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This repair guide was authored by the iFixit staff and hasn’t been endorsed by Google. Learn more about our repair guides here.
Follow this guide to replace a broken or cracked screen on a Pixel 4a.
The Pixel 4a’s unreinforced display panel is fragile. Pay special attention to the warnings in the opening procedure if you are reusing the screen.
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Take note of the two seams on the edge of the phone:
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Screen seam: This seam separates the screen from the rest of the phone. This is where you should pry.
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Frame seam: This is where the plastic frame meets the back cover. It is held in place by screws. Do not pry at this seam.
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Before you begin, note the following areas on the screen:
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Screen flex cable: Do not insert the opening pick deeper than instructed or you risk damaging this cable.
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Adhesive perimeter: Prying beyond this narrow perimeter without angling the pick will damage the OLED panel.
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Apply a heated iOpener to the right edge of the display for one minute to soften the adhesive.
I did the boiling water method. 3 min in water worked fine. I applied to right side and left side for 90 seconds
EN : Heat is definitely not the best way here. I have tried the iOpener and my hot air station to no avail.
Best way is to use a plastic dropper and apply a few drops of isopropyl alcohol. The dropper is definitely the most useful tool of the battery fix kit to remove all the adhesive precisely and without damaging anything.
FR : Chauffer n'est clairement pas la meilleure méthode ici. J'ai essayé l'iOpener et ma station à air chaud en vain.
La meilleure méthode est d'utiliser une pipette en plastique et d'appliquer quelques gouttes d'alcool isopropylique. La pipette est clairement l'outil le plus utile du fix kit batterie pour enlever précisément tout l'adhésif sans rien endommager.
2. Dissolving the adhesive: the i-opener makes a pretty good neck-warmer but I found it useless as a way to dissolve the adhesive; I tried 8 times before giving up and going to a heat gun. (It doesn't help the documentation has only a few sentences on how to do this most critical step.)
2a. You need a procedure to confirm the adhesive has dissolved other than pulling on the suction cup and likely causing damage to the screen.
2b. Recommendation: Get rid of the i-opener and instead provide full details on how to safely use a heat gun, hair dryer or heating pad to dissolve the adhesive on all 4 sides. Also show how to safely confirm all the adhesive dissolved
if you're using the ifixit kit, i recommend pre-heating the pixel 4a in an oven, at 80°c or until it is hot to the touch, then apply the i-opener
you don't want to go too hot, just enough for the i-opener to not lose heat warming the phone -
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Place a suction cup as close to the right edge of the screen as possible.
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Lift the suction cup with a strong steady force.
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Insert the tip of an opening pick into the screen seam no more than 1 mm.
It's pretty easy. Insert it just below the screen between the Display and the Display “holder” or mold.
I highly recommend not using the mediator that is too thick and too rigid, as the screen is super fragile. Instead, I used a piece of X-ray film. It's thinner, more flexible, and sharper, making it easier to cut through the adhesive along the screen.
I followed your advice and it's working great, i just cut some small piece of a X-ray film I had and after some heating it's easy to cut the adhesive, I just used the mediator to hold it opened
EN : I bought the anti-clamp for this step because I was scared to break my screen but I finally ended up using the suction cup delivered in the battery fix kit which is way more simple to use and it's easier to see when you lift the screen.
Place the suction cup exactly as shown then apply a few drops of isopropyl alcohol into the screen seam next to the suction cup. Once the adhesive is soaked with alcohol, you should be able to lift the screen with the suction cup really easily. Then insert the opening pick or a thin plastic card under the screen.
FR : J'ai acheté l'anti-clamp pour cette étape car j'avais peur de péter mon écran mais finalement j'ai utilisé la ventouse fournie dans le fix kit batterie qui est bien plus simple à utiliser et on voit mieux quand on soulève l'écran.
Placez la ventouse exactement comme indiqué puis appliquez quelques gouttes d'alcool isopropylique dans la jointure de l'écran juste à côté de la ventouse. Une fois que l'adhésif est imbibé d'alcool, vous devriez pouvoir soulever l'écran avec la ventouse très facilement. Puis insérez le médiator ou une fine carte en plastique sous l'écran.
3. Removing the screen: Your approach of just dissolving the adhesive on one side then using picks cut out the other 3 sides exposes the screen to excess stress.(again the documentation provides almost no detail on how set the suction or how to hold the phone to avoid screen damage.)
3a. The picks are too thick, too stiff and result in a lot of pushing and prying. The kit should contain a specific adhesive cutting tool
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With the pick 1 mm into the gap, pivot the pick upwards to a steep angle.
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At a steep angle, carefully push the pick into the gap about 1/4 inch (6 mm). The pick should slide in below the OLED panel.
This took me a while, I ended up sharpening the tip of the pick with a razor so I could push it through the seam and slicing a few times, heat->sharpen-> slice until I finally got it to move, and once it slid under carefully heated up areas and sliced with ~2mm of the pick.
Thanks for this tip, I also shaved down my initial pick and that (plus several rounds of reheating and re-trying) eventually got me there!
This sounds also harder than it is. Push it in 1mm and just lift the other end in a wider angle like 70° degree from the horinzontal position. There “shouldn't” be much you can do wrong. Because except for the Data cable (flex) at a certain position, I can't remeber anything important but isolating tapes that I have scratched.
It's just the Screen glued to the mold. That's it.
Oh, and I wonder here where do You all get such thins plectrums? I have also the flat plastic version and the thin plastic cards but none of them were thin enough for this!!
I ended up using the backside i.e. the dull side of a Razorblade. I didn't saw any alternatives to this. Did You hear this OP?
Any!!
the display flex is directly on the bottom of the phone. BE VERY CAREFUL when going around the bottom to not hit the display flex!!!
Be very, VERY careful when inserting the pick or whatever you're using. That OLED panel is super fragile. When I was replacing the battery, I damaged my screen and had to replace it, as well. The new screen worked, thankfully. I tried to be very careful but somehow still damaged the screen. I couldn't detect any damage to the screen except there was a very small fleck of the iridescent material. That's the only thing I could tell.
FYI: The phone would boot up into SOME kind of mode. I could feel it vibrate when I held down the power button or used the fingerprint sensor. If you're in that position, it's a good chance a new screen will get your phone up and running. At least, that was the case for me.
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Slide the pick along the right edge of the screen to cut the adhesive.
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Leave the pick in the top right corner to prevent the adhesive from re-sealing.
The display flex is directly on the bottom of the phone. Be very careful when goign around the bottom to not hit the display flex!!!
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Insert another opening pick into the right edge of the phone at an angle where a gap has already formed to prevent damage to the OLED panel.
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Slide the opening pick around the bottom of the phone to cut the adhesive.
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Leave the pick inserted along the bottom edge to prevent the adhesive from resealing.
Top and bottom edge adhesive were much stronger than this suggests. Corners were very hard to detach. I killed my screen b/c I cracked it at the top. Worked better with heating around whole perimeter like an iPhone.
WARNING: Be very careful prying the bottom left and right corners! In fact do not insert anything there because there is only a 0.8mm clearance between the screen and the edge, and there's a 0.5mm space between the screen and front glass where if you insert a pick between the screen will crack and break! I had to replace the screen after only doing a battery repair...
Unfortunately I did not properly read the comments here. So for the unafraid people like me:
DO NOT insert something into the bottom right! Especially not like it is shown in the image at this location!
Instead I suggest start releasing the screen from right, then left side, then top and as the last step release the bottom, but start with the left corner. Do not pry too much and use a bit more heat as suggested.
There is a small image of this critical right corner in Step 16 (the part at the top is the display and the left corner at the top is the critical right corner here). You'll see the orange cable in the corner which is easy to damage...
I can second the warnings - especially at the lower corners the OLED screen is extremely sensitive to breaking - as has happened in my attempt when inserting the pick 2 mm.
The display flex is directly on the bottom of the phone. Be very careful when goign around the bottom to not hit the display flex!!!
Unfortunately despite being very delicate on the bottom right corner I ripped off a tiny bit of the digitizer cable and that resulted in a not working screen... went from spending 50€ for a battery replacement to a 150€ total expense battery + screen... :-( My advice is to not even pry the bottom corner, pry all around, then apply heat carefully until the screen is detaching.
Don't listen to the advice that you don't need to reheat. The bottom corners are very strong and you absolutely don't want to go in more than 1 mm to avoid cutting the display flex. Proceed as follows:
1. Heat and get a pick into the right side (more than 1 mm is never needed, in my case the picks all stayed angled upwards while I did the cutting)
2. Put another pick in right away in the same spot
3. Immediately heat the top corner
4. Move one of the picks towards the top corner cutting all adhesive and let it rest there
5. Heat the bottom right corner
6. Move the other pick to the bottom right corner cutting adhesive (not more than 1 mm, make sure to angle the pick sideways!!)
7. Put another pick in on the right side and move it to the bottom too
8. Heat the bottom and bottom-left corner
9. Very carefully move the first bottom pick around the corner and cut everything on the bottom side
10. Don't insert any new picks on the bottom, always go around the corners with an existing pick
11. Go around the bottom-left corner
12. Insert a new pick on the left side once there is a gap and cut the rest
Do not even try to insert anything on the right corner. I pulled screen upwards fine without touching that corner. Just heat both sides and insert picks everywhere but that corner. Although be extra careful with 5 cm from top to bottom on the left side, there is also a cable there, although not that easy to brake as the one on the right bottom corner. I managed to replace battery successfully like that
I broke the display because I didn't read this comments.
Don't slide into the bottom left and right corners!
I wanted to add yet another warning: Be extremely careful in the lower left edge of the screen!
I tried to be gentle, and inserted the pick very little, but still, after reassembly, my screen remained black (while the rest of the device continued working – if you have USB debugging enabled, you can still use it using the
scrcpytool). There was no visible damage; I suspect that I damaged the ribbon cable in the lower left in an invisible way.A new screen fixed the problem. Still, this increased the cost of repair by ~$100. I think the guide should highlight the danger even more. Please be careful – one guide on YouTube I found afterwards avoids inserting the pick in the lower left corner entirely, and just "wiggles it free".
EN : Do not apply heat, just buy a bottle of isopropyl alcohol. Corners are indeed harder to unglue so apply a few more drops of alcohol and it should be easy.
FR : Ne chauffez pas, achetez une bouteille d'alcool isopropylique. Les coins sont effectivement plus durs à décoller donc appliquez un peu plus d'alcool et ça devrait être facile.
I also broke my screen at this stage. EUR 50 and 2 hours lost
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Insert another opening pick into the bottom edge of the phone at an angle where a gap has already formed to prevent damage to the OLED panel.
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Use the pick to slice through the left edge of the phone.
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Leave the pick inserted along the left edge of the phone to prevent the adhesive from re-sealing.
The display flex is directly on the bottom of the phone. Be very careful when goign around the bottom to not hit the display flex!!!
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Insert another opening pick into the left edge of the phone at an angle where a gap has already formed to prevent damage to the OLED panel.
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Slide the pick around the top edge of the phone to cut the adhesive.
The display flex is directly on the bottom of the phone. Be very careful when goign around the bottom to not hit the display flex!!!
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Once you have cut around the perimeter of the phone, carefully lift the right edge of the screen, opening the phone like a book.
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Use an opening pick to carefully cut through any remaining adhesive.
When I was doing this I found the corners especially the bottom right corner was very glued on!! There are very sensitive cables here and I found part of the old screen's cables (it might not matter if you're replacing the entire screen anyways) were glued onto the phone frame. I came really close to tearing mine, but I saw another review about reapplying heat to get this part loose.
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Lift from the top edge and swing the screen over the bottom edge until you can rest it glass-side down.
FR : Précision : La nappe a un bout d'adhésif sur la structure du téléphone, il faut bien faire attention de le décoller. Je viens de tuer la nappe de mon écran qui était fonctionnel...
EN : Advice : The ribbon cable is fixed to the structure with a small piece of adhesive. It should be remove prior to anything else. I just killed the ribbon cable of my perfectly used to work screen...
On reassembly: this is where you peel off the colored part of the adhesive strips, and make sure to put your speaker mesh (if it's not attached to the screen) back in place. It should rest flat-side-down on the frame over the two horizontal indents in the frame edge, at least it should if I did it right ;)
If you are afraid of putting stress on the cable by laying the screen down you can just proceed to next steps while grabbing the screen. I did it like that
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Bu adımda kullanılan alet:Tweezers$4.99
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Use a pair of tweezers to carefully peel up the black tape covering the screen connector bracket.
How critical is the tape that covers this connector? I realized upon sealing back up my device that I forgot to re-install it. I imagine it mostly is there to prevent dust and moisture ingress?
Did anything bad happen with yours? I just did the same thing now
Interestingly this tape was missing in my phone. Maybe that explains some of the display issues I occasionally had, like a thin green line on the right side of the screen which could be "pushed" away.
I think I ripped off the cable because it is undistinguishable from the tape! How screwed am I?
Don't bother trying to save the tape. More hassle than it is worth. Just replace with electrical tape
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Bu adımda kullanılan alet:Magnetic Project Mat$19.95
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Use a T3 Torx driver to remove the two 2.1 mm screws securing the screen connector bracket.
A T4 driver worked for me here.
It is definitely a T4.
Funny ... For me, it was T3. The screws must vary across different phones
T3 worked for me also
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Use the tip of a spudger to pry up and disconnect the screen flex cable.
No, why the tip? Use the other flat side that doesn't concetrate all the power on one point and Youre doing a propper job.
Only the tip is needed to lift a bit one of the sides and it will pop out. No pressure/power!
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Remove the screen.
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Check if your replacement screen has speaker mesh and top edge adhesive pre-installed.
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If it does, you won't need the top edge adhesive.
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If it doesn't, remove the larger clear liner from the top edge adhesive and apply it to the screen (not the frame). Make sure the larger cutout lines up with the speaker mesh.
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Follow this guide to apply the custom-cut adhesive.
This step seems to imply that a screen replacement is necessary when replacing the charging port. Is the charging port replaceable without replacing the screen? I understand great care must be taken not to damage the original screen in the procedure, but can it be reinstalled?
Yes, it can be reinstalled.
Just a heads up: If you are like me and you have accidentally turned on your Pixel 4a at some point while trying to pry the screen, don't worry too much. I was able to just connect my display with the device on. Nothing will happen until you reboot, and then the screen will initialize.
It would help to add that the new screen is reattached after adding glue to phone body, not the screen. With the iFixit screen adhesive pieces, a guide to which piece goes where would help also. For that I used this picture: Google Pixel 4a Display Adhesive - Genuine. Yet that is not enough as there is a cover for (speaker?) which is not clear how to apply that.
The repair kit comes with Google Pixel 4a Display Adhesive - Genuine but there is no guide on how to apply that adhesive. I sent an email, but Ifixit won't make an instruction page for this.
To explain how the adhesive sold by iFixit works, the actual adhesive is the black strip which is held between two pieces of plastic. Line up the pieces with the clear plastic side down. Note that some pieces may be stuck in the box they came in, the plastic is staticky. I recommend that before attaching the new screen you put each piece in place. Remove the clear plastic and place the pieces in place with the colored plastic facing up. The goal is to have the black adhesive strip on the little ledge between the edge and the depression inside the phone. It's the place where you hopefully spent time cleaning out the original adhesive. Place the corners first, then the edges. Press them into place carefully. Before removing the colored plastic attach the phone screen cable and secure it. REMEMBER TO PLACE THE ELECTRICAL TAPE OVER THE CONNECTOR (I forgot to). Then remove the colored plastic, leaving behind the adhesive, and push the screen into place.
Of note: the seal peace at the top goes under the speaker screen, and the seal looks at first like it is reversed. To install that one accurately adhere it to the Screen itself not the body of the phone. align it where there is a see through circle along the seam and a hole in the adhesive. the sealant should run below the speaker screen. When readhering the screen to the body, remove the plastic guides around the body, then last the seal on the screen and align and install.
Super, c'est vraiment à la portée de tout le monde, il faut juste un peu de patience et d'audace.
Je viens de réussir le remplacement de mon écran et c'est impec !
Il n'y a que sur la première partie, où il faut insérer le médiateur, que ça a été compliqué pour moi. Impossible de l'insérer du côté des boutons (à droite donc), par contre quand je me suis décidée à tester en passant par l'autre côté, c'est venu tout seul.
Aussi il m'a fallu un certain temps pour comprendre que sur les adhésifs, seul le trait noir colle, et c'est donc à lui qu'il faut faire attention.
Pensez à vérifier que l'écran est fonctionnel avant de le recoller, à mon premier essai la nappe n'était pas bien insérée et j'ai du recommencer l'insertion. Voila, prendre son temps et vérifier que tout va bien à chaque étape et c'est très facile. J'ai mis un peu moins d'une heure.
After I clipped the screen in place, I realized that I had forgotten to reattach the screen bracket from step 14. Do you think this is dangerous? Can anyone assess this? In any case, the smartphone turns on and actually makes a good impression.
Many thanks in advance for your assessment!
Kind regards
Tom
If you're talking about the strip with two screws that holds the screen connector in place. It's not dangerous to forget it, BUT in a short time the connector will come off to remind you of your forgetfulness!!
Just some advice before you install the screen regarding the earphone grille/mesh at the top.
Something I experienced, was that the speaker grille did not end up being seated quite right when the phone display was stuck down. It is slightly bent, and the top edge is stuck out at a slight angle - it is quite sharp and does not take much to catch a finger on it, when the phone is out of a protective case.
I think this was because I laid the screen in, starting from the top and with it up at quite a steep angle, then working from top to bottom. I would suggest that when setting the new display within the device, that you align the bottom edge first instead.
I am not going to risk lifting the new display to try and re-seat this grille properly, the display cost me a bloody fortune (around 58% of the phone's original price) and I am not risking breaking it over something as minor as that.
nb. I definitely removed all the coloured plastic protective pieces before installing the new screen into the phone.
Just put everything together near perfectly re-using the existing screen so I want to share my experience:
1. This picture shows the correct lineup of the adhesive pieces. Every piece is unique including the corners: https://guide-images.cdn.ifixit.com/igi/...
2. I tried to save the speaker mesh, but it fell off so I had to use the new part
3. After removing the plastic cover from the mesh piece you have a slightly sticky surface. Make sure to attach the mesh in that direction on the INSIDE side of the screen. Line it up properly and it should stick nicely over the cutout
4. Immediately after attach the top adhesive piece from the picture to secure the mesh. Remove the big plastic cover first and stick it onto the screen and the mesh piece in that direction. Note the lineup from this picture: https://guide-images.cdn.ifixit.com/igi/... (the cutout on the adhesive has a perfect match on the display frame)
5. Attach everything else to the phone frame and not the display
Continued
Continued
6. Make sure to line up all the pieces first based on the picture. Every piece is unique, e.g. each corner has a unique hole and cutout pattern. This is important to get right or you will have the sides overlapping with the corners later. Also the left side piece has the big cutout to allow you to work the display connector without having to remove the adhesive cover too early
7. Always remember that the actual adhesive is the black part and you want it as perfect on the frame as possible. Always attach with the clear side down leaving the strong colored side up
8. Use the tweezers and get the adhesive on from one end to the other carefully. Touching the black adhesive will create a mess fast as does having to retry
9. Reattach the display fully and do a dry test before removing the adhesive covers
10. Gently hold the display up and use the tweezers to remove all adhesive covers
11. Flip the screen around and first attach on the bottom before doing the top
12. Let it rest over night putting some books on
Three other notes:
1. If you just replace the display it will already come with the mesh and the top adhesive piece pre-installed so you can skip that part. Just don't forget to remove the adhesive cover before sticking the screen on
2. It's EXTREMELY important to properly clean the display and frame first. A lot of adhesive especially remains on the display if you re-use it. Only use plastic tools and be very careful with pressure. Use 90%+ alcohol with some Q-tips to finish the job, but not too much. No alcohol should ever come into contact with a camera lense
3. Use the flat side of the spudger to go over the black adhesive pieces after first attaching them to make sure they are properly sticking to the surface
The adhesive kit is terrible. Now looking for where to buy some liquid glue to finish this job. Screen and kit are fine, it's just the adhesive strips that are terrible.
Just buy B-7000 from Amazon. Don't waste time with the adhesive kit
important note: don't pull the colored covers off the adhesive immediately! You want to get the ribbon cable and its cover reattached first. Then hold the screen hovering over the base with one hand and gently ease the tabs/covers off your adhesive with the other.
I changed a battery a month ago, so I had to disassemble and reassemble the old screen.
When you've never done these operations, it really requires a lot of observation, being quite manual and being very methodical. You have to follow the instructions to the letter, meticulously read all the comments. A few videos on the internet also help. But in the end, you can do it quite well.
I just changed a screen on another Pixel, it was already much easier and faster!!!
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Compare your new replacement part to the original part—you may need to transfer remaining components or remove adhesive backings from the new part before installing.
To reassemble your device, follow the above steps in reverse order.
Take your e-waste to an R2 or e-Stewards certified recycler.
Repair didn’t go as planned? Try some basic troubleshooting, or ask our Answers community for help.
Compare your new replacement part to the original part—you may need to transfer remaining components or remove adhesive backings from the new part before installing.
To reassemble your device, follow the above steps in reverse order.
Take your e-waste to an R2 or e-Stewards certified recycler.
Repair didn’t go as planned? Try some basic troubleshooting, or ask our Answers community for help.
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Where do you recommend that I purchase the Pixel4a screen replacement from? I found these two with Witrigs being cheaper, but not sure if either are reliable high quality screens.
@samomio Where do we install the double-sided tape for the replacement? Any areas we should not cover? I tried UV glue, but it is not holding the display securely.
Install the double-sided tape in the space between the outside edge of the glass and the OLED screen, all the way around.
Question- why does every phone repair shop automatically replace both the glass layer and the lcd layer even if the glass is the only thing that is broken?
Good question—because OLED screens are destroyed by the oxygen in the air once their screens are cracked or separated.
Hey, nice guide!! Do you know if the Pixel 4a and 4a 5G are interchangeable between them? Thanks!!
Thank you! The 4a and 4a 5G screens are not interchangeable. The 5G is larger.
Excellent guide.
I bought this screen from eBay: https://www.ebay.de/itm/402564264411
Already had tools in an iFixit kit.
Also bought some 1mm Tesa Tape from iFixit to glue the screen back on.
Got a replacement screen off Amazon, had a major scare tho, I tested it before going deep into the repair process, worked fine, removed all the adhesive, reattached the replacement screen it it was all black. Like dead. Phone was still vibrating, I made sure nothing was covering the proximity sensors or anything, still dead screen. I take a break, come back, dis-attach and reattach and the screen several times and its working again. Weird, but now very scared I delicately put it all back together. Make sure you transfer over the speaker grill on top, it doesn’t come with most replacement screens.
Hey guys & Ifixit team… what kit it s better to use for smartphones as a beginner : Essential Electronic or iOpener or Smartphone Repair Kit ?
The big pbl is finding the display…anybody bought form alibaba / alliexpres? Thanks a lot!
Water damage all over the screen from about 2 TBs drop of water on it. Picked up the phone and wiped it thinking its nothing . MAN God know I was wrong. The screen literally SIP water from the sides. 3 Days later and the screen is done. WARNING : If ANY water is left for a couple seconds PRAY. Now ALL of the screen is now purple from water stuck inside it. NEVER AGAIN GOOGLE.
CAN SOMEONE TELL ME IF IT IS IMPORTANT TO BUY THE CORRECT SCREEN VERSION NUMBER? AS PIXEL 4A 4G G025 /G025N /GA02099.
Because sellers don't specify it, is it really relevant? They just sell as Pixel 4A 4G compatible.
Thanks overall!
where do I buy the actual google pixel 4a screen itself? On Amazon? On eBay? Pls answer me
Replacement screens are now available from iFixit here.
Andrew S -
Where do I buy the google pixel 4a screen itself? Which website? And is it cheaper to buy the toolkit bundle or Buy the speelste tools one by one
Phone will not power up after dropping in bowl of water. Can anything be done to recover.
Chris
Be aware that removing a shattered screen will be tedious and you must be patient and careful to remove all of the bits from the glue channel between the screen and the phone body. Removing the old glue is a VERY tedious and time consuming process so be prepared to take considerably longer than the 30-60 minutes shown in the directions. Also be aware that having a magnifiying headset with lights should be a high priority purchase along with this kit. Re-attaching the screen-to-phone connector is also incredibly tedious and frustrating. It took more than 8 hours of work to get ours replaced. At first it all worked fine and 10 minutes later the screen failed. Be prepared to either be delighted that your efforts bring a phone back to life or that it will end in utter failure and frustration... it is NOT as easy as you think. The YouTube videos are all missing this information and make it all look easy...... not so.
If you get the kit that includes the adhesive strips, save yourself the risk and irritation and just get some B-7000 or whatever you see someone using in a YouTube tutorial. They seem to work, but it doesn't seem like they're actually cut for specifically this phone, or in my case none of the shapes really came close to aligning with any cutouts or holes. They only give you exactly what you need, so if you accidentally fail to line it up exactly right, you're stuck trying to maneuver this string of very sticky goop into a precise line or corner.
Otherwise, the tools are exactly what you need in a food way, very little waste and decent packaging. Great value overall, the screen is legit, although now my proximity sensor isn't working for some reason. They're pretty good quality, I'll keep it all around, but will be ordering some better adhesive and maybe redoing it. It really is not fun working with those, and I'd appreciate more for my money in that respect.
Also the picks aren't thin enough, risky using them.
I have problems with my proximity sensor, too. I'll open the phone again to see if it gets fixed.
That was really useful. Thanks for the info and clear steps. I did end up having to push the middle of the connector when reattaching the screen.
When the kit is going to be available?
After advice please - have been using my 4a with cracked screen for a while, but after dropping it last week the screen had a green intermittent flash across it, and nothing else. Pressing the power button to switch off seemed to have no effect. Can anyone please advise whether they think a new screen will resurrect it, or does it sound as though I have broken something else too? Thanks!
After having followed this guide and successfully replaced my screen, I have to say that it stops rather abruptly. It is very detailed, but then it says "apply the strips by following a generic give and put it together again" which is the most tedious part and should be documented. There should be a guide for where which adhesive part belongs, as some have differences just in millimeter scale. Eventually, I noticed that the product page for the adhesive has a picture showing the pieces aligned correctly. Contrary to what is shown in the linked generic adhesive guide, those are supposed to be applied to the device housing, not the screen.
Also, you should NOT apply the top adhesive, as one comes pre-applied to the screen.
There was also an Earpiece Speaker Mesh pre-applied to my new screen, in addition to the one that comes extra, so don't apply the other one on top! In my case, the Mesh was pre-applied inside-out, which I realized just a second before pressing the screen onto the adhesive for good.
1/2
2/2
When it comes to making sure the mesh is aligned correctly, special attention is required. The slightly shorter side of the mesh is supposed to be the bottom side, which means the picture on the product page currently shows it upside-down.
Those are my main gripes with this guide and I think their omission sets newbies up for failure and frustration, which I would assume is the opposite of what ifixit wants when promoting self-repare and should not exist for an “official” self-repare done together with google.
Small additions:
Step 14 tells you to re-attach the connector by clicking in one side first, then the other. I am pretty sure that it means to say and should be pressing down coming from the top edge, then the bottom (or the other way around), but not the sides as in left and right, which is exactly what would make it misaligned.
Also, I would emphasize that if the plastic is not smooth after the removed old adhesive, it is almost certainly hard dried glue. Scrub with the cleaning alcohol pad here.
Après avoir cassé mon écran, et face aux coûts annoncés par les réparateurs professionnels, je me suis lancé dans la réparation seule. De façon assez surprenante, c'était relativement facile excepté l'installation de l'adhésif qui demande beaucoup de minutie. Je conseille l'achat d'un pack d'adhésif supplémentaire pour être plus serein.
Pour l'instant tout a l'air de très bien marcher, je recommande grandement.
Thanks for the guide, it has helped me out twice now.
Do you know if there is anywhere that will take my old screen? It is just the glass that is broken, so maybe someone with the right tools and a lot of patients could salvage the O-LED display
BEST quality Google parts. Very very easy install.
Thanks to this guide and the IFIXIT kit with the screen, adhesive and tools, I was able to recover my Google Pixel 4a. A bit pricy, but it was necessary because I had some Google authenticator data on the phone that I could not do without, as well as a few other things that don't have cloud based storage. I did contact a local repair place and he was honest enough to tell me repairing the phone wasn't working it and he would not fix it because it would cost almost as much as a new phone when labor was taken into account. The hardest part of this repair is connecting the cable to the phone while the adhesive is in place in the frame. I was thankful for the tip about only pressing on the left and right side until the connection takes and NOT the center. Thankfully this was a successful repair. Now I just have to wait for the stack of books and weights to press the adhesive into place overnight. Unfortunately a little of the adhesive is sticking out of one side. Hoping there is enough to hold it in place.
Great screen! relatively easy compared to other screens i've replaced because the screen comes off the top, whereas other phones I've done screen replacements come out the back, and to get to the screen you have to remove the entire phone before getting to the screen last. Here are some other notes I took:
1) There are some screws intentionally missing, I thought I lost them at first but if you look carefully at the official Ifixit Guide there are some empty screw holes missing.
2) VERY important to clean and remove the old adhesive before putting on the new phone. Also regarding the old adhesive I thought there was a way to reheat the old adhesive and just pop the new screen in, but sadly this doesn't work.
3) As other comments have noted: applying the new adhesive might be the hardest part. I actually found that the small pieces are actually easier to do contrary to other reviews (I think one whole sheet would actually be significantly harder). Also note some holes on the adhesive pieces line up with screws on your phone and other holes seem to just be random lol. Last thing to note about the adhesive pieces is that everything doesn't have to align perfectly as much as my OCD would like, as long as the adhesive doesn't stick out the screen/ frame and most of the edges are glued, the phone screen will stay in it's case!
4) I don't think the phone is waterproof anymore but that is to be expected.
5) There might be a piece of blue adhesive already on the speaker mesh, don't forget to remove this!
6) If the top isn't perfectly aligned, the front camera will have the screen frame on the edges of your photos and the front call sensor (to see if the phone is up to your ear) won't work properly and your screen will always turn black when you make a phone call.
7) If I had to do this again I would NOT buy the kit, it's easier to reapply your phone screen with special phone glue. The other tools I have already and the iOpener kit is just basically an ice pack for heat and I found it easier just using a hair dryer.
https://youtu.be/ERak0F4gfkI?t=3331 Here's a guy actually doing the adhesive.
Coll down guys and gals.
1) go below the Display and not between the backcover/middle (see the other comments)
2) just take care about the flex/display cable position (which is iirc about on the middle i.e. 2nd 3rd from the bottom ON THE LEFT side dear OP)
Everything else is just separting the glued on Display from the Phone.
See the other comments
Aleksandar Dejanovic - Yanıt
Cool down guys and gals.
1) go below the Display and not between the backcover/middle (see the other comments)
2) just take care about the flex/display cable position (which is iirc about on the middle i.e. 2nd 3rd from the bottom ON THE LEFT side dear OP)
Everything else is just separting the glued on Display from the Phone.
See the other comments
Aleksandar Dejanovic - Yanıt
I've measured it: The cable starts arround 1.4-1.6 cm from the lower half from the bottom on the left side.
So You can cut the bottom left corner and of course the upper left one but for safety's sake, watch out for the camera.
You can go up to 5cm down from the upper left side till You're near the cable.
Aleksandar Dejanovic - Yanıt
When you say left side, is this your left when the phone screen is facing you?
jaunie -
The third image her shows the back of the screen, not the body of the phone
blueslondon - Yanıt
I wanted to add yet another warning: Be extremely careful in the lower left edge of the screen!
I tried to be gentle, and inserted the pick very little, but still, after reassembly, my screen remained black (while the rest of the device continued working – if you have USB debugging enabled, you can still use it using the
scrcpytool). There was no visible damage; I suspect that I damaged the ribbon cable in the lower left in an invisible way.A new screen fixed the problem. Still, this increased the cost of repair by ~$100. I think the guide should highlight the danger even more. Please be careful – one guide on YouTube I found afterwards avoids inserting the pick in the lower left corner entirely, and just "wiggles it free".
blinry - Yanıt