Inkplate-10 display connector and flexible circuit instability

Customer:

I experienced an issue with the display and its connection to the main board. The device started to show weird patterns on screen. I investigated the flexible printed circuit and the connector to the main board. I managed to get the circuit out of the connector and put it back in. It seems to resolve the issue but I expect the problem to return after some time. I’m very cautious with the board, using it only on a flat surface, considering the very large flexible circuit underneath.

I suspect that just playing with the touch buttons is enough to cause the problem to occur, as this causes some very small bending of the board. Maybe fixing the flexible circuit with some appropriate tape would make it more stable, but you are the experts on this!

Originally submitted via email support on 14 January 2021. Migrated to the forum for community visibility.

Soldered Support:

Could you send a photo of the connector to check if there’s some damage to it? Since this is a prototype, you might not have received a production version quality board.

Yes, we plan to add spaces to the board to avoid the flex cable touching anything, and to glue the flex cable to the PCB.