Xbox Series X – HDMI Port Replacement Tips
In the above video, I replace an Xbox Series X HDMI port. This is a pretty straightforward repair, but there are a few things to note if it’s your first time:
Factory Glue
If the port has never been replaced, there will be a bit of black or yellow plastic/glue stuff holding the port down on the board. This can be deceiving, as it can make you think the solder is not melted yet when the only thing keeping the port on the board is this glue:
This can make it difficult to tell if the solder is fully melted, and you’ll need to apply more pressure than you’d normally want to in order to get the old port removed.
For this reason, I highly recommend mixing low-melt solder (not just leaded) with the anchor pins and HDMI data pins so you can be sure they are melted while you’re prying up on the port (something like this stuff). It’s a little expensive for how much you get, but it lasts a long time because you only need to use a tiny bit.
To make room for the new port, you can just heat it up with some hot air and cut it off with an exacto knife:
Clearing the Ground/Anchor Holes
After you remove the old port, it can be tricky to get all of the anchor points cleaned out. The board is very thick and disperses heat quickly, so it’s hard to clear them using only solder braid.
At 21:45 in the video I show you the trick I use to get them empty. It’s essentially just a combination of hanging the board off of the table, heating the solder up with hot air & soldering iron, and then using a solder sucker to clear the hole from the opposite side that you’re heating it from. It works wonders!
I normally don’t use my solder sucker, but it’s actually really nice in combination with hot air if you don’t have a desoldering gun. Don’t try using the solder sucker with just your soldering iron though, it’s very frustrating trying to get that to work. Hot air is your friend!
Extra Anchor Pads
Before you put on the new port, don’t forget to clean and tin these 6 extra anchoring pads. These really help to prevent trace damage down the road, especially since the new port is no longer glued to the board:
