I cannot get my connector to fit on the logic board.

I need to take part in your optimism but I'm just not an experienced solderer and not once have I microsoldered. I just haven't had the opportunity to learn (or I'm just too undetermined). If you want to help me out, I have a few questions, like...

what temperature should the iron be?

does each individual pin need soldered or do they just make contact?

is the pad the black piece that covers that section of the logic board?

I watched one video where the fixer covered the surrounding areas with some liquid that hardened to protect them, do you know what this is?

is there just a guide you could link that covers all of this...?

I understand if you don't want to bother with this

Thanks for your answer

Also I just don't think I could bring myself to spend enough for an expert board level repair on a phone that's out of contract in a couple months. The camera plug is also missing a pin I severed/bent when I pried the connector off the first time I tried to open the phone using the pointy side of the spudger since the flat end would not seem to work, I guess you have to learn somewhere. My point is I could practice on that.

I guess it is a good phone to learn on then. I usually set my iron at 400celsius. Each pin needs to be soldered. A pad is each little copper piece sitting under each pin of the connector where the pin is soldered to, make sure to remove the black tape sitting on the top of the board. That liquid is this one here http://www.amazon.com/MG-Chemicals-Peela... - there is not one that I know of but I'll get a blog post about this later this week with pictures, more details and pointers. Dude we are here to help other people to repair, ask away! (Votes up always welcomed) -- I understand and I think if this is something you are interested in then it might be fun to at least try it out, especially if you are willing to give up on the phone! Camera plug can also be replaced so you might get it to work :)

This phone is not scrap yet. As Israel said, replacing a couple of connectors is feasible. But it is very likely that it'll become scrap if you practice on it. I'd practice on a dead board first. There are so many things that can go wrong like ruining the connector, the pads, and the surrounding components. Once you are able to REMOVE a connector without tearing pads, and soldering a new one in place, then do try to repair the one on hand. At least this is how I do it. When I encounter a board that COULD be fixed but not at my current level, I set it aside in a "future projects" stack until I'm able to perform this kind of repair, then come back and do it. Those are my 2 cents worth anyhow.

How I would do it: apply Kapton tape around the connector to protect surroundings. Apply flux paste on connector. Apply hot air back and forth at high temp (300-360 degrees celsius. Depending on how well your hot air is calibrated. My rule of thumb: apply hot air for 20 sec. If solder on the pads starts to melt, it's a good temp. If not, increase heat. If it melts before 20 sec, it's too high). Once the solder starts to melt and stays liquid, poke at connector to remove it. No force should be needed or applied, otherwise the pads will be removed as well.