How to open chase and upgrade SSD in switch alpha 12?

Hi GiZerod , Thanks so much for working out how to open the SA12. So sad that your 500GB Samsung 960 EVO m.2 drive didn't work out. I have a 256GB Kingston in mine as well and I was planning to upgrade to the same SSD as you by pure coincidence! I guess we'll have to make do with a 500GB Samsung 850 EVO :-( It seems to have the B & M keying, If you could please post your disassembly shots when your tears dry I would really appreciate it. I am sure the battery will eventually need replacing and I am hoping to be able to do that myself as well. Thanks again for your posting and detailed information on this topic. I guess the plain 500GB upgrade will have to do. Cheers, Canadaloon

Hi, I did some checking up on the SSDs for the Switch Alpha 12. So I compared the installed Kingston one with the 2 Samsung models at < https://www.notebookcheck.net/Laptop-harddisks-HDD-SSD-benchmarks.22089.0.html >. I knew that the Samsung 960 EVO m.2 drive was fast but WOW! The 850 Evo 500GB is faster than the Kingston but the 960 would REALLY speed up the computer!

Oh well, we'll have to make do with double the capacity and a modest speed increase.

 

Happy Spring, Canadaloon

 

Sorry about my lack of response on this thread.  I've been beyond neck-deep in work craziness for the past few weeks, and its all coming to a head in the next few days (enormous project going live, AWS migrations, bla bla bla).

 

There aren't any ways to adapt a SATA-based, B-keyed m.2 slot to an NVMe-based M-Keyed m.2 slot - at least not that i know of.  SATA and PCIe are two completely different electrical signalling schemes, and while there are full-size PCIe Add-in cards to give you more SATA ports, i've never seen (nor can I see a reason for) a device that goes from SATA back to PCIe.  That said, even if such a device existed, the biggest issue you'd have is the available space in which to install it.  standard m.2 SSDs are 80mm long (hence the "2280" form factor - 22mm wide, 80mm long).  Any adapter card would put you outside of that space, making it difficult or even impossible to reassemble the device.  Just stick with a SATA-based, B-Keyed m.2 SSD, like the Samsung 850 EVO-m.2.  I still haven't seen any PCIe x2 capable SSDs with the B-keying - if you find one, please share it with everyone here.

 

As to the disassembly process - I still don't have the pictures trimmed and formatted to present in a polished write-up, so i'll try to break it down into a few quick bullet points for the brave amung us all:

1. remove your keyboard cover (set it aside), and place your tablet face-down on a soft, preferably rubberized - and definitely anti-static - surface.
2. move the kick-stand to 90-degrees (perpendicular to tablet), and locate the two small, roughly square stickers covering two small screws.  the stickers are the same color as the body (grey-silver-ish), and are located between the attachment point for the kick-stand and the micro-SD slot on one side, and the corresponding spot on the opposite side.  carefully remove the stickers with a fine-pointed regular screw driver (ie: jewler's screwdriver) or a razor blade - and put them aside somewhere, sitcky side up.  Remove the two screws (think they were M2 size - funny coincience) behind the sticker and put them somewhere safe - i like ice-cube trays for this kind of work.
3. optional, but recommended - remove the four screws attaching hte kickstand to the metal hinge, and gently spread the arms of the kickstand apart a few MMs to release them from the metal arms of the hinge.  If you return the metal hinge arms to their 'home' position, it can be difficult to get them back to the 90-degree position, so i just left them standing at attention while i did my disassembly.  besides, they give you another way to grab the back plate of the SA12.
4. using a hard-ish plastic tool (like these: https://www.amazon.com/Plastic-Opening-Repair-iPhone-Non-Marring/dp/B00V58SOTK) or an expired credit/store/id card (what i used), GENTLY-GENTLY-GENTLY start to spread the black plastic trim around the glass of the screen from the silver-grey body of the tablet.  You will likely destroy a credit/id card if you go that route, hence the recommendation to use an expired one.  as you're able to get some space between the screen trim and the body, you will be able to move along the trim, around the enitrety of the perimeter.  Having more than one plastic tool is handy, because you can leave one inserted on one side of the screen and use a second tool to spread further from that point.  Eventually, you will hear a click/pop as the plastic retaining nubs on the black plastic trim piece pop out of the slots with which they mate in the silver base part. BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL as you spread the top part of the trim from the base - especially around the speaker slots and the front-facing webcam.  I cracked my trim ring by being a little too agressive...
   When the last of the retaining nubs lets go, you will be able to separate the silver base from the screen (note, the black plastic trim around the screen stays with the screen).
5. Lay the tablet face-down on your work mat with the top of the screen (where the webcams are) toward you.  pretend there is a hinge attaching the silver back plate to the screen/trim at the bottom of the tablet (where the keyboard dock points are) and lift the back plate from the 'top' side until it's laying open (like if you are openning a book from the back cover).  There is a small cable attaching the silver back plate to the motherboard (for the keyboard docking points), and i'm trying to describe this in a way that will prevent you from stressing/stretching/breaking that cable (which would REALLY suck).
6. replace whatever components you want to replace
7. close your SA12 'book' by hinging the back plate back down onto the face-down screen/trim.   you may have to try alligning the back plate and screen/trim a few times (like openning and closing the 'book') until you get them lined up just right.
8. gently slide the edge of the SA12 off the front of your work surface so you can apply firm but gentle pressure on the screen/trim to snap the retaining nubs back into their homes. when you get the top side of the screen/trim snapped/latched back into place, you should be safe to gently pick up the SA12 and proceed around the perimeter of the screen with firm yet gentle pressure until the entire trim ring has re-seated on the back plate.  Again, be careful on the top edge of the trim ring so you don't crack it.  when done, the two screw holes in the back plate (the ones that were behind the stickers) should line up with the threads in the screen-side of the SA12.
9. replace the two screws and corresponding trim stickers.
10. replace the kickstand with the four screws that attached it.
11. enjoy your upgrade.
12. don't even think of calling Acer for warranty coverage...  

 

Sorry for the rough and vauge description.  hopefully that will satiate those of you who were as desperate as i was to get inside my SA12 and start tweaking.

 

Good luck, and remember:

1. Use a plastic tool to spread the screen/trim from the base plate

2. GENTLY, GENTLY, GENTLY

and 3. Firm, but gentle...

 

Hope that helps-

GiZer0d

Thank you again. Great information and well layed out for easy understanding. Can't wait to see your pictures, even if not cropped. :-)

Hey man, thanks for all the detail! I was wondering if you had pictures (rough ones even)? I found this thread as I'm trying to replace the touch screen on my unit as my dog stepped on it and cracked it (LCD & Backlight are fine, thankfully, it's just the very top layer). In your adventures, did this seem like a reasonable thing to change or am I stuck replacing the whole thing?

 

Thanks!