Samsung Galaxy S21 Front Camera Replacement

Power off your phone completely before starting repairs.

• Apply an iOpener to the bottom edge of the back cover for two minutes to loosen adhesives.
• A hair dryer, heat gun, or hot plate can also be used. However, be cautious not to overheat the phone as components like the display and internal battery may be damaged by excessive heat.

Apply a suction cup to the back of the phone, near the center of the bottom edge.

Use strong, steady force to create a gap between the back cover and the frame.

• If you encounter resistance, try applying more heat to the edge before proceeding.
• Insert an opening pick into the created gap.
• The pick should only be inserted up to 5 mm to avoid damaging internal components.

Sliding the pick back and forth along the bottom edge will slice through the adhesive.

Do not remove the pick or the adhesive may reseal.

Apply a heated iOpener to the left edge of the back cover for 2 minutes.

Apply a suction cup to the phone's back, near the left edge center.

• Pull up on the suction cup with strong, steady force to create a gap between the back cover and frame.
• Insert an opening pick into the gap, but limit insertion depth to 5 mm to avoid damaging internal components.

Do not cut the adhesive past where the camera shell meets the back cover — risk of cracking the plastic.

• Slide an opening pick along the left edge towards the bottom left corner to cut the adhesive.
• Leave the pick in place to prevent the adhesive from resealing.

Apply heat to the right edge of the back cover using an iOpener for 2 minutes.

Apply a suction cup to the back of the phone near the center of the right edge.

• Pull up on the suction cup with strong force to create a gap between the back cover and frame.
• Insert an opening pick into the gap, but not more than 3 mm deep to avoid damaging the secondary interconnect cable.

Insert an opening pick into the right edge of the back cover.

• Slide the pick back and forth along the edge to separate the adhesive.
• Leave the pick in place to prevent resealing.

Insert the right-edge opening pick into the top-right corner of the phone.

• Rotate the pick around this corner by up to 90 degrees.
• Only insert the pick up to 5 mm, as damage to internal components may occur if inserted deeper.
• This procedure can be applied to each remaining corner, excluding the top-left where the rear-facing camera is located.

• Position the top pick near the camera housing.
• Repeat by placing the left-edge pick in its designated area.

Apply heat from an iOpenter to the camera shell for 2 minutes.

Rotate the back cover counterclockwise to create a gap.

• Insert the opening pick up to only 5 mm deep to avoid scratching.
• Push an opening pick into the gap.

If this method fails, proceed with alternative methods. Otherwise, skip next steps.

Careful: Risk of cracking the plastic back cover.

• Slide two picks toward the camera shell under the adjacent corners.
• Moving the picks back and forth along the bridge, create a gap between the camera shell and the frame.

• Insert an opening pick between the camera shell and the frame

• Multiple rounds of heating may be required to loosen strong adhesive.

Use the pick to cut through the additional adhesive to the right of the camera.

Be careful not to stick the pick in the plate around the phone's flash, as it may get caught.

Angle the pick downward to avoid damaging any surrounding components.

Line up the opening pick's tip with your phone's flash.

• Insert the pick slowly, avoiding the flash's plate.
• The plate may feel similar in resistance to adhesive; angle the pick downward to prevent it from slipping in.
• Slice the adhesive to the right of the camera.

Do not power on the phone until after reassembly and testing.

• Remove the back cover.
• If stuck, slide a pick around the edges to separate completely.

Power on the phone, test functions, then power down before continuing.

• Remove adhesive chunks with tweezers or fingers.
• Clean residue with high concentration isopropyl alcohol (over 90%).

For custom-cut adhesives: follow the Samsung guide.

For double-sided tape: follow the relevant guide.

Remove the five 4 mm screws securing the motherboard bracket to the frame using a Phillips screwdriver.

• Keep track of each removed screw.
• Replace each screw in its exact original location.

Use a pair of tweezers to carefully lift and unhook the motherboard bracket from the frame.

Do not completely remove the bracket yet, as it's still attached to the wireless charging coil.

Careful: prying under the edge of the connector prevents damage.

• Hold the motherboard bracket out of the way using tweezers or your fingers.
• Pry up the battery press connector with a spudger, taking care to pry only under its edge.

Do not press down on the middle when re-attaching. If misaligned, pins can bend and cause permanent damage.

• Align the connector carefully and press down on one side until it clicks into place.
• Repeat on the other side; do not press in the middle.

Hold the motherboard bracket in place with one hand.

• Use a spudger to gently pry up the wireless charging coil's press connector.
• Disconnect the press connector once it is loose.

Locate and carefully pry up the wireless charging coil using your fingers.

Note: Light adhesive is used, so proceed with gentle force.

• During reassembly, first refasten the motherboard bracket screws.
• Firmly press the remaining wireless charging coil into place to secure it.

Insert the point of a spudger under the earpiece speaker cable's press connector.

• Pry upwards gently to release the connector from its housing.
• The cable should come loose once the press connector is released.

Remove the earpiece speaker using a Phillips screwdriver.

• Identify the seven 4 mm screws securing the earpiece speaker.
• Loosen and remove each of the identified screws in sequence.

Insert the point of a spudger into the gap between the right-most edge of the earpiece speaker and the phone.

• Pry up the clips holding the earpiece speaker in place using the spudger.
• Use tweezers or your fingers to remove the earpiece speaker.

Use the flat end of a spudger to gently pry up the front camera's press connector.

Apply high concentration (over 90%) isopropyl alcohol to the gaps around the front camera with a few initial drops.

• Only use a small amount initially; add more as needed.
• Beware of overflow onto the motherboard, using excessive isopropyl alcohol.

Insert spudger tip into gap between frame and front camera.

• Pry up with spudger to detach front camera.
• If front camera is stuck, apply more isopropyl alcohol. Adhesive may take time to loosen.
• Use tweezers or fingers to remove front camera.