I have been using my Archos 101 tablet for a few months now, I quite like it, and have tried a few of the different android builds available to download. I am keen to try and upgrade the ram, as 256MB is not alot. This is the progress I have made so far, I hope that maybe other people can add to it. First step is to find a suitable ram module that has the same pinouts, and specs, but with larger capacity. The ram module is marked "OVA18 D9LBZ". Using Microns FBGA decoder We find that the full part number of the ram module is "MT46H64M32LFMA-6 IT:A". If we go to microns list of available low power DDR modules we can see that there are available a 512MB and a 1GB version. (note that they are listed in megabits, not megabytes, so the original 256 megabyte module is a "2gb" size, 512MB is "4gb" and 1GB is "8gb")
I am in the UK, and havent yet found a uk supplier, but I found the 1GB module available in the US for about 50 US dollars.
I dont know what the max ram limit of the cpu is, I have read somewhere that the OMAP3630 cpu can support max 1GB, but cant remember where.
Im my mind there are two further problems once the chip has been bought:
1. physically removing the old ram module and fitting the new one. my plan is to setup a spring with one end glued/fixed somehow to the top of the old ram module, and then put the mainboard in the oven, and once the solder melts the spring will pull the ram chip off. Or it might pull the ram chip and the cpu at the same time. Then put tiny bits of solder on all the pins of the new ram module, align it ontop of the cpu, maybe under slight pressure, and put it back in the oven and hope that all of the solder joints connect properly. Quite a few of the pins are not used, so we can get away with 1 or 2 pins not connected. One concern I have is that in the spec sheet alot of the pins are labelled NC for not connected, but several have DNU which I take to mean "do not use". If these end up connected aswell then will this work or not. Another idea is instead of soldering the new chip on, we could polish the pins on the cpu really smooth and also polish the pins on the ram chip, and build a clip/holder type device, it might be possible to run the system with the ram chip just held under pressure on the cpu. We would need to stop the chip moving sideways also.
2. There may be a firmware issue with the new ram module, the system may not recognize the ram chip at all, or only address 256MB of it, because that is what its expecting to be there. I have seen a tutorial on upgrading the ram on an xbox and this is the problem they had, the new ram runs fine but only the original amount that was installed can be used without significant software changes. Hopefully archos have not made it too difficult for us.
These are my thoughts so far, I hope we can make some progress, or at least work out why it cant be done before destroying any hardware. I have links to the FBGA decoder, microns list of lp ddr chips, and the supplier of the 1GB chip, but as this is my first post I am not allowed to post links yet! PM me and I will send you the links.
Hi! Scholbert is good in this staff ask him . Bye
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To be able to support bigger memory both memory controller of OMAP and pcb itself MUST have additional address lines. I almost sure that OMAP has at least 512MB support but not sure if Archos did preparation for bigger memory chip on board.
Also replacing of memory BGA chip not so simple and may cost more than new tablet
I am hoping that the larger memory chips still use the same interface, and therefore the same pin layout as the 256MB chip, as the link for the datasheet for 512MB and 1GB modules is the same as for the 256MB chip. So I dont think any additional data lines are needed.
Yes im sure your right, buying a later tablet will have larger ram module as standard, but I just like to tinker with things
Wikipedia list a few phones that use the omap 3630 cpu, and therefore probably use a ram module soldered ontop as in the archos. The motorola cliq 2 has 512MB of ram, as does the palm pre 2, the nokia n9 has 1GB ram but is a fairly new phone and still expensive to buy. I am going to looking out for a damaged mobile (cracked screen etc) and hope that the ram module is intact.
PPCtech did such an upgrade for the venerable HP hx4700, for $130 including material and shipment.
You'll need rework equipment (special kind of heat gun, not that expensive ($60 is the cheapest)), in an oven you'll probably kill components that were added later on (audio jack etc) and can't stand heat.
If you have the right equipment, it's not that hard to do. You'll heat the RAM chip till you can gently pull it off. Then you'll clean the PCB of solder residue. Next you put on solder paste using a BGA screen made for the chip you want to use.
Then you put the new RAM ic in the correct position (using a microscope to align it correctly), and locally heat it using the heat gun.
Then you pray it worked, or retry (best with a new RAM chip, but they can stand quite some heat, so reusing should be possible).
Problem is that you don't know for sure it could work, thus it's unclear if the error was in the soldering or in the firmware....
Sweet project! Any updates?
Related
Hello! Is it possible to replace and upgrade your phone's RAM and solder aftermarket RAM in it?
Thanks!
ps. Sorry for bad English
I do not think you can, these phones aren't really made for upgrades.
I have heard mention of this before ... but the compact design of the phone and the ability to find (upgraded) ram that would work with the chipset (soldered or otherwise) seems nearly impossible to find to me.
However, if someone was successful in this I would certainly be interested in hearing how.
I think it is too hard or You cant ('x ' )
Seeing as how the RAM modules built into the phone mother board are BGAs (ball grid arrays) it is nearly impossible to replace them without highly specialized equiptment like a FineTech BGA rework machine and the proper heat profiles for the given parts. That said you are more than welcome to try some methods that are not proven but seem very funny to me. I believe there is a youtube video of a man desoldering a BGA using an oven.
Needless to say of you dont like the amount of RAM your device has you may just have to wait until you can get another device.
In especial cases you can UNLOCK the RAM, but it didn't happen as a lot of devs tried and a really small quantity(of devs not phones) reached this point and the only phone that I know is unlockable is the ZTE Blade.
As an embedded system with some [normally] tightly controlled schematics and firmware, this would be unlikely for you to acomplish, since you're asking the question to begin with.
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hyztname said:
In especial cases you can UNLOCK the RAM, but it didn't happen as a lot of devs tried and a really small quantity(of devs not phones) reached this point and the only phone that I know is unlockable is the ZTE Blade.
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Not at all related to this, blade had 512mb of RAM in it, but it wasn't accessible- solved by a kernel change
Sent from my fingerz 2 ur eyez
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all smartphone devices have x amount of ram. say if you have 1gb ram in your phone you might only be able to use 868mb of it . it is becous your phone uses 128 mb for your gpu. it is plausible to make some of your gpu ram available as regular ram and that is done with an kernel mod. for my phone(lg optimus) 2x it is called a ram hack. it always comes with some faults depending on how much you take from the gpu. i have a 32mb shared ram hack so i cant reboot just have to turn the phone on and off
hey all
I guess it would be possible, however it might not so easy, I upgraded the ram of a wrt router some time ago: http://neophob.com/2006/01/wrt54g-ram-upgrade/
There's no chance of upgrading a mobile phone RAM .
I think the same,no way to upgrade ram on mobile phone
This is possible, but as others have said the complexity and difficulty to desolder a BGA ram chip and then put a new one on perfectly without messing anything up is incredibly high. And in addition, you have to find a ram chip that is compatible with your device (pin count and configuration, physical size, voltage, timings) and of a higher density, another difficult feat. So while it is technically possible, the practical answer is no it is not possible for anyone to do in the real world.
Hmm dont think you can.
EniGmA1987 said:
This is possible, but as others have said the complexity and difficulty to desolder a BGA ram chip and then put a new one on perfectly without messing anything up is incredibly high. And in addition, you have to find a ram chip that is compatible with your device (pin count and configuration, physical size, voltage, timings) and of a higher density, another difficult feat. So while it is technically possible, the practical answer is no it is not possible for anyone to do in the real world.
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ive seen it done, it can be done. its just really hard and nerve racking
Man bga chips are pain in a$$, unless u have sophisticated workstation.
A single short circuit/ loose contact can blow up ur entire CPU/motherboard.
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Hate to say it but no, in many of the SoC (System on a Chip) devices, the RAM is a soldered component of the main board. They are using RAM Modules rather then SODIMM Chips. It would be nice though
Parts
Anyone have any ideas of where you could even start to look for ram that would work? I have a HTC Evo 4G. I wonder if its possible to find parts from a HTC Evo 3D and modify.
seems so
just from the CoE course, revers engng and tweaking hardware is a good start
it's possible, but if you think you'll save money that way, you're wrong.
lol
I know that this is not android development, but it is hardware development, so mods please move if I am not in the right fourm.
I have a friend who works on computers and tablets for a living, so he has not trouble taking tablet apart. He has come across a broken tablet, can't even tell the model anymore that has two 1gb modules of ram in it. These modules are made by the same manufacture as the ones in the tf700, and are the same speed, voltage, and timings. Would it be possible to replace the two 512mb modules that came in our tf700s with these 1gb modules?
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It can work if u are lucky. If not you have to change kernel code to adept ddr timing parameters and initialization of the ddr memory
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Memory upgrades.
Aside from the software side of a memory upgrade, you need to know if the devices are pin-compatible with each other.
Vcc, Vdd, Gnd, data, clocks and so on.
Just dropping parts onto a board will not be acceptable, they must be compatible with that device, and the components they are replacing.
Can the support logic work with the increased memory in a manner that will not slow it down, or strangle the overall speed of the memory signal/data paths.
Does the main CPU have the ability to pipeline the increase? What is the cache size it needs to work with?
You could 'piggyback' old RAM chips easily, but in today's world, that is no longer an option.
If the device is cheap enough,you may have more than a clog in the pipes by adding larger amounts of memory, you may already be at that device's limits for handling the memory it already has.
If all things being equal (Occam's razor), then you may get away with removing the old RAM and soldering the larger capacity chips in their place.
I hope you have a proper rework station for pick and place components that probably utilize a ball grid design, you will need to accurately place those devices, or the device will fail. Solder shorts will ruin the device, and may also destroy the support logic, drawing excessive current with heat failures.
I don't mean to take over the LP's thread in any way, but I have been wondering something similar. I only have a poor 512mb in my a13 All winner Zeepad 7.0, and trust me it is noticeable. How would I be able to know if it would run okay based upon the information you just gave? Would that be trial and error? I don't want to waste the money on new ram sticks and then find out that, even after changing the kernel code, my tablet will not like them.
I'm working on reviving a dead Note at the moment and so I'm looking at making a JTAG as it really doesn't want to come back to life. Various videos I watched got me thinking...
I wonder how difficult it would be to upgrade the CPU?
What matters is the pinout of the chip. After two hours of searching I've been unable to find the datasheet to give me the details on the snapdragon 805.
Getting the old one off with a heat gun would be no problem. Putting the new one on would probably require a reflow oven (which I happen to be buying anyway) and baking the old chip at close to 100° for a day or two to dry it out so it does not explode when heated above 100° (3 mins at 265° to reflow solder the new chip).
The new CPU has its own RAM (preferably one with more than 3GB) but could be matched with new cameras.
The Kernel would need to be modified to have the new features. Probably it would be best to take an off the shelf one from for example Note 7 source code and build in the Note 4 stuff needed. That would then get programmed into the flash with a JTAG programmer. But there is very little which is not on the CPU itself beyond SD card reader, sim card reader, wacom digitiser and antenna. Its basically just a power supply (battery and voltage control chips) flash chip, screen and USB connected peripherals.
Basically pick the best camera and camera and CPU combination where the CPU has the identical pin layout of the Snapdragon 805.
That should get it to the point of having a bootable phone with new CPU. It might need also a custom built ROM to go with the custom modified board.
So can anyone show me links to the Snapdragon 805 and newer chips?
If there is a pin replacement chip for the 805 then we could upgrade our beloved battery replaceable phones.
Otherwise it's just a lovely pipedream
Hi!
Having dug my old Google Nexus 7 2012 out of storage and found it both working and happy in terms of battery lifetime I let my mind wander towards fixing what I consider the main flaw with the device: Its 1 GB of system RAM.
Now, I have my fair share of microsoldering and idle work in BGA soldering and the like but my software hardware is far more lacking. I already know that the Nexus I have holds 4 x Hynix 2Gb HTC2G83CFR DDR3L RAM and the datasheets for it these are fortunately available, I also know that the Tegra T30L chipset supports up to 2GB of RAM. The closest I've been able to scrape together sofar are Hynix 4Gb H5TC4G43MFR but these use 78ball FBGA and 96ball FBGA, but atleast I'm on the right track in finding older chips...
This is where I run into the software knowledge lack; Simply finding fitting chips to replace the old ones and successfully soldering those on will not neccesarily just work out of the box? Depending on the kernel it might detect and make use of the new chips but it might also not.
Am I right in assuming that there will be a need for software side hacking to accomodate the upgrade?
On a sidenote I also found Daniel Sauvageau's musings on doing the exact same thing back in 2016 but there are no follow-ups to it. He does raise a concerning potential roadblock in his article on the matter:
"Find out, preferably in a non-destructive way, whether A15 is actually routed from the SoC to the DRAM BGAs. Without A15, I would need DDR3L DRAM that has 2KB pages instead of the typical 1KB ones found in all eight-bit-wide chips I have looked at. If neither are possible, then this idea is as good as dead"
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Any thoughts, ideas or inputs are welcome!
(Yes, I am aware that this is neither particularly economical nor for the faint of heart lacking a decent way to reball BGA)
Good evening.
Was looking at my Shield Pro 2019 sitting on the shelf, and an idea popped into my head; would it be possible to upgrade RAM and eMMC chips? I have no particular reason for this, besides pure curiosity.
I've got access to professional solder equipment, including rework stations capable of desoldering BGAs, xray equipment to inspect said BGAs and about 20 years of experience with soldering and reworking complex circuitry.
If I'm not mistaken, RAM chips are either Micron, Samsung or SK Hynix and the eMMC chip would also likely be supplied by either Micron or SanDisk.
So, disregarding the physical job desoldering/resoldering chips, are there any software issues that must be taken into account?
The eMMC would of course need to be flashed and repartitioned if upgraded to a larger size, but would the RAM chips require any software modifications after swapping them out or would the system simply accept a larger RAM size out of the box?
I've Googled a bit, but couldn't find any concrete information on what changes would be required on the SW/FW side of this.
Best regards, Tim
Unfortunately, this looks like one of those things where ripping it apart and doing the do would be the way to go. Maybe the least "invasive" thing to do would be a RAM upgrade, provided compatible chips of higher capacity are available. Theoretically you wouldn't need to touch anything on the OS side for a bump in RAM capacity. I think the Tegra X1 supports a maximum of 4GB of RAM and the X1+ supports 8GB - allegedly. I suppose the memory controller is built into the SoC itself so there's no tampering with that.
I don't know anyone crazy enough to do that for me... nor am I really willing to apply my very amateur BGA soldering skills on a device like this one.
xxhyp0crisyxx said:
Good evening.
Was looking at my Shield Pro 2019 sitting on the shelf, and an idea popped into my head; would it be possible to upgrade RAM and eMMC chips? I have no particular reason for this, besides pure curiosity.
I've got access to professional solder equipment, including rework stations capable of desoldering BGAs, xray equipment to inspect said BGAs and about 20 years of experience with soldering and reworking complex circuitry.
If I'm not mistaken, RAM chips are either Micron, Samsung or SK Hynix and the eMMC chip would also likely be supplied by either Micron or SanDisk.
So, disregarding the physical job desoldering/resoldering chips, are there any software issues that must be taken into account?
The eMMC would of course need to be flashed and repartitioned if upgraded to a larger size, but would the RAM chips require any software modifications after swapping them out or would the system simply accept a larger RAM size out of the box?
I've Googled a bit, but couldn't find any concrete information on what changes would be required on the SW/FW side of this.
Best regards, Tim
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Both was already done on Nintendo switch (also tegra X1/X1+)
Emmc is the easy part, ram is possible but you need to know which ram are supported.
Check l4s discord maybe there are some people who can help.
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