iPhone Back Glass Replacement

When an iPhone back cracks, the first thing people hear is that the whole housing must be swapped. That used to be true, because Apple glues the back glass so hard that prying it off by hand ruins glass and frame together. Laser machines changed the job: the laser burns the adhesive under the glass point by point, the broken glass lifts away, and the frame and cameras never move. The cost lands well below a housing swap.

How it works

Cameras and internals are shielded, the phone goes on the laser bed, the cracked glass is scanned off, leftover fragments and glue are cleaned, and the new glass is bonded and pressed. Same day on most models. If the camera lens glass is cracked too, we renew it in the same session.

Worth knowing

The wireless charging coil lives right under the back glass and sometimes takes damage in the same drop, so we test it during the job. And while the sealing tape is renewed, factory grade water resistance never fully returns after any repair, we say that honestly. For everything else iPhone, see the iPhone repair page.

What sets the price

Two questions decide it: which model, and whether the camera lens glass went too. Model matters because the back of an iPhone 8 and the back of a 15 Pro are nothing alike in thickness or in how they are bonded. The frosted glass on Pro models costs more than the plain glossy back because of the coating on it. The ring of glass around the cameras is a separate part and it is often the first thing to break in a drop. Broken together, they are done together in one session, which is quicker and cheaper than two visits. Colour does not change the price, though blue and titanium shades occasionally mean a day's wait for stock.

Laser settings are not one size fits all

Power and scan speed change with the model. Too much power and you cook the cables and the wireless charging coil sitting directly under the glass. Too little and the adhesive holds, the glass shatters into fragments, and the clean up eats hours. From the iPhone 12 onwards there is also the MagSafe magnet ring; if that ring shifts, wireless chargers no longer sit centred and the phone slides off. We mention this because owning a laser and knowing how to set it are two different things. You get to see the glass that came off and what was underneath it.

When a housing swap is genuinely the answer

Back glass replacement depends on the frame being straight. If the phone landed corner first on concrete and the frame is dented, or the crack runs out into the side rail, new glass will not seat and the edge will lift. A bent frame also stops the screen closing flush. In that case the honest answer is a housing swap and we say it before we start, rather than putting the phone on the laser bed and charging you for it. A bend is not always visible, so we rest the phone on a flat surface and watch for a rock.