Using an unpowered USB hub may cause problems

I realise this will be obvious to some people, but it wasn't to me and I'm sure many others, so I thought I'd make a cautionary post.

I've only had my Blackberry (9800) a couple of weeks. I was astonished to find such an absurdly short USB cable supplied with it; it isn't anywhere near long enough to have my phone on my desk while it's connected. So I put up with it for a while and ordered an unpowered USB hub.

When the hub arrived, great joy! Connecting through it meant I could finally have my phone on my desk! But that's when the problems started, and I've only just put two and two together.

It seems that an unpowered USB hub just doesn't cut it, and will cause problems when trying to do certain things. In my case, the DM just couldn't make proper backups and would usually spit out one of two different error messages, including one about not being able to backup the device media. Also the DM's file browser could never display anything on either the phone or my SD card. Apparently you're supposed to get a warning on the phone itself about using a hub, but I never saw it.

Well, after trying many solutions found on the internet over a few days, I finally went back to connecting the phone to a USB port in the back of my PC, and just like that, all the problems vanished.

So there you go. If you're having weird problems with the DM and you're using a USB hub, try bypassing it and connecting directly to a USB port on the back of your PC.

I really hope this helps someone, because if I'd seen this advice a few days ago it would have saved me a lot of frustration.

It is a known fact that the rear USB ports usually work better than the front ports or hub... The BB needs as much "juice" that the USB port can provide, and many times the internal wiring of the port (the one that connects the port to the PC�s motherboard) is not good enough and current is lost through it.

Something similar happens when you try to connect and external HD to your PC via USB, some ports work and other don�t.

If you wish a longer USB cable, make sure to purchase a good one, as many of the generic cables suffer of the same "power leak" as the one stated above and will not wirk properly.

I have found that Blackberry and Motorola cables are good (branded by those makes!)

Originally Posted by scouts36

If you wish a longer USB cable, make sure to purchase a good one, as many of the generic cables suffer of the same "power leak" as the one stated above and will not wirk properly.

I have found that Blackberry and Motorola cables are good (branded by those makes!)

Good info, thanks. I still can't quite believe the size of the supplied cable. Did RIM really expect people to make good use of it?