I Bought a FAULTY Switch Lite on eBay | EPIC Reballing* | Can I FIX It?

*might not be epic
I bought this broken Nintendo Switch Lite off of from eBay for £52. Listing stated that it has no power and doesn't charge. Also that it had had a prior repair attempt!
Let's see if we can can fix it!
Apologies for the racy microscope angle.
Hope you enjoy!
Steve
PS. I'm not an expert in repairs at all. I do this for fun, and it may not be the best or safest way to go about repairing broken stuff. I'm pretty good at melting plastic though. Please don't copy me - I'm an idiot.
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Some of the magic things I use to break stuff;
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My desoldering gun that goes "moo": UK amzn.to/3HHt73P US amzn.to/3QHJOkb
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My blue mat: UK amzn.to/3nDVs3A US amzn.to/3LcZUkI
Filming equipment;
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My 2nd camera: UK amzn.to/3Rfjn6U US amzn.to/3BGOB1i
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Links are affiliated where possible to help support the channel. Nice.

[@StezStixFix]

Stupid microscope wiping all my hard work

[@alin-romeopopa3643]

What microscope you have ? Or did you change the microscope stand ? Thanks a lot

[@kubagornowicz]

If it happen next time (hope not) - you can stretch that angle view so it fill the whole screen

[@bufordmaddogtannen]

I’d suggest you use a pin and a drop of IPA or flux on the tip to pick and place solder balls on chips (you'll need flux on the chips as well). The superficial tension would do all the work for you, instead of pushing and pulling things around with tweezers.

[@Caddy666]

Steznilla ice

[@pixelpuppy]

@@kubagornowicz doing that would look like an absolute blurry mess. at least this way the video quality looks presentable.

[@GameRaveTV]

That 9 ball repair was worth the entire viewing. Fantastic!

[@RemMonster]

And the Crush cover to end ;)

[@abdulhkeem.alhadhrami]

Like billiards?! LoL!

[@didierdubos]

I will never have enough patience for that..

[@Toca_waffle843]

Too Right! Hat's off to the guy, I've done a tiny amount of micro work and was in absolute awe, especially the ball that was threatening to melt into it's neighbour. If it was me I'd expect to probably blow away the surrounding components before getting anyway near finished.

[@spamaccount6460]

How many people out there would realistically go to all this trouble to fix it? You definitely saved this one from inevitable death.

[@stetofix]

Nice repair. :) The 'Parental Controls' is removable. 1. Click orange Parental Control. 2. In the code screen: Press 'Forgot Password' 3. Note the digit number and DON'T close this screen. (The digitnumber will be generated new every time the screen is opened.) 4. Contact Nintendo Online Support with or without Nintendo Account and provide the written digit number. The response will be a master key for the actual digit number. 5. Enter the master key and type in a new parental code.

[@kikihobbyrepair]

Nice fix Steve. That tiny BGA IC is the Fuel Gauge IC, which is also part of the battery/charging circuit. As for reballing I would recommend to use paste for such tiny chips because it takes a couple of seconds then. I have designed a 3D printed BGA reballing "Jig" to make this process easier because it will hold the stencil down and you have 2 free hands. I have made a video about it and all the files are available there.

[@danielrock3119]

Is gas gauge not to the left of the charge port ?

[@SixtyDoesStuff]

I've never seen someone struggle so much with such tiny balls. Thanks for the special shoutout.

[@chrisj2848]

Nice one. When those two balls almost merged together I was "oh no!"-ing too 😆

[@StezStixFix]

It was a nervy moment fo' sho! 😬

[@Theseanparker]

Another great video! I need a longer StezStix "fix" though, 11 minutes is cruel 😂

[@rick5078]

next time try using ceramic tweezers of the kind that opens when you squeeze it, to hold the chip in place and use a silicone mat underneath. This would reduce heat being drawn out of the chip from laying on a pcb, speeding up the melting of the solder balls while holding the chip in place. Keep up the awesome videos. :)

[@Ceriva09]

not sure how they are named in english but translated from german it would be something like cross-tweezer or scissor-tweezer, and i can confirm that would have made his life a lot easier

[@gorillazhead]

​​@@Ceriva09 They're usually called "cross lock tweezers" in English, so yeah, almost the same thing. I used to call them "tension tweezers," but it seems like no one else calls them that 😂

[@drewbreezy5854]

I never saw a reball before. I assumed that's about what it looked like, but still neat to see. Thanks.

[@gravedigga71]

Love the new microscope-camera angle. As if we were above things.

[@TheCod3r]

Good stuff Steve! Love to see tje improvement 👏 that chip is the fuel guage, in charge of detecting battery percentage. The part number is MAX17050 😀

[@obsidianpanther]

This is my favourite channel. I'm so glad KZbin recommended it to me. I've been subbed for a little while now but the secondhand satisfaction from watching you getting things working is such good serotonin. And I never skip a rap!

[@jumpingmanjim]

You can get the parental controls off by contacting nintendo. My Mate Vince did a video about it.

[@ian3314]

Great video. I don't know much about soldering, I was so concerned when the balls were crooked. Then it was soo satisfying to see them creep to where they needed to be. Keep up the great work.

[@QuartinhoNerd]

Miss your longer videos! Amazing work! My favorite Channel of the year! A shout from Brazil! 👏😁✌️

[@TrueJamo]

Excellent video as always. Because of you I had the confidence to take apart one of my power banks that had a loose micro usb connection and solder it back on "solid". Good as new now! Thank you for your videos!

[@basser100]

Splendid repair man. Really enjoyed the 9ball repair. Keep it up!

[@BuyitFixit]

Great Video STEVE!!!! It took some BALLS to do it, and it seems you had them!

[@StezStixFix]

🤣 yep, tiny balls, but balls indeed!

[@BoatzUK]

😂 definitely

[@UnjustifiedRecs]

Man I love checking in every week or so and seeing that you are nearly at 100k, well deserved, always loved how down to earth and humble you are. Many Tech tubers aren't. Here's to many more subs!

[@boydsterling3193]

Love these videos, nice and chilled, love the humour and the rapping is first class, keep up the good work

[@jhamilton7373]

Love these videos and the humour. Just subbed. Keep up the great work 😀👍

[@BritishAdam]

Great as always! At least now you know to either buy a bigger microSD card, or maybe swap out one for another at opportune moments to make sure it doesn't mess up in the future. You learned a lesson AND fixed something at the same time!

[@StezStixFix]

Yeah, lesson learnt indeed! I've got a bigger SD card for it now, so hopefully it won't happen again! 😊

[@ronlevin2339]

@@StezStixFix you cannot use card bigger that 32GB, it is not supported, it says in the microscope description

[@ElSpoooel]

Awesome fix mate, never had any doubts you wouldn’t get it fixed 👍👍

[@hachogonzalez8649]

Love your videos, really inspire me to fix stuff

[@mrjarto]

Great job Steve. Try sticking those tiny parts to a blob of bluetac the next time. That stuff is very handy to hold or stabilize tiny things when working on them.

[@StezStixFix]

Yeah, I wish I'd have done that to be fair! Next time 😬

[@tambias]

Great fix again and a very enjoyable video.Thanks.

[@nitrgnlab9400]

Great work! Thanks for the video

[@hellalike]

yeah!!!!.....I love every time whatever devices it is turns on!!

[@onasazi]

Great job Steve! Wow! That was tiny!

[@ogretheshriek]

YOUR RAPS ARE LITERALLY THE BEST AND YOUR KZbin CHANNEL IS MY FAVORITE! ❤️❤️❤️ THE AMOUNT EFFORT THAT YOU EXERT IN EVERY VIDEO YOU MAKE IS REALLY ADMIRABLE!

[@leDiable1957]

Love these vids proper entertainment well done fella keep it up 👍🏻🙏

[@WaxerUK]

Always in awe of your awesome and inspirational work, salute, respect, Bigup! 👍👍👊👊

[@mehgoodenough]

That track at 7.49 is epic ♥🎹😎

[@mehgoodenough]

Thank you SoundHound: Deep Space Samurai - Forever Sunset. Nice track selection mate!!

[@tehedx]

Nice track indeed, cheers for identifying it!

[@pcbsolder]

I really like your videos, please keep up the good work.

[@tehedx]

Always great to see you at work, regardless whether you actually succeed or not. It somehow motivates me to start and try broken electronics too, but I'm pretty sure I'll actually have no idea where to start.

[@EikottXD]

You have Google.

[@renataavgeri1132]

It was the same for me 5 years ago and now i am at my 3rd year university for philosophy and decided that i am going to work as a technician after taking a degree at that. I started by getting only the necessary like multimeter, soldering iron, solder, flux, braid, desolder pump, and some prying tools off aliexpress for very cheap. I used screwdrivers that we had at the house. When i saw that i liked it i started buying more and better things. My main being the multimeter and i got a 100€ soldering station additional tips for the iron and nozzles for the hot air and a heat resistant mat. Also i got some soldering practice kits cheap and a diy component tester that i used for practice and a tool. You dont need much. Oh and dont forger IPA as well if you do start. Most additional things i have i got them as i needed them. Also there are some great channels explaining circuits and components: Electronics repair school, learn electronics repair, Northridgefix and many more

[@BuyitFixit]

Give it a go! It's broken anyway.. If you fix it, great. If you don't it's still broken so nothing lost.. well perhaps a bit of your time, but think of that as learning :)

[@Dracossaint]

Everyone starts with no idea, ya got this!

[@MizuhoChan]

I haven't done any switch lites before, but it's probably the MAX17050, which is responsible for reading the information from the battery, it's called the 'fuel gauge'. I've changed a few, they do go it seems.

[@Mrflash222006]

That’s the one, it’s the battery monitor, quite a powerful chip for what it does - voltage, current, temp and state of charge

[@GinandTronics]

fuel gauge is very close to the Usb c port on a lite. and get floated often by people changing the port over. something which dosent happen on a normal switch

[@NumberOneGeek]

Amazing ball control!

[@GAsparky]

Loving the music Steve at 8:26, reminds me of the Commodore 64 loading screens 😄

[@MikesArcadeMonitorRepair]

BGA is probably the most frustrating thing in the solder world. Great job Steve. You're a better man than I.

[@diemaschinedieviereckigeei2941]

Great repair! The BGA chip seems to be a simple FET, judging from the traces on the downside. It would really help to know its marking, though.

[@guidcs0]

that some sick maneuver with the balls , Steve. Back to you, Steve.

[@chrispike7249]

Good to see you fix the switch lite there with the 9 ball fix Steve -nice 1

[@carolotsful]

Brightens up my evening watching you ,,

[@CH11LER.]

While you were melting the balls, I totally zoned out listening to that music. Really liked it!

[@BuyitFixit]

Reminded me of old c64 music :)

[@Pinksluvva1973]

I dont care what anyone else says, I LOVE the raps and the singing at the end. Youre such an entertaining guy and I look forward to your uploads.

[@123simion1989]

Amazing fix!

[@thegrayghost3043]

This has been the most intense video yet! The re-ball wrestling match was great!

[@infin1ty850]

Your video popped up on my feed about 22:00 and it made me remember it is Saturday

[@JB____________]

Absolutly amazing watching these videos.. and also give me great confidence to try these types of things out myself.. (safely of course)

[@shadowfrost44]

Great job!!

[@Zaph0d]

That sneaky errant phantom ball at 8:48 hiding behind the lower cap in the middle of the screen

[@shallenburglar]

Glad to see Dave is still looking young, and doing well!

[@abdulhkeem.alhadhrami]

Vince is the switch killer! Steve is the switch saver!

[@Popeyes66]

Glad to see Dave still doing the odd shift when needed Steve.

[@BarryRowlingsonBaz]

Is there a video with Dave's origin story? I've watched loads of these from the archive but not seen it yet!

[@Bourbon_Blue_Devil]

Love Volbeat!! Seen them twice in concert!!

[@Khashraan]

This tiny bga was the fuel gauge I would guess. Necessary for battery chargelevel management. Nice fix, btw!

[@MrCloudStrife82]

What is the epic tune that kicks in at 7:50? Excellent video as always. Keep up the good vids sir

[@Greg_Watchorn]

Christ my heart was in my mouth a couple of times here. Great stuff Steve (and VOS)!!!😀😀. And what a rakish angle on the microscope!!

[@danhitchcock727]

You actually inspired me to try my own fix. I purchased all stuff, on a budget, and gave it a go. It's actually a similar repair to a video of yours a while back - micro usb replacement on a launchpad mini... I absolutely butchered it mate, I think I could do with a microscope and start with easier tasks. Got a practice board now though! 🙂

[@cherrymountains72]

Trust me, even with a microscope you’re able to butcher stuff, ask me how I know 😜 In other words, you’ve done well and keep at it because it’s practice that makes perfect. Take care. 👍🏻

[@Toca_waffle843]

I've done a micro USB on a my kids tablet, I just concentrated on getting the power connectors done, looked like a warzone when I'd finished, but full dad points were gained.

[@TheSoapyJew]

Great fix Steve. My favorite part was where you didnt try to sling your own gear for half the video. Well done!

[@JohnnyG10178]

Get In There!!!!

[@robwakelin5559]

I have discovered your channel today and subscribed. Love the way you do your thing :-) A question, why do so many components break in the way you show them? How does a crack or a "bit missing" happen on a board inside a device?

[@OhMyPoBoy]

The patreon raps are improving in quality. I used to skip them but i enjoyed this one lol

[@Raziel1984]

nice one steve... such small fiddely diddely stuff

[@reneschoolderman7835]

Always here to fix my mood.

[@limaxmusic533]

Nice one Steve, i'm watching every video from you with pleasure and i really enjoy them, i have 2 questions : one is, what do you do with switches with parental control? and the second one is , can you tell me please what is the song from 7:54? Thanks man

[@Kaynos]

You have way more patience than me, those little balls, no way I would have done this.

[@dedheddedhed]

the beat of the patreon rap is FIRE though!

[@johndoe-vz6tb]

Nice Ball work

[@ZafroSoundz]

Towd microballs 😆 Nice repair man !

[@Leeum123]

What makes me think I‘m going to be successful? Nothing.

[@riparaggi]

Powerful skills! you really got some (solder) balls in this one ;-)

[@easytiger2912]

Amazing. I barely understood any of what was happening though. I wish there was a way to learn this stuff!

[@DavidFilskov]

Fun video - and great 80ies music! :) Btw - is it possible to make the D-pad clicky? - I mean add four dome-switches to the D-pad.

[@Mcweeny69]

Love the patreon rap and end video karaoke, it's the flavor I savor

[@samuelprados4975]

9:30 you just got yourself a real life level up.

[@warwagon]

amazing reball! I clapped when it turned on!

[@dr_ned_flanders]

Well done Steve on the positive outcome of the fix. I think the rap was very good this week. Do you have any skills in music production or playing?

[@StezStixFix]

Thanks Ned! No, I don't have any of those skills, but I guess I'm kinda acquiring them as I go along. This time next year, I'll be in the charts duetting with Ed Sheeran...

[@Tim_3100]

Great video

[@agent00meme22]

and here i was thinking that the raps are what dictates how often you upload :D very sick

[@russgare6523]

Lol I loved the shout out to Parliament Funkadelic in the rap "Dr Funkenstien"

[@guyh3403]

The music at the 8 minute mark was nice !

[@andrewhenderson3593]

9 balls was the fuel gauge ic and fantastic vid ❤

[@seanomurchu5048]

Here's a cover request for the next time you need to reball a chip: Twist and Shout by Chaka Demus and Pliers. The repeated "me ball" in it is ripe for soldering parody. Another great video.

[@StezStixFix]

🤣

[@dkaytan]

Reballing music was awesome

[@pillivonwaldemar5993]

You'r rap is still best part of videos that you make and I still have couple beats that can with pervect for you. :) Keep doing All hte best for you. PEACE!

[@indy5280]

That was one crispy chip

[@Crackshotlol]

Nice fix Steve. I have a question, do you keep the devices you fix or do you sell it on ebay and make profit?

[@StezStixFix]

I have kept most of them as most of them are bodges and I wouldn't want to sell them back on to anyone!

[@BuyitFixit]

Great question! I'd like to know the answer too, as I'm slowly filling the house....

[@easytiger2912]

@@StezStixFix I reckon a fair few people on here would be prepared to take a chance on your repairs!

[@user-te1le7ck6b]

I come for the music but stay for the repairs 😂

[@grointastic4242]

The karaoke gets me every time.

[@ob1skywalker82]

back of the net. Nice one.

[@DTGuitarTech]

Another brilliant fix. The real question is, where were the components that were missing if they weren’t within the case?

[@beavis6363]

Solid.

[@Allerick178]

wow awesome repair on the switch to day great work Steve. That reballing. =)

[@StezStixFix]

Thanks Frederick! 👍

[@AnonymaxUK]

The outro music slayed me

[@gravedigga71]

❤ the reball-music ❤

[@jaylo912]

Another sucess... Nice work Steve. 👏👏👏

[@jantepas7511]

A game within the repair. You’re fooling us…..great videos.

[@seanmacdude]

hahaha brilliant loved the video