iFixit - Answers With Device "Game Boy Pocket"

Game Boy Pocket: I don't find a new screen for GB pocket

Wed, 20 Oct 2021 19:31:49 -0700

Hi,

My name is Florian, I'm French. Thanks for your tutorial ! I can't find a new screen for my GB pocket on Internet..

Where do you buy new screens?

Thanks :)

Florian

⟐ Answer accepted October 20, 2021 at 19:31 MST

Game Boy Pocket: Gameboy Pocket Inductor Replacement

Thu, 06 Oct 2016 18:06:45 -0700

I have an old Gameboy Pocket unit that was dropped and does not power on. After disassembly, the only damaged part appears to be a polymer encased inductor mounted on the small sub-board in the bottom corner of the PCB. The polymer canister that holds the inductor coil is breached and the wire has become partially unraveled. The canister is labeled as follows:

066

I've done some looking around online, and I haven't been able to find anything about this particular part or how to find a replacement. The only option I've been able to come up with is scavenging an entire sub-board from another unit. Any help is appreciated.

Hope this helps.

⟐ Commented October 06, 2016 at 18:06 MST

Game Boy Pocket: Can I fix the dead pixels on the screen of my Gameboy Pocket?

Tue, 23 Apr 2019 15:34:53 -0700

I got this red Gameboy Pocket from eBay a few weeks ago for >$20. It had a completely clean casing, small scratches on the glass lens, but no rust or anything on the inside and works flawlessly. The only thing wrong with it, is that it has one tiny black spot on the screen. This issue resembles dead pixels, but I could be wrong. I was wondering if there is a fix for it or not. I have seen relatively easy fixes for dead pixels on color LCD's with back lights, but I am not sure if this applies to low-pixel-count monochrome LCD's.

Any feedback is appreciated,

Thanks!

⟐ Answered April 23, 2019 at 15:34 MST

Game Boy Pocket: GBP powers on with the initial startup chime, but screen is blank

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 02:16:32 -0700

Hi! I bought a Game Boy Pocket for parts to try and repair. The console powers on and I hear the little startup ding, but the screen is blank no matter how I turn the contrast wheel. And I don't hear sounds from the inserted game, so I don't know if that's loading.

There's definitely some corrosion on the board in the bottom left. I didn't want to scrub too much away yet though, since it looks like maybe the surface of the board is cracked? Is that cleanable?

One of the pins in the cartridge slot, all the way on the right when the back cover of the GBP is off, is higher than the others. Is this normal?

Any thoughts or insights are much appreciated!

⟐ Commented March 31, 2026 at 2:16 MST

Game Boy Pocket: screen displaying a horizontal line after I changed the polarizer film

Wed, 17 Dec 2025 07:01:30 -0700

A thin horizontal line has appeared on my screen after I changed the polarizer film. The weird thing is, I only desoldered the yellow ribbon responsible for displaying vertical lines(the flex on the bottom of the screen) and did not put any stress on the gray flex cables. The screen also looked new, without any cracks, tears, or any damage on the ribbons and the gray flex cables. The thin line appeared out of nowhere. I will post pictures later, but it doesn't look like something caused by the soldering but rather the grayish flex that leads from the LCD panel itself.

I've seen guides of the original Game Boy (the one that looks like a brick) that fixes this particular issue by heating up the LCD flex around where it connects to the screen with a soldering iron. Will this work on the Gameboy Pocket as well? Or do I have to buy a new screen?

⟐ Commented December 17, 2025 at 7:01 MST

Game Boy Pocket: Powered but screen and sound crash

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 06:27:52 -0700

Hey everyone,

I am having a problem with my Game Boy Pocket. Most times it boots fine but when I move it, shake it or press a button it sometimes randomly crashes.

With a game inserted, the screen either goes blank, shows one line, freezes or shows random patterns. The sound also cuts out.

Without a game, movement causes the console to reboot or the screen to go blank.

However, the power led stays on constantly, which makes me believe it is not a battery or power issue. Would greatly appreciate if anyone has an idea what the issue could be!

⟐ Answered September 09, 2025 at 6:27 MST

Game Boy Pocket: Game wont load / boot

Wed, 02 Oct 2024 00:50:15 -0700

My red Gameboy pocket won't load the game. I have 2 Gameboy pockets, red(broken) and blue (not broken). My problem is the game wont load once the title screen "Nintendo" comes on and chimes. After that nothing. The red Gameboy had battery acid corrosion, it didn't work at all, so I opened it up and cleaned it with IPA. Now this is where I'm at. I have swapped between the two Gameboys these parts. Battery terminals, Power Supply circuit board, Game Cartridge Slot, Blue Gameboy still works and red just the title screen. What else can I check / do?

It looks like pin 25's trace to the first VIA is not too healthy what do you think?

⟐ Commented October 02, 2024 at 0:50 MST

Game Boy Pocket: What’s wrong with this gameboy pocket screen?

Fri, 12 Jul 2024 05:23:03 -0700

I have a gameboy pocket screen with this weird thing on the side. It does not look like screen burn and I don’t know what exactly it is. Can anyone help me identify it?

⟐ Answer accepted July 12, 2024 at 5:23 MST

Game Boy Pocket: Value of the C12 capacitor in GBP

Sat, 10 Feb 2024 22:27:55 -0700

Hi folks. Anyone has a Gameboy Pocket motherboard schematic? A friend of mine tried to solder bivert module into it, but he has failed and the C12 capacitor is gone.

He asks me if i try to repair it, but i don't know the value of C12 capacitor.

Any help?

⟐ Commented February 10, 2024 at 22:27 MST

Game Boy Pocket: Replaced polarized filter but it shows nothing

Thu, 30 Jun 2022 00:54:17 -0700

Recently I decided to fix my old Game Boy Pocket because the polarized filter was burnt. I ordered a new filter and I removed the old one (I saw a few tutorials online).

After I removed the glue with alcohol, I was going to put the new polarized filter on. The problem is that it shows nothing.

I tried to rotate the film, to move the contrast wheel but nothing. I know it works because the screen goes black and then green but nothing.

I tried with and without a game insert on. The screen doesn't seem broken, even the ribbon cable seems fine.

What should I do? Can you help me please?

⟐ Commented June 30, 2022 at 0:54 MST

Game Boy Pocket: What else can I do?

Wed, 29 Jun 2022 12:28:56 -0700

Hi there, I have been trying to fix this Gameboy Pocket for a while now. I have cleaned everything on the board with rubbing alcohol, reflowed all the pins next to the chips, cleaned off some battery corrosion on the pins of these really tiny chips near the battery terminals, and replaced the battery contacts. But for some reason, the Gameboy will get power and a black bar will appear, 20% of the time, but no further. Won't play a game. I have a multimeter but need to learn how to use it. Any suggestions? This is my first project, I really want to make this work.

⟐ Answer edited June 29, 2022 at 12:28 MST

Game Boy Pocket: Why does my gameboy pocket only work when plugged in?

Sun, 01 Sep 2019 10:27:41 -0700

So i have this problem where my gameboy pocket only works when it's plugged in even though it has fresh AAAs AND i do not have the rechargeable battery pack. what do i do? p.s. i don't have a battery cover if that means anything

⟐ Answer accepted September 01, 2019 at 10:27 MST

Game Boy Pocket: Can something fix my gameboy pocket's battery compartment?

Thu, 27 Jun 2019 22:53:43 -0700

My gameboy pocket has had battery corrosion completely destroy it, is there anyway to replace or fix it?

⟐ Edited by author June 27, 2019 at 22:53 MST

Game Boy Pocket: My GBP turns on without a power switch

Sat, 22 Jun 2019 08:05:41 -0700

I've bought a GBP yesterday and it's got a problem: the power switch is not working and console turns on, when I put a batteries in it

⟐ Answered June 22, 2019 at 8:05 MST

Game Boy Pocket: Gameboy Pocket Boot Loop

Thu, 25 Jul 2024 12:42:05 -0700

My gameboy pocket is boot looping. The Nintendo logo comes on and so does the sound but then it does it again and again. What could cause this issue? All I have done is repair a broken via and replaced corroded battery contacts.

Also the power led won’t turn on so if you know how to fix that too I would appreciate it.

Thank you so much!

Game Boy Pocket: My GBP and it is not turn it on

Thu, 24 Feb 2022 07:10:47 -0700

I have a GBP and it is not turn it on, I changed batteries but doesn't work

⟐ Commented February 24, 2022 at 7:10 MST

Game Boy Pocket: Where to buy LCD in australia

Wed, 02 Feb 2022 21:11:35 -0700

Hi, i live in Australia and cant find an LCD for a Game boy pocket MGB-001. anyone know where i can find one?

Game Boy Pocket: GB Pocket boots but no Nintendo logo appears

Thu, 22 Oct 2020 02:11:42 -0700

I've been working on repairing this Gameboy Pocket I got and have slowly brought it back to life. When I got it, it wouldn't boot at all. Now, it always turns on without any issues. Now, however, I've found that it won't read games and when booting without a cartridge, the Nintendo logo doesn't appear, not even the black back that should be there. I've tried three different screens and have found the same thing. The contrast wheel works as well so I'm not sure what's going on.

Game Boy Pocket: How do I fix lines in gameboy pocket

Wed, 06 Jun 2018 02:07:42 -0700

I just bought gameboy pocket a week ago but the screen is very bad vertical lines every where

⟐ Commented June 06, 2018 at 2:07 MST

Game Boy Pocket: Value of Fuse F1

Wed, 11 May 2016 12:00:02 -0700

Hello.

Does anyone know which are the voltage and current ratings of the fuse "F1" for a GameBoy Pocket?. I can find it on Mouser, Newark or digikey? Any information will helpful.

Thanks.