Hardware defects
The Pandora is known to have a number of hardware defects that affect some units. This page attempts to list all the known ones as well as give fixes where possible. For non-hardware-related problems, see the article troubleshooting common problems.
- The nubs had some problems on early units.
- Purple on the LCD screen: The first 3000 units are susceptible to the Purple Tint of Death, caused by faulty LCD cables. Send your Pandora back to the distributor to get it fixed.
- Non-working ABXY button(s): There is a possibility that there is an extra piece of plastic found inside of the nonworking button. You can fix this by opening the Pandora and plucking it out.
- Shoulder buttons don't click: Here's how to fix it.
- Stylus can't be removed from case: A problem with some newly-arrived Pandoras. Try using a coin to get it out, or insert some dental floss in between the stylus and the case to wear down the paint a little. If nothing works, very carefully remove all five screws holding the Pandora's back cover in place (take the battery out first), take out the stylus, and put everything back in carefully. Do not overtighten the screws when putting them back in, stop at the first sign of resistance, otherwise they can go through the plastic. After a few reinsertions the slot will become loose. Inserting it 2/3 a couple of times can help loosen it.
- Sharp stylus: The molding process (or paint) leaves the tip of the stylus rough or with a sharp edge. Rub the tip on a piece of paper until all of the excess is gone and the stylus is polished smooth.
- Battery loses connection: If your battery doesn't stay connected, put a piece of paper between it and the back cover.
- Battery cover doesn't close fully: If your battery cover doesn't click to a close all the way in, you can use a nail file to squish in or file off a little bit of extra plastic that may be preventing it from closing.
- Gap in plastic just below screen: There may be an almost unnoticeable gap in the plastic on the bottom-middle of your screen on some Pandoras. If you really need to fix it, try this, but it's risky.
- Hinge doesn't close fully: There is a 1-2mm space left on the left-hand side when the hinge is closed. This is common to all units (?) and cannot be fixed.
- Crack in the case: This may happen if your unit is subjected to external stress, or if it's subject to low temperatures (reportedly, the Chinese case company (DSW) did not do a great job of tempering the plastic before they poured the moulds). Send your Pandora back to the distributor to get it fixed, or fix it yourself using the information here and here. The new silver cases introduced in 2012 have some fixes that should prevent cracking, although they are still made by the same company.
- Volume wheel crackles when used: This may be caused by dust, and might be fixed by opening the case and blowing it out or by spraying contact cleaner into it.[1]
If your defect isn't covered here, try searching through the posts of Michael Weston to see if he covered it: OP GP32X
Warranty information
The Pandora has the standard warranty of one year after you received your unit. However, EvilDragon has said that he has "no problem replacing LCD Cables and broken nubs for free if you have one of the old units, even after the warranty time, as this is a common issue."[2]
Broken hardware is the responsibility of whichever company you bought your Pandora from; however, all problems that feature case cracks, LCD cable problems and nub issues will be fixed by OpenPandora Gmbh (ED's company in Germany) regardless of who you originally bought it from. So if your problem is among those three issues, it would be quicker if you send your Pandora to his address directly.[3]
The
Purple Tint of Death
(PTOD) is a hardware condition affecting some Pandoras from batch 1. It manifests itself in the form of a purple haze or purple bands moving across the screen, often starting out at just certain hinge positions, but progressively getting worse.
For some examples of what it looks like, see this thread and this video.
PTOD is caused by poor LCD cables; because of this, OpenPandora switched to a new company in April 2011. The final ~1000 units of batch 1 and all following units will use the new LCD cables.[4]
Early symptoms of the problem may include very faint horizontal bands moving across the screen [5] and colour banding [6].
For a video of EvilDragon replacing faulty LCD cables, go here.
For details about sending your Pandora to be fixed, check this thread. The address to send your Pandora to is:
- OpenPandora GmbH
- Schäffbräustr. 11
- 85049 Ingolstadt
- Germany
Purple bands
Purple haze
