guidance needed based upon problem with Curve that does not fall within the warranty
- I purchased a Blackberry Curve with AT&T on December 5, 2007, on a two-year contract.
Yesterday (Thursday), I was unable to charge my phone. Today, I took it by the AT&T store from where I purchased it. The sales associate noticed that the charging port was missing one of the five prongs (for lack of a beter word). She told me to call the AT&T customer service number (1-800-801-1101) tell the person I spoke with that the phone would not charge. I told the young lady answering the phone that it would not charge and she was going to send me a battery. I then told her about the problem with the charging port. After placing me on hold for apporxiamtely three minutes to consult a supervisor, she came back on the line and told that my situation would constitute damage to the phone and would not be covered by warranty. So be it.
The AT&T coverage is fine where I live. However, in my work, I travel often to three surrounding counties. I get no coverage in two of them. In the third one, the one in which the office in which I work is located, I get converage within the city limits, but generally not in the county.
So I am going to have to get a new phone.
I have really grown to love the Blackbery Curve. I do hate the thought of spending a lot more money for a new one, though. I guess the only thing I would change about it for it to have a 2.0, rather than a 1.3 megapixel camera.
Should I buy one off E-Bay?
Thanks.05-09-08 04:08 PMLike 0 - Alltel has great service coverage. I'm not sure if you have a store in the area that you live... but alltel is the first CDMA carrier to have the CURVE, and it in fact, does have a 2.0 megapixel camera. If what you want is coverage and a better camera, I would switch carriers instead of wasting your money paying for something that isn't working all the time.05-09-08 04:13 PMLike 0
- Reed McLayRetired Moderator...noticed that the charging port was missing one of the five prongs ...
Universal Serial Bus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The USB port actually makes connection on top of that black piece. The dot are a result of the mass production process.
Try a battery exchange first. I suspect that is the culprit, particularly with an older device.Last edited by Stoner; 05-09-08 at 04:21 PM.
05-09-08 04:17 PMLike 0 - Pete6Retired ModeratorYou may want to consider buying a charging cradle for it. If you look on the back of your phone, there are two gold contacts and these are used to charge the phone by standing it in the cradle shown here. This may eliminate the need for buying another phone.
Do not buy a cradle like this. This cradle uses the USB connector to charge which is useless to you.
It may then be that you can charge your phone via the cradle and still sync it via the USB port.
If ou are feeling really brave, you can buy a new USB connector here.
All is not lost here, repairs and work arounds are possibly available.
I am surprised that this particular problem has not come up before because the mini-USB connector is a horrible little thing and really is not up to daily phone charging. The cradle is a far better, long term solution.
I have bought 3 Blackberrys from ebay. One of these I have since sold.
I have nothing to do with the products I have posted links for. They are shown as examples only.05-09-08 04:32 PMLike 0 - Alltel has great service coverage. I'm not sure if you have a store in the area that you live... but alltel is the first CDMA carrier to have the CURVE, and it in fact, does have a 2.0 megapixel camera. If what you want is coverage and a better camera, I would switch carriers instead of wasting your money paying for something that isn't working all the time.
I live in Cookeville, Tennessee, and it looks like the nearest Alltel store is in Tompkinsville, Kentucky. It would be about an hour and ten minute away from me.
It would cost me $175 to cancel my contract.05-09-08 04:33 PMLike 0 - Alltel has great service coverage. I'm not sure if you have a store in the area that you live... but alltel is the first CDMA carrier to have the CURVE, and it in fact, does have a 2.0 megapixel camera. If what you want is coverage and a better camera, I would switch carriers instead of wasting your money paying for something that isn't working all the time.
I am ashamed to say that my knowledge of phones is so limited that I am unfamiliar with the term "CDMA".05-09-08 04:36 PMLike 0 - I hate to say it, but you should have told the CSR on the phone that you've already tried another battery, which didn't help, and left out the part about the port. Try calling back and hope they didn't denote the account of the damage. You could get lucky. I say to do this because the charge port issues are probably not your fault. Blackberries are notorious for weak miniUSB ports and the more that go back to RIM with this problem, the more it'll force RIM to change their design. It's a weakpoint, why should you have to pay for it, especially since you didn't cause the damage on purpose.
Play dumb. Tell them you've tried another charger and another battery, still won't charge.05-09-08 04:36 PMLike 0 - Pete6Retired Moderator
The fix on a Blackberry is so simple too. All they have to do is to recess the connector a couple of mm and then use the plastic case to support the original Blackberry USB cable. I have seen several devices that do this and it works well.
I support the use of a USB connector as it is universal. I don't like the leverage that the phone and the molded cable puts on the fragile connector.
RIM will argue that they make a charging cradle that eliminates the this weakness. However they should really supply one in the box with the phone for this to be effective.05-09-08 04:45 PMLike 0 - What they need is reinforcement on the port itself where it is placed on the circuitboard. There needs to be a high-strength plastic or metal cage which hold it in place on the circuitboard. I've seen a lot of electronic devices that do this and have no issues with the ports. RIM mistake is that they just soldered the port on and left it. There's no rigidity in there at all. All support is done by the port cage itself and the solder points.... lame.05-09-08 04:53 PMLike 0
- Pete6Retired ModeratorYes, we are pretty much saying the same thing. Unless the plastic surrounding the male connector is supported it will always put too much force on the immobile circuit board connector. The connector alone can never support the connector by soldering alone. Solder is too soft and fractures too easily and the metal surround of the connectore either breaks or, breaks the board. Seen it too often.05-09-08 05:47 PMLike 0
- Yep, but think about it. The same guys that made this port design mistake are the same brainiacs that decided to make the trackball out of absorbant plastic.... so it gets dirty. Boneheads I tell ya....05-09-08 08:02 PMLike 0
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I do not possess a strong vocabulary with regard to cell phone parts. What I am attempting to describe is the opening in the phone at which the end of the charger is placed into. I see four apparently gold-colored "dots" there that are within apparently a black piece of plastic in that hole. There appears to a be a spot on that black piece of plastic for a fifth "dot". However, the opening for that "dot" is empty. When I have tried to charge my phone the end of the charger now fits loosely rather than snugly into that hole. Yesterday, was the first time I ever noticed such a loose fit.
Thanks so much for any help you can give me.05-09-08 09:01 PMLike 0 - I hate to say it, but you should have told the CSR on the phone that you've already tried another battery, which didn't help, and left out the part about the port. Try calling back and hope they didn't denote the account of the damage. You could get lucky. I say to do this because the charge port issues are probably not your fault. Blackberries are notorious for weak miniUSB ports and the more that go back to RIM with this problem, the more it'll force RIM to change their design. It's a weakpoint, why should you have to pay for it, especially since you didn't cause the damage on purpose.
Play dumb. Tell them you've tried another charger and another battery, still won't charge.
I did nothing (that I know of) to cause whatever damage has been done to the mini-USB port.05-09-08 09:15 PMLike 0 -
Thanks.05-09-08 09:30 PMLike 0 - If you go back to the first page of the thread, there were links posted for you to go purchase the accessories...
EDIT
Click this link
http://forums.crackberry.com/f52/gui...t-fall-within-05-09-08 09:34 PMLike 0 - If you go back to the first page of the thread, there were links posted for you to go purchase the accessories...
EDIT
Click this link
http://forums.crackberry.com/f52/gui...t-fall-within-
I will go back and use the links contained in the post of Pete6. I had read the post of Pete6, but had forgotten to use the links.05-09-08 10:35 PMLike 0 - You may want to consider buying a charging cradle for it. If you look on the back of your phone, there are two gold contacts and these are used to charge the phone by standing it in the cradle shown here. This may eliminate the need for buying another phone.
Do not buy a cradle like this. This cradle uses the USB connector to charge which is useless to you.
It may then be that you can charge your phone via the cradle and still sync it via the USB port.
If ou are feeling really brave, you can buy a new USB connector here.
All is not lost here, repairs and work arounds are possibly available.
I am surprised that this particular problem has not come up before because the mini-USB connector is a horrible little thing and really is not up to daily phone charging. The cradle is a far better, long term solution.
I have bought 3 Blackberrys from ebay. One of these I have since sold.
I have nothing to do with the products I have posted links for. They are shown as examples only.
Thanks so much Pete6.
I am on my office computer and its filter does not allow me to use the first two (2) links. However, the link to a webpage the allows the purchase of a new mini-USB port for $4.99 did work. It would take a lot of work for me to learn how to replace one. I would love to learn, though. When I get home, I will use the first two (2) links while on my home computer.05-09-08 10:42 PMLike 0 - Here is a link to the charge pod in the Crackberrystore, i would recommend buying from here, instead of saving a few bucks on ebay, because the customer service is IMPECCABLE.
BlackBerry Charging Pod for Curve 8330, Curve 8320, Curve 8310, Curve 8300 - ShopCrackBerry
If you look next to your battery cover release, you will see 2 gold contacts.
If you look at the cradle, you will see those same 2 contacts.
Only issue would be, no way to use the Desktop Manager, sync calendar or contacts, unless you are on a BES, and its OTA, as the DM needs a USB connection.05-09-08 10:52 PMLike 0 - Here is a link to the charge pod in the Crackberrystore, i would recommend buying from here, instead of saving a few bucks on ebay, because the customer service is IMPECCABLE.
BlackBerry Charging Pod for Curve 8330, Curve 8320, Curve 8310, Curve 8300 - ShopCrackBerry
If you look next to your battery cover release, you will see 2 gold contacts.
If you look at the cradle, you will see those same 2 contacts.
Only issue would be, no way to use the Desktop Manager, sync calendar or contacts, unless you are on a BES, and its OTA, as the DM needs a USB connection.
I am a little confused about only purchasing the charging pod. I see that there is a Blackberry Power Station ( BlackBerry Power Station for Curve 8330, Curve 8320, Curve 8310, Curve 8300 - ShopCrackBerry ) available. Wouldn't I need to get that?05-10-08 12:04 AMLike 0 - Pete6Retired ModeratorThanks.
I am a little confused about only purchasing the charging pod. I see that there is a Blackberry Power Station ( BlackBerry Power Station for Curve 8330, Curve 8320, Curve 8310, Curve 8300 - ShopCrackBerry ) available. Wouldn't I need to get that?
The whole idea here is that you use the cradle that charges via the two gold contacts at the back of the phone rather than via the USB port. For this reason I gave you two ebay links to the right one to buy and the wrong one. If you compare the two devices, you will see that the correct one has no connection to the USB port. The other is just a bit of plastic with a USB extension cable in it. This model is touted as being 'better' because it both charges and syncs. However you cannot now charge thru' the USB port so don't buy that device.
You existing wall charger will plug right into the back of the new device. Another way to think of it is just as an adapter.05-10-08 05:37 AMLike 0 - The whole idea here is that you use the cradle that charges via the two gold contacts at the back of the phone rather than via the USB port. For this reason I gave you two ebay links to the right one to buy and the wrong one. If you compare the two devices, you will see that the correct one has no connection to the USB port. The other is just a bit of plastic with a USB extension cable in it. This model is touted as being 'better' because it both charges and syncs. However you cannot now charge thru' the USB port so don't buy that device.
You existing wall charger will plug right into the back of the new device. Another way to think of it is just as an adapter.
Thanks once again Pete6.
Your last sentence cleared tings up for me. I wasn't understanding prior to that sentence that my existing wall charger would plug into the back of the charging cradle.
I am still unhappy, unhappy, that this issue isn't covered through my warranty. Also, AT&T doesn't offere insurance on Blackberrys.
A big thank you from Tennessee to you Pete6.05-10-08 01:01 PMLike 0 - Pete6Retired ModeratorHopefully when you order the adapter cradle arrives, you will be able to charge your phone once more.
As to the insurance, I can well understand your annoyance. The problem is, imo, partially poor design by not reinforcingg the USB conector surround, partially RIM not putting the adapter cradle that you are probably going to order in the box with the phone from new and, partly harsh usage over time.
Insurance companies make what crawled out of the primeval swamp look like velco in comarision.
Once you have solved your charging problem you should try synchronizing with Outlook. With luck, it will work fine.05-10-08 01:08 PMLike 0
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guidance needed based upon problem with Curve that does not fall within the warranty
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