Memory upgrade for iPhone – using a soldering iron

Memory upgrade for iPhone – remove NAND memory using a soldering iron Completion and testing

Tightly glued batteries, components identified by digital serial numbers: many smartphone manufacturers make repairs difficult where they can. But the repair scene defends itself with inventiveness and makes even the most difficult operations possible. Memory is quadrupled or tiny controllers are soldered onto new spare parts in order to bypass software locks. We put it to the test and had the 64 GB flash memory of an iPhone 12 mini replaced with a 256 GB memory chip.

In contrast to many other components such as the battery or display, the iPhone memory is not coupled to the iPhone via a microcontroller. Unlike after replacing the display and battery, iOS does not check whether it is a new part after changing the memory. However, there are hardly any repair shops that carry out the memory upgrade because, on the one hand, the process is highly complex and, on the other hand, iOS recognizes that there is suddenly more memory in the iPhone. “We cannot guarantee that Apple will not take action against the memory upgrade in the future,” says Steffen Vangerow, chairman of the Repair Round Table and managing director of Vangerow GmbH, where we had the upgrade carried out. Vangerow sees resoldering the memory as proof that in principle everything can be repaired or even upgraded – even though manufacturers are making life increasingly difficult for repair companies.

Our iPhone 12 mini would have cost around 170 euros more with 256 GB of storage instead of 64 GB. The matching 256 GB memory brick from China costs around 50 euros if you buy it individually. The bill for a current iPhone 14 Pro becomes even more attractive. Apple’s price difference between the 128 GB and the 1 TB variant is a hefty 650 euros. For the iPad Pro with a 12.9-inch display, the difference between 128 GB and 2 TB of storage is an insane 1,380 euros. “Our workshop is like a laboratory. We research what breaks and which repairs are worthwhile,” says Vangerow. The memory upgrade for iPads and iPhones could be a service that can make money.

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