REPRODUCIBILITY: ?
OS VERSION: N/A
HARDWARE: Jolla Phone 2026
UI LANGUAGE: N/A
REGRESSION:N/A
DESCRIPTION:
This is actually a hardware “bug”, not a software one. The USB board of the Jolla Phone 2026 is manufactured with a process that is not suitable for its intended use. My phone, after just some months’ usage, started to experience random charger disconnections while connected to the car charger. These worsened to the point that it only charged pushing up the USB-C external connector. Opening the device, I found that the tracks connecting to the USB connector on the board had broken and the connector pads had detached from the FR4 substrate. Since designing boards is my job, I can tell for sure that this is due to cheap material/processes and thin tracks.
PRECONDITIONS:
STEPS TO REPRODUCE:
I just used the phone as I do with my other phones.
EXPECTED RESULT:
The connector keeps working.
ACTUAL RESULT:
The connector does not work reliably any more.
MODIFICATIONS:
None.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
I suggest that the process/manufacturer be changed in order to withstand normal mechanical stress on the connector pins (ie tracks stick better to the FR4 substrate), and possibly thicker copper on the top layer to withstand micro-bending.
No surprise here and amazing that after so many years this still is a very common issue in phone design.
I refer also to the USB-C → 3,5mm jack threads that seem full of “solutions that work” until they reproduce the above problem due to excess lateral / axial mechanical stress on the port’s socket.
So while you were in there, did you see a possible fix?
I like 1 oz. That will withstand more than just micro-bending Kidding, of course, but it’s what I use on the PCBs I make and is sufficient for sturdy eurorack front-plates that get a ton of connector activity. But, that’s also top AND bottom I like copper.
I rarely need USB for anything but charging, and they also convert any charging plug (lightning, USB micro, mini, C,…) on any device into one universal “Socket”, so I only carry one type of charging cable.
Works For Me ™.
Of course they have other problems: the cables break frequently, if you drop the device so it hits the floor facing the plug, your socket is almost guaranteed to be damaged, you lose USB-C features. Cases/sleeves often need modification.
Yes, I’ve been looking to these as well but they bring no 3,5mm headphone jack.
Used such thing on an iPhone SE 2020 with lightning port with great success but then decided I needed to listen to music with an adapter and in no time the port was worn out internally, even not ripped from the PCB but simply mechanically worn out after too many connects / disconnects. Even with regular “greasing” of the sliding contacts.
I’m looking for a solution like a low profile L shaped USB-C plug with ribbon cable that leads to the back of the cover where it offers a glued on combo USB-C and 3,5mm stereo connector.
Can you show some pictures maybe for educational purposes?
And a question that might or might not be related. Do you have a phone with the i2c or the revised i3c board?
I’m not saying that there should be any difference on that part of the board, but it might help exclude or verify a certain issue for Jolla team.
I’ve given up on 3,5 mm headphone jacks as soon as I found out that there are some DACs out there that crush any internal phone hardware in terms of sound quality, from the cheap but crisp Apple dongle to something more refined such as the Moondrop Dawn 2 Pro. I now use external DACs even on devices with a 3,5 mm jack. You can get a splitter on Aliexpress to connect the DAC and keep a charging port at the same time.
Only the XperiaX 3,5mm is good enough (podcasts, voice, hardly any music listening).
That aliexpress dongle brings the same potential issue (?): leverage on the USB-C port of the phone. For that reason I rather listen to inferior sound through 3,5mm.
Yeah, copper at a half is almost paper. That will be nigh impossible to repair. Man.
I’ve also gone this way. And I don’t even have an expensive dongle (I have the apple, too, but prefer a higher gain one).
It’s a good question. Not all usb surface mount connections are equal, but the same can be said of 3.5 mm mounts. My gut feeling is that a 3.5mm plug will last longer simply because it is just a ‘hole’. The surface mount types I use have large pads and require a lot of force to break off a board (with large pads).
Jolla should offer the USB-C board at a fair price, preferably with a redesign, to strengthen the USB-C port. After all, that board should be rrasonably easy to replace by users, inclined to do it themseleves.
I think we just have to wait a bit longer. Jolla is, in lack of better words, appearing to try really hard. With the employee number they just struggle with speed and with customer service.
I think if they don’t come up with something until when they will surely have more air to breathe, once the pre-orders have caught up, we should certainly remind them of replacement USB-C boards and a solution for battery shipping.
Kidding, of course, but it’s what I use on the PCBs I make and is sufficient for sturdy eurorack front-plates that get a ton of connector activity. But, that’s also top AND bottom 
