shamed android enthusiast battles malfunctioning micro-USB port
I recently advised a friend to get a Nexus 6 instead of an iPhone 6 Plus. I went into the shop with her, and after the phone had been set up, I plugged in my SlimPORT and USB OTG adapters to see if they worked, but immediately I noticed they didn't seat properly. When the micro-USB connector was fully pushed in, it could still click and slip diagonally. I had never seen that before on any micro-USB port, so I tried several more micro-USB cables, and the problem was in the phone. So, I reluctanly advised her to ditch the customizations she had done and get another phone. THEN THE SAME THING HAPPENED! So, she switched to a third phone and it again had the same problem. All three of these were white Nexus 6's. The one black/deep blue Nexus 6 worked fine.
So, my questions:
- Is this going to become a worse and worse problem on her phone? I don't know what's happening inside, but the movement is much greater than the tiny connection lines I can see in the micro-USB connector. It feels like the back of the port is not flat, and the plug moves in that frame as you push.
- Is this problem happening with other phones? We found it with three in a row.
One of the main reasons I advised her to go for thre Nexus 6 was because it was fully unlocked. When her contract finishes in two years, she can have many choices, and the phone will work fine on all of them. The iPhone 6 Plus that comes from the carriers here in Japan, though, is not one of the fully unlocked versions. So, if the USB port is going to fail, then this whole rationale goes out the window. Both phones are crippled in a sense.
After seeing that there is no HDMI out on the Nexus 6, and that USB OTG doesn't work easily, I'm actually thinking I should advise her to return the Nexus 6 and go for an iPhone 6 Plus instead. At least HDMI out works fine on iPhones, and Apple would never let hardware problems like wobbly ports get out of the factory.
I recently advised a friend to get a Nexus 6 instead of an iPhone 6 Plus. I went into the shop with her, and after the phone had been set up, I plugged in my SlimPORT and USB OTG adapters to see if they worked, but immediately I noticed they didn't seat properly. When the micro-USB connector was fully pushed in, it could still click and slip diagonally. I had never seen that before on any micro-USB port, so I tried several more micro-USB cables, and the problem was in the phone. So, I reluctanly advised her to ditch the customizations she had done and get another phone. THEN THE SAME THING HAPPENED! So, she switched to a third phone and it again had the same problem. All three of these were white Nexus 6's. The one black/deep blue Nexus 6 worked fine.
So, my questions:
- Is this going to become a worse and worse problem on her phone? I don't know what's happening inside, but the movement is much greater than the tiny connection lines I can see in the micro-USB connector. It feels like the back of the port is not flat, and the plug moves in that frame as you push.
- Is this problem happening with other phones? We found it with three in a row.
One of the main reasons I advised her to go for thre Nexus 6 was because it was fully unlocked. When her contract finishes in two years, she can have many choices, and the phone will work fine on all of them. The iPhone 6 Plus that comes from the carriers here in Japan, though, is not one of the fully unlocked versions. So, if the USB port is going to fail, then this whole rationale goes out the window. Both phones are crippled in a sense.
After seeing that there is no HDMI out on the Nexus 6, and that USB OTG doesn't work easily, I'm actually thinking I should advise her to return the Nexus 6 and go for an iPhone 6 Plus instead. At least HDMI out works fine on iPhones, and Apple would never let hardware problems like wobbly ports get out of the factory.
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