Pavlok Teardown

Welcome to the new teardown series on my channel, where I take apart gadgets and share what I find inside. First up is the Pavlok, a shocking wearable designed to help you break bad habits.

The Pavlok comes with the main device itself, as well as two silicone wristbands.

The Pavlok pairs over bluetooth with your phone to control the settings through an app, which is also designed to keep you motivated to use the device in the most effective way possible. You can deliver an electric shock to yourself via the app or by pressing the top of the device. It also can supposedly detect when you move your hand to your mouth, say during smoking or nail biting, which are two of the habits its designed to help break.

To take it apart, I started cutting the plastic around the little metal nubs. The tricky thing about taking this thing apart, at least before the battery’s died, is that it is easy to shock yourself while holding it in place. It’s so small that one of the only flat surfaces by which to grip it is also the activation button. So I had to use the phone to make sure it was on a low setting, and try to avoid pinching it while cracking open the plastic.

The electrodes are also the case, which makes for a straightforward three-piece case. I was also able to put it back together again, which is a rare occurrence in one of my teardowns.

My friend David Cranor, an electrical engineer, came over to help examine the circuit and research the parts we could identify.

Here’s a list of tools we used:

• Flush diagonal cutters
• Craft/utility knife
• Microscope with LED ring light
• Oscilloscope
• Tweezers
• Breadboard wires
• Circuit board vice

Read on to discover the components we found…

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	Text printed on component	Appearance /package	Type	Manufacturer
1	N52832 QFAAEO 1922QP	48-pin QFN with neighboring crystal oscillator (silver can)	N52832 Multiprotocol Bluetooth SoC ARM® Cortex™-M4 CPU	Nordic Semiconductor
2	(none)	six round contacts with three non-plated through-holes	Tag-Connect programming interface	N/A (part of board)
3	(none)	white with red rectangle and surrounding ground plane cutout	chip antenna	(unknown)
4	263 8451 KTG	16-pin QFN	MMA8451Q 3-axis digital accelerometer	Freescale Semiconductor
5	263 F2102 KEXC	24-pin QFN	FXAS21002C 3-axis digital gyroscope	Freescale Semiconductor
6	(none)	silver rectangle with round black button in the center	tactile switch	(unknown)
7	(none)	amber	LEDs	(unknown)
8	A33 HHS	8 legs	battery management /power conditioning?	(unknown)
9	AAL 515 2R	8 legs	battery management /power conditioning?	(unknown)
10	(none)	surface-mount tan toffees	big capacitors	(unknown)
11	(none)	silver springs	contacts to enclosure	(unknown)
12	063A 0131 .830	10 legs with neighboring crystal oscillator (silver can)	PCF85063A Real-time clock	NXP Semiconductors
13	5A	black rectangle with two contacts	diodes	(unknown)
14	4H843 0G3326	black rectangle	(unknown)	(unknown)
20	(none)	black square with dimple	buzzer	(unknown)

	Text printed on component	Appearance /package	Type	Manufacturer
15	752S	truncated square with white label	LPR6235-752S Coupled inductor (step-up/flyback transformer)	Coilcraft
16	-401622 +3.7V 90mAh	foil and tape rectangular pancake with black and red wires	90mAh lipoly battery	(unknown)
17	K95T7	Silver can with eccentric rotating weight	vibrating motor	(unknown)
18	(none)	trapezoidal port	micro USB port	(unknown)

What gadget should I take apart next? Let me know in the comments.

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If you like this post, you may be interested in some of my others:

• All teardowns
• Lumo Lift Teardown
• Ringly Teardown
• ICEdot Crash Sensor Teardown

To keep up with what I’m working on, follow me on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.