The 3040 is very small and compact and, as a result, there is negligible internal space for 'add ons' other than the socket provided for the M.2 wireless module.
The label on the 3040, as well as identifying it as a 3040, also says 'Reg Model:N10D'. I assume the N10D name is the 'Regulatory Model' which explicitly identifies the hardware that has undergone various EMC, recycling and other certification tests. The '3040' moniker is the marketing name which could change depending on what software is installed and the market it is being sold into.
It was launched in March 2017. My example was manufactured in October 2019.
The basic specs are:
Processor Type
SpeedIntel Atom x5 Z-8350 (Quad core)
1.44GHzMemory Flash
RAM8GB/16GB
2GBVideo Chip
Max resolutionBuilt in
2560 x 1600 32-bit colour (x2)Ports Video
Network
USB
Serial
Parallel
PS/22 x Display Port
10/100/1000
1 x USB2.0, 1 x USB3.0 (front)
2 x USB2.0 (rear)
0
0
0Power Supply
Plug
Off
Idle
Running5V
Coax 4mm/1.7mm
0.5W
4W
5WDimensions H x W x D (mm) 28 x 102 x 102
Operating systems:
ThinLinux 1.0.4 (post RTS)
ThinOS 8.3.2
PCoIP enabled Wyse ThinOS
My 3040 came fitted with 16GB of flash.
The first 3040 I got hold of ran off a 5V supply. I have since seen examples with manufacturing dates of 09/09/2017, 09/27/2018 and 10/28/2019 that are all labelled +5V. At some point after this the power supply switched to 12V.
Looking at the PSU area of the 3040 motherboard I cannot spot any differences between the +5V and +12V models. (See here). Also a number of correspondents have emailed me to say that their 3040s, irrespective of the figure given on the label, run quite happily off any voltage between +5V and +12V.
In March 2025, I heard from Tianyuan Lin who pointed out that the 3040 used a NCP81231 Buck Controller as the onboard power regulator and that the datasheet said that it supported "...a wide Input Voltage Range from 4.5V to 28V".
So if you are paranoid ensure that your PSU matches the markings on the label. If you're not and you are short a PSU then it looks like you have a degree of flexibility in tracking one down.
Intel Cherry Trail x5 Z-8350 (1.44 GHz Quad Core).
vendor_id : GenuineIntel cpu family : 6 model : 76 model name : Intel(R) Atom(TM) x5-Z8350 CPU @ 1.44GHz stepping : 4 flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe syscall nx rdtscp lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good nopl xtopology tsc_reliable nonstop_tsc cpuid aperfmperf tsc_known_freq pni pclmulqdq dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vmx est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm sse4_1 sse4_2 movbe popcnt tsc_deadline_timer aes rdrand lahf_lm 3dnowprefetch epb pti ibrs ibpb stibp tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority ept vpid tsc_adjust smep erms dtherm ida arat
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series SoC Transaction Register (rev 36) 00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 36) 00:0b.0 Signal processing controller: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series Power Management Controller (rev 36) 00:11.0 SD Host controller: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series SDIO Controller (rev 36) 00:14.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series USB xHCI Controller (rev 36) 00:1a.0 Encryption controller: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series Trusted Execution Engine (rev 36) 00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series PCI Express Port #1 (rev 36) 00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series PCU (rev 36) 01:00.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller (rev 15)
Click on the photo for a larger version.
Flash: The internal memory is either an 8GB or 16GB eMMC flash chip soldered to the motherboard. It is not replaceable unless you have a hot air solder station. René and others have replaced it - see the links tab.
RAM: There is 2GB of DDR3L RAM soldered to the motherboard. You are stuck with 2GB.
Wireless: There is a socket on the board to take a wireless module.
This is a M.2 socket with a key ID of E. The 3040 datasheet gives the factory fit part
as 'WLAN+BT Combo Module: Azurewave AW-CM389MA w/Marvell 8897chip, M.2 2230 (SDIO interface)'.
Note the SDIO interface above. Whilst a M.2 E slot can support 2x PCIe x1, USB2.0, I2C, SDIO, UART and PCM interfaces, the slot on the 3040 only supports SDIO.
By far the majority of wireless cards use a PCIe interface for WiFi and USB for Bluetooth. None of these will work in the 3040.
If you need to add WiFi connectivity to your 3040 the best bet would appear to be a USB dongle. If you're thinking of using a AW-CM389A there is further information here.
In July 2024 I heard from Jaromir:
There is an M.2 SDIO WiFi module widely available that works with 3040. It is the AC200 made by FriendlyElec and it is primarily designed for their R2S Plus router.
WiFi works out of the box (tested on Ubuntu 24.04). Bluetooth is not available, possibly due to lack of UART lines on the M.2 connector.
There is a push button near the WLAN card pillar labelled 'CMCLR1' which is I assume there
to let you clear the CMOS memory.
There is a push button near the battery labelled PWCLR1 which I assume is there to let you clear
any set passwords.
In November 2023 I heard from Phil who had recently acquired a working 3040 but it wouldn't power up for him. Instead it sat there flashing a 4/2 (four flashes then two flashes) error code on the power LED. The BIOS manual decodes this as a 'Generic POST Video Error'. Like me, not having a monitor with a Display Port input, he was using a Display-Port-to-DVI adapter. He had used this particular adapter with various other HP and Wyse thin clients without any problems.
As to 'what have I got?' - the photo shows two of my working adapters which have '++DP' molded into them. Whether that is indicative of an active adapter I don't know.
I found the following words online:
Standard DisplayPort (DP) can only support DP signals and will require an active adapter to convert to HDMI or DVI signals. Dual-Mode DisplayPort (DP++) offers flexibility since it supports DP signals and will convert HDMI and DVI signals.
In March 2025 I had an email from Mark about a similar Display Port related issue where he found a different work-around:
I recently got hold of a couple of the Wyse 3040 thin clients and experienced the issue with them refusing to POST when I was using a passive DisplayPort to HDMI adapter. I was only getting a blinking amber LED with no video output.Thankfully I did have a very cheap DP to VGA adapter and when using this they both booted without any problem and so, using an old VGA monitor, I was able to investigate what was going on.
I checked the BIOS for any setting which might affect the video output behaviour and found that if I set the POST behaviour -> Fastboot option to minimal then everything was fine with my DisplayPort to HDMI adapter and the system booted normally. Previously the option had been set to Thorough which ... Performs complete hardware and configuration initialization during boot. The minimal setting obviously skips the check that barfs if you are using a passive adapter.
Connector 2 Pins 2 Wires 1.0mm Pitch
Subsequently I heard from another correspondent who pointed out that the backup battery was also compatible with that for the Raspberry Pi 5. These have the advantage of having many vendors selling the variant with a battery box which simplifies the replacement process in the future. They are also cheap. (I have subsequently heard from Mark who tried this. He said whilst the connector was physically the right size the polarity of the battery was reversed and you'll need to cut and re-solder the wires to correct this).
I subsequently heard from Anirudh who had a similar experience (wrong polarity) and pointed out that ""You can remove the pins from the JST connector by pulling up the little plastic tabs, then reinsert them the pins the correct way round to suit the 3040."
....and in December 2024 Valentin contributed another drop-in replacement battery from an eBay seller whose listing was headlined: Acer Aspire 6920 6920G 8920 8920G 8930 8930G CMOS BIOS RTC Battery 09P1162
Caveat What ever you procure you would be wise to check the polarity of your replacement against the battery you are removing. If you are unlucky you may have to see if you can reverse the connectors in the attached plug or you will need to cut the wires and re-solder them the other way round.
If you own a soldering iron an alternative would be to buy a wire ended version of the battery holder and solder the wires direct to the board.