Trying to FIX a Nintendo Switch with Numerous Faults 

Awesome fix Vince! You completed some really difficult repairs on this. So fun watching someone else fix these too! For protecting that connector there's several things that I've done...1) I've used a small piece of metal (the shielding from a original PS4 HDMI encoder chip) and that worked pretty well. 2) I've use kapton tape then put a thermal pad over it then taped it down. That worked ok. 3) I've just ordered some heat protective putty that I'm going to try when it gets here. Also, It may have some loose pins on the usb c port that's causing it to not show on the dock...I've seen several of those. Now you see why I don't use much flux when I do these...I like using lots of flux but as soon as it gets under the kaptop tape the tape lifts.

The problem is that you kept the board inside the housing. You should always remove the board before doing any jobs with the rework gun. But a really nice fix!

This video actually made me feel nostalgic. All the melting, SMD parts just randomly disappearing, hard time adjusting airflow/heat etc. It took me back to when I also had problems with this and I want to say thank you. I'm not going to point out things because other people has already helped you but great job! Even if it did get a little messy it was a really great job and fun to watch you explore the tools and options! Keep going and you'll become a master in no-time!

Vince, you are too impatient. RoHS solder needs just 300 degree Celsius. And please, use the plyers only for removing the old chip only and for placing the new one once. Surface tension definitely will do the rest unless your air flow is low enough to not blow away the components.The direction of the air flow is very important! Always away from sensitive components. If the camera is in the way, place the camera different, not the heat nozzle. If you need to use the needle plyers rest your hand on the table and only use the finger tips for pinpointing.

Nice work mate!

Brilliant! I think we stood up and cheered when it turned on. With you every step of the way, compelling viewing!

vince has the patience and optimism of a saint

Also, don't get discouraged Vince. I know you haven't had a lot of good luck with these. The videos are still informational, and entertaining to watch. You're doing a good job, you just need some more specialized tools for such a specialized job such as removing small ICs from a crowded PCB. You'll get there eventually, and all of your subscribers are here to support you and keep telling you that even if you fail, you still learn something from the experience and you always try to do a better job the next time which is so encouraging to watch. Most people would have never attempted another Switch after the first one failed like it did but you've kept at it. Please don't let this experience keep you from attempting more switches in the future. Maybe Steve from Tronix Fix could give you some tips as well. You guys have a good rapport maybe he's a good resource to skype with and get some help or advice? Have a great Sunday Vince and I look forward to the next video!

Always enjoy a switch fix-it video, doing great Vince!

Well done Vince.. love how excited you got when you realised the light wasn't plugged in 👍👍👍

Very informative. It takes a strong individual to show their mistakes along with the triumphs so others can learn.

Little tip here. I use standard aluminium foil (3 layers) to wrap all PCB. Then i cut area around the chip using scalpel to see the chip. Window should be a bit larger. Then i tape foil aroud the chip with the capton tape. This way you wont melt anything else. Also 390 Celsius is too high, i use temperature around 340 and about 50 pct air flow to prevent other parts from moving.

Great video,was nice to see ya get this one going,Ya may not be a pro but you don't mind tearing into something to give it a go,I still learn stuff watching your videos.

Why the temp so high? You need to heat up the chip..... Not send it to hell.

Also try and add a bit of leaded solder to the joints on the chip before using the hot air, this will reduce the heat required to lift the chip. The solder on the board is unleaded and has a higher melting temperature, by adding the leaded it will reduce it. This will make it a lot easier.

The switch killer? Almost every switch you fixed you actually made it work.

For all the bad decisions you make you surprise me with your tenacity and that's something I wish I had more of. Great job! I look forward to your future.

When I was reworking in the electronics industry we had a set of heat gun square / rectangle nozzles that fitted just over the IC so that the heat could be concentrated in the area. We had a set that fitted the majority of surface mount IC's. We also had a wire tool that slid under the IC that aided in the removal once the solder had melted.

It's an old video I know, but going back to then, and seeing your work now really shows how much you have improved !

I’m rewatching the older stuff. You’ve come a long way fella. I couldn’t help but laugh again when you melted it. I think it’s been board out of everything for hot air ever since this episode.

I know its been a year but I never get tired of watching these. One thing I've actually discovered by accident with these types of small connectors is that if you apply the hot air from underneath the the joycon connector you'll be able to get the connector off more easily in the unfortunate event that it does get melted. Then all you'll need to do is drag solder the new connector pins to the board. Much like the PS4 HDMI connector replacements except the board here looks to be thinner so you'll likely have an easier job doing it this way. not just with the joycon connector but also the usb and possibly the screen connector as well to get them off the board

Watching your progress is pretty inspiring. Not enough for me to buy a faulty console myself off of Ebay but I would definitely pick up faulty consoles in my local area from like Facebook or something. 2 hours was pretty long video but it was still entertaining enough.

Wow! I’ve never been so incredibly nervous and happy seeing a fix it video as i was on 1:16:42 GREAT work Vince!

Have you ever worked with "low melting solder"? They are expensive but really useful. Also, you should definitely not slide your multimeter probes across pins while there's power running in the system. You just caused a short which can damage chips.

Love your videos man, I really enjoy watching you repairing stuff, keep up the good work! You're an electronic butcher

I would have lost my mind with all that Kapton tape melting and shrinking. I very much appreciate your perseverance in this challenging scenario. Bravo.

Nicely done! Love the idea of showing real work in progress - not everything goes like 10/10 and and we are aware of it now :D

Love your videos as you show what can happen when a noob like me tires such a project. Not that I won't do it, but it's good to learn from other people who tried before.

Can’t wait to watch you get big lol, been subbed for about 6 months now, keep up the great work

I was cringing this whole video because no amperage equals a bad charging IC chip. And it's not corrosion on the chips. These chips burn out easily on the Switches. You finally figured it out though. Great job. It's how you learn though. Love your videos Vince! Keep up the great content.

Pls do more of these videos, they're very informative and great to watch! I love all of your nintendo switch videos, pls do some more about tips and tricks maybe.

Oh man your videos are like movies to me. You always apologize for them being to long, but I LOVE THEM !

When the screen come on it was like England scoring in the world Cup here lol 👏 so happy for you mate. you deserve everything to work because you put so much time and patience in to it .you have come a long way Congratulations vince 👍

Electronics tech chiming in, the first 30 mins was painful to watch. The initial components that were "failures" may have actually been resistors. Would need to look at the codes but you had 0402 and 0603's present. Second, for the chip that you heat gunned, flux and fine solder braid would do the trick. Alternative would be a solder station with a chip puller setup of thermal tweezers. If you needed to go destructive removal, would have advised very fine nipps. Also, future note:. Anyone working on anything battery powered, unplug the battery before doing any work on it, let alone soldering. You can cause damage to the battery.

I am impressed with your hard work. You are my favorite electronic enthusiast. Keep it up

I felt for you all through the video. Glad it turned out ok ish in the end. You have more patience than I have for sure!

This was great, Vince. Congrats on the fix!

I remember watching this Video awhile back and YT decided to recommend it to me again so thought I’d give it another watch, Surprised I didn’t comment on it the first time around, I remember thinking that what you did must have been incredibly difficult and fair play to you for not losing your cool and reminded me of the British Slogan: “Keep calm & Carry on!” Things do get to me at times when Soldering especially when components won’t come off boards as easy as they do for other people but hopefully that will change soon after watching lots of Videos from yours & other channels, We can but hope as they say and fair play for continuing to do what you did after the thermal meltdown Vince!

Great job Vince ! This looked doubtful at first but your perseverance paid off big style :o) !!!

Great JOB!! I've no doubt that you will be able to come back and get those Switches to dock. Can't wait for those vids to come out!

This was great. You did so much to get it working and never gave up on it. Water damage is really the worst to work with.

A great video, painful to watch in a few places but you know what, it's a learning thing! Yes some mistakes were made but it's all part of the learning process. Tinfoil is your friend for helping keep heat away from plastic parts (covered also with kapton tape), and removing the board from the case is a must - but you know that now =D Sometimes the best lessons are the most painful! I would also be super careful using hot air near any li-ion battery. I know it was discharged but a little too much heat and you could get a runaway battery. Regards your comment about the kapton tape, I think the tape was a good idea, but the plastic parts need more shielding (foil), and airflow as you say is key too. The big problem with modern boards like this is the number of layers (probably 6 layer on this?), meaning it can absorb a LOT of heat, so too much airflow and not enough protection on plastic bits can spell disaster. Hats off for throwing yourself into this. In theory you could source replacement connectors for those that are damaged, so it's not a write off at all.

Awesome work! Its quite a great feeling to troubleshoot and fix something. Specially something that someone else has tried and failed at.

My buddy I love your videos. Keep messing around with stuff and Ill keep watching!!

A+++ for perseverance Sir! I've been working on a 3ds that was found buried in mud. It's amazing sometimes that these things can be revived with a bit of time and effort.

New subscriber here, just found your channel recently, it was in my "recommended" and I have to say that I've been watching your videos non stop ever since, I've watched all the switch videos you've uploaded, the psp ones, the old toys fix and a few other ones 😊 awesome work on every one of them, and when you're not able to fix it I don't see it as a fail but as a help to fixing the next one, keep up the great work

Good job Vince! Your 'can do' attitude is amazing to watch and is very contagious! Please keep these videos coming! . :) I do this these sort of repairs at work and I use about 400C at half speed air with no problems, but you probably don't want to go much higher temp than that (390 - 410). Lower temps means you have to stay on target longer (could be bad) and going too hot can damage other parts of the board. A quick 'in and out' is the way to go. I also think you were initially using too much flux which transferred hot flux to other areas of the board which might have helped melt those plastic parts. You'll get the hang of how much flux is enough to keep the part fluxed without it spreading all over the place. I think you got some good advice from TronicsFix regarding better heat shielding to those delicate parts. Overall you did a great job for not having had much experience. You get good at this sort of thing by learning from others but also by doing it yourself and making mistakes. It's almost an art form but it can be mastered by anyone who sticks with it (it can be frustrating at first!).

Previous comment about the aluminium foil is a good one. I do that myself to be honest. Aluminium foil is great at taking the heat away from vital components. The solder on those boards will absorb the heat for a while. The trick is, lower fan speed, closer distance to the chip, longer time. Like 5-10 minutes. You could use something that is applying upwards pressure on the chip itself so as soon as it's ready to come off it'll just pop off, then turn off the heat. Try getting some kind of stand or vertical clamp that you can attach the heat gun to so it keeps an even steady application of heat.

Just came across this video again, learned so much since this switch from watching you and tronicsfix, repaired multiple switches since then. Wish I had spent a bit more time on this one back then 😅

Excellent job love your videos, you’re a true inspiration my friend keep it up

When using heat always remove the board to work on and you need to order some spare boards to practice on. It took me a while to learn the heat to air ratio with practice and patience you’ll be a superstar. Enjoy ya videos and it’s good to see you going strength to strength 👍

For protecting chips & connectors, use those aluminium tape rols, the one they use for isolating a house, but don't stick it down, just leave the protecting paper on it on the back, glue it down with capton tape, that stuff will protect your connectors like no other, but never make the mistake of pealing back that paper and stick that aluminum tape directly on the board, its an utter nightmare to remove the glue afterwards, trust me, i know ;)

Love your videos, Vince. Love from Brazil!

The moment you plugged in that backlight cable..! Great Vince, you are getting closer! Please stick to that non docking problem, in the future as you mentioned.

This video along with some of your other videos gave me the confidence and knowledge to fix my nintendo switch. I busted the PI3USB with a 3rd party dock which didn't handle the power delivery protocol correctly. It wouldn't turn on but not it works docked and everything after replacing the PI3USB and one of the chokes. Thanks

Finally, another "Trying to FIX" video which is Switch-related!

I don't know if it means anything to you, but I love your fix it videos and you got me to try and fix a Wii U touch screen which I totally Fu** Up but I admire how much hard work and effort you put the videos. Great for night workers to pass the long cold nights.

28:07 maybe lower fan but set temp to 400c 🤷‍♂️. I still liked the video because I been there before turning my boards into flambe' 🔥. 👍

awesome video vince and thanks to your description of if its broken your not loosing anything iv given this thought line a try and fixed my ps4 which kept ejecting an easy fix but first one for me so thanks bud

the absolute joy when that screen came on was bliss! Incredible fix considering all the damage the switch had before and after the video started lol

Hi Vince, a lot of the other comments note a few things done wrong so I'm not going to echo what they say. Something additional I noticed is there was another small resistor around the first chip you changed that must have been blown away that you never replaced. Not sure what issues it may cause but could be worth a look. Edit: Also great work getting to the point you did! A lot of people might throw in the towel after making a few mistakes but you stuck with it and ended with something that is now "useable".

"apart from all the burning... Its not shorting" 😆😆😆 Your videos are just the best.... 👍

Great stuff Vince, really well done.

1:16:40 .. Not sure who gets more excited when you fix something: you or me :)

You donut not plugging the backlight in! But well done for fixing what looked like something that was destined for the bin, I actually got excited too when it came on lol. Top video Vince!

Put more videos ..these are the best videos i have not seen in along time

You did good with this one Vince life's all about learning and you'll get better over time. Keep up the good work you're doing good you'll always have my support. Try to relax and take it easy if you mess it up it's ok you can always try again, with a different Switch on a different day.

Love your vids, never stop!

Down to earth fix. Loved your determination to get that bugger working. I use old metal phone cases to deflect the heat with the tape or held down with a coin. Flux and wipe on any water damage I've found due to the possibility of a track gone which can't be seen until wiped. Nice video. Nearly forgot about that docking port, use solder paste when worrying about the plastic it melts quicker I've found.

Your reaction when you found out it works is amazing!

Well done Vince i thought it was just going to be spares. Just goes to show just keep at it. Was smiling to my self when it come on lol

Take the boards out to work on them! No more melting the cases or worrying about the lcd. Side note: these devices are a lot more durable than I thought lol this thing was put through hell...literally ANDDD... I’m super proud of you Vince!! This one was definitely one that most people (even pros) would have tossed in the bin after getting one good look at the inside. It may not have turned out perfect but IT WORKS!! Congratulations my friend!

i love how excited you got over the backlight lmao

Excellent fix vince! Also only use kapton if you really really need too on a job like that. Simply because if you put too much heat as it melts and crinkles it can shrink and pull other smd components with it, not to mention hinder your view of what else is melting. Use some kitchen foil or something like that (especially for the plastic connectors). I also preheat the area with a hair drier (heat gun occasionally) too as it makes the final heating and or soldering iron more effective. As always great repair video, you really did well considering the space you had to work with! A learning curve, we all make mistakes! Follow up video please! :)

Really enjoy these longer videos.

Great video vince, it reminded me of my first switch repair it was a disaster so don't feel too bad, also if you lose some of the capacitors or fuses on the switch and don't have extra, take them of from iphones or ipads, it was an accidental find on my first switch when i blew one of them away on my first one, and by coincidence i notice an iphone 6 motherboard had some of the same ones that the switch uses XD, best of luck

either way this was a job well done, i was certain this Switch was done for after you melted the board so badly, but you once again amazed me and literally brung the console back from the dead! Switch killer? more like Switch resurrector! that was impressive! well done Vince. i would buy a fixed Switch console from you any day.

HAHAHAHAH 1:16:20 best part. I love your reaction when you saw the screen working.

I think you improved your hot air reworking skills quite a bit this video; well done! For protecting that joycon connector, I think the biggest tip is one you already figured out. Air flow was up *way* too high. Add to that less flux so it doesn't get under your tape and lift it, I think you'll be much more successful in similar situations in the future. A tip with the flux: use your tweezers to grab a bit of it and use that to more carefully control the amount and location of where it goes on the board. Remember, you can always add more, so being cautious with it in the beginning is a good idea.

Hey Vince, I once did replace a plastic connector in a Nintendo DS by heating te opposite side of the PCB. Of course there can't be any components onto the other side of the PCB. This could possibly also work for replacing the usb connector. I admire your patience in repairing these things.

Good job Vince y really enjoyed watching this video you really did it

I agree that it was a li'l lengthy, but it is pretty informative about that stuff. (it is not taken directly as knowledge but taken as a sample of knowledge) but it is not bad that you got it back to life. I'm currently not very experienced in smd soldering.

I found your channel because of Steve or Tronicsfix. He makes this look so easy. I would be in the same boat as you. You are doing a great job 😊😊

Kitchen foil is superb for shielding. I do it all the time :)

So chuffed for you. A joy to watch you work :-)

The bit with the faulty joycon connector... slot the cable in the best it will... then use blue tack to hold it! Tips crazy but works... I did it on a wii u joystick connector about 7 years ago... and it still working now in dec 2022 !!

Damn that look so difficult. I would have burnt my house down if I tried that.

Hey Vince! I was wondering if you could help me out with my Nintendo Switch. I've just bought it yesterday and I've downloaded at least 3 games and neither any of games are working well. It keeps popping the "software was closed because an error occurred" I don't know if it's a hardware problem or some software problem? I'm currently not the UK right now so I set my region to Japan (I'm currently somewhere near there since it's the only region in Asia) and set my date and time according to where I am located. Does having different region and eshop account (UK) effects the game software??

Good on you Vince a great effort on your part great video congratulations on your efforts Good for you

Awesome videos I find them kinda therapeutic they help me sleep.

Hi I was just wandering which screwdriver do you need for the joycon rails I have a Philips one and trywing but it seems to be not working for me.

Great video! I have a Nintendo switch working perfectly docked but when I try to play in handheld the screen remains grey. I tried hard reset etc and even when the screen is working didn't show any graphic. Any idea of what the problem would be? Thanks in advance!

Next point that may help you with these dodgy type places is Chip Quix solder. You should have cleaned the pins and then tinned with lead free. to reduce your melting point. Other method is make a square of copper wire and wind ends onto a soldering iron. the square heats all the pins of the chip at the same time

How didn't you just get so pissed of and just bin it 😂 Props to you man 😂

Tough job, but hey you made it work. Well done!

I’d love to see you fix a gameboy!! I love the insides of those things they’re beautifully simple and cute

Hey I'm having issue with my switch console not turning on, I can hear a buzzing noise coming from on the motherboard. the charging indicator does not show up on screen, when pressing the power button and waiting a few seconds then taping on the screen does nothing. I have two videos on my channel of the issue occurring. what do you think it could be? Thanks!

Bluetack over the connector should give you more control of shielding. Also very useful for holding pesky fine components down.

hello, can someone tell me if there is any fuse or what chip on the switch main PCB is responsible for the right joy-con? Couple days ago my brother use RCM to check my switch and from that time my right joy-con is not working, it's not problem with broken rail or connector, i replace them both and check them in other switch (works) i found the point just under the right joy-con ribbon connector that is equivalent of RCM pin 10, i try to ground it and check if the hardware button work to turn console it in rcm mode but even from this point it's don't do nothing. I check the joy-con i the different console and it's work.

I Dont know why, but your Videos are very Entertaining. Love your Vids.