iPhone SE 1st Gen, Disassembly/Battery Replacement Help

[Mulder’s UFO 2]

Hi, PCHelp Forums,

It seems to have become an annual holiday tradition every time this year that something goes wrong and I require your kind assistance. Happy Holidays to you all.

Now, my issue:
So I have an iPhone SE, 1st Gen from 2016 that I love, and I simply refuse to replace (I actually tried a new Android for the first time, and I couldn't stand it. Returning that phone to ATT was a very long mess in and of itself).

There isn't really anything wrong with the phone, except that for the last year the battery life had become very short--maybe 2 hours, tops? Then it started periodically randomly crashing on me. I knew that given the phone's age, the battery was starting to die out, and I anticipated needing to replace it. However, due to the risk of the operation involved, I put it off, and I could get away with it for a time.

Then somewhat recently, the phone itself began refusing to hold any charge, to the point where it won't turn on anymore at all. Pressing the power button takes you to the "out of battery" screen. It correctly recognizes being plugged in or not, but will never change from that no matter how long it spends charging. So I knew it was definitely time to change the battery.

I double checked that the replacement battery on Amazon was appropriate for my phone (model A1662), and it was.

The method for disassembly to access the battery that I found in Youtube videos online required me to, after removing two pentalobe screws, to use a suction cup to pull up the screen, then slide a pick or some tool for leverage into a little notch in the bottom left corner, to pry open the screen. I actually had done this successfully, and the bottom edge of the phone had opened up as intended. However, when my brother (who was assisting me) applied a bit of pressure using the suction cup, the rest of the screen came up as well.

The only problem is, while the bottom edge of the phone opened up to the area where the battery and motherboard are, the upper side of the phone opened up a different layer: it just opened up the screen.


So, if you can imagine the following:

On top layer is the screen itself (1)
Below that is home button (2)
Below that is what I wanted to access--where the battery et. al. are located. (3)
and below that is the shell of the phone, the outer casing where everything resides. (4)

What happened is while I managed to pry open the bottom edge of the phone to access that third layer, the suction cup inadvertently opened that 1st layer for the top edge, and the left and right edges of the phone. (By bottom/top, left/right, I am assuming the phone is held in the standard upright position, with home button at bottom and speaker at top).

I managed to get everything in the phone back in place the way it was, and I tried to do the process again.

However, because the suction cup had already opened up that wrong layer, that is now the path of least resistance. So every subsequent attempt to open up the phone using the suction cup placed on the screen only opens up that upper layer which I don't want, and I can't access the lower layer that I do want.



My question is, what suggestions do you guys have for opening up the lower layer so I can replace the battery?

One idea that I thought of was perhaps placing the suction cup on the back side, the casing of the phone, rather than on the screen. After all, that lower layer is closer to the back side. So perhaps it would open that up first?

However, I felt it prudent to come here and seek your opinions first before attempting this idea.

What do you think? Do you have any other ideas?

Thanks.

 

[Bruce]

Welcome back, and all the season's greetings to you too.

I know this isn't an answer, but in my experience, working on iPhones is simply left to the experts.
When my kids first had their phones (iPhone 4s) they were cracking the screens so often I also started getting into fixing them myself.

In short, it was never an enjoyable experience and more often than not, I would only cause more damage, like ripping those **** data ribbons. And that was back in the 4s days, now they have changed the glue, the screws and who knows what else - in short, they make them NOT to be serviced by us mere mortals.

Years ago I had my iPhone 7 battery replaced by Apple and found it very reasonably priced, from memory, I think it was like $120 or $140.

All I can say is, I wish you the best of luck.

 

[Mulder’s UFO 2]

Welcome back, and all the season's greetings to you too.

I know this isn't an answer, but in my experience, working on iPhones is simply left to the experts.
When my kids first had their phones (iPhone 4s) they were cracking the screens so often I also started getting into fixing them myself.

In short, it was never an enjoyable experience and more often than not, I would only cause more damage, like ripping those **** data ribbons. And that was back in the 4s days, now they have changed the glue, the screws and who knows what else - in short, they make them NOT to be serviced by us mere mortals.

Years ago I had my iPhone 7 battery replaced by Apple and found it very reasonably priced, from memory, I think it was like $120 or $140.

All I can say is, I wish you the best of luck.

I appreciate the opinion, but I wouldn't consider $120-140 reasonably priced when the replacement part and kit was $15. Remember that replacement phone I mentioned? It was in contract, but it was at the rate of $2 / month for 36 months (plus fees). So it makes no sense to go for a repair on an old phone when the much newer ones with better specs are cheaper. Although, the new phones don't have Touch ID, home buttons, or headphone jacks, and the newest iOS features really irritate me.

I actually did give my iPad (4th gen with retina display) to an expert once for repairs after I cracked the screen from dropping it. He charged me over $100, and the screen came apart anyway and the thing stopped working just a few months later. I personally have more skin in the game when it's my device than just a job to someone else.

This particular model of iPhone didn't seem terribly complicated to repair in theory, anyway. Not much more than the process for cleaning out dust and re-pasting my laptop's heat sink. But just like with that, things never seem to go as planned. That's just life.

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[Bruce]

The lack of others chiming in probably indicates the forums lack of members with expertise with your issue. I'll tag some others, just to be sure - @Pyro @PeterOz @georgeks @Malnutrition @Rustys @phillpower2

Have you had any luck yourself with the iPhone repair?

 

[Pyro]

I don't mess with phones, I've found it's usually more cost effective to either bring it to a store that specializes in phone repairs or just trade up.

Typically these things come apart and they don't go back together nicely unless you have a host of tools and tricks to line stuff up the right way.

Hopefully someone else has an answer that can help you- good luck!

 

[PeterOz]

Option 1) See if a razor blade is thinner than the pry tool you have. Slide it into the bottom left hand corner and prize up.

Option 2) May or may not work and you have to be extremely careful. Use a hair dryer and apply heat to the bottom of the screen.
Press down on the screen.
Pros. Some glues require heat to reseal. This could re-bond the screen and the touch screen together.
Cons: Some glues will only soften on heat so it could weaken the bond further.

If option 1 & 2 do not work.
Option 3) You could either take the risk and peel the touch back far enough to attach the suction cup directly to the screen.
Pros: Should work.
Cons: Trouble resealing the touch to the screen.
The suction cup will most likely leave a mark on the screen which will be hard to remove.

Option 4) Lift the touch layer and put a piece of tape onto the screen and lift whilst inserting the prize tool into the bottom left hand corner.
Pros: Should work.
Con: May leave some tape glue on the screen.

I would be trying to find a razor blade or something thinner and wiggle/prize into the bottom left hand corner without the suction cp.

 

[Bruce]

@Mulder’s UFO 2 - made any progress?