This iPhone X came in for no power. At the initial inspection, I noticed that the whole housing inside was rusted out.
Then I noticed the sandwich was already separated.
Looking under the microscope, there had been a tech already in here working on it. There were a ton a capacitors that were removed from the board.
I noticed there was a partial short, pulling about 150mA before prompt to boot. Checking with my Seek, the heat was coming from under the shield next to NAND.
Removed the shield & noticed Acorn (U5600) was corroded, along with the ARC IC U5100.
Removed both since they're not needed for booting (for now) and short was gone.... but the phone was stuck in DFU mode.
Since this was an intel iPhone that's actually normal with top board only.
Since I wasn't sure if it was truly ready to boot, I decided to try an update.
It failed. It was like 11%, which is usually a bad sign. I tried iTunes flash, but forgot what code I got. But it seemed like a CPU issue at that point.
I checked with customer about attempting a CPU swap & customer approved.
So I went for it.
It took me maybe 2-3hrs in total to complete it, but it was successful.
I also ripped a pad, which was for Racer (touch), which I was able to rebuild the pad & get a Diode Mode reading back afterwards.
So stoked this was a win!
(and yes, the customer did just have about 5GB of data on the phone 🤷♂️ lol)
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.
🌟 Cordless Screwdriver with T9 Bit: https://amzn.to/3E5duCj
🌟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 S23 Ultra come in for a simple display connector issue… but it turned into a mess after someone tried to fix it themselves.
Glue all over the connector, uneven solder, no flux used, pads almost compromised… the whole thing was shifted and barely hanging on.
This is one of those repairs that looks easy on YouTube, but in reality takes a lot of control, the right temps, and proper prep.
Ended up doing a full FPC replacement and got it fully working again.
Curious how you guys approach these:
Do you pre-tin connectors or go straight install?
Hot air only or hybrid with iron touch-up?
What temps / airflow are you running for these Samsung FPCs?
Also… how often are you seeing DIY attempts make things worse lately?
Full video here:
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 ...
