Skip to main content

Repair information, troubleshooting tips, and guides for the sixth iteration of Apple iPhone, announced on September 12, 2012. Model: A1428, A1429

2521 Questions View all

Digitizer not working, solder pad damaged

Hi guys,

I have a phone where the digitizer stopped working, I have tried replacing the screen and it didn't seem to help but by doing that I've noticed the digitizer connector doesn't look very good so I thought it might be the connector and attempted to change it.. unfortunately for me, after desoldering the connector, I've noticed that one of the soldering pads was missing.. now I'm not quite sure if this is repairable anymore, would I be able to somehow place a new pad in there?

I've tried to take a picture of the pads after desoldering..

Block Image

Block Image

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

LE: Managed to find out where this trace is coming from and also noticed there's still a bit of copper showing up as coming from the trace....

Block Image

Also having a hard time cleaning the flux from the board and I'm a bit afraid to use a toothbrush as it feels like things might just be ripped off from the board.

Answered! View the answer I have this problem too

Is this a good question?

Score 0
Add a comment

1 Answer

Chosen Solution

Yes it is repairable, but much more difficult than the original connector replacement.

You can try to use a special epoxy to do a multi-step repair where you'd harvest a similar pad off of a donor board, or cut a pad to fit from a sheet of sample pads. You could install the new pad with epoxy and make a joint to the exposed end of the copper trace of the line that leads to the pad which you can see here. After the epoxy cures, you could install the new connector as normal.

If I were you, I would first just try to build a very thin microjumper to connect to the connector pin at this pad if I could figure out where this line was coming from. Alternatively, I would try to build a makeshift pad out of thin wire to just try and extend this line enough to make electrical contact with its intended pin.

Give me a shout if you want to do mail in on this one. Of course it would really stink if the problem was drop damage to the touch ic after all that...

Was this answer helpful?

Score 2

2 Comments:

What kind of special epoxy would you recommend to install the new pad? I'm trying to get the pad from a donor board in this case... thanks!

by

Circuitworks makes one. Although, for a phone, it is a lot more economical to try and work with what you have--identify the end of the trace where the pad is torn off and try to make a solder connection between that torn trace and the destination pin using a piece of thin wire.

by

Add a comment

Add your answer

Alex will be eternally grateful.
View Statistics:

Past 24 Hours: 1

Past 7 Days: 1

Past 30 Days: 1

All Time: 873