How to Use the Portable Anti-Static Mat

Written By: Alex Diaz-Kokaisl

Comments: 5

Difficulty

Easy

Steps

Time Required

1 - 5 minutes

Introduction

Follow this guide to learn how to use a portable anti-static mat.

Anti-static mats help minimize electrostatic discharge (ESD) when repairing electronic devices. They work in tandem with anti-static wrist straps to equalize the charge between your hand and the device.

Note: the iFixit Portable Anti-Static Mat comes with an anti-static wrist strap.

For more information on ESD, click here.

Tools

Portable Anti-Static Mat

Step 1

Unfold your anti-static mat and spread it out on your work area.
Make sure the iFixit logo is facing upward.

Step 2

Place the black grounding wire's connector over one of the mat's grounding nodes.
Press down on the connector until you hear a click to secure it to the mat.

Step 3

Attach the black grounding wire's clip to a grounded metal surface.
To ensure a good grip on the surface, pinch hard on the clip's levers to open the jaws wide.

How would I find a grounded surface? Where do I attach this to if I don't have a power supply? (i'm working on repairing a load of DS Lites)

Daniel Myers -

Mr. Myers, To be safe get a cheap wall socket tester to make sure the socket is grounded.

Then you can take a nail and put it in the alligator clip of the antistatic pad. Then push the nail into the grounded part of a three hole socket in your house. Not the top two slit holes but the round hole at the bottom.

bl dos -

Step 4

Before you put on your anti-static wrist strap, remove any jewelry from your wrist and fingers.

Step 5

The anti-static strap should be adjusted to fit snug on your wrist.
Pull up on the looped end of the strap to disengage the plastic lock.

Step 6

To tighten the strap, pull the looped end away from the plastic slide.

Step 7

To loosen the strap, pull the main part of the band away from the plastic slide.
Re-engage the plastic lock before continuing.

Step 8

Slide the strap over your hand and secure it to your wrist.
If the strap is still too loose or tight, you can adjust it while it's on your wrist.

Step 9

Disconnect the strap's metal clip from the rest of the blue grounding wire.

Step 10

Insert the tip of the blue grounding wire into one of the black grounding wire's sockets.

Step 11

Place your device on the mat.
You're now ready for repairs!
Throughout the repair, keep the device centered on the mat to minimize ESD.

Conclusion

For other general electronics skills guides, click here.

Author

Alex Diaz-Kokaisl

Member since: 16/01/22

68841 Reputation

3 comments

What else can the mat be grounded to, as I don't have a metal desk.

Cringe_Master245 -

Hi there.

Technically, you can ground yourself to any large, metal object that is touching the ground. If you don't have any in your vicinity, then you can clip the wire to the middle screw in your outlet or plug the wire into the bottom-most ground slot in the outlet.

Alex Diaz-Kokaisl -

What can it be grounded to if I don't have a metal desk and am in Europe? There is no middle screw or ground slot, at least where I live.

Pyuukin -