e740 recall question

[LanceO]

I have a brand new e740 that is in the recall range. The retailer I purchased the unit from has offered to replace it if I want. And I know I could send it in to Toshiba for repair as well.

However, I believe if it ain't broke don't fix it. My concern is that if I send it in I will get it back with new problems.

I was wondering if the problem that is forcing the recall affects all units in that serial number range? I do not have any problems. I removed and reinstalled my battery several times with no data loss. And as for the other part of the recall problem description it says it could lose data if the battery is allowed to fully discharge. What? Is that not what is supposed to happen if the battery fully discharges? If I send it in and they "fix" it will I be able to let the battery fully discharge and still keep my data??? I called Toshiba about my questions and they are no help. It seems they keep the folks who actually know the products locked up pretty tight.

So if anyone can answer the following I would greatly appreciate it:
Is the problem intermittent? If not, and I do not see the problem, does it mean I do not need to send in my PDA?


Thanks guys,
Lance

[kirwincom]

If your retailer offered to replace it Lance take them up on the offer....

Backup your machine prior to taking it in to him using activesync option.... Then restore when you get the new machine home.

I would have thought your retailer would just give you a straight swap for a new machine there and then. He should'nt be selling machines that are on the recall list anyway.

You may have some warranty issues if you dont do this.

[LanceO]

Thanks kirwincom.

But does anyone know if the problem is intermittent?

Also, part of the recall description says one of the problems is data loss can occur if the battery is allowed to fully discharge. Isn't that the case anyway???

Lance

[kirwincom]

yes problem is intermitent ....

yes is case if battery is allowed to fully discharge then data loss occurs... however like mobile phone batteries do not fully discharge... allowing you to make 911 (999 HERE IN UK) call on a battery that is suppoosed to be dead... last dregs of battery will power for data retention until you recharge...

[LanceO]

I see. Thanks for the help.

Lance

[lilasp]

The recall has to do with the battery usage and life of the battery is what I understand. I talked with them yesterday and I'm sending mine back.:rolleyes:

[pcorbett]

I may never buy a Toshiba product again, I’m trying to figure out how I can get rid of this e740 without losing the $600 I paid for it!

I purchased my Pocket PC 9/20/02. I used it successfully for about 3 weeks with only minor problems (see below), then weird stuff started happening regarding the charging of the battery. The first major problem was after charging it overnight (at least 8 hours), I drove to work with it (not in use or turned on for about 45 minutes). I turned it on when I got to work and got this warning:

"Main Battery Very Low
To prevent possible data loss, replace or recharge your battery according to the owner's manual."

When I looked in the power settings, it showed 1% battery remaining... After quickly putting it on the charger, it went to 90+% after about 5 minutes. I called Toshiba this time and they didn't know anything. Then I think it worked trouble free for a few days, and then this whole thing happened again, only now it wouldn't charge at all. Tried hard resetting which did nothing to improve the situation. Called Toshiba again, gee they didn't know but I might have to send it in. I lamented about that for close to a week, talked to the store where I bought it (CompUSA) to see about exchanging it there - no luck so far. Finally, I called Toshiba back and low and behold, now they have a recall about a problem that sounds related (since they're giving us such vague information about the problem). They said I would have to send it in. I asked them what they would be doing, they said a software upgrade and replacing the battery - I got this answer from two techs that day. So, 11/2/02 about a week later (did I mention that they don't do any pre-shipping of a replacement secured by a credit card, like most other computer related companies?) I got my e740 back. I had been rather diligent about writing down information such as my serial numbers, part/model numbers (battery and pocket pc). I also noted some Windows information such as the number that it shows when you do a reset (I'm guessing this is the ROM version), version/build of Pocket PC, MAC address and version information for the wireless NIC, etc.

When I got the e740 back, it was the exact same battery; the ROM version was changed (new: 1.0618.0409,old: 1.0203.0409), the wireless utility version (new: 1.0.14, old: 1.0.11) was changed as well as the MAC address. The next day, after I charged it for over 12 hours (before using it), I started trying to use it (fully charged). After about 2 to 3 minutes, I got the infamous warning above and it showed 1% battery. I put it back on the charger and it wouldn’t charge (yellow light I believe, that indicates the temperature is not right and it won’t charge – the temperature where it charges is always 69-70). I was furious and called Toshiba. The first person (customer service recall people) was sorry but he couldn’t do anything, he transferred me to technical support to troubleshoot the problem. Tech support finally (after about 40 minutes) agreed to send a battery, I even convinced them that maybe they should ship it overnight instead of the ‘ground’ they were insisting on. He also created a second case number and escalated that to the ATS group, for whatever that’s worth – nothing so far. I received a new battery 11/5. It worked fine until today 11/9. After it charged all night, I turned it on and before I even selected the application I was going to use, I got the battery warning. I called Toshiba, the ATS group apparently doesn’t work on Saturday and the regular guy in technical support said “I don’t know what I can do for you until Monday”, I asked to speak to a supervisor and got voicemail (not even a name, just an extension). I’ll be calling back soon after I post this on as many bulletin boards as possible.


Minor problems referenced above:
Constant soft resets necessary, action buttons work almost never. Strange power button action, like it won't turn off, sometimes it will just turn off the backlight when you hit the power button, etc.

[Kaos116]

From what I understand about the recall and memory loss, is there is a backup battery(probably a capacitor really) INSIDE the unit that is supposed hold your information while you change the battery or if it goes completely dead. That doesn't happen on my unit. I get the memory loss if the battery is out for more than 30 seconds. I have a unit that is in the recall number range. But I don't have a great need for this fix as my battery is never completely dead and most of my data is on a CF card anyway. I do have an issue with the 'battery power remaning' being properly displayed. Charge all night, trip to work with unit off. When I turn it on I get a message saying the unit needs to be charged it's at 35%. Which in my testing really isn't true. It takes about 2 hours to go from 35% to 14% so with that logic I am getting a full charge... It's just not reporting properly... I am going to attempt the OS upgrade tonight that addresses this issue, I think. :D Other than that I have difficulty finding computers on my network, but don't have an issue surfing the net...another 'go figure'

Have a great new year!

Todd