USB sockets keep breaking

pshute · #1 (**permalink**) 04-12-2007, 09:47 AM

We have several dozen 8800's in use here, and have had them for several months. In the last week I've had three reports of the USB charging socket breaking - i.e. the phones simply cannot be charged now.

What is happening is that the bit that sticks up inside the USB socket is becoming loose. It seems like these are all a tiny bit wobbly, even when new, but in the affected phones it's really wobbly.

It seems that it's caused by the phones moving around a little in the car while on the charger. The cord must tug hard on the socket and weaken it till it breaks.

I would have said it was due to rough handling if only one was affected, but with three different users I can't believe that. All the phones have rubber covers, so it's not like they'd be sliding violently from side to side.

We've had several older models of Blackberry in use here for more than two years and it hasn't happened before, so I'm thinking it's a problem with this model.

Has it happened to anyone else? It's covered under warranty, but is it just going to keep happening? What can we do to prevent it?

pshute · #2 (**permalink**) 04-12-2007, 11:41 AM

I'm now thinking that maybe it's caused by people using their phones while they're still connected to the charger, rather than the phones sliding around. The cords may not be quite long enough, so they stretch and tug at the socket. Just a theory.

I also had a look at the socket of an old 7250. These seem very strong, but even on new 8800's the middle bit is a bit loose.

GaryCutri · #3 (**permalink**) 04-12-2007, 01:42 PM

I personally haven't seen many 8800 devices returned with due to faulty USB connections but the newer devices aren't as robust as the older versions. These devices should be able to be replaced under warranty without too many issues, but depending on your service provider they may need to be checked first.

adam89 · #4 (**permalink**) 19-12-2007, 01:27 AM

Yes, this happened to my 8800.

pshute · #5 (**permalink**) 19-12-2007, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adam89

Yes, this happened to my 8800.

Any theories about why it happened to you?

Did you get it replaced? If so, how long did it take? We've been waiting several weeks, and we're getting sick of swapping batteries around.

adam89 · #6 (**permalink**) 19-12-2007, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pshute

Any theories about why it happened to you?

Did you get it replaced? If so, how long did it take? We've been waiting several weeks, and we're getting sick of swapping batteries around.

Not too sure why it happened, but i don't think its because people are using them while they're still in the charger....

I took mine in to get replaced last week (and bought a Curve while i was there)... The lady said that the repairs people will be on holidays until mid January so she has no idea how long it will take, but normally the process takes 4 - 6 weeks. She also said that it will most likely be replaced instead of repaired.

Also one thing i've noticed, if i use the charger from my 8800 on my Curve, it does the same thing, but if i use charge my 8800 from another charger, it still does the same thing... So it seems that my charger AND device are broken.

adam89 · #7 (**permalink**) 12-01-2008, 07:27 PM

Hey,

Mine was replaced for me

received it yesterday

pshute · #8 (**permalink**) 18-01-2008, 11:31 PM

We now have 6 faulty 8800's, and only one of them has been replaced so far. Funny that it takes so long for a replacement to arrive, but you can buy a new one over the counter.

Mine now stops charging if I lightly touch the lead, so I assume it's got a broken connection inside and it's only going to get worse.

I might check everyone's and see if any others have intermittent faults. I'm betting I'll find several more.

pshute · #9 (**permalink**) 14-04-2008, 11:51 AM

Four months later and I've have several more phones go faulty in the same way. Must be about ten now. I still have no idea why they're breaking, so I guess we'll eventually break and replace them all.

Blackberry is starting to reject them as warranty repairs, even though they're less than 6 months old. If it was one or two users continually breaking them I'd agree that it must be rough usage. But this is a different user every time, and none of these people have a history of breaking phones. Some of them even had 7250s before this, and none of them EVER had this problem.

I have a theory that our car chargers might be breaking them. A lot of the plugs have become loose so that the metal part slips back inside the plastic casing. This leaves just a little bit of metal sticking out to go into the socket, so that could apply more force on the socket if twisted slightly.

If this turns out to be true, the dealer says Blackberry wouldn't be at fault as they aren't genuine Blackberry chargers. Blackberry apparently don't make a car charger, so that would be nice of them.

Anybody else having this kind of problem?

grunta · #10 (**permalink**) 16-05-2008, 11:46 AM

I have now had 4 8800's break as well as an 8100. Telstra are charging $150 per unit and will not revise their charge regardless of how many are failing. I also had a 3 week old unmarked 8800 that lost a button off the keypad. Telstra replied "User error. Impact damage" even though there is no damage to the casing. Rim claim their devices are tough. Not since the 7290.