Those pixels lost their capacity to twist the liquid crystal inside of them in order to change the orientation of light that passes through them. Thats how you polarize light so it wont pass through the filter layer, which makes the black pixels. In short, its dead.
lcd screen cancer, its a mold that grows between the glass panels inside the screen :/ BUT! theres TONS of aftermarket screen kits you can upgrade with no problem, turing this pocket into a gameboy light!
Lol. It's anything but mold or cancer :P It's caused by microcracks in the glass panel itself or a bad seal between the two glass panels. air and/or water is all it takes to prevent the chemicals in those things from working. :)
@@Chriva its also caused by magnetism and other things, but the essentials of it is that the lcd pixel is stuck, you can massage the lcd to fix them. as that usually unsticks them in that position
No matter how exhausting your day, seeing my favorite Discount Markiplier and Lego Island-afficionado work some tech magic with his soothing commentary, always manages to brighten my day. Thank you for the entertainment, sir!
In the user community they tend to call this mark on the LCD "leakage" or "screen CANCER." They might be on to something... Something that sadly can't help the faulty screen itself. Also if you put the backlit screen, be aware that the power regulator is taxing itself quite a bit coupled with the small batteries. So even if the Pocket is stable after the screen mod, battery life will be absolutely wrecked.
One of my Pocket units had something like this on the edge of the screen... which just disappeared after a few days of use. The "cancer" talk is only getting weirder.
@@twentysixbit Not really - backlighting is quite power intensive, especially in such a small space where you can't use some of the techniques used by larger displays like edge-lighting
Tip for future desoldering: Be more generous with the desoldering mesh! Don't only work with the tip of the mesh. If you use the middle of the mesh, it can absorb the solder in two direction instead of only one ;)
@Clarissa 1986 I don't know. Back when I was first learning to solder, I absolutely roasted some components, and they still worked. I don't recommend it, but they can handle some pretty serious stupidity. Lol
Not sure if anyone has commented this yet but it looks like to me that the LCD itself is damaged. The pixels themselves have somehow been damaged and when that happens with LCDs there is no saving them, it’s just e-waste now. Sorry.
Luckily the Gameboy is not e-waste thanks to the modding community. I just wish someone would make a replacement b&w LCD the same or similar to the OEM display to keep everything feeling original.
I've seen marks like that in old black and white LCDs before, and even some new ones after they've experienced a physical shock (been dropped, etc). So maybe it's some kind of damage to the LCD itsself cause by physical shock?
Had the same ishue when i pluged 9 volts to a lcd by mistake. There is not much that can brake in a lcd screen. So that is what you most likely get when it gets damaged.
That's literally what happened to me last month. I commented this already, but I recently dropped my near perfect GBP and it created a few of those marks..
In my experience, moving parts such as switches are the first things to break, because the contacts get gunked up and corroded. This actually good news cause it’s pretty to easy usually, just clean it really well, you can buy anti corrosive contact spray, which is really useful.
Yeah my childhood GBA SP would sometimes turn/flash red even though it's fully charged or shut off randomly, even after putting in a new battery. It turned out to just be the power switch that was dirty on the inside. It's actually a pretty common problem with them over time.
I've normally experienced that kind of damage on LCD screens when they're exposed to shock, it's happened to a few of my multimeters, doesn't show straight away happens a few months to a year after the impact, it's like a microfracture that just grows a crystalline structure over time especially in cold conditions, sometimes by warming up the display to 60-70°c the marks will go away but then they reappear after a couple of weeks to a few months later.
I'm a complete newbie to this stuff and I managed to fix an old NES power switch by just taking it apart and cleaning it. That seemed way easier than trying to replace it!
A dirty switch is pretty common in GBAs as well. Sometimes, you don't even need to take it apart (the switch), just spray some IPA inside and keep moving it for 1 or 2 minutes.
I fixed some switches (toggle buttons?) in an old amp with WD-40 and a generous application of "pushing them all really fast". The buttons hold position and don't shut off any more so I guess it worked. Surface corrosion and/or dirt can really mess with old tech, so simple maintenance like that can save a ton of work and part swapping.
I love 3:36, "NOOOO! NOOOOO!" Great video, you never fail to make anything you do interesting. For the future, I'd recommend a product called Deoxit D5 for something like the switch. It's a contact cleaner that also has a lubricant. It removes corrosion really effectively and protects it afterwards. My theory on the LCD is that the crystals might have been damaged from an impact or something. I've seen something similar on a surface pro screen before.
Im, really glad that people like you make these videos where it seems to be unrepairable but end up repairing it This videos pbly helped at least one person and it makes me happy
@MattKC Thank you for making these videos. You've motivated me to self repair my broken hardware, and thanks to that my XPS 13 laptop and my ZOOM audio recorder live to be used another day!
I recently got a game boy pocket missing it’s switch (no clue how you even lose the switch) and this video saved me a lot of time of just realizing without an original switch I’m screwed so thanks for that
I just found your channel yesterday with the new video about PS2 and I gotta say, your content is gold. I never knew I needed this content until now...
Was screaming all the time: “just clean the switch” 😂 Thankfully you found out in the end. Switches only stop working because they either get dirty or corroded (common) or due to a shortcut (uncommon). Also for SMD components I highly suggest a hot air gun and not a solder iron.
It's okay, I use the flossers too. Holding regular floss sucks, and better that you're actually flossing than giving up because regular floss sucks so bad
So here's the thing, the first thing you should do with broken Gameboys when you repair them, assume the switch needs to be cleaned or replaced, that is one of the weakest and first things to get dirty
Hey Matt, Thank you so much for uploading this. My GBP had a different (very random) issue, but I was basically checking any toturial out there for any tips. I saw your trick on bridging the power switch and did that too to lower the complexity of my repair. This seemed to have been the issue on my unit though: very bad connections on the power switch. I reflowed everything and now my GBP is back in working order! Thank you!
Just found a video by "Hey! It's Andy" that fixes those dead pixels It's called "Dead Pixels and How Gameboy LCD screens work - The Epilogue" I just got recommended that video and was immediately reminded of your vid. Maybe try this out. In short, he said, that the crystals in the display may be oxidised and are therefore not conducting anymore and that may be why they are "dead". The fix he had, was to use a q-tip and kind of massage the dead pixels out. So scrub with the q-tip and force for a while in different directions over the dead pixels. But make sure to put something behind the screen to not damage it.
very entertaining video! A few specific tips tho: -Desoldring with desoldring wick can be easier if you actually tin the wick first, and use a liberal amount of flux on both the wick and contacts on the board (flux can easily be cleaned off with alcohol and cotton swabs, so there's no need to worry about overdoing it) The board can always be dowsed with alcohol and scrubbed with cotton swabs to get debris and baked on flux off, and the alcohol will quickly evaporate leaving a clean board. -For desoldering smd components like that switch, however, it can help to have a combination desoldering station with a hot air reflow tool, as that lets you liquify a large section of solder at once, while the components should stay in place due to surface tension (as long as you don't have the fan in the reflow tool too high and too close that is). They're not that expensive either! I think I got mine for under $40, and if you do even a mild amount of electronics tinkering you'll thank yourself for getting it. -For removing adhesive easily with no fuss, I like to use goo gone. It's a super effective adhesive remover that uses citrus oil, so it smells very plesant, and adhesives can easily be wiped off clean with a dry or damp paper towel. It breaks down the fatty structures in adhesive, but isn't abrasive like acetone, which can actually ruin some plastics (like cd jewl cases for example). Goo gone can also be cleaned off with isopropyl alcohol and swabs. -I know it's not the particular problem your screen had, but it can sometimes help with old non-backlit lcd's like this to hit them with a bit of heat and see if that fixes the problem. The original brick DMG gameboy is notorious for loosing entire lines due to solder inside the screen loosing connection, and massaging the glass careful near the ribbon with an iron, or hitting it with a heat tool in place can reset the solder connections and fix it. Just don't overdo it obviously as this can damage the components just like anything else.
I can't describe it but your videos are like no other, I always enjoy the stuff you make. I could probably watch you repair something as stupid as a microwave and it would still be fun to watch.
I usually prefer to buy systems that are just dead, as in they don't power on according to the seller but don't have any obvious visual damage etc. most of the time it's the matter of changing a battery or something simple, or in the case of my Game Boys it's often just a flaky power switch that just takes a bit of cleaning. Much cheaper than buying replacement screens and things like that
@@HKlink No I was talking more along the lines of a nintendo DS or something, I bought one that just needed a fresh battery. But I have bought a GBA SP and a GBC that both started working simply by spraying alcohol into the power switch and wiggling when they were initially listed as not working
So quick tip on those old TN LCD panels. _IF,_ and that's a big "if", you could get the outer protective layers of that screen apart, you can sometimes _massage_ out stuck pixels like that. It works on old PC monitors with stuck pixels, but those older TN panels tended to be kind of squishy, unlike the hard plastic on that gameboy screen. It is possible that you maybe could have massaged it straight through the plastic just right to get it, but I think that particular screen was done for. But, it you ever have an older TN LCD panel (especially color ones) with just a couple of stuck pixels, you can usually massage them with your thumb and get them unstuck. It's like that diagram shows, the pixels are turned on and off by those ladder-like structures twisting and untwisting, and sometimes they get hyper extended straight and cant twist back up with just electrical power, they literally need a little bit of physical force to nudge them back into a pliable shape! So if you have an older TN monitor or TV and you notice bright dots whenever the image is black, give that sumbitch a nice rubdown with your thumb!
I have seen similar marks on a GBA SP NES Edition. They seem to have been caused over a very long time by the heat and humidity of the tropic. At first these resulted in shifting of the angle of maximum visibility, and inverted colors. Now there are many dead pixels that look as if they had been ripped off the screen, at the areas where the damage is more concentrated.
"you can see the mark at some angles" Someone else has likely pointed this out already, but the reason this is, is because when light reflects off a flat surface it often gets polarized in some direction relative to that surface. That's why polarized sunglasses are recommended for people on boats (water surface).
Definitely liquid crystal damage. Also means it’s unfortunately unrepairable. But good thing you were smart and thought ahead and got a replacement. :D
In the past I've used contact cleaner to "fix" dirty switches without removing them or disassembling them. Just spray it in and actuate the hell out of the switch. I like the non greasy contact cleaner because it leaves no residue but both types are o.k. It works 99% of time. As always, great video! Everybody loves parfait!
My Ti-83 too suffers from that weird mark, I have no idea what it is but the device still works. Other than that, you are one brave man to fix your GB Pocket's switch like that.
I've seen screens with similar issues but I do remember there being a fix, but it's not fool proof. Just use a heat gun on low setting to get all the liquid crystals to go liquid and then cool.
Just watched this on 2x at midnight, picked up the main points. Hell yeah investigate that defunct screen some more, maybe try use heat to peel the compacted layers? Hell you have a replacement so even if the investigation makes the old screen useless it's still going to be an interesting search
I live in the same country as yourself. When you stated finding a dead gameboy for cheap! Lucky. Even faulty ones are ridiculous in price. The industry has changed
Thats a common issue with dirt in the gameboy if you put ipa in the switch and turn it on and off a few times it fixes it, you dont even have to open it
it looks like it's pressure damage. Basically, someone had an object against the screen at some point, which caused the crystals to be pushed out of alignment (or just outright broken), which can cause them to appear black. I've actually broken a couple of phone screens and seen the damage that causes simply because i had my keys in the wrong pocket with them. So, that's probably the issue. I doubt any particular solution exists, outside of either peeling those apart, and managing to re-align all the crystals correctly, or just replacing it. Something you could potentially do, however, though, I doubt you'll be all that successful, is to either rub on the screen (we're talking pencil eraser or rubber tipped stylus), and massage it back into place (though it's not exactly like a computer monitor so, it might not work, or work properly); or, you could attempt to charge the screen and have it flip through each "color" (likely intensity, due to being a black and white display) rapidly, so as to re-align the crystals that way. In all honesty, the rapid flipping of colors for the display is likely your best chance at fixing it, but, it would just be better to replace the screen. Besides, if you've got a back-lit screen, you can improve your enjoyment with it.
Quite unlikely that there was any pressure as it'd have to get through the plastic front lens (and the air gap) without damaging said lens. It's more than likely just heat cycles + age + manufacturing defect. This is not a stuck pixel; this is physical leakage inside the display which cannot be fixed. Notice how it doesn't conform to the usual pixel grid at all, unlike the usual stuck or even dead pixels of modern panels.
With consoles such as Gameboy's, it's very difficult to source replacement parts without salvaging from other consoles. Gameboy headphone jacks are prone to corrosion, so the best course of action is to disassemble the switch completely. I'm seeing a lot of conflicting comments regarding the screen. People often call it "screen cancer" within the gameboy community, and most say that it's unfixable. There are reports of it occuring spontaneously, and getting worse over time. However, there is a user on RUclips named "Hey, It's Andy" who was able to remedy the issue on his Gameboy Light by applying gentle pressure on both sides, massaging the spots out, and perhaps reattaching the layers of the screen?
Oh yeah, you just need to top up the liquid crystal. 😆 I've seen this a tonne on LCDs over the years. Mostly in old Cisco phones that have been packed poorly for shipping and had something pushed against the screen too hard. My solution has basically been to swap it out with a working spare from a dead unit. Which is easy to find since they're so old they can die from being unplugged and plugged back in!
@@michaelepica3564 I mean the phones went from not working to working. Sounds pretty fixed to me. And considering it's $500-1,000 a pop to replace them, it's worth the 5-10 minutes it takes to swap out the screen.
That screen glue is a nightmare! I did a backlight mod on my game boy pocket, and the only thing which would actually dissolve that glue was a solvent which had been discontinued due to being carcinogenic. So yeah, maybe I have cancer now but I saved myself 30 minutes. Worth it!
For this particular display, the crystal is supposed to straighten out when a voltage is applied. Since the polarizers on either side of the crystal layer are polarized at 90 degrees to each other, for light to pass through it has to be twisted by 90 degrees between going through the first filter and the second filter. The "light" portions of the screen are where the crystal is at rest in its twisted state, the "dark" portions are where the crystal has been straightened due to an applied voltage. The crystal will normally relax back to its twisted state, but it can also be permanently straightened out by a high enough voltage. The bits of crystal on those pixels became permanently untwisted due to over-voltaging. There was probably pressure applied to the screen while the gameboy was on, allowing voltage to leak across the electrodes in the array, delivering too much voltage to the crystal above those electrodes and damaging those bits of the crystal permanently. The pattern is from the moment at which that high voltage randomly leaked between segments of the electrode array. Sometimes you can massage the crystal and it will come out because you're sort of smooshing around portions of the liquid crystal so that enough of the undamaged crystal substance will be above each of the electrodes in the array to respond correctly to the voltages.
The massaging trick can also work for stuck bright pixels on modern color LCDs (where the bright pixels are in the active state of the crystal rather than the dark pixels). Note that for stuck dark pixels on modern LCDs, the problem is likely that the electrode itself is damaged, e.g. due to impurities in the silicon wafer that the electrode array was grown on, so you can't massage out stuck dark pixels from a modern color LCD.
Just a random trivia i found out, a ds lite switch from aliexpress works on the gbc. Sure it technically is a momentary switch but the weight of the gbc plastic slider keeps it in on position.
Yeah that screen is a goner. Even if it was mould or fungi the pocket and colour screens are basically impossible to take apart. But the OLED screens are awesome, breathes new life into old systems like nothing else
Matt ive been with ya since you only had a thousand or less subs. I was surprised at how good you videos were for your sub count. This is more like it 😎 Im so happy for you man. Im from America, i love to tinker,im actually an oyster fisherman and I rebuild all kinds of stuff, metal work and engines, hydraulics and custom rigging on vessels. I love everything, all things tech and computers so needless to say kan i love your channel dude. Keep up the good work, don't be afraid to take sponsorships and make a couple bucks man. Maybe even a Patreon in the future. Just always be true to the viewers ✌️👌 Much love dude, namaste homie
For all the technical knowledge you have that I quite bluntly don't, the very first thing I thought when it didn't power on was, "Oh... the previous owner got gunk in the switch". I grew up in the 70s, where volume control dials ALWAYS had that problem... to ear-scraping effect.
As others have said, yeah that LCD is dead, could be a blown pixel with the liquid part bleeding over the divisions of the matrix, something pretty common on calculators
I actually have a modern 3.5" composite "rear view camera" monitor that had very similar damage to it. at some point, there was an impact on the LCD panel itself, damaging the crystals/matrix inside the glass layers. It still worked fine, but had visible dead spots just like yours.
Awhile ago I bought an original gameboy advance from mexico, and while it said it was fully working, it turned out to be starting on this same problem I desoldiered the shield and cleaned the inside, and it works well now!
I have a graphing calculator that has that kind of mark in the middle of the screen. If you press on it, it actually causes it to advance a bit, and recedes when you let go. Others have referred to it in the comments as "LCD cancer." It's definitely either air or leaking liquid crystal between the layers. I've never seen another screen do that before.
@ismattkc Thank you for making these videos. You've motivated me to self repair my broken hardware, and thanks to that my XPS 13 laptop and my ZOOM audio recorder live to be used another day!
A tip for people repairing these and older gameboys or newer gb-color. The wheels often go bad but you can actually restore them by simply dowsing them in isopropyl alcohol and turning them back and forth. I bet you the same would work with the on off switch as well. Just dowse the thing in IPA and turn the switch on and off repeatedly and after some of that let it dry. It helped me fix a few so I hope it helps someone.
That screen took a smack that wasn't enough to break the glass, but it did damage the lcd matrix. I had this happen with a phone I put in a cheap dollar store protective case. It had a magnetic clasp and wouldn't you know it, I drop the phone and the magnet gets driven into the screen. Had marks like that where the magnet had struck that gradually spread over time.
hey. just a tip for desoldering. im a noob aswel. but i bought a cheap desolder pump. get yourself leaded solder (important) set tempatures around 400c(800f) and put ALOT of solder on the contacts.. while holding the heat on it apply the desolderin vacuum and repeat
Man I miss being a kid Matt. Idk how much older I am then you but 1999 I was 13-14. I miss my old GameBoy color my mom bought me with my copy of Pokémon Yellow ☹️ I kept good care of my things I even had the boxes they both came in. And of course one week I wasn’t home, my asshole younger brother did something with them, I think he sold them for drugs. I’m so pissed of everytime I see a GameBoy or Pokémon red, blue or yellow 😢
Those pixels lost their capacity to twist the liquid crystal inside of them in order to change the orientation of light that passes through them. Thats how you polarize light so it wont pass through the filter layer, which makes the black pixels.
In short, its dead.
deez nuts
backlight mod?
it's*
@@CreeperPookie It's*
ratio + didnt care didnt asked + quote tweet + cancelled
so it's like dead pixels on a regular screen right
That LCD is dead, Jim.
You usually see this in cars where the cold/warm cycling + humidity does a number on lcd panels.
lcd screen cancer, its a mold that grows between the glass panels inside the screen :/
BUT! theres TONS of aftermarket screen kits you can upgrade with no problem, turing this pocket into a gameboy light!
Lol. It's anything but mold or cancer :P
It's caused by microcracks in the glass panel itself or a bad seal between the two glass panels. air and/or water is all it takes to prevent the chemicals in those things from working. :)
@@Chriva its also caused by magnetism and other things, but the essentials of it is that the lcd pixel is stuck, you can massage the lcd to fix them. as that usually unsticks them in that position
To boldly go where no MattKC has gone before...
This thing is cause by polarized film. This problem is common among gameboy pockets, just replace it and you are good to go
No matter how exhausting your day, seeing my favorite Discount Markiplier and Lego Island-afficionado work some tech magic with his soothing commentary, always manages to brighten my day. Thank you for the entertainment, sir!
Or is markiplier a discount MattKC? 😏
My car literally lit on fire today but today is still a good day bc Matty-boy posted
dude this is my first MattKC video and i deadass thought he was Markiplier
ahh is it a good day when discount markiplier with a dankpods accent uploads a video or what⁉️
@@ulisesrl0 You know it brother, high five!
In the user community they tend to call this mark on the LCD "leakage" or "screen CANCER."
They might be on to something... Something that sadly can't help the faulty screen itself.
Also if you put the backlit screen, be aware that the power regulator is taxing itself quite a bit coupled with the small batteries. So even if the Pocket is stable after the screen mod, battery life will be absolutely wrecked.
One of my Pocket units had something like this on the edge of the screen... which just disappeared after a few days of use. The "cancer" talk is only getting weirder.
Is it possible to reduce power draw in any way to counter that?
@@twentysixbit Not really - backlighting is quite power intensive, especially in such a small space where you can't use some of the techniques used by larger displays like edge-lighting
@@partycatplays Perhaps he could replace the battery terminal with a custom 4 slot? Do those even exist
@@twentysixbit that could be an option. Haven’t looked into it.
Tip for future desoldering: Be more generous with the desoldering mesh!
Don't only work with the tip of the mesh. If you use the middle of the mesh, it can absorb the solder in two direction instead of only one ;)
I find putting flux and solder on the mesh first helps significantly.
@Clarissa 1986 I don't know. Back when I was first learning to solder, I absolutely roasted some components, and they still worked. I don't recommend it, but they can handle some pretty serious stupidity. Lol
Flux. More flux
I drip liquid Flux on top. They make braid with Flux embedded I think. 🤔
Not sure if anyone has commented this yet but it looks like to me that the LCD itself is damaged. The pixels themselves have somehow been damaged and when that happens with LCDs there is no saving them, it’s just e-waste now. Sorry.
Thought the same
At this point, just buy a lit up screen and throw it in
Yeah I would say just replace the screen
Luckily the Gameboy is not e-waste thanks to the modding community. I just wish someone would make a replacement b&w LCD the same or similar to the OEM display to keep everything feeling original.
Why is it not possible to cut it up into multiple parts, and fit an a small section from a different screen (but of exact same type)
I'm not missing out on education-aiding sleep. This IS my education.
you are missing out on DEEZ NUTS
@@paliszarok wtf
@@paliszarok u Sus 😑
Same
I've seen marks like that in old black and white LCDs before, and even some new ones after they've experienced a physical shock (been dropped, etc). So maybe it's some kind of damage to the LCD itsself cause by physical shock?
The crystals can't twist here anymore, that could be anything
Some people say it's because of humidity, or more believable rapid temperature changes
Had the same ishue when i pluged 9 volts to a lcd by mistake. There is not much that can brake in a lcd screen. So that is what you most likely get when it gets damaged.
That's literally what happened to me last month. I commented this already, but I recently dropped my near perfect GBP and it created a few of those marks..
Yeah it’s basically dead pixels
Have i met you on instagram before?
In my experience, moving parts such as switches are the first things to break, because the contacts get gunked up and corroded. This actually good news cause it’s pretty to easy usually, just clean it really well, you can buy anti corrosive contact spray, which is really useful.
Yeah my childhood GBA SP would sometimes turn/flash red even though it's fully charged or shut off randomly, even after putting in a new battery.
It turned out to just be the power switch that was dirty on the inside. It's actually a pretty common problem with them over time.
Or just use alcohol. A drop of some and repeatedly switching the switch should clean the contacts enough
I'm glad you took apart the switch to clean it and make it work. The whole time I was like "just clean it!" I had to fix a PSP like that once
I've normally experienced that kind of damage on LCD screens when they're exposed to shock, it's happened to a few of my multimeters, doesn't show straight away happens a few months to a year after the impact, it's like a microfracture that just grows a crystalline structure over time especially in cold conditions, sometimes by warming up the display to 60-70°c the marks will go away but then they reappear after a couple of weeks to a few months later.
I'm a complete newbie to this stuff and I managed to fix an old NES power switch by just taking it apart and cleaning it. That seemed way easier than trying to replace it!
A dirty switch is pretty common in GBAs as well. Sometimes, you don't even need to take it apart (the switch), just spray some IPA inside and keep moving it for 1 or 2 minutes.
@@Stupetin helps you forget its broken?
@@Stupetin I might be a bit thick headed here but just in case you were being serious. IPA in this context means Isopropyl Alcohol :D
Came here to post this.
I fixed some switches (toggle buttons?) in an old amp with WD-40 and a generous application of "pushing them all really fast". The buttons hold position and don't shut off any more so I guess it worked. Surface corrosion and/or dirt can really mess with old tech, so simple maintenance like that can save a ton of work and part swapping.
This lol
I love 3:36, "NOOOO! NOOOOO!"
Great video, you never fail to make anything you do interesting.
For the future, I'd recommend a product called Deoxit D5 for something like the switch. It's a contact cleaner that also has a lubricant. It removes corrosion really effectively and protects it afterwards.
My theory on the LCD is that the crystals might have been damaged from an impact or something. I've seen something similar on a surface pro screen before.
how did you make a comment two days before it’s released?
Ummm 2 days?
@BrutalGoober oh thanks
@BrutalGoober no. Time travel.
Im, really glad that people like you make these videos where it seems to be unrepairable but end up repairing it
This videos pbly helped at least one person and it makes me happy
@MattKC Thank you for making these videos. You've motivated me to self repair my broken hardware, and thanks to that my XPS 13 laptop and my ZOOM audio recorder live to be used another day!
I recently got a game boy pocket missing it’s switch (no clue how you even lose the switch) and this video saved me a lot of time of just realizing without an original switch I’m screwed so thanks for that
These kind of damage to the LCD is called „Screen cancer“ and it renders the screen useless. I had this on my Pocket too
I'm glad you leave in your mistakes. Helps new people realize that it's just part of the game.
i'm always hyped for a new MattKC video, especially of this sort
this is the MOST technical video of a gameboy restoration, well done!
I look at the thumbnail.
I immediately see screen rot.
This is gonna be an interesting series.
I just found your channel yesterday with the new video about PS2 and I gotta say, your content is gold. I never knew I needed this content until now...
Was screaming all the time: “just clean the switch” 😂 Thankfully you found out in the end. Switches only stop working because they either get dirty or corroded (common) or due to a shortcut (uncommon).
Also for SMD components I highly suggest a hot air gun and not a solder iron.
I can’t wait for part two! I love seeing old stuff restored
It's okay, I use the flossers too. Holding regular floss sucks, and better that you're actually flossing than giving up because regular floss sucks so bad
So here's the thing, the first thing you should do with broken Gameboys when you repair them, assume the switch needs to be cleaned or replaced, that is one of the weakest and first things to get dirty
So rare to see someone fix up the Pocket. This is the video I've been waiting for. Really curious to see if you make any upgrades!
I love your work when I am tired seeing you work melts me to sleep
Hey Matt,
Thank you so much for uploading this.
My GBP had a different (very random) issue, but I was basically checking any toturial out there for any tips. I saw your trick on bridging the power switch and did that too to lower the complexity of my repair. This seemed to have been the issue on my unit though: very bad connections on the power switch. I reflowed everything and now my GBP is back in working order!
Thank you!
Just found a video by "Hey! It's Andy" that fixes those dead pixels
It's called "Dead Pixels and How Gameboy LCD screens work - The Epilogue"
I just got recommended that video and was immediately reminded of your vid. Maybe try this out.
In short, he said, that the crystals in the display may be oxidised and are therefore not conducting anymore and that may be why they are "dead".
The fix he had, was to use a q-tip and kind of massage the dead pixels out. So scrub with the q-tip and force for a while in different directions over the dead pixels. But make sure to put something behind the screen to not damage it.
The link to the video:
ruclips.net/video/HKV2xfZBkMo/видео.html
very entertaining video!
A few specific tips tho:
-Desoldring with desoldring wick can be easier if you actually tin the wick first, and use a liberal amount of flux on both the wick and contacts on the board (flux can easily be cleaned off with alcohol and cotton swabs, so there's no need to worry about overdoing it)
The board can always be dowsed with alcohol and scrubbed with cotton swabs to get debris and baked on flux off, and the alcohol will quickly evaporate leaving a clean board.
-For desoldering smd components like that switch, however, it can help to have a combination desoldering station with a hot air reflow tool, as that lets you liquify a large section of solder at once, while the components should stay in place due to surface tension (as long as you don't have the fan in the reflow tool too high and too close that is).
They're not that expensive either! I think I got mine for under $40, and if you do even a mild amount of electronics tinkering you'll thank yourself for getting it.
-For removing adhesive easily with no fuss, I like to use goo gone.
It's a super effective adhesive remover that uses citrus oil, so it smells very plesant, and adhesives can easily be wiped off clean with a dry or damp paper towel. It breaks down the fatty structures in adhesive, but isn't abrasive like acetone, which can actually ruin some plastics (like cd jewl cases for example). Goo gone can also be cleaned off with isopropyl alcohol and swabs.
-I know it's not the particular problem your screen had, but it can sometimes help with old non-backlit lcd's like this to hit them with a bit of heat and see if that fixes the problem.
The original brick DMG gameboy is notorious for loosing entire lines due to solder inside the screen loosing connection, and massaging the glass careful near the ribbon with an iron, or hitting it with a heat tool in place can reset the solder connections and fix it. Just don't overdo it obviously as this can damage the components just like anything else.
This Gameboy video turned me into a Gameman.
Strangely, this channel has not that much patreons.
Surely we can change that
Isn't it weird how back then knowing a ton about computers and that would be considered a nerd but now you would be a legend
I can't describe it but your videos are like no other, I always enjoy the stuff you make.
I could probably watch you repair something as stupid as a microwave and it would still be fun to watch.
I usually prefer to buy systems that are just dead, as in they don't power on according to the seller but don't have any obvious visual damage etc.
most of the time it's the matter of changing a battery or something simple, or in the case of my Game Boys it's often just a flaky power switch that just takes a bit of cleaning. Much cheaper than buying replacement screens and things like that
I desperately want to believe that nobody would sell a dead Gameboy that can be revived with new batteries. Surely people can't be that stupid.
@@HKlink No I was talking more along the lines of a nintendo DS or something, I bought one that just needed a fresh battery. But I have bought a GBA SP and a GBC that both started working simply by spraying alcohol into the power switch and wiggling when they were initially listed as not working
Handy advice to keep in mind, thanks!
So quick tip on those old TN LCD panels. _IF,_ and that's a big "if", you could get the outer protective layers of that screen apart, you can sometimes _massage_ out stuck pixels like that. It works on old PC monitors with stuck pixels, but those older TN panels tended to be kind of squishy, unlike the hard plastic on that gameboy screen. It is possible that you maybe could have massaged it straight through the plastic just right to get it, but I think that particular screen was done for. But, it you ever have an older TN LCD panel (especially color ones) with just a couple of stuck pixels, you can usually massage them with your thumb and get them unstuck. It's like that diagram shows, the pixels are turned on and off by those ladder-like structures twisting and untwisting, and sometimes they get hyper extended straight and cant twist back up with just electrical power, they literally need a little bit of physical force to nudge them back into a pliable shape!
So if you have an older TN monitor or TV and you notice bright dots whenever the image is black, give that sumbitch a nice rubdown with your thumb!
I have seen similar marks on a GBA SP NES Edition. They seem to have been caused over a very long time by the heat and humidity of the tropic. At first these resulted in shifting of the angle of maximum visibility, and inverted colors. Now there are many dead pixels that look as if they had been ripped off the screen, at the areas where the damage is more concentrated.
when matt uploads a vid: a month has passed
when he uploads in less than a month: IMPOSSIBLE
"you can see the mark at some angles"
Someone else has likely pointed this out already, but the reason this is, is because when light reflects off a flat surface it often gets polarized in some direction relative to that surface.
That's why polarized sunglasses are recommended for people on boats (water surface).
Nice, a new video! Why am I writing this when I can just watch it now?
I'll watch this later today when i'm eating lunch.
Me too
Awesome video as always, Matt!
Definitely liquid crystal damage. Also means it’s unfortunately unrepairable. But good thing you were smart and thought ahead and got a replacement. :D
In the past I've used contact cleaner to "fix" dirty switches without removing them or disassembling them.
Just spray it in and actuate the hell out of the switch. I like the non greasy contact cleaner because
it leaves no residue but both types are o.k. It works 99% of time. As always, great video!
Everybody loves parfait!
legend is that matt is a tech resto god
My Ti-83 too suffers from that weird mark, I have no idea what it is but the device still works.
Other than that, you are one brave man to fix your GB Pocket's switch like that.
Haven't even watched it yet but I know it's gonna be a banger
Matt, thanks, I had a hard day, this upload makes things better.
“I’m pretty sure this is the first time I’ve replaced a part just to end up swapping the old one back in”
*cough* NES cartridge connector *cough*
I've seen screens with similar issues but I do remember there being a fix, but it's not fool proof. Just use a heat gun on low setting to get all the liquid crystals to go liquid and then cool.
Matt you're an absolute gem, can't wait for part 2!
Just watched this on 2x at midnight, picked up the main points.
Hell yeah investigate that defunct screen some more, maybe try use heat to peel the compacted layers? Hell you have a replacement so even if the investigation makes the old screen useless it's still going to be an interesting search
You were in recommendations and I’m hooked I csnt wait to tune in more
I repaired a gbc with help from your videos, thanks for sharing your videos; good vibes from Mexico ;)
I live in the same country as yourself. When you stated finding a dead gameboy for cheap! Lucky. Even faulty ones are ridiculous in price. The industry has changed
Love you Matt can't wait for part 2!
Thats a common issue with dirt in the gameboy if you put ipa in the switch and turn it on and off a few times it fixes it, you dont even have to open it
it looks like it's pressure damage. Basically, someone had an object against the screen at some point, which caused the crystals to be pushed out of alignment (or just outright broken), which can cause them to appear black.
I've actually broken a couple of phone screens and seen the damage that causes simply because i had my keys in the wrong pocket with them. So, that's probably the issue.
I doubt any particular solution exists, outside of either peeling those apart, and managing to re-align all the crystals correctly, or just replacing it. Something you could potentially do, however, though, I doubt you'll be all that successful, is to either rub on the screen (we're talking pencil eraser or rubber tipped stylus), and massage it back into place (though it's not exactly like a computer monitor so, it might not work, or work properly); or, you could attempt to charge the screen and have it flip through each "color" (likely intensity, due to being a black and white display) rapidly, so as to re-align the crystals that way.
In all honesty, the rapid flipping of colors for the display is likely your best chance at fixing it, but, it would just be better to replace the screen. Besides, if you've got a back-lit screen, you can improve your enjoyment with it.
You use so many commas
Quite unlikely that there was any pressure as it'd have to get through the plastic front lens (and the air gap) without damaging said lens. It's more than likely just heat cycles + age + manufacturing defect. This is not a stuck pixel; this is physical leakage inside the display which cannot be fixed. Notice how it doesn't conform to the usual pixel grid at all, unlike the usual stuck or even dead pixels of modern panels.
@@UChS4Dq15wHu8vkvWsaLzvPg Better than none whatsoever. I personally have trouble reading unpunctuated sentences.
Tip about the polarizer. It's comes off way easyr with warm water and a paper towel and place it on the screen and leave it on over night.
With consoles such as Gameboy's, it's very difficult to source replacement parts without salvaging from other consoles. Gameboy headphone jacks are prone to corrosion, so the best course of action is to disassemble the switch completely. I'm seeing a lot of conflicting comments regarding the screen. People often call it "screen cancer" within the gameboy community, and most say that it's unfixable. There are reports of it occuring spontaneously, and getting worse over time. However, there is a user on RUclips named "Hey, It's Andy" who was able to remedy the issue on his Gameboy Light by applying gentle pressure on both sides, massaging the spots out, and perhaps reattaching the layers of the screen?
Oh yeah, you just need to top up the liquid crystal. 😆
I've seen this a tonne on LCDs over the years. Mostly in old Cisco phones that have been packed poorly for shipping and had something pushed against the screen too hard. My solution has basically been to swap it out with a working spare from a dead unit. Which is easy to find since they're so old they can die from being unplugged and plugged back in!
so basically, replace it. thats not fixing the old part.
@@michaelepica3564 I mean the phones went from not working to working. Sounds pretty fixed to me. And considering it's $500-1,000 a pop to replace them, it's worth the 5-10 minutes it takes to swap out the screen.
@@UpLateGeek yeah that’s what he did
Fantastic video! Never seen an LCD do that. Can't wait for part 2.
Thank you for making restoration videos that have a voiceover and not just pure, ASMR style silence. I can't stand that shit.
That screen glue is a nightmare! I did a backlight mod on my game boy pocket, and the only thing which would actually dissolve that glue was a solvent which had been discontinued due to being carcinogenic. So yeah, maybe I have cancer now but I saved myself 30 minutes. Worth it!
Reason why i have to wait.
1. He makes his new video private
2. He adds captions
3. Then make it public
"in fact one of those scratches forms a name" comedy gold.
the "subscribe to MattKC" thing at the end always catches me off guard
I never thought one switch could cause so much trouble...
Ikr wtf!?!?
For this particular display, the crystal is supposed to straighten out when a voltage is applied. Since the polarizers on either side of the crystal layer are polarized at 90 degrees to each other, for light to pass through it has to be twisted by 90 degrees between going through the first filter and the second filter.
The "light" portions of the screen are where the crystal is at rest in its twisted state, the "dark" portions are where the crystal has been straightened due to an applied voltage. The crystal will normally relax back to its twisted state, but it can also be permanently straightened out by a high enough voltage.
The bits of crystal on those pixels became permanently untwisted due to over-voltaging. There was probably pressure applied to the screen while the gameboy was on, allowing voltage to leak across the electrodes in the array, delivering too much voltage to the crystal above those electrodes and damaging those bits of the crystal permanently. The pattern is from the moment at which that high voltage randomly leaked between segments of the electrode array.
Sometimes you can massage the crystal and it will come out because you're sort of smooshing around portions of the liquid crystal so that enough of the undamaged crystal substance will be above each of the electrodes in the array to respond correctly to the voltages.
The massaging trick can also work for stuck bright pixels on modern color LCDs (where the bright pixels are in the active state of the crystal rather than the dark pixels). Note that for stuck dark pixels on modern LCDs, the problem is likely that the electrode itself is damaged, e.g. due to impurities in the silicon wafer that the electrode array was grown on, so you can't massage out stuck dark pixels from a modern color LCD.
Q: What's happened to this screen?!
A: Someone was playing Game Of Life... and lost.
Just a random trivia i found out, a ds lite switch from aliexpress works on the gbc. Sure it technically is a momentary switch but the weight of the gbc plastic slider keeps it in on position.
someones been in here before?
IS THAT A DANKPODS REFERENCE
MATTTT KKKKKKKKKKKKKKK CCCCCCCCCCCCCC IS BACK BOISSSSSSS
Yeah that screen is a goner. Even if it was mould or fungi the pocket and colour screens are basically impossible to take apart. But the OLED screens are awesome, breathes new life into old systems like nothing else
Matt ive been with ya since you only had a thousand or less subs. I was surprised at how good you videos were for your sub count. This is more like it 😎
Im so happy for you man. Im from America, i love to tinker,im actually an oyster fisherman and I rebuild all kinds of stuff, metal work and engines, hydraulics and custom rigging on vessels. I love everything, all things tech and computers so needless to say kan i love your channel dude. Keep up the good work, don't be afraid to take sponsorships and make a couple bucks man. Maybe even a Patreon in the future. Just always be true to the viewers ✌️👌
Much love dude, namaste homie
For all the technical knowledge you have that I quite bluntly don't, the very first thing I thought when it didn't power on was, "Oh... the previous owner got gunk in the switch". I grew up in the 70s, where volume control dials ALWAYS had that problem... to ear-scraping effect.
Haha, yeah. That was the exact same issue I ran into with a GBC. Glad I left the review up.
Amazing, literally exactly the same fix I had to do like a month ago, but for the GBC.
I had a similar issue with a switch on a tape deck I repaired, where bad contacts meant that the audio signals weren't being passed through the switch
Dude thanks so much for this video. I had this exact problem and cleaning that switch fixed it.
Love how YT shows me a graph above timeline of what sheep like.
If Google...
As others have said, yeah that LCD is dead, could be a blown pixel with the liquid part bleeding over the divisions of the matrix, something pretty common on calculators
Always so glad to see your videos! Thank you for making them
I actually have a modern 3.5" composite "rear view camera" monitor that had very similar damage to it. at some point, there was an impact on the LCD panel itself, damaging the crystals/matrix inside the glass layers. It still worked fine, but had visible dead spots just like yours.
Awhile ago I bought an original gameboy advance from mexico, and while it said it was fully working, it turned out to be starting on this same problem
I desoldiered the shield and cleaned the inside, and it works well now!
I have a graphing calculator that has that kind of mark in the middle of the screen. If you press on it, it actually causes it to advance a bit, and recedes when you let go. Others have referred to it in the comments as "LCD cancer." It's definitely either air or leaking liquid crystal between the layers. I've never seen another screen do that before.
@ismattkc Thank you for making these videos. You've motivated me to self repair my broken hardware, and thanks to that my XPS 13 laptop and my ZOOM audio recorder live to be used another day!
My kneejerk reaction was to print the dark part of the switch with extended legs, didn't expect the original to just need a clean!
A tip for people repairing these and older gameboys or newer gb-color. The wheels often go bad but you can actually restore them by simply dowsing them in isopropyl alcohol and turning them back and forth. I bet you the same would work with the on off switch as well. Just dowse the thing in IPA and turn the switch on and off repeatedly and after some of that let it dry.
It helped me fix a few so I hope it helps someone.
Crazy that parts for it are still mass produced^^
Now thats right to repair
The pattern of dead pixels looks amazing
The item description for the switch you bought said: There are fitting problems for Gameboy Color.
0:50 “Hey Samantha we found your Gameboy!”
The switch issue made me think about Fantastic Quacks videos.
I does these videos where he tries to repair consoles, without new parts.
That screen took a smack that wasn't enough to break the glass, but it did damage the lcd matrix. I had this happen with a phone I put in a cheap dollar store protective case. It had a magnetic clasp and wouldn't you know it, I drop the phone and the magnet gets driven into the screen. Had marks like that where the magnet had struck that gradually spread over time.
Love your work brah!
hey. just a tip for desoldering. im a noob aswel. but i bought a cheap desolder pump. get yourself leaded solder (important) set tempatures around 400c(800f) and put ALOT of solder on the contacts.. while holding the heat on it apply the desolderin vacuum and repeat
That clap at the start. Good
I got notified three times on my RUclips app. This better be good òwó
Man I miss being a kid Matt. Idk how much older I am then you but 1999 I was 13-14. I miss my old GameBoy color my mom bought me with my copy of Pokémon Yellow ☹️ I kept good care of my things I even had the boxes they both came in. And of course one week I wasn’t home, my asshole younger brother did something with them, I think he sold them for drugs. I’m so pissed of everytime I see a GameBoy or Pokémon red, blue or yellow 😢
Is he dead or in prison now?