Repairing a T-Mobile MDA Pro in America - JASJAR, XDA Exec, MDA Pro General

This is not as trivial as you might think. The USB port somehow managed to become loose (maybe because I naturally have to plug and unplug the USB cable at the office and in the car all day long) and so I could not charge or sync the unit. T-Mobile US wouldn't touch it...because it's a T-Mobile UK phone! I took it to a local cell phone repair shop, and the service tech there soldered the port back onto the motherboard (for $50). But the unit still won't charge or sync. He has agreed to seek a warranty repair, etc., and has various vendor contacts. But this is a real nuisance compared with having T-Mobile US handle the whole thing. I e-mailed HTC support, but they haven't responded yet. I'm wondering if anyone else here in the US has had a similar experience and knows what to do. My repair guy is competent, but this is the first Universal he's worked on. I do have everything backed up, so that's not an issue.

Success
The local repair guy failed--he used too much solder and destroyed a microswitch (all while charging me for $50). I searched for hours on the Internet and finally found www.pocketpctechs.com. I shipped my MDA Pro to them overnight ($60, ouch), and they cleaned up the previous guy's work, resoldered the USB port correctly, upgraded the ROM, and ran all the diagnostics. The cost was $60 plus $25 for the microswitch plus shipping back ($28). I got the unit back and everything is working fine (even faster than before). The only drawback is that it's no longer under the factory warranty; the PocketPCTechs warranty is for 90 days.
Oh, and I got rid of the Krusell leather case and purchased a PDAir aluminum case. Much safer!

Related

XDAII (O2 UK model) - Speaker not working correctly

Hi,
No doubt as many others have, I managed to drop my XDAII one too many times (they are a bit to light and smooth).
I think the speaker is no a bit duff as sometimes it stops working and I can't hear the other person. If I press on the circular bevel on the case that hides the speaker it starts to work, sometimes tapping the bevel also brings the speaker back to life.
I wanted to know, could this be a simple problem like the speaker connection coming loose or something more serious where a solder fix will have to be applied?
I think the device is still under warranty so I might be able to RMA it but I wanted to know how easy or hard is to fix this, can it be fixed by me or should I send it in to be repaired?
Cheers,
Taz
I would send it in for repair, once you break the security seal you will invalidate warranty and then you will be in trouble if another hardware failure occurs. It is probably a simple connection problem.
its just likely to be the spring connectors from the board to the speaker which is fixable (details can be found in the forums HERE).
However, the O2 XDAII has a 24 month warranty which i found out in November as i had exactly the same problem and decided to take it to my local O2 shop to have it repaired. It took them 1 week to get it back to me but they told me my unit was irreparable and gave me a reconditioned unit as a replacement. I was not very happy as the case was scratched all over etc and my unit was as new. I complained and asked them to give me a new unit. After a further 2 weeks and 2 more instances of sending it back to the repair centre i eventually got a brand new fully boxed XDAII (second battery, second case, second cradle etc etc) from the O2 shop but not until i kicked off with the manager stating how unprofessional O2 was in repairing/replacing a unit that was under warranty.
NB. New XDAII screens are no where near as good as the original screens when looking at it from an angle. They look fine straight on but colours fade/change when viewed from below or from the left.
Hope some of that helps.
Cheers mate,
I think I still have about a year on the warranty but I heard that the XDAII are no longer in production so I am a bit worried that I may not be able to get it repaired however a pal reckons they should upgrade me to the XDAIIs (I had one, didn't like it).
I will visit my local O2 shop in a few days and kick it off with the manager as well... to get some results of course
Cheers,
Godz

Warranty repair options?

So I got my TyTN via import back in August and I am experiencing several problems a few months later: the keys on the front intermittently cease working, the handset speaker makes small buzzing sounds when connected to a GSM network, and sometimes the screen washes out white.
1) I'd like to contact HTC USA for support options, does anybody have the number?
2) Also, does anybody know if they have an advanced exchnage option where they send you a refurb (after you give them a credit card number) and don't charge the card as long as they receive the defective unit back in two weeks or so?
The US HTC can not help you, I've already contacted them. You have to send the device to Europe HTC and have the repair done there. They have 2 HTC offices here in Houston TX one is a repair shop and they said they do not have the knowledge or parts to repair the TyTN that I would have to send it to the country from which the phone was purchased. I think this is complete bull. They could get the parts easly and repair or replace my phone, they are just making it harder to get the TyTN fixed hoping you won't bother them. I am having the screen alignment issue and my phone locking ALL THE TIME!!!! but I have not sent it in becuase I can't handle not having my phone for 2 weeks. I sent an email to HTC Europe asking how long and if I could get a replacement since I have been having so many problems and they never responded.
As far as I know they have no lowner or replacemnet program. I suggest you buy a cheap GSM phone and keep it as your back up.
any luck getting your repairs? I am having soe problems and my imei is definitely from UK.
I bought mine from MadMonkeyBoys gadgets and he has been very responsive in providing support. Although I had to wait until I had a new unit to sustain me during tyTN's repair (now I have a Cheetah), David from MMB quickly got me a repair order and I shall send the unit out tomorrow

Mini-USB port BUSTED LOOSE?!

Has this happened to anyone else? The phone works fine. But last night I went to plug in the charger and the Mini-USB port PUSHED IN. I didn't insert it forcefully either. So I look closer and see that it's *rattling* around in the bottom.
????
The phone still works but with no way to charge it and no way to connect it for data, this really sucks! Can this be fixed? I don't even know what size torx bit to buy, much less if I should even bother
Broken Mini-USB connector
The same thing happen with my 8125. I called Cingular and they eventually replaced my unit. I spoke with tech support and they agreed. During the next billing cycle, they incorrectly charged me almost $350.00, so I called customer service and they reversed the charge. My unit was less than a year old.
Be alert to possible being billed for the repair. Based upon my research into this problem, it is a known design flaw and should be replaced under warranty.
Don Brandt
Except that I'm a GoPhone account.... but I'll call them anyways and see what they say. Can't hurt. Otherwise I think I'll be plopping down the $$$ for a Hermes of some form.
There's a company called PPC Tech that can do the USB port repair for you.
http://www.pocketpctechs.com/main.asp?area=home
im going on my 4th phone same problem i dont know what it is but its starting to bother me each phone is only 90days old before it happens
hcirteidnaes said:
im going on my 4th phone same problem i dont know what it is but its starting to bother me each phone is only 90days old before it happens
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I called that company up above, Pocket PC Techs. The lady was very nice, and she's discounting me on a shell change since they will have the current shell off anyways to repair the unit.
She said yes, the USB port issue is indeed common. I asked her what they do to avoid further repeated breaks. She said they use a USB socket that has a sturdier contact surface to solder to, and they warranty for 90 days. I suspect after they're done it won't break again with normal use.
They're in Fountain Valley, California... about a 45 min drive from me. She said if I bring it in the morning (their hours are 11am - 4pm M-F), they can fix the port and have it back to me with new housings in about an hour or so.
I'll report more if need be, but I strongly urge anyone with this issue to call or email this company, their act together. They do screen replacements and touch sensor as well. Also check out their accessories. Top notch stuff.
I got a similar problem,
The usb port went a bit dodgy and the usb plug had to be rested on something so it would charge but it wouldnt sync
This morning i plugged it in to charge it and heard a click inside and my phone wasnt charging so i unplugged it and the port came half way out and now i cant get it to charge and im on 18% battery :S
Ill get my dad to ring T-Mobile later and send it off for repair
I had the same problem. I contacted T-Mobile & they told me I would have to pay the $100+ (dont remember the exact figure) insurance deductable for a new MDA.
So I did some googling & found a place called Chicago Phone Repair (CPR). I took it to them & the problem was fixed in about an hour for $80 (with a 90 day warranty). Then I went on vacation to Texas & the USB port broke again! Took it back & they repaired it for free, but this time they used a different part (its black) & its a lot more sturdy. That was about 6 month's ago, I've had no problems since.
I had 3 MDA's all returned for usb problems. I think this is actually pretty common, I'm sorry to say. I had to get mine replaced through T-Mo.
Good Luck.
Try posltd.com for USB connector for any xda
they have most in stock and fixed my wizard and universal for £60ish each
Regards
Psipoc
Just got my phone back from T-Mobile and...
Unable to repair "Damage caused by dropping or crushing"
They have had it for around a month now and not done anything apart from pushing the port right in and making the problem worse !
Im gonna fix it myself later.
That's very delicate work you're about to attempt -- if you're not an experienced electronics tech, I wouldn't chance it. Try PocketPCTechs -- they do repairs on most HTC devices.
Had the same problem. Just soldered myself, Take your time and a fine solderpoint and you will be ok.
have got a handful of usb connector for the wizard at £10 each plus £5 postage
PSi
mine didn't push in but it did stop charging. I live in the Chicagoarea so I took it to CPR. they replaced the USB port but it still is not taking a charge. very happy to say they didn't charge me anything even though they replaced the port. I am hopeing that the battery is just too drained to take a USB charge.
so I just bought a battery charger and an extra battery. I figure I can change the battery once a day and synce via bluetooth. I am just sad that I wil not be able to try different ROMs anymore unless by some fluke the usb port starts working again.
Will report back once I find out.
I was able to get my phone's USB repaired from xpress cellular repair for $51 and change. They take care of the problem while you wait and are generally done in under an hour. The staff is very friendly and knows what they are doing. They have locations in Los Angeles, Orange County (CA), Texas. Check them out on their website at http://www.xpresscellrepair.com for full details.
Tilt or TYTN II Mini USB repair on my own
Dear All,
I bought a used Tilt, works like a dream. Apart from the mini USB. The cable is loose in the slot, so charging and data transfer can only be done, then the phone lays on the table. If the phone is on charger and I want to answer a call, the cable falls off.
I already ordered a mini USB port and I want to do it myself. (I have no problems with soldering).
I was wondering if anyone already done something like this before. Could you give me some advices, photos, manual etc, which would help and which could help me to avoid irrevessible or expensive mistakes?
Thank you in advance.
same thing here
not easy to solder at all, had me struggling for hours, when i finally got it right, well, seems that it wasnt right, at least my phone charges, but there's no way it'll sync, and i did a pretty strong soldering so this would't happen again, so i don't think ill take it appart again..
btw, my wifi doesnt work, cant turn it on, and since my device wont sync, is there any way that i could fix this w/o using the cable?

Universal USB/Charger Socket broken & repaired (pics & info within).

This was the state of my Universal's USB socket. Note the four holding shoulders have come away from the board.
The middle three tracks off the board have come away from the board with the socket too - worse case scenario I'd have guessed.
Here you can see the repaired unit with the four shoulders relocated and all 5 pins reconnected.
As you can see, the 'tiniest' of wires have been placed there to make the contacts as I'd ripped the tracks off as mentioned.
I'd have put this down as a non-repairable. To be fair, I couldn't even see the connections without taking a photo and zooming in on the PC.
My friend did this for me today - he's a PCB specialist by trade.
Anyone needing a repair in the UK, feel free to drop me a PM and I'll see if he can do the same for you.
Cost would be around £20-£25 returned.
I thought mine was a goner - so relieved to get the unit back working!
Very good work.
I had the same problem with my universal after an accident with my car loarder cable.
But I had luck and got a replacement universal from t-mobile.
I have the same problem with my Polaris and I thought about repairing it and refurbish it to give it to someone to use it. The battery still holds. What I want to ask... where did you get the socket from? How much did it cost? You got only the socket... right?

[Q] [DISCUSS] HD2's touch not working, htc says due to usb connector !!!!!!!!

Hello guys,
I can't believe in my ears and I would like to discuss this with you.
My HD2 has the usual "touch screen not responding" problem.
When I sent it back, htc told me that my touch screen needs to be changed and that this is part of the warranty that they will cover but there is an extra cost (actually bigger than buying the phone) for changing the main board which cannot be covered by htc because "plugging and unplugging the device in power has destroyed it".
Is this even possible or are they trying to just void my warranty?
I should tell you that my usb connector cable was working fine when I sent it to warranty!
Did you sent it with the battery included?
If so, then if the battery had a charge on it, then that would surely indicated that it had been charged via the USB.
Now if the USB went faulty at the same time as the touchscreen, then it must be a fault with the motherboard. Since they have admitted that they would fix the touchscreen problem as part of the warranty, then the motherboard must be fixed.
They designed the phone to use the microUSB connector to charge the phone and knew that the phone would have to be charged almost every day. So it is their fault, unless they can prove that you were extremely harsh at inserting and removing the cable.
no the battery was not sent with the phone.
They didn't tell me that the usb is defective. They just told me that the mainboard needs replacement for the new touch screen to work because the connector of the touch screen on the mainboard is destroyed because of the usb unplugging which is even more outraging!!
I have watched the disassemble of the hd2 and I can't seem to find out how the usb charging could screw the connector of the touch screen on the mainboard. I think they are not even close!
Are they playing me?
I don't know how the display and the micro usb connectors are placed, but, because what you're saying, I would definitively say that they're trying to cheat you, I don't know where you live, but I would try to reach the HTC service center in your country or zone (in case you didn't), their representatives tend to be not very "correct" with the customers, I sent my HD2 to repair in warranty (wifi plus uneven display retro-illumination) and it returned jusk like new, I taked to one of their representatives, but they send it to HTC's main offices here, I contacted HTC first and they told me excatly what to do and how to do it.
The workshop where I took my phone to be sent to HTC is well known to be not very "honest" and most of the people who take a phone, pda or whatever there, finish angry and deluded.
good luck then.
From what I've seen and read in recent threads, broken USB connectors don't affect the touch screen in any way.
I will talk to the representatives today in my country and inform you. I really think they are playing me. I can't seem to find any reason how the usb connector and the touch screen are linked
Ok I just talked to the representatives here in Greece and they seem to be the rudest I have ever met. So I called the global HTC service. The guys there were more than helpful. I decided to send the phone to United Kingdom.
So let's say that the phone comes back from HTC's service in the UK without charge and I have an official answer from HTC's service in Greece that this cost is not covered by warranty what can I do to let HTC know that the service here in Greece works awful?
Write down an email explainig in detail what happened and send it to HTC's main support with the UK support and the Greece support in CC and see what happen.
Cheers

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