Convert Pinephone Keyboard into Powerbank

[magdesign]

Maybe you are like me and want to use the Pinephone Keyboard also to charge other devices as a simple Powerbank,
with following steps you can add an USB-A socket and use it as such a device (and you get the option to still use your usb-C phone port when keyboard is attached):

Schematic view of what we are going to do:



1.) Open the keyboard



2.) Remove the controller board:



3.) Cut the wires on J2. its better to cut two of them longer and two of them shorter, so you have a visual feedback of the polarity:



4.) Drill a hole in the outer cage which fits the diameter of your USB-A connector (just cut an usb extension cable to get a plug...):



5.) Insert the cable through the hole,
     solder + and - to the cutted cables,
     apply a shrink hose to isolate it, add a cable tie as a pull protection, but everything together and you are good to go:






Your powerbank is finished and you even see the status of your powerbank on the phone:

---

After trying to add LED's to show the charging status of the battery and speaking to megi, there is no possibility to do so. You will only get the charging status when connecting the phone... since the charging chip disables the led charging status when I2C is active and with the current wiring, this is always.

[theResonant]

WOW. Okay, so now the powerbank will never feed power to the phone directly via the Pogo pins, right? This is very interesting.

[magdesign]

exactly,
you get rid of the power trouble for not be able to use the phones usb-c port when on keyboard, and you are also able to charge other devices.

[wibble]

Pity there isn't space in there for a tiny PD-capable USB hub, at least with this board. A connection to the phone's USB port could have been routed through the hinge as the power is, and connectors exposed for USB power and devices.

[magdesign]

**EDIT:**

I had to modify my hack,
since with newer kernels the keyboard only works when also power is coming thru the Pogo Pins,
so I soldered the powercables back together and the usb inbetween.
I do not like this solution since now I am not able to use the phones usb-c port to connect peripherals.

[theResonant]

**EDIT:**

I had to modify my hack,
since with newer kernels the keyboard only works when also power is coming thru the Pogo Pins,
so I soldered the powercables back together and the usb inbetween.
I do not like this solution since now I am not able to use the phones usb-c port to connect peripherals.

Very weird. I wonder what changed in the kernels, or why would such a change be necessary. Maybe the newer kernels don't like it when the V+ and GND wires are disconnected for any USB device? Even if the phone shouldn't consider the keyboard as USB device.

I have an idea. Please don't do it. Here it is:

Return to your hack, so the powerbank does not supply the phone. And take the wires that were previously supplying the phone and solder them to the 3.3V and GND pins on the back of the KB151 board. Those pins are actually part of the development USB port of the keyboard, which is completely separate of anything. This way, the POGO pins of the phone will be connected to something instead of being open. Note that the KB151 board will actually try to draw power from the phone, then, via the POGO pins. But the phone probably doesn't provide much (if at all).

Please don't attempt this, it's likely very wrong.