Replacing the HDMI Port & Cleaning a Cockroach Infested XBox One S

In this episode, we got more than we bargained for when we bought an Xbox One S from Facebook Marketplace!

I have been pretty outspoken in my dislike for Microsoft consoles over the years. I've never really liked the controllers, which has hurt my appreciation for the system. I also have been heavily invested in the PlayStation and Nintendo ecosystems, so adding a 3rd, well, wasn't needed. A few years ago my Father-in-law gave me an Xbox One Call of Duty system and, frankly, between the controller and just how slow the system was, I never used it. It also took up a lot of space, so I wasn't thrilled with having it in my cabinet. Then I found what I thought was an unbelievable deal on Facebook marketplace through a co-worker.

I was informed that a friend was selling an Xbox One S for only $50. The catch? It had a broken HDMI port and didn't have any accessories or controllers with it. I messaged the seller and coordinated things with her. You know what they say about things being too good to be true? Yeah, this was one of those situations.

When I picked up the system, I heard something rattling around the inside of the system. Having had customers bring in electronics with roached to the RadioShack store I ran, this was a familiar, if not dreaded, sound. Before I opened the system up, I did connect an HDMI cable to see if I could get anything from the system. To my surprise, it powered up! Ok, it worked, I might not need to replace the HDMI port, but I knew I had a rough cleaning in front of me.

Upon opening the bottom of the system, a handful of roach carcasses and dander fell out. BARF! But this was nothing! Getting into the system I was thoroughly disgusted with everything I found. Roach bodies, dander, droppings and more littered the inside of this Xbox One S. I placed the system inside a garbage bag and put it in my garage for over a week, where temperatures were below freezing. This was to kill any remaining roaches that might be living. Then, I stripped everything down, removed everything from the board, and proceeded to clean the system. I used a combination of IPA, Hydrogen Peroxide, and electronic component cleaners. I did this all in a well-ventilated area and let everything soak for several days. After this, it was time for disassembly!

Taking the Xbox apart was different for me. Instead of Security Bits, Microsoft opted for Torx bits. While not common in the USA, they are in the UK, and thankfully I had some Torx bits from some Schumacher RC cars I've built over the years. In short order I had the Xbox down to the main mother board, components in bins to be scrubbed, sprayed, and de-roached.

After soaking in my cleaning concoction and scrubbed, I began the repair process. The HDMI Port is less than $10 on Amazon, one of the reasons I agreed to pay what I did for this system. Looking at the HDMI port, it looks like the "spring tensioners" on the outside of the port simply loosened up. I debated about just squeezing the port closed again, but I wanted to fix this properly. Instead of using my Desoldering Iron, I actually had to borrow a hot air rework station from Adrian at Live Action Games to properly remove the old HDMI Port. After a minute of direct heat, I was able to remove the old port pretty easily. Installing the new port was also fairly painless, however, I did have to go over the pins a few times to ensure I didn't have any of the connections bridged.

Once everything was soldered in place it was time to reassemble the system. It was here that I noticed a TON of bug guts stuck under the massive heatsink on the system. I blasted the bejesus out of this with Dynamite Magnum Force electronics cleaner, and blew it out using a can of compressed air, all outdoors. "I didn't know there were roaches" kept wringing in my ear as I cleaned out this disgusting mess. "You ONLY paid $50 for it" is what I had to remind myself.

Once the system was dry, reassembly resumed. I noticed the front USB port was also mangled, so that will have to be a repair for a later day. If anyone know what port I'd need, please, let me know!

It took me a bit to get everything lined up and reassembled, as the different components (namely the hard drive and power supply) key into each other inside the system. I forgot where this one molded support was supposed to go, but I figured out it goes in front of the fan. From here, I got everything else in place and screwed together, and finished snapping the case together.

I connected everything to power and HDMI, pressed the power button and held by breath. I was pleased to hear the system turn on and the XBox splash popped onto my TV. With any sort of repair like this any of a number of items can go wrong, but this went perfectly. There are some future repairs, like the USB Port & Bluetooth Pairing button, but overall, for $56 with parts, this was a system I can use, or flip, and be good to go!

#XboxOneS #CockRoach #Infestation #ReplaceXboxHDMI