Hacking Hardware Picofly - a HWFLY switch modchip

[Quiggy]

I can also confirm the new update.bin is working now! Thanks for the fix...

 

[rehius]

What changed in v2.72? Also is the color code different? I had a strange behavior whee the glitching starts until after the console started booting and this never happened on v2.67

yes, the indication has been changed recently.

please record the issue on video

Post automatically merged: May 19, 2023

Is there a reason why picofly firmware is still closed-source?

once sources are made public it is easy to make firmware with broken update feature (or even fw that burns your CPU).
I try to maintain brick-free update flow, so even if you flash incompatible or bugged firmware, it just reverts back

 

[raksmey1231]

download the firmware again, there was a mistake yesterday

not working; it's still the same.

 

[ppeach]

download the firmware again, there was a mistake yesterday

I used the latest 2.72.
My two Lites were updated without any problems.
2.67 -> 2.72
No problem with Samsung and Toshiba NAND.

 

[rehius]

not working; it's still the same.

Just tested again, firmware here should work fine, such error was removed from the code, so you certainly have a wrong file

 

[Tanmarc]

Can we use any other mosfet instead of irfhs8342?

 

[raksmey1231]

Just tested again, firmware here should work fine, such error was removed from the code, so you certainly have a wrong file

Now it's working, thank you.

 

[H3xxCat]

Created this GitHub Action for compiling the source code from rehius repo. It's just first working compilation, I have NOT tested the builds though, please do not blindly install them. I wonder if @rehius could review the build process and see if anything got missed.

https://github.com/h3xcat/picofly-build/blob/main/.github/workflows/build.yml

 

[QuiTim]

Can we use any other mosfet instead of irfhs8342?

You can't use ANY other but you can use SOME other mosfets.
https://gbatemp.net/threads/picofly-a-hwfly-switch-modchip.622701/post-10137749
but there are others as well confirmed in this thread and there is alot of other information here so please do some searching.

 

[H3xxCat]

I think I forgot to modify memmap_default.ld, it's in the readme of busk repo

Post automatically merged: May 19, 2023

Ok, added additional commands to modify memmap_default.ld file. Wasn't sure if changes to memmap should remain for usk build, currently I'm restoring to original file once busk is built.

 

[fox87]

Hey guys.
I get slow emmc error no matter how many resistors i add to dat0 and cmd.
Any recommendations what else i could do?

 

[Mansi]

@rehius
How can I update the firmware from 2.65 to 2.72 through the toolbox? If there is no TypeC connector?
Thk.

 

[rehius]

Hey guys.
I get slow emmc error no matter how many resistors i add to dat0 and cmd.
Any recommendations what else i could do?

Clean flux, if present, change wires length and position, place resistors on the NS motherboard, not on the rp2040

 

[nico77]

@rehius
so what the new firmware feature?

what disable CLK mean ?
"v2.72 + disable CLK check, it's unstable"

btw thx for always update firmware

 

[FreeLander]

Used a MOSFET on OLED and was working fine, when I covered the shield one wire was touching the CPU. Boom, blue screen . The time spent and risk taken soldering MOSFETs is not worth it, What do you guys think?

 

[abal1000x]

Used a MOSFET on OLED and was working fine, when I covered the shield one wire was touching the CPU. Boom, blue screen . The time spent and risk taken soldering MOSFETs is not worth it, What do you guys think?

Lets analyze
1. If the S cable touch the shield its okay since S is GND.
2. If G cable touch the shield, also okay means the mosfet turn off.
3. If D touch the shield means its short circuited, the APU should be okay, but the power ic will be broken.
If its not a hassle could you try to measure the output of the max ic bottom the apu.

 

[snaker]

i still suggest skip those dat0 Adapter and learn how to reball it really isnt that hard and u only need a stencil and past they cost togehter 20 bucks and u have a bullet proof dat0 adaptor , no issues after a while whemn the dat0 adapter warm up and tends to bend

Does anyone here has actual experience with dat0 adapters? I cant undertand how is it possible for a flex cable to bend from temperatures that touch, lets say, about 100 C max on an emmc chip. The flex cables are meant to withstand much much higher temps. You can even solder on them. I fix lot of stuff including smartphones and i have experience with other flex cables and soldering connectors on them. Also i have made some switch oleds all with dat0 adapters and even after 6 months all work ok. Dont get me wrong the reballing is the best method to go but why waste more time ( when we all know that time is money) on a job when the dat0 adapters dont bend...

 

[bilalhassan341]

Used a MOSFET on OLED and was working fine, when I covered the shield one wire was touching the CPU. Boom, blue screen . The time spent and risk taken soldering MOSFETs is not worth it, What do you guys think?

Total 3 Switch Down

 

[Phantomas77]

Does anyone here has actual experience with dat0 adapters? I cant undertand how is it possible for a flex cable to bend from temperatures that touch, lets say, about 100 C max on an emmc chip. The flex cables are meant to withstand much much higher temps. You can even solder on them. I fix lot of stuff including smartphones and i have experience with other flex cables and soldering connectors on them. Also i have made some switch oleds all with dat0 adapters and even after 6 months all work ok. Dont get me wrong the reballing is the best method to go but why waste more time ( when we all know that time is money) on a job when the dat0 adapters dont bend...

The yellow color adaptors should be made of polyimide (Kapton) as a substrate material, here's a quote from Wiki:

" Thermoset polymer matrix polyimides exhibit very low creep and high tensile strength. These properties are maintained during continuous use to temperatures of up to 232 °C (450 °F) and for short excursions, as high as 704 °C (1,299 °F)."

The only way for it to "bend" that I could imagine, it would be when the flex is pushed too hard under the eMMC when soldered, so there's a lot of tension applied on the contact point and eventually it could bent.

Regarding the contact itself, even the oxidation shouldn't be a problem since these contacts should be ENIG passivated, and it's a widely spread technique within PCB manufacturing.

 

[QuiTim]

Does anyone here has actual experience with dat0 adapters? I cant undertand how is it possible for a flex cable to bend from temperatures that touch, lets say, about 100 C max on an emmc chip. The flex cables are meant to withstand much much higher temps. You can even solder on them. I fix lot of stuff including smartphones and i have experience with other flex cables and soldering connectors on them. Also i have made some switch oleds all with dat0 adapters and even after 6 months all work ok. Dont get me wrong the reballing is the best method to go but why waste more time ( when we all know that time is money) on a job when the dat0 adapters dont bend...

As with everything else from China, it's a hit or miss. There are companies which are quite serious about their work and care about their long term reputation and then there are those who try to make a quick buck from someone else’s design/work.
As we discussed here earlier there are quite a few dat0 models and some are better than others and some are right down disaster waiting to happen (see @Phantomas77 post here).