Pinecil cuts out / reboots during soldering

[onestwos]

My new Pinecil arrived, it all seemed promising. But when I touch the hot iron on a circuit board or capacitor it has a tendency to cut out, or reboot.

I think it's rebooting when touched against even the most tiny charge, making it impossible to solder with it. Pinecil blacks out and returns to standby constantly.

Am I doing something wrong?

These are just regular PC motherboards, or other electronics for repair. I can't imagine it's necessary to fully 100% discharge everything, as well as not being practical. And even if so I'd expect this to have been noticed by YouTube reviewers etc.

This is with PinePower and Pine's USB cable. I also had the same experience using a QuickCharge battery pack and a different cable. I ordered 2 Pinecils (one for a friend) which was helpful for testing; both do the same thing.

Is there something I'm missing here? Advice appreciated -- thanks.

[Savec]

Have the same experience, @onestwos described the problem precisely

[kwiizu]

My new Pinecil arrived, it all seemed promising. But when I touch the hot iron on a circuit board or capacitor it has a tendency to cut out, or reboot.

I think it's rebooting when touched against even the most tiny charge, making it impossible to solder with it. Pinecil blacks out and returns to standby constantly.

Am I doing something wrong?

These are just regular PC motherboards, or other electronics for repair. I can't imagine it's necessary to fully 100% discharge everything, as well as not being practical. And even if so I'd expect this to have been noticed by YouTube reviewers etc.

This is with PinePower and Pine's USB cable. I also had the same experience using a QuickCharge battery pack and a different cable. I ordered 2 Pinecils (one for a friend) which was helpful for testing; both do the same thing.

Is there something I'm missing here? Advice appreciated -- thanks.

Did you get this solved? I got same problem.

[-xor-]

Hi, I am also having the same problem...

Is it a defect with the unit? I used mine for the first time yesterday, but bought it a few months ago. I just checked their warranty policy and it states only 30 days from the date of purchase.

If it's a defective unit, that's really disappointing

[tux68]

I sure hope there is an easy solution for this since I am seeing the same thing here with a brand new Pinecil.  Paid $30 shipping when ordering, and it just arrived with an additional $40 COD import fee.  After grumbling a bit and paying everything, it's beyond frustrating to have a defective unit right out of the box. Has not been a positive experience so far :-(

[metnetdave]

Yep I Have the same experience, @onestwos described the problem precisely. The Iron will sit in a holder for hours or I can hold it OK but when i solder an actual pcb the display flashes off for a second and the iron starts cooling down?? 

[tux68]

Have played with this a bit more and it appears that the problem is actually with the PinePower Desktop unit rather than the Pinecil. When using my laptop USB-C power brick, the Pinecil behaves properly. It only resets and cuts out when using the PinePower. On the other hand, the PinePower actually seems to power my laptop okay, so maybe there is just some weird interaction between the PinePower and the Pinecil. Still disappointing, but i'm happier than if the Pinecil itself was bad. Perhaps there is a fix possible for the PinePower Desktop unit?

[k8Weuwdu5E8mPXPB6zfjfiKo]

Made an account to say the same thing is happening with my Pinecil as well. I received it around March of this year.

I was able to use the Pinecil for a few sessions, but it now shuts down with just a wiggle of the usb-c connector. I have tried different cables and charging bricks, but the issue is the same - if the cable moves at an angle, the screen will turn off and iron will shut down.

I created a support ticket on Zoho over a week ago but have not gotten any response at all. Support has been the worst I've experienced in recent memory - will not be recommending this item.

[kwiizu]

Same I've been contacting the support then only ask me trie different cables and stuff then they starting to ghosting me.

[metnetdave]

Have played with this a bit more and it appears that the problem is actually with the PinePower Desktop unit rather than the Pinecil.    When using my laptop USB-C power brick, the Pinecil behaves properly.  It only resets and cuts out when using the PinePower.  On the other hand, the PinePower actually seems to power my laptop okay, so maybe there is just some weird interaction between the PinePower and the Pinecil.  Still disappointing, but i'm happier than if the Pinecil itself was bad.  Perhaps there is a fix possible for the PinePower Desktop unit?

Yes this again is my experience, just with the Pine Power!