Motherboard Repair · Logic Board Repair · Microsoldering
Motherboard repair when replacement is not the only option.
If Apple, a manufacturer, or another repair shop has told you the motherboard or logic board needs replacement, a component-level diagnosis can determine what on that board actually failed. We repair power and charging circuits, damaged connectors, shorted components, corrosion, lifted pads, and broken traces under magnification when the board is economically repairable.
Section 01 / Definition
What motherboard repair means
A motherboard is not one indivisible part. It is a network of separate power rails, controllers, connectors, protection circuits, data lines, and thousands of smaller components.
Microsoldering is the method used to remove and replace those components and rebuild the connections between them under a microscope.
The advantage is simple: a failed circuit can sometimes be repaired without replacing a board full of components that are still working.
Section 02 / Method
How board-level diagnosis works
Board repair is a diagnostic discipline before it is a soldering one. Most of the work is finding the fault. Every board that comes across the bench goes through the same sequence.
Visual inspection under magnification
Before anything is powered, the board is examined under the scope for corrosion, burn marks, missing components, lifted pads, and previous repair attempts. A great deal is decided here, and powering a damaged board first can turn a repairable fault into an unrepairable one.
Measuring the power sequence
Every board brings its voltages up in a fixed order, each stage waiting on the one before it. Measuring that sequence shows exactly where it stops. A single shorted rail holds everything downstream of it down, which is why a device with one failed component presents as completely dead.
Locating the short
Knowing a rail is shorted is not the same as knowing which component shorted it. The rail is injected with a controlled current and the component drawing it is found by the heat it gives off, using a thermal camera. This is what separates a targeted repair from replacing parts and hoping.
Rework and replacement
The failed component is removed with hot air, the pads underneath are cleaned and rebuilt where the damage has taken them, and the replacement is fitted and reflowed. On damaged boards, missing traces are bridged and rebuilt before anything is fitted on top of them.
Verification under load
The board is brought up again and the same measurements are repeated to confirm the sequence completes and the rails hold. Then the device is reassembled and run under real use, because a repair that works on the bench and fails in the case is not a finished repair.
Section 03 / Faults
Motherboard faults we repair
These are the faults that get quoted as board replacements almost everywhere else.
Section 04 / Devices
What we do board work on
The technique does not change between devices. These pages cover the board faults specific to each one.
Section 05 / Trade
For other repair shops
Overflow and out-of-scope work
Trade and overflow board work remains available for repair businesses. Shops can send or deliver out-of-scope motherboard, HDMI, USB-C, no-power, and microsoldering work.
Your customer remains your customer. You receive the diagnosis and completed bench work while we stay behind the scenes.
Section 06 / Pricing
What motherboard repair costs
Board-level repairs generally range from $150 to $350+ depending on the circuit, the damage, prior work, and component availability. Severe corrosion or multi-stage damage is quoted individually.
Diagnostic
Credited toward an approved repair. Covers the testing needed to identify the fault.
Board-level repair
Power rails, charging circuits, connector replacement, and trace repair. Confirmed after diagnosis.
Severe damage
Extensive corrosion or multiple failed stages are quoted individually. You get the number and the odds before deciding.
Worth comparing against any board replacement quote before you decide. Call or text with the device and the symptom.
(646) 656-7886Section 07 / Questions
Before you book
Why does one shop say a board is unrepairable and another says it is fixable?
Because they mean different things by repair. A shop that swaps parts can only work down to the board, so when the board is at fault the board is the answer. Component-level repair goes a level below that. Neither is dishonest, but they produce very different quotes for the same fault.
Is a repaired board as reliable as a new one?
For these faults, yes. A replaced power management chip or charging controller is a new component fitted correctly to a board whose other several hundred components were never faulty. The repair carries a one-year warranty covering the specific component or circuit repaired.
Can any board fault be repaired?
No, and you will be told when it cannot. Very extensive corrosion, or damage across multiple stages at once, can pass the point where repair makes economic sense. That assessment comes with the diagnostic, before any money is committed to the work.
My device has already been opened by someone else. Is that a problem?
Not usually, and it is worth saying so up front. Knowing what has already been tried saves diagnostic time rather than costing it. Previous repair attempts are visible under the scope in any case.
How long does board work take?
Diagnosis happens within 1 to 3 business days of the device arriving. The repair itself depends on what failed and on component availability, and you get that timeline with the quote before approving anything.
Book
Get a second opinion before replacing the entire board.
Bring the device and any prior diagnosis or quote to the Massapequa shop. $40 diagnostic credited toward approved repair, typical diagnosis in 1 to 3 business days.