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…
To keep up with what I’m working on, follow me on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and subscribe to my newsletter. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases you make using my affiliate links.





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.
If you like this post, you may be interested in some of my others:
To keep up with what I’m working on, follow me on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.
Hey Becky, thank you for the teardown! You’ve not identified component 14, and I couldn’t either, but it is definitely some kind of peizoelectric buzzer for sure. That is the only function of the device not mentioned in your break down!
Hi Becky, that was an entertaining read, thanks for brightening my day! Two points:
The JTAG programming points might have a part number of sorts, as a standard footprint, if they’re the intended target for these:
https://www.tag-connect.com/info
-we’ve been mulling standardizing on those, at work, but procrastination is still winning.
It looks like you have two items marked as #4. Or I need new glasses 😉
Cheers,
M
You’re right! One is the accelerometer and the other is the buzzer– I’ll fix it soon, thanks for pointing that out, and for the nice comment!
Hi Becky
Did you happen to put a meter on the electrodes to see how much of a shock it is delivering by chance?
Thanks