Recently my teenage daughter had accidentally dropped her Samsung Galaxy S3 and broke the screen in multiple places. The device was still functional with the broken glass pieces still stuck & cracked in several star cluster patterns. She used to use the phone as is for few days but recently it started slowly to fall off in some places. This sort of worried me since she might get injured with sharp glass corners or worse would be pieces falling off into her eyes. Daughter loves her smartphone and cannot live without it. Also, she was very skeptical about the process of replacing the front glass at home since she got scared looking at the YouTube Videos which graphically shows how to separate the front glass from the LCD/Digitizer.
While I am tech Savvy and have most of the necessary tools around in the house I did not have a heat gun. So I ended up using my wife's Conair Dryer 1875 Watt Mid Size Styler instead. Moreover, a real heat gun such as Wagner 0503008 HT1000 1,200-watt Heat Gun has potential to ruin your phone unless you closely monitor the temperature with an Non-contact Digital Laser Infrared IR Thermometer
Anyways, I must say CrazyFire Kit was not too bad. The Screen does have SAMSUNG logo and looks as good as original. The Kit does come in a box and well protected for shipping. There is also a adhesive strip which is slightly difficult to use. However the tools included in the kit are worthless as none of them will be able to withstand the task. The included tools tends to disintegrate even with the slightest force. The only tool which I ended up using in this kit was the blue color guitar pick looking plastic tool.
I strongly suggest that you watch several YouTube Videos for Glass replacement online before you attempt it at home. Having said. Here are steps I took for a successful screen replacement from the kit reviewed here.
While I am tech Savvy and have most of the necessary tools around in the house I did not have a heat gun. So I ended up using my wife's Conair Dryer 1875 Watt Mid Size Styler instead. Moreover, a real heat gun such as Wagner 0503008 HT1000 1,200-watt Heat Gun has potential to ruin your phone unless you closely monitor the temperature with an Non-contact Digital Laser Infrared IR Thermometer
Anyways, I must say CrazyFire Kit was not too bad. The Screen does have SAMSUNG logo and looks as good as original. The Kit does come in a box and well protected for shipping. There is also a adhesive strip which is slightly difficult to use. However the tools included in the kit are worthless as none of them will be able to withstand the task. The included tools tends to disintegrate even with the slightest force. The only tool which I ended up using in this kit was the blue color guitar pick looking plastic tool.
I strongly suggest that you watch several YouTube Videos for Glass replacement online before you attempt it at home. Having said. Here are steps I took for a successful screen replacement from the kit reviewed here.
- Power off the phone and remove the battery
- Heat the screen surface of the phone using a hair dryer for about 8-10 mins concentrating on top right corner of the phone first
- Use a Xacto Knife as you need to lift off the top right corner first very slowly and carefully
- With the first right corner of broken glass lifted slightly off the phone body with the Xacto Knife now insert the blue guitar pick prying tool included in this kit and stop using Xacto Knife. (You need Xacto Knife only to lift one edge as none of the included tools are strong enough to start the prying process)
- Keep heating the surface of the phone using hair dryer time to time to keep the glue under the glass screen in melted state and slowly (Very slowly) work on the sides with the included Guitar pick tool. As you work your way on the edges substitute the pried edges with used plastic credit cards from the glass sticking back to the LCD/Digitizer.
- As you keep prying the old broken screen off your phone Please Be very extra careful as you come to the bottom of the phone where home button & back buttons are located since there is a very thin ribbon cable with LED and touch buttons which needs to be pried off before you pull the old screen off. Go slow! have patience and steady hand. Do not rush it.
If you have done it right so far then the old glass will come off your phone in one piece even-tough it looks shattered in all places - Why? because the shattered glass pieces are stuck to the glue+plastic backing on top of the LCD/Digitizer. You should never hear any crackling sound nor should the glass pieces fly off as you pry. If the do means that the glue has not melted properly and you probably have not heated the glue to remain sticky and kept it in melted state for the entire duration of prying.
- You need to clean off the remaining excess glue from LCD/Digitizer using alcohol and or other cleaning solvents and then use sticky tape to pull off bits and pieces of glue that might be covering camera, sensors, etc; keep doing this several times till you have a spotless clean LCD/Digitizer and at the same time keep your work area spotless and clean of any glue or debris that might accidentally settle down on your LCD/Digitizer surface.
Now comes the trickiest part which is to use the given 'precut' Adhesive strip. This is a very sticky & tricky task but it can be done right if you plan ahead.
Please note: The 'precut' Adhesive strip may be different for different batches sold by crazyfire in the past. Currently, In the outer glass screen replacement kit that I received for Samsung Galaxy S3 (Pebble Blue version) the Adhesive strip had 'blue' color on one side and 'white' color surface on the other. Based on the precut holes for LED, Camera, and Proximity sensors it was clear that I needed to punch out the holes for LED, Camera, Home button, speaker, and also cut the center portion off before applying the Adhesive strip to the perimeter of the phone.
Please note: After all the needed holes are punched out the Adhesive strip will become very flimsy but still workable since the blue backing of the adhesive strip does have some strength to get the job done. My advice is to Start using the very flimsy portion near the home button first by carefully removing the 'white color' backing first (Only in parts and very slowly) as you work your way upwards sticking the adhesive strip towards the speaker/camera area of the phone. Once this step is complete you will have the adhesive strip applied to the phone but it must still have the blue color backing of the adhesive strip still in place all around the perimeter of the phone.
- It is time to place the glass. Do one final check of the LCD/Digitizer glass surface and clean with Alcohol if needed. Keep the surface spotless clean as you prepare your glass. Now remove the 'blue color' backing from the adhesive strip all around the perimeter of the phone.
BTW, The Glass comes enclosed with a layer of plastic sheet on the top and TWO layers of plastic sheet on the bottom. Remove the first layer of plastic sheet and then remove the second layer of plastic sheet from the bottom and then start laying the glass on the phone by starting on the 'home button' side first and ensure that it lines up perfectly with the menu and back button. Drop the glass slowly and ensure that it lines up perfectly with the speaker/earpiece area. Inspect the camera and sensors are and ensure that they are clear of any debris.
- If all looks good drop the glass in place and slowly press the edges of the phone so that the sticky adhesive strip keeps the glass locked in place and seals the LCD/Digitizer glass surface from moisture and dust. I used the hair dryer to heat the edges of the new glass and pressed it in place but you probably do not have to do it.
- Let the phone cool down and then insert the battery and replace the back cover. Power on the phone and enjoy the shinny new glass and pat yourself on your back for an excellent job done.
Bottom-line: For the price I think the quality of Glass is very good. The Adhesive strip is very tricky to use and the tools included in the kit are worthless. Overall a decent kit which helped me fix my daughter's phone and bring back the smile on her face.
Four Stars! - Cheers!
You can get one of these kits from Amazon to repair your broken glass on Samsung S3