Tablet fail...

[AnotherFairportfan]

Well, poo.
 
Maggie's tablet is refusing to charge.
 
And it was a refurb and i customised it to the extent it probably isn't exchangeable.  Right now i'm on hold at Hisense's customer service to see if it would be worth it to take it in to be fixed or just to buy another refurb to transfer everything to.
 
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Customer Service tells me that Hisense doesn't work on refurbs even for pay.  They have contract repair stations, but none near me.
 
He also tells me what i suspected - that it's probably the USB port (i suspected it because it doesn't show up on the computer when i plug it in, either).  If i knew how to crack the damned thing open and had the tools, i could resolder the flippin' thing myself.  But i don't and i don't.
 
So what i need to do is see if i can find a shop near here that will consider working on it, and how much they estimate and how long they figure it would take.
 
And if the answers are what i anticipate they probably will be, then i need to buy another one, because it will be no more expensive and take no longer.

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i KNOW how to repair it if it's just cracked solder on the connectors, or if it's a bad connector.

The Navy taught me the basics of such stuff back in 1968, and i worked in electronics most of my life.

I don't have the tools currently, and, if it's anything more than the USB port (thought that's unlikely), messing about inside it may cause repair shops to be cranky about it when i take it to them. (I worked in a repair shop for a while.)

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I have a link to a shop in Charlotte that quotes $29.95 for the repair. Tomorrow i'm gonna call them and see if they sound legit. If so, when i get some money in on Wednesday, i can ship it off Priority Mail, and, depending on their turnaround time, it ought be back by the end of next week.

[Dave]

i KNOW how to repair it if it's just cracked solder on the connectors, or if it's a bad connector.

The Navy taught me the basics of such stuff back in 1968, and i worked in electronics most of my life.

It could be that you've been bitten by one of the side effects of the RoHS rules. Lead-free solder is less flexible than the old traditional stuff and seems to be much more prone to cracking under stress. Soldering conditions are also somewhat more critical. A lot of service people seem to hate the Pb-free stuff with a passion.

[AnotherFairportfan]

i KNOW how to repair it if it's just cracked solder on the connectors, or if it's a bad connector.

The Navy taught me the basics of such stuff back in 1968, and i worked in electronics most of my life.

It could be that you've been bitten by one of the side effects of the RoHS rules. Lead-free solder is less flexible than the old traditional stuff and seems to be much more prone to cracking under stress. Soldering conditions are also somewhat more critical. A lot of service people seem to hate the Pb-free stuff with a passion.

Wouldn't surprise me.

OTOH, lead-free solder is a good idea in many ways.

Use lots of flux.

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The thing is that micro-USB connectors are notoriously failure-prone; in another forum someone said that it was nice that all the device manufacturers standardised on a single connector.

That's the good news.

The bad news is that it's micro-USB.

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I think he's old enough to remember EISA motherboards. I'll have to see, and see if he recalls them as ... fondly ... as i.

[TazManiac]

Consider also that is just as likely to be a bad micro-usb cable as the port. I've personally found different manufacturers have a thickness difference re: the connector ends, I've even gotten some "it's broke!" units to recognize and charge units by apply a front-to-back pressure to the connected cable.

It amounts to plugging in the cable and letting the cord take the weight by laying the two upon a book for example. The unit's end is in the air, the cable is taking the load...

That said, I've found some thicker cables' ends, no brand name to speak of, but from the local 'FOB' computer store. (Central Computer), FOB in this case meaning they source directly from overseas...

As an attempt, try gently pushing one finger tip from the back, forward against the plugged in cable and see...

[AnotherFairportfan]

Consider also that is just as likely to be a bad micro-usb cable as the port. I've personally found different manufacturers have a thickness difference re: the connector ends, I've even gotten some "it's broke!" units to recognize and charge units by apply a front-to-back pressure to the connected cable.

It amounts to plugging in the cable and letting the cord take the weight by laying the two upon a book for example. The unit's end is in the air, the cable is taking the load...

That said, I've found some thicker cables' ends, no brand name to speak of, but from the local 'FOB' computer store. (Central Computer), FOB in this case meaning they source directly from overseas...

As an attempt, try gently pushing one finger tip from the back, forward against the plugged in cable and see...

Ummm ... i know all that stuff - electronics/computer tech here (since 1968, US Navy)? Worked two years at AMI? Worked three years (plus another couple years before/after as a temp) at Hayes?

First thing i did was take it to my computer and try plugging it in there. No charging/no recognition as a media device by the computer.

It's the port, at a minimum.

[AnotherFairportfan]

I sent Maggie's tablet off to a guy in Gastonia NC who specialises in repairs like that - it looks, from what he said, that the refurbishers replaced the port and cocked it u; he had to rebuild the traces on the board.

It came back today, and i brought it to Maggie, "...and there was grayte rejoycing."

[AnotherFairportfan]

Someone on the Misfile board suggested that perhaps others might be able to use similar services, so here's a scan of the letter he included in the package:

[MerchManDan]

It came back today, and i brought it to Maggie, "...and there was grayte rejoycing."

Huzzah!

[Mark N]

Nice that you are sharing the info on such a useful resource as well. Not only for us but someone in a (now) understaffed profession.