Howto: Pinetab Screen Replacements (+ Pictures)

[RTP]

Opened mine maybe around 20 or so times for different exploratory adjustments without so much as a scratch.

I think I had mine open 3-4 times now. Once when I first got it in excitement, second time to find the M.2 expansion slot (which I later realised is an add-on mod I cannot yet buy), and the last two times to try and fix the broken WiFi/BT chip.

It's absolutely a great device for opening/modification options! The cover design works well coming off and going back on without damage.  But I don't know the limitations in screen, and try to play it safe and recommend that.

Only wrote initial warning after reading where others reported breaking their screens and so was hesitant to openly encourage it.
But it really is safe if someone is careful and follows the recommendations IMHO.

Sure, I still know of quite a few PineTabs that were killed this way. I still believe the best option would have been a case with screws - it would also have allowed for custom shells too!

Regarding modifications, I guess you have the SDR kit. I'm still waiting to see any modifications become available for the device on the store. The PineTab has been really neglected in both hardware and software.

I actually even have the device quite usable with a minimalist UI (that I have not had time to work on) based on wm2: https://github.com/danielbarry/oakwm/tre...ab-v1-arch I used it the other day to give a presentation and go through a code review on GitLab.

It uses less than 5 MB of RAM and next to no CPU, it's snappy. If there is some interest I can look to release it as an image.

I think the way I open it is very safe. But there's always a concern when dealing with screens like this and a cover that is less "pop off" than the Pinephone design

I would love to see the next iteration have screws, even at the slight cost of form factor. Even Apple devices these days are becoming more repairable. I still maintain that not using the the modules in these devices was a mis-step, it would offer an unbelievably cool upgrade path.

Thanks for your feed back!

No, thank you. And I've also enjoyed the content over on your site!

Out of interest, when you record videos, which device are you operating on and which software do you use? I was looking to do something similar on the PineTab.

I haven't been using anything to natively record on Pinetab - yet. But plan on doing some coming up as I find the best solution (that also records sound).

For the moment I am using Simple Screen recorder on a x86 laptop with ssh terminal open to make changes on Pinetab. Saving my Pinetab hardware - although it is actually capable of video editing if absolutely necessary (I tested Olive).