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Microsoldering & Motherboard Repairs in London

Component-level motherboard repairs when replacing parts isn’t the answer. We fix the boards other shops call unrepairable — under the microscope, at our London workshop.

Fixfactor technician diagnosing a laptop motherboard under a microscope

The parts we replace are this small

Board-level repair means fitting and soldering components you can barely see. The smallest part we replace is a 0201 — six tenths of a millimetre long.

At the 45× magnification we work at, that 0201 looks about as wide as a £2 coin.

  1. Grain of rice ≈ 6 mm
  2. Sesame seed ≈ 3 mm
  3. 0402 resistor 1.0 × 0.5 mm
  4. 0201 resistor 0.6 × 0.3 mm
  5. BGA solder ball 0.3 mm
Drawn at true relative scale. Component sizes are EIA standard; rice and sesame are typical sizes, shown for comparison.

Why Repair the Motherboard?

When manufacturers quote a full board replacement, we fix the actual failed component instead.

Microsoldering Precision

Components smaller than rice grains, worked at up to 45x magnification with precision soldering tools and hands trained over years.

Data Preservation

Unlike a board swap, component repair keeps your data intact — no backups or transfers needed. We also offer professional data recovery when it’s needed.

A Fraction of the Cost

Fixing the failed component typically costs far less than the full board replacement manufacturers suggest.

Less Electronic Waste

One repaired board saves the materials and energy of manufacturing a new device — repair is the greener option.

Motherboard Components We Repair

Select a component to see what fails, how we repair it, and what to expect.

Removing a power management IC from a laptop motherboard with hot air

Power Management IC Repairs

The heart of your device’s power system. When these fail, nothing works — and microsoldering is often the only way to replace them.

Common power IC failures

  • CD3217 (MacBook USB-C) — won’t charge after a wrong adapter
  • Tristar / Hydra (iPhone) — bootloop, no charging detection
  • ISL9239 (laptop charging) — battery not recognised
  • TPS51980A (power delivery) — random shutdowns
  • Board-level fix
  • Data untouched
  • 6-month warranty
BGA component removal from an Asus laptop motherboard

CPU & Chipset BGA Reballing

Heat cycles crack solder joints under processors. We remove, reball, and reinstall with precision.

BGA chips we service

  • Intel PCH — platform controller hub failures
  • AMD chipsets — system instability issues
  • Apple T2 — security chip repair and restoration
  • Qualcomm / MediaTekphone processor repairs

BGA reballing process

  1. Thermal profiling and preheating
  2. Chip removal under controlled heat
  3. Old solder cleaning and pad preparation
  4. Stencil alignment and solder paste application
  5. Ball formation and chip replacement
  6. Microscope inspection and functional testing
Phone motherboard held over a repair mat during memory chip work

Memory & Storage — Repair and Upgrade

From soldered RAM to phone storage chips — we repair, replace, and upgrade components others call “unrepairable.”

Memory & storage services

  • LPDDR4/5 RAM — MacBook and ultrabook memory repair
  • eMMC / UFS — phone storage replacement
  • SSD controller — data recovery and repair
  • NAND flash — direct chip transplant
  • RAM / storage upgrades — soldered memory and storage capacity upgrades

We also upgrade soldered RAM and storage on laptops and phones. We’ll quote you upfront so you can decide whether the upgrade makes sense for your device. Donor board library available for rare configurations.

Motherboard prepared for BGA GPU replacement

GPU Reballing & Thermal Solutions

Graphics chips run hot. Solder joints fail. We restore full contact and upgrade the cooling.

GPU services

  • Gaming laptop GPUs — dedicated NVIDIA and AMD chips
  • MacBook dGPU — AMD Radeon Pro series
  • Desktop cards — high-end GPU revival
  • Thermal optimisation — liquid metal and full repaste

Typical thermal result

Before105°C
After75°C
Close look at corrosion on a liquid-damaged motherboard

Liquid Damage Recovery

Water, coffee, wine — we’ve seen it all. Quick action saves devices. Learn more about our liquid damage repair service.

Our 5-step protocol

  1. Emergency teardown — complete disassembly to stop the damage spreading
  2. Ultrasonic cleaning — remove all contamination
  3. Microscopic inspection — identify corroded components
  4. Microsoldering repair — replace what corrosion destroyed
  5. Protective coating — guard against future damage

Timing matters. Brought in within the first couple of days, most liquid-damaged boards are recoverable. After a week, corrosion has usually spread and the odds drop sharply — so don’t wait, and don’t power it on.

Laptop motherboard port inspection under a microscope

Port & Connector Reconstruction

Ripped charging ports, damaged display connectors — we rebuild them from PCB level up.

Port repairs

  • USB-C / Thunderbolt — full trace reconstruction
  • HDMI / DisplayPort — pin-level repair
  • Audio jacks — 3.5mm port replacement
  • FPC connectors — display and keyboard ribbons

Beyond simple replacement. When ports are torn from boards, we rebuild PCB traces, recreate pad connections, and reinforce mounting points so the repair lasts.

Technician using a microscope for a microsoldering job

BIOS & Firmware Recovery

Failed updates, corrupted firmware, forgotten passwords — we restore boot capability.

BIOS services

  • BIOS recovery — failed update restoration
  • ME region repair — Intel Management Engine
  • Password removal — BIOS/UEFI unlock for verified owners
  • Chip programming — direct SPI flash

Professional tools. Dedicated programmers, SOIC clips, and custom firmware extraction — read, repair, and rewrite at chip level.

Laptop motherboard diagnostics with a Fluke multimeter

Capacitor & VRM Repairs

Individual component failures cause system instability. We replace them at component level.

Component repairs

  • Blown capacitors — polymer and ceramic replacement
  • MOSFETs — power stage failures
  • Voltage regulators — multi-phase VRM
  • Inductors — coil whine solutions

Miniature work. Down to 0201-size parts (0.6mm × 0.3mm) — smaller than a sesame seed.

Fixfactor technician working on a board under a stereo microscope

12 Years at the Microscope

What board-level repair takes — and what we have built to do it properly.

Professional equipment

  • AmScope 7x–45x trinocular microscope
  • Jovy RE-8500 BGA rework station
  • FLIR thermal imaging camera
  • Rigol DS1054Z oscilloscope
  • JBC NASE-2C soldering station

Trained for board work

  • Technicians with years of board-level experience
  • Continuous upskilling in new repair techniques
  • Board schematic analysis
  • Thermal and current-based fault tracing

Component inventory

  • Common ICs and passives in stock
  • Donor board library
  • Genuine IC suppliers
  • Same-day parts sourcing when possible

Board-Level Repairs We See Most

Typical board-level jobs, written up the way we record them. Outcomes and timelines are representative.

Phones

  • Liquid damageiPhone 14 Pro Max

    Went in a drink, then stopped charging

    Checked before any power went near it — powering a wet board is what turns a repair into a write-off. Stripped, ultrasonically cleaned, then the parts corrosion had reached were replaced at component level. Charging restored · storage untouched

  • Memory & storageSamsung Galaxy S22

    Boot loop, with everything still on it

    The handset mattered less than what was on it, so the storage came first. Worked at board level to reach it rather than wiping and starting again. Contents recovered

  • Ports & connectorsHuawei Mate 10 Pro

    Charging only worked if you held the cable

    A worn charging port is soldered to the board, so this is microsoldering rather than a plug-in part. Replaced it on the board and renewed the battery while the phone was open. Charges normally · one visit

  • Power managementGoogle Pixel 7

    Nothing after a spill

    Liquid had bridged the power section. Full clean first, then the power rails traced stage by stage to find what had actually failed. Back in use

Laptops & 2-in-1s

  • Liquid damageMacBook Pro 13″

    Soup went into the keyboard

    Corrosion keeps spreading for as long as the board stays dirty, so the clean comes before anything else. Ultrasonic bath, then component-level repair everywhere the liquid had reached. Board saved · storage untouched

  • Ports & connectorsDell XPS 15 9575

    USB-C ports had stopped working

    The ports had failed but the board around them was sound. Replaced them on the motherboard instead of fitting a new board, which is the usual quote for this fault. Original board kept

  • Board diagnosisAsus ROG gaming laptop

    Random black screens that nothing explained

    The owner had already ruled out RAM, battery, charger and thermal paste. Once swapping parts runs out, the only step left is diagnosing the board itself. Cause found

  • Liquid damage · mail-inSurface Pro 9

    Posted in after a spill, from outside London

    Assessed on arrival before any power was applied, then given a full liquid-damage clean. Sent in and returned by courier, so the whole job ran without a visit. Returned · no visit needed

Desktops & consoles

  • Board diagnosisGaming desktop — Ryzen 7 / RTX 2070

    Powers up, but nothing reaches the screen

    Fans and lights ran, which rules out the power supply and points at the board. Traced the failing stage first so nothing was bought on a guess. Diagnosed before any parts were bought

  • Board diagnosisMini PC

    Would not turn on

    Small-form machines put everything on one board, so there is nothing to swap out and test. Diagnosed the board directly to find which stage had stopped. Fault located

  • Power managementPlayStation 5

    No power at all

    Nothing was reaching the power rails. Traced the power section under the microscope rather than replacing the board, which is what a dead console usually gets quoted. Repaired, not replaced

  • Board diagnosisSteam Deck

    Would not start after a knock

    Handhelds take impact through the board, not just the shell. Inspected under magnification for cracked joints and parts knocked out of position. Fault located

Drones & drives

  • Board diagnosisDJI Mini 3

    Camera gimbal stopped holding steady

    Gimbal faults usually sit in the control board or its ribbon rather than the motors. Checked those first so the gimbal was not replaced on spec. Diagnosed without swapping the gimbal

  • Power managementSeagate portable drive

    Drive stopped spinning up

    No power was reaching the drive, and the fault was on its own small board rather than the mechanism. Worked on the board and left the sealed part sealed. Powered up again

Recognise your device in any of these? Tell us what it is doing. Board faults have to be found before they can be priced, so we start with an assessment and quote the repair once we know what it actually needs. Get a Quote

Motherboard Repair Questions

Everything you need to know about board-level repairs.

Common signs your device needs component-level repair:

  • Won’t power on despite a charged battery
  • Random shutdowns or restarts
  • Charging issues after a port replacement
  • Overheating without heavy use
  • Other repair shops declared it “unrepairable”

Our diagnostics service (£39–49) reveals whether component-level repair can help. The assessment fee is credited towards your repair cost if you proceed.

Most repair shops only replace modular parts — screens, batteries, ports. We use microsoldering to repair the actual failed components on the circuit board itself.

We’ve invested in professional microsoldering equipment worth £50,000+, maintain an extensive component inventory, and continuously train our technicians to work under the microscope.

Yes — and the sooner you bring it in, the better the odds. Most boards brought in within the first couple of days are recoverable; corrosion spreads quickly after that.

Our process includes ultrasonic cleaning, replacing corroded components, and applying protective conformal coating. Even older liquid damage can sometimes be repaired.

Learn more about our liquid damage service.

Diagnostics take 1–3 working days. Once you approve the quote, the repair itself typically takes another 1–3 days depending on complexity, plus a day for testing and quality control.

Rush service is available for critical repairs. We provide an accurate timeline after the initial assessment.

Yes — 6 months warranty on all component-level repairs, covering the specific components we repaired. If the same fault returns, we fix it free.

The warranty excludes new issues, physical damage, or liquid damage occurring after the repair.

Our core service is motherboard repair — restoring devices to full working condition. We don’t offer modifications as a standard service, as each mod requires dedicated preparation, sourcing specific parts, and often learning a new method.

That said, we’re open to individual enquiries. If you understand that this type of work may require several hours of research and labour at our rate of ~£85/hour, we’re happy to discuss your project.

For bulk or ongoing collaboration, we’re confident we can find an arrangement that works for both sides.

Our labour rate is £85/hour, and most board repairs take 2–4 hours. Components are charged at cost +20%.

The initial assessment (£39–49) is credited towards your total if you proceed, and you get a fixed quote before any repair starts — typically far below the manufacturer’s replacement price. Get a quote for your device.

You only pay the assessment fee (£39–49). We’ll explain our findings and why repair isn’t viable.

We can often still recover data even if the device can’t be fully repaired. A small share of boards have damage beyond economic repair — and we’ll tell you honestly when that’s the case.

Yes — all major brands including Apple, Samsung, Dell, HP, Lenovo, ASUS, MSI, Razer, and Microsoft.

We also repair specialised equipment: medical devices, industrial controllers, automotive ECUs, professional audio gear, and vintage electronics.

Yes. Component-level repair doesn’t require data erasure — your storage remains untouched throughout the process.

We can even prioritise data recovery if the device can’t be fully repaired. All work is done in a secure facility with CCTV monitoring.

Book a diagnostic appointment at one of our London locations, or use our mail-in service if you’re outside the area.

We’ll assess your device, explain the issue, and provide a fixed quote. No obligation to proceed — the diagnostic fee is credited if you approve the repair.

We serve customers across London — walk into our Wimbledon workshop at 136 Kingston Road, SW19 1LY, or use our nationwide mail-in service.

You can send your device securely via courier from anywhere in the UK. Same expert service regardless of how you reach us.

How Pricing Works

How the cost is built up, and when you get a firm price.

Cost Structure

Initial Assessment £39–49

Professional diagnostics: £39 standard, £49 if previously serviced elsewhere. Takes 1–3 working days. Non-refundable, but credited towards the total repair cost if you proceed.

Technical Labour £85/hour

Experienced microsoldering technicians. Most repairs take 2–4 hours. Rush service available.

Components Cost +20%

Genuine parts from authorised suppliers, backed by our own stock and donor board library.

Warranty 6 months

6 months on labour; parts carry 6–12 months depending on the supplier. Same fault returns — we fix it free.

What Affects the Price

  • Fault complexity A blown capacitor is a quick job; a multi-rail short after liquid damage takes hours of tracing.
  • Component availability Common ICs are in stock; rare chips may need sourcing or a donor board.
  • Device access Some boards take minutes to reach, others need a full teardown before work can start.
  • Turnaround Standard service is the best value; rush service for critical repairs costs more.

The assessment tells us what the board actually needs. Only then can we put a firm price on it — and no repair begins until you have that price and have agreed to it.

Get a Quote

Need Motherboard Repair in London?

We find the fault first, then price the repair. Nothing starts until you have approved that price.

  • Expert Analysis
  • 6-Month Warranty
  • Clear Timelines
  • Priced After Diagnosis