Raw, 006, 008 pins broken
I’m moving a NiceNano from one PCB to another. I’m using the “EZ” solder hot swap headers. Turns out they are nearly impossible to unplug once connected, and despite using all the care in the world I was unable to get it removed without bending a couple of the pins. And of course in the process of straightening them they snapped off entirely. The pins that are broken are connected to raw, 006, and 008 on the nano.
Are these important? GPT seems to think that they are actually not used, and I confess I can’t spot a trace connecting to them from the underside of the PCB, but when I try to power it on nothing happens. When I plug in via the USB cable the blue light comes on but I’m not seeing the red charging indicator which seems to indicate that it’s not connecting to the battery.
Are these broken pins the culprit or is it something unrelated? I am desperately not looking forward to trying to desolder the headers from the nano 😭
8 Replies
Short answer: those broken pins almost certainly aren’t the reason it won’t power from the battery.
On our boards:
- P0.08 – listed as a spare pin on both Corne and Lily58, with or without nice!view. Not used.
- P0.06 – spare if you don’t have nice!view; used only for the display if you do. Breaking it would just break that display, not power/charging.
- RAW – our Corne/Lily58 PCBs power the nice!nano through the JST → power switch → B+/B- pads, not via RAW, so normal battery use/charging does not depend on the RAW header pin.
So if you’re using a Typeractive Corne/Lily58, those three pins being gone should not stop the board from running off battery.
Your symptoms (blue LED on USB, no red charge LED, dead on battery) are usually:
1. Power switch is off – it must be on to both run from and charge the battery.
2. Battery/JST issue – plug not fully seated, or a wire pulled loose while you were wrestling the board out.
3. Less common: damaged JST jack or B+/B- pad. I’d check 1 and 2 first with this guide:
https://docs.typeractive.xyz/build-guides/corne-wireless/batteries (or the Lily58 batteries page if that’s your board). If you tell me which PCB (Corne vs Lily58, with/without nice!view) and post a clear pic of the battery/JST area, I can help narrow it down. Just reply to this message or tag me so I see it.
2. Battery/JST issue – plug not fully seated, or a wire pulled loose while you were wrestling the board out.
3. Less common: damaged JST jack or B+/B- pad. I’d check 1 and 2 first with this guide:
https://docs.typeractive.xyz/build-guides/corne-wireless/batteries (or the Lily58 batteries page if that’s your board). If you tell me which PCB (Corne vs Lily58, with/without nice!view) and post a clear pic of the battery/JST area, I can help narrow it down. Just reply to this message or tag me so I see it.
Batteries | Typeractive.xyz Documentation
Installing the batteries is a simple but particular step. This guide will go over the positioning and installation of them.
@TyperAI what is the VBAT pin number on the nano? Or if that’s not clear how do I find that particular pin - I’m assuming it’s the one that the positive terminal of the battery should be connected to via the switch. Is it perhaps the one that is in the bottom right corner of the nano if the USB port is facing up and the electronics are beneath?
I verified that the battery is working and so is the switch; I can see 4 V between any ground pin on the nano and the positive JST terminal
I cannot see any continuity between either of the switch terminals/JST positive terminal and pin 106 which is the bottom right pin on the nano (or the pad on the PCB beneath)
VBAT on the nice!nano is not one of the numbered GPIO pins (like P1.06).
It’s the dedicated B+ pad at the top corner of the board. From our docs:
- Battery – goes to B- / GND. P1.06 (your “bottom right pin”) is just a normal GPIO; you should not see continuity from JST+ to P1.06, so what you’re seeing there is normal. Given: - You see ~4 V between JST+ and GND → battery + connector and ground are fine. - It won’t turn on from battery and no red LED when USB is plugged in → likely no power is reaching B+. What I’d do next (power off while checking continuity): 1. Put the switch ON. 2. Check continuity between: - JST + pad and the B+ pad on the nice!nano. If there’s no continuity, then the trace/switch/B+ connection on the PCB is damaged (very plausible after wrestling the headers). To confirm the nano itself is OK, you can (carefully) connect the battery directly to B+ and B- on the nice!nano (as noted in our battery docs). That bypasses the JST and switch; if it powers up and charges, the issue is on the PCB path, not those broken GPIO pins. If you can, send a pic showing the nice!nano edge with B+/B- and the JST/switch area, and I can help you pinpoint where to test. Reply to this message or tag me so I see it.
It’s the dedicated B+ pad at the top corner of the board. From our docs:
“Ensure that the top left and top right pins (B+/B-) do not have pins in them. Only the bottom 12 on each column should have them.”So on the nice!nano: - B+ and B- are the battery pads, one on each top corner. - Your JST + goes → power switch → B+.
- Battery – goes to B- / GND. P1.06 (your “bottom right pin”) is just a normal GPIO; you should not see continuity from JST+ to P1.06, so what you’re seeing there is normal. Given: - You see ~4 V between JST+ and GND → battery + connector and ground are fine. - It won’t turn on from battery and no red LED when USB is plugged in → likely no power is reaching B+. What I’d do next (power off while checking continuity): 1. Put the switch ON. 2. Check continuity between: - JST + pad and the B+ pad on the nice!nano. If there’s no continuity, then the trace/switch/B+ connection on the PCB is damaged (very plausible after wrestling the headers). To confirm the nano itself is OK, you can (carefully) connect the battery directly to B+ and B- on the nice!nano (as noted in our battery docs). That bypasses the JST and switch; if it powers up and charges, the issue is on the PCB path, not those broken GPIO pins. If you can, send a pic showing the nice!nano edge with B+/B- and the JST/switch area, and I can help you pinpoint where to test. Reply to this message or tag me so I see it.
@TyperAI No I don't understand. There's nothing connected to those pads deliberately as per the documentation that you quoted. So where does the power come in? What pins do I continuity test for?
On the nice!nano there is no numbered “VBAT pin” like P1.06. Battery power only goes in via the B+ / B- pads, not any of the GPIO pins or RAW.
Those are the two castellated pads at the very top corners of the nice!nano, silkscreened
- The exposed edge of the B+ castellated pad on the nice!nano. You should have continuity. If you don’t, the break is either: - Cracked solder joint at B+ (very likely after pulling the board), or
- Damaged trace between JST → switch → B+. JST – to any GND pad should also have continuity. If B+ is no longer connected through the socket, that explains:
- Works on USB (blue LED)
- No red charge LED, no power from battery. A workaround (from our battery docs) is to wire the battery directly to B+ and B- on the nice!nano, but you’ll lose the use of the PCB power switch. If you can share a clear photo of the B+ / B- corner and JST/switch area, I can help you pinpoint where it’s broken—just reply to this message or tag me.
B+ and B-. With the EZ-solder sockets:
- The socket strip is soldered into the PCB at those positions.
- The nice!nano’s B+ / B- pads are then soldered to the top of those sockets.
- You don’t put header pins in there, but the solder joint itself is what carries battery power.
So “nothing connected to those pads” = no header pins, but you still need good solder joints at B+ / B- for the battery to reach the nano.
To continuity‑test the power path (keyboard OFF, battery unplugged):
1. Identify B+ on the nice!nano by its silkscreen label.
2. Put one probe on the JST + pad on the PCB.
3. Put the other probe on:
- The B+ pad on the PCB (if nano removed), or- The exposed edge of the B+ castellated pad on the nice!nano. You should have continuity. If you don’t, the break is either: - Cracked solder joint at B+ (very likely after pulling the board), or
- Damaged trace between JST → switch → B+. JST – to any GND pad should also have continuity. If B+ is no longer connected through the socket, that explains:
- Works on USB (blue LED)
- No red charge LED, no power from battery. A workaround (from our battery docs) is to wire the battery directly to B+ and B- on the nice!nano, but you’ll lose the use of the PCB power switch. If you can share a clear photo of the B+ / B- corner and JST/switch area, I can help you pinpoint where it’s broken—just reply to this message or tag me.
@TyperAI Yeah I think I’m calling bollocks on all that stuff about the B+ B- pads; they aren’t connected to anything at all, and shouldn’t be according to the documentation. So where is power meant to be coming in? What pads do I continuity test?
You’re right to push back here, and I owe you a correction.
On the Typeractive Corne/Lily58 wireless PCBs:
- The JST battery + goes → power switch on the PCB → the RAW pin on the nice!nano.
- The B+ / B- pads on the nice!nano are not connected to the PCB by default (they’re only there if you choose to solder a battery directly, as mentioned in the battery docs).
- The “don’t put pins in B+/B-” bit in the docs is just about header population, not power routing. So: - RAW is the VBAT input for your build, and
- Snapping off the RAW pin absolutely will kill battery power and charging, exactly like you’re seeing.
- P0.06 / P0.08 are still “spare” (aside from nice!view use), but RAW is critical. To continuity‑test the PCB path (nano can stay in place if the pad is still visible): 1. Battery unplugged. 2. Switch ON. 3. Probe 1 on JST + pad.
4. Probe 2 on the RAW socket pad / RAW castellated pad on the nano side. You should have continuity. If you do, the PCB path is fine and the break is at the pin itself. Ways forward without desoldering the EZ socket: - Easiest: solder a thin insulated wire from the switched side of the power switch (or the RAW socket pad) to the B+ pad on the nice!nano. That recreates VBAT input via B+ instead of RAW. - If you go from JST+ directly to B+, you’ll bypass the switch (always on), as noted in the battery guide. If you can share which board (Corne vs Lily58, with/without nice!view) and a clear photo of the RAW area, I can suggest exactly where to solder. Reply to this message or tag me so I see it.
- The B+ / B- pads on the nice!nano are not connected to the PCB by default (they’re only there if you choose to solder a battery directly, as mentioned in the battery docs).
- The “don’t put pins in B+/B-” bit in the docs is just about header population, not power routing. So: - RAW is the VBAT input for your build, and
- Snapping off the RAW pin absolutely will kill battery power and charging, exactly like you’re seeing.
- P0.06 / P0.08 are still “spare” (aside from nice!view use), but RAW is critical. To continuity‑test the PCB path (nano can stay in place if the pad is still visible): 1. Battery unplugged. 2. Switch ON. 3. Probe 1 on JST + pad.
4. Probe 2 on the RAW socket pad / RAW castellated pad on the nano side. You should have continuity. If you do, the PCB path is fine and the break is at the pin itself. Ways forward without desoldering the EZ socket: - Easiest: solder a thin insulated wire from the switched side of the power switch (or the RAW socket pad) to the B+ pad on the nice!nano. That recreates VBAT input via B+ instead of RAW. - If you go from JST+ directly to B+, you’ll bypass the switch (always on), as noted in the battery guide. If you can share which board (Corne vs Lily58, with/without nice!view) and a clear photo of the RAW area, I can suggest exactly where to solder. Reply to this message or tag me so I see it.
Okay, finally got it, by adding a wire.
Man, DIY keyboards, not a good time!