VCC Board Repairs
Education • Science & Tech
The goal is to share solutions & techniques for microsoldering & data recovery repairs. I'll cover mostly iPhone & iPad motherboard repairs.
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Samsung S23 Ultra Data Recovery - When a CPU Swap Was the Only Option

Device came in water damaged after a previous repair attempt by another technician.

Board had scraped areas near the battery connector, unnecessary UV mask around multiple components, and incomplete inspection (main CPU shield was never removed).

Initial checks:

VPH power and VBAT lines not shorted

1V8 rail was hard shorted

Troubleshooting process:

Removed shields that were never taken off during the previous attempt

Removed charging IC due to questionable solder work

Removed a nearby IC that was still corroded underneath

Used DCPS + thermal camera to inject voltage and attempt to locate the short

Continued inspection and testing until no further progress could be made

At that point, proceeded with a full CPU swap:

CPU, RAM, UFS, and EEPROM transplanted to a known good board

Device booted and data was successfully recovered.

Full breakdown is up on YouTube. Link in the comments below

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Which Thermal Cam Do You Have?

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! ...

00:00:12
If you do consoles, you need this.

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 👇👇

00:00:03
May 05, 2026

Have I got a please bro . Hahah
Thoughts on what is missing. Well it looks like a coil, but value guesses? It's an Omnex R160 wireless controller

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Sad.. Pixel 6 Repair Gone Wrong

This Pixel 6 came in for no power after another repair shop tried to repair the Display FPC connector (See pic1)

By the looks of it, they struggled badly trying to get this soldered on lol

So I found there were signs of overheating on the CPU and EERPOM chip, which was likely the fault. (See pic2)

I went through the full CPU Swap process, transplanting the CPU, RAM, UFS and EEPROM, only for the phone to bootloop & then give me the error in pic3

Unfortunately, it seems like something corrupted the UFS in the process, causing data not to be recoverable

This makes me sad, as an FPC replacement should be one of the easiest solder jobs to do, but this is what happens when inexperienced techs practice on customer's devices 😭

I totally get the urge to try it. You see videos... it looks easy.. you got some random hot air station & cheap iron combo from amazon

So why not?

Well this is why not.. you can totally kill the customer's device & data

If you want to learn how to solder, practice on ...

S23 Ultra FPC Disaster… DIY Gone Wrong (new video!)

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:

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