iPhone 8 Plus Screen Replacement

Power off and remove the bottom screws

Back up and power the phone off. Remove the two P2 pentalobe screws on either side of the Lightning port. If the screen is cracked, cover it with packing tape first so glass doesn’t flake and the suction cup can grip.

Soften the adhesive

Warm the edges of the screen evenly for 2–3 minutes. The glass should feel hot but still comfortable to hold.

Cut the adhesive around the sides and top

Put the suction cup just above the home button, not on it, and lift just enough for a hairline gap. Slide a pick in and cut along both long sides. Keep the pick shallow, a few millimeters at most, so you don’t catch the display cables.

The top edge is held by plastic clips, so don’t pry it. Slide the display a millimeter or two toward the bottom of the phone to release the clips, then cut across the top. Don’t lift the bottom edge more than about 5°.

Open the display like a book

The display stays attached by short cables along one long edge, and that edge acts as the hinge. Lift the free edge, open it to about 90° and lean it on something sturdy so the cables aren’t holding its weight.

Disconnect the battery, then the display

Remove the Phillips screws from the lower connector bracket and lift it off. Keep the screws in order; they are different lengths.

Unplug the battery cable first, then the two display cables. Remove the Phillips screws from the small upper bracket and unplug the front camera and sensor cable.

Remove the display

Lift the display away and lay it face down on a clean, soft surface.

Move the home button

On the back of the old display, remove the Phillips screws from the home button bracket and lift the bracket off. Gently peel the home button cable away and push the button out from the front of the glass.

Fit it into the new screen the same way and refit the bracket. Only your original home button can do Touch ID. If it’s damaged, a replacement button may work as a button at best.

Move the earpiece and front camera

Remove the screws from the earpiece bracket and lift out the earpiece speaker. Then carefully peel up the front camera and sensor cable, which is lightly glued down, and move it with its small brackets to the new screen.

Seat the proximity sensor squarely in its bracket. If it sits crooked, the screen won’t turn off when you hold the phone to your ear.

Check the back plate

Our screen already has the metal back plate fitted. If yours doesn’t, move the plate from the old screen with its screws.

Clean the frame

Peel the old adhesive off the frame with tweezers, pulling at a low angle, then wipe away what’s left with isopropyl alcohol. Only clean the outer edges of the display.

Lay down the new adhesive

Peel the films from the new screen. Line the adhesive up with the frame, pull the bottom liner while pressing it down, and run a spudger around the edge two or three times.

Connect the new display

Hold the new display beside the phone in the open position. Connect the front camera and sensor cable, then the display cables, and the battery last. Refit the brackets and their screws in the same holes they came from.

Power on briefly to check picture and touch before you seal it, then power off again.

Close, press and test

Peel the remaining liners, check for loose screws, lower the display and press all four corners at once, then along the edges until it clicks flush. Clamp it for several minutes and reinstall the two bottom screws.

Test touch across the whole screen, the home button and Touch ID, the front camera, the earpiece and that the screen turns off when you hold it to your ear during a call. True Tone stays off on a new screen unless the original screen’s data is copied over with a screen programmer, and some models show a one-time notice that the display can’t be verified. Both are normal for any non-Apple screen.