How to replace a broken screen on an iPhone 7 or 7 Plus
- jan
- 03
Cracked your iPhone 7 or 7 Plus screen? We'll be honest: An Apple Store's probably the best bet to fix it.
The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus's screen is beautiful, to be sure — but that glass beauty can break if dropped, smashed, or otherwise chipped against similarly-hard surfaces. Some breaks are worse than others — I've gotten by with a slightly-chipped 7 Plus screen for a month — but if you completely smash your screen, you're probably in need of a screen repair. When you crack your screen, it also destroys your iPhone's water resistance; if you're used to keeping it near water, you'll definitely want to fix your device.
There are several ways to repair or replace a broken iPhone screen, depending on your monetary situation and free time. Here are a couple, in order of easiest (and cheapest) to most complicated.
Buy a screen protector
If your screen is shattered but relatively intact, you can put off a potentially-costly repair by sealing the broken pieces behind a screen protector. I'll note that this is a temporary measure, and one I generally recommend for screens that are cracked, but not completely destroyed — it can keep the cracks from worsening or pieces of the screen from falling apart, but eventually you'll need to replace the screen. It also won't maintain your iPhone's water resistance.
- See at Amazon
- Best iPhone 7 Screen Protectors
- Best iPhone 7 Plus Screen Protectors
- How to replace a tempered glass screen protector
Make an appointment with Apple
The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus screens have more complicated technology embedded within them than any iPhone before them: Between the Touch ID sensor, Taptic Engine-based Home Button, 3D Touch display, and FaceTime front-facing camera, a cracked iPhone screen can be a real hassle to replace.
Luckily, if you purchased AppleCare+ with your iPhone, a screen repair is simple and inexpensive — assuming you have the time to send it to Apple. It's just $29 to fix a broken iPhone 7 or 7 Plus screen, and any Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Representative store you visit has the equipment necessary to properly remove, replace, and re-calibrate your iPhone for Touch ID and water resistance.
Even if you don't have AppleCare+, repairs through Apple are often cheaper than attempting to buy and repair the screen yourself: An out of warranty iPhone 7 repair is $129, while an iPhone 7 Plus repair is $149. (This is also why I always recommend picking up AppleCare+ when you buy a new iPhone.)
Repair it yourself
In past years, I would have recommended this option above making an appointment with Apple, but as the iPhone screen has gotten more complicated — and expensive, a home-brew repair can often hinder your device from full operability. (You won't be able to re-calibrate your screen for water resistance, for instance.) It's also now pricier than either the AppleCare+ repair or out of warranty repair, with a screen replacement and toolset averaging around $230.
As the iPhone 7 ages and screen prices go down, this may change, but for now, I find it hard to recommend users go this route. If you're really curious about repairing an iPhone 7 or 7 Plus, however, you can watch JerryRigEverything's how-to explainer below.
Questions?
Have any questions about repairing your iPhone's screen? Have a better option? Let us know below.