So my father called me and said when he came home his Asus tablet was on the groun and the screen is cracked, probably the dogs fault. He is going to send it to me to try to repair, I repair it I get to keep it. So looking at replacement screens I see they come with the glass as well as the digitizer. I assume it would be best to replace both instead of trying to remove the digitizer correct?
So it arrived yesterday so I got a chance to take a look at it. Seems like just the digitizer glass is broken as the LCD panel itself is fine. I was hoping to find a domestic source for the glass but that seems like it is impossible.
The Gorilla Glass is actually made by Corning Glass in upstate NY, (sort of Pyrex for computers) but I am sure there is no direct source from them, and only through ASUS distribution sources.
So it arrived yesterday so I got a chance to take a look at it. Seems like just the digitizer glass is broken as the LCD panel itself is fine. I was hoping to find a domestic source for the glass but that seems like it is impossible.
I may be wrong, but I supect that if you did find a domestic source, there would be a premium to be paid.
So after a delay due to some family issues I am getting ready to ramp up an do the replacement. Looking on eBay there are two types of screens, a G01 version and G03 version. Trying to find any info about they difference is difficult.
Will do. They vary from $79 to $279 depending on which one. I ordered some tool from ifixit.com today to crack it open and take a look at which one I need. Will let you know how it goes.
So following the video was pretty straight forward, taking the back off and removing all the screws was easy, I put them on the magnetic mat so they would not fly away. Disconnecting the ribbon wires connected to the digitizer was easy. Then came the tough part of removing the LCD screen from the housing as it was glued in solid. I used the beanbag from the iopener kit as well as a large one my wife had and heated them in the microwave for 3 minutes. I placed them on the screen for about five minutes and used the spudger to slowly and carefully separate the two. It took about 10 minutes being overly careful. After that came the even tougher part of removing the old digitizer from the plastic housing it was in. Same idea, heated up the bags and let them sit. It was a bit tougher as where the screen was cracked you obviously had to be careful. The digitizer glass itself is VERY thin and loved to crack and splinter. Plus I was using the same glue that was on the housing already. This part took the longest as I had to remove any and all small glass shards. Total time there about 30 minutes. If I heated the glue more it may have been easier but I did not want to over do it.
The new digitizer installed easy and I reversed the steps to put it back together. If you watch the video near the end you can see how tough it was to install the two ribbons back into their slots, but got it done. After that sealed it back up.
I turned it back on, looked great but there was no screen response. My first worry was the digitizer was DOA. Took the back off again and really seated the ribbons in tighter. After that everything worked like a charm. Only issue is that rarely the tablet thinks that some headphones are attached so I wonder if there is a bad connection there.
Overall it took me about 1.5 hours with a portion of that waiting for the screen to heat up to melt the glue. I would recommend fixing it again, just would say to take your time, wear glasses as the digitizer can crack and splinter easily casting off shards and small chunks of glass.
Asus 300-free to me Replacement digitizer-$80 Tools from ifixit-$37 Bottle of Cabernet-$30 (used during my breaks )
Considering a refurb goes for $350 I got a great tablet and great experience.
I was wondering how in the world these things are put together. Just like how only disposable electronics like remote controls and children's toys were in days of yore. Snap tabs instead of screws, and lots of adhesive. yuck
My guess is that one in the video was one that he has taken apart before. The adhesive used is no joke. You have to heat it up considerably for it to budge. I was very surprised at how strong it was.
My guess is that one in the video was one that he has taken apart before. The adhesive used is no joke. You have to heat it up considerably for it to budge. I was very surprised at how strong it was.
Yeh, I thought it was strange how it was taken apart in the video, I'm sure it's much better to heat it and separate the glass from the bezel with a razor, maybe better yet, a razor that's kept hot somehow.
I wasn't knocking the strength of the assembly method in my post, more the fact that it makes it quite unfriendly to repairs/tinkering. They love that of course, they want to sell you a new one every year, not have you fix or upgrade an old device.
I miss the old days when things were built with repairs and ongoing maintenance in mind. But such adds bulk and cost, so it's a trade-off I guess.