At this point there's no evidence that any repaired/replacement N900s are any better than the original.

So obviously if you have a failed device you want a replacement, but looks as if there's a real design issue here a manufacturing EC is needed to correct the issue permanently -- at least for any devices returned broken

With a device such as this I think it's reasonable to expect a minimum of 2 usb insert/remove cycles per day over say a 3-5 year period

The broken devices may well be irrepairable, but that's down to a potentially serious design flaw and has no bearing on whether the device has to be replaced.

For now I'm happy but will be very careful with USB. I'm sure NOkia will come good in the end, and meantime I have the protection of consumer law, shared with my credit card company (since I purchased sim free), as well as mobile insurance (which I shouldn't need to use). ANd if a design flaw is shown that protection lasts well beyond any 2 year warranty period

I hope everyone who has this issue gets it resolved satisfactorily.

So far mine seems tight (and I filed all the hooks off of my chargers/cables just to be safe). However, I am starting to wonder, if this is really a manufacturing/design defect what does Nokia owe (if anything) to those of us who haven't yet experienced this issue? I'm worried that mine will fail a day after the warranty expires. What will I do then?

Like Toyota, shouldn't there be some type of recall/free fix for all potentially affected units?

That's uncommon for handheld devices. The warranty is considered to match the life expectancy.

you guys can buy an extenal charger to charge the bat and use bluetooth to transfer files it is not end of the world

i dont see nokia will honour warrenty to this issue unless it happens to the majority

That's a rather pointless dismissal of a serious problem.

With regards to warranty number of cases is immaterial.

but what do we do if the device gets screwed up and needs a reflash?
(sorry for feeding the trolls...)

...not to mention that if bluetooth is not an option (it is left off our work laptops) then a cable connection is required for syncing.

That makes sense, probably the same for most things other than automobiles as well.

This is perhaps more similar to the recent laptop battery recalls. Affected persons were offered replacement batteries. Understandably, this isn't likely to explode and/or catch fire, but recalls on electronics aren't unheard of. I wouldn't necessarily expect Nokia to fix it for free if outside the warranty period, but:

(Provided it is eventually determined to be a flaw)
I'd feel a lot more comfortable if Nokia offered some type of free preventative repair, even if it's just blobing on some epoxy to spread stress out. I could do that myself, but of course that would void my warranty if other issues arise.

If this is a design/manufacturing flaw, then isn't reasonable to expect that this will happen to most units at some point? Some will be in the warranty period and some will not. Why not offer a fix for affected units, and gain some consumer trust?

That is *cking good questions and applies to all big companies. I don't know why they are so slow or have they completely missed little thing named Internets where communication is fast and consumers are not anymore alone with their issues. You can really drop you brand value in days. And we are not talking here about little amount of money.

Maybe they are afraid that couple of percent users who have actually misused their device to get free ticket along with others. That would be sooooooo terrible. Right :| Sometimes i think that companies are over protective and they should just spend money fast to save it in future.