Best replacement part option for damaged screen

Hi Jon,

I see this come up a lot with Samsung phones, and I still haven't come to a solid conclusion as to which is best.

For the screens without a frame, it actually looks like a fairly straight-forward repair, but it is a pain separating the old screen from the frame. Of course you have to make sure to use good adhesive on the replacement since that's all there is holding the screen on, unlike iPhones where you have clips and pentalobe screws in addition to adhesive.

On the other hand, when you get the screen with the frame, you can be fairly sure that screen isn't going to fall off since it's been secured at the factory. The downside is that every other component in the phone is mounted to that frame, so it's a complete gut job; take everything out of the old phone and transfer it to the new one. Fortunately they don't tend to use as many flex cables adhered to frame as Apple does, but it's still a non-trivial amount of work.

In terms of price, on other models I've generally found that the ones that come with a frame are only marginally more expensive than the ones without; up to now the difference hasn't been significant enough to sway me one way or the other.

On most sites that feature step by step written guides, they usually document the repair as being done with the frame, while most of the YouTube videos tend to lean toward screens without frames.

The iFixit guide for your friend's phone is indeed for the frameless one as you've already seen.

Samsung Galaxy A70 Screen Replacement - iFixit Repair Guide

There's a German site called iDoc.eu that has a guide done with the frame, so you have your choice as to which one you want to do now.

Samsung Galaxy A70 screen replacement - repair guide

As far as the fingerprint reader, it's kind of like swapping over the home button assembly on an iPhone; you have to successfully remove the old part and transplant it to the new screen. In theory it should be quite doable so I'd personally be tempted to go with one that has a frame but without the fingerprint reader. I should note, however, that my last attempt at swapping a fingerprint reader on a Google Pixel 6 Pro for my niece didn't go well; it was very well stuck onto the screen and despite the liberal use of heat, it appears that I must have damaged it in some way in the process, as it wasn't even recognized when I plugged it into the new screen. Fortunately the parts are available separately and unlike Apple, you can buy an aftermarket part and calibrate it for your phone. So even if the fingerprint sensor doesn't go well, you can still get a replacement.

So there's my thoughts on the subject; hopefully they've given you some ideas and comparing the two guides will show you what you're in for with each kind of repair.

Let us know what you decide; I'd be interested to know how it works out for whichever one you choose.