Don't try soldered RAM upgrades on MacBook Airs. The Pros are barely worth it.

Almost zero for the Airs. I’d put it under 5% even with professional equipment. The 2018-2020 MacBook Air boards are thin, multi-layer, and the solder pads rip off if you look at them wrong. The Pros are slightly less terrible — maybe 20-30% success with a proper rework station — but that’s still a gamble I wouldn’t take on a machine you need to work tomorrow.

The issue isn’t the soldering skill itself. It’s that Apple uses underfill epoxy under the RAM chips, which makes them bonded to the board. Removing them cleanly is a nightmare. You’re fighting against the board design, not just the soldering iron. Even if you get the old chips off, you have to clean pads perfectly, reball new chips, and hope nothing cracked underneath. The Air’s board flexes too much during heating — traces lift.

If you need more RAM, sell the machine and buy one with the right specs. The upgrade cost plus risk of bricking the laptop means you’ll spend more on tools and replacements than you save. This is not where you prove your soldering chops.