Do-It-Yourself Replace Broken Screen?

**Robcy** · 04-03-2011, 12:45 PM

My sister dropped her Epic, and cracked the screen. She purchased a replacement, and I gave me the broken phone. The phone powers on normally, and you can hear and feel all of the prompts, so it appears to be working.

Has any one purchased a screen, and done a replacement? I am pretty handy so the tear down, rebuild should not be a problem. I am looking for some pitfalls that might arise, or pointers.

**FenixOK** · 04-03-2011, 12:52 PM

I've done a ton of repairs on the Epic in my repair center, and really the tricky part is pulling the back housing off, and prying off the slider from the front where the LCD is housed. They're VERY tight plastic clips that fit it together, and you have to be firm, but careful to pop them apart.

Otherwise I've seen the LCDs and touchpanels available online for about US$100.

**jrick** · 04-03-2011, 05:02 PM

Why not just take it to Sprint - they will repair it for $35.

I dropped my Epic - screen had a very small crack (that I could have lived with), but the notification LED and the front camera both were inoperable.

Sprint replaced the top section of the phone for $35. (Note: I do not have insurance either).

**Skunkape60** · 04-03-2011, 05:55 PM

Yeah, $35 is probably less than what your sister paid for the screen.

Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

**Robcy** · 04-03-2011, 07:02 PM

Will they do all of the work for only $35, or is that for labor? If it's $135 for parts and labor, the is still a great deal. I know it's going to be more than $35 worth of frustration for me to do it myself, since I have very little patience.

**Robcy** · 04-03-2011, 07:05 PM

Originally Posted by keithvetter

Yeah, $35 is probably less than what your sister paid for the screen.

Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

She bought a new phone out of contract, and paid $500. This time she got the insurance.

**jrick** · 04-03-2011, 08:03 PM

Originally Posted by Robcy

Will they do all of the work for only $35, or is that for labor? If it's $135 for parts and labor, the is still a great deal. I know it's going to be more than $35 worth of frustration for me to do it myself, since I have very little patience.

Repaired mine for $35 + Tax (total was ~$40). Took <30 minutes - I went for a coffee, came back and it was ready to go. They will do this as long as the damage wasn't water damage. (At least that is what the tech told me.)

**mike340t** · 04-04-2011, 12:16 PM

Originally Posted by jrick

Repaired mine for $35 + Tax (total was ~$40). Took <30 minutes - I went for a coffee, came back and it was ready to go. They will do this as long as the damage wasn't water damage. (At least that is what the tech told me.)

Very true.. Sprint has been good to me in that regards.. Also, double check that they can do the repair with part in stock and watch out for smart*** techs who would check the battery sticker and try to claim water damage... Had that happen to me once, but put the dude in his place...

**Robcy** · 04-04-2011, 01:51 PM

I called today, and they have the part in stock. I have a 10am appointment tomorrow. Hopefully all ends well. I will post the results.

Thank you everyone who assisted, I really appreciate it. Love this forum :-).

**rando991** · 04-05-2011, 09:15 AM

let us know the outcome, thanks!

**Robcy** · 04-06-2011, 06:36 PM

Okay, here is an update of my adventures to repair the broker screen.

I was not able to make my 10am appointment yesterday. I went by the store today, and they no longer had a screen available. Apparently they had someone need the screen, and used it. The analyst verified the account, and told me that they would order me a replacement phone for $37.50. I know the phone will most likely be a refurb, but for $37.50 I cant argue to loudly. So Friday will take the broken phone, and exchange it for the replacement.

I think it all worked great.

**rando991** · 04-07-2011, 09:24 AM

Give us an update on the refurb. It should look just like a brand new phone.

**tails63** · 04-08-2011, 11:50 AM

Ok, my wife dropped her Epic 4G and cracked the screen. It went black and could see nothing. So she went ape ****, her mom purchased for her a brand new Epic 4G.
So I called Sprint to see if they could replaced the screen, cause oh yeah she didn't have the $7.00 insurance. Sprint told me they would fix it for $35.00. I activated it with my # so they could send it to the tech. Since I had the insurance on my account I GOT IT FIXED FOR FREEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

**Robcy** · 04-08-2011, 06:17 PM

Picked up the phone. Its a refurb, but its in perfect condition. it came loaded with 2.1 :-). $40.13 was the total. This was way easier than changing out the screen myself. Thanks you all again for all of your assistance.

**WesR6** · 04-08-2011, 07:21 PM

Good to know. My wife is horrible with phones and I'm sure a cracked screen is in the near future. My neighbor also busted her screen and has been trying to live with it.

**dangdang** · 06-01-2011, 10:06 PM

I didn't have insurance but I kept reading around forums about the $35 repair service from sprint. My local sprint stores were not helpful at all. One said I was SOL(there words not mine) and the other claimed they could only fix it if it was a small crack. My local sprint stores have never been helpful in sales or repairs.

I ended buying this and now I have my epic back.

The tricky part was removing the lcd from the front housing and saving the sticky cutout from the old lcd. It isn't as sticky anymore and got stretched. Oh well I got my epic back.

**regenouis** · 06-02-2011, 07:56 PM

Hopefully the tech overlooks Asurion guidelines. They just revamped the guidelines that allow us to repair or not repair phones. Cracks are now no more than two cracks, not to exceed an inch in length.

If you do end up having to replace the screen yourself, let me know and I can give you step by step instructions on not only installing the screen, but on how to determine which one you need - LCD's have skinny cable's and fat cables (don't know why they made two different screens, buuut, they did).

If the cost overall is going to exceed $100.00 though, it's better to just go ahead and file your claim so you don't end up with a potential headache, and more money sunk into the phone than you would like.

**Jordan Jarvis** · 11-27-2012, 08:51 PM

Uhm, I'm new to this so don't bash me too hard. I just received a Galaxy S Epic 4G SPH - D700 from a friend today. I'm not a sprint customer or plan on being one i would just like to have the phone fixed so i can use it to play games and such as my ZTE Z990 can't do much in that aspect. The Guerrilla Glass and LCD wafer are cracked to the point where the screen won't light up and the bottom touch buttons won't work as well. The phone itself still works and boots the only problem is the screen. Would the Cost still be the $35 + Tax that you mentioned if I took it to the sprint store?

P.S. Sorry for the Thread Bump

**Taymon Banzer** · 12-25-2012, 02:30 PM

$35? I went in yesterday and they told me WITH insurance I would be 100 bucks JUST to replace the screen. Then he told me buying just a scren would be about 175. I've just ben trying to find a screen, but so far haven't had luck.

**emillstine** · 03-11-2013, 05:48 PM

ok so recently me and my husband both dropped and broke our screens! He has a galaxys3 and i have a galaxy epic. We replaced his screen by buying one n doing it at home. by heating the screan and gently removing the broken glass.......now is it possible to do the same with the Epic??