Wacom Intuos4 pen stylus repair











Yesterday the right button of my pen from Wacom Intuos4 stopped working and was feeling a bit stiff too.. Gino got it open to see what was the problem.. it obviously needed repair as something inside the pen kept on bouncing.. 2 little springs came out from the eraser nib, and then the entire printed circuit board was taken out.. a small square piece of metal disattached fell off.. this was obviously the problem.. it was the component that makes the button work.. reassembled it carefully using the tweezers to have it working for a day and now back to square one.. same thing.. the piece fell off again.. there are some small claws to it to grab onto the PCB but it looks like there is no place to fit them in, so I glued the entire piece on the sides.. is drying now, so fingers crossed and hope it will work this time.. it's pretty expensive to replace it with a new one as on amazon is at £65.. I'm a graphic designer so I need my pen on daily basis.. especially now when I want to put more work on Kady Design website.
I looked on google on how to fix a wacom intuos pen, but couldn't find anything for my problem so hope this post will help others like myself especially when you gave up using the mouse.. good luck everyone!

Comments

Ricardo Toloto said…
Nice! I just wanna known how did you break a part the pen body? Once upon a time I've have tried to open it to solve the tip issue, where the tip is a little bit loose. No sucess!
Moi said…
Hi Ricardo, as I'm very often asked about this here is what you need to do:
First you need to unscrew the tip of the pen, then remove the pen button thingy. That sort of locks the whole pen together. Try to get your nail underneath the button so you can pull the cap off. Once you've pulled it off you can pull your pen apart. The front from the back. Pay attention to what comes out though cause you need to obviously put all that back together. That's pretty much how you open it really. It seems unpullable, but it's fine after you've removed the 3 components (tip screw, button cap and rubber grip). You just need to add just a bit of force after that to pull the two ends apart. Once you removed the rubber grip you see where the two ends separate. Maybe you can pry that open differently, but generally you should be able to pull it apart. Good luck with the fix and please let me know if it worked.
Ricardo Toloto said…
Hello Kady! I was making steps the right manner, you know. Now I got my pen open but it was very hard to doing that, it was very very tight. Actually what I needed to do was use the tiny hole under buttons to lock it into a nail fixed in a table, and so pull it out the back part.
Well the good one is I fixed the tip loose issue, occurred in some problematic pens. But even so I think the thickness of the tip is a little bit thin to the hole shell and this cause imprecision on click.
Moi said…
Ricardo I'm glad you fixed the pen.. maybe the loosen tip can be because the whole pen needs to be pushed well together.. also changing the tip might help.
Unknown said…
Did any of you have trouble with your eraser after putting your pen back together?

I came across this page after I accidentally popped my pen open. Yes, I stupidly was pushing on the rubber grip and the pen separated.

The circuit board and tip stayed in the front half of the pen, the plastic eraser and two springs fell onto my desk. I put the eraser springs (small one inside the larger one)back into the plastic eraser housing and then into the back half of the pen, and I slid the two halves back together, but now when I turn the pen upside down to use my eraser, it becomes active about 1 inch above the tablet as if I was applying 100% pressure to the tablet.

When I push on the eraser, it feels correct (same amount of spring and movement), and thankfully the other end with the nib is working fine. I can deal without the eraser if I have to. I'm afraid to open it again. I was just wondering if it's some kind of calibration issue.

Any ideas?

THANKS
Michael Huang said…
TonyV125, are the tiny wires going down their appropriate channel? assuming that your pen tip works, match the eraser wires to the pen tip.

I couldn't quite get my right mouse button to work like before, perhaps i'll try to glue it
Unknown said…
Thanks for the reply Michael. All connections were good.

I took another look at Kady's pictures and saw in picture 5 that she put the eraser together on the circuit board first, and then the housing. I put the eraser together, slid it into the housing and then brought everything together.

I decided to open it again and try Kady's method (which allowed me to set the springs exactly where they needed to go) and now both ends work perfectly!

Kady, thanks so much for posting this information and all of the pictures!
Moi said…
TonyV125 I had no problem with the eraser and I put the springs both on the top of the circuit inside of each other like you did, then the cap to keep them together and after I added the rest.. I see you already fixed it.. well done :)
Moi said…
Michel I had the same problem with the right button and I had to glue it as one of the 4 arms of the small metal piece that makes the golden button work on the circuit board, has been broken.. now it's working just fine being glued.. maybe you should go for it, but apply the glue gently to not get it smudged on other areas.. I used my tweezers and a tooth pick for this :)
Anonymous said…
Hi, I was just wondering, the 2 little springs in the eraser are what makes the pressure sensitivity, right? I accidentally opened my pen, and as I was trying to put it back together, I lost the smaller one out of the 2 springs... (it's so small T___T) this just means my eraser only has 1024 levels of sensitivity instead of 2048, right?
Moi said…
To be honest I think the 2 springs are for the eraser and when you put pressure on the tip of the pen it kind of holds it to not be pushed back.. since you lost the spring have you noticed any changes in the way the pen behaves?
Jesuah said…
This was really helpful, I had the EXACT same problem with my pen.The button is still a little stiff but I got it back together and working correctly!
Moi said…
Hi Jesuah, I'm glad all worked out for you.. my pen since I wrote this post it's still working fine glued as it is..
Ritika Designs said…
Hi Kady,
Thanks for posting such great information online. My question to you is... how did you fixed the pen back after opening it.
Moi said…
You're welcome as lots of people go through the same problem like I did so all this was something worth being posted :) I believe it's mentioned how I fixed it.. I glued the metal piece to the PCB.. to put it back together should be fairly simple if you keep track on how you open it.. what I did was to leave the plastic buttons attached to the first part of the pen then put the board in carefully, screw the nib back in to keep the board still and then I pushed together the second half of the pen while it had the eraser nib in.. this was pretty much all.. hope it helps..
Ritika Designs said…
Thanks Kady.. I just pulled apart both the parts without unscrewing anything , but now when I am pushing back both , they are just stuck and not getting fixed back...
I am unable to understand why ?? The way it opened I am trying to close it the same way ..
Moi said…
Hi Ritika, I think the problem is that you haven't unscrew the tip nor the eraser when you opened the pen.. you should have first unscrewed the pen tip to let the PCB loose and then pull apart the second half of the pen.. this is how you get the circuit board out.. try to look at the photos maybe it helps more..
Moi said…
Ritika read TonyV125 comment as I think you might find it helpful..
Anonymous said…
That's typical. My Intuos4 pen broke exactly like yours did. Twice already! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to glue the thing back on, so I had to buy a third pen already. If you ask me, it's really bad design by Wacom. The back of the pen slides off way too easy, pulling the 'circuit board' along with it and ripping off the tiny metal buttons. Well, this won't happen to me a third time. I now taped the back of the pen to the front (underneath the rubber), so it won't accidentally come off. I also put a tiny drop of glue on the end of the inner eraser tip, so that the tiny springs, that go on top of it, will always be attached to it. I already lost them once. And it took me about half a day to find them again.
Moi said…
:))) Even though I feel really sorry for you by having to buy the third pen, I can't stop laughing at the idea you glued and taped the brand new pen. In my case the pen came apart only when pulled but it happen only twice and I have it for more then 2 years.. Maybe it's best to be safe than sorry. Thanks for the story :) and fingers crossed this time your pen will stay in one piece. Cheers! K
Anonymous said…
@ Ritika

I had an issue where the pen came apart, and I put it back together - do NOT force the PCB into the lower end of the Pen. Insert the PCB into the top half of the pen - the 2 joints where the pen should meet, you'll see 2 small rectangular boxes ( on the bottom half ) and 1 box on the top half - the right box should be in line with the top of the pen ( where the buttons are ) and the left box should be matched with the single box on the top half.
Ariel Ace said…
Hello,

I found your tutorial really helpful and just wanted to thank you for it.

But it seems I've come across another problem. Upon removing and reassembling, the chip inside is stuck, making the entire pen not close together properly.

The chip is lodged in the eraser end and wont come free. I'm afraid of putting to much force on it and accidentally cracking it.

Could you give me any advise how to fix it, please?

THANKS!!!
Moi said…
Hi Ariel Ace, have you tried to push the eraser button inside to release the PCB board? But make sure the tip of the pen is unscrewed.. when reassembling the pen look inside of the second part (the one with the eraser end) as I believe there is a dent where the chip should slide through(possible it got stuck there).. and then screw back the tip.. Please let me know if this worked.. You can have a look at this other post, if it helps.. http://riddlesofmind.blogspot.com/2012/02/wacom-intuos4-pen-stylus-repair2.html Best of luck!
fredvig said…
Hello.
Thanks a lot for your description of "how to repair an intuos pen". I was about to buy an other one. You've just make me economize 100 $. I must say your description fit too for an Intuos 3 Pen.
I had the surprise to found my pen this morning with a lot of loose inside. All the stuff was floating in the body, making impossible to use. I suppose somebody let it fall on the tip, and the two part of the body opened a little. After reading your explanation, I understand how it's build. I just push the 2 parts, and they close… That's an instant repair ! (sorry for my frenchy english)
Unknown said…
Hi Ricardo, how can I mount the two springs into the erase button ?!

One inside the other ?
It seems the Wacom Bamboo Pen and Touch also has this button problem. In my case, less than one year into use, the pen's buttons have gotten "stuck" and I had to disable their functions (or else it's a constant right-click on the screen). I guess if the problem recurs after my warranty ends, hopefully your solution will also help me. :)
Anonymous said…
hey do you know where the two springs go in the pen?
Anonymous said…
hey do you know where the two springs go?
Moi said…
@ Francesco the two springs go in the eraser side of the pen one inside the other.. hope this helps

@ Antarel Nefertili - the reason why the buttons get stuck is because the component of the button inside has fallen and it's worth checking this as it will definitely solve the problem and you can use your pen like before.. You can find the explanation in the post since this is what happen to me initially.. best of luck with the fix and if you wish further help just let me know..
Meia said…
hi sorry I know it must be some time ago you made this post but's the only one I've found so far. You see my pen fell and it opened so while I've been able to open the pen the wider part fo the green card is stuck on the upper part of the pen were the eraser is, so my question would be how did you took it all out? I'm really scared because this stops me from putting it together at all. It's stuck and I can't move it
Moi said…
Hi Meia, not sure if this helps, but I wrote another post on how to disassemble the pen in the exact order as I did and it worked for me. Please follow this link for more details: http://riddlesofmind.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/how-to-assemble-your-wacom-pen.html
Unknown said…
My daughter just took my stylus and when I tried to take it out from her, guess what? All came apart and I have the same problem as you with the right button, thank you for this idea, I will glue the damn thing as soon I get some glue!
Anonymous said…
you saved my life. Thank You!
Anonymous said…
This is an incredibly useful article, Kady. Thank you very much for putting this info out there!

-Chris Johnson
CE Solutions
www.cesolutions.tv
Georgia said…
The tip of my pen came apart as well! Everything came off the end of the circuit board and into pieces. The part with the brown wire coiled around it is separated from the white and black plastic parts that attach to the circuit board. HELP! Is there any way to re-assemble it?
mixmedia² said…
Thanx for the post!!!!! my Intuos 4 pen open and when i put it together i find some little spring, if there wasn't for your post i never find where they came from!!! Thanx again!!!!
Tale said…
Hi there, just a random passerby, but I wanted to thank you for this post! (And the comments, too) - my pen eraser had the same problem as TONYV125's for the longest time, but I fixed it by disassembling and assembling it again, just like your post described. Thanks again for saving me like a hundred bucks!
Nina_Susik said…
I pulled the front part, but I can not get the eraser part.Eraser was fixed inside, this big problem. Pre I had to unscrew it, is not it? Pen break apart into two halves and is not going to now.
Photo links:
http://yadi.sk/d/l995yQXlAkJQD
http://yadi.sk/d/bkdK4ca0AkJRv

THANKS!
Anonymous said…
Thank you for the post it was very helpful.

Nina I had the same problem where the eraser half of the pen would not come off. To remove that part I realized that the circuit was twisted away from the slot. So to remove it I had to twist it so that it aligned with the slits.
Hope this helps.
Unknown said…
My pen just accidently seperated and two springs fell out of the reaser bit. Thanks tou your post and some usefull replys i am back on track to make meet my deadline.
Unknown said…
Oh, thx! I had problem with the tiny springs too. I figured the bigger should be in the eraser cap, but I was wondering where the smaller one should be. So it goes inside the bigger one... (I still wonder why 2 springs are needed, but I'm glad my pen survived the "surgery". Only the eraser cap feels a little looser now - that I can live with.)
Josie Sanders said…
No matter what I do I can't get the two halves of the pen to fit back together all of the way. The chip is stuck in the back half of the pen with the eraser and refuses to budge.
Everything still works fine it's just that the eraser doesn't come out all of the way anymore. It's like the entire chip and springs got pulled towards the front half and wont go back towards the eraser at all. Which is leaving a gap between the two halves and the pen is far easier to pull apart than it was before.(And I really rather is wasn't) Is there anything I can do or am I just stuck with a pen that won't go fully back together anymore?

PS: looked at the other posts you recommended in the others comments but still nothing is working.
HELP!
Unknown said…
Thanks, and I managed to "repair" the button using your instructions.

I did not glue it, but used a very pointy/sharp tweezers to press the latch of the button cap under the soldered button underside.

The button consists out of 4 parts.
The soldered base of the button, a contact mat, a metal disk with a nob in the center that goes through the center of the fourth part, witch is the lid of the button.
The problem with me was the latch of this lid. On one side it has a hinge, on the other a latch. The two fingers of this latch are either separated and definitely bent outward.
Using the tweezers I carefully reassembled the button and folded the fingers under the base of the button.

So if you can see that there are still fingers available, fold them. No gluing needed (for now)

Stylus works as normal after reassembly.
Watch out that you don't lose the eraser spring, and the 3 small parts of the defective button. they are probable wandering about inside the stylus.
Unknown said…
You're never a loser until you quit trying. See the link below for more info.


#loser
www.matreyastudios.com
Anonymous said…
I've got through 2 wacom pens now and not going to buy another, the build quality is rubbish. does anyone have an alternative tablet for graphic designers that's affordable and not so breakable
bmw 8000 cc said…
hello please use micro switch from old keybord pc for to fix vacom pen..... ( micro switch flat transparens plastic)
Thom said…
Hi Ricardo,
so many thanks for your infos.
Now i was able to tighten the
pen board of my stylus.
That saves me a lot money :-)
Sara Rad Studio said…
thank so much for this info :)
Anonymous said…
Even after a couple of years this posting helped today. Thank you for the info (i was mostly wondering where the heck the little springs came from and where to put them back.) :-)
Cheers!
Anonymous said…
This article (and the related exploded assembly article) are nice. Quite useful. Thanks for the advice.
ACIDesigns said…
If you have probles with your pen sensor here is post, its in Spanish but use Chrome translator option. Saludos

http://lsdesignweb.blogspot.com.uy/2017/07/solucion-reparar-sensor-wacom-bamboo.html
neekby said…
When you put the top barrel back on over the PCB look inside first - there are two shallow grooves inside the barrel which must be aligned with the edges of the PCB otherwise it'll jam and the pen won't go together properly. Basically if it feels like you're having to force the PCB inside the top barrel it's no lined up right.
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