Reviving dead MobilePro

My MobilePro 780 died a while back. I suspect it was the backup battery that died, so I'm going to try replacing it. If that was in fact the issue, should I expect to be able to use the MobilePro immediately again or will I have to flash CE to the ROM somehow?

if it is indeed the back up battery you wont have to flash CE.you will have to reinstall the apps and files you had on it before it died.i thought my mobilepro 900 bit the dust last week but to find out the lcd cable had worked its self loose at the mother board so you might want to check that also.

If the backup battery died, it should still turn on.

It's not dead!

All that has happened is the backup battery has run out of power, so the main batteries have also run dead, and you will need to restart your system. When you put a new backup battery in, and charge the battery, it will have hard reseted itself. Just follow the prompts and once done, install your applications back in.

Don't try and put in a new backup battery...just charge the thing up and see what happens first. The backup batteries in these things are rechargeable LION that draw from the main battery. If that depletes, so does the backup next. Rule of thumb, always leave them plugged in.

Unfortunately my Ericsson's AC has been pushed so far into the case I can no longer use the AC adapter with it, and I'm having to rely on single use batteries. In this case it is even more important to have a backup battery installed as you will lose all you're data if you take the main batteries out (if you have no backup battery). I don't know what I could do to pull the AC pin back to it's original position.

My 300th post!

Edited by Paspie 2010-08-19 11:31 AM

You'll probably have to open it up and resolder the connector

Same story with the MP800/880s, they have a history of lousy a/c jacks on them that break all the time. More than once I've pulled them apart and resoldered a new connector onto them...and normally it is just a simple 3/16" jack that is more sturdy. Of course that means I had to solder a new male plug onto the power supply, but it was worth the trouble.

I suspected the backup battery because it had been registering as low since I first bought the MobilePro 7 or 8 years ago, but it survived until recently anyway. I did try to charge the device, using it while plugged in, but still no luck. Does this mean it's not the backup battery?



I will check that out, thanks! However, I did also try connecting my device to an external monitor as part of my initial troubleshooting and there was no luck with that either, unfortunately.

1. There is nothing to flash. The only thing the backup battery does is keep your files from being lost when there is no power left. By files I mean any documents you created. The operating system is permanently burnt into the rom chip, so even with total depletion of the primary and backup batteries, applying power should turn the thing on immediately.

2. If you have no image on the screen, but you do have audio, that is can you hear the stylus taps when you touch the touchscreen...then it is anothr issue. If this is the case, then you most likely have either a bad invertor or a bad ccfl (bulb in the lcd display).

3. If you plug in the a/c adapter without the main battery and the charging LED is green, and then plug in the battery and it turns amber, then it appears it is charging okay, and normally this is a good indicator that the motherboard is okay.

4. The default is to not have the external monitor active, so plugging it into an external monitor does not show you an image on it until after you go into the control panel and turn it on under "Mobilepro Settings."

Rich, thank you, that's very comprehensive. And I feel kind of silly now, because the most obvious symptom I have is that no lights are on at all when I plug in the charger. I guess the issue is more serious, after all.

Sounds like the power jack may be damaged or loose. If that's the case, Rich's fix a few posts up will solve the problem.

Unfortunately there are no screws on the Ericsson that would allow owners to open it up. Maybe I should post a few pictures.

By all means; but not in this thread
I've pulled plenty of 300 series devices apart, so they are very much openable.

Although, you do own two MC12's according to your profile (MC16 is just a CE 2.0 version with more RAM) so is it possible to strip those open?