Nextbook 8 (NX785QC8G) Official Firmware Update Is Out

[shaunmt]

Oh yeah, battery issue. Weren't you going to give detailed instructions on how to take the tablet apart to fix this?

Yeah... sorry, but I never got around to it... been focused on finishing TWRP and getting partition size patches and a new ROM out...

Taking it apart is simple, but difficult to do without bending or possibly even cracking the front bezel.

It's just a matter of shoving something in the very narrow crack around the side edges between the front bezel and the back cover and sliding it around to pop the tabs loose (don't forget to remove your external sd card first). Most plastic "spudger" tools made for removing electronics cover would be too thick. I managed to use my thumbnail... one of the guitar pick shaped (but thinner corners) spudgers might work too.

The danger here is bending the edges of the front bezel (mine is a little warped now), popping the very thin edge band off of the front bezel (mine is loose in spots now) or cracking the front bezel / touch digitizer or lcd (someone reported breaking theirs).

You don't want the front bezel to come off (it is attached to the digitizer/lcd, which is attached to the main board and battery), you want the back cover to come off of the rest of the assembly.

Also, be careful with the speaker wire. The speaker is attached to the inside of the back cover and the extremely thin speaker wires are soldered to the main board. (I broke my speaker wires and had to resolder them.)

Once apart it is pretty easy to spot the problem (my battery plug was at nearly a 45 degree angle to the connector slot). The battery cables were stretched too tight, with a gap under them. A little pressure in the right spot pushes the cables into the gap between them and the back of the lcd and pulls the plug partway out of the connector.

The best solution would likely be moving the battery a little closer to the main board to give the battery cables some slack... but the battery is glued to the back of the lcd. I don't think it can be pulled off without damaging the soft battery or the lcd and I was afraid to use a heat gun to soften the glue.

I cut small squarish piece of soft plastic scrap material to fit in the gap between the battery and main board where the cables were stretched across the gap so they have less space available to move, which is mostly working, but I think maybe some low temp hot glue to hold the battery plug in the connector might be a better solution. (Haven't tried that yet.)

When done, just line up the buttons and ports with the cover, angle that corner in first, and then gently pop the edges of the cover back on.

ShaunMT

[mel4787]

Yeah... sorry, but I never got around to it... been focused on finishing TWRP and getting partition size patches and a new ROM out...

Taking it apart is simple, but difficult to do without bending or possibly even cracking the front bezel.

It's just a matter of shoving something in the very narrow crack around the side edges between the front bezel and the back cover and sliding it around to pop the tabs loose (don't forget to remove your external sd card first). Most plastic "spudger" tools made for removing electronics cover would be too thick. I managed to use my thumbnail... one of the guitar pick shaped (but thinner corners) spudgers might work too.

The danger here is bending the edges of the front bezel (mine is a little warped now), popping the very thin edge band off of the front bezel (mine is loose in spots now) or cracking the front bezel / touch digitizer or lcd (someone reported breaking theirs).

You don't want the front bezel to come off (it is attached to the digitizer/lcd, which is attached to the main board and battery), you want the back cover to come off of the rest of the assembly.

Also, be careful with the speaker wire. The speaker is attached to the inside of the back cover and the extremely thin speaker wires are soldered to the main board. (I broke my speaker wires and had to resolder them.)

Once apart it is pretty easy to spot the problem (my battery plug was at nearly a 45 degree angle to the connector slot). The battery cables were stretched too tight, with a gap under them. A little pressure in the right spot pushes the cables into the gap between them and the back of the lcd and pulls the plug partway out of the connector.

The best solution would likely be moving the battery a little closer to the main board to give the battery cables some slack... but the battery is glued to the back of the lcd. I don't think it can be pulled off without damaging the soft battery or the lcd and I was afraid to use a heat gun to soften the glue.

I cut small squarish piece of soft plastic scrap material to fit in the gap between the battery and main board where the cables were stretched across the gap so they have less space available to move, which is mostly working, but I think maybe some low temp hot glue to hold the battery plug in the connector might be a better solution. (Haven't tried that yet.)

When done, just line up the buttons and ports with the cover, angle that corner in first, and then gently pop the edges of the cover back on.

ShaunMT

um too dangerous for me. its my only tablet and i dont want to damage it. im very careful on it. if it were like a kindle or something else we'd be good since all we have t do is pop the back off instead of the front

[mel4787]

Is it the common battery issue or some other issue?

fixed this by a battery callibration. so far im its working and not shutting down. guess someone messed with it and it started to shut down frequently. but when it was plugged in it didnt shut down. off charger then it goes into shutdown without warning. i charged to 100% then calibrated it and rebooted the tablet. this seems to work and im letting it discharge fuly. lets hope this doesnt happen. also in the actual battery is there any way to make sure the wires dont move like customizing something to put between the wire and the gap to prevent that?

[shaunmt]

fixed this by a battery callibration. so far im its working and not shutting down. guess someone messed with it and it started to shut down frequently. but when it was plugged in it didnt shut down. off charger then it goes into shutdown without warning. i charged to 100% then calibrated it and rebooted the tablet. this seems to work and im letting it discharge fuly. lets hope this doesnt happen. also in the actual battery is there any way to make sure the wires dont move like customizing something to put between the wire and the gap to prevent that?

Battery calibration didn't work for me...

My battery plug was part way out of the connector... basically, the device was still getting power, but the battery statistics were completely inaccurate because Android couldn't properly measure the battery level.

Eventually, the plug worked its way out far enough that the device no longer received any battery power at all, even thought the battery was near full charge.

I mentioned in a previous post, I customized a peice of scrap plastic to partially fill the gap under the wires so they couldn't be pushed in so far, but I'm not sure it was the best solution...

ShaunMT

[mel4787]

i see. But for now this is working for now. I wish we could get to the battery from the back instead of from the front

[mel4787]

opened my tab and seen that it wasn't in fully. used some aluminum foil and put some in the gap. so far you're right on the battery. it was out a bit and now testing your theory out

[shaunmt]

opened my tab and seen that it wasn't in fully. used some aluminum foil and put some in the gap. so far you're right on the battery. it was out a bit and now testing your theory out

Be sure to report back on the results.

So far, everyone I know of who has opened theirs up found the same thing...

ShaunMT

P.S. Not sure aluminum foil is the best material... it does conduct electricity... and heat too...

ShaunMT

[mel4787]

I used the foil due to it not moving all that much. And i could form it to what I needed. That was all I had at the time. But I will report. When it turned on I was at 30% battery. So I waited. At 14% it showed the warning, then at 4% it showed it again. Other than the til is there anything else I can use to keep the connection from coming out?

[shaunmt]

I used the foil due to it not moving all that much. And i could form it to what I needed. That was all I had at the time. But I will report. When it turned on I was at 30% battery. So I waited. At 14% it showed the warning, then at 4% it showed it again. Other than the til is there anything else I can use to keep the connection from coming out?

I would look for something non-conductive and non-combustible...

I used a scrap piece of plastic I found lying around and trimmed it down. I think it was from sort of product packaging. I think it probably had twist ties through it from one of my daughter's toys.

ShaunMT

[mel4787]

Thanks. Would wax paper work

[shaunmt]

Thanks. Would wax paper work

Wax is combustible... probably a bad idea...

ShaunMT

[mel4787]

so would that pose a problem with aluminum foil under the wire? ik now on the heat thing but would it still be a problem on the heat sink distributing the heat evenly? or it still will cause problems

[shaunmt]

so would that pose a problem with aluminum foil under the wire? ik now on the heat thing but would it still be a problem on the heat sink distributing the heat evenly? or it still will cause problems

Can't say for sure if it will not...

ShaunMT

[mel4787]

ill moniter and let you know. plus ill have some type of cooling for when the tablet charges. im just worried thats all and i love this tablet. so paper is ruled out right?

[shaunmt]

ill moniter and let you know. plus ill have some type of cooling for when the tablet charges. im just worried thats all and i love this tablet. so paper is ruled out right?

I'd look for some sort of plastic material that can be cut down to fit...