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Chinese iPhone repair technicians double the storage capacity of iPhone Airs. Photo: DirectorFeng/YouTube . |
YouTube channel DirectorFeng, after a failed attempt and damaging his iPhone Air, finally succeeded in "reviving" the device. He upgraded the storage capacity from 256 GB to 512 GB, double the original.
Apple has created a barrier for those who decide to upgrade their iPhone Air's memory themselves using the soldering method. Specifically, after replacing the memory chip, the device will not recognize it when the user installs the iOS operating system.
However, DirectorFeng has demonstrated that overcoming Apple's hardware control barriers is entirely possible, while also revealing how Apple controls the hardware on its latest devices.
The community of phone modders in China has long been known for its ability to upgrade the memory of Apple products at a significantly lower cost than buying the higher-end version. To prevent this, Apple has implemented a new, ultra-precise chip soldering method on the newly released iPhone Air.
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Over a week ago, DoctorFeng failed and turned an iPhone Air into a "brick". Photo: DoctorFeng/YouTube. |
YouTuber DirectorFeng decided to test the limits of this new hardware control. In his first attempt, he tried replacing the original 256GB memory chip with older memory modules.
As expected, the iOS operating system failed to recognize the incompatible hardware. The phone was immediately locked, becoming a literal "brick."
However, refusing to give up, DirectorFeng eventually found the key to the problem. The process of disassembling the iPhone Air helped him identify a crucial detail: the phone's original 256GB memory chip was from Toshiba.
In his latest video , he confirmed that he successfully used a Toshiba memory chip variant called "S6E". This S6E chip is a newer and more advanced version compared to the "S5E" variant currently used in the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16.
It's possible that the older 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB modules used in the previous modification attempt were the S5E version and were not recognized by the iOS operating system on the iPhone Air.
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The key is to find the correct version of memory chip specified by Apple for your iPhone. Photo: DoctorFeng/YouTube. |
This content creator also pointed out that the basic iPhone 17 with 256GB of storage still uses the older S5E chip. Therefore, it's highly likely that the flash module used for the upgrade must be from a compatible chip series to avoid disabling the device.
DirectorFeng's success suggests that Apple isn't completely locking down memory upgrades, but rather creating a compatibility barrier. The system will only accept a specific generation of NAND flash chips, making it much more difficult to find replacement parts.
The video also reveals that the Toshiba K848 NAND module has the ideal physical size for this upgrade, as no additional adjustments are needed, such as changing resistors within the layer.
Ultimately, the YouTuber successfully revived the iPhone Air, doubling its original storage capacity. He stated that he will attempt to upgrade the onboard memory to 1 TB once he finds a compatible memory chip.
Source: https://znews.vn/lam-dieu-khong-tuong-voi-iphone-air-post1591403.html
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