[Google Home] LengAwaits:
New user, here. Long time listener, first time caller. Walmart is selling the Lenovo "Smart Clock 2", in my area, for $24.88 this holiday season. It's bundled with a Lenovo "Smart Bulb Medium", which made it all the more tempting. Of course I didn't resist.

The Smart Clock 2 runs on a Mediatek MT8176 SoC, unlike the previous "Smart Clock", which ran on an Amlogic A113X SoC. Based on the specs I'm seeing, the Bluetooth and WiFi modules have both been downgraded. From BT 5.0 to BT 4.2, and from 801.11AC to 801.11B/G/N, respectively. Hey, you've got to cut costs somewhere if you want to sell it for under $25! I suspect there are more cost-saving "features", but I haven't figured out how to go any deeper in the casing without destroying the innards of the device. Not yet, at least.

Now, I know the bootloader for the original "Smart Clock" was successfully unlocked, and I'm curious what we can do with this device. Lenovo have removed the USB port from the "Smart Clock 2", replacing it with pogo pin pads on the bottom of the unit, which interface with a dock (not included in the bundle, of course). The dock does have a USB A port, but I don't have the dock. We'll have to do this the old fashioned way. Whatever that is. Any tips for non-destructively interfacing with those pads would be welcomed! I'm thinking some blu-tack and a female USB-A pigtail? I suppose I could buy some pogo pins and wire them up to protoboard, but I'm not sure I want to make that investment (in time or money). I suppose I could also just buy the dock, but I'm not nearly that invested, and also they don't seem to sell it without the "Smart Clock 2" itself. Not exactly surprising.

Lenovo have kindly labeled the pads on the PCB inside the unit. Initial disassembly isn't too hard. Remove the rubber gasket from the bottom of the device (it's just held on with some relatively weak adhesive), unscrew the four screws underneath, and gently pry the plastic base-plate up from the front edge (the side facing the screen). Underneath we find a small PCB that looks like this:

View attachment 5481123

The switch just turns the microphone on and off, so don't get too excited, like I did, at first. DP, DM, GND, and VBUS should get us a USB connection, though, if I'm not mistaken.

Holding the Volume Up button while powering the unit brings us, eventually, to the expected:

View attachment 5481125

Holding volume down on power-up boots us into "safe mode".

I'd very much like to get this device to do something more than just "be a clock", or "stream audio". Especially considering that system specs like this thing has would've made me lose my mind back when I was 12. Granted, I only had a 386 then. I'd absolutely love to figure out how to get this thing to run Octo4a (Android OctoPrint server for driving a 3D Printer). It's more than capable of it, but I suspect I'm chasing a dream. At least I can repurpose the screen and digitizer, if all else fails.

Information online seems scant, for this device, at this time, but I'm willing to experiment. I'm not the most knowledgeable person, but I have a dusty 20 year old degree in electronic engineering, if that helps? I somehow doubt it.

So, where do I go from here? Figure out how to connect it and then "fastboot flashing unlock" as with the previous "Smart Clock" from Lenovo? All suggestions welcome! Thanks!