Help! Cracked screen, possibly made worse by attempting to fix myself

[Will Spinelli]

I am such a clutz, I have actually dropped my 1520 a few times face down on concrete but there are a certain number of times a 6" display can withstand that kind of fall and last week, my beloved 1520 caved...I thought I would just order the glass (because I am a tightwad) and pry the glass off the lcd (since they are fussed together). That didn't go so well. In the process of prying the battery off the back of the lcd, I shorted it out by puncturing it (a little spark and fuzzling sound happened). No problem, I can get a new battery for less than $50 I believe. Then when I tried to carefully remove the shattered glass I cracked the lcd.

So now I am looking for a good replacement screen I can afford. I don't want to spend more than $200 and I want the lcd and the chassis it is attached to so I don't have to do any more prying on anything. I also want it to have the same specs as the original display, I understand this wont be an original display from the factory, but I do want one where it will be hard to tell the difference. I found one on ebay for about $200 but I am just not sure about the quality of the display.

Till my 1520 is fixed I am stuck using my sisters old (also cracked) iPhone 4S...HELP ME!!!

 

[David P2]

I would probably go for a 1520 that's dead in a different way (eg needs a logic board transplant and the screen was known good prior to it dying*). Might be less hassle... if you hunt around on the forums some users have had some issues with replacement screens where they don't work properly or only parts of it work.

*Or it's a bricked phone that would be remedied by replacing the logic board.

 

[jeetu4444]

Bro same happened to my Lumia 1020... Even I thought it was just the glass .. So I ordered one online... But when I tried to separate the glass and LCD I realized that even LCD was broken...best. Is go to Nokia and buy the full set with glass and LCD and tell them to fix it... I paid around 200$ for my Lumia 1020...

 

[MDK22]

I'm gonna assume you have the Lumia 1520 service manual. If not, Google it & d/l, get the correct part# & search for that online. There are several reputable sources of OEM (or suitable aftermarket) parts.

Also read the posts on this forum, about just what you describe & ' ... how the digitizer (glass) is fused to the LCD ... ', because even if you got it apart, you need to join them back together & the issue is some adhesive that's heat-resistant & non-toxic with superior holding ability. There is also a video w step by step instructions.

In Summary, RTFM :smile: then attempt the repair.

 

[jsooney]

I contemplated doing what you did but decided I didn't want to try peeling the glass off the digitizer as I was pretty sure I'd screw it up. I'm taking it to a local shop to get whole thing done for $280 once the part comes in, hopefully tomorrow. A bit steep, but hopefully it will work once they're done with it, and I'll only be without it for a couple of hours. If you go to Nokia they will shunt you off to a company called Palco in Alabama (assuming you are in the US), but I don't know what they charge.

Palco Repair Center

 

[Will Spinelli]

When I contacted nokia they sent me to the same company. I might send it to them because they have nokia branded and backed parts so you know its the same exact quality as the original screen. My estimate was $209 with Palco. I am a little worried about the quality of the screen you can buy online as other people said. I would be ok replacing the lcd and glass myself because the rest of it is essentially bolted back on and slid into place, if I just knew the part I am buying is up to the OEM standard...

 

[Will Spinelli]

So I have located a 1520 on ebay in good condition except it has a bad IMEI which means it cant be used on AT&T. The phone is going for $250 so I am thinking about just getting it and using its screen. I am wiling to pay a little more than I originally wanted to because I will now have spare parts for my phone if anything else fails! Also, I need a new battery and this would have one included. I don't know if I will be able to beat this deal.

My question, since this phone has a bad IMEI what couldn't I use on the phone? The motherboard I am assuming but I am just not sure. Any info would be great, I appreciate all the advice!

 

[David P2]

Put the board in from your own 1520 into the one with a working screen. A bad IMEI usually means it's been stolen or tampered with, or bricked with a gone-wrong flash that has erased the IMEI, so it's probably been blacklisted (if it's been stolen). If you transplant the innards of your own phone there will be no issues with IMEIs as you will be using your own phone's.

A missing IMEI would mean it can't register on any network as they use that number to make sure all is good and it can be used.

 

[Will Spinelli]

Great! That's exactly what I was expecting and wanted confirmation on. I really just need the screen and battery so ill just swap out the motherboard for mine and all should work well (fingers crossed). Thanks for the information!

 

[David P2]

No problemo.

 

[ternell99]

On the screen change Id try separating the glass from the lcd the same way that they do on iphones (How to separate iphone 4 lcd from digitizer-http://youtu.be/qowrEiDsdTo). Im going to try it soon myself. You can purchase the wire and glue on ebay really cheap. I think its at least worth a try.

 

[giffis]

Just replace bad IMEI motherboard with the good one. Did with a Lumia 925. works fine.