Replacing the back casing of an iPhone 4 is by far the easiest hardware modification for do-it-yourself types. Even the most casual user shouldn’t have a problem performing this one. If having not only a glass front, but a glass back makes you nervous, or you just want to switch it up to white or stainless steel and really stand out, this guide will walk you through how to replace the backing on your iPhone 4.

Hit the jump for a walkthrough, some pics, and a video guide!

Anytime you make any hardware repairs, make sure to do them in a dry, clean place. You don’t want any liquid or dirt getting inside your device. I typically perform repairs on a cool, clean surface and use a few white sheets of printer paper. The paper makes it easy to spot screws. As always, be careful. With this particular walkthrough, remember that if you ever need to take your phone back to Apple for repair or replacement, you’ll need to replace the default back.

What You’ll Need

• A new back. The choice is yours but keep in mind they range in quality. I picked up my brushed metal back on cnn.cn for $13

• #00 Phillips screwdriver – they are rather common and can be picked up at a local hardware store or online

Taking off the back casing

• With a #00 Phillips screwdriver, carefully remove the 2 screws located on each side of the charging port

• Set the screws aside

• Hold your phone with both hands and firmly but gently slide the back casing up by applying even pressure and pushing up

• The back casing should simply slide up, you should then be able to lift it up and set it aside

Putting on the replacement

• Line up the casing by sliding it in place from the top (slide down, opposite of how you removed the original back)

• Firmly (still gently) slide the casing into place, you should hear it click into place

• Replace the 2 screws by the charging port. Be careful not to screw them in too tight, as you could strip them.

You’re done! You can now enjoy having a different back on your iPhone 4. This is great for users who have been waiting for the white iPhone as long as you’re okay with the front not being white. (The front panel is replaceable as well, but the process is much more extensive.)

If you’ve modded your iPhone 4 (or any iPhone for that matter), post your pics in our forums and let us know how it went!

Yes we have more white next-generation iPhone casing images that have leaked out and this time they come to us from Powerbook Medic. The site claims they received the casing from one of their parts suppliers.

We first saw evidence of a all white iPhone when images of the faceplate surfaced and then shortly there after the those were followed up by images of what appeared to be a fully assembled all-white iPhone. While a video of a all white iPhone in action would be nice, we suppose we can exercise some patience and wait until June 7th when Steve shows us both – black and white devices…

The source link below seems to be down as of this writing but we have one more image after the break!

[Powerbook Medic]

With the 4th generation iPhone HD/iPhone 4G almost certainly ramping up for production in anticipation for a WWDC 2010 introduction, it’s not too surprising parts like the casing are beginning to show up in the wild.

What SmartPhone Medic is showing in the video below matches up to the iPhone prototype Gizmodo got their hands on, once again adding weight to the assertions that this is pretty close to the final design we’ll see this June.

SmartPhone Medic also had the iPhone G4 screen back at the end of March. Impossible to keep these things secret anymore?

[SmartPhone Medic, thanks Tim for the tip!]

YouTube link

Way back in February a matte black next generation casing (for what’s now known as the iPhone 3G S) made it’s way around the internet. No one knew if it was real or not, and since WWDC introduced the iPhone 3G S with the same glossy finish as the previous generation, doubts — they were raised.

According to Macrumors, however, the FCC ID and model numbers exactly match those released on the official, glossy, iPhone 3G S.

Yeahbuwhat?

Did Apple flirt with matte and change its mind? Did problems arise in with the mass production of the matte versions? Are the matte versions being held for some sort of holiday roll out?

Panic’s Cabel Sassar (via DF) wonders on Twitter whether it just might have been one of Apple’s infamous canary trap — information left out to see if it gets leaked, and to catch the source of the leak. Tom Clancy, meet Steve Jobs…

Either way, somebody at Apple thought matte was an option. Are you sad we didn’t get it?