Board and chip terms your technician uses when diagnosing faults at the logic board level — the most complex and serious category of phone repair.
Logic Board
The main circuit board inside a phone — equivalent to a computer’s motherboard. Houses the CPU, RAM, and all core chips. Damage is the most serious and expensive phone repair.
Microsoldering
Specialist repair performed under a microscope on the logic board. Replaces individual chips and repairs solder joints — enabling chip-level repair instead of full board replacement.
BGA
Ball Grid Array — the chip packaging used on phone logic boards. Chips connect via tiny solder balls underneath, invisible once assembled. Requires hot air and microscope to repair.
Reballing
Removing all solder balls from a BGA chip and replacing them with fresh ones. Required when solder connections are cracked or corroded but the chip itself is still functional.
Touch IC
The chip on the logic board that processes digitiser signals. Failure causes ghost touch or complete touch failure even after screen replacement.
IC
Integrated Circuit — a miniaturised electronic circuit on a chip. Every phone function is controlled by ICs. IC failure is the root cause of most board-level faults.
Face ID Module
The TrueDepth camera array on iPhones from the X onwards. Cryptographically paired to the logic board — physical damage means permanent Face ID loss at third-party shops.
Further reading
- Phone Motherboard Repair at BreakFixNow — chip-level logic board repair for all major brands
- Phone Repair vs Replacement: Cost Decision Guide — when board repair beats replacing the device