Introduction
Follow this guide to remove or replace the screen on your Microsoft Surface Book.
If the glass is cracked, tape across the entire screen with packaging tape to keep the glass together. You can get leverage by using the speaker grill openings as an entry point and the back of the LCD for more strength (since the glass will just shatter if it's already cracked).
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Pull the blue handle backwards to unlock the Anti-Clamp's arms.
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Place an object under your Surface Book so it rests level between the suction cups.
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Position the suction cups near the middle of the bottom edge—one on the front, and one on the back.
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Hold the bottom of the Anti-Clamp steady and firmly press down on the top cup to apply suction.
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Pull the blue handle forward 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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Wait one minute to give the adhesive a chance to release and present an opening gap.
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If your screen isn't getting hot enough, you can use a hair dryer to heat along the bottom edge.
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Insert an opening pick under the screen when the Anti-Clamp creates a large enough gap.
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Skip the next step.
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Apply a suction handle to the screen, as close to the center of the bottom edge as possible.
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Pull up on the suction cup with strong, steady force to create a gap between the screen and the frame.
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Insert an opening pick into the gap.
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Use the pick to slice all the way around the perimeter of the screen to separate the glue.
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Gently raise the screen but don't fully detach it until the cables underneath are disconnected.
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Begin by removing the ribbon on the right. With the curved tweezers, carefully remove the metal bracket to expose the end of the ribbon. Remove ribbon.
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Next, remove the metal shield covering the other ribbon. Then remove the ribbon.
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Remove the screen.
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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.
30 comments
It is very unlikely you will get this screen off without breaking it. Luckily, my customer only wanted the SSD out of the device so he didn't care if I damaged it. This screen is crazy fragile and the glue is very very strong. Do not do this job thinking you will likely not break the screen, unless you have done it before.
The only way to remove it without breaking it is to use good scotch tape and completely cover the screen with a minimum 4 layers of tape. This will keep the screen intact - but you still have to be very careful.
That’s definitely not the only way. I just did it with a guitar pick and heat pad. After doing a ton of Surface Pro 3’s, I think this one is actually pretty easy in comparison.
austin -
I needed 3 hours for this, Did this the first time. There is everything glued. and real hard to not break the screen.
Once you insert an opening pick, you can use a few drops of Acetone around the edge to loosen the glue. I found this much easier than keep reheating the iOpener and possibly cracked the display.
dan89fernando -
Bad idea to use acetone with these types of devices because of the plastic parts that can become either damaged or outright melted by the solvent. (Especially the ribbon cables and connections) You are better off using isopropyl alcohol or nothing. Easy enough just to avoid this idea completely. Not to mention that it is possible to cause the display to shatter due to thermal shock when you apply the solvent to a heated surface. Good luck to those that try anyway.
Rick Sanchez -
The iOpener did nothing to loosen up the glue. Had to use a hair dryer for almost 40 minutes to get it softened up enough to open.
david alexis -
Took at least 30 mins with a hair dryer to get the screen off. That 20 min completion time is total BS.
Tommy -
my screen is 25% off
Daniel R Patton -
Be EXTRA careful when running the opening pick around the bottom right portion of the screen. This is where the touch controller attaches to the display, and the ribbon cable is only about a quarter inch away from the edge and is easy to rip out.
Alexander V Trofimuk -
Very important hint!
Andreas -
Having recently been inside a Surface Book I purchased via Facebook marketplace, consider the screen a “cost” of replacing the battery and the pressure is off of you. I tried VERY hard not to break the glass, but…still happened. With that out of the way, I successfully replaced the screen, battery, and also battery in the base. Microsoft should be ashamed of this device. All that engineering effort built into their crappy hinge, only to have the batteries fail prematurely. Also, the mechanism to release the screen from the base sucks real bad. Mine doesn’t work, I carry a paper clip with me to unleash the tablet mode. Pathetic. Thank GOD I picked this up second hand for a few hundred bucks. Pity the folks that paid two grand or more for this turd.
Ken Okpych -
after I did reassemble back the screen, before applying the new tapes I did test it for one day and I did find out the right release mechanism was not working anymore. Accidentally I did disconnect the control wire coming from the main board. Easy to put it back in position. No need to dismantle all again. So, you can give a try and check the connectors. Both the connectors did disconnect while removing the mainboard. Just be careful and check them before gluing all back! Hope it helps.
Gian Paolo -
I just tried for over an hour and a half with heat packs and a dyson hair dryer, and got absolutely nowhere… I even bought the iSclack and had ifixit openers at the ready. I guess I’ll try a heat gun next (after I buy one). If anyone has any other suggestions, it would really be appreciated… I’m so disappointed in Microsoft right now.
Trevor Brown -
If you use a heat gun make sure to keep it moving along the edge and use your hand to shield the rest of the screen from getting hit with heat. You only want it to be hot to the touch and no further. You take a big risk of discoloring the screen if you overheat a part. Heat gun did make life much easier but you have to be very very careful and concentrated while using it.
andrew.j.nieto -
I got my computer open after completely abandoning the “step 1” instructions here. The hot pack (iOPener) and suction cups (iSclack) were completely worthless for me, and did absolutely nothing. Instead, simply get yourself a tool with a very thin metal knife, such as the “Jimmy” sold here on iFixit.
Use a heat gun to get a section of the screen nice and hot (I went with ~160 degrees Fahrenheit) then insert the Jimmy vertically in between the screen and the metal frame (a tiny gap.) Then, carefully flip it horizontally to get between the tape and the screen. After this, carefully slide the knife along the edge while using a heat gun to hover right over the place the knife will next be (I used gloves to prevent burning my hands.) Do NOT insert the knife more than a half an inch into the gap, or you might damage your screen (stay within the black bezel range.)
This will QUICKLY, EASILY, and SAFELY get the screen off.
Trevor Brown -
Attempted to do this without enough heat and the glass shattered; recommend using a heat gun and potentially using repair tape to keep the glass intact. The screen removal is the hardest part of everything.
J.K. -
I broke my screen too, but I blame myself for being impatient. Once I took my time heating with a hair dryer and getting the opening pick in there, with enough heat I could just slide the pick down the edges. Next time I’ll know better!
Kirk Feindel -
I tried the heated iOpener. I had some success but then used too much force and cracked the screen. My advice is to take you time and use the iOpener often on the very edge of the screen. Use the suction cups or iSclack as your primary tools to separate the glass form the frame. And a second set of hands is very helpful to hold the metal part of the screen onto your table. The glass will come off with patience and perseverance.
standurlacher -
Use heat, be patience don’t rush, go slow to prevent breaking screen like I did. I also damage the antenna to the wireless onboard adapter. The antenna is glued between the screen and the enclosure and is easy to damage. I didn’t realize this until after the repair was complete and my surface book no longer recognized its WiFi device. I have to use a usb/Bluetooth adapter. Good luck.
Nyaniso Rahotep -
This is vital information - I also destroyed the antenna in the process, because the pick does not discriminate between layers of adhesive. . Microsoft did a horrible design job on this.
Manuka -
The WiFi antenna is not physically connected to anything. It has a capacitive interaction with a small brick below the plastic so you can build it by yourself with a 0.2mm foil of copper or aluminum, cut the same geometry and tape it . It works. iFixit guide is pretty incomplete about that point, without mentioning all the screws forgotten to mark.
Gian Paolo -
Best place of entry for the pick is by the speaker on the right and left side. Heat up that area and then get the pick through there. I found that pretty easy and sliding the pick around the bottom (where the tablet attaches to keyboard). Unfortunately, I broke the screen up top where the webcam is. Not sure if that area is more brittle than the others due to webcam, but word of advice is to be careful there. Using a hair dryer worked best and getting this very toasty; the iOpener was useless.
Quan Thai -
Both sides of the central block “camera-Mic” there are three FSP antennas. They are easy to cut off while using an opener tool because a part can stick to the LCD and a part on the shell. So pay attention! I did cut one! You can clearly see the three antennas position in the first picture of the step 11.
Gian Paolo -