How to tell the difference between OEM and Refurbished OEM Screens

The easiest way to tell the difference between an Refurbished OEM or OEM screen is the presence of third party stamps or stickers. If there are third party stamps or stickers, this will identify the screen as Refurbished OEM. If your screen does not have stamps or stickers, use the following identifiers to determine whether it’s OEM or Refurbished OEM.
    1. OEM screens will have foam pads over the flex cables while Refurbished OEM screens will either have no pads or poorly placed pads.
    2. OEM screens will typically have an Apple Logo on one or both flex cables while Refurbished OEM screens typically don’t have a logo or the Apple logo is colored over with a sharpie marker.
    3. The adhesive for the proximity sensor’s plastic holder is generally stronger than the Refurbished OEM adhesive, therefore that piece typically falls off on Refurbished OEM screens
    4. OEM screens use a rectangular white film under the ambient light sensor while Refurbished OEM screens typically do not.
    5. The adhesive for the front camera’s plastic holder is generally stronger than the Refurbished OEM adhesive, therefore that piece typically falls off on Refurbished OEM screens. Also, the black OEM screens will typically have a blue ring of reflective coating where the front camera sits to reduce haze; Refurbished OEM screens typically won’t include the haze protection.
    6. The glue/solder attaching the backlight to the LCD is typically somewhat clean on OEM screens. You will find on Refurbished OEM screens that there tends to be messy glue spots on the backlight connection.
    7. Most Refurbished OEM screens will have a blacked out serial number, if not their own serial number printed
    8. OEM screens will have a matte black sticker placed in the top left corner while Refurbished OEM screens will have a glossy sticker or no sticker.
  1. OEM screens have an oleophobic coating over the front glass. This means that a drop of water will bead up and stay as a bead when moved around the screen. Refurbished OEM screens do not include that coating so the water tends to leave a trail.

Refurbished OEM vs Chinese

Refurbished OEM can be broken down into:
  • Refurbished OEM (an original iPhone screen that has been refurbished), or
  • Chinese copy (no original OEM parts)
We accept all Refurbished OEM screens, however we do not accept any chinese screens. See below for details on how to spot the chinese screens from the Refurbished OEM screens.
OEM Refurbished OEM Chinese (Tianma) Chinese (JDF) Chinese (LT)
Accepted Accepted Not Accepted Not Accepted Not Accepted
Flex Cable
LCD
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