PineBook Pro revision 2.2: Wishlist for the hardware issue fixes

[dsimic]

I've added one newly discovered issue (headphones detection circuit) to the first post in this thread.  Would you like me to add all other known PineBook Pro hardware issues into the list in the first post, so we end up with a clear summary?

Edit: More importantly, here's a question for @tllim  and @Luke : Are you going to review this wishlist and incorporate some (or hopefully all) of the hardware bugfixes and improvements into the next revision of PineBook Pro's PCB?  If not, please, let us know, so we can stop spending our time on debugging, discovering and documenting hardware issues.  Thank you.

[pixelherodev]

I've added one newly discovered issue (headphones detection circuit) to the first post in this thread.  Would you like me to add all other known PineBook Pro hardware issues into the list in the first post, so we end up with a clear summary?

Edit: More importantly, here's a question for @tllim  and @Luke : Are you going to review this wishlist and incorporate some (or hopefully all) of the hardware bugfixes and improvements into the next revision of PineBook Pro's PCB?  If not, please, let us know, so we can stop spending our time on debugging, discovering and documenting hardware issues.  Thank you.

I do think that it'd be useful to add all issues to the first post so there's a convenient list.

I also second your question for @tllim and @Luke: do you plan to review this list at some point?

[dsimic]

I am more than willing to make the list complete and keep it updated.  However, that would make sense only if the Pine64 team confirms their interest in actually resolving those issues and, optionally, implementing some of the new features we've also pointed out.

Unfortunately, we've seen absolutely no response from the Pine64 team so far, which makes any form of the list pretty much pointless. :/  I've even tried to contact tllim and Luke through private messages, but I got no response.

[as400]

@dsimic - actually you're doing great job with your list here. Even if p64 does not want to recognize it. Everyone should be aware of what she/he is buying. So there are no disappointments later.

My suggestions to the list:

1. Underpowered USB ports (even 2.5" external hard drive does not work - eg. for backup purposes).
2. Underpowered PCIe - not every nvme drive can be used. Only those that are not DRAM cached.
3. Disastrous Wifi card - painfully slow and very bad reception.
4. Coil whine in most of Pinebook Pros.


After one year of trying to use PBP as a daily I came to the conclusion that it is impossible in my case. It's a great machine to learn and get to know ARM ecosystem but it's only a toy. Nothing more. Mainly because it's faulty by design.

[esud]

I use Pinebook Pro as a main notebook for my work. I can recommend following improvements:
- Please make the touchpad better (it is the disadvantage of highest priority)
- It could be better to make the plastic a little bit thicker under and over usb slot.
- In general the case could be from metall (maybe it is possible to offer 2 options - from plastic and from metall) I would pay much more money for high quality case from metall.
- Right now the design of the case is like from Macbook where they make an optical ilusion that the body is thin. I think that for 'professional users' it is better to make the body thickness everywhere like at the beginning (where the monitor is mounted). And after the free space inside is possible to use for some diy boards or extensions.

One of the best think is that it is possible to charge from USB 5V 3A. Please keep this possibility!

[dsimic]

@dsimic - actually you're doing great job with your list here. Even if p64 does not want to recognize it. Everyone should be aware of what she/he is buying. So there are no disappointments later.

Thank you very much, but it would be way better to have the Pine64 team recognize the issues, or even just become involved in the discussions.  There's no pressure, but they should be standing behind their products, which includes the PineBook Pro.

1. Underpowered USB ports (even 2.5" external hard drive does not work - eg. for backup purposes).
2. Underpowered PCIe - not every nvme drive can be used. Only those that are not DRAM cached.

Those two issues stem from the overall lack of input power for the PineBook Pro.  Actually, I asked the Pine64 team to send me one PineBook Pro for the purpose of trying out a few experimental hardware modifications that should allow higher power draw from the laptop's USB Type-C power input.  Unfortunately, I've got not response from the Pine64 team so far.

4. Coil whine in most of Pinebook Pros.

I would also add some weird crackling/popping noises coming out of the speakers while no music playback is active.  I've been unable to correlate those sounds to anything else happening on the laptop, except for the moment of powering off the laptop, which always produces a crackle/pop.

After one year of trying to use PBP as a daily I came to the conclusion that it is impossible in my case. It's a great machine to learn and get to know ARM ecosystem but it's only a toy. Nothing more. Mainly because it's faulty by design.

For example, the battery charging IC is so finicky that it has a mind of its own when it comes to stopping the battery charging.  Quite frankly, that's simply unacceptable.

One of the best think is that it is possible to charge from USB 5V 3A. Please keep this possibility!

Could you, please, elaborate that a bit further?

[as400]

Thank you very much, but it would be way better to have the Pine64 team recognize the issues, or even just become involved in the discussions.  There's no pressure, but they should be standing behind their products, which includes the PineBook Pro.

Absolutely. These problems are known for more than a year. So now the situation looks like they are knowingly and deliberately sell product that is faulty by design.

Sad to say, but this is the way big corporations behave. They just don't react at all.

I would also add some weird crackling/popping noises coming out of the speakers while no music playback is active.  I've been unable to correlate those sounds to anything else happening on the laptop, except for the moment of powering off the laptop, which always produces a crackle/pop.

Yes, I had this too.

[esud]

One of the best think is that it is possible to charge from USB 5V 3A. Please keep this possibility!

Could you, please, elaborate that a bit further?

The benefit is that it is possible to charge the notebook from powerbank. It make sense when someone travel to forest or similar places where is no 220v AC electricity available.

And also possible to charge from USB-charger which can be used for another purposes (like to charge mobilephone,...). In classic notebooks which are working with 15-20volt we always need to take separate charger which can be used only with the given notebook modell. With USB we have universal solution.

I have 3 another points which can be improved:
- The rounded rubber at the bottom and the gap in metall where this rubber is placed have the same diameter size. This is not  good. Better make the diameter of the rubber a little bit smaller. Then it will fit better. And of course better  to make soution without glue.

- When the notebook is closed then the screen touch with the keyboard. After some time I can see some dirt on the screen which come from keyboard. To fix this problem you need to increase the width of rubber in the corner on the display a little bit.

- The power button is placed on the keyboard near backspace. This is not good because it is easy to hit powerbutton instead of backspace.  In default configuration the notebook shutdown immediatelly. There is a workaround in linux settings where is possible to make that we need to hold the button a few seconds until something happen. But better to place this power button somewhere else.

[moonwalkers]

- The power button is placed on the keyboard near backspace. This is not good because it is easy to hit powerbutton instead of backspace.  In default configuration the notebook shutdown immediatelly. There is a workaround in linux settings where is possible to make that we need to hold the button a few seconds until something happen. But better to place this power button somewhere else.

+100

[KC9UDX]

History repeating. Remember the RESET button on the Apple ][ ?