Can you fix a bent/broken USB thumb drive?

My USB stick broke from me bending it. It's a Toshiba TransMemory ID USB 3.0 Flash Drive 32GB - Red, which is a FAT32.

When I opened it up and looked at the PCB, one of the 5 connectors on the PCB that connect to the USB head (the part you plug in) completely broke off. Besides that the PCB is stable and has no damage.

Can this be fixed?

Here's a picture of the part that broke:

[ The circled part is broken

[ Different Angle

Adowg

Posted 2015-10-25T02:33:10.987

Reputation: 21

1You don't have much to lose in trying. If you or a friend has soldering skill and a soldering iron with a very tiny tip, try to reconnect the contact. Be satisfied if you can get it working long enough to recover your files. – fixer1234 – 2015-10-25T03:04:46.723

Answers

Might try adding a dot of solder. Plug it in direct and try to copy off files. If it works, maybe you can fix or create new case.

webaholik

Posted 2015-10-25T02:33:10.987

Reputation: 121

Even though a little piece broke do you still think soldering could work? I thought I was out of luck – Adowg – 2015-10-25T03:05:36.457

just build a bridge the gap with solder if you can, might need some tin – webaholik – 2015-10-25T03:11:03.850

Soldering should work. – Journeyman Geek – 2015-10-25T03:35:09.553

Yes, it can be fixed. You'll need the following:

Microsoldering station
Solder and flux
Microscope (cannot do without it)
Steady hands
Some soldering experience is a big big plus

Basically you will have to figure out where each USB port pins connected to the circuit board. After that you solder a wire from the pin to the circuit board.

Here's an example:

How to fix a flash drive with damaged USB port

More details here.

Dan

Posted 2015-10-25T02:33:10.987

Reputation: 1

Yes, it can be fixed. The contacts are made of metal, and the metal is an electricity conductor: the information travels through the contacts, so yes, you can fix the USB memory by soldering the contacts, and you only need a pair of things:

A soldering iron.
Tin.

Jesús Hagiwara

Posted 2015-10-25T02:33:10.987

Reputation: 367

What I circled that would conduct electricity (the metal) partly broke, and you're sure soldering can work? – Adowg – 2015-10-25T03:08:22.273

Of course, I had this issue too, long ago, and I fixed my USB memory by soldering the contacts. The fixed device was a Kingston DataTraveler 8GB. The USB worked very well after the operation. – Jesús Hagiwara – 2015-10-25T03:12:17.560