Introduction
Ever since it was first introduced, the glass back on many iPhone models has been a point of vulnerability, with many iPhones suffering damage in this area.
As a result, iPhone back glass replacement has become a commonly sought-after repair- one which we offer to the numerous customers who come through our doors looking for it!
Unlike many companies, when we replace the broken rear glass panel on your iPhone, we stick to Apple parts. (Depending upon which iPhone model you have this will either consist of new back glass supplied by Apple themselves or a refurbished housing- with the glass itself attached- that’s been pulled from a recycled iPhone).
To have your iPhone rear glass panel replaced by us get in touch online or by phone and we’ll be happy to help you out.
How We Do It
How we repair your iPhone’s broken back glass depends upon whether or not Apple designed the back glass to be replaceable:-
- Older models with non-replaceable back glass – includes all versions up to and including the iPhone 13 family, plus the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max
- Newer models with replaceable back glass – includes the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus, and all versions from entire iPhone 15 family onwards
Older Models with Non-Replaceable Glass
For the older models with non-replaceble glass, we replace your phone’s back housing- which already has the glass itself attached- with a refurbished one in excellent condition that’s been pulled from another recycled iPhone. (We use refurbished housings because Apple don’t sell new housings to independent repair stores.)
This means that you still have an original Apple housing, taken from a genuine iPhone, and you can expect the same quality as a phone that’s just left the factory.
Although replacing the housing as well does increase the cost, we do things this way because- in our opinion- it’s the only acceptably reliable way to guarantee a good-quality repair.
Some other companies do offer glass-only replacements for these older models. However, because they were never designed with that in mind, there are various risks and quality issues asssociated with doing it that way. (See below for further details).
Newer Models with Replaceable Glass
The newer models listed above were designed so that the back glass can be removed and replaced without excessive effort or serious risk of damage. Apple also sells replacement glass for these models (i.e. with the same quality as the glass that originally came with the phone).
For these models we will remove your old, broken back glass and replace it with new glass from Apple, complete with the logo intact.
How Some Other Companies Do It- And Why We Don’t Do It That Way!
You’d be forgiven for asking why we don’t do the same thing- especially as the cost of the glass on its own usually works out much cheaper than replacing the entire housing, as we do.
The reason we don’t do it that way is because there are several serious risks and quality issues associated with it. In fact, we recently came across an iPhone 13 Pro which had its glass replaced elsewhere which exhibits several of those problems- we’ll use it to illustrate.
- Apple don’t sell replacement back glass for those older models (since it’s not officially intended to be replaceable in the first place). Also, it’s essentially impossible to separate the glass from a recovered iPhone housing without breaking it. Therefore, any glass-only repair in those cases will almost certainly be using unofficial replacement glass from a third-party company.
- Since the Apple logo is trademarked, any unofficial panels using are doing so without permission. Some other panels avoid that legal issue and trouble at customs by not including the logo- but, of course, that means that the Apple logo will be missing from your phone too.
- The texture of the replacement glass in the example we saw didn’t have the same feel of quality– it felt almost like sandpaper(!) compared to the original.
More seriously, there are major problems with the fit. This is partly due to the fact that- for models where the glass was never intended to be removed- it’s almost impossible to do so without bending or distorting the frame. This in turn makes it hard- if not impossible- to fit the glass to the frame.
If you look at the photos, you can see that the glass is sitting proud above the frame at one edge, due to the frame having deformed. In another of the photos, you’ll also notice that the camera lens cover isn’t sitting flush.
This looks bad, obviously, but it’s more than just an aesthetic problem. The gaps in the lens cover mean that dirt and grit can get behind them and end up damaging the camera itself.
The back glass is also more likely to break due to not sitting flush with the housing and because it’s made of lower-quality material than the original.
The company will have left the phone fully assembled while removing the original glass. There are two ways of approaching this:-
- One way to do this is to use a laser to burn the adhesive under the glass. Not only can this leave a lot of dirt inside the phone, but it also risks damaging other components.
- Another method is to use heat to soften the adhesive, but the internal components aren’t designed to accept the high temperatures necessary to remove the glass.
As you can see, there are serious risks and quality issues associated with trying to replace the glass on older models that weren’t designed for that. Replacing the entire housing- as we do- may work out more expensive, but you can be sure that you’re not having to compromise quality or risk your phone.
