Component RMA repair in Canada: stop scrapping boards, repair them.
Component manufacturers don’t ship failed devices; they ship failed boards. Most see no Canadian option for repairing what comes back, so returns get scrapped or exported. We repair at the board level: BGA reball, SMD rework, and returns screening that puts recovered boards back into your RMA stock.
A motherboard comes back with a dead VRM phase. A graphics card comes back artifacting from a failing memory chip. A power supply comes back with a blown primary stage. None of these boards are worthless (each has one failed section on an otherwise good assembly), but the standard RMA playbook treats them as if they were: credit the customer, scrap the board, absorb the loss. For component makers with Canadian return volume, that playbook usually isn’t even a choice, because there’s been no in-country partner capable of repairing boards rather than just testing them.
That’s the gap we fill. From our Markham, Ontario depot we take your Canadian RMA stream and work it at the level the hardware demands: returns screening that separates no-fault-found units from real failures, SMD rework and BGA reball on the boards that need it, and refurbishment of open-box and B-stock product back to sellable grade. Recovered boards feed your RMA replacement stock, so you’re fulfilling warranty claims from repaired inventory instead of pulling new product off the line. The whole loop runs inside Canada, with no cross-border shipping, brokerage, or duty on any leg.
- Motherboards
- Graphics cards
- Power supplies
- SSDs & storage
- Memory modules
- Cooling & controllers
RMA repair programs for motherboards, GPUs, and components
Repair & Warranty
Board-level RMA repair (SMD rework, BGA reball, connector and power-stage repair) that recovers boards most depots would only test and scrap.
ExploreReverse Logistics
Returns screening that separates no-fault-found from genuine failures, plus refurbishment and grading of open-box and B-stock product.
ExploreLifecycle Services
A managed loop where recovered boards feed your RMA replacement stock: repaired inventory fulfilling claims instead of new product off the line.
Explore
Representative device classes; product images courtesy of their manufacturers. Product images do not imply partnership or endorsement; trademarks belong to their respective owners.
When component makers stop scrapping Canadian returns
- Returned boards are being credited and scrapped because there’s no repair option in Canada, and the write-offs are visible on the P&L.
- RMA replacement stock is being pulled from new sellable inventory because there’s no repaired pool to draw from.
- A large share of returns are suspected no-fault-found, but nothing is screening them out before they’re destroyed or deeply discounted.
- Open-box and B-stock boards are piling up at distributors with no path back to sellable grade.
- Canadian returns are being freighted to a US or overseas facility, and the shipping, brokerage, and duty are eating whatever recovery value was left.
Component RMA repair questions manufacturers ask
Can you actually repair returned boards, or just test and sort them?
We repair them. Our bench works at the component level: SMD rework on failed VRM stages, capacitors, MOSFETs, and connectors; BGA reball and replacement on chips with failed solder joints; and micro-soldering on damaged pads and traces. That’s the difference between a screening house and a repair partner: boards that would otherwise be scrapped come back as functional, tested inventory.
What does BGA reball and SMD rework involve?
BGA rework means removing a ball-grid-array chip (a GPU die, chipset, or memory package), reballing or replacing it, and reflowing it back onto the board with controlled thermal profiles. SMD rework is the same discipline applied to surface-mount components: capacitors, inductors, MOSFETs, connectors, and small ICs. Both are followed by functional testing so a repaired board ships as a verified unit, not a hopeful one.
How do you handle no-fault-found returns?
Returns screening is the first stage of the program. Every inbound unit is functionally tested against the reported fault; units that test good are separated, graded, and routed back to sellable stock rather than into repair or scrap. Since a meaningful share of component returns are typically installation or compatibility issues rather than hardware failures, screening alone recovers value before a soldering iron is ever involved.
Can recovered boards be used to fulfill our RMA claims?
Yes. That’s how the loop is designed to work. Repaired and screened boards flow into a graded replacement pool, and warranty claims are fulfilled from that pool instead of from new production. You see the whole flow in real time through our customer portal: inbound returns, screening results, repair outcomes, available stock.
Why does having this done in Canada matter for a component maker?
Because the alternative is exporting your returns. Sending Canadian RMA volume to a US or overseas facility adds freight, brokerage, and duty in both directions, stretches turnaround, and often erases the economics of repairing lower-cost boards at all. An in-country loop, with the depot in Markham, Ontario serving all of Canada, keeps the recovery math working and keeps your Canadian customers’ claims moving.