Troubleshooting Unresponsive iPhone 4S Screens

Troubleshooting Unresponsive iPhone 4S Screens

Over the past few months we've had several customer questions and concerns regarding the LCDs of screens for the iPhone 4S. We've received complaints of several 4S screens not lighting up at all. Finally we have a clue as to what could cause this to happen to customers while repairing these devices. We've recently learned that the new IC chips in the iPhone 4S LCD cables are only compatible when used with iOS 6.0 and above. If a screen with this new IC chip is installed on a device that hasn't been updated to 6.0 or above, the LCD will not light up and the screen will not work. If installed on a device with iOS 6.0 and above, there are no issues and the screen should work perfectly. If you have encountered 2-3 or more "defective" iPhone 4S screens in a row, in which the LCD doesn't light up at all, we highly suggest checking the phone's operating system to make sure it is up to date and compatible with the screen.  

How to download iOS updates on iPhone 4S:

1. From the home screen, choose "Settings"
2. From Settings, choose "General"
3. From General, choose "Software Update"
4. Download and install updated operating system

Compare it to computers: If you put a new video card into a Windows PC, without the right software drivers they won't communicate and it simply won't work. Without the correct software installed on the iPhone 4S you're repairing, the newly installed hardware won't be able to communicate with the operating system and won't work.