The start of backlight problems?

[andrewcoffin]

It's funny how you can be skeptical of other people's problems until something happens to you...

My TJ35, which I love otherwise, has started to turn off the backlight occasionally, without any prompting. At this point, I can simply hold the power switch down to turn it back on...but is this the way that other people's problems started? For those who have had defective TJ35s, did the backlight just stop working completely, or was it a gradual progression?

I'm a big fan of this device, and I really don't want to have a problem with it (who would?), but I'm starting to get worried...

[SlvrFalcon007]

what is your serial

[andrewcoffin]

xxx

[DaveTN]

I'm not sure about posting serial numbers on a public forum for such reasons as smoeone looking to claim that theirs was stolen can use anothers serial number that they saw here, or they can try to register that serial number with sony causing the real owner some unnecessary problems....just a theory.

But, from what others have posted, my serial number is VERY close to a couple of the ones I saw. But, I'm not having any problems with mine.

David

[DaveTN]

For those of you that are having problems, I have a few questions.

1. What kind of use do you put your TJ through?
Casual, regular, heavy?
2. What happened before the backlight burned out?
3. Do you listen to mp3's with the back light on or off or do you use the hold button to turn off the screen
4. Was it dropped, bumped hard or sat on?
5. Did it make a funny noise before the light quit working?
6. Have you contacted Sony and what did they tell you?
7. Legal advice please - - Is this grounds for a Class Action Suit?
8. Any other facts that can be put in a list to see what variables are common.

David

[Orincarnia]

ok i'd like to know why andrew wanted his serial number and hasen't posted since.......i say you return the device and get another one, cause when someone posts a question without explaining themselves........i dont trust them

*edit - not andrew i meant slvrfalcon or whatever......that guy

[andrewcoffin]

Thought better of leaving me serial number, although it is already registered with Sony...

[Orincarnia]

ok well thats a good thing, if it wasn't registered, you might get something against you like theivery, or something.........well if the backlight turns off when you don't want it too, then you should return it but if it feels like a battery saving feature/defect i'd say keep it, but only if it doesn't annoy you

[andrewcoffin]

I'm going to give it a few more days. I thought it was just a wierd glitch at first, but it's happened a few more times. The backlight sometimes won't come on when I first turn the unit on, even though it was turned off with the backlight on. A few times the backlight has turned off while I'm using the handheld--and doing nothing that could have triggered it.

I've always been able to turn it on so far, but if this continues I'll probably send it to Sony.

(To me, it doesn't make much sense to return the unit to the retailer--I got mine from Dell--and risk getting another bad one. If this is a bug that's repairable by Sony, I'd rather have them work on it and get something back that I'll expect to work...)

-Andrew

[Orincarnia]

i take it you didn't go to a brick and mortar store to get it

but if you did

ummmmmmmmmmm, well its a matter of whether you want an entirely trustable device that takes months to get back (ok exaggeration) or a maybe one from where you can go over the course of 3 days and replace it.......i dont know, personally i would go with going back to the store but thats only if its a physical store

[andrewcoffin]

Yeah, you're right. If I had purchased it at a local store I probably would just go exchange it. I've had both good and bad experiences with Sony repairs, but I do know it's a gamble.

But since I would have to send it back to Dell, and I won't know when a new one from them will ship (their stock was low when I ordered), then I'll probably send it to Sony...

[pdauser-x]

Has anyone got confirmation from Sony that backlight problems are real?? The reason I ask is this: TJ35 has a feature where if you hold the power switch down a little longer while turning it on, the backlight will be turned off. Once backlight is off, you can press and hold the power switch down for a few seconds and backlight comes back on. All of this is there in their manual and I have tried it and it works.

I am guessing some of you might be accidentally holding the power switch down for long enough to turn the backlight off. It is entirely possible that there is a real problem with TJ35s but wanted to check!!!

[Orincarnia]

it works that way on every device, it just may be that hes holding the power button down for too long, highly probable, i doubt it, but only he can run tests and tell us

[andrewcoffin]

Pdauser-x, although your tone is a little condescending, I admit that I thought pretty much the same thing until I started having problems myself. I assumed others with backlight issues were not using their handheld properly. However, I am well aware of the backlight on/off function of the power switch--this should be clear from my original post, which describes using this function to turn the backlight back on after it has gone off.

Just to be clear: the backlight turns off of its own accord. This sometimes happens while using the Clie, and not in any way touching the power switch or anything else that could or should trigger the backlight to go out. It also happens when turning the Clie on occasionally, but this is NOT due to holding the power switch down too long.

As I said, this is not consistent enough of a problem yet to make me take immediate action, but I'm expecting to have to send the Clie back to Sony at some point, unless someone figures out that this is a fixable software issue.

[pdauser-x]

Originally posted by andrewcoffin
Pdauser-x, although your tone is a little condescending, I admit that I thought pretty much the same thing until I started having problems myself.

I don't know how you arrived at this conclusion by reading a simple mail that was trying to clarify something that was not obvious [ to me anyway ] from the previous threads. Guess people read too much into everything these days or I am just thick skinned that I don't notice such things!!!!

[Orincarnia]

sometimes the extended or double ?? can imply sarcasm, i learned the hard way

[andrewcoffin]

Well, it just happened. The backlight no longer comes on at all. I've tried holding down the power button to turn it on, using Megalauncher's corner screen shortcut to turn it on, and performing a soft reset. No backlight whatsoever.

I have not tried a hard reset yet, but will do so later today.

So I'm joining the ranks. I'm not, however, completely giving up on the TJ35. It clearly has a pervasive backlight problem, but otherwise I think it's a fantastic PDA. If Sony doesn't promptly fix and return my Clie, though, I may soon begin to think differently...

[PhilD]

Please keep us updated on the exchange process! I have not had a problem yet, but it would be nice to have an idea of what I am in for if I do.

Sorry to hear it went out, :(

PhilD

[Palindrome]

Yes, please. Keep all of us in the loop on how the exchange/replace process goes.

This is seriously distressing. I half don't want to turn on my Clie in fear that I'll find out that my backlight has gone out. :P

[SlvrFalcon007]

to the domino pizza guy, i did not point my serial in a while for two reasons,

1. I was out of town.
2. Did not have time
3. Clie hasnt come in yet, wanted to see if there were any correlations with the serial numbers of more than one, cuz that might be a faulty number line.

I am not thief i assure you, however I am a concerned Sony buyer

[Unregistered]

I did post my serial, however I'm about to return my TJ35 for a replacement from amazon.com.

I spent the morning on the phone with sony and do have the option of repair. I'm not yet sure of want to repair or just replace.

They went through the list of fixes and nothing did.

tootles

[andrewcoffin]

I just called Sony repairs, and had a somewhat positive/somewhat negative call. The first support person I spoke to ran me through the standard checks (hard reset, etc.), none of which worked. He then told me that this problem with the TJ35s and was just (today, I think) upgraded in his documentation to a "known issue." He said that his particular location had recorded 9 instances of this problem yesterday alone.

I asked him a few questions about the repair process to figure out whether I should send the Clie to Sony or send it back to Dell. I told him I was considering simpy sending the Clie back to Dell for a new unit, and he thought there was a good chance that I'd get another one with the same problem, but that the Sony repair would fix my problem once and for all.

(I asked him, by the way, whether an new Clies were coming out between now and Christmas that I should wait for. He didn't know of any, and said he thought Sony was done for the year, but this really doesn't mean much.)

I also asked whether this was a known issue for the TJ25 as well (since I bought one for my father-in-law) , and he said that it was not. I don't know if there are any TJ25 users on this board who have experienced the problem, but to me that's a positive sign, suggesting that the flaw is not fundamental to this design.

This first conversation was the positive part of the phone call--the rep was polite, helpful and seemed to be giving honest answers.

When I decided to go ahead with the Sony repairs, I was transfered to another representative to arrange for the mailer to be sent out. I asked him some of the same questions, but got completely different responses. He claimed, somewhat belligerently, that this problem was NOT a known issue. He said sees everything that comes in, and has not seen a SINGLE instance of the backlight going out on the TJ35. He was at best ill informed, and at worst less than forthright. This is the sort of nonsense many have come to expect from Sony support, and was a disappointing end to the otherwise informative call.

I still decided to go through with the repair process. I'll let everyone know how things go from here.

[UZI4U182]

I've also heard of someone else's TJ backlight burning out, i think it probably is a known issue

[DaveTN]

Thanks Andrew for letting us know about your experience and what some of us may have to look forward to. Please keep us posted.

Thanks,

David

[Palindrome]

Good luck Andrew! Thanks for posting the information.

Keep us updated on the process.

Thanks! :)

[daggerlee]

Well, this gives me hope. I'm actually *hoping* for my backlight to break, since I wouldn't want it to break on the 366th day I've had my TJ35. If the Sony rep were to be trusted, and having them fix it would solve it once and for all, I'd send mine in today regardless.

Maybe this will become a widespread enough issue that they will issue a recall? Doubtful, though

[Yannis767]

I have posted this under other headers as well...

I have only had the unit for less than a month and it has to go in for service!!!! Something is lose inside it and the lightest tap or pressure on its back (on the area where the battery is located) causes the backlight to go off.
When that happens I cannot turn the unit off unless I click the power switch 3-4 times to OFF.

To answer previous q's: I have not dropped, sat or otherwise mutilated the unit. The problem manifested itself suddenly and unprovoked...

I am sure the problem is not software related, but rather hardware. See my comment above about tapping its back.

I use it more than regularly and I don't leave the light on during MP3 playbacks.


Bumer! Is SONY getting flimsy with its products?
Yannis

[SlvrFalcon007]

i have to agree with daggerlee in that i hope mine breaks, jsut got off the phone with compuplus, and mine is on its way. PErhaps ill send it to sony the minute i get it to check it up considering about 75% of people with a 35 have had backlight problems. Im gonna play it safe, im a neat freak, and i hope they dont scratch or do anything bad to my unit. THANKS FOR ALL THE HELP

[alsa]

here's the serial on the one I have (i don't care): 3009165

[alsa]

I have a question - Does your backlight go out all of the sudden and you cannot bring it back? Because on mine the problem is like this: if/when I tap more than gently on the back of the unit, the backlight goes out; by sliding the power button and keeping it like that nothing can be achieved. I actually have to turn the unit off and back on, and the backlight comes back. Has been doing it for about 10 days. Does the backlight start doing the same thing on your units and then eventually burns out? (i.e. you cannot revive it by turning it back on). Seems like turning mine off and back on clears the problem. And the backlight goes out every time I press on the back (where the battery cover is). Thanks

[DaveTN]

Mine just quit working without warning. Had been reading an ebook, turned it off and put t down for a while, plugged in headphones and turned it back on and....no backlight and none since then. My TJ 35 was only 2 weeks old.

David

[andrewcoffin]

Just spoke to Sony repairs. My TJ35 arrived at the Sony repair facility on Nov. 25, so tomorrow they will have had it for two full weeks (of course, the Thanksgiving holiday probably slowed things down a bit). I figured that it was time to give them a call, for the second time--I tried 4 or 5 days ago as well.

Here's the latest: the woman I spoke to took a long time to get an answer, and finally came back saying that the unit would be replaced, not repaired. She said that the particular part needed was on backorder, with no availability in sight, so their best option was to give me a "new" unit.

She couldn't give me any additional details. Under normal circumstances, having Sony replace the unit with a new one would sound like a good solution, but in this case it worries me. I told her that the backlight problem was common with this unit, and that I didn't want to get one that would simply die on me again. I said that I'd prefer, really, to have it repaired than to receive another defective unit.

She did not admit that the problem was common (she said she hadn't seen it before), but that if it was, "newer" units would have been corrected...

So we'll see. I don't know when I'll be getting the new one, but I'll post here again when I do...

[alsa]

interesting

What if if I voided my warranty? would they still replace it for a fee or would I have to wait for that part? Hmmm

[DaveTN]

In response to andrewcoffin:

Oh Great, more good news.

David

[joedotclie]

Hey Andrew, I passed the 10 working days milestone last week, now they say an additional 5 working days. Will call tomarrow and see what they say. But I am with you, why get a unit that will break in another 7 days, or worse another 11 months (I got mine 10/30) and be out of warranty