Smok Alien 220W – Not charging

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Oh no! Yet another Smok Alien 220W problem..?!

On top of the other three issues that have had with Smok Alien 220W in the past (“No coil”, “Ohm too low” and simply refusing to boot), I have just started to notice another problem with one of my Smok Aliens. It will not charge the 18650 LiPos correctly. When the USB cable is plugged in, the bars on the main screen start to move, in the charging animation, but after a while, 5-10 seconds, the usual charging screen flashes up, but then quickly (<0.5 seconds) flashes back to the main screen again, still with the batteries charging animation. Again, wait 5-10 seconds and then the charging screen flashes, and so on.

If left charging, then the batteries actually discharge completely..!

It used to work fine, but then this issue appeared maybe a week or so ago…

Oh no! Yet another Smok Alien 220W problem..?!

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Centralising all of the problems that I’ve had with the Smok Alien 220W. I have had quite a few of them…

Sticky Fire Button – Vaporesso Target Pro

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Finally, a success story..! I had acquired a Vaporesso Target Pro as part of a vape bundle (along with a couple of Crown tanks and an Alien 220W and maybe some other stuff). It is a very nice, single 18650 cell, mod. I started using it exclusively, and for a while it was my favourite mod – small in the hand, not bulky, and powerful for its size. OK, it can tend to over balance and fall over if you don’t set it down carefully and slowly, and yes, it looks like a gun handle or joystick for a home computer from the late 1980’s, but overall it is a nice little mod.

Smok Alien 220W – No coil

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I bought a brand new (possibly a clone), worked for two weeks and then “No coil” errors started appearing, or more annoyingly, it would ask me whether a new coil had been connected (yes/no). It would do this every time I tried to vape and hit the fire bar. This error would come and go, and then finally,  nothing would make it see the coil. In addition it would not balance charge the batteries correctly, either that or the reporting/measurement was wrong, and the tank leaks like a sieve.

Smok Alien – Ohm too low

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I’ve had my mod (Smok Alien 220W) for a year and it was fine, then suddenly, during one vape session, mid vape it stopped and I got the Ohm too low message. I tried removing the tank, still got the Ohm too low message, instead of No coil message. Rebooted (i.e. power down, batteries out and in, and power on), still the same Ohm too low message.

Clapton Wire

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So you want to make your own clapton?

Breakin’ Vape

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So, a mate of mine, nameless, told me this story:

Was at a wedding last night, a bit hammered, and saw a geezer vaping so asked if I could have a quick go. The vape juice he was using was very nice indeed. It was 6mg nicotine and he’d got it set quite hot, so it was a bit harsh for me, but it still tasted lovely. It was called Heisenberg – have you heard of it?

So, off I went down a google tunnel, and this is the tale of woe…

Smok Alien 220W will not turn on

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I had a secondhand Smok Alien, running VB1.0.2 firmware, that was working perfectly for a number of months, but I was only ever charging the batteries via the USB charging port. However, after opening the battery compartment, and removing the batteries, with the Smok Alien still switched on, it thereafter refused to start, once batteries had been replaced. It wasn’t just a case of just the display having ceased to light up, while the rest of the mod’s functionality remains, as is frequently reported. In my case, the Alien absolutely refused to start/boot.

My problems/symptoms seem to be the same as this post:

This morning, my Alien VB version stopped working totally. Yesterday in my bed used it normally, no problem at all. Finished vaping so i put the batteries in my external charger. This morning I waked up and put the charged batteries like every morning, no reaction at all. Tried lot of things, as i’m a pc repair technician i know how to fix things 😉

I saw on a support thread that removing the batteries without powering it off can cause this problem…

There are a number of Alien issues reported on the web – such as broken displays, failure to boot (as was my case), 510 connector issues and atomiser shorts – with an equal, or greater, number of suggested fixes – such as banging it on a hard surface, or using a 2.4 A charger. As already stated, some of the reported issues are that the display has simply died, but the mod still functions. After doing a fair bit of research it seems as if it is actually quite common to have an apparently bricked device, but it is equally easy to fix, by simply re-flashing the device…

Which Geekvape Griffin is which?

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Confused about what you are actually buying on eBay, with respect to the GeekVape Griffin? You are not alone, as there is a lot of similar models and poorly described items for sale…

Also, the various Griffin tanks leak a lot… just google griffin 25 leaking or griffin 25 plus leaking… therefore avoid. Get an OBS Engine instead.

Squeezing your own juice

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Making your own eJuice… seeing as commercially available eJuice is expensive, so why not DIY?

In this article I will outline the basics of making eJuice, and go through four preparation methods.