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Repair and disassembly information for Rakuten Kobo’s Clara BW (black and white) eReader, released in April 2024. Identified by model number N365.

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Can this PCB still be repaired?

Hello, thank you in advance for reading.

I have a Kobo Clara 2E which, right after being unplugged from a computer, stopped working. After reading online this device uses an SD card for internal memory, I suspected the filesystem was corrupted.

I opened the device and tried to remove the SD card, which was glued in place. While trying to wiggle it out with tweezers, I accidentally scratched the PCB, as shown in the attached pictures.

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The SD card did eventually come off, but even after writing a working image to it, the Kobo still isn't turning on. This is, I imagine, caused by the scratched tracks. Based on the pictures, would you agree? Is there a way I could fix the two tracks?

Thank you for reading, I greatly appreciate any help!

[Edit] Posting extra pictures and adding some context.

After the Kobo was unplugged from the computer, it stopped working correctly, despite having been ejected before unplugging. Initially, the screen was stuck showing the eject screen as if still plugged in, but after attempting to reset it, the screen turned blank. Each time it was turned on, the LED blinked a few times, the screen swapped between black and white a few times too, and nothing else happened.

It was at this point that I opened the device and accidentally scratched the PCB attempting to remove the SD card. After writing a working image to the SD card and putting it back together, it stopped turning on. I then tried rewriting the SD card with the original data, which I had previously backed up, but it still does not turn on.

Here's some more pictures of the PCB:

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It could be, but it's difficult to tell from the pictures. These traces are not necessarily severed in my opinion. Mostly it looks like the solder mask was scraped off. But the copper is very much intact in most places. I do have questions about this area (noted below). Because it looks like there may be a crack there, or just shadows from solder mask (the green stuff) Which could be a problem.

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The copper is what carries the electrical signal, so exposed copper isn't usually a problem. The scratch would have to go deep enough to cut through the copper. Or crack it. So the electrical flow would be broken. It's also possible components were knocked off? Can you also add an image of the overall area?

I am more likely to think, if you're not getting power at all and the issue is the same now as it was before the scratch, the issue isn't the SD card anyway. Most computerized devices will power on with bad storage, they just won't boot or they'll crash. If the issue occurred after being connected to a PC that could be any number of things, but it could be a different unrelated issue with the board.

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Hi Alisha, thank you for the reply!

Unfortunately I don't currently have the device on me, I can't post new pictures until the 26th. It did feel like that area was less scratched than the other area. It may be just an artifact of the lighting, or some remains of the waterproof coating, but I'll post more pictures as soon as possible.

In regards to other components having been knocked off, I'm confident that hasn't happened. All I did was unplug the battery from the board and remove the SD card. I did use a heat gun to help loosen up the glue, but I did so in very short bursts to avoid heating the components too much. There's no singe marks on any of the waterproof coating, nor did it melt in any place. I'll post a picture of the entire board when possible.

Thanks again for the reply!

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Hi again Alisha, I have edited the post with extra pictures and context. Thank you!

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Those scratches just removed the solder mask coating. What you see is the copper traces. I don't believe the traces are cut. But you can just place a coat of solder on the copper if you are worried about it.

If the SD was actually glued in - which I find hard to believe they would do that - I might more suspect either debris on the connections or damage to the holder such that the connections are not being made.

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Hi Bill, thank you for your reply.

When you say "place a coat of solder on the copper", I assume that doesn't mean coating it with regular solder, right? Is there a specific type of coating I should look for?

In regards to the SD card, it may have been simply the waterproof coating keeping it in place. However, when I finally managed to remove the card, it had a pink residue on it. It didn't look like the waterproof coating at all, which is why I assume it was glue.

Thank you for taking the time to reply!

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I have exactly the same issue caused in the same way. Unit no longer boots, so I assume I’ve damaged integrity of power. The ifixit.com website has replacement motherboards for sale, as I don’t have a soldering iron, figured that would be less risky and less expensive to try replacing rather than repairing.

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