Changing LG G6's factory "thermal paste" - LG G6 Guides, News, & Discussion

Hi, recently I needed to open my LG G6 to swap the motherboard. I bought it 2nd hand and somebody fried the on-board audio codec. That's why I bought it very cheap.
Anyway, when I was swapping the motherboard, I wanted to replace this "thermal paste" that they put on in the factory. Why am i quoting the thermal paste you may ask? That's because it's terrible and I wouldn't call it that way, ever.
I'm not responsible for any damage that you've done to your device doing this.
So, enough about me babbling about that stuff. I gave both surfaces a nice clean with isopropyl alcohol and I've put on fresh arctic mx-4 thermal paste. It has conductivity of about 8.5W/mk.
I won't post any disassembling pictures this time, I'm very sorry about that, I glued my phone shut and later on I got an idea about posting it on here. There are tons of videos about disassembling this phone, so I'll leave them for you to watch.
The tests were performed on stock 9.0 V30b firmware. No other changes.
I ran geekbench 5 several times and compared it to average other users results. I have some screenshots in the attachments. On 3D mark i had 91% better scores than other users. I do not have before and after comparison, sadly. So maybe you could post your results on original thermal paste
Overall I have a feeling that the phone is a little bit smoother.
Now, I recommend replacing this thermal paste only when you need to disassemble the phone, for example when replacing the battery, charging connector etc.
That's all, thanks for the time!

Related

Replacing the internal battery & screen?

My battery has gone to hell. After getting it down to 5% one day, it just would not hold a charge long. Then I got it down to 10% a week later, and it really got bad. Life is about 1/3 what it used to be. I also have some dust and even small hairs or flecks in the screen.
So...I ordered a new advance replacement unit from T-Mobile, and it just arrived. Simple enough? Well, I have the memory upgrade in mine, so I need to do some component swapping. What's the best way to go about this? What parts can be disconnected easily (or more importantly, reconnected)? Where is the damn battery (didn't see it in the disassembly photos on the site)?
Hi,
Carlos said:
So...I ordered a new advance replacement unit from T-Mobile, and it just arrived. Simple enough? Well, I have the memory upgrade in mine, so I need to do some component swapping. What's the best way to go about this? What parts can be disconnected easily (or more importantly, reconnected)? Where is the damn battery (didn't see it in the disassembly photos on the site)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please specify 'component swapping' in more detail... Are you actually thinking about swapping the memory upgrade??? You do know that that would mean desoldering the 2 big memory chips on both boards, cleaning them and the boards, and soldering them back... How good are you at smd soldering??? We haven't dared doing that, yet... (some pics of upgrading memory of an iPaq are available at http://www.linearlogix.com/ipaq/upgradereview.html
There are commercial services doing the upgrade (32 -> 64 mb), if I were you I'd contact one of those.
Other than that, we're currently swapping lcd screens, touchpanels, mainboards from 3 broken units to create 2 working units and 1 very broken one. So, what do you need to know exactly?
BTW, the battery is stuck on the inside of the back cover.
XDA developer bigmac (taking pictures of the open units right now...)
No, no, I can solder normal stuff, but not that. I mean, I assume what I need to do is keep my own motherboard. I'd like the screen, case, and battery from the new unit. On the radio section, I suppose it doesn't matter either way. So I incorrectly said "component" when what I really meant was "board," and desired advice on doing that.
The hazards of posting in the middle of the night after too much work.
Carlos said:
No, no, I can solder normal stuff, but not that. I mean, I assume what I need to do is keep my own motherboard. I'd like the screen, case, and battery from the new unit. On the radio section, I suppose it doesn't matter either way. So I incorrectly said "component" when what I really meant was "board," and desired advice on doing that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, so you want to use the screen/touchpanel/backlight assembly from the new one (smart move, not taking that apart; besides the fact that it's glued together and you need to separate it on the correct separation, that also leaves the risk of forgetting the correct orientation of the glass panel with little dots on it, used to distribute the backlight evently onto the lcd; and, there are slightly different assemblies out there which need slightly different panels...). You should keep all boards from the old unit (old mainboard including old radio unit, use the new screen/touchpanel/backlight assemly, and the new case (which includes the new battery).
You could consider swapping IMEI numbers on the units... Although _shops_ never register the numbers when they give out units, service departments might. You know where to find the tool to do that...
The screwing around of the parts should not take more than half an hour if it's the first time you take apart this unit (but have taken apart small electronics before) and less if you've done it before.
Beware of the really thin clear plastic rings used under the screws to screw down the display...
We won't be publishing a very detailed 'how to swap your screen' instruction any time soon but do have some raw unedited pictures of the operation. I'll see if we can get them online any time soon.
Have fun,
XDA developer bigmac
I ended up doing the change and ran into a snag--the plastic pin that sticks out of the top power button was loose or broken (probably happened in one of the many drops the unit has experienced). When I opened the case, I lost that. Had to send it to PPC Techs to have them solder in a new power switch.
Other than that, disassembly is pretty easy and straightforward. You mentioned you won't publish a how-to...is that because of not wanting to have it on the site, or that nobody wants to write one? If the latter, I'd be happy to write it up and include my detailed pics.
If you want to make a detailed howto on how to open and close the unit, and how to exchange certain parts, we will gladly put it on!
Do make sure to stress that people need a certain level of experience or be willing to risk losing the device though...

Is there a way to disable the internal temperature sensor?

About six months ago, I decided (foolishly) to try my S5's water resistance by taking it into the pool and taking some underwater pics and videos of my kids. They turned out great. My phone, however, was not happy. I didn't notice it until about 15 minutes after I took it out of the water. I turned it off, removed the battery, let it dry out for a few days, etc.
After that, it seemed to work again, with a few small problems. The first was that it started shutting down all my apps because it thought it was overheating. I installed an app that monitored the temp, and the numbers it was reporting were obviously wrong (way too high). The second problem is that it would no longer charge. It would either warn me that the battery was too hot, or too cold, to charge.
After some googling, it sounded like the problem might be the USB charging port daughterboard that was the problem. I took a look at the inside, and it did look like that was the only part that got wet. So I bought a new daughterboard and replaced it. I ended up destroying my screen in the process, and only just now was able to afford a new one, hence the six-month lag time.
So I finally have my phone back with a new daughterboard and new screen..... and I'm still seeing the temperature issues
Is there any way in the software to install a "hack" or anything to tell it to ignore those warnings, so that I can actually charge my battery and stop the OS from shutting down all my apps constantly? Could the problem be somewhere else besides the daughterboard? I'm really hoping that my phone isn't just dead, is all
If the back cover and/or usb cover were not securely in place when you took the device underwater, then something other than the usb port is most certainly the problem. That, or you had the phone under water for too long. The S5 is water-resistant, not water-proof. I think IP67 rating is less than 3 meters for less than 30 minutes exposure, or something. When you had it apart, did you look at the board? If you didn't, I think you can remove most of the board pieces from the back. Them them out, inspect them for oxidation, and give them a cleaning with a gentle toothbrush and rubbing alcohol. If you put it back together and you still get problems, there's nothing else you can do to fix it. It might be possible to make the hack you want, but I'm not aware of anyone having made one. Maybe you'd have to find someone who could do it for you, or learn yourself.
I also exposed my phone to water, but the microphone went out. That part is not shielded against water for obvious reasons. I guess Samsung expected the mic to handle more than just a little exposure. But mine failed. So I just warrantied it. None of my water stickers were set off. For you, I'd recommend just getting a new phone if you're with T-Mobile. $0 down on something newer. If you really love the S5, maybe just pay the insurance deductible.
I used to actually fix phones for a living, but I never do just glass on Galaxy phones bc IMO it's just not worth doing. So I would've replaced my own usb port/mic if it didn't require removing the glass.
I wouldn't recommend trying a free warranty even if your water sensors are white, because they'll probably be able to tell the screen was replaced... if they check. Will they? I dunno.
I'd sell you my new warranty but you've already invested a lot in to an aging phone, so I think it's better to cut your losses. I think I have around 300-400 left on it. It'll be unlocked and come with a case and glass screen protector, but it's still a lot on top of everything else.
LucentPhoenix said:
It sounded like the problem might be the USB charging port daughterboard that was the problem. I took a look at the inside, and it did look like that was the only part that got wet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know for a fact that in the S4 the daughterboard with the USB also has this battery temperature sensor in it because this was a repair I performed many times. Just change the board and the phone will charge and function correctly again.
I, however, have NO idea if it's the same on the S5. And apparently not, judging by what you experienced. I'm sorry you had to go through that and I know how much you had to spend on a screen. That sucks.
Good Luck!

[Guide][Hard Mod][Nexus 6P]Improve cooling and greatly reduce Thermal Throttling

Warning: This MOD will void your warranty. You will have to open the device and leave traces behind by performing it. Only perform this Mod if you are willing to take a risk.
Since I have already voided my warranty of both my Nexus 5 (2013) and Nexus 7 (2013), why not do it again? There are a few things I do not like about the Nexus 6P and having looked at some pictures from various Teardowns, I was pretty confident that I could improve this device as well. Be warned that this device is really hard to open and I had a few failed attempts before.
What can you expect from this MOD? A more reliable device, better cooling and less Thermal Throttling.
I want to thank Aquatuning Germany for helping me out with this guide by sending me this nice thermal paste as well as the required Heat Gun I was lacking.
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Phobya NanoGrease Extreme: This thermal paste has a insane thermal conductivity of 16W/mK which promises excellent results and will replace the pink rubber used by Huawei.
I tried to open the Nexus 6P before but failed miserably with a regular hair dryer. It seems that you need plenty of heat and the right tools in order to open such a device. I have never needed a Heat Gun before but everybody has to start somewhere
Alphacool HardTube Heat Gun Pro 2000W: This Heat Gun has 3 different levels of heat: 100°C - 450°C - 600°C and can burn a hole in your hand if you´re not careful.
I was afraid at first because the visor glass is very thin, curved and looks like something which will break just by staring evil at it. If you really think you have what it takes to torture your device, let´s proceed!
Material needed:
- a Heat Gun
- rubbing alcohol
- a razor blade or parts from a soda can
- a precision screwdriver set
- premium thermal paste
- premium 0.5mm thick thermal pads
- a guitar pick or spudger
- a very thin guitar pick or chirurgical knife
- some thin plastic card
You might also consider to get some sort of basic repair kits for mobile devices if you´re not confident that the tools mentioned by me are enough for you to perform this MOD too.
This video inspired me to give it a try too. I think this one is a nice example and since it helped me to finally give it a shot, I guess it is worth mentioning.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdWR7cU0sdc
You need to open your device and to make sure that you lay down your display on a soft surface in order to prevent it from being scratched. Don´t forget to remove the SIM card tray right after.
Use a Heat Gun to soften the glue and carefully insert a very thin razor blade between the visor glass and the Aluminum case. It is a great idea to raise the phone from your table by using some spare piece of wood or else you might heat it up too. Be warned that you might need several tries before you can cut through with a thin razor blade or some self made blades out of a soda can if you are not a experienced phone technician who does this kind of stuff on a daily basis. I tried at first the 100°C setting but this one took too long. I switched over to the 450°C setting and kept a good distance because there is a high risk of damaging the components or even igniting stuff.
Finally, I removed the critical visor glass without shattering it. This is really scary if you have never done anything like this before.
Use a Heat Gun for the lower plastic part but be careful because this part does not like heat at all and might warp and change the colour. You really need to be patient on this part. Fitting a razor blade works too but it is not as easy as you might think. Once you have built a lever and raised one lip, everything is pretty easy. Use a thin plastic card or similar object to cut through.
Now you need to remove all 6 screws with a precision screwdriver set and make sure that you don´t lose them. Removing the back was quite tricky if you lack the tools. I had to borrow a very thin guitar pick made of metal in order to open the case.
Remove the screws of the motherboard and disconnect all connectors. It is easier to remove the motherboard if you remove the 3.5mm headphone jack and front camera first. Now you will see the rubbery thermal paste used by Huawei. It looks cheap and also feels cheap. I bet it is not the highest grade paste used either!
I put the motherboard on a antistatic foam and had a closer look.
Use rubbing alcohol and some cue tips for ears, paper towels or even toilet paper in order to get rid of the old thermal paste. This looks a lot better, eh?
Clean the closed container with rubbing alcohol too.
What is inside? More of that lovely thermal paste. In order to open the lid you need to use a lever. Make sure that you do not use much force and especially damage the small components around. It is not very hard to open the lid once you have figured it out
The back of the lid also needs some cleaning too.
That looks a lot better. Use rubbing alcohol again and clean the SoC and the back of the lid.
Alphacool Eisschicht: These pads have a insane thermal conductivity of 17W/mK which promises excellent results. I´ve used them in my Nexus 5 (2013) Mod too since these 2 stripes are enough for many modifications.
Attach the thermal pad you want to use. You will need about 15x15x0.5mm in order to fully cover the SoC. Make sure to attach the pad in such a way that you can still close the lid later. The SoC is a really tight fit but it seems that such a pad might work out too if it can adapt to the gap without high pressure. At first I used the Phobya NanoGrease Extreme thermal paste I received. This paste reminds me of Arctic Silver 5 and it is not very easy to apply. It is quite thick and needs some patience. You can use thermal paste instead of a thermal pad too but it´s up to you to decide, how much you need in order to fill the gap which is quite noticeable.
Apply the thermal paste on the metal area too, make sure that you do not use too much of it. Let some space for the metal contacts to touch the area too. It does not look too good but once you attach the motherboard back, it will fit like a charm and adjust itself to the existing structure. Use a thick "drop" of paste and let the lid of the EMI shield spread the paste for you.
Now reassemble the device. You can use the old glue of the visor glass and lower plastic part and it will still fit. I might buy some thin double sided adhesive bands later and fix these parts again. At least now I will not need to apply that much heat again in order to remove them
There was a huge discussion about how much thermal paste I´ve used and in order to avoid it. I´ve performed this Mod 2x now and there is barely any difference noticeable between the first and the second try. The thermal paste between the SoC is a lot dirtier while a thermal pad does not create that much mess.
Update 29 February:
Like I said before, I´ve performed this Mod twice and there is barely any difference noticeable between using a pad or using thermal paste. I get slightly better scores in Benchmarks now but in the end I should have let the device like it was after the first try.
Here is a nice picture for you. This is how the area looked after I removed the motherboard again. I simply used a larger surface of the lid to connect with the metal area which wasn´t a issue after all. Did I flood the whole device with thermal paste? Did it change the thermal conductivity for the worse? Absolutely no.
And now some of you might wonder, what happened to the SoC first? Was this one drowned in thermal paste too? Well, just have a look at this picture too after I scraped off the thermal paste. As you can see, there was barely any "mess" at all or else it would have looked a lot worse. The "grey" layer is tough to remove though but it does not matter in the end since you cannot reach some pores with a paper towel. It won´t affect the thermal conductivity of the now attached thermal pad.
There was nothing wrong with the modification itself, I simply wasted more material than necessary.
The whole device runs smoother and feels warm and nice after a while. The display remains warm too and also the Aluminum back needs a while to heat up. Sooner or later this device will throttle too but it will take a lot longer before it heats up enough because the heat is dissipated faster through the elite thermal pad and thermal paste. I´ve played again with various benchmarks and the high scores and linear temperature increase are evidence enough for me that the cooling is great the way it is now.
Update 27 February:
Many guys have mentioned that I used way too much thermal paste. I might have used a lot more than necessary which is quite a waste but it doesn´t flood the entire case and spills out of every corner. You can use a lot less paste or even try a small metal plate (about 0.3mm - 0.5mm thickness) if you have the patience to measure the actual gap between the EMI shield lid and the metal area on the display frame.
I´ve tortured this device a lot and can confirm that the heat dissipation is still a lot better than it was before. I might open this device at a later time again and see if I really made a mess and also provide you with pictures.
I don´t force any of you to modify your device but you´re free to tell me your experiences in case that you actually performed this Mod too
I just wanted to show you my Mod and also inspire some of you who also like to perform crazy experiments. This was the main reason why I went through the trouble of creating this guide.
Tests:
Update 10 March:
RngrYogi was brave enough to perform this Mod too and used nearly the same ingredients (similar thermal paste and thermal pads) like I did. Check out what he has to say about his results. He can confirm that the Mod helps the device to lower the thermal throttling intervals and to recover faster His Benchmark results also show that this phone can deliver a great performance when it doesn´t heat up too often.
I will update the OP from time to time if I get more success stories like these.
Update 28 February:
How reliable are Benchmarks when it comes to testing for stability or performance? Even if you perform 100 runs, you have a high tolerance between the results you get. All I was interested in was the temperature increase which is shown in some Benchmarks. It´s linear which is a good sign that everything worked out fine, even if I used a lot of thermal paste to fill the major gaps. That´s enough evidence for me that the cooling of the SoC works like intended and didn´t change for the worse.
On the other hand, if this Mod would have decreased the cooling performance of this device, the scores should also be way lower? Simple logic because a hotter phone tends to throttle more often than a device with a better cooling.
How did I test?
I use a customized, rooted and debloated Stock based ROM (MMB29Q) which suits me well. Every system is different and it also depends which kind of Apps you use. I used two different ways of stressing the whole system by forcing the CPU to use the max. speed at any times in order to generate as much heat as possible. The right tool for me was the usage of the ElementalX Kernel and the EX Kernel Manager App by flar2.
1)Stock Speed, no overclocking at all: Performance Mode activated and Min=Max frequency enabled for all cores.
2)Max Speed, set highest overclocking settings of the Kernel: Performance Mode activated and Min=Max frequency enabled for all cores (1708Mhz and 2054Mhz)
I also killed all active Apps like eg. WhatsApp and let the device stay idle for a while before performing the Benchmarks. Like I said before, there is no way to ever get the same results because every device has a different configuration and amount of Apps installed. The used Kernel settings can also influence the performance.
Here is a great example of how unreliable Benchmarks are when it comes to comparing the performance. I don´t want to link huge image files directly in this OP, this is why I post external links this time. If you don´t trust me, see for yourselves that both images are 100% unaltered.
27 February, Antutu 6.0.1 @ maximum overclocked speed: I was offered a update yesterday but only received a parsing error when I wanted to install it. Have a look at the Playstore ratings and see for yourselves, this is why I could only use 6.0.1
http://abload.de/img/screenshot_20160227-1lirkv.png
28 February, Antutu 6.0.4 @ maximum overclocked speed: This time I was able to install the update and perform the test under the same conditions like yesterday since I didn´t change anything again.
http://abload.de/img/screenshot_20160228-1frrar.png
You get a different result for many reasons. I guess I made my points clear why I don´t really trust Benchmarks when it comes to comparing scores only? I trust my user experience instead. If the device performs well, Apps open fast and I don´t feel any lagging at all, I don´t care if one Benchmark would show me 100k points or even 40k points.
In the end I want to make clear that this modified device will also throttle sooner or later when the device heats up after a while which is inevitable, even if you use the best thermal paste available. The cooling system of this phone is physically limited. Even if you use a diamond sheet instead of thermal paste, this device will still heat up at some point. It would also take a longer time.
This MOD can prolong the time needed for the Thermal Throttling to kick in because it helps to dissipate the heat faster. If you play heavy games or use the phone for Benchmarks only, you might notice the Thermal Throttling to kick in after eg. 2 hours instead of 1.5 hours.
I also made a full NANDroid Backup in TWRP which included all partitions and also enabled compression. The phone heated up like you are already used too but it was not as hot as before. It felt a lot cooler.
I am happy with the results, in terms of reliability this is a great improvement for me At least now I know what I have inside and for me it was worth it.
I feel honored that this Guide has been mentioned at XDA in this article and also in the video.
Impressive efforts to open the phone. How do you go about sealing it back up when you are finished?
Agret said:
Impressive efforts to open the phone. How do you go about sealing it back up when you are finished?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Using a heating gun to re-melt the adhesives to make it sticky again. Buying thermal paste for a phone that is so difficult to take apart (2/10 repairability score on ifixit) is a complete waste of time/money/effort. If someone does this, they will see little, if any, noticeable gains where it effects the way they use the phone, and they will have severely weakend the bonding strength of the adhesives in the process. Not to mention the numerous ways of messing up the disassembly/reassmbly and resulting in a brick. And now since the warranty is now voided, they have to buy a whole new phone at full price to replace the one they just turned into a paper weight..
It's just asking for trouble and definitely not worth it. Tons of risk for little gain.
OP - that is way, way too much thermal paste. Even if you were to only apply it just to the CPU like your pic above, it would have been too much - yet, you double downed by applying just as much on the heat shield as well...
Chances are if you were to take it out again, it would have gotten everywhere by now. I wouldn't be surprised if it started leaking out at one point.
I ended up doing kinda of the same thing on my M9, except i used thermal paste under the metal rf/heat shield, then i had a couple xbox 360 motherboards laying around, and instead of using thermal paste from the heat shield to the metal casing i used a thermal pad, i cut it in half to make it thinner and reassembled without creating a mess. and no bulges during reassembly.....
just my experience
ksoze said:
OP - that is way, way too much thermal paste. Even if you were to only apply it just to the CPU like your pic above, it would have been too much - yet, you double downed by applying just as much on the heat shield as well...
Chances are if you were to take it out again, it would have gotten everywhere by now. I wouldn't be surprised if it started leaking out at one point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, definitely too much. For a CPU that size, something like a grain of rice should be enough.
Way too much paste. Also, spreading it around like that creates air pockets which are a no-go. Not a huge deal for this little processor, but still something to note. Also, toilet paper? Hell no - at LEAST use some high quality paper towels. Toilet paper would make a mess and fall apart.
Good on you for being brave and trying it. Some real tests would've been cool to see how much of a difference was truly made though!
Way too much paste. The paste is a lot less conductive than the metal. A LOT. You only want it to fill the air gaps which is way more insulating. Hopefully it works out for you
OK, I might have gotten over the edge with the thermal paste and I see that in case I would want to remove the motherboard again, it would be a lot harder now. This kind of thermal paste is also quite sticky.
I've created the guide to show you what would be possible to achieve with this phone, in case you like stuff like this.
However, like I mentioned in the OP, this modification is very hard to perform since opening the device involves many risks.
I like experimenting though and if my Nexus 6P should fail, I'm out of luck.
I also have my doubts that most guys would want to perform this Mod too but what if someday the battery fails and needs to be replaced? You would have to open the device anyway and also use the chance to apply fresh and better thermal paste
with that amount of TP it's gonna heat up even faster and in a few days you'll be left with a hardened up layer that doesn't conduct heat
I was thinking to get another plate of copper, if there is a gap,or some thermal pads, not alot you can do, better to have an efficient SOC or implement a better way to get the whole phone to absorb the heat.
As above, alot of thermal paste, a small dot would be better as you used a better paste than stock,
Anyway it's silly to think we should have to do this,
OP, thermal paste is not the same as icing on a cake. You don't try and layer the CPU in it.
WAY to much paste .......
Yeah...... No thanks
Thanks for all the Feedback. I´ve updated the OP I don´t force any of you to perform this Mod and I will use less thermal paste next time For now, everything is still OK and I didn´t see any thermal paste leaking through the motherboard and the whole case. I got over excited and used more paste than really necessary which is a waste of material but didn´t change the results for the worse.
I´m performing a series of extra Tests which will also include a overclocked device in order to see if I can somehow teach this guy the "Art of Heating" again and trying to burn my fingers.
Just asking if this would work on other devices?
It should work on other devices too because many of them are built in a similar way. Other devices might be easier to open though, like it was the case with my Nexus 5 (2013) and Nexus 7 (2013)
nick37332001 said:
Just asking if this would work on other devices?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gorgtech said:
It should work on other devices too because many of them are built in a similar way. Other devices might be easier to open though, like it was the case with my Nexus 5 (2013) and Nexus 7 (2013)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope so because some devices do not even have thermal paste/ whatever it is on their CPU and the CPU is usually soldered and tightened down.
It depends, the SoC of the Nexus 7 (2013) faces towards the back and not the display frame. A slight improvement is still possible because you can use a thin metal plate or a thermal pad to connect it with the lid of the EMI shield. It´s better than nothing.
Even if you manage to find a gap inside the case and to glue a thin plate of metal to eg. the back and connect the SoC with it, it will be a great improvement. This kind of ICs can perform very well, even without a passive cooler attached to them.
What I noticed now is that my battery temperature is lower because it gets less heat from the SoC now. The heat is dissipated faster through the better thermal paste. I will post a few Screenshots later and also describe the measuring conditions used by me
How did I get here?
Oh yeah, WAY too much thermal paste. That's counter-productive. Thermal paste basically fills in the scratches/imperfections to help heat transfer. A goopy snot of bubble gum wadded there will insulate the chip, and it will have less cooling ability.

Repairs gone wrong.

Hi guys. I've been working on a RN2 for a while now and something has been bothering me.
BACKGROUND
___
Basically, it was a side phone I kept in emergency but as you know siblings who can't keep stuff safe, I ended up lending it to him (after having it broken by my other sibling and having to change the screen) and he ALSO broke it, so I changed it again.
___
Now, my problem is the following:
When I was working on the screen, I noticed it wouldn't turn on again, so, after buying aforementioned screen, I placed it and it still didn't turn on. When I tried the heat measuring, I noticed it was heating around the area where you plug the flex cable (black cable with 2 identical plugs that connects the charge module (which I also changed) and the motherboard. The heat is on the side of the MB. I tried to switch the plug backwards but it doesn't work either (and doesn't fit as it is backwards). I bought another flex cable (Theseus' boat much) and it still heated up. So it finally comes to the fact that the issue is in the MB. (I guess ?) Thing is, I don't know what exactly. Does anyone have any idea?
Thanks in advance, I've been on this for a few months now (working it when I have time).
All you can do is look visible damage like a cracked solder joint.
BGA chipsets solder joints can't be examined because they are underneath of them.
Any impact great enough to damage the display or frame could damage the mobo.
Examine your work. Are ground pathways present especially if the phone is "open"?
Look for damaged ribbon cable and connector pins. Try disconnecting/reconnecting the battery (hard reboot).
blackhawk said:
All you can do is look visible damage like a cracked solder joint.
BGA chipsets solder joints can't be examined because they are underneath of them.
Any impact great enough to damage the display or frame could damage the mobo.
Examine your work. Are ground pathways present especially if the phone is "open"?
Look for damaged ribbon cable and connector pins. Try disconnecting/reconnecting the battery (hard reboot).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HI, thanks so much for the quick reply! Unfortunately, I didn't see anything. I might come back to it with a better lens tomorrow for the week end. Would it be necessary to post a picture or two here tomorrow, to have a more professional opinion?
Thanks!
Iliassine said:
HI, thanks so much for the quick reply! Unfortunately, I didn't see anything. I might come back to it with a better lens tomorrow for the week end. Would it be necessary to post a picture or two here tomorrow, to have a more professional opinion?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're welcome.
I'm afraid though that I contributed little to your cause...
You can try gently flexing the pcb and pressing on components with a pencil, eraser end to try to localize the trouble. The mobo is likely toast though if that's the cause. Mobo diagnostics just aren't available except at the manufacturer's level. Even then most repairs require a hot air station and a high level skillset to execute successfully. A few 3rd party shops probably rework them if there's high enough demand.
Always use a good case to protect internal components as well as the display and frame.
blackhawk said:
You're welcome.
I'm afraid though that I contributed little to your cause...
You can try gently flexing the pcb and pressing on components with a pencil, eraser end to try to localize the trouble. The mobo is likely toast though if that's the cause. Mobo diagnostics just aren't available except at the manufacturer's level. Even then most repairs require a hot air station and a high level skillset to execute successfully. A few 3rd party shops probably rework them if there's high enough demand.
Always use a good case to protect internal components as well as the display and frame.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh no, you did great! You gave me probably more information than I found the last few months! I will try the eraser thing, maybe I'll have some luck. I didn't really touch the board unless the un clip removal of components bands. I will take it down and see if this is what is going on! Thank you. I will keep the thread up to see if someone else has ideas and keep you updated!
Examine the mobo under an excellent high lumen point light source and use optical aids. Stereoscopic ones are best for this. Examine at different angles to look for solder cracks. They tend to be difficult to spot.
Remember out of circuit assemblies like the mobo are sensitive to ESD damage. Use a bare wood surface if no ESD mat/wrist strap are available. Raise room humidity to at least 50%.
Wear cotton not wool or synthetics.
Discharging yourself directly to an earth ground immediately before handling it helps. Nearly every object can retain a static charge to one degree or another even paper. Humidity helps to dissipate it once present but almost any material movement/friction can generate it.

Teardown question

My phone was recently stolen, and a friend gave me her Note 20 ultra and said I could just have it if I could get it to work. First off, the back was cracked in several spots but the screen is pristine.
I plug it in and nothing, no sound that it connected, nothing visual on screen. I leave it plugged in for 1/2 hr still nothing. I connect to my laptop and nothing. So I decided to take off the back and see if anything is obviously out of place due to damage done to back panel. After taking screws out and starting to disassemble I notice the power button is not connected. So I look up how to reconnect by watching some teardowns and I notice ummm the inside of my phone doesn't look the same as the ones in the teardown videos. So I search different Samsung white phones with stylus and I don't see anything similar. Since I can't turn on I couldn't verify it actually is a Note 20 ultra. It's not built like any of the videos, so now I'm like well sh*t I just ordered a replacement back panel and stylus from Amazon....
Anyhoo, my question is two fold.
1. Is this a Note 20 ultra? (I'm in Canada but couldn't find a specific video for that)
2. How do I reconnect the power button ?
Please help if you can I cannot continue with my old A02 the lag is driving me batty!
I've added a pic of a note 20 ultra from google as reference and the pic of mine is exactly how it looked when I removed the backing.
Wow
So much emptiness
Well, I've come to the conclusion this is clearly a fake Samsung note..
My first clue should've been the absence of the Samsung logo on the battery. The back panel from Amazon came in and thankfully I have a new galaxy S22 (the real Mccoy) but now I'm determined to fix this faker anyhow. 1. Because i spent the money on the back panel. And 2. I'm stubborn like that.
Does anyone have experience repairing flex cables? I saw a few vids involving soldering but I'm not that confident in my soldering skills..
I have those Bondic kits with the ultra violet light that hardens the glue type substance. It's that an option? The cable ripped right where it goes into place.
Damn it's god awful badly made. Sorry.
The chipsets are likely from an older generation as well. I would write it off.
If you learn to solder on those pads you will likely lift the solder pads. You should have a fine tip temperature controlled iron, fine gauge rosin core 63/37 solder and lots of practice. Soldering is easy once you learn some principles, techniques and get a feel for it. Many never fully master it though.

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