Someone Destroyed EVERY PORT on this Mac Mini...

[@ultraviolettp3446]

You are such a treasure being able to resource and repurpose e-waste parts so that broken hardware may live again. That box of intentionally destroyed boards must have thousands of dollars worth of donor parts just waiting to be tapped. You are a good man for being financially "green".

[@megatronskneecap]

I wouldn't class an M2 logic board as "e-waste parts" at all.

[@G-TagLuke]

@@megatronskneecap I would

[@Mac84]

Great repair! Very resourceful using those DTK boards. 👍

[@rockpie.iso.tar.bz2]

Holy poo it's Mac84

[@harryroesser2763]

Holy cow it's the guy himself mac84

[@jackgerberuae]

No need to damage them. Just leave an AppleID signed in, then the thing is fűcked anyway

[@chuongtsunami]

real

[@_..-.._..-.._]

GSX

[@reinekewf7987]

are you sure about that? there are ways around, fairly easy ways you can google in 10 min

[@tonysolar284]

@@reinekewf7987 🤫

[@ILikePizza950]

I dont get it?

[@poorlydrawnstickman1660]

The way they destroyed it makes me feel like it was a developer unit or something…. As if they wanted to hit the bare minimum to clear “destructed” status for tax reasons…

[@gmcnewlook]

That kind of makes sense

[@MrEdes7]

Intentionally destroying something should just make your stuff non tax deductible, we are creating so much waste from this behavior.

[@ABaumstumpf]

@@MrEdes7 "Intentionally destroying something should just make your stuff non tax deductible" There are many reasons why you would WANT to destroy the hardware, often it even is a requirement. But this here is just slightly damaged.

[@MrEdes7]

@@ABaumstumpf ok then they just can't deduct taxes on that expense, if security is important to them then they can just pay for it.

[@Slay1337pl]

@@ABaumstumpf Such as? You know, considering it's a company that prouds itself on it's eco approach and recycling.

[@kjamison5951]

I saw your collaboration video on getting the DTK MacMini working. Great job on this one too! Liked and subscribed!

[@simonsaman]

Apple: Destroy those prototypes! grind them and make them unusable! dosdude1: Hold my beer

[@benNdaKen]

well keep in mind apple and all other Tech companies are obligated by law to destroy any prototypes after the validation is finished

[@JamesTK]

@@benNdaKenall the SOC’s should have been drilled then at the minimum before sending for recycling…

[@ranjitmandal1612]

🫣

[@UwU-235]

@@benNdaKenthey arent required to destroy them. They destroy them because they often times have capabilities beyond what the model they sell does that could be dangerous and security risk like console dev kits. Its more to stop them from floating around and being exploited for nefarious reasons.

[@chuckm.9744]

Watching you dismantle and reassemble logic boards, I/O ports, etc. is like watching a neurosurgeon at work. I sit and watch in total amazement as you work your magic. Thanks for taking the time to do these videos.

[@kippie80]

Looks like the work of an apple authorized repair facility.

[@MrPnew1]

some of the Genie-Arses finest work 🤣

[@HalfOgre0520]

Seems legit. 🤣

[@themysteriousspeeddemon]

💯 What I'd think, they care not for their customers' satisfaction so much as their wallets.

[@Ojref1]

all the holes destroyed gave it away

[@Kane0123]

Isn’t this related to the thing where people were not permitted to resell so they would break the device to enable selling as parts only?

[@SapphicCode]

I worked as an intern for a company, and one of my tasks was destroying hard drives. They told me that taking a flathead screwdriver and ripping the board sufficed. Given that we're now in the era of soldered-on SSDs, this is probably the same assignment I had ten years ago.

[@askhowiknow5527]

But this technique doesn’t work… This is done to make it unusable so that it can’t be resold except for parts

[@SapphicCode]

@@askhowiknow5527 well... yeah. The hard drives were encrypted and wiped. I'm guessing it was only done to belay the superstition that wiped media is not truly wiped. The Mac here was wiped too.

[@lukedavis436]

Where I used to work I couldn't take anything from E-waste, I still did but I pulled the hard drives so they couldn't pull the "Data Breach" Card

[@JoducusKwak]

makes sense, the method to make to "destroy" data does not need to be actually effective it just needs to be legally "effective" and that means as long as the common guy from the street cant get at it thats enough

[@PlumGurly]

@@SapphicCode -- It seems they should allow just removing and destroying the NAND array or whatever. Then there is no chance of recovering data, and the drives can be recycled without a data breach. Virgin storage chips could then be installed.

[@RinoaL]

Wow, I had considered buying this very mac mini on ebay, and had even sent the seller a low-ball offer. Then I saw somebody bought it and was kinda like "Well I don't quite have the repair hardware to fix that so that's kinda a bullet dodged" that is so funny!

[@MikeStavola]

Reminds me of something. Found a guy who was throwing away a G3 imac that had similar damage. He said he needed to destroy it because of HIPPA laws. The thing still booted.

[@soundspark]

If he spelled it that way then he was probably a fake doctor...

[@PlumGurly]

Generally, it is the hard drives they want destroyed. I don't see why a x3 or x7 wipe wouldn't be enough. But bureaucrats.

[@nathanharrellyoutube]

It could have been owned by the state they destroy their devices when they get new ones

[@psirvent8]

@@PlumGurly x3 and x7 wipes take literal days to be done.

[@_..-.._..-.._]

Heat is a much quicker hard drive wiper. Personally, an induction stovetop or induction bolt heater looped around the case works quite well.

[@TheOriginalCollectorA1303]

The damage is definitely unusual, but what’s more strange is that this isn’t even an old machine. How often do they need to upgrade to new Macs if this was from a company? It’s unfortunate to see that damage on a new Mac but at least it wasn’t completely destroyed. Great repair!

[@keneshindev]

that's because it's a developer transition kit

[@memediatek]

​@@keneshindev It's an m2

[@pap3rw8]

My guess is it was a surplus unit from an industry with tons of funding and a requirement that all electronics be "destroyed" before disposal. Government/military contracting, etc.

[@TheOriginalCollectorA1303]

I know about the DTK units, very cool system. I was talking about the M2 Mac.

[@TheOriginalCollectorA1303]

That makes sense, definitely seems like it had to be done in order to meet requirements of some kind.

[@davoid96]

There’s a special place in hell for people who destroy perfectly good electronics.

[@Kepler_2258]

its cause they dont want ordinary people to get "free" electronics from the trash so they destroy them, its nothing but Greed

[@DerekDavis213]

But Mac Minis are not very good, even brand new out of the box.

[@adammoss5284]

@@Kepler_2258 I agree I try to leave stuff in a resurrectable state whether someone does or not doesn't matter. I've not removed their choice.

[@4GuitarTrance]

There's a special place in hell for Apple Execs who decide to solder everything to the motherboard (oh, excuse me, Apple... I meant the "Logic board") thereby forcing people to purchase completely new Macs when literally ANYTHING goes bad. That is, unless you're DosDude1! I'm almost ready to go back to Windows solely because of Apple's "hardware fascism"! 😛 I can build my own comps again, use whatever components I wish to use, and I don't have to pay Apple for ridiculously expensive, mediocre-quality RAM! It took Steve Jobs to pull Apple out of their near-extinction in the mid-to-late 90's by reversing their boneheaded proprietary Mac offerings, and even allowing customers to install Windows natively on their Macs if they chose to do so. But here we go again... Apple's back to their proprietary ways and forcing people to purchase new comps ASAP. I wish I had this guy's skills... because I love the Mac OS. Love for the Mac OS is about the ONLY love I have left for what has become Apple and the Cupertino "Reality Extortion Theory"! Official End of RANT! 🤘 Love the vids, DosDude1!

[@onkeltucka1174]

I‘ve seen these damaged ports on amazon return devices that went to liquidation pallets.

[@flubba86]

I'm so surprised, shocked, that they are using through-hole components for these ports. I didn't even know they made thru-hole USBC ports. Every other repair video I've seen the last few years (Xboxes, PS5, Laptops) all use surface mount ports, which of course increases the chances of breaking the port off the pads. I see the downside of using thru-hole parts is the ends of the legs act as antennas with the very high frequency signals, thats why they need the RF shields on the back of the pins.

[@ozzelot3349]

They do. We use them in a (small run) product, perhaps someone decided they'd be easier to hand solder. Idk who that someone was, but they clearly didn't know of drag soldering.

[@chaos.corner]

I do hobby electronics and I often seek out through-hole for USB because they're always getting ripped off otherwise and fine SMT is a PITA to do manually with my setup..

[@81formann]

For desoldering i often add some BiSnAg solder flux paste. Lowers the melting point significantly, and even more if lead is added to the mix or Bi-45% BiPbSn 45/35/20 is used . You can get away with just using a pre heating plate @ 100-110c. Makes cleanup very easy and surrounding components are safer. Wont even melt the plastic. The Mini was probably from dumpster diving. Most of the electronic stores and EE repair shops do this when items are discarded for what ever reason. Insurance companies and manufacturers often requires the item to be visibly FUBAR. Sometimes the end user is asked to provide picture proof that the item has been smashed, power cord cut etc.

[@marcusroth2428]

Your soldering skills are amazing! Watching you bring old hardware back to life is inspiring. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and helping the community improve our own repair skills!

[@Cybernetic_Systems]

Awesome work Colin! Btw I highly recommend getting a good vacuum desoldering gun, it’s the cleanest ands fastest way to clear solder from through holes.

[@SteveNeighbor]

Yes - desoldering thru-holes... this is what Solda-Pult was invented for.

[@Cybernetic_Systems]

@@SteveNeighbor TBH, those things are worse than useless

[@SteveNeighbor]

@@Cybernetic_Systems To each his own. I still swear by a Solda-Pult for desoldering 30+ years after I first used one. (But yeah, there are lots of crappy desoldering tools, and there is a wrong way to use even the best tool.)

[@USArmyVet91]

It is always awesome watching you work your magic. Not only is it relaxing, but satisfying when you get a machine that has suffered such serious damage up and running again. Great job in keeping this beautiful Mac alive and well.

[@HJB-v8]

I agree he is awesome keepin a brand new computer running back again.i wonder why it was destroyed in the first place?

[@jomarieadlawan4176]

Low melt solder plus desoldering gun could have been great to that port replacement method. And that bit warping on USB-A ports could have been avoided. But still a great save on poor devices! Kudos! 😊

[@JorgeTamezPhoto]

I don't think the usb ports were warped, I think that shape follows the curvature of the housing, no?

[@Levent_Ergun]

@@JorgeTamezPhoto yeah I dont think so either, didnt even think there was anything wrong with the end result until I checked the comments.

[@mikepxg6406]

NAH !!!

[@crashoverride328]

Low melt is key.

[@gleb.salmanov]

I've previously had success with desoldering combined 4 ethernet port thingies from routers with a soldering iron, without melting the little plastic tabs. You just get a really big copper soldering iron that outputs like 50-100w of heat (they're dirt cheap), put a big solder blob on there, kind of haul it around the pins with the soldering iron, and it eventually just falls off if you're quick enough. The little components in between the pins can probably be removed either with a small hot air nozzle or with the same kind of quick soldering iron application (preferably not the 50-100w one), where you heat up one end, then quickly go to the other and pull with your tweezers.

[@gleb.salmanov]

You can also probably do the same for resoldering the new ports to the board. Instead of wicking the old solder, just leave it there, and let the new port kind of penetrate it with the help of the heat from the 50-100w soldering iron.

[@r.l.7160]

I have never seen your channel before. I was just surfing. I don't have a Mac, but I was very impressed by your work on this computer. I am interested in your history.

[@gmcoding74]

Desoldering through -hole components is quite easy with the proper tools. You need to get yourself a desoldering iron that has a vacuum to suck the solder off the lead and out of the hole at the same time. As someone who used to teach soldering and rework of boards, this video gave me anxiety.

[@fusseldieb]

Yep, a vacuum pump helps a lot when doing such work.

[@SteveNeighbor]

Or a $20 Solda-Pult

[@Otakunopodcast]

Could be it came from an institution with some seriously anal retentive security policies. A place where I once worked literally epoxied shut just about every port on any computer that they provisioned. Yes, modern OS's these days have user profile level controls that can lock out stuff like USB port usage, etc. Even so, some companies still insist on physically locking things down. I've never personally seen anyone go medieval on ports with a drill or whatever like in this machine, but I'm sure it happens.

[@Oyashiro_Chama]

Governments typically will do this too, but newer systems have a lockdown system that is software/account based.

[@Dave102693]

@@Oyashiro_ChamaiCloud lock lol

[@99domini99]

I know the Dutch police literally shreds every retired device. While a lot of those are laptops that can have their storage devices removed, they just toss all of them in a shredder. Literally millions of euros worth of e-waste. Perfectly good laptops, computers, tablets of maybe a few years old shredded to pieces. We should regulate the crap out of practices like this. All of us regular citizens are borderline bullied into being more aware of our waste, then government facilities come in with their “rules for thee but not for me” bullcrap.

[@Oyashiro_Chama]

@Dave102693 no, active directory it's enterprise wide.

[@soundspark]

@Oyashiro_Chama AD doesn't control the hardware however; the closest thing to that would be using AD to deploy BitLocker so you can't boot into an alternate OS and copy off data without having access to the BitLocker recovery key database.

[@CaptainDarren82]

The work you do is very important. I appreciate you sharing the information as you do your repairs, how informative and well researched you are. Keep on keepin' on! -Mark

[@klawfer]

Good luck on 100k!!

[@saveliyivanov9943]

4:42 "Rarest mac ever"

[@scrambled_egg3]

hey! saw your channel many months ago! glad your channel is doing well!

[@Luketube10000]

First time watching you, I love how calm your voice is!!

[@drfrancintosh]

How did you check the serial number for activation locking?

[@CollynPlayz]

Most mac casings have the serial number on them and if not the seller likely included the num in the listing

[@drfrancintosh]

@@CollynPlayz i knew that - but what website lets you know if it was activation locked? I remember that apple used to offer that, but turned it off... because privacy.

[@BritishEngineer]

11:24 what do you do with the wick when it’s removed for a few seconds at a time?

[@osliverpool]

I found that a friend of mine did the same with the ports on his old iMac that had failed (and he removed and destroyed the memory cards), because he thought it would prevent anyone being able to access his data.

[@rlima81]

Awesome video! Your soldering skills are awesome!

[@levieux1137]

I'm impressed how you managed to empty these holes only using wick, flux and the hot air gun. It has never worked well for me and I have to use the air pump, though it's not always great. Your video makes me want to try again and insist!

[@LOLMAN9538]

Another very impressive repair.

[@andamodeming274]

What is the hot air unit used on the bench called? Where did you find it?

[@andamodeming274]

I found it in the video, Madell QK853ESD Hot Plate

[@PlumGurly]

The hot air with a soldering iron is what you need to do on some early boards too, like an IBM PC, for instance. They have ground planes inside the layers, and they act as heat sinks. So you'd need the hot air to heat up the ground plane and then the soldering iron gets the other layers.

[@PhuketMyMac]

@dosdude1 I am in the need for a PMIC of an M1 MacMini. Hard to come by that chip alone. Would be great if you could share the source of how to buy those DTK boards or similar M1 MacMini donor boards. Thanks!

[@dosdude1]

The PMICs on the DTK boards are not the same as what's used on M1 systems. However, the PMICs on all regular M1 machines (not M1 Pro/Max/etc.) are all the same, so you can get one off an M1 MacBook Pro or MacBook Air as well.

[@PhuketMyMac]

@@dosdude1 I've tried one from an M1 Air and even though it's starting (I can hear the chime) I get no display. I was told the PMIC on a MacMini is different hence why I get a partial working state. Are you certain here are the same please?

[@imst4722]

Would an electric solder sucker not work better?

[@Epiceditz735]

hey dosdude does the i7 2700k work in the 27 inch 2011 iMac

[@WuffRobotica]

I'm surprised someone so skilled at repair wouldn't recognize soldering iron damage instantly. it looks like they tried to melt the ports by poking the hot soldering iron into them for a few seconds each

[@nourway3639]

Where can I get one working apple dtk ?

[@djpeter9700]

Why is that actually that you have to apply new solder why not use the old one i want to learn about it im very interested about it

[@ramubalakrishnan1614]

Dear Mr. dosdude1 Great Morning... Is it possible to upgrade the A1311 21.5" Late 2009 unit? There isn't a gpu card slot on this unit...can we add solder the card bracket holder so we can slot the card in it and to put a 512GB card or 1GB card on this unit... is that even possible please advice Mr. dosdude1... Thanks

[@DavidStahlOLDHAPPyMACs]

Great job Collin glad you could save it

[@jeffmassey4860]

Would a Hakko FR301-03P help clear the through-holes?

[@RowanHawkins]

I'm really surprised you just didn't use a solder sucker. That is what is designed for doing through hole solder removal. You can do it with either a manual solda-pult or something like a Hakko.

[@davidgordon9180]

Brilliant! So, with SOC it seems the only way to ensure on-board drive data can’t be recovered or scavenged by third parties is to effectively destroy a whole good machine. Wow! Love to know where sustainability fits in with this. That’s progress alright.

[@gleb.salmanov]

No, this isn't the only way. There's also the way Google does it with Android Verified Boot and their Pixel phones. You can set your own key with which the system image is signed, and only the correctly signed system image is loaded by the SoC. Thus, you establish a root of trust that originates with the user, and everything becomes completely replaceable by the user. From the OS to the flash memory. It's a crying shame that nobody but Google follows the standard properly for Android phones, and that there's no similar standard for PCs/laptops, at least as far as I'm aware. The secure boot nonsense on PCs/laptops seems to be a theatre more than a real good security measure.

[@abel-qq7rq]

Hi there Dosdude1 my sister has a Macbook pro mid 2010 running Catalina.. the gpu doesn't come up on the task manager and gpu acceleration doesn't work so she cant edit her video using it. also i am also wandering if it can be upgraded to mac os sonoma?. using oclp etc..

[@mi16t]

Its too old.

[@mi16t]

i have the same computer, upgraded hardware wise. It is way too old for video editing

[@SpyAlelo]

Great job as always! Instead of using desoldering wick and air to get these type of components out. Would it help you to use a desoldering like the FR-301? I personally wouldn't do it any other way and it saves me so much time.

[@gjvdspam]

Time for a Hakko FR-301 desolder gun? I know I want one :) And o man, that graveyard... Good you find use of them. Edit: awesome result

[@TheTrulyInsane]

You should get some low melt solder to help get the old solder and components off

[@Tesseract95]

why is this thing got 3 CR2032 socket ?

[@brokenm4n]

What series of adapters are you using to connect this Mac to your Cinema Display ?

[@gipielle]

Great job as always !

[@wapasowapaso]

You are from another planet my friend. Congratulations

[@naimmuti]

Where we can find those ports?

[@domdom1926]

I bought a couple of identical Mac's Mini's to an auction here in the UK for spares .. I was told the damages to the ports where made in order to make the machine unusable for some legal reason's or something to that effect.

[@otopico]

Could there be arc damage too? It looks like the damage is following the ground plane. I have seen things like this when I was a kid and the TV would go out because of lightening hitting our apartment building.

[@jhonjhon1740]

If it was any sort of arc damage than the board would be toast.

[@HelloKittyFanMan]

Wow, this is draconian!

[@Mmouse_]

Not a fan of apple products, at all and I'll never own one, but... These types of repair are interesting to watch... Weird sub for me but you've got it.

[@JamesHalfHorse]

Awesome. Since watching you, Louis, etc picking up pointers and some confidence I have started trying with smaller and smaller components with better and better luck. Not quite ready to reball chips but getting there. Appreciate what you do. If you do more through hole I totally advise a decent solder vac. Not the plunger crap or the sucker bulb but an actual unit with a vac pump. I have a new chinesium hakko clone at work and an old pace at home. The latter has a foot pedal so it it's extra easy to deal with and couldn't work without it.

[@MrPnew1]

it's Louis Rossmann not Lewis

[@JamesHalfHorse]

@@MrPnew1 I know I know. Habit/not paying attention. Feel better?

[@mediocreape]

you really are increadbly talanted, thanks for putting these videos out, i cant imagine how much work went into getting it all done.

[@Pb9098_]

How do you check iCloud lock with the sn?

[@fotoralf]

Amazing... What is the temperature of the board preheater?

[@MrJohnBos]

Where did you find a replacement for the damaged back plate?

[@pdrg]

Could it be ex-display, so preventing the public from putting things into the ports?

[@hal970fx]

One of the VPs at a company I worked at would just shut the lid of his macbook pro on a pencil or a bolt every time a model refresh happened. Just a thought.

[@CNormanHocker]

I had something like this happen to my Mac Studio. They had to replace the entire Logic Board. I think it can be mechanical issue.

[@jroar123]

These used units are purposely damaged to prevent resale. However, they still manage to get to places like eBay from China. Often if it sounds too good to be true.............

[@_..-.._..-.._]

Still amazing to me how much power these have with so little hardware.

[@king_james_official]

holy shit macs turn on that fast??? my windows 10 pc running on a decent cpu takes at least twice the time and is super laggy for the first 10 seconds after logon

[@dosdude1]

@@king_james_official Yeah, Apple Silicon Macs boot insanely fast.

[@lemagreengreen]

Looks to me like someone jammed a flatblade screwdriver in each and twisted it. Have seen some crazy damage to USB and HDMI ports before, usually from people dropping the device while its plugged in or in rare cases forcing the wrong plug in but it doesn't look like this.

[@PhilippeMichaud-Boudreault]

Why do you have 300 donor boards

[@TheDeveloperGuy]

Donor board for PORTS? You can’t get them from Mouser/Digikey?

[@dosdude1]

These are custom ports designed by Apple, not an off-the-shelf part you can get that way.

[@ulawan5]

This has nothing to do with the video, but your voice is SHOCKINGLY similar to my brother's. You have completely different speech patterns and speak nothing alike, but it kept giving me whiplash. Fabulous work though! Thank you for fixing something so small but so important to a machine!

[@Mane01mlp18]

i think companies should pay a fine for having electronics with damaged ports, cus now its just e-waste

[@hariprasanna5657]

dude can you post videos on ram upgrades on apple silicon mac

[@ableite]

the pins soldering seems to have cold joint

[@tauhidansari6316]

Use low-melt solder to make wicking process way easier than just using leaded solder

[@richardgray7832]

I think it might be a way to discourage people from buying stuff to be able to repair them so some sort of anti-repair because if they see reports they’re less likely to want to try and fix it

[@tammi8808]

Deep respect for getting this done. I fully understand the guy breaking them. I guess he had to replace one for himself and got mad 🤣

[@danielsimpkins9662]

A desoldering iron would make cleaning out those ports super easy. I flood fill the lead free solder with leaded till it’s blobbed out on both sides. Then I’ll put the desoldering gun on the solder then watch it melt on the opposite side, then hit the button. Instantly sucks all the solder through the holes. Way easier than wicking.

[@davidlarson2534]

I should have a replacement back panel in excellent condition if you need one.

[@JamesColeman]

I'm wondering why you don't own a de-soldering pump with all this kind of work you do. It helps a lot with working on through hole components.

[@zerocks88]

you are doing such awesome work

[@kaulbachskave]

They clearly used a drill bit until it hit and chewed up the inside of the connectors, same as how some hard drives are mangled by drilling through into the platters. Likely for insurance reasons to buy newer equipment but have the originals not have resale value

[@jantepas7511]

Great repair.

[@iamtafara]

You can use a serial number to check if it wasnt reported and locked but that does not mean it does not have an icloud account logged in.

[@mi16t]

Apple touts how environmentally friendly they are meanwhile, look at that MASSIVE box of DTK DRILLED boards... Environment friendly is giving used hardware a second life, not this. Look at how the ports are designed not to be replaced! Dosdude is performing miracles. Crapple strikes again.

[@EvilMmM]

Why are those mini drilled?

[@MikesArcadeMonitorRepair]

Great job!

[@NZSpides]

Get yourself a Desoldering station. Yest they are expensive, but they make desoldering an absolutely a breeze. You need one that uses an air compressor to provide a vacuum. I used one for years and they make the desoldering of large arrays of pins like this so simple.

[@Nathan15038]

The crazy part was I got one like this from the job I worked at let’s just say it “fell off a truck”. but at the end of the day all the ports worked, like everything worked fine. The only thing was the heat sink had like something jammed into it and it’s all messed up, but that’s only like a small part of it other than that it has dings and scratches everywhere, but I just use it as an extra computer that I mine on because I already have a MacBook Pro and a windows desktop PC. It also is a really nice looking desk piece, but I can’t wait to find more that fell off a truck, I did have to do a lot of troubleshooting and figuring out how to reset it and jailbreak it but otherwise it worked perfectly fine.😊😅

[@default1647]

How much will cost to make me one working dtk ?

[@charlesm.1638]

WOW!!! Someone was not happy. Good job. Apple would have most definitely rejected the repair.

[@Lampe2020]

6:02 Well, Apple really knows how to make stuff extra hard to repair…

[@coladict]

You can check if an iDevice is locked by the cloud just from the serial number? I've considered buying a used iPhone, but knowing it might be locked is my biggest fear that I'll get scammed.

[@Woyta]

Even cheap desoldering iron is great tool for through hole parts.

[@jmpiv4]

Well, it could be an attempt to lower costs on importing. Back in the day we would take expensive cars cut them in half and import them as scrap to avoid excessive taxes and fees for imports.

[@jackgerberuae]

And thanks to you and your mates in the pc industry, they now decided to solder the components to prevent this type of monkey business. 😅 You rewelded the cars back into one again?