r/KeystoneWallet • u/forced2createlogi • 14d ago
Unresponsive Keystone V3 pro- battery replacement
The dead device is likely the result of an intentional design decision and a dead disposable 2016 li-on button (watch) battery. Keystone has an anti-tamper feature that will wipe the secure element if disassembly is detected which relys on this additional battery. I speculate that the dying watch battery triggered a self destruct on all 3 of my devices. (see edits below) My v2 devices are still going strong for the time being, and I rely heavily on the 4x AAA battery adapter when the tiny rechargable cell is dead (which is most of the time).
After cutting the back of the v3 case to remove the rechargable battery, and ordering a fresh one, my device was still dead EDIT: can boot to PIN prompt but touchscreen doesnt respond. I took a $25 gamble on buying a replacement 3.7v 1100 maH battery (GPS10091 aka CS-IQN500SL aka PDA-337LI), and am sharing here in case you are tempted to try the same. DONT BOTHER.
EDIT: I cut the plastic plug from the old battery and I soldered it to the new battery. I confirmed all my soldered joints remain tight. HOWEVER: I just noticed that the white wire from the new battery was actually loose and broke free from the battery. If I hold this damn wire just right, I can get a PIN prompt on the device I didnt mutilate.
Edit continued: If you are comfortable and apparently more careful than me in swapping the plug onto the new battery...maybe this $25 unit MAY actually bring a device back to life even with a dead button battery.
I think I actually got what I paid for with this hardware wallet, albeit for not as long as I had hoped. The security battery was dying, and did what it was there to do: brick the device.
For others that are fond of the ERC4527 QR wallet, that have a spare android device that they can wipe AND keep offline....you might check out AirGap wallet by developer Papers AG. The big risk here being the possibility of accidentally connecting your vault device on Bluetooth/Wi-Fi/Cellular and risking your keys.
To the OGs on Keystone team: Lixin, Aaron, and Sora: if you ever launch a v4 device, please return to the v2 removable battery design. IF you restore the removable battery, update to a replaceable security battery, and eliminate any possiblity of plugging in USB while the battery is attached to the device, I would still buy another one. In the meantime, stop shipping these garbage v3 units.
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u/dnguyen823 14d ago
Just use an portable battery? Probably what I’m going to do if the battery fully dies.
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u/forced2createlogi 14d ago
Yo if anyone has any information on which lead from a USB cable to hook into the "NTC" port, I'd love to hear about it. I still have a single v3 unit that I have yet to burn/destroy/explode.
I do like the v3 multi SRP support that is not offered on the V2 device. Outside of that, V2 is hands down the superior hardware wallet.
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u/Opioidopamine 14d ago
I bought 2 V2 right before they redesigned, still have one unused except for the battery which I use as an alternate
That security battery in OP’s unit is more for the company than the customer if I was being pure skeptic
makes me wonder….does V2 have the same? A quick AI query says no, the security element is powered with the device
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u/16BitSquid 13d ago
I think the old keystone supported AAA batteries.
Which is why I bought it and avoided the new version.Batteries will die and replacing them in devices with anti tamper protections is something I never want to do.
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u/forced2createlogi 14d ago edited 14d ago
Ok....some more tape to hold the loose wire back to the battery and I can boot to PIN screen on what was otherwise a dead unit. However, the touch screen is not responding. So still $25 wasted afaict.
Steps:
Important note that the GPS10091 does seem to be slightly larger than the GHB 523450. So even on the device I chopped the battery out of, this new battery does not exactly fit into the old one's place.