AMAZON Echo Show 5 with FAULTY Touchscreen | Can I FIX it or is it HAMMER TIME?

This Echo 5 was very kindly sent over to me by David. It's got a faulty touchscreen so is stuck in set-up mode, and is basically a brick.
Let's crack it open and see if we can work out what's wrong!
Hope you enjoy!
Steve
PS. I'm not an expert in repairs at all. I do this for fun, and it may not be the best or safest way to go about repairing broken stuff. I'm pretty good at melting plastic though. Please don't copy me - I'm an idiot.
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[@StezStixFix]

Had to reupload this one, sorry if you've already seen it! Stupid visible sensitive information.

[@JordNL]

Names do that, I wondered already. In any case, still admiring your patience on soldering those tiny tiny parts back. I couldn't. Never.

[@Nobe_Oddy]

I guess I won't do all that yelling at you through the screen this time.... lol So glad it turned out well.... :) or did it?

[@TallonPrey]

Understandable. Good video either way.

[@StezStixFix]

@@Nobe_Oddy Feel free to yell at me again, I definitely deserve it on this one! 😂

[@kennethphillips6006]

Last name wuzzit? I thought it was strange seeing it the first time. Good choice to reupload 👍

[@OntologicalQuandry]

Those blue components (with a white dot) are inductors. They are nano Henry for RF and act like shorts to DC. The blue component with six pads was a balun. The tracks on the PCB in that area were laid out very straight with lots of ground vias near them. This is a sign of an RF track with controlled impedance. It didn't seem te be the case here, but many antennas are designed in an 'F' pattern where they are grounded. The ground seems pointless at DC and low frequency but controls the antenna at RF. It is better not to mess around with that. The capacitor you found shorted was on the flex directly attached to the touch panel which is likely separate from the display. The small connector carries power and digital signals to the controller chip on the flex and that creates the touch signals to the panel. I am glad you made your voyage of discovery because I had my head in my hands through much of this video hoping you wouldn't do what you did. However, we learn best from mistakes...

[@HoloScope]

We got PCB mcgee over here

[@ncc1701deee]

Ohhhh so that's what those little blue components are. nH inductors. They are always in every single Samsung device I've opened.

[@theDude9750]

you're taking the fun out of it 🤣

[@ThePoxun]

In other words the whole trace is just RF voodoo.

[@kyorin6526]

It was a fun journey for us mere mortals 👍

[@Jim_M_75]

You say you're crap at this but you've got bloody good now Steve mate. Some of the things you've repaired in the last year are impressive, stop knocking yourself mate.

[@deanaldridge4277]

Wow! That one tiny cap. You should get a medal for that fix. GG

[@davebrooks993]

That short you were measuring was an inductor that is part of a tuned circuit for the antenna output.

[@Aragorn6519]

Sure sure ...I'm still rubbing these two sticks together and still no fire,😅

[@JonMichaelDeShazer]

I've been a huge fan of your channel for about 2 years now, but when I saw Orbital's the Box on Spotify, you just became my best friend.

[@quasijo]

I'll just upvote this one too! Great job fixing that ribbon cable!

[@tomacide320]

What a result! Makes you wonder how many things have been tossed that could've lived on with 1 little component swapped 😭

[@hugegamer5988]

The line with the short looks like an antenna, and the 0805 package 6 lead chip a balun. It’s common to have a DC short to ground in the form of small inductors (no need for large values at high frequencies) as part of filtering and impedance matching the antenna.

[@PyroX792]

Great job! I will never stop being amazed at how a $0.00001 component can render a $60 piece of kit useless

[@apollolux]

$0.00001? Likely only for bulk orders such as those for large-scale manufacturing like Amazon and never for individual orders for the casual DIY EE or home repair like Steve and others.

[@VelocitaUSA]

Your patience in dealing with those small components and glue are amazing! I would have chunked the thing in the bin long before you got it fixed. Great video as always.

[@christoft1848]

Don’t know anything about electronics but I found this fascinating,your patience and knowledge is amazing.

[@ian3314]

The music was a special banger in this video! Great work as always.

[@trinwhalan7392]

Great work. It always amazes me that it just seems cheaper for the company to effectly throw these devices into e waste due to a dirt cheap component rather than fix. You have been an inspiration Steve, i now have a go to see if i can fix or at least understand when i have broken electronics at home.

[@Haelian]

I knew it was small but when you showed it on your finger I was shocked still.

[@please-wake-up-now]

Dude, you really made that Echo Show 5 come back to life! 🔧 It’s kinda wild how something so small can mess everything up. 😂 I love watching you tackle these repairs, it makes me wanna fix my broken stuff too! Just hope I don't mess it up like you joked about! Keep it up! ✌️

[@JeffHundo]

THE SIZE OF THE CAPACITOR AT THE END IS NO JOKE

[@DavidPlass]

Great job fixing that! The thermal camera really saved the day.

[@pedrobernardi4706]

when i'm watching your videos, it's funny that i get excited and celebrate together when you find and fix the problem

[@bokkenka]

Congratulations on getting that working again!

[@BenjjjDW]

“Or is it?” cracks me up every time 😂

[@BenWoolleyMusic]

Was very satisfying watching you fix this after melting the plastic and ripping up those little bits.

[@KB1UIF]

Hi steve. Great fix. It looks like the bluetooth / wifi chip has an antenna connected via those blue devices. You need to remember that DC and AC act differently. What appears to be a short to DC might be a tuned circuit and not a short to a particular AC frequency. Tuned circuits are often connected to ground. So maybe the blue components were coils forming tuned circuits. It looked like if you follow where that track goes it ends up at the copper pcb antenna for bluetooth/wifi. Dont always think DC !! Coils can be shorts to DC but have impedance to AC. Study AC theory a little, and it will start to make more sense.

[@jonogrimmer6013]

Patience beyond on this one! Great job

[@exidy-yt]

Echo Beach, how utterly perfect for this video. Shakey Stevey or not, melted plastic record ended or not, you did good work here. Grats on the save!

[@nelseify]

Thats the most impressive fix I've seen you do yet

[@Tarcisio0511]

VEEEERY nice one Steve! I really was hoping to see "the" counter not needing to be reset... But the repair in the flex pcb was great!

[@davelordy]

From the "For anyone who's interested" department . . . the AD407 microscope you use in your videos normally goes for 260 quid-ish . . but there's a bloke on eBay who sells them for less than 50 quid (!!!!), all boxed, new and all that good stuff, I got one for 33 quid, I was 100% sure I'd get an empty box with a brick in it, lol, but there it was my very own AD407 ! Amazing quality, love the screen, spent the first hour looking at random crap : ) I then quickly bought a second as a backup, 46 quid for the second one . . . his prices seem randomly set and can go as high as 79 and as low as 45 (my 33 quid one was a 'make an offer' deal) . . . either way, it's a decent deal for people who don't want to shell out 260.

[@3rdaxis649]

Wow. I did NOT think you were going to get that going. That's one for the thermal cam:)

[@diecrafter1986]

At 12:05 a capacitor in the top left for the sense line of that sub powersupply got disconnected, you can see that the top of it is not connected anymore. Would be good to put back but it seems works without. Great video!

[@dave_s_vids]

You sir, are a troubleshooting king! Great work on this one.

[@ralphj4012]

Well done. Probably too late now, but that cap (pin12 of the IC) was probably 2u2 and as that is one of the power rails (AVDD28), it's probably worth fitting.

[@LurchNZ]

Loving the Humour, similar to mine. I have been watching for a while now. Keep up the good work. Would love to have a channel like yours. Awesome stuff :)

[@zerocks88]

Episode 237 of Steve still using the air setting too high and having things fly away 😂 you're an egg Steve love your work!

[@isitPC]

Great repair, that was some patience needed there!

[@TokkanFX]

Tip: use aluminium or copper tape to stop melting the plastic or the screen use enough to spread the heat., don't forget to unplug or de-battery first. Make more use of the thermal camera.

[@ProfSimonHolland]

classic Steve.... good fix on the unfixable

[@MagikGimp]

Incredible work! That thing is miniscule.

[@gunnerman1880]

I was actually wondering why you weren't checking the ribbon cables 1st always check the easy fixes 1st. And now you will know why I don't do stuff like this a I have the shakes all the time. This fix was a pain. 😢 but you did it. You have great patience 😊

[@dragonball7]

Amazing and difficult repair, great job!

[@3DJapan]

Nice Orbital reference.

[@blueskies792]

@9:17 Now thats a proper car wreck! And WoW, this is some great work. Congrats!

[@cottonfoo]

The Box Part 2, awesome!

[@gardiner_bryant]

I feel like the shorted rail on the Wi-Fi chip could be related to the antenna. But that's just my hunch. I'm no expert

[@bentbilliard]

Love the forwarding effect.

[@technoman9000]

You have the patience of a saint, wow

[@cobraCPT]

Appreciate your video's. Gave me the motivation to fix the ECU on my Laserjet 1300. Something was shorting out the 24V DC power when closing the toner door. Eventually found a faulty zener diode... GET IN THERE. Stupid zener.

[@Bloke-in-Stoke]

Fantastic. Really well done, you're getting good at this stuff, keep it up. Cheers 🍺

[@My_Op]

The mighty BlurCam™ is back!

[@gaving7095]

Astonishing patience! What an incredible fix 🙏👍

[@GlennPierce]

Great work. Half way through I thought this is a no fix.

[@JoeyDoesTech]

Well done mate, what a fix ❤

[@mrbussey]

You didn't replace the cap?! Come on Steve!! Don't make me get Dave involved!!

[@NikoIreland]

I didn't see Steve changing it!

[@mikethedigitaldoctorjarvis]

Well done ! great fix Steve 😊

[@paulwhelan7105]

You're knowledge is growing - & that capacitor is ridiculously small! I have one of these Echoes & hope nothing like that goes wrong with it... :)

[@jasondeveson7435]

Love your vids mate. Been binge watching them for couple of weeks. What microscope are you using at the moment. The clarity looks 👌

[@stoyantsalev3109]

Speaking on behalf of all channel subscribers - we saw that title coming from miles away... About time too! :)

[@BobCumberbatch]

Great fix, well done

[@chrisgravedigger]

Looks like a tornado went through the board 😂. Tickled me that bit

[@Ukmartian1701]

Prob 1 of your best for a while, Steve is really enjoyable to watch, and the size off that cap ..I would love to know how they are designed and made.....keep up the good work ..... PS I have just ordered a cheap tumu scope. I also have a hot air gun soldering irons meters with continuity mode ....probably never get to use them like you but I have several dead laptops, so I may have a go

[@tenaciousgaz]

Great fix Steve!! Did you try the Bluetooth connection in the end?

[@Flashy7]

"I have to take everything off to find out" - well, you are quite good at that... :)

[@endorphinsmusic]

the Box, nice choice!

[@TheStuffMade]

It's surprising how many of these issues are caused by shorted capacitors. I believe the little blue ones, part of the antenna, are inductors, that would explain why they measure as a short.

[@daytek95]

i thing that's is the antenna where you have the shorts and the things are filter and other stuff to keep it on the freq it need

[@charlesmott8863]

TUUUUUUNE!! Love Martha and the Muffins Echo Beach :) Well done for that, isn't there just a smallest OCD part of you that says AHHHHHHHHH I have put a capacitor back in! :D

[@snik2pl]

wow that was more painful than usual. especially searching for a short circuit in the antenna path

[@benjaminh2153]

Love the oldskool tmnt shirt 😍

[@garymucher4082]

I am sure you know that when checking for shorts via the sound setting, using your mul-timeter, if the part has a low resistance, it will make the meter sound. So a lot of your "shorted" soundings could just be low resistance readings. As for your password, I'm guessing it is "stupid"...tell me I'm wrong... lol The temp reading was well over the boiling point of water being 141+ C reading. Equally amazing is how you always seem to stumble on the bad part(s). That is a gift! Thumbs Up!

[@LArmor6S]

The thing with radio circuits, is there's magic radio voodoo going on. It's a world where shorts can be open , and open cables can be shorts at RF frequencies. You really shouldn't mess with them unless you know what is going on. I've seen laptop WiFi antennas that just look shorted (in the DC domain) but they work fine in the GHz range. As soon as switching and frequencies start appearing, the rules are very different compared to DC, and that's why you might see DC shorts on radio antenna stuff, or mad squiggly length-matching traces on high speed data lines. Best to leave them alone unless that's where the fault lies. Other than that, a good repair, considering you were working with fly-sh** size components.

[@ellhawkes78]

Random question, where’s your t shirt from! That’s ace!

[@KLGChaos]

Steve's shirt must be imported. Ninjas aren't allowed in the UK.

[@PixelatedH2O]

The name Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has been used in the UK for several years now

[@KLGChaos]

​​@@PixelatedH2OYes, but that is a lot less funny than the Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles censorship and the jokes it creates.

[@technoman9000]

Was there a ninja panic I didn't know about?

[@OGSERB]

👍🏻 for Orbital.

[@moxy1701]

I think those blue things are Murata 0201 chip inductors.

[@pepealexandre]

Don't skip the intro on this one guys! Nice beat. 🎶🔨

[@ztechrepairs]

Can I recommend a vacuum sucking pen. They make some manual ones and then some automatic ones. They're actually not that expensive. I got a 50 or $60 one off of amazon. It's pretty freaking awesome. You won't knock off components because you will lift the metal Lids right off. Remember straight up LOL. Excellent video as usual dude

[@BrunodeSouzaLino]

An alternative to using a heat gun would be those rice bags used for heat therapy. They come in an assortment of sizes and you heat them in the microwave.

[@mrpugster]

Love Gordon ❤️

[@AdaptiveSystems]

the sorted rail is the wifi / bt antenna.

[@afp75]

im having a case of deja vu

[@rockmonty]

patients of a Saint. Well.done

[@SkyfighterZX]

That thumbnail joke is very clever tho

[@13Inglewood]

David F, What have you done to your Echo Show?

[@rustynail1194]

Love the t shirt mate!

[@tombrinsley9559]

Apologies if this is an obvious question but how or why do these things still work with a component removed? If the component isn’t needed, why is it there in the first place? Presumably it’s there for a reason? What I’m seeing is an expensive device that would have been junked if it hadn’t found its way onto Steve’s desk for the sake of a failed component that does absolutely nothing anyway.

[@fluxilla]

usually those filter caps are for noise suppression. they improve reliability by blocking AC noise on DC circuits. sometimes they are also for FCC (in the states) compliance for avoiding unlawful EMF emissions on protected spectrums.

[@DragoSmash]

some capacitors in circuits are called decoupling capacitors, these capacitors aren't essential for the device to work and mostly are there to reduce noise in order to keep the voltage strictly within spec, chips and devices often have some random tolerance based on the purity of silicon, etc let's imagine that a chip has a spec of functioning between 3.3v and 3.5v, a decoupling capacitor is placed to keep the voltage at 3.4v, otherwise the voltage would fluctuate between 3.2v and 3.6v now, the silicon impurities could make the chip still work at even 3.7v without a hitch, but it could also make it malfunction if the silicon impurities make it so it can't work at 3.6v or more the chips are made within a threshold, anything beyond that is not guaranteed to work but *can* work

[@dacodemonk]

Great job!!

[@paulcarrick6225]

Stupid echo, echo, echo, echo.... Cant believe you missed that 😂

[@wielmaassen8808]

The Box - Orbital 😍

[@davesmith9451]

Quick, Robin!! To the ThermalCam!!!

[@kulgan96]

i think an important thing to learn here is that tiny spec of a component made this device a paperweight, touch is great but if it's gone the device is gone

[@Milo-UK]

You have good taste in music

[@dazer123]

It's like a re run I am sure I just watched this two hours ago

[@KaterKomPuter]

You could still use it with a Micro USB OTG cable and Hub for mouse and keyboard ^^

[@dirkschmitz7884]

I was wondering why you would use the hot air when everything under the ribbon cable is plastic :D

[@andysmith1706]

Next time we get BlurCam, how about including the first couple of seconds of the drums from 'Song 2' 😂 As a fix, maybe just switch off autofocus, or move your monitor out of shot?

[@knc0512]

19:33 I thought we were about to play darts for a second.

[@ctg8563]

Best t-shirt ever Cowabunga Dude!!!

[@cypresscustoms]

Now big brother can properly monitor your activities!

[@allthegearnotaclue]

did you replace the shorted cap or just leave it out? what is the purpose of it if you can just leave it out?

[@AtomMachinerule]

Honestly not been a fan of your rap.. but the last couple have been SOLID. You have turned me.. Get in there... 😊

[@technoman9000]

Yeah I agree, I almost listened to the whole rap this time