GameBoy Micro! - TechWave!

A viewer named Nick sent in a GameBoy Micro after it was found outside. The system was unable to turn on at all after being found and he was kind enough to send it in so I could take a look at it.
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Thanks for watching!

[@mikukumiku]

I really like that recurring gag with the hammer. This was a great techwave! Keep it up!

[@goonerOZZ]

I love your techwave sessions! It's very informative

[@TheRealDustinNunn]

Fun facts: there is a GBA cartridge-shaped flash cartridge that you can get for your GBA, GBA SP and Game Boy Micro meaning that you don't need to spend lots of money on tons of GBA cartridges for your GBA, GBA SP and Game Boy Micro and the GBA cartridge-shaped flash cartridge has an entire library of Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance games all on one flash cartridge and for example, the GBA cartridge-shaped flash cartridge will work perfectly on your Game Boy Micro and it will make up for why the Micro wasn't able to play physical Game Boy and Game Boy Color cartridges in the first place.

[@permanenteyebags1266]

I love the format of this video it's very informative and also interesting to watch you repair the unit

[@JesseAndMike]

Awesome video! The only gameboy we never had was the micro! Liked!

[@joshspears3951]

oMg A SNAKE

[@guydudeleo9770]

The Gameboy Advance SP didn't have a headphone jack?! Even the original Gameboy had a headphone jack!! Damn

[@Andrew-mr5pd]

The SP stood for "Stupid Plan"

[@DSoverPSP]

It's true. The lit screen, rechargeable battery, and clamshell design were a big step up from the original GBA, but the lack of a headphone jack was just really dumb. I think Nintendo were selling some special GBA headphones at the time that might have used a proprietary connector (don't know, never owned them) but that was still really dumb.

[@Snotnarok]

@@DSoverPSP It's a bit dumber than that. You need to use the power adapter slot for the headphone jack adapter. Yes, so you couldn't charge your device and use headphones at the same time.

[@thebravegallade731]

@@Snotnarok sounds famillier (looks at apple)

[@TheMamaluigi300]

@@DSoverPSP Honestly, the SP could’ve been a little wider. Not only would it be slightly more comfortable, but it’d also have room for a headphone jack

Man this series of vídeos are GREAT! Keep up this awesome work.

[@code1superstar]

It's funny you brought this system up. I just unpacked mine the other day. I picked up the Famicom anniversary edition back in the day just as a collectible.

[@futuremutant]

New format looking good John, very professional!

[@oozmakappa6415]

Great job on this video. This was very interesting, especially the hands on segment.

[@jhdkoopman2]

Interesting change of pace in the way you produced this video. Much different than your normal style.

[@DoUrden09]

Really like the new format for tech wave. Easier to get a look at thing but I liked the fast forward part in your earlier vids.

[@DoUrden09]

Oh. And more light on those close shot too. :)

[@MezzoForte4]

I remember going to Toys R Us and saw a pallet full of the Anniversary edition of the Micro. People were walking past that and were buying the DS. At the time I thought it was redundant to release two pieces of hardware. I thought the Micro was quite cool, very small and super portable. Looking back I wished I had bought one when it was on sale. It kinda sucks that it was released just when the GBA line was on it's last mile. It would've sold more if it was released at a better time or simply not just before the DS launched. I now own two Micros and I love 'em.

[@DragonWistArt]

I love these systems, so lightweight I wear one on a lanyard! My favourite GBA, shame they released it during the DS's life.

[@thebestgameever3692]

This kind of videos are fascinating ! Do more!! 😃

[@MrAgility888]

I love these kinds of videos. I'm always interested to see what's going on inside electronic devices.

[@DrakkarCalethiel]

The gameboy micro was great. It was small but exactly that was the great thing about it. Carrying that sucker in your pocket was one on the best thing in my childhood.

[@lewis9950]

I was literally JUST thinking about this omg! I used to own one and it was the best thing ever and i like how it didn't feel cheap, it actually felt like metal.

[@junitono1]

my favorite iteration of the gba. used to carry mine around on a lanyard.

[@wahey8470]

That hammer was a nice callback, I give this video a like.

[@johnodaz1273]

Yo Jon(SW) awesome stuff. Aww man it's ashame the GB Micro had too much water damage but I hope you do get it back too working as intended.

[@alannava8489]

Please do more Tech Wave videos, they are really entertaining!

[@emmalee162]

I'm so excited, I just found my game boy micro and it still works!

[@SuperMetalDave64]

*Update* Try skipping past 4:49 a few seconds if you guys are having the glitch where it stops working.

[@Zephroine]

yeah what the hell was that about? O:

[@johnsteel1488]

Skip to when he uses an ohmmeter ... the end

[@SianaGearz]

Only 1080p stream is affected for me, on Linux with VDPAU, Intel version. 720p stream runs fine.

[@TRIFORCEJAY]

Got me with that hammer haha! Awesome video as always!

[@adriang9342]

You've lost weight since then and you're videos now are more engaging. Keep it up

[@MrNileck]

Mate your videos are the shiznit, keep it up!🍻

[@one121100]

I never owned anything from the gameboy line. Until a few weeks ago, I must say the micro is one of my favourite handheld consoles.

[@alfwaibel4773]

I love the advert video in the beginning! ROFLMAO. Saw it the first time :D Searched it on YT and have still tears in my eyes due to laughing like insane :)))) Incredible console, got a nearly mint silver one a few months ago for small money. Replaced the battery with a new one, and it works like a charm. This console was, in portability, still ahead of it´s time, and there are some fantastic games available for the console, which look incredible on this screen.

[@caervas8987]

This was cool! I'm glad you are still doing these. Semi-off topic: can you do a Tech Wave for a PlayStation 3 Super Slim? The one where the disc tray opens on the top.

[@BrianFo]

Spawn wave sure has changed over the years. Wonder if he'll ever do the follow up video with his new setup =)

[@averyw396]

Best tech wave yet

[@JustGamesville]

keep em coming John!

[@AndrewO83]

I was working at EB Games at the time when they came in. I never picked one up, I already had an SP at the time. I wish I kinda did now.

[@JSilv3r]

LOL the iPhone 7 jab. I love it

[@ei8bit]

hahaha you got me there when i saw the hammer. i thought you gonna smash it. whew! you sneaky man... 😂😂😂

[@GamingOtaku20]

I still have my famicon edition of the Gameboy Micro, since it was my first gaming device. I still play it to this day. I'm surprised it's still mid-condition, as I was 6-7 years old and played this thing to death

[@AtomicBoo]

I regret selling my gameboy micro when i was in highschool :(

[@zynvxyz]

I really want one but they are a lot

[@ThisWorldShallKnowPain.]

I bought one for $1

[@oaba09]

Used to own one but I gave it to my nephew since I already had a ps3 and psp back then....one of the biggest regrets in my gaming life....I wish I kept it...it would look great in my collection...

[@bellebuster5057]

Who else thought he was going to /clean/ it with a hammer!? Lol The SP is still my all time favorite in the advance series, but I have to say the micro is now much more interesting than I thought at first glance. Also, nice jab at Apple. I still rock my 6s Plus for that reason. XD

[@khaul]

Omg I remember having this... and lost it just as quickly. Because of its small size of course..

[@Notsram77]

Hey, I've got a GB Micro that I absolutely adored for my traveling days. The A Button and the D pad have stopped responding. Would opening the unit and cleaning connections possibly help?

[@itchyisvegeta]

Don't ever take apart a Micro. Internals are easy to break, and mine is dead now. Still my favorite GBA system though.

[@treymiller5736]

Yes if u don't know what your doing any electronic is easy to break lol sadly that's most ppl but after taking and putting together 30 devices it starts to began pretty straight forward

[@SianaGearz]

Eh, some of us would be too eager to get your pieces to try to reverse the damage, or use as parts donor.

[@itchyisvegeta]

Already sold it. Hoping a Micro gets resurrected one way or the other with it.

[@linkdorf376]

Gameboy micro is really easy to dis and reassemble, you just need to be careful and note down what screw went where

[@moore9793]

Might I ask what you did that broke it? I'm going to be reshelling mine, and want to know what to look out for

[@lyconxero457]

I vaguely remember hearing about this console but I already had a Gameboy Advance and was pretty much done with handhelds at that point until the 3DS hit the market.

[@louisduenes9607]

More retro repairs would be cool to see from time to time. Did you use to repair controllers too or just systems?

[@neo17777]

Great video!

[@cardboardwalk]

Your VO sounds very clean, as opposed to the room's echo (though for on screen bits no room echo feels weird)

[@elgigante2001]

You might want to check the solder points on the charge port see if any of them are cracked. Also maybe clean the charge port with some contact cleaner, not alcohol unless it's denatured alcohol. If all else fails you can always make a charger that will charge the battery directly of course you'll have to take the battery out every time you need to charge it.

[@ysonline]

Very cool video man

[@firetail006]

Mine is running well for the last 10 yrs. Nothing replaced so far... :P

[@whoc4r3s117]

I used to play SMB in high school. perfect size for low key gaming.

[@chasebarnard7224]

Those things are hand cramp kings. I don't miss them

[@federicoleoncini]

That little hammer reference to the beginning of the channel

[@KlingonCaptain]

The GameBoy Micro was my favorite Advance. I was a bit sad that it didn't play GameBoy games.

[@solidust573]

I have 3 crazy ideas - 1st - try the penetration technique by repeatedly sticking the charger in & out of the system to sort of wake up the internal circuitry. 2nd- if that fails, u can jerry rig the battery with pin electrodes to trickle charge​. I've seen people do this that couldn't get hold of a charger. 3rd - if all else fails, (don't hate me for saying this lol) try the 'slight twist' technique to shake off the cobwebs a bit. just a slight twist, nothing too hardcore. believe it or not, i did this as a last resort ditch effort to salvage a PSP go i found at a pawn shop. the thing wouldn't turn on unless I put it into the fridge & NOTHING on God's green earth worked until I did that. now it works perfectly & its been months since. i understand how you feel about it knowing that these things are rare. I'm hopeful you'll be able to get it sorted.

[@stevenmabee3232]

Holy blast from the past Batman!

[@Echocookie8948]

You guys want a smaller screen? Bada boom bada bing have fun trying to play games on this thing!

[@nintendonerdjoseph]

Echocookie It's not as bad as you'd think.

[@Echocookie8948]

Yeah just poking fun at the tiny screen. Seems like something I would buy honestly.

[@jdchainsaw1335]

So Spawn, this video is a couple years old. Curious if in that time you were ever able to fix that gba micro?

[@adrianfernandez7458]

The micro is awesome. Still have it and I'm rock' n some golden sun and fzero!

[@bratman9245]

I loved my micro. I lost it 5 years ago I miss it so much😭

[@sephroark]

Woah, wait, since the motherboard is soldered to the start/select cables does that mean it would be impossible to replace them? There's a listing for a micro I'm looking at that has the start/select buttons broken, and that's setting off red flags for me now...

[@AxelStone]

Reggie looks so aggressive with that little gameboy in his hand 😅

[@HoudiniFontmeister]

the hammer shot was a clever joke. lol.

[@fredrick8691]

Hey buddy just cane across your channel tonight and had to subscribe. I was wondering if you repair or can place a new cover over my Gameboy Advance SP?

[@phillipfelty428]

awesome shirt! my wife has a labyrinth shirt also!

[@GuilhermeJohann1]

Anyone with a "bug" in the video at 4:49?

[@spaciepoo]

Yep

[@SuperMetalDave64]

Yeah I got it too

[@bozscaggzz7475]

Guilherme Johann Ditto

[@letsgrowveganic3889]

yep, me too, I was thought it was a sign of my aging computer

[@Kinta02]

got the same

[@ajx4196]

classy outro

[@locmariox]

Is a $50.00 gameboy micro worth it? It's in very good condition, no charger; but it works 100%.

[@joshdieckmann595]

The hammer was a nice touch.

[@jasonbrown467]

from my experience, most electronic devices are fine after getting wet, as long as its just water, it its coffee, , tea, soda etc etc i would expect problems eventually.

[@kunioriki9304]

I had the same problem with 3 gameboy micros don't insert the cable fully thats why the blue light fades keep pluging and unpluging it will take time to get it charging and the blue light should appear after that you can charge it fully pluged or you have to change the battery

[@WarpHype]

XD the hammer!

[@bland9876]

the ds origonal can also use the headphone adapter as well

[@richfiles]

I was SO ready to buy a GameBoy Micro... Till I discovered it dropped the backwards compatibility with original and GB Color games... It ONLY plays GBA games. ;_;

[@Alias_Anybody]

I don't really understand why. They needed the Gameboy-processor anyway because many GBA-games used it for sound.

[@richfiles]

That's even weirder then... Wonder if they managed to stuff the sound functionality into an ASIC "good enough" to execute sound, but not complete enough for full GB/GBC execution... Just bizarre...

[@bibasik7]

Think about how it would look. A giant cartridge sticking out of a tiny Game Boy. Nintendo just wanted to save their customers some embarrassment.

[@richfiles]

Well, it saved me some cash, as it cost them a sale. I couldn't care less if a cart stuck out.

[@9aracna.]

You can modify it to play them, that's what some friends and I did to mine

[@joshbrown183]

I totally thought for a minute when I saw that hammer that it was beyond repair and you were going to smash it to pieces...

[@FG-ls6xj]

this was so awesome to watch. the hammer made me rofl

[@harrisontashjian752]

If the screen is bad, you can certainly replacements for dirt cheap because it is not a custom part

[@pekinduck1]

If it's got water damage and they found it outside I bet that they tried to charge it before the device was fully dry. There is no cover on the charger port I would probably start there as the system seems to work just fine sans the charging. I put my money on replacing the charger port I had a similar situation with my Galaxy S5 one time and I replace that charger port and it ended up working just fine afterwards.

[@dustenhostetler-vanderzee2296]

The micro was the only Gameboy advanced model I didn't own. Sucks it has the least amount of support in terms of aftermarket parts. Only upside is that you don't have to go through the trouble of modding the screen

[@TheBeelzboss]

That one has a messed up screen... It is either very belt scratched or burned and it's melted in a couple spots

[@jcawthon99]

Still got my micro in the box!

[@justsomedude-gaming9815]

My micro still has battery life after like 6 years of forgetting where it was lol. And has mother 3 in it 👌🏻

[@Snaadz0r]

Are you able to charge the battery outside the Micro, not using the charging circuit?

[@DaveMothaFkinStrider]

i love the gameboy micro. a damn shame i cant justify $120+ for one now days.

[@TerraWare]

You can play Gameboy and Gameboy color games if you use a GBA flashcart on the Micro

[@adebola]

I have a gameboy micro but I can't find the charger, used to love playing fifa on it and there was a lord of the rings game I loved too but Cant remember

[@jimmyd8491]

I found the hammer part hilarious

[@retrocratictv275]

I saw the hammer as a better option at first! Lol

[@cesar122111]

It seems it's just the battery, i have a few Micros and when i changed the battery on the one that didn't charge but still turn on for a few minutes it's like an instant fix, the battery of the micros die especially after more than 10 years and they don't hold as much of a charge on them

[@cesar122111]

and it doesn't have RBG its just 2 leds on the board hahah well close to Rgb but still 1/3 missing haha

[@jackd4]

I remember my friend had a GameBoy Micro.

[@GamerBoy870]

Dumb question how come they are so fucking expensive

[@jlebrech]

have you looked into the Revo K101?

[@sindrenyborg5587]

You could try to charge the battery outside the Gameboy micro, instead of using the charging port

[@user-il8ct2gt9l]

I just noticed that for the first time I didn’t notice that when I was a kid but the mouse was humping the game boy

[@slicey80]

if you get a generic battery charger, you could just hook up the batter and charge it like that, not the best method but hey it works

[@mikecain4246]

the hammer got my like

[@tv4184]

I have a famicom version I scored off my friend a while back for the price of three marvel legends figures lol. I should have jumped on a second used one before prices got crazy... I ended up getting a beat up AGS101 for my daily gba activities

[@stevejimenez1721]

im literally still playing my micro

[@zkatt3238]

So can you recharge the battery separately and it works?

[@pelayorodriguez118]

I've seen that problem with my own micro, just replaced the battery and everything is fine now

[@mightylink65]

I remember this, I wanted the screen bigger not smaller, that's why I didn't buy it. Not sure what this was good for other then being a really expensive keychain toy. The original gameboy advance fit in my pocket too, so idk what extra places this micro can fit in besides my butthole cavity.

[@4473021]

Mightylink Skinny jean pockets xd

[@NottJoeyOfficial]

I like mine because it easily fits in to my dress pants so no one at school sees me with it, while my SP sticks out and makes a bulge in my pocket.