure to make sure the whole screen is secured. I didn't do this and I damaged the seal on the right side of the phone and almost separated my screen from the digitizer trying to reseparate it to reattach the screen. Be very carefull to follow these steps I listed. If you do this while reattaching the screen, you'll have no problem.
I also agree with it being not necessary to remove the complete front panel. I just kept it attached and kept it at an angle as I pulled with gentle, continuous force (at a 45 degree angle as suggested) on the battery pull tab. It eventually came loose, I set the new battery in and everything works perfectly.
That's the way I did it too. I put a piece of packing tape from the screen, over the top of the phone, and onto the back. That kept me from putting any pressure on the ribbon cable should the phone slip and the whole screen try to lift away from the backing.
Be careful taking the front panel off. I tried to pull it very careful but it ripped. One of the cables was damaged but luckily, it was the cable that goes out with the old front panel. It also ripped 4.1 mm Phillips screw from step 13 and it jumped to the floor. I was lucky and recovered it from the floor.
In the end everything was fine and phone works great. But remember to be super careful.
BE VERY CAREFUL!! While trying to open the phone, I was must've tried a little too much and the screen came off in one shot, and it damaged the ribbon cables. Screen didn't turn on, and it cost 100$ to repair. BE VERY CAREFUL.
Marc -
Hello guys, I would like to first thank iFixit for these amazing repair guides they have always worked for me! Thank you!.
When reassembling the phone make sure to put the screen from top to bottom, but be aware there are 2 small flaps on the top left side of the screen (you can notice them using another iphone as a flashlight) if you don't put these 2 flaps first then you are going to have a little space between the top part of the screen and the aluminum frame, at least this happened to me and then I inspected the screen using a flashlight and then I found these 2 tiny flaps behind the screen near the top left corner.
I hope it helps!
Was it just me or did anyone else discover a ribbon cable (or something like it) on the bottom end of the phone (under the home button)? It kept me from opening the front panel more than 30 degrees or so, making the replacement impossible. Thoughts?
It looks like you might actually have an iPhone 5s, that is probably the Touch ID cable, check out the iPhone 5s Display Assembly replacement here!
Thank you, Sam!
What the heck only the top part of the lcd came off, NOT together with the shield plate. I used the stupid islack opener but only the very top layer came up. I don't see the battery or anything underneath because the shield plate is still in there. I can't even put it back closed and resuction it open because the shield plate is solidly stuck in and there is a cable at the top not settling properly. I have an open lcd top part of this phone. IDK man, PLEASE ADVISE.
Hi Gabrielle, sorry you're having trouble! This frame step was meant to show you how to avoid that issue, however, you should be able to use it to pry up the frame and shield plate. You'll need to carefully pry the frame itself up. Insert a thin prying tool between the black or white plastic display frame, and the metal phone case, to lift the frame assembly out of the phone body. If you continue to have trouble, try posting a question in our forum for faster feedback!
Hello, I've changed the earphone piece on my iPhone5 following this guide but I've skipped from step 9 directly to step 17 without problem, just shutting down first. Once opened I've tied the iPhone's body vertically to a small box with an elastic ring, the display assembly resting horizontal at some 90 degrees allows enough place to unscrew and replace the earpiece.
So easy! My biggest problem is my eyesight. LOL! Had to wear glasses and use a magnifying glass. Battery took about 20 minutes. Re-installing the cover for the screen ribbons was the toughest for me. If you cant see...have someone hold the screen while you gently wrestle the screws, while holding the plate, back in.
Worth adding to the main tutorial that the screen re-install must start from the top.
I found the suction cup to be very effective in removing the front glass. Didn't take that much force to start to see the glass separate from the frame. It's a lot easier if you have a fingernail you can insert when you start to see the glass separate from the frame so that you can let go of the suction cup ring and grab a spudger to pry down one side and then the other.
When reassembling, be sure to work from the top down to get the screen display in place. There are three hooks at the top that need to be seated otherwise they will bend and prevent the top from popping in flush.
Wendy -
Add a rubber band in the picture as mentioned, I couldn’t figure out how it should be positioned, also put in instructions that front panel does not have to be disconnected as I agrree with some of the other comments it is difficult to reattach the plate, although it may be a lot easier to pry the battery out without messing with the vertical top. Otherwise, great instructions, thanks Ifixit,new iPhone battery is wonderful. Bil - 1/16/2018
The rubber band and soda can idea for holding the display in place at the proper position as depicted works great!
Thank you to everyone that has posted comments! It has benefited so many who came after you.
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Remove the following two screws securing the metal battery connector bracket to the logic board:
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One 1.8 mm Phillips screw
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One 1.6 mm Phillips screw
When reassembling, note the black jumper cable that runs next to the battery ribbon cable. Sometimes this jumper comes off its little groove and can make seating the battery ribbon cable tricky. The black jumper should travel up that little ramp and then curve to the right.
A note about screw management: ALWAYS remove screws from left to right if you are just putting them in order of removal on a magnetic trey, it helps with re-assembly. If you can, I recommend getting a magnetic white board and writing the size of the screws on it and categorizing by that, it makes it way easier and you won't ever have to worry about putting the wrong size screw in anywhere ever again.
What length are these screws?
You actually need a Phillips #0000 not #000.
Dan -
Same for me for the 1.8mm screw.
Any risk if I put wrong screw?
syidan -
So without ph#0000, i'm screwed, right?
I managed to remove all the internal screws with PH000 that came with the ifixit battery replacement kit
Gavin -
It helps if you have fine pointed forceps to remove the thin delicate plate after removing the screws. long pointed forceps also help in placing the screws into their holes when you're putting everything back together at the end.
Be very careful with the screws. I almost lost one of the battery ones. No replacement screws in the kit. You can buy them on the web, but that takes time.
I can’t remove these screws with the tools provided. I’m returning this. Useless.
ifixit should include replacement screws in the kit. i lost one and the plate is now held with one screw. Also the video leaves ALOT out. Plus no need to take cover off; you can replace battery easily without doing that step.
A 0000 Phillips screwdriver did seem to fit the screw heads better.
Robert -
I can also confirm that the Phillips 000 that came with the kit did not work on these. I used another screwdriver from a glasses repair kit and that worked great. Seems odd they would include a tool that is unable to remove the battery connector bracket. I would have been up a creek if I didn’t have the right tool already.
The PH000 worked fine for me.
Gale Benson, April 28, 2018
The screws have, indeed, Phillips 000 heads. The problem can be that the Phillips 000 driver BIT supplied with the repair kit is of INFERIOR QUALITY! I have extensive experience with Phillips head screws, and no amount of firm pressure and proper driver seating would loosen the screws. I found a micro-tool kit I had for repairing computers, grabbed the Phillips 000 bit, and it worked PERFECTLY! The instructions are pretty good, but the QUALITY of the tools supplied is a real PROBLEM.
I had this iPhone 5 battery changed previously at the Apple Store Manchester Trafford on opening the front it was clear that the red screw was missing and only the other screw was in place…. presumably an apple store screw up.
ipodista -
I used the same driver for both screws and it worked perfectly.
There must be a quality control issue with production of the PH000 bits. This is the third battery I’ve ordered, and I needed another kit because my pentalobe bit was damaged and no longer working. Anyway, the PH000 bit that came with my new kit is significantly larger than the one that came with my original kit and will under no circumstances remove the 1.6 mm screw. I pulled out the old kit, used the smaller PH000 bit and had absolutely no problem removing the screw. That would explain why some people are having zero issue with the screw and others are unable to remove it.
I noticed the 1.8mm screw had a slightly larger diameter than the 1.6mm screw. This may help if you (or I) get it mixed up during reassembly.
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Remove the metal battery connector bracket from the iPhone.
When I did this strep the battery connector (step 12) came with it. There seemed to be a bit of adhesive but it wasn't hard to separate them after the fact.
Note the long, thin forceps in the photo. These aren't included in every vendor's tool set that ships with the replacement battery and I found it a necessary tool not only for removing this particular plate, but also for positioning the screws back into their holes when you're putting the thing back together. If your replacement kit doesn't include that tool, they're only a couple of bucks and you can get them at any computer geek shop like Micro Center.
When removing the connector bracket note that there is a small square black barrier pad on the undersurface of the bracket at the lower screw location. I suspect this is to prevent the metal bracket from touching the material below it. So, ensure when reinstalling the bracket that you reinstall the pad also.
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Use a plastic opening tool to gently pry the battery connector up from its socket on the logic board.
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Be careful not to dislodge the small surface-mounted components surrounding the socket.
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Be very careful to only pry up on the battery connector itself and not the socket on the logic board. If you pry up on the logic board socket or the board itself, you may destroy the socket or damage nearby components on the board.
Oh my God.
When prying, make sure you do it from the TOP or far TOP RIGHT corner using ONLY a spudger, and NOT like it is shown here on the picture.
There is a component next to the battery connector that is easily torn off the board if you're not careful. It's a common mistake made by somebody who have never done the repair before. This will make it so the phone looks like it's charging but only ever discharges. The component is the filter for the gas gauge line which is directly to the right of the battery connector and is extremely hard to see. They look like a tiny-tiny silver cylinders and you would need a microscope to actually be able to distinguish them.
Hope this helps.
HEED THIS WARNING!!!! Not doing so failed my entire repair. When I looked with an eye loupe, I could see one of these components by the connector had been knocked loose after I removed the connector. Pry from the top ot the connector or top right corner only.
The replacement battery out of the ifixit box: The connector may not fit immediately to the contact on the logic board. I needed to bend the stiff (metal-like?) cable quite a bit to find a shape of the cable that allows the connector to fit to the contact.
Ditto the comments by Salta. I compared the iFixit battery cable to the battery cable of the one I had removed and found that I needed to kind of crimp the cable a bit where it needs to fit between the battery and the connector. It's all quite stiff. Make sure the connector snaps into place!
Re-attaching the battery connector was tricky. Make sure you align the pins well. Otherwise you may bend them and that could be a big problem.
Why do I need to take the battery out? I replaced battery a few weeks ago and it seemed no need to disconnect the screen as well.
They seem recommending taking out connections more than necessary. Anyone let me know why leaving the battery there would make a problem for replacing the screen.
kimgcp08 -
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Remove the following screws securing the front panel assembly cable bracket to the logic board:
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Two 1.2 mm Phillips screws
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One 1.6 mm Phillips screw
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This screw tends to not be attracted to a magnetized screwdriver. Take care not to lose it when removing, and make sure it gets back into the right place—a magnetized screw may interfere with the compass.
Anyone have any idea why the 1.6mm screw is not magnetic? Just wondering why this screw seems to be made of aluminum, its the first screw of its kind as far as iphones go.
crevz -
The compass is right next to it.
Tom Chai -
I'd recommend if they made that clearer in the guide, luckily I put them back in right, its the one with the little bit of blue on it if i recall that isn't magnetic
Matt -
is it necessary to disconnect the front panel assembly cables fore removing the battery ?
or can you leave it on wile replacing the battery ?
I just finished this process using the battery replacement kit from ifixit and it went easily. I did NOT remove the entire screen but rather just had someone hold it at less than a 90 degree angle until I got the battery out. I found it took a while to slowly pry the battery out. Take your time and alternate between gently using the plastic tool and pulling on the plastic pull tab that says "for authorized use only" or something like that. It was MUCH easier than disconnecting the entire screen for the process. Hope this helps.
david -
Rule #1 on electronics repair methodology: to prevent damage to the electronics, power should be the first thing to be removed and the last to be restored. I'd disconnect the battery before touching anything else, a slip of the screwdriver or a loose screw could cause a fatal short circuit.
It's no need to remove front panel to change battery. I just skip to Step 10 and successfully changed battery, and it works well. And THANKS TO ifixit.com, IT IS AWESOME!
I skipped steps 6-9. leaving the screen attached to the phone makes it that much easier and quicker to repair
Frank -
Mon téléphone a pris l'humidité et présente un fond d'écran d'aspect granuleux. Du coup l'éclairage n'est plus uniforme, nuisible pour une bonne lecture de l'écran.
J'ai démonté l'écran, une pellicule grasse et collante entre le LCD et la plaque métallique. J'ai nettoyé à l'alcool. Tout remonter avec la crainte que le téléphone ne fonctionne plus.
Le téléphone s'est rallumé, tout fonctionne normalement mais j'ai toujours ses traces sur le fond d'écran. Il faut le changer!
Mes difficultés étaient de remettre les petites vis aimantés, difficiles à remettre!
Merci à IFIXIT pour ce tutoriel très explicite.
Patrick Rosa, june 23 2014
pkrosa -
So, of COURSE I dropped the screw that you are not supposed to lose. I was being careful, but as I did not want to lose track of it, I attempted to put it back ing the phone FIRST. Bad idea. This makes the plate kind of springy, and my screwdirver slipped, and the screw popped up, spun in the air, fell between my legs, bounced off my padded chair, and clattered around on the floor. I searched for an hour, and could not locate it. BE IT KNOWN, at least in MY CASE, the screw WAS INDEED attracted to my magnet (I keep a powerful round magnet stuck to the shaft of my drivers to provite the magnetism, far more powerful than a regular magnetic screwdriver. This being the case, I WAS able to provide a substitute fron a bag of iphone 4 screws, and my compass calibrated flawlessly upon power-up. YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY, but I thought I'd add my experience.
Be warned, the 1.6mm screw is exceptionally easy to strip. I haven't been able to get it out yet (already tried rubber band trick and a few others) and am on the verge of giving up. The #00 screwdriver that comes with the set did not do a very good job of catching.
Were you ever able to get it out? Mine seemed stripped from the get go, rendering my attempt to troubleshoot my blank screen fruitless. Rubber band, glue, flat-head all did not work for me. Buying a soldering iron tomorrow to try that.
I did the repair without disconnecting the screen. I skipped down to step 13 and carefully held the screen while removing the battery. Adds a small element difficulty, but helps prevent all the issues others are having when reconnecting the screen.
The non-magnetized screw was very difficult to install. This is how I ultimately succeeded:
Install the two magnetized screws first. They are easy because the magnetized screws will stick to then end of the screwdriver. They will hold the cable bracket in place.
Place the third, non-magnetized, screw on the center of the cable bracket. Take a toothpick and nudge the screw toward the screw hole. The threaded part of the screw (the shaft) has enough weight that it will fall into the hole, and the head of the screw will be pointed upward. You will then be able to use the screwdriver.
Put a piece of tape on the table sticky side up. Set the screw on the tape head down. lift the tape and guide the screw in place. drive the head of your screw driver through the tape and tighten screw. lift off tape. throw away. :)
rdgentry -
The tape trick works well. Another way is to dip the screwdriver in alcohol (isopropanol, do NOT use water) and put the screw on its tip. It will be held there until the liquid is evaporated, which should be sufficient to put it in place.
Kater_S -
One of the screw is completely stuck and I cannot remove it! What can I do?
When putting it back together, I replugged in all three of the ribbon cables and powered on the phone to test before putting everything back together. All was OK except for the Home button, it had no effect when pressed. I ended up unplugging and replugging the 3 ribbon cables a few times and retrying. I then cleaned the connectors using a can of compressed air, screwed the little silver cover back on and snapped the whole phone back together, hoping everything would be fine. It was. I don't know if the problem was a dirty connector, or if you need to close the phone to make the home button work again.
I recommend wiping the plastic prying tool after lifting the screen off, it gets dirty from the gunk build up and some of that could eventually fall inside the phone.
My battery was really stuck, so much that the plastic tab broke when pulling. I followed someones advice to heat the back of the phone with a hair dryer, still wasn't super easy but I managed to get the battery out, only deforming it slightly.
grosstua -
The contacts for the home button are on the phone base so the screen needs to be in place for the button to work..
Step 9-12 are totally unnecessary unless you need to replace a broken screen. All you need is to keep the front panel in a vertical position once the front is open. The battery can be removed without taken out the 3 connectors which by the way the screws are very very tiny and difficult to put back.
rich1812 -
I completely agree. These are unnecessary steps. Might be a little easier to pry the battery out with the display completely off, but not enough to make it worthwhile IMHO.
Is the 1.2mm a #000 or #0000? I have a small set and can't get one of these out. The instructions say a 1.2mm, the tools list shows #000, but my set says #000 = 1.5mm.
Kevin -
1.2 mm refers to the length of the screw (from head to end), the screw head size is compatible with a Phillips #000 driver. So as long as you have a #000 you should be set! Good luck =)
frustrated...screws to battery holder is stripped, now what?
Maybe a small amount of loctite. I noticed the P2 screws holding the display down had a small amount on my iPhone 5.
Como se ha comentado más arriba, no es necesario desmontar la pantalla, yo he sustituido la batería aplicando calor con el iOpener y siguiendo atentamente la guía. Resultado óptimo.
Yes, right! I, too, do not see the need to remove the LCD display at all; except, when one is replacing a broken display. The battery is ready for replacement once you had removed its bracket.
I found that it wasn't at all necessary to remove the front glass. I did need to use a hair dryer to soften the glue holding the battery, but I simply laid the phone down on the face glass and blew the hot dryer on the back for a couple of minutes at almost point blank range. Then I simply held the phone open with one hand, making sure the front glass never went back more than about 80 degrees (no need to stretch it all the way to 90 degrees), and used my other hand to work the spudger around the battery, making sure not to touch any delicate electronics in the area. The top right corner gave away first and then I worked it down from there and the battery came out pretty easily. The trick is to use the hair dryer for a few minutes beyond the phone being too hot to hold in your hand! (you might need to use a towel to pick it up when you pry the battery out.)
The battery of my 2012 iPhone 5 was working well but started to inflate pushing the front panel assembly out from the case. Replacing is faster and easier than on iPhone 5s. No need to remove the front panel completely, just holdig it at near 90º is enough but needed to warm the case to soften the battery glue. Thanks to iFixit for this guides and you guys for your comments.
As other people already indicated, steps 13 to 16 are not needed and risky. I asked another person to hold the front panel at 70 degrees while changing the battery.
I rushed in and did steps 13 to 16 without reading the warning. There were some unexpected events that happen. The short version of this story is my screen comes up with funny looking grey squares but phone is still usable. I don’t care as my main phone is an iPhone SE and I bought the battery as a learning exercise. Plus iOS 11 doesn’t install on an iPhone 5 so it’s days are numbered as a productivity tool.
Long version. Dissemble was easy. I made sure I had used the phone so the battery was warmed up . First problem with reassembly is in step 13 the bottom most 1.2mm wasn’t biting and screwing in. So it looked like the top of the hole got threaded. Also a screw fell out of what I think is the loud speaker. That was unexpected. This iPhone 5 isn’t my original, it was a replacement phone that came in a white phone that the Apple Store gave me when my original phone from 2012 had 2 recalls on it. So I strongly suspect this is a factory refurbished phone and not 100% mint off the line.
I found I didn’t need to remove the front panel at all so I skipped this step 13 through step 16. These steps seem to add potential problems.
Incredibly helpful tips & comments. Very grateful, thanks!
Jay -
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Lift the display cable bracket toward the battery to unhook it, and remove it from the iPhone.
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During reassembly, clip the left-hand hooks under the logic board and lower the bracket towards the outside of the phone.
My iPhone 5 (1428) model don't has this bracket and replacing the earpiece don't fix my problem (don't hear anyone).
plyhell -
You might check that front camera flex cable.there can be a damage also where war speaker connects
Great Guide, Any idea what else could be wrong if Ive replaced the screen with a working 1 and the phone still has no display?
Thanks for any insight in advance.
Raistlin -
When you reverse step 7, make sure you clip the little hooks of the bracket under and then lower towards the outside of the phone. If you don't, the phone won't snap back together properly.
Dirk -
I've misplaced this metal plate AND the three screws and two pentalobe screws. I think my wife threw out the ziplock I had them in. Any chance you can tell me where to get them? thx
Don -
Don't forget to clip this in flush, my phone couldn't get a cell signal when it was slightly out-of-place.
julian -
Remember to put this plate back such that it's sitting evenly. The side towards the battery some times tends to stick up a bit, this in turn will put pressure on the backplate of the screen. After putting everything back together, you see a small yellow smear just to the left of the battery % indicator, you have not put that plate on correctly. Open up the phone, remove that retention plate and put it back such that it sits properly!
AGS -
Opened my iPhone 5 etc. When reassembling, I notice the screen doesn't stay clipped into the back tray and is raised a couple of mils.
There is also a new brighter spot on the screen. Any ideas anyone?
I really wonder about the wisdom, and risk, of removing this upper plate in step 14 - unless I missed it, those three cables are NOT connected to the battery in anyway - and the chances for stuffing up said cables re-assembly are moderate to high! I can see that one would have to be careful taking that bracket and disconnecting those three cables ( I certainly was), but it looks to me like there's a case for just undoing the battery bracket & screws and carefully - very carefully - with great patience and some good spudgers, esp the black ones we use in desktop iMacs, - flat one end; pointy the other - plus the usual blue plastic ones and even a guitar pick - prying the battery out from its hideyhole! Much less stress regarding the upper bracket and the three cables while only a bit more stress over releasing the battery from its sticky grip! Anywho, I might have to stand corrected - but next time I'll go for this abreviated method. :)
amicuset -
please do not do this part....after you remove the bracket over the battery don't mess with the 3 cables at the top or remove its bracket. Just carefully remove the battery and insert the new one. the idea of using the rubber band helped a lot with the entire procedure and i did it in one very easily. thank you ifixit and most importantly the comments. Make sure to read all the comments before doing each step even when you r reassembling.
I confirm the previous post! It’s the third times I change the battery and I just realize this time that it’s completely useless to remove the front panel. You just have to be careful if it’s your first battery change because the original one is strongly sticked on the board. Don’t be brutal! Proceed slowly.
I think that lots of problem may occur when you reassemble the front panel cables. So just don’t disconnect them !
Ifixit is great. The comments are usefull too.
jproubin -
I also made the mistake of trying to remove the cable bracket. Once again I had to resort to another screwdriver since the included 000 in the battery kit did not work on these. But once I got the three screws removed I noticed the bracket’s top corner (near the top of the unit) was stuck even when I properly pulled the bracket back to unhook the lip from the logic board. I tried pulling it free every which way but nothing seemed to work so that’s when I checked the comments here and realized I shouldn’t have even bothered trying to remove it.
Can I leave the bracket out? Does it have any shielding or antenna function? It’s hard enough to get the replacement screen in without it…
Andi -
I agree, it is not necessary to remove this cover or the cables underneath. nothing is covering the battery so just pry it out. I had the battery changed in less than 10 minutes.
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Make sure the battery is disconnected before you disconnect or reconnect the cables in this step.
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Use a plastic opening tool or a fingernail to disconnect the three front panel assembly cables:
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Front-facing camera and sensor cable
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LCD cable
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Digitizer cable
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When reassembling your phone, the LCD cable may pop off the connector. This can cause white lines, or nothing at all to appear when powering your phone back on. If that happens, simply reconnect the cable and power cycle your phone. The best way to power cycle your phone is to disconnect and reconnect the battery.
The part itfixit sent only has two cables: the digitizer and LCD are combined into a single cable. (And the guide is great! Thanks!)
After replacing the screen I was presented with a no image screen (but backlight was ok), so I refited the shartered one, same issue, no image, but backlight. thinking I might damage the pcb, I just did a power cycle (disconnecting the battery) and now it's fine.
so... always powercycle :)
poseido -
Be very careful here, at this point the phone power is live! a slip of the connectors or a loose screw could let the magic smoke out of the chips (chips won't work without their magic smoke, you know :-)
I'd disconnect the battery before messing with the connectors.
This is a troublesome step, since the LCD connector is particularly difficult to reconnect, and know that you've gotten it on. And thanks to the note claiming that if it's disconnected, if you might just get a black screen, you're left with having to disassemble the entire unit again, without knowing if it's powered off (since you presumably tried to power on). That's also nerve-wracking. I had this problem and disassembled and reassembled the entire phone, only to have the problem again. On the second try, I plugged the phone into power, and after a little bit, got the dead battery screen showing. So the problem was that the battery was discharged, not that I'd biffed the LCD connector.
A tip for knowing when your device is powered:
Activate VoiceOver before you start. this can give you audio clues with the volume control.I did not do it on purpose, but it saved me, because I got the black screen.
I also had to re-insert the display cable for like 3 to 4 times until it worked for me.(Note: Check if the display port cover is hinged on the battery side, otherwise there will be room for the connectors to come loose.)
The hint to disconnect the battery was very useful for my successful repair. After rebooting the phone everything was working just fine. Thanks!
BE CAREFUL HERE.
Take a good look at that camera loosely sitting there. It is possible that it will be slightly offset when shutting the assembly back into place. This causes it to not properly focus on closeups. If you don't move it around you will probably be okay.
Also, look at the display assembly, it has three small locking tabs that can bend easily if not pushed in at the right angle into the iPhone frame. Be careful not to be too forceful. Good luck.
info -
I am having issues removing the white lines on my screen. I made sure to connect the digitiizer connector was seated all the way and I also power cycled my phone several times. Anyone else having this issue?
If your lcd is properly fine then it can be a LCD Ic issue on pcb
When I was reassembling this the front facing camera cable was a bit longer than the previous one. I had to kink the ribbon cable a bit to get the connection to line up. Everything seems to be working but I wanted to note that the part might be slightly off spec.
I am very satisfied with the replacement display assembly (including FaceTime camera and Home button) iFixit sent. It arrived a day early, fit perfectly, and has fixed the color banding, cracked screen, and scratched edges very well. In addition, the home button now has a much crisper "click" to it, more like the new MacBook's keys vs those of an older MacBook Pro.
This step is not needed to remove the battery and complicates the process by having to reconnect the sensors.
if my lcd metal plate is scratched can i replace it to remove the lines or do i need a new lcd
When I started the phone again, there was a grid pattern and touch was not working consistently. It turns out there were two separate problems. (1) We had over-handled the cables and a quick swab of alcohol helped remove the oil from the connections. (2) The first connection is really tricky to get right and comes undone easily during the final reassembly.
I had this problem too (not the oil though). When I first restarted the phone, I had white crosses over the display, and the digitiser didn't work. The only way to shut down the phone was to hold the home key & power key for 8 seconds until the display went black. Reseating the LCD & Digitiser connectors, and power cycling by reconnecting the battery fixed the problem. Hope this info helps others.
In the image you can see the camera has lifted out a bit. Mine did this too, because the old screen had levered it out. To push the camera back into position you need to insert a fine tool behind a small metal spring contact because it catches on the camera's casing otherwise. This little spring is to the left of the metal case, between the camera and ribbon.
Great pics too. Pls confirm if the three photos in Step 15 only show removal of 2 of the 3 connectors mentioned in the instruction (and colored bullets). I could not tell which was the third one to remove in the three photos. Thanks!
So I keep getting the "white lines on the LCD" bit with no resolution. I've tried reconnecting the connector like 6 times and power cycling and I get the exact same thing every time? Is it possible that the replacement screen has an issue?
May I ask what the 4th little connector is that comes from under your battery and connects to the board mine came undone during repair and won't go back in
Cameron -
Watch the soft pad between the rear camera enclosing and the top side of the frame, especially when reassembling. After replacing the battery, my camera pictures gradually showed lots of dust spots. I opened the device again and discovered that the pad had been displaced. However, I am not fully sure if that is the reason for the spots.
Kater_S -
On reinstall, I can't get the connectors to line up and the replacement screen has 3 connectors where as my busted screen had only 2. The cables on the replacement screen are too short? Is that even possible?
I’d say removing the screen is BS. I realized that I didn’t have to remove my screen cable as I was able to flip the screen vertically while I take the battery out. Removing the screen cables causes more problems- you may end up with white squares on the top of the screen which seem to expand over time. Also it is very easy to bend little metal legs on the socket when prying the connector.
kimgcp08 -
totally agree, no need to remove the screen. It means you will have to do everything with only one hand (the other one is holding the screen), but you skip so many steps that overall it’s well worth it.
It is very important to make sure the cables are fully seated. When I finish assembling the phone I too had a vertical white stripe on the display. I disassembled the phone and reconnected the cables very carefully, and also made sure the shield was properly seated. When I turned the phone back on I found a very faint white line, but after doing a power cycle it disappeared to my great relief. Also, I would definitely recommend removing the display because it’s so hard to get the battery out you don’t need the extra risk of damaging the display.
After replacing a friend’s iPhone 5’s rear camera and reassembling their phone the screen displays verticle black lines on the right side now like this: http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i393...
Anyone else have this problem? I didn’t think about cleaning the display connectors with alcohol at the time.
Also, when the battery was too low and before the display produced vertical lines the display showed half of a low battery symbol:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i393...
Like the right side of the display was blank.
On reinstalling the front panel assembly, I had a difficult time lining up the digitizer cable. After struggling with it for a while, I noticed that the plastic shoulders of the small mounting bracket at the ends of the pins had become rounded over. After cleaning these up with a razor blade, everything slid together perfectly. Thanks so much for these guides and all the helpful comments!
I have done all these operations 6 times to get back a good displaying. The last was the last: nothing on the screen now. It is now black, no sound, no vibration, BUT the iPhone show up in iTunes O.O
iTunes asked me to update the iOS to 10.3.3 but it’s already done. I clicked OK but nothing more. Still black and quiet.
The new battery is 100% charged.
What is my problem, please help :-(
I found the part who was deffective: the connector of the screen has broken due to too much movements. :-( Screen is perfect and clean but dead.
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Remove the front panel assembly from the rear case.
My display was not turning on and my home button was not working (I verified this by trying to activate siri which didn't work). When I replaced the display assembly everything works except for the home button. Since this assembly comes with the button and the ribbon cable, I'm not sure what else can be wrong. I checked the contacts on the phone and I see the little copper 'pins' sticking out. I can't tell if they are making contact since the display has to be closed, but it appears they are lined up correctly. Does anyone have any suggestions or ways to test the contact pins? Could the home button on my replacement be defective? I've already emailed support, but just curious if anyone has any suggestions I could try while waiting to hear back from them. Thanks! By the way, SUPER grateful the rest of the display works. I can now back up my phone and can probably deal with a broken home button if I need to. Woohoo!
I'm having issues where the screen jumps around when you get a finger near it. I'm reading it might be grounding but no idea where any tape could be applied. Replaced the screen twice thinking it was a bad part. Now, I just don't know.
My front camera does not work. I took apart and ensured the connection several, several , several times.... no front camera... anyone else have this issue?
Try replacing the camera and flex assembly.
Greg M -
No info on removing the home button?
T S -
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Use the exposed clear plastic pull tab to peel the battery off the adhesive securing it to the iPhone.
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If you are having trouble peeling the battery up or if the tab breaks, apply a few drops of high concentration (over 90%) isopropyl alcohol under the edge of the battery.
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Wait about one minute for the alcohol solution to weaken the adhesive. Use an opening tool to gently lift the battery by its edge.
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Don't try to forcefully lever the battery out. If needed, apply a few more drops of alcohol to further weaken the adhesive. Never deform or puncture the battery with your pry tool.
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If there's any alcohol solution remaining in the phone, carefully wipe it off or allow it to air dry before installing your new battery.
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If you still have trouble peeling the battery up, use an iOpener or hair dryer to heat the rear case of the iPhone and soften the adhesive.
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Overheating the iPhone may ignite the battery.
The Guide misses the Point, where the Battery is disconnected, between steps 12 and 13 (German version).
Max Next -
You will see two little white gums strips with black tap on bottom. You have to pull up those two strip so battery will come out very easily
After struggling for awhile, I followed the hair-dryer tip and prying in the empty space on the case side of the battery just below the volume buttons as suggested in one of tips in step 19. Don't understand the advice in the video about the only safe places to pry. They completely contradict step 19!
Agreed on the note about the contradiction. Didn't understand that either, but makes more sense to pry along the outside of the case where you're less likely to damage any internal components.
TheJB -
I didn't need to remove the battery to complete the steps after.
That tab broke pretty easy on me. Use some heat. Seems like I am taking a lot apart to get to the lightning connector.
Instead of using the iOpener, I opted for my “patented” “Rice in a sock” and heated the sock for 1 minute, which worked perfectly. I laid the heated sock flat and used it as a mini work bench while removing the adhesive strip! My wife uses this for when she has head aches, which caused “me to not have a headache”, when peeling back the adhesive strips!
iScott -
I was very surprised by how much heat I needed to apply to loosen the glue. I used a blow dryer and then heated up a rice-filled pillow-thing I use for sore muscles. I put that inside a plastic bag to avoid the moisture and pried while phone sat on that. It was hotter than I would normally make it for muscles! But that did the trick. Still had to pry pretty hard and it finally let go with a bit of a snap. I just pried with a spudger at the open space along the left side of the battery, about mid-way up.
I found this step to be the hardest part of the repair. A hair dryer on the back of the phone worked best. I broke the plastic tab right away and then used the black spudger along the outside to gently pry, stopping repeatedly to reheat the back of the phone. The battery finally released with a cracking sound. When I repeated this process on my second iPhone, I used more heat and worked more slowly and had better results — in fact the plastic tab didn't even break.
This is a great guide; thank you ifixit! If you’re just removing the battery, there’s no need to remove the display; just be careful with the cables. Use heat right from the beginning. I used a hair dryer or heat gun. Heat the body of the phone under the battery for 2 -3 minutes. Then carefully and steadily pull back on the tab. Apply consistent even force. The battery will pop out to the left and the tab that you pulled on should stay with the phone for next time. Good luck!
B Mad -
The hair dryer trick on the back of the iPhone did it for me.
Best product for releasing pressure sensitive adhesive is UNDU Scrapbookers Adhesive Remover (hexane). Been using it for years on many things, including iPhone 3G battery. Worked a treat. Needed about 5 drops on the “underside” of the plastic tab so it ran round the corner to the gap between the plastic/battery and the tacky adhesive. I started with 3 and added a couple more when the battery was partly loose.. Gentle firm pressure pulling up the tab. No risk. Adhesive dries out and is ready to work again on new battery.
B Louis -
I was using the phone beforehand watch YouTube videos to make sure the phone and battery was warm before opening. Didn’t have much trouble getting the battery out.
I put the iPhone body’s back (with the front touchpad face (still connected to the body at 45 degree angle) attached by rubber band to a soda can) on a heated heating pad as others suggested. After two minutes I pried up on the left side of the battery with the prying tool in the convenient space just below the volume controls. I worked it slowly and within a minute it was fully peeled out.
The pull tab is beneath the thin cable, pulling the tab would just break those cables !!!!!!
Definitely, use a hairdryer for around 2 minutes and pull the tab gently. Do not use other tool like that, you prevent breaking the battery and have a potential fire.
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Use the plastic opening tool to gently pry the battery up, only at the outside edge of the phone. Prying anywhere else, especially near the logic board, may result in damage to the logic board.
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If the battery doesn't pry easily out of the case, apply a few more drops of isopropyl alcohol.
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Pry gently and evenly to avoid deforming the battery. A bent battery can be a fire hazard.
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Do not pry at the top portion of the battery, you risk severing the volume control cables.
Just wanted to add to these comments, the clear plastic tab (says Authorized Service Provider Only on it) is the way to go. The plastic for this tab goes under the battery and around and through the adhesive, if you pull it at a 45° angle the battery comes off without the need to pry on it at all. You will want to pull with a constant force, as the adhesive is very strong, but it starts fairly easily, and comes up evenly-- you'll be able to see the glue releasing as you pull.
Depending on exactly where your battery is glued, you will (or you won't) have enough room for the plastic opening tool. I didn't and had to leverage off the other side. Unlike the front cover which required surprisingly little force to remove it (almost ripped the flex cords joining the front and the back), the battery required superhuman strength to remove, destroying the two spodgers (parts yet to be found they flew off with such force) and deforming the battery (which personally I would have no use for reusing in any case).
oz -
Reading other comments of how applying too much force caused breaking of components I was too timid and the battery removal process was very time consuming. I recommend watching the video in the battery replacement guide. I was able to see how much force was being applied to remove the battery. I found that the opposite end of the plastic removal tool was bitting into my hand, which was more sensitive to the required pressure than that applied to the components. The adhesive was quite strong and I used the point end of a spudger to gradually pry up the battery where it was most stuck at the bottom right. As useful as the comment about using the plastic tab was, mine was slightly cut by the edge of a flat cable, it split and the tab came off, making prying the battery necessary. Being mindful of the balance of force is what makes the removal successful.
I use credit card and put wider side to pry battery this make batter not deform easily
do not pry on the logic board side pry for the volume keys side this
con -
I can confirm with con (mar 4). The adhesive was pretty firmly holding my battery down. So I used a metal screwdriver to help leverage the battery out from the top of the battery. Not knowing that the ribbon for the volume button and switch from the left side of the phone were under there. I severed the ribbon and now those buttons don't work anymore. But I was able to replace the battery and everything else works fine. I just have to learn how to live without those buttons anymore...
mknight -
*My plastic tag ripped while trying to pull the battery out.
*I then used a spudger type tool to GENTLY pry the battery out from the LEFT side of the case in the middle of the battery.
*Turns out all the adhesive is on the plastic tab side underneath the battery, so it is MUCH easier to leverage the battery out that way without causing damage. There is nothing you can really hurt on the left middle side either so I recommend this way if your plastic tab does not work to pull the battery up.
I couldn't pull the battery out after pulling on that tab for over 10 minutes. I used a knife on the left side where it seemed nothing was and luckily the battery slid right out no problem.
Try heating the phone at the back where the battery is with a heat gun or hair dryer (what I used) and then pull the tab, and if you still can't get the battery to start coming of give it a little nudge with a prying tool at the top.
jeru -
The battery was really glued down tight, and pulling the plastic tab eventually ripped the tab off and I could no longer use it. After 15 minutes of gently lifting with the plastic opening tool and getting nowhere, I followed the suggestion about using a hair dryer to soften the glue. I blew heat on the back of the phone where the battery is for about 30 seconds, and then used the plastic tool on the side of the phone with the volume buttons, and it lifted out with very little resistance.
I want to stress that it was not a ton of heat--I held the phone in my hand while using the hair dryer, and it was hot on my hand but never so hot that it burned me. The point isn't to cook the phone, just to warm up the glue so it gives a little.
Prying from the volume side will also reduce the chance that you dislodge the GPS connector.
bill -
Well, the battery was really giving me problems when trying to remove it. I had no chance just using the plastic tag so I had to pry it loose. I would not recommend prying the upper side of the battery as shown in the pictures due to the audio control and power button cable running just under the upper edge of the battery. I was not aware of this cable and ended up damaging it when the plastic removal tool slipped under the cable when prying. I believe this cable supplies power to the vibrator as well since that's what ended up not working when everything was back in its place. Fortunately this cable can be replaced but it looks like a bit of a hassle but i'll try. Try using the hair dryer before prying too much would be my recommendation.
I put a bowl of water in the microwave with a plate on top. Once the plate was mildly hot, I took it out and placed my iphone on it to heat up the adhesive. I tried pulling the plastic tab, but nothing would happen. I noticed that there is an ideal prying point on the opposite side of the battery from the plastic tab (an inch below the volume buttons). There are no ribbon cables or circuits there, and there is a cutout large enough to fit the plastic pry tool. Pry gently there against the case (once the phone is warmed up on the plate) and the battery comes out very easily. It really seems like that cutout is there just for that reason.
Wish I'd read your comment before I did this step! :-)
The word "pry" should not appear anywhere in the this section as the damage others have experienced witness. LIFT instead with the end of the tool. hairdryer really helped with softening and loosening the glue.
gdomnick -
Just an advice:
I think it is needless to remove the battery at this stepp. I have remove the battery at last.
Alexej S -
It would have been helpful if the notes for step 16 (prying out the battery) had mentioned that the Audio Control and Power Button Cable is fragile and behind the top of the battery! I was gently prying out my battery from the top when I tore the power button ribbon that I could not see.
Titus -
This step is the toughest one. My old battery glued on the board stubbornly and refuses to come out. It took me half hour or so to pry it out. It has deformed and way beyond usable state. The key here is to pry from all allowed angles (refer to the pictures and video), and pry patiently. Mine starts to come out after prying from the top.
Weng Kee -
When prying the battery off at the first battery position shown in the picture (the gap between battery socket the battery itself), a small rounded metal spudger (like the one that comes with the iFixit Pro Tech Toolkit) is recommended if you break your plastic prying tool (like happens to me) during this step. Just make sure that when prying up, you are not touching either the battery socket nor any other logic board component.
I also recommend to use a tool like the iOpener and put it on top of the battery for few minutes to reheat the battery and soften the battery adhesive during this step.
dcode -
I just wanted to mention that the battery can be VERY DIFFICULT to pull out. I used the plastic tab, but it broke off. I was forced to pry it out, but like I said, it didn't come out easily and the battery was all mangled by the time I pulled it free from the adhesive. This guide tells you where to pull and where to be careful, but it still made me very nervous! Just keep working at it if yours is also stubborn.
I would suggest using both the clear tab and the plastic opening tool simultaneously to be able to remove the battery.
Easy does it on this step. The adhesive is very strong. I though my battery wasn't going to come out. But even prying from all three indicated locations does it eventually.
Love how the battery changed to an iFixit branded battery, in the phone!!!!
I was able to remove the battery after applying the iOpener twice for about 10 minutes. I pulled at the plastic tab and used the plastic opening toll together. The battery lifted while applying permanent strong force.
How about using a suction cup on the battery, along with a pry tool?
I followed this advice above: “ I noticed that there is an ideal prying point on the opposite side of the battery from the plastic tab (an inch below the volume buttons)”. Worked really well. I did not have to use any other prying point. The battery was fixed with one drop of glues and with tape sticky on both sides.
Well, I looked at a different video which showed the battery removal after lifting the battery cable. So I used the pry tool at the battery cable to forcefully lift the battery. After that I happened to look at this site and saw that what I did was not a good idea. I don’t see any damage so will order a battery and insert. Luckily, this is not my current phone. I am only going to use it like an ipod (if it works).
jjdamian -
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Remove the battery.
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If your replacement battery came in a plastic sleeve, remove it before installation by pulling it away from the the ribbon cable.
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Before you adhere the replacement battery, temporarily reconnect the battery connector to the motherboard socket. This ensures that the battery is properly aligned in its recess.
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Adhere the battery, disconnect it, and continue reassembling your device.
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During reassembly, make sure the battery is seated firmly against the rear case. This will prevent any damage to other components when reinstalling the front panel assembly.
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Perform a hard reset after reassembly. This can prevent several issues and simplify troubleshooting.
I have removed the battery in many iphone 5 phones to repair other issues and never had a problem with reusing the battery.
dlash -
Hello from Cyprus there ...i have a problem when i open my iphone white lines appear on the screen so i disconnected the battery and then connect it again and the screen got black i mean black 'light ' no image appear at anyway ... Anyway i listen the sound when the phone open or change ... Any help to get reed of it?
Stelios -
That’s a backlight ic issue in pcb.you have to change it
Charge *. .
Stelios -
I can't recommend changing the battery, I did everything as shown but my iPhone doesn't work anymore. If I connect it to itunes it wants it to restore and when I do that. It sets itself back in recovery mode. I did not break anything and used only plastic tools to remove the parts. Even after I put the old battery back in it still shows the "connect to iTunes"
Does anyone have an idea what to do?
Patrick -
Have the same problem... Have you found any solutions?
Hi, I thought that when I prised the battery out, I'd knocked 2 chips off the logic board, chances are this is what's happened to you too... They need to change this tutorial to use the plastic tab to remove the battery as I've seen several people with this issue. The only way to fix this is to get 2 jumpers soldered onto the logic board. For now, I used tinyumbrella to get it out of recovery mode & I have enable to assistive touch options.
Any luck finding a solution to this? I replaced my battery and the repair went relatively smoothly... but now it's stuck in an endless loop trying to restore the firmware. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Quick tip: Don't completely peel away the plastic from the base of the phone. The plastic has a mechanical (but not electrical) purpose and should not be removed. The step directions make it seem that you can peel away the plastic, but don't do that. Peel and pry the battery out but leave the plastic in place. I made this mistake and Apple wouldn't repair my iPhone because the plastic was missing. The guy said that the plastic holds the circuitry in place and away from the battery. Do not remove the plastic.
My iphone 5 keeps switching from vibrate to ring randomly on its own. Do you think this would solve the problem"
Well, I followed all the instructions...took some time/muscle to get both the cover off and the battery out. I followed all the instructions and when I put it back together, all I get are white lines on the screen. shoulda paid the extra $50 for apple to do the battery replacement.
TO ANYONE HAVING GPS ISSUES
After replacing my battery on iPhone 5, my GPS was shotty and couldn't pinpoint my exact location. Opened it back up and realized that that longer thiner cable running the length of the battery on the circuit board side wasn't clipped in its spot. WORKS LIKE A CHARM NOW!
Be careful to make sure your replacement battery gets put in the case seated at the bottom, if not when you close up the front facing camera will be on the battery and if you force it (not realizing) you will damage the front camera
Hi Mike Hebert. Thanks for the suggestion. I went ahead and added a warning on step 16.
BLACK SCREEN AFTER INSTALL ISSUE:
The first time I put the phone back together, I turned it on but had a black screen. I took it back apart and put it back together again, same thing. I thought that I must had torn something but kept tinkering with it. I discovered that some of the foam adhesive strip that goes on top of one of the wiring harnesses that snaps the screen back to the phone had come off and was actually on the receiving side of the wiring connector bracket (probably not using proper terms here). I used the plastic tool that came with the kit and removed it (I was careful not to touch with my fingers for fear or oil getting on the harness). Tried again still nothing.. thankfully I did not give up as it turns out that connector on the far right of the screen connection harness is tricky. I thought I had heard it click before, but I really looked at this time and realized I had to turn it slightly inward to get it perfectly straight, and then it clicked. Success! Hope this helps someone.
clongjax -
hi,
I have done everything correct, but I have 2 problems, the power button and the home button is not working anymore. Can somebody help. Thanks
Roberto -
have u fixed maine also not working stuck in recovery mode and home power button not working
blero -
I have the same problem. I need help
The recovery mode problem as ive found so far is unfixable apple geeks said its toast as well as att. Ive tryed redsn0w and tinyumbrella to kick it out of recovery mode and it does but restarts right back into it. Itunes fails to update or restore. This is a significant risk to be sure, i had no problems changing the battery no clips broken no unnecessary prying and its well powered brick now.on the plus side im gonna leave it plugged in cause im hoping the added power drain will end the zombie apoc sooner.
knave3b -
I thought I'd done something wrong because my phone would not turn on.... even after a few hours. I finally charged it overnight and then did a hard restart (holding the power button and home button at the same time) and it worked! I have no experience doing this sort of thing and it was a little intimidating, but the video really helped, and it was manageable... not easy, but if you have the motivation and steady hands you should be able to pull it off.
I thought I did everything correctly but my phone didn't power on as I thought it should. I went back and double checked that everything was connected correctly (which I hope it is and I didn't damage anything in the process) I figure maybe the battery has to charge but usually once it plugs in after a few minutes it shows that its charging and in this case it is not charging. Also, I received a liberation kit with a small piece on it. Can you tell what this is for?
This is hard. Tab broke pretty easy and a hair dryer did nothing. I put a plat in the microwave with a large bowl of water under it. Heated it till I could barely touch it and then laid the phone on it. Make sure the plate is big enough for the whole back of the phone to touch it. Leave it on a few minutes and the phone should get pretty hot but still touchable. I GENTLY pried at the top and on the outside edge and it came out fine. Patience is a huge virtue on this step.
I can't get the new battery connector to snap into the port. This doesn't seem to be mentioned as a problem step for other people. Any hints?
oops, figured it out, battery was for 5s, not 5
When you install the new battery, if the compartment is a bit larger than the battery, push the battery over to the side wall and leave about 1mm space between the battery and the electronics. This will give you more room to place the battery cable with the proper twist.
By the way, it's easier if you first plug the battery connector into the board on the phone and THEN position the battery into the battery compartment. This way you'll have the greatest degree of freedom to position the connector for proper insertion.
Have followed all instructions and was careful and I think everything is intact but on trying to charge am not getting anything. Will try leaving it plugged in to charge overnight as per someone's suggestion above. But if anyone has any other suggestions as to things to look out for / check if I can put right on reopening then these would be much appreciated!
When reinstalling the cover, ensure the top edge of the cover is first pressed up towards the top edge of the body at about a 10-15 degree angle before pressing down on the cover to ensure the whole cover snaps in place properly.
I want my money back this isn’t a scam it does not work I have repaired multiple phones in my live and I haven’t see a battery part as disgraceful as this one. I demand a refund
The purpose was to discourage repair and was to encourage buying another unit. Several times I decided to change the battery myself, but looking at these procedure was enough to just let repair person do the job.
Fred
Ab Zarf -
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Compare your new replacement part to the original part—you may need to transfer remaining components or remove adhesive backings from the new part before installing.
To reassemble your device, follow the above steps in reverse order.
Take your e-waste to an R2 or e-Stewards certified recycler.
Repair didn’t go as planned? Check out our Answers community for troubleshooting help.
363 comments
When I finished installing the battery, I put everything back together the way it should be but I have two small problems.
Problem 1: The top of the screen doesn't sit the way it did before I opened it. It sticks out more at the top than the bottom. I'm not talking much, maybe fractions of a MM extra?
Problem 2: The screen isn't as responsive as before. When I'm typing, it sort of lags and then it catches up really fast, sort of like when they phone is "busy" and then it catches up with what you're typing. However, it's not only during typing but scrolling and when tapping the screen. It is generally overall less responsive.
Any ideas?
jnflego -
If others have this problem like I did too when first changing the batter. Here's the answer not in the steps in the guide:
When reassembling the case after replacing the battery and closing the case you have to do the following. The top of the screen (where the cables to the LCD screen are connected) has to be slid in first, before settling in the rest of the case, so that there is no "bumb" on the top of the case. If you don't slide in the case correctly, you will get screen artefacts (after effects, ghosting) when pressing the screen in normal use. You'll notice this immediately and should notice it by the frame not being even on the top.
Fix: Just reopen the screen top, slide the screen frame top first in place, then close the rest of the case and test. Should be ok.
he cambiado la bateria tal y como lo describen pero cuando pongo la nueva bateria no enciende pongo a cargarlo y me sale la manzanita en la pantalla y se apaga asi pasa vario tiempo encendiendose y apgandose solo paraece la manzanita no se que pueda ser
Mario -
Super easy! I am not used to repair things on the regular but this was a breeze. The video was the perfect companion. Hardest part was removing the screen, then reapplying the cover for the three connections towards the top of the phone. The piece didnt seem to sit right, but jiggling it around a little helped and worked like a charm!
While trying to gingerly open a gap with the suction cup, my entire display assembly released all at once and flew up. I think I must have damaged a trace on the flex connector going to the backlight, since I now have hot spots along the top of the display and it seems half of the what-seem-to-be 8 LEDs are dead. Brightness at full is noticeably lower than a friend's iPhone 5.
Sounds like during the unexpected release of the screen, maybe you accidentally damaged or disconnected the LED light guides that spread the light over the screen? The light is stuck at the top, making hot spots.
josephlo -
Thanks, it works perfectly. let's see now if the battery life is better.
I've replaced the battery and now when I plug my phone in, iTunes says it must be restored. I had backed up, so no biggy there, but now every time it says it's done restoring and reboots, iTunes says it needs to restore it again and it gets stuck in that loop. Could the battery be bad? Thoughts appreciated.
Brian -
Did you ever figure this out? Curious to know what I'm getting into...
Kat -
Worked great! If you have problems I would suggest that you go over each step to make sure you have everything plugged in correctly. Not a tough repair at all and totally worth the DIY! Also, if you are damaging the phone while taking the battery out, you are doing it wrong and need to read the directions!
smyrr -
if you have any small cracks in your screen, be very careful! removing and replacing the front display can easily spread the crack or press it into the display w/ a little too much pressure
Good luck!
The new battery install went well and the instructions were perfect. Since the screws and other parts are so very small I worked on top of an old T-Shirt to keep dropped parts from bouncing out of site. I also printed the instructions and taped each screw and other piece remove to the page describing the removal. Removing the battery from the underlying tape was a nightmare since I couldn't get any pry leverage and didn't want to puncture the battery (yes, they do explode when punctured). I made the removal much easier by making a loop of waxed dental floss and working one end of the loop under the connector end of the battery. It was pulled up the battery about 1/2" and then lifted up on the battery with the floss loop until the tape released it's grip. From then on the repair was quick and easy.
I skipped steps 6-9 and held the screen in one hand and removed the screws for the battery and the battery itself with the other. I did the whole process in about 5mins. Back up and running and at 100% charge. My wife's iPhone 5 is back and working. Hopefully the new battery solves the 50% to 10% instantaneous drops that her original battery was seeing after being in service for about 12 months.
Mike -
I tried this as well but I think you mean skipping steps 8-12? Anyways, good time-saver, just don't yank around the ribbon cables connecting the screen to the board and don't extend it too far past 90 degrees. Also, my battery was extremely well glued down and holding the screen removes a lot prying room from the top side but I was able to get around this by prying from the side that touches the outside case.
I should have avoided removing the plate for the screen assembly. This is the best advice I can give. It was completely unnecessary and I had the plate off before I realized that. I did the replacement without removing the rest of the connections, but getting that plate back on was by far the worst part. Don't take the steps for removing the screen assembly if you don't have to.
Yep good advice. I rigged up a little prop that helped keep the cover at 90º whilst I worked on the battery. Thanks for the tip.
Oh god. The battery is stuck in my iphone, and wouldn't come out no matter how hard I pried with the plastic tool. I tried tugging on the batter connector and it ripped off. My battery is either glued in, or it's expanded and melted into the frame. I've just bricked my phone. I'll find out tomorrow at the Apple store whether its salvagable. My $50 saved may have just turned into $1000 lost to replace the !@#$ thing. Be careful!
Kevin -
Did you try heating the back of the iPhone 5 with a hair dryer to help the adhesive release? Mine was stuck pretty well too, but the heating allowed the adhesive to release enough to get the battery out.
Jeff G -
I just replaced my IPhone 5 battery that is a year old and will not last more than 3 hours of use. Hopefully this is a quality replacement battery that I bought from ifixit. It costed more than other batteries so I hope it really is a good one. One word of advice, after turning on phone for first time after doing this guide the battery was so low it had to wait 10 mins before turning on but the scary thing was there was no signal, it said "searching" until I turned the phone off and turned it back on and then everything worked fine again!!! Phew!! I really hope this battery works better than other replacements I've had for older iPhones like 3 and 4s, they were worse than the worn out OEM!!!
Just a software bug. It can't sync with mobile network signals because the date in the phone (due to power loss) is wrong
I just replaced the battery in an iPhone 5. Upon booting the phone I was also greeted with the "Searching" notification. I simply powered the phone off and powered on. Signal acquired. phgaertig was right, just a software bug.
Same deal. Got the 'searching' and was a little nervous. Off and on again and we were back up and running. Thanks robby1889 and thanks iFixit! Another successful repair!
rpkiefer -
uffff!!!! that "searching..." bug did scare me! Thanks @robby1889 (and iFixit)!
Well I got the pro toolkit and replacement battery today and went to work. Following the steps with the ifixit app, I figured I was ready to go. I put the suction cup on and pulled firmly, only trying to get the bottom clips to open so I could use that opening tool to gently release and pry the rest of it open, as to not damage those ribbon cables. Well instead the whole front unhinged and I tore two of the ribbons clean off and I don't know if the third is still good even though it cips back on. I'm pretty !@#$%^, not at ifixit but just at how ridiculous this situation is. I bought these tools (which are great) to fix it myself but now I'm going to have to go to the Apple store tomorrow anyway to get them to diagnose it and !@#$% the damage (I hope it's fixable). Anyway I figured I might as well replace the battery so I did. Phone turns on but obviously the screen is black. It did make a repetitive sound though as if I'm plugging it into the charger over and over. Not sure what that's about.
cyfi444 -
I am experiencing the same problem. Did you have your phone fixed? What was the problem? Thanks
dch757 -
I have the exact same problem. Screen doesn't work, stuck in a roboot loop. So annoying. Did you fix it?
Marc -
iphone 5 battery change completed
, plugged into recharger and the apple screen comes up for 5 seconds then goes off and repeats every5 seconds. on, off help!
The trick with the old battery is to lift the edge with the pry tool, NOT have the look lean against the circuitry to actually PRY it off. use lifting not leverage. This will avoid applying force against the logic board and potentially breaking something. Something that should be added in the guide is that the battery cable doesn't actually clip and old into it's socket: it's actually held in place by the bracket! Otherwise, great guide and just finished doing mine with the ifixit supplied battery and tools. It works great so far!
False. The battery connector does click back into the socket.
Stiv -
Tip: to make the battery a bit easier to pry off, try warming up the battery and the phone under a hot blow dryer for a couple dozen seconds.
After I replaced the battery, my phone wouldn't turn on. I plugged it in and and got the Apple logo, but it kept turning on and off. I put my old battery back in and it powered on without it needed to be plugged in. Battery was DOA. Hoping to get a replacement for my replacement to see how it'll work out.
Did everything right, but now my screen has a high speed flicker to the bottom edges. How do I fox that? HELP
My phone did this same thing after replacing it, did you ever fix it? if you could let me know that would be awesome, thanks ryanrotundo@aol.com
RyanRR -
Phone looping through apple logo after install of new battery. Then when I place the old battery back in it works as it should. Has anyone else had issues with this?
Stanley -
I'm having the same problem... iPhone won't charge + it reboots after every 5min or so... Switch back to the original battery and everything works... (Except I have to recharge every 4hours...)
I purchased 2 batteries and a tool kit for my wife and for my IPhone 5's. Did mine first as my wife was not about to have me possibly ruin hers. LOL. Mine went off without a hitch. Hardest part was getting off the screen. The ribbon connectors you have to pull off and put back on are extremely tiny so if you're old like me a magnifying glass would be a great help so you can see what you are doing. I then went to do my wifes phone but after about 20 minutes of trying I was unable to get her screen up far enough to stick the pry tool in and pry the screen up. I put it back together and will attempt another time.
malbea -
15-20 minutes is not a realistic time estimate for this repair. Figure more like 30 minutes to an hour depending on how careful you want to be. You want to be VERY careful. A couple pointers from someone who just did this successfully:
1) The suction cup by itself doesn't work. The pry tool won't help you until you manage to get a connector undone. I used a thumbtack to help pop it open. Not saying you should do this, but that's what I did.
2) DO NOT PULL TOO HARD. You cannot force it and if you do, the display is going to come flying off and you're going to rip the 2 small, ribbon cables holding the display to the backing.
3) The glue holding the battery is a bastard but it will give if you just continuously work around it with the pry tool. Do not actually PRY the battery. Just try to shove it between the housing and the battery so that the adhesive gives.
4) When putting the phone back together, do the top brackets first. If you do the bottom first, the top will bulge and not fit properly.
I just finished replacing both my iPhone's battery and home button. In terms of the battery and home button, everything was a success - my iPhone is charging now and home button works very well.
Unfortunately, I must have somehow damaged my screen's digitizer during the process, most likely when trying to get the screen off with the suction cup. Obviously I must have applied too much force that led to my screen being damaged.
So now I have an appointment made for tomorrow morning to have a professional iPhone repair team replace my screen + digitizer. It's unfortunate to have spent the time and money on the self-repair when I'm left with a phone that can't be used now and requires professional repair anyways, but again, this was my own fault. The kit from iFixit was complete and steps were very clear.
Everything went according to the instructions. I'm passing this pone on to my wife and hopefully it won't suffer from the 50% to 10% battery dump that kicked in after about 12 months.
Thanks iFixit!
info -
I damaged my LCD following these instructions ($160 for replacement). There is NO need to disconnect the LCD to replace the battery. Instead, carefully open the case as shown in steps 1- 4 without prying up at the end opposite to the home button at all (this region contains a ribbon cable for the LCD that is very fragile). Raise the LCD screen no more than 90 degrees (see photo for step 7) and follow steps 6-7 and 9-12 (skip steps 8 and 9), pull up on the plastic tab to remove the existing battery (do not follow step 13), insert the new battery, and replace the battery connector and bracket (reverse of steps 11-12). Press the LCD back into the case and replace the Pentalobe screws. That’s it.
A Simen -
You are 100% correct!
I think it's a question of safety, not yours but the phones.
When you replace the battery for the first time it's glued down and won't budge even if you chuck it in a tornado.
Trying to remove it whilst the screen assembly is still on is going to be a nightmare, removing it might be a bit challenging but it sure helps with removing the battery clinging to the case for its dear life.
after the first replacement i agree, you can swap it without disconnecting anything other than the battery itself, but for the first time it's better to not risk breaking the ribbon cables
Lorenzo -
Completed the replacement, it was easy enough but now if I use my screen for any length of time (internet, gaming) vertical bars begin to appear across the top of the screen then the screen begins activating by itself. Guessing theres too much pressure at the top of the screen or a connector isnt seated properly so I have to go back in.
Mine is doing the same thing, did you ever fix it?
It was pretty easy for me. My 10 year-old son did most of it for both my and my wife's iPhone 5. First one took about ten minutes, the second about 2 1/2 minutes. Had to pry out the old battery using a dull kitchen knife. A little trouble snapping the glass front in on the first time because I didn't angle it in enough and get the latches to hook in the case. Had to pry everything out and try it again. Second phone went perfectly.
Especially liked that the tools that came in the kit from ifixit.com were lightly magnetized to hold onto the teeny tiny screws. The kit was a great deal! Both batteries I ordered had enough charge to turn the phone back on and verify the repair went well. Thanks, ifixit!
smithao -
The only thing I would remove from this guide would be the plying of the battery on the logic board side. Once battery is uncliped from logic board apply a little heat to rear of the case this will make life so much easyier and battery should come out with hardly an effort..
con -
Replaced my iphone 5 battery, and now the charging sound keeps playing every five seconds or so and the phone will not power on. I tried resetting the phone by holding the home and sleep button, didn't change anything. Tried another wall charger, no change. Running iOS 7.1 now; could that be the issue? Recommendations? Do these batteries work with iOS 7.1?
Replaced iphone 5 battery. Now phone won't charge or power on. Phone just plays charging sound over and over again without turning on. Tried two different wall chargers and tried resetting the phone by holding the home and sleep buttons. Could it be because I'm running iOS 7.1? Thoughts? Are these batteries MFI certified?
I experienced the same problem. After changing the battery, phone won't turn on and when in charging, it dings every 5 second.
dch757 -
Had no problems. Used hair drier to warm up phone. I also skipped steps 6 thru 9. If u do, then you have to prop up or have someone hold the top part of the phone, but at least you'll have less things that can go wrong by not having to remove the top clips.
mat -
This wasn't as easy as the video makes it seem, but it worked. Now I have a new battery in my iPhone 5. The parts that were difficult; the suction cup didn't work at all, it wasn't strong enough, but I eventually got it to pry the screen off just enough so that I could slip a guitar pick in. Once I got the pick in, it was easy to get the rest of the screen off.
The screws are small as !@#$, and I have huge hands, so just keep track of them, they'll vanish in your carpet if you drop one.
The connectors at the top of the case come off really easily, make sure you press down on them all to make sure they're seating before reassembling.
Getting the battery out was !@#$, its stuck to the frame with some adhesive, you just have to get a guitar pick under as much of it as you can to separate it from the glue, then use the plastic tab to pull it out.
Both of my blue separator tools broke almost immediately.
Tried last night. Battery is in and working but now the screen is unresponsive at the top part and has a white line going down just right off center. Why they felt the need to glue the battery in is beyond me. I thought automotive engineers were vicious. As I can't get into notification center or type the letter "N" I'll be buying a new phone tonight and try to salvage this one as a spare. Shame Battery is working mint now. Hopefully it isn't FUBAR and it's just a connection issue.
I completed this within 15 minutes. It's actually quite simple.
I chose not to disconnect the screen and simply lifted it up.
I held the screen at 90 degrees while I changed the battery.
Once all back together, the phone kept searching for a network.
To fix this, all you do is put the phone into "Flight Mode" and off again.
A brilliantly detailed and easy to follow guide. Thanks iFixit!
Ben -
Can anyone tell me why steps 6 thru 9 couldn't be skipped and the front panel be secured in place while removing the battery?
Bob -
Not everybody has a third hand. :) All kidding aside, they recycle a lot of steps from other fixes, you can see if you look at other guides for the iPhone. It was probably just easy for them to tell us to remove everything rather than explain how to hold the screen at 90° while working on all the other delicate steps. You are right though, there's no need to disconnect and then do the tricky reconnections, which probably account for most of the complaints you see here.
josephlo -
It's probably because it's hard to get the battery out, I initially tried to do it without removing the screen, but then couldn't get the battery out, and didnt' want to break it while fussing with it.. so decided to remove it.
Matt -
If your phone still displays "searching" after rebooting, check the Date and Time are correct, doing this then rebooting again fixed my network connection.
My wife's iPhone said "Seaching" the first time I turned it on after battery replacement. Turning it off then turning it back on got that squared away.
Everything went well, except it took 2 people and 1 hour, much harder than other ifixit "moderate" tasks that I've done before. Everything worked great, the "new" battery was 1.5 years old, but unlike some cheap alternatives, at least had all serial #s and dates. I'm back to having 24 hours of moderate use per charge.
Everybody needs to understand that these fixes are intended for people who really enjoy hacking around. There is serious risk of damaging your phone, you have to accept that before you start! We followed a user tip to have a white cloth to hold all parts, just lay them from top to bottom in order. Also, we used tweezers to manipulate the small screws that were not magnetic. We accidentally disconnected a small cable right next to the battery cable, but it popped right back in. All cable connections were challenging to fit back in, just need to wiggle gently until you hear the click. Having that extra hand is very helpful to hold the screen assembly, whether you choose to disconnect it or not.
josephlo -
1.5 year old "new" battery? My original battery is 1.5 years old. The new ones I just installed say they were manufactured in January 2014.
Important to note:
1) If you pry off the top silver panel near the camera, MAKE SURE that all 3 connections are firmly back in place before the repair is finished. if not, you'll have issues with the display
2) be very careful with the suction cup step (VERY VERY CAREFUL). you want to make sure to get your opening tool under the entire display, and not just the screen.
If done correctly, the repair works great. If you are having issues, you most likely messed up one of the steps. Just go back through the process from step 1 and ensure everything is done properly and you should be fine
Just finished! Had to redo the screen cables, when you put them back on make sure they all are completely down and plugged in. Also the bracket that goes over them kinda hinges from the left side, make sure this is in properly. If the cables pop out you will get white bars on the screen.
I had the white bars on the screen too. Same problem. As well, the touch screen was not working. I had to redo the reconnect 3 times and still had the white bars. I decided to accept this tragic faith and live with the white bars for the rest of the iPhone life... But then. a miracle happened, the white bars mysteriously disappeared after a few hours, gradually, as if it needed to warm up to resets itself. Not sure how to explain but worth trying before you throw your phone away. Good luck.
Less than 10 minutes and battery was at 74% when I switched back on. Hardest part was getting the tiny screws back in on the battery connection cover, my old eyes couldn't see them very well. A pair of tweezers to get them in the holes and that was me done. Thanks for giving my phone we life ifixit.
Installation couldn't have been easier. The front came off with just the suction cup, did not have to use the pry tool. I did not remove the entire display, I simply held it to the side and then used the plastic pull tab to pull the battery out. The only thing I used the pry tool for was to disconnect the battery connector from the logic board. Just make sure to pull firmly on the suction cup but keep your other hand right over the display as well so you don't rip the ribbon cables. Then do the same for the battery itself, pull carefully but firmly on the plastic pull tab and it will slowly give way from the casing. I'd say the entire process took 15 minutes, and my new battery is charging now!
Just replaced THREE iPhone 5 batteries over the weekend - mine, my wife's, and a co-worker's. I did mine first, and the hardest part was getting the screen to release. I figured out that all you have to do is pull up slightly on the suction cup, and a little slot will appear near the lower left corner (by the headphone jack) that you can get the spudger tool inside. After that it's cake. However I could NOT get the screen to release using the suction cup alone, and I didn't want to chance cracking the screen or ripping cables. Just a slight tug, get the spudger in there, and then you're good.
Also I did NOT remove the screen completely. Don't even try it. I was easily able to remove the battery screws and battery with my right hand while holding the screen up with my left hand. And the battery itself came out on all 3 phones, without too much trouble using just the pull tab. No prying required. Just use gentle, constant pulling pressure until you start to hear the adhesive releasing.
I replaced the chargerport/bottom mic without removing the battery - it does not need to be removed!
I pulled like heck for 10 minutes, pried, tried everything. Snapped a pry tool trying to remove the battery. It wouldn't come out.
Finished the job and phone is working great! $260 repair down to $15 and 2 hours of work.
Guessing that the battery got stuck after water got in my phone - maybe the adhesive turned to rock after it was exposed to water, then dried, then the phone got hot after some intense use?
Hopefully I don't have to remove the battery anytime soon - and if I do, I'm hoping a heat-gun will work.
Excellent guide, Is a fairly precise job and the suction cup that came with my battery wasn't sucky enough but I got there. Very clear instructions, just follow them and be gentle and all will go well. In response to the moron who broke the clips on the logic board prying out the battery, your an idiot. The instructions show you where to pry and your supposed to use the plastic pull tab to apply most of the force.
I ordered the tool kit with this battery. While the pentalobe driver was magnetized, the philips screwdriver seemed to almost be reverse polarity and pushed away the screws which made this very challenging. It's much easier to install the pentalobes without magnetism as the screws are so much longer than the itty bity philips screws on the inside.
Takes quite a bit of force getting the top od but after that it was simple. Put it back together and it worked plus the screen was flush against the fram as before the fix. Now I just have to see if the battery life has improved.
Was able to get the battery changed without major problems, it really is stuck down good though, so that was the hardest part, thankfully I didn't damage the logic board as some people suggested can happen if you pry in the wrong places.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The ONE issue that I do have after powering things back up, is there is a small backlight bleed at the top of the screen.
Has anyone else had this problem?
Anyone know what caused it to happen?
I've been looking on the interwebs and it looks like a common issue that many iphone 5's were initially shipped with.
It's not super major, and I can probably just live with it if there's no fix for it, I'd just like to know what caused it, as if it was going to happen I'm glad it happened to my own phone and not a friend or family members phone.
HELP!
Matt -
I wrote in my blog about my experience in following this guide. The guide here is not ALL bad but there are some issues and I do point them out.
Chad K -
All working, thanks for a awesome guide!!!
BSB Corp -
For me, the hardest parts were:
*Getting the screen off with the suction cup
-You definitely need some force to get this baby off, but not too much to damage the phone. The first time I did it, the whole screen came off at once. My heart sank a bit, considering I didn't need to use the plastic tool almost at all to get the screen off, but, thankfully, I didn't damage the ribbon cables.
*Prying the battery away from the logic board
-This is worse than getting the front display off since the battery is literally glued to the inside of the phone. I did a little bit of prying with the plastic tool (in the three designated prying spots), but stopped after fearing I'd damage the logic board. Instead, I pulled on the plastic tab that says "Authorized Service Provider Only" just enough until I could use the plastic tool more. After I lifted the battery up enough, I just used my fingers to pull it out from the phone.
*Putting the tiny screws back in
-Not necessarily the hardest, but definitely the most frustrating.
tcadii -
It took some time, but my phone is up and running again! No longer do I have to deal with it dying every 30 seconds after unplugging it (aka it dying at "100%"). I haven't had any issues with it so far :)
tcadii -
Oddly enough did the repair and the phone seems to work. Took only half an hour. The updated repair guide was super helpful especially showing where to pry if you are having difficulty removing the battery. I splurged on the magnetic repair mat. It probably saved me a bunch of time, didn't loose any screws or mix them up.
kensegel -
The replacement battery is not working after the installation, it just stayed at 20% so I installed the old battery and it worked. Is it because of the new ios 7?
I just changed out the battery on my Iphone 5 with a ifixit battery and my phone keeps rebooting every 3-4 minutes!! Its showing that the current battery only had a 18% charge. When plugged in it seems to be charging but I'm not sure because of the restart problem! Has anyone else had this issue?
ANother thing, right before it turns off the screen fades a blue-green color and distorts the screen. Then i see the apple logo. I was very careful installing the battery, didn't have any issues except that when attempting to remove the front screen with the suction cup, the screen came off very fast...but i was still holding everything close and no damage could be seen on the ribbons towards the top of the screen. Please help!!
For everyone who is experiencing this problem—yes, it does seem you got a bad battery.
I had this happen to me too, wrote iFixit and they sent a new battery that works perfectly. Honestly, this is almost a reason to do the whole thing without detaching the screen first. You can keep the screen bent less than 90° that way and as long as your old battery pops free easily, it allows for testing with the phone partially open to make sure it can run 10-15 minutes before buttoning it all back up, which is how I did it the 5th time I tore my phone apart to install the second replacement battery lol.
Hi,
I just bought iFixit battery kit for Iphone 5.
After Reboot everything worked except I had no GSM provider, so I decided to restore my iPhone.
But after 10 tries, impossible to restore, error 1669...
Could you help please?
Regards
Vinh
vphan -
Oh my word... I spent a good hour working on this... Props to whoever can constantly put these together... I've got nimble seventeen year-old hands and I was shaking like and ninety year-old. My hardest part was getting the cables to reattach to their proper receptacles. I actually had to go through the process twice, as my phone wouldn't turn on afterwards. It was in fact the battery cable that wasn't completely attached. This was definitely not easy. I miss the days of the iPhone four where I popped the back off and switched out the battery. I would recommend to anyone to do this on a white piece of paper, as the screws are EXTREMELY small. I mean small. No bigger than a flea. The other thing I recommend is to go slow and not rush, make sure all the cables are completely attached before you put the phone back together. Oddly, when I turned my phone on, the backgrounds were all blurry, however, everything functioned as it did before, I changed them and they went back to normal. Anyway, good luck!
I did manage to successfully remove & replace my iPhone 5 battery. But since then, my screen flickers a little at the bottom & it also just randomly turns off now & then (obviously this could be an issue caused by the actual battery that I replaced the original one with) - and it is obviously in no way, ifixit's fault.
But I just thought I should comment & let people know that this is NOT an easy task, and it is VERY EASY to accidentally damage other internal parts of the iPhone whilst completing this task, so if you're going to do it, then follow the instructions VERY carefully - or have someone a bit more 'tech savy' do it for you :)
Sarah -
I was able to skip steps 6-9. When it came to removing the battery from my 15 month old phone, it wouldn't budge. I heated the back of the phone with a hair dryer for 5 straight minutes and the glue finally loosened up. I took the opportunity to clean the funk off the edges of my display and get any dust out of my phone before sealing it back up. The new battery I purchased from ifixit fit perfect. Using the BatteryLife app (only available on jail broken phones) the battery shows 1329 out of 1430 mAh (93%) usable capacity. For comparison, my 15 month old battery was down to 63%. Overall I'm satisfied with the ifixit experience.
Adam -
The repair itself was pretty easy...a little overwhelming, but the instructions were clear and very helpful. I didn't even really have an issue getting the screen to pop off, just apply consistent pressure and use the lever where you see the gaps opening up instead of cranking blindly. I did have an issue with the screen initially (it was making noise, but the screen was black) but I called customer service for customer support/moral support and he guided me to just try it again, paying close attention to make sure all the connections were snapped down. Third time was a charm, and all is well. Overall, even the struggle was well worth it.
berghlau -
The last teardown I did was on my father’s lawn mower in middle school. It did not end well. We loaded the excess parts into his pickup and had the lawn mower repair shop and they put it back together.
Well, my iPhone 5 battery was acting flaky so I purchased the replacement kit and gave it a go this evening. The good news is I won’t be taking it to Apple to put it back together. Your kit and instructions are spot on.
iFixit – YOU ROCK !!!!!!!! This n0Ob will be back ! I have more i devices to repair.
Replaced with success. I read through this guide very carefully and did the steps just as written. I dropped two of those very-very-tiny screws and still found them. They are salt grain sized. I used my reading glasses through the whole process.
Done in 15 minutes! I read the instructions, then all the comments and this is what I did. The suction cup did the job of raising one corner of the bottom edge of the screen. I was careful to insert the pry tool under the entire display not just the glass. I used the business card they included in the kit to hold one corner up while I worked on the other. Once both corners were loosened, the entire display opened easily with little force. Then I skipped steps 6-9 and instead had my partner hold the screen at a little less than 90 degrees. Removing the battery proved to be one of the difficult steps. I pried from the outside edge opposite of the lower pry mark indicated in the instructions. With a little constant pressure it finally loosened. Re-attaching the new battery connector took a little patience too, but once it snapped in place, my phone was completely reassembled in short order. It looks and works exactly like it did before except that the battery does not die at 30% at 11 AM. Thanks Ifixit!
bradley -
After doing all the steps, now my iphone doesnt recognise the sim card, and it just says Searchering... and the modem firmware its blank in settings, what should i do? any advice?
I just replaced my battery and it went just as described in the instructions. Thanks for the great experience iFixit!
Jeff Buckingham
jeff -
Works perfectly, thx ifixit.
Tips: I couldn't open the front display without extra muscle help, mine was completely stuck.
Look for a gap at lower left corner, near headphone jack, it's the weakest point where you get your plastic opener in.
Skip the display disassembly step. Ask for a help of second person who's gonna hold the display assy about 70-80 degrees, so you won't get any risks about screen.
For battery removal; after getting of the connector, use your hair dryer in mid heat from the back casing, don't hold it actually into the phone, heat the rear casing so glue will be much much softer. There is a gap on the left side of battery, which is located just across the connector, there is not any chips or electronics. You can pry the battery up from that gap with plastic opener, much easier to remove because you re actually getting support from the frame, which you can't bend or harm, aluminium is tough no worries. After hearing some teared glue sound, pull the plastic tab and get battery out.
ugrasiz -
Just replaced my battery, about 10 minutes. Left the screen attached, pried battery from the case side as noted above (agree instructions should be changed) and it came out with a little bit of effort. Put everything back together and the phone works fine. Thanks iFixit!
tcox -
Hi, I replaced my battery in my iphone 5 but it would not turn on. I went back and put my old one back in and the same thing. It just will not switch on. If I connect it to my Mac it is recognised by itunes but it just keeps making a buzzing noise every few seconds, you know the noise it first makes when it starts to recharge, but no recharge and the phone gets very hot. I can't see an obvious problems with the disconnection. Any ideas?
Angela -
Angela, I'm having the same problem. Did you ever get it solved?
Philip
phbeard -
I followed the video step-by-step and it worked like a charm. I did have a little more trouble screwing the tiny screws back in place though because the screws kept on getting magnetized to the screwdriver.
Thanks for the guide. Feels great to put the phone back together and everything works. Just take your time and don't drop any tiny screws! I use a magnetic tray and label the screws with the Step number as I disassemble.
Feature wise, the iPhone 5 is the best camera I've ever had, but I've had it less than 2 years, and have had to replace the battery, rear camera, and this audio control ribbon cable. Fortunately, all of these parts are very affordable.
This battery replacement is very easy. Removing the old battery from it's adhesive is the most difficult part, but just be patient and don't force anything or use leverage against the motherboard, and you'll be fine.
Dean M -
just replaced the battery. Powered on like a champ. Only now the lightning power plug isn't charging it. Tried another lightning cord, still no luck in an AC outlet or connected to my Mac. Anyone else have this prob or any suggestions?
rod767 -
I just replaced the battery in my husband's phone. Everything seemed to go well. We put it on to charge (lightening plug), but it will not charge. Used a different lightening plug, but it did not work either. Did you get an answer to the problem you had?
calleric -
These instructions are spot on. Using the suction cup to remove the screen is the hardest part and I had to find a bigger cup to apply a bit more pressure before I could get the separator tool in but after that it was a breeze. Definitely skip steps 6-9. Thank you.
Mick -
I changed my battery having brought the ifixit kit and am glad I did.
The new battery makes it feel like a new phone.
The whole thing is rather scary and my advise would be,
read all the notes and comments,
have a pc in front of you available to look this up as you are doing it
Very importantly, do it slowly and take your time.
My battery was very well stuck down but eventually with continuas pulling it came out.
Also make sure you know which screw came from where as they are different sizes for the same parts!
I succeeded following this guide and replacing my battery and phone is working without problems.
However there is a few things that this guide does not include, and i think is very important to mention them in this thread.
1 Be careful when you use a suction cup to lift your display from the chassi, if using to much force the display will violently pop off the chassi.
2 When removing battery, try to slide something small under the battery to release it from its glue on the chassi, i had to use alot of force to get it off, i thought about giving up because it looked so easy removing it in the guide.
As somenone suggested it maybe better to use a hairdryer or a heatgun to apply heat to the battery before removing it.
3 When you have completed all the steps and assembled it back together. Reset your network settings and connect the phone to a wifi network then the phone will get the signal back.
*TIP If you arent getting signal, check that the antenna cable is connected in the logic board!
Henrik -
The screen was really hard to remove. To avoid accidents, you can actually leave the screen attached while replacing the battery. To get the battery out of its slot, I simply pulled on the plastic tab really hard and it came out, the pry tool didn't help me though.
It tooks me 2 hours to finish and in the end I have a not working iPhone without even the chance to close it:
1) during the opening I accidentally damaged one side of the metal structure attached to the screen and it doesn't come again inside.
2) Removing the old battery was REALLY hard but in the end I did it, on the other side I tried to switch the iphone on still opened and it worked, at the beginning, but after few hours it doesn't work and charge anymore...
Tomorrow I'm bringing it to an authorized assistance.
Giorgio -
Replaced my battery following this guide. Had to use the iSclack double-suction tool to get the screen off. After replacing, the battery wouldn't charge. So i opened it up again, detached the battery and blew dust off the cable connectors. Now it's perfect.
joakimm -
-I completed all the steps as told, the battery is in place but i still have two major issues with the phone.
1) The phone keeps fading out black and reactivating without the phone starting up
2)The screen (if not fading out) will display some type of codes and will not allow me to do anything except force shut off the phone
-Any insight as to what the problem may be? Really need this phone fixed.
jonny -
UPDATE: I got rid of the codes still need help with the screen
jonny -
Just successfully changed my iphone 5 battery! I read all the comments beforehand and used the guitar pick method to get the phone open initially. I used the plastic tool to pry by the headphone jack while my sister shoved a guitar pick on the opposite side while I pulled the suction cup. That was the hardest part.
Then, I went ahead and did not disconnect the screen since my sister was helping and could just hold it open. It was tough to get the battery out and the old one got kind of warped, but it wasn't working anyway. After that, just plopped the new battery in, clicked the connector in and screwed everything back in place. I turned my phone on and my battery immediately had 70% power, whereas before it wouldn't charge past 37% and kept turning on and off. I've got it charging now and am hoping it works like a brand new phone (since I previously factory reset it to try and fix my old battery)!
So I started this project after reading everyones reviews and I took the advice on the magnetic project mat which is a definitive must have. I also used the pro tool kit. All in all this fix took me about 25 minutes start to finish. Everything works just as it did before. Already performed the functions checks and even checked my photo album which still contains all my photos that I had prior to beginning the project. I think anyone is capable of doing this. Simply sit down in front of the video start and stop and rewind as you need for guidance and you will be good to go. Thanks ifixit!
Keith -
Worked like a charm for me. Used the ISClack tool to open it and glad I did. When it POPS its very sudden. The ISClack limits the gap, so I didnt have to worry about yanking on any cables. I can see that you really dont need to remove the front panel. Just support it at 90 degrees. Safer to remove it though, in case you end up in a wrestling match with the old battery. The new battery connector didnt "click" into place like the other cables. A click would have been reassuring. But I think its making contact. Phone works fine and now I have it on the charger to make sure it charges.
Being a IT guy, I need to go thru a whole use case before I can be sure all is well, but its an easy repair. Just take your time, and if it doesnt seem right, it isnt. So back track and redo any steps. You should never have to force any of this stuff into place.
Ed A -
The bracket in step 10 is very important. I tried reassembling the phone with the bracket slightly out of its seat, but screwed in, and the phone was stuck searching for a cellular connection. I opened it up and checked the cellular antenna connection, and it was good and tight, but the bracket wasn't. After fully clipping that in and reassembling, the phone began to work completely.
julian -
I installed a new button and battery today with no troubles with the tools they recommended. Found out I need to replace the lines that go to the power button because my button wasn't faulty after all. But it's easy if you follow the steps.
Just replaced battery on my iPhone 5. I skipped the step 9 thru 12 and just gently held the top display while removing the battery which just popped out after very minor prying out. I guess the glue was not so sticky. Put the new battery in place , connect the connector, 2 screws, pop the lid back in the place, 2 more screw next to charging connector and 10 min later, the surgery is done and new battery which had 2014 year manufacturing date on it is in. Worth the extra $$$. Ebay/amazon sells these batteries for around $10, but no manufacturing date on them??? I did spend extra money but I think its worth it. You know what you getting here.
aignath -
Everything went fine with my screen installation. Works good, only problem I have found is with my camera. Rear camera works fine, when I switch to front facing camera it freezes up, wont allow to switch to recorder, square, panorama, etc. Also will not allow to switch back to front rear camera. I took the phone apart and re attached all the camera components to make sure I had a good connection but still no change. What could the problem be?
Hi guys, I just finished changing my iPhone 5's battery using this guide and the iFixit Replacement Battery kit. Everything went smoothly. The hardest part was getting the display to lift off the phone. I asked a friend to help me, so I pulled on the display and he slid the plastic opener tool into the opening crack by the headphone jack. After this was done, the rest was simple. Battery came out without any problem. I just pulled a little and instantly heard a "pealing" sound when it came loose from the glue. I did not remove the display cables. Thanks iFixit!
Succeeded in changing the battery, but now there is a brown blotch at the top of the screen. What's more, the side just above the sim card does not now sit snugly into the frame.
Re-opened the phone and re-set the cables again. That sorted out the blotch on my screen.
Considerably more difficult than people are claiming, and I'm handy with a screwdriver and open computers daily. First, the supplied Ifixit suction cup is not strong enough to remove the screen. I had to go buy a stronger 3rd party suction cup to get the screen off. Second, as others have mentioned, the replacement battery doesn't fit quite right; the cable is about 1mm too short so the bottom end sticks up a bit. I ignored this and managed to get the two tiny screws (which despite iFixit's claims seem to be exactly the same size) back in. However, upon powering up my formerly flawless screen now just consists of vertical black and white stripes; nothing of use can be seen on the screen. Beware trying to do this fix yourself; it's not child's play at all. Probably worth paying $20 to someone who's done it before.
ktappe -
Excellent service from iFixit, my battery and fix kit arrived just a couple of days after ordering.
I found it pretty easy to replace the battery, the most difficult part was replacing the metal plate covering the battery connector as the screws are tiny and the plate kept moving around due to the magnetic screwdriver!
I was pleased to see that by using the free trial of iBackupbot ( http://www.icopybot.com/blog/check-ipad-... ) the new battery was indeed new, with a charge cycle count of just 2, however the full charge capacity of 1200 is slightly less than the original battery which supposedly is 1440mAh.
Here's a link to the before and after screenshots of my battery status and a time lapse video of me doing the replacement!
I took a little extra time removing the gunk that was around the edge of the screen, from almost 2 years of usage!
Hope this helps others :)
Johnnie -
Hi,
I have received the replacement battery, anf followed the instructions and took around 20 minutes the most difficult par t was remove the battery after disconnecting its cable, it is well glued to the back, in order to avoid damage to the battery of the other pieces I used both plastic pry tool and litle by litle remove the battery.
after I removed the battery and see the adhesivde tape I thought that I could have used Isopropilic Alcohol to loose it and make the battery removal easier.
While I was changing the battery I ate the Haribo Goldbären Bombons that come with the battery, that very is important to succeed
Now I am charging the Phone and see how it goes.
literally took me 10 minutes, I opted not to disconnect the lcd ribbon and just held at an angle, battery took a little prying with the spudger but came off fine, only issue I ran into was that I did not seat the top of the screen first when placing back together, this meant I had to repry the screen back off to seat properly, then the bottom met some resistance and I gave a gentle nudge to the bottom screw brackets and it seated perfectly
kahlichj -
Should be very simple fix. The hardest part is the screen coming off. I managed to damage the screen a little during the applying pressure phase.... Definitely try not to apply pressure on a particular point on the screen. TAKE ALL THE TIME. If you rush this you will f-up something.
Pointers -
1. No need to take the screen off completely can perform with screen attached easily.
2. Skip step 9 completely.
3. Definitely be careful of screws, short circuiting.
4. CAREFUL WITH THE SCREEN!
Easy fix but needs 30 mins.
hsuklee -
I had a difficult time removing the battery. The installation went okay after that but putting back together was a challenge for my "old" eyes. I used a table magnifying lamp to get the screws on the end of the screw driver and the for the placement of the screws. I had trouble with the cables but used my fingers to feel when they snapped in correctly. Buy phone rebutted and it said it had 76% battery. Everything looked fine until I needed to recharge it. It will not take a charge & now it just reboots continually (as others have said). I took it apart again and checked everything. Another hour taking the screws out, checking the cables and putting it back again. Same issue. I'm seeing that others had a bad battery. I didn't put the old battery back in as it bent coming out and I don't want to take a chance that it was damaged. So now- do I take it apart again and send the battery back? Any other suggestions??
I successfully changed my battery today, but I was surprised that my new battery was completely discharged. I put it together and tried to turn it on. I got no response. I thought I had wrecked it. I headed to the Apple Store to buy a new phone. They were out of the 64 GB iPhone 6 for Verizon. When I left the store I continued to try to turn on the phone, and I got the dead battery indicator. I charged it up, and it has worked fine. Those tiny screws were very hard to work with. It took my 20 minutes to get it back together.
procario -
I replaced the battery and a screen, and got the repeated sound problem on startup. I FIXED IT by upgrading the iphone ot 8.1
ahaavie -
Yeah! The first battery I received wouldn't charge. I ordered another battery and put it in this morning. Everything is fine; battery is charging!
Ok, let me say that I've never done anything like this before.
But it was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. It was nearly impossible to get the screen off with the suction cup. I couldn't figure out where to hold the phone from and kept accidentally turning the phone back on.
The things you pry off the motherboard are like little clips. I heard little snaps on the ones I connected.
The battery gave me the same amount of grief that the screen did. I had to jam that plastic tool all the way underneath. I think it was dangerous as the battery could've been punctured, but I didn't care anymore and it didn't.
When putting the screen back on keep the top really tightly in place and push the top corners down otherwise the screen won't go on right.
Now that it's over I'm glad I did it. Saved $50 and it worked out.
The video here is good but youtube a video with better angles.
Good luck!
The pentalobe screwdriver immediately stripped the screws. Very disappointed. Any suggestions would be appreciated
I did It in half an hour !!
I skipped steps 9,10 and 11. I requested my wife to hold the display in a 60 degree position, and just have to remove 2 screws holding the battery connector.
The hardest part was removing the display, but after that, it all was a walk in the park.
Took me about 15 minutes to do the replacement. All goes well. I didn't disconnect the screen, merely lifted it up and prayed the old battery from the sticky pads. The sticky pads are very strong and I managed to bend the old battery, but it's ok because I won't be using it anymore. Put the new one in and reseated the battery cable, close up everything and turn the phone on: no signal! Searched on web and found out that you just need to connect it to WIFI network to re-sync the clock and restart, did that and all goes well!
I broke my screen glass by pulling up on the screen with the suction cup! I was using minimal fore and had not even created a gap to put the plastic lifter tool in. There were no visible chips or cracks in the screen prior to attempting this repair. I was able to replace the battery easily but now I need to by a new screen replacement.
roblarke -
Very simple to do. There is no need for steps 9 to 12. Simply hold the screen vertical, taking care of the flexible cables that attach it to the phone. Use a screwdriver to hold the screen up.
Done without any problems in 15 minutes using the recommended tools (and the normal suction cup). Good advice not to remove the screen. I propped it up at 90 degrees and left the connectors attached and there was no problem removing the battery. Constant and gentle pressure on the pull tab was enough. Battery working well now and no issues to the screen.
Fantastic guide and good video. Feel justified in buying the tools now as they've already paid for themselves.
Alex -
changed battery in the phone.. battery was abit hard to remove.. I didn't disconnect the lcd screen only the home button.. anyway, phone is on charge but won't turn on. won't even register on my iTunes in the computer.. any help?
I was terrified about doing this. But a £1.50 set of screwdrivers and pry bars off the bay of e did the trick nicely.
All up and running within 5 minutes.
Time will tell if the replacement battery is any good.
But I couldn't believe the amount of crusty nastiness that was around the edge of the screen.
Just from a hygiene perspective it was worth pulling the screen off!!!
Alan -
Did it within 5 min. As others have done, I didn't bother unplugging the screen. Simply separated it, removed old battery, installed new one.
Only "scare" I had, in the video it shows the screen slowly separating from the frame, using the pry tool to help it come loose. Well mind didn't budge at all, pulled nearly as hard as I could (suction cup barely holding) and the screen just completely popped off.
As for re assembly, make sure you line up the top of the screen first before you try to clip it all in. I just centered mine the first time and the top didn't clip in properly. Took it apart again and lined up the top first and went perfect.
My iPhone5 was having the short battery life problem where the battery drops rapidly and sometimes will go from 40% to less than 20% or shut down all of a sudden without warning. Running my serial number through apple's website, it shows to be eligible for a free battery replacement. However my phone was jailbroken and I didn't want to wait for the store/shop to repair so I did it myself by ordering a battery from iFixit. Followed the guide for the replacement and now my phone pretty much lasts me through the day. Points to take caution is removal of the battery connector from the socket and removal of the battery from the chassis. Dont stress on the motherboard components for leverage when prying on the battery, it might be helpful to heat the back of the phone with a hairdryer instead to soften the double sided tape that holds the battery. Also to make it easier to grab the plastic battery removal tab, I stuck some tape on the tab to make it longer which I found to be much easier to get a grip on it.
I would like to thank you the Ifixit team. After having ordered the IPhone 5 replacement battery kit, I followed the instructions given in the video. I was able to do it in 5 minutes. I'm not used of this kind of manipulation and was able to achieve it with success. No issue during the intervention.
duboisf -
**REMEMBER to LIFT the battery using the tools and not pry.**
Just completed the battery replacement and all seems well.
Rather than using the pry tool to remove the battery I used essentially a guitar pick. I started on the top of the battery and rather than prying I used a turning motion on the pick to slowly (very slowly) lift the battery free from the adhesive holding it in. I was careful to only use the pick in the spots identified in the guide and all went smoothly.
I have magnetized the two screwdrivers I used to make removal and installation of the screws a little less frustrating.
Great guide! Watching the video first helped tremendously.
Wonderful guide! I had already torn down my iPhone once prior to this walkthrough so it wasn't as hard the second time around, lol. But with the battery replacement I received from this very same site, I was in and out within 20 minutes. Easy peasy :) Guide was very detailed and elaborate, I'm quite impressed with this walkthrough and the site in general. It's the perfect place to feed my desire to tinker with, and fix, electronics :3
raiden63 -
SUCCESS! HO-LY balls that was stressful! No issues as of yet. Thank you ifixit for all the help.
kiley -
Akkutausch problemlos, vorher Handy rückseitig mit Haartrockner erwärmt um Klebung hinter Akku zu lockern. (Sauger bis an den Rand setzen, Homebutton überdecken). Display nicht komplett demontiert - 15 Minuten alles erledigt. Danke für die guten Tips. Lieferung innerhalb 2 Tage. Perfekt!
Did it yesterday and everything seems to work fine, but it happened to be really hard for me.
Separating the front panel was the most difficult part, the clips held it so tightly that the glass itself started separating from the plastic frame on the left side, I freaked out a bit, and was very frustrating. In the end, I managed to separate the right side by slightly moving the suction cup to that side and then I could pry the front panel open with the plastic opening tool. This was hard too, the left side was real tight.
After that, the only problem I had was separating the battery, that glue is a pain in the @%^ and it's not easy to pull without damaging the components. I had to use a metallic tool as a lever because the plastic tool kept bending, and I still don't know how I didn't damage something.
This tutorial was good, but I'm never gonna try this again on my iPhone.
jonnyveo -
Wow, that was tricky. I can't believe how small the 1.2mm screws are. I almost inhaled one. Read the directions twice before starting. Read the comments too as they will show you areas you may mess up. Prying off the battery is really hard. Prying off the glass is hard too. I'd get one of those glass removing clamps the iSclack. Getting the screws back in is hard because the magnetic screwdriver pulls them back up after you carefully align them. I'm not sure I'd go through that again.
I was able to succesfully replace the battery in my daughters phone and get it working again. Although, %#*@ near ripped the cables out with the suction cup as the whole screen flew out all at the same time. I was expecting it, due to how hard I had to pull, so all good. Also, the Apple folks over did the battery glue because it took about 20 minutes to work it loose. I was even able to find and figure out where an additional screw went after the glass popping out. If I have to do another one, hopefully it will go a little smoother. PS Ifixit shoudl show the whole battery removal process as it is not nearly as easy as they make it out to be.
There is NO NEED to remove the screen. There is multiple guides on here and the one I read before didnt take it off. I didnt know I had the wrong guide till after I took it off. I spent 30 mins just trying to get those 3 screws back in.
IMO, gently holding the screen you can remove the batter, saving the extra time it took me to reassemble the screen twice, since it had white lines.
Kevin -
Got the kit a day early, cleaned off a space on a glass table and grabbed a desk lamp,
this was my first time doing something like this and the only problem i had was with getting the screen off but if you work at one side for a few mins (not too hard) it slowly comes up. buying the 2 piece set of plastic blue tools like in the pics helped a lot for only 3$ so i recommend them as i didn't use the green tool it came with much cause the blue ones worked a lot better. my battery like most of you, had that sticky stuff under it holding it down... but after a few mins of gently loosening it up, i got it out. being patient/good lighting will do you wonders in the end.
I noticed one problem that three other people had with no solution - and of course, that is the problem I am having too. When I charge phone, I keep getting the charging sound and vibration every 5 seconds and the phone does not come on. Tried putting in the old battery - got the same problem so it isn't the battery. What did I do wrong?
docviki -
Same here. Any success after your post?
Philip
phbeard -
I successfully changed the battery. I had three troublesome spots.
Steps 16-17. The battery was super hard to remove. The battery ended up twisted and bent by the time I got it out. The tab pulled off too. I used a bit of solvent carefully applied with a Q-tip to loosen the glue.I'm grateful the instructions told me where not to pry or I would have ruined something in my attempts to get the battery out.
Step 11. It took me three tries to get the LCD cable back on the connector such that the screen did not show white stripes.
Steps 6 and 7. I had trouble getting the screen to seat correctly. I'm grateful to commenter jaakkohyry on December 31, 2014 for the suggestion to slide the top of the screen in first.
DrMarc -
Replaced my iPhone 5 battery and it went perfectly. Took about 20-25 minutes. As others have mentioned I did not take the entire screen off. I worked carefully supporting the screen and the bottom of the phone in one hand and worked with the other. I figured only having to unscrew two screws and taking out a battery would keep the connection problems to a minimum. Battery took a little time, but slow and steady coaxed it out. Went back together in a snap. Turned it on and started up without issue. Full charge lasted me nearly three days. Much better than the two hours I was getting. Could not be more pleased with outcome.
robduane -
I was able to get through replacing the battery pretty easily. However, when I put the LCD assembly back in, somehow I managed to shatter the screen. Maybe I should have taken the suction cup off. I don't know. Now I have to order the LCD replacement. Other than that, everything seems to be working. I just hope this $30 battery replacement doesn't end up being a $400 new phone cost.
It would have been helpful if the notes for step 16 (prying out the battery) had mentioned that the Audio Control and Power Button Cable is fragile and behind the top of the battery! I was gently prying out my battery from the top when I tore the power button ribbon that I could not see. I just ordered a new one and will be digging even deeper into the phone when the part arrives.
Titus -
Everything throughout this guide was going smoothly and I successfully replaced the battery, but during the very last step of putting the screen back on I shattered the glass. I don't think the screen was seated properly and just the force of me pushing it down cracked the whole screen. Just a word of caution for those looking to do this.
Well, looks like it's time for me to just upgrade to the iPhone 6...
I had my battery replaced in store and my internet(both wifi and cellular data) has been slow and won't load videos. Is it possible that when they replaced my battery they somehow did something to make my internet this way??
I have never opened up my iphone before and am relatively new at this but I bought a kit off amazon that had tools and the battery. I used this guide and the advice of a couple people:
-After opening the casing, I jumped straight to step 14, removing the battery cover plate.
-I also used warm air to help make the battery removal easier, and after 30 seconds it popped up with minimal force
mike -
Took me about an hour. Getting the screen to start to separate was the hardest, followed by prying out the battery. The tools were great, and I feel ready to replace a cracked screen any time.
The battery was manufactured 12/2014 and had 75% charge when I installed it. Looks like an Apple part.
So far so good! Actually finished 5 minutes ago. Only problem was the pentalobe screw driver sent with the kit was to big, ended up using the philips screwdriver.
ajk242 -
The instructions for taking things out worked great. Someone should have explained how hard it is to put the 5 tiny screws back in with one person. You might suggest you have a buddy with you to hold the screen up while you put the tiny tiny tiny screws back in with the magnetic screwdriver.
This tutorial is a complete joke. I am very mad that the video ends with "just slide the battery in place." Also the fact I paid $10 extra for a plastic worthless "prying" tool is upsetting as well. There were no directions on how to correctly reassemble the phone which would have been nice.
Worked really well, and it's easy to do.
The new battery is a big pleasure, i'm happy i've done it.
For the guide: You don't have to make the steps 9-12, hold instead the upper part vertically and don't disconnect the screen.
mermod -
Thanks iFixit! I very much appreciated that the video said that the screen would be hard to get off (it was!) and that the battery could be hard to unstick. Both videos I watched made those parts look like a total snap. I was really intimidated by the sound of the battery adhesive de-adhering, which is how I found the iFixit video. This video addressed that issue, and particularly was useful in showing where to apply leverage to the battery and where to avoid! I was at first confused by the suggestion to remove the screen all together, as the other video I watched just showed the guy holding it the whole time. But, with the sticky battery adhesive, I'm glad I went "all the way" and removed it. I got more leverage and not be worried about whether I was torquing the display cables.
Like others, I struggled at first with getting the screen to snap back into place uniformly. I had to remove it again and start over, but was able to get it all snapped back as it should be, starting from the top of the case.
The battery of my iphone 5 would last 1 hour max 2 and it was so annoying. I decided to change the battery with fixit and it turned out to be super easy. Following the step by step guide, took me 8 min to change it and now my battery easily last all day!!
I didnt bought the tools/battery from ifixit i got the tools and and battery from my local store. I just followed the steps on the ifixit guide. And it worked! It was great now my phone works flawlessly!
kylejan -
I have succeeded, but i worked on the iphone for 2 hours.
It was as easy as they say. I was nervous right up to the time I turned it on. Apparently for no reason. It worked first try
Just did this repair last night on my girlfriends phone, when very smooth and could tell her battery life was way better. Thanks ifixit!
I got the battery replacement kit aswell as a new earpiece speaker... look me about half an hour taking my time. was no problem actually really easy. the old battery was hard to remove but other than that went smoothly.
just bought a second hand iPhone 5. the previous owner broke the battery connector ribbon completely off. the phone will turn on when plugged in to power but goes to the itunes connection screen. can't update or restore as getting errors. ordered a new battery, but found it interesting that it still powered up (though limited0
altomic -
When through replacement without major issues. Had to apply considerable force to pull the screen open, and then still pry it around. The battery was glued in, so again - a lot of prying. Glad I did not take the shortcut and disconnected the display fully.
I replaced the battery and phone turned on. I put it to charge and it was taking a really long time to charge and also the phone got really hot.. When it eventually charged to about 80% I disconnected it and in less then an hour and without me using it phone kept on loosing battery percentage. Eventually it turned off and now when I connect it, it does nothing at all. Battery was new and this is the second time the phone does this to the battery. what can it be? Help!
Cr Vv -
Followed instructions, about an hour later had a phone with a new dead battery. Would not charge or boot, only dead battery icon. Reinstalled old battery in 5 min without removing screen, works fine. Seems there's a Quality Control issue with these batteries.
ifixit came through, sent a new battery. This one works. Oh happy day!
No es necesario desconectar la pantalla y retirar esa parte del teléfono. Se asume un riesgo innecesario. Basta con aguantarla en posición más o menos vertical.
Las espátulas del kit no me han servido para extraer la batería. Tampoco me han valido los puntos indicados en el manual para extraer la batería con esas espátulas. Al final busqué una herramienta similar de acero y empujé la batería por otro punto indicado en un video que busqué por YouTube y conseguí sacarla. La batería no sale fácilmente porque está pegada al chasis del teléfono y hay que arrancarla. No está suelta.
Did it! At first I had some trouble when reassembling, because the display kept blank. When I connected the iPhone it just vibrated every like 8 seconds. I disconnected and reconnected all three display cables and the battery cable again, and after that it worked again.
I successfully changed my battery w/$35 kit. The Sony battery from iFixit works perfectly. I started with the corner next to the jack. I left the screen cables on, used forehead to keep phone open when prying out old battery. Hairdryer twice to warm the glue. The shorter screw for battery cable cover is too hard to replace first. A short, inexpensive Phillips 00 from iFixit worked better than my Pro Phillips - it had the right magnetism to hold the screw head on the tip, and fit inside the phone for aiming the screw into hole. After replacing the longer screw, the short one was much easier to insert with the cover attached. I slotted the top end of the phone screen in first, and the whole screen snapped into place on the first try. I have the nerve to do this repair again. Tip: Use iBackupBot to check batteries before and after. The old one had 598 cycles, had dropped to 1000 capacity. The new Sony battery shows 1500 cap. vs 1430 design. Extra 5%! I bought it in Dec 14, and it was made just 2 months earlier.
rrrbc01 -
I bought the replacement kit and did the repair following the instructions. I end it up damaging the volume control cable since it was glued to the battery. Other than that it was an easy repair.
I skipped steps 9-12 and simply held the top cover open (no more than 90 degrees) The tip of a box cutter (utility knife) used on the pentalobe screws worked with no problem. A laminated business card gently slid under two places on the side of the battery loosened the adhesive enough for it to lift out smoothly. Overall an easy process - thank you!
dmack -
I'm not a perfect English speaker but I am (As everybody here) part of this huge community! And that's why I'll do my best trying to explain my experience doing this guide, hope could help someone:
First I want to make clear that I own an iPhone 5, which problem was swollen battery, so swollen that it lifted the screen out in a quite appreciable way, so that, that if you kept the brightness full/high, you will see almost all your hand lighted because of the light shining through the lifted area... Al these without mention that through this area entered dust and particles that make my screen looks dirty and not bright and couldn't clean it without getting over the main problem first.
Well, now talking about the experience tearing down... The hardest part... Were two actually:
-Taking the front panel out; it was terrible! God, I mean, since I don't have the iSlack (God! if you can afford it, don't doubt to take it) I did it with the suction cup, it was really hard to know which was the optimal range of
... force I should have applied to it, but fortunately, I did it well, the trick is (In a area that is NOT lifted) focus there and try with an opener, separate the front panel from the rear case... As shown. That's it.
-The second difficult thing and not shown in this guide or in any Youtube video was... The GLUE THAT IS ATTACHING THE BATTERY TO THE REAR CASE, OH MY GOD, IT EVEN MORE HORRIBLE! but my trick here was, with a playing card, gently, slide it from the secure areas of the battery, deep, going deeper and deeper (Taking care of the electronic things you can move or affect with this movement) removing all the glue from the rear case and the battery, as you know, the battery was swollen, and first I thought that it couldn't take apart from the rear case because it was like prisioned there because it's volume increment, but It wasn't that, it was because of that glue that wouldn't let me take it!
That's it
Hi,
I have replaced the old battery with this new battery from iFixit. I used my phone down to 2% and then charging for the first time. It only takes 1 hour and 30 minutes to fully charge! After 30 mins using, open 1 web page, no app running background except safari, wi-fi on, 40% brightness, location off, cellular data off, the battery down from 100% to 85%, is this normal?
sonhabui -
Everyone seems to have the same problem removing the adhesive strips. Something no one else mentioned was the charge on the new battery. Mine was completely dead not even enough for the screen to show the dead battery splash screen. If yours doesn't come on after reassembly try plugging it in for 10-15 minutes.
jarickc -
When i finished everything and turned on the phone, it freezed sim lock code screen. after a while it starts receiving calls but no cellular receving bar on the upper left corner. after a soft reset, everything was working properly
Just wanted to say thanks for the video! My iPhone 5 kept shutting down even though it was showing 40 per cent battery remaining or 20 per cent. Followed this guide to the letter. It's good to watch the video first to see what to expect and then to follow iFixIt website with pictures as the pictures are enlarged. Presenter is right in that the screen is really stuck on! But if you persevere then it will eventually come off. May help to have an extra pair of hands so that whilst one is pulling it up another person can put the plastic opening tool in. Once in the only other thing is to ensure is that you don't pull the screen off (after all the frustration of trying to get in!) as there are cables connected to the screen! But works beautifully! Like new! Totally worth doing it - hesitated opening it up but didn't need to be! Thanks guys!
Hi everybody !
I just did it, and NOW it works perfectly.
First of all, by the iSlack opening tool ! I first bought the little kit, with the small succion cup, but I could not open my iPhone... Also, the opening tool was too thick to slide inside the iPhone.. So I bought the iSlack tool and a set of 2 plastic opening tools, and it went OK ! But...
First, it took me more than 15 minutes. Maybe 1,5 hour... OK, I was very careful, and I had to re-open the iPhone, because there was an artefact on top of the display. The reason : The cable bracket of the 3 top connectors was not well put back in place, so there was a "bump" that was touching the display from being, and it caused an ugly yellow zone on the display...
Bur I was confident, followed the instructions, opened the iPhone again (thank you iSlack !), unscrewed the bracket, put everything back well in its place, closed the iPhone, and Woopie ! it is perfect now, as new !
Thank you for all, the guide is perfect !
This was a snap. I did the 4S battery yesterday. Used the open 90 degree method. It is easy to hold
Suggestions
A great suggestion on the 4S page was do work on a white towel: no bouncing tiny hardware.
Mark the screw heads with a colored sharpie so they go back where they belong
The adhesive was very tough, always preheat with a blow dryer first. I heated after opening and almost blew the screws away.
Lever the plastic tool where told. Put modest pressure on the battery and the adhesive starts to let go slowly.
The pull tab to lift the battery snapped off, just use the plastic tools.
The new battery cable was stiff. Couldn't align the connector, so I removed the battery, clicked the connector in place then lowered the battery in, bottom edge first.
A toothpick helps align the battery connector cover for the tiny screw.
Slide the top of the screen into place first, then work down the sides towards the home button to re-install the screen.
Booted up fine.
No more sudden drops from 30% down to 1%.
griffn -
Got the battery today. Fast shipping considering i ordered it sunday night. Install went fine without a hitch. I do recommend that you read the guide and watch the video. You should be sure you understand what your doing before starting. I think the cause of some of the problems i see here is not having a proper idea before starting. Have something to hold the screws and i used a small flashlight to get a better look. I did have to remove the front panel as the battery did not want to release it was swollen and must likely why it was stuck. Had to pry it loose using my spudger to get it out. After install the battery had 32% charge and am charging as i write this.
Best 'tool' for removing the battery is the corner of your flexible friend a credit card slid under the battery. Off in seconds!
So I just attempted to replace the battery in my iPhone 5 and while carefully pulling the screen off, it suddenly just flung up and scared me a little. Now the phone is back together, the screen stays black an doesn't even light up anymore but i know it's on because I can feel heat from it and with the charger in, it just keeps doing the "charging" vibration. Any help? I fear I may have damaged the LCD ribbon and ultimately made my phone inoperable :s
The guide was easy to follow and allowed me to change my battery in my iPhone 5 with my son. Who, is now wanting to do this part-time as a job. It has inspired me to start icanfixtech.com with him.
Hi, can someone advise of the tools required for battery replacement are the same for iphone 3, 4 and 5? My current iphone 5 battery is failing me as it's at the 'consumed' stage but I'm still using it as long as possible. I would like to try the battery replacement for my old iphone 3 first, before attempting for my other iphone 4 & 5. I'm bit nervous doing the diy as I'm usually not great with technical parts. Thanks.
Shan S -
Completed the repair. This was my first repair and it took quite a while, but most of it was trouble shooting. My suggestions:
-When prying away the display assembly be careful, it is easy to pry it apart and possible to damage your phones clips
-When plugging the display ribbons in check, check, double check, and triple check that they are completely plugged in. This amounts to about 87% of the problems I see in the comments including: display anomalies (white bars, dots, et veteran), blank displays, and the touch screen not working.
- If you here a repetitive sound (e.g. The "low battery" sound or the sound it makes when you plug it in) unplug the battery and plug it back in; this seemed to work with me.
-Be very careful when screwing the pentalobe screws back in, as you can easily strip the screw or the flutes of the screw head
-Again be very careful replacing the display assembly. Start at the top and move down equally to bottom. It is really easy to damage the clips
Nicklas -
what can you do if the clips are damaged ? I think I damaged mine, and the top of the screen is slightly higher and moves a little.
Anyone who is having problems are either using the wrong tools, getting in a huge hurry, trying to rig things back together or all of the above. If you FOLLOW THE STEPS and take your time, its a flawless process with the correct tools. If you don't have the proper equipment then you shouldn't be messing with it anyway. Live and learn :-)
Jamie -
The battery replacement was OK but when I was all done, the iPhone didn't connect to the cell network but was stuck on "Searching..." Wi-Fi was OK.
I noticed the comment about spring-loaded connections and oily fingers, so I took the display out again and cleaned with alcohol (the cleaning variety, not the drinking kind :) but no improvement.
So I set to Airplane Mode and back again and that cleared it ! You might find this tip useful if you have the same or a similar issue.
plovell -
I was able to finally get the battery out of my iPhone 5 by prying while my friend pulled on the plastic tab.
seandl -
15 minutes and done. Thanks to the video ifixit peeps! I did notice two antennas that may inadvertently disconnect when prying battery. Easy to reattach, but you have to watch for it. Also, the plastic warning tab seems like it is also there to help pry battery. Otherwise I can't imagine why it is as big and far under the battery as it is...
Wil
wilb0620 -
Hello all,
Replacing the battery and eventually succeeded. However, on turning it on I get no welcome screen or words. The charge is very slow when connected to iTunes and the phones every 10 seconds or so vibrates twice.
Anyone had this issue and if so, what can I do to overcome it ??
Helpppppppp
I just replaced my iPhone 5 battery. I found a few diffculties specially in opening and ungluing the battery. Here you can read how I finally solved them... http://www.ebc.cat/2015/08/30/iphone-5-b...
Thank you, iFixit! I purchased the kit with the battery, suction cup, and two screwdrivers. I replaced the battery by myself without detaching the three front panel cables. I turned on the phone and experienced the common "searching" issue for the cellular network, so I checked the date/time, rebooted, and celebrated. Awesome!
Thanks so much for the guide and comments!
I just opened an iPhone 5 for the second time. I agree, opening is the hardest part. If you don't have good luck with the suction cup method, you might resort to the razor blade method which I found way easier. It does leave a little scratch mark along the joint but any case covers it. Look up YouTube jammed SIM card removal. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8m-O93gaX...
My battery was loose! It had been held only with very thin two sided tape. The phone is a refurb but I don't think the battery had been replaced because it is worn out just 6 months later.
harvey -
Just finished - took about an hour. I thought the hardest part was reconnecting the LCD connections. Had to try that a few times before I used the plastic pry tool to gently put them in place. Quick tip for those who had a hard time pulling the screen off with the suction cup. I had difficulty at first until I used my thumb nail to push down on the edge of the frame while I steadily pulled up with the suction cup. Came apart nicely after that. Good luck!
So, mine now works, a few problems though.
First off, my biggest issues were getting the screen cables back on and seated right. I'm not sure you need to remove the screen completely to remove batt. I'd recommend having someone hold screen at 90 degree angle while removing batt so you don't need to disconnect it.
If you do disconnect the screen as instructed, be careful to make sure all wire snap back into place before replacing cover on plugs. Also, when you replace the cover, the left of the cover needs to snap back into place. If the cover is not snapped in right, it will cause yellow on screen.
Lastly, I had to breck the cover for the battery wire. I'm hoping it stays in and may add super glue if it doesn't. The metal piece has tiny screws. The included screwdriver with the ifix it kit was to large and I had no tools to remove the screws. May need a tiny screw driver from a 3rd party. lastly, unless your a surgeon in your spare time, get a pair of tweezers to aid placing covers
This went very smoothly. I bought the tool with the 2 suctions cups to make removing the screen easier. The new battery is now installed and working. I'm hoping for better battery life as the old battery would not last 1/2 day anymore without some charging.
My advice: take your time. And where it says the screws are different lengths, check it out before removing the screws :-)
I used the ifixit magnetic mat, with their kit. So mat under the plastic tray with all the little cups. That gave me confidence that I would not lose any screw.
tperraut -
Well, i did in in like 45 minutes, but my problem was that the glass lift up from the top bracket, there was a very low amount of glue. looks like my phone was a refurbished one, but at least it wasnt a big problem to change the battery.
eimsbush -
I had a great experience with this kit and video tutorial! I was a little nervous I would mess something up with too much pressure or that I would forget what screws go where in what order when I was putting things back together. But nothing to worry about, it worked like a charm! I did have the screen issue some people mentioned...it was slightly tricky to get the screen closed back up. However, I remembered that the bottom lifted out before the top so I replicated this and it worked. Now my battery stays charged to 80% all day when it used to die after 3 hours. It's like having a new phone for $40! I was on the fence and about to go for the iphone 6S, but now I can hold out for another couple versions.
It took me only 15 minutes to install IFIXIT new battery . You do not have to be a pro to do it. My daughter helped me holding screen a little bit . When checked the capacity after I install the new battery it was 1400 FullChargeCapacity . I am sooo' happy with the new battery .
For people who have problems like : power button not working and other stuff.
First you have to make sure that you not damage your phone connectors by pulling and forcing opening. " All connections connectors must be in place " there are 4 connectors. One for the battery and 3 for the screen . Otherwise your phone is dead and or some things will not work.
I had the same problem with power button some other things before . I fixed it by opening it and finding that one of the connector was even not connected.
Hope this helps
Thanks
Dino
my battery started to expand and was pushing my screen out of the case. this made my case not protecting the screen . my home button also started to misbehave.
i bought the kit. easy to open the case, like a lot of people i didn't disconnect the display, it made the change very fast except that the battery was well glued to the body of the phone so i had to slowly pry it off. after that, just put the new battery and close the case carefully. my iphone 5 is now good to go! the home button works flawlessly now and my screen is not pushed out of the body anymore.
vuonghn -
The hardest part was getting that battery out! She definitely made it look easier than it was. It was also a bit challenging to get the front panel lifted off, but once I did the rest (besides the glue on that battery) was a breeze. I was concerned watching the video, initially, by the lack of instruction on putting the thing back together, but that part was absolutely the easiest.
If you handle everything gently, the whole process should be very straight-forward. When I turned it back on after the repair it couldn't find my wireless network. I just turned it off, popped the sim card out and back in again, turned it back on, and was good to go. It also didn't recognize that I had plugged it in and was not charging initially, but when I tried again a few minutes later all was good.
I am extremely pleased with the result of this repair, given that my old battery was down to about an hour of with almost no use. I've never done anything like this before, and it went as smoothly as one could hope!
apropas -
Replaced Iphone 5 battery and it was super easy!!! My phone has a slight bend in it and was told by (cr)applecare "genius" that replacement was impossible and due to the bend the insurance wouldn't cover new phone (so what does it cover?). I got a new phone (at&t insurance) and a IFIXIT kit, just thought I'd try to replace battery for giggles and it worked! I'll be returning the new phone Monday.
I didn't remove the front cover or the battery clip completely and all went well.
Thanks IFIXIT folks!!! keep up the great work; products, tools and easy to follow videos and tutorials.
rusjones -
Did it in little over 5 minutes. I guess i'm pretty technical, but anyone should be able to follow this instructions. There is no need to completely remove the lcd, but if you do, be careful with the connectors. They are more easy to disconnect then to reconnect. Removing the lcd makes it a lot easier to get the battery out though.
Great Guide! Never worked on an iPhone 5 specifically. Got her open, got inside, and closed her back up in 5 maybe 10 mins tops. Thanks!!!
Great Guide! Never worked on an iPhone 5 specifically. Got her open, got inside, and closed her back up in 5 maybe 10 mins tops. No problems with the phone and now the phone doesn't die every 20 minutes! Thanks!!!
Worked great for me! Was able to do it without unplugging the cables and separating the screen from the case. Phone works as it did before- now eagerly waiting to test the new battery. Thx ifixit! Heres to more sustainable products that make repairing easy.
Just finished installing my new battery, and everything works great. The replacement process only took me about thirty minutes. I was somewhat hesitant to do this after reading some of the issues that people have encountered here in the comments section, but it proved quite easy, and I couldn't be happier.
You can skip step 9,10,11,12 it's much easer, just be sure not to open more than 90 degrees, I put the phone on a plastic box full of hot water for a few minutes and battery came out easily .
andres -
I've followed this guide thorougfully and the action went well. The most difficult part in my case was the glued battery, that was really difficult to extract.
Completed the repair according to this tutorial. It was easy until connecting back the front panel cables. So if possible do not attempt to remove the cables and just hold the screen tilted until you are done with the battery. I had to spend +10 minutes to reconnect those cables. Removing the battery needs work though, so you have to be extra careful not to puncture or damage other components. Also I encountered the "Searching" bug, I tried turning on and off, later flight mode on and off but changing the automatic setting of timezone and manually adjusting the date/time did the trick. 24 hours passed since the repair, no problems yet. Battery did fine job. So I shall thank everyone contributing this guide.
efe -
This guide was very helpful with the pictures and directions. I was able to easily open my son's iphone 5 with the kit I ordered. Luckily I did not have to completely remove the screen. I held it upright while I removed the battery. Placed the new one and bingo! Phone started up and restored from his last back up. He is very happy.
This was great. My first DIY for an iPhone. Success on the first time. 35 min raw start to finish time.
Well I spent too much time, reading and viewing several videos and comment pages before I started. I took my time, struggled for a bit getting the screen lifted free worked steadily freeing the battery, did not "think" I stressed the connector ribbon and reassembled properly. I have the zebra screen with no function accessible. I hear texts, calls and emails ding, I can tell SIRI to make a call but no way to end and no key pad. I tried three dis-re assemblies and have had no luck. Phone was working fine before just battery was dying before I tried the battery replacement. Now I too have a well powered brick. Any ideas?
Logjammerz
I wish the video was a little more detailed. The guide itself has all the necessary precautions, but if you follow along with the video you miss a lot of warnings and comments. Watching the video, I missed the advice about disconnecting the battery first and also about the magnetized screw placement. But, the repair went very well for me. No problems that I can see.
Completed repair, now screen won't turn on, and (only) when plugged in the phone buzzes every few seconds. Pulled it back apart, checked connections, no dice, tried the power button + home button combo for 10 seconds but no change. not sure what to do now. Any suggestions?
rusjones -
Hi
I just changed my battery of my iPhone 5 and everything went easy. I recommend to control that you use the right screwdrivers because they all looks the same but they aren't and you can easily damage them for ever! Message for iFixit. Why is my new battery92,7 % of my design capacity? Are these batteries out of factory not new?
Willy -
Hi - when I followed the video and used the suction cup and the prying tool to lift the screen, only the screen lifts up and I can't access the inside of my iphone 5 or get to the old battery. I don't know how to pry open the body in the way that the video shows. Can anyone help?
top afgewerkt
This guide is fantastic!! I got the fixit kit to go with it! Wonderful!
I ignored steps 9 - 12 and just held the screen at the 90 degree position, to save time. Removing the old battery was a bit difficult, as it didn't want to unstick. Also had a little trouble getting the new battery connector to lock in place. But even with those two minor issues, I still finished the job in around 5 minutes.
Resist -
I just did the replacement following the YouTube video and it went great. My iPhone is working well again. My battery was almost dead, I had to charge the phone every 5 hours at least doing nothing with it. If I had a phone call the phone died in 10 min or less with the battery fully charged. Now after the replacement is doing great.
Tip: when taking out the littler screws watch out to don't lose them because some of them don't get attached with the screwdriver. But mostly if you have any doubt is better to watch the video. It's pretty much the same, but it's a different way to get it.
Great guide guys, thanks a lot! Saved about £120 by doing it myself. Trickiest bit was getting the three Philips screws (that held the connectors for the front panel) back in place, and there was a tense moment when the phone couldn't find a signal (restarting it solved that, thank you previous commenters!), but overall very straightforward job with excellent instructions. Word of warning - the metal bracket that holds the front panel connectors does not come away as cleanly as in the video, as there is a metallic strip adhered to it. Just in case anyone has an oh s**t moment at that point, it's all good. I accidentally detached the bracket from this strip, but there was a receiving clip for the strip on the main phone body, so no harm done.
Hi guys i chamgedtthe battery as described here just a quick one to pull the battery put use a hair drier to soften the glue behind the battery for like 5 seconds. Takeing it apart quick hands 10mins but the battery drovee craZy so i had to take it to the phone shop and for $20 he did it thats wer i saw it easy.
That night my battery died low charge then plug in and had tp connect to iTunes went into recovery mode pain. Ur gonna end up loosing everything set as new phone no other way then google it and shows u how to exit the recovery mode.
Max -
When i tried to open the front panel , the right side suddenly opened.
and the plastic frame at the upper right corner left the screen.
How could i repair that ?
I have the same problem in iphone 5C
Another comment : why the instructions didn't disconnect battery first ?
Basem -
I followed the instructions for the battery replacement and in about 10 minutes or so I was finished. The battery was tough to get out, but overall it was a very easy repair. I was a little bit nervous when taking the screen off, but it came off without any problems. I put the phone back together and have not had any problems so far. I did notice that when I was prying the battery out, some other connections popped loose. I made sure the re-secure every connection that I could see. The new battery had about a 30-50% charge on it when I turned the phone on. I am going to let it run down to about 10% before charging to 100% so that the new battery can be calibrated. I have no complaints and am very happy with the tools and spare parts that I have ordered from iFixit.com.
The kit and instructions are fantastic, but I seem to have a problem. After reassembly I had about 20% power in the new battery so I let it get down to 9% and went to charge it fully - it has stopped charging at 14%. I have the icon next to the battery indicating the charger is on (and it "dings" when I plug it in), but it doesn't seem to be taking a charge - any ideas on what the problem could be?
Dane Belden
Austausch des Akkus hat super funktioniert. Danke IFIXIT! Die Displaykabel muß man nicht entfernen macht das ganze erheblich einfacher.
gerçekten çok yardimci oldu mükemmel kendi bataryami kendim değiştirdim böyle bir kolayliği sağladiğiniz için teşekkür ederim
My suggestion: follow the written instructions, not the video (specifically, the part where it advises to pry the battery out via 3 locations - it turns out if you pry at the top, you risk damaging the volume control circuits - pry from the side instead). Otherwise, great tutorial! Thanks!
Very nice. I went at it one step at a time. First, remove the screws. Then, put the suction cup on the bottom of the display. Next, 'use more force than one expects to need.' Finally, have the display leap off the iPhone tearing lose and breaking all electrical connection to the iPhone body. At last, after a magnificent oration of American profanity, obscenity, and blasphemy, accept that one must purchase a new iPhone and give up on home repairs.
Since my original battery was bloated I was terrified of it. So I put on my helmet and motorcycle gloves but still managed to get it out with the plastic tab and some pliers :)
Now the "problem" with the new battery is that it charged from 1% to 100 in less than an hour (attached to my MBP), and hast lost 11% in the last hour or so. Does the new battery need some kind of breaking-in?
BATTERY REMOVAL: It is very important not to pull too hard on the battery when it is time to take it out. The double side tape holding this thing down can hold down a tractor. Do not use metal tool to pry it out: you may puncture the battery and short it. This will start a very disturbing blaze! The trick is to heat with a hair dryer the back side of the phone to soften up de tape. This will really improve ease of removal. Otherwise changing the battery is quite a reasonable operation to complete.
flps74 -
I just finished replacing the swollen battery, that pushing the screen up, took about an hr , I am very pleased with the instruction, My 4 years phone is like new again. Great job ifixit!
blaczene -
I just finished replacing a swollen battery ,that was pushing the screen up, separating from base. took about an hr , following instructions. My 4 years old phone is like new again. Great help from ifixit!.
blaczene -
Hi everyone!
I bought the kit for this and followed instructions on this as best I could and it's a very easy manual. Word of warning: I heeded the reviews and tried my hardest to open slowly, but it comes quickly so BE AMAZINGLY CAREFUL! My display came to quickly and I broke the cable that connects to the lcd. This required me to buy a new display off of amazon. And another helpful tip: all of these parts that ifixit sells can be found on Amazon for a fraction of the price. I would recommend buying from there and following the guides on ifixit.
It's true you can buy just about anything on Amazon (or eBay), but not all parts are created equal.
I replaced my battery and it seems to work fine, but the bottom left corner by the home button will not close completely. I have take it apart again but I can not seem to see what the problem is. Any Ideas?
I just changed my battery last night. Woke up still had to wait for the battery to get to 10% and charged it uninterrupted until 100%. I have tested it by using it to play two songs on Bluetooth in my car and at my blood donation. It has decreased to 88% in 1hour, not as bad as my last battery (which could shut off at 30%) but is this ok I figured the battery would discharge slower!
to Change the bat is not a Problem but now i can't switsh on my IPhone-all black. What can I do?
Amazing that I was able to do this. I'm awesome. Wait... you guys are awesome. Great step by step and video. I'm ready to move to China and assemble new iPhones. Cheers.
Everything seems fine with the install. Removing the face plate was difficult the first time and when I put it back, it did not lay flat with the top sticking out a bit. I tried for an hour to get the face plate off again to reposition it and lay it flat and it was impossible. I had to give up, which is frustrating because now my phone looks uneven. Everything else seems to be functioning fine after the install and I will continue to use the phone because I have no other option.
You don't need to remove the screen to replace the battery. Just let it rest so it doesn't fall forward to close while you remove and replace the battery.
Reading all of the comments first was very helpful. They convinced me to NOT completely remove the front screen, and to instead support it vertically with a can of soup and rubber band while taking the battery out. This way, you only have 3 things to remove: the battery connector bracket, the battery connector, and the battery itself.
One note about removing the battery: heating the back side of the phone (very lightly, a little at a time) with a hair dryer seemed to help to loosen the glue. I put a spudger on the OPPOSITE side of the battery from the plastic tab and pulled up gently, and it came off. Pulling on the plastic tab did seem to help at all to get the battery off.
When the battery swelled up it partially separated the display from the metal frame. What kind of glue do I need to use to reattach the display to the frame?
Changing my iPhone 5 battery was surprisingly easy.
I didn't need to pry open the screen. I just pulled with the suction cup and was able to open the whole screen in 30 seconds!
I heated the back (to loosen the glue) BEFORE opening the screen, maybe this is what made the screen removal easier. (dilated metallic rear case?)
Then I didn't fully remove the screen but attached it to a mug as advised by others.
I heated again the case to loosen the glue and was able to remove the battery by pulling on the plastic tap.
slnyc -
Same as the previous person; opening the case was surprisingly easy, I used a large jar of Dolmio spaghetti sauce and an elastic band to keep the screen upright.
Battery was stuck hard so I used the hairdryer on the back of the case and it came out very easily (there is a nice cutout in the frame of the case on the left halfway along the battery that the blue removal tool fits into perfectly).
No issues turning it back on all worked perfectly straight away.
Took about 15 minutes start to finish.
I bought the kit from iFixit in Europe and replaced the battery successfully in around 30 minutes BUT you do need to read all these comments and take care... Two tricky things I found were:
1. lifting the screen wouldn't work until I slip a razor blade slightly between the screen and case in the headphone area this helps release the clip and then the plastic tool can be easily inserted around to ease the clips open so you don't need to use much upwards force..
2. the battery was REALLY well stuck so I gently warmed the whole phone in a food dehydrator to around 50 C for 20 minutes and then the glue released easily using the plastic tab...
I think it's these two stages that done wrong or with too much force cause all the problems in the comments about!
Thanks for a cheap way to keep my phone going - 25% of the costs Apple would have charged...
Excellent instructions. Thank you for the warnings, the smart suggestions about screws, etc., and the clear photos. The project took me 40 minutes, but I was trying to be super careful. Great guide.
The project was successful the first try and took about 1 1/2 hrs (including a thorough cleaning of the phone before putting it back in the otter box. Most of the time was taken just trying to get the front open enough to use the prying tool. The suction cup worked fine, but the problem was that there's no good way to get a firm grip on the case to pull hard enough on the cup to create a gap for the prying tool. Ended up using a razor blade on the bottom to pry it open initially. The penta screws holding the case together were easy to deal with. However the the 2 smaller screws at the battery connector were a real challenge to get off and on even with the magnetic screwdriver. It seems to me that the phillips screwdriver supplied with the Ifixit kit is a size to large for these screws. It worked, but the screwdriver kept slipping on the screws, especially the smallest one. Were the screwdriver a size smaller, the screws would have been more stable on the end of it as well when replacing them.
Excellent guide but overcomplicated. Disassembling the screen is completely unnecessary.
Worked well but BE CAREFULL of Interconnect cables. I changed the battery, everything went well but when I wanted to use my GPS, it didn't work. After a bit of googling I found the answer on... iFixit Answers :) I had to check if the interconnect cables were well connected. And in order to do that you have to redo the entire process to access those cables.
Anyway it works well :)
Not for the faint of heart...very stressful...could not pry up screen until saw comment about prying in vicinity of audio jack first...did not bother to completely disconnect screen from chassis...just propped up screen using can of coke and rubber band...needed my own jewelers screwdriver to unscrew battery connector guard..ifixit driver did not work...sat chassis on physical therapy hot pad to soften glue to remove battery. Job took a stressful 45 minutes...turned phone on...perfecto! Thanks, ifixit!
Excellent guide and commentaries. The guide really helped me to complete this precise task with ease. It took me about 1 hour and some change to get it done, and the battery and phone are working flawlessly and better than its seen in months. Big cheers to the author and everyone commenting and offering their tips. Mahalo!
drzane -
Easy Peasy!! Thanks :-) btw: took quite an amount of force to pull the screen off. If you only have a suction cup on the screen (like i did) try to wiggle it out. If you just pull, it'll eventually come off, but, you need to be careful not to rip the ribbon cables, when it suddenly releases. Anyway, thanks again, my dad will be happy with his new battery. :-)
@andrew Thanks for this guide. It really helped me, since this was my first repair. I just have to point out that the included Philips #000 screwdriver is too big for the screws that hold the battery connector bracket down.
way too easy. like a walk in the park.
But i'm so dumb that i did remove old battery and install the same &&^&^$^ battery(lol) doubling time spent :(
my phone just doesn't turn on put everything followed the instruction but I got a black screen
People with black screens / white lines you need to look at Step 15 again and read the note in red.
I found a really beautiful way to make opening the phone easier. Put the ring of the suction cup over a sturdy clothes hook! I went in my closet and used a hook mounted on the wall as an extra hand. Then I could pull the phone with one hand and use the plastic opening tool with the other hand. I had the phone opened in seconds. This guide was great, but do pay attention to the comment about hooking the top of the screen back in first, before trying to close the phone. Also, while you have the phone open is a good time to blow the dust out and clean the sapphire camera lens cover.
I did not remove front panel assembly (or attached cables) and it went smoothly. I just left it at a sub 90 degree angle (attached to a food can with a rubber band)...cut down on time, possible problems, and sweat.
Start prying the screen off from the headphone.
Only needed to pry the battery from the battery cable area and then pulled from tab.
make sure to read through the comments too. takes more time but was very helpful and made the process smoother learning from others successes and failures :)
Worked well except for the phillips head screwdriver included in the repair kit. It wouldn't fit the screws well. I used a 1mm flat head screwdriver which worked much better. 2 iPhone 5's back in operation!
Instructions worked perfectly. Second successful iFixit repair or upgrade in 3 days (first iMac, now iPhone). Fast shipping too for parts. Thanks!
Replaced the battery without any problems but I am experiencing a little issue. When I make a phone call I sometimes can't hear anything. If I turn speaker phone on it seems fine, but as soon as I turn it off it goes silent again. Have I not connected something up properly when putting everything back together? Has anyone else had this problem?
I just finished a replacement of the battery and the phone would not turn on. The area around the CPU would get very hot when I plugged it into power. I thought for sure the U2 was the problem but the fix turned out to be much simpler. If you look at the Yellow frame in step 15, just below that box where the top left corner of the CPU shield is, you will see a small notch in the corner of the shield.
When I was prying the battery out I must have pressed down on that corner and the shield was shorting to something on the board. Thankfully no damage was done. After carefully prying this corner up and away from the components below, the phone booted up and all is working fine.
I did not use heat to soften the glue. My suggestion would be to take whatever steps you need to soften the glue and make prying the battery out much easier.
Thanks for a great guide!
Success! Much easier than I'd anticipated, probably because I did a display assembly replacement before I had done this (thus, how I discovered the bad battery, which was swollen so that the new display wouldn't fit on the phone...). All seems good so far, just recalibrating the battery. My display fits all the way around the phone now, no gaps, and hopefully my battery life will be better as well. Thanks!
Shelbi -
Do you need to buy any replacement adhesive to hold the new battery in like you do with the iPhone 5S?
Kienan -
You have some options when reintroducing adhesive! You can definitely use adhesive strips like those used in the 5s. You might need to cut them down a little, but these will work when putting in your new battery. Keep in mind that the existing removal tab won't work the same way if you use this method. In addition, the pull method used to remove the 5s adhesive WILL NOT work with this battery. Heat and gentle prying will be the only way to remove the 5 battery adhered by 5s adhesive strips. When you remove the original battery, there will be adhesive left over from the first battery. If it is still really tacky, you can try to rely on the old adhesive to hold your new battery in place. I recently did this replacement, and I used a strip of double sided scotch tape to keep my battery in place. It is working well, and I would definitely suggest it as a good option.
Let us know if you find one solution to work better than the others!
Just replaced my iphone 5 battery with success. Bought the kit together wit the tools. Even with technical background you need to be concentrated at all times or something can go wrong. To much force on one part and it can snap :). So Thank you Ifixit for the battery and the Haribo candy ;)..
It took me about 10-15 minutes. I didn't bother removing the display assembly. I had the kit from ifixit and the handle on the suction cup was easy to scotch tape to a weighted box. Do be careful prying out the battery. I used the recommended prying points in the video as I didn't have a hair dryer or iOpener handy. I would recommend prewarming the adhesive unless you are skilled in such repairs.
crij2000 -
Super easy, probably took about 30 minutes as I was being careful with the screen and separating it from the chassis.
Notes:
I didn't bother disconnecting the screen from the body (I skipped steps 13- to 16).
Instead of prying the battery out, I turned the phone over and heated up the back with a blow drier (on high heat) until the back was warm to the touch (maybe 45 seconds?). I turned the phone over and the battery came out easily using the clear plastic pull tab.
Re-assembly was super smooth but be sure to seat the top of the phone's screen (the ear piece) first into the chassis. It doesn't seem like you can simply pop the screen back into place in any order.
Once the top of the phone was seated back into the chassis, it was easy to pop the sides and finally the bottom into place. Phone boots up on first go with no issues whatsoever.
Thanks iFixit for the great tutorial, parts, and speedy shipping!
Jonathan -
Put those tiny little screws on a piece of electrical tape as you take them out...and lay them down in a visual pattern that approximates their placement on the motherboard. Now matter how careful you are, these teeny tiny screws want to bounce and skitter away!
Better yet, use a magnetic project mat. :)
When I replaced the battery and put everything back together, there were now two lines down the front of the screen. What did I do wrong?
READ THIS FIRST: All that stuff about removing cables at the top of the phone is wasted time and aggravation. Remove the battery cable cover, remove battery clip and replace battery.
Once I had the phone opened and did the battery clip step, I couldn't see any reason to remove those cables at top.
Googled, found this vid.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQqPm3Lm... and saved some time and trouble. No idea why iFix is recommending that extended useless process. Caveat is you will need to secure the top of phone or have a person helping you to hold it in place and not extend beyond 90 degrees.
Additional notes: my wife helped me with this and was way better pulling the screen with suction cup than I was (and we had to do that twice). Once you get enough opening on the screen, just use the pry tool to pop the clips; stick to the bottom half of phone when doing that. Finally, be gentle above all. these are small delicate parts. And ground your hands/tools by touching to a lamp or other metal.
Great Guide, I also didn't remove the front panel cables, was able to replace battery safely. Old battery came out easier than expected, so I didn't remove front panel. Just take more care when you don't remove front panel. I did have problems opening up the iPhone case, the suction cup let go a few times. Four hands made it easier ^^;
Hi, this battery works for me, for an iphone 5 cdma A1429
jimy109 -
Just completed replacement of my iPhone 5 battery. Like many others, I also did not disconnect the front assembly, but instead propped the display at a 90 degree angle against a fairly sturdy object (an iPhone box), secured with a rubber band. This worked very well.
When it comes to the step of lifting the battery out, the adhesive is very strong. I also tore the pull tab, but that was no real concern. I used a hair dryer with hot heat and heated the back of the phone for about 30 seconds, evenly waving the hair dryer behind the area where the battery sits. I then took the plastic pry tool from the iFixIt toolkit and applied firm, constant pressure to the middle-outside edge of the battery, below the volume buttons. The battery lifted fairly easily and it was just slow and steady the rest of the way.
When seating the iFixIt replacement battery, had a bit of trouble fitting the connecting cable between the battery and logic board socket, but went slow and steady again, slotted it in and secured the cable.
TheJB -
After replacing my iPhone 5 with the Ifix it battery my vibrator, volume button and power button stopped working. I really need help to figure out why because I did every step correctly to make sure nothing wrong happened to the phone. Is there any way to figure this out?
Perfect guide. Images are very clear. Just completed replacing worn out battery with a new one purchased from ifixit and everything went smooth. Phone is in perfect working condition. Thank you.
Will local batteries work good in iPhone?
Works perfectly (Tools and Battery)
First time opening iPhone5 for Battery change. Done in approx 35 mins.
Well done!
Steffen -
Replacement effectué en une petite demi-heure, en prenant son temps (première fois que j'ouvrais mon iPhone).
N'hésitez pas à regardez la vidéo, en plus du tutoriel pas-à-pas, car elle donne quelques astuces supplémentaires ;-)
Retirer complètement l'écran n'est pas indispensable, mais ça permet de travailler bien à l'aise pour décoller la batterie du fond du boîtier. Et comme ce n'est pas très compliqué, ce serait bête de s'en priver (surtout si on n'a pas de canette sous la main).
Aucun problème au remontage. Toutes les fonctionnalités de mon iPhone marchent sans problème.
Nicolas -
Phone won't go back together. What a piece of $@$*.
Samsung for this family!
Can duplicate battery works well in iphone 5?
Took me probably an hour. The first run through, I finished and had power, but the screen was blank. Siri would talk to me, though, so I knew it was working. The problem stemmed from removing the screen entirely. I think I could have--as people mentioned above--done without those steps (13-16). However, once I took it back apart and reassembled, it works fine. Fully charged it last night and have been trying to drain the battery with purpose since. It's holding its charge really well.
Worked like a charm: the steps are clearly explained, and the photos are very informative. Using the iSlack was very easy, and far more securing as using a simple suction cup, with wich you can't really control the range or motion (and could break the screen cables). Definetly a good investment.
Took me about an hour, mostly due to some difficulties with the little connectors and the stiffness or the cables (mostly battery and LCD cables). Putting back the screen connectors bracket needed many tries. And how tiny are those screws !
But nothing impossible, you just need some patience, a steady hand, and a good lighting.
Woo hoo! Love my iFixit tools and my re-juiced iPhone. The replacement was so easy and just took 20 minutes. Would have been faster if I hadn't dropped that 1.8mm screw! Had to scrounge on the floor for it.
Happy to say that my drowned iPhone 5 from three years ago is once again working as it should. Actually I had planned on using the drowned phone for practice but was pleasantly surprised by having it operational again. Then I went out and bought a second kit for the phone I originally intended to fix. Thanks all at Ifixit!! JC.
My wife's iPhone 5 needed a new battery, so I followed the instructions here at iFixit and, voila! Like buttah! Just watch the video, pre-read the instructions and above all, take your time. Considering my first repair consisted of changing out the LCD screen and digitizer assembly of my wife's phone, this was even easier.
I didn't think I would say this, but it was even easier than replacing my macbook battery (which I recently had to do and didn't have the right screwdriver for). The kit from ifixit for the iphone is great! It even comes with extra case screws in case you lose one. For 20 bucks, my iphone is back and I saved myself hundreds by not having to get a new phone.
Here are my observations (which were all expected after reading the posts)
The screen was tricky to pull up. The suction cup is necessary, but it was hard with only two hands. I ended up using my thumbnail to hold the screen while I grabbed the plastic tool that was in the kit. Glad I didn't cut my fingernails beforehand.
Like many, I didn't disconnect the screen which saves time and probably a lot of frustration.
I had my phone in my pocket for several hours before attempting the feat. I think that helped warm up the adhesive on the battery as it came up rather easily. I did have a hair dryer ready just in case.
I used a white t-shirt for the screws.
I encouraged my brother to buy the Repair Kit and some tools. I did the work for him. I was expecting extreme difficulty, but it was a lot easier than I expected. Using the Guide, I was able to open the device, keep track of the screws, remove the battery and replace it, then in reverse order close up the device, and when I turned it back on, it had a battery with very low wear level (according to Battery Life app by Robert Tkotzyk). I have a 5s with a bad battery and I am awaiting delivery, looking forward to using the guide for that device.
The tool with the two suction cups (I forget what it's called) made opening the device a lot easier than without it.
Jonny V -
Reall Easy replacement, my first time opening an iPhone myself and replacing a battery. Bought the whole battery replacement kit from my local frys electronics for $30. If u don't have all the tools that u would need for this fix a def recommend buying a kit. You can always keep the tools for any other fix u might need to make in the future, so always good to have :)
Also forgot to mention that I was able to get away with skipping steps 13-16. No problems when closing the phone back up. Just make sure not to open the phone past 90 degrees while working on it.
Easy repair with these instructions. Some issues I noticed along the way, the screw map has not been updated to follow the new instructions. I can see how many folks can get away with skipping steps 13-16, but if they are going to be included in the walkthrough, they should be earlier, perhaps inserted between 9 and 10. All things considered, really solid walkthrough. This is my second successful attempt at this procedure.
A word of caution: steps 13-16 (disconnecting the display) should always be performed after disconnecting the battery. If you detach the display while it's still connected to power, you risk blowing up the backlight filter—and at that point you're no longer in DIY territory.
No issues. All clear. Phone has new life. After battery first discharge/charge cycle phone's standby time 63 hours with 15% left.. Thanks a lot!
I encountered a couple of problems with the fix that the text and video tutorials didn't really elaborate on. The biggest was getting the pry tool underneath the screen's seam. It was really tricky gauging how much force I needed to use with the suction; the screen bent a little too much for my liking without leaving so much as gap for the pry tool. I didn't end up using it as the screen popped off all at once and (luckily) left the connections intact.
Now, the battery itself, while a little better at holding a charge, only lasts ~5 hrs of usage and 45 hrs of standby. It was really surprising when I saw how quickly it drained right before my eyes. At my second full charge cycle it drained 2-3% with just me looking at the home screen for 1 minute-- and, mind you, this is while it's set to the lowest brightness, with no background apps, BT off, BG refresh off, and only data and wifi on. I have no idea if this is an issue with iOS 10 or my specific device, but I guess it's back to low power mode again for me.
jayd -
When I put everything back together with the new battery. Then turned it on. I am getting black and white vertical lines! What did I do wrong? Can't seem to turn it off either
Open the phone back up, disconnect the battery, and check all the display cable connections (the little flat pop connectors in Step 15). Most likely, one of them isn't fully seated, and that's why you have lines. Reassemble everything and perform a forced restart. If you still have trouble, post your question in our Answers forum, or contact customer service.
Thank you so much! It worked! But its not an easy procedure. First difficulty was to lift the display, second difficulty was to unglue the old battery. But a hair dryer and some gentle force finally did it. I have one screw left over (the one near the compass, but i don't care). Wonderful!
Easy fix and did the battery replacement within 10 mins. You can literally skip steps 13-16 as long as you do not go past a 90 degree angle with the screen.
I was able to do most of this within 25 mins because I struggled with the screen; I took time prying off the connectors and reconnecting them correctly. It took me an additional 10 minutes per screw to reposition and align them on the magnetic tip because they're so tiny. So even though the screws kept screwing me around, I got it done. It all looks good so far!
Ordered the kit and finished replacing battery. Followed the steps. Thanks for easy video and instructions. First time I have worked on an Apple product. I am no longer scared to work on phones. Now if I can fix my iPhone 6 Plus. With the ghost screen problem. If not I will be switching back to my 5!
A Bailey -
I did not have these instructions when I attempted this repair. I had other instructions not as detailed. The biggest issue was getting the battery out. The plastic tab pulled off and the battery was stuck to the phone. Even heat did not release it. I had to do a lot of prying and I fear I may have damaged the phone trying to get the battery loose. I was careful but I had to pry on both sides to get the battery out. I fear I damaged the board. Now the phone is stuck on Hello and it want do a hard reset. I tried doing an update, but it returns to the Hello screen. Any suggestions as what to do next?
Thanks a lot. It works fine
Fabulous instructions! It's my first time cracking an iPhone, and I replaced the battery with no issues. I have one suggestion: you might want to tell people to work on a dishtowel because if they drop a screw it won't bounce.
The method I used was to place the phone on a hard table surface, push the suction cup down so that the bottom is about 1/2" from the top of the Home button, brace the sides of the phone with one hand, pull up on the suction cup ring with the other hand's index and middle fingers while using your thumb and ring finger braced on the table for stability so that you don't pull too hard and rip the ribbon able. It really doesn't take that much force before you start to see the glass start pulling from the frame. As it does pull back, try to stick your finger nail into that crack to hold it open while you grab the pick or spudger and then work your way down one side and then the other.
I just received my ifix batter today after work. I have some experience working in the lab when I was an undergraduate student, so I thought I'd try fixing my own phone. The most difficult part was removing the front display --- the suction tool wasn't very useful. At first, I was afraid of break the screen, but even when I tried forcefully, it took me quite a while to pop it open. I had to do it again and again to pop a big enough gap for the pry tool. Then removing everything was straight forward, and you can give some force while using the pry tool. It worked okay for me.
The 2nd difficulty I encountered was putting back the 3 connectors for the display. Had to put it at an just right angle.
At first, my phone didn't restart, so I just simply unscrewed everything (the few screws shown in this manual) under the display and re-screw them while making sure the connectors are connected. Then it restarted fine.
Not sure how good this new battery is.. will see.
New life for our iPhone 5 ... the process of replacing the battery could not have been easier. This guide was flawless and the tool kit was right on the money. The suction cup made removing the screen assembly a breeze, the spudger came in very handy as did the twizzer tool, and of course the custom bits for the screw driver ... perfect ... thanks iFixit.
Worked great, thank you, after holding the charge for approx ten minutes my iPhone 5 now actually resembles a smartphone. Hope it will last longer.
Directions were spot on. As others have said, skip steps 13-16.
I have a chemo-therapy induced neuropathy (Numbness in my finger tips), yet was able to replace the battery in my iPhone 5!!! If I can do it, anyone can. It took about 40 minutes from start to finish. The 'Repair Guide' worked great - the instructions were spot on! The process, following the 'Repair Guide,' worked well! The tool kit was essential. The only mishap was that I lost a 1.8mm screw during the reassembly of Step 10 (Lesson Learned - get the magnetic pad at iFixIt). But, the phone works without that one screw. Thank you! david+
I bought the Iphone tool kit which had the right tools to open up the phone and the gide was very helpful to change the battery.
I was already using an after makrket battey
which stopped working after 3 months of use and sometime i updated the iOS. I went back to the previous original iPhone battery that was replaced old and is fully functional and the battery is charging better than before. The instructions are well done. Thanx!
Alex -
This manual works like a charm. I fixed my first iPhone without any issues. Thank you !
Although the instructions were very good and useful, the inconsistencies between the video and the steps are concerning. I read all suggestions from users and found them very useful complements. In the end, it was easier than expected. The only problem was that I lost a pentalobe screw (fell on the floor and was never able to find it!!!???), but thank goodness the kit came with a couple extra screws. I added a few more comments on the relevant steps.
I’m the least handy person in the galaxy, so I was dubious whether my phone would get through this unscathed… But it totally worked! Followed the instructions, used a little common sense, took my time. Didn’t even end up losing any of those itty bitty teeny tiny screws! Feeling very capable right now. As was the case for most people, first step was the hardest. Sat there trying to suction the screen off for a good 15 minutes, before giving up and trying a razor blade, which was a breeze to get the screen off with! So there’s my tip. I’d also say follow the written instructions, rather than the video.
PLEASE NOTE: It was not necessary for me to disconnect and completely remove the front panel assembly in order to replace the battery.
Also, my old battery had begun to increase in size forcing the glass display to separate from the front panel frame. This could have been disastrous if I had not looked closely at the pictures in the instructions. I could have easily fully detached the glass and ruined the display. Fortunately, I realized this and removed the frame that holds the glass display from the iPhone while the display was still partially separated from the frame. Upon reassembly, the glass snapped back into place on the metal frame. When the glass first began to separate, the home button and its gasket eventually fell out. I saved these and reinstalled them prior to snapping the glass screen back into its frame.
b0yzero -
Success, great instructions!
chappej2 -
It’s easy enough but these small suction cups included in the kits are junk and not up to the job, just popping off with moderate pressure. Fortunately I had an old dashcam suction mount which was the perfect size and did the job straight away. The plastic prys supplied in the kits are cheap junk too, so probably best to use something else. Oh, and do NOT disconnect the screen and only pry the battery from the left in the centre hole prying against the case.
Perfect, thank you
Just wanted to send a note to let you know that I really appreciate finding a product that does what it says it will do and with good step by step instruction. I work with my hands for a living ( on high end luxury boats) so I know how frustrating some products can be. Good job and nice packaging. I also used to be in packaging so I know how much that costs. Nice job. Thanks, Tom in Harpswell Maine.
I Fixit ? Simply the best
Zan Foofoo / Belgium
Just now completed the battery replacement. Super easy and no issues. The comments were really helpful and refined the process for me. The two things to remember that aren’t explicit in the instructions:
1. Do not remove the screen if all you do is a battery replacement. Instead use the can of soda with a rubber band, as pictured, to hold the screen up and keep it attached.
2. Reattach the screen starting at the top, and make sure the corner at the camera is down where it is supposed to be. This took me 3 attempts before I got it seated correctly.
Even with the screen re-seating, this didn’t take more than 10 minutes real time.
The screen removal is scary and takes some substantial force. Way scarier than the battery removal IMO.
I have a set of OptiVisors, and used a #3 power (1 3/4 X), and with the binocular magnification was able to really see what I was doing. With my aging vision, this was critical path for me. I recommend having some sort of magnifier available.
Ifixit, you rock!
What picture of a “can of soda with a rubber band, as pictured”?
P
As pictured in this step of the guide.
Just ordered my second battery for the iPhone 5.
Changing out the battery the first time was a little scary, it’s well glued in, but I suspect this time will be easier.
I’ll let you know
P
Just completed a new battery install for my wife iPhone 5 and worked a charm. It seems Apple didn’t securely fit the replacement home button as all screws were relatively loose and the bracket just about the Battery Connector Bracket came away quite easily on reassembly so I had to redo that part too.
If Apple have used a 3rd party installer to do the Home Buttons then they seem to have messed around inside with other things.
However the kit and battery were spot on and no issues now. Cheers iFixit.
I completed this, the phone turns on but the screen is completely blank. It is projecting no light or anything, but does vibrate when I mess with the ringer or get a text. I can tell the power button and home button work, just the screen doesn’t turn on at all.
Also, i’m having trouble with putting the covering from step 14 back on. I can’t get it to hook in or stay correctly after a lot of fiddling with it.
Worked great! Thanks for the clear instructions. I’ll be back.
I am a 68 yo female and just completed this iphone 5 battery replacement in about 30 mins. The hardest part was reconnecting the cables and re-inserting the screws - just so tiny to work with. One comment on the instructions - written instructions have you removing the battery connector first, then removing the front panel. The video have you removing the front panel first, then disconnecting the battery cable. I found this the easier way, as one of the battery screws was very tight and with the front panel removed, it made it much easier to work with. Other than that great instructions. Powered up the phone and all looks great. Now just to see if the battery holds up. Thanks IFixIT.
Thanks for your comments! That may be an oversight in the video—you should always disconnect the battery first. If you detach the display while the battery is still connected, there’s a risk of blowing the backlight circuit, at which point you’ll probably need the help of a specialist to undo the damage. Glad it worked out for you though!
Exceptional online ordering. 2nd day Delivery (to Ireland).
Great instructions. Great video. Terrific precision parts and tools.
Outstanding packaging. Agree with Tom - we know this takes time and money, but thank you for going to the trouble.
One iPhone 5 now back into service. Thanks very much iFixIt. Paul.
Hey my battery 4pinouts In that 1pin was broken can anyone know how to fix it by soldering is there any way to fix it it just new battery maybe 1month ago I buyed it n phone looks dead n I opened phone n seen it showed me one pin was not attached to other pin outs so I know it pin broken can anyone have any idea about it friends
prudhvi -
@jhonny1 Broken pins on the connector socket are definitely fixable, but it’s not a DIY repair—you will need to find a repair shop that does board-level repairs (microsoldering). This video gives an overview of what’s involved in replacing a connector socket. Good luck!
I just finished installing a new battery in my iPhone 5 with the iFixit iphone 5 kit and battery.
-The kit looks very nice but I couldn’t remove any internal screws with the P000 driver. I used a Craftsman P00 to remove the internal screws. They wouldn’t turn with the Craftsman P00 screwdriver I have either.
-The screws holding down the monitor connectors would not turn either. The craftsman drivers wouldn’t turn them either. So I removed and replaced the battery while the screen was connected.
Even with the problems, this was the easiest apple battery to replace.
Thanks!
I finished installing the new battery in my iPhone 5 with the iFixit iphone 5 kit and battery. The replacement went well except that the home button stopped working after the battery replacement. I suspect some connectors were broken and hence I had to order home button from iFixit. Replaced the home button and the phone works well.
Thanks!
Repair’s been a disaster so far - The screen came off just fine, but came separated from the panel below it. Not only could I not find a way to get the bracket off to actually access the battery, but the screen now does not settle back into place. Searched the comments here and didn’t find anyone with a similar problem, let alone a solution.
Here’s a comment with a solution for you! And another! “This frame step was meant to show you how to avoid that issue, however, you should be able to use it to pry up the frame and shield plate. You'll need to carefully pry the frame itself up. Insert a thin prying tool between the black or white plastic display frame, and the metal phone case, to lift the frame assembly out of the phone body. If you continue to have trouble, try posting a question in our forum for faster feedback!”
Pretty straight forward, easy to do… except the screws are so tiny. Even my 000 philips was a little tough to work.
My battery was stuck in pretty good. What I did was put the base of the phone behind a mac pro for 15 minutes or so. That heated it up real nice and made it very easy to pry the battery right out.
John M -
Hello guys, thanks for everything here but here I just can’t get that bloody 1.8 phillips screw back. It behaves like it’s too big for that hole - definitely right hole. Thanks for any advice
kubajz -
having a similar problem with a different device I
- pressed the screw through a sheet of paper
- held it close to the mounting hole
- used the screwdriver to fix it
- carefully tore the paper off the screw
Just replaced my daughters battery for her iPhone 5. The instructions were clear cut. I watched the video and paused throughout to make sure I was doing it correctly. It was fairly easy. I removed the screen as instructed and other than replacing that cover panel, everything else was a breeze. Her phone powered on well (I plugged it up to the charger prior to turning it on) she’s now at the point of draining the 45% of battery it came with. I’m extremely happy so far! Let’s hope her phone doesn’t die as fast anymore. I replaced the battery because her phone died and kept going in a 5 sec Apple logo loop. Now it’s up and running! Thank you!
ça c’est passé sans problème. J’ai choisi de ne pas déconnecter l’écran en le gardant à 90°. J’ai du chauffer le dos pour décoller la batterie (sèche cheveux). Le tout a pris 15 minutes. Un régal !
It went fine. I decided to keep the screen attached, keeping it at 90°. I had to warm the back of the phone to get the battery off (hair dryer). Everything done in 15 minutes. Delightful !
I was unable to successfully change my battery and repair my phone. Prior to starting the repair my phone worked normally aside from the poor battery performance and the fact that the bulging battery was pushing the screen assembly up from the main phone frame.
After following the steps I got stuck at Step 10 as the included Phillips 000 did not work. So I used another screwdriver I happened to have and managed to complete the step. Problem was that in my attempt to use the 000 it kept slipping and stabbing nearby components until I realized it just wasn’t actually catching and turning.
Next I made the mistake of following Step 13, which again proved problematic with the Phillips 000. After removing the 3 screws, I noticed the cable bracket was caught on something at the top of the bracket (even after unhooking the lip around the logic board). Long story short, got battery replaced, reassembled, unit turns on but the screen would not show anything. It would vibrate when connected to via USB cable but that’s it.
I suspect that the connectors on step 15 moved a little bit. Open again, click on the three connectors and it should work again.
revher -
As with Brian (from 12/22/2013) after replacing the battery on my iPhone (final iOS revision at 10.3.3), when I plug my phone in, iTunes says it must be restored. But now it is stuck in a reboot loop, where after each restore iTunes says it needs to be restored again. My iPhone is bricked. Caution.
This repair went exactly as outlined!
BE CAREFUL… don’t ‘snap’ the bottom screen edge, just prior to final screw insertion/completion.
I got all the way through the battery replacement process, and I cracked the glass directly under the Home button. I cracked it since I thought I could just ‘pinch/snap’ the bottom edge into the position. Next time, I will be certain that the top edge in more closely seated/closed toward the top, before I more gently close the sides, then move-on bottom edge. I applied too much pressure to the bottom edge on either-side of the Home button. The top edge was not ‘north’ enough, and not-seated correctly before I should have gently closed the edges, before more gently closing the bottom edge correctly. I wish the video may have communicated this subtle detail. I’ve got to buy a new screen next.
ADVICE: ‘Easy does it’ on the final screen closure just before final screw re-insertion/completion.
D S -
Phone would turn on and work fine prior to trying the battery replacement, it obviously just wasn’t keeping a charge like it should. After completing the replacement process, the phone won’t turn on at all, or at least the display doesn’t. I dissembled (minus the adhesion of the new battery) and reassembled, following all the steps, and to my knowledge not doing anything incorrectly. No obvious damage or unplugged wires. Has anyone else had a similar experience? Any troubleshooting or common problems? I guess I’m looking for specific places to look, more than just walking through the whole thing again. Or, anyone else believe they might have just received “a dud” battery? I wonder how I can tell if the battery I bought from ifixit is ok or not?
Thanks for any help!
Ultimately this upgrade was a success for me but it wasn’t without a few issues. May have to split this over a few comments. This was a small project for me since my main phone is an iPhone SE plus the latest iOS won’t run on iPhone 5 so no use spending money for Apple to replace the battery. Trade in price from Apple is only $15 so not worth giving it to them.
Disassembly was straight forward. I had used the phone pry to opening to drain the battery plus warm it up from the inside outside. Battery came up without a hitch.
Reassembly was difficult and at one stage I thought I had killed the phone. I thought I had broken something as the screen would not turn on. I then disconnected and reconnected the screen and a row of small grey boxes appeared on the top. Inconvenient but usable. Strange thing is after about a day the boxes disappeared so possibly the heat from using the phone helped the cable connectors settle into the slot.
Continue to part 2 ->
Part 2 of my story. Unexpectedly during the reassembly the screw for the loud speaker fell out. My phone isn’t the original one I bought. It was an Apple replacement they gave me when I had 2 recalls on the original phone. It came in a slim plain white. I suspect this was a factory refurbished phone the Apple stores keep in store for warranty replacements.
My next big issue is that after the first recharge a third party battery health app was showing my battery only had 28% capacity. I thought I got sold a dud and was about to return the battery. But after the second recharged it showed 100% capacity and after a week or 2 the phone seems to be running as normal.
The Antutu benchmark score is 61096. I don’t know if that is good or not. I didn’t get to benchmark the phone with the old battery. But my impression is that the phone works fine. Not as fast as my iPhone SE but it is usable especially for a spare phone that may become totally obsolete in the future. Only time will tell.
My only problem was that the plastic bezel had become detached from the screen due to the swelling battery. I put in two small pieces of double sided tape from the battery glue tape and I am waiting to see if it holds.
I just completed a successful iPhone 5 battery replacement. Thanks iFixit.
One hint: If you get the dreaded white stripes due to a loose LCD cable connector, as discussed in Step 15, don’t just remove the cable cover and press on the connectors. Pry up the connectors completely and reseat them.
I still can’t believe that I didn’t blow up that incredibly swollen battery when I applied the hairdryer to the back of the case. I wish you could have seen the Apple store tech’s face when I brought it in for disposal.
Sadly my display died when replacing the battery. The phone is alive (it is seen in iTunes) but the screen remains black, even after resetting the iPhone (pressing Home+Sleep button for 10-20 seconds).
I also disconnected the display from the phone and reconnected all 3 connectors, but to no avail.
Is there something else I can try to resuscitate the screen?
Try plugging in your old screen (if you still have it) and see if it behaves the same way. Typically this would indicate a blown backlight circuit on the logic board, caused by connecting or disconnecting the display while the battery is still connected. It’s a pretty easy fix for a repair shop that handles microsoldering, but it’s not a DIY.
I just completed this battery replacement using this guide, took me about an hour. I purchased the ifixit battery replacement kit over a year ago, and procrastinated until the other day when I dropped my iphone 6 s plus, and damaged it’s screen, and realized I better get some experience to fix that. This guide was top notch, the only problem was ME and the reversal of the steps. Great guide, the battery replacement kit great as well, and love the tools. I will be purchasing from ifixit again, soon. Great job!
Can i put iphone 5s adheisive into an iPhone 5?
Awesome Guys. Great manual, easy to do with this step by step description. Got a new battery and saved the environment from throwing away a fully fuctional iPhone 5. Unfortunate though that apple does not support the phone anymore. So hard to use it nowadays with actual apps. This although is another topic… BR Peter
IPhone 5 Battry are not availbe in my country. my first phone was iphone 5 and i am keeping it alive as sovnier. Like Softs4Down.
Having completed this repair using the rear camera part from Ifixit I have to comment that the camera is noticeably lower quality. Its not huge - You don't notice it looking at the photos scaled down to fit but viewing one for one there is significant detail lost. My staff member has an Iphone 5 bough at exactly the same time as mine so I was able to take a photo side by side on his and mine after my repair and when you view 1 for 1 pixel in product boxes on mine the text was just a colored blur where on his although you couldn't read the text it was more obviously text. Overall though its still better than having a camera that wouldn't focus at all and being that Apple seem to refuse to supply genuine spare parts (Which there has to be a low against??? - Imagine if a car manufacturer did that) its still good buying one from someone who gives good support. At the end of the day its a phone camera not an SLR and its still better than the older Iphone 4 camera.
matt -
The majority of product manufacturers are not required to provide parts, and apple will fix items under the various warranties it offers. Car manufacturers on the other hand are required to make parts available by law. It is part of the regulation of their industry. They get a lot of protection for their business model, but have some obligations too. It's why the EV1 was pulled, they didn't want to have to make the parts, and why there are so many Delorian parts.
William Leeper -
This is a great guide. However, I'm having a hard time popping the screen back into place. Everything works but I'm afraid of putting too much pressure least I crack it again. Any advice?
amciotola -
To avoid broken screens during reassembling:
Put the hooks of the screen in the right place in the housing, then close it loose, don't press it. Turn your phone upside down with the screen on a very flat surface (e.g. table). Now press the housing on the screen -> no more risk for braking the screen because of inhomogeneous force applied on the glass!
mondbewohner -
I hope folks read this comment before proceeding to attempt a Sleep/Wake button repair on the iPhone 5! Apple has an iPhone 5 Sleep/Wake button replacement program, free, for iPhone 5 devices manufactured through March 2013. See program details at https://www.apple.com/support/iphone5-sl.... Don't do this yourself if you don't need to. It's a difficult repair.
Mark Luscher -
I was willing to add the following important remark on top of this guide but, strangely, it has been refused! Here it is:
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*Check if your Iphone 5 is eligible to the Apple special program for a free battery replacement (devices sold between September 2012 and January 2013, within a limited serial number range).
* If not, watch the video and use this guide [video|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ogE8USs...]
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And thus, as my Iphone 5 was eligible, I went to the Apple store of Le Louvre in Paris and the battery has been changed for free instead of 65 euros. Thanks to Mark!
revher -
Hi every one i drop my iphone5s 16gb
I replace 10!new screen but cant back to live i see on the "logic board" where u conect the screen i se damage HOW CANT FIX THAT WHITOUT LOST MA DATA ??? Thaks for anny hellp!!!!!
aliroberto01 -
Steps 12-15 seem to be not necessary for battery replacement. They are not required to remove and replace the battery and they at least DOUBLE the amount of work. Most of the time spent on this process involved working with those tiny screws and maneuvering them in place and screwing them down. Steps 12-15 are three of the five screws that you work with inside.
Also, there should be a note at the beginning of Step 2 that if you bought the iFixit kit that you should go directly to Step 6.
Bob Hatcher -
please wear safety helmet too, integral helmet and cover mouth with an N95 facemask underneath, just in case the battery punctures, explodes, you knock your head back to the wall and slam it back forward hitting the screw in your eye and and inhaling toxic fumes! can never be too careful ;-)
ibisiki -