Inkpad 3 issues

[Matthias_BL]

Thank you all again for your contributions.

Yeah, I managed the disassembling finally (without damage), after I startet to lift of the front display first. Due to that I stuck by the Buttons and the power connection to the display - as I finally got , that there is also a backside available to lift off
(Nevertheless this was a good practice if I have to replace the display once - formerly I threw a PB IP3 away an buied a new one, due to sat an it = Display crashed.)

Found a very good WebSite, with also with videos and order possibilities: https://e-ink-reader.ru/ (Don't be afraid from the .ru Domain - it is safe, you can even check the site by online tools)

Tomorrow I will post also my contribution with pics of the disassembling, some learnings and some questions about what I found inside the IP3.

Best regards.
Matthias

[Matthias_BL]

Hello everybody,

As mentioned my pictured contribution, which could maybe helpful for others, having this anoying battery problem.

Let's start all over (click preview pics to enlarge):

1.) Turn the PB IP3 front side down on a smooth underlay.

2.) Whith a soft guitar pick (thanks to 'VladimirS') you try to insert the tip of the pick between the back cover and the device. If you look closely - or feel it with the fingernails - you find a small notch going around the whole device.

3.) Try to insert die gp quite in the middle of one of the long sides. If you do not succeed, try 1cm shifted, probably you hit exactly one of the plastic bits which hold the cover. Dont try to force, or you will kill the plastic bit (as 'MciMc8' mentioned.)


4.) After you're in with the gp some few millimeters (2-3mm), you might now have to insert something not that soft as the gp in the slot. I used a laboratory spatula ('VladimirS' used his Credit Card). FORGET to use a knife! - You will cut everything, due to its plastic.)


5.) Then move slowely down the long side of the device. After about 3cm you feel a restistance (this is the next plastic bit). Stop there, and turn around slightly the cc or spatula, to uplift the bit, an you can continue like that the whole long side down.


6.) I did first both longsides, then the both short sides, an at last the edges.

7.) Done! And thats what I see:


8.) Have to know how these Li-Po Batteries are coded (thank you russian guys from the mentined website!). So I got in my device a Battery of 3.7V, 1900mA with the dimensions Thickness 31mm, Width 65mm, Lenght 78mm.


The maximum you can try ist 80 of 65 and the thickness - im really not shure - could be about 4-5mm.


And thats how the LiPo ist connected to the Device (Yes, thank you again 'VladimirS'): Two pins not three!


So i come to to my further Questions:
- Where do I find/order online an appropriate battery? (I found so many, but all of them have been above thickness of 5mm)
- I have no ides how to remove the battery out of the device, wihout braking the display? (Due to the LiPo is fixed on the backside of the screen with a kind of glue. Do you have any Tipps or Tricks? As I tried to start to lift of the Lipo the screen starte to bend dramatically.
- Do I have to consider for a replacement the exact 1900mA (of course the 3.7V are mandatory) oder is it possible also to replace the LiPo with a 2700mA, oder a 3200mA? (@MciMc8: A 10'000mA? Howth handle warming, by fan?

I would appreciate very well your answers and great that this community is still that active!

Best regards and happy Weekend.
Matthias

[VladimirS]

@Matthias_BL Big cheers for effort to show the whole process!

Great work, really, you showed in detail the process of opening of device with available tools to help in this situation. Back cover is very flexible ant it will not brake, just small plastic notches are somewhat fragile. These small plastics notches will not brake also, just if they are opened and device is assembled like this multiple times, they will wear out...

1) Any electronic components store (which sells resistors, capacitors, transistors, SMD components and similar) will have this LiPo batteries. I live in a rather small town in Serbia and have several stores like this in my home town.
I bought just some random LiPo battery (made in China of course )with maximum capacity I could find in dimensiones which will easilly fit into device (1100 mAh, 3.7 Volts, 50x60x3.8 mm) It costed me around 8 euros. If cannot find thinner battery, I think around 6 mm thickness is absolute maximum, above that back cover is problem to close fully.

2) Removing of old battery is really a problem. Battery, like you noticed, is glued with some kind of extra strong but flexible glue. You must be very patient and work very slowly. Reduce bending of screen also, try to avoid it completely.
You will not brake back of screen, just go one step at a time. I must mention this: deformation of old battery during removal is unavoidable, but caution must be applied. Perforation or significant deformation of LiPo battery is great fire hazard, BE VERY CAREFUL. I think the safest way to remove battery is some kind of hard plastic card or similar object. Put it under battery and push slowly until glue is removed piece by piece. I used this method.

3) Capacity of battery is absolutely irrelevant from device standpoint, just find a largest capacity within dimensiones of space for it. I considered putting a mega battery (like 4000 mah, but device cover must be designed by you and correctly assembled). I am thinking about ways to implement this

[nhedgehog]

@VladimirS: I agree with everything you wrote. Adding to point 2 the best way for me to do this was using a thing fishing (nylon) wire to get under the battery to cut the glue. Use it only parallel to the screen, that will reduce the forces working on the screen.

Edit: Better to use a thinner battery. If those batteries blow up they will break the screen.

[Matthias_BL]

Wow folks, Thank you so much for you valuable replies .

Very important and good tips an trick about the size of the battery and even more about the removal.

Didn't got that much time last days to find an appropriate battery in an online shop, with they deliver to Switzerland, but first of all I have to get the replacement now. (Saw some appropriate models in size, but very poor mAh (350/750 an so)).

After I get the replacement, I will continue the project of documentation the whole process. Of course I will try to remove the battery with the hard plastic card (CC?) and also the fishing wire.

I thought also to disassemble the device a litte bit more, to remove the whole battery surrounding plastic core.



This could enable to work with the removal fully in horizontal level as screen is positioning. Also the idea of a very thin saw wire could maybe a possibility. Or warming the nylon/wire to about 40/45°C before working.

I'll keep you updated, as soon I found a battery an it get delivered.

Best regards and thank you again!
Matthias

[VladimirS]

We are glad to help, and we are waiting @Matthias_BL

[Matthias_BL]

I already saw two good ones: One of 2000mAh, and the other 2500mAh, but I'm not sure about the thickness 5/5.5mm and the options:

https://akkuplus.de/Einzelzelle-5050...mAh-Li-Polymer
3,7 Volt - 2000mAh [7,40Wh] - System: Li-Polymer - ca. 50 x 60 x 5mm - with PCB (Protection Circuit Module??? )

https://akkuplus.de/Einzelzelle-5055...mAh-Li-Polymer
Would also be nice with 2500mAh [9,25Wh], System: Li-Polymer, ca. 73 x 55 x 5,5 mm - without this PCB.

So far - before some levels of learning - the meaning of PCB was always the Polychlorinated Biphenyls for me
. Great in what I actually get involved

Do I really need this PCB-Stuff, or I am (resp. my Inkpad3 is) happier without it?

Kind regards
Matthias

[VladimirS]

First option (https://akkuplus.de/Einzelzelle-5050...mAh-Li-Polymer) is absolutely type that you want, also it is 5 mm and more appropriate for installation in device). PCB stuff is basic electronics which controls some battery functions and is good to have as some basic level of protection and battery charging/discharging control.

Capacity of 2000 mAh is adequate for everyday usage of Inkpad 3. Original battery (which was 1900 mAh) provided around 7000 page turns, so you should be satisfied with that Long time ago, I experimented with my old trusty Kindle Touch (8th generation). I installed mega battery (around 3000 mAh) which lasted forever But I removed back cover and made custom homemade cover which was cumbersome... It was not that great experience... Convinience which you have with slick and thin device is more important, trust me

[Matthias_BL]

Hello Folks,

Let's contiune with the project. Before I start to explain the whole exchange procedure, I think it's worth to talk about online ordering of these special components.

Well - as I already wrote - a replacement LiPo of 505060, 2000mAh would be the approriate to have new fun with the Pocketbook InkPad3 again. But from where to get?

A Google Search with "505060 Lipo" gives you more than 250'000 Results, a lot of them aliexpress, alibaba, pinterest, ebay, banggood - and even more trash sites, to them I would never send my CreditCard Details at all.

But the Internet is as known more then Google, so I found a trustworthy site:
https://akkuplus.de/

As I placed ma Order the 11th I got information that delivery will be delayed for 5-7 Weeks.



Frustrated I was about, I contiuned to search an found another order site and I found the following:
https://de.grandado.com/
I also placed my order and with the confirmation came back, that they have even more delay - due to the coronavirus and so on.



State today: Grandado is still on Status "Processing the Order", but on the other hand, akkuplus.de has already delivered the LiPo 505060 on 19th February. Great delivery time (11th to 19th) but the first order confirmation was little confusing.

So if anyone is in the situation to order battery compounds I can recommend akkuplus.de, and I think the battery from grandado.com I will receive end of may.

Next posting will be the procedure of exchange the battery.

Best regards
Matthias

[ezdiy]

Pocketbook build quality is notoriously hit or miss.

Beware that the issue is often not battery, as people tried replacing that just like in the post above, only to find out it charges only to 3.9V (it should be 4.2 or so). Most likely faulty/miscalibrated power control of the main board.

Try to claim warranty first if you can.

[VladimirS]

@ezdiy and other that may be interested

After some time of trying and experimenting with battery charging on Inkpad 3, I can confirm that problems are 100% conected with internal charging circuit and internal device electronics.

I have replaced original battery with aftermarket battery, but from time to time, battery capacity drops suddenly (typical from around 50% to 5% in a very limited time, like 1 minute). I would say that battery is healthy and propperly charged....I also noticed that below around 60% device becomes sluggish and responsiveness and speed are greatly reduced.

Pocketbook Int had received multiple complaints about this, but only advice that I get from manufacturer are very stupid, customer support is very limited. They told me to reformat internal device memory. This is useless procedure. So my advice to all people, like Ezdiy said, to claim defective device as soon as possible and get new device in hope that it will be without defects.

[nhedgehog]

Originally Posted by VladimirS

@ezdiy and other that may be interested
...

Pocketbook Int had received multiple complaints about this, but only advice that I get from manufacturer are very stupid, customer support is very limited. They told me to reformat internal device memory. This is useless procedure.

Not allways, there are cases which involve for instance an ebook which cannot be added properly to the library, resulting in some system freezes which are affecting the batterylife. But you are right it seems to me too that a lot of the cases are charging circuit related.

[ezdiy]

Originally Posted by VladimirS

@ezdiy and other that may be interested

After some time of trying and experimenting with battery charging on Inkpad 3, I can confirm that problems are 100% conected with internal charging circuit and internal device electronics.

I have replaced original battery with aftermarket battery, but from time to time, battery capacity drops suddenly (typical from around 50% to 5% in a very limited time, like 1 minute). I would say that battery is healthy and propperly charged....I also noticed that below around 60% device becomes sluggish and responsiveness and speed are greatly reduced.

Pocketbook Int had received multiple complaints about this, but only advice that I get from manufacturer are very stupid, customer support is very limited. They told me to reformat internal device memory. This is useless procedure. So my advice to all people, like Ezdiy said, to claim defective device as soon as possible and get new device in hope that it will be without defects.

It's worth noting that Pocketbook distribution model in CIS/Europe is somewhat unusual: They do not handle repairs, nor will they replace devices on wholesale channel. It's the exact same thing you get when dealing with chinese manufacturers. In fact, they directly ship from china.

All of this is on the shoulders of the local distributor - that one has to partner up with independent repair shops and if it can't be fixed, they eat the loss. Markups are quite high on pocketbooks due to this, and some less scrupulous distributors have horrible warranty service because they don't have the reserve to deal with the poor QA.

So how does this turn out in practice? You discharge the battery to a point when the sluggishness and crashing start to appear (that can be anywhere between 50-70%). Precisely at that point you bring it to the shop, demonstrate and say this is unacceptable.

In the case of my local distributor, they invariably give it to repair shop to replace the battery for aftermarket one. From there I have the information that it quite often doesn't help. So you get your device back, and it suffers from same exact damn problem. At this point you bring it to the distributor again, they replace the device for a new one and eat the loss.

My local distributor displays warranty claim rate in their E-shop. It's 4% for pocketbook. It's 0.2% for kindle.

I'm not saying "don't buy pocketbooks, they're crap". All I'm saying is make damn sure the distributor you choose to buy from has a good track record wrt warranty - that they're experienced in handling hardware with high return rate. This is not just pocketbooks, but multitude of chinese brands of little to no QA. Don't be afraid of warranty returns, it's often still worth it in terms of price or features. Just make twice sure that the distributor is able to handle returns in the first place.

[Matthias_BL]

Well Folks, it took so time to arrange enough time do finish this project. To make the things complete, lets focus also the last step of change the battery:

First of all disconnect the Battery:



I decided to dismatle also the screen - but just do it partly, to enable straight workforces in line to the fragile screen.
You can use a small screwdriver, to loosen these plastic dips



Then move slowlely down again the long side of the device. After about 3cm you feel a restistance (this is the next plastic bit). Stop there, and turn around slightly the cc or spatula, to uplift the bit, an you can continue like that the whole long side down. But Attention: See the figure below. Do not try to remove the screen completely, just 2/3 parts will be enough to give you enough space to work (otherwise you run into troubles with electronics.)



Dismatled frame from bottom cover and screen. You can see the battery glued to the screen. On top ist the frame with holds the electronic and the back cover.



As mentioned already above, dont try to to remove screen completly. I fixed the space with pens and after with two clothespins,



I used a steel wire 0.4mm - could also be thinner (0.2-0.3mm) to make work relaxed and faster - but NOT TO CUT old battery = HAZARDOUS!



Close up of working progress:



Even try to work in both directions: Top Down, Insinde Up with the steel wire, due to the Glue spots. but even everything on the layer of screen:



And then the old one ist off.

Get as much you can of the cabelings from the connector:



Put connector and battery together with the new battery an some isolation around:



Put it back in the device - bottom of new battery with some double side adhesive band, put it all together and have fun with you new PocketBook.



...as long, as no new issues might happen.
Regards and thank you for you help and all of you cointributions.

Matthias

[VladimirS]

Great tutorial Matthias, you are very kind to share with us step by step guide in device opening and battery replacemnet, I am sure that it will be very usefull to all people that have similar problems with Pocketbook devices. We have very unfortunate situation that battery problems are also related to internal electronis. My experience is that after battery replacemet I have far less freezing and slow device operation (not completely without problems) on my device.

I hope that manufacturer will consider all complaints about problem and, if possible, do some changes in software that can help in more reliable device operation. Thanks again for great photos and explanations!