DIY: Repairing iPhone camera glass

A picture says more than a thousand words.

As you can see if the camera glass has a small crack there will eventually be dust on top of the lens and really reduce the image quality.
This is just a quick tutorial on how to fix a broken camera glass on an iPhone 7 (works for 8 and SE 2nd Edition as well - probably applicable for other series).
I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the total repair was actually pretty simple and took only 5-10 minutes.

Full set of tools

• Set with glue and new camera glass
• Pair of small tweezers
• Cotton swab
• Water / display cleaner
• Broken iPhone

Step 1

Completely remove the broken glass with a pair of small tweezers. This requires some force due to the glue but be careful to not damage the lens itself.

Step 2

Clean the lens with some small tissue / cotton swab (and water / display cleaner - depends on the amount of dust). Again be really careful and don’t apply too much pressure otherwise you might damage the autofocus. If completed take a picture and check if there are any dust spots left.

Step 3

Place the new glue ring (double-sided tape) on top of the border around the lens and make sure it does not overlap. Then press glue firmly and remove upper side from the tape.

Step 4

Place the new camera glass on top of the tape. Be careful to not touch the glass with your fingers since may cause visible finger/fat prints. Again apply some pressure to strengthen the glue.

Complete

And voilà everything complete

Personal Blog written by Nicolas Gehlert, software developer from Freiburg im Breisgau. Developer & Papa. Github | Twitter

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