Microsoft Surface Go Dock Replacement

How to replace the charge port on a Surface Go 4.

In this blog we look at a Microsoft Surface Go 4 that would not charge in the dock, the USB-C charge port worked just fine. Just so you know the dock is the slot on the side of the device where the charger connects. Although this blog is aimed at pros I am not recommending that you do this. iLogix Computer Solutions can not be held accountable for damage or injury, instead reach out to us and we will help.

iLogix offer device repairs for home and business keeping your devices working and lowering your associated costs.

With this repair we started by simply looking at the inside of the dock under a microscope, we could see that there was a damaged pin that was beyond straightening up with a pair of tweezers, this means that the charger could not make the contacts it needed, we therefore had to change the port.

The Surface Go 4 and Surface Go 3 use the same port, this will help when sourcing the part.

The dock is a soldered part, we need to carefully remove the screen by gently heating the edges to soften the adhesive, we then use specialist pry tools to carefully work the screen off.

Before you disconnect anything always start by disconnecting the battery and of course make sure it is not plugged in, with the Surface Go 4 this is done by removing two small philips screws just above the cells.

We remove the systemboard, remove the cameras and place the board in a soldering vice with the port facing down. We are going to use gravity. Add some leaded solder to the anchors and apply hot air at 450 degrees, high airflow, and be sure to keep the wand moving over the port until the damaged port simply falls off the board. Do not be tempted to apply force or you will rip the pads on the board making the repair a lot more complex.

After this is done wick the pads and anchor holes to remove any solder, clean with Isopropyl Alcohol and then add some soldering flux and apply new solder to the pads.

Pro Tips

This is not as easy as you may think.

I recommend two things here. On the new port the back pins are flat, using a pair of tweezers carefully point them upwards by just a few degrees and then apply flux and solder to the pins, the back flat pins will need to be elevated by just a few degrees to allow maximum contact with the pads on the systemboard. We have applied solder to both the pins on the port and the pads on the board. As with any kind of soldering flux is your friend.

The Surface Pro dock is magnetised to allow easy alignment with the charger. The magnets are usually separate so be sure to move them from the old to the new port or the charger will keep falling out, do this before you solder the port.

Once you have removed the damaged port mark it with a marker pen, it is not impossible to accidentally solder the faulty part back on.

Once you have tinned the pins on the new port with solder place the port on the system board, align the legs in the anchor holes and be sure it is level, hold in place with tweezers, then apply the same hot air settings being sure to keep the wand moving to prevent any melting or damage by the heat. Once in place and you are confident turn the board over and apply flux and new solder to the anchors to keep in place.

When this is done bring the back of the board under a microscope and look at the back pins, there is a gap between the port and system board that is just enough for this, gently use tweezers to check that all the pins are solid and none are loose. You will not be able to do this with the front pins as they will be under the port and you will not be able to reach them. Take a multimeter in continuity mode and probe the pins next to each other to be sure there are no bridges.

Re assemble and...... it's a fix.

You do not need to do this repair if you are in the UK. If you are a business iLogix Computer Solutions can take care of all you device needs, if you are a home user then its an absolute no brainer.

We will fix it. That's what we do.

Saving the planet one repair at a time.