1. BB10FTW's Avatar
    I remember dealing with my wife's Playbook that died. She had left it off of the charger to long and it died when we were asleep. I tried for hours and hours over 3 days and couldn't get it to work. I did stack charging. I left it plugged in for hours. I did everything that anyone who has ever dealt with this recommended and still nothing. So after giving up and saying numerous swears I put it on the table and left it. About a week goes by and I have forgotten about it but my wife decided to try charging it again and BOOM! First time plugging it in it starts up. I don't know why or how but do not give up if nothing seems to be working. There is hope for you yet.
    12-14-12 05:21 PM
  2. jamesharmeling's Avatar
    We need Timezone info and _I_ only do decafe the other stuff keeps me awake all night. Ah, the OLD days when I'd have a double espresso at 11pm and head off to bed a bit later! I did just purchase 3 pounds of Starbucks' Christmas blend, on sale, for my espresso machine - DECAFE!
    Decaf?!? I've always wondered who drinks that stuff. Ew! But I digress....
    12-14-12 05:25 PM
  3. mapsonburt's Avatar
    Kris, follow this. You'll get it going in the least amount of time and heart ache... for sure.

    http://forums.crackberry.com/blackbe...ml#post7744233

    Good luck and Merry Christmas! Getting a PlayBook for $78 is quite the present!
    12-14-12 05:26 PM
  4. Kris Garvey's Avatar
    I am really trying to find a keyboard that will be very portable, small is fine. It's just for emails and such, I have a laptop for writing longer stuff. I do HAVE a purple fold case with a small white USB keyboard inside. If that works, that will be perfect, because I don't have another use for it now.
    12-15-12 10:08 AM
  5. JWBison's Avatar
    The only time I've had the blinking red light issue it was a dead battery, left it on the Playbook specific USB charger for 24 hours, good as new!
    12-15-12 10:34 AM
  6. jpash549's Avatar
    The Playbook has an onscreen keyboard which is adequate for short emails and writing short reports in the provided Docs to Go. For longer messages you can compose them in Docs to Go and copy and paste in your email. Before you worry too much about spending money on a keyboard you ought to try to see whether you can live without it. Download the manual and Discover Now! 2.0 and use the Help to get answers to most of your questions. And be careful to plug the micro USB charging plug in correctly with the correct side up. First thing look in the USB port using a small flashlight to see if it is OK.

    My typing was not great on this post but then I'm using my N7 not the BBPB.
    Last edited by jpash549; 12-15-12 at 11:08 PM.
    12-15-12 10:54 PM
  7. Kris Garvey's Avatar
    Okay Folks, so you've asked that I update you on the minute this shiny black magic slab came into my hands. Here I have it, the greatly anticipated Playbook, at last! I was rather sadly disappointed by the packaging material, and the wall charger (which looks to be generic to me, no RIM anywhere on it) thrown into the envelope. But as soon as I unwrapped the scotch-taped plastic bubbles, which truly was as good as any Christmas morning I've ever had, I was delighted with the tablet. It's size, weight, and design, not too shiny and polished, and not too dull and dusty. I am in love with the rubberized back, which feels even more high-quality than the similar material on the back of my Nook. The BB logo design is exceptional. I am impressed with how thin the PB is, and also how much lighter it is than the cheap Android tab I had returned to China.
    Now, I've taken several pics of the PB, the damage, and the generic charger, and the box to my new RIM Charging Pod. I will see if I can figure out posting these pics, but in the meantime...
    I noticed that it looked like the guy tried to pry off the screen, which you can see in one pic. Other than that spot on the edge, and a few light screen flaws, I don't see much cosmetic damage. I find his description a little interesting, not to mention a grammar and punctuation nightmare! What do you think?
    ""DOES NOT TURN ON! WHEN I PLUG IN THE TABLET A RED LIGHT INDICATOR TURNS ON, AND THEN TURNS OFF SECONDS LATER!
    AND FROM TIME TO TIME IF YOU UNPLUG IT, IT WILL BLINK YELLOW A FEW TIMES!
    NOT 100% SURE AS TO WHY THIS IS HAPPENING, WAS WORKING JUST FINE, PREVIOUSLY
    THE SCRATCHES ON THE SCREEN ARE VERY LIGHT AND VERY VERY MINOR!
    INCLUDES CHARGER!!
    S/N: 1343-2145-3463
    MODEL: RDJ2IWW
    FREE SHIPPING!!!""

    As I may or may not have mentioned before, he said he did not have a PIN, and he also seemed pretty sure it was doomed and there was no way to fix it.
    I am obviously hoping it DOES get fixed, because also kind of poking fun at him for getting a good PB for such a low price would be funny, it might make him re-think trying to sell what he basically thought was a fancy paperweight. BUT, it goes without saying that if I can't fix it and he never hears of my victory of being able to fix it, he may continue to try and sell useless broken electronics to unsuspecting buyers. He seems to have quite a stockpile in his ebay store.
    That aside, I have NOT yet turned it on, or tried to. I also have NOT yet plugged it in, because the generic wall charger looks pretty cheap to me and I would much rather be safe and use a charger that will work for sure. Does anyone know if this brand new Charging Pod will work for that? I am currently working at getting the mysterious gunk out of the mini HDMI port. I have added some pics, hopefully they show up now.

    Awaiting your wisdom, fellow Crackers!
    Attached Thumbnails Did I Do Something Stupid???-bbplaypkg1.jpg   Did I Do Something Stupid???-bbplaypkg3.jpg   Did I Do Something Stupid???-bbplaycharge1.jpg  
    12-17-12 08:50 PM
  8. beman39's Avatar
    ok just a few quick questions...my first question being, did the seller show pictures of the damage to the bezel on the corner or even mention that? Cuzz that looks like it was pried open or someone TRIED to pry it open...secondly was it even mentioned in the description of the damage? cuzz that doesn't look good to me...since you have the dock why haven't you tried to charge it to see if you can power it on, or it does like the seller described? I'm thinking the seller wasn't very forthcoming about the condition it is in, and is grounds for a reimbursement!! because I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I think you got ripped off... I sincerely hope not!

    edit: also seeing the pic of the power supply I hope he got the polarity correct on it cuzz if he didnt then he probably fried the mother board or battery! its one of those replacement power supply you get from radio shack and you have to plug those in properly to make sure it is the right polarity...which is why it is giving you the blinking red light because the seller probably fried it
    12-17-12 09:31 PM
  9. Kris Garvey's Avatar
    NO he didn't mention the damage. He also didn't mention it being a generic charger. I will file a claim with ebay see if I can get my money back.
    I haven't done anything to it, because many people who replied here seem to think they can help me get it fixed, and also they wanted me to post as soon as I got the package. IF there's any way to get it fixed myself, I would love to try! Otherwise I will have to wait and try to save for another one that's not damaged I guess...
    12-17-12 09:57 PM
  10. beman39's Avatar
    well try all the stacking charging methods using the dock that CB suggests or the DEBRICK method, DO NOT USE THE CHARGER PROVIDED WITH THE DEVICE! if and when all of that doesn't work then I would start a claim with ebay/paypal! but don't wait to long! I hope it all works out for you in the end though...
    12-17-12 10:04 PM
  11. FF22's Avatar
    I have a question - is it the photograph or does it have a silver frame around pb?

    I suggest placing it on the charging pod and leaving it 2-3 hours. See if it turns on? Then try the stack charging method if you can properly seat it in the pod, charge and UNPLUG from the wall in a short series of charges. Unplugging at the wall, allows it to stay seated/aligned in the pod. Obviously, you will have no way to determine if it is getting any juice but try it. Otherwise, try finding a real pb charger like the third in the image.



    Here's Mapsonburt's latest wisdom:

    "Mapsonburt:

    The PlayBook OS currently shuts down at 3.5 volts. When the battery gets below 2.67V it won't show power lights or even try to start because there isn't enough juice to even power the processor to run the code on the BIOS. The BIOS is software hard coded on a chip within the PlayBook that tells it how to load the PlayBook OS and is coded such that it only recognizes signed PlayBook boot images (which is why it is so hard to root and that nobody has been able to get one to boot Android or WebOS. The BIOS software also contains some charging algorithms for when the OS is not running - ie device is powered off but plugged into a charging source. This code ONLY runs when the battery is above 2.67 volts because the processor can't run below that.

    The root of the problem is that this design issue prevents the device from accepting any charge longer than 60 seconds when the battery is too low to run the charging algorithms on the BIOS or on the OS (one runs before the device is powered on and one runs afterwards). RIM did this because Lithium Ion batteries have a nasty habit of catching fire if not charged properly so they wanted to ensure that the processor could be in control of the charging. Makes perfect sense and they probably thought they were avoiding situations like where early Li Ion batteries on laptops were catching on fire. The problem is they were a bit too aggressive in dealing with the problem at design stage. If the battery is below 2.67Volts their protective algorithms can't run but you also can't put enough charge into the battery to charge it! Hence all the reports of people having success with stack charging.

    Unfortunately there are a lot of wrong ways to do this floating around out there and getting repeated everyone someone posts a new thread on the issue. It really should be made a sticky. What is the right way?

    1) ONLY use a source that provides 1.7Amps or more of charge. The original charger provides this. The rapid chargers provide a lot more. Your phone charger only provides a fraction of this. Anything less is going to take forever to charge the battery above 2.67 volts and may not have enough juice to charge the battery AT ALL once the processor starts to run above 2.67Volts or even worse once the OS starts to run above 3.5Volts. Forget about using your computer to charge it when the OS isn't running as the computer looks for the hardware to identify itself and won't put out a full charge current unless the device indicates it can accept. Once the OS is running, you'd often CAN get enough power from the USB on the computer but that is because the OS has signaled it is OK for the computer to send it. When the OS/BIOS isn't running, the PlayBook won't take much/any charge from a computer. The rapid chargers are best as they quickly charge but more importantly do not use the (too) flimsy USB port. A lot of problems are caused by this port getting wobbly over time and the device not getting a charge at all. Everyone should have a rapid charger.

    2) Until you get your device WELL above the 3.5Volts that let's the PlayBook boot, do NOT try to start it. Every attempt drags the battery down some more and that attempt sucks much more charge from the battery than you can put in in those 60 seconds before the hardware shuts down the charging. How can you tell where your battery is? Well if you are getting no lights on the playbook on your first charging attempt you are below 2.67volts. If lights go on and then it doesn't start the OS it is below 3.5Volts. If it loads the OS and then dies it is just above 3.5Volts. If the device loads the OS it is somewhere below 5.0Volts. Depending upon where you start (how low the battery is) various techniques work best. They are: REAL stack charging (plug in for 60 seconds, unplug, plug in for 60 seconds, repeat until the processor starts accepting charging (the big battery symbol on the screen). Again, DO NOT try to turn the device on until then. You are just working against yourself and it will take much longer. You should get the charging symbol within 20-45 minutes of repeated REAL stack charging. Forget you ever heard of plugging in for 2 mins and then off for 2 mins and similar as those 2 mins of off time are COMPLETELY worthless. I have put a multimeter on the PlayBook in this state and it NEVER takes more than a minute of charge when under 2.67volts but will accept another minute of charge after a short (1-2 second) disconnection. Just do it right.

    3) Once you see that charging screen leave it plugged in to the charger (stop stack charging) for at least an hour before you try to start the PlayBook. If you don't you may end up in a situation where the attempt to start drags that battery back down below 2.67V and you have start stack charging again. Be patient, you are almost there!

    4) Fully charge your Playbook after this to ensure your PlayBook gets back to 100%.

    Unfortunately, there isn't a lot RIM can do about this now. It's a hardware design issue. I'd be interested in knowing if the fixed it with the 4G versions. I don't think I've ever seen that complaint with one of those but I've "fixed" both of mine a few times (the kids keep trying to power them on after letting them shut down on low battery despite me saying time RUN not walk and put it on a rapid charger when ever it hits the flashing red battery signal (9%). I've also helped many friends and people on the web and NOBODY who has followed the instructions has failed to get their PlayBook to charge.

    I'm convinced this fault is the reason so many PlayBooks are returned to the stores and through RMA. RIM has been very good about this but it should never have happened. Happy Charging!


    ........................
    The battery is likely below 2.65 volts. That happens if the PlayBook has sat for a while. Plug your charger into the playbook (make sure it's the stock charger and not a computer or other charger as you need to pump in lots of amps - more than 1.7amps - the more the better). The rapid charger is even better as it can go to 5 amps.

    LEAVE the charger plugged into your PlayBook. Unplug it from the wall (to save the fragile micro-USB port) every minute for a few seconds and plug back in. You'll see lots of references on the web to plug in for 2 minutes and unplug for 2 minutes. Ignore those. I took the PlayBook apart and put a multimeter on mine when it was doing this. If the battery is below 2.65 volts, the PlayBook charging circuit charges for about 1 minute and then shuts down. NO AMOUNT of continued charging makes any difference. As soon as you unplug it (at the wall) and power it back up, it will take charge again for another 45-60 seconds. Repeat.

    Keep doing that for as long as it takes to get the screen to show the charging display. If it is just below 2.65volts, it will take somewhere between 20-45 minutes as the battery only takes a little bit of charge each cycle and you need to get that voltage up over 2.65 volts (at which point it will show the charging display and take a full charge). It may take more... but keep at it. Every time you plug it in for 60 seconds, you are adding a bit more power to the battery.

    DO NOT try to power the device on until the device has a full charge. You will just risk getting it into a situation where it can't fully boot before it drags the charge down below 2.65 volts again and you'll have to start all over.

    This works... and saves you from having to jump start it like I did the first time I got mine into this situation. "
    Attached Thumbnails Did I Do Something Stupid???-playbookchargers3.jpg  
    TOphotog likes this.
    12-17-12 10:04 PM
  12. Kris Garvey's Avatar
    F2, thanks for the info. I had bookmarked that tutorial when 'mapsonburt' had replied to my OP on this thread. Also, I do have the Charging Dock, which is why I posted the pics. I had it before I ever got the PB. I will try following your info and also looking for tutorials on YouTube, just to be safe. Do you know if I need to have the dock plugged in for any length of time before charging? Do I still need to do this stacking charge even with the rapid charger??
    I also just tried cleaning a tiny bit of junk from the magnetic docking port on my PB, but it was not perfect. I think it was a tiny speck of rust or something...
    12-17-12 10:32 PM
  13. EdY's Avatar
    Excellent post on stack-charging! Explains a lot of the science behind it.

    However, one other "presentation" of this charging problem I've seen happened on a friend's Playbook, which I fixed. Goes like this (on OS 2.1):

    Playbook shows red battery "charge me" icon with lightning bolt through it. Plug into wall for hours and hours, still won't charge or boot. You press power button, screen goes on a few seconds, shows nice battery icon with lightning bolt, then screen goes off. Nothing more.

    So it must be ABOVE the 2.67 volt mark because there is enough juice to turn on the LCD and display a graphic, which I presume must be using the processor. I think this is RIM's way of dealing with the hardware issue, to have some micro-OS running just to show the battery icon to keep people from really getting it too low?

    Anyways, the fix:

    Open the back of the Playbook (yes open it) and unplug battery, then plug back in. Immediately the Playbook begins to boot!!! (before you even have a chance to close it back up). Then proceed to charge it once booted.

    What explains that? Any ideas? Had to fix a friend's Playbook this way. Not the easiest to open up, but can do it without a scratch or trace using plastic tools.

    Sent from my BlackBerry 9810 using Crackberry Tapatalk Forum app
    12-17-12 10:51 PM
  14. thecsman's Avatar
    There is something I noticed when recharging from zero/death playbook. I had to plug it into my macbook usb port as it apparently provides enough charge to trigger trickle charge in the playbook and start a debrick or clean startup.
    12-17-12 10:51 PM
  15. Kris Garvey's Avatar
    Hey guys, I thought it was worth mentioning that I may have a solution. I also got in the mail today this portable 'power bank' charger. I of course got it to use with my PB, but also to use when on the road and in need of a charge. Here's the link to it: Amazon.com: Oxford Street Black 3.7v 12000mah Portable Power Bank External Battery Pack For Apple Ipad, Iphone , Itouch , Ipod,gps , Pda , Psp & Mobile Phones: Cell Phones & Accessories
    Now, obvious question: Will this work better for getting this PB charged up? I have my 'rapid charging dock' plugged in, but if there is a poss. way to use the power bank instead, is it worth trying? Of course I was going to return the power bank, because once I got it, in it's cheap generic, brandless Chinese language box, and saw all the dozen little el-cheap-o 'converters' it came with, I went back online and saw one single review on a tech site my dad and I use, saying that it did not work and got super hot. I thought if I could use the USB to Micro USB cord I already got with my android phone, and use that to connect the power bank to my Playbook, then maybe it would work better than a regular charger? Let me know if I should try this!
    12-17-12 10:52 PM
  16. FF22's Avatar
    There have been on and off again threads on devices like that in the past. I don't know anything about them.

    Some folks have said that the rapid chargers can be used for stack charging. I have to be honest, while I've posted numerous times about the various methods, fortunately, I've not had to employ them.

    No reason for it to sit there unless you intend to purchase the official usb-charger. But you can't do any harm trying the dock. It is either already DEAD or it can be revived. YOU canNOT kill it more!
    12-17-12 11:34 PM
  17. Kris Garvey's Avatar
    Ok guys, put the PB on the dock at 12:30am. First showed a red light for a few secs, then the red battery graphic a few secs, repeat 3x. Then it went to the slow blinking yellow light. Such as it is now....
    12-17-12 11:43 PM
  18. Kris Garvey's Avatar
    The Playbook has ARRIVED! Or should I say the PB's BRAIN has arrived!?
    It has only been on the rapid charging dock for less than HALF an hour, NO 'stack charging'! OMFG, I am SOOOOO happy!!!
    I have set the time and stuff and it is now asking me to sign in. Do you know if I can create my account on my laptop and then sign in, or do I have to directly use the PB?
    You know that feeling some of you got as little kids, when you came out on Christmas morning and saw TONS of pretty presents under the tree? I feel like that but about x100!! *dances*
    Ok, so I am going to look up online if I can set up an account. After closing ALL the YouTube and forum tabs on my browser from looking up a *solution*! Who knew it was so EASY?
    Should I go gloat and show off now to that guy on ebay? LOL
    12-18-12 12:06 AM
  19. Kris Garvey's Avatar
    UPDATE: Finished the PB prompts for creating my account. Now it is sitting on the screen "Battery Level Critically Low" and it is still on the charging dock. Is there supposed to be some kind of light indicator? How do I know it is still charging? It's telling me now to "connect tablet to a power source" and shows the red battery at 0% for about 10 mins now... I plan on leaving it to charge all night. I am supposed to be up and going out at 10am, so maybe I should hit the sack. And have happy magical Playbook dreams...
    YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN AMAZING! I love all the support I got and I hope I can stay a part of the Crackberry comm for a long time. Happy holiday!
    12-18-12 12:21 AM
  20. 9of13's Avatar
    the playbook needs to be at 20% to set up.
    12-18-12 12:30 AM
  21. djenkins6's Avatar
    If it charged at first on the dock, and has now gone down, it's possible that while typing to set up you lost the connection. There are a whole bunch of threads on the pins on charging dock not connecting to the playbook. One pin may be slightly lower etc so check that and reseating the playbook on the charger. If the playbook is on it should show the lightning bolt through the battery at top right while charging. It's best to have around 20% power during initial setup if it is updating the os to a new version.
    12-18-12 12:35 AM
  22. Angus_CB's Avatar
    The Playbook has ARRIVED! Or should I say the PB's BRAIN has arrived!?
    It has only been on the rapid charging dock for less than HALF an hour, NO 'stack charging'! OMFG, I am SOOOOO happy!!!
    I have set the time and stuff and it is now asking me to sign in.
    ...
    Pay attention to this part of the instructions F2 posted:
    DO NOT try to power the device on until the device has a full charge. You will just risk getting it into a situation where it can't fully boot before it drags the charge down below 2.65 volts again and you'll have to start all over.
    Chaddface likes this.
    12-18-12 04:35 AM
  23. Chaddface's Avatar
    Then it went to the slow blinking yellow light. Such as it is now....
    That indicates the PB is turned off and charging. If you get back to that point just leave it. When the light stays on that means the PB is fully charged.
    If you have the USB charger that comes with the PB then use that. It should take about 3 hours if your battery is low now. If you have a phone or other that uses a micro USB, make sure the charger works before spending too much time. Good luck.
    12-18-12 10:01 AM
  24. Kris Garvey's Avatar
    OKAY, UPDATE/REMINDER:

    So reading through your comments, noticed some of you were not sure what all I had or what I was doing. BEFORE the auction win, I already had a brand new unopened 'RIM Rapid Charging Dock'. I used this to achieve a power-on within half an hour. The ONLY thing I got WITH my PB was a cheap generic wall charger which the seller failed to mention. Once I saw it power ON (by itself) after using the rapid charge dock, it sat on the welcome/start screen asking for language etc. All I did was follow through some of the prompts and then let it DL new OS versions. I then left the PB on the charger ALL night and it was fully-charged. I have not had time to explore all features, however, I do have a few more Questions:
    1. Is it worth getting a skin, and if so, what kind and where?
    2. Best downloadable manual?
    3. What is the best native resolution and format for loading videos onto the PB?
    4. What about e-books and audio books?
    5. Link to the best 'apps', page?
    6. ANY MUST-HAVES for my first Playbook?

    Aaaand, the rest will wait. I am sitting here faceplanting and trying for an HOUR to read and update this thing! Neeeeeed sleep!!!
    12-18-12 10:20 PM
  25. jpash549's Avatar
    First must have is Battery Guru app to get enough battery data to see where you really are with your Playbook battery such as how many charges and what is the battery health. Then get the PB manual as a free download , Discover 2.0 Now! From the RIM site and use Help to access free info and helpful videos. As far as third party manuals they may have useful info but with system changes and B10 supposedly coming they get dated fairly quickly. As far as skins and covers you need to consider whether you have to remove them before putting your PB on your Dock Charger. I would probably carry it around in a plastic ziplock bag if I had nothing better. By the way how badly is your screen scratched? I would also consider getting a rapid travel charger if you can get one for < $25. See Amazon and eBay and maybe from a local store closeout.
    12-18-12 10:56 PM
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