FAQ: SUDS - sudden failure of USB on M5xx

[wkiraly]

If you live or work where theres a lot of static electricity, don't bother getting a replacement, it will just happen again and again. It sounds like a design flaw rather than a problem with individual units. Either take it back and get a different model/brand or buy the serial synch cradle. Palm will replace your USB cradle with a serial cradle for free, fairly quickly and without requiring you to mail the old one back. They apparently know this is a real problem though you may never get them to admit it straight out.

You can get a synch cable without the recharge capability for about $16 to test whether it still works if you are in doubt.

[Jennifer S]

The Battery Drain Fix, if it works, will confirm that the problem is SUDS. You could do that and then just wait to see if it happens again. At that point, you could decide whether to get it replaced by Palm, sell it and buy a different device, get a serial cable or cradle, or do the battery drain fix again.

[wkiraly]

Jennifer S.

I'm curious as to what you've seen at PDA Rentals? Assuming you folks have to support a lot more units than any of us regular folks, can you say if this is a big problem with a lot of units or something that only strikes a few people but hits them over and over? Do any of the other models or brands have similar problems? Are Palm units generally well made and this is a model line aberation or does Palm have crappy design and quality control? Has that changed over the years?

Just curious and would appreciate your insights.

[120202]

The battery drain fix worked, although only after I figured out that I had to do a hard reset first in order for the shortcut-dot-1 to invoke.

Palm has agreed to send me out a reconditioned or refurbished unit OR I can send this one back and wait 4 to 8 weeks for it to be fixed. It's still under warranty but was purchased just over 30 days ago, even though it's only been out of the box for about a week.

Has anyone had any experience with the reconditioned Palms? Are they any good? What does reconditioned mean exactly anyway?

[Jennifer S]

Originally posted by wkiraly
Jennifer S.

I'm curious as to what you've seen at PDA Rentals? Assuming you folks have to support a lot more units than any of us regular folks, can you say if this is a big problem with a lot of units or something that only strikes a few people but hits them over and over? Do any of the other models or brands have similar problems? Are Palm units generally well made and this is a model line aberation or does Palm have crappy design and quality control? Has that changed over the years?

Just curious and would appreciate your insights.

I only have two m5xx units, and I had to send one of them (an m505) back for a battery problem. My personal opinion on this, based on what I've seen in the user community, is that there is a problem with the USB chips in the m5xx series - they can end up in an unknown state after an encounter with static. Your probability of having trouble is directly related to how much static is in your environment. The "enhanced" cradle provides some extra protection against static but does not make the devices immune to the problem.

I don't think this is a quality control issue. This is something that the designers didn't see coming, for whatever reason, and you can't just drop another chip into an existing design.

We have not seen this problem on any other PDA model, whether by Palm or another manufacturer.

I think that Palm's quality is average; some devices have been stellar, while others have had problems. But I also think that Palm's warranty and customer service are way above average; while there are always people who have bad experiences, in general Palm will replace any device that is in warranty without any questions, once they've gone through some basic troubleshooting. And while the flat repair fee is high for older devices in comparison to their current value, how many consumer electronics manufacturers will replace any device they've ever made for a flat fee?

[razor3]

I tried to hot synch my M500 at work and nothing happened. I took it out of the cradle and the green light came on. Nothing on the screen. It hasn't shut off for almost 3 hours. I am home and put it in my cradle, the light went off and I was not able to hot synch.

I did a soft reset with the paper clip in the hole. But it still won't Hot synch.

I was able to Hot Synch my wife'd M500 but couldn't HS mine. I called PALM Support, went thru 2 soft resets, a hard reset, erased all data, checked the HS manager and my PC device manager to no avail. They told me to return it to them for a repair. It is still in the 12 month warranty.

IS THERE ANOTHER SOLUTION?

[wkiraly]

Read the threads about Green Light Crash and Sudden USB Death Syndrome and be welcome into our club...

Two things seem to work for people besides getting a replacement. One, which was my choice after several replacements, is to buy (or get palm to send you) a serial cradle. The static problem does not seem to affect the serial sychronization. Its a bit slower, but for day to day, not much of a problem.

The other solution is to try to completely, and I mean completely, drain your battery. Many people say your palm may synch USB after that until the next time you get a shock.

I assume Tech Support asked if your cradle had an "E" or, I think, a "G" on the bottom. Some of the early 500's had cradles that shocked the palm into USB confusion. Now, it seems, its just the ambient static which does it.

[razor3]

Palm support did not ask me about an E or G type cradle.
I use a serial cradle @ work and that is where I had the GLC start.

?????????????????

[Jennifer S]

GLC seems to be more often related to static while you're handling the Palm as opposed to static while you're putting the Palm in the cradle, so it doesn't matter which cradle you've been using.

[monkeypc]

my m500 doesnt sync anymore either.

But, i am able to use my ppk just fine.

does that mean i can exclude SUDS