Thread

Raspberry Pi blocks changing RAM chips

258 points · 211 comments · edandersen

Aurornis · 1789997234 · focus · HN ↗
There were sellers buying the smallest RAM units, changing the RAM chips, and then reselling them as the higher RAM SKUs. The sellers who do this don’t always care to use good RAM chips and may even use QA reject parts. When the unit doesn’t work correctly, the anger and RMA requests are directed back at the Raspberry Pi foundation.
1. kotaKat · 1789998841 · focus · HN ↗
  But bricking retroactively in the field is a bad move, and sends even more anger and RMA requests back towards parties.
  <a href="https://github.com/therealdreg/ftdibrick" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/therealdreg/ftdibrick
  Pepperidge Farm remembers the FTDI driver bricking.
  1. undersuit · 1789998987 · focus · HN ↗
    It's not bricked retroactively from what I've read.
    kotaKat · 1789999447 · focus · HN ↗
    <a href="https://github.com/raspberrypi/rpi-eeprom/issues/761" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/raspberrypi/rpi-eeprom/issues/761
    If someone gets updated in the wild (like this person did without realizing they had a counterfeit board), they'll fail to boot.
    undersuit · 1790002003 · focus · HN ↗
    Consider that that happened a year ago and this submission may be about the fix.
    abracadaniel · 1790005115 · focus · HN ↗
    The "fix" in the thread is just not updating ever again.
    undersuit · 1790005749 · focus · HN ↗
    There is no fix that can be suggested in that thread. Pi LTD doesn't have the modified RAM Pis to test their firmware against nor should they be required to support modified hardware.
    Sabinus · 1790049026 · focus · HN ↗
    The fix is turning the detection of the modified ram from a boot failure into a warning and log output, then tell users asking for support that they don't have support for Pis that were modified by third parties.
    Instead we get restrictions on all users because some users buy stuff from random marketplaces online?
    I don't know why you're suggesting the fix is that they offer support for 3rd modded RAM.
    undersuit · 1790086443 · focus · HN ↗
    >I don't know why you're suggesting the fix is that they offer support for 3rd modded RAM.
    I'm not.
  2. kiicia · 1790002495 · focus · HN ↗
    gateway 3ds tried to brick 3ds-es of users of cloned cards, bricked whole swaths of actual users instead
    <a href="https://www.eurogamer.net/3ds-flashcard-includes-secret-kill-switch-that-bricks-handhelds" rel="nofollow">https://www.eurogamer.net/3ds-flashcard-includes-secret-kill...

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