DIY: HTC Amaze 4G Screen Replace

Here's a quick project while I'm waiting for parts for the other projects. I obtained an HTC Amaze 4g with a broken screen and wanted to fix it up to work again.

The person I got the phone from told me the screen completely stopped working as it was smashed against steel, so I ordered a replacement LCD screen with digitizer from eBay. The phone also did not seem to turn on at all when the power button was pressed, so I searched online for a solution to that as well. Many sites say that due to a problem with certain Recovery images, the phone would not charge if it was turned off. I ordered a cheap external battery charger for the Amaze off of eBay as well in case this was the problem.

To replace the screen, first unscrew 8 screws from the housing, circled in red. You will probably find one of the screws is covered by a sticker that says "Void" on it, indicating that you will be voiding your warranty if the sticker is removed, but the phone is broken anyway, so it didn't matter.

Then using a pry tool, credit card, or finger nails, pry off the housing. Unscrew the small screw near the SIM slot.

Separate the copper tape.

Unclip the two flex cables, the top one lifts off, while the second one is connected by a clamp. Remove the yellow tape covering it and lift the white part of the clamp from the side closest to the MicroSD slot to get the second cable.

Separate the power button assembly from the top of the housing. It is attached by glue/tape so you will need a little force to separate it.

Now both circuit boards should lift up. Flip the circuit boards over and remove the 2 flex cables, circled, the same way as the clamped flex cable above.

Now you can pry the broken screen off. Heat the screen by using a hair dryer or heat gun, moving it around so the heat is not focused in one area for long periods of time. Using a pry tool, credit card, or finger nails, dig into a side of the screen and carefully pry and lift, sticking in a credit card or tweezer to areas you have lifted so the adhesive does not stick back on.

With the screen off, place in the new one making sure the flex cables go through the proper holes.

Now reverse the above steps to put the phone back together.

Now the phone should be as good as new. For my phone, it still would not turn on, so I am waiting for the external battery charger to arrive.