I enjoy fishing. Since moving to Idaho, I have been able to do a great deal more fishing. I find it a great way to relax, enjoy God’s beautiful creation, and enjoy the good company of my brother, friends, and my family. I always look forward to spring and the anticipation that builds in getting back out onto the water and casting my line.

Last week, I was given the Outdoor section of the Coeur d’Alene Press by my brother who encouraged me to read the article, “Spring is in the air.” I started reading with enthusiasm, hoping to find some great information related to the upcoming fishing season. However, I was greeted by a very poorly written article. Within the span of four paragraphs, their article contained three terrible mistakes.

It really irks me to see this happen. It’s irritating on two fronts. First of all, three completely incorrect words were used: “still leader, trouble hooks” and “a big husky.” What’s wrong? Well, the words that should have been used are “steel leader, treble hooks” and “a big musky.” Obviously the writer of the article doesn’t have a clue about fishing-especially local fishing, which is the second way that it annoys me. It’s fine that the writer doesn’t have direct fishing experience. However, what is NOT okay is the fact that the writer doesn’t care enough about the article or their readers to do proper research on the correct terminology.

I would expect our local newspaper to at least cover the local news correctly. Fishing isn’t just a minor sport around our parts. Fishing is a major activity and the paper should realize this and make sure that their articles are correct. Secondly, the proofreading process at the CDA Press is seriously flawed. Who’s checking their articles? Anyone?

Near the end of February I inadvertently knocked my iPhone off of a countertop. When I picked it back up, I realized that tragedy had struck…the screen on my iPhone was severely cracked. Although I was extremely disheartened about the incident, I was thankful that the digitizer and the lcd were okay and everything functioned properly. Also, I was fortunate in that I had a screen protector in place because this held the broken pieces of glass in place. Here’s a picture of my phone right after the trauma occurred:

Now then, let me back up just a little in my story. Just about two weeks before I broke the screen, I replaced the silicone cover on my iPhone. The one I had been using had ripped. What’s interesting to note is that my original case had thicker, reinforced corners to absorb shock. In the past, I had dropped my iPhone and experienced no problems whatsoever. The newer case I had put on just prior to the incident did NOT have thicker corners and I think that was a major contributing factor to the destruction of my screen.

So, once the shock had worn off after the incident, I called Apple only to discover that my warranty had expired. What did I do next? I turned to Google. I searched around and found some scary videos of people replacing the screens on their iPhones. Videos that showed people with ice picks and butter knives prying glass out. This terrified me. Then, I found a guy on Craigslist that said he could replace the glass for $60 and it would take about an hour. But then, he disappeared from Craigslist and never called me back. That left me with a feeling about this guy that I can only describe as “shifty”.

What did I do then? I turned back to Google thinking there must be another alternative to ice picks, butter knives, and safety glasses to get my screen repaired. Fortunately, I came across a site and a video that finally convinced me that I didn’t have to go out and purchase a completely new phone. I found eTechParts.com and the following video:

After watching this video, I was convinced that I could do the repair myself and ordered the parts. However, I decided to spend an additional $20 and buy the complete assembly that included the screen, digitizer, and lcd. Why? Because I wasn’t comfortable removing the old lcd and frame from my old one and installing it onto the other new parts. I feared that I would get a fingerprint, a hair, or dust in-between the lcd and the other pieces. I didn’t want to be constantly irritated every time I looked at my iPhone and saw it in there. I also didn’t want to have to disassemble it and attempt to remove it.

The parts arrived (yesterday) and I tackled the job. Powered off my iPhone, removed the SIM card, removed the two bottom screws, removed the cracked screen assembly with the very important suction cup, and disconnected the 3 power connections. Installing the new assembly was pretty quick and painless.

While on my way to Best Buy (to buy a new case), I did discover that something had gone awry. When my wife called me, I could not hear her at all. So, upon my return home, I again disassembled the phone to find that I had not properly secured one of the three power connections. Once this was remedied, I reassembled the phone and successfully tested it.

So, I’m back in business with a phone that isn’t leaking little pieces of glass. Yay!

My recommendations to anyone else who finds themselves in the nightmarish position of having a cracked iPhone screen?

1. Go to eTechParts.com and order what you need.
2. Watch their instructional videos.
3. Once your repair is completed, go get a new cover that is more protective than what you had previously. Again, I turned to Google and found the Otterbox Defender Case. Yes, it’s bulky, but it’s also going to offer my expensive phone a good deal of protection. I purchased my Otterbox case at Best Buy here in Coeur d’Alene.

Here are some pictures (I apologize for the low quality…our nice camera was unavailable) of the different stages of my iPhone repair: