Today, we received an iPhone 14 Pro Max with a broken portrait camera glass.
The owner cracked the glass a while ago but didn’t replace it immediately. Over time, dust and small debris got inside, leading to scratches on the camera lens.
Therefore, simply replacing the glass on the body isn’t enough — the entire camera module needs to be replaced.
1️⃣ Step One:
To save the client from overpaying for the repair, we decided to try replacing only the portrait camera.
Fortunately, we had a non-working camera assembly where the portrait camera was still intact. 😊
2️⃣ Donor Assembly:
We’re using a camera with a pre-working lower part. 😂
3️⃣ Removing the Damaged Camera:
Carefully removing the damaged camera from the metal frame.
It’s glued very tightly, so we need to be careful not to damage the other two working cameras. 😊
4️⃣ Working with the Donor Assembly:
We carefully make cuts on the donor frame to remove the camera without damaging it.
5️⃣ Preparation for Assembly:
Everything is ready to create one fully working camera from two! 🙂
6️⃣ Assembly and Testing:
We glue the working camera into the assembly, reassemble the phone, and test it.
7️⃣ Result:
The camera works perfectly in all modes! Everything turned out great. 👍
☝️ However, the phone displayed a warning about the camera replacement, but this was expected.
P.S. Out of curiosity, we opened up the non-working camera to examine its structure.
The sensor size turned out to be quite impressive — measurements with a ruler showed 10×13 mm. That’s larger than most compact cameras!
It’s a shame that the largest sensor is on the portrait camera, which isn’t used as often, while the main camera has a significantly smaller one. 😒
