Just thought I'd dredge up this old thread.
Tonight I replaced my cracked screen. Woo Hoo!
I dropped if face down about 2 months ago, and got a nice diagonal crack along the glass, and figured I could fix it. So off to EBay and bought a screen. Seemed to be easy enough a thing to do.
Now, getting the back off turned into an epic adventure. The videos you see on YouTube make it seem so simple. But after several evenings I couldn't budge the thing, and the plastic tool they give you for the job wore out. Then, 2 nights ago I sat down with a steak knife and went at it one more time, scratching the buggery out of the side of the Touch.
Somehow I wiggled it the right way and *click* one corner separated and from there it was easy.
From there, following the YouTube video wasn't so tough. Alot of the parts, like the battery and little circuit boards are held in with gummy glue, so you have to be very careful tugging them out. Don't be a fool and use a sharp knife to lever up the battery. You'll cut the foil bag surrounding it.
And then there's lots of screws, but it's all doable.
But, then you hit the final step that isn't described anywhere on the Internets, as far as I could find. Getting the glass screen off.
The screen is stuck to the metal frame with a gummy glue. The glue covers the black top and bottom bits, and it doesn't let go, not matter how hard you push. No screws or clips or sockets. Just lots of glue.
Two nights ago I got to this stage and decided it was too tough, reassembled by Touch and found that I had buggered the old screen with all my pushing and prodding. Lots of dead areas where it wouldn't register my fingers touching it.
I had effed up my Touch. Bugger.
So tonight I had nothing to lose. If I stuffed up again, well, the Touch is already dead.
I took it apart, and pushed and pushed on the back of the screen until *crack*. I then proceeded to just brutally rip it out piece by piece. Now the glass is definitely not "safety glass". When it cracks it leaves behind very fine slivers that get into your skin. Do it inside a box or old icecream tub, and clean up afterwards, and don't use your fingers.
But I got it all out, used some turps to clean off the glue.
And it reassembled and works great.
Such a thuggish way to do it.
It anyone knows a nicer way to get the screen off, I'd love to hear it. Some solvent to dissolve the glue?
Moral of the story... DON'T DO IT, unless the cracks in the screen are so bad that it isn't working. In hindsight I should never have done this.