PINE64 Warns of PinePower Desktop V2 "0V" Flaw — But Says It's Purely a Display Issue
Clever desktop power supply has a firmware flaw — which users can't easily fix themselves — resulting in incorrect voltage display.
Open hardware specialist PINE64, best known for the PinePhone family of smartphones, has warned of a "shocking" bug in its PinePower Desktop V2 USB power supply — but, thankfully, it's only relating to the display, rather than provision, of power.
"We'd like to make a public disclosure to the community about a product currently selling on the PineStore website," PINE64's "Vincent the Cat" explains of the issue. "The current Desktop PinePower V2 batch has an issue where in some situations the USB [Type]-C ports will report '0V' when there is obviously something attached. In reality it is actually outputting the correct voltage."
The PinePower Desktop V2 is, as the name suggests, the second-generation version of the PinePower Desktop USB power supply, featuring two USB Type-A and three USB Type-C ports plus a 15W wireless charging pad on the top. Designed to power PINE64's Pinecil soldering iron, a laptop, and other USB devices, it features a large display at the front that provides per-port readings for voltage, amperage, and wattage, allowing for at-a-glance monitoring of negotiated power and active draw.
At least, it should. An apparent firmware flaw means that, in some circumstances, devices connected to the USB Type-C ports will successfully negotiate a higher-than-5V voltage but have it displayed as 0V — with corresponding zeros for amperage and wattage.
"This has been fixed for future batches, but the current batch still has stock available," Vincent writes. "There is no fix available for affected Desktop PinePower V2 batches as the MCU can only be flashed at the factory. And please don’t open your PinePower devices as they’re high voltage power supplies, which can lead to serious risks."
While Vincent has confirmed that PINE64 will continue to sell the faulty units, buyers can at least rest assured that it's a purely visual flaw and not something that will damage either devices under power or the PinePower itself — while anyone looking for a fixed model will have to wait for the faulty batch to sell through.
More information on the PinePower Desktop V2 is available on the PINE64 website.