The Broken Samsung Galaxy S21: A DIY Repair Attempt

As I attempt to fix my broken Samsung Galaxy S21 using Samsung's Self-Repair program, I'm excited to see how it goes. This program has been in the news lately for its questionable support with iFixit, one of the main places where you can buy repair parts and fix your phone. My concern is how easy it is to fix a phone like this, which is still fully functional, even though absolutely shattered.

To start, I have a few options to purchase repair parts from iFixit or Encompass. The screen and battery are combined for some reason, and the USB-C charge port costs $67. I'll be honest with you, if you've got this phone and have to spend $200 to fix it, that's bordering on not really worth it anymore. Samsung would charge about $200 for the same parts, so it's a significant difference.

Now, let's get started with the repair. The first step is to pop out my SIM card. According to the instructions, I need to take off the back glass first. But before that, I need to microwave the back glass to warm it up. Yeah, you read that right - microwaving the back glass. It's over there in the microwave, and it was a good vintage, apparently. The dust on the microwave is even authentic 2017 dust.

Next, I need to apply suction cups, pull them off, and stick a pick in the middle. Just a small note, if you're ever repairing your device with broken glass, be very careful because pulling too hard can shatter it. So, I'm using the suction cup on the top edge of the glass, just to warm it up, and then peeling it off. It's almost too easy, and there's no shot that it's glass.

Now, I need to undo five screws on the motherboard. Doing it this way also teaches you a bit more about phone repair in general. The back cover came off easily, but now I'm facing a whole new level of complexity. There's definitely something underneath the clippable part, which is the wireless charging coil.

As I continue with the repair, I'll go through each step as much as I can and share my experience with it. The first thing I need to do is unclip the speaker, which requires tweezers. Before that, I need to take off the ribbon cables attached to the battery. It's always a good idea not to get too excited when you start tearing apart a phone because it's so much easier to put it back together than it is to take it apart.

Once I've removed all the ribbon cables and speaker attachments, I can see the battery itself. Unfortunately, it takes a bit more work to get through. There are additional cable connections that need to be disconnected before I can access the battery. It's not going to be easy, but I'm up for the challenge.

Throughout this repair process, I've encountered various obstacles and surprises. Some parts were easier to remove than others, while some required a bit more force or finesse. But with every step of the way, I'm learning more about phone repair and becoming more confident in my abilities.

The cost of repairing this broken Samsung Galaxy S21 is significant - $60 for just one piece of plastic. It's a stark contrast to what Samsung would charge for the same parts. But despite the initial sticker shock, I'm determined to see this repair through and get my phone working again.

As I continue with the repair, I'll be documenting every step of the way, sharing my experiences, and offering tips and advice for those who might attempt this DIY repair themselves. It's going to be a long and difficult process, but with patience, persistence, and the right tools, it's definitely possible to fix a broken phone like this one.

The world of phone repair is full of surprises and unexpected challenges. But by facing each obstacle head-on and learning from our mistakes, we can become more confident and proficient in our abilities. And who knows - maybe one day, repairing your own phone will be as easy as popping a SIM card.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- This is a broken Samsung Galaxy S21,and today I'm going to attemptto fix it using Samsung'sSelf-Repair program.Now, we did have video a few months agotaking a look at Apple'sversion of this program,which was incredibly expensive,but honestly, kind of cool.So let's see how Samsung stacks up.Now, they've been in the news a lot latelyfor having some very questionable supportwhen it comes to theirpartnership with iFixit,who have, up until now,been one of the main placeswhere you can actually buythe parts and fix your phone.So let's see exactly how bad this isand if I can actually fixthis incredibly broken S21.My concern here is, first of all,how easy is it to fix a phone like this,which is still fully functional,even though absolutely shattered?And my second question is,how easy and affordableis it to get the partsand find the instruction manuals I needto do a authorized-by-Samsungrepair of my own device?So Samsung give you the optionof purchasing repair partsfrom iFixit or Encompass.I have a few options here.I can purchase the screen and battery,which are combined, for some reason.I can get a USB-C chargeport, which is $67, okay.I'll be honest with you,if you've got this phoneand you have to spend $200 to fix it,that's bordering on notreally worth it anymore,which is really unfortunate.So Samsung would charge youabout $200 to do this repair,whereas if I buy the parts todo it myself from my iFixit,it's $167.I'm going to pretend that Icannot ship this in at all.I wanna try to do it myselfand see if it's remotely worth it,and if Samsung are doingeverything they canto make my experience as easy as possible.Or if they're trying tooffer right-to-repairbecause they have to, while in realitythey're doing everything they canto push you to just giving them the phone,and they fix it themselves.iFixit will provide Samsung with my emailand genuine parts historyto provide integratedcustomer care support.One of the reasons why iFixit complainedthat they want to sort ofbreak off the partnershipwith Samsung is that theyhave to share your informationwith them so they cankeep it in their database.But I've even heard storiesthat if you take thisto like a third-party repair shop,and maybe you would putlike a third-party batteryor screen in it,they're supposed to notonly tell Samsung about itand tattle on you,they're supposed toactually take the part out.Like, is that necessary?Do we really need to do this?All right, my friends,let me place this order with iFixit,grab the components Ineed to fix this S21,and let's see exactly how easy,or not, the repair process really is.And so, my friends, it is timeto see what iFixit have provided.So we've got ourselves theS21 screen and battery.And it is pink.We've got ourselves theback cover, which is violet.So the phone should lookthe same on the back.It's just a matter of the frontmay look very slightly different.So you see it's got theactual, like, Samsung,like, seals and whatnot on it.Samsung. Genuine part.And then we've also gotthis further repair tool,which is the iOpener.Now, I've actually neverworked on a Samsung phone.And in fact, I'll just be honest with you,I am not a repair wizardwhen it comes to smartphones in general.I've opened a few.This, I'm gonna assume,is gonna be much, much more involved.So we do have two repair kits.So the reason they ship you the screenand the battery together.So the battery on this isactually not too bad. It's 89%.So normally I wouldn't replace it.But the screen and thebattery are fused together.As far as I know, based onwhen you actually repair them,you have to replace thescreen and battery together.- They only do that to iFixit.They don't do that to anybody else.- Wait, really?I don't know what the politics arebetween Samsung and iFixit.Clearly it is a relationshipthat is completelydissolved at this point.But very, very strange.So I am going to be repairingthis using the iFixit guide.Now, if you at home have nevertaken apart a phone before,theoretically, this is a tutorialthat will show youexactly how to do it, so-- It is a medium difficulty.- It's one thing to say medium,it's another thing to get three hoursinto the repair of your phone,and it still doesn't work.And then you're really sad,and then you have to shipit into Samsung anyway,and then you're really, really sad.- I have a feeling this will belike the recipes thatsay 10-minute prep time,but what it actuallymeans is 2-hour prep time.- That's correct. That's correct.Now, I'm not gonna give youthe absolute step-by-step.I mean, if you're fixing an S21,you should actually usethe real instructions.What I am gonna do isgo through the processas much as I can andkind of share with youmy experience with it.Now, I know the first thing I need to dois pop out my SIM card.So I believe the way to get into the S21is I need to take offthe back glass first.Are you supposed to microwave this?- Yeah.- Really?- Yeah, so it's over there.- Oh, you brought the- (laughs)- Ding!- I like how normallyMatt and Ken sit here.Instead, now it's just the microwave.I'm just gonna walk over to the microwave.That's fine.- Yeah, equally as useful.- That microwaveis just so dusty.- It is.- Can we just-- Nope.- But please.- That's authentic 2017dust right there, Joanna.It was a good vintage.I'm helping it.- What's that do?- I'm just helping itto transfer the heat.Okay, so the next step is, theoretically,I'm going to apply asuction cup, pull on it,and then stick a pick in the middle.Also, just a small note,if you're ever repairing your device,if you have broken glass, be very careful,because I know if you'relike really pulling at itwith a suction cup, and you'vegot yourself broken glass,it could just shatter.So please be careful, maybeconsider wearing gloves.So activate suck.I'm gonna put this on the top edge,just to warm that up, andI'm just gonna pull on it.I'm just peel it off.Look at that.I will say that was way easierthan I thought it was gonna be.Almost too easy.There's no shot that that's glass.So if I was just doing the rear repair,all I would do I think at this pointis probably put the new adhesive onand just slap it right on.Also, I'm just realizing,how much did I pay for thispiece of plastic to repair this?It's like 60 bucks orsomething just for this.You can see the differencebetween the two.So they're, of course,identical in every way,except for the fact thatone's all scratched.So I need to undo fivescrews on the motherboard.- I will say, doing it this wayalso kind of teaches you a little bitmore about phone repair in general.Obviously, way too early to judge,but this is actually,like, kind of fun so far.Like, the fact that the backcover came off that easy.Like, that always stresses me out,because you don't wanna get, like,either the adhesive to be too sticky,or snap something, or breaksomething, or whatever.This I can definitely handle.Next step is unclip it, which is tweezers.And there's definitelysomething underneath it.Oh, it's the whole, oh, I see.So this is all yourwireless charging coil.So with my bracket out of the wayand the charging coil pulledback, we can see the battery.Unfortunately, the battery's gonna takea little bit more work to get through.There's a bunch ofadditional ribbon cables,and before I even take that off,I need to take off thespeaker, which is down here.It's always a good ideato not get too excitedwhen you do these kind of things,because it is so mucheasier to tear apart a phonethan it is to put it back together.Almost always.You'll get it all apart and go, "Cool!"And then you realize you have 300 screws,and it's all spread all over the place,and you're suddenly in deep, deep trouble.So I'm gonna use my pick todisconnect the loudspeaker.So it should just pop out.So we've got ourselves the loudspeaker,the motherboard little shield,and our wireless charging coilall in one nice, neat, little piece.Because I'm doing afull screen replacement,I think I'm gonna have to justcompletely strip this down.So with some of our cables out of the way,I'm now going to takeoff the daughterboard,which is, I believe, if Iwas gonna have to replacemy USB-C, this would bewhat I would be doing.You know what, man?I feel like we're puttingsome good karma out there.We're trying to take a phonethat was probably gonnaget tossed in the garbage,and we're breathing new life into itby spending more thanit's worth to repair.So this is the earpiece/frontspeaker. Lovely.Boy, you really appreciatehow much engineering goesinto a phone like this.I mean, there's like, what?One, two, three layersworth of board, PCB,speaker, battery, top glass, like,it's very impressive whatthey're able to pull off.If this was like a Z Flip 6 or something,I'm sure it'd be even more elaborate.Okay, right edge cables.What right edge cable?- Oh yeah.- There's two.- Yep, got it.12 different connectors to my counton the board right now.And I will say that also shout out,I have been able to usethe exact same Phillips bitfor every single screw inside here.This, my friends, this tiny little boardis the entire motherboard assemblyand importantly the entire camera set up.My question here is at this point,we've taken a lot ofstuff out of this phonebut it doesn't look likewe've made that much progressin getting the screen out'cause the screen is still gonna be like,(Alex laughs)a whole thing.So I think what we need to do nowis pull that front facing camera out,which I believe I need touse my iOpener for yet again.So I think that should be warm enough.Oh!- Oh, a little too warm maybe.- A little too warm.Okay, you know what?I understand why they sayheat that adhesive up.So the thing is, the way that they mountthe front facing camera,this is actually probablythe most difficult part yet,it is like absolutely gluedinside of the front housing.There we go, yep.The extra heat definitely did it.That is our front facing camera.It is just a little guy.So you'll see that weactually have a numberof other antennas and thesescrews that are designedjust to hold in ourmillimeter wave antenna.I don't understand why, thisis the second screw I found,which is weirdly like softand does not wanna come out very well.Yeah, no kidding.That screw is borderline stuck.Every time I do this andI get really excited,I'm like "Oh, this is going so well!"And then I run into aproblem and then I'm sad.Yeah, so what I'm finding hereis that while the Phillipsscrews they've usedare generally pretty good, acouple of them are very soft.So I will just mentiondon't try this at homeusing power tools right beside a batterythat could cause damage is badand don't do this.Hey, got it.Ta-da!I fixed it.Can you see that?That's all that's leftfor that little screw?Now that this phone hasbasically been torn downto just the screen and the battery,I think it's about time tostart with the final removal,which is the display.How to take the display?- Uh, this is where it ends.- Wait, are you trying totell me that iFixit tutorialstops right before I take outthe display, which is when...- Yes.- Wait a minute, what does this look like?Hold on, hold on, hold on.Because it's not like, thisgoes in the garbage now, right?Is that why it's so expensiveand it comes to the battery?Is because this whole thing comes togetherand I take all thesecomponents and put it back in?I don't think so, right? No.- Well, let's openand find out that. (laughs)- That would be absurd.Oh!(Alex laughs)- Wait a minute!The reason why to screen the batteryis because this thinggoes in the trash nowand you get an entirelynew frame and everything.If you have placed yourscreen or your battery,you have to get an entirelynew shell of the phone.So we've got ourselves new side rails,a brand new display, a brand new battery.This is the whole thing put together.I mean I guess it is asimpler approach for sure,like, this is gonna save me the hassleof tearing the battery out and everything.And I do kind ofunderstand that the screenand the chassis are one.Like, that does look like it would bequite difficult to get out.Do I just now go all, throughall the steps in reverse?They don't actually gimmelike a specific guideline,I just do everything backwards.- Yeah, to reassemble your device,follow instructions in reverse.- Okay.(upbeat music)Okay, so, after about 15minutes or so of reassembly,which was very straightforward,I think I have prettymuch everything ready.Now I'm not gonna put the back cover on'cause I wanna make sure thatthis actually works first.But I'll tell you I wasa little bit apprehensiveabout how it would go back together.Super simple.It looks pretty straightforward.So let's see if it'll fire up.Oh, nevermind it turns on.That is a very, very good sign.Screen, fully functional.Battery now shows 20%.So let's try the cameras first.So I'm gonna do the rear facing camera.So the rear facing camera works.Ultra wide works.Telephoto works.Selfie works.I have a lot of thoughts.Let me finish putting this back togetherand let's have a little chatabout whether or notthis is actually worth itand how Samsung have approachedthis right-to-repair stuff.'cause honestly I was not expecting itto be this easy and thiscomplicated going into it.So we are recordingthis today on June 17th,the day that Samsung sureenough has removed iFixitfrom their site.So while a lot of the thingswe talked about in this videoare still relevant, nowif you are looking forolder components or newer components,you have to use Encompass.Now after looking at the optionsfor repairing your Samsung phone,this story I will admitis a lot more complicatedthan I initially thoughtbecause the simplestoption is really just to,surprise, surprise, send yourphone directly into Samsungand have them repair it.So if you look on theSamsung site for repairs,they actually give you two options.Confusingly, there's screenrepair and screen module.So the screen repairis what it sounds like,they will replace just your broken screenwhile the screen modulereplaces the entire setup,just like I did: screen,frame and battery.Now it seems very clear tome that this is the routethat Samsung wants you to take.For our S21, the screenrepair itself would cost $174or it would cost $199to do the entire module.For me, especially if my phone'smore than a few months old,I would definitely take a brand new frameand battery for only $25 moreif I'm already doing the repair.Although of course you shouldconsider the wastefulnessof sending a potentiallyperfectly good battery and frameto the e-waste pile.Now there are also more optionswhen it comes to getting things replaced.So generally speaking,Samsung will allow youto do the same day repair on your phoneif you do the entire module.Whereas if you want to just do the screen,typically that takes a little bit longer,it may actually have to be shipped out,so that's up to you.But it makes sense.The screen module setup is amuch, much easier repair to do.Now these options aren't availablefor every phone, mind you.Now going through the list,it's a little complicatedbecause some phones only allowyou to swap out the screenand some require you todefinitely do the entire module,but the pricing really isthe main selling point.Now, if I ignore the backshell, which to be fair,I could have absolutelypurchased from a third partyfor a whole lot less than $67since it's literally a piece of plastic.The self repair part andthe tools cost me $167.As much of a surprisinglyeasy experience as it was,I'd wager that most people wouldhappily pay the $33 premiumjust to have Samsung do it for you.Especially because if youlive near a service center,you could actually get thispotentially done same dayversus waiting for your partsto arrive, doing it yourself,having to pay for shipping.Like, it very much makes senseto have Samsung do the repair for you.And that's part of thereason why I'm temptedto just put Samsung in the exactsame category as Apple hereand say that while they offer self-repair,it's more so for regulatory reasonsthan actually trying to giveyou a good legitimate option.And of course right after Ifinished filming this video,Apple announced some changesto their own repair program.So the big thing is they'veactually taken a lotof the feedback that they have gottenand made some reallegitimate improvements.So you no longer have to registerthe actual serial numbersof your phone with the parts.And third-party parts suchas batteries and screensno longer mean that youlose core functionalitysuch as True Tone or the abilityto check your battery health.I've gotta give it to them.This is actually a really nice upgradeand while I still thinkthat there's certain partsof their program, like thefact that the tools are massiveand heavy and all this kindastuff, it's a little bit silly,but like repairing yourown Apple devices actuallyis like a lot better now.Like almost worth megiving it a round two.As much as it is incredibly unfriendlyto hear stories like Samsung forcingthird-party repair shops toconfiscate unauthorized parts,which just feels ridiculously unnecessary,I do actually have somegood things to say.While it's more than a little wastefulto push you into replacingthe entire frame and batteryif you just need a screen replacement,if you do have a more modern phone,Encompass actually will sellyou screens by themselvesif you're willing to brave amuch more elaborate repair.And you actually have to digaround the site a little bit.So if you come directly fromthe Samsung link on their site,they don't really wannashow you the screens.But if you dig around the Encompass site,they do sell you individual screensas well as a bunch of additional options.And the fact that you arekind of just meant to replacethe entire chassis does meanthat for certain other phones,like, so I don't know,a Z Flip or something,which would normally beincredibly scary to repair.It's actually pretty simplesince all you really gotta dois take off the back panels,throw in the new motherboardand cameras and whatnot, likeit's a much easier thing to doversus trying to do an entirelyinsane screen replacement.Look, I don't think that anyone wouldreplace the screen on a Z Flip.They're just gonna swap outthat entire chassis, no problem.So can I give Samsung a passfor their repairs? No, I can't.I mean it's still clearly meantto drive you to justhaving them do it for you.Maybe just give people alittle bit more of a discountto repair the devices themselvesand don't force repaircenters to rat me outif I decide to get aback cover or somethingfrom AliExpress and save myself $57.So do you think thatSamsung have done enoughto make it worthwhileto fix your own phone?Let me know in the comments below.And if you enjoyed, definitelybe sure to subscribeto the channel and aringling that dingling buttonas well as check out ourvideo we did when we triedApple's absolutely wildself-service repair program.If you think this was crazy,you ain't seen nothing yet.