my n900's usb port is 6 months old, so far i have not see any problems (maybe because i have a spare battery and charger).

i used the charger in-the-box (not filed the prongs yet) to charge the n900 for a week or two until i read this thread. from that day, i filed down all my micro usb's (yes! including my 5800, n97 and n86).

and reading Texrat's blog about a 2nd time n900 micro USB fail made me think that most n900's wont last a year without the microUSB fail, but i'd rather not think that way (or even tell 'bout it in this post).

well i love the way the n900 works, if the usb broke (that im praying NOT!) i will send it to nokia and patiently wait for repair/replacement. if they dont fix it in warranty, i will get a new one (yeah BUY one!), and donate my old one to a person with the specialty to fix it.

so far everything is fine. and keeping an eye out of it.

For those unfamiliar with my blog, the latest article on the usb failures also links back to the first 2: http://tabulacrypticum.wordpress.com...sb-detachment/

No word from anyone in Nokia on the continuation of this problem.

For certain I'd be angry if my usb port snapped off, but so far most people admit to having had accidents while charging - tripping over the lead, dropping off the table, and so on. This type of damage falls outside the scope of warranty provision, so you would not be successful in any legal venture in that regard.

Nokia not fixing it though, that's kind of frustrating. Unfortunately when the damage is a result of an end user accident, they don't have to repair it if they don't want to.

here probably is the reason why it costs. warranty is for material -etc defects, insurance is for gravity.

The defect was in using a surface mount component, especially one with no bracing whatsoever.

Properly done, even a hard yank shouldn't pull the connector free.

@texrat: ACK. I'm pondering three approaches: 1) Cyanoacrylat. 2)special adapter that has extremely short handle end on micro-USB plug and this way no lever to apply bending force to the receptacle. 3) Get rid of micro-USB usage for everyday routine, means drill 2 holes into back battery cover, glue 2 copper pads on N900 body under the holes and connect to VBUS and GND, charge in cradle equipped with 2 pogopins protruding through the holes (question: fastcharge [D+/- short] detection? possible answer: jrbme)

A pity Nokia doesn't consider fixing this **** for good

cheers
jOERG

I did not go to Nokia demanding that they repair my N900. I know it is my fault for not taking extra care of a fragile but necessary part of the phone.

Anyway, I have been turned down by Nokia for any repair (paid or free). The cost for repair was prohibitively expensive at the only shop I found in my city willing to try to repair it.

Yet, if you allow me the quote myself : "It will break again". I think this is the message I and the two previous poster are trying to convey here.

But this is, again, turning into a "Broke USB port" thread. The reason why I made this thread is :

Nokia is bad but the smartphone industry, as a whole, is even worst. That is why I decided to wait for the open/free well built Meego/Harmattan phone from Nokia. If not, I give up ...

Good luck with that...I hope you have some micro-soldering tools. The USB leads are tiny and spaced closely together (0.5mm?). You'll also have little to no room to work on one side of the port.

Couldn't you just copy Sygic 10 to your micro SD card (external reader needed) and then move it to the root file system once the card is install in the N900?

Both the charger and the data USB cables had really strong latches, such that they required too much force to pull them out. I suppose they're like that to avoid the cable falling out, but the drawback is with every disconnect you have no choice but to put more strain on the connector, and if you happen to yank the cable or phone accidentally then instead of disconnecting it will strain it even more.

Maybe that's the problem. I tried a different cable from a Samsung phone and that one goes in and out easily without much effort. I tried to push the latches in on my cables and they're now somewhat easier to disconnect.