Before disassembling your iPhone, be sure it is powered off.
Remove the two 3.6 mm Pentalobe screws next to the Lightning connector.
Press a suction cup onto the screen, just above the home button.
Be sure the cup is completely on the screen to get a tight seal.
If you're opening an iPhone with cracked glass, neatly lay a couple strips of packing tape across the front and squeeze out as many bubbles as you can. This will give the suction cup a surface to grab, and minimize the spread of broken glass.
Make sure the suction cup is firmly attached to the front panel assembly.
While holding the iPhone down with one hand, pull up on the suction cup to slightly separate the front panel assembly from the rear case.
Take your time and apply firm, constant force. The display assembly is a much tighter fit than most devices.
With a plastic opening tool, begin to gently pry the rear case down, away from the display assembly, while you pull up with the suction cup.
There are several clips attaching the front panel assembly to the rear case, so you may need to use a combination of the suction cup and plastic opening tool to free the front panel assembly.
Continue to pry up around the sides of the front panel assembly, detaching the clips along the left and right side.
Do not try to completely remove the front panel assembly from the rear case, as there are several ribbon cables still attached at the top of the iPhone.
Once the clips have been released on the bottom and sides of the front panel assembly, pull the bottom of the assembly away from the rear case.
Open the display to about a 90º angle, and lean it against something to keep it propped up while you're working on the phone.
Add a rubber band to keep the display securely in place while you work. This prevents undue strain on the display cables.
Remove the following two screws securing the metal battery connector bracket to the logic board:
One 1.8 mm Phillips screw
One 1.6 mm Phillips screw
Remove the metal battery connector bracket from the iPhone.
Use a plastic opening tool to gently pry the battery connector up from its socket on the logic board.
Be very careful to only pry up on the battery connector and not the socket on the logic board. If you pry up on the logic board socket, you may break the connector entirely.
Remove the following screws securing the front panel assembly cable bracket to the logic board:
Two 1.2 mm Phillips screws
One 1.6 mm Phillips screw
This screw tends to not be attracted to a magnetized screwdriver. Take care not to lose it when removing, and make sure it gets back into the right place - a magnetized screw may interfere with the compass.
Lift the display cable bracket toward the battery to unhook it, and remove it from the iPhone.
During reassembly, clip the left-hand hooks under the logic board and lower the bracket towards the outside of the phone.
Use a plastic opening tool to disconnect the three front panel assembly cables:
Front-facing camera and sensor cable
LCD cable
Digitizer cable
When reassembling your phone, the LCD cable may pop off the connector. This can cause white lines, or nothing at all to appear when powering your phone back on. If that happens, simply reconnect the cable and power cycle your phone. The best way to power cycle your phone is to disconnect and reconnect the battery.
Remove the front panel assembly from the rear case.
Use the exposed clear plastic pull tab to peel the battery off the adhesive securing it to the iPhone.
If you have trouble peeling the battery up, use an iOpener or hair dryer to heat the rear case of the iPhone and soften the adhesive.
The plastic tab is fragile and may break. If your tab breaks before the battery is freed, refer to the following steps.
Slightly warm up the back cover
This will soften the adhesive holding the battery, making it easier and safer to pry out of the case.
Use the plastic opening tool to gently pry the battery up, only at the outside edge of the phone.
Prying anywhere else, especially near the logic board, may result in damage to the logic board.
If the battery doesn't pry easily out of the case, reheat and reapply the iOpener and try again.
Pry gently and evenly to avoid deforming the battery. A bent battery can be a fire hazard.
Do not pry at the top portion of the battery, you risk severing the volume control cables.
Remove the battery.
During reassembly, make sure the battery is seated firmly against the rear case. This will prevent any damage to other components when reinstalling the front panel assembly. Perform a hard reset after reassembly. This can prevent several issues and simplify troubleshooting.
Use the tip of a spudger to pry the cellular data antenna cable connector up from its socket on the logic board, just above the speaker enclosure.
Remove the following two screws securing the top logic board bracket to the rear case:
One 1.5 mm Phillips screw
One 2.3 mm Phillips screw
Remove the bracket from the top of the logic board.
Be sure not to break off the tiny grounding tab that sticks up off of the bracket next to the rear facing camera.
On newer models, the bracket may be attached to the camera housing and will not come completely out.
Use the flat end of a spudger to disconnect the following three cables from the logic board:
Upper interconnect cable
Button assembly cable
Lower interconnect cable
Remove the two 1.3 mm Phillips screws from the inner top of the rear case.
Remove the single 1.2 mm Phillips screw remaining in the mid-section logic board bracket.
Remove the mid-section bracket from the logic board.
Use a spudger to pry the Lightning connector cable connector up from its socket on the logic board.
Gently peel the cable back and out of the way of the logic board.
Remove the following screws securing the logic board to the rear case:
Two 2.3 mm Phillips screws
Two 2.7 mm standoff screws.
These screws have a Phillips bit pattern, but we found the best removal tool to be a 2.5 mm flathead driver.
One non-magnetic 2.7 mm standoff screw
Be sure to put this screw back in its original position at the top of the logic board. A magnetized screw may interfere with the digital compass.
Reassembly hint: when putting the standoffs back in, use the tip of a spudger like a screwdriver to get them started.
Rotate the logic board assembly toward the battery side of the rear case.
Do not attempt to completely remove the logic board assembly from the rear case, yet; there is still one cable connected to the underside of the logic board.
The flash surround is adhered to the flash unit and the rear case. If it stays on the rear case remove with tweezers and mount it back on the flash unit.
Note: when reassembling your device, be sure that the lower interconnect cable is not tucked underneath the logic board.
Use the tip of a spudger to pry the Wi-Fi antenna cable connector up from its socket on the
underside of the logic board.
Remove the logic board assembly from the rear case. While your logic board is out of your phone, keep it on a grounded anti static mat to prevent any damage to the circuitry.
Use the tip of a spudger to remove the rubber bumper from below the power button.
Remove the following screws from the metal bracket between the rear facing flash and camera windows:
One 2.9 mm standoff screw
This screw has a Phillips bit pattern, but we found the best removal tool to use is a 2.5 mm flathead driver.
One 1.6 mm Phillips screw
One 1.9 mm Phillips screw
Remove the metal power button bracket.
Use the tip of a spudger to flip the metal bracket holding the power switch away from the top of the rear case.
Press the power button into the rear case from the outside of the phone with the tip of a spudger. Remove the power button.
Remove the two 3.6 mm Pentalobe screws next to the Lightning connector.
Press a suction cup onto the screen, just above the home button.
Be sure the cup is completely on the screen to get a tight seal.
If you're opening an iPhone with cracked glass, neatly lay a couple strips of packing tape across the front and squeeze out as many bubbles as you can. This will give the suction cup a surface to grab, and minimize the spread of broken glass.
Make sure the suction cup is firmly attached to the front panel assembly.
While holding the iPhone down with one hand, pull up on the suction cup to slightly separate the front panel assembly from the rear case.
Take your time and apply firm, constant force. The display assembly is a much tighter fit than most devices.
With a plastic opening tool, begin to gently pry the rear case down, away from the display assembly, while you pull up with the suction cup.
There are several clips attaching the front panel assembly to the rear case, so you may need to use a combination of the suction cup and plastic opening tool to free the front panel assembly.
Continue to pry up around the sides of the front panel assembly, detaching the clips along the left and right side.
Do not try to completely remove the front panel assembly from the rear case, as there are several ribbon cables still attached at the top of the iPhone.
Once the clips have been released on the bottom and sides of the front panel assembly, pull the bottom of the assembly away from the rear case.
Open the display to about a 90º angle, and lean it against something to keep it propped up while you're working on the phone.
Add a rubber band to keep the display securely in place while you work. This prevents undue strain on the display cables.
Remove the following two screws securing the metal battery connector bracket to the logic board:
One 1.8 mm Phillips screw
One 1.6 mm Phillips screw
Remove the metal battery connector bracket from the iPhone.
Use a plastic opening tool to gently pry the battery connector up from its socket on the logic board.
Be very careful to only pry up on the battery connector and not the socket on the logic board. If you pry up on the logic board socket, you may break the connector entirely.
Remove the following screws securing the front panel assembly cable bracket to the logic board:
Two 1.2 mm Phillips screws
One 1.6 mm Phillips screw
This screw tends to not be attracted to a magnetized screwdriver. Take care not to lose it when removing, and make sure it gets back into the right place - a magnetized screw may interfere with the compass.
Lift the display cable bracket toward the battery to unhook it, and remove it from the iPhone.
During reassembly, clip the left-hand hooks under the logic board and lower the bracket towards the outside of the phone.
Use a plastic opening tool to disconnect the three front panel assembly cables:
Front-facing camera and sensor cable
LCD cable
Digitizer cable
When reassembling your phone, the LCD cable may pop off the connector. This can cause white lines, or nothing at all to appear when powering your phone back on. If that happens, simply reconnect the cable and power cycle your phone. The best way to power cycle your phone is to disconnect and reconnect the battery.
Remove the front panel assembly from the rear case.
Use the exposed clear plastic pull tab to peel the battery off the adhesive securing it to the iPhone.
If you have trouble peeling the battery up, use an iOpener or hair dryer to heat the rear case of the iPhone and soften the adhesive.
The plastic tab is fragile and may break. If your tab breaks before the battery is freed, refer to the following steps.
Slightly warm up the back cover
This will soften the adhesive holding the battery, making it easier and safer to pry out of the case.
Use the plastic opening tool to gently pry the battery up, only at the outside edge of the phone.
Prying anywhere else, especially near the logic board, may result in damage to the logic board.
If the battery doesn't pry easily out of the case, reheat and reapply the iOpener and try again.
Pry gently and evenly to avoid deforming the battery. A bent battery can be a fire hazard.
Do not pry at the top portion of the battery, you risk severing the volume control cables.
Remove the battery.
During reassembly, make sure the battery is seated firmly against the rear case. This will prevent any damage to other components when reinstalling the front panel assembly. Perform a hard reset after reassembly. This can prevent several issues and simplify troubleshooting.
Use the tip of a spudger to pry the cellular data antenna cable connector up from its socket on the logic board, just above the speaker enclosure.
Remove the following two screws securing the top logic board bracket to the rear case:
One 1.5 mm Phillips screw
One 2.3 mm Phillips screw
Remove the bracket from the top of the logic board.
Be sure not to break off the tiny grounding tab that sticks up off of the bracket next to the rear facing camera.
On newer models, the bracket may be attached to the camera housing and will not come completely out.
Use the flat end of a spudger to disconnect the following three cables from the logic board:
Upper interconnect cable
Button assembly cable
Lower interconnect cable
Remove the two 1.3 mm Phillips screws from the inner top of the rear case.
Remove the single 1.2 mm Phillips screw remaining in the mid-section logic board bracket.
Remove the mid-section bracket from the logic board.
Use a spudger to pry the Lightning connector cable connector up from its socket on the logic board.
Gently peel the cable back and out of the way of the logic board.
Remove the following screws securing the logic board to the rear case:
Two 2.3 mm Phillips screws
Two 2.7 mm standoff screws.
These screws have a Phillips bit pattern, but we found the best removal tool to be a 2.5 mm flathead driver.
One non-magnetic 2.7 mm standoff screw
Be sure to put this screw back in its original position at the top of the logic board. A magnetized screw may interfere with the digital compass.
Reassembly hint: when putting the standoffs back in, use the tip of a spudger like a screwdriver to get them started.
Rotate the logic board assembly toward the battery side of the rear case.
Do not attempt to completely remove the logic board assembly from the rear case, yet; there is still one cable connected to the underside of the logic board.
The flash surround is adhered to the flash unit and the rear case. If it stays on the rear case remove with tweezers and mount it back on the flash unit.
Note: when reassembling your device, be sure that the lower interconnect cable is not tucked underneath the logic board.
Use the tip of a spudger to pry the Wi-Fi antenna cable connector up from its socket on the
underside of the logic board.
Remove the logic board assembly from the rear case. While your logic board is out of your phone, keep it on a grounded anti static mat to prevent any damage to the circuitry.
Use the tip of a spudger to remove the rubber bumper from below the power button.
Remove the following screws from the metal bracket between the rear facing flash and camera windows:
One 2.9 mm standoff screw
This screw has a Phillips bit pattern, but we found the best removal tool to use is a 2.5 mm flathead driver.
One 1.6 mm Phillips screw
One 1.9 mm Phillips screw
Remove the metal power button bracket.
Use the tip of a spudger to flip the metal bracket holding the power switch away from the top of the rear case.
Press the power button into the rear case from the outside of the phone with the tip of a spudger. Remove the power button.
