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Old 03-12-2011, 11:27 AM   #1
h0bbes
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Unhappy Dead PRS-350?

Help! I've almost given up hope of reviving my 2 month-old PRS-350.

I've been a happy user until a week ago, when my reader refused to power on. 2 weeks ago, I left it in standby mode with 3 bars of battery. I was then too busy to read anything until last weekend. I connected it to my PC and to my horror, the indicator light started flashing amber and my PC couldn't detect the reader. Nothing appeared on screen.

I left the reader connected for an hour but the light still flashed amber and the back of the reader was warm, so I disconnected it and plugged it into an AC USB charger, which I have used to charge the 350 with no problems previously. The indicator light turned red so I left it charging for 12 hours, then tried to power it on again to no avail. Poking the reset button for 5 seconds then sliding the power switch was of no use.

I charged the reader via the AC USB charger for another 24 hours and tried resetting it many times but the screen is still dead. When I connect it to my PC, the indicator stays red for the first few minutes, then starts flashing amber. Resetting the reader when it's still connected to the PC also doesn't work.

I don't live in US so I can't send the reader for servicing. Is there any other way to revive my reader? Should I not have left it in standby mode but powered it off completely? I didn't think it would make a huge difference!

I've switched back to using my old PRS-300, which still charged and worked properly even though I abandoned it for 2 months. It's still too slow for my liking but there's no choice. If my 350 is truly dead, I'll live with the 300 until Sony launches the 350 successor.
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Old 03-12-2011, 12:20 PM   #2
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I can't imagine leaving it on for two weeks can do that kind of damage.
Could there be something stuck, making the reader think a button is constantly pressed? I know the 350 and the old 600 touch edition work differently, but when my 600 acted up it was because I had put a screen protector on it and a small piece of it was stuck under the rim, making teh touch screen thinking it was constantly pressed.
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Old 03-12-2011, 01:06 PM   #3
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Oh no! I'm so sorry.

Where did you buy it? Could you bring it back there or was it a mail order purchase? I don't think leaving it in standby would do that. I've done that with both the 300 & 350 with no issues.

Do you have an AC non-USB charger? I use the charger that came with my Blackberry. Do you have access to something like that? Can you call Sony support? Have you looked at their site for suggestions on what to do?
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Old 03-12-2011, 01:54 PM   #4
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I am sorry, I can't help you but maybe here is helpful information.

Search function should bring up lots of advice as I guess I've seen some similar threads before.

Good luck!
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Old 03-12-2011, 02:27 PM   #5
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I don't have any helpful advice, but leaving it sitting for two months shouldn't cause a problem. The devices have a setting that if it's on standby for over two days they'll shutdown. I think there might be a setting to disable that feature, but I've never played with it. Either way, it should start up after it's charged.

Good luck.
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Old 03-13-2011, 12:19 AM   #6
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My PRS-650 locked up once due to a badly formated EPUB.

I did the standard reset, but it didn't seem to work at first until I found that I had to both press the internal paper-clip reset for about 5 seconds and then follow up by HOLDING the power slider switch ON for several seconds to get the reader to start booting (it would ignoor a quick toggle on the power slider switch).

You might try this if you have not already.
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Old 03-13-2011, 03:44 AM   #7
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Thanks for all your kind suggestions.

Asawi, I checked my reader and nothing is pressing on the buttons; I checked the reset hole to be sure and can hear a 'click' sound when the paperclip hits the reset button, so I don't think there's anything pressed on the button either.

Shopaholic, I bought it from B&H online through a concierge service. I live outside the US. The reader is not sold in my country and B&H had a really good offer then, so to save the time/hassle of verifying my credit card details, I used the concierge service. I wasn't clear in my previous post but I have gone through the Sony manual, done a search in this forum/wiki and googled for the possible methods to revive the reader. If I were to send the reader to Sony US for servicing, I estimate I'll have to pay at least US$40 for return international shipping, which I'd rather save up to spend on a new reader.

I do have a AC non-USB charger which came with my phone; when the USB charger didn't work, I tried using it but the reader still doesn't power up.

Poppaea, I've tried the hard reset methods in the wiki but the problem is nothing appears on the screen when I try to turn on the reader even after it's been charged for 24 hours.

delphin, I've tried several combinations of pressing the reset button and holding the power slider switch while the reader is connected and disconnected from the PC/AC charger. 5 sec reset press + long hold on power switch, quick reset press + long power on, long reset press + sliding power switch 3 times (came across this method in my search)... nothing shows up on the screen
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Old 03-13-2011, 04:32 AM   #8
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I am so sorry nothing works!
I get a feeling it's something wrong with the USB port, making it not charge like it should. No idea how to do anything about i though.
The fact that it got warm the first time has me little worried too...
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Old 03-13-2011, 10:44 PM   #9
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If you got a bum battery, that could explain your symptoms.

Basically what might have happened would go something like this.

When the battery reached full charge, it couldn't take it, and something internally broke down causing a cell short.

Such an internal leakage would cause the battery to rapidly self-discharge, and get good and hot, and that discharge further damaged the cell so it won't take a charge at all now.

There are companies that will sell you a replacement battery for the earlier Sony Readers, but I don't know if they stock anything for the 350 yet because the battery is supposed to last years.

If you can definitely establish that the battery went bad, you might be able to contact Sony support and get them to send you a replacement, since all parts are supposed to be warranted for a year.

Generally they want you to send the unit to a service center, but I have gotten other manufactures to make exceptions so who knows?

One thing you would have on your side, is that Lithium batteries are supposed to be SAFE and not do this kind of thing (because a catastrophic cell faiure can sometimes be so violent it causes a fire), so if this did happen, it would be in Sony's best interest to smooth this over and make you happy.

So, if I was in your situation at this point, given that you can't easily return the unit to Sony, the only other option would be to pop the back off (two tiny Phillips style screws on my 650) and pop out the small square battery pack and do a check of it with a volt meter.

The battery is a small rectangular flat unit a few centimeters by a few centimeters by about a half centimeter thick with a short output wire connected to the 350 with a tiny press on connector (be sure to note the coloring of the wires and which way they are facing so you can maintain the +/- orientation if you replace the battery later)

Best thing though would STILL be to figure out some inexpensive way to send the unit back to Sony for service under the warranty, because it could be something in the charging circuits that killed the battery. If that is the case, and you replace the battery, it might just kill the new one the same way.

Last edited by delphin; 03-14-2011 at 11:30 AM.
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