Broken Screen? You can fix it yourself.

[AZwldcats]

Now that Sprint changed the Broken Glass policy (and I just broke mine) I had no choice but fix it myself or buy a new phone.

I will post a few tips to make it easier.
Now this write up is only for a broken Digitizer. My LCD was fine and did not need fixing.

WHat you will need.

1. A new Digitizer. I bought mine off of ebay for $25.99 from chinaphoneaccessories.
Here is the link while it lasts.
OEM HTC Evo 4G Touch Screen Glass Digitizer Repair - eBay (item 170620397578 end time Apr-24-11 18:26:58 PDT)
Fast shipping from SoCal. I ordered Mon at 10pm and recieved it on Thursday Morning Via First Class mail. Can't beat that.

2. A T5 Torx Screwdriver.

3. A Mini Phillips Screwdriver

4. Adhesive to hold new screen down.
HTC EVO 4G Digitizer Adhesive

5. A good Pry tool. Something like
Set of Safe Open Pry Tools
I do not suggest the little triangular ones.

6. A microfiber cloth to work on and to clean LCD or new Digitizer of dust etc.

Here is the video I followed to disassemble the phone:
YouTube - HTC EVO 4G Glass Touch Screen Digitizer Replacement Repair Guide

Also a walkthru is here:

Installing HTC Evo 4G Front Panel - iFixit

Everything went great until the last step where you actually remove the Digitizer. Remember mine was shattered.
* Be careful of your eyes and other around you. The adhesive holding it on is strong. The glass was splintering and little pieces were flying everywhere. And the LCD is below it so don't pry too hard. You wouldn't want to break it in the removal process.
* Once the digitizer is removed remove all of the remaining adhesive from the top and bottom channels. i used my pre tool to scrape it out bit by bit.

Apply the new adhesive gasket. And then set in the new digitizer. The one I bought had a protective plastic piece on the bottom and top of it. So don't forget to remove the bottom one if yours also has one.

Reassemble in reverse order.

it took me about 90 mins to do mine as I took it slow and had to figure a lot of this out myself.

Any questions please ask. I hope this helps someone.
And you can do it!

 

[rem_kujawa]

what do you mean they changed thier policy, don't you have TEP?

 

[boggs3010#AC]

With TEP , the screen cant be broken more then 1 inch. And a total of 2 breaks.

Btw there are 2 different screens for the evo. I think build 2/ and 3 and 4 are the same. And it takes about 10 minutes or so. The trickiest part is to lift the tabs and place the cable back in "tucking" them under the tab.

 

[Verdes8891]

Well that is going to be with TEP only, if you make a claim through assurion, its a $100 deductable adn bam, new device.

 

[boggs3010#AC]

Well that is going to be with TEP only, if you make a claim through assurion, its a $100 deductable adn bam, new device.

Refurbished device.

 

[AZwldcats]

what do you mean they changed thier policy, don't you have TEP?

Nope. No TEP. Wouldn't pay them the $100 anyways.

And you used to be able to pay $35 and have them fix it. They stopped that in about Feb. unless it has less than an inch and no more than 2 cracks as mentioned.

 

[Verdes8891]

Refurbished device.

It will still be better then a broken one

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk

 

[AZwldcats]

It will still be better then a broken one

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk

Or fix it yourself

 

[mycrownvic02#WN]

Screen swaps on evos are very easy, infact ive done them in about 5 min, but i work on them daily..

 

[AZwldcats]

Hardest part was the damn adhesive with the screen already broken. Had to deal with 11ty billion pieces.

 

[eldub1]

Google phone repair shops in your area. If it's more than a $100 you'll know what route to take.

 

[jedisrus]

How can they change their policy in the middle of the game? Did they send out a notice that it had changed?

 

[boggs3010#AC]

How can they change their policy in the middle of the game? Did they send out a notice that it had changed?

That is the issue, there was NO policy on it. And they ( sprint) made a policy. Evo since launch day never a broken screen for me. I work at a store and have seen the same people 20 people come in every month or so, with a broken screen. Some 6 or 7 times, it was nice to turn away one very rude customer.

 

[jcdrepair]

There is no phone company I know of that will replace a cracked screen on a phone as a warranty issue. They all consider customer physical damage. If you're lucky, they'll tell you about the repair service offered by the manufacturer. If you're unlucky, they'll convince you to buy a new phone for about $300-$400.

As to doing the repair yourself, it's very possible but you do need to be careful. As AZwldcats points out, the digitizer is taped directly to the LCD underneath. If you're not extremely careful, it's pretty easy to crack that LCD and then you're looking at another $60+ part to buy. I highly recommend the use of a heat gun or hair dryer to help loosen that adhesive up.

One other thing to be careful of is that screen is so big that it tends to bow in the middle and the glass actually touches the underlying LCD. If that happens, you'll end up with what looks like a "puddle" of water under the screen. I recommend doubling up on the side adhesive you use to get a little extra space in between the glass and the LCD.

If you'd prefer to not do it yourself but want to save some moeny, HTC will actually do this repair for you. It will take about 2 weeks and they charge $140 for the repair (I just called to confirm that). You can reach their Sprint non-warranty repair center at: 1-877-293-0807. They also have a non-warranty website which you can Google for.

If you want to get it done quicker and for less money, check around for a local cell phone repair shop or, if you don't have one in your area, you can do a Google search for a mail-in company. They should be able to do it while you wait (in-person) or under 48 hours (mail-in) and should charge less than $100.

 

[Go Android!]

With TEP , the screen cant be broken more then 1 inch. And a total of 2 breaks.

Btw there are 2 different screens for the evo. I think build 2/ and 3 and 4 are the same. And it takes about 10 minutes or so. The trickiest part is to lift the tabs and place the cable back in "tucking" them under the tab.

Does anyone know what type of screen I need for a Version 0004 Evo?

 

[jcdrepair]

I don't think it matters for the glass touchscreen/digitizer. All versions of the Evo use the same version of that. It's the LCD that's different between the various hardware versions. If your LCD is fine and you're just replacing the glass, you shouldn't have to worry about it.