Can a USB flash drive be repaired or recovered? In most cases, Yep! How do we repair a broken USB thumb bulldoze? Have notation, the data recovery method tin can be quite different if the wink media has just stopped working. In some cases, the metal USB connector might come loose or pause off. Assuming no pads are torn, this could exist an easy case for a practice-it-yourself project, merely many times this just isn't the instance. There is also the chance that someone with the wrong tools or experience can make the job more hard or fifty-fifty unrecoverable. If your data is important, you should seek a professional data recovery visitor. If you tin can't detect a reliable recovery lab near y'all and then ship it to us, we are always set up to provide fast and friendly service.

Here is the procedure we use at Blizzard Data Recovery.

USB 2.0 Flash Connector Broken USB Connector: Beginning, the pollex bulldoze is inspected under a microscope. If the connector is in ane piece, it is tested for continuity. If the pins are broken or information technology fails the continuity check, the connector is removed. This test is important because it'southward not uncommon for the pins to suspension within the connector. The next pace is to audit the pen drive's connector pads on the PCB. If the connector was loose or broken, the pads tin can exist torn or lifted. Nether a microscope, we tin can decide if the pads are still in skilful shape. If they are, we can reconnect the original working USB connector or remove the old connector and install a brand new one. Just don't exist surprised if there is more to it than just a broken USB repair.

Lifted or Torn Pads: If the pads are torn or lifted on the PCB then we have to supercede them. Annotation the path/trace in case the new connector is going to cover or hibernate the path from view. At our recovery lab, nosotros typically replace missing pads with a micro-thin copper tape that we cut to the correct width nether a microscope. We tin can too utilize pocket-sized magnet wire (or similar) to remake the connection path. Sometimes we see failed practice-information technology-yourself cases where the pads are lifted with the connector and the traces have been torn from the PCB. In these cases nosotros have to determine if it's more than practical to use wire or copper tape to restore the connection(s).

USB 3.0 Flash Connector Checking The USB Connection: Now that we have our pen drive connector and contacts repaired, we need to perform some tests with a multimeter. Using diode way, nosotros can check for shorts to basis and continuity on the power excursion. It helps to know the pinout for USB connectors before performing any tests. Refer to our diagrams for standard USB 2.0 and USB iii.0 pinouts. For USB 2.0, you want to examination for shorts to ground on VCC, D-, and D+. If you lot are working with a USB three.0 connection, you need to exam VCC and all differential pairs. If you lot have a short to ground, you tin can beginning by testing for a failed capacitor, assuming you have not created the brusque when you soldered the connector. 🙂

Non-Standard USB3.0 Flash Connector Checking VCC: In many cases, a USB stick will have some type of elementary protection circuit (SMD component). It could be a cypher ohm jumper, a resistor, a littelfuse, etc. You demand to cheque to ensure this type of protection device is not creating an open circuit.

Note: There are some less common iii.0 flash devices that employ a non-standard pinout, so beware. We have seen this on some PNY flash drives with Phison controllers.

If everything checks out, and so you tin can plug in the flash drive and recover the data. Or can you?

Case Study: Lexar 128GB with Croaky PCB (SM3267L-AB)

Adjacent upwardly: Monolithic Flash Memory Device Information Recovery.