What you need to know
- YouTuber JerryRigEverything attempted a crazy experiment with a broken iPhone.
- It involved removing the shattered glass back using an industrial laser machine.
- The experiment technically worked, but it's not something normal people will be able to do.
Repairing a shattered iPhone has never been an easy or cheap proposition. That's why cases and AppleCare+ are so popular for iPhone owners. But what if there was a simpler way that didn't break the bank?
YouTuber JerryRigEverything took this simple question and found an answer to it. His focus was on the back glass panel that can cost as much as $600 to fix if you don't have AppleCare+. The reason being that Apple uses adhesive that is permanent. Only extreme temperatures will loosen the adhesive, which is almost impossible to recreate without the proper tools.
He took his shattered iPhone X and put it through a crazy experiment that involved removing the glass back with relative ease. To do so, JerryRigEverything used an "all-in-one, multi-functional laser machine" that burns the adhesive from the outside.
The process is so intense, it also burns through the paint on the glass panel.
The experiment worked, but it didn't accomplished its original goal of making repairing iPhones easy. It's not like normal people have industrial laser machines like the one he uses laying around like spare vacuums.
Additionally, the process was still complicated. The adhesive is burned off, but removing the glass is still difficult because you're removing broken glass—it's still shattered into a million different pieces. Then you run into a problem with the camera cut-out. You'll have to buy a special back glass panel that fits over the camera because it is welded on to the steel frame.
JerryRigEverything's experiment was educational and fun to watch, but we doubt many people will embark on this repair journey. Most people will just find it easier to shell out the bucks to repair the phone without hassle. We'd still recommened grabbing a good case or getting AppleCare+.
