GPU repair service

I recently discovered a group called First Phase Technologies that offers repair services for those blasted iBooks for $50 plus the cost of shipping. They claim to have successfully repaired over 500 machines, but I'd like to get some feedback before I send my friend's iBook in for repair. What do you guys think?

I have not had dealings with First Phase but have seen them around for quite a while and they have been mentioned in other forums I think its probably safe if they have a phone number you can actually talk to them with and a physical address (not a PO box). Who knows they may have customers you can contact to see how their work has held up ...

I would assume that you are talking about a G3 iBook they were the worst with the BGA issues .. I have learned how to re-flow them my self .. its a tricky thing to do .. but can be done.

The G4's suffered from a different issue of an ic chip on the bottom losing contact on pin 1 and pin 21 (cant remember for sure) but that is fixed with a sharp iron and some flux .. the G4's did have some BGA issues with the video chips too bu its not as prevalent as the ic chip or the G3's video chips.

I know that was not exactly what you were asking but hope it helps.

csegeek said:

I would assume that you are talking about a G3 iBook they were the worst with the BGA issues .. I have learned how to re-flow them my self .. its a tricky thing to do .. but can be done.

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What is your method of re-flowing? I've seen a few DIY guides, and they do indeed look tricky and incredibly risky (although very effective I'm sure). I feel pretty optimistic about First Phase's repair service, but I'm wondering how much I should worry about this one section of the agreement on their repair form:

In some cases the chip itself has damage internally from an intermittent connection. This condition not repairable by resoldering the device.

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*****Do at your own risk .. I do not suggest this for the faint at heart where our beloved iBooks are concerned...*********

ok ... so I have about a 75% repair rate on these ... done about 20 of them .. so 5 did not hold ... but they will still work with a shim.. but not overly stable.. Don't Laugh .. this sounds like backyard shade tree mechanic stuff but works.

There is a bunch of posts and temperatures that people have stated you need to maintain..

the best procedure I have found ..(and I have used heat probes and all of the tech stuff none of that helped with success rate)

A heat gun, a quarter, and silver solder.. (or some type of metal the same size that conducts heat)

Protect the LCD screen and you should disassemble enough to get the hard drive out ... the chip is right where the hard drive is and if you cook the drive .. you will be doing more repair work than you wanted to .... and dont get close to the usb ports or any other plastic with the heat gun... it will fry and warp every thing faster than you think.


put the metal on top of the video chip directly with a bit of solder on top .. usually uses a glob of artic silver to conduct the heat.

start by heating the chip side about 5 inches away from the board for bout 30 seconds .. depending on how hot the heat gun gets..

you should have it close to a ledge so you can do the same to the bottom side.. 30 seconds or so ..

then start on the chip again..make sure the board is flat and level at this time. moving the heat gun closer ever 10 sec or so .. till the solder melts... if it melts too quickly you just got the heat gun to close to fast .. but just hold it there for another 30 sec to a min.. pull back for about another 30 seconds at 5 to 6 inches ...

Let cool.... for 30 min ... and test ..

Do at your own risk .. I do not suggest this for the faint at heart where our beloved iBooks are concerned...