Nintendo Switch Lite LCD Replacement
By Craig Lloyd • Difficulty: Moderate
Introduction

Follow this guide to replace a faulty or damaged LCD on the Nintendo Switch Lite.

The Switch Lite uses JIS screws, but you can use a Phillips screwdriver in a pinch. Be very careful not to strip the screws. iFixit's Phillips bits are designed to be cross-compatible with JIS-style screws.

Note: This guide is for the LCD only. If you're replacing the screen (the LCD attached to the digitizer) follow this guide. If the display glass is cracked or shattered, but the LCD still works, you’ll need to replace the digitizer instead.

Note: Removing the joysticks and buttons isn’t required, but it makes this repair much easier.

Note: This procedure requires removing the shield plate and heat sink. The thermal paste will need to be cleaned off of both components—as well as the CPU—and reapplied before reinstalling the shield plate and heat sink.

Remove the back panel screws
  • Before beginning this repair, make sure that the device is completely turned off.
  • Use a Y00 screwdriver to remove the four 6.3 mm-long screws securing the back panel.
  • Throughout this repair, keep track of each screw and make sure it goes back exactly where it came from.
Remove the top and bottom back panel screws
  • Use a JIS 000 driver or an official iFixit PH 000 driver to remove the following screws securing the back panel:
  • Two 3.6 mm-long screws on the top of the device
  • Two 3.6 mm-long screws on the bottom of the device
  • To prevent these tight screws from stripping, apply firm downward force, work slowly and try a different screwdriver if the screws won't come out.
Release the clips securing the back panel
  • Insert an opening tool into the left speaker grille on the bottom of the device.
  • Twist the opening tool to release the clips securing the back panel.
  • Avoid inserting the opening tool further than required to prevent damage to the speaker module.
Continue releasing the clips around the device
  • Slide the opening tool around the bottom-left corner to release the clips on the left side of the device.
Twist to release the clips
  • Insert an opening tool into the right speaker grille on the bottom of the device.
  • Twist the opening tool to release the clips.
  • Avoid inserting the opening tool further than required to prevent damage to the speaker module.
Slide and pry around the corners
  • Slide and pry the opening tool around the bottom-right corner to release the clips on the right side of the device.
Step 7
  • Continue sliding and prying the opening tool along the gap on the top of the device to release the clips.
Remove the back panel
  • Lift the bottom edge of the back panel, opening it like a book.
  • Remove the back panel.
Remove the shield plate
  • Use a JIS 000 driver or an official iFixit PH 000 driver to remove the following four screws:
  • Three 3.1 mm screws
  • One 4.5 mm screw
Step 10
  • Use a spudger or your fingers to lift the shield plate up and out of the device.
  • You may feel a bit of resistance. This is normal, since the shield plate is slightly bonded to the heat sink with thermal paste.
  • Remove the shield plate.
  • Clean off the old thermal paste from the shield plate and heat sink using isopropyl alcohol and a microfiber cloth. Apply new thermal paste to the heat sink before reassembly.
Disconnect the battery
  • Use an opening tool or your fingernail to flip up the small, hinged locking flap on the motherboard interconnect cable's ZIF connector.
Step 12
  • Do Not Use Metal Tweezers! Some fixers state that metallic tweezers can short circuit the ribbon cable/connector. It might be safer to just use nylon-tipped or ceramic-tipped tweezers.
  • Use a pair of tweezers to slide the interconnect cable out of its connector on the motherboard.
Step 13
  • Use the point of a spudger to pry the battery connector straight up and out of its socket on the motherboard.
Remove the heat sink
  • Use the flat end of a spudger or your fingers to carefully peel up the foam that's lightly adhered to the fan.
  • The foam only needs to be peeled back enough to clear the fan.
Step 15
  • Use a JIS 000 driver or an official iFixit PH 000 driver to remove the three 3 mm screws securing the heat sink to the motherboard.
Step 16
  • Use a spudger or your fingers to lift the heatsink up and off of the motherboard to remove it.
  • You may feel a bit of resistance. This is normal, since the heat sink is slightly bonded to the CPU with thermal paste.
  • Clean off the old thermal paste from the heat sink and CPU using isopropyl alcohol and a microfiber cloth. Apply new thermal paste to the CPU before reassembly.
Remove the game card reader and headphone jack
  • Use an opening tool or your fingernail to flip up the small, hinged locking flap on the game card reader cable's ZIF connector.
Step 18
  • Use a JIS 000 driver or an official iFixit PH 000 driver to remove the seven 3.1 mm screws securing the game card reader and headphone jack.
Step 19
  • Use a pair of tweezers or your fingers to carefully lift the game card reader and maneuver it to the left to slide the cable out of its connector.
  • Remove the game card reader and headphone jack.
Remove the right trigger button assembly
  • Use a JIS 000 driver or an official iFixit PH 000 driver to remove the two 4.5 mm screws securing the right trigger button assembly to the motherboard.
Step 21
  • Remove the right trigger button assembly.
Step 22
  • Use a pair of tweezers or your fingers to remove the right trigger button assembly's rubber pad if it didn't stay attached to the button assembly.
Disconnect the antenna cables
  • Use the point of a spudger to pry the black antenna cable straight up out of its socket on the motherboard.
  • Repeat the same process for the white antenna cable.
Disconnect the fan cable
  • Use an opening tool or your fingernail to flip up the small, hinged locking flap on the fan cable's ZIF connector.
Step 25
  • Use a pair of tweezers to slide out the fan cable from its connector on the motherboard.
Disconnect the screen cable
  • Use an opening tool or your fingernail to flip up the small, hinged locking flap on the screen cable's ZIF connector.
Step 27
  • Use a pair of tweezers to slide the screen cable out of its connector on the motherboard.
Disconnect the digitizer cable
  • Use an opening tool or your fingernail to flip up the small, hinged locking flap on the digitizer cable's ZIF connector.
Step 29
  • Use a pair of tweezers to slide the digitizer cable out of its connector on the motherboard.
Disconnect the right joystick cable
  • Use an opening tool or your fingernail to flip up the small, hinged locking flap on the right joystick cable's ZIF connector.
Step 31
  • Use a pair of tweezers to slide the right joystick cable out of its connector on the motherboard.
Remove the motherboard assembly
  • Use a JIS 000 driver or an official iFixit PH 000 driver to remove the following six screws securing the motherboard:
  • Three 3.1 mm screws
  • Three 4.5 mm screws
Step 33
  • Insert a spudger in the gap between the frame and the motherboard and lift the motherboard up and out of its recess.
  • Remove the motherboard assembly.
Remove the right joystick
  • Use a JIS 000 driver or an official iFixit PH 000 driver to remove the two 3.5 mm screws securing the joystick.
Step 35
  • Use your fingers to remove the joystick.
  • There is a thin black gasket around the hole where the joystick pokes through the frame. Try not to disturb this gasket as you remove the joystick.
Remove the left speaker module
  • Use a pair of tweezers or your fingers to pull the left speaker cable straight up and out of its socket on the daughterboard.
  • Do not pull from the wires, or else you risk ripping the wires off the connector.
Step 37
  • Use a JIS 000 driver or an official iFixit PH 000 driver to remove the 4.5 mm screw securing the left speaker module.
Step 38
  • Use your fingers to lift the speaker module up and out of its recess to remove it.
  • Part of the speaker module sits underneath a delicate ribbon cable. Take care not to snag the speaker module on the cable as you remove it.
Disconnect the motherboard interconnect cable
  • Use an opening tool or your fingernail to flip up the small, hinged locking flap on the motherboard interconnect cable's ZIF connector.
Step 40
  • Use a pair of tweezers to slide the motherboard interconnect cable out of its connector on the daughterboard.
Disconnect the screen and volume button cables
  • Use an opening tool or your fingernail to flip up the small, hinged locking flaps on the two ribbon cable ZIF connectors.
Step 42
  • Use a pair of tweezers to slide the daughterboard screen cable out of its connector on the motherboard.
  • Repeat this procedure for the volume buttons cable.
Remove the volume buttons
  • Use a pair of tweezers or your fingers to remove the volume buttons.
Disconnect the joystick cable
  • Use an opening tool or your fingernail to flip up the small, hinged locking flap on the left joystick cable's ZIF connector.
Step 45
  • Use a pair of tweezers to slide the left joystick cable out of its connector on the daughterboard.
Remove the left trigger button assembly
  • Use a JIS 000 driver or an official iFixit PH 000 driver to remove the two 4.5 mm screws securing the left trigger button assembly.
Step 47
  • Remove the left trigger button assembly.
Remove the daughterboard
  • Use a JIS 000 driver or an official iFixit PH 000 driver to remove the following four screws:
  • Two 4.5 mm screws
  • Two 6 mm screws
Step 49
  • Use your fingers to lift the daughterboard up and out of its recess to remove it.
Remove the left joystick
  • Use a JIS 000 driver or an official iFixit PH 000 driver to remove the two 3.5 mm screws securing the left joystick.
Step 51
  • Use the flat end of a spudger to lift the joystick up and out of its recess.
  • Use your fingers to remove the joystick.
  • There is a thin black gasket around the hole where the joystick pokes through the frame. Try not to disturb this gasket as you remove the joystick.
Remove the midframe assembly
  • Use a JIS 000 driver or an official iFixit PH 000 driver to remove the following four screws:
  • Three 2.5 mm screws
  • One 6 mm screw
Step 53
  • Use a spudger or your fingers to lift the midframe assembly up and out of its recess.
  • Remove the midframe assembly.
Remove the buttons
  • At this point in the repair, remove all of the buttons if you haven't done so already, to prevent them from falling out and getting lost.
  • Use these two photos for reference.
Remove the LCD
  • Heat an iOpener and apply it to the back side of the LCD along the top edge for 2 minutes.
  • A hair dryer or heat gun may also be used, but be careful not to overheat the LCD if you plan on reusing it, as it's susceptible to heat damage.
Step 56
  • Insert an opening pick between the frame and the top edge of the LCD to begin separating the two components.
  • Make sure to insert the pick completely under the LCD panel so you don't split and damage it.
  • You'll know you're splitting the panel if the silver backing bubbles and separates from the white lining.
Step 57
  • Slide the opening pick along the top edge of the LCD to slice the adhesive.
Step 58
  • Apply a heated iOpener to the back side of the LCD along the right edge for 2 minutes.
Step 59
  • Continue sliding the opening pick around the right edge of the LCD, slicing the adhesive.
  • The LCD and digitizer cables are placed in a way to prevent them from easily snagging on the opening pick, but still use caution when sliding the opening pick along the gap.
Step 60
  • Apply a heated iOpener to the back side of the LCD along the bottom edge for 2 minutes.
Step 61
  • Continue sliding the opening pick along the bottom edge of the LCD to slice the adhesive.
  • You'll need to remove and reinsert the opening pick at various points along the LCD's edge to work around the frame.
Step 62
  • Apply a heated iOpener to the back side of the LCD along the left edge for 2 minutes.
Step 63
  • Continue sliding the opening pick along the left edge of the LCD to slice the adhesive.
  • Take care not to snag the LCD's daughterboard cable on the opening pick.
Step 64
  • Use the flat end of a spudger or your fingers to lift the LCD up and out of the frame to remove it.
  • If you're reusing the LCD (or your new LCD does not come with pre‑installed adhesive), follow this guide to install pre-cut adhesive around the perimeter before reassembly.
Step 65
  • If you're also replacing the digitizer, you can skip this step.
  • Use the flat end of a spudger to scrape off the remaining adhesive around the perimeter of the digitizer.
  • Prior to installing a new LCD, use isopropyl alcohol and a microfiber cloth to clean and remove any residual adhesive from the back side of the digitizer. Wait several minutes for any remaining alcohol to evaporate before installing the LCD.
Conclusion

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

Take your e-waste to an R2 or e-Stewards certified recycler.

Repair didn’t go as planned? Try some basic troubleshooting, or ask our Nintendo Switch Lite Answers community for help.