How to Solder: A Beginner’s Guide

Sometimes, repairing electronics requires more than just spudgering up a few connectors and swapping out the offending parts. Sometimes batteries are soldered to the motherboard. Other times, the connectors themselves need to be replaced. And that means you’re gonna need to be break out the soldering workstation.

Fear not, intrepid repairer! We get it: Waving a molten lava wand over your prized possessions can be intimidating, but soldering is actually pretty easy. And it’s an essential skill to have in your repair toolkit. With that in mind, our resident YouTube repair expert, Gwendolyn Gay, decided to put together a quick beginner’s guide to soldering.

All it takes is two minutes to iron down your soldering iron skills:

If you’re interested in a more in-depth tutorial, head on over to iFixit.com for more soldering techniques. Just like that scratchy sweater your Aunt Eileen gave you last year, our soldering guide is excellent for every occasion.