Tool for kill switches

[IMSOASIAN]

Hello there!

I got PinePhone semi-recently and I have to say, I love this device quite a lot. However, I did notice a really big issue with it. One of the marketed things about the PinePhone was Hardware Kill Switches and while they're great and all, you can't turn them on or off very easily.

I'm proposing then that a small clip-on tool be included in the back of the PinePhone (the one included in the box) as I'm pretty sure there is some space for a small sim-like tool. The tool can have a flattened tip that should be about 1mm in length. It should also be plastic and at least 3 inches in overall length to be comfortable to use.

Please tell me if this is a stupid idea, and why. Please keep in mind I am somewhat new to the PinePhone scene.

Thanks,

-[K] IMSOASIAN

[wibble]

The main issue here is cost of tooling rather than the idea itself. It's not a bad idea to have something like this, but they would need to do it at a time when they're making new tooling anyway. If you'd posted a few months ago it might have happened for the Pinephone Pro. On the details, I don't see anywhere something 3" long would fit, but something shorter and still usable should. Since what you described sounds a lot like a toothpick (which work well for this sort of thing) it might be good to make a slot compatible with a cut down toothpick, and include a plastic one?

[KC9UDX]

Or just put a Swiss Army Knife in your pocket or on your keyring.

[Fred Zyphal]

In my electronics toolbox, I have a cheap (like $5) set of stainless steel dental tools ... they work pretty good.

[some_pinephone_user]

every piece of something works. even piece of wood on the street. The assumption is, clearly, the habil hands

[Zebulon Walton]

[biketool]

This is an easy solution today if you have access to a 3D printer. Print a caseback or cut a standard one to allow for an external slider switch pusher so you can activate your chosen privacy mode without opening your case or needing any tool.
Drill holes in the slider/to toggle the switches you want to move, file slots in the areas of switches you do not want to toggle in your custom privacy mode.
Some users will have all slots(no toggle) except the cellular modem, others cell and wifi or all radios and cameras, maybe some doing dev work only want to toggle audio-to-serial on the 3.5mm stereo port.
I think it is a cheap plastic part with several options and should be a kit available in the store.
Ideally it would have a few slider switch pushers and a compatible caseback with all of the toggle holes intact but with shallow slots, the kit could include a cheap saw tool to deepen the slots to choose which switches to NOT toggle when sliding the external switch pusher.
this gets complicated if you have something like the keyboard but should not be too difficult to solve for a next generation keyboard prototype once the slider becomes accepted as part of the normal pinephone experience.

[bcnaz]

I agree this is an excellent idea It should not be too complicated to build the slider/operators assembly and add that to the back cover.

But I do wonder about the life cycle of the switches themselves, if you toggle them on/off 50 times a day, ? How many years will the switches last ?

[wibble]

But I do wonder about the life cycle of the switches themselves, if you toggle them on/off 50 times a day, ?  How many years will the switches last ?

DIP switches aren't usually designed for a large number of cycles. You'd need to find the part used and check its datasheet, but you can get an idea of the likely range by checking the 'Mechanical life' filter here:
https://uk.rs-online.com/web/c/switches/...-switches/
At that rate you'd be lucky to get a year, and it could be MUCH less.

[zetabeta]

i wonder,who needs to change those switches constantly. because it is gnu/linux, software control is usually enough. although, switches could be useful with android devices, and in a way that disables radiowaves at antenna, not the chip. because some settings are grayed in some conditions.

living in a country which neighbors russia (and former soviet union). i understand why some people need switches.