If the iSight camera in your iPhone 5 has decided to stop working on you, it may be
time for a replacement. I’ve got good news! It’s really easy and I am going to show
you just how to do it.
For this repair you’re going to need A P2 Pentalobe Screwdriver
A SIM Card Eject Tool A Phillips #000 Screwdriver
A set of Plastic Opening Tools A 2.5 mm Flathead Screwdriver
A Small Suction Cup And a Spudger
I have most of the tools I need in my Pro Tech toolkit, and I also have my magnetic
mat to help keep me organized along the way. As always, this video is just an overview
of the repair process so be sure to check out the step by step guide on ifixit.com when
you do your repair. Let’s get started.
The first step is to open the phone and it’s as simple as removing the two pentalobe screws
on either side of the lightning connector.
Once those are out, and organized on your mat use your iSclack to pop open the phone.
Slide the phone between both suction cups and press firmly right above the home button.
Then just pop it open!
If you don’t have an iSclack you can open your phone with a suction cup, and opening
tool. We outline this alternative on steps 5 through 7 on the guide at ifixit.com.
You can pull the home button end of the assembly away from the rear case, using the top of
the phone as a hinge.
Open the display to about a 90º angle, and lean it against something to keep it propped
up while you're working on the phone. Add a rubber band to keep the display securely
in place while you work. This prevents undue strain on the display cables.
Time to disconnect the battery. To do that we just need to remove the two screws holding
the bracket in place, remove the bracket and then disconnect the battery with your opening
tool or spudger.
There is a bracket protecting all the cables we need to disconnect in order to remove the
display. It’s held in place by a few screws of differing size so make sure you take notes
on your magnetic mat on where these come out or you could damage the logic board if you
reassemble them in the wrong order.
Lift the bracket out, and get to work on disconnecting the Front-facing camera and sensor cable,
LCD cable, and Digitizer cable. Once everything is disconnected you can remove the display.
Let’s go back to the battery and get it out of the phone and out of our way. You have
this handy pull tab to help you lift it away from the rear case. If your tab breaks before
the battery is freed, Can use our heat and scrape method outlined in steps 18-20 on our
guide.
Now it’s time to tackle the logic board. First let’s disconnect the cellular data
antenna cable connector up from its socket on the logic board, just above the speaker
enclosure.
Move up to the top of the phone to remove the two screws holding the top logic board
bracket in place and then lift the bracket from the logic board.
Then we’re just going to use the flat end of a spudger to disconnect the upper interconnect
cable, the button assembly cable, and the lower interconnect cable
Now let’s remove a few phillips screws. Theres two on the inner top of the rear case
and one in the mid-section logic board bracket. We can also lift the bracket out at this time.
Use a spudger to pry the Lightning connector cable connector up from its socket on the
logic board. And then gently peel the cable back and out of the way of the logic board.
Time to remove your sim card. That’s as easy as inserting your sim eject tool or paper
clip in the small hole on the side of your phone and sliding the tray out
The next step involves removing the five screws holding the logic board in place there are
two phillips and three standoff screws that you can use your small flathead driver on.
Be sure you keep these organized as they come out for a smooth reassembly.
The logic board isn’t quite free yet. The Wi-Fi antenna cable connector is still connected
to the underside of the logic board.
Rotate the logic board assembly toward the battery side of the rear case. And then just
use the tip of your spudger to disconnect it and remove it from the phone.
In the next few steps we will be removing the rear facing camera from the phone. Start
by removing the two phillips screws securing the rear-facing camera bracket to the logic
board. Then remove the bracket.
Now you can use the flat end of a spudger to disconnect the rear-facing camera cable
from its socket and remove it from the phone. Your replacement part may not come with the
flash surround—if not, remove it from the old camera and transfer it to your replacement.
That’s it for this repair. For reassembly we recommend you work backwards the step by
step guide when you do your repair. You can find all the parts and tools you need for
this and many more repairs at iFixit.com. Good luck! And let me know how it goes. You
can find me on twitter @gwendolyngay and follow ifixit @ifixit while you’re there. Dont
forget to subscribe to our channel and give us a like on facebook at facebook.com/ifixit