HP TouchPad hack replaces the micro USB port with USB Type-C

The HP TouchPad holds a rather strange place in the history of modern tablet computers. First launched in 2011 as a $500 tablet running webOS 3.0 software, the tablet was canceled just a few months later when HP pulled the plug on webOS. Suddenly a tablet that nobody was buying became a hot commodity as HP tried to clear out remaining inventory by dropping the price to $99. And the HP TouchPad had a fascinating afterlife as hackers began working to bring Google Android, Ubuntu Linux, and other operating systems to the tablet.

Most HP TouchPad owners have probably moved onto newer, better hardware by now. But hardware hacker Alan Morford decided to bring the HP TouchPad into the 2020s by performing a little surgery: he converted the tablet’s micro USB port to a USB Type-C port.

This isn’t a simple hack, so it’s not necessarily something that casual users will be able to replicate. But folks who are comfortable with precision soldering, wiring, and dremel tools can find step-by-step instructions at PivotCE and the legacywebOS forums.

In a nutshell, Morford disassembled the tablet, removed the micro USB port, trimmed a USB Type-C breakout board and cut the HP TouchPad case to make room for it, and then solder connections between the USB Type-C board and original USB Connector Board.

There are some other important steps, including using applying tape to prevent electrical shorts. But let’s be honest, I suspect you could count the number of people who are actually going to replicate this hack on one hand (or less). You’d need to have a working HP TouchPad lying around and an urge to update the USB port used for charging and data… even though doing so won’t actually bring faster data or charging speeds to the tablet. It just gives you a reversible input that’s compatible with the increasingly ubiquitous USB Type-C cables you may have lying around.

Still, it’s pretty impressive to see that it’s possible.

via HackADay