Lately, I've noticed that my "SMART Mobile Eye" is always turning off even after a full night of charging. After more than 3 years of good use, we'll it's very obvious that it needs battery replacement. I tried looking for a repair center but with no luck. Some people are not even familiar with the mobile eye. Well, what is a mobile eye anyway?
Mobile Eye is a Digital Life solution offered by SMART Comm. Inc., the Philippines' leading wireless service provider. Simply put, this gadget enables you to remotely monitor you household, business or anything you value the most just like a CCTV camera on your mobile phone. Anywhere you have a good 3G signal, ensuring security is just as simple as a video call. This device is very simple but it has a lot of cool features. One of the coolest feature I like is that you can pan & tilt the camera using the keypad on your mobile phone. This enables a wider range of view unlike expensive CCTV installations that only has a steady view. You can even use it like an ordinary phone because it has a built-in speaker and microphone. Another cool feature is it's infrared camera, yes, you can see everything it covers even in total darkness. It also enables you to record what it sees for a preset time of the day, stores it in a T-Flash memory card which you can download and view at a later time.As for me, I installed it a "strategic" location in our apartment just so I can monitor how my cute little girl is doing every time me and my wife is out. With the pan & tilt feature, I can adjust the view to cover almost 70% of our home. I can hear the conversations and even say hi to my baby. OK, I guess the next thing you want to know is "How much do I spend for all these neat features?" The answer, almost nothing. As I've mentioned earlier, It's just like another video call (which I usually use, so the standard rates apply) especially if your on a postpaid account. You can use any Sim card (postpaid or prepaid) provided by SMART for the device and you just have to ensure it doesn't run out of credit. I just have to load it Php 1 every month to ensure continuous service.
You can read more on http://smart.com.ph/corporate/newsroom/SmartUnveilsDigitalLifeSolutionMobileEye.htm
http://smart.com.ph/corporate/support/FAQs/MobileEye.htm
So, let's get down to the MacGyver stuff. Please be reminded that I'm not responsible for anything that might happen to your Mobile Eye if you should attempt to repair it. Moreover, SMART may void the warranty if you attempt to tinker with the device so if you think yours is still under warranty, I suggest you inquire with SMART first. As I've mentioned earlier, mine has more than three years of good service so I think it's way off the warranty period. Besides, I don't want any repair or replacement charges so I took the risk of doing the repair myself. And so,after a successful procedure (It's been doing OK for a month now), I thought of sharing what I've done on my blog, this might be be helpful for some other tinker fairies out there.
OK, here we go, below this is the mobile eye fully assembled.
First, remove all the screws. All screws are covered by a plastic sticker or a rubber stopper, just pry it using tweezers before removing the screws. There are four screws on top & four on the bottom.
After slightly opening the enclosure, you need to remove two screws just above the camera mounting and the two screws on the infrared LED's to be able completely remove the enclosure and easily pull out the battery. Now you can separate the enclosure in half. Be careful in doing this to avoid pulling on some cables connecting the front LED's, microphone & speaker.
Now here is the complete tear down, you just have to gently pry the microphone, infrared LED's and the speaker from the enclosure. The battery is the circular pattern on the bottom of the camera assembly with the gray and white cable sticking out, we will pull this out later.
Now before pulling out the battery, disconnect it from the main board. Follow the gray/black connector and gently pull on the connector from the main board. Then pull the battery out from the assembly.
Okay, we're halfway done. Below is the view of the original battery and the replacement battery.
So where did I get the replacement battery? After some googling, I discovered "Battery Zone" located in Farmers Center Cubao, QC. I brought the original battery and they offered me a replacement with the same specifications, it's around Php500. They will offer the option of reconnecting the connectors but that would take days (and a service charge) so I opt to do it myself instead. You may also try on "Battery Channel" stores located on some malls.
So now it's time to replace the battery. First you have to transfer the connector. You can use a cutter to strip off the covering of the old battery (note the polarity of the terminals). This will expose the small PCB with some electronic components attached to the side of the battery. Then, you can use the side cutter to pry off the metal connectors from the battery terminal.
As you can see, the original battery is really in bad shape. It already leaked and that's the reason why it will not hold any charge. A simple voltmeter test confirms this. Also, the terminals are corroded as well as the circuit board which I also suspect some damage. Anyway, I just cleaned it with alcohol.
After cleaning the battery circuit board, I'm just hoping that it was not damaged by the corrosion. And so, using a soldering tool, I soldered the circuit board (again, noting the correct polarity) to the new battery. I just secured it using electrical tape. Now here's the circuit board attached to the new battery.
Then, you just have to re-insert the battery to the main assembly. Then re-connect the battery cable to the main board.
As you may have noticed, the final assembly of the battery is a bit different from the original setup. After a quick test, it turned out that the battery circuit board is damaged by the corrosion and is not working properly. And so I thought of removing the circuit board and connecting the battery directly to the circuit board, and it worked just as well. The circuit board attached to the battery is just an added "protector" for the battery against over-charging or thermal runaway but the main board itself controls the charging so it's okay to remove it. Nevertheless, I recommend not always doing this if the circuit board is not damaged. As I've said, it provides added protection for the battery.
After re-assembling the unit, it's charging perfectly using the supplied charger, but a test call confirms all is working fine. Below is the unit starting up (white light indicator on) and charging (blue light indicator on).
The charging automatically stops after about 8 hours and the unit lasts for up to one week on standby depending on how often it is used.
Now that was a lot of fun, and a lot of savings. If you have further inquiries, please follow me or you may send it on my profile email.I might be able to help you.
Have a nice day, God Bless!
Nice d.i.y tips. Anyway, I just would like to ask if battery zone now accepts service of mobile eye? Can they change the battery for me?
ReplyDeleteThanks to advise sir.