Aura I broke my Kobo Aura N514 internal battery socket

[jan_axhell]

My Kobo battery started behaving weird, so I thought it was time to replace it. I bought one on Amazon, but the white plug had tiny plastic "wings" on the sides that were large enough not to allow me to easily insert it in the socket on the board, that eventually broke like butter. In the original battery those "wings" are next to invisible and could fit easily.

So now there are 2 tiny plates on the motherboard that someone with microelectronic tools and knowledge would easily weld to the battery cables, but not me. They are in an area less than 1 square millimeter large, as soon as I would melt tin, I would make a short circuit mess. And on Amazon microelectronic tools are more expensive than a Kobo.

I have bought a working used N514, so I'm not in despair, but I'd like to fix mine anyway, if possible. I've tried on ebay, but only found a few non-Aura models and watching tear-down videos on Youtube, it's clear each model has a different battery and socket. It's so frustrating to have a perfectly working device bricked by a tiny plastic piece.

Is there any viable solution to this (I do not consider official Kobo service, this is way out of guarantee and I'm sure they don't repair things)? Like replacement parts?

[JSWolf]

If you are in the US, you can find some Kobo Aura available for parts as the screen is broken.

[Quoth]

Someone that can solder, or a real service guy, (getting rare), can fix this easily in minutes.

[jan_axhell]

@JSWolf I'm not in the US
@Quoth Already checked in my city, nobody does SMD (this is what it's called this kind of electronics) for ereaders, only cellphones, tablets or big industry stuff.

Actually it's just missing a piece of plastic, with a spare one no soldering is needed, just slot it in and replug the battery. But it seems this devices are considered disposable. :-/

[Quoth]

This isn't SMD soldering. Just ordinary.

PM me if you are ever travelling in Ireland.

[jan_axhell]

Ha! Thanks, one day I will, but not anytime soon.
Ok, I'm not an expert: how do you tell SMD from non SMD? Aren't those tiny plates "SMD"?
I have soldered many things, like cables and circuits, but my welder is much bigger than those 2 plates. If I melt something over them, I immediately short them, they are so close to each other.

[Quoth]

SMD = Surface Mount Device.
The PCB is identical to solder to for wires or non-SMD devices. Really only BGA parts are tricky. An SMD resistor solders to two pads on the PCB. A regular resistor has wires through holes on the PCB and solders to two pads.
Only ordinary electronics soldering skill needed for simple SMD parts. ICs are harder and BGA needs a special rework station.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by jan_axhell

@JSWolf I'm not in the US

This is why it's a good idea to put in your location so when you ask a question that has a location based answer, you won't get the wrong answer.

Still try looking on eBay US and see if any of these devices ship outside the US. And also try your local eBay and see if any devices are available for parts due to a broken screen.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

This is why it's a good idea to put in your location so when you ask a question that has a location based answer, you won't get the wrong answer.

Still try looking on eBay US and see if any of these devices ship outside the US. And also try your local eBay and see if any devices are available for parts due to a broken screen.

Postage rates for outside USA are now atrocious. Also there will be duty.

[jan_axhell]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

This is why it's a good idea to put in your location so when you ask a question that has a location based answer, you won't get the wrong answer.

Still try looking on eBay US and see if any of these devices ship outside the US. And also try your local eBay and see if any devices are available for parts due to a broken screen.

I didn't notice the location profile entry, will check now.

Already checked for broken kobos before posting here. US, as already noticed, is not viable for postage and taxes.