When Scotty Allen decided he wanted an iPhone 6s, he didn’t want to pick one at the Apple store. Allen’s been living in Shenzhen, China, for over a year now; and while there’s an Apple store there, Allen wanted to explore the markets of Huaqiangbei, where cell-phone parts are sold the same way you might browse old records or Princess Diana commemorative plates at a flea market in the States.
The process was not easy. Even with the aid of a local, Freddy, Allen found himself trying and failing to teach himself to solder, in order to build a working logic board, as well as just explaining to bemused locals why he wanted to build a phone from scratch, when he could buy a perfectly good one a few stalls over.
We talked with a very tired Allen (there’s a 12-hour time difference between Shenzhen and New York) about why he wanted to build his own phone, and what he learned along the way.
Out of the entire process, constructing a logic board gave him the most trouble.
At first, Allen thought he’d be able to piece together his own logic board, but soon realized it would be too strenuous of a task.
After speaking with a professor at a phone-making school in China, he decided to buy a refurbished logic board at a market nearby. Unfortunately, he hit a bump in the road and the logic board didn’t work — but he returned it and was given a new one.
After months of hard work and dedication, Allen’s phone turned on and he was able to use it like a regular iPhone.
At the end of the video, he held his device for the camera like a proud father holds his son.
He did it. He built his own, fully-functioning iPhone. We’re proud of you, Scotty!