Database Users

Evo Charging Problem

I have a loose micro usb port on my evo, it only charges a certain way..have to position it just right and wrap the cord around the phone. You can imagine how annoying this becomes...
Im afraid to switch to a new evo because im rooted...And really would not want to go through the process of rooting a new model..i hear its a hassle really..to get s-off.
So im thinking of using a service online to get my evo repaired...
What do you guys suggest D:?

I had the sane issue and took mine in and got a replacement. If you have insurance its free or at the most it will be $35. Its a sure bet while the online repair is not.
I feel like a new root will be out before you know it.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

dakidobf said:
I had the sane issue and took mine in and got a replacement. If you have insurance its free or at the most it will be $35. Its a sure bet while the online repair is not.
I feel like a new root will be out before you know it.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
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Problem is i cant stand sense >___>;

Looks Like I am headed for a replacement myself.

XxsydenxX said:
Problem is i cant stand sense >___>;
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I'm in the same boat in not really liking Sense. If all else fails, you can install the stock 2.2 launcher and use that rather than Sense instead of rooting. You'll still have some Sense elements, but it isn't nearly as in your face.

Yeah I had the exact same problem with my 1st evo but after awhile it stopped charging all together so don't wait to long to replace it mine was such a hassle to get a new one the reps kept saying I damaged it but called sprint and they ordered a new one for me the next day
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

My charging port just went bad, took it up the sprint store and they said it was physical damage and i have to pay 100, iv had the evo since release day, i didn't do anything wrong and it started going bad, call sprint and talked to like 3 reps and a supervisor and they said if the sprint store said it was physical damage then you will have to pay 100 for a new one, I think this is more wear and tear or manufacture defect. I bought an external battery charger until next pay day but I think sprint should replace it for free, I have total protection insurance and I'm a premier customer

I've heard many, many people getting it fixed for free, as it is a fairly widely known defect affecting some EVOs. I'd try another repair center, or else go to a independent store, they're usually more lenient, especially for intermittent issues.
If they insist it's user damage, ask them how they differentiate that from the defective connector/solder joint issue plaguing many models in your hw rev? Unless you have obvious massive, smashed damage to your port, they can't, and they're just shirking off shoddy manufacturing onto you.

TheMatrixx said:
I've heard many, many people getting it fixed for free, as it is a fairly widely known defect affecting some EVOs. I'd try another repair center, or else go to a independent store, they're usually more lenient, especially for intermittent issues.
If they insist it's user damage, ask them how they differentiate that from the defective connector/solder joint issue plaguing many models in your hw rev? Unless you have obvious massive, smashed damage to your port, they can't, and they're just shirking off shoddy manufacturing onto you.
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+1 sounds like you need to try another sprint store. I have a feeling they vary from place to place. Take for instance me, I dropped my evo and got some gashes in the face plate but all else is fine. I went to a repair center near me and the guy told me he didn't have the parts to fix it but he could just order me another one. I said no thanks I didn't want to change it, went to another place and they said it will cost me 35 bucks to fix because it is cosmetic damage and not covered under the protection plan.
Sent from my Evo while i should be working

[q] sprint service rep messed up my phone!

so I took my epic to a sprint store to get a new screen. got it back and turned it on. found out they deleted a few games and my task killer. and for some reason, my phone could not get an service whatsoever. it says I am in roaming with no bars and I know that's wrong because I get full bars in my house. also, I cannot send or receive calls or texts. after n hour on the phone with sprint, they couldn't fix it and they finally just switched my service to an older phone. I will go to a sprint store at a current date but I'm on vacation and don't have a chance to go to the store.
so, any ideas what mightve happened? and ideas how I should go about talking to sprint to get this issue fixed?
thanks in advance.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

We will need to know more about the phone. Are you running stock ROM or not? Are you rooted? I am guessing that since you took it into the store that you were running it stock and unrooted. Give us some more details and we might be able to be more help.
It looks like you might need to factory reset, but you can d/l a backup program to save all the .apks for the apps you have gotten from the market, or you can root the phone and get a better backup program. I would not recommend using clockwork recovery as, I believe, it will back up everything and might just restore the phone to its unusable state. That being said it couldn't hurt to try Clockwork recovery and if you just have to wipe the phone again you can.
It's really annoying when you take a phone into Sprint and they just make matters worse. One time I took a phone it for an issue with the screen and they actually broke the screen further and then refused to figure out a way to fix it.

I'm rooted and I'm running the latest epic experience based off of dk28. was not able to odin completely back to stock before taking it to the store. they never said anything about it being the wrong firmware.
when I returned home, it was too late to actually do anything about the issue, so I called tech support. the woman worked me through some tests and nothing indicated what was wrong and therefore there's no solution to it. she finally just said that its a hardware malfunction, which it could be. only way to get that fixed is to go to the sprint store whenever I'm able to, which might not be for a while.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

Yeah I don't think it's a hardware issuer personally. If you haven't tried wiping the phone and starting fresh that would be my first step. The fact is that if it's hardware you will end up with a fresh phone anyhow, so why not factory reset the phone and see if it fixes the problem...also maybe uninstall the last few apps you downloaded. They might be messing with your radios.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

Did they choc the screen? If stop I guess it's possible that they messed up your radios at thst point.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

I actually think this is a hardware issue. Better flash back to stock before you bring it in for any issues or they can deny your replacement. Sprint corporate repair centers have advanced testers specifically for signal related issues and without an antenna it will fail for sure. You may want to explain the issue started when your screen was replaced.
When they replaced the screen they may have screwed up the antenna internal. Generally, a tech will not do anything with the firmware/software when they are fixing hardware so I am not sure what happened with your apps.
Also, the part was likely harvested from another phone... If they brought the antenna from the other phone it could be defective (which is possibly why it was there to harvest from). It's also possible that your antenna is not actually in your phone.

wait I thought if you were within your first year they had to give you a new phone anyway?
I would definatly be raising a stink! Look you paid good money for the phone and hopefully you paid for insurance. dont let them give you second rate service. Go ask for a new phone and just transfer all your stuffto that one.

boominz28 said:
wait I thought if you were within your first year they had to give you a new phone anyway?
I would definatly be raising a stink! Look you paid good money for the phone and hopefully you paid for insurance. dont let them give you second rate service. Go ask for a new phone and just transfer all your stuffto that one.
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Not if he rooted and flashed a non apporved update and they see it
GituSum Epic

As stated above, odin to stock, and ***** till its resolved. IDK if another sprint store is an option, but that can help, also calling into tech support and getting an appt with the repair center seems to help. Was just in today and should be getting a 'replacement' Monday, I have a purple line of what appears to be stuck pixels along the bottom or left side of screen. First sprint store, the brilliant techs tried to tell me it was a 'cosmetic flaw' and that they could fix it for 35 bux, knowing I have TEP... got home, called in, tech support guy was really cool, and also noticed that 35 bux applies to people w/o TEP, the only way money would be involved would be water, loss, etc... got an appt for today, and yeah... hoping the replacement is new... but whatever. Anyways, you have a 500 dollar phone, don't take any BS... the first guys even said to call sammy for a warranty.... idiots.

thanks for all the replies.
part of the tests included doing a factory reset. and that didn't work. I can't believe that doing a repair could completely mess up my phone even more. of course I'll ***** and complain until I get my way. I'm used to it with sprint.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

They probably didnt reconnect the antenna. I had to get my 3.5mm headphone jack replaced on my epic and when the sprint rep handed the phone back, I went outside and couldnt get any signal whatsoever. I immediately took the phone back and the rep reconnected the antenna in a matter of minutes.

dee32181 said:
They probably didnt reconnect the antenna. I had to get my 3.5mm headphone jack replaced on my epic and when the sprint rep handed the phone back, I went outside and couldnt get any signal whatsoever. I immediately took the phone back and the rep reconnected the antenna in a matter of minutes.
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this sounds almost exactly like what I'm experiencing. as soon as I return home or find spare time, ill go back to sprint and see if they can reconnect the antenna.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

Definitely could be a simple issue with the antenna being plugged in. If it was reset already then its likely not software BUT... they will not replace it if it needs to be replaced if they notice that its rooted.

I had same issue after camera button failed. Antenna wasnt put back on properly. I had crazy signals.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

So you haven't tried odin yet...? Just a fw? What if your modem is just buggy...
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

boominz28 said:
wait I thought if you were within your first year they had to give you a new phone anyway?
I would definatly be raising a stink! Look you paid good money for the phone and hopefully you paid for insurance. dont let them give you second rate service. Go ask for a new phone and just transfer all your stuffto that one.
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Wrong. Sprint doesn't HAVE to give you a new phone. Its a fix/replace policy and if you don't have insurance it will cost you $35. That's a recent policy change. You can go through Samsung if your looking to excersise your one year warranty...but good luck on a rooted phone.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

unfortunantly, my laptop is down right now. so I cannot odin back to stock. no, I've never had this problem before and judging by a few others, it seems that this is a common problem.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

Quis89 said:
Wrong. Sprint doesn't HAVE to give you a new phone. Its a fix/replace policy and if you don't have insurance it will cost you $35. That's a recent policy change. You can go through Samsung if your looking to excersise your one year warranty...but good luck on a rooted phone.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
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I will disagree with you, I do beleive that within the first year of you buying that phone they have to give you a replacement, But I will research this further and post my results.

I'll help with the policy, If you don't have a service and repair plan, or TEP, then they will charge you 35 for a repair, regardless of if the phone is in warranty or not. 35 bucks includes everything except board damage, phone coming in the store in two pieces, or liquid damage. I.E. something that can't be repaired anyway by anyone, I.E damaged beyond repair.
If you have the service plan, then you don't get charged the 35 bucks.
If the store can't fix the issue, they order a refurb phone that usually shows up in one/two business days at the store or to your house, your choice.
The only time you get a NEW phone is when you've had the device for less than 30 days, you can return it any time in that period or get it swapped out for a new one if there is a issue and the store can't fix it. You can return it for any reason as well during this time.
Anyway, like everyone stated, the issue with the phone is that the antenna is probably not hooked up. It's at the bottom of the phone, and is connected with a cable that has two connects on it, one at each end, at the antenna and at the main board. One or both of them is off the phone, and that could be fixed by anyone with a screw driver and a butter knife in about 5 minutes.

hdnet1 said:
I'll help with the policy, If you don't have a service and repair plan, or TEP, then they will charge you 35 for a repair, regardless of if the phone is in warranty or not. 35 bucks includes everything except board damage, phone coming in the store in two pieces, or liquid damage. I.E. something that can't be repaired anyway by anyone, I.E damaged beyond repair.
If you have the service plan, then you don't get charged the 35 bucks.
If the store can't fix the issue, they order a refurb phone that usually shows up in one/two business days at the store or to your house, your choice.
The only time you get a NEW phone is when you've had the device for less than 30 days, you can return it any time in that period or get it swapped out for a new one if there is a issue and the store can't fix it. You can return it for any reason as well during this time.
Anyway, like everyone stated, the issue with the phone is that the antenna is probably not hooked up. It's at the bottom of the phone, and is connected with a cable that has two connects on it, one at each end, at the antenna and at the main board. One or both of them is off the phone, and that could be fixed by anyone with a screw driver and a butter knife in about 5 minutes.
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Well that stinks if i buy a almost 600 dollar phone and say 2 months goes , if they send me a refurbished , im gonna raise a stink.

Charging Port Repair Issue- Cheaper than Asurion

For anyone who has a bad charging port like me and dont feel like giving up their 003 Hardware Evo for the new pain in the ass root method. Here is an alternative and its only $60 fix and shipped back to you. I was told shipping to them is on you. I am thinking bout giving them a shot.. Fix Charge Port

i guess i'll ask them if they can fix. that drcellphone place screwed me over. is this them?

Laserbeak43 said:
i guess i'll ask them if they can fix. that drcellphone place screwed me over. is this them?
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This is a know and covered warranty issue. Sprint customer care or your local Service & Repair center will replace your device free of charge and usually within 24 hrs. You will most likely be shipped a hardware versior 004 device with a 2.3 locked bootloader. It doesn't matter if you have TEP or not.

walkingsaltine said:
This is a know and covered warranty issue. Sprint customer care or your local Service & Repair center will replace your device free of charge and usually within 24 hrs. You will most likely be shipped a hardware versior 004 device with a 2.3 locked bootloader. It doesn't matter if you have TEP or not.
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Actually, it depends on the type of damage.
If the solder joints are cleanly broken and the copper pad is intact underneath, it's a known issue and Sprint will replace it.
If the solder joints are mangled and the copped pad is pulled up along with it, then it's customer abuse and is referred to Asurion.

Sunsparc said:
Actually, it depends on the type of damage.
If the solder joints are cleanly broken and the copper pad is intact underneath, it's a known issue and Sprint will replace it.
If the solder joints are mangled and the copped pad is pulled up along with it, then it's customer abuse and is referred to Asurion.
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I have the above issue where the charger is broken off cleanly. However, when I took it to a repair shop they stated that because thecharger had broken off the motherboard, they were not allowed to fix it. When I called Sprint, they told me repeatedly that broken charger ports are user damage. I told them that I read online that people were saying this is a known issue and they told me it was not.
Is this really a known issue, and how could I get them to acknowledge this?
Thanks!

I took mine in to the local repair shop. they charged me $35 and got me a refurb in less than a week.

Sorry to revive an old thread
But has anyone tried to get a Sprint replacement without insurance after the one year warranty period?

Yes...I've had 2 get replaced the same way...first, call sprint ,don't go to a store, don't even bring up the insurance...get to tech support...second, and most important, don't say broke off...all you have to say is the phone is no longer charging...say you've tried other batteries and chargers...lastly, say you've got no transportation to a repair center and demand they send a replacement in mail, they won't want to, but you can keep saying that's the way you want it...my girlfriend just had hers replaced this way couple weeks ago...good luck, no 2 sprint operators will be the same...any problems and just call back and get someone else...

Mine appears to have broken now after a year I don't want a locked boot loader though! I wonder if I yell at them and say this is my second evo with the same issues if they would replace it with a 3d evo....
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

My charge port broke a month ago and I have had my Evo over a year. I first called Sprint to tell them that my phone no longer charged and that I had read online that the phone was known to have charge port issues. Rep told me to go to a local Sprint repair shop and they would replace. Went to one shop and they opened it up and said the port came off the mobo (duh) but that they would not replace it (I don't have phone insurance). They never even looked up my account to see that the phone Rep put in my account that it would be replaced. I went to a second Sprint store and they opened it up, saw the port off the mobo, and ordered me a refurb instantly. Cost me $35 (I believe it would have been free if I had insurance).
Not sure if it matters, but the first store I went to was an official Sprint corporate store (they are the ones that bounced me). The second store was a "preferred retailer" and they took care of me quick. First refurb I got had some screen issues. Got a second refurb and it has some light bleed at the far bottom of the screen but I can't even see it with my case on.
Also, the refurb I have now is a 0004 and I had it rooted in less than 10 minutes and put Mik's rom on it.

playya said:
For anyone who has a bad charging port like me and dont feel like giving up their 003 Hardware Evo for the new pain in the ass root method. Here is an alternative and its only $60 fix and shipped back to you. I was told shipping to them is on you. I am thinking bout giving them a shot.. Fix Charge Port
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I had mine fixed using Dr.Phonez well half of it it charges now but i can't connect to my laptop to sync my stuff. This sucks.

Charging port broken off from motherboard - Sprint won't replace

I've been having issues with my charging port for some time now. I've had intermittent issues where the port would not charge and then today, it finally broke off apparently. The Sprint corporate store said they could not fix it and to call Asurion. I'm sure I have the same issue a lot of Evo users have had in that I'm sure they are going to want to charge me the $100 deductible.
How can they call this physical damage to the phone? Plugging it in is a normal activity and there are plenty of documented cases of the charge port coming loose or breaking.
All I want is for Sprint to replace my Evo so I can be on my way. I'm having nothing but bad luck in my endeavor. Has anybody successfully gotten Sprint to replace their phone without going through Asurion? What did you do or say?

I have the same issue. Your phone is probably covered under manufacturer warranty still. Contact HTC. Takes two weeks.
I haven't sent mine in yet. I purchased a battery charger and spare batteries until I figure out how to live with my phone.
Good luck!
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

hgelpke said:
I've been having issues with my charging port for some time now. I've had intermittent issues where the port would not charge and then today, it finally broke off apparently. The Sprint corporate store said they could not fix it and to call Asurion. I'm sure I have the same issue a lot of Evo users have had in that I'm sure they are going to want to charge me the $100 deductible.
How can they call this physical damage to the phone? Plugging it in is a normal activity and there are plenty of documented cases of the charge port coming loose or breaking.
All I want is for Sprint to replace my Evo so I can be on my way. I'm having nothing but bad luck in my endeavor. Has anybody successfully gotten Sprint to replace their phone without going through Asurion? What did you do or say?
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I've heard of Sprint doing that, claiming it's 'physical damage' and and that they refuse to fix it. Asurion, if you have it, is actually quick, you'll have your phone in a day or two. However, you get dinged with the $100 deductible. If you are unsuccessful at getting Sprint to replace it, I gaurantee you that you could find an electronics repair place and have them re-solder the charging port. Supposedly, for someone who knows how to do that type of thing, it's a simple and quick task to do. I'm sure it would be far less than 100 bucks to have it re-soldered. Also, I was reading a thread about this very topic, where someone who did have a lot of electronics experience, said that the solder joints on the charging port are terrible, and a poor overall design to boot.

I wonder... being that any sort of plugging in of a cable puts stress on that charging port, do you suppose that a charging cradle is better or worse for the phone? I'd guess better.....?

FYI- I had the same exact issue and the Sprint Corporate store replaced it for me no questions asked. I wasn't even able to unroot because the battery died.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

Mine broke also and they gave me a new one. But it couldve been that it was during my first month.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA Premium App

If you don't have tep sprint doesn't care what happens to your phone...they won't replace it.

cbradberry said:
FYI- I had the same exact issue and the Sprint Corporate store replaced it for me no questions asked. I wasn't even able to unroot because the battery died.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
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Same deal for me.my charger port broke while rooted.I just took it to a repair store not the corporate one, they looked at it then pulled up my account information then activated an evo they had behind the counter and I walked out, that easy! Sorry your having problems, if I was you I'd try a different store. I used the store in Tavares, Florida so you can look them up to see exactly what type of store they are. Good luck to ya!

easy answer: its physical damage, if something is broken then it is not covered by warranty. doesnt matter how it happened, if its broke you did it. use asurion.
real answer: its a grey area. sometimes these ports do break off, and while yes technically it is not covered by warranty or esrp, generally if the phone shows no other signs of physical damage a tech will replace the phone for you. keep in mind that the letter of the law states it is not covered though, so if that store choses not to replace it they are properly doing their job. the techs and stores have repair quotas, and exchanging those phones does cost sprint a lot of money.

if the port is just lose it would have been fine, but its its completely off the board its considered physical damage because it could have been from normal wear and tear or you could have used a pair of pliers and pulled it out. you can try htc but its gonna take for ever and you still have to pay for the parts.

sprint fixed mine in jan...no 35.00 charge (i dont have insurance) it broke again this past week. The ordered a replacement phone. Will be here monday...no 35.00 charge.
Guess it just depends

I took mine in the day after it started acting up - not rooted. I just took it to the Sprint store closest to me. I have insurance & was past my 30 days. I told the guy, he didn't even ask questions about it. He filed it through Asurion and told me to come back the next day after 2:00. It didn't cost anything. But then again... he was flirting with me, so that could have something to do with it.
I'd just try another store, I think it depends on who you get behind the counter with stuff like this. And if you know any pretty girls that will go for you - try that. I've had 3 EVOs and didn't pay for any of my replacements.

kellybrf said:
easy answer: its physical damage, if something is broken then it is not covered by warranty. doesnt matter how it happened, if its broke you did it. use asurion.
real answer: its a grey area. sometimes these ports do break off, and while yes technically it is not covered by warranty or esrp, generally if the phone shows no other signs of physical damage a tech will replace the phone for you. keep in mind that the letter of the law states it is not covered though, so if that store choses not to replace it they are properly doing their job. the techs and stores have repair quotas, and exchanging those phones does cost sprint a lot of money.
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Sorry, but I have to call BS on most of this (not what you are saying, but rather Sprint's policy)
These devices have a 1yr manufacturers warranty. Sprint should take the hardware for the customer and swap it with HTC....so it shouldn't be costing Sprint a dime (except for labor, which is payed for already).
And frankly if Sprint doesn't want to be the middleman for manufacturer swaps then they need to stop putting their name on the hardware.
Its the same issue I have with the different Corporate vs Franchise Sprint stores...seriously, if you put a sign saying "Sprint" on your store, then you should be prepared to represent them 100% by offering the same services. Sometimes its like showing up to a McDonalds and being told that only the real locations have fries.
[/rant]
Sent from my device.

I've had my Evo since launch day and my charge port was having the same issues.
Called HTC about the warranty and they said it would not be covered.
Took it to Sprint and they swapped it out for the $35 fee since the device was still under the manufacturer's warranty period. I think some stores know this is a recurring issue with this phone and are not putting up much of a fuss over replacing them.
My advice, keep trying different stores until you find one that does it.

ramiss said:
Sorry, but I have to call BS on most of this (not what you are saying, but rather Sprint's policy)
These devices have a 1yr manufacturers warranty. Sprint should take the hardware for the customer and swap it with HTC....so it shouldn't be costing Sprint a dime (except for labor, which is payed for already).
And frankly if Sprint doesn't want to be the middleman for manufacturer swaps then they need to stop putting their name on the hardware.
Its the same issue I have with the different Corporate vs Franchise Sprint stores...seriously, if you put a sign saying "Sprint" on your store, then you should be prepared to represent them 100% by offering the same services. Sometimes its like showing up to a McDonalds and being told that only the real locations have fries.
[/rant]
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Exactly!
DEMAND a repair or exchange.
Sent from my device.
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

Call customer service and ask for Account Services. Tell them your situation, and how this IS a manufacturer defect. Tell them you will cancel your account if they dont do anything about it. They will either send you one, or put a note on your account for the store to replace it.
IF by chance that doesnt work, email [email protected]. That's the Executive Offices, the same people you would talk to if you were to file a complaint with the BBB, only this takes a day to respond, not weeks like the BBB.

fix it yourself

i had this same problem. i took it in a week earlier when the port was just wiggly and the store said they couldnt do anything.
a week later the phone wouldnt charge at all. i take the phone and and the tech takes it
he took the port out of the phone and taped it to the reciept and said that the phone was damaged beyond repair.
i ended up calling sprint form the parking lot and found a sprint person who would setup an invoice to send me a new phone and id mail back the broken one. however the tech at the store refused to take the "damaged beyond repiar" tag off my phone.
after 2 hours on the phone and at the store it ended up getting replaced.
i was massively pissed.
tl;dr: try a different store.

sitlet said:
Call customer service and ask for Account Services. Tell them your situation, and how this IS a manufacturer defect. Tell them you will cancel your account if they dont do anything about it. They will either send you one, or put a note on your account for the store to replace it.
IF by chance that doesnt work, email [email protected]. That's the Executive Offices, the same people you would talk to if you were to file a complaint with the BBB, only this takes a day to respond, not weeks like the BBB.
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What a bad mentality to have... Account services will do everything in their power to help resolve your issue, however they have no ability whatsoever to send a replacement device, they will need to contact a store or tech support to have your device fixed/exchanged. If they deem the device unrepairable, you will have to use insurance or go through the manu warranty.

DirtyShroomz said:
What a bad mentality to have...
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Yes I agree, but sometimes it is unfortunately a last resort that works. :/ But to put this all to rest just try another store and keep trying. Its worked for me and countless others. Some people just dont give two $h!ts about anyone or there problems and wont go above and beyond to help.

Don't pay $100 ins for a broken charger port.

I went into sprint last week because my charging port broke and I couldn't charge my phone. To my surprise they said that it's not a defect or hardware problem and that I would have to claim it on my ins and pay the $100. Well with the 3D coming out soon and me being such a tight A*% with my money, that $100 wasn't going to cut it. So I figured out a way to get a New Refurb phone from Sprint for only $45.
Here's what I did
I called around to some local cell phone repair places here in DFW area. I found this shop in Fort Worth that would replace it for $45. I took it in to get repaired and was told that when the charger port broke it pulled the sync strip off the board. Which means my phone will charge now just fine but I won't be able to sync it up with my pc again. Noway i could live with that.
I know enough about the evo and the hardware to know that the mic is soldered onto the board and that it cannot just be replaced at the Sprint store. Sooooo! I bet you know where I'm going with this? Your right!! I blew out my mic on purpose. How I did this is very easy and truly undetectable. All I did was blow air from my air compressor in the mic hole, maybe 5-10secs. I then opened the voice recorder to make sure it was out,It was.
I took it back to Sprint and told them my mic wasn't working. he said that's a real common problem with Evos. he began to tell me that they repair it and give them 10 mins. I knew they couldn't do it on site. 5 mins later he comes from the back and tells me that the mic was soldered on the board and they have to replace it, which I knew. 2days later Sprint text me and I picked up my new evo for $45.
The bad thing is that you'll have to use your blue tooth or headphones to make calls until the new phone comes in.

we shall not discuss insurance fraud here

cracker0309 said:
I went into sprint last week because my charging port broke and I couldn't charge my phone. To my surprise they said that it's not a defect or hardware problem and that I would have to claim it on my ins and pay the $100. Well with the 3D coming out soon and me being such a tight A*% with my money, that $100 wasn't going to cut it. So I figured out a way to get a New Refurb phone from Sprint for only $45.
Here's what I did
I called around to some local cell phone repair places here in DFW area. I found this shop in Fort Worth that would replace it for $45. I took it in to get repaired and was told that when the charger port broke it pulled the sync strip off the board. Which means my phone will charge now just fine but I won't be able to sync it up with my pc again. Noway i could live with that.
I know enough about the evo and the hardware to know that the mic is soldered onto the board and that it cannot just be replaced at the Sprint store. Sooooo! I bet you know where I'm going with this? Your right!! I blew out my mic on purpose. How I did this is very easy and truly undetectable. All I did was blow air from my air compressor in the mic hole, maybe 5-10secs. I then opened the voice recorder to make sure it was out,It was.
I took it back to Sprint and told them my mic wasn't working. he said that's a real common problem with Evos. he began to tell me that they repair it and give them 10 mins. I knew they couldn't do it on site. 5 mins later he comes from the back and tells me that the mic was soldered on the board and they have to replace it, which I knew. 2days later Sprint text me and I picked up my new evo for $45.
The bad thing is that you'll have to use your blue tooth or headphones to make calls until the new phone comes in.
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Click to collapse
NICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

instead of being a dipster like the OP let me give you all some actual advice.
First my Background
X-Corporate sprint employee
Close ties with management, techs, and sales reps at retail locations.
Charging port failure on the EVO 4G is a known issue, there the corporate store should know this, if for some reason they are stupid, which can and will happen, politely inform them of this, if your not getting anywhere with the rep, politely ask to speak with management to look into this.
if your charging port is broken due to normal use, and not you plugging it in and swinging it around your head like a lasso, you will be covered, even without T.E.P. insurance plan (and unless they changed policy its covered even after the 1 year warranty on the phone)
As a cautionary note, if you bring your phone in to a corporate store, and they take your phone to the techs, and see your phone is damaged beyond repair, it will be flagged and notated in the system as such, and even if you go out and do some crazy stuff like this guy, and bring it back, they will Pull up your device in E-Ticket and see that its DBR and will not fix it anyway.
So guys, if you have this issue, do the smart thing, and handle the issue politely as you cannot expect every rep to know everything.

I wasn't asked for any of my info from Sprint to flag. I was just asked what the problem was and then it was taken to the back. The TECH not REP was the one that came and spoke to me and explained to me what the problem was. He stated himself that he thinks the ports should be covered due to the fact it does happen so often and that the port isn't connected securly enough to the board with the proper temp grade solder.
Is what I did morally right? NO!! But Sprint and other cell phone companies screw over the consumer everyday, but that's ok! So when the consumer finally gets over on the corporation its sooooo BAD!!
In no way is this ins fraud because Asurion was never involved. This was under hardware warranty and being my phone was bought in Jan I really don't think me or anyone else should have to fork out more money for something that's only 5 months old.

2 wrongs dont make a right, and they don't need to ask you for any info other than to just scan your phone.
and I never said that it happened to you, I said it could and properly should happen.
not to mention the solution to the problem was so easy, you just were to lazy or inept to handle it properly.
also, yes, it was still fraud
and now the phone may get refurbed without the original problem being addressed.

If the charging port is pulled clean from the board, solder joints intact, then it's covered under the known issue.
If the solder joints are broken and circuit board is peeled, it's damaged beyond repair.

Unfortunately in our store right now we have no RECON phones so we are swapping with new in box since they are also backordered...mildly frustrating!

Ur story is awesome. I think the 116 dollars a year should be the deductible. I know there are always people that take advantage of the system. I have done it before but I also thinks it sucks for the real problems we get screwed out of with deductibles on top of monthly premium charges.
They should consider your premium as the deductible unless its more than once a year. I can understand water damage or lost/stolen. I just don't think physical problems should be cause for deductible.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

Sunsparc said:
If the charging port is pulled clean from the board, solder joints intact, then it's covered under the known issue.
If the solder joints are broken and circuit board is peeled, it's damaged beyond repair.
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+1
The "damaged beyond repair" can be argued as long as there's no obvious signs of abuse and if cust. service gets involved, we both know that we're ordering a replacement for the customer.

Nice!
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They replaced mine for same problem for free. U were just getting dicked around and in turn u went to make trouble for no reason. You did fraud and wasted ur time and money.
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For fun I recently repaired an Evo 4g that had it's USB port violently removed / peeled away. Definitely not worth the time, but it was a fun after-work project!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1110886

Great fraud
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Who cares, insurance fraud or not. It's not insurance fraud if you not playing $7/mo for insurance in the first place. They should have just fixed it the first time he was in the store. Most of the people (techs) I've dealt with in the Sprint stores are complete idiots that won't even read Sprint's policies on Sprint.com. :|

I can tell you the store I worked at, all of our techs had 4+ years experience, knew everything, and made sure we knew what we needed to know as well.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fraud
yes its still fraud.

Alanmw86 said:
I can tell you the store I worked at, all of our techs had 4+ years experience, knew everything, and made sure we knew what we needed to know as well.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fraud
yes its still fraud.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HA ha ha
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Sprint EVO Replacement
I have been a customer of Sprint 12+ years and my experience with repair/replace of devices seems pretty typical. Some repair centers have treated me fine and one other consistently work at screwing me over. As with all new devices, there are manufacturer issues which have nothing to do with the user (bad screens, charging ports, non-functioning buttons etc.). As a corporate customer I always had a rep that would take care of an issue even if the local operation couldn't/wouldn't. I have not abused their staff nor have I abused my equipment in any way, I still have a perfect functioning Samsung i300, PPC6600 and Touch (Don't ask why I keep them around, I don't know). Each one of these needed some repair over the 2+ years I had them activated. Sprint has had many repairs centers around Metro Atlanta over the years, closing or consolidating and re-opening them from time to time. It has been my experience that you have to avoid some repair centers, those that take your device out back and come back to you withing 10 minutes with the "Wet" battery story - I have never had any of my devices ever get water or moisture on them except one and I willingly paid the deductible for that one. Recently I had the not charging issue on my EVO purchased June 4, 2010, 9+ months. Because I had to take it to the local/nearest repair center which I had problems with in the past I was apprehensive but confident I had done nothing wrong or abused the device. The tech took it out back, came back 45 minutes later and informed me that I had abused the charging port on the device and that it had come unsolder-ed and would have to go through Assurance to replace it, to which I asked her to show me. I insisted that was a defect as opposed to abuse and got nowhere. It took some insistence that I believed I should not have to pay ANY deductible. She ask her superior and was granted a one time exception to their policy to replace my (Abused, according to her) device. I have since then gone to what was my local Sprint store with my son for a new phone. This store, near our mall had closed and the independent repair center a half mile away had taken over the Sprint space. I recognized an employee who had previously worked in that store for Sprint and we stuck up the conversation about my recent repair and the trouble I had. He informed me that Sprint was well aware of the charging port issue and if I had brought it there there wouldn't have been any problem replacing it at all. He checked my device and discovered that the battery had become over heated and swollen, most likely due to the charging port problems. He ordered a new one at no charge as Sprint was aware of this also.
Moral of the story, sometimes you may have drive to a different repair center or take unscrupulous measures or insistence to get a problem resolved with big companies who aren't able or willing to do the right thing on their own, Sprint being no exception.

This charging port issue, which mine phone has, is another reason I'm leery about getting another HTC phone. I think the quality of their phones is highly overrated.

Everyone keeps saying that the broken charger port is a known issue with Sprint, but I recently did not have any success from this angle.
I took my phone to a local Sprint repair store and the tech opened the phone and said my charger port had came off the motherboard. It looked like a clean solder break to me, and he said he wasn't allowed to fix it and it wasn't covered.
I then called customer service and they also said it would not be covered by warranty. I mentioned that this is supposed to be a known issue with HTC EVOs and they said it wasn't. I spoke with her supervisor, and she also insisted that it was not a known issue. I then spoke with another supervisor who insisted this wasn't a known issue.
Is there something that I'm doing wrong? How can I get them to acknowledge this?