There are plenty of resources out there for replacing an LCD, but having been through this twice during the week I thought I would provide a novice’s perspective. It’s tricky! Also you should be aware that any attempt at home repair is going to invalidate the warranty.

I managed to drop my phone onto tiles from quite a height, and caused what looked like a hairline crack under the glass. It was barely visible but over a period of a couple of weeks it started to leak liquid crystal, causing what I’ve seen referred to as an ‘ink stain’.

I bought a pack from eBay which actually included the glass [I figured I’d keep this in reserve] as well as the LCD panel and tools. There are a few videos on eBay, and this is the one that I used.

There are a couple of steps that I found particularly tricky. The first is the placing of the LCD onto the metal backing plate. There are a couple of lugs at diagonal corners which guide its seating. The LCD assembly is very flimsy, and I managed to break my first one, possibly by pressing it onto the back panel too firmly [there is an adhesive backing]. Because of the amount of flex in the plastic panel, I really can’t imagine how you could detach it from the metal plate without damaging it, so attaching it via the adhesive is basically a one way ticket.

The second step that is nerve wracking is the bending of the LCD ribbon around the screwdriver, which is recommended in the video I’ve linked to. I had kittens doing this, and actually skipped it the second time round.

When I went through the whole repair the second time and reassembled the phone, I thought I’d broken the Home button. After checking all of the connections I happened to notice that a little plug numbered 4, which you shouldn’t have to go near in the repair, had managed to work itself free. Be warned that there are a couple of metal contacts which protrude from the front assembly, and are part of the Home button mechanism [I think]. You need to be careful not to snag these.

I’m glad I tried it and managed to do it successfully – after two attempts – but it strikes me like the sort of job that could go badly wrong quite easily. If you damage anything on the main board that the various components plug into, you could have an attractive paperweight on your hands.

The phone I did the work on was well out of warranty, and I’ve recently upgraded to a 4S, so it was worth a punt.