How to fix a shattered iPad screen

We have a few Apple products here in Casa de Dorobek. And well, we’ve sadly broken most of them at some point or another. Andy has now fixed 5 screens for us with this how to fix a broken iPhone screen tutorial on C.R.A.F.T. Sadly, Andy recently dropped his iPad and shattered that screen too. He figured it was time to learn a new trick and he embarked on the journey to DIY his shattered iPad screen for only $27. We did a quick google search, and found that it could cost up to $200 to have your iPad screen repaired, yikes! So, I’m here to tell you that you can fix your iPad screen yourself and save lots of bacon!

Note: This iPad screen tutorial is for the 2nd generation iPad. 

Materials:

• iPad screen kit (most of these come with the tool kit seen below) TIP: The iPads look similar from version to version, but be sure and order the screen that is specific to your iPad model. Also, when purchasing your screen, you want to make sure it comes with the adhesive pre-installed. The kit should cost between $25-$30 bucks. Here is the kit Andy bought  to fix his iPad screen.
• hairdryer
• kitchen towel (or work mat)
• vacuum to suck up glass

Another thing that is helpful to understand before attempting this iPad fix is that there are 3 layers to an iPad. The layers are:

• Glass (he says digitizer in the video)
• The LCD screen. This is what actually displays the picture.
• The computer parts and the frame of the iPad

Here they are in picture form:

1. First, heat the edge of the iPad with a hairdryer because you need to loosen the glue that holds the glass to the frame of the iPad.

2. Start removing the glass from the iPad with the blue guitar pick looking tool.  Andy also used the mini flat head screw driver to do this step. Depending on the severity of your break, this could take anywhere from 10 minutes to 2 hours. Make sure that you remove every piece of glass. Be gentle. Note: The Wi-Fi antenna is also adhered to the body and needs to stay with the body when the glass is separated. Watch the video below at 2:50 to see how to separate the Wi-Fi antenna from the glass.

3. Continue removing glass from the screen and body. Andy used the green tool seen below and the mini flat head screw driver. Like I said above, depending on the severity of the break this can take up to 2 hours… Andy spent a good hour and half removing glass. He also used a vacuum cleaner to suck up tiny shards that he could not pick up with his hand.

4. After you remove all of the glass (or digitizer as he calls it in the video) you will need to remove the LCD screen by un screwing 4 screws on the corner of the iPad. Watch 3:25 in the video below for more deets on this part. Here is one of the screws and you can also the 3 layers of the iPad in this pic:

5. Use green tool to disconnect the video connector and disconnect the LCD screen. Watch at 3:37 in the video for more info on this part. 

6. Open both digitizer latches carefully with the mini screwdriver. This will completely separate the glass (or digitizer) from the iPad frame.

7. At this point, make sure that there is no remaining glass on the iPad frame. You can try flipping the frame upside down to get remaining shards out. 

8. The hard work is over! Now it’s time to attach the new glass! Repeat steps 4,5,6, in reverse order! A few tips:

• Make sure you don’t have any fingerprints on the LCD screen or the inside of the new glass. These will be impossible to remove once you reassemble your iPad.
• Also, once you reconnect the LCD screen, turn on the iPad to make sure that the screen is connected properly.

Here is the video Andy watched to learn how to repair his iPad screen and also the video I referenced a lot above.