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Venue 11 Pro Bad Charging Port (Part Deux)
I have a 7130 Venue 11, with the mobile keyboard, and I like it a lot. When it's working.
I just got off the phone with Support and will be sending the tablet in because the charging port gradually became intermittent -- I had to hold the cord at a certain angle to get the white LED next to the power switch -- and then stopped altogether.
Thing is, this is the second time this has happened. And this time around, I bought a second OEM charger and was very careful only to use the Dell chargers and not to torque the charging port in any way.
I was having some of the charging issues others have posted about -- never charges fully; charges keyboard but not tablet, or vice versa; if you fully charge the keyboard the touchpad stops working (my favorite!). But if the port goes bad it don't charge at all.
So this will be my second motherboard (I guess the port's connected to it?).
And, actually, my first unit bricked completely and had to be replaced.
So Support is great, but I'm not a happy camper. I've used Dell desktops for decades now and never had a problem. Is this model just a lemon?
Any suggestions for keeping it running when I get it back this time?
DELL-Brian B
828 Posts
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January 26th, 2015 16:00
The micro USB port used to charge the device is more fragile that a typical barrel connector (which is too tall to fit into this design). By the nature of the design, the micro USB cable can act as a fulcrum against the charging port. The charging port is actually on a daughtercard that connects to the motherboard. If you apply enough force to the cable or the port, the port itself can break. The more common scenario would be for the cable to break or short, which is what it sounds like happened with yours given the intermittent nature. Given that you are careful with charging, is it possible that the cable is experiencing excess force somewhere (e.g. in a backpack or something like that) that could be bending the micro USB connector?
Launce
9 Posts
0
January 26th, 2015 18:00
It's not the charging cable. As I say, I bought new Dell chargers and I can't charge it with either. Or with the Dell transformer but a different USB > micro cable. All of which used to work, before the port went bad. For the second time.
It's not just me. When my first port broke, last June, there were at least 4 other users with the same problem.
I guess when I get my second daughtercard or whatever I'll have to make sure I never apply any lateral force to the port. But seriously, it really shouldn't be that -- to use your term -- fragile. It's a piece of portable equipment and should be able to handle normal charging operations.
DELL-Brian B
828 Posts
0
January 27th, 2015 14:00
Hmm.. That is unfortunate. I wouldn't say the port is fragile (the same port is used on just about every non Apple phone out there these days), but you can create more force due to the weight of the tablet. You shouldn't have to treat it like fine China but applying enough lateral force could cause the cable or the port to break. In most cases I would expect the cable to go first.
AndySv
2 Posts
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February 4th, 2015 13:00
I'm getting same problem, in my case it was HDMI cable (being heavier and more rigid cable than the micro usb) that started to lose connection. and you dont have to do much, just plug it in and slightly rotate the dell and it damages (flaky design). But it also broke the charging.
Only way to charge now is to pull the wire slightly toward screen.
I took the Venue apart (as my warranty was over) and was able to get the "daughter card" out. I did not find any cracks on the soldering points or paths. Not sure where the damage is (any ideas?)
Used pliers to squeeze both USB and HDMI port cages tighter and put it back in, not much improvement.
It is a bad board design, this is not a light smartphone. Needs more rigidity in the sister card especially with hdmi cable connected.
Launce
9 Posts
0
February 4th, 2015 15:00
I'm lucky I'm still under warranty. Got mine back. Charging port works OK, although for some reason it never reports 100% charge.
But now I have to run down the battery on the keyboard to try to get the dang touchpad to work. If you charge the keyboard fully, through its own port, it turns off the touchpad! Common issue, apparently. I guess I should send the keyboard in, too, for replacement. But after a while you just want to use the damn thing for a bit, in between warranty service!
trudog
10 Posts
0
July 29th, 2017 17:00
I was having the same problem until two days ago and found a fix for mine that worked. I was watching "Tampatec" on you tube and he was saying how the charging ports on the laptops were bad on a lot of them. He said the round charging plugs became loose and that they wouldn't charge. Then he said that it was because the outside of the plug inside was the negative and the inside pin was positive or vise versa wasn't making a connection. He squeezed the outside ring tighter and it made a connection and began working. That got me thinking. I took out my charging card, it's easy. just take your back off, easy video to follow on you tube. I took the charging port card out and squeezed the outside of the port a little bit to tighten it, I kept trying to plug in my charging cord until it was tight. That fixed it and now it stays on. If its too tight use a flat head screw driver and twist it apart to loosen it. If you can't understand what I'm talking about go to you tube and pull up tampatec and look for his charging port not charging video and watch it. That should help you or you can contact me.