Any tips on finding someone who does component level repair? I have an old-ish laptop (7 years?) and the only issue is the USB C charger seems to be losing connection. If I flip the charger it works fine, so I think the solder just needs to be reflowed.
I think it would take an experienced person <30 min to fix. It’s almost not worth it though since it’s so old, but I’d be willing to pay $50-100 if it makes charging work better.
Yeah, unfortunately I don’t think that’s the case. It has been dropped, tugged on, etc, so I’m pretty sure the solder joints are weak. I can feel the connector is loose as well.
If I get desperate, I’ll pick up a heat gun, some flux, maybe a better soldering iron (I have some cheap Chinese crap) and try it out. But I’m more likely to break it than fix it. I’ll try it once I’m ready to replace it anyway.
I second this comment. It can be extremely tricky to solder something so small with so many contacts so close together.
But… if you get some sharp tweezers, I wouldn’t be surprised if you could pull some lint out of that USB port. And more often than not, that’ll make all the difference and it’ll charge normally again.
Any tips on finding someone who does component level repair? I have an old-ish laptop (7 years?) and the only issue is the USB C charger seems to be losing connection. If I flip the charger it works fine, so I think the solder just needs to be reflowed.
I think it would take an experienced person <30 min to fix. It’s almost not worth it though since it’s so old, but I’d be willing to pay $50-100 if it makes charging work better.
Usually if it’s a charging port, it’s pretty common that there’s like dirt in there or something.
But soldering a type C connector is pretty tough due to the size. Especially for my (lack of) experience level.
It could be a learning opportunity for you though.
Yeah, unfortunately I don’t think that’s the case. It has been dropped, tugged on, etc, so I’m pretty sure the solder joints are weak. I can feel the connector is loose as well.
If I get desperate, I’ll pick up a heat gun, some flux, maybe a better soldering iron (I have some cheap Chinese crap) and try it out. But I’m more likely to break it than fix it. I’ll try it once I’m ready to replace it anyway.
I second this comment. It can be extremely tricky to solder something so small with so many contacts so close together.
But… if you get some sharp tweezers, I wouldn’t be surprised if you could pull some lint out of that USB port. And more often than not, that’ll make all the difference and it’ll charge normally again.