[quickstang]

"make the battery fit more snuggly by sticking a tiny bit of paper (only a few layers are necessary) in along the top of the battery compartment."

When I read this on the homepage, I laughed. You're telling me, that people spent $199 or more to have to put a piece of paper in the back to make it work?

That would be a definite return for me if I had one and it did that, and a replacement battery would not fix it. I dont pay good money to shove a piece of paper in the back of a phone to make it work like it should have.

I wouldn't buy any other piece of electronics and do that, so I really dont see why people do it with the Pre. To me it seems like... Ok, we dont care Palm screwed up, we'll just MacGyver it.

I paid for quality, and i'm going to get it, or return it. You sure as heck wouldn't MacGyver a car brand new off the lot would you?

Anyway, I dont have to worry about it cause I didn't buy one, but for those of you who did, I sure hope you just dont put a piece of paper in the back and call it good cause someone else couldn't get it right. I hope you return it if you had that problem, get it fixed, or not purchase the phone until it is fixed. Just my 2 cents.

[ellianth]

"make the battery fit more snuggly by sticking a tiny bit of paper (only a few layers are necessary) in along the top of the battery compartment."

When I read this on the homepage, I laughed. You're telling me, that people spent $199 or more to have to put a piece of paper in the back to make it work?

That would be a definite return for me if I had one and it did that, and a replacement battery would not fix it. I dont pay good money to shove a piece of paper in the back of a phone to make it work like it should have.

I wouldn't buy any other piece of electronics and do that, so I really dont see why people do it with the Pre. To me it seems like... Ok, we dont care Palm screwed up, we'll just MacGyver it.

I paid for quality, and i'm going to get it, or return it. You sure as heck wouldn't MacGyver a car brand new off the lot would you?

Anyway, I dont have to worry about it cause I didn't buy one, but for those of you who did, I sure hope you just dont put a piece of paper in the back and call it good cause someone else couldn't get it right. I hope you return it if you had that problem, get it fixed, or not purchase the phone until it is fixed. Just my 2 cents.

Temporary solution till you can get a replacement phone/battery is such a hard concept...

[Tikerz]

My brother has been looking for a Pre in his area so he called a few Sprint Corp stores. He knew I had been having this problem so he asked if they had any phones that have been returned that he could purchase and each store said they have had phones returned for this exact problem.

[dtatgenho]

Hi All,

So, I did get my replacement phone today. The slider issue doesn't appear to affect the new one so far (*fingers crossed*). As I mentioned earlier, the paper trick made the crash/shutdown happen less often for me, but I could still reproduce it. I used a piece of a business card folded 3 times, so it should have been thick enough.

When I was at my Sprint store, one of the employees said he had heard reports of this happening, and saw it himself yesterday. Also, coincidentally, a Palm rep was at the store when I came in to make the switch, so I chatted him up a bit. Talked about Pro's, Con's, and the issues being reported on this site and in these forums. I told him about the slider issue, how its affecting a fair number of people (i.e., not just me), and even mentioned this thread to him. He said he reports back to the Palm War Rooms that we heard about before the Pre was launched, so hopefully he will pass on this info and at least add to the visibility of the issue.

Info on swapping the phone:

The process was seamless, and the service was excellent. It was as simple as advertised: Shut off your old phone, Sprint rep links the new phone to your account, start it up, log into your Palm profile, and the sync begins. It was beautiful. Kudos to Palm and Sprint. Interesting note: after syncing phones, some of the phone settings themselves (screen brightness, icon positions, etc.) are not remembered. So, you will have to configure those again. Also, for some reason, my TXT messages were not restored. I thought I remember reading somewhere that those were backed up, but maybe not. Not a big issue for me, but it may be for some.

Tips for anyone who may have to swap phones (for any reason):

1. Bring in your original box the Pre came in. It just makes things much easier for the Sprint rep, and much faster for you. The box has a label on it with all sorts of info on it (serial numbers, bar codes, etc.) that are tied to the phone that you are getting rid of. So, to make things easy, bring in your old box and they will swap that with the new one.

2. IMPORTANT: Keep the receipt for the exchange. Even though there is no charges on your account for the swap, you will need this NEW receipt to send in with your mail-in rebate. Don't send in the old receipt, because that one (obviously) is for a phone that is no longer activated under your account. Don't lose out on the rebate

3. If you have a Touchstone, don't forget to change the backs of the phones when you swap so you keep the Touchstone back.

That's all that I can think of right now. Hopefully this will be addressed (or at least acknowledged) by Palm, so that it can get resolved quickly.

[NM08SRT8]

Hi All,

So, I did get my replacement phone today. The slider issue doesn't appear to affect the new one so far (*fingers crossed*). As I mentioned earlier, the paper trick made the crash/shutdown happen less often for me, but I could still reproduce it. I used a piece of a business card folded 3 times, so it should have been thick enough.

When I was at my Sprint store, one of the employees said he had heard reports of this happening, and saw it himself yesterday. Also, coincidentally, a Palm rep was at the store when I came in to make the switch, so I chatted him up a bit. Talked about Pro's, Con's, and the issues being reported on this site and in these forums. I told him about the slider issue, how its affecting a fair number of people (i.e., not just me), and even mentioned this thread to him. He said he reports back to the Palm War Rooms that we heard about before the Pre was launched, so hopefully he will pass on this info and at least add to the visibility of the issue.

Info on swapping the phone:

The process was seamless, and the service was excellent. It was as simple as advertised: Shut off your old phone, Sprint rep links the new phone to your account, start it up, log into your Palm profile, and the sync begins. It was beautiful. Kudos to Palm and Sprint. Interesting note: after syncing phones, some of the phone settings themselves (screen brightness, icon positions, etc.) are not remembered. So, you will have to configure those again. Also, for some reason, my TXT messages were not restored. I thought I remember reading somewhere that those were backed up, but maybe not. Not a big issue for me, but it may be for some.

Tips for anyone who may have to swap phones (for any reason):

1. Bring in your original box the Pre came in. It just makes things much easier for the Sprint rep, and much faster for you. The box has a label on it with all sorts of info on it (serial numbers, bar codes, etc.) that are tied to the phone that you are getting rid of. So, to make things easy, bring in your old box and they will swap that with the new one.

2. IMPORTANT: Keep the receipt for the exchange. Even though there is no charges on your account for the swap, you will need this NEW receipt to send in with your mail-in rebate. Don't send in the old receipt, because that one (obviously) is for a phone that is no longer activated under your account. Don't lose out on the rebate

3. If you have a Touchstone, don't forget to change the backs of the phones when you swap so you keep the Touchstone back.

That's all that I can think of right now. Hopefully this will be addressed (or at least acknowledged) by Palm, so that it can get resolved quickly.

Very good common sense knowledge, but still, I'm always up for a good reminder

Keep us updated with how this one treats you.

Also, can you find out when this one was manufactured in comparison to your old one?

[dtatgenho]

Also, can you find out when this one was manufactured in comparison to your old one?

I don't know when my old one was manufactured, but it looks like this one (according to the post about decoding the manufacturing date) was made June 2nd, 2009.

[Tikerz]

I don't know when my old one was manufactured, but it looks like this one (according to the post about decoding the manufacturing date) was made June 2nd, 2009.

Dial ##786# and let us know what the "warrantydatecode" says. Thanks.

Mine says 5/31/2009 and I have this problem.

[quickstang]

Temporary solution till you can get a replacement phone/battery is such a hard concept...

Define temporary? The new ROM was supposed to come out for the 700p in a timely manner and never did.

Second, dont forget you're dealing with a phone that may be out of stock, and for who knows how long.

Third, you may not get that battery replacement either.

So now your temporary solution is 3 months and counting.

Each person will have to decide what their options are. If I had one, and my option was to put paper in the back, or return it, I would return it. I didn't pay $200-$300 so I could fold my receipt and jam it in the back of the device just so it works like it SHOULD HAVE in the first place.

How long did Palm screw around with this thing before it was released, and you're telling me they didn't have that issue arise?

Oh wait, they did with all of you beta testers.

I've been a loyal Palm fan, and have loved the devices. But it's things like this that make me lose faith in Palm, and just shake my head and go why.

To me, the battery either fits correctly, or it doesn't. And for many, it seems like it doesn't. I've yet to pop batteries in any electronic device, and have it NOT work because it didn't fit correctly. But someone's gotta do it, and Palm it was.

[schep]

Define temporary? The new ROM was supposed to come out for the 700p in a timely manner and never did.

Second, dont forget you're dealing with a phone that may be out of stock, and for who knows how long.

Third, you may not get that battery replacement either.

So now your temporary solution is 3 months and counting.

Each person will have to decide what their options are. If I had one, and my option was to put paper in the back, or return it, I would return it. I didn't pay $200-$300 so I could fold my receipt and jam it in the back of the device just so it works like it SHOULD HAVE in the first place.

How long did Palm screw around with this thing before it was released, and you're telling me they didn't have that issue arise?

Oh wait, they did with all of you beta testers.

I've been a loyal Palm fan, and have loved the devices. But it's things like this that make me lose faith in Palm, and just shake my head and go why.

To me, the battery either fits correctly, or it doesn't. And for many, it seems like it doesn't. I've yet to pop batteries in any electronic device, and have it NOT work because it didn't fit correctly. But someone's gotta do it, and Palm it was.

Just go away.

Clearly a lot of us really like the phone for a lot of great reasons. Of course, being early adopters, we recognize that there are going to be some issues that aren't entirely ironed out. The MacGyver solution is to help minimize the problem until we are able to get the HW replaced. Not a huge deal for most of us reasonable folk.

You are more than welcome to speak with your wallet and not buy a pre. I think that would be great. It leaves more for the rest of us that find value all the other things that are great about this phone.

[schep]

Dial ##786# and let us know what the "warrantydatecode" says. Thanks.

Mine says 5/31/2009 and I have this problem.

I have two that both have 5/26/2009 as the "warrantydatecode" date. One has the problem, the other doesn't.

[rijc99#WN]

I'll do the paper/electrical tape fix for the time being, but I still think I'll swap mine out when replacements arrive.

So, is there another problem or has the tape solved your issue?

BTW. Can we smash the Mogul now?

[jeff_b]

So, is there another problem or has the tape solved your issue?

BTW. Can we smash the Mogul now?

Once I make it through a weekend with a new, functional Pre, the smashing will commence!

[batfastard]

I just got my Pre replaced yesterday due to screen discoloration, and my new one has this issue. I am really bummed out - maybe my 3rd phone will be fine.

My Warranty Date Code is 06/03/2009 - just FYI.

[Blackrazor]

Went and replaced the phone for my wife. Haven't had a problem since. Whats even great is the palm profile, it saved everything she had on her prev phone so all i had to do was go in, swap the phone and trf the profile. Done. As for mine i haven't had any problems. I love the phone.

There are just some things that are going to be not working the way they are for any new product. This applies to 1st gen anything, from a car, mmo, xbox, Iphone. Yes there are beta testers but that only applies to a small group of people. When you have 50,000 some are going to not work correctly. Thats what you get for getting it first. You deal. Im sure everyone new this buying the phone. More updates with come, new fixes,and ppl like quickstank will be looking like little children. At least you dont have to pay for it geesh.

[Brickhaus]

Hello everyone.

I just wanted to add another name to the list (mine) who is being affected by this.

It's only happened 4 times to me. Only once since I've made the battery fit tighter with paper.

I called the Woodhaven, MI Sprint store where I got my phone and they had not heard of it yet, but I will probably venture out there on Saturday and make them aware of it and see what they can do for me.

[Tikerz]

I took a closer look at the 3 power contacts and how it came together with battery contacts. I don't believe 3 power contacts make contact with the battery contacts evenly, like with the same amount of pressure. I think the module or the case is slightly crooked or misaligned because when I look at my battery in the phone it's a little crooked in relation to the module and the contacts.

Then when the phone is jarred, like when closing the slider, the contact with the least amount of contact pressure comes off temporarily interrupting power.

Perhaps when the module was screwed into the case the alignment was off. Definitely looks like a manufacturing issue to me.

I revised the paper method and cut a small piece of foam and taped it to the inside edge of the upper part of the battery housing so when the battery is inserted it forces the battery tighter against the contacts. The foam is hidden by the pull tab when the battery is in place and doesn't affect the pull tab at all when removing the battery.

Like a few of you I've been struggling with deciding on whether to exchange the phone, but my phone is perfect other than this issue. I've actually been enjoying the phone rather than having to worry about if my phone will crash when I close the keyboard this time.

[Loolaw]

I took a closer look at the 3 power contacts and how it came together with battery contacts. I don't believe 3 power contacts make contact with the battery contacts evenly, like with the same amount of pressure. I think the module or the case is slightly crooked or misaligned because when I look at my battery in the phone it's a little crooked in relation to the module and the contacts.

Then when the phone is jarred, like when closing the slider, the contact with the least amount of contact pressure comes off temporarily interrupting power.

Perhaps when the module was screwed into the case the alignment was off. Definitely looks like a manufacturing issue to me.

.....quote snip

According to Palm, there was a batch of batteries produced that were not sized properly (just that smidge smaller) so it sounds like your assessment of what is happening to cause the disconnect/crash is spot on. I'm not sure why they are replacing the whole phone when it seems that all is needed is the properly sized battery.

Maybe you can talk Sprint into a battery only exchange.

[Brickhaus]

According to Palm, there was a batch of batteries produced that were not sized properly.

Can you provide me a link to this please? Thank you ahead of time!

[schep]

According to Palm, there was a batch of batteries produced that were not sized properly (just that smidge smaller) so it sounds like your assessment of what is happening to cause the disconnect/crash is spot on. I'm not sure why they are replacing the whole phone when it seems that all is needed is the properly sized battery.

I'm not sure I believe this. I had two pres, one that had this issue, and one that didn't. I swapped the batteries, and the issue stayed with the phone, not the battery.

I was finally able to talk Sprint into exchanging the phone for me, and haven't had a problem since.

In my case, it was certainly a problem with the contacts on the phone, not the battery itself.

[kinster02]

The problem is not the phone slider it's the battery on the phone being loose. i know you shouldn't have to do this on a new phone but if you put a piece of tape in back of the battery so that it keeps the battery against the contacts this should solve our problem. I'm not talking about the battery cover i'm talking about the edge opposite the battery contacts. This was discovered a day ago and was posted, trying to find the link. I think it's on this site.