Since Google started pumping out new color combinations with their Pixel 2 this week,
I figured I'd take matters into my own hands with the original Pixel and assess some of
our own color options by swapping out the back glass.
This also works if your camera lens is broken of course, and you just want to replace it
like a normal person.
It's surprisingly not that difficult of a project.
Let's get started.
[Intro]
Now, breaking your glass camera lens on purpose would be pretty dumb.
Only a crazy person would abuse a perfectly good phone.
But I am going to stimulate this repair on a phone that does have glass that's already
broken, and I'll let you know what to watch out for as I go along.
Heat is going to be our best friend during this repair.
It does soften the adhesive under the glass – which there's actually not very much of,
surprisingly enough.
But it is pretty strong stuff.
Apple honestly should have attached the back glass of their iPhone 8 with this same method,
and saved everyone some major time and money.
But I'll save that conversation for a different video.
Once I got that tiny gap open by using the sharpness of my razor blade underneath the
glass, I was able to slide my slightly thicker metal pry tools around the edge and then lift
up a pretty major chunk of the glass.
There are a few different important ribbon cables that you have to watch out for under
that glass slab; one being the fingerprint scanner ribbon, which I'll show you in a second.
And the other is this little antenna thing on the right side of the back.
Avoid these fragile ribbon cables as you're peeling off the glass layers because they
can tear.
The adhesive is only along the sides of the back lens, so the glass is pretty easy to
lift up and off of the phone.
Also remember that glass is the same hardness as glass and can scratch itself, so try and
keep the glass dust and larger shards of glass out from underneath the screen.
Getting closer to that fingerprint scanner.
I'll very carefully push it down with my finger and then lift up the rest of the glass up
and away from the back of the phone, leaving the home button in place.
If you pull too hard, it will tear and stop working.
Applying the replacement glass is pretty straightforward.
I'll link these replacements down in the video description.
The Pixel and Pixel XL are both different sizes so make sure you buy the right one for
your model of phone.
I'll pull off the little but of adhesive protection.
I forgot to move over the flash diffuser from my previous glass, so maybe you'll want to
transfer that before pulling off the adhesive protection.
Also, needless to say, make sure the inside of the lens is clean, because you don't want
no dust specks in your pictures.
I'll just set the glass down in place inside the phone, making sure it lines up with all
sides of the rectangle cut out before the adhesive can grip too hard.
Once it's in place, it's hard to remove.
This is the black and blue version which looks pretty solid, and I like it.
But I also want to try out the white glass.
The picture taking capability it still working great.
The exterior glass of any cellphone is there for protection and not for focusing, so as
long as the lens is visibly clean and clear, it won't be messing with the functionality
of the camera.
If the camera itself is not working or focusing correctly, it's a hardware issue inside of
the phone.
And now it's time for the white lens.
I think this one's going to end up looking pretty cool.
The back glass was already adhered pretty tightly to the phone body, so I'll apply some
more heat and lift it off with my metal pry tool.
And then again, prematurely pull off the adhesive protection on the white lens before adding
the flash diffuser.
I'll orient the diffuser like shape of an upright 8 to line it up with the dual LEDs
right below it.
I also cleaned out all the extra black adhesive out from underneath the glass so that the
new lens will sit super level and flush with the phone body.
Getting that fingerprint scanner lined up in the center of the white lens here, and
I think this color combination looks pretty awesome.
The white and really blue combo is legit.
I'm probably going to keep this visually appealing set up.
But I do want to try one more lens and it's pretty clear what it's going to be.
The coloring on all these Bonafide Hardware glass lenses can be scraped off.
It wasn't totally perfect, but it still looks pretty clean.
What color do you think looks best...the black, white, blue, or this new clear version?
I'll still need to add some of my transparent double sided adhesive to hold it down, but
it's ready to go.
I'll link all these replacement lenses in the video description right below this video.
Come hang out with me on Instagram and Twitter to see some of the projects that don't make
it all the way to my YouTube channel.
And thanks for watching.
I'll see you around.