Replacing the Galaxy S7 screen is almost impossible according to iFixit

Research by repair website iFixit shows that the Samsung Galaxy S7 is very difficult to repair yourself. During a complete dissection of the smartphone, it became clear that many repairs are likely to break the screen.

For example, if the USB port needs to be replaced, the screen must first be removed, and there is a good chance that the OLED display will not survive. Furthermore, replacing the glass of the S7 probably also leads to a broken screen. If a user still wants to try to remove and replace the screen, there are quite a number of steps before that. This probably has to do with the waterproofness of the smartphone.

For starters, the outside of glass is secured with glue. When the adhesive is removed, there is access to a flat surface with screws, which also contains the speaker and antennas. Removing the screws provides access to the battery, among other things. It is securely fastened and does not appear to be intended to be replaced. At this point, the cameras can also be removed, after which there is access to the motherboard. Below that is another daughter plate. Removing the signs will allow access to the LED cables of the S7’s buttons. These cables are wrapped around the frame that supports the screen. To replace the screen, these cables must first be worked on the side. After this has been done, the OLED screen can finally be removed.

The S6 also made it difficult for users to replace parts such as the screen themselves. There too, it was already warned that removing the glass would probably lead to the screen breaking. With the Galaxy S6, it was also the case that the screen had to be removed to replace the USB port, for example.

Opening the S7 also offered a look at the ‘water-cooled’ system in the smartphone. It appears to be a very thin heatpipe about half a millimeter thick with less than half a gram of material. Technically, it does use fluid to move heat.

Removing the glass from the S7. Source: iFixit