Today Apple released a brand new iPhone 7.
This goes hand in hand with their (PRODUCT)RED line that donates a portion of their profits
to AIDS and HIV programs with the hopes that eventually we will have an AIDS free generation.
Charity is always a good thing, especially from one of the largest businesses in the
world.
When you buy the (PRODUCT)RED iPhone, it comes with a white screen.
And while that does look pretty darn good, I think a black combination would look even
more dope.
Let’s give it a try.
[Intro]
I turn the phone completely off and then remove the bottom two silver pentalobe screws.
While I don’t recommend attempting this project yourself, since it is pretty difficult,
I will be linking all the tools and replacement parts that you might need in the video description.
As we know, the iPhone is water resistant which means there is a thin band of adhesive
running around the edge under the screen.
I’m going to use a heat gun to warm up the glass until it’s just barely too hot to
touch.
Then I’ll use a large suction cup to lift up the edge of the screen enough to slip my
thin metal pry tool between the plastic edge of the screen and the blood red metal body
of the phone.
Now this part is kind of tricky.
It’s where most people will damage their displays.
There are some very fragile ribbon cables along the right side of the phone, so as you
are cutting through the adhesive, it’s important to keep the tool from penetrating too deep
inside of the phone and slicing that important stuff.
You also can’t lift the bottom edge of the screen very high or it will put stress on
the ribbons as well.
You’ll see what I’m talking about in just a second.
The screen comes away from the device by pulling away ever so slightly on the display to release
the top clips and then the whole thing folds open like a little book…a very good looking
red book.
I think the inside of this thing looks better than the outside.
The anodized red colored coating is all throughout the device and not just the exterior.
I’m definitely a fan.
For the next step I’ll switch to my wide triple zero bit since Apple likes to use weird
screws inside of their phones.
There are 4 screws holding down the metal plate over the battery connector, fingerprint
connector and LCD ribbon connector.
I’ll set that off to the side next to the screws to help keep them organized.
Now we need a Phillips head double zero screwdriver for the top screws next to the earpiece and
front camera.
If you think it’s weird that Apple has 3 separate screw types inside of their phone,
you’re not alone.
I think it’s pretty strange as well.
After the two screws on the top bracket are off I can unclip the front camera and the
earpiece ribbon, and the screen is free from the iPhone body.
Now depending on where you get your screen from there might be a few more steps.
If you buy the replacement screen linked in the video description, you’ll have to transfer
over your earpiece, back metal plate, and home button to your new screen.
I show that in my iPhone 7 screen replacement video.
For the sake of time though for this video, I’ll be using a screen and home button that
I pulled off a fully functioning matte black iPhone 7.
It’s already got all the components attached to it so it’s a direct swap and slightly
easier.
I’ll start by plugging in the ribbon cables from the black screen.
There are two down by the battery and then one more up at the top.
Each of them will clip in like a little Lego.
Make sure to plug the battery cable in very last; it’s safer that way.
The two metal plates go over the top of the cable connection.
And then the 6 screws hold everything tight.
Remember each screw is different so keep them organized and put them back in the same hole
they came from.
The phone will fold shut just like a very expensive book and then the top edge of the
screen gets tucked up into place before the rest of the display clicks down.
I’m going to use the black screws that I pulled from my other black iPhone 7 for a
cleaner look.
Replacement screws are also pretty easy to find.
I’ll link some below the video as well.
And it’s time to turn our ultra good looking, one of a kind cell phone on.
And here is where we run into the first problem.
Apple has this thing where if you ever need to fix or replace your home button, they just
kill the functionality of it altogether.
It’s incredibly frustrating from a repair perspective, but that’s a story for a different
day.
Apple claims it’s for security reasons, which is valid, but there are other ways to
protect your device besides killing functionality.
The last warning that popped up was to tell me that I have to use the on screen home button
now instead of the physical button, and that’s kind of annoying.
While I love the look of the all black on red, I’m not about to lose functionality
solely for aesthetics.
It’s time to reinstall the original home button – the white one.
See, iPhones and their home buttons are paired at birth and remain together for the entire
duration of their lives like some kind of weird National Geographic documentary instead
of a cell phone.
To remove a home button there are 4 screws and then the home button unsticks from the
plastic frame and drops out from the front of the phone.
Then all I have to do is tuck the white home button back up into place on the black screen,
and then use the same screws to hold it in.
And that’s it for the home button.
It’s still definitely white, but this time it’s functional and there are no error messages.
Now one way around this would be to take the main board from the black iPhone and plop
it into the red frame.
That way the black home button would remain paired together with the black screen.
But I would recommend against that because the more components that you remove from the
phone, the higher chance you have of something breaking and going wrong and it never working
again when you put it back together.
I might compare this project to Legos during the video, but it’s slightly higher risk
than that.
The simplest solution is to just get a small black skin and put it over the white home
button; incredibly inexpensive and at least the skin isn’t covering the whole display.
Now I don’t have any skins at the moment, but I know a guy who does.
I’m going to send this phone over to MKBHD to let him work his magic on that home button.
The phone is his to keep or giveaway…totally up to him.
What color combination do you think looks best?
Do you like the white screen, or do you think Apple should have made a black and red iPhone
variant?
Let me know in the comments.
Luckily I was able to grab two of these red phones.
I’ll be testing the scratch resistance of the new color in my next video, so if you
haven’t subscribed, now would be a good time.
My Twitter followers got the inside look of this phone as it was happening.
So follow me over there to stay ahead of the curve.
And thanks for watching.
I’ll see you around.