BGA reballing stencil for phone chip repair

What is a BGA Reballing Stencil & When Do You Need It?

If you are getting into motherboard-level phone repair, you will hear the term BGA reballing stencil constantly. It sounds technical, but the concept is simple — and it is one of the most important tools for chip-level repair.

What is BGA?

BGA stands for Ball Grid Array — the way modern chips (CPU, NAND flash, baseband) connect to the motherboard. Instead of legs, the chip has hundreds of tiny solder balls underneath. When a chip fails or needs to be moved to another board, those balls must be replaced.

What does a reballing stencil do?

A reballing stencil is a precision metal sheet with holes matching the exact layout of a chip's solder balls. You place it over the chip, apply solder paste, and melt it — giving you a perfect, uniform grid of fresh solder balls. Without a stencil, reballing by hand is nearly impossible.

BGA reballing stencil for CPU chip

When do you need a reballing stencil?

  • Refurbishing phones: moving a working CPU or NAND from a donor board to a repair board
  • Replacing a chip: installing a new chip that does not come pre-balled
  • Fixing "no boot" boards: reflowing and reballing after a drop or liquid damage
  • Data recovery: lifting the NAND chip and reading it on a programmer

Stencil + platform = the full setup

For iPhone work you also want a reballing platform — a fixture that holds the chip in place while you work, with the correct position for each model. The platform plus the right stencil (CPU position, NAND position, model-specific) makes the job repeatable and safe.

Reballing platform for iPhone motherboard

What else do you need alongside?

  • Solder paste — high-quality paste like RELIFE or Mechanic 183°C paste flows evenly and gives consistent balls
  • Hot air rework station — to melt the balls evenly (700W+ with airflow control)
  • Flux — essential for clean, strong joints
  • Microscope — to inspect the balls before and after

Solder paste for BGA reballing

Buying guide: what to look for

  • Material: steel stencils last far longer than plastic; laser-cut is most precise
  • Thickness: 0.12mm is the standard for phone BGA work
  • Match your chip: stencils are model/CPU-specific (A12, A13, A18, Exynos, Snapdragon…) — buy for the chips you actually repair
  • Brand: QianLi, MiJing and AMAOE make reliable, precise stencils used by professional repairers worldwide

Browse the full range of reballing stencils and refurbishing tools at Repair Partners — wholesale pricing, genuine stock, same day dispatch from Melbourne.

Shop reballing stencils → · Hot air stations → · Solder paste & flux →

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