How to replace the rear iSight camera on your iPhone: The ultimate guide

If your rear iSight camera on your iPhone isn't working or you're taking photos that show obvious defects, it's possible that the camera assembly is defective or damaged. Typical symptoms of a broken or defective iSight camera include a blacked out screen, purple or blue blemishes, and lines going through the screen.

Which iPhone you have will dictate the difficulty of a DIY repair. Luckily, we've got the guides you need to get the job done from start to finish!

• How to replace the rear iSight camera in an iPhone 5s
• How to replace the rear iSight camera in an iPhone 5c
• How to replace the rear iSight camera in an iPhone 5
• How to replace the rear iSight camera in an iPhone 4s
• How to replace the rear iSight camera in an iPhone 4
• How to replace the rear iSight camera in an iPhone 3G or 3GS

How to replace the rear iSight camera in an iPhone 5s

The iPhone 5s camera is for some reason prone to some of the same purple haze or blemish issues that the iPhone 5 was prone to. Other symptoms of a busted iSight camera in an iPhone 5s could include the camera app freezing completely upon launching it, not being able to switch back and forth between the front-facing and rear camera, lines through images, or even blacked out images. If you have any of these symptoms, you probably need to replace the rear camera assembly. Luckily, the iPhone 5s camera actually attaches to the top of the board instead of the bottom, making it a fairly straight forward and simple repair.

• How to DIY replace the rear iSight camera in an iPhone 5s

How to replace the rear iSight camera in an iPhone 5c

While the iPhone 5c may contain almost the same exact camera as the iPhone 5, the repair process is actually quite different. Luckily, if you own an iPhone 5c, that's a good thing. Much like the iPhone 5s, the camera attaches from the top of the board, instead of the bottom like the iPhone 5. This should make swapping out a defective iPhone 5c camera pretty simple for most folks. Like any other iPhone model, symptoms of a bad rear facing camera in an iPhone 5c include lines through photos, blacked out pictures in your Photos app, blemishes that are purple or blue in color in photos, and even the Camera app itself not being able to open. If you're having any of these issues, a camera replacement is a good idea.

• How to replace the rear iSight camera in an iPhone 5c

How to replace the rear iSight camera in an iPhone 5

The iPhone 5 has been one of the only iPhone models that seems overly prone to camera issues with many users reporting purple blemishes on photos. You can easily verify you have this issue by launching the Camera app and aiming your iPhone 5 at a white surface. If you see a purple blemish somewhere on the screen, it's a defect in the lens and will need to be replaced. Other issues could also include extreme fringing or lens flare, which could signal that the camera needs to be reseated correctly inside the housing. Regardless of the issue, we can walk you through how to replace the entire assembly on your own.

• How to replace the rear iSight camera in an iPhone 5

How to replace a broken rear camera in an iPhone 4s

The iPhone 4s rear camera is a pretty simple repair to perform. First you'll need to be sure that you are replacing the correct part. If the lens cover itself is cracked, you actually need to replace the back panel, which is even easier. However, if you're experiencing other issues such as pixelated images, lines through the screen, or the camera shutter won't open at all and freezes when you launch the Camera app, you'll need a replacement camera assembly. Luckily, that isn't that hard to replace either. Hit the links below for both guides to determine which repair you need.

• How to replace the rear camera assembly in an iPhone 4s
• How to replace the back panel and lens cover in an iPhone 4s

How to replace the rear camera in an iPhone 4

The iPhone 4 is very similar to the iPhone 4s and contains a camera assembly that is replaced almost the exact same way. Actually, the same symptoms are normally present with an iPhone 4. And just like before, if the camera is hazy or the lens cover is cracked, you'll need to replace the back cover, not the actual camera assembly itself. Hit the guides below to determine which you need to replace.

• How to replace the rear camera in a GSM or CDMA iPhone 4
• How to replace the back panel and lens cover in an iPhone 4

How to replace the rear camera in an iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS

If you've still got an iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS laying around, a replacement camera is pretty cheap nowadays. While there didn't seem to be too many complains about the iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS camera, it was possible to dislodge it or for the lens itself to break due to a bad fall. If you feel like tinkering, the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS aren't very hard to DIY repair. We can walk you step by step through a camera replacement, complete with links to parts.

• How to replace the rear camera in an iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS

Questions?

Don't have a broken camera but need to fix something else? We've got those guides, too! Check out our DIY guides for everything you'd want to know about repairing your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.