Apple picker Not satisfied with your original iPhone 4 glass cover? Have you considered an exchange? Not sure if this modification is worth it and if you can handle it? We will advise you how to do it!
We informed you in an article some time ago Want a different iPhone 4? Put a metal back on him about the possibility of replacing the back glass cover with a metal one on the iPhone 4.
Our loyal reader Robin Martinez shared his experience with us:
The metal cover was purchased on October 27th on eBay for 300 CZK including postage, it arrived at my home on November 11th, 2010.
Gizmodo and other sites write that the phone must be turned off and switched to silent mode, which I cannot agree with, as neither action affects the actual exchange in any way. The iPhone fits a little better in my hand than with the original case. The print (lettering and the Apple logo) is not of very good quality and will be destroyed quickly. The same applies to the metal part, it is quite prone to fine scratches - I "sent" the phone with the cover on the table about 3 times, and horizontal grooves are already quite visible on it. I consider the GIGANTIC lack of the cover to be that the nuts holding the two screws next to the dock connector are PLASTIC (the original cover has metal). There is a risk of thread breakage and possible future instability of the attachment or loss of the screw.
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Questions and Answers
Apple: Will there be an increase in the thickness of the phone?
Robin: Yes, it will. It is more or less the same thickness as the original cover plus the metal part made of brushed stainless steel. The replaced back cover is an estimated 1,6x thicker than the factory original.
Jablíčkař: There is about a millimeter gap between the original cover and the metal frame of the antennas - is it preserved with this cover as well?
Robin: Yes, dimensionally it's the same.
Apple: Is the front panel rigidly connected to the LCD?
Robin: Unfortunately yes, the iPhone 4 has the display (and digitizer) rather intricately glued to the front cover. In the event of a malfunction, it is best to replace the entire panel, but it is possible to peel it off with hot air. With the iPhone 3G and 3GS, each part could be replaced relatively easily separately – the display is held in place by 4 screws.
Jablíčkař: Did you observe any loss of signal?
Robin: It does not steal the signal, both with GSM, WIFI, BT and GPS.
Apple: Does the cover affect the built-in flash?
Robin: I'm not entirely sure now, but I think the diffuser on the flash dampens the brightness of the LED a bit, but I won't put my hand in the fire for that.
Jablíčkař: What about the quality of the photos?
Robin: The images are without any visible change in color or brightness.
If you have any questions about replacing the cover, don't hesitate to write to us in the discussion.
and how is the warranty? does the warranty expire when the back cover is disassembled?
You will not lose the warranty, it is only a matter of unscrewing 2 screws and pulling out the cover. This will not break any protective "stickers" that Apple has put there. I also have this metal cover and I am extremely satisfied.
Success,
just for info, I ordered it here http://cnn.cn. It arrived in about 3 weeks.
Personally, the signal seems weaker on the GSM part.
I have 2 iPhones next to each other and the one with the plastic cover is slightly smaller.
But during the day I had no problem with calling even in stupid places.
It seems to me that there is still an antenna on the original and those screws into the metal also fulfill another function,
than just tightening the cover. But don't beat me, I haven't studied it much and it doesn't have to be that way. He changed
I am yesterday at midnight. ;-)
I have a model without the bombardment and it is the same size as the original.
It lasted me a week on IP4... First, I was put off by the plastic threads on the screws... Then poor compatibility with the dock and finally worse photo quality. I already have the original cover back and the china flew into the drawer as a backup :-)
I absolutely do not understand the exchange of a perfectly designed and functional original cover for metal Chinese shit. It's like if I replaced a part of the body with Hyundai parts for a BMW. And I think I blame the Koreans. Yes, the human mind is unpredictable.
I agree that the cover came off the phone quite quickly. I put the original back on, but I didn't really notice any reduction in signal or deterioration in camera quality, and I did relatively thorough tests. Damn, you don't know what you're buying when it's from DevilBay…. :)
well, I managed to break the back cover, so I was thinking about this alternative... but actually I have a piece that dampens the antenna from the factory, so I can't imagine how it will look like with this:-(
I have ™ and it's bad... the outages don't appear when holding the antenna transition, but somewhere higher... I'll probably file a complaint
So I am one of those who bought it, but after a few days they removed the metal cover. It is certainly interesting in design, but I personally lost the signal from the GPS with it sometimes (even if only for a few seconds), which has never happened to me. After installing the original glass cover, the signal was never lost in the same place... So it went away after 3 days. And it's true that the glass one fits the iPhone even better.. :-) But in the end, it's not such a "loss" again, the cover cost less than some branded foils, and I sold it immediately for 500.
I also put this cover on and took it off after a few days. I 100% had a problem with the quality of BT transmission to stereo headphones with this cover. When I put the phone with the metal cover in my back pocket, the headphones stopped playing.. I don't have this problem with the original cover.