DIY: iCracked My iPhone 5S Screen... and iFixed it (by myself)!

And it took a LONG time.  3+ hours to be almost exact, but that was with a toddler and her curious older brother hovering around wondering why their mommy was bent intensely over the dining room table.

Overview:
Skill Level: Extreme beginner
Time: 3+ hours (with distractions)
Equipment: iCracked iPhone 5S Screen Replacement Kit, fine razor blade or equivalent (I used a box cutter as it was the only really sharp and thin object I had on hand), device with Internet connection to watch the tutorial as you go
Cost: $55-$65
Fine Motor Skill: High (the tiny screws on the iPhone are... TINY)

Let me start by saying that this project is NOT for the faint of heart.  There are many, many ways (it seems) that things can go wrong, but over everything, it requires an enormous amount of patience and time for a newbie.

I did not spend hours looking through video tutorials.  I did however read about the palatability of the project and the opinions were 50-50.  Some successes and some fails.  I was also determined not to spend hundreds of dollars on a new phone, or even on professional repair.  So I took my chances.

My beloved phone screen cracked in the most unexpected way.  I've dropped in on several occasions, but my Speck case had always saved it.  So if you really want to know: as I was strapping my toddler into her car seat, I tossed my phone, keys and shopping receipt onto the front driver's seat so my hands were free of clutter.  Unfortunately, my driver-seat door was wide open, so the phone bounced off the seat and fell, face down, onto hard cement.  Unsuspecting me, after making sure my daughter was well secured, picked up my phone, and my mouth fell open...

I called local iPhone repair stores and the quotes I received ranged from $129-$199+.  I did not dare call Apple, partially because I read somewhere their price was in excess of $200.  I quickly surfed the web for DIY possibilities and came across iCracked iPhone screens.
I didn't want to waste too much time/effort in trying to find the cheapest DIY kit possible (although I did see some for cheap on eBay and Amazon), but I did try to look for the most reliable one.  With Black Friday specials, I ended up paying about $55 for the kit, with shipping!

It was a Friday when I heard the plop of the box through my mailbox at my front door.  I knew it was here.  My son was at school and my daughter was taking a nap.  I had 1 hour before it was time to leave to pick my son up!  Perfect afternoon project!  I ripped apart the box and took a pic of the contents:

The box had very simple instructions on what to do.  As instructed, I turned on iCracked's YouTube tutorial, which was 44+minutes long.  The perfect amount of time before I had to pick up my son! Or so I thought.

The first step was by far the most time consuming - removing the logic board (the screen) from the frame.  Basically you need a suction cup and a blade.  As I said above, I didn't have a blade, so ended up using a box cutter that I had handy.  I really didn't find the suction cup to be too helpful, probably because my phone was cracked near the home button, and the suction cup really needs to stick firmly on the glass.  I spent so much time trying to pry out the board that I looked to other youtube videos for help.  All the videos made use of the suction cup.  Bummer.  So I kept trying.  The trick is, after removing the screws, to really wedge your way (VERY carefully and not too deeply so not to damage any components) between the frame and the logic board and create some space to shimmy out the board.  Once out, be careful not to pull too hard because there are ribbons/cables attaching the board to the rest of the phone.  So the first 10 minutes of the tutorial took me 45 minutes!   Time to pick my little guy up from school.

Upon our return, I was already too deep into this project (and pretty excited that I had finally gotten the logic board out) to stop.  So with the 2 kids within sight, I turned on the TV for them (the only true 30-minute distraction) and got back to work.  Of course, the TV didn't do much for them as they were more curious in what I was doing.  But oh well... such is life!  At some point however, with all the tiny screws on my table, I broke out the snacks to keep their cute little talkative mouths and curious hands occupied.  Concentration is key, and there were several parts of the tutorial I had to repeat multiple times to get myself familiar with the orientation and layout of the innards of my phone.

One other time consuming part for me was putting the bracket to the ear-speaker back on (the 28min45sec mark on the tutorial).  Thank goodness my husband had come back home from work and took care of dinner for the kids!  There is a little hinge that needs to hook on to a bezel, and if not done correctly, could affect the vibration mechanism of the phone itself.  I had no idea what the bezel was supposed to look like and although I'm a big fan of the thoroughness of the tutorial, I think it could have done a better job showing exactly where and how the hinge needed to be fixed onto this bezel.  I clumsily tried a few times until something clicked, and at that point, I just crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.

Putting everything back together didn't take long, although collectively, my time was spent preparing bacon-wrapped dates for a holiday party that night (my amazing husband had pitted the dates after feeding the kids -- seriously, I need to start buying PITTED dates), signing docs with a visiting loan officer to whom he was tending, welcoming the babysitter for the night, allaying the kids as they wanted only their parents to stay and play with them, and getting ready for the party!  Truthfully, with 2 last screws, hooking up the home button/biometric scanner and a test procedure remaining, I left the remainder of the project to later that night!  BUT before I put it aside, I HAD to turn it on after connecting the battery back in...

MOMENT OF TRUTH.  I hit the power button.  The white screen with the black Apple logo popped on.  And stayed on.  For a long time.  Just as I was telling my husband I had screwed something up, UP came my screensaver!  Initial success!!  Time to party!

We returned at 10:30 and I spent the last few moments finishing up my phone and prettying her up so she looked as good as new!  Would I do this again?  It will certainly take me less time than the first, but it depends on my mood and motivation I guess!   
Oh - one last thing.  iCracked actually provides a shipping label to mail the damaged screen back to them so they can correctly dispose of it!  Isn't that cool?