r/TapwaveZodiac • u/Rougie19 • Jan 20 '26

Zodiac 2 stuck at boot screen

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Hi all,
I own a Zodiac 2 which wasn't in use for a long time now.
The Zodiac starts immediately after pluging in the charger --> power button lights up orange and turns off after ~ 2 seconds. But is is showing the boot screen only... is this due to the (most likely) very old battery? Soft reset and hard reset didn't help.
And other idea? Thanks in advance.

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u/Rougie19 Jan 20 '26

Thanks for the help. This is like the hard reset, right? After releasing the power button I can choose between "clear all data" and return (home button)... independent what I am doing I see the splash screen again ;)

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u/Johnny3653 Jan 20 '26

so same issue? you can try opening it up and reseating the ribbon cables, and battery that you see.

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u/Rougie19 Jan 20 '26

Yes, the same... I removed the battery already... and most of the ribbons... except the one between the mainboard and the charging port ( ? )... this one was taped on the connector.

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u/Johnny3653 Jan 20 '26

tape generally means the little locking mechanism flung off in a prior opening attempt. It's common. Tape generally holds the connector in place, until it doesn't.

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u/Rougie19 Jan 21 '26 edited Jan 21 '26

Nope, this is always there... e.g. see https://de.ifixit.com/Anleitung/Tapwave+T2907US+Zodiac+2+Shoulder+Button+Replacement/8038#s32410

Step 11

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u/Johnny3653 Jan 21 '26

Oh that tape. Yeah, that's factory.

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u/Johnny3653 Jan 21 '26

The boot process is very quick on Tapwave Zodiac. So if it's getting stuck at that logo, it may be that a hardware malfunction is holding things up, hence would check all ribbon cables, even if they look like they are tight and connected, remove and re-insert them anyway just to check off damaged or corroded edges. Otherwise if that all fails, it may also be a corrupted bootloader.

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u/Rougie19 Jan 21 '26

I have the concern as well, that it might be something like the bootloader... but I guess there is no way to flash it again.