FAILED - htc EVO 4G Glass Replacement

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After 2 years of faithful service, I dropped my htc EVO 4G and broke the glass. Admittedly, my first thought was, "...well this is right on time for my contract renewal..." but then I thought, it would be better if I could make my phone last a few months more. So I turned to ifixit.com to see if they had anything to help with the repair of my phone.

Sure enough, there was a detailed guide on the EVO and a link to a site that sold the replacement glass for $30 + shipping. Fixing the phone seemed the better choice to simply replacing it.

So I ordered the parts and tools for the job.

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The basic dis-assembly steps went smoothly. I had all the tools and skills for the task. The preliminary steps took only 15 minutes.

The last step of the dis-assembly was heating the glass to loosen the adhesive and gently prying it away from the bezel and the screen. Despite my patience and over 1 hour of heating and gently prying, the screen stayed adhered to the glass and eventually cracked as I was prying it out of the case.

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My best guess is that I simply didn't heat up the adhesive hot enough or long enough. My main concern was not melting any plastic part that I needed to retain.

Think twice before attempting glass replacement on a phone for the first time. Is there an experienced person who can guide you through the process? Have you ever pulled the glass off a similar item, like a tablet?

I have been taking things apart for over 4 decades. Admittedly I've been fixing and re-assembling them for less than that, maybe 3 decades or so.

This was my first attempt at a smartphone or a touch-screen for that matter...but its not likely to be my last. I'd like to watch a detailed (i.e. boring) video of someone removing the glass on a smartphone before I try it again.