Author Topic: i-pod touch glass broken  (Read 13320 times)

Offline BobM

  • Audio Neurotic
  • *****
  • Posts: 3318
i-pod touch glass broken
« on: July 16, 2012, 12:51:58 PM »
My daughter dropped her i-pod touch 4th gen and cracked the glass. The swipe still works but the glass is shattered.

There are several you tube tutorials on how to replace this, and lots of places sell replacement kits for the "digitizer". It isn't as simple a repair as the 1, 2, 3 gen devices. So,is it worthwhile attempting this myself or sending it out for repair.

Any advice?

Thanks,
Bob
Laugh and the world laughs with you. Cry and you'll have to blow your nose.

djdube525

  • Guest
Re: i-pod touch glass broken
« Reply #1 on: July 16, 2012, 01:58:59 PM »
I can't help you on if it's worth doing the work yourself or not...

I did read FedEx is now doing mobile device repairs... might be worth calling one of the Kinkos/FedEx centers to get a quote... you can at least use that as a "worst case" guide.

Dave

Offline richidoo

  • Out Of My Speaker Cabinet
  • ******
  • Posts: 11144
Re: i-pod touch glass broken
« Reply #2 on: July 16, 2012, 02:14:43 PM »
The question is how many do you have to ruin before you learn how to do one well. I think you can do it yourself, if you can find a good tutorial. Something that recommends the right tools and shows exactly how to do it and what mistakes to avoid.

I found this one, but it's not detailed enough. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqRHlhXLw0E
There's probably 500 more up there, and a couple good ones.

On the other hand if you can find a company that does of them every day for $50 then it's not worth your time to fuss with it. Unless you are dying to see the innards for yourself...  :drool:

Don't forget to back it up.

Offline Barry (NJ)

  • Audio Neurotic
  • *****
  • Posts: 1712
Re: i-pod touch glass broken
« Reply #3 on: July 16, 2012, 02:15:38 PM »
Hi Bob, here are some other places to look into...

http://cpr-longisland.com/

http://www.smart-phone-repair.net/
Happiness is when your system overcomes your nervosa ;) 
So much media, so little time... My Media Room...

Offline Bob in St. Louis

  • Audio Neurotic
  • *****
  • Posts: 1273
Re: i-pod touch glass broken
« Reply #4 on: July 17, 2012, 01:26:50 PM »
Wow, what timing for a thread!
I took my sons 3rd Gen iPod touch apart last night.
I used to very thin putty knives to pry the case from the glass. Knowing what I know now, I could do it in two minutes, literally. But 'tiptoeing' into it for the first time last night, took me much longer. I was too shy.

Hint #1....Open it like a book, by opening the right side "hinging it" on the left. In the upper left corner there's a thin ribbon cable that might be damaged if you open it from the left.

Hint #2....There are four release tabs on each side, one on top, and one on bottom.

Bob

Offline BobM

  • Audio Neurotic
  • *****
  • Posts: 3318
Re: i-pod touch glass broken
« Reply #5 on: July 17, 2012, 03:14:59 PM »
I am tempted to try this myyself, since the replacement digitizer and tools are about $20 or so. All the local fix it places want $90 to do this, and promise completing it in 30 minutes.

However, the gen 1,2,3 youtube tutorials are about 5 minute vid's. The Gen 4 tutorial is about 45 minutes long and is sooooo much more involved.

Still ... a $70 difference ...
Laugh and the world laughs with you. Cry and you'll have to blow your nose.

Offline richidoo

  • Out Of My Speaker Cabinet
  • ******
  • Posts: 11144
Re: i-pod touch glass broken
« Reply #6 on: September 17, 2012, 07:55:51 AM »
Bob, did you try the repair yourself? What was the end result?

My 12yo son dropped his Touch4 last night, cracked the glass.

The icracked.com  youtube looks doable. http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_41944&feature=iv&src_vid=GTXFRTY4CCA&v=ub7ApXWWFn0#t=2s

Where is a good place to buy the replacement screen.

Do I need a torx screwdriver, or just phillips?
Thanks!

djdube525

  • Guest
Re: i-pod touch glass broken
« Reply #7 on: September 17, 2012, 09:19:55 AM »
The new touch is coming out... just get one of those!  :rofl:

In all seriousness... it looks like Amazon carries them:

You can at least use that as reference.

Offline BobM

  • Audio Neurotic
  • *****
  • Posts: 3318
Re: i-pod touch glass broken
« Reply #8 on: September 17, 2012, 09:29:33 AM »
I got my daughter a hard plastic case so this doesn;t happen again. Her touch is still working and I told her the local replacement place wants $90 plus tax to fix the glass. The glass and screen come as a unit and need to be installed that way. She was waiting for borthday money to come in (because I told her it was her cost to fix it), and now that it has I will probably be going there next weekend.

She has a touch 4th gen, which is far more complicated to fix than gen's 1-3. Too much for me to tinker with it, and I like to play with things myself. Also, the $25-35 replacement glass and screens are not the same resolution as the original device. High resolution glass and screens run about $60-75, so paying $90 for someone to do it for me with a high resolution screen is a no brainer.

Laugh and the world laughs with you. Cry and you'll have to blow your nose.

Offline richidoo

  • Out Of My Speaker Cabinet
  • ******
  • Posts: 11144
Re: i-pod touch glass broken
« Reply #9 on: September 17, 2012, 09:52:30 AM »
Thanks guys. I didn't know there was a resolution difference. Maybe a part marked OEM will be the right res, there are a lot of gyp parts out there, few OEM. Do you have any links about the screen resolution? Thanks

It is a white screen, but there's no OEM white screens left. Black is OK.

He might get an iPhone5 for christmas but his sis can use the Touch after that.
Rich

Offline BobM

  • Audio Neurotic
  • *****
  • Posts: 3318
Re: i-pod touch glass broken
« Reply #10 on: September 17, 2012, 12:41:29 PM »
Read the 1 star comments on the Amazon link. It was luck I found out about the resolution issue similarly, reading posted comments, but I did confirm it with several of the cheap part providers. My local shop says they use OEM original resolution digitizer and glass.
Laugh and the world laughs with you. Cry and you'll have to blow your nose.

Offline richidoo

  • Out Of My Speaker Cabinet
  • ******
  • Posts: 11144
Re: i-pod touch glass broken
« Reply #11 on: September 18, 2012, 09:21:53 AM »
I ordered the part from England. They have it in white, OEM retina with adhesive and tools for $66 delivered.
http://www.appleipodparts.com/

I'll let you know how it goes.

Offline richidoo

  • Out Of My Speaker Cabinet
  • ******
  • Posts: 11144
Re: i-pod touch glass broken
« Reply #12 on: September 29, 2012, 02:53:25 PM »
Got the part, finally. It is not OEM, it is a reproduction copy. The white color is slightly off from the original Apple part. Not as bright and warm white. It doesn't say Apple anywhere on it.

They also advertise a repro part, but I paid 15euro more for the oem. I would guess that they ran out of white OEM parts, like everyone else in the world, and slipped me a gyp. Most people wouldn't see the difference in color or care. I don't care about the color, but I want a genuine Retina display.

Also, they did not include the laser cut double sided tape for reassembly as they promised.

We'll see how responsive they are to correct it or refund. I am not hoping for much.  Meanwhile, my kid wants his toy back and it's going on a month since he broke it.

Offline BobM

  • Audio Neurotic
  • *****
  • Posts: 3318
Re: i-pod touch glass broken
« Reply #13 on: September 29, 2012, 07:42:02 PM »
Yeah Rich. I am currently scanning my local shops that sell and repair cell phones and such. Most "say" they use genuine Apple parts, but then the price escalates greatly. Still shopping, because this replacement looks fragile and finicky for my fat fingers.

Laugh and the world laughs with you. Cry and you'll have to blow your nose.

Offline richidoo

  • Out Of My Speaker Cabinet
  • ******
  • Posts: 11144
Re: i-pod touch glass broken
« Reply #14 on: September 30, 2012, 08:46:25 AM »
Hopefully i can find the part, in black, and give it a try.

Did you see this vid?

I have an email in to this place to confirm that it is true OEM:
http://applepartsstore.com/index.php/ipod/ipod-touch/ipod-touch-front-screen-assembly-4th-gen.html