Pi4 GPIO header disaster

[buling]

So i hope i this is just a fluke, and this is not a complaint rather an inquiry if this is as unusual as i hope it is. And i hope this is the right place to post this.

I just bought 2* Pi4B 2GB and tried to connect the POE hat (which i've done hundreds of times without exaggeration) and realised the GPIO pins were not properly aligned, i assumed i somehow caused it and went for the other pi and looked at the pins carefully. Turns out they are all slightly misaligned, but only a fraction of a millimeter, easier to feel with a finger then see with my eyes.

A normal header slips on after some light finessing, but the POE hat has a flatter design and less of a "funnel" for the pins which makes the placement of the pins more important. I spent a good 45 minutes on it, carefully trying to straighten pins, wrecked one pi completely and only just managed to get a poe hat on the other, at the cost of one loose GPIO pin that was pushed out the backside of the Pi. Just to be sure i tested it on a couple of old pies and the hat went on without problem.
Two weeks ago i spent a day putting together 130 pcs of Pi3B+ + POE cards without losses so even if the above makes me sound like a butterfingered oaf i assure you that is not the case here, this is first time i've ever managed to wreck a pi, which a testament to the extreme build quality since i've done some realy unfriendly stuff to some of them .
Both pies in their original box, unopened and no marks or scratches on them, bought in a store so not a case of abuse in transport.

Has anyone else experienced this or similar with a Pi4 + POE hat? im hoping some machine just had a bad day because boy om loving this update.

[neilgl]

Can you post some photos of it

[Imperf3kt]

I've just put some stand-off's on my Pi4b and noticed they were crooked and upon loosening them I discovered they're very loose fitting, able to move by up to a mm.

Are you using stand-offs? Are they screwed in correctly?

[mahjongg]

Asked jamesh to have a look at this thread.

[buling]

I reluctantly pryed of the POE hat which took some mild violence. Its possible that i bent the two pins closest to the eth port in the process. Also this is after the most crooked ones were straightened, they were all slightly misaligned so the problem was less obvious to the eye out of the box, but completely impossible to get the hat mounted on. Although they look like a nightmare its now possible to get the hat on with some finessing.

This angle shows it clear as day, looks less crooked in reality ( i don't wear glasses and have 20/20 vision)

pin1.JPG (27.19 KiB) Viewed 1387 times

Pi 4B, everything looks normal from this angle

pin3.JPG (177.79 KiB) Viewed 1387 times

pin4.JPG (77.94 KiB) Viewed 1387 times

[buling]

I've just put some stand-off's on my Pi4b and noticed they were crooked and upon loosening them I discovered they're very loose fitting, able to move by up to a mm.

Are you using stand-offs? Are they screwed in correctly?

No stand-offs, no case.
Would be impossible to get the hat on with standoffs since i have to wiggle it to get the pins in.

[jdb]

Can you post a close up macro shot of the GPIO connector plastic surrounding the pins and the underside of the Pi? Don't upload the image to the forum, use imgur or similar for a full-resolution image.

[buling]

Can you post a close up macro shot of the GPIO connector plastic surrounding the pins and the underside of the Pi? Don't upload the image to the forum, use imgur or similar for a full-resolution image.

Something like this?
https://imgur.com/a/nkxPTeF

[jamesh]

Can you post a picture of the little QR code on the board please. Also, where did you get the device from, and have you ever done any soldering on it?

[buling]

Can you post a picture of the little QR code on the board please. Also, where did you get the device from, and have you ever done any soldering on it?

https://imgur.com/a/nOneuAH

Bought of-shelf from a swedish electronics store called netonnet.se yesterday at about 17:00, no soldering or tampering of any kind.
It has been exposed to light swearing over the fact that i forgot to buy a mini-hdmi converter but that's it.

[PeterO]

There are some really poor looking solder joints in those pictures. Is there a QA problem ?
PeterO

[jdb]

There's no way that those joints came out of the solder wave machine like that. At some point in its life, it has seen the pointy end of a soldering iron.

[buling]

Can you post a picture of the little QR code on the board please. Also, where did you get the device from, and have you ever done any soldering on it?

I know very little about circuit boards, but this looks pretty shoddy compared to the B3+ Pis. Although that might be all looks and unimportant. The thing works perfectly and have no heat issues etc.
https://imgur.com/a/Ai6oWhk

[buling]

There's no way that those joints came out of the solder wave machine like that. At some point in its life, it has seen the pointy end of a soldering iron.

Uh, ok. the box was untouched and i opened it from the side. I have the box with the paperwork in front of me, probably the receipt somewhere as well. What ever happened to it was in manufacturing.

[echmain]

There's no way that those joints came out of the solder wave machine like that. At some point in its life, it has seen the pointy end of a soldering iron.

You're supposed to use the pointy end?!? D'oh!

[buling]

And I had two of these... The realy bad one went with with the recycling early this morning after basically falling apart in my hands.

Just out of curiosity i've asked a friend to pick up another one from the same shop and i'll have it here in an hour or so.

[jdb]

We're going to need pictures of the connectors and barcodes of every Pi that you've received that exhibits bent pins/bad soldering.

[jamesh]

Can you contact me via [email protected], FAO James Hughes, to arrange sending the defective device (we would have liked both of them if you can still retrieve it) back to us. I'll send you a replacement + goodies by return.

Thanks.

[buling]

And I had two of these... The realy bad one went with with the recycling early this morning after basically falling apart in my hands.

Just out of curiosity i've asked a friend to pick up another one from the same shop and i'll have it here in an hour or so.

Just received the extra one and this one is good. Soldering and all looks great.

[jamesh]

And I had two of these... The realy bad one went with with the recycling early this morning after basically falling apart in my hands.

Just out of curiosity i've asked a friend to pick up another one from the same shop and i'll have it here in an hour or so.

Just received the extra one and this one is good. Soldering and all looks great.

We would still like the dodgy one back please.

[buling]

And I had two of these... The realy bad one went with with the recycling early this morning after basically falling apart in my hands.

Just out of curiosity i've asked a friend to pick up another one from the same shop and i'll have it here in an hour or so.

Just received the extra one and this one is good. Soldering and all looks great.

We would still like the dodgy one back please.

NP, email sent.

[hardwaremack-orginal]

it looks to me like some how you ended up with a test or development unit .... something like that...
for me this would not be an issue... i would have fired up my s-993a, desoldered anything that needed it... resoldred.... and installed a new header, i have a whole bag.

[alphanumeric]

To me it looks like somebody took a heat gun to it? Maybe trying to remove the GPIO header to swap gender or something/

[PeterO]

To me it looks like somebody took a heat gun to it? Maybe trying to remove the GPIO header to swap gender or something/

The pin that fell out looks like it's never been properly soldered so did it come out of the factory like that ?
PeterO

[alphanumeric]

To me it looks like somebody took a heat gun to it? Maybe trying to remove the GPIO header to swap gender or something/

The pin that fell out looks like it's never been properly soldered so did it come out of the factory like that ?
PeterO

There are a bunch of cold soldered pins. And the black plastic part of the header looks heat damaged to me. I'd be very surprised if it ever left the factory like that? One look during QA should tell you something went wrong.