Installing iPhone 4S Earpiece Speaker Replace a blown-out earpiece speaker in your iPhone 4S.
Author: Eric Chen; Difficulty: Moderate |
Sections: Rear Panel 3 steps Battery 5 steps Dock Connector Cable 4 steps Rear Camera 4 steps SIM Card 1 step Logic Board 9 steps Front Facing Camera 2 steps Power Button 2 steps Power and Sensor Cable Assembly 3 steps Earpiece Speaker Assembly 1 step Earpiece Speaker 1 step | Tools: Phillips #00 Screwdriver Plastic Opening Tools Small Flathead Screwdriver Tweezers iPhone 4 5-Point Pentalobe Screwdriver iPhone SIM Card Eject Tool |
Step 1 — Rear Panel
Before disassembling your iPhone, be sure it is powered off.
Remove the two 3.6 mm Pentalobe screws next to the dock connector.
During reassembly, we recommend you replace the 5-point screws with equivalent Phillips screws. Our Liberation Kit provides the tools and screws needed to replace the Pentalobe screws with Phillips screws.
The 5-Point Screwdriver should only be used once, as it has the potential to strip the screws.
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Step 2
Push the rear panel toward the top edge of the iPhone.
The panel will move about 2 mm.  
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Step 3
Pull the rear panel away from the back of the iPhone, being careful not to damage the plastic clips attached to the rear panel.
Remove the rear panel from the iPhone. 
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Step 4 — Battery
Remove the following screws securing the battery connector to the logic board:
One 1.7 mm Phillips screw
One 1.5 mm Phillips screw 
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Step 5
Use a pair of tweezers to remove the the pressure contact near the battery connector.
When reinstalling the pressure contact, be sure to clean it with a degreaser such as windex or isopropyl alcohol. The oils on your fingers have the potential to create wireless interference. 
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Step 6
Use the edge of a plastic opening tool to gently pry the battery connector up from its socket on the logic board. 
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Step 7
Insert the edge of a plastic opening tool between the battery and the outer case near the bottom left corner of the iPhone.
Run the plastic opening tool along the right edge of the battery and pry up at several points to completely separate it from the adhesive securing it to the outer case.  
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Step 8
Use the exposed clear plastic pull tab to peel the battery off the adhesive securing it to the iPhone.
Remove the battery.  
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Step 9 — Dock Connector Cable
Remove the following screws securing the dock connector cable cover to the logic board:
One 1.5 mm Phillips screw
One 1.2 mm Phillips screw
Remove the metal dock connector cable cover.  
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Step 10
Use the edge of a plastic opening tool to pry the dock cable up from its socket on the logic board. 
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Step 11
Peel the dock connector cable off the adhesive securing it to the logic board and the side of the speaker enclosure. 
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Step 12
Use the edge of a plastic opening tool to pry the Wi-Fi antenna cable up from its socket on the logic board.
De-route the Wi-Fi antenna cable out from under the metal fingers attached to the logic board.  
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Step 13 — Rear Camera
If necessary, use a pair of tweezers to remove the outer plastic ring located on top of the rear camera's flash assembly. 
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Step 14
Remove the following four screws securing the cable cover to the logic board:
One 2.7 mm Phillips screw
One 2.6 mm Phillips screw
One 1.3 mm Phillips screw
One 1.2 mm Phillips screw 
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Step 15
Use the edge of a plastic opening tool to pry the cable cover tabs out of their slots cut into the EMI shield on the logic board.
Lift the cable cover from its edge nearest the top and remove it from the iPhone.  
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Step 16
Use the edge of a plastic opening tool to pry the rear camera connector up from its socket on the logic board.
Be careful not to break any components off the surrounding area on the logic board as you pry upwards.
Remove the rear camera from the iPhone.  
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Step 17 — SIM Card
Use a SIM card eject tool or a paperclip to eject the SIM card and its holder.
This may require a significant amount of force.
Remove the SIM card and its holder.  
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Step 18 — Logic Board
Remove the five cables near the top of the logic board in the following order:
Headphone jack/volume button cable
Front facing camera cable
Digitizer cable
Display data cable
Power button cable (located underneath the headphone jack/volume button cable as shown in the second picture.)
To disconnect the cables, use the edge of a plastic opening tool to gently lift their connectors up and out of the sockets on the logic board.
Be careful not to break any of the small and delicate surface mount components as you disconnect the cables.  
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Step 19
Remove the 1.5 mm Phillips screw securing the grounding clip to the logic board near the headphone jack. 
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| Step 20 Lift the small grounding clip up off the logic board and remove it from the iPhone.  |
| Step 21 Use a small flathead screwdriver to remove the 4.8 mm standoff near the headphone jack.  |
| Step 22 Use the edge of a plastic opening tool to disconnect the wi-fi antenna from the logic board.  |
| Step 23 If present, peel the piece of black tape covering the hidden screw near the power button.
Remove the 1.6 mm Phillips screw securing the logic board near the power button.   |
| Step 24 Remove the following screws securing the logic board to the case:
One 2.5 mm Phillips screw near the vibrator motor
One 2.4 mm Phillips screw
One 3.6 mm standoff along the side of the logic board nearest the battery opening.
Use a small flathead screwdriver to remove the single 3.6 mm standoff.  |
| Step 25 Carefully lift the logic board from the end closest to the speaker enclosure and slide it away from the top edge of the iPhone.
Remove the logic board.
Before reassembly, be sure to clean all metal-to-metal contact points on the logic board (not the mating halves of connectors) with a de-greaser such as windex or isopropyl alcohol. The oils on your fingers have the potential to cause grounding issues  |
| Step 26 Be sure not to lose the small grounding finger for the rear facing camera near the power button.  |
| Step 27 — Front Facing Camera Use the edge of a plastic opening tool to carefully pry the metal front facing camera retainer away from the case of your iPhone.
Remove the front facing camera retainer.
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| Step 28 Remove the front facing camera.  |
| Step 29 — Power Button Remove the two 1.6 mm Phillips screws securing the power button bracket to the outer case.
Slightly pull the power button bracket away from the outer case.
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| Step 30 Use a pair of tweezers to remove the power button from the iPhone.  |
| Step 31 — Power and Sensor Cable Assembly Use the edge of a plastic opening tool to pry the earpiece speaker off the adhesive securing it to the outer case.
Use a pair of tweezers to unfold the earpiece speaker from its recess in the outer case,
Do not completely remove the earpiece speaker as it is still attached to the power and sensor cable assembly.
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Step 32
Use the edge of plastic opening tool to gently move the top sensor assembly away from the outer case.
Gently pry the top sensor assembly off the outer case.
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Step 33
Lift and remove the power and sensor cable assembly from the iPhone.
Be sure not to lose the small retainer clip located on the top sensor assembly.   
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Step 34 — Earpiece Speaker Assembly
Use the edge of a plastic opening tool to peel the earpiece speaker off the foam adhesive securing it to the iPhone.
If you wish to reuse the earpiece speaker, try not to tear the foam adhesive that secures it to the iPhone's case.
Remove the earpiece speaker.  
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Step 35 — Earpiece Speaker
Earpiece speaker remains. 
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