[watson524]

Geez.... I just had to reinstall my OS on my torch and now my husband dropped his and shattered the screen. The screen protector held all the shards in place and it looks like the track pad thing and buttons work ok but the glass is in pieces. I think the digitizer (that's the part under the top glass right?) is ok though. Also the shiny silver parts around the edges got pretty dinged up in the fall (he has the black torch).

Is this a DIY project? If so, is it like my old iPhone where glass and digitizer were one unit and both had to be replaced?

What are folks thoughts on this?

thanks!

[brendonlee]

Dang did he drop it from the roof?
Lookup "blackberry torch disassembly" on you tube and check out the videos to see if you comfortable doing it. I'm guessing no insurance on it, right?

[watson524]

Nope, no insurance. Was sitting in the car looking at something, forgot it was in his lap, got out and there it went into the gravel driveway. Might have also put his foot on it on the way out................

I'm reading something about some glue or adhesive that is needed and I wasn't sure about that part. My iphone screen and digitizer came as one unit already (and took the guy in the apple store 10 minutes to do it and politely charge me $200!!!)

[homer1475]

The digitizer is what you put your finger on, that's what broke.

Ive taken a few apart now and unless you have all the necessary tools I wouldn't recommend it. It's actually quite difficult to get the digitizer off the bezel and glued back down without messing something up. By time you get it tore down I'm going to bet you'll need an lcd also which is quite costly. Hopefully your carrying insurance(125$ deductible for me) and you can have it replaced that way, in the long run it will most likely be cheaper. Just have a look at the price of a digitizer and lcd combo(well over 200$).

[ShoshiOne]

Ouch! That is just a travesty. Hopefully you can find a way to fix it.

Like brandonlee said, you can look at the teardown video. You can also ask around electronic stores and see if they will replace the screen. It wouldn't hurt to just ask how much it would be and compare it to how much you would pay for parts or a replacement.

Good luck!

[brendonlee]

Yea it'll be pretty complicated and since you have no insurance....maybe try Craigslist to pickup a used one?

[watson524]

Ok we found this place that replaces lcd and digitizer for $65 (i assume it's both since they mention the single assembly) https://forums.crackberry.com/e?link...token=H_xGhRNX

then on crackberry i found
https://forums.crackberry.com/e?link...token=H_xGhRNX

which is $169 and does both

either of those seem reasonable....

but then what about the bezel? am i correctly naming the two silver rings? are those easy to repair ourselves?

[brendonlee]

Ok we found this place that replaces lcd and digitizer for $65 (i assume it's both since they mention the single assembly) https://forums.crackberry.com/e?link...token=H_xGhRNX

then on crackberry i found
https://forums.crackberry.com/e?link...token=H_xGhRNX

which is $169 and does both

either of those seem reasonable....

but then what about the bezel? am i correctly naming the two silver rings? are those easy to repair ourselves?

You really gotta look at the video and decide for yourself. We don't know what your technical abilities are...

If it were me, I'd try it, but I can't advise someone else to try something like that.

[homer1475]

Ok we found this place that replaces lcd and digitizer for $65 (i assume it's both since they mention the single assembly) https://forums.crackberry.com/e?link...token=H_xGhRNX

then on crackberry i found
https://forums.crackberry.com/e?link...token=H_xGhRNX

which is $169 and does both

either of those seem reasonable....

but then what about the bezel? am i correctly naming the two silver rings? are those easy to repair ourselves?

The bottom ring(the one around the keyboard and it's called a bezel), is quite simply to replace(4 screws if memory serves me right). The top bezel the digitizer is glued to it and requires you to completely tear it apart. Might want to ask for them to replace it when replacing the lcd and digitizer.

[watson524]

from what we see in the video, those two rings just snap off. but if we send it out to be done, i'm wondering if these places would do those too. if not, when it comes back, we were figuring do that part ourselves if we can get parts. i just don't know if that's the correct term for it.

[watson524]

Do the pros have to replace the LCD when replacing the digitizer? It looks like they do since most places are saying it's a single unit anyway.

[watson524]

my posts are clearly coming in out of order.... but yeah, so bottom bezel it looks like we can do, top, let the pros do i guess.

[brendonlee]

my posts are clearly coming in out of order.... but yeah, so bottom bezel it looks like we can do, top, let the pros do i guess.

Yes bottom bezel is fairly simple and is one of the first pieces to come off.

Good luck!

[homer1475]

Do the pros have to replace the LCD when replacing the digitizer? It looks like they do since most places are saying it's a single unit anyway.

No, the digitizer and lcd are 2 separate pieces. But typically when replacing the digitizer one would also need to replace the lcd, probably why most places sell them as a unit, although you can buy them separately.

[watson524]

Ok. I think the place we found for $65 is just the digitizer. I guess they're noting that the digitizer and lass are one unit vs the digitizer and LCD...... Should we be asking about how they adhere the digitizer back to the LCD? I'm reading about glue, etc. etc to make a good seal.

[watson524]

The other thought is pay a penny for a refurb from AT&T, even though it means an $18 fee and extending the contract 2 years (which is no problem for us)... but I don't know if AT&T would let us get the penny deal that's on now since it's not time for an upgrade on his line........

[brendonlee]

The other thought is pay a penny for a refurb from AT&T, even though it means an $18 fee and extending the contract 2 years (which is no problem for us)... but I don't know if AT&T would let us get the penny deal that's on now since it's not time for an upgrade on his line........

If you have another line that has an upgrade available, you can use that.
Or if you had your blackberry for 6 months, you can switch to an iPhone 3GS for $250 (not something I'd do, but my wife did this).

[watson524]

unfortunately, we don't..... we have 3 lines on the plan. one upgraded in october (my husbands), my mom's in december and mine in january (all on torches). also, i left my iphone 3gs for the torch..... none of us like it so it's sitting on my desk idle..... looks like they have a $9.99 option too (which is how i got mine, my mom's and my husband's were new).

[watson524]

huh, looks like we might be able to get an upgrade on his line (we're on a premier business account because of who he works for) but the penny refurb torches are only for new users, but they have black, which is what he wants, and red.... the 9.99 refurbs are available to us, but they only have red. seems crummy that new users get a better selection and price than long term customers. have to see about that tomorrow when i call the business customer service.

interestingly, it looks like on ebay they are going for $150 - $200 in the condition my husband's is currently in so even if we had to pay $99 + $18 to get a new one in black, we'll still come out ahead..... though we might wait a few days and see if a black one turns up in the 9.99 deal since he put his sim in his old phone and can at least use that for a few days. anyone know how often they change refurb offerings?

[luqman24]

I've done that once and when I saw it face down (fell screen first) my heart started beating as if I was in a horror movie lol. Nothing happened to my phone at all which was a huuuuge relief. But I feel bad for you, how unfortunate