StarLite

Star Lite Mk II / III / IV - Complete Disassembly Guide

Star Lite Mk II / III / IV Disassembly Guide Follow these steps carefully to disassemble your Star Lite laptop. Always work on a soft, protected surface to avoid scratching the anodised finish. 1. Prepare the Laptop Place the Star Lite Mk II, Mk III, or Mk IV face down on a clean, soft surface. This will protect the finish while you work. 2. Remove the Backplate Screws - Remove the 10 outer short Phillips screws from the backplate. - For the Star Lite Mk III, remove 12 screws in total. Remove screws 3. Remove the Backplate Carefully lift and remove the backplate to reveal the internal components. Backplate removed 4. Remove the Battery - Remove the 4 Phillips screws securing the battery. Battery screws 5. Disconnect the Battery Cable Carefully unplug the battery connector from the mainboard. Battery connector 6. Remove the I/O Board - Lift the ribbon cable clamp to release the cable. - Remove the 2 Phillips screws holding the I/O board in place. - Gently lift the I/O board out. I/O board removal 7. Disconnect Display and Antennas Unplug the display connector, as well as the wireless and Bluetooth antenna cables. Display and antenna connectors 8. Disconnect the SSD Gently disconnect the SSD from the mainboard. SSD removal 9. Disconnect Remaining Ribbon Cables Unplug the following connectors from the mainboard: - I/O board - Keyboard - Touchpad - Keyboard backlight Ribbon cables 10. Remove the Mainboard Remove the 4 Phillips screws around the edge of the mainboard. Mainboard screws 11. Lift Out the Mainboard Carefully lift the mainboard and disconnect the speaker cable. Speaker connector 12. Remove the Speaker Unscrew the 2 Phillips screws securing the speaker. Speaker removal 13. Remove the Display Hinges Remove the 4 Phillips screws from each hinge. Hinge screws 14. Separate the Chassis and Display Lift both hinges to around 90°, creating space to separate the chassis from the display array. Lift hinges 15. Disassembly Complete The laptop is now fully disassembled. Complete disassembly 16. Reassembly To reassemble, simply follow the above steps in reverse. Note: For the Star Lite Mk III, there are 8 short screws and 4 long screws for the chassis. Refer to the image below for correct screw placement. Screw placement

Star Lite Mk V - navigating the BIOS without a keyboard

The StarLite Mk V allows full navigation of the coreboot CFR (BIOS Settings) without the need for a keyboard. You can use the volume and power buttons to access and adjust BIOS settings — ideal when operating in tablet mode or when no external keyboard is connected (via USB-C or the optional magnetic keyboard). Accessing the BIOS Setup 1. Start with the device powered off. 2. Power on the StarLite and press the Volume Down key when prompted on screen. This will open the BIOS setup menu. Button Functions and Timing The following controls allow you to navigate the BIOS interface without a keyboard: Volume Up Moves the cursor up through the available options. Volume Down Moves the cursor down through the available options. Volume Up + Volume Down (Simultaneously) Pressing both buttons at once sends a “Y” (Yes) response — typically used to confirm prompts. Short Power Button Press A quick press of the Power button (less than 0.3 seconds) acts as the Enter key — confirming a selection. Long Power Button Press Holding the Power button for 0.5 to 2 seconds acts as a Back command — returning to the previous menu. ⚠️ Note: Holding the Power button longer than 2 seconds will power off the StarLite. Hold Power Button (2+ seconds) Pressing and holding the Power button for more than 2 seconds will shut down the device completely.

StarLite Mk V - complete disassembly guide

1. Preparation Place the Star Lite Mk V on a soft, protected surface to prevent any scratches or damage. I5_1.jpg 2. Remove the Micro SD Card Tray Insert a pin into the small hole to eject and remove the Micro SD card tray. image 3. Separate the Display and Backplate Using the plastic pick, gently wedge it between the display and the backplate to begin separating the two components. I5_2.jpg I5_3.jpg 4. Lift the Backplate Carefully raise the backplate to a 90° angle. Two ribbon cables connect it to the mainboard—disconnect these before fully removing the backplate. I5_4.jpg I5_5.jpg I5_6.jpg 5. Remove the Battery Once the backplate is off, begin by disconnecting and removing the battery. I5_7.jpg 6. Disconnect the Display Connector Lift the fine clamp securing the display cable and gently pull the cable out. I5_8.jpg I5_9.jpg I5_10.jpg I5_11.jpg I5_12.jpg 7. Remove the SSD Unscrew the single screw securing the SSD, then gently pull the drive out of its connector. I5_13.jpg 8. Remove the Speakers Unscrew the two screws securing each speaker. Disconnect the speaker cable from the mainboard. I5_14.jpg I5_15.jpg I5_16.jpg I5_17.jpg 9. Disconnect the Touch and I/O Ribbon Cables Remove the touch and I/O ribbon cables from the mainboard. I5_18.jpg 10. Disconnect the Accelerometer Ribbon Cable I5_19.jpg 11. Detach the Wireless Antennas Using the plastic pick, carefully lift the antenna connectors away from the wireless card. I5_20.jpg 12. Remove the Mainboard Unscrew the five black mainboard screws, then gently lift the board out of the chassis. I5_21.jpg 13. Remove the I/O Board Unscrew the two screws securing the I/O board. I5_22.jpg 14. Lift the Battery The battery is lightly taped down—gently lift it away from the chassis. I5_23.jpg 15. Disassembly Complete Reassembly is the reverse of these steps. I5_24.jpg Note: When reattaching the backplate, align the camera opening first, then gently press around the edges to clip it securely back into place.

StarLite Mk V - installing/recovering firmware with external programmer

Requirements Before you begin, make sure you have the following items ready: - An additional laptop or PC to run commands - FPC cable - CH341A USB programmer - Debug board - PH0 screwdriver - Thermal compound (if needed) Tools 1. Prepare the Device Place the StarLite Mk V on a soft, protected surface to prevent scratching. Step 1 2. Remove the MicroSD Tray Use a SIM pin or paperclip to eject and remove the MicroSD card tray. MicroSD Tray 3. Separate the Backplate Using a plastic pick, gently wedge it between the display and backplate to begin separating the two pieces. Work slowly around the edges. Opening Device Step 3b 4. Lift the Backplate Carefully Once loosened, lift the backplate to about 90° — there are two ribbon cables connecting it to the mainboard. Disconnect these gently before fully removing the backplate. Ribbon Cables Ribbon Cables 2 Once removed, you’ll see the components underneath. Components 5. Disconnect the Battery Start by disconnecting the battery connector from the mainboard. ⚠️ Important: Do not skip this step. Battery Disconnect Battery Cable 6. Remove the Heatsink Remove the five black Phillips screws securing the heatsink. Heatsink Screws Gently pull the heatsink straight upward to avoid spreading thermal paste. Heatsink Removal 7. Assemble the Programmer Connect the programmer, debug board, and FPC cable as shown below. Programmer Setup 8. Locate the Debug Connector Find the debug connector on the mainboard (PCBA). Debug Connector 9. Connect the Programmer Attach the free end of the FPC cable to the debug connector. Connection 10. Connect to Your Secondary Laptop/PC Plug the CH341A USB programmer into your additional computer. Note: Make sure the programmer isn’t resting directly on your laptop — place it on a non-conductive surface (e.g. a mouse pad). Connected Setup 11. Install Flashrom On your external laptop/PC, open a terminal and install Flashrom with: sudo apt install flashrom 12. Download the Firmware Firmware files are available on our GitHub Repository. For example, for the StarLite Mk V, navigate to the .rom file here and download it. 🔍 Tip: Always use the latest version of the firmware for your model. 13. Flash the Firmware Run the following command, replacing the version number with your downloaded file: sudo flashrom -p ch341a_spi -w ~/Downloads/24.07.rom

StarLite Mk V - re-seating the display connector

1. Prepare the Device Place the StarLite Mk V on a soft, protected surface to avoid any scratches or damage to the casing. I5_1.jpg 2. Remove the MicroSD Card Tray Insert a pin or SIM eject tool into the small hole to release and remove the MicroSD card tray. image 3. Separate the Backplate Using a plastic pick, gently wedge it between the display and the backplate to begin separating the two components. Work slowly around the edges to avoid bending or damaging the frame. I5_2.jpg I5_3.jpg 4. Lift the Backplate Carefully Once the edges are separated, lift the backplate to around 90°. You’ll see two ribbon cables connecting it to the mainboard — carefully disconnect these before fully removing the backplate. I5_4.jpg I5_5.jpg I5_6.jpg 5. Disconnect the Display Connector Lift the fine clamp on the display connector and gently pull the cable out to disconnect it. image image 6. Reconnect the Display Cable Insert the display connector back in as far as it will go, ensuring it’s straight and fully seated. The white line on the connector should align perfectly with the clamp and be barely visible. image 7. Reattach the Ribbon Cables and Backplate Before closing the device, make sure the ribbon cables are fully inserted and straight. The white lines on the cables should not be visible once properly connected. imageTip: When reattaching the backplate, start by lining up the camera first, then gently press around the edges until it clicks back into place.

StarLite Production Updates

18th February 2026 The latest batch of Starlites is due to arrive with us on Thursday or Friday this week. As soon as they land, we’ll begin organising and preparing so that dispatch can start next week. Orders will be shipped in sequence, starting with the earliest outstanding pre-orders. We’ll continue updating this page as we move through the dispatch queue. As always, tracking details will be sent automatically by email as soon as your order leaves us. Thank you for your continued patience - we’re nearly there! 13th February 2026 We’ve had confirmation that the StarLites were collected from the factory on Tuesday (10.02.26) and are now on their way to the UK. We expect them to arrive next week, and we’ll begin preparing and shipping orders as soon as they’re safely with us. This is a good time to do a final check on your order if you’d like to add any accessories or change your preferred OS, it’s best to do so before we start preparing and shipping them. We’ll share another update once the orders have arrived and dispatch is underway. 19th January 2026 Production of the StarLites is progressing well and everything remains on track for the factory to complete assembly and dispatch the units to us in the UK ahead of Chinese New Year (17 February 2026). Once they arrive with us, we’ll begin shipping orders in strict chronological order. So far, things have been running smoothly. This will be our third production batch of StarLites, and with each run the process becomes more streamlined. While production timelines are always estimates, we’re pleased with how things are moving and are doing everything we can to get StarLite tablets into your hands as quickly as possible while maintaining our usual high standards.