After carefully disassembling your entire phone, you’ve successfully replaced that broken screen and put all the pieces back in place. You turn on your phone only to discover that the screen is now covered by dark lines, doesn’t respond to touch, or has gone completely black. Don’t panic –a nonresponsive screen doesn’t mean your phone is ruined. Try these troubleshooting tips to get your screen working again.

Poor quality replacement screen

Not all smartphone screen replacements are created equal. Lower quality replacement parts could be refurbished or unreliable. If a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Make sure you buy your replacement parts from a trusted source.  If you're buying from eBay or Amazon, pay attention to the most recent quality ratings for screens they have sold.  You should do business with people who sell thousands of screens with a quality rating of 98% or higher

Connectors not re-attached properly

Connectors on screens are very fragile.  The newer phones have connectors that bend easily.  Especially the iPhone 6 or newer.  If you press in the middle putting them on, the ends can lift and ruin the connection.  If you have lines or no working screen, try straightening the connectors and put them back on pressing on the outsides first then the middle.  

Replacing only the glass

Some people sell "glass only" parts on the internet and most popular phone models come with the glass glued to the LCD.  The only way to do a "glass only" repair is with special equipment that costs hundreds of dollars.  If you are trying to fix your phone yourself, buy the full digitizer/lcd assembly

Damage from static electricity

Fuses can be blown by something as minor as static electricity, so you should be sure and ground yourself while repairing the phone.  

Screws missing or out of place

the Apple phones use a number of different sizes of screws inside.  Be sure you put them back in the exact screw hole you removed them from.  Putting a different size screw in can ruin the phone.

Debris on internal components

Make sure you don't over handle the parts.  Skin oil can ruin the connector.  Some replacement screens come with a protective film that must be removed with alcohol prior to using.

Software not recognizing new hardware

You may have to reset your phone after putting on the new screen.  You can do this by disconnecting the battery for 30 seconds and re-attaching it. 

Camera shorted out

The front camera attaches to the phone through the replacement screen.  Sometimes this can short out when replacing the screen.  Disconnect the camera connectors and see if the screen works.  If it does, you need a new front camera. 

Cables or pins bent out of place

Inspect the connectors on the phone motherboard.  Sometimes they can be damaged when removing the old broken screen.  

If all else fails, bring it to Digital Doc and we'll fix it for you.