Related
Thread for hardware mods
POSTING INTERNAL tf101 pictures
like 3g dongle ? internal sd cards? ssd?
removing the battery for 2 HDD 500go?
finding sd cards hubs? usb to sata cables?
? there is a place in the tablet for a 3g dongle?
there are 2 screws under the upper rubbers and the dock open easy
there is a lot of spaces avaible
My MIFI might actually fit in there, all I would need to do is supply it power somehow.
I'm no hardware engineer though, but if thats possible it would save you from the driver issues with a 3g dongle.
I wonder if it would be possible to check which pins from the adapter connect to USB - so we can make DIY USB adapter for those without a dock.
hmm adding an hdd would be very interesting, sata won't be very hard, powersupply will be.
Sent from my O2x with CM7
This is what I was looking for, looking to do some mods to the dock.
Thanks Markolino72.
Internally mount and wire a 32gb memory stick to the USB port so you get a 32gb hard drive added whenever you dock It might even have enough room for a portable USB hub so you don't lose use of the external usb port?
does anybody think it will be easy to make a DIY dock fix for those with battery draining issues like me?
It seems like it would be relatively easy - just make a switch to either connect or disconnect the cords coming from the docking point.
Or even better, maybe if you put the correct microcontroller in there you can have it switch the pins to floating, if it senses that there is no tablet connected (not sure about the details though)...
ydnality said:
does anybody think it will be easy to make a DIY dock fix for those with battery draining issues like me?
It seems like it would be relatively easy - just make a switch to either connect or disconnect the cords coming from the docking point.
Or even better, maybe if you put the correct microcontroller in there you can have it switch the pins to floating, if it senses that there is no tablet connected (not sure about the details though)...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you seen the post in the General forum (2nd page now I think)? Posted by Asus_USA themselves, if you prove the 6 steps that your dock has the issue you can get a new one! I really do hope that I can get mine exchanged, waiting on a reply from my local service center..
Regards.
In regards to the hardware mods, that really looks amazing. Would love to put in my mifi there as well, attach it via USB to charge = your own 3g model Maybe a little modding you could get the mifi to power on only when the dock is connected (remove the battery of the mifi?) so that when it powers on it'll power on the mifi as well. Only a few thoughts.
Maybe a little modding you could get the mifi to power on only when the dock is connected (remove the battery of the mifi?) so that when it powers on it'll power on the mifi as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it's a good thought but the mifi I have (novatel 2200) wont work without the battery, for some reason if the battery is bad or removed you cannot run usb, it must be the way they have the power run through the battery or charging. Not sure if all are like this or not.
andrewklau said:
Have you seen the post in the General forum (2nd page now I think)? Posted by Asus_USA themselves, if you prove the 6 steps that your dock has the issue you can get a new one! I really do hope that I can get mine exchanged, waiting on a reply from my local service center..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I talked to the Asus service rep about it. They currently won't give you a new one since they have a hardware upgrade to fix it. If you wanted a new one you needed to do before they solved the problem. I'm waiting on the upgrade part to be delivered for for mine. Should in a few days.
A switch should theoretically work. The guy at the service center said the replace something that goes into the hinge of the dock. Looking at the teardown pics, you can see a wire goes into each side of the hinge, so I think they replace the wires and maybe make a new connection somewhere on the dock.
Surprising how much wasted space there seems to be in the dock -- it's nowhere near as tightly packaged as the tablet itself. Looks like Asus can optimize the size or fit some more features in future versions, if they want...
Let me see if I am thinking correctly...Your saying using something like mifi installed via USB wires (will it be always on?) then connect via WiFi on your transformer? So basically your putting the mifi in a case that can never be opened without a screwdriver? I guess one would always have access for your other devices as well as long as the TF is in the vicinity.
P.S. I think I think this is a good idea, not decided though. I like to think of it in a real world application.
there is another post with a guy putting in an SSD, but it bulges at the keyboard. A 32g SD card would be nice.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using XDA Premium App
typci said:
I talked to the Asus service rep about it. They currently won't give you a new one since they have a hardware upgrade to fix it. If you wanted a new one you needed to do before they solved the problem. I'm waiting on the upgrade part to be delivered for for mine. Should in a few days.
A switch should theoretically work. The guy at the service center said the replace something that goes into the hinge of the dock. Looking at the teardown pics, you can see a wire goes into each side of the hinge, so I think they replace the wires and maybe make a new connection somewhere on the dock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are getting the replacement part? bought mine on the US, but live in chile... would really like to somehow get the part that needs to be replaced and do it myself
tanguita said:
You are getting the replacement part? bought mine on the US, but live in chile... would really like to somehow get the part that needs to be replaced and do it myself
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's very little chance they'll give anybody the part, and nothing in the previous person's post suggested they're doing so for him.
Talk to Asus Chile and get it serviced by them:
http://www.asuschile.cl/
http://latin.asus.com/Static_WebPage/Service_center_chile/
knoxploration said:
There's very little chance they'll give anybody the part, and nothing in the previous person's post suggested they're doing so for him.
Talk to Asus Chile and get it serviced by them:
http://www.asuschile.cl/
http://latin.asus.com/Static_WebPage/Service_center_chile/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I ended up calling them. I would have to ship the dock to "someone" in the US, have them ship it to the repair center, fix it, ship it back and then ask that "someone" to ship it back to me... sooo, I'm basically screwed... I ended up with a nice 150US paperweight (not even considering the horrible light bleed on the transformer).
tanguita said:
Well I ended up calling them. I would have to ship the dock to "someone" in the US, have them ship it to the repair center, fix it, ship it back and then ask that "someone" to ship it back to me... sooo, I'm basically screwed... I ended up with a nice 150US paperweight (not even considering the horrible light bleed on the transformer).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, actually, I hadn't realized that but it does say it clearly on the product warranty page:
"Brazil and South American countries don’t support global service"
http://support.asus.com/warranty.aspx?SLanguage=en&p=20&s=16&m=Eee Pad Transformer TF101
took mine apart also and there is quite a bit of room.
i plan on putting a 128gb usb flash drive inside the dock and soldering onto the usb connections once i get all the bits in.
Any bigger pictures? Are the screws under the rubber feet?
just two screws under the rubber feet near the hinge then it just pulls apart from the top
had to take mine apart as the spring/clip mechanism for the sd card wouldnt lock the card in.
now the card is stuck in with no nails haha a simple fix.
This is good news. I hacked a Crystal HD decoder card (pcie), USB wifi dongle, a logitech nano receiver, and a 4 port micro usb hub (from a touch screen setup) into a Dell mini 9 and there was absolutely no room compared to this.
They even have covers for the USB ports, so if you remove a header and solder wires up you just have to hot glue / epoxy that cover from the back and you are money. Looks clean and stock.
I have an old 64 GB thumbdrive that might find a new home. Maybe a 1.8" usb HDD would fit in there with the battery, without the battery who knows.
So my tablet stopped charging yesterday. I know a lot of people are having issues with their wall charger, but I think my problem is due to the 40 pin connector. It looks like two or three of the pins got bent (not sure how). Every time I plug it in, it has a light crunching feeling. The wire to tablet connection is not sturdy at all and tends to bend downwards due to a lack of support in the tablet. Asus is sending me info on how to return the device. The tablet has been amazing other than this poor design. Anyone else having this issue?
punkcitykid said:
So my tablet stopped charging yesterday. I know a lot of people are having issues with their wall charger, but I think my problem is due to the 40 pin connector. It looks like two or three of the pins got bent (not sure how). Every time I plug it in, it has a light crunching feeling. The wire to tablet connection is not sturdy at all and tends to bend downwards due to a lack of support in the tablet. Asus is sending me info on how to return the device. The tablet has been amazing other than this poor design. Anyone else having this issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine wouldn't charge/transfer data but that's because the connector fell apart. Not sure how your pins managed to get bent, but it should be easily rectified via RMA. Until you get your new charger you could probably snag an OG TF charger and use that. However, I would also check the socket on the Prime itself, see if there is anything "odd?" going on in there that could have bent the pins (and possibly do it again once you get another charger).
same problem here- I started another thread. the tablet will no longer charge. It was intermittent at first. sometimes it would stop charging without ever removing the charger or 40 pin connector from the device.
I don't know if it is just a bad charger/cable , or if there is something wrong internally on the tablet. I will be shipping mine back for full refund from where i purchased, unless there is something else to try?
Anyone else have this issue. The usb cable comes apart on the asus end(see pic)
P.s. this has never been abused and was treated with the the greatest of care
http://imgur.com/AOPWP
Nope, maybe try a tiny dab of superglue?
Well I know it is an easy fix I just thought it was kinda weird and wanted to know if I was the only one who had this problem
Yup happened to me. But on the other side. The USB side. Cant sseem to attach the pic from my tfp
i had this happen to me right out of the box! plugged the device in to charge then unplug after full charge then this happened.
susko said:
Anyone else have this issue. The usb cable comes apart on the asus end(see pic)
P.s. this has never been abused and was treated with the the greatest of care
http://imgur.com/AOPWP
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes! It's a piece of crap! And I tried to RMA to Asus but they want the bad one back and then they'll send out a new or fixed one. So how is a person supposed to charge the tablet with no power cord? Very disappointing, Asus! They've sent me several follow up surveys to the phone calls and emails and I've told them how I feel about this. They don't seem to respond after that... Haha! Oh, well. The superglue route is probably the best way to go, anyhow.
My cable came apart like that the first time I used it. I carefully removed it from the connector on my tablet so as not to damage any wires, and then pushed the cap back on until it clicked and it hasn't come off since.
I think the problem is that the black cap isn't properly seated over the connector on some charging cables so the little clips on the inside never engaged. I have a half dozen chargers for the TF Prime and 3 were like this.
This is definitely something that might scare you the first time you try to unplug your connector, but it isn't a huge problem unless you rip out the wires or something.
My wife's did this the first time we unplugged it. I used a few drops of super glue on it and it has never come apart again. Mine on the other hand never had the issue. I think there was a batch of the plugs that they never put the glue on them so they weren't sealed when they got shipped. Put a few drops of glue on it and seal it up and enjoy the full use of the USB plug
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
Alright, so not too long ago i tripped on my USB cord while my phone was charging and it took out the little plastic piece inside the micro usb port that holds all the wires in place. I bent them back into place, and can still charge my phone, but sometimes it hard resets when being plugged in/ getting unplugged.
I took it to the sprint store, they said physical damage and I would have to submit a claim with a 150 deductable. Well, i know a micro usb port doesnt cost 150 so i orderd "HTC micro USB" jacks off of ebay with the intent of replacing it myself. unfortunately the ones i got were not the same; wrong size and shape, etc...
my question is, does anyone know where i can get the right usb jack, is it even available or do i have to bite the bullet and pay the 150? or maybe someone has an idea i havent thought of yet?
Just bite the bullet and pay the $150. You know it will be done right (you get a replacement phone) and it will still be under warranty. You damage it replacing it yourself, you might not be able to file a claim later.
Have you already looked at this website?
Fizz11 said:
Alright, so not too long ago i tripped on my USB cord while my phone was charging and it took out the little plastic piece inside the micro usb port that holds all the wires in place. I bent them back into place, and can still charge my phone, but sometimes it hard resets when being plugged in/ getting unplugged.
I took it to the sprint store, they said physical damage and I would have to submit a claim with a 150 deductable. Well, i know a micro usb port doesnt cost 150 so i orderd "HTC micro USB" jacks off of ebay with the intent of replacing it myself. unfortunately the ones i got were not the same; wrong size and shape, etc...
my question is, does anyone know where i can get the right usb jack, is it even available or do i have to bite the bullet and pay the 150? or maybe someone has an idea i havent thought of yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would not recommend attempting to replace the USB jack unless you are skilled with a soldering iron. The surface mount components are not for the faint of heart. If you don't know what you are doing, you risk damaging the phone evern more.
Before I begin, if there is already a thread outlining this particular problem, I apologize in advance.
Yesterday my Truesmart was in the charging cradle sitting on my desk, not realizing it, I accidentally opened a draw which pulled on the USB cable, dragging my Truesmart off of the desk and onto the floor. My truesmart fell about 2 feet and is fine, but the charging cradle will no longer charge it. I would assume that something broke in the cradle when it fell, which justifies the pathetic quality of it, although there is no visual damage on the cradle and when shaken nothing rattles around inside of the cradle.
My question is what should I do now? I am almost certain that it is the cradle that is the problem and not the Truesmart or the USB as the watch will still turn on and the USB will charge other devices. I have tried different power sources and different USBs and I only have one cradle. Is there anything I should troubleshoot in order to try and get the cradle working? Or is is possible that the problem is with the watch?
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
The spring contacts in the cradle may have gotten smushed in a bit by the impact. Try prying them up gently with like a needle.
Otherwise, the solders connecting the microUSB connector inside the cradle might have failed. They have been reported to be of poor quality on another owner's cradle with cold solders. Try resoldering them if probing them shows them not good connections anymore.
Thirdly, maybe your USB cable itself was damaged in the drop. Test it too.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
I tried what you suggested with the needle and it didn't make any difference, they seem to be at the right position anyway.
I have a feeling it might be the solders, as it is possible that the sudden shock of the microUSB inside of the port caused something to break. Unfortunately I do not have any knowledge of soldering nor the equipment to do it. I wouldn't know how to open up the cradle without breaking it anyway.
I already tested the USB cable, it charges anything else, and I have tried other USBs with the Truesmart to make sure that it is infact the cradle.
I have sent Magan (may or may not have spelt her name right) two emails and have received no response.
Asking omate for another cradle is useless. Omate is focusing on shipping units not cradles. I know this because my cradle stopped working also. The solder on the female USB plug had failed. I took it into a local electronic repair shop and they resoldered a new plug on. They also asked me what doll or store I pitched the charger at.
I've been thinking of replacing the spring contacts with actual pogo pins. It's silly that the charger doesn't utilize them to begin with.
Sent from my GT-N5110 using Tapatalk
rhineymac said:
Asking omate for another cradle is useless. Omate is focusing on shipping units not cradles. I know this because my cradle stopped working also. The solder on the female USB plug had failed. I took it into a local electronic repair shop and they resoldered a new plug on. They also asked me what doll or store I pitched the charger at.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am aware but I figured it was worth a shot since my order was missing a keychain that I was told would ship "soon".
I might look into taking it into a shop, how much did it cost you to do that? And I didn't understand your last sentence.
He mistyped "dollar store".
Apparently they have such cheap budget shops up in Canada too. I get my colored USB cables from them, they say, " Made in China" on them and generally last a couple of weeks.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Have you had the back of the watch off? If so loosen all 4 screws then tighten the 2 where the charge pins are first - then tighten the other end, where the buttons and camera is, last. I had an issue where the watch would not charge after reinstalling the back. I think the internal contact pins barley contact the flexible plastic copper pads. I originally crisscrossed tightened the screws and it wouldn't charge. If I have to install the back cover again I will most likely add a thin layer of something underneath the cable pad to help close the gap and provide a more solid contact for the internal pins. I could visibly see where there was maybe 2 out of the 4 pins making adequate contact.
Oops yes I ment dollar store. It didn't cost me much. $10 but the guy told me that it wouldn't last long, which it didn't, it stopped charging my ts today. He told me that its cheap, pure and simple. I was suppose to receive a spare that I paid for. When I asked about it I was told they won't ship it until after all KS and preorders were shipped. Omates way of telling me that I'm SOL
rhineymac said:
Oops yes I ment dollar store. It didn't cost me much. $10 but the guy told me that it wouldn't last long, which it didn't, it stopped charging my ts today. He told me that its cheap, pure and simple. I was suppose to receive a spare that I paid for. When I asked about it I was told they won't ship it until after all KS and preorders were shipped. Omates way of telling me that I'm SOL
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I realized you meant dollar store shortly after posting lol, unfortunately I have even seen nicer chargers at the dollar store. $10 isn't bad but I guess at that price it makes sense to get a new charger if possible. I love how I am fortunate to have a semi-working watch but can't even use it because I don't have a working charger. Thanks for all of your help Omate -.-
SkyHawkTech said:
Have you had the back of the watch off? If so loosen all 4 screws then tighten the 2 where the charge pins are first - then tighten the other end, where the buttons and camera is, last. I had an issue where the watch would not charge after reinstalling the back. I think the internal contact pins barley contact the flexible plastic copper pads. I originally crisscrossed tightened the screws and it wouldn't charge. If I have to install the back cover again I will most likely add a thin layer of something underneath the cable pad to help close the gap and provide a more solid contact for the internal pins. I could visibly see where there was maybe 2 out of the 4 pins making adequate contact.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the back off of the watch once, after putting it back on it worked fine up until I dropped it. The watch will turn on, it just won't charge. I will try your suggestion anyway when I have my watch around though. The assembly of the watch is disgustingly poor, there is what looks like dried glue seeping out of the SIM slot of my watch. Very lucky to have no issues with buttons or pin contact and etc.
Agent. said:
I realized you meant dollar store shortly after posting lol, unfortunately I have even seen nicer chargers at the dollar store. $10 isn't bad but I guess at that price it makes sense to get a new charger if possible. I love how I am fortunate to have a semi-working watch but can't even use it because I don't have a working charger. Thanks for all of your help Omate -.-
I had the back off of the watch once, after putting it back on it worked fine up until I dropped it. The watch will turn on, it just won't charge. I will try your suggestion anyway when I have my watch around though. The assembly of the watch is disgustingly poor, there is what looks like dried glue seeping out of the SIM slot of my watch. Very lucky to have no issues with buttons or pin contact and etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the problem ive had with the charger is the female usb port. its very loose. i wonder if we will ever see the xtra things we paid for, xtra chargers, tshirts sd cards. its bad enough that the watch is a mess, but to have a propriatiery charger is just icing on the cake. theres not way of fixing it. well there is,but it only lasted a week. the guy who fixed mine laughed at me and told me you get what u pay for. This is only partly true, the charger was $5 but isnt worth $1
You could make a charger with a dollar store USB charging cable you cut up to expose the +5 and gnd wires, then tape them to the right pins on the back of the watch, carefully.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
rhineymac said:
the problem ive had with the charger is the female usb port. its very loose. i wonder if we will ever see the xtra things we paid for, xtra chargers, tshirts sd cards. its bad enough that the watch is a mess, but to have a propriatiery charger is just icing on the cake. theres not way of fixing it. well there is,but it only lasted a week. the guy who fixed mine laughed at me and told me you get what u pay for. This is only partly true, the charger was $5 but isnt worth $1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty sure mine is the female USB port too, as my watch was plugged in when it fell so I assume the shock of the male USB caused it to break. Your guess is as good as mine as to if they ever plan on actually fulfilling their promises, they have done a pretty crummy job thus far. The charger is absolute junk, at least if we had the charging cable they initially promised we might be able to work with it a bit more.
trent999 said:
You could make a charger with a dollar store USB charging cable you cut up to expose the +5 and gnd wires, then tape them to the right pins on the back of the watch, carefully.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That isn't a bad idea for a temporary fix but the fact that it even comes down to doing something like that is absurd in my opinion, the charger should have been done and ready while they were dealing with all of the other BS issues.
Well, remember that for most owners the charging cradle they received works fine. It is not that poorly designed - mostly failures reported have been due to shoddy assembly. Similarly careless assembly has been reported on the watch itself in various areas.
I got my extra charger I ordered via Kickstarter, included in the package, but have never tested it nor needed to. I also figured out a way to charge the spare battery with an Anker universal charger, just in case. That charger came free with a couple of VGNexus batteries I bought from Amazon.
You might have better luck with the USB port repair staying fixed if you support its attachment to the board, such as it is, with an application of SuperGlue prior to resoldering the connections.
Holding a cable connector in place via only the contact solders would always be a bad design though.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk