Symptom:
When I plugged it in, only the Eth4 LED lit up. Nothing else. No power light, no signs of booting.
Research:
I found numerous posts indicating a common fault for this router: the MT3125 voltage regulator IC. So I proceeded to order the IC to attempt replacement.
Repair:
I searched YouTube for videos on how to disassemble the router. I found this video helpful.
As expected, when I opened it up, there is a mini crater on the MT3125 IC:
When I pulled the faulty IC off, a few pads got ripped, but they seem to be NC(not connected) pads. I think 1 was ground as well, but there's a huge center ground plane so it doesn't really matter. The router was revived after replacing the IC.
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| Ripped a few NC pads |
I read on forums that the chip gets hot, and sure enough, when I use my thermal camera on it, it shows around 60-70 Celsius on boot. I stacked up a few pieces of my thermal pads so hopefully the heat can escape to the metal piece and not blow up so soon.
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| Reaches 63 Celsius seconds after powering on |
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| After adding thermal pad - hopefully it helps |
Other useful links:
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