Apple is notorious for charging its customers a small fortune if they want to upgrade the inbuilt iPhone storage.
In almost any scenario, would-be iPhone-owners can expect to spend an additional $100 or $200 just for the comfort of knowing they’ve got plenty of room for all their songs, photos, documents and data.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could somehow upgrade our iPhone’s storage at home? Certainly it sounds like a daunting undertaking — and it is — but it’s not impossible!
Enter YouTuber, Scotty Allen, host of the popular channel, Strange Parts.
During some recent visits to China’s up-and-coming Shenzhen technology district, Allen learned how to upgrade the 16 GB in his iPhone 6 to a whopping 128 GB using his own hands and an assortment of expensive tools and software.
“I’ve been hearing for several years that this was something the repair shops here in Huaqiangbei could do, and I’d even seen one do it to a friends phone, so naturally, I had to learn how to do it myself,” Allen says, though he conceded “It was harder than I thought.”
In today’s video the YouTuber gives us a play by play breakdown of how he was able to upgrade his inbuilt storage by 800%.
What You’ll Need
If you’re serious about embarking on this journey yourself, you’ll need a Windows PC, a dedicated Flash Programmer and accompanying software (included), a 128 GB iPhone storage chip (which can most easily and affordably be purchased in Shenzhen, China) and other handheld tools described as in his video.
How to Upgrade iPhone Storage
“Basically just desolder the flash chip and swap it out for a larger one,” Allen quips, but the actual process (and methods involved) are much more tedious and time-consuming.
He noted that after desoldering the handset’s logic board and removing the memory chip, you actually have to copy the contents of it onto the new chip — a feat achievable only by purchasing a standalone “flash programmer.”
Using this cumbersome machine, and having purchased a Windows PC laptop to run the Windows-only software that accompanied it, Allen showcases the lengthy step-by-step process of formatting the old chip and transferring its contents to the new chip — while also documenting the physical obstacles of dissecting and desoldering the phone.
Why You Shouldn’t Try This
- Remember to keep in mind that any DIY iPhone upgrade like this will automatically void your warranty.
- The process itself can be rather expensive ($500 or more) when considering the cost of all parts and necessary tools, as outlined in the video.
- There are safer and more affordable ways to add some additional storage to your iPhone.