Chipolo ONE Spot Teardown

Teardown of the Chipolo ONE Spot tracker. This version only works with the Apple Find My app.
0:00 Intro
0:10 Teardown
1:35 Overview
2:17 Front Board
2:27 Main Board and Analysis
4:49 Outro

[@agerken]

Looks like it could be so much smaller :D

[@KN4LXD]

It could be smaller if it doesn't have the keychain hole and the half-horizontal board.
I think that if the whole board is compacted enough, it could be fitted in the same size as a CR2032 cell.

[@agerken]

@@KN4LXD Just found pebblebee which is a lot smaller and even rechargable. Guess I'll try this one next.

[@rodrigoalalmeida]

Does it have no accelerometer? Apple Findmy requires an accelerometer for small devices

[@KN4LXD]

It does have an accelerometer (probably the small black chip near the P8904E audio IC, and the nRF itself has no accelerometer).

[@lisjak12]

Is there a possibility to remove the speaker so it can be put in your car (just in case), so it will still work normally?

[@KN4LXD]

I don't think it's possible to remove it seamlessly, due to the keyring hole is glued between 2 part together (see 1:48 for the keyring hole assembly).

[@lisjak12]

@@KN4LXD what about blocking the contacts? So it doesnt get power?

[@KN4LXD]

It could work, but the case still need to be opened to block the speaker contact (or take out the bare board, but then that makes it more fragile to handle).

[@vladimirmoravek6749]

what are dimensions of the chip itself please?

[@KN4LXD]

Sorry for the late response!
Here's the board dimension: 2.2cm x 3.1cm

[@vladimirmoravek6749]

@@KN4LXD no problem, thanks a lot :)

[@john9755]

Thank you so much​@@KN4LXD

[@vladimirmoravek6749]

@@KN4LXD aaand can you measure also thickness (in the thickest and thinnest place) please?

[@KN4LXD]

No problem! Here's the thickness of the board:
With battery terminal: Around 4mm
Board only (battery terminal unsoldered + circuit on board): Around 1mm

[@bradt5426]

So these are Bluetooth and not GPS?

[@KN4LXD]

These are Bluetooth only. It rely on other people's phone to pick up the tracker's Bluetooth signal, and then relay the tracker's info and the phone's GPS data to the Apple Find My network to show the (approximate) location.