![I recently was playing a game of capture the flag at a work retreat when I dove to try to rescue my fellow teammates from “jail”. In doing so, I […]](https://www.ipaul.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/G1-17-450x300.jpg "HTC G1 Screen Replacement DIY")
I recently was playing a game of capture the flag at a work retreat when I dove to try to rescue my fellow teammates from “jail”. In doing so, I cracked the LCD screen on my Android HTC G1 phone that I had in my pocket. Lesson: don’t play games like that with the phone in my pocket. This blog entry details my experience replacing the LCD screen in my phone. Total cost: $55.00 and a couple of free hours.
I researched a bit on what I needed to replace the screen myself as you may know from an earlier post, I don’t really believe it is worth paying insurance on a phone. I found the G1 LCD screen on e-bay for just under $55.00. I bought the screen and it arrived in a few days. Not only was it cheaper to replace the screen myself, I avoided the headache of having to send in my phone. Note that when looking for the replacement screen, don’t confuse the LCD screen for the digitizer or the touch screen. If you are replacing the touch screen, follow the instructions, but you’ll need to also remove the digitizer. Most of the directions will be the same except for the addition of that last step. You also may wish to print out the pictures and tape the screws to them as you disassemble if you are afraid of keeping track of the different parts.
Once the new screen arrived, I set down to replace the screen. Expect the replacement to take about two hours to complete unless additional troubleshooting is needed. Follow the steps below and you should hopefully be in good shape.
DISCLAIMER: This information is provided for informational purposes only. I have repaired multiple electronic devices in my lifetime and am comfortable in doing so. The instructions below will void your warranty. Please use common sense and if you feel you cannot do so on your own, you should have the device repaired by an authorized professional. I cannot take responsibility for damage done because of the information given here.
Step 1
Gather all of the new parts. You will need:
- Replacement G1 LCD Screen
- Plastic Pry Tool
- Philip (TORX) Screw Driver type T5 (I could not find mine, but improvised with the T6, just make sure to not strip the screws)
- Philip (TORX) Screw Driver type T6
- Philip Screw Driver #0
- Optional, tweezers to hold and grasp small parts
G1 Screen Replacement - Needed Parts and Tools
Step 2
- Ground yourself.
- Remove the cover from the G1, the SIM card, the battery, and the MicroSD card if you have one installed.
- Remove four (4) T5 screws [red] and one (1) T6 screw [green].
G1 Screen Replacement Step 3
Step 3
- Gently use a plastic pry tool to separate the housing from the device.
- Be especially careful around the mini-USB port at the bottom where you will need to push in tabs/hooks on the case.
- Take your time to avoid cracking or breaking the case.
G1 Screen Replacement - Step 4
Step 4
- Unplug the UMTS and GPS coaxial cables [red].
- Remove the #0 screw to remove the GPS board [green].
- Disconnect the daughter board FPC [blue]. It should pull straight up.
- Remove the tape from the Qwerty keyboard FPC [yellow]. The connector has a black unlock mechanism. Switch it to the upright position and you should be able to easily disconnect the FPC.
- There is also a block unlock switch on the camera FPC [cyan] underneath the main board. Unlock and disconnect the FPC.
- The hinge FPC [purple] will be connected underneath the main board. It should disconnect by pulling stright off the board.
- Separate the main board from the device.
G1 Screen Replacement - Step 4
Step 5
- Remove the screws [green].
- Release the tabs [red] to help separate the UI cover in the next step.
G1 Screen Replacement - Step 5
Step 6
- Use a plastic pry tool to release the UI Cover from the device using the tab slots as stated in the previous step.
- Pull off the UI cover from the device. The device will need to pull out (not up) once released, as it will be attached to the hinge cable guide as shown at the top right of the screen. Pull the cover to the right, as pictured below.
G1 Screen Replacement - Step 6
Step 7
- Feed the hinge cable through the device. You can move the cable guide if necessary.
- Be careful not to pinch or break the cable as you feed this through.
G1 Screen Replacement - Step 7
Step 8
- Remove the remaining two (2) screws holding the display to the main device.
G1 Screen Replacement - Step 8
Step 9
- Separate the display from the device.
G1 Screen Replacement - Step 9
Step 10
- Remove the four (4) screws.
- Remove the display cover with a plastic pry tool.
G1 Screen Replacement - Step 10
Step 11
- Unlock the hinge FPC connector.
- Disconnect the display cable.
G1 Screen Replacement - Step 11
Step 12
- Unlock the digitizer (touch panel) FPC.
- Disconnect the digitizer FPC Cable.
G1 Screen Replacement - Step 12
Step 13
- Remove the LCD.
G1 Screen Replacement - Step 13
Step 14
- Remove the protective film from the new LCD.
- Be careful not to get the new screen dirty, as you will not be able to access it to clean it unless you take apart the device again.
- Place the screen back on top of the digitizer to replace the old screen.
G1 Screen Replacement - Step 14
Step 15
- Reconnect the digitizer to the LCD and the LCD to the hinge FPC.
- At this point, I would recommend testing the screen before reassembly by plugging in the hinge to the main board, connecting the daughter board, and holding the battery in place while pressing the power button.
- Make sure that when reconnecting the FPCs that they are inserted fully, correct, and straight. If not, things may not function properly or in extreme cases may short something out and cause permanent hardware failure.
- When satisfied that the screen is functioning correctly, reverse the steps to reassemble the phone.
G1 Screen Replacement - Completed Reassembly
I found the project manageable. Prying open the case and reassembling the device with the tight spaces were the two most difficult parts of the project. While not pleasant to spend money and have to replace the screen, the project is fun from a hobby standpoint and pleasurable in knowing you didn’t spend $180 or more to send it in for replacement. Good luck if you try the project, and let me know how it turns out!
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In the pictures for Step 13 and 14 you can tell that there is some sort of screen attached to the black frame. I think that is the part that is broken on my phone. My touch screen and LCD work perfectly and there aren’t any spots that look broken(no black pixels, etc.).
Any idea what that piece is called or if it is replaceable?
I believe the piece you are referring to is called the digitizer. It’s essentially, the touch screen. Search on ebay for “G1 digitizer” and you should find it.
Great write up Paul! I have a question similar to Chewy’s… I had my G1 in my back pocket and cracked the touchscreen AND I have dead pixels (colors look like they’re running down the screen). All the stuff I read so far says the screen is 1 piece. Will I need the screen and digitizer? Thanks in advance.
Thanks for the comment. Sorry it took a while to respond… life calls.
Anyway, It may be hard to determine which items to get to replace on your phone. I can say the digitizer and screen are two items, which disconnect from each other and can be ordered separately. I would advise this: if your screen is broken like in the pictures on this blog entry, and the image or pieces are gone or it’s obvious there is a display issue, then you will probably need to replace your screen. If you can also see visible cracks in the outer clear-part (the digitizer) then you may wish to replace that, however, if your touch sensing is working properly, then my guess is that the digitizer is fine.
Good luck!
I was wondering if my touch screen work fine, and there are no dead pixels in my lcd, but the outer glass is cracked pretty bad (touch screen works fine though)do i need to replace the digitizer still? or is there some part that i can buy that is just the outer glass layer?
Same question here as Deonna – screen is cracked, no color issues, touch screen works fine, just cracked outer glass. Can I just replace that???
Deonna and Josh,
I believe that the “outer glass” you are referring to is really just a part of the digitizer.
I didn´t change the screen but the menubar. After building back together the touch function doesn´t work at all. The screen itself works fine.
Do you have any ideas what i did wrong.
Thanks, and btw good instruction
Rallyharry
Nice write up. I should have done a write up when I replaced my labtop screen with a spiderweb crack:/ But yeah, you saved yourself a lot of money! Labtop screen repair is rated at 500$ +…
Rallyharry, sorry for such a late response… if you haven’t already, if the display is fully functional, but not the digitizer, I’d check the FPC Connection (Step 12). If you didn’t open that part up, I’d just check all of the connections. Thanks for the comment.
Can you tell me if I need to replace the digitizer if all touch screen functions work and there is no pixel problems. And where do you get the screwdrivers in the picture. I may have purchased the wrong part.Mine has a cable off of it and I have a broken screen
just followed this to replace my digitizer.. thank you VERY much saved me £50. Pleased i found this too as there is a youtube vid that shows the same thing however he just tears the screen apart without disconnecting it from the device (the last screw behind the slide)
Thank you for the article, I have a couple of tips as well for people who are changing the digitizer. There are two gaskets that really should be put back. One is a clear sticky tape looking gasket that seals the digitizer to the faceplate and another foam gasket (usually stuck to the LCD) that acts as a spacer as well as dust stopper between the LCD and digitizer. If either of these are left out you can count on a mess and unruly digitizer experience. 🙂 I also noted there is a problem going back together if you have big fingers, the digitizer is connected to the motherboard through a series of about 4 cables in all and if one of these cables are a little cock-eyed going back there will be dead spots on the touch screen, most notably the very bottom portion at the virtual keyboards spacebar. I thought I damaged a cable but turns out they can be quirky if not put back just so.
I should add that the replacement digitizer I ordered did not come with any gaskets, I had to salvage them from my dead part and it was a little tricky to do but if handled with care they should be salvageable without too much headache.