I recently suffered the tragedy of cracking my gamepad screen... Not wanting to shovel out a ton of money and have Nintendo fix it, I decided to take the cheap route and fix it myself. Please read this entire post before you attempt a repair to avoid the issues I ran into. I take no responsibility if you break your gamepad, this is just a guide to give you a hand!
LCD screens are different than digitizers!
One thing I was unaware of was the fact that the LCD screen and the digitizer are two separate parts typically sold separately. The screen is what you see and the digitizer detects your touch. The LCD screen has a fat ribbon cable coming out the top and a skinny ribbon cable coming out the side. The digitizer has a skinny ribbon cable coming out the top directly next to the fat ribbon cable. I managed to pry my digitizer off and reapply it to the new screen with no damage to either piece so a digitizer is optional.
Parts List
I bought all my parts through Amazon and they arrived within a month, I would suggest looking for yourself as prices change and items become unavailable. I linked the products I purchased, excluding the digitizer, for reference.
Tri-wing Screwdriver
Gamepad LCD Screen
Digitizer (optional, I didn't need one but you might if you break yours)
You will also need a small screwdriver that fits the screws on the back of your gamepad as you will use it inside the gamepad as well. Also, a pry tool such a small flat head screw driver or a razor blade (be careful!) to help pry cables out. I had all these items lying around and they worked just fine.
Disassembly
I followed this youtube video for my disassembly, it is very thorough and easy to follow but be warned, it does not include the gamepad being put back together! I downloaded the video linked below and reversed it for the reassembly. An alternative option would be to take pictures of every step and use them for reassembly. Be careful with the ribbon cables as they are very delicate!
Digitizer Change Out
After taking the broken screen out, if you compare it to your replacement screen it will be missing a black part that is a few millimeters thick glued over the top of the LCD screen, the black part is the digitizer. The digitizer is attached to the screen by an adhesive strip. I took my small flat head screwdriver and gently pried the adhesive and the digitizer from the screen. The adhesive strip was still sticky enough for me to reapply it onto the new screen. If you break the digitizer, you will need a new one.
After reading some reviews it appears that the replacement digitizers do not come with a new adhesive strip so you will have to salvage the old one or find something to make due. Don't use liquid glue to prevent it from leaking onto your screen.
Reassembly
Like I mentioned above, the video does not include the gamepad being put back together! I downloaded the video linked above and reversed it for the reassembly. An alternative option would be to take pictures of every step and use them for reassembly. Before you completely reattach the back cover of the gamepad, ensure all your buttons can be pressed properly. The rubber pieces must be properly aligned over that back of the buttons.
Thank you to everyone in this great community who has helped me with my questions and problems, I figured this is the least I could do to give back to you guys, I hope it helps someone out there.
Go Nintendo!
LCD screens are different than digitizers!
One thing I was unaware of was the fact that the LCD screen and the digitizer are two separate parts typically sold separately. The screen is what you see and the digitizer detects your touch. The LCD screen has a fat ribbon cable coming out the top and a skinny ribbon cable coming out the side. The digitizer has a skinny ribbon cable coming out the top directly next to the fat ribbon cable. I managed to pry my digitizer off and reapply it to the new screen with no damage to either piece so a digitizer is optional.
Parts List
I bought all my parts through Amazon and they arrived within a month, I would suggest looking for yourself as prices change and items become unavailable. I linked the products I purchased, excluding the digitizer, for reference.
Tri-wing Screwdriver
Gamepad LCD Screen
Digitizer (optional, I didn't need one but you might if you break yours)
You will also need a small screwdriver that fits the screws on the back of your gamepad as you will use it inside the gamepad as well. Also, a pry tool such a small flat head screw driver or a razor blade (be careful!) to help pry cables out. I had all these items lying around and they worked just fine.
Disassembly
I followed this youtube video for my disassembly, it is very thorough and easy to follow but be warned, it does not include the gamepad being put back together! I downloaded the video linked below and reversed it for the reassembly. An alternative option would be to take pictures of every step and use them for reassembly. Be careful with the ribbon cables as they are very delicate!
Digitizer Change Out
After taking the broken screen out, if you compare it to your replacement screen it will be missing a black part that is a few millimeters thick glued over the top of the LCD screen, the black part is the digitizer. The digitizer is attached to the screen by an adhesive strip. I took my small flat head screwdriver and gently pried the adhesive and the digitizer from the screen. The adhesive strip was still sticky enough for me to reapply it onto the new screen. If you break the digitizer, you will need a new one.
After reading some reviews it appears that the replacement digitizers do not come with a new adhesive strip so you will have to salvage the old one or find something to make due. Don't use liquid glue to prevent it from leaking onto your screen.
Reassembly
Like I mentioned above, the video does not include the gamepad being put back together! I downloaded the video linked above and reversed it for the reassembly. An alternative option would be to take pictures of every step and use them for reassembly. Before you completely reattach the back cover of the gamepad, ensure all your buttons can be pressed properly. The rubber pieces must be properly aligned over that back of the buttons.
Thank you to everyone in this great community who has helped me with my questions and problems, I figured this is the least I could do to give back to you guys, I hope it helps someone out there.
Go Nintendo!
