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Mobile Gadget News :: Making Your Mobile Life Simpler _ Motorola MPx220 _ Repairing the "not charging" and "not connecting to usb" problems

Posted by: Alkeli Sep 9 2007, 05:27 PM

Sorry for the lack of pics, my digicam was dead at the time and I couldn't really use my camera phone tongue.gif

This is how I repaired my phone. It had trouble charging. I had to wiggle and play with the connection to get it to charge, and my PC wouldn't recognize it anymore.

If you try it, do it at your own risk! I am not responsible if you screw up your phone!

Things needed for repair:

-A clean workspace
-Extra-fine tip soldering iron
-Empty container for small screws/parts
-Desk lamp or work light
-Set of small torx screwdrivers
-Tweezers
-Multimeter
-A strong epoxy or similar (contact cement etc)

Remove the battery, SIM chip and memory card before starting. There are 6 torx screws that need to be removed. The top 2 are behind rubber stoppers on the backside of the phone just under the antenna. These stoppers can just be pulled out however you can. I used tweezers. The other 4 are around where the battery lives. With the battery removed they're easy to spot.

Now to crack it open. All the buttons will not fall out don't worry, but the rubber cover for the earphones does so keep that in your container with the screws. Of course like all electronics the 2 halves are snapped together and have to be separated, so I also used the tweezers for this. Start from the bottom of the phone when opening(where the connector is) because a lip is tucked under the top of the antenna so you kinda have to open it like it's hinged at the top.

Now you have 2 halves. This is where you need your desk/work light... Take a close look at the contacts of your connector, some might be broken right off, some might just be lifted off of the circuit board. Give the whole connector a wiggle to see if it moves. If it does, have a look at the contacts on the board while doing it. Are they loose?

So onto the repair, you've checked out what's loose so now let your

soldering iron warm up. Once it's hot enough to melt solder, go over each contact on the board and just touch them, pressing lightly. Not for too long though! Just long enough that you see the solder melt and the solder and pin bond together. Do this for ALL the pins, just in case.

Once you've gone over them all, now's the time to use your epoxy or similar product. I used a super small flathead screwdriver to dip in the epoxy and spread around the entire connector. Don't go too crazy with it, you'll just make a mess. But get around the entire bottom to make sure that sucker doesn't move again!

Re-assemble and you're good to go. If you had pins that were actually broken off and missing in the phone, then I can't help you. These little parts are assembled by machines, too hard to most people to repair. At that point I would suggest a desk charger. UNLESS, like my phone, the middle charger pin is missing. Dont' worry, it still charges without that middle one.

Hope this helps. If anyone needs help or has questions, just post it...

Al

Posted by: Alkeli Sep 9 2007, 05:29 PM

Almost forgot, the multimeter... use it to check for continuity between the board's solder points and the outside of the connector for the usb and power plug to ensure everything's soldered good.

Posted by: smeg36 Sep 9 2007, 08:12 PM

Wow, great. Wish I had this guide when my old MPx220 started having this problem. Luckily Moto repaired mine for free, but I was still out the phone for 2 weeks while they did.

Posted by: supermonkey Sep 20 2007, 09:40 PM

Thanks! This is great info.
My MPX has just started this nonsense in the last couple weeks. Thoroughly annoying!
I have been strongly considering ditching it in favor of a Blackjack, but this post gives me pause.

I might see if I have the chops to fix it based on these instructions. Worst case scenario, I still get a new gadget.... wink.gif

Posted by: Alkeli Sep 21 2007, 02:53 AM

QUOTE (supermonkey @ Sep 20 2007, 03:40 PM) *
Thanks! This is great info.
My MPX has just started this nonsense in the last couple weeks. Thoroughly annoying!
I have been strongly considering ditching it in favor of a Blackjack, but this post gives me pause.

I might see if I have the chops to fix it based on these instructions. Worst case scenario, I still get a new gadget.... wink.gif


Bah, I would sooner repair this phone than get a new one... It has everything I want, movies, mp3's and emulators wink.gif Don't be afraid to open it up... There is one connector between the circuit board on the back panel and the main panel, and as soon as I put both back together, they lined up perfectly and reconnected with no problems. As long as you have a fine-tipped soldering iron, it's just a matter of touching the contact back on BEFORE you use the epoxy or jb-weld to keep the connector from moving. The solder that's already on the board will melt and re-create the broken connections.

If you need any help or aren't sure of something post here and ask, pics would probably help if possible/needed. And like you said, worst case scenario, you still get a new gadget... or, you put it all back together and use a desktop charger to charge your battery...

As for mine, kind of an update here, it still charges with no problems and the USB still works like a charm. cool.gif

Posted by: supermonkey Sep 27 2007, 02:34 PM

QUOTE (Alkeli @ Sep 20 2007, 10:53 PM) *
Bah, I would sooner repair this phone than get a new one... It has everything I want, movies, mp3's and emulators wink.gif Don't be afraid to open it up... There is one connector between the circuit board on the back panel and the main panel, and as soon as I put both back together, they lined up perfectly and reconnected with no problems. As long as you have a fine-tipped soldering iron, it's just a matter of touching the contact back on BEFORE you use the epoxy or jb-weld to keep the connector from moving. The solder that's already on the board will melt and re-create the broken connections.

If you need any help or aren't sure of something post here and ask, pics would probably help if possible/needed. And like you said, worst case scenario, you still get a new gadget... or, you put it all back together and use a desktop charger to charge your battery...

As for mine, kind of an update here, it still charges with no problems and the USB still works like a charm. cool.gif



So "heat the work, not the solder", is what you're saying? wink.gif
I have a soldering iron, but I'm no expert w/r/t technique. And I'm not sure it's fine-tip. But I'll figure it out. Like you say: worst-case scenario, I still get a new device.

Posted by: Alkeli Oct 7 2007, 03:32 AM

QUOTE (supermonkey @ Sep 27 2007, 08:34 AM) *
So "heat the work, not the solder", is what you're saying? wink.gif
I have a soldering iron, but I'm no expert w/r/t technique. And I'm not sure it's fine-tip. But I'll figure it out. Like you say: worst-case scenario, I still get a new device.


Yes, heat the pins that come from the connector. You will see the solder get super-shiny as it melts, all I really did with mine was touch each one for a second or two. You'll know how small the tip needs to be once you see the pins inside, but for reference before dismantling, have a look at the contacts on the connector that the charger and usb cable hook up to, that's about the size you'll be working with inside as well. So you want a tip similar to a pen.

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