Just woke up to this. It must have happened some time last night when I unplugged it last and didn’t notice.
I’m pretty confident that I’m able to replace the connector with a new one or even the old one. But I harbor an intense but perfectly rational hatred for microusb (doesn’t even deserve to be capitalized).
So I’m wondering if anyone has any experience with using USB-C replacements or breakouts to replace a microusb or similar footprints.
Usb-c has a different footprint, but I imagine you could used a unified daughter board as a breakout from the existing pads.
I think the only other option in an SMD package that would fit the same footprint as micro is a mini usb port, which may not be an improvement depending on your usage. A daughter board would work or a USB-C breakout board but it doesn’t look like there is a case to hide that in. Another option would be to solder the female end of a USB-C “extension cable” to the pads such that you’d have a couple inches of cable on the keyboard end. I know its not pretty or tidy (flush with the edge of the case) but it works and is very durable. I’ve done it to a couple prebuilts that came with fixed cables because I didn’t feel like carving holes in the case to accommodate usb c breakout boards. I have a keyboard with a similar exposed micro controller and your pics motivate me to throw a couple blobs of hot glue around the micro-usb port to hopefully avoid the same fate. Best of luck!
Is this a Pro Micro? I’d just replace the Pro Micro entirely. The pads may look like it’s reparable. You could try a port replacement, but it’s hard to say it’ll work out in an ideal fashion.
⇑ This 100%, you can maybe or maybe not fix the port but with so many newer controllers featuring a USB-C port why bother. Especially if your PM is socketed & not hard soldered to the PCB. I’d just replace it with an Elite-C or something similar & call it a day.
I agree, replacing it with an Elite-C is the easiest approach and ideal. The “why bother” for me would be if you have more time than money (like me). This looks like a trivial fix for anyone comfortable with a soldering iron, and even if it doesn’t work there isn’t much to lose since it’s already broken. Just seems a shame to throw away an otherwise functional mcu in the midst of a chip shortage.
re: MCU - can just keep the broken Pro Micro around for whenever the MCU could come in handy, or give it to someone who could have a use for it (namely someone who can effectively desolder and resolder the MCU somewhere else).
Indeed, it could still see life in another project.
