Matt Zieminski

I have a universal light switch that I've used for many purposes over the years. It's about 2 or 3 years old at this...

Treat any repair like surgery and do as the surgeons do: look for a noninvasive way to resolve the problem. (1) Double check the charging cables and wall adapters you are usinge are MFi Certified. This standard of certification is produced by Apple for accessory makers and certifies that your accessories will work as designed without damaging the device. If you don't have the original cases for the accessories you can use the purchase price to tell. If you bought the accessory for less than $3, chances are you don't have a certified item. It lacks the chip (which costs $3) necessary. (2) Shine a light into your charging port and look for signs of lint or dirt/dust blocking the charge. You can take a toothpick, SIM card eject tool, or tweezers to scrape out the gunk. (3) Check the SIM Card Tray area for a tripped Water Damage Indicator. This can be found by removing the tray and looking up (towards the screen) from the bottom for a little circular sticker. White = No water. Pink = Water. If there's been...

You probably damaged your LCD when you threw the device. You'll want to pick up a new iPhone 6s LCD and repair it: iPhone 6s LCD and Digitizer

From what I've been able to tell looking at the connectors the LCD may be compatible but the digitizer is not.

Does it give you any feedback when you flip the switch like it normally would or is it hard to press? It's possible the activator switch went out and you require a replacement Volume/Power button switch. The repair isn't the easiest to do but it is possible. iPhone 6 Audio Control Cable

(1) To view the SIM, IMEI, and Serial Number, from any screen, swipe down from the notification bar. (2) Tap Wireless. (3) Tap Mobile Network. (4) Tap Advanced Network Settings. (5) IMEI and SIM Serial Number will be displayed. (6) To view the device Serial Number, from any screen, swipe down from the notification bar. (7) Tap Settings. (8) Tap Device Options. (9) The device Serial Number will be displayed.

Did you try putting the old screen back on the device? It is possible the new screen is drawing too much power and messing the power-regulation that the iPhone traditionally employs with the components. I've seen some low-quality or defective screens cause power fluctuations in the device in the past that was only resolved by replacing said screen. It is also possible that the device is experiencing Tristar disease. Repair shops have been inundated with these issues as of late. It's caused by using non-Certified charging cables and accessories that power through the lightning port. It's pretty hard to tell without a full-on teardown of the cable (that would break it, obviously) but a good rule of thumb is if the cable cost less than $5 and came from a gas station, it's not a certified cable. Certified Cables, or mFI cables, employ a U2 chip that regulates power like a surge protector. If this is the case the phone will need board level repair on that chip to be up and running again.

If you've recently repaired your iPhone it could be that you've damaged the Touch ID cable. On the iPhone 5s and SE this cable is tricky to maneuver and disconnect without tearing and, if you do, you lose Touch ID Functionality. A couple thoughts that might help you out: (1) Try removing the Tempered Glass Screen Protector and setting up Touch ID from Settings > Touch ID & Passcode. Add your Left and Right Thumb and whatever your dominant hand pointer finger is. Then "train" the device to better recognize those fingerprints by holding those fingers over the sensor on that initial "Touch ID & Passcode" screen. You'll notice under "Fingerprints" that the corresponding finger highlights in grey for a brief second each time. This is helping the iPhone better account for the variations in your fingerprint. (2) Make sure your screen is clean. Take a microfiber cloth and some screen cleaning solution (or rubbing alcohol, if you don't have any lying around) and clean the entirety of the screen. Additionally, make...

Apple released a standard for charging accessories called "Made for iPhone". You'll often see this logo on packages when you shop for accessories. Specifically, this standard ensures there's a chip in the cable that stops a power surge (in basic terms) from blowing out components on your phone. Repair shops are being inundated with repairs for the U2 Tristar chip that gets damaged when using aftermarket, cheap cables. https://developer.apple.com/programs/mfi... You can still buy a non-OEM cable however it must be "Certified Made for iPhone (MFi)". This chip costs about $3 to manufacture, so any dealer selling you a cable for less than $5 is probably selling you cheap knockoffs that will ruin your phone. For what it's worth, iFixit sells certified charging cables at a reasonable price here: Lightning to USB Charging Cable

The device is different but you may find the "Most Helpful Answer" on this previous Answers post to be, well, helpful: ZIF connector is broken, is there a way to replace it? As far as a source I recommend microsolderingsupply.com or another microsoldering supply store.

Apple might be your best bet to regain access while retaining your information: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201365 Hopefully you kept proof of purchase for who you purchased it from. Otherwise it's highly unlikely Apple will help you.

It’s cool to see that parts are backwards (and in some cases forward) compatible, but we really need a more thorough run through the paces of the key features the define the iPhone SE from the iPhone 5S of yesterday. Technical deep dives into the Touch ID hardware, the parts’ demand on the A13 vs the older processor, etc. would be cool to look at.

Again a reference back to the merits of “upgrade” for the sake of efficiencies. If the iPhone SE has a better processor, and the parts are redesigned for 2020 but work the same with the iPhone 8 models, it stands to reason that inputting the older components in the newer device will result in some reduction on processing intensity and thereby battery life gains.

The specs really should be compared apples to apples (pun intended). If there is any advantage in the iPhone SE to the iPhone 8, or vice versa, it gives DIYers a reason to upgrade specs in a device to keep it running with the latest technology. Even if there’s no practical spec increase to be had it may be worth it just for the sake of efficiencies that Apple developed in the iPhone SE hardware release.

The connector mis-match issue is likely something that the aftermarket parts manufacturers will fix in the coming months/years. The fix should be fairly straightforward if all else is the same.

There is an update in the works!

I can only speculate as to why Apple won't acknowledge the issue. They have a history of ignoring or avoiding a problem until things get to a breaking point, however.

Great idea! I'll update the guide now to include a link to that article.

Hey that's a good point! A repair shop can generally fix this by fixing the solder, the point of failure in these devices. It won't necessarily protect it forever from having the same issue but it will restore functionality for the foreseeable future. I'll update the guide to detail that!

Typically repair shops (including Apple) have always just swapped out the screens. However as the LCDs get more complicated and the price goes up on these repairers are turning towards more economical methods like screen refurbishment. A lot of times the cost of a glass-only repair vs a full display assembly is less than half! But it's a lot more complicated, as evidenced.