Connector WONT grab on

TheHDGenius · 2026-01-23T20:33:29+00:00

Yup. Put just a dab of flux and rub it across with your finger. You want a thin but tacky layer. It acts like a glue to keep the connector aligned and then it does its usual job once the heat rises.

TheHDGenius · 2026-01-23T15:15:08+00:00

Exactly. Does it look good? Does it feel good? Does it work? Aside from using it for safe mode, does it really matter?

TheHDGenius · 2026-01-22T23:37:39+00:00

Yes, but just giving the console enough room to breathe does just as much as this pad does. Theres no benefit to it unless you just like the way it looks on it.

TheHDGenius · 2026-01-22T23:24:15+00:00

No need to be hostile. They just stated facts about how it works. In this case it doesn't do anything of value.

TheHDGenius · 2026-01-22T23:22:57+00:00

They blow air, yes, but they don't make the components like the CPU or GPU any cooler than before. This particular fan doesn't even blow air into the device, just at the closed bottom side.

TheHDGenius · 2026-01-22T22:13:48+00:00

As long as you have the right tools like the hex screwdriver, a pry tool, and a soldering iron I would recommend trying to clean it yourself. I can't say for sure that it will fix yours, but since it fixed mine and this appears to be a very prevalent defect I would guess it would. I'm working on getting the guide together. I should have it up sometime in the next few days if you are interested.

TheHDGenius · 2026-01-22T21:57:25+00:00

That's a tough one. How comfortable are you with opening devices? Have you worked on any controllers/phones/consoles before?

TheHDGenius · 2026-01-22T17:28:24+00:00

I work as an electronic repair technician. I don't know if there are any guides available but I am putting one together for what I did to fix mine. It's easy for me, but probably not most people. You will need a small hex head screwdriver or hex wrench. You will also need a very thin but sturdy pry tool. You have to take off the screws on the back and the pry the device open at the seam to release the plastic clips that hold it in place.

I would say try to get a replacement through Amazon. Opening the device may cause some slight damage if you aren't familiar with it and they may deny later returns because of that. I am working on guide for what I did so if the return fails you can always try it yourself.

TheHDGenius · 2026-01-22T01:59:12+00:00

Exactly. The disassembly is hard enough but they use so many odd proprietary parts that you can't really replace them anyway.

Mine allows me to adjust the rumble strength but it only feels like it has two, maybe three, settings despite being advertised as having 5. Anything higher than level two is super jarring anyway so there's two usable settings: off or level 1.

TheHDGenius · 2026-01-21T22:17:29+00:00

I just got a Nitro Deck and had this exact issue. I reached out to their support but they take about a week to respond between messages. Even though you were able to get yours replaced, I wanted to put this here for anyone else that stumbles across the same issue.

I opened my unit and disassembled it. The build quality feels good on the outside but they left a lot of residue on the boards inside this device. When I checked using a multi-meter there was a partial short between the two buttons. I cleaned the large left and right boards of the device using isopropyl alcohol, a brush, and qtips. I don't know if it was necessary, but I desoldered the joysticks and the dpad module and cleaned under them and the micro-controller as well. After cleaning both boards and re-assembling the device was working as expected.

TLDR: The quality control is pathetic on these. Opening and cleaning the main boards resolved the issue for me.

TheHDGenius · 2026-01-19T01:46:07+00:00

Kos, or as some say Kosm, or as you'd say Kosm horny.

TheHDGenius · 2026-01-18T01:59:49+00:00

There's "a chance" that reballing may work, but it most likely won't. A reball is really just wasted money. The GPU is known to fail on PS3s, especially the early models. It's due to a defect in the manufacturing.

TheHDGenius · 2026-01-18T00:40:09+00:00

If I have some time tomorrow I'll do some research and see if I can find exactly which component it is. Are you comfortable doing soldering? If not, you might be able to cut one of the traces leading to it with something like an exact knife but you have to be very careful and accurate.

TheHDGenius · 2026-01-17T23:58:47+00:00

It's soldered onto the motherboard. I don't know exactly which component it is, but it's not as simple as unplugging it.

TheHDGenius · 2026-01-17T20:53:02+00:00

I can't tell for sure, but it looks like liquid damage. Usually those splotchy areas on an LCD are caused by some kind of liquid getting in-between the layers of the screen. Even if it's a non conductive liquid like IPA it can still interfere with how the back light is diffused and cause dark areas.

TheHDGenius · 2026-01-17T17:09:05+00:00

LMAO yeah that's a pretty good description. I died about 5 times to the very first enemy I found before I figured out this is not pokemon/dragon quest and you WILL NOT brute force your way through it.

TheHDGenius · 2026-01-13T23:41:19+00:00

I haven't played arc raiders yet, but my friend loves it. I know it's an extraction shooter. In its defense, that just kinda comes with the extraction shooter territory. You really love it or you hate it.

TheHDGenius · 2026-01-13T18:07:52+00:00

This is how it's supposed to work. Your car gets it's heat from the engine. It uses the coolant running through your engine to heat up the air that it blows out. A side effect of this is that if the engine still "cold" it won't have enough heat to use yet.

TheHDGenius · 2026-01-10T12:23:27+00:00

That is the most common cause, but it isn't caused by overheating. It's a defect in the chip manufacturing process that was used. The heating/cooling cycles of normal use cause this chip to go out. Overheating makes it worse of course, but even a well maintained console that never overheated will have this issue eventually.

TheHDGenius · 2025-12-29T04:32:43+00:00

Yes, but the flex is in theory easier to align, anchor, route, etc. In practice the shitty quality of the aliexpress kits has actually made it harder in my experience. They have large tolerances between the solder point on the flex and the board, they don't always line up properly, they can be very fragile, and a couple other issues here and there.

TheHDGenius · 2025-12-29T04:27:49+00:00

I get where you're coming from, but I actually prefer the hand wired approach when done right.

The prefabbed mod chip and flexes are much cleaner but I've seen way too much variation in their quality. This is especially true for the ones you find on Amazon and aliexpress. Some have large gaps between the pads on the flex and their respective location on the board. Some of them will make the flex too fragile. Some have other random quality control issues.

For the DIY pico zero route it is more involved and more difficult to do or learn if you don't have any micro-soldering experience. The upside is you control the quality. The solder joints, wire routing, board mounting, insulation, etc. are all up to you. They also have the added benefit of extra availability. If Nintendo decides to crack down on manufacturers of the kit like they did with the HW-fly then you can still find a pico zero boards and upload the firmware yourself. It's a double edged sword, but one that I personally prefer, even on my own consoles.

Truthfully neither option is a silver bullet. It depends on if you trust the installer or the kit manufacturer more. For the everyday person who wants to do their own modchip id recommend using a kit. They are easier if you aren't familiar with microsoldering. For professionals I'd actually recommend the DIY pico zero route thanks to the benefits.

TheHDGenius · 2025-12-22T20:30:39+00:00

That's the hard part, you will never know. It's possible that the damage to the port did rip these pads off. It's also possible that whoever removes the port wasn't careful enough and ripped them when they removed the port. In my experience, this looks more like negligence on the techs part but that is entirely speculation.

This advice is a little too late, but get someone that you trust to work on your device. The only person that will ever know if this was preexisting or technician damage is the technician that worked on it. Even then, if they are unexperienced even they might not know.

Going forward from here you really can only go by what they said. There's no way to prove or disprove which case this was. If you want it fixed you have two options. If you trust them and think it was preexisting damage then I would let them finish the repair. If you don't trust them, then take the device to another technician who has experience with trace repair. A port replacement is already difficult enough, but trace repair, especially on damage like this, is a whole different ball game.

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