Battery Dead on Arrival?
#1
Hi everyone, 

just got my pinetime (open) yesterday. Wouldn't turn on, so I tried attaching to the charging base (2.4A outlet) and it powers on, staying on momentarily after removing from the base. This made me think the battery might just be dead so I let it charge for the afternoon, but it still won't turn on when detached from a power source. 

Is there something I'm supposed to do first for it to work properly? Any tests I should run to diagnose the situation? Any help would be appreciated. 

Thanks in advance
  Reply
#2
Is this the sealed or unsealed version? If sealed, your debugging abilities will be limited...

Some initial ideas:

1. When attached to the base, what is the version number you get in the software?

2. (Unsealed) Check the battery is soldered correctly in the device. It sounds like the battery is offering next to zero supply to the device off power.

3. (Unsealed) Check there is a voltage across the battery terminals whilst connected (under load) - ideally 3V+. If it's below, then there's a good chance the battery has had some damage.
  Reply
#3
(02-14-2021, 01:21 PM)barray Wrote: Is this the sealed or unsealed version? If sealed, your debugging abilities will be limited...

Some initial ideas:

1. When attached to the base, what is the version number you get in the software?

2. (Unsealed) Check the battery is soldered correctly in the device. It sounds like the battery is offering next to zero supply to the device off power.

3. (Unsealed) Check there is a voltage across the battery terminals whilst connected (under load) - ideally 3V+. If it's below, then there's a good chance the battery has had some damage.
Unsealed version

1.) Version 0.7.1
2.) Soldering of the wires to the board look good, clean even.
3.) Voltage was good.

I was able to update it after quite a few tries while it was connected to a power source and now am running 0.13.0 of infinitime. I also used tape to ensure the device was fully seated to the base. It seems to be working now and the battery percentage seems to be consistent post-update and taping. 

Thanks for recommending those checks. Will use them again in the future.
  Reply
#4
Hmmm... I still suspect something is amiss here. Not actually charging the device correctly would for sure cause this. I personally used to elastic band mine to the base.
  Reply
#5
Is it possible that your watch was left in freezing temperatures for too long?
  Reply
#6
(02-16-2021, 06:01 AM)Avamander Wrote: Is it possible that your watch was left in freezing temperatures for too long?

How long is "too long"?  I just discovered that our postman left mine in a weird spot, sometime today, in ~0-degree F weather.   It had no battery when I tried to turn it on.  It does power on in the docking station and does seem to be taking a charge (it's at 2% now), but I don't know whether it will hold the charge.
  Reply
#7
(02-16-2021, 08:16 PM)jferg Wrote:
(02-16-2021, 06:01 AM)Avamander Wrote: Is it possible that your watch was left in freezing temperatures for too long?

How long is "too long"?  I just discovered that our postman left mine in a weird spot, sometime today, in ~0-degree F weather.   It had no battery when I tried to turn it on.  It does power on in the docking station and does seem to be taking a charge (it's at 2% now), but I don't know whether it will hold the charge.

0 degrees F is almost -18 degrees C, that would most certainly do it if left for a while... Batteries really do not like cold temperatures, for exactly this reason batteries used in cold environments will have battery-warmer circuits (for example, Tesla cars).

Sounds like you need a new LiPo cell. They are really quite small and shouldn't be too expensive.
  Reply
#8
(02-16-2021, 08:16 PM)jferg Wrote:
(02-16-2021, 06:01 AM)Avamander Wrote: Is it possible that your watch was left in freezing temperatures for too long?

How long is "too long"?  I just discovered that our postman left mine in a weird spot, sometime today, in ~0-degree F weather.   It had no battery when I tried to turn it on.  It does power on in the docking station and does seem to be taking a charge (it's at 2% now), but I don't know whether it will hold the charge.

My sealed units arrived with completely empty batteries (although it's not that cold where I live). I left them on the docking station for an hour so two before using them. That left them with more than enough power to run the reloader successfully.
PineTime: wasp-os and MicroPython, Pinebook Pro:  Debian Bullseye
  Reply
#9
(02-16-2021, 08:16 PM)jferg Wrote:
(02-16-2021, 06:01 AM)Avamander Wrote: Is it possible that your watch was left in freezing temperatures for too long?

How long is "too long"?  I just discovered that our postman left mine in a weird spot, sometime today, in ~0-degree F weather.   It had no battery when I tried to turn it on.  It does power on in the docking station and does seem to be taking a charge (it's at 2% now), but I don't know whether it will hold the charge.

Long enough for it to freeze trough, difficult to predict without manufacturer (usually confidential) information. You can try and see how long it lasts, but if it doesn't hold a charge thankfully a new cell isn't too difficult to acquire.
  Reply
#10
Guys this is not a dead battery issue this is a know problem when PineTime is shipped with old bootloader If you update with new bootloader the battery should charge just fine. here is the link https://www.reddit.com/r/PINE64official/...ng_it_off/
  Reply


Possibly Related Threads…
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  PineTime is dead!! Markdanni123 12 13,505 09-18-2023, 10:17 PM
Last Post: ccchan234
Exclamation Stuck at Infinitime Logo with 18% battery on full charge? PiningFjord 1 1,085 03-13-2023, 05:05 PM
Last Post: PiningFjord
  PineTime Dead out of box? henkery 1 1,152 03-12-2023, 04:34 PM
Last Post: henkery
  Pinetime almost dead... only shows Infinitime logo. lightweight 8 6,511 02-11-2023, 09:30 AM
Last Post: alexmitroff
Question Open box, upgrade, dead watch? ahaplesshappenstance 5 2,769 06-25-2022, 03:13 PM
Last Post: ahaplesshappenstance
Question Battery indicator calibration sal 0 977 02-06-2022, 08:51 AM
Last Post: sal
  BT toggle/battery life ronaldheld 0 923 02-04-2022, 04:46 AM
Last Post: ronaldheld
  Battery Life Indicator Percentage Frowzzen 3 2,254 12-28-2021, 02:16 PM
Last Post: ITCactus

Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 2 Guest(s)