Howdy All...I'm the Will mentioned in the video. Having read through the comments, I wanted to put a few things out there. 1. I didn't ask for the Switch back - I made it clear that Vince should do whatever he liked with it, whether it was harvesting it for parts, or fixing it. I'm thrilled he made a video about it - because I think his videos are both informative and entertaining. This was the very best outcome for me - not only another video, but it's fixed and will be used and appreciated, as opposed to sitting in a landfill. Huge win. 2. I bricked it in the first place by using an unsupported third party dock when Nintendo rolled out the 5.0 update. Rather than fighting with Nintendo or FastSnail to replace it, I just put it in the drawer, as I had given up on the platform all together. I changed my mind a few months later and picked up a new one to replace it. The bricked on sat and collected dust in a desk drawer for almost a year, and I came across it, thought of Vince's other videos and reached out to see if he'd be interested. In fairness to him, he didn't want to take it, and insisted on paying for shipping. He was beyond fair and honorable, and that's *exactly* why I wanted to send it to him in the first place. 3. American chocolate is definitely inferior to English chocolate - I sent it along as a sampling of something different. Beware, though, as Cadbury is now owned by Hershey. I really can't be happier at the outcome here. It was incredible to see Vince bring it back to life, I'm thrilled it's not just more e-waste in some landfill somewhere, and the world gets a very informative video with a positive result. Everybody wins here. Great job, Vince, and keep up the excellent work!
Hi Will, thanks for the lovely comments, the Switch and the candy. Thanks for the opportunity to try and fixed a bricked Switch. I had read that the charge chip was the faulty component on bricked Switches, but it is nice to actually get my hands on one to see first-hand for myself. You are a star :-)
Hey vince i fixed my boys fire hd tablet after watching your videos and learning about traces and continuity. the charge port was ripped out and i manged to trace the pins and solder it all up, not a chance i would of had a go at it with the broken traces without watching your videos, so its much appreciated and keep fixing things
Great fix and dont worry if soldering takes 30 seconds or 30 days, the end result is what counts. A long time ago in a house far far away A man named Darth Vince killed switches Vince learned the ways of the soldering and turned to the good side He is now called Vince the switch fixer Faster than a snail Cheaper than an electronic technician His fee? 1 x snickers and Hershey bar
I don't believe anyone after watching this will tell that you did a bad job, Vince! Unless they never held a soldering iron in their life. It's hot. It's uncomfortable. Hands are shaking. They are sweaty, etc. Excellent work! I solder staff for over 10 years now and I wouldn't even attempt to try and fix something as tiny and complicated as that chip. Cheers
@@therealtrip9723 I checked Wiktionary, and it _is_ there, but it's labeled as a "non-standard" _simple past tense and past participle_ of *hold.* While "held" is the _standard_ variant, "holded" seems to be a real (but rarely used) alternative. As for the validity of its existence, I do not have a definite answer...
When soldering QFP or other chips with solder under them, wait until its floating as you usually do, then give it a good push flat with the tweezers. The excess will squeeze out (as balls between the pins normally), let the solder set, then you can then touch up the pins with the iron. Also, don't always assume the centre is a gnd, sometimes its just a heatsink.
It's exactly as Stephen said, you should have pushed IC so pins are as close as possible with board contacts. Reason for that is solder shouldn't be used as a conductor, only as joiner of two metal connectors with possibly highest common connection area between them. Especially in presence of high currents, which in case of this IC can occur, solder-only connection might break more easily by temperature or/and board bending. It's similar (not same) to reason why there shouldn't be much thermal paste between chip and heatsink - in perfect scenario, both surfaces should be flat and nothing should be between them so heat exchange would be optimal. However in real world there are some gaps which have to be filled, as air left between surfaces acts as insulator.
The reason why the chip didn't test as bad when it was removed is because the large pad underneath the chip is not actually ground. It is not attached to anything and is there only for extra mechanical support. You can see it on the PCB that the pad doesn't go anywhere and there are no vias to connect to other layers. Thought this may be helpful in the future! Great content!
You should know by now most of us cheer you on and are excited when you're able to do something. Especially with the harder fixes. I don't think there's too many people that watch that thinks the work you do is ugly.
@@DeclanUK That was never in question. Watching him struggle makes it a little easier for us non-Rossmans in the world to get over that hump and have a go ourselves.
"We hope we all learned something, I mean you" - Rossman Hey man, if you are able to remove a chip with a hot air station, you're 70% complete. Not blowing away the components that surround the chip is crucial. If we've gotten this far, the rest is just routine prep-work just the same as if when one first a soldering iron for the first time ever. Technique plays a role and without the hours of work put in to master a technique for a given scenario anyone will struggle. Just go back and implement the basics. If you make a grave mistake, it was broken already and it cannot be broken or fixed any further. This ideology puts you in a fearless state of mind and it's help me successfully complete repair that might have been considered impossible. Makes you a Boss, it an awesome feeling for sure.
You just became a pioneer toward unbricking Switches all around the world! A confirmed bricked Switch, unbricked with a procedure that was theorized to work! Soon, the whole world will remember Our Mate Vince for confirming *AND* fixing a bricked Switch! All praising aside, one suggestion when dealing with whether to use a big tip or a small tip: Use the small tip for tiny pads, and the big tip for the bigger "ground" pads. The tiny pads probably don't draw as much heat as the big "ground" pad. Not from experience, just a logic-based theory. EDIT: Added a couple extra words on last sentence. :)
Good video, but to test an ic in diode mode is sending 3 volt into it to create the beep sound. It could damage a gate that works for example on 1volt. Use Ohm mode on your multimeter, it's safe and silent..
Incredible job Vince, thanks for putting in the effort to not just repair this but to film it at the same time. I've learnt enough from this video to at least be able to diagnose the chip likely to be the issue and I will do this before contacting a technician to replace it.. if its worth it for the price. Cheers mate, you're helping many people with these videos.
Wow, TH-cam has been recommending this video to me for months. I finally decided to watch it. I honestly wasn't expecting this to get fixed. Not because of your skill but because of how finicky the switch hardware is and how easily bricked it gets from 3rd party docks. Glad to see you did a great job. Wonderful. Great video!
I for one am very pleased that you showed in length your trials, errors and corrections. Too many people show it going perfectly every time, and yes, I'm sure with plenty of practice, you will be able to do it first time also. But many people do not know what to do when these things don't go as hoped and expected. So you will have helped so many more people by showing the job in it's entirety. Thanks :)
Your videos always leave me feeling like I can accomplish similar projects. Since I started watching your videos I have started taking on things I had thought above my abilities and I am accomplishing more than I thought possible. Thanks for helping me with the courage to take on projects I never would have tried. I now have more successes than failures. Watching your videos make a person feel comfortable instead of feeling confused. Thanks Vince
You're the coolest guy on TH-cam. Especially the R/C Cars you did awhile back ago. You really brought back a lot of memories. You're one of the best!!!
You did a FANTASTIC JOB! Don't ever degrade yourself! I absolutely love your videos and I learn so much from them. You should be very proud of what you've done and what you're doing in the future. :)
Hi Vince - great video. Quick comment on ribbons - I repair laptops and have found that when releasing a ribbon cable using a plastic implement rather than a metal one adds a little more assurance and reduces my wincing moments
I haven't actually watched this video yet but I'll finish it up a little bit later.I think not just cause Will sent you the unworking switch to see if you might have some luck with fixing it. That was cool.The fact is that he through in just a little extra with the candy bars for just pretty much just a kind of respectful type jester on his part and you did the same by showing your appreciation for being thoughtful just to throw them in.I think we have alot of bad people in the world but it's nice to see that actually the good well always out way the bad.Thats awesome
Great job Vince! Delighted you've fixed another one :D I'm waiting on some faulty Ps4's with HDMI (hopefully) defects which shouldn't be too hard, and a Switch that doesn't turn on (not so confident here!). Watching you fixing stuff as inspired me lol. Keep it up with the channel I think its cool.
I don't own a switch but i do love watching and fixing electronics. a bit of advice when cleaning old solder from boards. use a short piece of braid with a set of ceramic tweezers. this will prevent heat soaking all the other components around the area and also help heat just a small section of braid at a time. the braid is copper and as we all know, copper is a great heat conductor. your iron is trying to heat the whole roll of braid as well as the area around it. Some Amtech Syntech solder paste SN63/PB37 or simular along with the hot air station will greatly help you re-chip these boards with ease. Turn your heat down as well. The fact your burning the paste means your way too high! great vid!
My son's switch died just this week, and I'm going to try this very fix. I really love your channel and have watched lots of your repair videos. Thank you so much for the help!
Another great video Vince! Two things, use leaded solder and cut your temp on your iron and air. I learned the temperature lesson when bits fell off the back of a PCB from a Samsung tablet I was repairing.
It's so much fun to sit through and watch your videos all the way through. You gain a real connection with the struggle you're having to get these consoles/devices working and it's a great feeling when it works! You're literally the whole reason why I'm pushing myself to get into micro-soldering sooner. Just need to clean a bunch of junk out of my room and pick up the station for it. My first fix is going to be my analog sticks on an Xbox One controller. (Don't twist any thumb sticks ever... I was curious...)
I always enjoyed repairing things. I just exchanged parts without soldering. Old disconnect and new plug in. Maximum power cable solder to contacts. When I discovered your channel I was very pleased. I am focused on watching how you are looking for a failure and I like how you enjoy it when you manage to solve it. For a week as I am sick I have seen almost all Trying to FIX video. I'm looking forward to the next video. I'm sorry for my english. I come from Slovakia and the english language is not my natural.
You’ve done a great job. You’ve fixed the Switch and that’s all that matters...well done. I put a new fan in my switch but don’t think I could do what you’ve done renewing the chip
I’ve recently gotten a switch and I love watching your videos on the console! It’s really cool to take a look inside and also learn some tricks!! Thankyou
Well done Vince!! You amazed me and I managed to replace the top screen on a 3ds bcoz of your help in your videos :) took five hours like it said on the ifixit guide and was rated very difficult, I can confirm it was difficult but I did it! Such an amazing feeling when your turn it on and your repair works :D
Nice fix! It's amazing how far you've come on these consoles. Excellent job! Notes: - nice job on the screen connector! - the reason you weren't getting any shorts when testing from the middle pad on the bad chip is because the middle pad is not always connected to ground. Given that the solder connections are very small, they don't provide much mechanical stability, so this center pad is added to help add some rigidity, and is also often used as a heatsink. Do not assume it is connected to ground inside the chip! - once you switched to the bigger tip, it was way too hot. You can tell because the flux turned such a dark color... It didn't hurt anything, but it can in some cases. In general, the bigger the tip, the lower the temp you'll need, to an extent obviously. You can also always raise it if it isn't working, but lowering it after you've done damage won't help. Seriously, those are some minor nitpicks. You did awesome, keep at it!
Thank you for the tips. It turns out that the pad is definitely not ground. When I tested the faulty chip earlier today it was testing faulty when I used one of the smaller ground pins, these pins are not connected to the middle pad. On the board though the pad is connected to ground so it looks like it is for stability/heatsink. I wrongly thought the big pad was ground. Thanks for sharing the info :-)
Irons always stick to the big ground pads. The initial blob would've been just fine to leave or if you want you can use your hot air station to go over the solder on the ground pad and it'll flow it even over the pad. Great video btw Vince. I've been a viewer/fan for years!
As a hobbyist your work is great. The most interesting parts of your videos is your excellent explanation of what your doing. Really enjoyable stuff. Shows even with low budget equipment the jobs can’t still be carried out. SMD soldering is a pain but the techniques come with time. Taken many many years myself to get to a level where chips, connectors and caps come off cleanly and go on almost first time. I would 100% recommend a stereo microscope thou. Much much easier. So enjoyed your video. Subbed and liked. 👍👍👍
Great job I'm happy you showed us your mistakes and how to fix them. When your iron's tip was not big enough and kept getting cold you just changed it and it was a major difference. I'm just starting my endeavors working on motherboards as a hobby and this video was awesome.
I love your hour long videos. I watch them at night until I fall asleep and when I wake up I finish watching the rest They’re really interesting, and it’s difficult to find long videos that are actually interesting to me
I'm barely a gamer, have not got much interest in technology yet your videos are a real relaxing, entertaining and informative watch. I love seeing things fixed up and the whole atmosphere of this is like a really chilled class in school with your favourite teacher xD
57:33 At least you're honest with yourself and you kind of knew where you had gone wrong and how you could of done it better, it's all part of the learning process and like with most things practice makes perfect. Love your videos and your honest and humble approach.
A cheap jeweler loupe is sometimes handy for inspecting small solder joints and such. I have a couple of the small chrome ones I use. Nice repair as well!
Nice video Vince, I am no guru at soldering myself, but if my iron is struggling, I find it best to heat up the board a little with my hot air station, it helps a lot. Also when reworking chips, it is good practice to get that chip cool as quick as possible. A thermal pad can help disperse the heat.
You said that people are going to look at you and say oh you did a bad job on that chip, oh it should have only taken around 5 minutes... I look at what you did with my jaw on the floor, bringing a bricked Nintendo Switch back from the dead? I say Wow! This was an amazing watch!
I picked up 5 switches and one has this fault. The same capacitor were shorting as this one. I was fairly certain it was this chip. But your video has confirmed it to me so thanks. Just need to wait for delivery of the chip.
@@matthewhopkins1168 Walkers crisps have always been Green(S&V) and Blue(C'n'O) just other brands have been the other way round. Google it and you will see walkers response on the matter.
@@Aggrobiscuit Thanks. It would interesting to see a nation wide survey on the matter, as most from my generation and/or area seem to remember it being that way.
great video man .. its good seeing how far you have come in the time you have been doing this .. that center square not all chips have that as a ground some just use it for heat dissapation so no reference too ground .. you can start buying bricked switches fix them sell them now .. a good side job for you
Great vid Vince!! Thoroughly enjoyed it.. as with your other videos. Spot on on the chip job as well.. always looks easy when watching other people do stuff.. until you try it out. Learned a lot.. thanks Vince.
I am sure it has been mentioned before, but when you are reapplying solder to the pads you should give solder paste a try. you can just spread it where you want it and then heat it up. that way you don't have to try and stir it around with the iron. nice vid as always, sir.
Very nice fix vince! I really enjoy your videos and watching you learn and it be real it makes the videos worth watching keep up the great work and videos!
You mentioned the potential benefits of leaded solder; one of the main benefits for using leaded solder for surface mount chips is because it is more malleable than unleaded solder. Unleaded is brittle and cracks easily. Also the lower melting temperature of leaded solder makes it better for chips that get hot because with UNLEADED when a chip gets hot, and the board warps, the solder cracks rather than melting and adjusting to the new shape of the board, which is what leaded solder will do for you. It's much more reliable and creates a much better connection physically AND electrically. And also, as you will know, it's a LOT easier to work with.
Amazing video Vince! I once had the same problem where the console seemed bricked, but I just disassembled it and unplugged the battery, and that did it for me.
It's easier to remove unleaded solder without accidentally ripping pads if you apply leaded solder to it like a blob. Then you don't need to wick off the solder with force, because the remains will still contain lead and be usable to solder the replacement chip. Also, with that kind of chip you are good to go with too much solder on the center pad, if you push on it. The excess solder can be removed with the tip of the iron with solder on it if you use enough flux. Keep up the good work! It's really cool to watch even if it's not a flawless work. Maybe because of that
Nice job Vince !! Don't assume tho that the pad under the chip is ground, you could have a design there where its not. There has to be some manufacturer out there that is different from what you might think is the norm !! Better to check the actual ground pin or pins too, if possible, when checking for that short and comparing chips. That large pad underneath may be isolated for some reason. I found this remark on another site "The center pad is not connected to chip ground, nor to any other electrical point, however, it is close to the chip substrate and should be grounded for best noise immunity. It is a mainly a thermal pad."
I really enjoyed this video, it's very cool that you were able to fix it. It makes me wanna try it out myself. I've only changed controller shells so far. I've got to the point to where I can do a pair of Joycons in like 40 min or so, Left joycon is a breeze, Righ one, not so much. I also watch another channel from a guy that does component level board repair like this, but on apple computers. Look for Louis Rossman, If you watch a few of his videos I'm pretty sure it will improve your soldering skills. Keep up the good work
Another great repair Vince! It clearly wasn't "bricked" though, as the bricking process involves the flash ROM having some type of corruption or failure. Unless Nintendo did an update that can break hardware when using a 3rd party dock? I would imagine a law suit if they did that?!? You will find it easier to clean pads on the board using that chip qwik flux rather than Amtec etc - it helps absorb solder from pads way easier imo. I suspect that the short disappearing from that chip might have been flux or something interfering with the probe connections! Meter sensitivity isn't anything to do with it, either the probes were not making a good connection or the short vanished as a result of removing it (possible I guess).
Thanks Chris, unfortunately I tested it wrong in the video. I was told on the comments after the video that the ground pad wasn't actually a ground pad but a heatsink instead. So I checked it this morning, and the big pad under the chip does go to ground on the board, but the actual chip itself when removed from the board is not ground on that big pad. It is isolated from all the surrounding pins, so to test it I had to use a small ground pin and then it tested faulty on the same pins what were grounded before I removed it from the board (the ones that were short on the caps). The chip is 100% faulty I just tested it wrong. So the 2 ground pins on the chip are not connected to the big heatsink pad in the middle of it. I will know for next time :-)
Great job anyway! BTW - please don't feel I am trying to pick holes or find problems etc, just purely trying to give you a little advice where I think it might help! You've come on leaps and bounds over the last few months and you can fix these with your eyes closed now lol
"Unless Nintendo did an update that can break hardware when using a 3rd party dock?" This chip supports USB-PD policy updates. I'd imagine a policy that changes the voltage messages or something similar could actually fry the chip in the way it fried. (Internal LDO cap outputs going to ground.) The only way to know for sure might be to use another known good third party dock in a similar way and see if it kills another switch in the same way. Also, I don't think this would lead to lawsuits. Nintendo could just say "we never told you to buy unauthorized equipment, and that invalidates the warranty".
Your videos are phenomenal, I love them. Such a great learning experience, it's fun and interesting to watch, and you have a great personality. Thank you for the great videos and great job man getting this to work. I really didn't expect it to work but wow, great job!
I genuinely enjoyed this video mostly because of the chocolate candy. I love watching your videos , I’ve never been brave enough to venture into a console or hand held system or even a cell phone for that fact , but you make it look so easy although you say in earlier videos you are a novice at repairing them. Can’t say that now can you ? LOL. Anyway , keep doing the awesome videos . 👍👍👍❤️❤️❤️✌️✌️✌️
Hey Vince, thanks for the dedication. I love watching your viddy vids (= A question for you though, have you ever considered using solder paste? I've found it works really well in those situations when putting things back on to boards with hot air. Just my 2p
Wow what a great video, first time i have watched any of your videos Vince but i loved it and have subbed ;) Can't believe i watched the whole video without skipping ahead :D
Vince, you mention quite early in the video about the audio levels of the beeping, there is a very easy way of doing this which is free, mostly simple and not very time consuming. If you have Audacity (the free audio software) you can get an extension for importing the audio from video files, there is a tool called Noise Reduction (usually used for getting rid of microphone hiss) you select a sample of the audio you want to fix, in this case the beeping sound and set the sliders to lower the volume, apply this setting to the entire audio and it's an easy fix, probably a 20 minute job at most depending on the length of your video and how quick your computer can process the reduction. Hope this can help you somewhere down the line. :)
Love watching you , it’s great to see how you have progressed doing your repairs and learning along the way. Well done mate keep up the great content 👍
Howdy All...I'm the Will mentioned in the video. Having read through the comments, I wanted to put a few things out there.
1. I didn't ask for the Switch back - I made it clear that Vince should do whatever he liked with it, whether it was harvesting it for parts, or fixing it. I'm thrilled he made a video about it - because I think his videos are both informative and entertaining. This was the very best outcome for me - not only another video, but it's fixed and will be used and appreciated, as opposed to sitting in a landfill. Huge win.
2. I bricked it in the first place by using an unsupported third party dock when Nintendo rolled out the 5.0 update. Rather than fighting with Nintendo or FastSnail to replace it, I just put it in the drawer, as I had given up on the platform all together. I changed my mind a few months later and picked up a new one to replace it. The bricked on sat and collected dust in a desk drawer for almost a year, and I came across it, thought of Vince's other videos and reached out to see if he'd be interested. In fairness to him, he didn't want to take it, and insisted on paying for shipping. He was beyond fair and honorable, and that's *exactly* why I wanted to send it to him in the first place.
3. American chocolate is definitely inferior to English chocolate - I sent it along as a sampling of something different. Beware, though, as Cadbury is now owned by Hershey.
I really can't be happier at the outcome here. It was incredible to see Vince bring it back to life, I'm thrilled it's not just more e-waste in some landfill somewhere, and the world gets a very informative video with a positive result. Everybody wins here. Great job, Vince, and keep up the excellent work!
What a great thing to do, good on you Sir. A most entertaining video, he a Made Nintendo Great Again!
Hi Will, thanks for the lovely comments, the Switch and the candy. Thanks for the opportunity to try and fixed a bricked Switch. I had read that the charge chip was the faulty component on bricked Switches, but it is nice to actually get my hands on one to see first-hand for myself. You are a star :-)
Will you're an awesome person!
Very nice :)
thats a hella long comment
Hey vince i fixed my boys fire hd tablet after watching your videos and learning about traces and continuity. the charge port was ripped out and i manged to trace the pins and solder it all up, not a chance i would of had a go at it with the broken traces without watching your videos, so its much appreciated and keep fixing things
nice :)
Well done
Great fix and dont worry if soldering takes 30 seconds or 30 days, the end result is what counts.
A long time ago in a house far far away
A man named Darth Vince killed switches
Vince learned the ways of the soldering and turned to the good side
He is now called
Vince the switch fixer
Faster than a snail
Cheaper than an electronic technician
His fee?
1 x snickers and Hershey bar
Haha :-)
@@Mymatevince sweet
E p i c
Nintendo Switch: Turns back into Wii
I don't believe anyone after watching this will tell that you did a bad job, Vince! Unless they never held a soldering iron in their life. It's hot. It's uncomfortable. Hands are shaking. They are sweaty, etc. Excellent work! I solder staff for over 10 years now and I wouldn't even attempt to try and fix something as tiny and complicated as that chip. Cheers
Just another reason why Vince is on a whole different stage than the rest!
I totally agree but "Holded" don't think thats a word (Correct me if i'm wrong but I don't think it is)
@@therealtrip9723 Yes, sorry, english is not my first language. So I kinda brain-farted there for a moment. :D
@@therealtrip9723
I checked Wiktionary, and it _is_ there, but it's labeled as a "non-standard" _simple past tense and past participle_ of *hold.*
While "held" is the _standard_ variant, "holded" seems to be a real (but rarely used) alternative.
As for the validity of its existence, I do not have a definite answer...
@@irulane990 I don't think soldering staff is allowed these days ;)
When soldering QFP or other chips with solder under them, wait until its floating as you usually do, then give it a good push flat with the tweezers. The excess will squeeze out (as balls between the pins normally), let the solder set, then you can then touch up the pins with the iron. Also, don't always assume the centre is a gnd, sometimes its just a heatsink.
I’m pretty sure it was a heatsink this time
True the center isn't necessarily grounded in the chip itself.
It's exactly as Stephen said, you should have pushed IC so pins are as close as possible with board contacts. Reason for that is solder shouldn't be used as a conductor, only as joiner of two metal connectors with possibly highest common connection area between them. Especially in presence of high currents, which in case of this IC can occur, solder-only connection might break more easily by temperature or/and board bending. It's similar (not same) to reason why there shouldn't be much thermal paste between chip and heatsink - in perfect scenario, both surfaces should be flat and nothing should be between them so heat exchange would be optimal. However in real world there are some gaps which have to be filled, as air left between surfaces acts as insulator.
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Almost most of the time is the heatsink connected to GND at the PCB so its more efficient
The reason why the chip didn't test as bad when it was removed is because the large pad underneath the chip is not actually ground. It is not attached to anything and is there only for extra mechanical support. You can see it on the PCB that the pad doesn't go anywhere and there are no vias to connect to other layers. Thought this may be helpful in the future! Great content!
Not just for mechanical support, but for heat dissipation. This is a Power Delivery controller chip and might have to dissipate up to 2 watts.
Well done replacing the chip. It's the best soldering I've seen you do.
Thanks pds :-)
ya good job Vince
You should know by now most of us cheer you on and are excited when you're able to do something. Especially with the harder fixes. I don't think there's too many people that watch that thinks the work you do is ugly.
Seeing you struggle a little bit with the SMD rework parts is reassuring; Louis Rossman makes it loook too easy.
SireSquish and as he said he is by no means a professional and this is just for fun
@@DeclanUK That was never in question. Watching him struggle makes it a little easier for us non-Rossmans in the world to get over that hump and have a go ourselves.
@@SireSquish I am convinced that Louis Rossman is a human solder rework station.
@@MistaJGames he also has a setup that's worth 100 times Vince's setup
"We hope we all learned something, I mean you" - Rossman
Hey man, if you are able to remove a chip with a hot air station, you're 70% complete. Not blowing away the components that surround the chip is crucial. If we've gotten this far, the rest is just routine prep-work just the same as if when one first a soldering iron for the first time ever. Technique plays a role and without the hours of work put in to master a technique for a given scenario anyone will struggle. Just go back and implement the basics. If you make a grave mistake, it was broken already and it cannot be broken or fixed any further. This ideology puts you in a fearless state of mind and it's help me successfully complete repair that might have been considered impossible. Makes you a Boss, it an awesome feeling for sure.
Me, sees diamond plate : Oh yea , the tool boxes in pickup trucks. Memories.
Vince: Fire Escapes
Lol me too!
Same
Floors in playgrounds!
I thought of elevators
This is the comfiest tech channel on youtube, I love it!
He does have a comfy voice.
that's theretrofuture lol
Good luck surviving in the real world buddy!
@J.H.K Gaming meh. He's way better than Tronicsfix
You just became a pioneer toward unbricking Switches all around the world! A confirmed bricked Switch, unbricked with a procedure that was theorized to work!
Soon, the whole world will remember Our Mate Vince for confirming *AND* fixing a bricked Switch!
All praising aside, one suggestion when dealing with whether to use a big tip or a small tip: Use the small tip for tiny pads, and the big tip for the bigger "ground" pads. The tiny pads probably don't draw as much heat as the big "ground" pad.
Not from experience, just a logic-based theory.
EDIT: Added a couple extra words on last sentence. :)
Good video, but to test an ic in diode mode is sending 3 volt into it to create the beep sound. It could damage a gate that works for example on 1volt. Use Ohm mode on your multimeter, it's safe and silent..
Incredible job Vince, thanks for putting in the effort to not just repair this but to film it at the same time.
I've learnt enough from this video to at least be able to diagnose the chip likely to be the issue and I will do this before contacting a technician to replace it.. if its worth it for the price.
Cheers mate, you're helping many people with these videos.
Wow, TH-cam has been recommending this video to me for months. I finally decided to watch it. I honestly wasn't expecting this to get fixed. Not because of your skill but because of how finicky the switch hardware is and how easily bricked it gets from 3rd party docks. Glad to see you did a great job. Wonderful. Great video!
I for one am very pleased that you showed in length your trials, errors and corrections. Too many people show it going perfectly every time, and yes, I'm sure with plenty of practice, you will be able to do it first time also. But many people do not know what to do when these things don't go as hoped and expected. So you will have helped so many more people by showing the job in it's entirety. Thanks :)
Your videos always leave me feeling like I can accomplish similar projects. Since I started watching your videos I have started taking on things I had thought above my abilities and I am accomplishing more than I thought possible. Thanks for helping me with the courage to take on projects I never would have tried. I now have more successes than failures. Watching your videos make a person feel comfortable instead of feeling confused. Thanks Vince
Excellent :-)
A new video from Vince! Mmm love these videos!
I wouldn't listen to what other people say, they are nothing but control freaks, you're doing a great job!
You're the coolest guy on TH-cam. Especially the R/C Cars you did awhile back ago. You really brought back a lot of memories. You're one of the best!!!
The evolution:
Switch killer -> pro switch modder -> unofficially certified switch repair guru
You did a FANTASTIC JOB! Don't ever degrade yourself! I absolutely love your videos and I learn so much from them. You should be very proud of what you've done and what you're doing in the future. :)
Hi Vince - great video. Quick comment on ribbons - I repair laptops and have found that when releasing a ribbon cable using a plastic implement rather than a metal one adds a little more assurance and reduces my wincing moments
I haven't actually watched this video yet but I'll finish it up a little bit later.I think not just cause Will sent you the unworking switch to see if you might have some luck with fixing it. That was cool.The fact is that he through in just a little extra with the candy bars for just pretty much just a kind of respectful type jester on his part and you did the same by showing your appreciation for being thoughtful just to throw them in.I think we have alot of bad people in the world but it's nice to see that actually the good well always out way the bad.Thats awesome
I know absolutely nothing about this type of work, but your videos are so relaxing!
Great job Vince! Delighted you've fixed another one :D I'm waiting on some faulty Ps4's with HDMI (hopefully) defects which shouldn't be too hard, and a Switch that doesn't turn on (not so confident here!). Watching you fixing stuff as inspired me lol. Keep it up with the channel I think its cool.
I don't own a switch but i do love watching and fixing electronics.
a bit of advice when cleaning old solder from boards. use a short piece of braid with a set of ceramic tweezers. this will prevent heat soaking all the other components around the area and also help heat just a small section of braid at a time. the braid is copper and as we all know, copper is a great heat conductor. your iron is trying to heat the whole roll of braid as well as the area around it.
Some Amtech Syntech solder paste SN63/PB37 or simular along with the hot air station will greatly help you re-chip these boards with ease. Turn your heat down as well. The fact your burning the paste means your way too high!
great vid!
You're a cool man Vince! Love your chill content you create and how it is themed around game oriented hardware. Keep up the great work, Cheers!
My son's switch died just this week, and I'm going to try this very fix. I really love your channel and have watched lots of your repair videos. Thank you so much for the help!
Another great video Vince! Two things, use leaded solder and cut your temp on your iron and air. I learned the temperature lesson when bits fell off the back of a PCB from a Samsung tablet I was repairing.
You've gone from Switch Killer to Switch Healer! Great job Vince
You are amazing Vince, you never give up... I like that.. Love your videos.. Don't change nothing.. All the best
Lovely video Vince! At least you didn’t mess up the screen connector this time!
Your presentation is top notch, as it has been for a good long while. ❤️
Thank you for the quality uploads.
It's so much fun to sit through and watch your videos all the way through. You gain a real connection with the struggle you're having to get these consoles/devices working and it's a great feeling when it works! You're literally the whole reason why I'm pushing myself to get into micro-soldering sooner. Just need to clean a bunch of junk out of my room and pick up the station for it. My first fix is going to be my analog sticks on an Xbox One controller. (Don't twist any thumb sticks ever... I was curious...)
I always enjoyed repairing things. I just exchanged parts without soldering. Old disconnect and new plug in. Maximum power cable solder to contacts. When I discovered your channel I was very pleased. I am focused on watching how you are looking for a failure and I like how you enjoy it when you manage to solve it. For a week as I am sick I have seen almost all Trying to FIX video. I'm looking forward to the next video. I'm sorry for my english. I come from Slovakia and the english language is not my natural.
Thanks, hope you are feeling better soon. BTW your English is great :-)
You’ve done a great job. You’ve fixed the Switch and that’s all that matters...well done.
I put a new fan in my switch but don’t think I could do what you’ve done renewing the chip
I’ve recently gotten a switch and I love watching your videos on the console! It’s really cool to take a look inside and also learn some tricks!! Thankyou
Well done Vince!! You amazed me and I managed to replace the top screen on a 3ds bcoz of your help in your videos :) took five hours like it said on the ifixit guide and was rated very difficult, I can confirm it was difficult but I did it! Such an amazing feeling when your turn it on and your repair works :D
Will is one of the good ones! Cheers WIll.
Nice fix! It's amazing how far you've come on these consoles. Excellent job!
Notes:
- nice job on the screen connector!
- the reason you weren't getting any shorts when testing from the middle pad on the bad chip is because the middle pad is not always connected to ground. Given that the solder connections are very small, they don't provide much mechanical stability, so this center pad is added to help add some rigidity, and is also often used as a heatsink. Do not assume it is connected to ground inside the chip!
- once you switched to the bigger tip, it was way too hot. You can tell because the flux turned such a dark color... It didn't hurt anything, but it can in some cases. In general, the bigger the tip, the lower the temp you'll need, to an extent obviously. You can also always raise it if it isn't working, but lowering it after you've done damage won't help.
Seriously, those are some minor nitpicks. You did awesome, keep at it!
Thank you for the tips. It turns out that the pad is definitely not ground. When I tested the faulty chip earlier today it was testing faulty when I used one of the smaller ground pins, these pins are not connected to the middle pad. On the board though the pad is connected to ground so it looks like it is for stability/heatsink. I wrongly thought the big pad was ground. Thanks for sharing the info :-)
Irons always stick to the big ground pads. The initial blob would've been just fine to leave or if you want you can use your hot air station to go over the solder on the ground pad and it'll flow it even over the pad. Great video btw Vince. I've been a viewer/fan for years!
As a hobbyist your work is great. The most interesting parts of your videos is your excellent explanation of what your doing. Really enjoyable stuff. Shows even with low budget equipment the jobs can’t still be carried out. SMD soldering is a pain but the techniques come with time. Taken many many years myself to get to a level where chips, connectors and caps come off cleanly and go on almost first time. I would 100% recommend a stereo microscope thou. Much much easier. So enjoyed your video. Subbed and liked. 👍👍👍
Great job I'm happy you showed us your mistakes and how to fix them. When your iron's tip was not big enough and kept getting cold you just changed it and it was a major difference. I'm just starting my endeavors working on motherboards as a hobby and this video was awesome.
Vince, love it when you do Nintendo switch fixes.
U did really good some ppl dont understand how hard sodering can be especially with not the perfect tools
Well done on this fix .I could tell you got a lot of satisfaction from this one . Keep up the good work and fantastic content.
I love your hour long videos. I watch them at night until I fall asleep and when I wake up I finish watching the rest
They’re really interesting, and it’s difficult to find long videos that are actually interesting to me
Normal guy doing extraordinary repairs! Great job Vince, it gives us other normal guys hope.
I'm barely a gamer, have not got much interest in technology yet your videos are a real relaxing, entertaining and informative watch. I love seeing things fixed up and the whole atmosphere of this is like a really chilled class in school with your favourite teacher xD
I like the way you tackle your repairs using logic and common sense thats the correct way to do it in in my opinion
57:33 At least you're honest with yourself and you kind of knew where you had gone wrong and how you could of done it better, it's all part of the learning process and like with most things practice makes perfect. Love your videos and your honest and humble approach.
A cheap jeweler loupe is sometimes handy for inspecting small solder joints and such. I have a couple of the small chrome ones I use. Nice repair as well!
Nice video Vince, I am no guru at soldering myself, but if my iron is struggling, I find it best to heat up the board a little with my hot air station, it helps a lot.
Also when reworking chips, it is good practice to get that chip cool as quick as possible. A thermal pad can help disperse the heat.
You said that people are going to look at you and say oh you did a bad job on that chip, oh it should have only taken around 5 minutes... I look at what you did with my jaw on the floor, bringing a bricked Nintendo Switch back from the dead? I say Wow! This was an amazing watch!
You have come a long way Vince. Nice fix
I picked up 5 switches and one has this fault. The same capacitor were shorting as this one. I was fairly certain it was this chip. But your video has confirmed it to me so thanks. Just need to wait for delivery of the chip.
you could try and fix the snickers bar by crossing the name out and putting "marathon" over it
Walkers crisps used to be blue for salt n' vinegar, and green for cheese n' onion :)
Nah, that would be far too simple of a fix. Also, it wouldn't look too neat.
PS: Not fact, just opinion.
@@matthewhopkins1168 Walkers crisps have always been Green(S&V) and Blue(C'n'O) just other brands have been the other way round. Google it and you will see walkers response on the matter.
@@heatedgamer2931 Wow that's some Mandela effect level stuff right there. Could have sworn that was the case. Hmmm.
@@Aggrobiscuit Thanks. It would interesting to see a nation wide survey on the matter, as most from my generation and/or area seem to remember it being that way.
Way too hard on yourself, Vince! You do excellent work and you're getting better over time! Keep it up, bud!
I've been soldering for 20 odd years but i doubt i'd be able to do what you just did.Respect :)
great video man .. its good seeing how far you have come in the time you have been doing this .. that center square not all chips have that as a ground some just use it for heat dissapation so no reference too ground .. you can start buying bricked switches fix them sell them now .. a good side job for you
Great vid Vince!! Thoroughly enjoyed it.. as with your other videos. Spot on on the chip job as well.. always looks easy when watching other people do stuff.. until you try it out. Learned a lot.. thanks Vince.
I am sure it has been mentioned before, but when you are reapplying solder to the pads you should give solder paste a try. you can just spread it where you want it and then heat it up. that way you don't have to try and stir it around with the iron. nice vid as always, sir.
Good work. I enjoy the humility, it gives credibility to your efforts.
Very nice fix vince! I really enjoy your videos and watching you learn and it be real it makes the videos worth watching keep up the great work and videos!
You mentioned the potential benefits of leaded solder; one of the main benefits for using leaded solder for surface mount chips is because it is more malleable than unleaded solder. Unleaded is brittle and cracks easily. Also the lower melting temperature of leaded solder makes it better for chips that get hot because with UNLEADED when a chip gets hot, and the board warps, the solder cracks rather than melting and adjusting to the new shape of the board, which is what leaded solder will do for you. It's much more reliable and creates a much better connection physically AND electrically. And also, as you will know, it's a LOT easier to work with.
Great video as always :) It is not always the big pad on the bottom of a chip is a ground, it can also be used to sink heat to the pcb.
Great work Vince, love watching your videos and has given me so much insight into switch disassembly/repairs. Thanks.
great job Vince really enjoyed watching this video as much as you did making it
Well done Vince, really enjoyed this video 😁
Amazing video Vince! I once had the same problem where the console seemed bricked, but I just disassembled it and unplugged the battery, and that did it for me.
It's easier to remove unleaded solder without accidentally ripping pads if you apply leaded solder to it like a blob. Then you don't need to wick off the solder with force, because the remains will still contain lead and be usable to solder the replacement chip.
Also, with that kind of chip you are good to go with too much solder on the center pad, if you push on it. The excess solder can be removed with the tip of the iron with solder on it if you use enough flux.
Keep up the good work! It's really cool to watch even if it's not a flawless work. Maybe because of that
Nice job Vince !!
Don't assume tho that the pad under the chip is ground, you could have a design there where its not.
There has to be some manufacturer out there that is different from what you might think is the norm !!
Better to check the actual ground pin or pins too, if possible, when checking for that short and comparing chips.
That large pad underneath may be isolated for some reason.
I found this remark on another site "The center pad is not connected to chip ground, nor to any other
electrical point, however, it is close to the chip substrate and should
be grounded for best noise immunity. It is a mainly a thermal pad."
I really enjoyed this video, it's very cool that you were able to fix it. It makes me wanna try it out myself. I've only changed controller shells so far. I've got to the point to where I can do a pair of Joycons in like 40 min or so, Left joycon is a breeze, Righ one, not so much. I also watch another channel from a guy that does component level board repair like this, but on apple computers. Look for Louis Rossman, If you watch a few of his videos I'm pretty sure it will improve your soldering skills.
Keep up the good work
19:37 congrats you have a table now!
Another great repair Vince! It clearly wasn't "bricked" though, as the bricking process involves the flash ROM having some type of corruption or failure. Unless Nintendo did an update that can break hardware when using a 3rd party dock? I would imagine a law suit if they did that?!?
You will find it easier to clean pads on the board using that chip qwik flux rather than Amtec etc - it helps absorb solder from pads way easier imo. I suspect that the short disappearing from that chip might have been flux or something interfering with the probe connections! Meter sensitivity isn't anything to do with it, either the probes were not making a good connection or the short vanished as a result of removing it (possible I guess).
Thanks Chris, unfortunately I tested it wrong in the video. I was told on the comments after the video that the ground pad wasn't actually a ground pad but a heatsink instead. So I checked it this morning, and the big pad under the chip does go to ground on the board, but the actual chip itself when removed from the board is not ground on that big pad. It is isolated from all the surrounding pins, so to test it I had to use a small ground pin and then it tested faulty on the same pins what were grounded before I removed it from the board (the ones that were short on the caps). The chip is 100% faulty I just tested it wrong. So the 2 ground pins on the chip are not connected to the big heatsink pad in the middle of it. I will know for next time :-)
Great job anyway! BTW - please don't feel I am trying to pick holes or find problems etc, just purely trying to give you a little advice where I think it might help! You've come on leaps and bounds over the last few months and you can fix these with your eyes closed now lol
@@GadgetUK164Not at all Chris, I want all the advice you give. You know I value it hugely :-)
"Unless Nintendo did an update that can break hardware when using a 3rd party dock?" This chip supports USB-PD policy updates. I'd imagine a policy that changes the voltage messages or something similar could actually fry the chip in the way it fried. (Internal LDO cap outputs going to ground.)
The only way to know for sure might be to use another known good third party dock in a similar way and see if it kills another switch in the same way.
Also, I don't think this would lead to lawsuits. Nintendo could just say "we never told you to buy unauthorized equipment, and that invalidates the warranty".
Dunno how I found your channel but I'm glad I did, Love learning how to fix electronics. Subscribed
Awesome video. I found this very relaxing to watch, so much dexterity.
The first thing I thought of when I saw the thumbnail was “Hey Switch, eat a snickers. You’re not you when you’re hungry.”
Your videos are phenomenal, I love them. Such a great learning experience, it's fun and interesting to watch, and you have a great personality. Thank you for the great videos and great job man getting this to work. I really didn't expect it to work but wow, great job!
The joy in your voice and talkiung about your kids loving those candies is so goddamn cute, i cant even...
The Switch Killer has died, long live The Switch Doctor!
Not related but, do you believe in our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ? The Son of God???
@@pickleplanet7158 Of course not, I was never easily led, even as a child.
I genuinely enjoyed this video mostly because of the chocolate candy. I love watching your videos , I’ve never been brave enough to venture into a console or hand held system or even a cell phone for that fact , but you make it look so easy although you say in earlier videos you are a novice at repairing them. Can’t say that now can you ? LOL.
Anyway , keep doing the awesome videos . 👍👍👍❤️❤️❤️✌️✌️✌️
Nice one Mate ... That will help lots of people I'm sure...well done...nice fix
Nice fix Vince, congrats!!
Hey Vince, thanks for the dedication. I love watching your viddy vids (= A question for you though, have you ever considered using solder paste? I've found it works really well in those situations when putting things back on to boards with hot air. Just my 2p
Wow what a great video, first time i have watched any of your videos Vince but i loved it and have subbed ;)
Can't believe i watched the whole video without skipping ahead :D
What music did you use when you speed things up in this video? This piano playing?
Vince, you mention quite early in the video about the audio levels of the beeping, there is a very easy way of doing this which is free, mostly simple and not very time consuming. If you have Audacity (the free audio software) you can get an extension for importing the audio from video files, there is a tool called Noise Reduction (usually used for getting rid of microphone hiss) you select a sample of the audio you want to fix, in this case the beeping sound and set the sliders to lower the volume, apply this setting to the entire audio and it's an easy fix, probably a 20 minute job at most depending on the length of your video and how quick your computer can process the reduction.
Hope this can help you somewhere down the line. :)
Good tip gets a like so it goes up, I hope he sees it
Brother You Are a Artist with Soder! Lol,Thank you for sharing this!
I enjoy seeing you learn just like the rest of us.
When replacing a chip press down on the chip when cool then reapply heat to squeeze out the solder.
Price ot😂😂
Love watching you , it’s great to see how you have progressed doing your repairs and learning along the way. Well done mate keep up the great content 👍
Congrats Mate 😊 you did a pretty good job 👍 I love very hard working people
Hi Vince just a tip the arrow pointing at the dot on the chip is orientation Good work keep it up
I think these videos are the best on TH-cam. I love fix it videos. Those Nintendo switches sure are nice, but I just don’t like the games.
Well done. You are becoming an expert on the switch.
Great job again Vince 👍
Man oh man, I haven't had a mounds or an almond Joy in ages. They are amazing.
Great Job Vince really enjoyed the video