Help Broken Evo Charging Port Thread, Lets Track This Issue

[star2011]

so many problems, if still can not be solved, why not replace the charging port.

 

[airdog]

I just got my EVO replaced at a Sprint repair center. I bought it on day one from Radio Shack. The charging port broke around Christmas. Fortunately, I had bought an extra battery and a wall charger for the battery before and I just swapped batteries back and forth for about 6 months.

I went back to Radio Shack to see about getting it fixed and they told me to call and do an insurance claim or take it to a repair center. The repair center is about 75 miles from my home so I just swapped batteries for a few more months. I finally broke down and drove over to the repair center after I found out the EVO 3D was coming out. My wifes EVO charging port was acting a little funny as well so I took both of them over.

The tech disassembed them and tried to repair both ports by resoldering the contacts. My wifes was successful while mine was completely broken off the phones mainboard and could not be fixed. It took about 30 minutes. There was no charge for my wifes phone and they ordered me a phone through TEP.

The tech told me there has been several revisions of the EVO since they first came out a year ago. He said some have different screens as well as different cable connections (ribbon cables) as well better charging port connections to the mainboard. They are different enough that parts can't be swapped between some of the EVO's.

I expected a refurbished EVO but I ended up getting a brand new one 3 days later. All at no charge.

 

[IMnobody]

So, if your phone is charging and you trip over the USB cable and it breaks or makes the port loose, it's HTC's fault?

If you've actually seen how the HTC attached the USB port to the board, and had to work with the solder they use to attach it. I would say it is definitively the fault of HTC for damage such as this, giving them the ability for claiming it as customer abuse.

Let's take a short history break here, to explain. The object is to mass produce products, at the least over all cost. So, shaving cost in production is the reality. You'd not expect an OEM who can produce a working unit (for say) $100, to add $1 more to that cost, to make the unit last forever. When the ultimate goal is unit rollover, with the expectation of it will become obsolete in the market, long before it's time.

Now back to the USB port. It has 4 tabs, and the (bottom) base soldered to the top of main board. The tabs go through, into 4 plated through holes. Yet the solder is not flowed through these holes, to insure it's secured on the board. When the part does break loose, it does more damage to the units multi layered PC board then the average person notices.

(See my thread here) http://androidforums.com/evo-4g-tips-tricks/353545-extreme-hardware-repair-evo-4g.html

When the sockets base soldered to the board breaks, it removes copper, that leave open ground points, that could allow anything form Radio to Power Regulation issues to arise in the units operation.

So yea, in My opinion, HTC either short cut the soldering & inspection processes, or, more likely "shot the engineers too soon", in the mad rush to get the unit into the market place, for sale. Either way, that would put the cause for the damages in their ball park.
And what about the power consumption issues being reported, on 4G radio operation. Does anyone think they couldn't design a better radio? Or, how about the over sensitive, "Water Damage Indicators" they chose to use. Is this not another way, to beat the customer out of a replacement? I think we should all be demanding, better quality & treatment, from the OEM's we buy products from!
My opinion is based on over 25 year of experience, as a bench tech, in the consumer electronics market.

Just my opinion.

IMnobody

 

[Deleted User]

I was one of the first to report the problem, and have the YouTube video most have and or commented (MustangCoastie)

Don't use the supplied charger... Period.

If you are having problems, go to the store before the port is completely broke and will no longer charge.

Also, go store to store, and call until you are satisfied... Don't forget to post your issue on the official HTC and Sprint community forums.

I ended up paying $50 to replace my wifes phone. Still not done harassing Sprint... Just haven't had the time or patience to deal with them.

 

[guywithbluepants]

Hate that problem I now use the palm pre usb cord works so much better.

 

[mtfdben58]

Just had mine replaced through my local sprint store. cost me $35 and of course they are back ordered. They said around a week out. Is to the point that it won't charge unless you hold the cable in and don't move.

 

[scudder]

Wouldn't a factory defect be something that happens within a certain time frame? Not like a car with a gas tank that will explode in an accident. If the port doesn't break within the first 2 months, was their a defect with the phone or do you blame the user?

No. That doesn't make sense. If that were the case, you'd never have recalls for, e.g., child toys for safety reasons or 2011 car recalls for problems deemed "defective" for cars from YEARS and years ago. There is nothing that says that a "defect" MUST occur within "X" amount of time. Some things ONLY become defective AFTER time and use.

 

[Tyler Perez]

The charging port on my HTC Evo 4G did break about a month ago, I took it to the sprint store and they gave me a bran new shiny refurb...

I was unable to charge my phone for almost a week, cause I guess they have a huge backorder for the Evo just because of this problem... thankfully I have 2 extended life batteries and an external charger to get me through that week with a phone... just swapped batteries and used the external charger...

but all in all, they replaced it... No deductible, I pay $7 monthly for insurance though.

 

[scudder]

Hello...

What's the chances that I can get a Sprint store/tech to just take a little look at my rooted EVO to diagnose the problem I'm having with my charge port?? I know the policy with regard to rooted phones and Sprint...took my phone to the closest Sprint repair place today, explained my problem, the "check in" rep (not the tech) asked if my phone was rooted, I said it was, and he said I would have to unroot before the tech would look at the phone.

I have heard that some stores aren't so by-the-book with regard to rooted devices. The rep I spoke to today said the issue is that the techs don't want to do anything to work with the software of a phone who's software has been "hacked." I didn't really plead or pursue my comment with the rep in that I mentioned that I KNOW that the issue is NOT software related but is DEFINITELY hardware. Was going to suggest that the tech not even LOOK at the software...don't attempt to diagnose anything with it, it ain't broken...but to kindly check the HARDWARE port, board to see if something SIMPLE can be done to fix the port.

So, _Epic or anyone else who might be qualified or has had experience with this issue...what are my chances that I can call around and find someone who will check out my hardware??

 

[finndo77]

Hello...

...So, _Epic or anyone else who might be qualified or has had experience with this issue...what are my chances that I can call around and find someone who will check out my hardware??

It really seems to be a flip of a coin,sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. I did a Titanium back up AND a clockwork backup of my phone, then reset it back to factory defaults (stock rom and all) before I even went in the store. They did not even turn the phone on, he just plugged a charger in, wiggled it a bunch and said "yeah this needs to be replaced" he was about to bill me $35 when the tech sitting 25-30 feet behind him over heard and asked what was the issue. The tech told the sales rep there was no charge for it because it was a known hardware issue and sprint was billing HTC for the replacements through the hardware warranty. I had to wait a bit over a week for a replacement as they were out, there were two or three people in line in front of me to get one (that arrived the same time as me to the store, one of them took the last refurb in stock), another person with the same issue came in while I was leaving too. This was the week before christmas and I had been dealing with it for about a month already, using an external charger and backup battery while swapping back and forth. My replacement has a significant amount of dust under the screen, I've tried compressed air on it and "shacking" the phone (old HTC Hero thing) but it doesn't move. Tells me the previous owner must have broken the screen and the repair place got dust under the new one. Pretty pissed, but I normally only see it when the display is off (explains why I did not notice when they gave it to me), so I deal with it.

 

[uminchu]

It really seems to be a flip of a coin,sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. I did a Titanium back up AND a clockwork backup of my phone, then reset it back to factory defaults (stock rom and all) before I even went in the store. They did not even turn the phone on, he just plugged a charger in, wiggled it a bunch and said "yeah this needs to be replaced" he was about to bill me $35 when the tech sitting 25-30 feet behind him over heard and asked what was the issue. The tech told the sales rep there was no charge for it because it was a known hardware issue and sprint was billing HTC for the replacements through the hardware warranty. I had to wait a bit over a week for a replacement as they were out, there were two or three people in line in front of me to get one (that arrived the same time as me to the store, one of them took the last refurb in stock), another person with the same issue came in while I was leaving too. This was the week before christmas and I had been dealing with it for about a month already, using an external charger and backup battery while swapping back and forth. My replacement has a significant amount of dust under the screen, I've tried compressed air on it and "shacking" the phone (old HTC Hero thing) but it doesn't move. Tells me the previous owner must have broken the screen and the repair place got dust under the new one. Pretty pissed, but I normally only see it when the display is off (explains why I did not notice when they gave it to me), so I deal with it.

I had a nearly mirror experience that in fact turned out to be a coin flip. I got my Evo on launch day, and it was about two weeks shy of an expired warranty. I took it to one store, and the tech agreed the port was hosed, but never examined for root. He acknowledged it as a known issue and agreed on the spot to replace the phone. Unfortunately, they were also out of stock and needed a week or more to replenish.

The tech was nice enough to check other stores and found one nearby with one replacement in stock, and got it reserved for me. I go to the second store, and the tech goes through it with a fine tooth comb looking for root. I had returned it back to stock (quite the adventure with no data port), and put back the pre-root, stock SD card. She also agreed that since the port was a documented issue, the $35 fee wouldn't apply. I actually got a brand new phone, no refurb, and was reactivated and out the door in about 30 minutes. I've had a frustrating experience or two with Sprint over the years, but most of the time they've done all right by me. In this case, sincere thanks and a well deserved shout out to Sprint CS.

 

[Chaco]

I had a launch day EVO version 1.
It was great and nothing was wrong, until 2 days ago it slipped off my hand into the night table and it hit the USB cable ( it was charging)
Needless to say it broke the chargin port

So i did a hard reset, turn it in to Sprint yesterday at 9:30am and when i came back at 11:30am they gave me a new EVO (refurb im sure)
No questions asked, just changed. yes i have TEP.

 

[angelfell]

The past few days id been having problems charging my phone. It seemed i had to hold it a certain way to get it.to charge, and some chargers wouldn't even work. finally, today, i could no longer get any charger to work. I took it into Sprint, and without any questions, they replaced my phone. My old one was refurbished with a VTO of 12/30/10, and they didnt even look for water damage. Asked for no $100 deductible. So.. maybe I'm lucky?

 

[scudder]

It really seems to be a flip of a coin,sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. I did a Titanium back up AND a clockwork backup of my phone, then reset it back to factory defaults (stock rom and all) before I even went in the store. They did not even turn the phone on, he just plugged a charger in, wiggled it a bunch and said "yeah this needs to be replaced" he was about to bill me $35 when the tech sitting 25-30 feet behind him over heard and asked what was the issue. The tech told the sales rep there was no charge for it because it was a known hardware issue and sprint was billing HTC for the replacements through the hardware warranty....

Thanks to everyone for the comments about their experiences!!

So, "hit or miss" on the root issue...understood. MY hope was that they might be able to do a REPAIR of the phone right then and there (or if not right then, then soon but AT THE STORE). The reason I had this hope was because of the following scenario...

So they take my phone back...either rooted because they don't care/didn't notice or because I return it to stock. I either have to wait until a new/refurb comes in for a replacement or maybe I get one sooner. Now I have a replacement phone with, I assume, Gingerbread 2.3.X, right, since the OTA has been out for a while. So now I have a un-rooted phone which, because it has Gingerbread, is current UN-ROOTABLE because there is no exploit!!

I think I know the answer but I'll ask anyway: if I get my phone replaced, I'm gonna get a Gingerbread phone right?? THAT is what I'm trying to avoid...

 

[scudder]

...I go to the second store, and the tech goes through it with a fine tooth comb looking for root. I had returned it back to stock (quite the adventure with no data port), and put back the pre-root, stock SD card...

Woah, I did NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT THAT!! At the moment, if I hold and apply pressure to the cord a certain way in my phone then I can charge it and transfer data. I can even do with (LOOK MA!!...) no hands but placing something with a bit of weight on the cord.

I SURE AIN'T very tech savvy...rooted with unrEVOked and was like a cakewalk. But how did you UN-root without a data cable??

 

[Chaco]

Woah, I did NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT THAT!! At the moment, if I hold and apply pressure to the cord a certain way in my phone then I can charge it and transfer data. I can even do with (LOOK MA!!...) no hands but placing something with a bit of weight on the cord.

I SURE AIN'T very tech savvy...rooted with unrEVOked and was like a cakewalk. But how did you UN-root without a data cable??

Easy... take the SD card, put it on a SD adapter, copy the unrevoked forever-ON on the root of card.... flash it. after its done, turn off.... then copy the PC36IMG file and place it on the root of the SD card, boot again into Hboot and let it flash...

your done.


SCUDDER... YES, you will get a Gingerbread phone... it has the latest 2.16 HBOOT that is not rootable YET....

 

[uminchu]

Easy... take the SD card, put it on a SD adapter, copy the unrevoked forever-ON on the root of card.... flash it. after its done, turn off.... then copy the PC36IMG file and place it on the root of the SD card, boot again into Hboot and let it flash...

your done.

+1, that's exactly how I did it.

SCUDDER... YES, you will get a Gingerbread phone... it has the latest 2.16 HBOOT that is not rootable YET....

Not necessarily. A lot of the refurbs still have Froyo and they update them in the store. If you ask them in advance to leave it alone, a cool tech may accommodate you. It doesn't always work out that way, but it's happened. Either way, you have nothing to lose by asking.

 

[veno8mm]

Greetings, first post and it is not a pleasant one.

I purchased my EVO the morning after the release day. Apparently the flood of new activations crippled the Sprint network. (System was down preventing me from purchasing)

It is hardware version 0002. I took it to the place and TEP will replace it for no charge.

The reason for my 'late' usb port failure is prolly because I use multiple batteries w/ standalone wall charging. The only time I actually plugged in was when I went to bed. I used a 2 ft. Usb to usb w/ micro usb attachment. Giving me the ability to snatch the phone up (wake-up alarm) whilst not removing the micro usb. The attachment was very weak so it served as a break away port protector.

My over protection of the phones designed weakness. Prevented or prolonged replacement exactly 23 days past the one year warranty from HTC. Trust me I was livid.

Now it stands I am tapping this form's information for the best way to back up all of my photos, mms,sms, and basically everything. To save from losing all of my phones 'character' along with preserving all I can.

With that said, would you be so kind to direct me to the end all be all 'oh sh.., I have to replace my EVO HELP!' items.

I have already purchased MyBackup, soon I will link all my contacts to gmail. (always felt a little apprehensive to link ppl to internet) Thus I chose 'phone' when saving ppl. Also, I am going to best buy for a card reader. So I can back up the entire SD. While I am there, I will look for an extra 16GB/32GB card.

Is it going to be that easy? Google taking care of contacts, my backup helping to manage text, and copy all to a new card for pics/videos?

Keep in mind that my phone is not rooted and I failed to run the latest OTA.

Currently on:
Android 2.2
Baseband
2.15.00.11.19
Kernel Ver.
2.6.32.17-gee557fd
htc-kernel@and18-2 #15
Build
3.70.651.1 CL294884release-keys
Software number
3.70.651.1




I appreciate your help and insight. I will be headed to the Sprint store tommarow to get my replacement EVO. I have until 7pm. So I will delay as much as possible to make sure I do everything possible to restore my new phone to this current one.

 

[dski93]

My Evo was randomly auto switching in and out of car dock mode. Tech said it was water damage to the charge plug. I wasn

 

[dski93]

With that said, would you be so kind to direct me to the end all be all 'oh sh.., I have to replace my EVO HELP!' items.

I have already purchased MyBackup, soon I will link all my contacts to gmail. (always felt a little apprehensive to link ppl to internet) Thus I chose 'phone' when saving ppl. Also, I am going to best buy for a card reader. So I can back up the entire SD. While I am there, I will look for an extra 16GB/32GB card.

Is it going to be that easy? Google taking care of contacts, my backup helping to manage text, and copy all to a new card for pics/videos?

Keep in mind that my phone is not rooted and I failed to run the latest OTA.

Currently on:
Android 2.2
Baseband
2.15.00.11.19
Kernel Ver.
2.6.32.17-gee557fd
htc-kernel@and18-2 #15
Build
3.70.651.1 CL294884release-keys
Software number
3.70.651.1


QUOTE]

My phone is not rooted. With multiple trips to the sprint tech the last week or so I

 

[daytonagirl21]

i got my phone october '10 and i went to Sprint today with my Evo's broken port. they told me to hang around about an hour & they will try to fix it. I'm hardly convinced they pulled it apart like they said they would. Had a rumor 1 with a data port replaced 3 times. It's replaceable if they try. Sending a refirb :/

 

[LaughingDuck]

My phone's been having issues charging for a few weeks & it just died completely a few hours ago. I use multiple chords so I know just switching cords isn't going to solve the problem. Glad to see this is a documented problem, I've already had too many issues with this phone that Sprint apparently knew nothing about. (Got a ghost voicemail for weeks after an update!!) Can't get the online appointment scheduling tool to work so I'll be at a store as soon as they open in the morning.

 

[scudder]

+1, that's exactly how I did it.

Not necessarily. A lot of the refurbs still have Froyo and they update them in the store. If you ask them in advance to leave it alone, a cool tech may accommodate you. It doesn't always work out that way, but it's happened. Either way, you have nothing to lose by asking.

True...nothing to lose by asking but once you hand in that phone you have EVERYTHING to lose if, for some reason, the "forget" your request!!

Looks like I'm gonna stick this broken port out, swap out batteries charged with my external charger, until Gingerbread can be rooted. I have two 2000 mAH batteries and the original 1450 battery or whatever the number is so it isn't bad to swap out on the morning when I wake up...

 

[TexasRebel]

ive returned my evo 3x for the charger port alone...just got another one 2 days ago and cant root or nothin...come on new hboot exploit!!!! lol

 

[transamman1999]

what is the warranty for the HTC EVO 4G? i got mine on launch week (Jun 8, 2010 to be exact) so i'm REALLY hoping it's not a 1 year warranty. my charging port hasn't worked for MONTHS but i cracked my screen the other day so if they'll replace my phone because of the charging port for free or even $35 then i'll get the cracked screen 'fixed' for free as well.