A cracked display is no fun. I know you're thinking you have to live with it, but
I'm here to tell you you don't. And today I'm going to show you how to replace the
display in your Galaxy S7.
For this repair you're going to need a heat gun, a
Philips #00 screwdriver, an iSclack or a suction cup, opening picks, a
spudger and a scraping card.
just a warning
opening your Galaxy S7 may reduce the water resistance capabilities of this
device. Before we begin understand this repair is on the difficult side due to
all the adhesive. Take caution and be patient as it's easy to break
components that are adhered. as always make sure that the phone is completely
turned off once you've turned off the phone we're going to try to remove the
back panel start by taking out the SIM card at the top of the phone.
The S7 is unfortunately held together with adhesive so you'll need to heat and
loosen the glue on the back before moving on we are using a heat gun for
this device please take caution not to overheat your device. Do this by staying
in the lowest power and not getting too close.
Heat up all sides of the phone
Then use your iSclack or suction cup to lift up one edge of the panel just enough to insert an opening pick. This pick will
ensure that the glue does not reset as it cools.
Now use an additional pick to cut the adhesive up the left side and another one for the right. If you run
into a lot of resistance, just use more heat before cutting with the picks.
Once everything is cut you should be able to lift the back panel from the phone.
Time to remove the 12 Phillips screws holding the antenna module, the
NFC module, and the speakers in place. Once the screws are removed lift the
modules out of the phone.
It's important to note that you should disconnect the battery as soon as the connector is accessible no matter what component
you're going to replace. Now we can see the battery. To remove the battery we'll
need to pry a bit of adhesive to get it out of the phone. You can use a spudger,
but I found these pics work quite nice.
Moving on to the motherboard— disconnect all the cables holding the
motherboard down, including the two small antennas on the left side.
With everything disconnected you should be able to lift the motherboard carefully
from the top of the phone. Do not remove the motherboard completely, as there's a
cable connected to the underside of the board. Disconnect that and remove the board from the phone.
On to the display! We recommend not doing this repair unless
the screen is already broken. There is adhesive around the entire perimeter of
the display. Start by heating the side with the volume buttons with your heat
gun. And just like before, take caution when using your heat gun. You don't want
to overheat any components on the inside.
Once it's nice and warm, take your pick in between the mid frame and the display.
If you run into resistance, hit it with more heat. Leave one pick in to keep the
glue from resetting. Cut the glue on the edge but don't round the corner just yet.
Then add a card under the mid frame on the opposite side just like you did with
the first pick. With the card in place, insert another pick and cut the adhesive on the right side.
With both long edges released, attempt the top corners.
When you move to the bottom two corners, take caution. There's some delicate cables at the bottom you don't want to cut.
Now you should be able to lift the display from the phone.
You can find all the parts and tools you need for this and many more repairs at ifixit.com. Don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel to stay
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