Laptops intermittently failing pings to router

[mgeoffriau]

I removed the heatsink but there's not much to look at. Everything of interest is underneath the RF shields, which I have yet to figure out how to remove without destroying.

However, in the process of removing the plate RF shield on the back of the board, I noticed this:



Lots of dull solder joints, for one thing, but also a rust-colored discoloration in the top right corner (just north of the standoff), as well as some more discoloration just to the right of the largest chip in the image. Not to mention the odd borders of...what, corrosion?...around some of the solder joints (look at the group of 4 under the "U35" label).

 

[sfx2000]

Hmmm - that inductor/coil just west of the standoff looks a bit suspect, just due to the tarnish between it and the UART pins (to the edge of the board) - good luck finding a replacement for that part (100308VE3)

Just south of U35, not too much worry there, would have to see the other side of the board. Not seeing any signs of a cold-solder joint there.

Looking just to the north/northwest of D29 - that dust or something more?

 

[mgeoffriau]

Definitely not dust. I don't know what it is. The best comparison I could make is something like a dried layer of CA glue -- it's shiny but hardened, not goopy or sticky. And then there's that splash of color along the right edge of it.



Most of the joints look okay, but the worst of them are the pins along the top edge in the image -- hard to capture in a photo but in person they are a dull, flay gray.

 

[mgeoffriau]

I guess I'm going to save the heatsink and toss the rest. I can't think of anything particularly useful to do with the RT-N66U in its current state. It had a good run.

 

[sfx2000]

That looks like high current damage due to a short to ground...

 

[mgeoffriau]

Could be possible. Network equipment is all on a power strip but I couldn't tell you what the surge protection is (if any). Plan is to bring a UPS home from work (we cycle them out on a schedule and donate them, boss said I could take one) and put all the network equipment on that.

 

[RMerlin]

Plan is to bring a UPS home from work (we cycle them out on a schedule and donate them, boss said I could take one) and put all the network equipment on that.

Just make sure you replace the battery if needed. UPS batteries tend to have a typical life of around 3-4 years. Depending on the model, it might not be too expensive. Otherwise, just buy an entry level Cyberpower - that would be more than enough to handle your networking equipment. Mine was less than 100$, and gives me around 2 hours of uptime (covering modem, router, ATA and 8-ports switch).