Alright, I've still got my Tablet Z (SO-03E from docomo) and I still use the included desk charging dock (SGP-DS5?), but lately it's been extremely difficult to get the contacts to, well, contact. I have to push it against the contacts on the left to try to get it to connect, but chances are once I release it the contacts don't touch properly and the charging either stops outright or eventually fades out (I have a USB voltage and amps meter to check and it indicates nothing is wrong with the tablet charging or the charger I am using).
So basically I tried cleaning with some alcohol which initially helped, but now it just seems that over time the pins on the dock have simply ended up getting recessed too far into the dock. Or something along that line, that's just my guess. Has anyone else encountered a similar issue and found a solution? Maybe I should find some tweezers to try to pull the pins out? Or maybe I need to clean the contacts more thoroughly? It seems to really be a pins-not-touching-charging-contacts problem, but I can't really figure out how to fix it seeing as it's not like the smaller phone docks where the latch push the pins outward.
I have been using the USB port to charge the tablet if you're going to suggest that, but I really don't like opening and closing the cover everytime. I do have concerns about its durability.
Edit: I found the latch on the Tablet Z dock that pushes the pins outward, but even if they are contacting they don't seem to be charging consistently. I can't figure this out... and I don't have another dock I can test with.
My dock was doing the same thing.
I used some wet and dry sandpaper (p280) to clean both contacts on the dock and the tablet.
Seems to be working now.
Good luck.
Related
So my tablet stopped charging yesterday. I know a lot of people are having issues with their wall charger, but I think my problem is due to the 40 pin connector. It looks like two or three of the pins got bent (not sure how). Every time I plug it in, it has a light crunching feeling. The wire to tablet connection is not sturdy at all and tends to bend downwards due to a lack of support in the tablet. Asus is sending me info on how to return the device. The tablet has been amazing other than this poor design. Anyone else having this issue?
punkcitykid said:
So my tablet stopped charging yesterday. I know a lot of people are having issues with their wall charger, but I think my problem is due to the 40 pin connector. It looks like two or three of the pins got bent (not sure how). Every time I plug it in, it has a light crunching feeling. The wire to tablet connection is not sturdy at all and tends to bend downwards due to a lack of support in the tablet. Asus is sending me info on how to return the device. The tablet has been amazing other than this poor design. Anyone else having this issue?
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Mine wouldn't charge/transfer data but that's because the connector fell apart. Not sure how your pins managed to get bent, but it should be easily rectified via RMA. Until you get your new charger you could probably snag an OG TF charger and use that. However, I would also check the socket on the Prime itself, see if there is anything "odd?" going on in there that could have bent the pins (and possibly do it again once you get another charger).
same problem here- I started another thread. the tablet will no longer charge. It was intermittent at first. sometimes it would stop charging without ever removing the charger or 40 pin connector from the device.
I don't know if it is just a bad charger/cable , or if there is something wrong internally on the tablet. I will be shipping mine back for full refund from where i purchased, unless there is something else to try?
So, this is kind of an odd problem, but I'm not even sure where to begin with it.
So I've currently own two phone cases: The CP12 straight from Sony, and the Brando Case from what I can only assume is the deepest parts of cheap things China.
Anywho, last night my CP12 stopped charging my phone. Just flat out acts like it's not connected on both fronts (My phone doesn't acknowledge being plugged in and my case doesn't think a phone is plugged in. Annoyed, but whatever.
This morning my Brando case arrived and I tried it out, and, same thing. Neither the case nor the phone acknowledge that they're connected to each other.
Now, normally, this leads one to believe that the magnetic port is busted, right? But here's the weird thing: The magnetic cord I got with the CP12 DOES work when I plug it straight into the phone- It works completely fine, as a matter of fact.
Just curious if anyone else has seen this problem and has a solution. I hadn't changed anything on the software front between working and not- I just noticed at one point that the case wouldnt' charge the phone.\
EDIT: My phone exists in a quantum state of just wanting to annoy me.
Shadow of Chaos said:
So, this is kind of an odd problem, but I'm not even sure where to begin with it.
So I've currently own two phone cases: The CP12 straight from Sony, and the Brando Case from what I can only assume is the deepest parts of cheap things China.
Anywho, last night my CP12 stopped charging my phone. Just flat out acts like it's not connected on both fronts (My phone doesn't acknowledge being plugged in and my case doesn't think a phone is plugged in. Annoyed, but whatever.
This morning my Brando case arrived and I tried it out, and, same thing. Neither the case nor the phone acknowledge that they're connected to each other.
Now, normally, this leads one to believe that the magnetic port is busted, right? But here's the weird thing: The magnetic cord I got with the CP12 DOES work when I plug it straight into the phone- It works completely fine, as a matter of fact.
Just curious if anyone else has seen this problem and has a solution. I hadn't changed anything on the software front between working and not- I just noticed at one point that the case wouldnt' charge the phone.
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check the output on your case. If its under 500mAh then it wont charge through the magnetic dock. You've probably noticed the USB wont charge through the magnetic dock either. So possibly the output has been disrupted in the case and is under 500.. ?? Thats all i can think of.
hamdogg said:
check the output on your case. If its under 500mAh then it wont charge through the magnetic dock. You've probably noticed the USB wont charge through the magnetic dock either. So possibly the output has been disrupted in the case and is under 500.. ?? Thats all i can think of.
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... You know, I said I wouldn't make a stupid topic about this, so I'd check a couple of times. And it didn't charge then.
And now the CP12 does charge the phone. When nothing has changed. The Brando doesn't, which is a shame, but meh.
Thanks for the help regardless.
EDIT: Oh, to clarify, I don't have a magnetic dock, so that's not a test. Still, things work, so...
I've ordered the Z2 and it should be coming to my door any day now. When I realized that a magnetic charger might be a good idea to prevent wear of the microUSB port I started to look at the options available. Unfortunately the charging dock sold by Sony is too expensive in my opinion and I would like to find an off-brand alternative. I've looked through the posts on this forum and have come to understand that putting the charger in the wrong direction could be a big mistake. I'm still willing to buy just a cable but would prefer a dock to help prevent this.
My questions is does anyone have a suggestion for a dock(preferable) / cable?
I found this cable on amazon:
http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00...pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1947489602&pf_rd_i=915398
PS: A lot of docks on amazon have some bad reviews and I'm wary of buying them
I was in the same boat. The Sony dock looks nice like but it was fairly expensive.
I just ordered this last week:
http://www.amazon.ca/Magnector-Perf..._1_2?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1421124799&sr=1-2
I've got genuine Sony and this one as well. Sony charger is cut more precisely, phone is held exactly as it should with no wiggle etc. But this alone doesn't justify 10 times higher price. The cheapo one does the job in the same way, I see no difference in charging speed. For example this cable is OK as well. If you don't mind waiting for delivery (it takes about 4 weeks to Europe), I can only recommend these products and Aliexpress site.
Regarding the cables with LED indicator - I've got one and even if it's interesting I don't find it useful. LED light is always on and when it reaches ~95% battery threshold it starts to flicker until fully charged, then the color changes to solid again.
Is it hard to screw up the direction of the charger? I've heard it will completely discharge the battery (It shorts the terminals?)
Also, is there a thin case that has a slot for the magnetic charging / what cases do you use if any?
Thanks for the info guys!
Theoretically the plastic around the terminals should prevent the connector from actually connecting "the wrong way" but in practice it can still happen, especially if you insist in moving and pushing the cable.
If the cable is coming out from "the middle" of the connector is easier to put it wrong (otherwise is easy to remember the cable has to go from the middle of the phone to the bottom so is much harder to make the mistake). However because the phone is so symetric you might confuse the front with the back and put it in reverse even in the docking station.
And last but not least make sure you have good warranty - it is possible that the magnet will "suck out" the connector from the phone, mine is barely hanging and is supposed to be from the batch that fixed this issue.
I have the original Sony dock as well as a third party dock. I also have a magnetic adapter for micro USB. All are working fine. Here are the links:
Third party dock - this works fine with my Z2 even though the title says Z3.
Micro USB adapter
Thanks for the reply unni_kmr, unfortunately I'm in Canada and I can't order through amazon.com easily. (Also that isn't on amazon.ca)
Anyone have input on whether I should get this dock for $15?
http://www.amazon.ca/Patec®-Magneti...=UTF8&qid=1421438530&sr=1-15&keywords=z2+case
Also, I'm looking for a case that's slim but doesn't impede the magnetic charging port. Any suggestions?
EDIT: Found this case, might try to cut a charging hole myself
http://www.amazon.ca/Xcessor-Vapour...id=1421440356&sr=8-2&keywords=z2+case+xcessor
WGuitar said:
Also, I'm looking for a case that's slim but doesn't impede the magnetic charging port. Any suggestions?
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I don't have a case. I am using the Mocolo tempered glass on front and back. I bought it from here. Its very thin glass. Even with it on the front and back, the phone slides into the docks easily.
slow charging speed
hi there, i recently updated my Z2 , to 4.4.4 and everything is absolutely as expected but magnetic charging speed has taken a serious blow. with 4.4.2 it was as fast as normal cable charging but now with 4.4.4 it has become extremely slow , almost takes 8 minutes to charge 1%, and more than 8-9 hrs to fully charge ..
anyone else facing a similar issue .....kindly suggest solutions.:crying:
thanks
WGuitar said:
I've ordered the Z2 and it should be coming to my door any day now. When I realized that a magnetic charger might be a good idea to prevent wear of the microUSB port I started to look at the options available. Unfortunately the charging dock sold by Sony is too expensive in my opinion and I would like to find an off-brand alternative. I've looked through the posts on this forum and have come to understand that putting the charger in the wrong direction could be a big mistake. I'm still willing to buy just a cable but would prefer a dock to help prevent this.
My questions is does anyone have a suggestion for a dock(preferable) / cable?
I found this cable on amazon:
http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00...pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1947489602&pf_rd_i=915398
PS: A lot of docks on amazon have some bad reviews and I'm wary of buying them
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What do you mean by putting the charger in the wrong direction could be bad. Do you mean the magnetic charger can only work in one specific direction?
y300owner said:
What do you mean by putting the charger in the wrong direction could be bad. Do you mean the magnetic charger can only work in one specific direction?
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Not only it can work in only one direction but even worse if you manage to make it connect in reverse it might break the phone or the battery. Yay Sony!
d210 said:
Not only it can work in only one direction but even worse if you manage to make it connect in reverse it might break the phone or the battery. Yay Sony!
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I use a "magnetron" cable for several moths now and never had any issues with it.
It is not possible to connect it in the wrong orientation.
I'm really happy with it and would absolutely buy it again.
kuhno said:
I use a "magnetron" cable for several moths now and never had any issues with it.
It is not possible to connect it in the wrong orientation.
I'm really happy with it and would absolutely buy it again.
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Very expensive cable though...
And if you wiggle it a bit I'm sure you can make contact with it even in reverse. I assume it is using like any other cable the normal "mechanical protection" which consists in a tiny (fraction of a mm) extra plastic on the "lower" pin from magnetic connector.
I use the DK30 charging dock and occasionally a usb magnetic charging cable. Actually I haven't opened the USB for a couple of months now. However, today I was surprised to see that the magnetic connector from the phone was left in the dock
Has anyone had a similar issue and how you fix it? My ZU is still under warranty, however in another country. I'm considering gluing it back in with something, but I'm unsure whether it would be sufficient for the waterproofing.
I searched around a little, and it looks like you're not the only one facing this issue. The Z2 and the Z3C users have also reported that the magnetic connector falls off. Here's a thread about the Z2's issues. One user managed to fix it himself though by, and I quote:
Here's what I did with mine.
All I did was I got a AAA battery and used the + end of the battery and forced it in real hard. Now it won't come out. Even with the very stong magtron magnet. It must have clipped back into place when I forced it in.
Also my phone is waterproof again as I tested it by dunking it in a bowl of water.
Might not work with everyone but worked for me.
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You could try that, and if it doesn't work, then you could possibly glue it back on. What country are you currently in, and where did you buy it from?
Hello there. I am an early adopter of this device.
After all the disappointment with the wifi and gps capabilities and failing to utilize the tf201 as a light netbook replacement, I stowed it away somewhere and lost interest, as I didn't buy the thing to play angry birds. Now about two weeks ago I remembered the tablet and wanted to try amusing our cat with it (which amazingly works great, he is all about those cat video games now ) and got out the dock as well, since someone had apparently ported a few linux images to the tf201 more successfully then last time I read up on it.
The keyboard dock was pretty much an external battery it seemed. None of the keys would work whatsoever but the touchpad did. The battery was recognized and charged fine. I tried the sd-card slot and usb connector, both also working.
I have been searching the net for similar issues and found a lot of people whose docks were dead, with various symptoms. I tried a lot of things unsuccessfully and continued to use the dock as an external battery and for quick charging with the wall plug.
Well then yesterday I connected the dock again to charge the tablet a bit, and what do you know? the keyboard is working again. WTF? I have reconnected the tablet multiple times now, folded and unfolded the whole combo and it is still working today? Could it be a software problem? Is it multiple things causing this?
I decided to open a thread and gather information in one place, so that others might find it easier to troubleshoot this.
Following is a list of things that other's who have similar problems might try to fix/investigate. After that I will post some things that I have tried in order to troubleshoot my problems and please share what ideas you might have, as I am sure the problems with my keyboard dock will return eventually.
Here is what I was able to gather as potential root causes and possible fixes for dead keyboard docks:
1) The ingenious product design of the dock hinge makes it a premium dirt trap. Lots of bits and dust can get inside and will all the time, as the gap is wide open and there is convenient rubber on the sides with glue that dissolves and attracts crap that is basically uncleanable. But the connector is! So try cleaning the first. Sadly it is not easy to access but cotton swabs and a tooth brush with some cleaning alcohol will do it. The tablet side can be cleaned more easily but also isn't so problematic as a dust trap.
2) The flex cable inside the dock can become loose due to vibrations. This was a problem with the transformer generation before and they seem to have improved the design but I still read reports from people who had this happen. This is the easiest to fix out of all of these problems and if you have connection problems with your dock, make sure to check this. The dock is very easily opened with a phillips screw driver, a plastic prod (guitar pick, old credit card, cheap phone repair tools etc) and some patience. Be sure to not lift the two halves away from each other, as the cable connecting the top to bottom is very short and if you are not careful, you'll rip off the connector on the pcb. Check the flex cables and reseat them.
3) The connector between the tf201 and the dock is built very flimsily, but better then the first transformer series. The connector on the tablet side can lift off the pads it's soldered to due to flex and stress because it carries the tablets weight partially without a lot of support. The good news about this is, that if you have a decent rework station, this is potentially fixable. Opening the tablet is a hassle, you need a heatgun to soften the adhesive around the case (noone mentions this it seems) and slide the locking tabs in the recesses (where the tablet usually locks to the dock, left and right from the connector) to the open position. Then carefully pry the whole assembly open and get access to where the flex cable is connected to the dock/charge port. with a proper hot air rework station, that port can be reflown if the pins have indeed lifted from the pads on the little pcb. But this is also very finicky, as you will melt stuff in the process without shielding it from the heat (captone tape or maybe aluminum foil can do the trick).
4) Software? I only have theories on this but I think a lot of cases have some sort of software problem. What is known about how the dock functions?
- it contains a battery, which can be charged independently of the tablet. Charging this battery requires 15V and cannot be done with a common usb connection.
- there is a usb host connector, so there must be a controller for that inside the dock. it's not just wired through to the tablet, there is stuff happening here.
- there is an sdcard slot, so there must be some hardware responsible for powering and reading/writen to that as well.
- there has to be some sort of firmware, responsible for the low level things going on in the dock I am thinking, it has to do powermanagement for several internal devices.
so my conclusion from this information is, that maybe some of the problems could be caused there. how could this be debugged?
or:
- the custom rom could have a problem with the dock. The software side might be wonky for whatever reason. I am running a KatKiss 7.1.2 rom and AOSP is the only choice I can set as the hardware keyboard. Some people had success with hard reseting their tf201 or even a factory reset or reflash. A lot of people reported this did nothing for them.
TL;DR if your keyboard isn't working, your dock isn't charging, or some other feature on your dock seems dead suddenly, try the above things and please report. I am trying to collect all info on this to help people troubleshoot and investigate these issues.
- I have tried to hard reset the tf201 with dock attached and without. didn't help.
- I opened the dock and reseated the flex cables, but they looked fine in the first place. Also didn't help.
- I tried fiddling with the keyboard and language settings, also did nothing. Don't want to reflash/change roms just yet, I couldn't gather any cohesive info on wether people -had these sorts of issues due to a custom rom.
- I cleaned the connector on the dock and the tablet with isopropyl and got out lots of gunk but this also did not help.
now I was about to reopen the tablet (I was in there before to fix something on the case), but then it suddenly started working again. So I am pretty reluctant to just open the tablet to check at the connector pcb, since it is quite risky and I am glad I was able to get the thing back together so neatly, after I opened it the first time. I have a hot air rework station and a microscope to check and repair this, but now that I am thinking it might be a software issue after all, I really don't want to risk ruining the tablet. It's obviously not made for being repaired/maintained (thanks ASUS, it's not like it was extraordinarily expensive...).
Here's the issue I had..
https://www.androidpolice.com/2011/...-battery-drain-here-is-why-and-how-to-fix-it/
Having missed the window to have this repaired by Asus I just leave my keyboard in a drawer to keep papers from curling.
Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk
HorthLithperer said:
Here's the issue I had..
https://www.androidpolice.com/2011/...-battery-drain-here-is-why-and-how-to-fix-it/
Having missed the window to have this repaired by Asus I just leave my keyboard in a drawer to keep papers from curling.
Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk
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thanks for that link. So that apparently just concerns people who have a dock that has it's battery draining, which I am luckily not one of. I also did the test described in the link, so I guess powermanagement is not affected by the firmware incompability in this regard.