Way back in February I broke the screen on my Blackberry Storm when I dropped it on a ceramic tile floor. I'd dropped it before but this time it hit on the edge, not flat, the screen looked like a spiderweb. (A true "Cracked Berry"!) It still worked (but left glass shards on my fingers) so I used clear packing tape as a screen protector.
This was supposed to be a temp solution until I returned from a business trip and had time to decide between replacing the screen for $80 or getting a used one from someone or going back to the Storm 1.
It worked so well that I put off making a decision for 5 months… the packing tape was getting ragged so I replaced it in July. Two weeks later and the screen started acting weird – it was hard to impossible to register taps on the screen. I'm not sure if I caused problems by replacing the tape or if something else happened.
I switched back to the Storm 1 for a week then bit the bullet and ordered a replacement screen assembly for the Storm 2. When I checked prices in Feb, they were $80. By July the price was $40. Cool. I like saving money. 🙂
It was amazingly simple to replace the screen – there is a YouTube video with instructions. My only problem: the video does not tell you to remove a metal plate on the back of the old screen and my replacement screen didn't include the plate. It's a metal plate that is basically a spacer that fits between the digitizer unit and the motherboard. It's held on with the quick catches similar to the ones you need to pry open to remove the motherboard from the blackberry body – and sticky tape. (RIM loves sticky tape!)
My blackberry is as good as new… and I didn't break the bank fixing it.
Update: 2 weeks after fixing my blackberry, my daughter dropped hers… she ordered a replacement screen and I replaced it for her. It took less than 30 minutes to take it apart and replace the cracked screen.
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