Repair Ipad 2 Glass

We all know that moment when you place you are using your sparkling ipad 2 and accidentally drop it. Then, when you turn it (as it landed screen down)... you noticed the glass is horribly cracked. Well... you go to Apple, and since your Ipad was not covered because your warranty ended, the try to bill you >100$.

Well, now you can fix it for 40.00 yourself.

Step 1: Tools

You will need:

-Replacement Ipad 2 glass (d´oh). They are usually sold on ebay as Ipad 2 glass or Ipad 2 digitizer/glass combo.

-Several prying tools. Guitar Picks work well. Most digitizers bought on ebay will also bring the necessary tools.

-Ipad 2 double sided contact. They usually come with the glass/digitizer. This is NOT normal double sided tape. It is much tinner and stronger.

-A small screwdriver: again, some digitizers on ebay come with this as well.

Step 2: Remove the Cracked Screen

Removing the screen will take some time. Do it in a place where you won´t be annoyed by glass fragments/dust (not sharp, but may scratch the table you are working on if you put something over them).

I´m sure some of you by now have seen several Ipad 2 disassembly videos where they take the glass nicely and in one piece. That is NOT going to happen since the glass is already cracked and full of weak points. You are going to have to take the majority of the glass as a single piece, and them remove the remaining screen fragments one at a time.

To remove the screen, insert the guitar pick on the seam between the glass and the case. The Ipad 2 is held together by double sided tape, so advance slowly and gradually unstick the glass. Be especially careful near the home button and the volume rocker, as the home button is not included with a new bezel. Nearby the volume rockers there is a small cable you definitely do not want to break (if you do, the power button will stop working), so go slowly at that area.

Your main objective at this point is not to remove the glass, just to unstick it. There is a cable located in the lower left corner of the ipad, so you cant pull the glass just jet. Just focus on separating it from the glue.

Step 3: Digitizer Cable

Open the screen as a if it was a book, see pic for explanation. You will notice that the digitizer cable still connects the two halves together.

Disconnect the digitizer cable. To do so, you have to remove the four screws that hold the screen. Lift slowly the screen (don't pull the screen cable) and disconnect the old digitizer.

Step 4: Remove Remaining Glass Fragments & Home Button

Remove any glass fragments that remained stuck. Try your best not to leave any fingerprint in the screen.

Remove the home button. After removing the screws, remove as much of the assembly as you can. The rest is glued, you will have to pry it off. Try not to break the assembly or you will need another one.

Step 5: Reassemble

-If your Ipad glass had some protective paper/sticker, remove it now

-Place the home button back on the new digitizer. Glue it using the double sided tape. Make sure to line it properly.

-Reconnect the digitizer

-Screw back the screen with the four small screws

-Place the included double sided tape on the ipad (the case side), but do not remove paper on the side facing the screen.

-Place the screen in its place and test it.

-If everything works, remove the tape's paper and place the Ipad glass on the case.

Comments

[Making Everything Modern]

om my ipad2 was rained on, it works (for now) but the backlight seems to not work

[james.heires]

Just completed my iPad 2 repair - thanks for the Instructable on this topic!

My iPad 2 came out looking and working great...and I saved a bundle.

One suggestion for improvement is to provide better details on the re-assembly steps - presently, they're a bit skimipy. Also, instruct the user to leave the bracket around the camera in place, as the double-stick tape I ordered did not come with this piece, and I had to use Gorilla Glue to replace this bracket, which caused it to protrude a little too far for a clean, slick finish.

[Darryl1951]

I.m new to this site. Why do instructions end with "

-A small screwdriver: again, some digitizers on ebay come with this as well.

I'd like see all of therepairbegore attempting it myself. Thanks.

[Fish Nerd]

Just followed your directions and fixed my ipad! Thanks for posting this instructable.. I picked up the screen for 28 bucks on ebay I figure you saved me a hundred dollars!
Nice work

[Michael Chen]

Sure,no problem. Just be really careful around the volume control, the cable is relatively easy to break compared to the rest of the stuff.

[amandaghassaei]

did the aluminum frame of the ipad bend at all when you dropped it?

[Michael Chen]

Yep, but without the glass screen, you can unbend it just with a plier. It won´t look stock, but the glass will no longer be out of place. After bending it, I sanded it a little. Since I forgot to take clear pictures of the process, I did not include it on the instructable.

However, I could post photos of the end results if you wish.