advertisement
 
Tips & Tricks
 Print    Email     Bookmark     Share

Music & Play:

Fixing a cracked iPod touch

By Donald Bell
03/07/2009



 

Step 1: Unsticking the battery

After prying off the iPod's chrome backing, the second hurdle was carefully pulling the rechargeable battery pack away from the other components--a task not helped by the considerable amount of glue used to affix the battery.

Step 2: Removing the logic board

The battery was small potatoes compared to the removal of the iPod touch logic board, which aside from being the fragile heart of the entire system, was held in place with both glue and four miniature screws.

Step 3: Universal dock connector

Here you can see dock connection and headphone output, along with the chips making up the logic board.

Step 4: Unscrewing the LCD

The iPod touch LCD is secured with sixteen individual screws, which take a long time to remove, and even longer to relocate and put back in.

Step 5: Removing the LCD

Here's a shot of the iPod touch LCD, separated from the rest of the components. Fortunately, the LCD was unharmed from the drop that cracked the exterior glass.

Step 6: Home button

With the LCD removed, the iPod's home button pops right out. Be careful not to lose it, as the replacement glass does not include a new home button.

Step 7: Old frame, new glass

After using a hair dryer to heat the adhesive that held the broken glass in place, I removed the old glass and prepared the metal rim to receive the replacement glass. Once the glass was in place, a hair dryer was used again to bond the leftover adhesive to the new glass.

Step 8: Fixed!

Once the new glass cooled down from the hair dryer treatment, I reversed all the steps, reassembled the iPod, and breathed a sigh of relief as I watched the screen light up.

A man and his iPod, reunited


Once the repair was finished, I reunited the iPod touch back with its owner, Associate Editor Antuan Goodwin. Happy feelings ensured.

Tags: Apple iPhone, Apple iPod, portable media player, CNET Networks Inc., Apple iPod Touch
 

 
 

    Talkback
ShiningStar says...
It's not like the Iphone 3GS dismantle, where a sucktion cup worked.

 
 
To post comments, you need to become a member. It's FREE.
advertisement