It's easy to assume a device is having a board issue when the device does not power on.
But you'd be surprised how many phones I've recovered data from, by just unplugging everything, except the bare minimum, Screen, Battery & Charging Port.
Ideally, you want to take out the whole board & test with KNOWN GOOD parts. But you don't always have those.
In this case, it was a Galaxy Fold that came in for Data Recovery after it spontaneously died on the customer.
I've never even held one of these, let alone opened one.
I followed along a JerryRigEverything video on opening it and just start unplugging everything.
Just following where the flexes go, I kind of figured out what most of them do. Like one was for the foldable screen, there were 2 that connect the 2 halves together, etc.
Just kept trying different combinations of cables unplugged until I noticed the device started charging on my USB C meter.
I let it sit for a good 10-15 min & saw it was charging at 9V/1.5A, but no image.
Start plugging in the flexes that appeared to be the screen & I got image! The device was showing the charging logo on the screen.
Booted the phone up & got the data.
Afterwards, I fully reassembled & plugged everything in & it kept working. So who knows what exactly caused it to die & not want to power on.
But the key here is, don't just automatically jump to soldering, if you haven't ruled out parts issues
You'll end up adding more variables that can lead you to a more difficult repair.
Let me know down below if you found this helpful!
If you have a Seek Thermal Cam, you're missing out if you don't have a VCC Seek Stand: https://www.vccboardrepairs.com/buy-seek-stand
Injured Gadgets just got these back in stock, so get them while you can!
It can take us a while to build these out sometimes, so they're sometimes out of stock for a while, but we're working towards always having inventory ready to build more as they sell out.
This stand makes using a thermal cam so easy. So much better than any other thermal solution on the market.
It allows you to get real close up (using my Macro Lens), and easily find where the short is coming from.
Plus it's hard free, so you can have your hands free to try to boot the device from DCPS, while having an image that is in focus & not moving around.
You can even record a video through the app, while you inject voltage into the short, so you can go back & see exactly which component was it that was heating up.
Save yourself lots of time by getting a Seek Cam, Stand & Macro Lens! ...
Anyone who is doing game console repairs, knows how many screws you need to remove to access the motherboard.
Especially the PS5, with the 5,000 screws or so.
If you don't already have an electric screwdriver, GET ONE ASAP.
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🌟Extended T9 Bit: https://amzn.to/3c4YJac
It's rechargeable through micro USB and allows you to easily swap the tips out. You can also fold it to be straight or L shape.
Let me know below if you are already using an electric screwdriver 👇👇
Had an iPhone 11 Pro Max come in for no power. Device was in excellent condition, no cracks, no signs of impact. Customer said it just randomly died.
Honestly, this is one of those classic faults I used to see all the time, and still enjoy because of how straightforward it is once you know what to look for.
First step, as always with no power, was checking current draw on the DC power supply.
Boot behavior:
Current was jumping all over the place. It would bounce from 0 → ~500mA → 0 → a few mA → back up again. Just constantly pulsing with no stable draw.
That kind of behavior usually points to a short on a NAND cap
So I threw it under the thermal cam (Seek Compact Pro). Timing is key here, because you only see heat when current is actually being drawn. When it drops to zero, there’s no heat signature.
Caught it at the right moment and found a hotspot on the board.
Under the microscope, the area showed a slightly darkened cap under the underfill, classic sign.
Ended up being a shorted PP3V0 cap ...
This one came in as a no power data recovery job. Customer said it died overnight, no prior damage, and Apple told them the board was done and data wasn’t recoverable.
Physically, the phone looks clean. No bends, no cracks, nothing obvious. I’m honestly not sure how the board ended up cracked, there’s no visible external damage that would typically cause this.
Here’s what I found 👇
Initial testing:
- Able to boot with minimal setup (board + screen + battery + charge port)
- Stuck at 5V, very low current draw (not charging)
- No touch response
- Boot current draw looked normal
Direction I took:
- Focused on the touch issue first (since no touch = no data access)
- Using an LCD aftermarket screen:
- Got image
- Still no touch
- OEM/OLED behavior pointed toward a board-level display/touch issue
What I found:
- While removing the shield over the display IC… found a board crack
- Several display connector pins reading OL (open line)
- Traces route from connector → PMIC / display IC ...
