Hacking GBA SP randomly shutting off while using EZ Flash Omega

[Z_Tetriminos]

My GBA SP AGS-101 will randomly shut off or reset to the Nintendo GB boot screen while playing a game with the flashcart.
The issue occurs with all game types (GBA, GBC, GB and NES).
Sometimes I play for 2-3h straight with no issues. Sometimes it will shut off/reset on me every 10 minutes or so.

Recently I have replaced my GBA rechargeable battery with a new one; the problem persists.
Tested letting the system on for hours with my original carts running to see if it was some other kind of issue, but no shutdown ever occurred. The problem is with the flashcart.
I have seen posts about the cart occasionally causing short circuits. If it's the case, is there a way to fix it without having to replace the cartdrige altogether?
Got mine at Aliexpress, I have no way to get a replacement where I live (Brazil) without having to buy another, and the packaging in which the cart comes from Ali is horrible. If it may have been damaged in shipment, it surely happened, and will happen again.

Thanks everyone!

 

[Shadow#1]

My GBA SP AGS-101 will randomly shut off or reset to the Nintendo GB boot screen while playing a game with the flashcart.
The issue occurs with all game types (GBA, GBC, GB and NES).
Sometimes I play for 2-3h straight with no issues. Sometimes it will shut off/reset on me every 10 minutes or so.

Recently I have replaced my GBA rechargeable battery with a new one; the problem persists.
Tested letting the system on for hours with my original carts running to see if it was some other kind of issue, but no shutdown ever occurred. The problem is with the flashcart.
I have seen posts about the cart occasionally causing short circuits. If it's the case, is there a way to fix it without having to replace the cartdrige altogether?
Got mine at Aliexpress, I have no way to get a replacement where I live (Brazil) without having to buy another, and the packaging in which the cart comes from Ali is horrible. If it may have been damaged in shipment, it surely happened, and will happen again.

Thanks everyone!

Sure it's not a fake?

 

[Localhorst86]

Got mine at Aliexpress, I have no way to get a replacement where I live (Brazil) without having to buy another, and the packaging in which the cart comes from Ali is horrible. If it may have been damaged in shipment, it surely happened, and will happen again.

Thanks everyone!

Shody packaging and as a result damage because of shipment handling can be a real issue with shipment from aliexpress and similar. They try to make shiping as cheap as possible and the easiest way to do that is by saving on packaging.

One possible issue is that the board got dislocated inside the cartridge shell. You can try to open the cartridge, reseating the board and closing it, see if it fixes your issue.

 

[Z_Tetriminos]

Shody packaging and as a result damage because of shipment handling can be a real issue with shipment from aliexpress and similar. They try to make shiping as cheap as possible and the easiest way to do that is by saving on packaging.

One possible issue is that the board got dislocated inside the cartridge shell. You can try to open the cartridge, reseating the board and closing it, see if it fixes your issue.

The cartridge as a whole looks cheap and kinda loose, but it looks the same in every review I saw. I understand the quality of the manufacturing as a means to lower the price, which I'm thankful for.
I just opened the cartridge, everything inside looked fine. Put it together again and it's working as usual, let's see if something changes...

 

[EZ-Flash2]

Here I would like to explain that we never recruit dealers in aliexpress, the goods sent out from aliexpress are illegally outflowed from domestic dealers in China, and will not receive any warranty service. We have a local distributor in Brazil, and the warranty is valid for one year from the date of sale.

 

[Z_Tetriminos]

Here I would like to explain that we never recruit dealers in aliexpress, the goods sent out from aliexpress are illegally outflowed from domestic dealers in China, and will not receive any warranty service. We have a local distributor in Brazil, and the warranty is valid for one year from the date of sale.

Which distributor? I may try buying another from an official seller. Thanks for answering.

 

[EZ-Flash2]

Which distributor? I may try buying another from an official seller. Thanks for answering.

https://www.ezflash.cn/dealers/

open EZ-FLASH OMEGA tab，you will see brazil dealer.

 

[Z_Tetriminos]

I've felt the need to comment on the conclusion (?) of this issue:
Bought another EZ Flash Omega, trusted vendor, same issue. After seeing reports of people having similar issues with original cartridges, but caused by power slider fault on the console, I tried reproducing the issue with an original game. After 5h of playing, I finally saw the game reset itself. Tried again for about 15 minutes and luckily it happened again, this time the console shut itself down.

Did a light cleaning on the slider, no unsoldering, and it was momentarily fixed. But it needs proper inside cleaning; I'll de-solder it when I get the time.

Turns out, the flashcart draws so much energy from the battery, it triplicates the chances of the power slider fault reset/shutdown happening.

Thanks everyone!

 

[horokeusama]

Sorry for reviving such an old thread, but have you found any solution for this? Mine is also from Aliexpress and I think the battery drainage is also caused by the flashcard.

Also, I'd like to point out that the brazilian official dealer for EZ Flash in Brazil that @EZ-Flash2 mentioned doesn't have the product anymore.

 

[Z_Tetriminos]

Sorry for reviving such an old thread, but have you found any solution for this? Mine is also from Aliexpress and I think the battery drainage is also caused by the flashcard.

Also, I'd like to point out that the brazilian official dealer for EZ Flash in Brazil that @EZ-Flash2 mentioned doesn't have the product anymore.

I still haven't found anyone able to do a full cleaning and re-soldering of my GBA's power slider, and I'm too afraid and lazy to it myself so it's currently living a quiet life on my drawer. Where I live (São Paulo) it seems that retro games repair shops only take TV consoles in consideration, no one wants to touch anything handheld.

But about the power drainage, yeah, that's just the way it's designed to work. The Everdrive drains a bit less battery, but still leaves the GBA with less than half the battery life it has when running a normal cartridge. I get about 5h of battery life with EZ Flash Omega. If your turn off RTC, it lessens the drainage.