How to Make the Apple Logo on Your iPhone Light Up Like a Macbook (iPhone 7 & 7 Plus) (Video)

Well, thanks to the response from you guys for the iPhone 6/6 Plus light kit and the iPhone 6S/6S Plus kits I put together, here’s how to make the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus Apple logo light up like it does on a Macbook.

Now, there was a bit of a delay getting the iPhone 7 kit to work and the main reason is the fact that Apple changed the way the screen connects to the motherboard. In the previous versions of this kit, we ended up leeching power from the back of the screen and that essentially allowed the LED of the light kit to turn on whenever the screen itself turned on and turn off, dim, etc. with the screen.

I quickly realized that that wasn’t going to be possible with this kit, again, because of Apple’s design, so the solution ended up being to attach it directly to the battery. The issue there was that, while that makes this kit a LOT easier to install since it just sits where the battery normally connects, it also means that it’s always going to draw power from the battery instead of only when the screen itself is on.

To get around the obvious annoyances with that, we added the ability to double tap the light on the back of the phone to turn it on and off. In addition to that, you can also single tap it to cycle through a few modes from always on, to flashing, to what I call breathing, etc.

Regardless of whether you turn it off or not, it doesn’t affect the battery in any noticeable way. I left it on constantly vs it not installed and there was no difference for me in battery life, the ability to turn it off is more so it’s not annoyingly on say in a bar or at dinner if you want to turn it off.

Now, without further ado, here’s how to install the new iPhone 7 light kit to make your Apple logo light up!

Before You Begin

Some caveats before we begin:

  • This most certainly voids your warranty. As soon as you open your iPhone your warranty is void.
  • This will, in all likelihood, compromise your water resistance.
  • You can undo this by putting the original logo back in but your warranty and water resistance will remain compromised.
  • This is not an easy thing to do, if you are not comfortable with taking apart your device and putting it back together, simply do not try this.
  • The light kit is a low-powered LED and cannot, by itself, harm your phone. The issues/risks that come with this is with the installation (you breaking the battery while trying to get it out, damaging cables, scratching something with the screwdriver, etc). YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE CAUSED TO YOUR DEVICE.

Get a Light Kit

With that out of the way, we need to buy a light kit from the links below. They all come with all of the tools you need to install the kit, for free!

iPhone 7 Light Kit
iPhone 7 Plus Light Kit

Once that arrives, check the barcode to make sure you have the correct one, and we can continue.

Install the Light Kit

Again, this process is easier than the other phones, but still not easy. We need to open the phone, remove the battery, pry out the logo, put in the kit and connect it to the battery, and close everything back up.

  1. Using the included pentalobe screwdriver, remove the two small screws on either side of the charging port at the bottom of the phone (set them aside somewhere you won’t lose them, I use a piece of white paper to keep track of everything). Pentalobe Screws
  2. Next, attach the included suction cup to the bottom-most part of the phone’s screen and using the included flat metal pry tool, wedge it down in between the screen and housing. It’s pretty snug so it’s sort of like using a razor to get in between the very tiny gap and then sliding it carefully to get a big enough gap to then switch to the plastic pry tool and work along the left side of the device (the right side is where the screen is connected instead of the usual top on the older models). We use the plastic one as soon as possible to avoid scratching the housing with the metal one.Pry Tool
  3. Then we can use the plastic pry tool to work around the left side until it can be pulled up. You can ignore the black goo that comes up with it, it’s the water sealant.Remove the Screen
  4. Open the phone like a book and you can lay the screen down very carefully on the table. Just be careful of the cables connecting it to the mother board as if you bend them too much you can break the screen.Opening the Screen
  5. Next we can use the phillips head screwdriver to remove the metal plate over where the battery is connected and disconnect the battery using the plastic pry tool or your fingernail.Removing Battery Bracket
  6. Once that’s up, we’re going to remove the small taptic engine under the battery towards the bottom of the phone to give us more room for the next step.Unscrew the Taptic Engine
  7. This is one of the hardest parts. You need to carefully pull up the black tabs at the bottom of the battery so you can grab them with your index finger and thumb. Once you do, you can then pull each one VERY SLOWLY AND DOWNWARD TOWARDS THE BOTTOM OF THE PHONE NOT UPWARD a bit at a time until you pull it all the way out. Repeat until all of the strips are pulled out. These are glue strips by the way and if these break, it is REALLY hard to get the battery out so be SUPER patient with this part.Remove the Glue Strips
  8. Once those are out it’s easy to just pull up the battery and set it aside.Remove the Battery
  9. We now need to pry out the metal Apple logo that’s currently under the battery. This can be sort of a pain so the best way to do it is to take the flathead screwdriver and just scratch back and forth next to the edge of the Apple logo until you can get a divot that you can get an edge of the screwdriver under and use that to pry it up and out of the back of the phone.Pry Up Metal Logo
  10. Now we can lay the logo that came with the kit inside that area and use a piece of electrical tape to optionally hold it down in place.LED Logo
  11. Place the LED over the top of that and make sure the connector of the LED can reach where the battery connects.LED on Top of Logo
  12. Set it in place and put the battery over it and set the battery connector down over the LED connector and snap it in place.Replace the Battery
  13. You can then put the metal plate back over the connector and screw that back down.Screw Back Down Battery Bracket
  14. Replace the taptic engine at the bottom of the phone below where the battery goes.Replace the Taptic Engine
  15. At this point, you should see the logo lighting up a little (double and single tap on it to see if it’ll light) the phone doesn’t need to be powered on for it to light up. (If is isn’t lighting up, reposition it until it does and you can also use the pieces of foam to place over the battery connector to put extra pressure on it to ensure it’s snug down and making contact with the conductors).Check the Logo Light
  16. Once that works, close the phone back up by carefully laying the screen back down until it’s flush with the housing again.Close the Phone Back Up
  17. Put in the two pentalobe screws in the bottom and you’re all done.Replace the Pentalobe Screws

That’s it, you can now single tap the logo to cycle through the modes, and double tap to turn it off. Enjoy!

Let me know what you guys think of the tutorial and the kit! And be sure to reach out on social and say hi!

Thanks for reading!

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6 thoughts on “How to Make the Apple Logo on Your iPhone Light Up Like a Macbook (iPhone 7 & 7 Plus) (Video)”

    1. Sorry to hear you are having issues with the installation. That means either you damaged the battery whole removing it or it isn’t attached correctly. Did you manage to remove the glue strips correctly or did you have to pry it the battery and also try disconnecting the light kit and tell me if the problem persists with it it connected.

      1. I’m sure I removed the battery and the glue strips correctly…
        I also removed the light kit and tried it again but the problem is still there.

  1. Hi is it possible to run the iPhone Light Up in standalone mode with a battery?
    I need this for a special project.
    Thanks, Pablo from Montevideo, Uruguay.

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