When Will Palm Fix the m505's USB Problem?

My m505 stopped syncing at work but continued to sync ok at home with the Inno Pocket cable. Since I only really care about charging at work I didn;t give it much thought.

I installed Windows XP at home and it comtinued to work ok for two days then started failing at random points in the sync process. The desktop program would just stop and the Palm would timeout.

First I thought it was an XP issue with Ultrasoft Money since that seemed to be the place in the sync that it failed. I down-loaded the latest version from Ultrasoft and that sync'd fine but the desktop still died at "Updating Handheld Databases".

I'm still not convinced that it isn't a problem with XP at home. I guess I'll bring te Inno Pocket cable to work and see if I can get a connection.

DLM

> I think Palm should immediately release a new device and offer an extensive rebate to
> current owners of the defective Palms -- and I mean something like get a new high-res.
> Palm with a screen you can actually see for $100.

I hope you enjoyed your visit to Planet Crackpipe. The screen on my m505 is fine. I use it for hours every day and don't have any complaints. Yours hasn't changed a bit from the day you bought it. If you didn't like it, why did you buy it? If it's so bad, why didn't you return it? If you bought and kept something you are unhappy with, it is time you accepted that it's your fault, not Palm's. They shouldn't have to pay for something you did.

The USB problem is a completely different issue. I'm glad to hear Palm is finally going to fix it. Or at least I hope they are.

To the person who posted the "Planet Crackpipe" remark, why don't you keep your ignorant comments to yourself? I think the original comment was right on the money. For all the time and inconvenience that Palm has put its customer through, they ought to do something for them. I have already been to Palm Support twice because my new M500 stopped hotsynching about 3 days after my wife bought it for me. First, they sent me a new hotsync cradle that failed to solve the problem. Now, after two weeks without the use of my Palm, they are going to send me a new unit. Judging from some of the comments I've been reading, it will probably be refurbished. To add insult to injury, Palm says I have to pay the cost to ship the defective unit back to them. This is a pretty bad way to treat customers who have spent three or four hundred dollars on your product. It's easy for someone who hasn't been plagued with a defective product to make smug, self-righteous remarks against those of us who think Palm owes its customers better treatment. I'd tell you to go kiss my ass, but I suspect you're already puckering up for all the other people you angered with your stupid remarks.

I work at LAX, my m505 and my cell phone have to go thru the x-ray everyday, no problem yet...

I love my Palm alot, hope this won't happen to me.

I completely agree. Mine refused to hotsync a few days after I bought it (and too late to return it to the store). After spending over $350 I'll be damned if I'm going to accept a "refurbished" unit to replace my brand new factory defective unit. Since I work for the Attorney General's Office in my state, I will file a complaint if Palm tries to push off a "rebuilder" on me.

did you guys read the forum topic on this????

http://www.palminfocenter.com/forum/link.asp?TOPIC_ID=1847

I have a Palm with the USB problem and I have only used the conduits and software supplied by Palm.

I don't think this is an OS related issue. In the end, the tech support guy at Palm said that my "USB chip was fried," and didn't go into any further explanation. Using Windows (ME, in this case) didn't seem to matter, and never was a part of our discussions.

Hmm... Perhaps it's not a Macintosh Problem. I've heard of plenty of people complain of USB failure with Windows, but never with a Macinotosh. Apple really did embed USB into their system almost 3 years ago, so they've had a while to write drivers and the like. Who knows?

The problem is NOT OS related.

I have been heavily using Palm devices since early 1997. I have had a Palm Professional, Palm IIIx, Visor Deluxe(with USB), Palm IIIc, and now a Palm m505. Until the m505, never a problem syncing.

Palm tech support also told me that they knew of this issue, and are working on it. Sounds pretty 'well-known' to me.

1. It hotsynced well for 24 days on two seperate computers w/different operating systems with my m505. (Win 2k, Win ME) 2. It stopped hotsyncing on both OS's (I have a dual boot PC) at the same time. 3. Other USB devices work well in the same USB ports. 4. The device will also not hotsync on two other computers that I have installed the USB cradle and software onto since the problem arose. 5. Hard resets, uninstalling software and conduits, reinstalling software, and installing on clean computers all do not work. 6. A new USB cradle from Staples did not help, but when I got the serial cradle, it works well.

I have had two m505 do this,and each time only a new unit fixed the problem. The new m505 did solve my hotsync problem, for a while anyway. Mine also was solved by getting a serial cradle. What happens is, I think, that somehow the USB enumerator chip inside the 505, which allows the USB port on your computer to recognize the unit, gets fried out. (Static maybe?)That chip is not used for serial hotsync, so serial operations work normally.

Call Palm tech support, and ask for a level two or three technician. Most level ones were not familiar with the problem. Keep track of your call numbers, since you may have to call several times. Eventually, Palm shipped me new 505s (twice!) at no cost, they even paid the shipping. Everything is working well now, since i took the USB cradle towork and use a serial cradle on my home PC.

Mike Grayson

HA!

I bet you got my old one. My first m505 got its battery fried in a USB syncing incident where I didn't have the cable powered (just syncing with batery power) and it stoped holding a charge.

They probably gave you my old one without fixing it.

Those bastards!

Mike/All:

It is painful to know that so many m505 users have suffered the same problem. I too had the No USB Sync" problem occur with mine this past week.

I spent three extremely frustrating days of troubleshooting after which I contacted Palm Tech Support and they agreed I had a hardware problem.

A replacement should be on the way, hopefully this one works.

Mike - Your experience and mine are almost identical :-(

Questions:

1. Have any m500 users experienced this problem?

2. Have any m125 users experienced the problem?

It seems interesteing to me that this is primarily a m505 issue. There does not seem to be as many complaints from m500 users, although the've been around longer. Like wise, the m125 uses the same universal connector but there have not been any reports of this problem with this model.

Does anyone have knowledge if there are hardware differences in the USB communication channels between these models?

Hope everyone sees happier days.

-MC.

The fix for timeouts on a Mac is to give the Hotsync software an absurd amount of memory on "Get info". This solved all issues for me.

Note that this is a different problem from the USB death problem.

Ditto. My M500 suddenly stopped hotsynching shortly after I bought it. I deleted and reinstalled the software and checked all me connections. Still no hotsync. Went to Palm Chat Support and the tech thought the cradle was the problem because on mine you had to jiggle the cable to get the battery charger to work. I received a new cradle yesterday and hooked it up...still no hotsync! I went back on Palm's Chat Support and got an SR for a new unit, which should be here in a few days. I was informed that the shipping cost to send the defective unit back is my responsibility despite the fact that it stopped working through no fault of my own. My conclusions are as follows: (1) The M500 has the same USB hotsync problem as the M505, but perhaps to a lesser degree (2) The problem is not OS related, but in fact a hardware issue (3) Palm's not doing going to win any PR contests or service awards for its response to the problem (4) If I can figure out how to get my purchase price refunded, as well as the shipping fee that Palm is unfairly gouging me for, I'll buy a Visor or a Clie (5) I'll be looking for a class action lawsuit or start one of my own if this problem is not resolved to my satisfaction (which does not include being given a refurbished unit).

Scott,

Sounds like you've got the known time-out issue (the sync probably stops during the AvantGo, JunglePort, or Vindigo stage of the synch, right?)

Palm released a fix to their website at http://www.palm.com/support/downloads/40update.html

Running a Hotsync a second time usually does solve the issue (for that one time), but makes sychronization more of a pain than you need (plus, it eliminates any speed benefit of USB since you need to Hotsync twice). The update on Palm's site will eliminate your issue.