# Broke Off u.FL Connector **URL:** \ **Category:** Hardware\ **Created:** [September 19, 2015, 6:39pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/broke-off-u-fl-connector/15745 "2015-09-19T18:39:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![justinhambleton](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/justinhambleton/32/3949_2.png) [@justinhambleton](https://community.particle.io/u/justinhambleton)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 6:39pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/broke-off-u-fl-connector/15745/1 "2015-09-19T18:39:14Z")
I broke off the u.FL connector on a Photon board fairly easily when trying to remove the antenna. I’m not entirely sure if it was my fault or a faulty board. I am generally very careful when removing the antenna but this time it seemed like the u.FL connector snapped off very easily. It also ruined the antenna. Good thing I always buy things in twos! Is there a proper way to remove the antenna to avoid this? ![](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/uploads/particle/original/a/e/aec694a1e7eb2fb4d75d1f20559198c30e79f7f6.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![rpiswag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dec6dc/32.png) [@rpiswag](https://community.particle.io/u/rpiswag)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 9:38pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/broke-off-u-fl-connector/15745/2 "2015-09-19T21:38:42Z")
Looks like the you Photon’s u.FL connector may have had a weak connection. I could be wrong but I think that is right. ---
**Author:** ![justinhambleton](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/justinhambleton/32/3949_2.png) [@justinhambleton](https://community.particle.io/u/justinhambleton)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 4:12pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/broke-off-u-fl-connector/15745/3 "2015-09-30T16:12:23Z")
Particle was kind enough to send out a new Photon. Thanks Particle! ---
**Author:** ![Awake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Awake](https://community.particle.io/u/Awake)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 11:21pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/broke-off-u-fl-connector/15745/4 "2015-09-30T23:21:22Z")
I broke off the whole USB connector on a ‘Core’. The connectors are surface mounted, and they are not stress relieved in any way. Basically it is two flat surfaces glued together with a very thin layer of solder. Things like that have a good adherence, but very little shear strength, which would be common when twisting a connector off. A more mechanically sound choice would have been a soldered thru-hole mount. ---
**Author:** ![bko](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/bko/32/20704_2.png) [@bko](https://community.particle.io/u/bko)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 11:43pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/broke-off-u-fl-connector/15745/5 "2015-09-30T23:43:54Z")
I would just like to add that the u.fl connector is pretty much designed to be a one-time connector. You can get it apart, but not easily and the forces for disconnecting it are high relative to its size. ---
**Author:** ![justinhambleton](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/justinhambleton/32/3949_2.png) [@justinhambleton](https://community.particle.io/u/justinhambleton)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 1:10am UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/broke-off-u-fl-connector/15745/6 "2015-10-01T01:10:12Z")
@bko thanks. That’s sort of what I was asking initially. Seems like it’s not designed to be taken on and off. I’ll be much more careful next time. ---
**Author:** ![bko](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/bko/32/20704_2.png) [@bko](https://community.particle.io/u/bko)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 1:57am UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/broke-off-u-fl-connector/15745/7 "2015-10-01T01:57:43Z")
I think the best strategy is to put a u.fl to RP-SMA pigtail on there and then just change the RP-SMA end as needed. Hirose, the Japanese connector company that invented the u.fl standard, sells a removal tool: [http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Hirose-Electric/UFL-LP-N-2/?qs=Ux3WWAnHpjCuSi9TUnIZlg%3D%3D&gclid=CjwKEAjwkK6wBRCcoK\_tiOT-zFASJAC7RArij7gcDWnZjjimSqV\_E8X92NuLpSp9fvjTayDhO1MHDhoC0k3w\_wcB](http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Hirose-Electric/UFL-LP-N-2/?qs=Ux3WWAnHpjCuSi9TUnIZlg%3D%3D&gclid=CjwKEAjwkK6wBRCcoK_tiOT-zFASJAC7RArij7gcDWnZjjimSqV_E8X92NuLpSp9fvjTayDhO1MHDhoC0k3w_wcB) For $24, I will take my chances! But perhaps the L-shaped fork of that tool could be approximated with a pair of small diagonal cutters held open a fixed amount and used as a lever. ---
**Author:** ![BDub](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/bdub/32/5137_2.png) [@BDub](https://community.particle.io/u/BDub)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 7:06pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/broke-off-u-fl-connector/15745/8 "2015-10-01T19:06:10Z")
If you pull up on the u.FL cable and apply a torque relative to the horizontal plane of the PCB, this is much more likely to break the u.FL connector. The way I remove the u.FL cables is to pinch the cable and connector together like you are holding a very tiny pot of soup, then twist it back and fourth as you lift it straight up off the u.FL connector. The twisting helps overcome static friction much more easily.