u/jrm97

I recently posted a patina Zelda Game Boy Micro restoration, and I wanted to show off another Zelda-inspired design I’ve been working on. This faceplate takes inspiration from the new Zelda-themed Switch 2 edition. I think it looks pretty good on the Micro, especially paired with the right shell and LEDs.
Always cool seeing how much you can do with such a tiny console.

Huge shoutout to retrogameEVO on Etsy for working with me on this design. I can’t thank them enough for helping bring this idea to life. They were great to work with, and I’m really happy with how the faceplate turned out!

This green Game Boy Micro came to me in pretty rough shape. It was severely corroded, had stripped screws, a broken aluminum shell, and a ripped Start/Select ribbon cable. The Start and Select buttons no longer worked, and neither did the L/R or volume/brightness buttons.

Here's everything I did to bring this little guy back to life:

Replaced the completely rusted-out power switch, which brought the system back to life!

Used steel-reinforced JB Weld to repair the broken aluminum shell and rebuild the stripped screw holes after drilling out the damaged screws.

Replaced the intermittent LEDs and resistors on the Start/Select daughterboard.

Swapped the original blue LEDs for yellow ones to match the Zelda theme. The yellow LEDs are meant to represent the Triforce, and I think they complement the green patina and Zelda faceplate beautifully!

Upgraded the battery to an 800mAh battery.
Replaced the completely corroded charging port with a USB-C port.

Replaced the L/R and Start/Select buttons with chrome aftermarket buttons. I carefully filed them down to match the factory button height and specifications so they feel and function like the originals.

Replaced the L/R and volume/brightness tactile switches and carefully filed them down to match the original switch height and specifications.

Repaired the extremely brittle internal frame, glued the broken pieces back together, and carefully reassembled everything.

So why go through all this work?

Honestly, this Game Boy Micro has developed some absolutely beautiful patina. It doesn't look like your typical green Micro, and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to turn it into something a little different.

I also wanted an excuse to experiment with different LED colors. I decided on yellow to represent the Triforce, and paired with the Zelda faceplate and the naturally aged green shell, I think it turned out beautifully!

What started as a severely corroded, partially broken system is now a fully restored, USB-C-modded, Zelda-themed Game Boy Micro with a fresh battery and a new lease on life.

So here's the end result! If you need your Game Boy Micro repaired or modded, feel free to PM me! I'm always happy to help keep these little pieces of gaming history alive.

Got a Game Boy Micro in from a customer that had already been looked at by another repair shop, but they weren’t able to figure out the problem.

The symptoms were strange: it would only charge a battery for about 5 minutes before stopping, and when powered on, it would run for a few minutes, start flickering, and then shut off completely. The battery had already been replaced, and a USB-C mod had been installed, but neither fixed the issue.

As soon as I opened it up, I found quite a bit of previous repair damage. The tops of the EMI filters had been burned with a soldering iron, and the screen ribbon cable latch had also been damaged by heat. The L/R and volume/brightness tactile switches were extremely intermittent, the USB-C port was finicky, and the power switch was also unreliable.

I started by replacing the tactile switches, installing one of my own USB-C PCBs from OSH Park, and replacing the power switch.

Then I found a break in the main PCB ribbon cable, as well as a break in the Start/Select ribbon cable. Both were repaired.
But the real problem was still hiding underneath the PMIC.

I discovered that two of the PMIC pins were shorted together when they absolutely should not have been. I desoldered the PMIC to investigate, and underneath it I found a tiny jumper wire that had been soldered to one of the pins and was physically touching the other!

I removed the jumper wire, cleaned everything up, and soldered the PMIC back onto the board.
And… viola! It works! 😂

I left it powered on for several hours and charged it completely to make sure the original charging and shutdown problems were actually gone. Everything is now working properly.

After that, I gave the board an ultrasonic cleaning and put everything back together. I also replaced all of the housing screws since the originals had been stripped from the Micro being taken apart so many times during previous repairs.

And to make this one even more worth saving, it has a fairly hard-to-find shade of red original faceplate.

Another Game Boy Micro saved! ❤️

This one came in with a torn Start/Select ribbon cable and needed a little bit of TLC:

• Repaired the torn Start/Select ribbon board
• Replaced all of the tactile switches for the L/R and volume buttons
• Cleaned up corrosion that was starting to form around the button pads
• Gave the entire board an ultrasonic cleaning
• Kept the original stock charging port at the customer’s request

Everything is cleaned up, repaired, and ready to go back to its owner.

Always satisfying bringing these little guys back to life.

Need your Game Boy Micro repaired? Feel free to contact me!

Picked up a Game Boy Micro that was extremely rusty/corroded. I tore it down and decided to remove the GBA cartridge connector to see what was going on underneath.

Sure enough, there was corrosion around several vias and traces near the connector. I cleaned everything up with a fiberglass pen, checked the affected connections, and soldered the cartridge connector back in.

And somehow… she lives.

Put everything back together and this thing is playing games again like nothing ever happened.

It’s pretty crazy how recoverable some of these boards can be with a little patience. What looked like a completely cooked Micro ended up being a successful resurrection.

Definitely one of those repairs that makes all the tiny scope work worth it. 🔬🎮

My latest Game Boy Micro build — a custom Final Fantasy IV Edition. ✨
Started with a restoration of the original unit and gave it a complete makeover with:
• Final Fantasy IV faceplate
• Blue housing with white buttons
• Chrome Start/Select buttons to make the status LEDs easier to see
• New L/R tactile switches
• New volume button tactile switches
• New power switch
• USB-C charging
• Ultrasonic-cleaned motherboard
• Thorough cleaning and restoration throughout
Really happy with how this one came together. The blue, white, chrome, and Final Fantasy IV theme turned out even better than I expected. 🎮✨

The Setup & Initial Repairs A friend sent me this Game Boy Micro for repair, and it was in rough shape. The original Start/Select ribbon cable was torn completely off, the side tactile switches (L, R, and volume) were shot, and the original trigger plastic buttons were heavily rusted and corroded.

• USB-C Reflow: Someone had previously attempted the USB-C mod, but it didn't work. I pulled the port back off the board, cleaned up the pads, and reflowed it properly for a clean, functional install.
• Flex Cable Fix: Bypassed the torn flex ribbon by micro-soldering 32 gauge enameled magnet wire directly from the main PCB traces to the Start/Select daughterboard.
• Hardware Swaps: Replaced the heavily rusted original trigger plastic buttons with fresh black ones to contrast the red shell. I kept the original Start/Select buttons because most aftermarket ones don't let light shine through to show battery status.
• Tactile Switches: I always solder the new tactile switches on last. That way, when the board hits the ultrasonic cleaner, it washes flux out of the entire board while it's still fresh.

The Post-Clean Surprise After finishing up under the scope, I ran the whole board through the ultrasonic cleaner to clear out fresh flux and flushed it thoroughly with 99% IPA. While testing the board afterward with a test cart, I noticed the Select button was acting intermittent. As I was pressing it during testing, the weathered button fell right off the daughterboard! I brought it back to the bench, soldered a brand-new tactile switch on, and cleaned up the area with a cotton swab and 99% IPA.

Reassembly & Shell Fit I put everything back together using an aftermarket red housing. Pro tip: buy pliers with rubber tips for bending metal, because most aftermarket housings aren't shaped exactly like OEM ones.

• Getting the shell back together was finicky, but it finally sat right.
• The inner frame was originally from a light blue console. I was worried it—along with the original light blue power and volume buttons—would look strange, but it actually turned out great (especially around the USB-C port).
• The black triggers look awesome against the red housing, and I was relieved to find they feel just as good as the originals.
• A few housing screws didn't want to go in completely straight, but overall I'd give the shell a solid B grade.

Result & LED Testing While the board was apart, I purposely swapped the wiring around for testing purposes only so I could verify both the blue and red LEDs worked separately. I didn't get a shot of the blue ones lit up, but once I confirmed everything was working, I wired it up correctly for final assembly. Flipped the switch, the blue LEDs lit right up, and the Game Boy logo booted cleanly with perfect response across all the new switches and jumper connections.

I was working on one of my Game Boy Micros when the backlight connector suddenly fell apart.

I looked around online for a replacement or a known solution, but I couldn't find anything that seemed to be a direct replacement. So I took some measurements of the original connector and went looking for one that matched.

I ended up ordering a Molex 5034800440 from DigiKey. It's a 4-position, 0.5 mm pitch, right-angle FFC/FPC connector, and the connector itself fit and worked perfectly.

The only problem I ran into was that the Micro's backlight ribbon cable is too thin for the new connector to grip properly. The cable would slide right back out even with the connector latched.

My solution was extremely simple: I cut a small piece of electrical tape, placed it over the end of the ribbon cable, and then inserted it into the connector. The extra thickness was enough for the connector to securely grip the cable.

It worked like a charm. The ribbon no longer falls out, and the backlight works normally.

There may be a more direct replacement out there that matches the original connector and doesn't require adding thickness to the ribbon cable. If anyone knows of one, I'd definitely be interested in it.

But for anyone else who has had their Game Boy Micro backlight connector fall apart and wants to try this method, this is the part I used:

Molex 5034800440
4-position, 0.5 mm pitch, right-angle FFC/FPC connector
DigiKey: Molex 5034800440 on DigiKey

Hopefully this helps someone else who runs into the same problem.

This Game Boy Micro came to me in pretty rough shape. The motherboard had what looked like coffee spilled inside of it at some point, and the corrosion had gotten bad enough that it actually ate through a via.

I started by thoroughly ultrasonic cleaning the motherboard, shell, buttons, and button membranes. After cleaning the board, I began inspecting it for corrosion and checking the affected circuits.

I used a known-working Game Boy Micro to run continuity checks and compare the board against a good reference. That allowed me to track down the broken connection rather than just blindly running jumpers.

I also used a fiberglass pen to carefully remove the solder mask around suspicious areas so I could inspect the vias underneath and make sure there wasn't any hidden damage.

I found one pad with four vias connecting together. Two of the vias had been damaged by corrosion, but the other two were still intact and providing the connection, so there was no need to add a jumper there.

I eventually found a via that had completely rotted away and was actually breaking the circuit. After tracing where that connection was supposed to go, I repaired it with a single wire jumper.

While I had everything apart, I also replaced all of the tactile switches for the volume and L/R buttons as preventative maintenance. These switches are prone to becoming unreliable on the Micro, and since I already had the board apart, I figured I might as well replace them. The switches are the same type used in the Nintendo DS Lite.

One other little repair tip: ultrasonic cleaning the board after installing the new tactile switches does a surprisingly good job of flushing flux out of the switches themselves.

After all of that, the Micro is now fully functional again.

I'm still working on the cosmetic side of the restoration, but considering what this thing looked like when I started, I'm pretty damn happy with the progress.

One thing I think is worth emphasizing with these repairs: multilayer boards require a lot of attention to the vias, especially on Game Boy Micros. Corrosion can get underneath the solder mask and damage connections that aren't immediately obvious from looking at the board. Don't assume a trace is intact just because it looks intact.

With Game Boy Micros becoming more expensive, I'd really like to see as many of these things kept alive as possible instead of being written off because the board looks too far gone.

Hopefully this inspires someone else to take a shot at repairing one rather than giving up on it. There are a lot of these old handhelds that are still perfectly salvageable with a little patience and some careful troubleshooting.