Chosen Solution
Hello all, I am experiencing the black screen issue on my mid 2012 Mac book pro retina. I will attempt to replace the chip myself but am unsure what flux to use? I would use some 63/37 0.015 solder I think. Any suggestions? Thank you! Update (12/12/2018) I have already done all software aspects of fixing it, verbose mode, safe mode, pram reset etc. I called Apple and they walked me through the process of the hardware test, which checked out OK. The senior supervisor said that I would need a new board, but I won’t spend $600+ to fix a 6 year old computer. I then found out that this is quite a common problem and saw the recall by Apple (which ended) and found Lois Rossmann’s videos on youtube where he shows how to repair them. He says what kind of solder he uses but not what type of flux. All he says its amtech brand and you can buy it on his website. They are out of stock for small quantities and even if they weren’t, shipping to Canada is crazy. All I need to know is what type of flux to use for board repairs like this, as Im sure there are different types. Here is one of his videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gH1gBRn…
Have you made sure the MacBook is actually turning on? Do you hear a chime? Does it show a dim image with no backlight? You can check this by shining a flashlight behind the apple logo.
Before worrying about soldering and flux lets make sure you diagnose the issue down properly. I would hate for you to play ‘Wack a Mole’ replacing parts willy nilly. Following a proper diagnostic process you should be able to isolate out what failed. Then worry about what is the repair correction. Lets work it out together! What is your problem and what happened just before. Did you try running diagnostics? The more you tell us the better! I tell you a secret! 50% of the problems I see don’t need any parts at all! 30% need a minor part (fuse, resistor, capacitor, etc…), ~10% need a major part (chip) and the last ~10% just wasn’t economical to fix.
