Hi everyone,

I recently got an N900, but it seems to have developed a rather odd issue with the USB port. It charges perfectly fine - and the USB port feels solid enough. However, whenever I plug it into the computer, the computer (running Windows 7 x64) seems to inconsistently recognize it, and is prone to losing it after recognition. In essence:

In Mass Storage mode: It might complain of a "malfunctioning device", work perfectly fine for a couple of minutes before vanishing or work for a couple of minutes, then run into "I/O issues" (The device still remains in Windows Explorer, but any attempts to access it times out).

In PC Suite mode: It tries to install drivers, then gives up with a "Device Unplugged" error. Windows then complains of a malfunctioning device.

In both cases, the N900 still thinks that it's plugged in and in Mass Storage or PC Suite mode, and will recognize an unplug from the computer. (It'll display "Charger Disconnected" followed by "USB Cable disconnected", or vice-versa).

I've also tried this on 2 computers (same OS) so far, and they both behave consistently.

Battery was full at the moments, by the way.

(And yeah, it's not that critical at the moment - but I'm rather afraid what might happen if I ever need to reflash the unit)

flash it buddy

You might try to use another USB cable to connect your N900 to your computer.

I've tried changing USB cables - while the connection seems slightly more reliable with the newer set of cables than the older one, it doesn't seem to completely fix the issue.

As for reflashing, well, that's really more or less intended to be a last resort, in case if the device actually stops booting up or something like that.

Marginal contact of one or both data pins could be causing this. Considering how weak the original USB port is, this seems fairly likely. Expect the problem to escalate. You'll probably have to fix/replace your port.

Oh man, I hope it's not the usb port bricking, I got same issue recently; maybe it's software related (latest CSSU stable + KP50 + H.E.N.).

Anyway trying a couple of times I could manage to connect either in mass storage and pc suite mode; after connection I tried to move gently the mini-usb connector attached to N900 to see if the problem was related to loose pins... nothing happened, I was still connected...

I need to say my USB port does not seem loose, it's not "hard soldered" and to preserve it I got 2 batteries and an external charger... I connect the usb cable few times in months, just to tranfer large files (otherwise wlan)...

Next time I'll let you know if the problem still persists...

Hmm, so it could either be a hardware or software issue? I'm currently running a slightly more bleeding-edge configuration (KP51r1 + CSSU-Thumb), though the same issues occurred back when I was using KP50. I haven't tried to connect the N900 with stock kernel before, though I can't imagine any reasons why KP would introduce USB issues.

If it is a hardware problem, is there any way of safely taking the USB port off and resoldering before it breaks off and takes the solder pads along with them?

There was a post a while ago were someone warmed the port up with the soldering iron to resolve a intermittant data connection.

It may not be that simple tho.

There's a huge thread on resoldering the USB, go have a read.