geek01

I received my X50 after December 2004 and haven't had the problems described below :approve:

ericst

Just got my Axim x50v *today* (5/21/2005). 4 hours into use, it fried both of the USB ports *AND* the Bluetooth radio on my laptop when I went to Hotsync with the cradle-USB cable connection. Been through all of the maneuvers & yes, those things are really dead. I did have power connected to the cradle at the time. Laptop is a relatively new Acer C303 tablet. Still under warranty, but what a pain!!!

ADDENDUM: Axim x50v hardware rev. A04; BIOS A03
Cradle rev. A01
Dead USB ports on tablet PC are 2.0

jrf

I received my X50 in April 2005 and haven't had the problems described below (Note: via a USB hub).

WauloK

Wow! Not sure I want to get an x50v any more...

Bubbi

The problem is with the cradle for some people. You do not need a cradle to do activeSync. You can simply get the cable.

I have the cradle--I use it only to sync and I do not have it plugged into a power source when it is connected to my pc.

LIke I said--the problem is not with the Aximx50v.

plaz

Originally Posted by WauloK

Wow! Not sure I want to get an x50v any more...

Yeah .. I'm a bit worried now too :\

I ordered mine on Friday and I'm waiting for it to arrive now. I didn't know about any of this stuff when I made the order :(

Jeepin_CJ-7

My Jornada did the same thing with me. I don't think this problem is nesessarily with Axim's.

Originally Posted by oddballodd

My experience of this goes way beyond the even slightly annoying. I used to have an HP Jordana, plugging that into a Dell Optiplex GX270 caused the Mobo to blow, this happened on two seperate Optiplex machines. Dell replaced the PC's but did not offer any explanation. I then got an X50v, plugged that into the third Optiplex, low and behold it blew aswell. Since then Dell have replaced it with a different model, it appears that the GX270 is no longer in production due to design problems. I am no longer allowed to plug my cradle into a PC, i have to sync by Bluetooth. Personally I think it it a problem with power going from the cradle back into the PC and causing the Mobo to blow, but I am no electrical engineer... I leave that to the experts !

ericst

Originally Posted by ericst

Just got my Axim x50v *today* (5/21/2005). 4 hours into use, it fried both of the USB ports *AND* the Bluetooth radio on my laptop when I went to Hotsync with the cradle-USB cable connection. Been through all of the maneuvers & yes, those things are really dead. I did have power connected to the cradle at the time. Laptop is a relatively new Acer C303 tablet. Still under warranty, but what a pain!!! ADDENDUM: Axim x50v hardware rev. A04; BIOS A03 Cradle rev. A01 Dead USB ports on tablet PC are 2.0

And now the followup:

I spent *hours* on the phone with Dell tech support and customer support this past week, over the course of at least 7 telephone calls. To summarize:

1. Laptop is being repaired by Acer; I will be without for 10-14 days total from the incident. Thank goodness I have a backup unit.
2. Dell personnel were very nice, very foreign, and very clueless. No one EVER gave me an explanation of the technical issue(s); they just hurriedly offered to replace the garbage Axim equipment.
3. Never was able to speak to *anyone*, ever, in the US of A. India and Panama were the closest I got, despite my best efforts to discern a way to find someone stateside.
4. Laughably, two different tech support teams (both in India) gave conflicting advice: one team insisted it was the cradle & sent me a new one of these (which was actually a re-furb with a *prior* serial number ), and the other team sent a new PDA while insisting that the cradle had nothing to do with it. I also later found out that Team #1 had falsified the original trouble report that I submitted (citing a completely incorrect problem & failing to mention the destruction wrought on my laptop motherboard). Stupidity? Lack of integrity? Maybe some of both?
5. They screwed up one of the exchange orders and forgot to include the return shipping labels; that led to a couple of more hours on the phone arguing with Panamanian customer service people who couldn't figure out how to get shipping info to UPS.
6. I was so enraged by the end of this debacle that I called Dell corporate headquarters in Round Rock TX. I got connected to a voicemail for their "Executive Support" and left a lengthy message requesting a callback. Despite the fact that the voicemail claimed prompt replies/checks multiple times/day, guess what? No callback. Big surprise. For a while I was thinking of sending the defective Axim to Kevin Rollins (Dell CEO) so that he could enjoy frying his laptop(s).

So, I bailed out and demanded a refund. Everything is now on its way back to Dell, including the replacement units, and I am a proud FORMER Axim owner! What a completely disreputable company. Let other readers beware before they buy... Once you've given Dell your money, you will never again be permitted speak to anyone there who knows anything; you're on your own!

I think I'll wait until later this year when non-Dell Windows Mobile 5.0 devices come out.

Shrink

It really is pathetic how little recognition Dell has given to this issue.

dirrtysanchez

Wait a minute??!! I just got my X50v and havent even taken it out of the box yet. i have a $2000 IBM t42 and there is no way in hell I am going to chance it with this thing. I mean, if my notebook gets fried, who is liable? Do I need to contact IBM and ask them what they think. Obviously they are going to tell me they would not be responsible in the event of a crash. This sucks....does anyone have any suggestions as to another brand of PDA to use?

justpaul205

Originally Posted by dirrtysanchez

Wait a minute??!! I just got my X50v and havent even taken it out of the box yet. i have a $2000 IBM t42 and there is no way in hell I am going to chance it with this thing. I mean, if my notebook gets fried, who is liable? Do I need to contact IBM and ask them what they think. Obviously they are going to tell me they would not be responsible in the event of a crash. This sucks....does anyone have any suggestions as to another brand of PDA to use?

I've had my Axim since December and haven't had this issue, I think they may have fixed it since initially there were many more people with the problem than are reporting it now. Also, I believe that the problem is caused by plugging the usb connection in and not the ac adapter, thereby causing the cradle to overload the usb port. If you plug in the ac adapter, should be no problem.

k8ysv

Originally Posted by justpaul205

I've had my Axim since December and haven't had this issue, I think they may have fixed it since initially there were many more people with the problem than are reporting it now. Also, I believe that the problem is caused by plugging the usb connection in and not the ac adapter, thereby causing the cradle to overload the usb port. If you plug in the ac adapter, should be no problem.

No, they haven't fixed anything. Mine was purchased in April of this year and has an A04 hardware revision running and A03 firmware. The cradle is still at rev. A00. My ports fried in the second week. Could have been due to the adapter being plugged/unplugged, but I don't know.

As to exactly what causes it, That's still up in the air. Nobody I know has disposable hardware in plentiful enough supply to give this issue proper testing to determine the exact sequence of events that will trigger the problem. Except Dell that is, and they're not playing.

justpaul205

I heard at one point in time that the problem could be caused by allowing the battery to run way down, then while it's charging it starts draining a lot from the usb port, was this the case in your situation?

Also, quick question, who is the manufacturer of your computer / motherboard. I've noticed in the past on one of the computers I built (Asus motherboard) that if the usb port starts overloading the computer gives you a notification and shuts the object down that's doing the overloading. I thought this was the general order of things but now I'm curious if its not.

Spotnik

Actually, there have been reports recently, which suggests that they're probably still fixing something. They just won't tell anyone what it is.

Despite the warnings and horror stories, my wife and I bought X50 units over a month ago, and we have not had any issues (knock on wood). We reasoned that there was a much better chance that we would NOT get defective units, and that we would have just as much of a chance having the same or equally egregious flaw if we went with another brand. I don't think you're ever going to find a perfectly flawless company making a perfectly flawless unit 100% of the time. While this problem is indeed worrisome, I figured I was much better prepared to deal with Dell Technical Support about this issue than some bizarre glitch on a Compaq that I wouldn't be able to fix until I gave them my credit card number (yeah, you think Dell is bad...) There's always a trade off. Hopefully our X50s will behave themselves and no make us regret going with Dell. If anything happens, though, you can bet they won't hear the end of me!

Originally Posted by justpaul205

I've had my Axim since December and haven't had this issue, I think they may have fixed it since initially there were many more people with the problem than are reporting it now. Also, I believe that the problem is caused by plugging the usb connection in and not the ac adapter, thereby causing the cradle to overload the usb port. If you plug in the ac adapter, should be no problem.

Bubbi

I never use the ac adapter when I plug in the cradle. I have had no trouble.
Are you saying that using the AC adapter is safer? So the axim does not draw power from the PC?

Would it not then draw power from both?
Anyway--I always sync with a fully charged axim simply because I do not use the ac adapter.

Does this happen if one simply uses the cable and NO cradle?