I am considering having an extra switch that I have repaired but I am avoiding it because I already had issues in the past when I needed technical support for other things. Nintendo support isn’t an option because they will replace it.
Could you share your experience when having services like these done here in Van and how everything went?
Thanks fellow lemmins!
I’m surprised to hear they’re repairable and not just throwaway.
It isn’t that most things are not repairable. It’s that it isn’t repairable economically.
For the company that produces the internal boards at “cost” it’s easier and more predictable for them to replace the part than pay a tech a 100 dollars an hour to maybe fix it.
It’s also a function of the entire cost of the unit. When someone pays 20k for a bespoke piece of equipment paying a tech to fix it is more attractive.
Could I interest you in a YouTube rabbit hole?
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The running theme is that you need specialist tools to actually do it. The upfront cost is large, Hot Air Reflow Station, full PCB hotplate station, video feed microscope. But the actual parts that go bad are rarely actually very expensive. If you buy bulk the most you’re paying is like $1-$2/unit at the absolute most, and for the stuff that goes bad most often you’re looking at sub $0.10/unit. Then there’s the skill level needed.
There are places such as Vancouver Hack Space that remove the need of having the equipment!
I love that more places like that are opening up, it’s an important resource for people who don’t necessarily have a budget to even buy cheap gear.
Not really a huge upfront cost IMHO. The hot air and PCB hotplate are relatively inexpensive on Aliexpress.
The microscope could be expensive, but it’s not really necessary - they just have them because they’re youtubers creating content.
Could just use a magnifying glass with a pair of “helping hands” to hold things for a quick repair, or a jewler’s loupe set (my dad gave me a cheapo set for christmas which works fine). I’ve modded my own game consoles (never needed a repair), and modding was super-simple.
Eh, I have really good eyesight, I use a helping hand and magnifying glass, and while it works it’s not ideal. I occasionally do trace repair, so that may have something to do with it.
It’s a common misconception that manufacturers do nothing to correct because repairs mean less sales of new devices. Hoping you mean recycle instead of throwaway though 😅.
If you watch some of the repair channels on YouTube they talk about lots of repairs. Many are very minor repairs that even a novice can do.
Where else would you throw it?
To many people, throwaway means into garbage/landfill, which is awful on all sorts of levels.