It does seem like there is an QC issue with the Nlight’s recently, (https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/11553#comment-254018) so I’d be wary of them in the future. Too late now, I still like the light but if I was to ‘rebuy’ I’d probably get a EDC18650 from intloutdoor, more proven driver setup there :/.
I think the driver can be changed but it would probably require heating up the head with a hear gun or soldering iron (Carefully to avoid damage) to break the bond that held the pill in place. It did appear to be a pretty solid Pill but I couldn’t remove it due to some CA that had been wept into the threads (I could see some on the sides) and I didn’t want to chance damaging it during removal.
I’d post up the pictures just to keep them public, see if you can contact Hank about this too. I’ll report back here once I get my replacement, likely later this week or the next.
It could be some kind of shipping damage too, my ST50 came in a padded envelope in a display box and seemed rather squished when it arrived; It could have gotten slammed around in transit although QC seems the more likely cause. Either way I’ve had other lights not have issues, I don’t see why this one would be an exception.