[bronco26]

I have a hypothesis regarding the reboot issue on some of the reported reboot scenarios. Specifically, the people who report reboots at night while on charge, reboots after a charge cycle completes, and reboots shortly after using the phone with it just sitting there.This is partly based on a post by RADEoN1337 who came up with the idea of the battery losing connection due to heat generated by the battery and possible tolerance issues.I don't experience reboots but I am interested in helping solve the issue (it's what I do for a living). I work extensively with high voltage DC and can attest to the many heat issues which come with contact points and DC voltage sources.
The hypothesis involves the pin assembly which makes contact with the terminal pads on the battery. As everyone who uses the phone should know, under moderate to heavy use the battery can get quite warm. The battery will also get warm when you recharge it. Either scenario involves DC current flowing one way or the other to the battery. This current of course has to flow through the pins which make contact with the battery, i.e. the pins are going to get just as hot (perhaps even more so) as the battery. Every material has an associated coefficient of thermal expansion - this describes how much the material will expand with a change in temperature. Different materials will expand by a different amount with an equal change in temperature. The battery will expand and contract, the pins will expand and contract (diameter too), and the material surrounding and guiding the pins will expand and contract.So here is the scenario. Phone is drawing lots of current (or its is charging) and the battery gets hot. Due to thermal expansion, the battery grows in length. The pins are spring loaded so as the battery grows, the pins simply get pushed back into their sheath and everything is normal. Due to direct contact, (metal to metal) the pins are getting quite hot too, they also might be getting hot just from the contact point and the fact there is a DC current. User stops using the phone or charging is complete - the battery starts to cool/shrink. What if one the pins have expanded too (diameter) and now it is not moving freely and it gets hung up in sheath? The remaining three pins will push the battery away from the stuck pin as the battery cools. Loss of power and phone turns off. Pins eventually cool and then pin un-sticks and battery contact is made - phone reboots. If you place a battery in a Z10 this automatically boots phone, you don't have to press the ON button.
How about some volunteers who have have the charging or seemingly random reboots when not using phone. You would need a small quantity of dielectric grease. This is used in electrical switch gear for lubrication and to prevent oxidation. Should be reasonably easy to find. With the battery removed, a magnifying glass and a pin, apply a tiny amount of the grease around each of the sides of the battery connection pins and try to work it in a bit by pushing the pins in and out.
This might fix many of these types of reboots, certainly not all, as it appears to me there are a multitude of issues causing reboots.
Anyone willing?

[BB-04]

Well it is completly possible. I have had my phone randomly restart 3 times since I bought it about 2 months now and all three times it came off use where the battery was heating up. I have it shimmed and it seems to have fixed my problem. your idea may work better as i change batteries several times a week. I will try it out and let you know how it works.

[zippy88]

Except BlackBerry already indicated it's a software problem. They also indicated there are 2 separate software issues causing reboots.

Posted via CB10

[homl]

You might be on to something. A power interruption will knock down any system. Maybe swapping batteries might be the solution.

[bronco26]

It might very well turn out to be entirely a software problem, not saying it is not.
But, if I had a phone rebooting under circumstances I described, I would be trying what I suggested. My phone has never rebooted so applying the grease would not prove anything in my case.

[ibpluto]

Except BlackBerry already indicated it's a software problem. They also indicated there are 2 separate software issues causing reboots.

Posted via CB10

They did?

Can you show us where they said this

[--TommesJay--]

I'll just test it. I'll play Angry Birds which usually heats up the battery and then will stop and lay the phone aside and wait.

Posted via CB10

[bronco26]

Since I am at work and I have access to dielectric grease I decided to apply it anyways, even though I am not experiencing reboots.
I did notice that the pin under the + symbol was not exactly smooth sliding in and out. I could easily see where this just might be an issue on some units.

[gunner-az]

This idea has merit and is worth a look. It doesn't mesh well with my anectodal experience which is that I had a few reboots under the original OS provided by AT&T but have not known of a single reboot since AT&T issued an OS update about a week or two after the initial release of the Z10, but I'd still root for anybody that wanted to test it.