1. billsterjito's Avatar
    I'm an adult. And plug my phone and playbook in every day! Pay attention!
    esk369 and duhoh like this.
    09-21-12 11:41 PM
  2. jpash549's Avatar
    As BB9700 said, the PB does indeed use a different port then the phones. I think the idea is/was to allow USB OTG.
    So we should be calling it micro ab not micro b? Appears your illustration is inverted from the way we usually think of it with the top on the screen side. All this talk of lawyers. I hear the ambulance wail and the approach of class action. Also the HDMI port which is micro d I believe is shaped similarly to micro b. Any problems there?
    bungaboy likes this.
    09-21-12 11:52 PM
  3. trsbbs's Avatar
    They replaced my 9850 for a bad usb port. But then the carrier authorized it.

    I now use the quick charger for my PB. Thus less wear in the usb port.

    Tim.


    Sent from my BlackBerry 9850
    09-22-12 12:32 AM
  4. BennyX's Avatar
    The HDMI port on my Playbook crapped out less than a month after purchase, and I *always* make sure i'm plugging things in correctly, and gently. I barely even used it!

    So I just took it back to the store and exchanged for a new one. I honestly think RIM rushed the Playbook out wayyyy before it was ready.. and some corners were definitely cut during early manufacture. I'm sure improvements have been made since then, though.
    09-22-12 01:28 AM
  5. BerryClever's Avatar
    I don't believe my Playbook can be plugged in upside down. I sometimes plug it in at night without any lights to see what I am doing, and if it doesn't fit, I flip the plug around and then it fits. Are people jamming it in there? Or do some PlayBooks not have the trapezoid shape?

    BTW I have an orange plug one, are the black tipped ones not trapezoid shaped (Micro B, I guess) or something?
    09-22-12 01:44 AM
  6. greenberry666's Avatar
    Those long pins in the center of the usb slot look very very fragile. When I'm plugging it in I behave as though I'm doing brain surgery.

    Advice: don't do this while drunk.

    I think it is a design flaw as the user should not have to be that careful when plugging in a device.
    09-22-12 03:17 AM
  7. Broxster's Avatar
    In fairness to RIM they do state the plug must be inserted with the BB logo facing up.....imo a mini (not micro) usb port would have been a better option and also a seperate charging socket,i have a 5 year old nokia tablet with those features and have had no problems at all.In regard to RIM not fixing UK based customers items,its just not true....i know of several people who have had issues with BB phones and Playbooks......in all cases the item has been repaired or replaced.I'm pretty new to playbooks and only bought two a month ago but after reading about the plug issues i purchased the charging dock to save wear and tear on the plug.
    esk369 likes this.
    09-22-12 06:29 AM
  8. AcADIeN's Avatar
    my first post got deleted ? anyway I said in my first post that RIM did not design micro usb like the OP was trying to say, and saying that they have to fix their micro usb design in court will probably not hold up at all (it's not their design).

    asking for warranty when you broke it, it's like if you ride in a dirt road and screw up your paint on your car, and going back to the dealer saying that your paint is all screwed up and wanted to have a free repair, it's not their fault if you broke it.

    my kid are 15 - 12 and 4 years old, and they all use my playbook and plug it when needed. yes my 4 years old is able to plug the micro usb properly. it is very hard to screw up unless you force it up or down (like while holding on your lap, or trying to see the playbook in angle and then putting pressure on that cable) I'm pretty sure that's what happen (that's what happen with micro usb usually, people don't think about it, put pressure on the cable and snap, it crack the internal component).




    Designer : DEC, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, NEC and Nortel Date : 1996

    Those are the one that you should sue, because they created the micro usb




    PS: How much do they charge to repair your micro usb ?
    Last edited by AcADIeN; 09-22-12 at 06:49 AM.
    09-22-12 06:34 AM
  9. Fmar's Avatar
    If you are in the UK, contact Trading Standards. You'll have one local to you if you are.

    Customers are entitled to raise a problem with a supplier/retailer/manufacturer regarding a product for up to six years from the date of purchase (five years from the discovery of a problem in Scotland) regardless of the terms of any guarantee.

    Also products must be fit for purpose and last a reasonable length of time.

    It would do you no harm to google local office phone number, give them a ring and they will take your case on for free if you have just cause.

    Only if in UK.
    Last edited by Fmar; 09-22-12 at 07:11 AM.
    esk369 likes this.
    09-22-12 07:00 AM
  10. pickles#WP's Avatar
    No other (branded) [microUSB] device allows you to insert it in upside down.
    What evidence do you have to support this?
    09-22-12 07:10 AM
  11. bgdickinson's Avatar
    What evidence do you have to support this?
    I bought a 32 gig Playbook in March 2012. In June or July the USB port stopped working for both charging and data transfer. I called customer service and after a very nice lady asked me to try a dozen different things, she asked me to look at the USB port and was the widest side on the top or bottom. When I told her the answer ( i forget which way it was), she informed me that the USB plub was upside down, and that after time a solder connect would come loose. She further said the BlackBerry symbol should be face up. I checked my to BB Curves and sure enough. She told me they had a bad batch of quality control, and I had a refurbished Play door delivered in 2 days.

    Perhaps people, instead of blaming the user, check the port. This board is very quick to tell people they (or as in this case FAMILY) damaged the unit.

    So folks ..... flame away

    Brian
    09-22-12 07:40 AM
  12. pickles#WP's Avatar
    Brian, you didn't read the post right. I asked what evidence did he have that no other device could have the plug inserted upside down. I am glad you got a replacement. I think the op would have gotten one too in the same circumstances. However, he likely was not totally honest with RIM (he certainly wasn't forthcoming in his initial post here) and when he sent the PB in for repair (at RIM's expense) RIM's inspection determined the damage was not covered by the warranty.

    Given that many people here have had the repair free from RIM, we can only assume that they are not weaseling out of their warranty but found the PB, upon inspection, to be damaged beyond what was reasonable like the error made by you and others.

    No one is saying the design is good, just that it's not entirely RIM's fault. RIM instructs folks to insert the plug with its logo face up. People who force plugs in again and again in a way that doesn't initiate charging simply need to flip it over and try again, then note which side worked. That's what I did after a couple of misses.
    09-22-12 07:51 AM
  13. Broxster's Avatar
    Just had a look at my two Playbooks....the Playbook actually has type AB sockets but the charger has the B type plug.....if the PB itself had the socket to match the charger it couldn't be inserted wrongly.....where's my lawyer..lol
    09-22-12 07:58 AM
  14. anon(55900)'s Avatar
    09-22-12 08:01 AM
  15. anon(55900)'s Avatar
    And, Take a look inside the port and you should see a tab. It should be in the center of the port. Mine had bent to one side and the usb plug was missing one part of it and wouldn't work properly until I bent it back in the center with a small screwdriver. Now it's fine."
    http://forums.androidcentral.com/spr...t-damaged.html

    Michael aaaaaaaay
    09-22-12 08:10 AM
  16. Chaddface's Avatar
    And, Take a look inside the port and you should see a tab. It should be in the center of the port. Mine had bent to one side and the usb plug was missing one part of it and wouldn't work properly until I bent it back in the center with a small screwdriver. Now it's fine."
    http://forums.androidcentral.com/spr...t-damaged.html

    Michael aaaaaaaay
    That plastic tab with the contacts should be towards the bottom, not centered.
    09-22-12 08:12 AM
  17. anon(55900)'s Avatar
    And an interesting note taken off Wikipedia, The newer Micro-USB receptacles are designed for up to 10,000 cycles of insertion and removal between the receptacle and plug, compared to 1,500 for the standard USB and 5,000 for the Mini-USB receptacle. This is accomplished by adding a locking device and by moving the leaf-spring connector from the jack to the plug, so that the most-stressed part is on the cable side of the connection. This change was made so that the connector on the less expensive cable would bear the most wear instead of the more expensive micro-USB device.[25],
    Michael aaaaaaaay
    09-22-12 08:15 AM
  18. fabio984's Avatar
    I think you plugged wrong too. O know a guy who did it too. But he didnt broken it... Yet! Atfer that, im very carefull when plug the cable... Well, that cannot cost a lot of money to fix!

    Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk
    09-22-12 09:16 AM
  19. bungaboy's Avatar
    I bought a 32 gig Playbook in March 2012. In June or July the USB port stopped working for both charging and data transfer. I called customer service and after a very nice lady asked me to try a dozen different things, she asked me to look at the USB port and was the widest side on the top or bottom. When I told her the answer ( i forget which way it was), she informed me that the USB plub was upside down, and that after time a solder connect would come loose. She further said the BlackBerry symbol should be face up. I checked my to BB Curves and sure enough. She told me they had a bad batch of quality control, and I had a refurbished Play door delivered in 2 days.

    Perhaps people, instead of blaming the user, check the port. This board is very quick to tell people they (or as in this case FAMILY) damaged the unit.

    So folks ..... flame away

    Brian
    How does a first time poster just happen to land on this thread? Coincidence?
    esk369 and duhoh like this.
    09-22-12 09:25 AM
  20. MajorD229's Avatar
    Agreed, the charging dock is great and it charges quickly. that was one of the reasons my 16g got rma because of connectivity issues with the 3 magnetic prongs,they worked fine but then slowly but surely went bad.

    I just got a second charging dock for 14 dollars at staples last week.
    Frustrating how much price difference there is with the US and Canada.

    I have yet to see the dock for less than $65 and never on sale.
    09-22-12 10:31 AM
  21. anon(55900)'s Avatar
    Frustrating how much price difference there is with the US and Canada.

    I have yet to see the dock for less than $65 and never on sale.
    Yeah, but isn't $65 Canadian equal to $15 US?
    09-22-12 10:43 AM
  22. BB_Phoenix's Avatar
    I guess you must have missed Crackberry's one day sale recently on the dock.
    09-22-12 10:56 AM
  23. hpjrt's Avatar
    Yeah, but isn't $65 Canadian equal to $15 US?
    Not any more! The Canadian dollar is worth about $1.02 US now!
    DC506 and Canuck671 like this.
    09-22-12 11:10 AM
  24. DC506's Avatar
    Wow...what a crazy thread.

    RIM better hope I don't sit on my Playbook and break the poorly designed glass.
    bungaboy, hpjrt, Canuck671 and 2 others like this.
    09-22-12 11:16 AM
  25. dugggggg's Avatar
    I once saw something in a forum I didn't agree with, so I hurled my PlayBook across the room, and its screen shattered into a million pieces. RIM should have anticipated the existence of potentially inflammatory websites, and engineered their screens accordingly. Clearly a design flaw. After I spilled hot coffee on myself a few years back and successfully sued McDonald's for millions, I believe I have a really strong case here. It's not about getting my PB fixed---it's all about "compensation" aka compensatory damages. Now where's that pesky lawyer of mine?
    Last edited by dugggggg; 09-22-12 at 12:10 PM.
    esk369 and redwhales1010 like this.
    09-22-12 11:46 AM
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