How will the battery be held in place?

[diligentcircle]

Is the Pyra still going to have its battery held in place by a battery cover?

I ask because I consider this to be a massive design flaw of the Pandora; for most devices the battery cover is a cosmetic thing, not a requirement for the device to even function. And then there's the fact that this means tiny changes in the size of the battery can make a difference in whether or not it works.

If there's any choice, I think it would be much better for the Pyra's battery to have its contacts on the side, like every other device.

If the battery must have that weird design where the contacts are on the bottom and have to be held in place with a battery cover, would it at least be possible to build the battery cover into the battery (or superglue them together, or something)? That would at least prevent problems with the battery shifting position or being too thin for the battery cover.

 

[TrashyMG]

At this point the plastic molds are already made, there really isn't much that can change without EvilDragon spending a ton of money.

 

[WizardStan]

The battery is the same principle as the Pandora's battery. It's physically larger, and should have tighter tolerances so won't wiggle around, or so the theory goes.

 

[AnimatedFreak]

If it won't wiggle around than that will probably fix it. With the Pandora I had many random shutdowns, but I think ED said in a video that it will sit more secure. If there is a problem I'm sure they can made some changes in later editions of the system case. None the less it's going to be better than the Pandora for sure.

 

[levi]

FWIW in my experience the Pandora battery doesn't change in shape much due to heat or age - my original paper shims that make up for the fact the Pandora's battery cage is slightly too large are still working and not pushing the battery cover out any extra these years later. So if the Pyra cage is the right size, it should all work a lot better.

 

[Klumpen]

duct tape

 

[EvilDragon]

The problem with Pandoras battery compartment is simply that it's too big compared to the battery.
The battery loses contact becauses it moves around too much.

Side contacts wouldn't make things better, as it doesn't make any difference if the battery loses contact with side contacts or contacts on the bottom.

That design is not weird, btw, it's still commonly used, most mobile devices simply use side contacts as they can move the battery closer to the PCB and decrease the thickness of the case.
Won't help us, as we got parts on the PCB anyways

Pyras' battery fits perfectly inside the case though, so no wiggling or anything, so that won't be an issue anymore.

 

[fusion_power]

If there's any choice, I think it would be much better for the Pyra's battery to have its contacts on the side, like every other device.

I had the same idea back then with the original Pandora design. So the cover would not be responsible for the safe contact of the battery.

Side contacts wouldn't make things better, as it doesn't make any difference if the battery loses contact with side contacts or contacts on the bottom.

The advantage would have been that you could make a leaf spring onto the opposite side of the contacts that always press the battery against the contacts, even when the battery cover is removed.

Another solution could have been to make the battery encased and part of the back cover, like many smartphones did (Nokia 6310, etc...). To late of course but who knows, spare some suggestions for future devices maybe.

 

[EvilDragon]

No, leaf springs are not strong enough to keep the battery in place. When the unit receives a shock, it would still reboot.

 

[Wally]

Probably the only thing I would have done with the battery is tether it to a point on the board so it has direct contact or use inductive charging but that seems to still be only new

Seriously though, it's more practical carrying around an xiaomi battery pack than an extra battery as i've found with the Pandora you have to maintain both batteries.. Nobody ain't got time for that.

 

[fusion_power]

No, leaf springs are not strong enough to keep the battery in place. When the unit receives a shock, it would still reboot.

Would need testing, at least it could be better than on the Pandora, I already had reboots when I just hit the shoudler buttons to furiously.
This should be really not happen on the Pyra.

 

[TrashyMG]

Would need testing, at least it could be better than on the Pandora, I already had reboots when I just hit the shoudler buttons to furiously.
This should be really not happen on the Pyra.

First Batch Pandora? I have all three models and the only Pandora I had to do any kind of tweaking on was my First Batch unit, rebirth and 1Ghz unit resolved the issues with pads on the battery compartment.

 

[elvissteinjr]

My first batch never had a loose battery problem. It's sitting rather tight there actually.
I trust that an exact fit would be enough to counter the random reboots to be honest.

 

[diligentcircle]

FWIW in my experience the Pandora battery doesn't change in shape much due to heat or age

I was referring to situations like when later Pandora batteries became slightly thinner and slightly narrower, not change of a single battery's size over time.

That's also why I think it would be a good idea to attach the batteries to battery covers, perhaps just with superglue or something. That would completely prevent the possibility of this problem. It would probably be more durable, too. What do you think about this, ED?

 

[slaeshjag]

As a note on side contacts: I've had a chinese feature phone with side-contact batteries that worked great. Then I got a 3rd party replacement battery that wasn't within the tolerances, and it was the pandora story all over again. Had to fiddle around with paper and tape to get it reliable.

 

[AnimatedFreak]

First Batch Pandora? I have all three models and the only Pandora I had to do any kind of tweaking on was my First Batch unit, rebirth and 1Ghz unit resolved the issues with pads on the battery compartment.

I only have the rebirth and I had random shutdowns all the time.

 

[EvilDragon]

I only have the rebirth and I had random shutdowns all the time.

Did you buy a new battery?
The new batteries were a bit smaller even, padding is absolutely needed there.

 

[AnimatedFreak]

Did you buy a new battery?
The new batteries were a bit smaller even, padding is absolutely needed there.

I have no clue, I just got a battery with the system when I bought it and that is what I use. The top part of the battery where the contacts are fit nice with padding on the side but the bottom wiggle around. It would shutdown sometimes when I just put it easily down on a table

 

[levi]

@onpn4

Yeah, that would help if the problem is that the battery slips towards the hinge and away. If the problem is more that the battery is too thin and if wedged up against the battery door, loses touch with the contacts, then this solution would mean it never makes contact.

To avoid that latter situation, you'd need to make sure all the batteries ever manufactured are the same thickness, and that thickness is the gap between the battery door and the bottom of the battery cage. But if you do that then unless the problem is the battery sliding, you've solved the problem and no longer need to glue the battery to the door.

But it might still be a good solution if the battery sliding is the real cause of the shaky reboots, if by some accident the case bottom is still not quite manufactured with the right dimensions. You'd probably need reinforced clips, for anyone who wants to carry a spare battery+glued on door combination around with them though; all the old phones with glued on batteries I can think of had the lugs in the case and the holes in the battery at one end, and a three-part clip mechanism that resists torsion or over-pressure better than a single moulded solution could. But maybe a good storage box could do the job almost as well.

In short, it just seems simpler and cheaper if you can make the battery cage the right size and keep all batteries to the same dimensions in the first place.

 

[diligentcircle]

If the problem is more that the battery is too thin and if wedged up against the battery door, loses touch with the contacts, then this solution would mean it never makes contact.

But what about, if this problem arises, adding some padding to the battery or cover before gluing them together? Seems like this would be relatively easy to do. That's really the main thing I was thinking of. With the Pandora, I had to do home remedies to thicken the new batteries I bought, and I ended up thickening them too much, cracking the battery cover. If the battery cover was a part of the battery, this problem would only have to be dealt with at a factory, and only however often the battery size accidentally changes.