By Donald Bell
03/07/2009
URL: http://asia.cnet.com/digitalliving/tips/0,3800004921,62055694,00.htm

The iPod touch is one of the sleekest, most advanced portable media players on the planet. Unfortunately, it's also one of the most fragile. With one side covered entirely by a thin pane of glass, a single careless drop is enough to turn the iPod touch into nothing more than an expensive paperweight.

To protect your investment, Apple offers a one-year, limited warranty on its iPods, with the option to buy an extended Apple Care warranty. But on the day CNET Associate Editor Antuan Goodwin dropped his first-generation iPod touch face-down in a parking lot, he was out of warranty and out of luck.

A cracked iPod or iPhone screen is really a lose-lose proposition--you either pay someone upwards of S$248 to repair it, or shell out for a new one. To Antuan's relief, I offered a third, less expensive option: DIY repair.

I had some experience replacing iPod batteries and messing with electronics, so I offered to do the iPod repair myself, so long as Antuan understood there was a good chance I would irreparably mangle his iPod. I found the replacement glass on iFixit.com for US$50, along with detailed, step-by-step instructions on the repair.

I won't lie to you--the repair wasn't easy. iFixit correctly cautions that the repair is "Very Difficult", involving lots of delicate parts, and, at one stage, requiring a hair dryer and an oven mitt to remove adhesive from the iPod's metal frame. What iFixit doesn't tell you is how fascinating it is to crack open this remarkable and densely packed little gadget, or the satisfaction of repairing your own stuff.

Tools for iPod surgery

If the screen cracks on an out-of-warranty iPod touch or iPhone, you either need to pay for it to be repaired, purchase a new one, or attempt to make the repair yourself. In this case, we chose the latter option and purchased replacement glass and some iPod opening tools from iFixit.

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.