Can any one post the complete teardown and spec of new chromecast.
I was wondering what if the new HDMI CABLE LIKE FLAT BROKE OVER TIME WHEN PULLING IN AND OUT OF TV.
Haven't run into any teardowns yet. First batches shipped this week, so I guess we'll see a teardown from someone next week, hopefully.
Oh yeah, I don't care much for the new flat flex cable either.
Of course when you're plugging it in or disconnecting it, hold it from it's connector instead of the cable. Duh.
I'll make a guess that if it does break and you're out of warranty, replacing it will be difficult and it's a whole another question if there will even be replacement cables available from anywhere.. Worst case scenario it's soldered straight to PCB..
But I think, whatever the case, if you're out of warranty then tough luck. At least it's relatively cheap.
When I get mine I'll use velcro to secure it behind my TV. Solves the dangling freely issue and I'll also use a separate (short) HDMI extension so I can keep it's own cable straight.
lagittaja said:
Haven't run into any teardowns yet. First batches shipped this week, so I guess we'll see a teardown from someone next week, hopefully.
Oh yeah, I don't care much for the new flat flex cable either.
Of course when you're plugging it in or disconnecting it, hold it from it's connector instead of the cable. Duh.
I'll make a guess that if it does break and you're out of warranty, replacing it will be difficult and it's a whole another question if there will even be replacement cables available from anywhere.. Worst case scenario it's soldered straight to PCB..
But I think, whatever the case, if you're out of warranty then tough luck. At least it's relatively cheap.
When I get mine I'll use velcro to secure it behind my TV. Solves the dangling freely issue and I'll also use a separate (short) HDMI extension so I can keep it's own cable straight.
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Click to collapse
Next week? I already got mine at Best Buy. I was going to get the 1st gen since they were on sale, but came across the 2nd gen so I went with it. The cable seems pretty strong, and it magnetically clips on to the little Chromecast itself.
iFixit posted a teardown: https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Chromecast+2015+Teardown/50189
Marvell Avastar 88W8887 VHT WLAN, Bluetooth, NFC and FM Receiver
Samsung K4B4G1646D-BY 4 Gb DDR3L SDRAM
Marvell Armada 88DE3006 1500 Mini Plus dual-core ARM Cortex-A7 media processor
Toshiba TC58NVG1S3H 2 Gb NAND Flash Memory
MRVL 21AA3 521GDT—likely Marvell Semiconductor DC-DC regulator
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Oh, wow. Guys, just take a look at that cable/connector solution!
Heavy solder on the connector and the connector bracket well bolted-down. As well as stress relief on the cable exterior which is held by the plastic body of the CC.
That's just awesome. Lovely design. Hats off to the guys who designed that.
Related
** UPDATED WITH PICS **
I just got a LapDock from an AT&T store thinking I can mess with it to make it work with my Photon. After disassembling the docking connector, I found that there are 2 separate connectors for the ports, which is awesome. This allowed me to manipulate them into position to fit my MoPho. Plugged it up, and it fired right up like the HD dock for the TV. I'm writing this post from it now, it's pretty cool! I plan on putting up some pics in a bit showing the connections. I'll delve into the device more fully later, but this accessory will work with the Photon fully! No limitations (at least, not in my limited testing)
Good stuff! Looking forward to seeing some photos (taken from your Photon of course, right?) of the dock to see what modifications you made!
Awesome!
I just ordered my Photon today and was hoping that by the time it arrived, someone would have pulled a MacGyver and figured out how to rig the Atrix dock.
You sir, are this month's official winner MacGyver award.
Looking forward to seeing the pics too.
Can't wait to see the pics.
...............................................................
Close up of the Photon HD Dock vs the LapDock. You can see the difference in orientation
The Dock connector needs to be flipped out, then can be opened by removing a screw on each side under a small flat cover.
pop open the connector, its just clicked together at this point. unscrew the metal clip holding the individual connectors to the chassis. the individual connectors can now be manipulated into position for the Photon.
the connectors can be routed under and behind the LapDock so that the Photon lays on the table. I want to figure out a way to rearrange the connectors to hold the Photon like it should, in the dock normally. Webtop fires up and operates as it does on the HD Station.
Nicely done...and glad to give you your FIRST Thanks! I might hafta find me a LapDock on the cheap!
Further disassembly. Flip the LapDock over, remove the screw in the middle near the back of the unit. remove the 2 rubber feet at the back of the unit and remove the 2 screws revealed.flip back over. pry (carefully) the back top cover off the unit, working along the very back of the unit. This should pop the cover off. There is a thin wire running to the charge indicator along the front of the top cover, so work carefully. once off, the circuitry can be examined. the connector that leads to the dock is along the left edge of the board. one PCB connector feeds both dock connectors. This connector is like laptop LCD connectors, and easily pops up and off the board
Bandage said:
Nicely done...and glad to give you your FIRST Thanks! I might hafta find me a LapDock on the cheap!
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LOL thanks! kinda funny, been lurking here for years, ran into a problem posting this writeup since i was a 'new' member with only 2 previous posts. had to wait 5 minutes between updates.
I saw LapDocks on AT&T's site for only $175 for refurbished units, not too bad considering I paid 300 to get a unit to hack apart....
After removing the dock portion from the rest of the unit, I removed the connectors and took an Xacto knife to the openings for the individual connectors. I removed the shaped openings for the micro hdmi and micro usb, leaving plain rectangular openings. I then fitted the connectors back in, rotating them to match the orientation on the Photon. Luckily, the Atrix has the same spacing between the ports, just a mirror layout and shifted down the edge of the phone. with longer wires, this could be made to be a perfect fit for the Photon, but Moto apparenly knows best
anyway, after getting the connectors set properly, I then pieced it all back together. the new layout strains the wires just a bit, so that everything else is not quite as smooth as it was starting out. It's fine, and works properly, but theres that little bit thats just noticeable. the MoPho hangs off the edge of the dock, and has to be pressed tightly to ensure a good connection, but works great. There is a small piece that pops off of the dock portion, i think its removed if you're using a case with the Atrix, Make sure this piece stays off, I dont think the connection will be very good otherwise.
cdthomas9 said:
After removing the dock portion from the rest of the unit, I removed the connectors and took an Xacto knife to the openings for the individual connectors. I removed the shaped openings for the micro hdmi and micro usb, leaving plain rectangular openings. I then fitted the connectors back in, rotating them to match the orientation on the Photon. Luckily, the Atrix has the same spacing between the ports, just a mirror layout and shifted down the edge of the phone. with longer wires, this could be made to be a perfect fit for the Photon, but Moto apparenly knows best
anyway, after getting the connectors set properly, I then pieced it all back together. the new layout strains the wires just a bit, so that everything else is not quite as smooth as it was starting out. It's fine, and works properly, but theres that little bit thats just noticeable. the MoPho hangs off the edge of the dock, and has to be pressed tightly to ensure a good connection, but works great. There is a small piece that pops off of the dock portion, i think its removed if you're using a case with the Atrix, Make sure this piece stays off, I dont think the connection will be very good otherwise.
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Click to collapse
Hey CD...what about flipping the connectors around in their sockets so the Photon would sit flush, but facing away from the LapDock?
Webtop runs great, i like the environment as a whole, but there isnt much to do natively. Email apps and maneuvering around the phone UI is a little irritating. You can just make the Mobile View full screen, but some of the interface doesnt scale well. I'd like to see native webtop apps, like firefox is, but I'm not sure how that works.
cdthomas9 said:
the connectors can be routed under and behind the LapDock so that the Photon lays on the table. I want to figure out a way to rearrange the connectors to hold the Photon like it should, in the dock normally. Webtop fires up and operates as it does on the HD Station.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This thread excited me!!! Have you found a way to make it sit inside yet?
Bandage said:
Hey CD...what about flipping the connectors around in their sockets so the Photon would sit flush, but facing away from the LapDock?
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Click to collapse
I thought of that, but the micro hdmi connector doesn't have enough give or length to do it. I also thought of breaking out the soldering iron, kynar wire and HST but I think that theres a lot of wire in those bundles...
ScandaLeX said:
This thread excited me!!! Have you found a way to make it sit inside yet?
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Click to collapse
Post 13 shows the closest i can get, without lengthening wires i think. or getting Moto to make me a longer connection set
newalker91 said:
I would just dremel a nice little hole through the plastic immediately above the base connector and run the wires up the back of the screen, then build a cradle onto the back of the monitor for the phone. I need to save up and buy one and get to work.
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LOL, I was thinking of doing the same thing. Just mount the phone to the back of the screen somehow, but the wires are literally no more than 2" long. I think Bandage was looking into micro usb and hdmi extension cables though....
cdthomas9 said:
LOL, I was thinking of doing the same thing. Just mount the phone to the back of the screen somehow, but the wires are literally no more than 2" long. I think Bandage was looking into micro usb and hdmi extension cables though....
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Click to collapse
Yeah...no luck finding an effin Micro HDMI extension cable tho. Anyone else find someone who makes / distributes them?
Wondering if anyone has seen or knows of a right angle 40 pin charging connector? Either that or im hacking up a keyboard if i can find one cheap enough. Im dead set on getting this tab in my dash =D
Sent from my Transformer
What do you mean right angle? Do you mean so the cable is lines to to right rather than at the bottom on the sync/charge cable?
In that case - no, never seen. But its not super-hard to do it yourself. It will still stick stick out around 1cm though, because theres a PCB inside.
Although the PCB can be removed as well, but that requires some very fine soldering (we're talking pins that are like 0.7mm, if not less, with like 0.5mm spacing)
I had a hell of a time to just resolder the data cables on the cable, and the points are located on the PCB so theres only 2 'pins' near there. Soldering those cables on the connector itself would be.. ugh... *nightmares*
Lol no, no micro soldering for me. Just wondering if there has been or is or what miss match parts could possible go together to go from the existing 40 pin port down and back. Like a right angle but coming down and away from you. The ipads have em. But we arent comparing that crap here. I want to make a dock of sorts, to have fiberglassed in. Tab slides down and plugs in to charge. Thats why i mentioned hacking up a keyboard if need be.
Sent from my Transformer
Yeah ok. No I dont think theres any such cable.
But if you just want to angle the cable its quite easy, and if youre careful wont require any soldering.
All you need to do is open the cable up, cut a new hole for the cable in the casing, align it and reassemble it (it will probably have to be glued together again, or plastic welded, simple stuff really).
And even if you would manage to rip off the cables, the + and - cables are (relatively) big. ground is just soldered directly onto the shielding, and + is soldered to 3 pins next to each other, and theres only 1 other pin nearby you have to look out for, but that pin is sortof protected by some plastic thing (which will probably melt from the heat of the soldering iron though lol).
The hardest part of all this is actually opening the damn casing without damaging it too much
There are a lot of messages on this subject and the cause is dirt and damp /humidity causing the tiny pcb tracks in the charging / usb port to corrode and short out. Some people manage to salvage the port by carefully cleaning the port with a toothbrush.
HOWEVER many ports will never work again even when cleaned. I suspect the short often kills a chip in the charging port circuit so even when clean it won't work again and the phone will give spurious error messages.
THE REASON I AM POSTING IS THAT JUST BUYING ANY OLD REPLACEMENT PORT ON EBAY WILL EXPOSE YOU TO THE RISK OF COUNTERFEIT PARTS.
I and a lot of other UK users have bought fake ports on ebay. Look for an assurance that it is a REAL SAMSUNG part.
The usual problem with the fake part is that you get hardly any 3g signal. The main phone antenna is on this USB board and although the fake part will cure the error message, you won't get coverage and certainly not as good as you used to get with the original part. My fake board was 25db down no bars instead of five.
I bought a better quality board for £8 from a UK ebayer called can888. It worked great and was marked REV2.3.
Here is a link to his part:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/150912000314?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649
One problem I had was that when you fit the part, be sure to remove the microphone grey rubber boot from the phone chassis and fit it to the tiny microphone part which dangles on about 5mm of ribbon cable. Post this little microphone into the slot on the boot and when snug, fit the board under the plastic lug at the left side (the side where the L shaped ribbon cable goes.
This youtube video shows how to completely strip and re-assemble the phone. The part concerning fitting this USB board is at 20 minutes into the video. Watch it and see what to do.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=65pvAINg2ME
Obviously, you don't need to remove the mainboard as he has done. His video is a complete strip and reassembly. You will need to remove the small black screw about two inches up the leg of the main board that comes down the side of the battery compartment. The video is worth a watch anyway - the whole lot. Unlike a lot of vids on this,it is extremely clear, well filmed and well described.
Good luck
Tony
Great thread Wish we saw more of this stuff. Rated 5 stars/thanked.
1.looks like hes not uk based at all.
2.the pic and description says 2.2; not 2.3.
3.theres a thread in the general section with "reviews" of where and which one to get.
4.in that thread, theres even advice about only using half of a new board.
5.i would not use the seller in your link!.
I backed the Truesmart the day after it went live on Kickstarter and now after almost 3/4 of a year later I recieved the two devices i backed.
One was fine but the other had an assambly damage. The antenna cables for GPS and WIFI were broken.
To find the source of the connection problems I had to take of the back of the device and now I was told that I have voided the warranty because of that and will not get an exchange!
So I asked if I could buy the wrist band seperately as a spare part and was given a MAYBE in a few months when there is a service center near where I live.
I doubt that.
Repairing a broken micro coax cable is nearly impossible ( at least for me) so...
Now to my question:
Could anyone of you advise me where I could buy/get such a spare wrist band with the GPS and Wifi antenna inside?
Have already asked the seller of the Z8 device on aliexpress but he said thei are out of stock....
Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance
Holy crap that was most definitely broken at the factory.
posted using my towelrooted Galaxy S5.
Yikes.... not good. Do you have any more pictures of this zoomed out a little? It would be interesting to see how the cables fit into the strap. Are you able to slide them in and out of the strap? I wonder how far they go into the strap? I wonder what shape they are as well (straight? curved? coil?), and what's hidden in the strap (components or antenna plates?)... if it's a simple length of straight wire, and it likely could be, then it would theoretically be possible to yank out and replace with something else.
Also what were the GPS/wifi issues exactly? Were both completely dead or was it an intermittent connection? Did it work better off your wrist rather than on?
I reckon this information will be helpful to other users in case they are suspicious of problems in their own units. For instance, my wifi seems a bit weak and I need to be relatively close to the router for it to work reliably (within 25 feet, I'd say), but I'm not sure if that's because the antenna is pressed against my arm and it's wirelessly noisy around here (it is) or because there is a possible fault.
On mine the antenna leads were glued in after insertion through the case and I am pretty sure the connectors were added, crimped on the ends, after insertion too.
Would be hard to remove and replace without destroying the ends.
I've already swapped bands three times so far. The ends are crimped before attaching the bands then soft sealant is injected into the case holes.
I was contacted about parting out the immersion test unit and found out that it would not have worked properly even if it had survived. Just like the OP the leads were damaged.
They drilled big enough holes in the case to push through the antenna leads with the connectors already on them, then sealed the holes around the wires with that white too ?
OK. I was wrong. Sounds like it would be easier to refit a replacement band than I had imagined. If you could get the band halves...
it's easy
It is quiet easy to change the band. The big holes and the sealant injected there after assembly is also the main cause for water getting into the device.
So that's the thing I would love to get my hands on a wrist band to be able to use the truesmart as intended.
Right now it is just sitting around because the companion app on the ostore really sucks and I still don't get the use of a smartwatch as companion to a phone.
Maybe this changes when I get to use a device with Google wear on it.
This would be good for the truesmart as well but needs an upgrade to at least 4.4 I think.
Until then its waiting again for me and asking around for spare parts at resellers or find someone with a broken truesmart who wants to make at least some money.
To everyone using a magnetic charger, I need some reassurance that it is safe to use third party connectors.
I bought my girlfriend a Magnector adapter (version 2), and after 4 months of usage, the magnet has pulled her magnetic port off. Now the phone has compromised its waterproof feature.
Now I am worried about using third party magnetic connectors, or at least the Magnector one since it is known to have a significantly stronger magnet. I'm trying to figure out if it's a defect in her particular phone, or if all Z2's were just constructed to not withstand stronger magnets over time.
Please share what has been your experience with magnetic chargers, what brand, and for how long? Thank you.
RoyVegasPinoy said:
To everyone using a magnetic charger, I need some reassurance that it is safe to use third party connectors.
I bought my girlfriend a Magnector adapter (version 2), and after 4 months of usage, the magnet has pulled her magnetic port off. Now the phone has compromised its waterproof feature.
Now I am worried about using third party magnetic connectors, or at least the Magnector one since it is known to have a significantly stronger magnet. I'm trying to figure out if it's a defect in her particular phone, or if all Z2's were just constructed to not withstand stronger magnets over time.
Please share what has been your experience with magnetic chargers, what brand, and for how long? Thank you.
Click to expand...
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The magnetic port on some early devices weren't glued on properly (the adhesive was not so good), so the magnet would pull of the port. For some people you could even push it in.
As for the magnet strength, shouldn't be much of a factor if you have one of the newer lots of devices. If not, then I would suggest buying an official DK36 dock from Sony. If you want to save some money, you can buy the DK32/DK31 for the older Z1 Compact and buy adjustments for the z2 (as I did).
HussainQ said:
The magnetic port on some early devices weren't glued on properly (the adhesive was not so good), so the magnet would pull of the port. For some people you could even push it in.
As for the magnet strength, shouldn't be much of a factor if you have one of the newer lots of devices. If not, then I would suggest buying an official DK36 dock from Sony. If you want to save some money, you can buy the DK32/DK31 for the older Z1 Compact and buy adjustments for the z2 (as I did).
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Click to collapse
Thank you. The frustrating part to that is there's no way of knowing if I have said earlier or newer model without risking trying it. Talk about loss of confidence in reliability.
HussainQ said:
The magnetic port on some early devices weren't glued on properly (the adhesive was not so good), so the magnet would pull of the port. For some people you could even push it in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
BTW, what is your source that earlier devices weren't glued properly?
RoyVegasPinoy said:
BTW, what is your source that earlier devices weren't glued properly?
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The Sony support forum for the device.
Earlier batch numbers had multiple imperfections (I too have an old batch but my only problem was the misaligned glass).
You can check your batch number by pulling out the flap in the microSD port.
Mine's 14W20 (so you can compare).
Anything above 25 or 28 should be one of the newer ones.
HussainQ said:
The Sony support forum for the device.
Earlier batch numbers had multiple imperfections (I too have an old batch but my only problem was the misaligned glass).
You can check your batch number by pulling out the flap in the microSD port.
Mine's 14W20 (so you can compare).
Anything above 25 or 28 should be one of the newer ones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which number corresponds to the batch number in your case? The 14 or 20?
20
Her phone is 14W32 and it still came loose so that's not it. My batch is even lower than hers so I'm even more concerned. I appreciate your insight though.
RoyVegasPinoy said:
Which number corresponds to the batch number in your case? The 14 or 20?
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Click to collapse
HussainQ said:
20
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Her phone is 14W32 and it still came loose so that's not it. My batch is even lower than hers so I'm even more concerned. I appreciate your insight though.
RoyVegasPinoy said:
Her phone is 14W32 and it still came loose so that's not it. My batch is even lower than hers so I'm even more concerned. I appreciate your insight though.
Click to expand...
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There were far more problems on older batches
Still Sony production always seem to have one problem or another.
I think the perfect batch was 14W28 AFAIR
HussainQ said:
There were far more problems on older batches
Still Sony production always seem to have one problem or another.
I think the perfect batch was 14W28 AFAIR
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Click to collapse
Correction, my batch actually says 15W12. I assume now the 15 probably corresponds to the year. So hopefully mine should be good. I'm just gonna take a leap of faith and continue using the magnetic charger. Nobody seems to have any hard facts about the issue, so I'll just have to test it myself and report back.
If anybody else has issues with their magnetic ports coming loose, please share here. Thanks for setting me in the right direction Hussain.
RoyVegasPinoy said:
Correction, my batch actually says 15W12. I assume now the 15 probably corresponds to the year. So hopefully mine should be good. I'm just gonna take a leap of faith and continue using the magnetic charger. Nobody seems to have any hard facts about the issue, so I'll just have to test it myself and report back.
If anybody else has issues with their magnetic ports coming loose, please share here. Thanks for setting me in the right direction Hussain.
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Yeah you're right
I bought mine last year in May/June.
A small TIP: Do not connect the magnetic charger in the Wrong Way, It'll screw your PHONE..
Just to update everyone who comes across this thread, my latest 2015 batch Xperia Z2 magnetic port came off using the magnector adapters. Just stay away from those things. This is the THIRD phone it has pulled the connector off.
I have a 14W25 build and it also had the issue ,tho only one of the sides seemed to be coming loose ,so once i tried to press it back in with a little bit of force ,and there was like a little click ,since then it hasnt been moving from its place.
Just wondering, did you pull the magnetic charger correctly??
You should never pull the magnetic charger horizontally, but you should pull it by tilting the magnetic charger vertically, it should came off easily.
my port came lose a while ago and wouldn't always charge
tonight it is now out of the phone!
I have ordered a new charging port and will be glueing it in!
lets see how it goes
Hey, someone told me that the place where I plug-in the magnetic charger may pop out after a while, is that true?!
Did you not read this entire topic?