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I just bought a new Model A+ board, and noticed that the GPIO pins 13 and 14 (board pins 21 and 23) are soldered together on the backside. This was not the case with my previous A+ board: see the two compared side-by-side below.

  1. Is this an error in the board, or the intended configuration?
  2. If this is an error, should I remove the solder before using the board (even if I don't intend to use these pins)?

New vs old board

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2 Answers 2

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No they should not be soldered together (this is called a solder bridge). You should initiate a return request. You could cut or rework the trace yourself, but I would still suggest returning it - if you have problems down the road you may not be able to successfully return it if you cut the bridge yourself..

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    If you have a good iron, I'd ask support if I can attempt to rework it as that error could literally be solved in seconds with 3 cents-worth of braid rather than the huge hassle and cost of RMA'ing the thing.
    – Nick T
    Commented Mar 15, 2015 at 17:05
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    My iron doesn't get hot enough to do the job, so I got in touch with Newark about replacing the Pi. Thank you both for quick replies!
    – Ted Pudlik
    Commented Mar 15, 2015 at 18:41
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They shouldn't be soldered together, try returning it and DO NOT use it during the time as something could happen.

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