How to Open an iPhone

If you're a mechanics freak and let your curiosity get the better of you by dismantling and re-assembling all appliances around you, you probably must have had similar thoughts about your iPhone. If you haven't opened it up yet, it may be because you don't want to take the chance of ruining your beloved, expensive gadget! Here is all you need to know about how to open your iPhone in a systematic manner and ensure no harm is inflicted upon your smartphone.

How to Open an iPhone 2G

Opening iPhone 2 is a somewhat different task than opening all other iPhone models as there are many interlinking parts in it, besides the metal back, that were not included in the subsequent models. You must have patience and proper equipment to get the job at hand done.

• Tools required would include a small utility knife, soft surface, paper clip, toothpick and jeweler's screwdriver.
• Place your iPhone upon the soft surface and insert the paper clip in the tiny hole that is on top of your smartphone.
• Keep pushing the paper clip in until the SIM card tray appears to be popping out. Take out the SIM tray and keep it separate.
• Now, turn the iPhone on the smooth surface so that it lies face down and you can see the two tabs at the black connector's edge. Push them in further with the utility knife and take the black connector off your iPhone's case.
• Pry up the antenna cover by pushing in the utility knife between the dock connector and antenna cover.
• Inserting the knife between the antenna cover and the bezel in front, slide it towards one side and move it along the corner till it comes in contact with the metal back. Repeat the process on the other side and take the knife out.
• Separate the rear bottom panel of the iPhone by removing the three screws there using the jeweler's screwdriver.
• Insert the pointy end of a toothpick inside the small square depression and wiggle it to separate the inner rear panel.
• Pull the panel up and push in the knife between the panel and metal bottom and exert upward pressure to open one corner of the metallic bottom. Repeat on the other side and pry up the bottom off the front of your iPhone 2G using the knife.
• You will see an orange tape around the white antenna cable - peel it off and separate the antenna cables from the logic board using your knife. Unscrew the three screws that you see, using the jeweler's screwdriver, to reveal the camera module.
• Remove the camera by pulling out the camera connection very carefully from the logic board.
• Push the knife in between the front and battery and pry out the battery. Wiggle out the logic board with the knife by pushing it in between the front and the logic board, right where the camera module was previously located.
• Unscrew all the screws which are securing the front bezel to the iPhone and remove the bezel.

Congratulations! You have successfully dismantled your iPhone 2!

How to Open an iPhone 3G

Here's how to open you 3G model safely from scratch, without a scratch!

• Tools required - small screwdriver, flat-head razor, safe open tool, repair toolkit, paper clip.
• Remove the SIM tray using paper clip as discussed in 2G above.
• Take out the screws that hold the dock in place at the bottom of your iPhone 3G.
• Insert a slim tool from your safe open tool box in between the chrome ring and glass panel in the front, exactly on top of any one of the holes in which a screw was there. Exert a little force to separate the display from the back portion.
• Open up the panel, lifting it up from the dock side, without damaging any ribbon or connection.
• Unplug the two ribbons on the secured end and you will find a third ribbon under one of the previous ribbons. Unplug that as well in order to separate the complete display assembly from the iPhone.
• Once you've removed the front and display side, you'll see seven screws along the sides. Remove them, including the one under the Do Not Remove sticker.
• Unplug the ribbon and very carefully remove the motherboard, being extra cautious with the camera which is connected under it.
• Remove the battery by pulling it out, holding on to the attached tab. Carefully remove the camera after removing the solitary screw that is placed nearest to the battery compartment.
• Once the camera is removed, you'll see nine screws near the camera compartment. Unscrew them.
• Take out the headphone paraphernalia including the flex cable that is attached to it.
• Take out the vibrator and speaker assembly consisting of the dock connector, antennae and main menu button.
• Turn the iPhone to the front and remove the four screws, two on each side, from the sides of the iPhone.
• Separate the LCD from the glass panel.

Your iPhone 3G surgery is complete and successful!

How to Open an iPhone 4

Opening an iPhone 4 is pretty similar to opening an iPhone 3G. You need to unscrew all the screws and unplug all connections and ribbons. However, there are a few differences here and there that have been discussed as follows:-

• The biggest difference here is that the iPhone 4 has two cameras - one 1.3 mega pixel camera in front and another 5 mega pixel thingy on the back. This is one of the best iPhone 4G features. Both these cameras are located on their individual motherboards, making it very easy to remove each separately.
• Another noticeable difference in disassembling an iPhone 3G and an iPhone 4 is that when you remove the two screws at the bottom of the iPhone 4, it releases the back case, contrary to iPhone 3G where it releases the front.
• The LCD panel of the iPhone 4 is very tightly secured and you need to be extra careful not to damage the glass panel and digitizer when exerting pressure to pry out the display.
• The battery is easy to remove as it is not soldered in place.

That is all you need to know about how to open iPhone. As far as reassembling is concerned, you need to pay attention to the sequence of the dismantling steps. This is important as you can only reassemble a dismantled gadget by going backwards and reversing the dismantling steps! If necessary, keep written step-by-step instructions in front of you to avoid goofing up. Here's wishing you good luck dismantling and reassembling your iPhone.