Broke two Pi A+'s USB ports


 
A

Aaron Morris

TVWBB Member
Well,

I'm building all 3 of my heatermeters today. One is done and working and the other two now don't have functioning USB ports on the PI A+. Looks like my Edimax wifi adapter is bending the pins inside. I tried to bend them back on one pie and ended up breaking it off.

At this point, I'm thinking I'll need to solder a new port on the Pi.. anyone know what part I should use?

Thanks!
 
I was able to carefully bend the pins back on one and got it working. It looks like the issue is that the port puts too much pressure on the devices you plug in. Bending up the locking pins on the outside really makes it work a lot better.

For the other broken pi, I'm thinking I can just solder wires from the USB pins on the Pi board right to the Edimax adapter, or maybe just solder in another USB port (although I can't seem to get the old one out)
 
Wow, I just read online as well. Seems like the Edimax Wifi dongles damage the USB connector pretty often. Sounds like a design flaw on the pi for sure. I guess I can see if the manufacturer will replace the one that's busted, but I'm worried a new one will do the same thing. A new port would probably be quicker to deal with and solve the issue.
 
I have had 3 or 4 A+'s and so far only one of them had bent pins. I took a soldering tool and was able to get under them and bend them back. They do know of the issue, but they probably wont fix the issue until they have new version of the A+.
 
Wondering if maybe it's worth mentioning in the HM assembly guide just in case some newbies run into it as well. I found some ports on ebay I'm going to buy. Along with a desoldering station lol (I have lots of other projects to desolder too).
 
I had the same thing happen to me with my A+, though in hindsight I should have noticed when it took unusual pressure to push the Edimax in. I was able to use a small pick to pull the pin forward and bend it back into shape though.
 
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