Buying an iPhone 4 Glass Back- What to Watch out For

Oct. 10, 2010 - PRLog -- When repairing the cracked or damaged glass back to an iPhone 4, buying the correct part is the most confusing step of the process.  The actual repair, once the correct part is purchased, is not as difficult as other iPhone 4 repairs. With an iPhone 4, a person runs a very high chance of buying a useless replacement glass battery cover unless they happen to read this article.

Unlike with iPhone 3G and 3GS owners, the do-it-yourself owners looking to fix an iPhone 4 end up with useless junk that they often cannot return.  The iPhone 4 simply has not been on the market long enough for good information to arise in any significant amount.

Please check for the following things when purchasing a replacement glass battery cover for your iPhone 4:

  1. Price – When searching EBay or another online store front, check to see that the price is not absurdly lower than other parts of the same description.  There is a reason some parts are a few dollars and others cost over $40.  ALL of these parts originate from suppliers in China and are often re-sold by American sellers.  So, they do not differ terribly in wholesale cost.  The price of a genuine OEM glass battery cover should hover around $40 to $60 depending on availability. Anything significantly cheaper than this is not OEM and may not even fit.  Also, the part may be made of cheap plastic instead of glass or constructed of very thin glass.
  2. Brackets – Make absolute sure that the part you are purchasing has the correct brackets and that the part is not just the glass alone.  The brackets from your iPhone are not easily re-used because they are very delicate and laminated to the glass.  In the photo or the description of the part you are considering, you should see brackets mentioned.  If they are not mentioned or you are unsure, ask.  When a glass back is very cheap, it usually lacks these brackets. And you will just end up ordering another one.  Sellers often make a buyer pay for return shipping if they are willing to issue a refund, and for a $9 part, it’s hardly worth bothering to return
  3. Chrome Camera Bezel - If a part lacks brackets and is not OEM, it probably lacks the chrome bezel that surrounds the camera hole in the back of the iPhone.  Again, this is laminated to the iPhone and cannot be removed for all intents and purposes. It is delicate and will probably break if re-used.  Moreover, it will need to be re-glued and ugly glue mistakes will like occur on your otherwise pristine iPhone 4.

If the part satisfies these three criteria, then it is probably worth buying. As an iPhone repair  company, we never recommend DIY repairs because they often end up costing the person more money than trusting a pro. However, we know that this particular repair is easier than other repairs, and we thought we would offer up some of our experience to make it easier for the more technically-inclined DIY people. You can buy the part from our Ebay store .

# # #

XpressFix is an iPhone & iPod Touch repair service that gets your devices working good as new, with zero hassle, and a simple process. We are different from other repair services because of our straightforward, 3-step method and our user-friendly website.