exxos's Atari, Amiga & retro forum

So the GBA SP is in bits right now as I line it up for its new IPS display:


It's a relatively simple upgrade and looks way nicer than the original front lit screen. I just need to attach the new screen to the old front glass in a way where it isn't wonky then I can start to reassemble. There is a single wire that needs soldering on so that the brightness button on the front panel will operate the brightness and mode control for the new panel as well as the touch sensor in the back of the screen, though that can be removed if causing issues.

It's not dissimilar to the IPS screen I put in my re-shelled GBA.

OK, so first job was to get the new screen attached to the original bezel:


And then reassembly was simple, the only additional bit I did, which is optional was to solder the wire as shown here:


This basically means that you can use the original brightness button to control the brightness of the new screen plus some other modes like black and white or having scan lines. It's a nice screen:


Pretty happy with the result, it's clear and bright (The original screen was front lit) but it has to be said, the GB Advance SP has a LOT of screws for such a small device.

Good work :dualthumbup: When I did mine many years ago, the hinges were the only nervous bit as they weren't readily available as spare parts back then. The USB power port replacements also weren't available otherwise it's something I would add now if I were to do another.

I gather the normal advance is much easier to upgrade although I don't need another one :D

Nice mod and good work !

The IPS screen is definitely worth it.

elterwater wrote: 07 Mar 2026 23:35 Good work :dualthumbup: When I did mine many years ago, the hinges were the only nervous bit as they weren't readily available as spare parts back then. The USB power port replacements also weren't available otherwise it's something I would add now if I were to do another.

Thanks :)

The hinge was pretty easy as it goes, but luckily my SP was in really nice condition, and given it was a Tribal case I really wanted to keep it.

elterwater wrote: 07 Mar 2026 23:35 I gather the normal advance is much easier to upgrade although I don't need another one :D

The GBA is very much easier to do for sure, and one thing that made it a lot easier was that the display and glass were pre-bonded, unlike the SP one I installed where the glass and screen were separate and it took a bit of work to get the glass and screen aligned into one assembly. Worth taking the time though :)

HigashiJun wrote: 08 Mar 2026 08:15 Nice mod and good work !

The IPS screen is definitely worth it.

Thank you sir :)