Repair Date: 02/02/2013

A customer brought his phone to us after a DIY screen repair.  He had pulled the battery connector off the main logic board while disconnecting the battery.  A PCB track had been lifted and a pad pulled off.  The battery on the iPhone 4 and 4S have four connections to the logic board, 2 are power and 2 are data lines used to read information from the battery.  One tale tale sign that the battery connector has been damaged is the phone either restarts every 1 minute or does not charge correctly.  The phone cant read the temperature of the battery and hence cant control the charging current correctly.

The solution, is to remove the old socket, replace the damaged pads or tracks and reflow a new socket back onto the board.

A customer brought their iPhone 4 in today with a proximity sensor fault.  They had their screen repaired by another local repair company, all looked fine until they noticed the screen didn’t turn off during a call.  This became very annoying over the following weeks where numerous times they had either ended the call or put the caller on hold by pressing buttons with their cheek.

ABOVE: iPhone 4 midframe showing front camera, Ambient Light Sensor and Proximitry Sensor.

The solution to the problem was to strip the phone, remove the new screen and fit a UV light filter and foam pad over the proximity sensor.  While the phone was apart a new earpiece mesh, camera right and LCD/Touch screen FPC foam spacer pads were fitted.  We always fit these parts when we fit a new screen because if Apple thought they were needed then so do we.

The customer was charged just £30 and had a phone that worked as it should.

A customer phoned up in a panic as she had got her phone wet while walking the dog.  A heavy rain shower had appeared out of nowhere causing the dog, customer and phone to become pretty wet.

She called to report that she had followed all our advice for a water damaged phone on the website and wanted to book the phone in for a water damage assessment.

Above: Water damage to iPhone 4S Touchscreen FPC

Above: Water damage to iPhone 4S LCD FPC

After stripping the logic board from the phone and looking under the microscope, it was evident what the damage was.  Quite a common fault is mineral deposits to form on the LCD FPC connectors at the top of the logic board.  After a quick clean with PCB cleaning solution and 24 hours drying next to the dehumidifier the LCD FPC was reflowed back onto the logic board and the phone was reassembled for test.

The phone work fined, but as always with water damaged phones a new battery was fitted.  After a full test the customer was re-instated with her phone.

A customer brought in his recent eBay purchase.  An iPhone 4 16GB in Black with a broken screen.  He paid £100 for it and thought it was an absolute bargain.  He booked it in for our rejuvenate service to make it look as good as new. 

After assessment we had found the following problems: Front and Back screen smashed, home button and power buttons not working, a missing earpiece grill, 4 screws missing and a bent midframe.  A price was agreed with the customer and the work began.

Above: iPhone 4 with a bent mid frame.

2 Days later the customer picked up their phone.  It looked as good as new and had saved them £215 over a new iPhone 4 from Apple.

Today we had an iPad 4th Generation WiFi in for repair. It’s was just a simple front digitiser repair, one problem was the availability of parts. The 4th generation iPad is the latest model and parts aren’t as common place as previous models yet!

After a screen had been sourced, it was plain sailing. Once it was finished the iPad was as good as new.

Above: iPad 4th Generation White with a smashed screen

A common fault with the iPhone 4 is the power button becoming stiff. Infact its not stiff at all, a small piece of plastic that bridges the gap between the micro-switch and the metal button becomes dislodged after the phone is dropped. The solution is to refit a new micro switch.
After a new micro switch is reflow end onto the flex cable, the phone is reassembled for test. The feel and operation were as new and the customer was charged £40.

Above:Faulty power button on an iPhone 4.


Above:New power button fitted to an iPhone 4.

A customer brought in her iPhone 3GS.  She's had it from new and after the 24month contract wanted to use it on a sim free contract. 

One problem, charging the battery every night for over two years had caused the battery to stop taking on any charge at all.  Lithium-ion batteries as used in all modern mobile phones are guaranteed for around 500-750 charges.  As batteries are always kept in stock, we had this phone turned around within a hour.

Above: iPhone 3GS 16GB that's stuck on the charging screen, it wont turn on and wont charge

The phone would not charge up to the magic 5% required for the phone to boot.  Removing the front screen assembly, disconnecting the various FPC's and removing the main logic board reveals the battery.

With the battery removed, a replacement is fitted.  With the phone reassembled and placed on charge, the phone boot up to the home screen.  The customer was charged £30 and went away very happy.

Above: iPhone 3Gs with screen assembly and logic board removed, showing the battery.

A customer who relied on her iPad 3 for keeping in contact with friends and organising her busy social life brought it in for repair at 11.00 today.  She then went to drop her little boy off at nursery followed by a coffee with a friend at Starbucks in Westbourne.

Above: The New iPad (3rd Generation) WiFi A1407 with a smashed screen

Above: Close up of the smashed screen.

They both returned at 12.30 to pick up her iPad repaired as good as new.  An iPad 3 with a new front Glass digitiser fitted quicker than finishing a cup of coffee.  We even offered a 10% discount as she was a repeat customer.  What more can you ask for?

Above: The New iPad (3rd Generation) A1407 with a new front touchscreen, looking as good as new.

A customer brought his daughters iPhone in with a long list of problems.  Not one of the buttons worked, the WiFi reception was weak and the rear case looked tired.

Above: iPhone 3GS with a scratched and tired looking rear case.

The decision was made to replace the rear case and also the volume, mute, headphone and power button flex cable.  While we were inside we also fitted a new WiFi antenna.  The cost was just £55 and gave the tired looking iPhone 3GS a new lease of life.  The rear cover looks brand fantastic!

Above: iPhone 3GS with a new rear case fitted, looking as good as new.

The iPhone 3GS is still fully supported by the Apple iOS updates.  It will accept the latest 6.1 (link) iOS software, so there isn't any need to upgrade yet.

A customer brought his iPod Touch in for a simple front glass replacement.  The 2nd generation iPod Touch has a separate touchscreen and LCD module.  Its possible to just replace the touchscreen, unlike the 4th and 5th generation iPod Touches where the LCD and touchscreen glass are bonded together.

Above: iPod Touch (2nd Generation) A1288 next to its original smashed touchscreen glass.

With a new touchscreen fitted, the iPod looked as good as new and at just £35 the customer was very happy!