Pinephone Keyboard Day 2

2022-01-19

Oh No! ...phew

There were some emotional ups and downs as I got more acquainted with my keyboard after writing the initial impressions post. I was really excited and mostly happy with it save for the finnicky top row of keys which I was expecting based on reports from some who received the keyboard before I did. Then I discovered that the keyboard was not actually supplying power to the Pinephone as it should. Initially it appeared to be a software issue with charging rates but upon further testing the issue was that the pogo pins that electrically connect the keyboard to the Pinephone weren't making a good enough connection. This was confirmed by squeezing the Pinephone in the area of the pogo pins which would get it to charge as long as I kept squeezing. Not ideal, X-). After much frustration, fiddling and removing and reinserting the phone into the keyboard many times I now have a good connection and it appears to be OK. There is a tiny little protrusion that is actually a hook near the pogo pins on the inside of the keyboard top cover. The key seems to be getting that hook to engage with the Pinephone so that it holds the pogo pins firmly to the contacts.

Charging and Batteries

As far as the charging dance between the Pinephone and the keyboard's battery, it is going to require some software to coordinate which is currently being worked on by some community members. Now that I have the mechanical connection sorted for the time being it is not all that bad of a situation as it is. The suggested guidance at the moment is to not use the Pinephone's USB C port and only charge through the keyboard's USB C port which will also provide power to the Pinephone. By default the Pinephone will only accept 500ma of current from the battery. So far in usage this has resulted in the Pinephone charge level staying steady on whatever level it is currently at, effectively being powered from the keyboard's battery. Only when the keyboard's battery is depleted does the Pinephone's battery start to drain. Additionally, when the Pinephone is in sleep mode that 500ma is enough to charge the Pinephone's battery at a slow rate.

So this is a pretty usable state in my opinion. If I start the day with the Pinephone in sleep mode and plugged in the keyboard and Pinephone will be fully charged and the Pinephone should stay fully charged until the keyboard's battery is empty. Once that happens everything will keep working until the Pinephone's battery runs out. This may not the be the most efficient arrangement but it works well enough for now until the software to manage this is finished.

If you do end up with a depleted Pinephone battery and a keyboard battery with plenty of charge left it is also possible to increase that input current limit by changing a /sys/class value on the command line. Specifics on how to do that and a TON more useful information regarding the keyboard on megi's FAQ linked below.

Megi's Pinephone Keyboard FAQ

Usage Thoughts

I've been using it a lot all day today and my main thought is, dang this is rad. Is it polished? No. Is it perfect? No way. But is it hella cool and fun to use? You're damn right! Battery life to last the whole day with pretty heavy use. Which means I can not worry about leaving it open and on while I come and go because battery life is not really an issue. When I'm ready to put it away for a bit I can tap the power button, fold it up and slip it on my pocket.

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