Apple iPad 1st Gen Home Button Malfunction - disassembly & repair

If you have one of the original 1st gen iPads and the home button doesn't work, this video may help you out so you can fix it! Or at least you can find out what is wrong ;) It is entirely possible that you won't even need to replace any parts in order to fix the problem. [Use chapters if you want to jump to a specific section]
There are two different models for 1st gen iPads - A1219 (WiFi-only) and A1337 (WiFi+3G). These would be very similar, but there are a few minor differences internally (screen clips placement etc). Here we're working with A1219 (WiFi only) model, but it will look mostly the same for A1337 model.
So we are going to partially disassemble the tablet, which is mostly detaching the screen in this case. We'll test home button, microswitch and contacts, clean up, replace as necessary and then reassemble everything back.
Don't forget to like and subscribe if you found this useful and would like to see more. Let me know in the comments what you agree/disagree with, what you liked, what you didn't like, if you have any questions, if you know of a better way of doing it, or if there is something that I absolutely should not be doing or have done ;) All constructive feedback is welcome! ;)
Disclaimer:
This video is only for entertainment purposes. Any injury, damage, or loss that may result from improper use of tools, equipment, or from the information in this video is the sole responsibility of the viewer.
00:00 Intro
02:04 Disassembly
04:03 Disconnect screen cables
07:02 Home button mechanism
09:40 Simulate home button press
11:04 Button re-test
12:27 Cleaning contacts
14:44 Replacing broken clips
18:27 Re-assembly
20:36 Success - thanks for watching!

[@Ruthless701]

What are the pins called on the outer edges of the screen when you remove it? Where can I find them?
*Sorry I meant clips* that keep the screen on

[@JustMakeItNow]

I don't think there is a specific name, these are just known as iPad 1 screen clips. Unless you have a local supplier of mobile repair parts that carries these, your most likely options are eBay and Aliexpress. I've seen these on eBay, and you will likely pay through the nose for these there ($1+/piece), but you have a chance of getting it relatively quickly (assuming you're in North America). Aliexpress would be considerably cheaper (I think I've got 100 pieces for $15 or so), but shipping will likely take a looong time.
Alternatively, often you still have enough clips left intact assuming you're opening it for the first time. You just need to redistribute the intact ones, and normally it should be enough for secure closure.

[@Ruthless701]

@@JustMakeItNow thank you 🙏

[@xx3868]

Hi, is the ipad Mini 1 screens the same as the mini 2 to swap over? or is there diff's . Thanks

[@JustMakeItNow]

Not the same. I believe mini 2's is Retina, while original mini 1 is not. About 4x more pixels on the later model ;)

[@xx3868]

@@JustMakeItNow hi, would the connector be diff or same? The regular ipad 3 and 4 are interchangable i believe except for the home button.

[@JustMakeItNow]

​@@xx3868 LCD FPC connectors on 1 and 2 are the same physically (and I believe they're located in the same spots), so you can _plug_ the swapped screen in. Whether or not it would actually _work_ I don't know, especially given that actual screens are so different. I remember I tried swapping screens across models of some Samsung phones (with the same physical connector), and it did not work...

[@xx3868]

@@JustMakeItNow Thanks, i hoping the power pins arnt diff as plugging it in will blow things up!! haha might use same with same .
One other question. I been looking up alexpress for LCD screens , touch screens ect and one seller was selling lcd backlight? A review said its only the back light, not lcd?? Is there 3 parts, touch, lcd, and back light on bottom? or does backlight join to lcd and thats what their selling? thanks

[@JustMakeItNow]

​@@xx3868 Well, I don't know what exactly they're selling, but if they say backlight it is likely to be just a backlight panel, not LCD. I am more familiar with OLED/AMOLED displays (fewer layers there), but for LED (which I think this Ipad mini is) there are quite a few - glass, digitizer, polarizer, LCD, backlight etc. Some of the layers might not be separable, some might be. I wouldn't recommend rebuilding that kind of screen from layers unless you know exactly what you're doing. Usually something seeps in-between layers (alcohol/solvent, adhesive, dust) and it is quite visible. That is if you don't destroy some layers trying to separate them ;)