Pixel 6a Tear down

[mustang7757]

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/202...ff-bendy-plastic-back-soldered-in-usb-c-port/

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[Stanley Kubrick]

For those who will want to use a dongle for wired headphones the soldered USB port is a big no-no. The added wear and tear between charging and wired headphone use "can" cause premature failure. YMMV

 

[mustang7757]

Yeah good point

 

[PowrDroid]

For those who will want to use a dongle for wired headphones the soldered USB port is a big no-no. The added wear and tear between charging and wired headphone use "can" cause premature failure. YMMV

Yeah good point

Why is a USB port that is soldered to the circuit board more prone to failure than one that is held in with screws? Seems to me something physically welded to the board will be less likely to come loose than one screwed to the board.

 

[rvbfan]

Why is a USB port that is soldered to the circuit board more prone to failure than one that is held in with screws? Seems to me something physically welded to the board will be less likely to come loose than one screwed to the board.

I think it's more about ease of repair as opposed to wearing out faster.

 

[PowrDroid]

I think it's more about ease of repair as opposed to wearing out faster.

I agree with you; Stanley Kubrick seems to think it could "cause premature failure." I'm not understanding why he would think that.

 

[fuzzylumpkin]

Why is a USB port that is soldered to the circuit board more prone to failure than one that is held in with screws? Seems to me something physically welded to the board will be less likely to come loose than one screwed to the board.

You would be forgiven for thinking that if you don't know much about electronics...

Soldering isn't welding, and solder is not intended to be load bearing. Even high quality modern solder can become incredibly brittle after several temperature cycles from room temp to the temps experienced by charging..

I've personally repaired several devices back in the day that experienced this. The Red Ring of Death from the old Xbox 360 is probably the most well known example.

 

[mustang7757]

My Nexus 5x was prone to usb replacement its soldered and done the repair couple of times have they made it better dont know can only speak for past as my others current device dont have issues and i dont know if they are soldered

 

[mustang7757]

Funny i still have few leftover usb ports

 

[PowrDroid]

You would be forgiven for thinking that if you don't know much about electronics...

Well, I do know a thing or two about electronics.

Soldering isn't welding, and solder is not intended to be load bearing.

You're right, of course. But how much of a load is being placed on it? There is virtually no way to insert a USB C cable incorrectly or have it wiggle once inserted unless the user deliberately tugs on the connector.

Also, I'm sure you are aware that solder connections can be very good and also very sh*tty. I had a high end Sony AVR from 2002 that constantly developed intermittent problems from cold soldering joints. Drove me crazy tracking them down. Finally gave up and got a new receiver.

Even high quality modern solder can become incredibly brittle after several temperature cycles from room temp to the temps experienced by charging..

Yes solder can get brittle if exposed to high heat cycles. But how hot is that connector area getting? I've attached some screen grabs from the tear down video showing the USB C connector assembly. The connector is (relatively speaking) spaced a distance from the battery. Sure, heat radiating off the battery will reach the USB port, but how high of a temperature will that area see? 120 degrees?

I've personally repaired several devices back in the day that experienced this. The Red Ring of Death from the old Xbox 360 is probably the most well known example.

Agree it can be problematic in some cases, but I wouldn't dismiss the 6a as being defective in this area just yet.

Also, I would submit that holding this connector in with screws allows for the connector to come loose eventually. And isn't that why repairs to the USB port are needed?

 

[PowrDroid]

My Nexus 5x was prone to usb replacement its soldered and done the repair couple of times

That's a bummer. Sorry to hear about this.

I would say that subsequent soldering jobs to replace the USB port will never be as solid as the factory solder job. Probably why it needed to be fixed multiple times. In fact, the soldering job shown in your photo looks pretty shaky to me.

 

[fuzzylumpkin]

That's a bummer. Sorry to hear about this.

I would say that subsequent soldering jobs to replace the USB port will never be as solid as the factory solder job. Probably why it needed to be fixed multiple times. In fact, the soldering job shown in your photo looks pretty shaky to me.

Wow... You're just going to slam Mustang's soldering work like that? You're lucky he's so nice haha.

A properly done soldering job by someone who knows what they're doing will always be better than the crap you get on factory lines, and will almost certainly use better solder.

Honestly I'm not interested in disputing this. I have no interest in the 6a and rarely even use the USB ports on my phone. I'm not saying the solder on the 6a port will fail, for all I know they're all hand soldered by professional electrical engineers (not likely). But you asked a question and I answered it. If you don't want to accept the answer that's fine, but it doesn't make it any less true.

 

[mustang7757]

That's a bummer. Sorry to hear about this.

I would say that subsequent soldering jobs to replace the USB port will never be as solid as the factory solder job. Probably why it needed to be fixed multiple times. In fact, the soldering job shown in your photo looks pretty shaky to me.

That because i beefed it up i was sick on replacing them and it held up

 

[PowrDroid]

Wow... You're just going to slam Mustang's soldering work like that? You're lucky he's so nice haha.

Oops. I have no idea who did that job. Sorry, Mustang.

A properly done soldering job by someone who knows what they're doing will always be better than the crap you get on factory lines, and will almost certainly use better solder.

Point taken.

Honestly I'm not interested in disputing this. I have no interest in the 6a and rarely even use the USB ports on my phone. I'm not saying the solder on the 6a port will fail, for all I know they're all hand soldered by professional electrical engineers (not likely). But you asked a question and I answered it. If you don't want to accept the answer that's fine, but it doesn't make it any less true.

My question was, "Why is a USB port that is soldered to the circuit board more prone to failure than one that is held in with screws?"

I'm not disputing your answer which was, "solder is not intended to be load bearing."

A better question would be "Do soldered USB ports fail more often than screwed in USB ports?"

So far we have one data point from Mustang7757.

 

[mustang7757]

Oops. I have no idea who did that job. Sorry, Mustang.



Point taken.




My question was, "Why is a USB port that is soldered to the circuit board more prone to failure than one that is held in with screws?"

I'm not disputing your answer which was, "solder is not intended to be load bearing."

A better question would be "Do soldered USB ports fail more often than screwed in USB ports?"

So far we have one data point from Mustang7757.

No problem i had found solution more solder preventing this from happening

 

[mustang7757]

Wow... You're just going to slam Mustang's soldering work like that? You're lucky he's so nice haha.

A properly done soldering job by someone who knows what they're doing will always be better than the crap you get on factory lines, and will almost certainly use better solder.

Honestly I'm not interested in disputing this. I have no interest in the 6a and rarely even use the USB ports on my phone. I'm not saying the solder on the 6a port will fail, for all I know they're all hand soldered by professional electrical engineers (not likely). But you asked a question and I answered it. If you don't want to accept the answer that's fine, but it doesn't make it any less true.

 

[fuzzylumpkin]

That because i beefed it up i was sick on replacing them and it held up

For the record, that was my assumption lol.

I too have been in the position where after the third time of a joint failing thinking "let's just stick as much tin as possible on this thing without it shorting and see how long it holds"!

 

[mustang7757]

For the record, that was my assumption lol.

I too have been in the position where after the third time of a joint failing thinking "let's just stick as much tin as possible on this thing without it shorting and see how long it holds"!

Exactly lol

 

[fuzzylumpkin]

Oops. I have no idea who did that job. Sorry, Mustang.



Point taken.




My question was, "Why is a USB port that is soldered to the circuit board more prone to failure than one that is held in with screws?"

I'm not disputing your answer which was, "solder is not intended to be load bearing."

A better question would be "Do soldered USB ports fail more often than screwed in USB ports?"

So far we have one data point from Mustang7757.

They do. Soldered everything fails more frequently than screwed in everything. Solder just isn't very durable, screws are.

Like it or not, there is only one reason for them to have done this... It's cheap.

 

[mustang7757]

They do. Soldered everything fails more frequently than screwed in everything. Solder just isn't very durable, screws are.

Like it or not, there is only one reason for them to have done this... It's cheap.

I agree

I think my Nexus 6p had a issue also with solder joint on the chip and would keep rebooting i put it in the freezer for hour or so it would keep the solder together until next heat build up from charging or temp and repeat process again lol