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ptrowski
Got Helix?
Premium Member
join:2005-03-14
Woodstock, CT

ptrowski to PeeWee

Premium Member

to PeeWee

Re: Asus t300 cracked screen...

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.

PeteC2
Got Mouse?
MVM
join:2002-01-20
Bristol, CT

PeteC2

MVM

Wish I could help you, but I have no idea if there are any meaningful differences spec-wise.

Let us know how it all works out, I am sure that others here (maybe me!) will sooner or later runinto a cracked screen issue.

Your experiences could prove valuable to others.

ptrowski
Got Helix?
Premium Member
join:2005-03-14
Woodstock, CT

ptrowski

Premium Member

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.
ptrowski

3 recommendations

ptrowski to PeteC2

Premium Member

to PeteC2
Tackled it last night and success! I used this video as a guide.

»youtu.be/3_JRLd7lPv8


Tools I used were from ifixit.com.

»www.ifixit.com/Tools/Spu ··· F145-002
»www.ifixit.com/Tools/iOp ··· F145-198
»www.ifixit.com/Tools/Mag ··· F145-167
»www.thinkgeek.com/produc ··· t=Ifixit

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.

Hayward0
K A R - 1 2 0 C
Premium Member
join:2000-07-13
Key West, FL

Hayward0

Premium Member

Glad it turned out successfully and inexpensive.

PeteC2
Got Mouse?
MVM
join:2002-01-20
Bristol, CT

PeteC2 to ptrowski

MVM

to ptrowski
I just caught this. Good job, thank you for sharing this as it probably will come in handy for some of us sooner or later!

I am glad to hear that you got a very good tablet at what turned out to be a very reasonable cost.

Raphion
join:2000-10-14
Samsara

Raphion to ptrowski

Member

to ptrowski
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

ptrowski
Got Helix?
Premium Member
join:2005-03-14
Woodstock, CT

ptrowski

Premium Member

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.

Raphion
join:2000-10-14
Samsara

Raphion

Member

said by ptrowski:

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.