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Customer Service for Cell Phones?
"I bought a Nokia 8860 used from a friend about 2 years ago. It worked great until about 6 months ago, when the memory stopped recording new events between hard resets- so if I add your phone number to my address book, and then my main battery dies or I turn the phone off and remove the main battery, the phone erases your number. I've had the problem diagnosed by a couple of different Nokia approved service centers- there is an internal battery, the size of a watch battery, that somehow powers updates to the memory when the main battery disconnects. In this
eBay auction, it's part number 16 in the exploded diagram. It's essentially a tiny watch battery, with a leaf spring welded on one edge to keep it in contact with the IC, and gold contacts to the (+) and (-) terminals on the other edge that actually make the contact.
The problem is, none of the service centers I've contacted stock the replacement battery, and they claim that Nokia won't ship them the part if they order it. The phone has been discontinued by Nokia USA, and Nokia tells me on the phone and in writing that they won't even acknowledge the existence of a replacement part market, much less actually sell me the thing I need to make the phone work.
Being a good geek, I tried cleaning the contacts with a pencil eraser, and confirmed that the original battery was dead with my trusty multi-meter. I've tried to find the OEM battery manufacturer that Nokia uses. No luck so far. And I took the old part out, and soldered the contacts and spring onto a random new hearing aid battery I bought from Walgreens- no dice. As a last ditch effort, I actually bought one of the kits from the guy with the eBay auction referenced above. The battery in that phone was dead too.
I'm running out of ideas! Nokia obviously wants me to buy a new phone- but mine is perfectly good, except for want of a 35-cent part with some additional metal bits attached. I've told them that their brand reputation is at stake with me. They don't seem overly concerned. What else can I try?"
You could buy one of those cables that lets you synchronize your phone's contacts with your PC and just resync whenever your phone's battery dies. It's still an inconvenience whenever your battery dies, but it helps, and has added benefits.
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try this
"Champagne for my real friends - and real pain for my sham friends!" http://ericblade.postalboard.com/
Have you tried Radio Shack?
The problem with parts like these, are they are very hard to find, and the problem is only going to get worse. The reason for this is nanotechnology.
Imagine trying to find tiny parts like these little buggers! The future is upon us, and pretty soon after the government have forced nanotechnology on us, *everything* will have small, un-replaceable parts.
You think it's bad having to replace a $600 phone, imagine having to replace a Microwave, PDA, toaster, because one tiny little part that cost about a fraction of a cent got damaged during the move, etc.
Unless you are a physicist, or just really, really smart, you better be prepared to get used to this.
In case anyone is curious about nanotechnology, I have decided to give a (brief, i promise!) summary below:
Manufactured products are made from atoms. The properties of those products depend on how those atoms are arranged. If we rearrange the atoms in coal we can make diamond. If we rearrange the atoms in sand (and add a few other trace elements) we can make computer chips. If we rearrange the atoms in dirt, water and air we can make potatoes.
Todays manufacturing methods are very crude at the molecular level. Casting, grinding, milling and even lithography move atoms in great thundering statistical herds. It's like trying to make things out of LEGO blocks with boxing gloves on your hands. Yes, you can push the LEGO blocks into great heaps and pile them up, but you can't really snap them together the way you'd like.
In the future, nanotechnology will let us take off the boxing gloves. We'll be able to snap together the fundamental building blocks of nature easily, inexpensively and in most of the ways permitted by the laws of physics. This will be essential if we are to continue the revolution in computer hardware beyond about the next decade, and will also let us fabricate an entire new generation of products that are cleaner, stronger, lighter, and more precise.
It's worth pointing out that the word "nanotechnology" has become very popular and is used to describe many types of research where the characteristic dimensions are less than about 1,000 nanometers. For example, continued improvements in lithography have resulted in line widths that are less than one micron: this work is often called "nanotechnology." Sub-micron lithography is clearly very valuable (ask anyone who uses a computer!) but it is equally clear that lithography will not let us build semiconductor devices in which individual dopant atoms are located at specific lattice sites. Many of the exponentially improving trends in computer hardware capability have remained steady for the last 50 years. There is fairly widespread belief that these trends are likely to continue for at least another several years, but then lithography starts to reach its fundamental limits.
If we are to continue these trends we will have to develop a new "post-lithographic" manufacturing technology which will let us inexpensively build computer systems with mole quantities of logic elements that are molecular in both size and precision and are interconnected in complex and highly idiosyncratic patterns. Nanotechnology will let us do this.
When it's unclear from the context whether we're using the specific definition of "nanotechnology" (given here) or the broader and more inclusive definition (often used in the literature), we'll use the terms "molecular nanotechnology" or "molecular manufacturing."
Whatever we call it, it should let us
* Get essentially every atom in the right place.
* Make almost any structure consistent with the laws of physics that we can specify in molecular detail.
* Have manufacturing costs not greatly exceeding the cost of the required raw materials and energy.
There are two more concepts commonly associated with nanotechnology:
* Positional assembly.
* Self replication.
Clearly, we would be happy with any method that simultaneously achieved the first three objectives. However, this seems difficult without using some form of positional assembly (to get the right molecular parts in the right places) and some form of self replication (to keep the costs down).
The need for positional assembly implies an interest in molecular robotics, e.g., robotic devices that are molecular both in their size and precision. These molecular scale positional devices are likely to resemble very small versions of their everyday macroscopic counterparts. Positional assembly is frequently used in normal macroscopic manufacturing today, and provides tremendous advantages. Imagine trying to build a bicycle with both hands tied behind your back! The idea of manipulating and positioning individual atoms and molecules is still new and takes some getting used to. However, as Feynman said in a classic talk in 1959: "The principles of physics, as far as I can see, do not speak against the possibility of maneuvering things atom by atom." We need to apply at the molecular scale the concept that has demonstrated its effectiveness at the macroscopic scale: making parts go where we want by putting them where we want!
The requirement for low cost creates an interest in self replicating manufacturing systems, studied by von Neumann in the 1940's. These systems are able both to make copies of themselves and to manufacture useful products. If we can design and build one such system the manufacturing costs for more such systems and the products they make (assuming they can make copies of themselves in some reasonably inexpensive environment) will be very low.
He sells and repair cell phones, as well as regular PC hardware. I can ask him about your cell phone if you want, but mind you, we're in Portugal, and with the holidays and all, snail mail could take two weeks.
I dont know how good his English is though, I guess I could relay messages between you two if you can't really find any local repair shops.
His website is at http://www.telespot.pt
I made it =)
Anyway, I'm sure there's lots of "unofficial" phone shops around there too and they could work on your cell for a small fee.
http://www.all4cell.com/sales/82-88conv_kits.html
:P
They have a conversion kit that includes the battery. I am sure if you get in touch with them they would sell you just the battery.
Good luck, google it next time.
Neck_of_the_Woods
#/usr/local/surf/glassy/overhead
Nokia obviously wants me to buy a new phone- but mine is perfectly good, except for want of a 35-cent part with some additional metal bits attached.
I'm a little confused... didn't you just point us to the battery that you need?
The link that you referenced points to the DL2025 Duracell battery. If this really is the battery that you want, they are pretty darn common.
"Can of worms? The can is open... the worms are everywhere."
Why is this so difficult? It took 20 seconds to find on google: 8 bucks. http://www.all4cell.com/parts/8800pts.html
While without that internal battery your phone is no doubt less functional, why on earth are you considering throwing it away? Do you need to remove the battery often or do you frequenty run the charge down to zero?
Maybe a larger capacity battery and some extra battery chargers lying about (work/car/home etc) would help keep it constantly with charge.
I have had 3 nokia phones (2190/5190/3390) and with each one I kept them on 24/7 with moderate to high usage, generally charging while I sleep. If I'm using it more than normally, I'll plug it in for an hour or two during the day when I get a chance. In 5 years I can only think of 2 or 3 occaisons where I was getting so low on charge that I needed to turn it off to conserve power, and only once where I actually managed to drain the battery and lose power. In addition, even if the battery no longer has enough charge to power the phone and it shuts off, I'd bet there's still enough charge to run the phone memory.
Failing that, is the battery specific to the 8860? It looks awfully similar to the one in my 5190 - could you buy a cheap used 51xx and canibalize it?
Good luck.
If it is like the majority of batteries I've seen it will have stamped into it the relevant specifications. Just find a battery that is the same or close and do a bit of hacking to make it fit.
Tim
Omnia vestra castrorum habetur nobis.
Have you looked into any of the battery retailers? You should checkout BatteriesPlus If they don't have what you need in stock, they can usually find it for you.
Use pliers to remove the metal tabs from dead cell. Use conductive epoxy to glue to the new battery. All the idiots who say 'solder to the cell' are top-class morons, esp. the one with the motor oil for flux. Jackass. What, it tastes the same?
Hint: Don't spend 600$ for a phone. It makes you look like an ass. Esp bragging about it. Check for things like the battery thing before you buy a phone the next time.
Hint2: Phones are disposable. No one cares. Buy the 24$ special at the store. Sigh, I know, I know, you won't be able to show off and feel good about yourself by having a phone that's 2mm smaller.
Hint3: Get your self-esteem some other way!
...is zinc-air, and will expire rather quickly. (How good a geek are you?) Obviously they used some sort of lithium, and the Duracell DL2025 others mentioned sounds like the right bet.
Just hope you didn't fry anything using the wrong style.
Why are you asking this on Slashdot?
Not only is the battery unavailable, but the software used to control the phone is shipped with a non-Free license.
I find it outrageous that you would even think of asking such a question. Please install the Hurd on your Nokia 8860 then re-sumbit the question.
Conformity is the jailer of freedom and enemy of growth. -JFK
Try connecting a variable power supply to the battery terminals. Start at the lowest voltage available or known for hearing aid-type batteries. Step it up a notch at a time. Try Radio Shack, but I'm not sure the step resolution of their variable voltage battery-replacer power supplies will be small enough for you to experiment with.
Good luck.
Big Daddy, Johnny, Burp, Aunt Zelda, Scott, Slurp, Big Momma
...buy phones that they know are on their last legs for $600 (or whatever you paid for it).
Seriously, you bought a 4-year old hand set for a few hundred bucks? How much would a new one, with a greater feature set and a warranty have cost?
I do have some sympathy for you but try to see both points of view. The mobile telecoms is even faster than the PC industry in bringing out newer and newer models - even the new phone I bought two years ago is now two or three generations old (WAP, colour screens, picture messaging have all been introduced since).
A six year-old phone is even more removed from today's handsets and it's entirely possible that Nokia's refusal to ship the part is because it's no longer manufactured for them and they have none left. The situation is akin togoing to Ford and asking them to sell you an original part for a 1950's convertible. Just as Ford won't have it (why would they have inventory for something that old?) neither will Nokia (or Ericsson, Motorola, Sagem, Samsung, etc).
Again, I appreciate how frustrating this must be to you but if you're going to live in a capitalist society then you're going to be a victim to market forces every now and again. And in this case, market forces dictate that there is no point or profit in a multi-billion dollar company stocking a 35 cent part for a product that's technologically obsolete.
Sorry, but's that's the truth, Ruth.
"Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue." - David Brent, Wernham Hogg
Perhaps accessories for this still-in-production phone (Nokia 8850-same product line! same chrome finish!) would work in your 8860. Ask your service center to try to order a battery from Nokia for that phone.
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...Thank You, Darwin[SM].
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