[Simon]

Have you tried to enter the bios?

Press the ESC key after the blue light comes on for the 2nd time.

[Simon]

FatEnzo wrote:

Hi Simon, and thanks for a photo reportage. About the wifi, it’s possible change the adapter (maybe a mini pci-e model?) with another one more powerful? Thanks

The WIFI chip is soldered to the board. So no, not really. The Intel WIFI chip has a different position to the RealTek chip, you can see in my Intel model the position for the Realtek chip is unused.

 

Juha Pirinen wrote:

I took off the thermal pad between processor and the heat sink plate. Put some thermal paste there and then thermal pad between plate and the laptops bottom plate. Thermals lowered maybe 5’C or so, from 61’C to 56’C when playing or running 3dmark. Nothing epic but just for fun.

Great to hear, 5 degrees is decent, and with longer stress tests I’m sure the improvement will increase 🙂

[Simon]

The only exposure the antennas have is in the plastic black bar inbetween the screen and keyboard, maybe sure it is facing the router. It is very directional. You need to be sitting with your back to the router.

[Simon]

I don’t have a Chuwi VI10 to comapre, but I find the EZB 3 Pro perfectly usable even in outdoor conditions. The combination of the brightness and matte display make for a well viewable screen. I personally hardly ever use the 100% brightness, only when I am outside in direct sunlight.

[Simon]

I’m using this generic macbook 13 brown leather case: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/13-13-3-Inch-Shockproof-Leather-Laptop-Sleeve-Case-Bag-fr-Macbook-Air-MacBook-AU-/232403825545?var=&hash=item361c58f389:m:mot–oNMFMUmbEzTG4q4FcA

It’s more of a sleeve than a case, it also folds up to sit the notebook up at an angle which I really like and I always use it like that now.

The ezb3 pro is a little bit smaller than the macbook 13 so any case will work with it.

[Simon]

@Ulric: I’d appreciate a write up on getting linux live and installs working. I wasn’t able to follow your thread on Linux Questions or here. I don’t understand much about linux so I want to use something simple like Ubuntu or Elementary. Sorry for hijacking FatEnzo.

[Simon]

Go into the bios and go right to SAVE & EXIT, then down to BOOT OVERRIDE, select your USB stick and press ENTER.

Note that most live Linux distro’s don’t work because the notebook uses a 32bit boot loader and is incompatible. There is a thread here about getting Linux to work. I have found very few linux distro’s that work. I think this is not a good notebook to use linux on.

[Simon]

Stefan wrote:

Thx for the pictures. Interesting to see the internals. Strange that only the cpu is in contact, since there are more possible contact points.

I know, right? it seems odd. And the heatsink actually has exposed cut outs in the insulation above the WiFi and chipset as if it was designed to have thermal pads but they are missing. If you wanted to add them the 0.5mm size would be the way to go. I plan on adding them as well as a 1mm pad between the heatsink and the back of the case.

Stefan wrote:

Would be nice to combine some features to a new advanced version^^ BTW, did you find any reasons for the bad range?

I was thinking about combining features too 🙂 I haven’t been able to find a trackpad with fingerprint reader that will fit yet though.

As for the WiFi range issue, it is because the antennas are routed in the black plastic hinge cover (in between the screen and the keyboard) but they face down and have very little exposure. You will actually get better signal strength with the lid closed than open. I haven’t come up with a solution yet but it is tricky because the whole body and frame is all aluminium. If the LCD surround was plastic that would be ideal. Right now it is really important that the screen is facing the router to get a signal, if you are sitting the other way around it does a good job of blocking it.

[Simon]

BAMxi wrote:

very interesting, thanks for posting! Haven’t really had a chance to crack mine open yet. Assuming the battery is connected via a normal plug (not soldered?). Probably won’t be worth replacing the battery vs buying something new in a couple years when the battery dies, but good to know it’s possible I guess.

Yep the battery is connected with a standard plug, I know what you mean about replacing vs a new notebook but if it dies prematurely it should be easy enough to fix.

[Simon]

…and a few more.

 

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[Simon]

Gabriel wrote:

I was able to install a Crucial 275GB 2280 ssd today. Was so much easier than I thought. Created a win010 boot USB. Installed the ssd and went into the Bios setting and selected the USB drive. Installed win 10 on the ssd and setup the pc as always. Then I proceeded to format the internal memory. I did hold the ssd down with tape and a bit of crazy glue since it was electrical tape and we all know electric tape has not grip lol. Very happy with the outcome. https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-MX300-275GB-Internal-Solid/dp/B01IAGSDJ0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1500859178&sr=8-1&keywords=crucial+m.2

I’m planning on doing this soon. Does it make the notebook feel much faster? How long goes it take to boot now?

 

[Simon]

That’s my video with the 22/6 bios 😉

I don’t have an m.2 ssd yet to test it out so I can’t tell you if it works with this bios. If you know how I can dump the bios and send it to you let me know, I’d be happy to try.

[Simon]

I have a v3, m.2 slot and wireless ac, I also have the noise , it goes away at a brightness level of 50% or over. It is not very noticeable. I didn’t notice it for the first week, only after using it in the dead of the night.

I wonder where exactly the cultprit is, if its on the main board or on the bottom of the LCD panel. Maybe some hot glue or something could be used to cover over it and silence it.

[Simon]

1. Start > Windows System > This PC

2. Click on This PC near the bottom left.

3. Right click on the  eMMC drive 56.9GB, and click Format.

I’m not sure if it will be called “C” or “D” on your PC. But windows won’t let you format the drive that you are currently running windows from so you can’t accidentally get it wrong.

4. Click Start. You will get a warning asking if you are sure, click Yes. In my image I am actually formatting an SD card but you get the idea.

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[Simon]

Even though others have said their LED changes to green, I can 100% guarantee mine stays red. Even after charging all night, at 100% and the notebook and charger are stone cold.

If you are worried your battery is being over charged and damaged, stick a multimeter in the battery terminals. Safe maximum voltage is 4.2V, anything over that is damaging it. There is a over charge protection circuit in the battery itself, in between the plug and the battery cells, underneath the black plastic. If it is being overcharged, that’s what needs to be replaced – but I highly doubt it.

[Author]

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