For those new to this, I was the first to report the problem (on my blog site: http://tabulacrypticum.wordpress.com...-an-n900-risk/) and as a former Nokia engineer responsible for internet tablets as well as former printed circuit card designer (for TI) I have some relevant background.

I am on my third N900 after having 2 micro USB connectors break (one after an accidental cord yank, one with no abnormal issues at all). I was able to keep my last broken N900 and was hoping to repair it myself.

I recently disassembled the broken N900 (not hard at all) to first examine the situation. What I discovered was disappointing.

The female micro USB connector is "secured" to the PCB with two soldered tabs and some adhesive. In earlier reports I mentioned copper coming loose from the PCB but that does not appear to be the case; it looks like I mistook the adhered portions for soldered.

What is happening is that the adhered portions ARE tearing free (too easily IMO) and the soldered tabs are also coming loose. Here's my revised assessment:

• The adhered portion is probably ONLY to secure the component in place for wave or flow soldering. That's common.
• The soldered tabs are the only thing truly holding these in place on the PCB. Examining the pads on the PCB shows no damage whatsoever. That is unusual: on a good solder joint, the solder should be tearing as it fails. Rather, this is coming loose cleanly-- which tells me that the micro USB connectors are not properly tinned. Tinning prepares the surface of a metal for proper soldering and is highly important.
• Some charging issues are very likely the result of one solder pad coming loose first. The connector pins on the micro USB connectors are very tiny and fragile. It will take VERY LITTLE side-to-side motion to break one or more free. So intermittant charging issues could very likely be resulting from a single pad failure.

I will post pictures and this text on my blog as well.