How to repair a defective USB stick in a convection oven

If a USB stick stops functioning abruptly, you might be able to save it. Try using it on another PC before deciding it is faulty. If it still doesn't work, you have two options to recover important data from the stick. In each case you must first carefully remove the pen drive's casing. Wrap the circuit board tightly using Scotch tape. In this way, the board is firmly insulated from contact with outside objects and safe from short circuits. Check if the drive works now. If the stick starts functioning again, quickly copy all data. If this does not prove successful, there is a possible last resort—but beware the device might thus be damaged irretrievably! Often, the solder holding the internal components together tends to get dry and does not make good contact. Re-soldering the entire circuit board is impossible by human hands because of the tiny SMD chips used.

This needs a wave soldering machine, which is not easy to procure. But you can use your oven at home to do the same work. Place the USB stick for five minutes in an oven preheated to 200° C. In this way, the solder melts a little and all contacts are strengthened. It is important that all plastic casing pieces be removed before popping the drive into the oven. If the memory modules are soldered
on one side of the circuit board, place these upturned. The plastic inside the USB plug should survive this effort unscathed. Once the five minutes are up, shut down the oven and leave the door open for cooling without moving the stick. After approximately 30 minutes, you can remove the pen drive and check whether it works again.