iFixit - Answers With Device "Game Boy Advance"

Game Boy Advance: How do I install a backlight LED in a Gameboy Advance?

Tue, 28 Jul 2020 11:33:35 -0700

I bought my son a Gameboy Advance only to be disappointed that it does not have backlighting as newer Gameboys do. There is also no contrast control on a Gameboy Advance so in some lighting conditions it is almost impossible to see the screen. I've heard that there is a way to install a white LED on a Game Boy Advance to provide internal backlighting. I'd love a step-by-step how-to.

⟐ Answered July 28, 2020 at 11:33 MST

Game Boy Advance: No power, clean battery terminals, F1 fuse works

Mon, 03 Jun 2019 08:32:10 -0700

I just recently got in two game boy advance units (AGB-001) from Japan and off eBay. Both units will not power on and I've tested good, working batteries. I've also opened up both systems and checked the F1 fuse located right next to the NEG power terminal. The fuse appears to be working properly. I've used a multimeter on continuity mode to verify that it's giving the appropriate reading.

The PCB also appears to be spotless. I've looked over the board, there is no battery corrosion. There doesn't appear to be any bad traces or burnt out or damaged components. Initially, I thought I saw the 2nd device flicker green and red in the power LED but I haven't seen anything since I initially tried turning the game systems on.

The only thing I could think is that the power switch might be bad. I'm not entirely sure how to test the power switch to see if it's working properly.

Does anyone have any idea what might be stopping this unit from powering on?

Thanks for any advice you could give!

⟐ Commented June 03, 2019 at 8:32 MST

Game Boy Advance: GBA can power-on once, and won't turn on again for a period of time

Thu, 22 Jun 2023 11:23:55 -0700

I purchased a lot of Gameboy Advance systems to refurbish, most of them couldn't power on due to degradation of the power switches. I bought some replacement power switches, and one system in particular is giving me trouble.

I replaced the switch on it, and it came to life, however I quickly found out that it stopped working after I had powered it off. I tried to power it on again, and only the power light flashed, one more time and nothing happened at all.

Thought it might have been an issue with the new switch I installed on it, so I replaced it, but I still have the same issue. I did swap through some various batteries, still no difference.

It has been sitting on my desk for awhile now, and I noticed that if I let it sit for a short amount of time, it will consistently be able to power on once again but only once, then I only get the power light to flash before the system is completely dead again.

What could this be? This is the only system out of the lot having this issue and im stumped.

⟐ Commented June 22, 2023 at 11:23 MST

Game Boy Advance: How do I replace the L and R mechanisms?

Mon, 23 Apr 2018 19:17:30 -0700

Hi.

My GBA's R button mechanism seems to have stopped working. It's not the plastic button, it's the thing on the motherboard. I've tried cleaning it with isopropyl alcohol and q-tips and blowing on it but it hasn't worked. I thought it would be the R button itself but after that I now know it's the mechanism itself. I think I'm going to have to get a replacement R mechanism and desolder and resolder the trigger back on. Any easier way that this can get fixed?

⟐ Commented April 23, 2018 at 19:17 MST

Game Boy Advance: Why my saved games in my game boy are suddenly gone

Thu, 18 Jul 2019 21:43:13 -0700

PLease help me because my saved games in my game boy are suddenly gone

No ,my Game boy saved games(the games that don't need cartridge it is saved in the game boy) .All of the games are deleted .Why?

⟐ Commented July 18, 2019 at 21:43 MST

Game Boy Advance: Gameboy Advance Sound Issues

Thu, 06 Oct 2016 11:03:52 -0700

Does anyone have any suggestions for fixing sound issues with the original GBA? The sound through the speaker and headphones is crackly at best and cuts out or is very very faint most of the time. I thought it was just the speaker at fault and switched that out but it's still the same.

Thanks in advance!

⟐ Answer accepted October 06, 2016 at 11:03 MST

Game Boy Advance: GBA not turning on when adding IPS screen mod

Fri, 03 Oct 2025 13:45:50 -0700

GBA not turning on. I've modded more than 10 GBAs and many other consoles, never had an issue. System worked when it was the stock screen. Here are the images.

Sound is faint when it turns on, but screen is black. Let the vendor know and they sent another screen, same issue. Not sure if there's something wrong with the boards or adapters.

Is anyone able to spot the issues?

⟐ Commented October 03, 2025 at 13:45 MST

Game Boy Advance: How to fix Start button

Sat, 02 Sep 2023 10:48:08 -0700

My Start button stopped working, which is a letdown, since all my game need the Start button one way or another. I wondered how could I fix it, and of course where to get the part to fix it.

⟐ Commented September 02, 2023 at 10:48 MST

Game Boy Advance: How can I get my gameboy advance bringerOk

Fri, 14 May 2021 20:38:45 -0700

When I put my game into gamesboy advance it not bright so how can I get it to bright

⟐ Answer deleted May 14, 2021 at 20:38 MST

Game Boy Advance: Why is my Gameboy Advance light flicker

Wed, 02 Sep 2020 13:24:07 -0700

when playing it, it will act normally. then the light will flicker and the game will reset to gameboy advance intro

⟐ Answered September 02, 2020 at 13:24 MST

Game Boy Advance: My screen is on but there is no display

Fri, 08 Oct 2021 15:00:01 -0700

So I have a GBA I modded and the IPS worked fine but now I notice that the Display isn’t working properly. I can tell it has power because the backlight is on and the brightness will adjust but there is no actual display. I’m fairly certain at this point that it is not the ribbon because I have repositioned and reseated it multiple times but with the same end effect. Also, I did install a Dehum/Dehiss kit in that it worked fine with before as well.

Game Boy Advance: Why won't my Pokemon fire red save?

Wed, 29 Oct 2025 10:00:17 -0700

Hello,

From the little looking around that I've done myself I've found out that these games don't rely on a battery to store the save files, so that can't be the problem. I've bought the game secondhand with my Gameboy advance about 5-7ish years ago, the game is in German (not my native language) so at the time I was younger and never really got out of the second town. Later I finished the game on an emulator(in English) so I can't recall if it had the problem when I first got it since I didn't speak the language and never knew what button needed pressing to save the game.

I'm able to save the game and it sais it actually saves it, but the number I presume is the amount of times uve saved remains standing on 0. After I restart my GBA I'm forced to go through the tutorial, I've tried it 3/4 times but no success.

Thx in advance for the work,

TLDR; FireRed will let me save but when restarted I'm forced to start all over again.

⟐ Answered October 29, 2025 at 10:00 MST

Game Boy Advance: Game Boy Advance starting up in black and white

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 03:08:29 -0700

I Bought a modded GBA, and it was working fine, but the screen was miss placed, so I opened it and put the screen on the right position. When I tested with the gba still open it was working fine, but after closing it, the screen now has no colors, everything else works just fine, it's only the screen that is now on black and white. I believe it's a IPS V3 screen. I tried re-opening, and checking for burned components, broken cables, but nothing.

⟐ Answer edited July 11, 2024 at 3:08 MST

Game Boy Advance: After fixing corrotion damage the unit stays dead, no current absorbed

Fri, 17 May 2024 06:19:39 -0700

I've got this junk Game Boy Advance, seller told me it won't power on.

The unit was suffering some corrotion and the battery contacts were gone. I replaced them with some parts from Aliexpress and I soldered. I then checked the ohmic contact between these parts and the power switch, and they are ok.

I finally cleaned up the board and checked for leaking capacitors, found no one. To my sight, there are no other signs of corrotion or damage elsehere in the PDB (I can provide some photos ofc).

I reassembled and I was largely optimistic, I must admit.

I connected to my bench powersupply and...nothing. The unit stays dead. And it absorbes 0 A, which is probably no good.

The question is: where and how have I to go to deeper testing the unit and where are the most common pitfalls, with the abovementioned symptoms?

tnx allot for your support!

⟐ Answer edited May 17, 2024 at 6:19 MST

Game Boy Advance: How should I remove rust on the battery terminal?

Tue, 27 Jun 2023 06:43:56 -0700

Hello! I just bought this Game Boy Advance today and noticed that there was rust on the battery terminal. It still works fine, but the power indicator light flickers from green to red, probably because of the poor battery connection. It is only on this one terminal, so I want to try to clean it off. What is the best way to do this without damaging the motherboard? I could also replace the terminal but I would rather keep the OEM one.

⟐ Answer accepted June 27, 2023 at 6:43 MST

Game Boy Advance: GBA turns on but has a blank screen and no audio

Mon, 09 Feb 2026 09:31:45 -0700

Hey everyone,

I recently acquired a broken GBA that initially didn't turn on at all. After doing all the normal cleaning up corrosion on the battery contacts, unjunking the power switch with IPA etc it now switches on, as indicated by the green LED, but nothing shows on the screen at all. I even hear a bit of noise from the speaker, so I know that works, however, it's just the *bunk* sorta sound you hear from turning the console on - there's no sound from the game or startup sequence. I should add that I hear this through the headphones too.

I've checked the ribbon cable connecting the screen and logic board and nothing seems amiss - I've also thoroughly cleaned both the ribbon cable connector and slot with no luck.

Any ideas?

⟐ Commented February 09, 2026 at 9:31 MST

Game Boy Advance: GBA Flickers on and turns off

Wed, 19 Feb 2025 23:13:16 -0700

This GBA Flickers on for a second and powers off. Not sure what the cause is but here's the things I've ruled out.

Capacitors have all been replaced
Battery terminals are clean and bring power
The power switch has been replaced and works
F1 fuse works
There is continuity from F1 -> 101 -> Q5

No idea what it could be so really hoping someone has the answer :) this is the target red edition so I would love to get it revived

-> here is the video on google drive since it wont load properly on here https://drive.google.com/file/d/150N2-g4...

⟐ Commented February 19, 2025 at 23:13 MST

Game Boy Advance: Gameboy Advance - doesn't turn ON (ON/OFF switch cleaned)

Mon, 03 Feb 2025 04:58:02 -0700

Hi guys!

I have this old GBA which doesn't work and I decided to try to repair it. There was battery leak inside and the power button was damaged. At first the gameboy didn't turn at all. I disassembled it, opened the power switch, cleaned it up and I now it's still not working (haha) but there is som led blinking for a while and just a milisecond buzzing sound from the speaker.

I have also tried to jump the switch ON pins with a wire to bypass the switch but the result was the same.

I have also checked continuity from + -> F1 -> 101 -> Q5

No screen at all...could you please help me what should I try next?

⟐ Answer edited February 03, 2025 at 4:58 MST

Game Boy Advance: Gameboy Advance Won't Turn on, but...

Tue, 12 Nov 2024 01:58:44 -0700

I have a Gameboy Advance I Attempt to turn on, and wont, but when I switch from On to back Off there is a quick green flash.

I've replaced the power switch twice. What could be causing this?

⟐ Edited November 12, 2024 at 1:58 MST

Game Boy Advance: Pads to solder don't exist

Wed, 21 Aug 2024 00:35:25 -0700

Hi team,

I have a problem, I have no where to add solder... Two middle pads are not there. I tried to add solder there but didn't work.

It's a gameboy advance board and power switch component. Is there a solución for this?

Thanks

⟐ Answered August 21, 2024 at 0:35 MST