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The Kindle turned on and off due to a magnetic sensor. Also, the rf covers just pop off the fences, they are not soldered on but the fences are. The extra shielding is probably required so they don't have to be turned off when on an airplane.

The serial flash chip on the flex board contains the waveform information needed to drive the eink display. Each display is different, so they'll calculate the waveform in production and program the chip. It'll be on the flex board so it's physically attached to the screen to make tracking easier.

That little 4 pin device has to be a hall effect sensor or a tiny reed switch for it to cause the kindle to turn on like that in response to the (presumably magnetized) screwdriver. It's probably the sensor that let's the kindle turn on and off when you open and close the cover/case.

Awesome vid! My 2014 Paperwhite stopped responding and wouldn't reset by holding the power button. I suspect it had to do with leaving it to charge overnight on a USB dongle powered by a USB-C power brick. I just needed a visual guide on getting inside safely. Once I did I unscrewed the battery and left it out for 1-2 minutes before reseating it. I was able to restart my Kindle before reassembling. Saved me from having to upgrade to a new Paperwhite / Oasis

Absolutely enjoy your blogs! As an engineer and as a nerd! You hit the spot with every topic!

Man even if you filled up all that extra space with battery, do you really want a battery large enough last a quarter of a year? You'd forget the thing even needs charging!

Weird that they've apparently gone to a lot of effort to make the guts of the machine easily serviceable, and then glued the whole thing together in the end. BTW, is there a good reason not to heat the glue first before trying to pry the front off? You know, with a hair dryer or something?

15:30 The iPad's uses a similar sensor (its magnetic based) for use with their magic covers, so when you open up the cover, the device wakes up without you having to push anything.

A real state of the art design!!! That part that you were touching to turn on the Kindle is a magnetic sensor for the flip-shell (or whatever name might have). There is no flaw in the design. And the LEDs are Osram (CUW Y3SH). And thank you for not tearing it down. It would be a pity to break it.

The SD-like connector could be exactly that, an SD connector. The SDs have nine pins, but one of the pins 'pin 8' (actually just past your pin 1) is a half-pin. Pin 6 is the ground, but the far side numbering starts at 7 (9 is weirdly on the other side), so would be in the pin 2 position you pointed out if the card was inserted upside down... which since the Kindle was on its back at the time would make perfect sense.

Here in Denver, CO, we have a toll road that, like most of them these days, has the option of setting up and account with them and getting a transponder that a scanner reads as you drive under it without stopping. They've switched to using these sticker tags which are just RFID tags much like this that you stick in the corner of the windshield, its pretty cool!

"Look at this strange looking sh*t, I have no idea what's all about, but it's just awesome!" No offence, I love that guy, he is terrific! =)

The Thing that made it switch on at 15:40 was for the cases. so probably magnetic as the paperwhite turns on when i open the case.

No, it's a standard US model, shipped from Amazon US.

Dude, I know nothing about electronics but your narration was totally entertaining. You could do live commentary of grass growing and I'd sit spellbound. BTW, where would the "storage" be? I have a broken paperwhite and I want to destroy it properly.

I agree, from an electronics perspective very nice design and great attention to detail. I'm guessing as this this will get used just about everywhere including aircraft and hospitals RFI/EMI was a major concern.

hardly any review have i ever seen with such precision .. and the guy has a good presentation style too.

The Kindle case has a magnet to switch it on when the lid is opened. Probabaly a hall effect sensor. Your screwdriver is slightly magnetic.

The "magic screwdriver" is a magnetc Sensor for the protecting case

Few years ago you could buy "Afterburner internal light" for gameboy advance. It was designed to be mounted on the screen and not behind the screen. The idea is the same, but screen is much bigger.

They probably made the power switch easily detachable, as usually they are the first things to fail in such devices. Would be super easy to replace with how they've set it up.

It possibly hold calibration data for the E-Ink display, so makes sense to have it on the flex. That way a separate test jig can be used to calibrate and store the data for each one.

Great teardown mate, love your work, spot on.

This is very informative for the most part, though most of the extra space mentioned at 7:28-7:50, with a suggestion that it be utilized by installing a bigger battery, is actually occupied by a transmitting module - probably the 3G receiver- in the units that I've seen. The 3G module (if my guess is right about it being that) has a snap-in connection, mounted on the MB at the upper tip of the board at the center right next to the battery.

Clock is optional , so power, data, reset - looks like clock is optional for GSM type SIMs. The used pins on the footprint correspond to an interleaved sideways SIM footprint as well.

a tip for removing the glue as you pry it open, i use a craft knife just after seeing the glue. as you pull the plastic away you can gently cut the glue this prevents over stressing the plastic as you pull it apart,

Hey Dave, Great tear down, thx. Love the enthusiasm for the magnetic switch. Am I right in guessing that all of the shielding is because readers like this are used in sensitive areas such as hospitals and on planes? Also, I'm a Kobo user (don't have much love for Amazon), I wonder how Kindle and Kobo stack up against each other. Have you done any side-by-side testing? Cheers, Kaine

Amen! I've been a Kindle user for years, no complaints about battery life here, and I read a LOT!

I would say it turns on when you bring the screwdriver close was done on purpose. it is probably for use with coverable cases. the case would have a sliver of metal that would couple with whatever that black 4 pin ic is and then turn the LEDs on when a slight drop in voltage is sensed. not sure if that's right but I think im close lol

Exactly my point, the battery charge time on the Kindle is already pretty long, ie. overnight. That can help maintain battery lifetime. You'd have to either increase the charge time or reduce the lifetime.

I replaced my battery in my PaperWhite thanks to your teardown, thanks Dave!

i love eink, the screen reads "repair needed" while your holding the main board in your hand!

I wished they had used six LEDs instead, which would have made the lighting more uniform. But I think that would both increase the Kindle PW price and also the decrease the battery life.

Looks like a well engineered product. hats of to kindle. thanks EEVblog

another wonderfully done episode and very entertaining, too - THANKS! Has anyone an idea if it would be possible to tint the leds a bit in order to give the paperwhite an even but warm light color? I always color my clip on reading lights for a very warm, orange light using colored film for studio lights. Would be a blast for me to have that relaxing light color for a paperwhite, but built in :D Any advice highly appreciated - thanks!

All Kindle displays have a flash chip on the flex - this is for data to normalize out production variations - I read the one on the original Kin and it didn't have enough to be per-pixel cal. Read somewhere it contains firmware for the Epson controller

It's a tool term, but it applies to any number of probes/wedges used in different industries for probing, prodding and exploration.

My guess is - the LEDs are running on a set of parallel resistors with an IC controlling which resistors are active. That's how I'd do it mainly for simplicity.

The adhesive will be to stop it popping open if dropped. The older Kindles (certainly my Kindle 3/Keyboard) will pop the back off if you dare drop them on anything harder than a pillow.

If one turns of the WiFi and/or 3G connection, a Kindle can be used for 2-4 weeks if one is reading without an internal light. I understand the battery life is even greater with the paperwhite. I've used Kindles for 3 years, they are amazing!

Love the way he keeps saying "I have no idea what that is."

Always loved the screens on the Kindle's very clever idea and design.. but never personally owned one or saw much point in them. My mother is a huge fan tho has one and 100s of books on it. Loved the teardown, really interesting to see how they made those backlit screens. That is really strange how the screen came on by some metallic contact with the circuit and/or LED! Did you ever figure out why caused that? If it happened with your finger too my guess would be some design feature, like a sensor of some kind so if you powered off in dark and wanted to use it again, you have a few minutes to touch the panel bezel and it comes back on..but obviously not if it's only metallic and there's no metal plating over that area on the bezel underside?

The chip on the screen flex is the EEPROM storing the waveform to drive the screen.

Just like a regular kindle. But I didn't have not done a side-by-side comparison yet.

That new office lighting is definitely working well.

The reason why the kindle turns on when you put something magnetic is because of the cover, it's Automator closed and open when lift or open the case

What a super sensitive Hall effect sensor, some metal screwdrivers have a low magnetic field on them and it’s just enough to trigger the sensor. Must be a transistor voltage amplifier around hidden to make it that sensitive. I think the sensor may be for a special cover case that when closed it triggers the sensor with a small magnet.

Dave, that small device next to the LED's might be a magnet sensor of some sort. My blackberry had one in the phone and a small magnet in the case and it would shut off once it went in the case. Plus it would explain why you could turn it on with the screwdriver and not your finger.

Can you set the screen black and the text white? That makes for really nice reading at night in a dark/pitch black room. Less screen energy means less eye fatigue.

the MXIC flash memory contains panel specific parameters, like the common voltage and the waveform file associated with the EInk material build of the foil that's laminated on the backplane.

interesting the machining rework on the inside because the back cover mold was not properly designed.

Actually, I was really worried I busted it. When put back together the touch screen didn't work and the display was ghosting really bad. Turns out I reconnected the cables *after* the battery. That's a no-no for some reason. After removing that battery again it worked fine.

I remember folllowing the whole Triton Labs saga about building a kit to light the screen of the game boy advance, it worked pretty much like the light in the kindle

I was wondering if you could either make an instructional video or direct me to one in replacing the usb charger port on the paperwhite. I've had my kindle a little over a year and the port is so loose, I can't charge it. This video is great. I now know how to take the unit apart in general, but not how to replace that one thing.

A heat gun set to a low temperature will help immensely with those adhesive attachments.

I think the heavy amount of shielding is to prevent rf-sniffing of the DRM decryption keys and algorithms.

Not sure were the term originated. There are many terms for the same tool.

Might do something smart where they use the LED driver short circuit detection to detect the on or off button press, seen that implementation before.

That LED lighting intrigues me so. Why does it suggest having the LED up bright for bright rooms? Surely the ePaper will be visible, like regular paper, in normal lighting? The screen was still perfectly visible when you disconnected the LEDs after all.

The EEPROM on the flex might be to store factory calibration data for the display.

I would say the mysterious "switch" on the backlight flex is a magnetometer / hall sensor. We already seen it on the Nexus 7. It is used for "smart cover" detection, where the device switches on if you open the cover and switches off if you close it. Obviously you screwdriver is not amagnetic and so you triggered the sensor.

Good point, didn't think of that!

It's not a reed switch. I completely forgot about these magnetic cover things, and my mind naturally gravitated toward a more technical interference issue.

Yeah I've got one of the cases as well, but didn't know how it worked. Wasn't sure if it was a magnet or some other sensor. :)

the strange screwdriver thing is a magnet detector - for kindle case. If you close the case the magnet gets near detector and kindle is powering off. And if you take magnet away from detector kindle is back on before you can finish opening case! :)

Awesome Video...Can you suggest the best charger for this Paperwhite? The battery shows 3.7V..Can I charge it with my 5Volt Galaxy S4 Charger? Which charger is best for Better Battery maintenance...

i think those shields are clipped onto a small strip of metal, which itself is soldered in so the shield cans could maybe be popped off

Exactly what I was thinking. The LED's should be brighter in darker conditions, and practically off for a bright room. The GUI labelling seems incongruous to this. (13:00 ish)

When you touch that spot it turns on because it is for a case so when you close it, it sleeps and when you open it, it awakes.

Footprint and connection lines match a side load latching SIM socket and 3G modem. Pre-planned future version when they rewrite the firmware for a cost-effective modem supplier. Being it will be GSM, I suspect world wide distribution.

14:20 is that a hall effect sensor detecting your screwdriver? Could be for a planned flipbook cover that would have a matching magnet in the corner.

Exactly...! In layman terms, its the actual thing that puts your kindle to sleep when you close the kindle magnetic cover...! That screw driver tip was magnetised too...

You don't need the light in bright conditions. In dark conditions you would want the light intensity lower, to avoid glare. In dull conditions you want the light intensity higher, to provide a better contrast. It's about maintaining comfortable reading conditions.

My thoughts exactly. It would correspond to a magnet fort the "Auto Wake and Sleep" functionality of the official covers for the ting.

Realize this is a super old video. But do you think adding a resistor in parallel to the LEDs would find them further? I read at night and on 0 it's still too bright

The flash card could hold factory settings or DRM data. Something they do not want you to be able to access via the USB port.

well, i think u already know this, but you should heat the sides first with a hair dryer whatever before prying it open yeah??? its a sticky stuff they usually softens after a bit of heating

I agree that the light isn't needed in bright conditions, but when there is low light it is needed. However we disagree on how the light should change. Dark conditions are 'darker' than dull conditions! My alarm clock increases the intensity of the display, when I switch a light on, otherwise I couldn't see it!

As i posted earlier, the likelihood that those I2C pins are from a BMS (Battery Management System) like those in laptops which control and protect the battery, and also log data, is very high. If your old battery gets weak, you will have to buy a new one, which will work fine with the kindle, because there is no unique ID- locking behind that thing. And if it prevents you to use a cheap chinese "firework" battery, that only good :)

What i find interesting as machinist is the back casing. Looks like they have milled some extra space there... molding problems perhaps? Rather expensive repair..

Could the black shroud over the LED be there to keep the light from bleeding onto the display?

Didn't seem to have enough connected pins for that either.

Your new LED lighting makes a helluva difference to your vids Dave,. Really nice

I can see the shadowing in the bottom, contrary to the reviewer's observation. So why did Amazon just put 4 LED lights? They could have just filled the entire bottom with lights to make it even brighter and to avoid the dark shadowy gaps in between that causes the uneven blotchy effect.

Always was impressed by Kindle. Great video Dave.

The battery may not be all that strange, since it's I2C.. it may be a standard Smart-Battery in a special form-factor. Given it's a smart-battery, standard IC's should be easy to find.

The newer Kindles are tanks. Neither rain, snow, sleet, nor hail kind of business. And even the cellular versions. I can get books and newspapers even from the far corners of the earth. Good on ya Dave.

I read somewhere of a problem in xray airport scanners that may cause troubles in some devices. not for the xray itself but for some electromagnetic energy. maybe all the shielding is for that

perhaps it was the magnetiv field of your srcrewdriver that turned on the kindle

Some variants have 3G for downloading ebooks, that's why a lot of the components won't be populated.

I don't think that is such a big deal. It's only a BMS for the battery. The kindle doesn't boot due to the lack of battery state of charge information, so it goes into repair mode for safety, because it thinks maybe the battery is in a critical state. You would only have to isolate the + pole of the pack connector with some electrical tape and then input the supply-voltage elsewhere on the board. Due to the fact that the I2C pins are still connected the Kindle will boot i think.

In a dark room, increasing the brightness causes the eyes to strain more as they work differently in low and high light conditions.

LED rubber probably to stop leakage to screen

I'd like to see you reverse engineer the battery. I'd be interested to see what data it carries for an ID.

Kindle Paperwhite Engineering team need credit here. Thinks for using Japanese made batterie over Chinese made. Keep up the good work

It's not a back-light. Those shine through the display, and into your eyes. This is a 'front-light'. The light reflects of the display the way natural light would, making it less prone to glare.

Not even broken/discarded stuff? I think a lot of people would like an in-depth review EEVblog-style, to see if Apple has some quality to show for it, or if it's all marketing... Anyway, great teardown!

Love this teardown, very interesting. Keep em coming!

Yep it uses the same processor as the other amazon kindle

The reason it goes on with the screwdriver is because of the magnetic head... Its for when it has a magnetic cover on and you remove the cover its supposed to turn on... Just like opening a book so you can read :)