iPhone 5 Speaker Enclosure Replacement

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!!!!!

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.

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 ;-)

Wish I ordered a back case as well with my repair being so easy!

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.

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)

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?

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.

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

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).

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.

I used a heavy duty iFixIt suction cup (used for repairing an old iMac) for the job. Worked like a charm.

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.

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!

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.

I can confirm, the Garmin sucker cup worked like a charm. Within 5 seconds it popped open.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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!

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.

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!

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.

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.

Any risk if I put wrong screw?

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

One of the screw is completely stuck and I cannot remove it! What can I do?

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!

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't forget to clip this in flush, my phone couldn't get a cell signal when it was slightly out-of-place.

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. :)

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.

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…

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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?

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.

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!

No info on removing the home button?