Apple TV 4K Teardown

Written By: Adam O'Camb
Published: 26/09/17
  • Comments: 55

Apple TV 4K Teardown

Published: 26/09/17

Teardown

Introduction

Two long years have passed since our last encounter with an Apple TV. Today on our teardown table, we have a shiny new Apple TV 4K plucked straight from the technology orchards of Cupertino. So what are we to do with Apple's first 4K HDR streaming device? Binge-watch Stranger Things? We definitely thought about it… but nah, we're tearing this sucker apart!

Do you want to see what else we've been up to? Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to stay up-to-date on all things repair!

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    • We all know this little black obelisk is packing some serious 4K chops, but let's see what else is new in this revamped Apple TV:

    • 64-bit Apple A10X Fusion chip

    • Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11ac Wi‑Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, IR receiver, and HDMI 2.0a

    • ... and in the remote:

    • Glass touch surface

    • Dual microphones

    • Accelerometer and gyroscope

    • Bluetooth 4.0, IR transmitter, Lightning connector

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    • We're excited to dig into a new TV offering from our favorite UFO-dwelling tech company in Cupertino—but first, let's compare Apples to 4K Apples.

    • The newest Apple TV doesn't tower over its predecessor this time around, but we did notice a couple of key differences in the design.

    • The bottom panel has been redesigned for what looks like some serious thermal venting.

    • Bye-bye, USB-C port.

    Bye bye usb C, hello hidden lightning port inside the Ethernet port!!

    stevesphone -

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    • Before we pop the box open, our partners at Creative Electron provided some fancy X-ray scans.

    • X-ray vision reveals a new circular object which seems to coordinate closely with the new exhaust ports on the bottom panel.

    • Is it a fan? A particle accelerator? A portion of the Contact ring?

    • Alright, our interest is piqued. It's time to crack this black box open and see what this 4K upgrade is all about.

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    • We take a familiar access route through the underside of the Apple TV 4K.

    • Just like with its single-K sibling, the Apple TV 4K features repair-friendly plastic clips that secure its bottom panel.

    • These clips are a little more stubborn than what we've seen before—but still, they're not terribly difficult.

    • No moat of glue or uncommon screws? This upgraded unit gets a 1 Up as a reward.

    • Peeling back the rear panel reveals a beefy fan secured by some Torx screws.

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    • After pulling out the T7 Torx screws, we meet Apple TV's biggest fan!

    • It looks like Apple merged the new fan with the heat sink/EMI shield assembly from the Apple TV 4th Generation—combining them to form one whopper of a cooling solution.

    • This Voltron of a thermal assembly suggests that 4K HDR capability comes with a significant increase in thermal output.

    • With the twist of a few more Torx screws, the assembly is disassembled—revealing a replaceable fan driven by a Nidec brushless motor.

    • A replaceable fan is good news for owners. Otherwise, we're guessing that a failed fan would quickly mean a failed device.

    • This new fan assembly is apparently secured by an identity disk. TRON, is that you?

    Any clue on which way the air flows through the fan unit front to back, back to front or side to side

    Dan -

    From the housing of the fan, it looks like air is pulled in from the front and side vents, then exhausted through the back vents.

    Andy Tran -

    do all modern gadgets have blue loctite tipped screws? i’ve noticed this when i did my apple 4k disassembly, and likewise in replacement screws for my mbair 11inch

    carterschonwald -

    Anyone have any idea where one could find this replacement fan? Mine died and when watching anything 4K or higher (Dolby Vision) it begins to hiccup and lock up after 5 minutes. Took it apart and the fan has seized.

    devin.pearson -

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    • We're pleased to see that Apple keeps with the tradition of easily removable logic boards for the Apple TV 4K.

    • Apple APL1071/343S00198 64-bit A10X Fusion processor

    • Broadcom BCM57762 Gigabit Ethernet Controller

    • SK Hynix H9HCNNNBRUMLQR-NLH 2 GB LPDDR4 RAM and SK Hynix H9HCNNN8KUMLQR-NLH 1 GB LPDDR4 RAM for a total of 3 GB

    • Apple 343S00150 (similar part number to the 338S00055 custom memory controller found in the Retina MacBook 2015)

    • Murata 339S00381 Wi-Fi/Bluetooth Module

    • Toshiba THGBX6G8D2LLDXG 32 GB flash memory

    • Megachips MCDP2920A4 DisplayPort 1.4 to HDMI 2.0 converter

    Broadcom BCM57762 should be PCIe Ethernet controller.

    JJ Wu -

    Yep, 10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet PCIe Controller with ASF2.0.

    “The device combines a triple-speed IEEE 802.3-compliant Media Access Controller (MAC) with a triple-speed Ethernet transceiver, x1 PCIe bus interface and on-chip buffer memory in a single device. The device is fabricated in 1.2V CMOS process, providing a low-power system solution.”

    repoman27 -

    From the components around Apple 343S00150, Apple 343S00150 could be the PMIC. Memory controller should be integrated in the Apple A10X processor. There is 343S00151-A0 next to Apple 343S00150. Supposedly, Apple 343S00150-A0 and Apple 343S00151-A0 could be the PMIC for Apple TV 4K.

    JJ Wu -

    Does anyone know why Apple would use DisplayPort internally and convert it to HDMI instead of just using HDMI internally? (an ELI5 type answer would be best - https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfi... for more info)

    Matthew Adams -

    What is the exact part number or reference of that motherboard ?

    Can they be purchased on ebay, Apple or anywhere else ?

    Thank You

    Karine-Johanne -

    I’m wondering if you can simply buy the low capacity flash memory AppleTV model (with the 32GB Toshiba THGBX6G8D2LLDXG), then inexpensively replace the chip with a 256GB Toshiba THGAF8T1T83BAIR chip (or similar)?

    Steve Arkwright -

    FYI - The Ethernet Port has a hidden Lightning port inside! If you look inwards you can see the socket hole.

    The back row of contacts on the logic board are the Lighting port connections.

    Dan -

    This may sound a bit crazy, but I’m trying to see if I can power up the ATV4K’s logic board with a 12v Power Bank. I plan on connecting the leads to the Power Posts on the board which according to your specs draws 12v @ 1.083A. Do you see this as doable?

    Mario Choy -

    This is old but for anyone reading, you can definitely power all current Apple TV motherboards with various power supplies. As long as you confirm you are using a properly rated one it will work though if it is out of its housing you lose the heat sinks/fan. (Running Apple TV just fine from bench supply)

    sinkproductions -

    Can i disable bluetooth from my apple tv?

    Seems possible in some way to remove the Murata 339S00381 Wi-Fi/Bluetooth Module and i dont mind the module getting destroyed :)

    I get headache from bluetooth and the aluminium IR controller from the old apple tv works perfectly :)

    Aurin R -

    Would be really interessting for me too. The box could still be used over IR with a ONE for ALL remore IR control.

    My father is also very sensitive to bluetooth.

    I was not able to find productsheets for the Murata Chip, because it's a custom one. Will the box still startup without the chip?

    I would be happy for help!

    @solsang

    Joshua Capeder -

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    • IC Identification, continued:

    • Apple 343S00151-A0 power management

    • Winbond W25Q80EWUXIE 8 Mb serial flash memory

    • Texas Instruments INA213 current sense amplifier

    • Texas Instruments LMV331 low-voltage comparator

    • Dialog Semiconductor mixed signal array

    • Texas Instruments TPS62130B step-down converter

    • Texas Instruments TPS715A01DRV 80 mA LDO regulator

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    • We don't run into any surprises here; the heat sink remains much the same as its predecessor from 2015.

    • We take a moment to pluck a familiar pair of presumed power posts from the body of the heat sink.

    • During our Apple TV 4th Generation Teardown, we suspected that power was transmitted to the logic board via the heat sink screw posts. It looks like this is still the case with Apple TV 4K.

    • With the heatsink and posts out of the way, the only thing left to do is remove the power supply board.

    on my apple 4k, theres 4 copper pins on the plate, near the memory controller area (to power the fan?), and theres a slight elevated surface to kiss the CPU and mem controller,

    carterschonwald -

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    • The new power supply is rated for 12 V at 1.083 A. This is a modest bump up from the 0.917 A power supply in the Apple TV 4th Generation.

    • Again taking a design lead from its older sibling, the Apple TV 4K eschews internal wiring between the power supply and logic board.

    • The use of conductive posts in lieu of wiring probably saves internal real estate, and it eliminates the possibility of pinched or bent wires during assembly.

    • NXP Semiconductor TEA1833LTS switch mode power supply controller

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    • There's all the bits! Now to reassemble this thing and binge-watch Stranger Things for real...

    • And special thanks Creative Electron for sending us some sweet X-rays all the way from the other hemisphere!

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    • Apple TV 4K Repairability: 8 out of 10 (10 is easiest to repair).

    • Plastic clips hold the case together for easy opening.

    • Modular components make for easy disassembly and repair.

    • The power supply is modular and features a removable AC-in jack.

    • Standard Torx screws hold everything together.

    • All major components are soldered to the logic board, meaning fixing any port problems will require board-level soldering or a full board replacement.

Author

Adam O'Camb

Member since: 11/04/15

178568 Reputation

37 comments

Just sanity checking what my eyes are telling me - are both the inner and outer rings of that moving fan parts, or is the outer ring just an air channel?

Edit: ok the last breakdown picture shows the outside is not part of the fan

tipoo -

Got off the phone with Apple. No USB means a corrupted firmware means you will have to send in the device for recovery/restore. You will at least have to pay shipping. Apple stores should be able to recover/restore as well. Don’t exactly the USB pads on the PCB. Maybe the four pads on the left of the bottom image. Anyone?

Kemal NottaTurk -

Maybe they'll allow it to be done through the ethernet port….

Andrew spoelstra -

I just had this happen with the 12.4.1 update. Blinky LED & no video out at all. The bad news is the Genius Bar / Store Techs have no more access to do a factory restore than the user does. IOW: none. Nothing on Ethernet either. (That was straight from the GB guy’s mouth.) If there are USB pads on the board they don’t know about them.

And if this happens out of warranty it’s a $150 board swap. I advise turning off the auto-install for OS updates.

Michael Cashwell -

My Apple TV died, and they Apple store could not do anything to recover it. And Apple does not repair them, so the offered to sell me a new one at full price. And no shop will service them since Apple considers these disposable and does not provide schematics or parts to repair partners, so no one will touch it. They could at least sell logic boards, but you know, Apple I guess is not profitable enough as it is.

Tim Burke -

Any more detailed info (part numbers) on the remote?

techno_freak -

Isn’t that Broadcom ethernet chip used in thunderbolt dongles, but not necessarily anything to do with Thunderbolt? I.e TB carries it, but it's it’s own thing. Not sure this shows Thunderbolt on ARM.

tipoo -

It was so funny, to see it’s and it’s, the first meaning it is, the second meaning its. I haven’t seen that blunder in a long while. Thanks for the laugh.

Roberto Manuel -

That’s a lot of mirth derived from an extra apostrophe. Small things, as they say…

tipoo -

What quick video tear down for a product that took two years to make!

I would go slower and show the chips and defiantly try not to damage the backcover…

Benjamin Nabulsi -

Hm, I wonder if going down to 3GB impacts the A10X 128 bit memory bus from the 4GB iPads.

tipoo -

AppleTV 4K is awesome, seeing it naked it quite sexy indeed. Nice big cool fan.

Riccardo -

Is a bit of an illusion and I had to double check - only the inner blades are a fan, looks about as big as a regular laptops fan. The outer ring is metal air baffles/channels, connected to the upper heatsink, just to bring air in part of the fan and let it push air out the rear part.

tipoo -

When the Apple TV has better cooling than the MacBooks.

Christian Galvez -

What about the possibility to upgrade the 32/64 Gb memory?

Fedele Boccasini -

I wondered the same thing — if you can simply buy the low capacity flash memory AppleTV model (with the 32GB Toshiba THGBX6G8D2LLDXG), then inexpensively replace the chip with a 256GB Toshiba THGAF8T1T83BAIR chip (or similar)?

Steve Arkwright -

Is the memory bus still 128 bit, with 1GB removed from the iPad A10X?

tipoo -

Where is the IR receiver? I can’t see it in the photos.

ggilley -

It uses bluetooth. Only IR is used for the TV.

David Maitland -

This is what I came here for too.

There is an IR receiver, but it seems to have moved a bit left (facing the Apple TV 4K) from where the previous 4th gen was. I installed a few yesterday and stuck an emitter back on the center and got a bit nervous thinking they changed codes.

Aaron C -

Yes, the IR (Infrared) receiver is at the front left side. It is the four dots at the bottom left of the X-Ray photos in STEP 3.

Daniel Mui -

Is the built-in power supply capable of 110-220vdc? I’m thinking about buying one in the US and taking it with me to Asia where the power is 220v

Derrick -

i wish hacked this 4k tv for install IOS 11.1 on it every body have idea???

because in ipad pro same as!!

please how can edit ios image for install ios on 4k tv this is Revolution in age of smart t.v with one wireless touch pad any thing can do

behnam for -

Will it be hacked so that OS X can be installed? Benchmarking tests show the apple tv 4k is more powerful than a lot of macbooks out there…

Oman Sklavier -

Its an ARM chip, Its not suitable for X86 based software unless it gets some serious redesigns and workarounds.

UpicX -

Where is the IR receiver on the Apple TV 4k?

Michael Teruel -

Is the Wi-Fi wave 2 (ie. MU-MIMO)?

Anthony -

Hi, what is the logic board part number ?

Can it be purchased from ebay or apple ?

Thanks

Karine-Johanne -

would like to see you take apart the remote as the trackpad on mine doesn’t click anymore and I can’t figure out why, even after taking it apart.

pjbourque -

343S00150 seems power management chip.

YKU -

I am wondering if we could enhance the Bluetooth antenna to increase its reach when used as a HomeHub

Fernando Scheps Serra -

There is a hidden lightning port inside the Ethernet port, check out http://9to5mac.com/2019/10/17/Apple-tv-4...

stevesphone -

Yeah! I’m wondering the same.

James Almeida -

How did the Lightning port get missed? Didn’t the 7-9 leads on the board behind the 8 for ethernet catch anyone’s attention?

Ryan Coleman -

Do you have the parts numbers ? I search a original Apple TV 4k case

François Rais -

I’d argue with this repair ability score. While you can take it apart, you can’t get replacement parts, and therefore you can’t repair these, which sucks.

Tim Burke -

I think it would be worth mentioning that the Apple TV 4K that has no ports, can be reset by switching off and on the AppleTV several time in a row. I waited 20s in on and 10s while being off.

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/...

Cycling Georges -