how to replace your iphone 4 screen - resources for doing it yourself

I lived my nightmare this week.  Talk about first world problems.  My iPhone just flew out of my hands and landed face down on the tile.  I knew before I picked it up that my number had come.  I also never pay for an insurance plan.  I figure the money I save over time there makes up for what I will have to put out to replace or fix a broken phone and usually that is true.

In this case it was definitely true.  I fixed my completely broken iPhone front for around $35 total.  It was either that or pay $550 for a new iPhone since I can't get a discount with my account renewal until February.  I did it myself, with the help of You Tube and Amazon.  And I'm here to tell you that if I can do it...you can do it too!  Especially if you are like me and just need it to make it a few more months for a replacement.  

I ordered THIS KIT  from Amazon for about $25 and paid extra for it to come in 24 hours.  I was mostly happy with the kit except that the phillips head screwdriver was a little too big and the new face didn't come with a speaker screen.  If you keep those two things in mind, you can be prepared and just transfer the old speaker screen to the new.   

The first thing I did before starting was to place clear tape over the broken face of my phone to save my fingers from being sliced up.  You might not need to do this if you just have a little crack but as you can see...I did serious work on my phone.  

Besides the new face, this is what came in the kit.  A star screwdriver, a flat head and a phillips head, two blue puller uppers and a suction cup.  

 The first thing you do is remove the two star screws. 

 ...slide up the back and it pops off.

Then you get down to business...and touch things that you should never have to touch.  

I was planning on doing a step by step but I got too involved in what I was doing so I will just refer you to THIS video to take it apart and THIS video to put it back together.  Fixing it yourself is totally doable.  I am not a "tech" person and even I will admit it was easy, even if it was tedious.  

Helpful hints:
--I would recommend taking a photo of each step for your own help in reassembly.  I may or may not have ended up with a couple of extra parts.
--Have magnetic screwdrivers. 
--Have a large flat workspace.  In my case I used my cutting mat.  It made keeping track of TEENY screws a lot easier and the bright background was helpful.
--Wait until your kids are not around. 
--Breathe and have chocolate on hand.

At the end of the day, I fixed it nearly to the state it was before.  My only tiny issue is that my power button doesn't work, but that doesn't bother me since I never really used it anyway and my phone is set to power off after a minute. 

There is also a small mark on my photos but I can totally work around it.  Both things I can easily live with until February and a small price to pay to save $550.

My sound on/off button works better than before so at least there is that. 

So if you find that your number is up...there is hope.  Have a little confidence in your ability and jump in! Just be aware that this would probably void your warranty and you may be able to sweet talk an Apple nerd to fix it for you.  If that fails, at least you know you have an option!

Also, I was in Best Buy within minutes of fixing it buying an Otterbox. :)