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I got a MPU-6050, and with it I also got some header pins for ease of use. I connected the header pins to the breadboard and now I can't get them out. They are stuck extremely tightly and I don't want to damage them. I have tried prying it with fingernails but to no avail.

Header pins stuck to breadboard

ArjunSahlot
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Grab the pins with wide pliers and pull up. All you really need is to pull up on the pins. There won't be any damage. You may end up pulling the gold pins out of the black "body" they are in, but they can be reinserted later.

Kuba hasn't forgotten Monica
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  • Thank you! At the end I used a plier and a flathead screwdriver and was eventually able to pry it out. I was worried about the plastic sliding off or breaking off due to the intense force in that area. Approaching it with slow, careful movements fortunately worked out. – ArjunSahlot Feb 15 '23 at 17:21
  • Despite being able to take it out, this experience was still underwhelming for me. Am I going to have to do this every time I put in header pins? Is it the breadboard's problem? If this is a breadboard problem, could you recommend some alternate tools? – ArjunSahlot Feb 15 '23 at 17:23
  • @SaladHead You got the *opposite* of a breadboard problem. You got a good breadboard with fairly stiff contacts that produce good contact forces. The cheap/junky breadboards aren't like that, and in this case would give you the *false* impression of being "better". **Never insert such pin headers into the breadboard**. There's no need for it, and the pins weren't designed for such use at all. If you need to bring out several signals in a row, solder the pins to a piece of protoboard first! They are *only* meant for use when soldered into a PCB. – Kuba hasn't forgotten Monica Feb 16 '23 at 15:27
  • I am using a breadboard because soldering isn't really an option for me. I am still in the learning process and constantly changing things, I can't make a full-blown plan and finalize the connections because they are irreversible as far as I know. – ArjunSahlot Feb 17 '23 at 03:10
  • @ArjunSahlot But why you'd put those pins into a breadboard if nothing is soldered to them?? If you need testpoints and such, use jumper wires, not those headers. Again, just never plug those into breadboards unless all the pins in the header are soldered into something. That's all. – Kuba hasn't forgotten Monica Mar 21 '23 at 19:47
  • I put header pins into the breadboard because I wanted to connect them to my MPU-6050. I wanted to keep everything solder-free for easy-tweaking. I could have gone straight to jumper wires but they would have made everything unstable, so connecting to a breadboard made it easier to work with. You are probably wondering how I connected the MPU-6050 without soldering - it was tough. I had to turn the MPU at such an angle that it would touch all the header pins; and I had to keep it at this angle for the entire duration I was testing it. Eventually I did end up soldering for consistency. – ArjunSahlot Mar 23 '23 at 16:11