My Dead Reader

jlc · 09-19-2007, 04:51 AM

On Monday, I turned on my reader to find that the battery was almost completely drained. This wasn't too surprising because the last time I charged it was about 2 weeks ago. The screen was showing the usual garbled/corrupted text that always comes up when the battery is low. It should be noted that the lower half of the screen was also blank (again, normal given the battery situation.)

The next day, I proceeded to charge the reader through USB while I worked on my computer. Towards the end of the day, I disconnected the reader and turned it on. I was surprised to see that the lower half of the screen was still dead. I jumped onto mobileread at this point and followed the instructions for both hard and soft resets. None of these helped.

I fussed around with the reader for a few more hours turning it on and off, running off AC, doing more resets, checking the memory through CONNECT, etc.. While I was doing this, I noticed the screen was getting worse. It went from half screen to corruption on the remaining half to a total blank screen minus a few ghosting artifacts. Currently, I can no longer get it to display any kind of text. It just shows lines.

I know some of you have had similar problems. Can anyone shed light on what went wrong? I don't recall applying pressure to the screen. It's been more or less sitting on my desk or on the back seat of my car. I plan on claiming warranty since I've had it for less than 90 days. Sony would fix a problem like this, wouldn't they?

HarryT · 09-19-2007, 06:37 AM

Don't panic just yet - it may be nothing more than a flat battery. If the battery is truly flat, it won't charge via USB. Plug it into the wall charger for a few hours and then see how it behaves.

JSWolf · 09-19-2007, 08:35 AM

Harry is correct. if the battery is too dead, the USB port will not work for charging. In fact, it's a good idea to get out of the habit of USB charging. Always use the AC adapter to charge. Besides working with a truly dead battery, it takes less time to charge then using the USB port.

jlc · 09-19-2007, 02:52 PM

I'm pretty sure the unit charged through USB because when I plug in the Ac adapter, the red light comes on for a few minutes then turns off.

However, being skeptical of the USB charge myself, I drained the battery last night by leaving the audio player on. I then gave it a full charge on AC. Still no change in condition.

jpchan · 09-19-2007, 04:05 PM

One other thing you may want to try is to plug in the AC charger and make sure you try to turn on the reader. I noticed that once when I had the ac charger plugged in but had the reader in the off position that it would not charge. Don't know what could have prompted that problem but give it a try.

Liviu_5 · 09-19-2007, 04:15 PM

Try to open the Connect software and plug in the reader through USB, turn it on, then close Connect and unplug the Reader

jlc · 09-19-2007, 10:03 PM

Thanks for the suggestions but it's still not working. I talked to Sony and they instructed me to send the unit to their service hub in San Diego. All I can do now is hope that this problem is covered under warranty.

JSWolf · 09-21-2007, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jlc

Thanks for the suggestions but it's still not working. I talked to Sony and they instructed me to send the unit to their service hub in San Diego. All I can do now is hope that this problem is covered under warranty.

If Sony says it's user damage, ask them to tell you how they know this. You have proof that it's not the outside of the screen is not physically damaged. So it doesn't look like you bashed the screen.

jlc · 10-01-2007, 03:33 PM

Update: After a week of silence, FedEx knocked on my door today. Sony repaired my reader without any fuss. It appears I was scaring myself silly by reading all the unfavorable RMA requests mentioned here.

Judging from the work order receipt, Sony replaced the entire e-ink assembly and updated the firmware. An interesting note is that the parts replaced are warranted for another 3 months (a psuedo extension of the original warranty).

I called Sony to get a better idea of what went wrong but all they would say is that the screen went bad. I'm left wondering if the problem was truly a defect or a result of the low battery situation. Once again, thank you for your comments.

JSWolf · 10-01-2007, 03:35 PM

Glad it got fixed under warranty.

09-19-2007, 04:51 AM	#1
jlc Enthusiast Posts: 27 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2007 Device: PRS-650	My Dead Reader On Monday, I turned on my reader to find that the battery was almost completely drained. This wasn't too surprising because the last time I charged it was about 2 weeks ago. The screen was showing the usual garbled/corrupted text that always comes up when the battery is low. It should be noted that the lower half of the screen was also blank (again, normal given the battery situation.) The next day, I proceeded to charge the reader through USB while I worked on my computer. Towards the end of the day, I disconnected the reader and turned it on. I was surprised to see that the lower half of the screen was still dead. I jumped onto mobileread at this point and followed the instructions for both hard and soft resets. None of these helped. I fussed around with the reader for a few more hours turning it on and off, running off AC, doing more resets, checking the memory through CONNECT, etc.. While I was doing this, I noticed the screen was getting worse. It went from half screen to corruption on the remaining half to a total blank screen minus a few ghosting artifacts. Currently, I can no longer get it to display any kind of text. It just shows lines. I know some of you have had similar problems. Can anyone shed light on what went wrong? I don't recall applying pressure to the screen. It's been more or less sitting on my desk or on the back seat of my car. I plan on claiming warranty since I've had it for less than 90 days. Sony would fix a problem like this, wouldn't they? Attached Thumbnails

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09-19-2007, 06:37 AM	#2
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Don't panic just yet - it may be nothing more than a flat battery. If the battery is truly flat, it won't charge via USB. Plug it into the wall charger for a few hours and then see how it behaves.

09-19-2007, 08:35 AM	#3
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,931 Karma: 128903250 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	Harry is correct. if the battery is too dead, the USB port will not work for charging. In fact, it's a good idea to get out of the habit of USB charging. Always use the AC adapter to charge. Besides working with a truly dead battery, it takes less time to charge then using the USB port.

09-19-2007, 02:52 PM	#4
jlc Enthusiast Posts: 27 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2007 Device: PRS-650	I'm pretty sure the unit charged through USB because when I plug in the Ac adapter, the red light comes on for a few minutes then turns off. However, being skeptical of the USB charge myself, I drained the battery last night by leaving the audio player on. I then gave it a full charge on AC. Still no change in condition.

09-19-2007, 04:05 PM	#5
jpchan Member Posts: 20 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2006 Device: Sony Reader	One other thing you may want to try is to plug in the AC charger and make sure you try to turn on the reader. I noticed that once when I had the ac charger plugged in but had the reader in the off position that it would not charge. Don't know what could have prompted that problem but give it a try.

09-19-2007, 04:15 PM	#6
Liviu_5 Books and more books Posts: 917 Karma: 69499 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: White Plains, NY, USA Device: Nook Color, Itouch, Nokia770, Sony 650, Sony 700(dead), Ebk(given)	Try to open the Connect software and plug in the reader through USB, turn it on, then close Connect and unplug the Reader

09-19-2007, 10:03 PM	#7
jlc Enthusiast Posts: 27 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2007 Device: PRS-650	Thanks for the suggestions but it's still not working. I talked to Sony and they instructed me to send the unit to their service hub in San Diego. All I can do now is hope that this problem is covered under warranty.

10-01-2007, 03:33 PM	#9
jlc Enthusiast Posts: 27 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2007 Device: PRS-650	Update: After a week of silence, FedEx knocked on my door today. Sony repaired my reader without any fuss. It appears I was scaring myself silly by reading all the unfavorable RMA requests mentioned here. Judging from the work order receipt, Sony replaced the entire e-ink assembly and updated the firmware. An interesting note is that the parts replaced are warranted for another 3 months (a psuedo extension of the original warranty). I called Sony to get a better idea of what went wrong but all they would say is that the screen went bad. I'm left wondering if the problem was truly a defect or a result of the low battery situation. Once again, thank you for your comments.

10-01-2007, 03:35 PM	#10
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,931 Karma: 128903250 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	Glad it got fixed under warranty.

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