Micro-soldering
Board-level repair under a microscope: finding and replacing the exact component, connector or trace that failed — the work most shops don't have the tooling for.
Trade-only mail-in lab · UK-wide
The board-repair bench behind UK repair shops
Soldersector is a mail-in micro-soldering and data-recovery lab for the trade. Send the boards, phones and drives you can't fix — we repair at component level, keep you updated live, and post every job back tracked.
Already trade? Sign in to your portal.
- Fixed prices from £35 + VAT
- Pre-paid tracked post both ways
- QR drop-off — no printer needed
- VAT invoices from day one
- Photo evidence at intake
- Pay on completion
Our bench books are full. We are not taking new jobs at the moment — open a trade account and we will email you the moment we are booking again.
What we actually do
Three services, one bench, every job photographed and tracked.
Board-level repair
Diagnosing the fault to a specific chip, port or circuit on the motherboard and repairing that, instead of replacing the whole board or writing the device off.
Data recovery
Getting files back from drives and phones that won't mount or won't turn on. Logical recovery works through the file system; chip-off recovery reads the memory chips directly when the device is dead.
Fixed prices, published before you send anything
No quotes to chase and no surprise invoices: every service has one price, and the price you order at is the price you pay. Nothing is charged until the job is complete.
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| Diagnosis and report Full bench diagnosis with written findings and a repair plan. No charge if the repair goes ahead. | £35.00+ VAT |
| Micro-soldering repair Board-level rework of ports, connectors, pads and traces once the fault is known. | £55.00+ VAT |
| Board-level repair Component-level fault repaired and tested, with a 12-month warranty. | £95.00+ VAT |
| Data recovery — logical File-system and logical recovery from drives, cards and phones. | £85.00+ VAT |
| Data recovery — chip-off Chip-off and emergency recovery for dead, encrypted or badly damaged devices. | £220.00+ VAT |
Diagnosis is £35 + VAT and is waived when the repair goes ahead. See the full price list and what each service includes.
More detail on what each service covers: board-level repair, micro-soldering, data recovery, and the liquid-damage first-hour guide.
Jobs we take every week
If it is board-level, send it in. These are the ones shops hand to us most.
- Completely dead — no power, no lights
- Boot loops and boards that won't POST
- Liquid damage and corrosion, including after a DIY clean-up
- No image, no backlight, no touch
- Charging, USB-C and HDMI port damage
- Data trapped on devices that won't turn on
- Damage from a previous repair — torn pads, lifted traces
- Audio, camera and sensor faults on the board itself
How mail-in works
Order the service
Open a ticket in the portal, choose the fixed-price service and tell us what's wrong. It takes about two minutes.
Post it in
We email a pre-paid tracked label. Show the QR code at any Post Office counter or use a parcel postbox — no printer needed.
Diagnosis and updates
We photograph the item on arrival, diagnose it on the bench and update your ticket live. If the job needs more than the fixed price, you get a revised quote to approve first.
Repaired and posted back
Tested, photographed, packed and returned tracked. Nothing is charged until the job is complete.
Note: we are not booking new jobs at the moment — join the waiting list and we will email you as soon as the bench has room.
Why shops send us their hardest jobs
Fixed, published prices
Every service has one price, on the site before you send anything. The price you order at is the price you pay — no surprise invoices.
Built for trade
Accounts, VAT invoices from day one and one ticket per job — set up for shops and resellers, not walk-in customers.
Component-level work
Microscope, schematics, BGA and trace repair. We fix the board itself instead of swapping it or writing the device off.
Evidence at every step
Photos on arrival and after repair, attached to your ticket. If a customer ever disputes condition, you have the record.
Live updates
Your ticket updates in real time as the job moves: received, in repair, complete, posted. No chasing for status.
One UK bench
Jobs stay in the UK from intake to return — no parcel forwarding, no offshore benches, no unknown third parties.
Questions shops ask before their first job
What is micro-soldering?
Micro-soldering is board-level repair under a microscope. Instead of replacing a whole board, the technician finds the failed component, connector or trace on the device's main circuit board and repairs or replaces just that part.
What is board-level repair, and why do other shops send it to you?
Board-level repair means fixing the motherboard itself rather than swapping parts. Most repair shops can replace a screen or a battery but stop at the board, so they send those jobs to Soldersector. We trace the fault with schematics and a microscope, repair it at component level, then test and return it.
How much does a repair cost?
Every service has a fixed price, published on our price list: from £35 + VAT for a diagnosis and written report up to £220 + VAT for chip-off data recovery. The price you order at is the price you pay, and nothing is charged until the job is complete. See the full price list for details.
Do you charge if a device can't be repaired?
Diagnosis is £35 + VAT and is waived when the repair goes ahead. If we cannot repair the device, you pay only the diagnosis — nothing is charged for repair work that did not happen.
How long does a repair take?
Most jobs are diagnosed within one working day of arriving at the bench and repaired within 2–4 working days once any quote is approved. You can follow progress live on your ticket, and the portal emails you when a quote is ready or the job is on its way back.
How do I post a job to you?
Open a ticket in the portal and choose the fixed-price service. We email a pre-paid, tracked Royal Mail label for the inbound leg — show the QR code at any Post Office counter or use a parcel postbox, so no printer is needed. The return leg is pre-paid and tracked too.
What devices and faults do you take?
Phone, tablet, laptop and games-console logic boards, plus hard drives, SSDs and memory cards for data recovery. Typical jobs: completely dead boards, boot loops, liquid damage and corrosion, no image or backlight faults, charging, USB-C and HDMI port damage, and data recovery from devices that will not turn on.
Where do you cover?
Soldersector is UK-wide. Jobs are posted in from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — from London, Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds to Glasgow, Bristol, Cardiff and Edinburgh — and every job is returned by tracked post.
Is customer data safe with you?
Photos of every item are taken on arrival and after repair, and they stay on your ticket so you can see exactly what we received and what we sent back. Data-bearing devices stay on our UK bench, are worked on only for the repair or recovery, and are returned or disposed of as agreed. Soldersector is registered with the ICO (registration ZA487291).
What warranty do you give?
Repairs carry a 12-month warranty on parts and labour. Data recovery is charged only when it succeeds: if we cannot recover usable data, there is no fee for the recovery work — you only cover return postage if you want the media back.
The books are full — join the list
Our bench is at capacity, so we are not taking new jobs right this moment. Open a trade account and we will email you the moment we are booking again — no commitment. Questions? Email jobs@soldersector.com.
Mail-in from anywhere in the UK — England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — including London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Bristol, Cardiff and Edinburgh.