iPad Air Wi-Fi Rear Case Replacement

Place the iOpener in the center of the microwave.

Heat the iOpener for thirty seconds.

Throughout the repair procedure, as the iOpener cools, reheat it in the microwave for an additional thirty seconds at a time.

Remove the iOpener from the microwave, holding it by one of the two flat ends to avoid the hot center.

Fill a pot or pan with enough water to fully submerge an iOpener.

Heat the water to a boil. Turn off the heat.

Place an iOpener into the hot water for 2-3 minutes. Make sure the iOpener is fully submerged in the water.

Use tongs to extract the heated iOpener from the hot water.

Thoroughly dry the iOpener with a towel.

Your iOpener is ready for use! If you need to reheat the iOpener, heat the water to a boil, turn off the heat, and place the iOpener in the water for 2-3 minutes.

If your display glass is cracked, keep further breakage contained and prevent bodily harm during your repair by taping the glass.

Lay overlapping strips of clear packing tape over the iPad's display until the whole face is covered.

Do your best to follow the rest of the guide as described. However, once the glass is broken, it will likely continue to crack as you work, and you may need to use a metal prying tool to scoop the glass out.

Handling it by the tag, place the heated iOpener on the side of the iPad to the left of the home button assembly.

Let the iOpener sit for at least a minute to soften the adhesive beneath the glass.

As you follow the directions, take special care to avoid prying in the following areas:

Front-facing camera

Antennas

Display cables

Pull the blue handle backwards to unlock the Anti-Clamp's arms.

Place an object under your iPad so it rests level between the suction cups.

Position the suction cups near the middle of the left edge—one on the top, and one on the bottom.

Hold the bottom of the Anti-Clamp steady and firmly press down on the top cup to apply suction.

Pull the blue handle forward to lock the arms.

Turn the handle clockwise 360 degrees or until the cups start to stretch.

Make sure the suction cups remain aligned with each other. If they begin to slip out of alignment, loosen the suction cups slightly and realign the arms.

Wait one minute to give the adhesive a chance to release and present an opening gap.

If your screen isn't getting hot enough, you can use a hair dryer to heat along the left edge of the iPad.

Insert an opening pick under the screen when the Anti-Clamp creates a large enough gap.

Skip the next two steps.

Carefully place a suction cup halfway up the heated side.

Be sure the cup is completely flat on the screen to get a tight seal.

While holding the iPad down with one hand, pull up on the suction cup to slightly separate the front panel glass from from the rear case.

Place an opening pick in the gap opened by the suction cup.

Pull the suction cup's plastic nub to release the vacuum seal and remove the suction cup from the display assembly.

Reheat and replace the iOpener.

Place a second opening pick alongside the first and slide the pick down along the edge of the iPad, releasing the adhesive as you go.

Continue moving the opening pick down the side of the display to release the adhesive.

If the opening pick gets stuck in the adhesive, "roll" the pick along the side of the iPad, continuing to release the adhesive.

Take the first pick you inserted and slide it up toward the top corner of the iPad.

If you can see the tip of the opening pick through the front glass, don't panic—just pull the pick out just a little bit. Most likely, everything will be fine, but try to avoid this as it may deposit adhesive on the front of the LCD that is difficult to clean off.

Reheat the iOpener and place it on the top edge of the iPad, over the front-facing camera.

Slide the opening pick around the top left corner of the iPad to separate the adhesive.

Slide the opening pick along the top edge of the iPad, stopping just before you reach the camera.

Pull the pick out slightly, and slide the very tip gently along the top of the front-facing camera section of the top edge.

Leave the opening pick in the iPad slightly past the front-facing camera.

Take a second pick and insert it to the left of the camera, and then slide it to the corner of the iPad to finish cutting the adhesive on that edge.

Insert the previous pick deeper into the iPad and slide it away from the camera toward the corner.

Leave the three picks in the corners of the iPad to prevent re-adhering of the front panel adhesive.

Reheat the iOpener and place it on the remaining side of the iPad—along the volume and lock buttons.

Slide the opening pick around the top right corner of the iPad, releasing the adhesive there.

Insert a new opening pick and slide it to the middle of the right edge of the iPad, releasing the adhesive as you go.

Leave the opening picks in place, and set the reheated iOpener on the home button end of the iPad.

Slide the lower left pick to the lower left corner to cut the adhesive on that corner.

Leave the pick at the corner. Do not pry any farther, and do not remove the pick from the iPad.

The following steps will direct you where to pry to avoid damage to these components. Only apply heat and pry where directed.

With a new pick, slice gently over the left-hand antenna, stopping before the home button.

Leave the pick in place before moving on.

Take a new pick and slip it in to the right of the previous pick.

Slide across the home button and right-hand antenna using only the very tip to remove the adhesive.

With the adhesive loosened, you can now insert the pick near the right-hand corner. Slide the pick to the left, and stop just short of the Home button.

Reheat and reapply the iOpener to the volume control side of the iPad.

On the side of the iPad opposite the volume controls, you should have a pick lodged into each corner. Twist the picks to lift the glass slightly, separating the last of the adhesive along the display cable edge.

Lift slowly and gently to further detach the adhesive along the display cable edge.

While supporting the front panel glass, use an opening pick to cut the last of the adhesive.

Once all of the adhesive has been separated, open the glass panel like a page in a book and rest it on your workspace.

Remove any tape obscuring the LCD screws.

Remove the following Phillips screws securing the LCD.

Three 4.0 mm screws

One 4.8 mm screw

Use the flat end of a spudger to pry the LCD out of its recess just enough to grab it with your fingers.

Flip the iPad LCD like a page in a book, lifting near the camera and turning it over the home button end of the rear case.

Lay the LCD on its face to allow access to the display cables.

Remove the single 2.3 mm Phillips screw securing the battery connector to the logic board.

Slide the battery blocker underneath the battery connector area of the logic board, and leave it in place while you work.

Remove the three 1.4 mm Phillips screws from the display cable bracket.

Use the flat end of a spudger to gently pry the display cable bracket straight up from the logic board.

Remove the LCD.

Remove any tape covering the home button ribbon cable connector.

Use the flat end of a spudger to flip the tab on the home button ribbon cable ZIF connector upward.

Carefully pull the home button ribbon cable horizontally out of the ZIF connector.

Use a the flat end of a spudger or a fingernail to carefully pop the two digitizer cable connectors straight up from their sockets.

Carefully peel the home button ribbon cable up off of the adhesive holding it to the rear case.

Remove the front panel assembly.

If you experience "ghost" or "phantom" touch input issues with your new display, this can be resolved by adding a layer of very thin insulating tape, such as Kapton (polyimide) tape, to the highlighted areas on the back of the panel. iFixit panels come with the proper insulation, and should not require the addition of any tape.

Insert a spudger under the antenna cable closest to the edge of the iPad and lift upward to disconnect the antenna cable connector.

There are two large pieces of tape wrapped around the right antenna cable, securing it to the rear case.

Peel the tape up from the rear case.

Carefully insert an opening pick between the speaker enclosure and the antenna cable bracket.

Slide the pick toward the home button to cut the adhesive.

Push the bracket away from the speaker until it clears the tape underneath.

Remove the following Phillips #000 screws securing the right antenna:

One 2.3 mm screw

Two 1.4 mm screws

Insert the flat end of a spudger between the antenna and the speaker assembly.

Slide the spudger toward the home button to cut the foam adhesive securing the antenna.

Remove the right antenna from the iPad.

Insert a spudger under the left antenna cable and lift upward to disconnect the antenna cable connector.

There are five pieces of tape wrapped around the left antenna cable covering the right speaker cable connector.

Peel the tape up from the rear case.

Fold the antenna cable out of the way.

Instead, grip the tape just under the speaker and peel it down, away from the edge of the case.

Peel the tape toward the home button to uncover the speaker cable connector.

Use the pointed end of a spudger to flip up the retaining flap on the right speaker cable connector.

Slide the speaker cable straight out of its ZIF connector.

Remove the tape holding the speaker to the rear case.

Carefully peel the LCD buffer tape up off of the rear case.

Remove the 2.2 mm Phillips #000 screw securing the speaker to the rear case.

Insert a fingernail or the flat end of a spudger in the groove in the speaker housing, near the corner of the rear case.

Pull the speaker down, away from the corner of the case.

Use a spudger to help pull the speaker out from under the edge of the rear case.

Remove the right speaker from the iPad.

Remove the three 1.4 mm Phillips #000 screws securing the upper component cable bracket.

Remove the upper component cable bracket.

There are two remaining pieces of tape securing the left antenna cable to the rear case.

Peel the tape up from the rear case.

Carefully insert an opening pick between the speaker enclosure and the antenna cable bracket.

Slide the pick toward the home button to cut the adhesive.

Push the bracket away from the speaker until it is clear of the tape underneath.

Remove the following Phillips #000 screws:

Two 1.4 mm screws

One 2.3 mm screw

Insert the flat end of a spudger between the antenna and the speaker assembly.

Slide the spudger toward the home button to cut the foam adhesive securing the antenna.

Remove the left antenna from the iPad.

Remove the tape covering the left speaker cable connector.

Use the pointed end of a spudger to flip up the retaining flap on the left speaker cable connector.

Slide the speaker cable straight out of its ZIF connector.

Remove the tape holding the speaker to the rear case.

Remove the 2.2 mm Phillips #000 screw securing the speaker to the rear case.

Gently fold the left speaker ribbon cable up so that it will clear the battery when you slide the speaker enclosure out.

Insert a fingernail or the flat end of a spudger in the groove in the speaker housing, near the corner of the rear case.

Pull the speaker down, away from the corner of the case.

Use a spudger to help pull the speaker out from under the edge of the rear case.

Remove the left speaker from the iPad.

Use the flat end of a spudger to disconnect the front-facing camera connector from the logic board.

Fold the front-facing camera cable out of the way.

Use the flat end of a spudger to disconnect the rear-facing camera connector from the logic board.

Fold the rear-facing camera cable out of the way.

Use the flat end of a spudger to disconnect the headphone jack connector from the logic board.

Fold the headphone jack cable out of the way.

Use the flat end of a spudger to disconnect the microphone cable connector from the logic board.

Remove any tape covering the upper button assembly cable connector.

Use the pointed end of a spudger to flip up the retaining flap on the upper button assembly cable connector.

Slide the upper button assembly cable straight out of its ZIF connector.

Remove the two 3.3 mm Phillips #000 screws securing the Lightning port.

The adhesive is in the form of six pieces of black foam tape—refer to this step as you work at heating and prying to keep track of where each piece is located.

Place a heated iOpener over the rear-facing camera end of the iPad, and let it sit for at least a minute to soften the adhesive through the rear case.

Carefully insert an opening pick under the logic board, between the front-facing camera and the battery.

Slide the pick toward the front-facing camera connector, and stop at the bend in the logic board.

Slide an opening pick under the logic board from the front-facing camera to the rear facing camera.

Place a heated iOpener along the bottom edge of the iPad.

Insert an opening pick under the Lightning cable where it meets the logic board.

Slide the pick down and around the bend in the cable.

Continue to slide the opening pick under the cable, stopping before the cable bends to the Lightning connector.

Finally, slide the opening pick between the battery and the Lightning connector itself to separate the last of the adhesive underneath the cable.

Pull the Lightning connector straight out of its recess in the rear case.

Place a heated iOpener on the left side of the rear case, where the logic board is adhered.

Insert a plastic opening tool in the rectangular gap in the upper area of the logic board, and pry the logic board up from the rear case.

While keeping the opening tool underneath the logic board, slide it down the length of the gap to free the upper end of the logic board from the adhesive.

Pry up the logic board at the lower edge of the rectangular gap, near the EMI shield.

Slide an opening pick under the logic board between it and the battery.

Slide the pick from the base to the center of the logic board to cut the adhesive.

Slide the pick up the length of the logic board.

Once the adhesive has been cut, pry the battery side of the logic board upward off of the rear case.

Continue to lift the logic board along the edge nearest the battery, until you can get an opening pick against the far edge of the logic board.

Cut any adhesive holding the outer edge of the logic board to the rear case.

Remove the logic board from the iPad.

Reheat the iOpener in the microwave for 30 seconds.

Place the heated iOpener in the center of the back of the iPad. Let it sit there for 90 seconds to soften the battery adhesive.

Move the iOpener to the right (away from the rear-facing camera), and let the iOpener sit for another 90 seconds.

Finally, move the iOpener to the right-hand edge of the iPad for 90 seconds.

Insert a plastic card under the lower battery cell, at the lower right-hand corner.

With the card roughly halfway inserted, slide it toward the top of the iPad, stopping before the battery contact post.