Samsung Galaxy S8 Back Glass Replacement

Written By: Sam Goldheart
  • Comments: 58
Samsung Galaxy S8 Back Glass Replacement

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

10

Time Required

15 minutes - 1 hour

Introduction

Drop your S8? Keep it in the same pocket as your keys?

Chances are the glass back is already shattered. Use this guide to replace the back panel glass on the Samsung Galaxy S8.

If your replacement part does not come with adhesive mounted on it, you will also need to purchase adhesive for the rear glass and the fingerprint reader. You can buy pre-cut adhesive, or thin high-bond tape.

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    • 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.

    • Heat an iOpener and apply it to a long edge of the S8 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.

    • 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.

    • As you're waiting for the adhesive to soften, move on and read the following step to get an idea of where to pry.

    What type of adhesive should be used to seal? Or better said, what would you recommend.

    Ion Ion -

    I’d recommend precut adhesive designed for the rear cover. If that’s not available, thin, hi-bond double sided tape like 1 mm wide Tesa 61395 tape will work well.

    Adam O'Camb -

    Yes, different microwaves have different power levels (e.g., wattage) so one microwave may explode the iOpener after 31 seconds of heating whereas another microwave will barely warm it. It would be helpful to have a more precise target temperature. My microwave is fairly weak so I’m heating it for seven seconds for every two minutes against the phone. In theory, this should slowly add more heat than is dissipated into the phone and surrounding atmosphere.

    Brett Stime -

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    • In the following steps you will be cutting through the adhesive around the edge of the rear glass panel.

    • The adhesive on the rear case is laid out as seen in the first image.

    • The prying pattern as seen from the outside of the phone is as follows:

    • Thick portions of adhesive

    • Thin areas of adhesive

    • Avoid prying here, to protect the fingerprint sensor.

    Go clockwise (or counter-clockwise) around the border to avoid causing extra stress on the back. The bottom has a lot more adhesive than you think, towards the top-center.

    Michael M -

    Failing completely at this step. I’ve heated the opener like 5 times and the phone is hot to the touch, but I can’t get even the tip of the pick into the opening.

    r torrance andrews -

    Added a hair dryer to the effort and stil making no headway at all.

    r torrance andrews -

    Be careful. Insanely careful. If you think you are careful enough, this means you need to be even more careful. If you think it is not possible to be more careful, then be a little more careful and you might be able to remove the back cover without breaking it. Especially the bottom of the phone.

    pio -

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    • Once 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.

    • Due to the curved glass, you will be pushing up, rather than inserting parallel to the plane of the phone.

    We can't seem to get anything between the edges even after heating the back panel. Any tips?

    Megan Kennington -

    Hi Megan, unfortunately the adhesive is super tough on this one. I’d recommend carefully continuing to apply heat, very gradually so that you don’t accidentally overheat the battery. Eventually you should be able to get a little gap with the suction handle.

    Adam O'Camb -

    I’ve been attempting to get the adhesive to loosen for four hours now. Exactly how much time is this supposed to take? The pictures makes it look like it should be easy. The adhesive still hasn’t budged and I’m beyond frustrated.

    Lori Lucas -

    Hi Lori, sorry to hear the adhesive is being extra stubborn! If reheating and reapplying the iOpener isn’t working, you can try heating the edge with a hairdryer or heat gun. That way you can get more heat onto the edge faster, but be very careful not to overheat the battery inside.

    Adam O'Camb -

    I used a stanley knife - very carefully, after trying for several hours to get the adhesive to loosen. I bought another back cover with adhesive for the assmbley, which is the best option in my opinion. Just be careful not the scratch the case of the phone, and be prepared for the back glass cover to break when removing it.

    James wright -

    The manufacturers really want to make this impossible, huh… I’ve gone 3 years without ever cracking this phone and end up cracking the corner of the back trying to prise it open. Probably should’ve gotten a heat gun too. This is super tight.

    Benjamin Chaim -

    I am currently working on this. I have heated the phone to just barely to hot to hold. No matter how many times I've done this and pulled up with a suction cup I cannot get an edge to lift.

    Being that this is my second phone repair does anyone have advice on this? I've watched several YouTube videos and it looks so easy.

    DAVID LAWRENCE -

    I suggest you try to lift on the middle of an edge using the thinnest spudger you have. also as the edge is curved remember to insert it so to follow the curve. Hopes it helps

    Cajuteq -

    Our issue was that a small gap would open when using the iOpener, but not large enough to get spudger or opening picks in there (also tried hair dryer but same result). Luckily as a guitar player I had some very thin nylon picks that we were able to get in there, which opened up a large enough gap to get the spudger and opening picks in. From there, we were able to heat the other sides and guide the spudger around the entire edge to get the back glass off.

    First we used a Dunlop nylon .38 mm guitar pick, then a .60 mm pick, and that allowed us to get the spudger in.

    Dan Coleman -

    This is by far the hardest part of any tutorial that requires you to open the Samsung. The iOpener is totally useless on my opinion (it doesn’t get warm enough). What I did instead is use a hairdryer but it took me time before I could get the adhesive soft enough. Especially since I was not able to measure the temperature of the phone will warming it. Also I think that the halberd is not thin enough so I used a radiology sheet (don’t know the right word in English) to get into the phone and it was much more effective and time saving. Thank you for the tutorial and good luck !

    Thomas Alliot -

    Use a utility knife blade to work around the edges. Careful not to pry on the blade since you risk cracking the back

    Derek Gibson -

    I bought a back glass replacement kit with the battery kit since mine was cracked already. I used both iOpeners to uniformly heat the whole back along both long edges. I microwaved each pack twice over 10 mins. 5 mins apply, microwave, 5 minutes apply. That worked!

    William Mellema -

    Similar to other posts, this appeared simpler. I have a couple of tube socks filled with rice that we use a lot for a sore back. Put in microwave for 5 minutes and an amazing heat pack. So I thought I would try this instead of the iOpener as it just was not getting the phone warm enough. Wrapped the phone in the riced-filled-tube sock for a couple of minutes, to the point where I could at least pick it up and hold it. Also, I have the full IFIXIT kit, so I pulled out the jimmy. Viola. Got right in and then allowed me to use the halberd and picks to finish it off.

    kendrickcc -

    I was able to do this with the iOpener warming pad by microwaving for the suggested 30secs then leaving it on for 10 mins. repeated this process 2 more times for a total of 3 times @ 30 mins and used the suction tool and the picks to get it open. There is a considerable amount of adhesive on the tops and bottoms of the phone. So consider warming the whole phone before doing it.

    Note: if you already have a cracked back panel (like me) prior to starting the process, consider getting the replacement as the already cracked panel will crack even more as you are cutting away at the adhesive. Goodluck!

    Harry Williams -

    After over an hour of trying to use heat and the suction tool loosen the adhesive and try to get an opening on one of the edges, I used the blue spudger to see if it would slip thru the edge and it did. I was able to loosen the majority of the back glass but ended up getting excited and rushing and cracked the top corner. I was able to complete the battery replacement and use the cracked back glass. I’m going to order a replacement for that and that should be easier. Lesson to be learned, if any part of the back glass is getting a little tougher to loosen, hit it with heat again just to be safe. The rest of the replacement we pretty straight forward.

    MJH -

    The spudger provided in ifixit repair tool kit is not the same as the one used in this guide and can not be used in the same way as the spudger used in this guide. So I am pretty much winging it on the most critical point of this disassembly. This is extremely frustrating.

    Brent Neilson -

    I’ve repaired many iphones but this was my first attempt on a Samsung. I made no headway at all on opening the case and I’ve decided to just live with the battery being kind of weak. Even with a short life, I would much rather use this phone than an Iphone.

    r torrance andrews -

    I've tried 5 times in over the course of 4 hours to loosen the adhesive on this phone, and it won't budge. Unfortunately this kit is useless to me

    Emily Reese -

    Once I opened one edge, I heated up the other edges then just moved the pick around the entire perimeter of the phone to break the adhesive.

    Stephen Legg -

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

    svmesung is onoff and

    moo rayner -

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    • Slide the opening pick down the side of the phone, separating the adhesive.

    • Go slowly so that the tool doesn't slip out of the seam. If cutting becomes difficult, reheat and reapply the iOpener.

    Cracked my glass multiple times, do this very slowly and with more heat to each new area.

    Gary Mirams -

    Second on cracking the back glass. Go slow and apply heat to each side before trying to pry it open.

    Adam Huber -

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    • 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 the next to prevent the adhesive from resealing.

    Petite erreur: le guide dit iPhone au lieu de S7 :)

    Nicolas Duthilleul -

    Bonjour Nicolas ! Merci pour la remarque ;-) Nous l’avons prise en compte et corrigé la traduction. La prochaine fois, n’hésitez pas à corriger directement en cliquant sur le bouton Traduire en haut à droite de l’étape.

    Claire Miesch -

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    • The fingerprint sensor cable connects the phone to the rear glass near the main camera. The cable is very short and should disconnect as the rear glass is removed.

    • As you lift the glass, peek in to be sure the orange cable with a blue connector has disconnected.

    • Use the opening picks to slice through any remaining adhesive and open the phone slightly.

    • If the fingerprint sensor cable seems snagged or stays taut do not open the phone any further. Disconnect the connector with the point of a spudger before proceeding.

    • During reassembly, in order to reconnect the fingerprint sensor cable, first angle the back cover into position until the cable connector lines up perfectly over its socket. Then, use the flat end of your spudger to gently snap the connector into place by pressing it straight down.

    • Remove the glass from the phone.

    For reassembly, if the fingerprint scanner is removed from the back cover: it’s much easier to place the fingerprint scanner in the small compartment on the back of the phone, connect it and then finally put the replacement back cover on. The adhesive on the inside of the back cover will get connect to the fingerprint scanner and hold it tightly.

    Brian Hoffmann -

    I wish I saw this comment earlier because it's absolutely correct. I hope iFixit remedies this because it is incredibly difficult to connect the sensor when it's already adhered to the glass. It took me a good while and I ended up using some tape to keep the back glass aligned while I used the spudger to push blindly until it snapped into place. The only way I knew it worked was because I tested the sensor before fully sealing the glass.

    Preston Steimel -

    The NFC antenna and coil assembly might get stick to the back cover due to adhesive spreads while trying to pry the back cover to open the phone. Take a look inside to ensure the assebly has not got sticked. If so, try using a credit card like plastic to get it peeled of from back cover without breaking the assembly always paying attention to the fingerprint sensor as well.

    dcode -

    Reconnecting this cable seems like it would be very tricky: how can you get the pieces close enough together to make the connection without having the perimeter adhesive start to connect the front and back? It seems like that adhesive could easily get messed up at this point.

    r torrance andrews -

    To remove the akku, high temperature was NOT constructive!! I used ethanol (cc.) instead and it worked in between 2 minutes. I think it´s also better to open the coverage in this way. Instead of heating it.

    Franz Gassner -

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    • To install a new back cover:

    • Use tweezers to peel away any remaining adhesive from the phone's chassis. Then clean the adhesion areas with high concentration isopropyl alcohol (at least 90%) and a lint-free cloth to prep the surface for the new adhesive.

    • Peel the adhesive backing off of the new rear glass, carefully line up one edge of the glass against the phone chassis, and firmly press the glass onto the phone.

    • Follow this guide to reinstall the old back cover, or to install a back cover without pre-installed adhesive.

    • 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.

    • You may also need to transfer the camera bezel to your new part. If that's the case, follow our camera bezel replacement guide.

    Bonjour,

    Vous parlez d’ajouter de l’adhésif, comment et où le trouve-t-on cet adhésif ?

    Difficile à appliquer ?

    Cordialement,

    Stéphane

    Steph D -

    Mille excuses, je viens de voir les “adhesive strips” :)

    Steph D -

    I broke the rear glass trying to get all the adhesive off! Be very careful!!

    jimhunz -

    Be careful with the NFC Antenna/Charging Coil Assembly. It’s covered in a black wrapping that can look like adhesive. Don’t scratch too hard with the spudger, the wrapping will come off!

    Michael M -

    Hello, I appreciate that tuto, very detailed for a somewhat subtle job . Is it possible to use one of the 7000 or 8000 glues in place of the adhesive Stickers ? Thanks

    Isaac OLEG -

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    • If you're installing a new rear glass panel, you'll also need to transfer the fingerprint sensor to your new rear glass panel as follows:

    • Reheat an iOpener and apply it to the fingerprint sensor mounted to the rear glass.

    • Push the fingerprint sensor off of its adhesive from the outside of the glass.

    • If the sensor is stubborn, gently slide an opening pick under the plastic backing to loosen the adhesive before pushing.

    • This will make the adhesive less likely to be reusable, so try pushing with your finger first.

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    • If the fingerprint sensor adhesive is intact, it may be reused. Otherwise, replace it with some pre-cut adhesive.

    • After removing the old adhesive, clean the edges of the fingerprint sensor with high concentration isopropyl alcohol (at least 90%), then apply the new adhesive.

Conclusion

After reapplying adhesive, follow these instructions in reverse order to reassemble your device.

After you've completed the repair, follow this guide to test your repair.

Author

Sam Goldheart

Member since: 19/10/12

465332 Reputation

17 comments

Will the phone still be water proof after this

gavinjay -

No. After the adhesive is removed, your water resistance is as gone as your warranty.

James watling -

after the rear panel is removed? ... no...

John Joiner -

Nice its simple action with this tutrial

Seibors -

Great tutorial, simple and straight to the point. My type of learning.

If I could add just one little thing….

I myself would have loved if you would have touched on replacing the fingerprint scanner ribbon when replacing the back glass. , I learned

None the less, you gave me knowledge and I thank you…

Alvin Thomas -

it will be if you do the process 100% correctly and ensure a proper seal by applying enough adhesive at the edges (yet not too much!) at the edges and around the camera and fingerprint scanner. In theory that should do it, but bear in mind i have not tested this

Robin Bogaards -

Where to buy original rear back glass?

a.voloshin -

The back glass can be purchased here in the iFixit store.

Sam Goldheart -

Under “parts required”, I see:

Galaxy S8 Rear Glass Panel - $90

Galaxy S8 Aftermarket Blank Rear Glass Panel $15

1. I assume I only need one of these parts, correct?

2. if correct, what’s the difference between the two? they look like the same exact part, except the $90 is Samsung branded and the non-branded is $15

Thanks everyone!

Jimmy Ng -

That is correct. The non-branded one is generic. The one that says “SAMSUNG” is name brand and just costs more. You can use either one.

Albert Ayala -

What adhesive do you use ? can you recommend ? I bought one that already had adhesive on the back panel but one side raised up slightly, I could get my finger nail underneath and the gap was noticible.

Links to product would be great.

Thanks

Dave

dave -

Hey Dave a the top of the guide we list the rear cover adhesive you can find in our store!

Sam Goldheart -

Thanks for the guide, was handy. Definitely needs glue to hold the new cover, fingerprint sensor and the other bit on - just ordered a B-7000.

drpotatoman -

very hard and difficult to pass the spudger under the glass !!! But I didn’t abandonned I did it! thanks for the share.

SAINTE-COLOMBE Vonjy -

I have learned my lesson! Edge dropped phone. Display cracked , force created a hidden micro crack in the back glass. I heated the back very well, but still that thing cracked as I was finishing. Take my advice, and anytime you work on this phone buy a new back, then just break off the current one. You will be sooo much happier. Don’t forget to make sure it comes with adhesive.

Max Reynal -

The replacement back glass could use some more adhesive towards the top and bottom. It doesn’t sit as well as it should. Definitely no longer waterproof

Michael M -

This does not show how to reinstall the adhesives.

Michael LaBarbera -