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Replace NAND chip

HELLO,
i would like to try to replace the nand chip of my bricked tv box with a new chip
this because the original chip has been damaged shortening two pins trying to put the device in mask rom mode
my device is t-r42 based on rk3188
the price of the nand flash is about $4,
i can found it on some chinese online store
i hope that replacing the nand, my device will go to mask rom mode, enabling me to do the firmware loading through pc (rkbatchtool)
i know that this mode has been designed specifically to load the firmware the first time,
so i hope my device will go to this mode the first time i power on it after replacing it
any suggestion?
any hint?
i know this must be done with :microscopic` attention
thanks!!

Vicolodo said:
HELLO,
i would like to try to replace the nand chip of my bricked tv box with a new chip
this because the original chip has been damaged shortening two pins trying to put the device in mask rom mode
my device is t-r42 based on rk3188
the price of the nand flash is about $4,
i can found it on some chinese online store
i hope that replacing the nand, my device will go to mask rom mode, enabling me to do the firmware loading through pc (rkbatchtool)
i know that this mode has been designed specifically to load the firmware the first time,
so i hope my device will go to this mode the first time i power on it after replacing it
any suggestion?
any hint?
i know this must be done with :microscopic` attention
thanks!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
your going to have to find someone with a hot air rework station to unmount and or remount a new chip. the thing of it is, the pcb has to have perfect traces,,, 0 damage. even if that is met, unmounting and remounting a new chip in a perfect world takes a lot of skill and experience. will it get you into mask rom mode,,, I would guess yes. far as I understand it, thats a hardware thing not a os thing (os=firmware). Unless its something you just want to tinker with just to see if you can do it I wouldnt bother. Thats just me. I have crashed units over and over and got into mask rom mode doing the pin short, purposely trying different firmwares to see if they would work. I am not sure if mask rom mode will happen with out the pin short on a blank chip. maybe thats another question.
if you find someone local that does rework on surface chips, best bet would be ask them. Also a better answer here at least for me would be a close up picture of the chip you speak of, it would probly tell a thousand words. I have done rework, not in the past 5 years but I have. it takes a extremely steady hand and a good feel for when the solder is fluid. Theres tricks to it, do it wrong and theres no fixing the torn traces. Maybe craiglist would point you to someone who does this sort of work in your area. Possibly a local flat screen tv repair center may be able to direct you to someone local also, they are packed with sm chips.
Just some thoughts

stinkster said:
your going to have to find someone with a hot air rework station to unmount and or remount a new chip. the thing of it is, the pcb has to have perfect traces,,, 0 damage. even if that is met, unmounting and remounting a new chip in a perfect world takes a lot of skill and experience. will it get you into mask rom mode,,, I would guess yes. far as I understand it, thats a hardware thing not a os thing (os=firmware). Unless its something you just want to tinker with just to see if you can do it I wouldnt bother. Thats just me. I have crashed units over and over and got into mask rom mode doing the pin short, purposely trying different firmwares to see if they would work. I am not sure if mask rom mode will happen with out the pin short on a blank chip. maybe thats another question.
if you find someone local that does rework on surface chips, best bet would be ask them. Also a better answer here at least for me would be a close up picture of the chip you speak of, it would probly tell a thousand words. I have done rework, not in the past 5 years but I have. it takes a extremely steady hand and a good feel for when the solder is fluid. Theres tricks to it, do it wrong and theres no fixing the torn traces. Maybe craiglist would point you to someone who does this sort of work in your area. Possibly a local flat screen tv repair center may be able to direct you to someone local also, they are packed with sm chips.
Just some thoughts
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Click to collapse
thank you very much,
i will let you know!!

Vicolodo said:
thank you very much,
i will let you know!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A quick alternative for establishing that it is only a faulty NAND is to try booting Linux from an SD card. If that works, then you could look around for someone who has created running Android from SD card for your device and you could at least still use your device in the interim.

Custom ROM physically damaging Android tablet?

Hi - I have a tablet with Android originally installed and my repairer says I need my 'Printed Circuit Board' needs to be replaced and that it will cost me $300 (AUD) because there was a custom ROM on the tablet. I can't afford that, so am going to try to get it working myself. Can installing a custom ROM REALLY physically damage the circuit board? Seems unlikely to me (though i'm not an electrician or anything).
Thanks!

What device did you have?
Nah, installing a custom rom won't physically damage hardware. I don't think so.
Sent from my Moto G using Tapatalk

No that's not possible beside overclocking / over voltage. They are just trying the standard scamming tactic nowadays. It's like you buy a computer and someone tells you, you are not allowed to install linux.
Go to the court if you want to be an example.

In MTK based devices there is a hidden setting to increase the current to camera/flash, this way of customizing can actually cause some damage to the components.

Thanks for the great responses - so helpful. I have an Xperia z2 tablet. Am posting here because I couldn't get any help on the tablet specific forum.
So it sounds like my tablet will be able to be salvaged. I'll just have to figure out how once I get it back.
Thanks again for the help.

Quick update - I received the tablet back from the repairer and not only is it working completely fine, they've even reinstalled the original Sony branded Android. And this was after I asked for it to be sent back to me unrepaired after I refused to pay for repairs. So strange.

Prototype device, ev2, blugroove, flextronics

I recently got my hands on one of these really unique devices, clearly a prototype as I've never personally seen something like this before, I've attached pics I took with my oneplus one, device powers on, WiFi and Bluetooth work, android 2.2.1, odd sized 22gb storage..
But I know NOTHING about it, what brand, what model, what CPU, ram and so on,
Google does not give me anything about it, so I'm at a loss of knowledge here, I'd like to find out more info about this unique device..
Anyone with some insight here please chime in and gimme an idea what I'm working with here

I remember working on this phone. It was definitely ahead of its time..

NAND Replacement for the TF700

This was a PM for @timduru but it wouldn't send.. So here it is for anyone and everyone that can help.
I'm thinking of replacing the nand on the tf700.. Can you help me source the right pin compatible chip? .. I don't have big plans for the tab, I only use it to read books and watch movies.. But the lag bugs me and I want to attempt the chip replacement job. I'm totally clueless as to the fastest chip that could be supported with the right pin configuration.
But I'm hopeful i could drop something beastly and perhaps give it a ram upgrade if the RAM is a separate and easily source-able chip.
I believe the fastboot mode along with the saved "wheeler" blobs will enable me write firmware and start the tablet with the blank new chip.
If I'm successful, i could do the same for other members who want to keep the development of the tab going(with them sharing the risk of failure/I'm not an idiot, but a botched solder job is possible) .. So that we can have one last stable ROM until the eventual death of the tab.
Thank you,

Please keep us updated on what you find out. I am still addicted to this tablet and use both the 700 and the 201 (for different functions of course!) I would also be curious about battery options out there..

Chip Replacement for the TF700
I'm thinking of replacing the nand on the tf700.. Can you help me source the right pin compatible chip? .. I don't have big plans for the tab, I only use it to read books and watch movies.. But the lag bugs me and I want to attempt the chip replacement job. I'm totally clueless as to the fastest chip that could be supported with the right pin configuration.
But I'm hopeful i could drop something beastly and perhaps give it a ram upgrade if the RAM is a separate and easily source-able chip.
I believe the fastboot mode along with the saved "wheeler" blobs will enable me write firmware and start the tablet with the blank new chip.
If I'm successful, i could do the same for other members who want to keep the development of the tab going(with them sharing the risk of failure/I'm not an idiot, but a botched solder job is possible) .. So that we can have one last stable ROM until the eventual death of the tab.
Thank you,[/QUOTE]
Hi,
once I started going about it as well and found Elpida EDJ4216EFBG in our unit to seem very similar to the Samsung K4B2G1646C ddr3 chip.
Pinout seems very close except for T7 which is not connected in elpida but its an address pin A14 in samsung I do not know the implications had these chips to be interchanged. Also the ram in my unit is a hynix. Good Luck.

evimarn said:
Hi,
once I started going about it as well and found Elpida EDJ4216EFBG in our unit to seem very similar to the Samsung K4B2G1646C ddr3 chip.
Pinout seems very close except for T7 which is not connected in elpida but its an address pin A14 in samsung I do not know the implications had these chips to be interchanged. Also the ram in my unit is a hynix. Good Luck.
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Click to collapse
I'll look into the ram when I get the chance.. I was hoping that the pinouts are standard.. I don't think that data lines are redundant in general.. We'll have to ask around or try it for ourselves.
You don't happen to already know any super fast NAND chips with the same pinouts or even the mmc versions supported by the tegra?
Can you PM me the datasheets?

If you manage to pull this off, you will all be my heroes.

PortableTech said:
If you manage to pull this off, you will all be my heroes.
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Click to collapse
I'm a dentist.. I'm looking for someone to do the heavy technical work because searching for these things even with my knowledge is hard.. I'm sure there are ways for design that are learned in engineering school or on the job that I'm not ever going to learn...
The work with steady hands can be left to me.. I already have a few super hard reballing feats under my belt.
I'm really puzzled as how to approach this..
I will go through my library and find you the NAND datasheet as I've downloaded it years ago.
I guess i will start at digi-key and mouser and see what happens.
Wish me luck.

AbdouRetro said:
I'll look into the ram when I get the chance.. I was hoping that the pinouts are standard.. I don't think that data lines are redundant in general.. We'll have to ask around or try it for ourselves.
You don't happen to already know any super fast NAND chips with the same pinouts or even the mmc versions supported by the tegra?
Can you PM me the datasheets?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Basically if memory serves me right the samsung are the best bet.

A question about getting the zenfone 6

Is it safe to buy the zenfone 6 right now? Ive read about issues regarding this device randomly shutting down or getting bricked as well as not receiving some calls, and was wondering if it is worth the risk to buy it still

Every device has issues, if you are unlucky you get a faulty device no matter the brand. Mine has no issues, no shutting down, no problems with calls, nothing. I'm very happy with the phone.

Vanwald said:
Is it safe to buy the zenfone 6 right now? Ive read about issues regarding this device randomly shutting down or getting bricked as well as not receiving some calls, and was wondering if it is worth the risk to buy it still
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Click to collapse
Please kindly let us know which brand do not have any issue on the device
and for my suggestion if you do not want to take any risk, go build a phone for yourself

papete said:
Every device has issues, if you are unlucky you get a faulty device no matter the brand. Mine has no issues, no shutting down, no problems with calls, nothing. I'm very happy with the phone.
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Click to collapse
I see, I'm just reaffirming myself since ive been reading about said issues. I guess ill just shoot my shot

samue11 said:
Please kindly let us know which brand do not have any issue on the device
and for my suggestion if you do not want to take any risk, go build a phone for yourself
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Although I agree that each device has their own quirks, I disagree with your approach that it's as if the issue of a motherboard failure happens on ALL phones. The zenfone 6 had an update (firmware ver. 16.1220.1906.167) that would literally just shut down the device and no longer turn on. The device's hardware is, imo, perfect but, as I have read, was destroyed by its own maker. I'm literally just asking to make sure about my purchase as $500 is not something that is easy to get.

Vanwald said:
Although I agree that each device has their own quirks, I disagree with your approach that it's as if the issue of a motherboard failure happens on ALL phones. The zenfone 6 had an update (firmware ver. 16.1220.1906.167) that would literally just shut down the device and no longer turn on. The device's hardware is, imo, perfect but, as I have read, was destroyed by its own maker. I'm literally just asking to make sure about my purchase as $500 is not something that is easy to get.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never said a motherboard failure happens to all phones, just as I don't imply that all galaxy phones explode.
All purchases are backed by a guarantee, if you happen to get the wrong one, you can have it replaced (as I've done myself with other brands, and I don't think that they are ****ty just because I got a faulty device).
So, the phone is great, yes. Some got failures, yes (like any other brand).

Vanwald said:
Although I agree that each device has their own quirks, I disagree with your approach that it's as if the issue of a motherboard failure happens on ALL phones. The zenfone 6 had an update (firmware ver. 16.1220.1906.167) that would literally just shut down the device and no longer turn on. The device's hardware is, imo, perfect but, as I have read, was destroyed by its own maker. I'm literally just asking to make sure about my purchase as $500 is not something that is easy to get.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as I know Asus has never come forward wiith a full explanation of what exactly has happened.
There are a number of very good reasons why Asus might not want to do that.
It would seem at first glance reasonable to asume that a software update alone could not brick a phone, but you forget such things as ARB (AntiRollBack) which has hardbricked many a Xiaomi.
Then there are such things as qfuses in the soc, which can be blown once only and not restored later.