Lifted pads on through holes for microcontroller
Hi, while desoldering my microcontroller it looks like I ripped off the circular pads for 4 of the pins for the microcontroller, on the top side. Note the bottom side looks normal and doesn’t suffer this issue.
Is this a problem? How can I check that this still works before soldering on a new microcontroller?
2 Replies
Any advice @TyperAI
Yes, ripped pads are a problem as they break the electrical connection needed for the microcontroller pins to function.
To check, you'll need a multimeter. With the PCB unpowered, use the continuity mode to check if the affected nice!nano pin holes still have continuity to their respective traces or components (e.g., diodes for switches, or other points on the PCB). If the pad is gone, the trace connection is broken.
For advice, this is an advanced repair. You'll need to identify where the trace from the ripped pad leads on the PCB and attempt to re-establish the connection, possibly by carefully scraping the solder mask to expose the trace and soldering a wire (often called a "bodge wire") to it.
You can find more information on diagnosing pin issues in our troubleshooting guide: docs.typeractive.xyz/troubleshooting/rows-columns-not-working
Feel free to reply here if you have more questions!