A500 power button

specmaster
specmaster Member Posts: 2 New User
in 2014 Archives

I Have had this tablet for some time now and I love it but the power button has just broken. It is out of warrenty by a long time so I have carfully opened it up and discovered that the button has come undone from the MB. I did not proceed any further and reassembled it. It is now switched on all time, so it still working as long as I keep it charged up but I would like to switch it off when not being used so it needs repairing. How do I do this and how mush does it cost, anyone got any ideas?

Answers

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,291 Trailblazer

    There are different scenarios in repairing a failed power button, and it depends on which one fits best...

     

    If the solder connection has just failed without damage to either the motherboard or button the repair only involved reflowing the solder to recreate the original connection. This is fairly simple and most any decent repair depot could handle it. I would expect the cost to be under $100.

     

    If there is a mechanical problem in the switch that caused failure in the connection to the motherboard the fix is a little more complex, but still not difficult. The repair depot will have to source a comparable switch and likely have to 'jury rig' the installation. This will take longer than the previous repair and could cost 50% more due to the additional time the technician will be working on it. It'd be a tough call between doing the rapair and replacing the tablet in my opinion.

     

    If there is a mechanical failure to the motherboard itself, either caused by forcing a jammed switch or as part of the process of detaching the switch from the motherboard a repair is likely to be more problematic. The motherboard itself might require reinforcement where the switch mounts and there may even be electrical contacts or circuits the have to be repaired. This is quite unlikely to be a cost effective repair, since the cheapest method could easily be to replace the entire board rather than trying to repair it.

     

    Do any of these seem to fit what you saw?

    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • specmaster
    specmaster Member Posts: 2 New User

    The first scenario is more like the one I have. Looking through other peoples threads on this and the Android forums, I doubt that the solder has given way as the switch does not seem to be soldered in at all in almost every thread I read.

     

    The switch it seems is held in by 2 legs which ought to have been long enough to pass through the 2 holes in the MB and then soldered. The actual switch does not have any other means of being soldered as the contacts are just pads on the MB with a moving contact that is pressed down onto the pads by the button.

     

    It is noted by everyone who has gained access to the MB by removing it so that more detailed examination can be done is that these legs arent long enough to solder at all have just apparently relied on a tight fit which is fine if the button pressed down onto it but because it actually has a sideways motion it seems logical that it will fail at some point. Due to many operations of the power button exerting a sideways force onto the switch and thus attempt to dislodge the switch which over a couple of years of normal usage has done just that.

     

    This is in my opinion a fault designed in by Acer and as such they ought to offer a free repair to all affect users. If the button was pushed directly downwards onto the switch with the MB directly behind it like it is the Ipad (sorry for using that word) then the switch would still have been working today because the switch would have been sandwiched between the MB and the frond cover so, as long as the legs were inserted into the holes, it has nowhere to go.

     

    If this was a car then it would been the subject of a product recall and correction made to cure the problem.

     

     

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