5455 Charging Woes Redux

[SassKwatch]

I know this topic has been discussed almost ad nauseum over the last couple months, but after doing a search and reading some of the problems reported by others, my problem seemed just different enough to warrant a new topic. At least to me. :)

For the most part, my 5455 had heretofore exhibited little problem. I remember a couple months ago thinking that it hadn't charged a couple times at work when it could only have done so with the USB charging active. But I wasn't really paying attention to how much time it spent connected via USB vs how much time it spent running purely under battery power. So I wasn't entirely sure if there was really a problem or if it was my imagination.

But earlier this week, it became decidedly noticeable that it wasn't charging appropriately. And it didn't seem to make any difference whether I set it up to charge via USB while connected to the desktop at work, or whether it was 'charged' via an A/C adapter. It would charge a *little*, but never fully. For example, I left it connected to the A/C adapter overnite last night. Just before I connected it, the meter said it was 58% charged. When I got up this am, it was 61% charged. And that sort of S-L-O-W charging is what I've consistently experienced all week.

And over the last few days, I've done numerous Soft Resets, I've turned USB Charging off...and back on, I've tried adjusting the Standby slider both up and down, I've pulled the battery out for a few seconds and put it back in. All to no avail. I just couldn't seem to get it to do anything other than that very slow charge routine.

As I'm driving home tonite, it dawns on me the one thing I haven't tried is dropping it in the cradle and seeing if it will charge there. Made no sense to me why that might make a diff, but guess what...it did. I dropped it in the cradle when I got home, and within in an hour the meter is telling me it's now 100% charged. Go figure.

Weird, eh?

[SassKwatch]

Seems the charging woes grow stranger all the time. After posting the initial message for this thread, everything worked great for approx 1.5 weeks. No problems charging at all.

Then a few days ago, I started having trouble getting the main battery to charge to a level > 84%. And that seems to be the max ever since. I've tried all the known 'fixes' (quick batt removal, changing standby slider, etc) to no avail. I'm halfway wondering if *maybe* it's just the reported level that is wrong and the thing is actually fully charged....maybe the device just went dumb and can't count higher than 84.(?) :)

But to add insult to injury, there's a new twist to the problem. Whereas dropping it in the cradle fixed the problem previously, that now does nothing. In fact, if I turn off 'USB Charging', it won't charge *at all* when in the cradle.

Hard Reset time?

[Chris Spera]

Hard Reset time?

I'd definitely say so...

Make sure you make a back up of your device before you do this, just in case this doesn't fix things. I'd also consider taking the device back to your POP if its still within the return period and exchange it for another device.

If the hard reset doesn't fix things, I'd start looking at the device (or at least the battery) as defective.

Keep us posted!


Kind Regards,


Christopher Spera

[SassKwatch]

Make sure you make a back up of your device before you do this, just in case this doesn't fix things. I'd also consider taking the device back to your POP if its still within the return period and exchange it for another device.
Definitely on the backup.

I've thought about taking advantage of the extended warranty I purchased w/ the thing at ComUSA. That should be justified just based on the lack of charging in the cradle....unless 'USB Charging' is turned on....which means it ain't chargin' thru the cradle anyway. I've been inclined to think it's a s/w thing up until this point given the changing nature of the weirdness, but a defective battery or unit itself certainly can't be ruled out.

Thanks!

[SassKwatch]

If the hard reset doesn't fix things, I'd start looking at the device (or at least the battery) as defective.

Keep us posted!
Since you asked....

It turns out the problem with the device not charging while in the cradle definitely was a h/w problem. I accidentally discovered this after doing the hard reset. Did the HR, then connected it to an AC cable (sans cradle) to soft reset and begin the rebuild process. As I'm holding it during this, I notice the display getting brighter occasionally and then dimming. Not 'flickering', but just changing brightness levels at/for random time periods.

My first reaction was..'Oh great, the whole device is going flaky'. But then it dawned on me that I had different brightness levels set for 'On Battery' use than when powered externally. So I deliberately started moving the device around just enough that the cable would tug on the device connector with just a little different force.

And sure enough, if I moved it into just the right position, the screen would get brighter, and a couple seconds later the charging indicator would start it's standard blinking. But with just minimal movement in another position, the screen would dim and the charging indicator quit blinking.

So that explains why I haven't been able to charge the device when in the cradle recently. But still doesn't explain why it wouldn't charge to a full 100% via 'USB Charging'. But I guess it doesn't matter any more since that device is now gone and exchanged for a 5555.