
listen, from time to time i repair devices for others. Someone send me 2 digital voice recorders with the exactly same failure. When power on, Display starts flickering, nothing happens. But the thing is, both devices have the same age. The owner bought 2 pieces of this voice recorders from ali. Don't know exactly how old they are maybe 5, maybe 8 years. The MCU datasheet was written in 2010. Since then, the owner used only one of the devices. Recently the device stopped working. He tought he had good luck because he bought 2 of them. The second device was in the original packing since he bought it. He never unpackt it. After powering on, it didn't start. It had the same behavior like the first one. I testet both. When powering on, it's drawing some power for a second or two. Then nothing happens. Even the battery will not charge. I know HP in the past used a chip in their printer cartridges that stopped working after a period of time. Have you ever heard of a MCU with a pre-programmed expiration date?