My RockPro64 died after 8 months

[diskers]

So as in the subject. It's dead after 8-9 months of light usage..., I wrote a mail to sales<>pine64.org. Waiting for response. We will see how things will go. However I hope that I won't have to put the case and emc module on a shelf...

[diskers]

LOL no more Pine products... Another device is working on the same PSU and the PSU was tested... Defective products that are too expensive for only a few months of working,,,,

Based on your detail explanation and fault report. we certain that your board was consume over power and cause damage.
Please to inform you that RockPro64 is compatible with the Power adapter 12V3A or Power adapter 12V5A.
Besides, sorry to inform you that your RockPro64 already out of warranty
– All single board and accessories sold on the Pine Microsystems Inc. (PINE64) store are entitled to a 30 days Limited Warranty against defects in materials and workmanship. Please refer to https://store.pine64.org/?page_id=443

Your understanding and patience is greatly appreciated.


support team#2...

[pfeerick]

Sorry to hear that it failed on you. Given that they (pine64 support) are talking about the 3A and 5A 12v power supplies, I take it you weren't using a stock PSU?

I'm using a solar setup, so have a adjustable DC-DC module that takes the 12 - 14.4 from the 12v battery, and outputs a steady 12v... and it has been running 24x7 on that for about 12 months now with a NVMe drive + 2 external USB3 hard drives as a NAS box + other bits and pieces... before that I was using the board on and off for about 6 months testing different bits and pieces as the OS images were being brought up.

The fact that it didn't fail within the first few hours / days of use does suggest if it were a manufacturing defect that whatever failed hung on for a while.

[diskers]

No it's not a stock one, way better of a stock one. Now it's connected to a device that needs more than 4A and it's stable. By the way talking about 3A while mine can output 6A is a nonsense. Basic knowledge of currents... A higher amperage won't destroy any electronics... It's the same as telling that a 100uf 25V capacitor destroyed an IC while the default was a 100uf 16V... Moreover it have a surge protection, so no way that the failure is caused by a sudden over voltage. Anyway I'm always testing PSU before connecting anything to them. The biggest problem of all this situation it's not even the 30 warranty (however a company that is giving only 30 days, should speak for itself), it's that there's nowhere to repair it. While the emc module is fine, probably the repair wouldn't be expensive. Anyway I bought this RockPro64 with an 32GB module and a case. I paid  over 100 bucks, frankly it's a little bit too much for 9 months of usage (really less, because I started using it after 2-3 months...).

pfeerickSorry to hear that it failed on you. Given that they (pine64 support) are talking about the 3A and 5A 12v power supplies, I take it you weren't using a stock PSU?

I'm using a solar setup, so have a adjustable DC-DC module that takes the 12 - 14.4 from the 12v battery, and outputs a steady 12v... and it has been running 24x7 on that for about 12 months now with a NVMe drive + 2 external USB3 hard drives as a NAS box + other bits and pieces... before that I was using the board on and off for about 6 months testing different bits and pieces as the OS images were being brought up.

The fact that it didn't fail within the first few hours / days of use does suggest if it were a manufacturing defect that whatever failed hung on for a while.

[Antony]

HI,

IT looks like thermal runaway to me. Check the motherboard with a magnifying glass.

If you find a cooked or blistered component replace it.

Regards Tony.

[xalius]

How exactly did your RockPro fail?

[pfeerick]

And what did you actually say to the pine64 support crew, as we're second-guessing from their response.

[diskers]

And what did you actually say to the pine64 support crew, as we're second-guessing from their response.

The device was working and then stopped working. The emc works on the adapter (all files are there). The power supply provides stable 12V 6A, anyway rockpro64 does not work on another power supply too 12V 7A. The order id is Fwd: [PINE64] New customer order (98109) - January 22, 2019. No green power led on. No led lights at all. As I wrote before the system stop wokring while powered up and system up. Simply got down from a stable state and that's all. No leds no ethernet leds nothing.

PS. From the beginning this device made a slight buzzling sound when powered and up.

---

@ xalius
As above it's powered off from a powered and system up state.

[Antony]

Read the small print.

30 days warranty. Far too low.

Regards. Antony

[Nikolay_Po]

PS. From the beginning this device made a slight buzzling sound when powered and up.

The buzzing is the sigh of problems in DC/DC voltage converter. Either defective or inappropriate (saturating) inductor or faulty feedback compensation circuitry. Possible causes of that in my opinion are (decreasing probability):

• Physical damage to DC/DC converter components, ferrite inductor or ceramic capacitor. Most probably the board was accidentally dropped and struck the floor while handling.
  
• Component damage at an assembly factory, while mounting and soldering.
  
• Incorrect values/part numbers of components (design mistake) or assembly mistake at a factory.
  

Usually, operating at a hundreds of kHz or at MHz frequencies DC supply components of PCB rarely producing an acoustic (hearable) noise with normal design. Mine boards still working without of a noise. Now with @diskers case it is evident that the noise from working SBC PCB is a sign of future failure (IMHO).