Axim is DEAD!

jgoldschmidt · 02-10-03, 11:04 AM

I just went to turn on my AXIM this morning and it won't even turn on! I also tried the record button, since it is supposed to automatically turn it on and nothing happened!! By the way, it was fully charged last night, although I didnn't leave it in the cradle overnight. Any suggestions, please, or should I just call Dell right away? Thanks.

jgoldschmidt · 02-10-03, 12:13 PM

Update: I just tried it again and it turned on! However, now it says the batteries are extremely low. I had a battery drainage problem last week and followed what someone else on this site suggested (turning off the automatic turn on if a button is pressed). Has anyone else had this problem? Or does anyone know what is going on with my Axim. Please help!

Mike C · 02-10-03, 01:48 PM

Do you use Battery Pack software? It has a battery monitor that reads in elapsed time on, and estimated time left. It's useful to see the elapsed time indicator first thing in the morning to verify if the thing actually has been running all night or if it's a power problem.

tdangle · 02-13-03, 12:08 AM

I have had the same problem a couple of times. The battery had a full or almost full charge and the next morning it was dead. I have no idea what caused it, but it has made me always close my database program so as to not loose data like I did the first time. My Palm clone (handspring) was much safer than this one for data loss.

If anyone knows what is going on with the overnight battery drainage, let us all know.

falgun · 02-13-03, 01:09 AM

seems like people are starting to have problems with draining issues, read some issues on this forum and others. I hope it is not something to big. Good rule is at least the one I follow is when battery life is half way down throw it on the charger and charge it till the green light comes on. But I keep my axim on the cradle over night all the time. Check your auto shutoff features and make sure they are ok. HMmMMM still seems wierd, by the way THIS ARGENTUM game is damn addictive, and gives my hands cramps!!!

HackMeNot · 02-13-03, 04:02 AM

I had a comlete battery drain today but it was my fault not the device or battery. I just recieved my Axim 400mhz in the mail yesterday. I placed order on Ebay. It arrived brand new in box still sealed the very next day. Paid 332 plus 18 Fedex service.

So anyway this is what happened. I was so excited about my return to the PPC platform from a year with Palm OS that I stayed up all night installing trial apps and games. I didnt sleep one wink. I went to work with my Axim and decided I should take the power cable with me in case the Axim needs charging at work. I arrived home from work so exhausted that I put the Axim in the cradle to sync with my laptop but I forgot to plug the power cord into the cradle. So I took a well deserved 5 hour nap and woke up to find my Axim dead. It was an accident I swear. Its been charging for the past 3 hours and is working fine now.

tdangle · 02-14-03, 11:44 PM

Mine died again. I charged it overnight and it worked OK during the day. I put in my Jacked pocket (in the Dell zipper case) drove home and within an hour went to get it. It was very warm and DEAD. I lost all the date I had entered during the day. I use data on the run and always exit the program with finished just to make sure I don't get corrupt data.

I am about ready to go back to my $80 handspring visor. The batteries on it would last a month and I never lost data.

Mike C · 02-14-03, 11:51 PM

If it was warm, I'm thinking you've got a shorted battery or shorted Axim. Get a new one.
That is not at all normal.

tdangle · 02-15-03, 12:01 AM

Oh Boy!
I get to spend the weekend on the phone trying to get to Dell support. Last time I tried, I gave up after an hour and figured out the problem myself.

Any hints on how to get thru the voice menu system from hell that dell runs?

Mike C · 02-15-03, 12:09 AM

You could always pull off the battery and see if the contacts are straight and normal looking. Other than that, maybe a hard reset just to be able to say you did it?
Make a backup first if you don't have one yet, using the PC Active Sync. Not much else to try.

tdangle · 02-15-03, 01:07 AM

Contacts look to be in good condition and straight. I did a hard reset shortly after receiving the unit because I thought something else was messed up (don't remember why right now). So far I am trying to deal with Dell via e-mail tech support. Their responce is to tell me how to check battery status. Not real encourging.

SimonCrux · 02-17-03, 07:08 PM

Interesting Visor reference- the reason I got my Axim is that my Visor Deluxe sucks down batteries even when it's turned off, and I would have to soft reset to turn it back on. An odd juxtaposition.

mialutz · 02-18-03, 05:41 AM

How to get through is to try the dell forums....

http://forums.us.dell.com/supportfor...ard.id=dellpda

Or to call like you want to place and order...They take new orders much faster than support calls. Ask them to transfer you or ask them for a name and an extension to call.

It worked for me ;)

chuckles · 02-21-03, 12:25 AM

I found that people were having an issue with the backup battery draining, anyone else? Seems that the battery dies because the shut off timer is set too long when off the cradle and there are reminder set. The reminder wakes up the axim and depending on how many reminders it can stay on half the night. The backup battery steps in when the main battery is dead. The backup, of course, does not recharge... Dell is working on a fix for this issue. Does anyone know if it has been released yet?

tdangle · 02-21-03, 12:35 AM

Since I took out the backup bat and put it back in as recommended by Dell, I have not had any more problems. I am still waiting, sometimes everything worked fine for up to a week and then...

I never had a problem with the backup bat going dead, it has always shown 100%. I am beginning to think the connection was bad when a load was required after the main bat went dead, so it never discharged.