Removing the shielding only took 10 mins more patience but revealed pristine chips underneath.

Using the USB cable on the port (for ease of probing), only resistances of 140k and 160kOhms were detected between pins 3 & 5 and 4 & 5. All others were off the scale.

To be absolutely honest, I have never seen N900's damaged chip that would "look" damaged (burned, or something) - it looked exactly like before damage. Although, some of them *smelled* as burned.

Otherwise, I'm out of ideas. Something definitely got damaged during repair attempts, but I can't pinpoint it for you (probably, wouldn't be able to pinpoint it even having board in my hands - lack of adequate probing equipment and/or knowledge, if damage isn't obvious).

/Estel

Anyone thinking of attempting a repair may care to watch this video, wherein someone replaces a USB port on a board from a different phone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBEbF5iciRI

hey guys, am going to attempt a fix today --

Am I right in thinking that the 4 main contacts shown in the pictures are just for communicating power, and not for transmitting data?

I showed my pcb to a friend of mine and he said repair was not doable because the 4 tiny data connectors at the *back* of the microUSB were damaged (only 2 were still sticking out out of the pcb).

Would sticking on a new microUSB and soldering just the main parts solve this? Or will I have to solder the 4 tiny data transmission contacts at the back too?

Cheers

@tetris11_, here is a post with a picture of the USB solder pads showing exactly which pad does what. It took me all of 2 minutes to find it.

In short: Yes, there are power and data pads.

^ I thankee kind stranger for the loss of your two minutes
-- so it's doable from what I can gather from the posts.... right.... will have a stab I guess...

There is the new universal Qi conversion receivers which plug the USB port and attach to the battery cover. Protects the port from falls and dust and also stays in place charging or not so there is not the wear. The port is only touched when used for an interface for USB mass storage or USB host mode; maybe if you need to save power when charging from a battery pod on a bus or airplane.
http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=93412

So last week, I pulled my USB cable out of my n900, and the unthinkable happened. I frantically scrambled all over these forums or a solution, but I have zero soldering knowledge, skills or experience, so I really didn't want to DIY it. I gave my phone to my uncle, who used to do these sort of repairs in a shop, who told me that the USB socket only has three rear prongs left (Whereas the inside of the phone has 5 of them).

He soldered the three that were left, but obviously that didn't do much good - My phone won't charge, and won't show up as a storage device on my PC. I'm pretty devastated to say the least!

Is there any way to recover from this situation? I saw that I can buy replacement USB sockets, but I'm not sure I want to bother my uncle again as it took him a week to even remember to get around to doing it (Not blaming him, just don't want to take anymore of his time). I'm considering just shopping around for an external battery charger, as I rarely use the USB connectivity anyway (Syncthing FTW!), but obviously I'd love my phone to be in 100% working order.

So, is it worth just taking the plunge and having a go at playing operation myself? The USB socket is teeeny, I don't even know of my hands are steady enough to solder those 5 prongs. Do external battery chargers exist, are they worth using, and are there any recommendations to make?

I have read through this thread, but I guess I'm just scared of ruining my phone even more. I think I'm going crazy without my li'l pocket computer.

If the pads are good have your uncle fix the problem properly with a new USB port, then go to this thread for the real solution to broken USB ports, inductive charging.
http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=93412

Won't help much if he want working USB connection after incident, not just charging

For the former, using testpads beneath battery is the working solution.