Before you start
This repair guide will show you step-by-step how to use your newly purchased iTG® display glass repair set to repair your Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphone. It is compatible with model SM-G920F.
As the repair procedure is essentially the same, this guide can also be used with our repair set for the Samsung Galaxy S7 smartphone. This is compatible with model SM-G930F.
Please make sure all the parts of the supplied repair set are included. If you find that there is something missing or damaged, please contact us before proceeding.
WARNING: The display glass repair procedure for the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S7 is particularly difficult, much more so than that for the S5 and earlier models of the Galaxy smartphone. If not enough care is taken, it is quite easy to crack the digitizer while attempting to separate the display glass. Once damaged, the digitizer cannot be replaced by itself and a complete new display unit will need to be installed. Please only attempt this repair if you are not worried about possibly needing to purchase and replace a complete display unit if it is unsuccessful. If not, we highly recommend consulting a professional repair technician.
the repair procedure
Before starting with our repair instructions, we recommend first watching the following repair video made by Youtube user How2Tech. While not exactly the same as our procedure, this will give you a quick overview of the steps involved as well showing you that it is possible to complete the repair successfully.
You Will Need
- The iTG® repair set for the correct model smartphone.
- Heat gun / hair dryer / our UFiX Heat Bag (available here) or other way to heat the display glass.
- EVOBOND Debonder / LOCA glue remover / WD40 / isopropyl alcohol and a lint-free cloth.
- Lens cleaner / glass cleaner.
- Patience (usual repair time: 1 – 2hrs but can take longer depending on how cracked the glass is).
You May Also Need
- Infrared thermometer (available here).
- Suction Cup Pliers (available here).
- Clear packing tape / sellotape.
- Tweezers.
- Rubber gloves.
- If attempting the glue bonding procedure (recommended): LOCA UV liquid glue, a UV light source and 2mm double-sided tape. These can be purchased together as part of our iTG® PROFI Smartphone Display Glass Gluing Set here.
UPDATE
We would like to recommend our new, ultra thin, flexible spring steel opening tool for seperating the display glass from the smartphone digitizer. This tool can be used in place of the PVC seperator cards in the following guide. While it is perfectly possible to complete the repair successfully using the included PVC cards, our opening tool is specially designed to be easy to handle, being thinner and therefore reducing the chance of causing damage to the digitizer while attempting to seperate the display glass. For more information or to make a purchase, please view our Amazon page here.
Let’s Begin!
Step 1
Remove both the SIM card and microSD memory card if present. To do this, insert the card tray removal tool into the small hole on the side of the phone. Press gently and the tray should pop out.
Remove the tray.
The following steps require lots of patience. Be careful and take your time!
Step 2
Using your selected heating method (such as our UFiX Heat Bag), heat the surface of the display glass to approximately 80-90°C. This melts the glue that holds the glass to the display. This will loosen the glue but should not damage the electronics.
If you have one available, use an infrared thermometer (recommended) to check the temperature. If you don’t have a thermometer, heat the glass until you can no longer touch it with your bare finger. (Slightly hotter than 90°C is ok.)
When using a heat gun, hold the gun at least 5 cm from your phone (in the picture it looks closer). With the heat gun set to low, heat the glass for 3 to 5 minutes (depends on the strength of your heat gun). When using a hairdryer it will take longer.
You must be careful when applying heat. If the display is heated up too much it may melt the digitizer and cause discoloration. It is however important to heat the glue sufficiently so that the glass can be separated from the digitizer without applying excessive force. If you start to see any discoloration then shut off the gun IMMEDIATELY. When using an infrared thermometer you should be able to avoid this.
Step 3
Using the supplied iTG® metal opening tool, very carefully start to work at the edges to separate the glass. Make sure to work from the top of the phone to the bottom.
It is helpful to leave the supplied iTG® separator cards in place as you go, in order to keep the glass separated from the glue as it cools. You will need to keep reapplying heat to the glass approximately every 30 seconds for around 1-2 minutes while you work, as the glass will cool down quickly.
Be careful along the bottom edge of the screen as the 2 touch keys and home button are glued to the glass. Leave these until last if possible. (They need to be detached before the glass screen is removed.)
Step 4
Once you have separated the edges of the glass, very slowly start to work your way in towards the digitizer, reapplying heat as needed.
Use the supplied iTG® separator cards to work against the glue to separate the glass. As the thin PVC is flexible it will reduce the risk of damaging the digitizer.
Again work from top to bottom and keep reapplying heat as required.
For glass which is heavily cracked you will need to be extra careful not to damage the screen with the shattered glass pieces. If you find that the glue is giving too much resistance, it means that you haven’t heated up the glass enough. Putting too much pressure on the glue when it isn’t sufficiently melted can easily cause damage to the digitizer. Don’t be afraid to re-apply heat often.
Step 5
Once you think the glass is completely separated, don’t immediately try to remove the whole piece! The 2 touch buttons and home button at the bottom of the screen must first be detached.
Carefully pull the screen from the top, opening it like a book. You should now be able to see the touch buttons.
With the metal opening tool, carefully detach the buttons from the inner side of the glass. A little heat may be necessary.
Step 6
Remove the broken display glass.
If the display glass is very shattered you may need to pick out any small pieces using the supplied tweezers. This will take extra time.
You can now turn on the phone to check if the display stills works. If no image appears after a few seconds, this mean that the digitizer was damaged during the removal of the glass. There is now no point in continuing with the glass repair as the only solution is unfortunately to replace the entire display unit.
Step 7
Remove any adhesive tape that is left stuck around the edge of the screen. For this it is helpful to use a pair of tweezers.
To remove any leftover glue from the display, apply a small amount of cleaning liquid and wipe with a lint-free cloth. (We recommend using special glue remover such as EVOBOND Debonder, but a small amount of WD40 applied to the cloth also works well. Just don’t use too much). You can then scrape off the loosened glue with your finger or a PVC card, just don’t press too hard.
iTG Tip! A piece of packaging tape folded back on itself (sticky side out) is useful here to dab onto the screen and remove any small loose spots of glue. Just make sure you don’t press too hard on the digitizer.
When cleaning off the glue, do NOT attempt to scrape glue out of the cracks between the digitizer and the frame. A very small amount of force towards the centre or from underneath will crack the display.
Step 8
Remove any leftover smudges from the display using lens cleaning wipes or glass cleaner and a clean lint-free cloth. Try not to leave any fluff or dust on the display as it will be trapped in once the new display glass is fitted. Make sure the home and touch buttons are pressed back down into place.
At this point you can apply the LOCA UV liquid glue if you wish. It is not essential (see our disclaimer) but we do recommend it for this repair. Without it the functionality of the touch screen may become impaired. If you would like to attempt it, you can follow our universal guide here.
Step 9
Now you need to apply the 3M pre-cut adhesive sheet included with your repair set to the glass. Lay the sheet on a clean, flat, dust free surface and remove the large clear plastic protective layer so that the adhesive remains fixed to the coloured plastic.
Now peel back and remove the protective clear plastic from the back of the new display glass. Be careful not to touch the display part of the glass as you do this as it can leave marks or smudges (wear rubber gloves if possible).
Lay the adhesive onto the back face of the glass, so that it lines up with the edges all the way around. It should fit perfectly.
Make sure the adhesive is pressed down firmly enough so that when you peel back the coloured protective layer, the adhesive stays glued to the glass.
There should be a small piece of the coloured plastic that is still attached to the adhesive. Peel this back and remove it.
STEP 10
It is now finally time to install your new display glass!
Carefully move the glass into position above the frame of the phone. Start by fixing the bottom edge of the glass, making sure that the touch buttons and home button are correctly positioned.
Lower the glass down into position and press into place. Make sure it is properly fixed all the way round and is lying flush with the frame. You can now remove the top layer of protective plastic from the glass.
Step 11
Reinstall the SIM card and microSD card (the reverse of the removal procedure).
Step 12
You can now switch your phone back on and make sure it is all working correctly.
Now pat yourself on the back for a job well done 🙂