A definitive PicoFly install guide

A definitive PicoFly install guide V.4

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Overview Updates (2) Reviews (9) History
Due to a large amount of explosive information from the release of a functioning PicoFly setup, a guide was needed to help place all the useful and accurate information in one place. So far the guide seems to be fairly complete, but further revisions will be considered if important enough bits need to be added.
Change log
V.1: First release

V.2: Added some helpful hints from Rehius about RST point, slow EMMC mode, mosfet diagrams, and 100nF caps on the RP2040-Zero

V.3: Added info about PicoFly Toolbox, Dat0 adapters for OLED, and clarification for what kinds of Switch are supported by this mod (hint: it's all of them)

V.4: Explicit warnings about not attempting this mod if you are new to soldering/not proficient at micro soldering. Also added a suggested digital multimeter, explained how to solder to a flex cable, and a GIANT warning to unplug your battery before touching anything inside the switch. Also firmware to be flashed has been updated to 2.67.uf2
UPDATE: I fixed the size of the PDF and the text selection!
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Reactions: aparitxi, Tegu82, ReGa and 18 others
Author
lightninjay
Downloads
8,559
Views
22,660
First release
Last update
Rating
4.86 star(s) 14 ratings

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Latest updates

  1. Technically still V.4

    I figured out how to post the full V.4 guide in one pdf file, without breaking links, or text...

  2. Update to the guide V.3 to V.4

    There were a few things added, check the changelog.
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Latest reviews

LogicalMadness
"They should have sent a poet"
Some1CP
Amazing guide, but the PDF seems broken.
lightninjay
lightninjay
Should be fixed now. I recompiled it slightly different in an effort to condense file size and get it to load better.
impeeza
Great work, for me Adobe acrobat show "A drawing error Occurred." and on Firefox all letters are shown as a pixelated 8-bit graphic.
lightninjay
lightninjay
I recently fixed V.4, you should be able to redownload and not only have a smaller file size, but it should load better as well!
mondul
Pretty clear and helpful
Flasheure
Perfect !
https://uptobox.com/xh5t7soyfmna
Allow me to put it in French, which I translated myself.
If it bothers you, delete it!
lightninjay
lightninjay
Merci beaucoup! I've been seeing my guide pop up unannounced in other languages. So far I saw Italian, Spanish, and a french website that started translating, but then pointed to gbatemp's download of the english guide.

I did attempt to leave all the text selectable in the PDF to attempt making translation easier, as native speakers could just run it through a translator and then modify it to make more sense in their native tongues. Glad you took on the effort, I just want to help spread the info to as many people need it.
G
Awesome guide! Great job!
Just a side note. It worth to mention, if you use CPU Flex cable, then which pins you need to solder with magnet wire and which solder points you need to use on the PCB (for example only one point for DAT0/CLK/CMD/RST or you can use both) and explain them with a short answer. I saw these questions multiple times in multiple forum posts
lightninjay
lightninjay
It is technically included in the OLED graphic how to wire up the CPU pin to the flex, but I do understand your point. Perhaps im V.4 I will explicitly state how to wire up the flex cable.
A-Hacked-Soul
Perfect guide! This has been really helpful with all the info in one place. If you have issues opening the files with images try another reader.
lightninjay
lightninjay
Thanks for the 5-star review <3 Glad it has become such an invaluable resource :D
AlanPavlish
Awesome guide. Thanks.
I see you mention wires and how they can make or break the hack. I think you should mention why. Also, there are lots of different info on which wire tickness to use. Maybe add info about that?
lightninjay
lightninjay
I would, but that falls more in the realm of soldering skill. I feel the guide does a decent enough job warning that thicker wires can be difficult to work with, but when working at this micro scale, "bigger" is also still terribly small. I believe it's adequate to state that 30-40awg wire, both kynar and magnet wire are acceptable for use. I do later explain that Rehius has mentioned if you have issues you can check wire thicknesses/lengths, but ultimately a lot of it seems to come down to good solder welds. In cutting and shortening/changing a wire, one would necessarily be resoldering, increasing their chances of improving their solder joint.
M
Good job！！！
lightninjay
lightninjay
Thank you! Hope it helps :)
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