Laptops are becoming increasingly difficult to repair. But why?
And again I am publishing an article from a series of materials about laptop repairs. This is a hobby: I buy broken devices and repair them. Then I keep it, sell it or give it away. Over the course of several years, about a hundred laptops passed through my hands.
The problem is that technology is becoming increasingly difficult to repair. This is especially true for devices released very recently. What is the problem? There are several, let's discuss the main reasons. If I miss one, please discuss the omission in the comments.
No diagrams or boardviews
This is one of the reasons why even an experienced repairman sometimes can't repair a laptop. Of course, the more experience, the easier it is. However, with a diagram or boardview, the task is simplified, sometimes many times over. And a mountain of time is saved.
If there is no diagram, and the breakdown is not typical, then you have to look for a needle in a haystack. I have encountered this myself and watched several videos of experienced craftsmen on YouTube who say the same thing. Some manufacturers not only do not post diagrams in the public domain, but they try to do everything to remove them in case of leakage.
Of course, I won’t name the manufacturers, but these are not one or two companies. By the way, I can give MSI a compliment here. This company posts schematics, firmware, etc. on its website. Thanks to the developers!
Preventing companies from repairing
Yes, this happens. Of course, all this is presented as concern for users. Perhaps this is true, but the situation with repairs is still getting more complicated.
One example is the compound that is used to fill the bottom of chips from one of the Asian companies. It doesn't matter whether the laptop is expensive or cheap, the company uses black compound to secure processors, video cards, and memory chips on the board. It is claimed that in this way the chip “sits” more firmly and there is less chance that one of the solder balls will “fly off” upon impact.
But this leads to the fact that replacing a failed chip is extremely difficult. There are, of course, ways, but the risk that something will go wrong with repairing a laptop from this manufacturer is higher. When removing a chip, you can seriously damage the board and tear out, for example, contacts that are adjacent to the “balls” on the processor or video chip. There are craftsmen who do this without problems, and in 95% of cases I manage to remove the chip without damage, and if there is any, it can be restored.
However, this increases the repair time and the risk of chip damage. In a negative scenario, you will have to buy a new one, which is not always advisable. Does such “protection” improve the reliability of laptops? It seems to me not particularly, the percentage of Lenovo with failed chips, including that very “dump”, is no less than that of other manufacturers.
The second example is pouring glue over everything. Previously, Microsoft suffered from this with its Surface lineup. But now it's gone. On the contrary, the Redmond corporation began to be praised by supporters of the “right to repair”, since the design of its devices now increases repairability.
There are other tricks of manufacturers, such as the absence of component names on their surface, installation of not very reliable chips (not necessarily for the purpose of reducing production costs), etc. If you know of such, tell us in the comments.
The third example is an overly complex board with illogical placement of components. This doesn’t happen so often, but still: some motherboards were designed in an unclear way. They often work well. But if something breaks, it can be difficult to repair: some manufacturers deviate from generally accepted standards and create something of their own, which, as they say, the devil himself can break.
The emergence of “combines”
We are talking about hybrid chips, where the processor and hub are placed on one substrate. This saves space, which allows the board to be made smaller. But at the same time, such chips are quite expensive. Of course, we are talking about more or less productive microcircuits. In addition, replacing a “combine” is more difficult than a regular processor or video card.
The thing is that their substrate is quite thin and easily deformed. When heated, it can bend in one direction or another, and then it will no longer be possible to solder such a chip – not all contacts will be soldered.
And choosing a replacement “combine” is more difficult, because the ordered chip may arrive already deformed. It will be much more difficult to prove anything to the supplier. We are, of course, talking about suppliers from AliExpress, where these combines are mostly purchased by service exchangers.
Unreliable case
Some laptop models suffer from excessive fragility. Hinges break, plastic of the case crumbles, some elements are deformed. The most problematic laptop in this regard that I have seen is the SVF15 series from Sony Vaio. But this is just an example.
Why does it become difficult to repair a laptop? Because parts for the case are quite expensive. The Chinese sell excellent components, I have bought covers and entire cases for gaming PCs more than once. It turns out to be expensive, but still, the repair is worth the candle.
But if the case of a regular laptop breaks, then repairing it may not be profitable. It’s very disappointing when you can fix a problem with the electronics, but there’s no point in repairing the mechanics.
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