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As I have previously mentioned I managed to break the LCD on my Nokia N73. That was 3 days ago. Warranty will not cover this damage, and I decided to do a bit of research to see the available options.

The first hit in my Google search for a new LCD screen was an eBay replacement screen, that ships directly from Hong Kong. A few minutes later I found an online shop in my country and learned the easy steps required to do this operation by yourself; you need a new LCD screen and two credit cards.

This is definitely the cheapest option for a screen replacement, of course with non-brand name LCD. I knew from the beginning that colors will not be the same as on a non-original LCD, so I went into town, visited a few repair shops in search for the best replacement option. 40 minutes later I gave up: it was either that they didn’t have a Nokia-original LCD or gave me a price that was 2 times higher than what I would pay to do it at home.

No one has made an offer for an Nokia-orginal LCD, so I decided to go back home and do it myself! I believe that a similar technique can be used to change the display on Nokia N71 (the internal display) and the N93, as this display is compatible with those phones as well.

Step 1: buy the LCD

I found the replacement LCD on a couple of websites that make next-day deliveries but only one that accepts orders from individuals. I strongly recommend their services if you share my pain of a broken mobile phone: http://www.gsmnet.ro/

The new display arrived the next day!

Here is a shot of it standing next to the cracked one:

Step 2: remove the outer plastic case

Before going any further: make sure you turn the phone off and you remove the battery. Please note that you are probably voiding the warranty for the phone, so proceed at your own risk!

Insert a credit card between the C key and the phone case (right-hand bottom corner) and pop the case out.

Using a second credit card, slide it between the case and the body of the phone, until your case is fully released from the phone body.

Step 3: remove the display frame

There is a black frame that surrounds the display and there are 4 points where it binds to the phone body:

This step is a bit tricky, I have managed to remove the frame, but i do not remember how exactly. The two bindings on the top are easier to remove, however the ones near the bottom of the screen are somehow inaccessible.

Step 4: remove the old display

After exposing the display, simply lift it and gently pull the ribbon that is attached to the display from the phone.

Step 5: insert the new LCD

First insert the ribbon securely to the phone, and then place the display in the white socket. Don’t be afraid to bend the ribbon, a part of it should go underneath the display.

Step 6: put everything back together

Assemble the components back in the phone

• put the display frame back on, start form the top, next to the small camera
• insert the outer plastic case back into the original position
• insert the battery and the back cover

Step 7: start the phone

… and enjoy your new display!

Results

I now have a fully working phone… again :) and this makes me very happy!

As I was expecting the quality of the display is not the same as of the original display, but this will do for the moment. I would give it 3 stars out of 5.