Hardware Membrane Replacement Advice

[ChronoCrossfangirl2002]

So about a year ago I bought a Hardware modded GBA, Re-shelled and new buttons placed in
but a few months ago the A button started to stay in the shell when pressing in instead of coming back up.

I did a lil bit of digging and apparently it's an issue with the membrane's and it looks fairly simple to replace,
only i'm not sure what kind of screw drivers i should buy, any ideas?

 

[ertaboy356b]

You need a triwing and philips (crosswing?) screwdrivers to open and unseat the board.

 

[Citizen_404]

Here's a teardown guide that lists the tools you need (and sells them!).

Good quality shit...I've bought from them, and their stuff is good.

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Game+Boy+Advance+Buttons+Replacement/2011

 

[Hanafuda]

Your previous owner/modder might not have reinstalled the membranes correctly, causing your button to bind. So don't buy new ones until you confirm that one way or the other. It happens. I even had a Wii U OEM Nintendo controller with the silicone improperly installed, right out of the box. Easily remedied.

 

[ChronoCrossfangirl2002]

Your previous owner/modder might not have reinstalled the membranes correctly, causing your button to bind. So don't buy new ones until you confirm that one way or the other. It happens. I even had a Wii U OEM Nintendo controller with the silicone improperly installed, right out of the box. Easily remedied.

As I posted this thread i was thinking this may have been a possibility but yeah i do think it's better to check first before spending money

Post automatically merged: Mar 15, 2026

Here's a teardown guide that lists the tools you need (and sells them!).

Good quality shit...I've bought from them, and their stuff is good.

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Game+Boy+Advance+Buttons+Replacement/2011

could you screenshot the ones that i'll need? as I'm kinda confused on which to get tbh unless i missed something.

 

[Citizen_404]

As I posted this thread i was thinking this may have been a possibility but yeah i do think it's better to check first before spending money

Post automatically merged: Mar 15, 2026

could you screenshot the ones that i'll need? as I'm kinda confused on which to get tbh unless i missed something.

Are you on a phone? On computer it renders in the mid-upper-right hand side of the web page. The tri-point Y0 is the critical one:

If you do much in the way of repairs, it is worth it to buy one of their repair kits, which have all the tools you ever need.

They are good quality, too...some of the crap on eBay are cheaply made, and don't last.

 

[hippy dave]

I can vouch for the quality of ifixit tools, fwiw

 

[Jayro]

I bought a rainbow assortment of GBC membranes, and like 90% of them feel too mushy. I like firm, almost clicky membranes. It sucks there's no way to tell what you're gonna get unless you buy them.

 

[ChronoCrossfangirl2002]

Are you on a phone? On computer it renders in the mid-upper-right hand side of the web page. The tri-point Y0 is the critical one:

View attachment 562375

View attachment 562376

If you do much in the way of repairs, it is worth it to buy one of their repair kits, which have all the tools you ever need.

They are good quality, too...some of the crap on eBay are cheaply made, and don't last.

i ordered everything but the tweezers and they just arrived today, so before i go into detail for simplicity sake im gonna refer the one that's having button trouble
as GBA1 and the other that doesn't GBA2

that being said i can confirm it was a membrane issue as I swapped the membranes from GBA2 and placed them inside GBA1 (and they worked as intended), then placed GBA1's membranes inside GBA2 which ended up giving it the same A button issue GBA1 had, overall these screwdrivers were very easy to work with.

I have another set of membranes coming in the mail, so i'm hoping to place them inside GBA2 whenever they arrive which should be monday?

 

[FrankieT19]

On the topic of fixing membranes, and whilst you have the device open anyway:
Lots of aftermarket membranes (and maybe even OEM, it's been so long I can't remember) leave the buttons fairly loose in the GBA, causing them to rattle and feel mushy. Insert a piece of foam into the back of the buttons, cut to the diameter of the recess, and roughly 1mm thick, to pad out the slack the membranes leave. It may take some fine tuning to get it just how you like it, but the results are so worth it. You can also pad the shoulder buttons, and power switch in a similar way, to get a perfect solid feel.

I don't know if it's just me who suffers from rattling loose parts, but this is how I fix it on my builds.