You can build a working GoPro Hero 6 and 8 from spare parts, and it can actually be cheaper than buying the whole camera. If you want a naked GoPro, this is way more convenient as you won’t have to spend time taking the camera apart.
Check out my tutorials on Naked GoPro 6, and Naked GoPro 8.
Main Board + Lens Module = Working GoPro
Hero 6:
- GoPro 6 Main Board: https://bit.ly/2YkmYHz
- GoPro 6 Lens/Sensor Module: https://oscarliang.com/product-as94
Hero 8:
- Hero 8 Lens with Camera Sensor:
- Hero 8 Logic Board (Main PCB): https://oscarliang.com/product-um7u
These two components are all you need to make a working GoPro!
AliExpress seems to be main place you can get GoPro spare parts from. I bought two hero 6 main boards and 3 camera sensor modules from there, all working as expected. Shipping to the UK took about 2 weeks, so it’s not too bad.
Hero 6 Logic Board
Hero 8 Logic Board
Hero 6 Lens Module
You might want to put it in a case, like the BetaFPV GoPro Lite case for the Hero 6. These cases also come with BEC board which makes powering them straightforward.
For the Hero 8, there’s the URUAV/NamelessRC case:
What Else You Might Need?
It’s useful having the back touch screen, you can use it to change camera settings, check if the main board and lens module are working correctly, and you need the screen to get the WiFi password to use the phone APP.
You can get a spare touch screen from tearing down a GoPro, or you can get it as spare part. The touch screen and buttons can be reused for your other Naked GoPro’s:
- Hero 6 Touch Screen: https://bit.ly/2BnFGF9
- Hero 8 Touch Screen: https://oscarliang.com/product-d3ae
Here is a pin-out of the GoPro Hero 6 main board, and how to connect the touch screen.
And here’s the pinout of the Hero 8 and connector for the touch screen:
If you’ve never owned a decased GoPro before, maybe you should tear one down first, then you’d have the screen and buttons. But of course you can just bought the spare parts, it’s up to you.
Edit History
- Jul 2020 – article created
- Apr 2021 – updated product links for Hero 8
Cc la fleche made a hero 6 internal to a quad, i wish he had kept pics to document it, would really love to have a gopro with the protection of the frame.
Anyone else who started from spare parts without ability to switch to English ( Chinese?)
My guess is that the English language is not part of my firmware, as I can set it to English via the go pro app, but nothing happens. It’s already on 1.6 so another update file to 1.6 does not seem to run from the sd card.
Only solution for that is to go to 2.1 and go back to 1.6 with the english language pack as part of the firmware, I guess?… Meer weergeven
So, maybe a stupid question but I couldn’t find the answer. When you order one of those boards does it comes with a firmware on it, no programming needed?just plug and play?
Thanks for your tutorials Oscar!
Cheers from Spain
Yea it was plug and play for me.
Were customs duties involved, or are they smart enough to declare lower values at aliexpress?
I didn’t have to pay custom :)
Yeah. The world would be such an awesome place if no one shared knowledge. Djeez…
Weird quesion, but do you think i can build a hero 5 black, and then using enough vibration dampening have similar results? if not do you think i could use a hero 5 lens on the 6, just cause its almost 40$ cheaper.
So what if prices went up, it’s natural when demands are higher.
I did not know about this option before i read this article.
Thank you for so many valuable advices Oscar.
Keep up the good work!
Lol the comments are priceless xd
Thank you for sharing Óscar
This hobby has only come this far because we all share info.
I have a broken gopro hero 7 black with dead mainboard.
Can I use a hero 6 mainboard and keep screen and use with hero 6?
I’ve never tried this myself, I’ve heard the Gyro sensors are in different modules between 6 and 7 and that might cause issues when using Reelsteady. Not 100% sure really.
damn it, he showed how to do it, increased demand, and now you have to pay a few bucks more. next time, there should be no article about this at all, so that noone knows about it! solved!
Congrats!!!! You made all price of this parts increase a lot in aliexpress!!!