the data connector on the missus' new phone is *way* too stiff. I'm convinced it's going to break at some point.
Is there anything that can be done to make it fit a little less snugly? i thought it'd get better over time but it hasn't so far...
I know what you mean, if you look on the back of the plug you will see a little dimple of metal sticking up that does the locking part. What I did was very carefully file it flat and now the plug just slips in easily, it is very small so be careful with filing it down.
mine broke indeed... it pulled out with the charger... ended up putting a new core in from a parts phone off ebay... had to unlock, etc though... good call with the filing...
did the exact same thing batfrog,but I used the rough edge of a flathead screwdriver.Whenever I get to open the phone I might go in there and put in some epoxy behind the connector for kicks....
Unless you are swinging the phone around your head like a lasso..the connector is way too tight..it almost seems like it was designed to break..planned obsolescence anyone?
HI,
It appears that the usb port on my t-mobile vario is loose and so it does not charge on the mains charger or via the usb cable on a pc.
So the question is:- How do you open it up to replace / repair the usb port?
I had a look through all the threads I could find dealing with usb port, but none dealt with this particular problem.
A "how to" with pictures would be great, but even a step by step would be useful.
many thanks to all who use and help on this site, without it we would all be worse off!!
Regards,
John
(UK)
Replace USB port
Ok, It appears that no one has had to do this yet, or the ones who have are not online at present.
I have managed to work it out.
There are four torx screws holding the back cover on.
Two are easy to get at, they are the ones near the usb port. The only problem is that they are smaller than a size 4 torx driver!! I managed to get them undone using an ordinary flat blade screwdriver of the right size from a kit of mini flat and cross blade screwdrivers.
When you undo one of them it also holds in place the little metal bit which you use to put a necklace strap thorough - don't lose any bits!!
The next bit was a bit tricky but only because I did not know how it came apart!
There is a cover which goes over the section which has the camera in it. This needs to be "uncliped", you need to start the unclipping from the open end section near the battery, as there are two "prongs" which go in under the end near the sd slot.
There are two more torx screws at this end that need undoing as well.
The next bit is not really difficult but it is if you don't want to mark your case!
You have to "unclip" the back from the middle bit of the phone, it is held in place by clips that go from the back section into the middle section. I started at the bottom end near the usb port and just used the small flat bladed screwdrivers I had to ease the two sections apart.
At this point you will probably find a couple of bit are now loose inside between the two sections. One is a long black piece of plastic which is held in place by the one of the torx screws you removed earlier. Try and remember where it came from as it is easier when you put the case back together to know where it goes, than to try and work it out.
The second bit floating around will be the USB port! (If it has totaly come off like mine had).
Now you will probably see that the soldered joints are white and furry, this is because they are what is called "dry joints".
Now if you have a reasonably steady hand, good eyesight (or a good pair of magnifying glasses or something similar), you can see that there are four "legs" made from the metal cover of the usb port which no doubt will have come loose. These will need to be soldered back on to the circuit board again along with the 5 "TINY" usb wire connections. I had to modify my soldering iron tip with a file to make it small enough not to solder them all together!! Once they are securley soldered back in place, you can put your phone back together again!
I was told by two mobile phone shops I went into here in the UK that the phone would have to be sent back to HTC to be fixed. I fixed mine in a couple of hours......
I also noticed that it is possible to buy a replacement USB port on E-Bay for this phone if yours is to badly damaged or you just want to use a new one.
Well, I hope this is of help to someone.
Regards,
John
Does anyone know how to take a G-Tab apart and repair a broken power connector? My son pulled it off of the table where it was charging and it landed squarely on the adapter where it was plugged into the GTab. Everything else works, but charging, of course, does not.
stalnakerz said:
Does anyone know how to take a G-Tab apart and repair a broken power connector? My son pulled it off of the table where it was charging and it landed squarely on the adapter where it was plugged into the GTab. Everything else works, but charging, of course, does not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Buy a dock, that's what I did
stalnakerz said:
Does anyone know how to take a G-Tab apart and repair a broken power connector? My son pulled it off of the table where it was charging and it landed squarely on the adapter where it was plugged into the GTab. Everything else works, but charging, of course, does not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Choice 1: Buy a dock.
Choice 2: Open it up and solder it back in.
Choice 3: Sell your son to a slave labor camp and use the money to buy a new tablet.
Stolen from another forum about performing a hardware reset:
Disassemble the tablet. Remove the four rubber stoppers on the bottom of the tablet (put them aside). Next, unscrew the screws under them (keep those too). Next we need to get the back half of the tablet off. Put the tablet face down on a piece of paper or another protective material. Gently work one corner of the tablet until the two halves are slightly separated, then use something thin like a business card to keep them slightly parted. You can then use something thin and strong, like a plastic gift card to zip around the edges and break the seal. Prying will only damage your plastics.
snowzach said:
Stolen from another forum about performing a hardware reset:
Disassemble the tablet. Remove the four rubber stoppers on the bottom of the tablet (put them aside). Next, unscrew the screws under them (keep those too). Next we need to get the back half of the tablet off. Put the tablet face down on a piece of paper or another protective material. Gently work one corner of the tablet until the two halves are slightly separated, then use something thin like a business card to keep them slightly parted. You can then use something thin and strong, like a plastic gift card to zip around the edges and break the seal. Prying will only damage your plastics.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
pulling it apart is one thing, resoldering the connection is another. I've read that it's really tricky (and small) Mine started acting up, had to have the plug on a weird angle for the tablet ot start charging. I thought it was the chord, but it must be the hardware inside the tablet that caused it. I bought a dock, and a second charger...the dock works BEAUTIFULLY for charging, and for watching movies on the big screen via the HDMI port on the dock...
Viewsonic G connector input jack power jack
If you need to replace the jack, you can get it at Ebay.....just type in Viewsonic G jack or power jack and they have them there.
** UPDATED WITH PICS **
I just got a LapDock from an AT&T store thinking I can mess with it to make it work with my Photon. After disassembling the docking connector, I found that there are 2 separate connectors for the ports, which is awesome. This allowed me to manipulate them into position to fit my MoPho. Plugged it up, and it fired right up like the HD dock for the TV. I'm writing this post from it now, it's pretty cool! I plan on putting up some pics in a bit showing the connections. I'll delve into the device more fully later, but this accessory will work with the Photon fully! No limitations (at least, not in my limited testing)
Good stuff! Looking forward to seeing some photos (taken from your Photon of course, right?) of the dock to see what modifications you made!
Awesome!
I just ordered my Photon today and was hoping that by the time it arrived, someone would have pulled a MacGyver and figured out how to rig the Atrix dock.
You sir, are this month's official winner MacGyver award.
Looking forward to seeing the pics too.
Can't wait to see the pics.
...............................................................
Close up of the Photon HD Dock vs the LapDock. You can see the difference in orientation
The Dock connector needs to be flipped out, then can be opened by removing a screw on each side under a small flat cover.
pop open the connector, its just clicked together at this point. unscrew the metal clip holding the individual connectors to the chassis. the individual connectors can now be manipulated into position for the Photon.
the connectors can be routed under and behind the LapDock so that the Photon lays on the table. I want to figure out a way to rearrange the connectors to hold the Photon like it should, in the dock normally. Webtop fires up and operates as it does on the HD Station.
Nicely done...and glad to give you your FIRST Thanks! I might hafta find me a LapDock on the cheap!
Further disassembly. Flip the LapDock over, remove the screw in the middle near the back of the unit. remove the 2 rubber feet at the back of the unit and remove the 2 screws revealed.flip back over. pry (carefully) the back top cover off the unit, working along the very back of the unit. This should pop the cover off. There is a thin wire running to the charge indicator along the front of the top cover, so work carefully. once off, the circuitry can be examined. the connector that leads to the dock is along the left edge of the board. one PCB connector feeds both dock connectors. This connector is like laptop LCD connectors, and easily pops up and off the board
Bandage said:
Nicely done...and glad to give you your FIRST Thanks! I might hafta find me a LapDock on the cheap!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL thanks! kinda funny, been lurking here for years, ran into a problem posting this writeup since i was a 'new' member with only 2 previous posts. had to wait 5 minutes between updates.
I saw LapDocks on AT&T's site for only $175 for refurbished units, not too bad considering I paid 300 to get a unit to hack apart....
After removing the dock portion from the rest of the unit, I removed the connectors and took an Xacto knife to the openings for the individual connectors. I removed the shaped openings for the micro hdmi and micro usb, leaving plain rectangular openings. I then fitted the connectors back in, rotating them to match the orientation on the Photon. Luckily, the Atrix has the same spacing between the ports, just a mirror layout and shifted down the edge of the phone. with longer wires, this could be made to be a perfect fit for the Photon, but Moto apparenly knows best
anyway, after getting the connectors set properly, I then pieced it all back together. the new layout strains the wires just a bit, so that everything else is not quite as smooth as it was starting out. It's fine, and works properly, but theres that little bit thats just noticeable. the MoPho hangs off the edge of the dock, and has to be pressed tightly to ensure a good connection, but works great. There is a small piece that pops off of the dock portion, i think its removed if you're using a case with the Atrix, Make sure this piece stays off, I dont think the connection will be very good otherwise.
cdthomas9 said:
After removing the dock portion from the rest of the unit, I removed the connectors and took an Xacto knife to the openings for the individual connectors. I removed the shaped openings for the micro hdmi and micro usb, leaving plain rectangular openings. I then fitted the connectors back in, rotating them to match the orientation on the Photon. Luckily, the Atrix has the same spacing between the ports, just a mirror layout and shifted down the edge of the phone. with longer wires, this could be made to be a perfect fit for the Photon, but Moto apparenly knows best
anyway, after getting the connectors set properly, I then pieced it all back together. the new layout strains the wires just a bit, so that everything else is not quite as smooth as it was starting out. It's fine, and works properly, but theres that little bit thats just noticeable. the MoPho hangs off the edge of the dock, and has to be pressed tightly to ensure a good connection, but works great. There is a small piece that pops off of the dock portion, i think its removed if you're using a case with the Atrix, Make sure this piece stays off, I dont think the connection will be very good otherwise.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey CD...what about flipping the connectors around in their sockets so the Photon would sit flush, but facing away from the LapDock?
Webtop runs great, i like the environment as a whole, but there isnt much to do natively. Email apps and maneuvering around the phone UI is a little irritating. You can just make the Mobile View full screen, but some of the interface doesnt scale well. I'd like to see native webtop apps, like firefox is, but I'm not sure how that works.
cdthomas9 said:
the connectors can be routed under and behind the LapDock so that the Photon lays on the table. I want to figure out a way to rearrange the connectors to hold the Photon like it should, in the dock normally. Webtop fires up and operates as it does on the HD Station.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This thread excited me!!! Have you found a way to make it sit inside yet?
Bandage said:
Hey CD...what about flipping the connectors around in their sockets so the Photon would sit flush, but facing away from the LapDock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought of that, but the micro hdmi connector doesn't have enough give or length to do it. I also thought of breaking out the soldering iron, kynar wire and HST but I think that theres a lot of wire in those bundles...
ScandaLeX said:
This thread excited me!!! Have you found a way to make it sit inside yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Post 13 shows the closest i can get, without lengthening wires i think. or getting Moto to make me a longer connection set
newalker91 said:
I would just dremel a nice little hole through the plastic immediately above the base connector and run the wires up the back of the screen, then build a cradle onto the back of the monitor for the phone. I need to save up and buy one and get to work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL, I was thinking of doing the same thing. Just mount the phone to the back of the screen somehow, but the wires are literally no more than 2" long. I think Bandage was looking into micro usb and hdmi extension cables though....
cdthomas9 said:
LOL, I was thinking of doing the same thing. Just mount the phone to the back of the screen somehow, but the wires are literally no more than 2" long. I think Bandage was looking into micro usb and hdmi extension cables though....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah...no luck finding an effin Micro HDMI extension cable tho. Anyone else find someone who makes / distributes them?
I know this is barely the correct thread, but anyway;
I purchased a new head unit that has the same connector on the unit itself as my old unit, but the wires for each pin are different. Is there an easy way to remove the pins on the old harness so I can reuse it, or should I just cut the "car side" of the old one off so I can solder wires from the new harness to the "car side"?
Thanks,
if the pins are the same shape you should be able to remove them from the harness and re-insert them in the location you want. I do that all the time with many connectors.
Find something long and thin, i use picks, long tweezers, needles, etc. there is usually a small plastic tab holding the pins or sockets down and preventing them from pulling out. It should be easy to see once you start messing with them.
That's the problem; I cannot see them and was unable to do anything with the needle I was using. As far as I can tell, there is no good spot to stick a pin and no way for me to even know which side the pins are on.
I guess that's question one; with the power/ground wires on the top of the adapter, which side are the pins on?
This type of harness
http://www.carjoying.com/joying-har...re-wiring-harness-adapter-connector-plug.html
I researched and found that standard size staples can be pushed into the sides of the pins from the non-wire-side on both sides (not top or bottom) of the pins to release the two latches. It takes some effort, wiggling, and luck, but the pins eventually come out.
I'm sure it will be easier when my pin extractor finally arrives, but I don't want to wait.
I've moved pins around before. Trouble seems in not damaging the retention tabs. Not sure you'd save much time vs cutting and resoldering.
What would be the point in moving the wire if there is already a wire present? You can't just repurpose the wire? Move the label?