Broken USB port

Kack

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So my USB port broke on my D4. i pulled out the charging cable as i always do and blam out came the charging adapter. My D4 had about 10 percent battery <it wasnt charging with the charger.> so i tried unrooting and removing SU and root using D4 utility. but it was not working. so i also tried booting into recovery and disabling safe system and doing a factory reset. but it died during the process and with no way to charge it i was out of luck. so im getting a replacement and going to send this one back and i will be on pins and needles waiting to see if they try and charge my account.


This is one of the down falls of a non-removable battery. smh
 

podspi

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This is one of the main reasons I got the inductive charger. I was always a bit nervous about the USB port on my D1, but since it had a removable battery (and I had three of them + external battery charger), I knew that if I was ever unlucky enough to ruin the USB port, I'd still have a way to charge the phone.

Since the battery isn't removable on the D4, I didn't want to use the USB all the time. Of course, the downside is that the inductive charger generates more heat, which will kill that non-removable battery quicker... Worst design decision ever. If we can see it, there is no reason for it to be non-removable!

Anyway, good luck! They probably won't care, I don't think rooting can cause the port to pop off and I doubt a tech would try and claim otherwise! :D
 

reccos35

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I know this topic is a little old, but I wanted to add my two cents on this as I had the same problem last week with my D4 phone that I got in September of '12. After simply unplugging my USB cable from my phone, like I do every morning, the metal housing of the USB port came out of my phone with the cable. So while the phone works, I can no longer charge the phone or transfer data via USB.

I believe that there is a manufacturer's defect in the way the USB port mounts to the circuit board. Since plugging and unplugging the USB cable is a normal daily operation of the phone, I feel the port should stay in place for more than 4 months. After contacting Verizon about this they said that they consider this scenario "physical damage" so their standard warranty or replacement process would not be available and I would be stuck purchasing a new phone at full retail price.

Digging around I found that Motorola has a limited warranty policy for 12 months. Simply open a claim (call or set up online), send the phone to them (at your expense) and they will replace (if under warranty) or repair (for a small fee) and ship you (at their expense) the repaired phone within 5-7 business days. I chose to use this option as it would be the least expensive route for me to get my Droid 4 working, if in fact this issue wasn't covered under warranty.

After Motorola received and evaluated my phone they sent me an email with a picture showing the USB port damage. See picture below. They too considered this "physical damage" and asked if I wanted them to repair my phone for a $159 fee or if I wanted them to ship my Droid 4 back to me un-repaired. Not happy with the $159 fee I picked up the phone and called Motorola to plead my Manufacturer's Defect case. The representative stated that all physical damage regardless of the cause is not covered under their warranty. I asked him if there was anything they could do about the fee and after being put on hold for a minute or two he said that he was authorized to offer me a small discount and said they could repair the phone for $125 plus tax. While not my ideal response I accepted his offer as this was probably the best scenario of a what could have been a much more expensive situation.

It's only been a day since I gave approval of the repair, so I still don't have my phone back, but given the fact that the Droid 4 uses a non-removable battery I was really left with only two options; pay Motorola to fix it or buy another phone on the open market for much more money than the repair.

So what's the lesson of the day...Don't charge your phone via the USB port! =P


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captain howdy

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Ok so how do you recommend charging the phone? Use magic? Last I checked my wall charger uses the same port as the usb.
 

Quick

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Ok so how do you recommend charging the phone? Use magic? Last I checked my wall charger uses the same port as the usb.

(Post #2)

Inductive charging. Droid 4 requires a different back ($30 from VZW) and you need a mat ($30-$60).
 

silverfang77

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But as was mentioned, inductive charging will kill the battery faster. It seems like a catch 22.
 

Quick

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"Faster" is relative.

[bit off topic]
How hot does the battery get when charging on a pad?
What's the expected life if only charged through the USB and what's the expected life if only charged on the pad? (percentage number)
 
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