EEVblog

[@RyuRaccoon]

The Kindle turned on and off due to a magnetic sensor. Also, the rf covers just pop off the fences, they are not soldered on but the fences are. The extra shielding is probably required so they don't have to be turned off when on an airplane.

[@jtaraskus]

it's hollo sensor

[@hjalfi]

The serial flash chip on the flex board contains the waveform information needed to drive the eink display. Each display is different, so they'll calculate the waveform in production and program the chip. It'll be on the flex board so it's physically attached to the screen to make tracking easier.

[@mscir]

Can you post links to more reading on that? I've never heard of that, thanks.

[@dancraggs]

The SD-like connector could be exactly that, an SD connector. The SDs have nine pins, but one of the pins 'pin 8' (actually just past your pin 1) is a half-pin. Pin 6 is the ground, but the far side numbering starts at 7 (9 is weirdly on the other side), so would be in the pin 2 position you pointed out if the card was inserted upside down... which since the Kindle was on its back at the time would make perfect sense.

[@AlTheEngineer]

Absolutely enjoy your blogs! As an engineer and as a nerd! You hit the spot with every topic!

[@BobofWOGGLE]

Man even if you filled up all that extra space with battery, do you really want a battery large enough last a quarter of a year? You'd forget the thing even needs charging!

[@TheSpatialTheory]

That little 4 pin device has to be a hall effect sensor or a tiny reed switch for it to cause the kindle to turn on like that in response to the (presumably magnetized) screwdriver. It's probably the sensor that let's the kindle turn on and off when you open and close the cover/case.

[@migsmog]

Awesome vid! My 2014 Paperwhite stopped responding and wouldn't reset by holding the power button. I suspect it had to do with leaving it to charge overnight on a USB dongle powered by a USB-C power brick. I just needed a visual guide on getting inside safely. Once I did I unscrewed the battery and left it out for 1-2 minutes before reseating it. I was able to restart my Kindle before reassembling. Saved me from having to upgrade to a new Paperwhite / Oasis

[@PassiveSmoking]

Weird that they've apparently gone to a lot of effort to make the guts of the machine easily serviceable, and then glued the whole thing together in the end. BTW, is there a good reason not to heat the glue first before trying to pry the front off? You know, with a hair dryer or something?

[@coriscotupi]

+PassiveSmoking A few months ago I replaced my GPS's broken touch screen and the only way I could get the old one out was blowing hot air. A heat gun was somewhat of an overkill, so the wife's hair drier did the job nicely.

[@MHawkeye]

+PassiveSmoking If you use a hotplate it becomes easy to separate.

[@coriscotupi]

***** Sad to hear your bad experience. I fixed my GPS with no problems using a hair drier to get the old touch screen off.

[@coriscotupi]

***** I hear you. I once had a smartphone whose WiFi stopped working about a week after warranty expired and everywhere I took it attempting to fix they said it was not worth it because of cost. Technology is great when it works, but sometimes it just turns around to bite us.

[@sheeplord4976]

Cheap to service for warranties, but impossible to fix yourself.

[@compactc9]

Here in Denver, CO, we have a toll road that, like most of them these days, has the option of setting up and account with them and getting a transponder that a scanner reads as you drive under it without stopping. They've switched to using these sticker tags which are just RFID tags much like this that you stick in the corner of the windshield, its pretty cool!

[@EEVblog]

It possibly hold calibration data for the E-Ink display, so makes sense to have it on the flex. That way a separate test jig can be used to calibrate and store the data for each one.

[@mikeselectricstuff]

Clock is optional , so power, data, reset - looks like clock is optional for GSM type SIMs. The used pins on the footprint correspond to an interleaved sideways SIM footprint as well.

[@EEVblog]

No, it's a standard US model, shipped from Amazon US.

[@bramvandenbroeck5060]

15:30 The iPad's uses a similar sensor (its magnetic based) for use with their magic covers, so when you open up the cover, the device wakes up without you having to push anything.

[@LPFthings]

They probably made the power switch easily detachable, as usually they are the first things to fail in such devices. Would be super easy to replace with how they've set it up.

[@gestapo9]

hardly any review have i ever seen with such precision .. and the guy has a good presentation style too.

[@danielmusat597]

A real state of the art design!!! That part that you were touching to turn on the Kindle is a magnetic sensor for the flip-shell (or whatever name might have). There is no flaw in the design. And the LEDs are Osram (CUW Y3SH). And thank you for not tearing it down. It would be a pity to break it.

[@snik2pl]

Few years ago you could buy "Afterburner internal light" for gameboy advance. It was designed to be mounted on the screen and not behind the screen. The idea is the same, but screen is much bigger.

[@Minedrafter]

The "magic screwdriver" is a magnetc Sensor for the protecting case

[@mrbishi1000]

Great teardown mate, love your work, spot on.

[@ironspider1960]

I agree, from an electronics perspective very nice design and great attention to detail. I'm guessing as this this will get used just about everywhere including aircraft and hospitals RFI/EMI was a major concern.

[@clementkirton]

The Thing that made it switch on at 15:40 was for the cases. so probably magnetic as the paperwhite turns on when i open the case.

[@EEVblog]

Just like a regular kindle. But I didn't have not done a side-by-side comparison yet.

[@EEVblog]

BTW, for those following along, this video was done with the same built-in mic as the last video, but without the "automatic gain" (compressor/limiter) turned on.

[@ARMALON87]

"Look at this strange looking sh*t, I have no idea what's all about, but it's just awesome!" No offence, I love that guy, he is terrific! =)

[@mscir]

LOL, I was just going to say something just like that.

[@KaineVarley]

Hey Dave, Great tear down, thx. Love the enthusiasm for the magnetic switch. Am I right in guessing that all of the shielding is because readers like this are used in sensitive areas such as hospitals and on planes? Also, I'm a Kobo user (don't have much love for Amazon), I wonder how Kindle and Kobo stack up against each other. Have you done any side-by-side testing? Cheers, Kaine

[@EEVblog]

I forgot the spare battery for the lapel mic AGAIN! Wasn't going back home to get it...

[@Jeffparanormia]

Amen! I've been a Kindle user for years, no complaints about battery life here, and I read a LOT!

[@doublejnyc]

Dude, I know nothing about electronics but your narration was totally entertaining. You could do live commentary of grass growing and I'd sit spellbound. BTW, where would the "storage" be? I have a broken paperwhite and I want to destroy it properly.

[@JamesEncliffe]

The Kindle case has a magnet to switch it on when the lid is opened. Probabaly a hall effect sensor. Your screwdriver is slightly magnetic.

[@mikeselectricstuff]

All Kindle displays have a flash chip on the flex - this is for data to normalize out production variations - I read the one on the original Kin and it didn't have enough to be per-pixel cal. Read somewhere it contains firmware for the Epson controller

[@veetour]

I wished they had used six LEDs instead, which would have made the lighting more uniform. But I think that would both increase the Kindle PW price and also the decrease the battery life.

[@davidgermain]

a tip for removing the glue as you pry it open, i use a craft knife just after seeing the glue. as you pull the plastic away you can gently cut the glue this prevents over stressing the plastic as you pull it apart,

[@Jeffparanormia]

If one turns of the WiFi and/or 3G connection, a Kindle can be used for 2-4 weeks if one is reading without an internal light. I understand the battery life is even greater with the paperwhite. I've used Kindles for 3 years, they are amazing!

[@EEVblog]

Actually, I was really worried I busted it. When put back together the touch screen didn't work and the display was ghosting really bad. Turns out I reconnected the cables *after* the battery. That's a no-no for some reason. After removing that battery again it worked fine.

[@technogeek48]

i love eink, the screen reads "repair needed" while your holding the main board in your hand!

[@Caribman9999]

This is very informative for the most part, though most of the extra space mentioned at 7:28-7:50, with a suggestion that it be utilized by installing a bigger battery, is actually occupied by a transmitting module - probably the 3G receiver- in the units that I've seen. The 3G module (if my guess is right about it being that) has a snap-in connection, mounted on the MB at the upper tip of the board at the center right next to the battery.

[@EEVblog]

It's not a reed switch. I completely forgot about these magnetic cover things, and my mind naturally gravitated toward a more technical interference issue.

[@Kugruabay]

Looks like a well engineered product. hats of to kindle. thanks EEVblog

[@Monkeh616]

Exactly my point, the battery charge time on the Kindle is already pretty long, ie. overnight. That can help maintain battery lifetime. You'd have to either increase the charge time or reduce the lifetime.

[@Monkeh616]

The adhesive will be to stop it popping open if dropped. The older Kindles (certainly my Kindle 3/Keyboard) will pop the back off if you dare drop them on anything harder than a pillow.

[@EEVblog]

Good point, didn't think of that!

[@deathventure]

It's a tool term, but it applies to any number of probes/wedges used in different industries for probing, prodding and exploration.

[@SolidStateWorkshop]

Always was impressed by Kindle. Great video Dave.

[@veetour]

Love the way he keeps saying "I have no idea what that is."

[@wpauli71]

the MXIC flash memory contains panel specific parameters, like the common voltage and the waveform file associated with the EInk material build of the foil that's laminated on the backplane.

[@mikeselectricstuff]

LED rubber probably to stop leakage to screen

[@233kosta]

My guess is - the LEDs are running on a set of parallel resistors with an IC controlling which resistors are active. That's how I'd do it mainly for simplicity.

[@TheElectr0nicus]

As i posted earlier, the likelihood that those I2C pins are from a BMS (Battery Management System) like those in laptops which control and protect the battery, and also log data, is very high. If your old battery gets weak, you will have to buy a new one, which will work fine with the kindle, because there is no unique ID- locking behind that thing. And if it prevents you to use a cheap chinese "firework" battery, that only good :)

[@spacewolfjr]

I replaced my battery in my PaperWhite thanks to your teardown, thanks Dave!

[@godzil42]

The chip on the screen flex is the EEPROM storing the waveform to drive the screen.

[@drkastenbrot]

Apparently it is some voltage drop detection to detect covers and shut the device down when the cover is closed.

[@godzil42]

+drkastenbrot Sorry but it's not what the chip on the screen flex is for.

[@sirp0p0]

That new office lighting is definitely working well.

[@MrBarcode]

Dave, that small device next to the LED's might be a magnet sensor of some sort. My blackberry had one in the phone and a small magnet in the case and it would shut off once it went in the case. Plus it would explain why you could turn it on with the screwdriver and not your finger.

[@jbevren]

14:20 is that a hall effect sensor detecting your screwdriver? Could be for a planned flipbook cover that would have a matching magnet in the corner.

[@chloeguo4241]

The reason why the kindle turns on when you put something magnetic is because of the cover, it's Automator closed and open when lift or open the case

[@MasterFX2000]

I would say the mysterious "switch" on the backlight flex is a magnetometer / hall sensor. We already seen it on the Nexus 7. It is used for "smart cover" detection, where the device switches on if you open the cover and switches off if you close it. Obviously you screwdriver is not amagnetic and so you triggered the sensor.

[@GadgetBoy]

A heat gun set to a low temperature will help immensely with those adhesive attachments.

[@dalriada842]

You don't need the light in bright conditions. In dark conditions you would want the light intensity lower, to avoid glare. In dull conditions you want the light intensity higher, to provide a better contrast. It's about maintaining comfortable reading conditions.

[@thexshattered]

You make the BEST teardown vids

[@pressyification]

Exactly...! In layman terms, its the actual thing that puts your kindle to sleep when you close the kindle magnetic cover...! That screw driver tip was magnetised too...

[@nThanksForAllTheFish]

The EEPROM on the flex might be to store factory calibration data for the display.

[@1kuhny]

I would say it turns on when you bring the screwdriver close was done on purpose. it is probably for use with coverable cases. the case would have a sliver of metal that would couple with whatever that black 4 pin ic is and then turn the LEDs on when a slight drop in voltage is sensed. not sure if that's right but I think im close lol

[@Caffeinated_Warrior]

+1kuhny Yup, that's my guess as well. It was made to work with the cases so that when you close the case, the Kindle shuts off.

[@10MBorLess]

+1kuhny this was my first thought

[@tytycon]

+1kuhny I bet his screwdriver is magnitized and it's supposed to be magnets

[@CookingWithCows]

+1kuhny I have a kindle like this with a cover case and it does indeed have a magnet/round bit of metal in the case at that exact position, which makes the kindle turn on/turn off depending if the cover is opened or (almost) closed

[@havefaith96]

interesting the machining rework on the inside because the back cover mold was not properly designed.

[@azyfloof]

Exactly what I was thinking. The LED's should be brighter in darker conditions, and practically off for a bright room. The GUI labelling seems incongruous to this. (13:00 ish)

[@ChrisR3tro]

Love this teardown, very interesting. Keep em coming!

[@BFanist]

the strange screwdriver thing is a magnet detector - for kindle case. If you close the case the magnet gets near detector and kindle is powering off. And if you take magnet away from detector kindle is back on before you can finish opening case! :)

[@EEVblog]

Yes, that's what's Amazon freely admit. They are sold at-cost.

[@sivalley]

Footprint and connection lines match a side load latching SIM socket and 3G modem. Pre-planned future version when they rewrite the firmware for a cost-effective modem supplier. Being it will be GSM, I suspect world wide distribution.

[@EEVblog]

Didn't seem to have enough connected pins for that either.

[@EEVblog]

Not sure were the term originated. There are many terms for the same tool.

[@luminausea]

another wonderfully done episode and very entertaining, too - THANKS! Has anyone an idea if it would be possible to tint the leds a bit in order to give the paperwhite an even but warm light color? I always color my clip on reading lights for a very warm, orange light using colored film for studio lights. Would be a blast for me to have that relaxing light color for a paperwhite, but built in :D Any advice highly appreciated - thanks!

[@dalriada842]

I agree that the light isn't needed in bright conditions, but when there is low light it is needed. However we disagree on how the light should change. Dark conditions are 'darker' than dull conditions! My alarm clock increases the intensity of the display, when I switch a light on, otherwise I couldn't see it!

[@martinmuunk]

My thoughts exactly. It would correspond to a magnet fort the "Auto Wake and Sleep" functionality of the official covers for the ting.

[@Daniel15au]

Yeah I've got one of the cases as well, but didn't know how it worked. Wasn't sure if it was a magnet or some other sensor. :)

[@tabulanostra4213]

I think the heavy amount of shielding is to prevent rf-sniffing of the DRM decryption keys and algorithms.

[@neilhuband995]

but if someone was hell bent on doing that, they'd just remove whatever part of the shielding they wanted, and the rest of the board would stay nicely shielded. :)

[@kategray1867]

+Tabula Nostra Little point. The DRM is completely broken, and the device has been jailbroken.

[@marianoaldogaston]

I read somewhere of a problem in xray airport scanners that may cause troubles in some devices. not for the xray itself but for some electromagnetic energy. maybe all the shielding is for that

[@XanCraft21]

What a super sensitive Hall effect sensor, some metal screwdrivers have a low magnetic field on them and it’s just enough to trigger the sensor. Must be a transistor voltage amplifier around hidden to make it that sensitive. I think the sensor may be for a special cover case that when closed it triggers the sensor with a small magnet.

[@azyfloof]

That LED lighting intrigues me so. Why does it suggest having the LED up bright for bright rooms? Surely the ePaper will be visible, like regular paper, in normal lighting? The screen was still perfectly visible when you disconnected the LEDs after all.

[@XBOXCASANOBA]

Kindle Paperwhite Engineering team need credit here. Thinks for using Japanese made batterie over Chinese made. Keep up the good work

[@paullangton-rogers2390]

Always loved the screens on the Kindle's very clever idea and design.. but never personally owned one or saw much point in them. My mother is a huge fan tho has one and 100s of books on it. Loved the teardown, really interesting to see how they made those backlit screens. That is really strange how the screen came on by some metallic contact with the circuit and/or LED! Did you ever figure out why caused that? If it happened with your finger too my guess would be some design feature, like a sensor of some kind so if you powered off in dark and wanted to use it again, you have a few minutes to touch the panel bezel and it comes back on..but obviously not if it's only metallic and there's no metal plating over that area on the bezel underside?

[@EEVblog]

Yep, this seems like the most likely scenario.

[@EEVblog]

A win for HD!

[@mikeselectricstuff]

unpopulated part near display connector probably a beeper/speaker

[@mscir]

Can you set the screen black and the text white? That makes for really nice reading at night in a dark/pitch black room. Less screen energy means less eye fatigue.

[@rotlerin]

Your new LED lighting makes a helluva difference to your vids Dave,. Really nice

[@EEVblog]

Yeah, pretty annoying, but not so back due to the lack if audio capability, which is what really chews the space. Even 1.25GB gets you tons of books.

[@cleverca22]

i think those shields are clipped onto a small strip of metal, which itself is soldered in so the shield cans could maybe be popped off

[@dalriada842]

It's not a back-light. Those shine through the display, and into your eyes. This is a 'front-light'. The light reflects of the display the way natural light would, making it less prone to glare.

[@mikeselectricstuff]

"SD" slot is probaby SIM for 3D modem, plugged into adjacent unpopulated cobbector

[@Kurazaybo]

I remember folllowing the whole Triton Labs saga about building a kit to light the screen of the game boy advance, it worked pretty much like the light in the kindle

[@TheFrenchMansControl]

Might do something smart where they use the LED driver short circuit detection to detect the on or off button press, seen that implementation before.

[@eerikhm]

Love to see Dave baffled by a simple reed switch :)

[@erlendse]

The battery may not be all that strange, since it's I2C.. it may be a standard Smart-Battery in a special form-factor. Given it's a smart-battery, standard IC's should be easy to find.

[@TwoPlusTwoEqualsFive32]

The flash card could hold factory settings or DRM data. Something they do not want you to be able to access via the USB port.

[@surrealchemist]

I have the leather case and it does have this feature. Similar to the ipad smart cover magnets.

[@Kizmox]

What i find interesting as machinist is the back casing. Looks like they have milled some extra space there... molding problems perhaps? Rather expensive repair..

[@Berker911]

well, i think u already know this, but you should heat the sides first with a hair dryer whatever before prying it open yeah??? its a sticky stuff they usually softens after a bit of heating

[@TheElectr0nicus]

I don't think that is such a big deal. It's only a BMS for the battery. The kindle doesn't boot due to the lack of battery state of charge information, so it goes into repair mode for safety, because it thinks maybe the battery is in a critical state. You would only have to isolate the + pole of the pack connector with some electrical tape and then input the supply-voltage elsewhere on the board. Due to the fact that the I2C pins are still connected the Kindle will boot i think.

[@johnfrancisdoe1563]

TheElectr0nicus Or just extend the full 4 wire connection through the μCurrent to measure avtual battery draw.

[@theSuitMusic]

Not even broken/discarded stuff? I think a lot of people would like an in-depth review EEVblog-style, to see if Apple has some quality to show for it, or if it's all marketing... Anyway, great teardown!

[@puppyjoe69]

I can see the shadowing in the bottom, contrary to the reviewer's observation. So why did Amazon just put 4 LED lights? They could have just filled the entire bottom with lights to make it even brighter and to avoid the dark shadowy gaps in between that causes the uneven blotchy effect.

[@maegan8893]

I was wondering if you could either make an instructional video or direct me to one in replacing the usb charger port on the paperwhite. I've had my kindle a little over a year and the port is so loose, I can't charge it. This video is great. I now know how to take the unit apart in general, but not how to replace that one thing.