DIY sounds so awesome and easy, especially when you write the three letters D.I.Y.  It’s also another way of saying “I’m refusing to pay someone else to do this work” and for some it’s simply a way of asserting their manhood.    For me, I’m convinced that I can just as great of a job as someone who does it for a living.

It’s not like I haven’t tried to do DIY in the past, but at times I have to question my own DIY abilities; and it can be difficult to sometimes remember the times were my DIY adventures were successful.  But, I’m living the dream that I can still do DIY!

To satisfy my male genes, and to fix the iPhone 4 my dear wife had dropped several times and as a result the screen had cracked, I ordered an iPhone 4 repair kit.  How hard could it be?

• I have access to superior computer brain (well, sort of)
• We have fast FiOS internet, allowing for streaming video on YouTube
• Plenty of friends on Facebook who could assist with some moral support
• A mall nearby with an iPhone repair clinic 🙂

Let the adventures begin!

I did some basic research to start with and it was clear that disassembling an iPhone is not necessarily straight forward, and there’s a reason Apple have managed to fit so many parts into the casing.  One can now only appreciate the complexity of building the iPhone.

Most people who had attempted this challenge in the past all claimed that it would take good parts of an hour to replace the front screen.

As I managed to slide the back plate off, I realised how complicated this task would actually be.  I was amazed by the amount of micro components squeezed into this little device, and even more amazed about the microscopic sizes of the various screws holding the pieces in place.

I frantically looked at my rather oversized and clumsy fingers and I wondered how on earth I would be able to get these fragile components out without breaking tools, fingers and iPhone all at the same time.

Over the next 45 minutes I surgically removed tiny screws, gently removed layer upon layer of micro boards and placed all parts in somewhat order on the table.  It’s only when you sneeze that you regret opening and placing these tiny components on the table!

Putting the device back together was yet another adventure and it was pretty clear that each component had a symbiotic relationship with each other, and you had to insert them in a certain way and order.  After another 20 minutes I had successfully completed my mission and inserted the last screw to fasten the back cover again.

Now, the final test was to charge the device and then hope the bloody thing actually worked.

Good news was that the battery charger came up, so I had at least assembled it correctly.  Only problem was that the touch screen was not responding to any gestures, which is obviously a key feature of any smart/touch phone.

Perhaps the small connector that broke off wasn’t the antenna as I had hoped, but the cable that actually controls the touch capability!

Oh well, I ordered a new iPhone kit and hopefully that’ll be a better result, otherwise I’ll end up visiting the local iPhone repair shop.