Samsung Galaxy S7 Screen Replacement

Written By: Sam Goldheart

Comments: 61

Difficulty

Difficult

Steps

Time Required

2 - 3 hours

Introduction

Use this guide to replace a cracked or faulty OLED display on your Samsung Galaxy S7.

Be aware that the video guide does not match the step-by-step guide below, it is an older edition of the guide.

The video guide recommends removing the battery, SIM tray, and motherboard. This is not necessary, but it does make heating the phone safer. This procedure is only recommended if you're replacing the battery and the screen at the same time.

This guide instructs you to replace only the display while leaving the original frame, logic board, and battery in place. Note: some replacement screens for this phone come pre-installed in a new frame (a.k.a. chassis), which requires you to transplant all of your phone's internals and install a new battery. Make sure you have the correct part before starting this guide.

If the frame is damaged or bent, it's important to replace it, or else the new screen may not mount correctly and can suffer damage from uneven pressure.

The process of separating the display from the frame usually destroys the display, so don't follow this guide unless you intend to replace the display.

If your screen is badly shattered, wear eye protection, and apply a screen-protector, or tape, to the display to help contain glass shards.

Tools

Parts

Step 1

Opening your phone will compromise its waterproof seals. Have replacement adhesive ready before you proceed, or take care to avoid liquid exposure if you reassemble your phone without replacing the adhesive.
Apply a heated iOpener to a long edge of the phone for about two minutes.
You may need to reheat and reapply the iOpener several times to get the phone warm enough. Follow the iOpener instructions to avoid overheating.
A hair dryer, heat gun, or hot plate may also be used, but be careful not to overheat the phone—the OLED display and internal battery are both susceptible to heat damage.

I used a heat gun and heated it a little too much. The color of the rear glass is just a sticker on a clear cover. Due to this I tore the sticker off. Now the back cover is see through, which isn’t a bad thing but the repair was for a customer.

Kevin Bishop - 28/08/18

When using the iOpener, you may need more than 30 seconds, especially in compact or low wattage microwaves. Take this slowly, though, and be extremely careful, as it is easy to overheat your iOpener. Remember, you can always heat it up a tad more, but you cannot undo overheating it.

Jacob Pratt - 05/12/18

I used an adjustable heat gun and set it to 400 degrees (F). That was enough to seperate the glass without having to worry about exposure times of the heat. The front of the phone was just fine. Just be ready to use a bunch of picks to slide in between because they will be needed this way.

Ryan Schumerth - 07/01/19

I went from the bottom center up, using one ifixit tools, one suction cup and one pick.

Pick just popped in with some minor pressure.

Laid heat pack along base of phone 2 mins first and worked up slowly, rotating picks as I went. Had to heat iopener over several 30 second bursts

Lauren Burt - 19/09/20

This is useless because the phone does not recognize the new battery and will behave like on the old one

Search for “battery count xda"

Albert Einstein - 13/11/20

That is an interesting discovery! Thanks for pointing it out—I’ll have to look into it.

Even if this is true, replacing the battery should still give restore a significant amount of life, since the max voltage affects a minor amount of the battery’s capacity. If you charge a worn battery and a new battery to the same lower max voltage, the worn battery’s voltage will dip more under use and will be depleted faster.

Arthur Shi - 16/11/20

Thanks for the guide! It helped me replace a friend's battery with no problems!

Darren Crook - 12/04/21

I will never replace a screen again, and don’t recommend it. Not for phones nowadays. Once upon a time everything was screwed together, and you might even get the same quality or better screen when buying from eBay. And having the phone repaired was nearly the cost of the phone. Now, it’s the reverse. Removing the glued back and screen and cleaning off all the glue for a clean re-seal is an ordeal that takes multiple hours, AND, often the screen you buy on eBay is NOT OLED, but an LCD, and a blurry one at that. And the local phone repair store will replace the screen with an OLED, reliably, same day turn around, for not much more than the cost of an actual OLED screen, because they have the parts in bulk, and the tools and experience to do it quickly. Never again!

domarius - 02/06/21

have you ever had one that just wont open at all? i can not get mine to open to replace the battery i have heated with a heat gun and attached suction cup and it will not lift at all

Carla James -

Hi Carla,

I've definitely had that experience before. The adhesive is very strong, and the curved back makes getting the initial seam very difficult. I'd suggest focusing on one small area on the edge. Apply steady force when you pull, and repeat a few times to loosen the adhesive. Eventually it will give and present a small gap.

Arthur Shi -

Step 2

When the back panel is warm to the touch, apply a suction cup as close to the heated edge of the phone as you can while avoiding the curved edge.
The suction cup will not make a good seal on the curved portion of the glass.
If the phone's back cover is cracked, the suction cup may not stick. Try lifting it with strong tape, or superglue the suction cup in place and allow it to cure so you can proceed.
Lift on the suction cup and insert an opening pick under the rear glass.
The rear glass can break if you use too much force or attempt to pry with metal tools.
Due to the curved glass, you will be pushing up, rather than inserting parallel to the plane of the phone.
If you have trouble, apply more heat to further soften the adhesive, and try again. The adhesive cools very fast, so you may need to heat it repeatedly.
Optionally, once the pick is inserted, you can add a few drops of isopropyl alcohol into the gap to help weaken the adhesive in the following steps.

Because of the metal lip around the phone the picks were to thick to get under the glass. Couldn’t get the glue loose enough with the iOpener or the glass lifted high enough with the suction cup despite using a lot of heat and stength on the suction. Ended up having to use a thin piece of metal to get the first separaration. After that the picks are ok to use.

loadinglevelone - 25/01/19

This step is certainly giving me trouble. I don’t have enough hands to be able to both form the space and to insert the pick. In order to even form the space, I need to use the double-sided plastic scraper-thing.

Damian Amerman-Smith - 20/10/20

Turns out that three hands was the answer. I had my dad insert the pick while I pried open a gap, and it was smooth sailing from there.

Damian Amerman-Smith - 20/10/20

How do you pull on the suction cup? I.e. what's the right technique to pull up the suction cup? Just pulling up is going to lift the entire phone, unless I had some kind of double sided suction cup up keep the phone stuck to the table.

Thank you

A X -

I'm going to try it Jerry rig everythings technique. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kHzmFPoZbC... unfortunately every iFixit video seems to use the clamp which seems like an oversight for a tutorial. But it is not fair for me to be too annoyed since they have really good repair kits and the repair guides are nice.

A X - 12/04/23

Step 3

Once you have the pick firmly inserted into the glass, reheat and reapply the iOpener to soften the adhesive.

Use a heat gun or hair dryer to soften the adhesive to remove the back cover. The Iopener that you heat up with the microwave takes a very long to accomplish the same task.

michael kotarba -

Keep the heat gun in motion at all times and check the surface temperature of the phone with your hand every few seconds to ensure it does not overheat the plastic and glass and electronics. Use several blue guitar picks to brake the seal of the cover once you have softened the adhesive and popped the seal initially with the suction cups.

michael kotarba -

Step 4

Slide the opening pick down along the side of the phone, separating the adhesive.
Go slowly so that the tip doesn't slip out of the seam. If sliding becomes difficult, reheat and reapply the iOpener.
Leave the pick in place and grab a second pick as you proceed to the next step. Leaving the pick inserted can help prevent the glue you just separated from re-adhering.

Step 5

Repeat the previous heating and cutting procedure for the remaining three sides of the phone.
Leave an opening pick in each edge of the phone as you continue to the next to prevent the adhesive from resealing.

At about this stage, as I was working on the fourth side, the layer of black paint on the inside of the glass started to separate from the glass, near the edge. I may have overheated the phone (I used a heat gun). Most of the paint layer ended up left behind, attached to the body of the phone, as the glass came away - along with the lens covers of the camera and flash. I removed and discarded as much of the paint as I could using tweezers, a spudger, and cautious heating with the heat gun. I hope the back glass will work OK without it; a clear back cover will be a distinctive design feature! If not I’ll have to get a new one. (Note, some battery repair kits from other suppliers such as Amazon include a replacement back glass, which would help with this issue).

Michael Field -

Hi Michael,

The glass back would definitely work without the black paint. In fact, there are tutorials online that instruct exactly how to do that in order to have a cool transparent glass back look!

Arthur Shi -

Step 6

Lift the glass and remove it from the phone.

Step 7

To reinstall the back cover with a custom-cut adhesive strip, follow this guide.
If you're cleaning the midframe surface with isopropyl alcohol, be careful not to get any alcohol on the wireless charging coil. The coil coating will break down if it contacts alcohol.
Be sure to turn on your phone and test your repair before installing new adhesive and resealing the phone.
If desired, you may reinstall the back cover without replacing the adhesive. Remove any large chunks of adhesive that might prevent the back cover from sitting down flush. After installation, heat the back cover and apply pressure to secure it. It won't be waterproof, but the glue is usually more than strong enough to hold.

Apply heat with iOpener/blower or the isopropyl alcohol on the adhesive you want to remove.

I did not and noticed I peeled off pieces of the paint coating from the cover glass together with the adhesive.

Eduard - 25/03/21

Do not hold the glass as shown. I did that, and the glass cracked when I tried to pull the adhesive because the adhesive was on tight. Always keep the glass down on a flat surface so that you don’t apply any bending forces to it.

blicher -

I'm sorry to hear that! That's a good suggestion—I'll modify the photo slightly to deter people from holding the glass in the air.

Arthur Shi -

Step 8

Remove the eight 3.5 mm Phillips screws securing the NFC antenna and charging coil assembly.

They made a typo I think its supposed to say 1.5 millimeter instead of 3.5 millimeter.

KaydenFisher - 13/06/20

QA sticker over screw on my model (2018). I advise you delicately remove these with something sharp, from the center of the screw outwards. If you stick the screwdriver straight in, the sticker will jam up in the head of the screw and make it much less likely to get a good grip on the screw as it turns, causing it to slip and strip the screw head.

domarius - 01/06/21

Step 9

Insert the tip of a spudger into the small notch on the left side of the antenna assembly, and pry the assembly up and out of the frame.
Remove the antenna assembly.

Step 10

Use the flat end of a spudger to lift the charging coil assembly out of the phone.

Step 11

Use the flat end of a spudger to disconnect the battery connector.

Step 12

Use the flat end of a spudger to unplug the display and digitizer connector.

Step 13

Prepare an iOpener and apply to a long edge of the phone for about 2 minutes.
You may need to reheat and reapply the iOpener several times to get the phone warm enough. Follow the iOpener instructions to avoid overheating.
The glue securing the display can be significantly stronger than the glue that secures the back cover. If necessary, switch to a hair dryer or heat gun in order to apply enough heat to weaken the adhesive.

To me, it seems hard not to damage the screen in the process of the consequtive steps. Tiny shiny shards to vacuum.

I notice in video instructions, removal of battery and motherboard, opening pick inserted from inside out, less or no screen debris caused, but commented is, not to remove the screen unless it is already broken.

Eduard - 05/03/21

STOP. As noted above…Use the Video Method. When I was finally able to begin detaching the screen, the glass separated off, while the screen remained attached. This action sheered of the connection to a front-facing sensor which remained firmly embedded by adhesive to the front glass.

In retrospect, removing the main board, heating and using picks from the back worked with somewhat less effort and better control.

Jeffry Long - 23/03/22

Step 14

Once the screen is warm to the touch, apply a suction cup as close to the heated edge of the phone as you can.
If your display is badly cracked, the suction cup may not stick. Try lifting the display with strong tape, or superglue the suction cup in place and allow it to cure so you can proceed.
Lift on the suction cup, and insert an opening pick under the display assembly.

insert opening pick down ~30 degrees to go between screen and frame. Parallel to glass went between glass and screen.

Eduard - 05/03/21

Step 15

Once the pick is firmly inserted underneath the display, reheat and reapply the iOpener to soften the display adhesive.

Step 16

Slide the opening pick down the side of the phone, separating the adhesive.
The display cable is located just above the midpoint on this side, and may interfere with your pick if you pry too deeply.
Go slowly so that the tip doesn't slip out of the seam. If sliding becomes difficult, reheat and reapply the iOpener.
Leave the pick in place and grab a second pick as you proceed to the next step. Leaving the pick inserted can help prevent the glue you just separated from re-adhering.

Step 17

Repeat the previous heating and cutting procedure for the remaining three sides of the phone.
Leave an opening pick on each side as you continue to prevent the adhesive from resealing.
Don't cut too deep on the top or bottom, or you may damage the front-facing sensors or speaker assembly on the top, or capacitive buttons on the bottom.

Step 18

Pry up the side of the display opposite the display cable so that the cable acts like a hinge as the phone opens.

Screen was adhered to underlying frame, around the battery gap. Pry into and heat that adhesive to loosen the screen there. To me, it seems hard not to damage the screen in the process. Tiny shiny shards to vacuum.

Eduard - 05/03/21

Step 19

Carefully lift the display away from the mid frame, gently pulling the display connector through the hole in the mid frame.
Remove the display.

Much of the back part of the display was also glued to the chassis on my phone. Be very careful when removing the bottom adhesive around the capacitive buttons - I thought what I was peeling off was glue and adhesive, but in fact they were the buttons themselves. I inadvertently damaged both and rendered them useless.

cness846 - 03/03/19

Hmmm ok… this isn’t what I see. I seem to have peeled off the glass layer from the display itself. I have a silver looking display to yet remove before I see any of the frame or ribbon cable shown in the picture above. And yet there was indeed black adhesive strip that I was peeling away during this process, so I thought I was doing the right thing.

domarius - 01/06/21

Solved it. I nearly gave up; I had heated it till the frame was almost too hot to touch, not happy with that, as components could be damaged. Also I couldn’t find anywhere to get a spuger or guitar pick into around the edge, it was all too narrow. But eventually I found I could get a guitar pick under the cables at the top of the screen and start peeling from that direction. Also the screen would crack and splinter at this point, so it was important to move slowly and keep the pick flush and not curl it up too much, to crack as little as possible. And of course, minding the part where the cable is connected on the top right. And I covered it in sticky tape because it was splintering everywhere during this process.

They’re not kidding - the screen does not survive removal during this process, so it better already be destroyed when you do. In fact I even had little pieces of “display” still stuck to the adhesive when I was done. A foldable display this ‘aint.

domarius - 02/06/21

Also I found the best way to clean off the adhesive, every last bit, was to scrape as much as I could off with the guitar pick, then alternate with a cotton swab with rubbing alcohol, a pin to scrape off tiny bits, and a tissue to wipe off loose bits, over and over, to get every last little bit out so the new adhesive will stick cleanly.

domarius - 02/06/21

Step 20

Follow this link for a detailed screen adhesive application guide.
Before installing a new display, it's very important to remove all traces of the old adhesive from the frame, while taking special care to remove any small glass fragments.
After removing all traces of glue and glass from the frame, clean the adhesion areas with 90% (or higher) isopropyl alcohol and a lint-free cloth or coffee filter. Swipe in one direction only, not back and forth.
This helps remove any remaining adhesive residue and preps the surface for the new display.
If the frame is bent, or if any glue or glass remnants are left behind, the new display will not mount correctly and may be damaged.

Conclusion

To reassemble your device, apply the adhesive to the rear cover and follow these instructions in reverse order.

Author

Sam Goldheart

Member since: 19/10/12

465332 Reputation

29 comments

The screen replacement went smooth. I just wish it included the adhesive. I didn't see the note where the adhesive needed to be ordered in addition to the screen. Otherwise everything went well.

Thanks

march11934 - 08/07/17

Samsung s7 ekran değişimi orjinal parça satın aldığınız zaman bu kadar uğraşmanıza gerek yok.
Yapıştırıcı da sadece arka kapağı yapıştırmak için gerekli oluyor

CitrusMobil -

For the price of the screen, I can replace it in a Samsung repair center...

I just need to replace the glass, not all of the AMOLED touch screen... :-( Sorry but this didn't help me.

Darky - 18/08/17

How much cost u paid to service centre for original display for samsung s7

Durgaprasad - 08/02/18

You can not replace just the glass without special equipment (hot plate, laminator etc.)

Dinan Blueje - 26/04/19

I'm wanting to help my friend do this but I don't have a heat gun. Would a blow dryer work to loosen the glue or does it need to be hotter? He got a quote for 200 from a shop to fix it but they said it takes a month…lame! I've replaced screens in many tables and phones and I have all the necessary tools other than the heat gun and the replacement screen components obviously.

Adam Bacon - 12/10/17

@Adam Bacon Heat guns are quite inexpensive. The model she uses in this video runs about $20 or less in most shops. A blow dryer may work, but it’s difficult to say for certain. The adhesive Samsung uses is pretty robust. If you find yourself fixing a lot of devices you should really consider investing in a heat gun.

E West - 18/10/17

I did this repair. A heat gun isn’t really hot enough to remove the screen without destroying it. A hair drying isn’t going to touch the glue.

armand - 29/11/17

Use a hair dryer and a spudger and a iSesamo to pop that bad boy off. No sense in buying a heat gun for one use.

Chris Pavlik - 25/11/19

It works great I got my Galaxy S7 apart within a hour using a hair dryer

Mikee Sanchez - 16/06/20

I just want to add that if you only need to replace the glass, this is not the guide for you, and the difficulty rating is a 10 of 10. What I would do to replace just the front glass, is to avoid all these steps, and remove the glass from the front. Do not attempt to remove the AMOLED screen, it will shatter in the process of removing it. You will notice in this video, the screen shatters in the bottom left of the phone, behind the glass.

The other issue is that the glass is laminated to a filter, which is backwards from many screens, where the LCD panels are laminated to the filter, and the screen floats. When you buy a replacement glass, you will need one that has the laminated filter attached, or you will need to figure out a way to separate the two pieces. (I could not).

armand - 29/11/17

armand what did you use to remove the back, i’ve tried the hair dryer with no luck. Thanks;

Maria

nena_boricua52 - 27/12/17

I would also like to point out that both the front and back glass are extremely brittle. If you broke your glass, because the phone landed on its side, then check for spurs. The smallest protrusion will shatter the glass while applying pressure to seal the adhesive application. I had the tiniest of a protrusion, and the back glass exploded. Thankfully, those are cheap.

armand - 29/11/17

Thank you very much for good instruction

Vedrasco Victor Vasili - 04/05/18

Guide help, the included heat pack did not. I ended up buying a heat gun instead. Took my time instead of rush it like some places do or they would just replace your phone all together, which is not what you paid for really. Def was tedious.

Quang Pham - 08/11/18

Really a good guide!

Maybe it could be cool if with the display assembly comes also the rear glass.. because there is a very high probability that it will damage quickly (during the opening)

So, for those who are going to repair their Samsung Galaxy S7.. just be careful with the back glass!

Thank you all ;)

Tishanth Sinnathamby - 13/12/18

where we can find lcd replacement in good price ?

morpheous22138 - 31/01/19

Running into bit of an issue, my screen is broken. At the moment I’m finding ways to turn it back on, restart, hard reset and etc. Nothing that will actually turn it all the way off so I can begin taking off the back panel.

Austin Pimentel - 09/06/19

The safest method would probably be to let the battery run down, to ensure it doesn’t turn back on and short-circuit something. Good luck!

Sam Goldheart - 13/06/19

Étape 2: Quand la panneau arrière est chaud au toucher, posez une ventouse le plus près possible du bord chauffé de l'iPhone, tout en évitant le bord incurvé.

Cette fiche concerne un Samsung Galaxy S7 ? et vous mentionné un iPhone

Fr C - 09/07/19

Bonjour Fr C !

Un grand merci pour les yeux de lynx et la remarque. J’ai adapté la traduction. N’hésitez pas à corriger directement la prochaine fois que vous remarquez une erreur.

Bonne journée et à bientôt !

Claire Miesch - 10/07/19

well done, easy to do the job.

i used a heat gun instead the iOpener

ultimo99

antonio esposito - 28/07/19

I had really hard time finding a way to lift the front screen, so I put the flat end of a spudger through display cable opening from the side of the edge and calmly pressed on the screen from underneath.

Rafal Krawczyk - 09/08/19

Can I use b7000 to glue the display?

Thanks

Alex P - 29/09/19

Guten Tag

Nach dem Tauschen des Display zeigt es keine Bilder an… Der Touch hingegen funktioniert. Ich habe eine Original Samsung Display gekauft und verbaut. Was könnte da das problem sein?

Ps: Habe schon erfahrung mit mit Displaytauschen.

GitsEine? - 10/10/19

I bought the complete repair kit since it had the adhesive strips. Didn’t need the tools. It would be good to offer the option of getting the repair kit with adhesive strips but no tools. Replacing the screen itself was pretty straightforward and not particularly difficult. As was stated elsewhere, the real difficulty was with the adhesives. Some more detailed instructions on this would be useful. Seems like there were locations where the adhesive strips overlapped and other places where they left a gap. Finally, I got to ask why Samsung ever did the phone back with the glass? These are so incredibly fragile. I have replaced these on S7s, S7Edges, and S8s. I am an engineer and consider this a real design flaw. Is there an after market back in just plain metal or plastic? Other than that, I love these phones.

dmorsenv - 27/08/20

English Below

Hallo,

Een paar jaar geleden had ik het scherm laten vervangen van mijn galaxy s7. Nu heeft het scherm lichte waterschade aan de onderkant, (daar is het een beetje beslagen) en de selfiecamera is ook beslagen. Nu werkt alles helemaal prima, alleen soms is mijn scherm zwart, als ik druk op de bovenkant doet het het weer, of soms moet ik een paar keer met mijn telefoon tegen mijn been slaan en doet het het ook weer. Ik denk dat de aansluiting boven een beetje losjes zit. Het touchscreen werkt gewoon terwijl het scherm zwart is. Dus de lichtjes gaan dan soms niet aan. Kan ik dit denk je zelf fixen zonder een nieuw scherm te kopen?

Guido Sol - 30/01/21

Hi,

A couple years ago I had my screen replaced of my samsung galaxy s7. Now there is some small water damage at the bottom of the screen and the selfiecamera. The screen and camera are still working probably (only the selfie-camera gives vague images). But sometimes the screen is black and when I put pressure on the top of the screen, it is working again. I think it has to do with the connection from the screen to the rest of the phone. The touch screen works when the screen is black. Do you think I can fix this, without buying a new screen?

Guido Sol - 30/01/21

Suggestions concerning difficulties I encountered.

ad. step 14, insert opening pick down ~30 degrees to go between screen and frame. Parallel to glass went between glass and screen.

ad. step 18, screen was adhered to underlying frame, around the battery gap. Pry into and heat that adhesive to loosen the screen there. To me, it seems hard not to damage the screen in the process. Tiny shiny shards to vacuum.

I notice in video instructions, removal of battery and motherboard, opening pick inserted from inside out, less or no screen debris caused, but commented is, no to remove the screen unless it is already broken.

Eduard - 27/02/21