Dear Hackboard backers,

As many of you know, global component supply shortages have created long lead times and inflated prices, affecting everything from computers to automobiles. After considering everything from component choices to various board redesigns, we’re happy to say we have a relatively clear path to finish Hackboard 2 production in August and deliver the final product to you soon after!

One important change we’ve made is to move onboard storage from a flash chip soldered onto the board to a replaceable and upgradeable card in one of the M.2 slots. For those of you looking for more than 64 GB of memory, there will soon be 128 GB, 256 GB, and 512 GB storage options. Exactly how to upgrade your Hackboard 2 will be detailed in a future update. Of course, this comes at the cost of using one of the M.2 slots — if you were relying on Hackboard 2 having two M.2 slots, you may contact Crowd Supply support to cancel your order for a full refund.

Thanks to overwhelming interest from backers, we’re also seriously pursuing the possibility of a RAM upgrade option from 4 GB to 8 GB. Timing and pricing of an 8 GB RAM option will depend on chip availability. This is not yet a sure thing and we will keep you posted as we make progress.

One component supply issue we are still trying to resolve is the onboard LAN adapter. The current lead time is nearly ten months, which is obviously unacceptable. We are working hard to find alternative sources for this part and hope to have an onboard LAN adapter ready for August. If supply doesn’t improve, rather than further delay production, we will offer a USB 3 LAN adapter option. We’re hopeful that the team will solve the issue but we wanted to be transparent about it.

In the next few weeks, we will finalize the upgrade options for Hackboard 2 so those who are interested can request upgrades in time for the August production run. Navigating the shifting supply chain landscape has been a challenge, but we’re very happy with how the production version of Hackboard 2 is shaping up. We cannot express our thanks enough for your patience and valuable feedback as we work through these global supply shortages to get Hackboard 2 into your hands.

Sincerely,
The Hackboard Team