Step 1 Introduction
Front
Rear
Notice that the colours on the prototype shell and kickstand don’t quite match. There’s also quite a lot of fingerprints, which makes the colour seem uneven.
Inverted triangle can be seen at the bottom of the kickstand.
Left USB-A, 2 x USB-C and headphone socket.
Right USB-A, volume buttons, power button with fingerprint reader and rear camera.
The prototype doesn’t have a protective lens for the rear camera.
Pogo pin connections at the bottom of the V.
MicroSDXC card slot underneath the kickstand.
Speaker grille and hole for microphone on the left and at the top of the V. Similar hole and grille on the right.
Apertures for the front camera and ambient light sensor on top of the display. That’s tape adhesive on the camera aperture.
Kickstand hinge – kickstand can be removed without opening the V, but hinges cannot.
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU
Intel Core m3-7Y30 / Intel Core i5-7Y54 / Intel Core i7-7Y75
RAM
8 GB/16 GB LPDDR3
STORAGE
Intel SSD 600p 128 GB/256 GB/512 GB
CONNECTIVITY
Intel Dual Band wireless-AC 8265
Bluetooth 4.2
Miracast Wireless Display
PORTS
1 x Thunderbolt 3 USB-C
1 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 USB-C
2 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 USB-A
1 x 3,5 mm Audio Socket
1 x MicroSDXC Card Reader
DISPLAY
12,3 inch IGZO-TFT LCD, resolution 2736 x 1824,
1:1400 contrast ratio, 450 nits brightness
TOUCHPANEL
Gorilla Glass with anti-fingerprint and anti-reflection coating
Metal-mesh technology
BATTERY
Rechargeable Li-ion Battery
Rated capacity 6400 mAh / 48,64 Wh
Typical capacity 6600 mAh / 50,16 Wh
Rated voltage 7,6 V
Model YE12, Sunwoda Electronic CO., Ltd.
SENSORS
Fingerprint, Ambient light, Hall, Gravity, Gyroscope
AUDIO
Quad speakers, 1 W dedicated headphone jack
Audio amplifier Texas Instruments tpa6133
2 noise cancelling microphones
CAMERAS
2 MP front and 5 MP rear
STYLUS
Windows Ink Certified N-trig, 1024 levels of pressure, 2 buttons
KEYBOARD
Pogo pin connected and Bluetooth 4.2 wireless backlit keyboard with
glass covered precision touchpad by Synaptics
DIMENSIONS
295,9mm x 205,3mm x 8,9mm
Prototype tablet 916 grammes
Production tablet about 40 - 50 grammes less
Prototype Alcantara covered keyboard 397 grammes
Step 2 Teardown
The display on my prototype wasn’t glued, so cannot really give much advice how to get the display off.
But have a look at http://www.iFixit.com and their teardowns and repair manuals. There’s instruction videos and what kind of tools to use for display removal, buy them from iFixit’s store or probably cheaper at your local hardware store.
The production devices have a continuous plastic bezel going around the inside edges. The manufacturing and R&D people in China remove the display by starting to pry it off from the power button area/corner, but bottom looks also promising as the bezel is narrower there.
Photo below with picks shows the potentially best locations where to start the display removal.
Disassembly order (just an example, not the law)
After fully releasing the display, flip it upside down and disconnect the display from the motherboard.
The two middle connections are for the display. The left connector with white ribbon cable is a ZIF (Zero Insertion Force) connector. It is quite easy to flip the latch open with your fingernail or a spudger.
In the photo below you can see how the ZIF connector latch is open. Now it’s easy to pull the ribbon cable out of the ZIF connector.
It’s best to use some sort of a non-metallic, antistatic spudger for prying the metallic, flat-topped connector open (or just use your nails, if they are strong enough).
Here’s the flat-topped connector open.
And here’s the underside of the display.
And here’s what is revealed underneath that display. The marvelous components inside the V.
First things first (even if it’s really the second step), disconnect the battery. Connector hides under that blue bracket, pretty easy to spot, right? The bracket is covered with thin layer of blue plastic.
And here’s the bracket and also the piece of foam removed between the bracket and the battery connector.
I made that wooden spudger from a barbecue skewer, just cut the end off in an oblique angle. But hey, enough of my carpentry skills, the spudger lifts the battery connector easily from its place.
The battery connection wide open with all the constituent parts displayed.
Remove the SSD. Left of the SSD is the large headed screw (upside down) that attaches the SSD’s non-connector end to the V shell.
Remove the white and blue ribbon cable (underneath the SSD) between motherboard and PCB for power switch, volume switches and right USB-A.
In production devices this is a doglegged and black ribbon cable.
Remove ribbon cable between motherboard and SDXC reader PCB.
Remove SDXC card reader PCB. In the photo it’s unscrewed (three screws next to it) and only slightly moved from its original position.
Remove heatsink on the motherboard, here it’s unscrewed and removed. CPU is clearly visible in the middle, above the heatsink. Also visible on the left and right are the four brass coloured threaded studs, that the heatsink screws to.
Note that the production heatsink is larger, it extends all the way to the left.
Open ZIF connector for pogo pin connector ribbon cable. Most of the cable is under the battery.
Pry open flat-topped connectors for fingerprint reader and rear camera at the far right end of the motherboard.
Open connectors for the speakers and remove the speakers (left connector shown open).
It baffles me why the speaker chamber on the left is marked with R and the speaker chamber on the right with L. Maybe I’m looking the V the wrong way round…
Remove plastic bezels on the shell inner perimeter, bottom ones aren’t necessary to unscrew and be removed, but hey, it’s your call. And the right edge lower bezel is glued, so don’t try to remove it (but unscrew the screws, it’ll become apparent why later). Notice also the grounding tape for the left USB connectors tape on the left edge upper bezel.
Disconnect the WiFi antennas. Also disconnect the ZIF connectors for the front camera with ambient light sensor and microphones.
Don’t try removing the front camera as it is glued in its place and can break if removed by pulling from the top.
I managed to remove it once and the second time the top/lens casing came off.
Unscrew the motherboard and remove it.
Here’s a closeup of the front camera with ambient light sensor and microphones with ribbon cable assembly.
Remove the PCB with power switch, volume switches and right USB-A, you’ll have to pry (for example with a flat screwdriver) the glued bezel open from the top to free the PCB.
Remove rear camera, it lifts off easily. Here it is already removed, cavity can be seen on top corner of the V’s shell.
Remove the fingerprint reader/power button and volume buttons. Notice that it is retained in its place not just by their respective rectangular holes, but also by the three little pins
If you want, you can also remove the kickstand hinge on the left and remove just screws on the right hinge, so the kickstand and left hinge can be removed. Right kickstand hinge is difficult to remove as the glued bezel traps it.
Here is the front camera removed. It is possible to remove it by lifting up from the bottom with something thin, flat and narrow. The front camera casing isn’t glued together very well, and if you try to lift it off from the top, the casing may separate.
And here are the motherboard connections explained.
Connectors
Type 1: Zero Insertion Force (ZIF) with hinged latch
Type 2: Flat-topped (low-profile) press fit (pop)
Type 3: Miniature coaxial receptacle/U.FL connector
Type 4: Battery multipole connector
Type 5: Speakers plug-in connector
And this is V almost fully disassembled (except battery and front camera with ambient light sensor plus a few other bits and bobs).
And here are few extra information tidbits (weights measured with an ordinary kitchen scales).
Heatsink weighs 28 grammes (with heatpad) and 27 grammes without and is made of 0,5 mm copper (underside covered with thin plastic/lacquer).
V shell (aluminium) weighs 540 grammes with kickstand and hinges, battery, magnets, heatpipe and heat plates, front camera and light sensor, WiFi antennas and wires, and plastic bezels on the bottom and lower right.
Display unit with cables weighs 259 grammes.
Assembled shell without display weighs 658 grammes.
The assembled V weighs 917 grammes.
Alcantara keyboard weighs 397 grammes.
Micro SD card reader PCB has also SIM capability.
Reassembly
- Reconnect the front camera with ambient light sensor (provided that you managed to get it off intact) and microphone with ribbon cable to the motherboard. Place the motherboard in its place. It may be easiest if the front edge is down and rear is slightly raised so that the pogo pin ribbon cable that comes from underneath the battery is easy to connect (it is short and stiff).
- Reattach the finger print reader and volume buttons – make sure that the assembly is behind the three small studs/pins.
- Place the rear camera in its cavity.
- PCB with power button switch, volume switches and USB-A, secure it down with the plastic bezel (two screws).
- Reattach the microSDXC card reader PCB to the case (three screws).
- Secure the right hand lower plastic bezel down (three screws). This was glued down so couldn’t be removed.
- Screw the motherboard in its place. Two screw holes are left empty (one to right from the processor in the middle and second to the down left from the processor on the edge of the PCB).
- Reconnect fingerprint reader and rear camera flat-topped connectors to the motherboard.
- Upper left (like letter J) plastic bezel (3 screws, top screw is longer), reattach the grounding tape to the exposed (bottom) USB-A connector.
- Reattach the left hand lower plastic bezel (3 screws).
- Reattach cable between the PCB with power switch, volume switches and USB-A and the motherboard (ribbon cable is left underneath the SSD).
- Reconnect the SSD and secure it down with one large headed screw.
- Reattach the speakers (both with 3 screws) and reconnect them to the main PCB.
- Reattach the two WiFi antenna wires to the WiFi radio on the main PCB.
- Reattach the plastic frame for front camera and light sensor (2 screws).
- Screw the heatsink on top of the main PCB (4 – 5 screws).
- Reattach the microSDXC card reader cable to the main PCB.
- Reattach the battery connector and secure down with the cushion, bracket and 2 screws.
- Sanity check: No extra part left over, all screws are tight, nothing is loose, all connectors connected?
- Reattach the two screen connectors to the main PCB.
- Best to try if everything works before reattaching the screen in its place.
- Reattach the screen in its place.
- Your V is again ready to rock ’n roll.
