Surface Pro 3 – Charge port surgery & repair / hack

[orion242]

Figure I would share my adventure recovering data off my Surface pro, couldn't find any info online about this kind of hackery.  Back in March it got some water on it, wiped it off the screen and it seemed fine.  After a week, I got the low battery message and I quickly learned I had problems.  Water had gotten in the charge connector and completely ate away the pins for charging.  Device was flat on charge and I needed my data back.

Being that I had bitlocker turned I and my last backup was some time ago….I started to weigh my options.  Apparently if bitlocker is enabled on an OS drive, it cannot be decrypted outside of the original machine.  Between that and the fact no one seems to have removed the screen on this device without breaking it, a frontal assault on the device didn’t seem like a great idea.  Tossed it on my rainy day pile and came to terms with my data being gone forever.

Well I had a rainy day yesterday and went thru a few items in the pile and finally came back to this.
 
Figuring the backdoor was the only real option to get at the connector without damaging things, out came the rotary tool and a carbide cutoff blade.  Carefully and slowly I cut the area away around the charging port.  ~20 mins of cutting and I had access to this bastard connector.
The 40pin connector is soldered directly to very stiff flat flex cable.  The connector was totally shot, multiple pins gone completely.  Hit it with flux and hot air, came off without much hassle.  Turned out some the pads for charging pins had burned off the flex.  Luckily there are two sets.

The charging cable has 12 pins on it, 6 on top, 6 on bottom and it can be inserted either way in the port.  After cutting the cable to figure out how many conductors and what they were connected to,  I found only 4 conductors in the cable.  Red, black, blue and yellow wires on the OEM charging brick.  Little doubt the red and black was the charge power and the other two I suspected were communications to the device.

So the red wire is connected to the outer pins on both sides, and the black is connected to the inner pair both sides.  The yellow and blue are not connected directly to any of the pins.  No resistance between them and any other wire, nothing with diode check between any other wire.  Not sure what they do.  Maybe at some point I will tear into the cable end and see what lies within, little I suspect.

Figured I would just try the red/black first and go from there.  After a bit of magnet wire and tape, had the charger connected directly to the flat flex.  Plugged it in and crossed my fingers.  Sure enough I got the surface bootup screen for a moment and then it shutoff.  Figuring the battery was totally flat from sitting around for ~6 months, gave it some time.  Few hours later, sure enough it was taking a charge and I’m back in and able to get my data off.

At this point I’m thinking I may order a normal USB connector and solder that on, then fill the cavity with epoxy to secure the USB connector in.  Hacked together, but it may just bring this back to useful portable device…minus some battle scars.  Its air travel days will surely be done...

This could have failed in a dozen ways.  By chance, where I cut in was just on the edge of some PCB.  Bending the flex cable could have snapped it, should have removed the connector straight off the bat.  The pads are still facing the screen, so you have to bend it 90-180deg to get access.  Made sure to keep it with the connector down and banged it on bench a few times try and keep all the AL shavings from falling into the device.

None the less, I chalked it off as a paper weight.  Just getting my data off was a bonus, now I might be able to continue to use it.

[retiredcaps]

Thanks for sharing your story. Louis and Jessa do these types of repairs for a living, but on Apple stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/user/rossmanngroup/videos

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPjp41qeXe1o_lp1US9TpWA/videos

[h.bashar]

well done , not sure of the pitch spacing on that connector but smd header or flex cable connector might work as a long term solution.

[wraper]

Frankly I don't see disassembling it much different than most of other tablets. Heating it with hair dryer would allow to take it apart without this torture.

[orion242]

On the internets, everyone I found attempting the normal hot air method to remove the screen cracked it to pieces.  The glass is pretty thin and well glued.  Seemed to be standard practice on this too just break out the screen on the edges and replace it.  Replacement screens are fairly expensive as well, far more than I was going to stick it in.  Being I just wanted my data, I could have smashed it and used the display port connector once in.  Still would have been hacked to hell as the charge connectors are not available. Figured cutting into the back was just as likely to power it without killing the screen.

As is this is all hidden under the back support stand.  Have some micro USB connectors coming and I'm pretty sure I can wire that in, stuff it all back in the whole, tape it off and fill with epoxy leaving the usb exposed where the old connector was.  If it works great, if not its trash.  My data is off which is more than I expected when I fired up the cutter

That flex is ~1mm pitch.  Really don't want take my wires off as the outer pads don't have much left to them and could break off easily. 

[Cyberdragon]

On the internets, everyone I found attempting the normal hot air method to remove the screen cracked it to pieces.  The glass is pretty thin and well glued.  Seemed to be standard practice on this too just break out the screen on the edges and replace it.  Replacement screens are fairly expensive as well, far more than I was going to stick it in.  Being I just wanted my data, I could have smashed it and used the display port connector once in.  Still would have been hacked to hell as the charge connectors are not available. Figured cutting into the back was just as likely to power it without killing the screen.

As is this is all hidden under the back support stand.  Have some micro USB connectors coming and I'm pretty sure I can wire that in, stuff it all back in the whole, tape it off and fill with epoxy leaving the usb exposed where the old connector was.  If it works great, if not its trash.  My data is off which is more than I expected when I fired up the cutter

That flex is ~1mm pitch.  Really don't want take my wires off as the outer pads don't have much left to them and could break off easily.

Were they just using screwdrivers? There are special pry tools for taking off screens.

[eKretz]

It can still be difficult. Once you get the hang of it it's a lot easier. For someone doing it for the first time it's pretty easy to break the screen. Most people don't heat the glass enough to break the glue bond on the first try.

[orion242]

Cnet cracked it, iFixit cracked it, and the list goes on. 




Maybe with 20 units to practice on you can get it off without damage, but as a first timer...it looks like your chances are very slim.  I even contacted a few repair joints that claimed they worked on them.  None wanted to touch it and all said screen replacement was a given.

I got the flex back in its normal position and covered epoxy, everything still intact.  Should have more than enough room yet for the micro usb connector and a final layer of epoxy to secure it all in place and completely fill the whole.  Figure I'll stick the connector with connections to the outside, so if I ever need to replace or rehack it shouldn't be impossible to access again.

[orion242]

Final result, its working again.  Yep the usb wiring is non-standard and will short anything connected outside of the original brick I grafted a micro usb to.   Shouldn't harm the surface, and I'm the only one using it.

Went with a waterproof mico usb so I didn't have to worry about epoxy leaking into it.  If someone else attempts this, do not cut the hole as wide as I did.  You can just make out another flex going to the screen on the bottom side of my cut ( opposite the hinge ).  Stay closer to the original charge connector and there is nothing to worry about.  I got lucky and stopped cutting before I made it all the way thru.

Wonder what the chances are this mod will show up on airport screening.  Bit hesitant to fly with this.  Bet its a quick trip to the private screening room for a full anal probe if they see this in your carry on.

[Assafl]

Microsoft replace these pads for 350$. Mine broke 2 months after I got it (dropped it on an edge) and after sulking - got it replaced.

It is an option as they are still fairly expensive.

The Ntrig sensor glass is very thin. Microsoft pry into them from the side.

[CJay]

Apparently if bitlocker is enabled on an OS drive, it cannot be decrypted outside of the original machine. 

Not actually true, I've recovered data from Bitlocker encrypted drives (I've got one to do tomorrow) but, as with anything like this, the full answer is that it depends on how you set Bitlocker up in the first place.

[orion242]

If you have your recovery key.  Who the heck can find that 12 months later.


Reminds me I should get that backed up now....

[CJay]

If you have your recovery key.  Who the heck can find that 12 months later.


Reminds me I should get that backed up now....

Heh, I do. All of them.

But I have to confess, the ones I recover regularly are on a domain and the key is held/generated centrally.

I only bitlockered my personal laptop because it leaves the house, the recovery key is held securely elsewhere.