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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