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PreCentral: Deleted a default TouchPad app? Restore it with Internalz Pro


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Deleted a default TouchPad app? Restore it with Internalz Pro

Sometimes, for reasons we've yet to determine, the built-in first-party apps can disappear off an HP TouchPad. It's rare, but it happens, and for the average user it's annoying, frustrating, and confusing to have a basic app like the App Catalog or Calendar just up and disappear. Thankfully, HP has made it relatively easy to restore these apps, and you can do it all on your TouchPad, though some homebrew magic is required.

First things first, you'll need the excellent homebrew file browser

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installed on your TouchPad. Our will give you a step-by-step of how to install Internalz (or any other homebrew app, for that matter).

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      Well, it’s 2024 and technology continues to advance. The TouchPad isn’t new by any means, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be slightly modernized to be more convenient today. Specifically, it is entirely possible to convert the TouchPad’s Micro USB port to USB C for charging and USB storage access. I’ll show you how.
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      link hidden, please login to view
      – Soldering iron, solder, flux and a hot air station
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      – Dremel with cutting or sanding wheel
      – 28 AWG wire or smaller. 30 AWG is pretty good but any wire around 0.25mm to 0.5mm should work.
      – Small file and screwdriver set
      – Painter’s and kapton tape
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      This is where you’re going to want to get that metal spudger out and be very careful not to snap clips. I can’t explain it better than iFixit already did so go check out their and then come back here.
      Modify the USB Connector Board by Removing the Micro Port
      There are a few ways to remove the Micro USB port. I added a bunch of flux and coated all the connectors in fresh leaded solder and then used a hot air station set to 800 degrees while wiggling the port very slightly with needle nose pliers. You don’t have to be particularly careful here so if you want to cut the port off with the dremel or the flush cuts or just rip it off with the pliers, (I don’t recommend it but…) that’s fine. We’re not using the pads it’s soldered to anyway. You should STILL be careful not to crack the board. Go slow. Be patient.
      Trim the USB C Board
      We need to expose the USB C port a bit on this board so let’s cut it down. Grab the painter’s tape and flip the USB C board upside down. You’ll see a small trace between the front and rear anchor points on the right side, which we don’t want to cut. Mark the tape just on the other side of that trace like I did. Dremel along the tape line until you get to the port. You can then use needle nose pliers, a flat file, and/or flush cuts to remove the rest of the board from the bottom of the port.
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      Tape the USB C Board
      Since we hacked away at the USB connector board it’s possible we’ve provided the perfect environment for creating shorts! Oh no! So get out the kapton tape because we’re going to add a layer on both sides. You’ll see how I did it on one side below. Do it on both sides. You’ll also notice how I did not cover those two small square contacts just at the bottom of the tape. That’s because we need them.
      Where To Get Power and Data
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      A quick note: this mod can be done with a 4-pin USB C port. That would give you power and data just like with the USB C board I’m using in this guide, however, a 4-pin USB C board will not charge with a USB C charger (ie USB 3.1). The board I’m using in this guide provides the ability to use any charger because it comes pre-built with 5.1k resistors wired to CC1 and CC2 to ground. This is the trick that tells the USB C chargers to send power to the device.
      Solder the USB C Board into the USB Connector Board
      This isn’t a “how to solder tutorial” so hit up youtube and find a good tutorial that works for you. In general though, use flux, pre-tin the VBUS, Ground, D-, and D+ pads on the USB C board as well as the points on the bottom of the USB connector board.
      Now for the tricky part, I didn’t list it in the Tools section above, but it would really help to have magnification or a digital microscope for this. I have these things and I used both. You might have steadier hands and better eyes than me. The picture below was my first attempt of the three TouchPads I modded, and it’s not my best soldering work, but fundamentally, this is what yours should look like.
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      You can use a bit of kapton tape to secure the wires in place a bit more if you’d like but it’s not required. It won’t short since it’s only plastic underneath. This is all press fit into place, but if you’re uncomfortable with that, you can add a little hot glue under the board as you put it back into the TouchPad. You don’t have to put the metal shield back into place if you don’t want to. It’s all a pretty tightly fit and if you find the TouchPad screen isn’t as flush as you want, just leave the metal shield off. A little kapton tape right on top would be fine instead.
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      I did this mod on three TouchPads and each one works fine with any USB charger I could find, including USB C port having USB 3.1 chargers. I can also confirm the data connection works just like it should to connect via USB mode on PC. Sadly, this doesn’t do anything to stop webOS from telling you the charger you’re using isn’t the original TouchPad barrel charger, but you can make a custom cable to stop that which I’ll cover in a future article on pivotCE.

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