Phone anatomy — what hides under the screen

A thin bead of adhesive, die-cut to the exact shape of the phone, sits between the display and the frame (and between the frame and the back cover). Together with the gaskets on the buttons, port and SIM tray, it provides water and dust resistance (IP67/IP68). The seal breaks the first time the phone is opened and cannot be reused.

• ▸IP68 = dust-tight and protected against submersion under the maker's stated conditions — not “waterproof” for life
• ▸Resistance drops over time anyway: drops, heat and ageing adhesive
• ▸Fresh adhesive only reaches full strength after a few hours — keep the phone away from water on day one

🔧 XGSM: Every time we open a phone we fit new, model-specific pre-cut adhesive and press the assembly. We restore the seal as close to factory as possible, but the original IP rating can't be guaranteed once a phone has been opened.

The display assembly = cover glass + OLED/LCD panel + touch layer + graphite plate. It's glued with special adhesive and linked to the mainboard by a thin flex.

• ▸OLED: every pixel lights itself — perfect black, low consumption
• ▸InCell/LCD: backlit — more affordable, duller colors
• ▸Cracked glass ≠ dead display: if image and touch work, sometimes only the glass is needed

🔧 XGSM: Our most requested repair. ~30 min installation, with touch and color testing before handover.

At the top, under the glass, sit the selfie camera and a strip of sensors: the proximity sensor (turns the screen off at your ear), the ambient light sensor (auto-brightness), the earpiece speaker and a microphone. Face ID iPhones add an infrared flood illuminator and a dot projector.

• ▸Screen not turning off during calls or odd auto-brightness = usually the top sensors, not the display
• ▸On iPhones, part of the Face ID assembly is factory-paired to the phone — on a display swap it's transferred from the old one, not replaced
• ▸Dust in the earpiece mesh makes calls sound muffled — it gets cleaned, not replaced

🔧 XGSM: On display replacements we carefully transfer the sensor flex and test proximity, auto-brightness, the front camera and Face ID before handover.

The metal frame holds everything together: buttons, antennas, the USB-C port and speakers. The thin plastic strips are antenna breaks — without them you'd have no signal.

• ▸A bent frame from a drop can crack a newly installed display
• ▸Every other part mounts into the frame — so a warped frame gets straightened before anything is fitted
• ▸On some models the frame and back cover are a single housing, replaced together

🔧 XGSM: Frame straightening and port cleaning are quick jobs, often free with diagnostics.

The buttons you press are just caps. Underneath, on a thin flex cable, sit the micro-switches that do the “click”. The volume flex is usually separate from the power flex, and on many Android phones the power key also hides the fingerprint reader.

• ▸A stuck or mushy button = often dirt or liquid under the cap, not the mainboard
• ▸A knock on the edge can crush the switch even when the frame looks fine
• ▸On iPhone 15 Pro and the 16 series the mute switch became the Action button; the 16 series also adds Camera Control

🔧 XGSM: We replace the button flex without touching the mainboard and test every button — fingerprint included, where it's built in.

The USB-C connector (Lightning on older iPhones) isn't soldered straight to the mainboard: it sits on its own flex or a small sub-board, usually together with the main microphone. The loudspeaker sits right next to it.

• ▸Intermittent charging or a loose cable = most of the time lint packed into the port
• ▸Pins corroded by moisture cause slow charging or a “liquid detected” warning
• ▸The microphone shares the same board, so “they can't hear me on calls” is often fixed right here

🔧 XGSM: Port cleaning is done on the spot during diagnostics. If the connector is worn, we replace the port-and-mic board and test fast charging and data transfer.

Under the cover sit the wireless-charging coil and the NFC antennas. It's factory-sealed — that's why opening needs controlled heat, not a screwdriver.

• ▸A cracked cover lets dust and moisture reach the battery and board
• ▸Wireless charging dies with the cracked coil underneath
• ▸After any opening, we reseal with fresh adhesive

🔧 XGSM: Back-cover replacement includes cleaning, fresh adhesive and a wireless test.

Each lens is a sealed module: lenses, sensor and optical stabilization. Dust between lenses or a scratched lens means hazy photos — no software fix.

• ▸Optical stabilization (OIS) can jam after shocks — shaky image
• ▸The outer camera glass is replaced separately, much cheaper
• ▸Flash and laser sensor (LiDAR) sit on the same module

🔧 XGSM: We test every camera (photo, video, focus, flash) before and after installation.

The middle metal plate stiffens the phone and spreads CPU heat to the frame. The thermal paste and graphite pads on it keep the phone cool.

• ▸Overheating often comes from dried thermal pads or a tired battery
• ▸A warped midframe = the phone no longer closes sealed
• ▸Most screws anchor here — each has its own length

🔧 XGSM: With any internal job we check and restore the thermal protections.

The CPU, memory, 5G modem and power circuits live on this multilayer board. The metal shields (EMI shields) protect signals from interference.

• ▸Board-level repair (microsoldering) saves phones declared “dead”
• ▸The display connector is the first check for a black screen
• ▸The SIM slot and signal circuits are here too

🔧 XGSM: Board diagnostics are free with us — we'll honestly tell you if it's worth fixing.

Your photos, chats and contacts live on the memory (NAND) chip on the mainboard. On modern phones that data is encrypted with a key tied to the phone's own processor and your passcode. The memory chip moved into another phone shows nothing, so the only road to your data is getting the original board to boot again.

• ▸Cracked screen but the phone still boots = the data can almost always be saved (after a display swap or with the phone connected to a computer)
• ▸Phone dropped in water: don't charge it and don't try to switch it on. Bring it in fast, because corrosion spreads by the hour
• ▸Without the passcode nobody can read the data, not us and not the manufacturer. That's protection, not a fault
• ▸Automatic backup (iCloud / Google) is the only real insurance: check today that it's on

🔧 XGSM: Diagnostics are free: we tell you honestly whether the board can be brought back to life long enough to save your data, before any cost.

A ~5000 mAh Li-Ion cell, glued with special adhesive strips. After ~500 full cycles it visibly loses capacity — the phone shuts off “out of nowhere” at 20%.

• ▸A swollen battery pushes the display — that's urgent, don't ignore it
• ▸Heat and nightly overcharging age the cell
• ▸Replacement needs fresh adhesive and charge calibration

🔧 XGSM: A new battery = day-one autonomy. Quick installation, with a drain test before handover.

The flat orange cables link display, battery, buttons and antennas to the mainboard. They're paper-thin and tear with careless opening.

• ▸A pinched display flex = lines on screen or dead touch zones
• ▸Unresponsive button? Often the flex is to blame, not the button
• ▸Gold connectors must be pried with a plastic spudger, never metal

🔧 XGSM: We check flex continuity with every opening — preventing defects “from the shop”.

Ten pentalobe screws hold everything tight. They look trivial, but one over-long screw in the wrong hole can pierce the board and kill the phone for good.

• ▸Every screw has its length and spot — we map them on opening
• ▸Missing screws = creaking, loose cover, lost sealing
• ▸That's why the “DIY kit” repair often ends up with us

🔧 XGSM: At handover, the phone leaves with all screws, resealed and fully tested.

Adhesive, display, sensors, frame, buttons, port, cover, cameras, board, battery, flexes, screws and the memory holding your data — every part has its role and its quality grade (original, OEM, aftermarket). When you request a quote, you know exactly what we're talking about.

🔧 XGSM: Come informed: request a quote with your exact model and part, and we reply within 24h.