There is a design flaw in N900, not to have the microUSB-port fixed better to the motherboard or to the case. A push through component would had been better.

But I wonder, is there also a practical design flaw in choosing microUSB-B connector as an international standard charger inlet in mobile phones?

microUSB-B should tolerate more (10 000) connect-disconnect cycles than mini-B, but human errors make µUSB actually more vulnarable.

Clearly the connector is so small, and almost seem like symmetrial if you are in the dark, drunken or farsighted without glasses. But it is not symmetrical of course. Trying to insert µUSB-B connector in a wrong way and using little force, easly can break the connector in the device.

Maybe micro-USB connectors should had been designded to be half way symmetrical. Maybe not working upside down, but not breaking anything if the mistake is made.

I wonder how many of these broken ports are partly caused by once or couple of times trying to put the connector 180 degreess upside-down?

The situation may get easier (or not) with micro-USB3, because there is that indent on the other side. Yet, I think in the standard could require coloring (black/white) to indicate which side of the microUSB-B- and USB3-micro-B-male-connectors is the up.

btw, I recommend to use white paint to mark the upperside of the current charger's µUSB-B male connector. I've used white repair lacquer for this job on all of my microUSB-B male connectors.

Just for the record:

I had the same issue ( usb port stopped working, but didn't come out yet), brought it to Nokia service center and got it back fixed (on warranty) after 2 weeks.

It seems they have replaced the complete mainboard, it has a new IMEI number now. (though the case is not new)

mines broke the second time and got it fixed in just under a day within warranty. i dont know about the change in IMEI ill have to check. thanks for the white paint tip.

Has anyone had this problem even when only using cables that have been completely filed down? I've done this to my cables and don't get any resistance when plugging/unplugging them.

my usb port just came off my n900! how do i copy contacts to my sim card??

also i live in Canada and they don't sell N900 here, can i still get it fixed under warranty??

please help! thanks in advance!

Make a backup, then follow these instructions to copy the backup file to your PC.

As for the warranty, check the paperwork that you got with the phone, you can probably take it into any Nokia service centre.

I've done the same, and I'm also curious.

(The data cables still concern me - despite being filed down they are still a relatively tight fit).

i used "backup" from the phone, but is it possible to transfer all the contacts into my SIM card? because i want all the contacts in my other phone while it's being repaired

has anyone gotten an n900 repaired and are from Canada??

As far as I know, this isn't possible with the N900. You can export the contacts into vCard 2.1 and vCard 3.0 formats, if those are by any chance importable into your other phone.

You may also be able to use the "Transfer & Sync" option in Settings to transfer the lot over via bluetooth.