I have a stack of about 15 of these Chromebooks. All of them failed in the same way. First the primary USB port stops charging, then the second USB port stops.
The Chromebook works fine when a fully charged battery in installed, but the charging circuit is bad. Really cheap, crappy chargers come with these Chromebooks. So something is zorking the USB ports when the laptops are plugged or unplugged by students.
I've attempted contact Acer many, may times about the issue, but they refuse to respond at all. Not so much as a peep. Horrible customer service.
I think I've narrowed it down to either a few shorted capacitors, or, possibly a mosfet. But I don't know what any of the values are.
I think if I had the schematics I could fix them en masse. I'm convinced it's the same or similar issue with all the dead Chromebooks, and could be a relatively easy fix.
My work does not pay me to fix them, but I figured if they're going to be recycled anyway, I might as well attempt it on my own. It seems like such a waste. They're relatively new laptops. They're just not worth the cost to repair versus buying a new one.
The Chromebook works fine when a fully charged battery in installed, but the charging circuit is bad. Really cheap, crappy chargers come with these Chromebooks. So something is zorking the USB ports when the laptops are plugged or unplugged by students.
I've attempted contact Acer many, may times about the issue, but they refuse to respond at all. Not so much as a peep. Horrible customer service.
I think I've narrowed it down to either a few shorted capacitors, or, possibly a mosfet. But I don't know what any of the values are.
I think if I had the schematics I could fix them en masse. I'm convinced it's the same or similar issue with all the dead Chromebooks, and could be a relatively easy fix.
My work does not pay me to fix them, but I figured if they're going to be recycled anyway, I might as well attempt it on my own. It seems like such a waste. They're relatively new laptops. They're just not worth the cost to repair versus buying a new one.
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