UPCYCLING AN IPAD INTO A TOUCH SCREEN (IPAD 3RD GEN TOUCHSCREEN MONITOR MOD)
An activation-locked iPad 3 that boots but does nothing becomes a USB multitouch screen for your PC with a Pico and fifteen solder points.
by Tucker Osman
Open-hardwareDisplays
Built withRaspberry Pi Pico / RP2040
- difficulty
- ●●●●○
- time
- a long weekend
- license
- GPLv3
- repo
- repo ACTIVE159 stars
●●●●○ · a long weekend · GPLv3 · 159 stars · repo ACTIVE
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
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COMPAREE VERDICT
This project takes an old iPad 3rd generation, the kind that is usually iCloud activation-locked and headed for e-waste, and turns it into a USB touchscreen monitor for a PC. You keep the LCD panel, touch digitizer and logic board, remove the battery, drive the panel from a third-party eDP-to-DisplayPort driver board, and solder a Raspberry Pi Pico to the iPad's logic board so the original digitizer shows up as a standard HID multitouch device. The hard part is the soldering: fifteen required wires and four optional ones to small test pads, plus removing a tiny inductor with hot air. The iPad has to boot iOS once so the Pico can record calibration data, and never again after that. Windows and Linux see it with no drivers; macOS needs extra software. The code is GPLv3 and the documentation CC BY-NC. If you are confident with fine soldering and have a dead-end iPad 3 in a drawer, this is a satisfying weekend; if your iPad is a 4th generation, you are in untested territory.
IN THE REPO
GOOD TO KNOW
- —Firmware and detailed soldering guide are in the repository.
- —Bill of materials lists the eDP driver board, Pico, and connectors.
- —No mechanical design files — the iPad shell is reused as-is.
- —Code is GPLv3; documentation and images are CC-BY-NC 4.0, which blocks commercial use.
- —Instructions are specific to iPad 3rd generation; 4th-gen compatibility is explicitly unconfirmed by the author.
- —The iPad must be able to boot iOS once for calibration, then never again.
Parts to buy
7 itemsFrom our check of the build. Exact quantities and part numbers are in the creator’s BOM.
Can I build this?
Build at your own risk. Projects involve tools, electronics and sometimes mains voltage — follow the creator’s safety notes.
Videos
Tucker Osman's build walkthrough
The creator's own video showing disassembly, soldering, and the final multitouch working on a PC.
More builds like this
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Start here
Navigation into the creator’s own docs — we don’t rewrite the guide, we route you to the source.
- 1.Confirm your iPad is 3rd generation (The guide is written for the iPad 3rd generation; 4th-gen compatibility is explicitly unconfirmed and the solder points are likely different.)
- 2.Source the eDP driver board(Search for 'iPad 3 eDP driver board' — it is not Apple OEM, it is a third-party HDMI or DisplayPort adapter sold for reusing iPad LCDs.)
- 3.Read the soldering guide in the README (It names all fifteen test points and includes a diagram. Print it before you start.)
- 4.Build and flash the Pico firmware (Compile it with the Pico SDK, copy the resulting main.uf2 to the Pico, and let it run the training phase from the iPad — retry if it fails the first time.)
Resources
Documentation, files and community threads for this build — we link straight to the original sources and never rehost the creator’s files.
KNOWN ISSUES
- Buying the wrong iPad generation. This is written for the 3rd-gen model; the author says 4th-gen is unconfirmed and untested. Check the model number on the back of the case before you buy.
- Tearing the lithium pouch during removal. Work slowly with a plastic spudger and do it in a well-ventilated space. A punctured cell smokes.
- Cold solder joints on the test pads. The 30 AWG magnet wire is thin and the pads are small; use plenty of flux, strain-relieve the joints with glue and check continuity with a multimeter before you close it up.
- Skipping the iOS calibration step. The Pico firmware needs the calibration data or the touch coordinates will be wrong. The iPad must boot iOS at least once.
- Planning to use it with a Mac. Windows and Linux see the touch screen with no drivers, but macOS does not support HID multitouch out of the box, so you will need to find extra software yourself.
Can I use an iPad 4th generation?
Maybe. The author has not tried it: he expects the firmware to work, but the solder points on the 4th-gen logic board are likely different, so you would be mapping them yourself.
Does the iPad need to stay connected to the internet?
No. iOS boots once for calibration, then never again. The iCloud lock does not matter after that.
Will this work on macOS?
Not out of the box. The README notes that macOS does not support HID multitouch natively, so you may need third-party software; Windows and Linux work without drivers.
How accurate is the touch response?
The video shows ten-finger multitouch working in the Windows multitouch tester. It is a real digitizer, not a mouse emulator.
Community builds
No community builds yet — be the first, we feature the best ones.
Discussion1
FROM THE COMPAREE TEAM
Fifteen solder points between you and a working touchscreen — and the iPad only needs to boot iOS once, for calibration. What would you use it for after that?
Tucker Osman
Tucker Osman is a hardware hacker who documents his builds on GitHub and YouTube. He had already turned an old iPad panel into a DisplayPort screen kept in its original frame, then wanted the glass to work as a touch screen too — and to keep activation-locked iPads out of the e-waste pile.
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DISCLAIMER
- Comparee is not the author of the projects featured here. All rights to each project belong to its creator — every page links to the original source, and we never host creators’ files.
- Information is provided without warranty and may become outdated as projects evolve. Prices are indicative bands only — always check the creator’s parts list for current costs.
- Building and operating any project is at your own responsibility. Protective equipment, safe workshop practice and compliance with local regulations are the builder’s responsibility.
CompareeTEAM1mo agoedited
Practical notes from our verification: the repository includes the Raspberry Pi Pico firmware source and a clear diagram of the logic-board test points (fifteen required wires, four optional), but no CAD or enclosure files — you are reusing the iPad shell as-is, cut to fit the display driver board. The creator's own YouTube video is an abridged visual guide to the same process and is linked from the README. The single biggest trap is the iPad generation: this is written for the 3rd-gen model and the README says 4th-gen support is speculative and unconfirmed. Windows and Linux work without drivers; macOS may need extra software. The code is GPLv3 and everything else, including documentation and images, is CC-BY-NC 4.0, which blocks commercial use of those parts. Correction (4 October 2026): we re-checked this page line by line against the project's own repository, documentation and videos, and fixed errors in earlier versions.