Display repair options on the Galaxy S

Smartphone users occasionally face the issue of device repair, and given the features of some manufacturers and the cost of components for them, the question of the appropriateness of such a repair also arises. Most of all, the manufacturer of devices with the best displays, Samsung, distinguished itself. Further we will talk about the features of Samsung screen repair (in particular Galaxy S series). And an employee of "Rapid iPhone Repair" service will tell us about it.

What do you need to know about Galaxy S screen replacement?

The cost of SuperAmoled displays for the Galaxy S line can hit an inexperienced person in these matters, who has broken the display of his smartphone and wants to fix it. In addition to buying the original module, which is immediately assembled with the main frame, you can find on the network an offer to buy a separate module without a frame, which will most likely be slightly cheaper than with a frame.

Both options are quite acceptable, however, it should be understood that the manufacturer does not ship modules without frames to official channels. And if you are offered a module separately from the frame, then most likely it is glued. That is, a module with broken glass was taken, but the whole display, the glass was removed using special equipment, and then new glass was glued to the matrix using other special equipment. At the moment, our Chinese friends have put this process on stream and are selling such glued displays in large quantities.

This, by the way, is one of the relatively inexpensive repair options that many service centers are currently engaged in. If your model has curved glass, then the price will be higher than for a device with straight glass. Such a difference in price is a purely psychological factor for the client, since for the technology for replacing such glasses it does not matter at all whether curved glass or straight glass. This, in fact, does not affect the complexity of the repair. Removing the glass occurs by freezing the module in a special chamber with liquid nitrogen. The adhesive connecting the glass and the matrix becomes brittle and loses its adhesive properties. Then the glass is quite easily separated from the matrix.

Such a repair has its plus in the form of a relatively low price compared to a full replacement, but also disadvantages, the main of which is the unpredictability of the further behavior of such a screen. Subsequently, air bubbles can appear on such a screen, which was not completely expelled during gluing, or even black spots that can occur in those places where, when gluing the module with the frame, a garbage bin that could push the matrix over time. By the way, good services give a guarantee for such work.

Another relatively inexpensive way to repair the display on your Galaxy is to purchase the so-called “demo version” as a display donor. Live demo unit is a special version of the smartphone created for demonstration stands in stores.

We will not go into details of exactly how such phones go on sale, given that the box even has a special “not for sale” inscription. We are more interested in the question of whether such a phone can become a replacement for your broken one.

Most importantly, you should know that with any firmware and flashing from this phone you can’t make a full-fledged device. The fact is that such phones physically lack elements responsible for cellular communications. However, almost all other functions work. In general, such a live demo unit phone can be used as a separate multimedia device for accessing the Internet, as a camera, etc. The functionality of such demo phones varies from model to model. For example:

Samsung Galaxy S6

For example, Samsung Galaxy S6 / S6 edge / S6 edge plus initially has everything you need, except for the elements on the motherboard that are responsible for cellular communications. Therefore, it may seem that this is one of the simplest options - I bought a “demo”, put the motherboard from my broken one, and voila, everything works. Yes, everything is true, except that the Galaxy of the sixth series are disassembled through the display and it is very easy to damage it when removed. Therefore, the main risk with the Sixes is to kill the display at autopsy.

Samsung Galaxy S7

As for the seventh series, there are nuances that make this repair option less attractive. Despite the fact that changing boards on the "seven" is quite easy - just peel off the back cover, unscrew a few screws, replacing the motherboard will not make such a "demo" a full-fledged phone. The fact is that the S7 / S7edge live demo unit on the lower loop does not have the necessary elements, including a signal amplifier.

Therefore, even with a full board, communication will be in the 2G range and very uncertain in the 4G range. But you can call it a connection only with a very big stretch. In order for the phone to start catching the network, it is necessary to replace the lower cable, which in the case of the seventh generation becomes a non-trivial task, since this will require detaching the display from the frame. The fact is that, as I already wrote in one of my past materials, the sensors of the bottom buttons are made in the form of small loops wound from the bottom board between the screen and the frame of the case.

It is very difficult to unstick the display itself, and not every service center will undertake it. When the display is detached, such troubles as peeling of paint from the glass, damage to the glass itself and, in fact, the most unpleasant thing are damage to the display matrix.

There is, of course, the option of simply soldering the missing elements from a full loop to the “demo” loop, but even here such an enthusiast expects difficulties in the form of having to solder directly in the case, but it will not work to install some elements without a hairdryer. And to use a hair dryer inside the case means a high probability of melting something superfluous.

In addition, the "demo" of the "seven" is different in that it has a button instead of a fingerprint scanner. Yes, and again no firmware will help to activate this very imprint - it simply is not there. The Home button is just a clicker. This was done so that all sorts of not very developed in terms of intellect personalities with a perverted sense of humor would not block exhibition samples with their prints. So to speak, protection from the fool.

Thus, the use of the demo version of the Galaxy S7 / S7 edge makes sense if you can peel off the display from the frame or know how to solder very small elements and you don’t need a fingerprint scanner.

Samsung Galaxy S8 and S9

As for the eighth and ninth generations, then everything is much simpler. The demo versions of these smartphones also lack a fingerprint scanner, but given its location on the back surface, its installation does not carry any difficulties and is made easily and naturally.

The same applies to the lower loop. The S8 / S8 plus, and the S9 / S9 plus do not have touch buttons under the display, which means that no loops go under the screen, and so the bottom loop changes very easily.

In terms of the feasibility of repairing with the purchase of a “Live Demo Unit” version of the device, the latest Galaxy generations lead by a wide margin.

Conclusion

As it often happens, the simplest and almost risk-free option is also the most expensive - a complete replacement of the display with the original one in the frame (the so-called service kit). In this case, you will receive a practically new phone, the display of which will work in the same way as the phone display from the store.

In the case of glass plywood, most likely, everything will go smoothly and you will not encounter black spots or bubbles, and your phone will live happily ever after or until the first drop, as there is a risk that the new glass will not be original and hardened, as durable as the one Samsung puts in its factories. Or maybe it will (depending on the workshop and on the greed of the master).

In the case of buying a donor Live demo unit, you need to weigh the pros and cons and either be prepared to compromise, or be able to work well with your hands or a soldering iron, or to prepare an nth amount for a person who knows all this.

It turns out that in the case of the flagships from Samsung, the most reliable way is not to drop your phone. Well, or buy insurance on the display together with the phone, but even this has its own nuances and pitfalls, about which a little later.