Laptop charger... Not charging!

ironman1

By the way i'm not one of those who claims insurance for everything and tries to get out of paying for things.

Last year my little cousin broke the power lead socket on the Playstation by putting the console back in the box the wrong way with the lead plugged in. I didnt claim the contents insurance or moan at Sony. I eventually bought a new one as it was my/our fault.

In this case with the laptop, after what i.ve read, I dont think it's our fault this time. How can they build these expensive machines where the slightest knock causes a £100 plus repair bill a few months later even WITH warranty still intact. It's a joke

macman

ironman1 wrote: »

Charging block as in the big brick like bit that connects the lead to the charger?

I'd be happy if it was that. I would rather buy a new charger or get one sent than lose the laptop and/or have to pay a repair bill.

This site is about money saving after all. I wont feel guilty about getting out of a repair bill issued by someone like Toshiba. I've bought enough products off of them, including a £450 laptop a year ago. To have to pay £100+ to repair it a year later is best to be avoided if possible isn't it? From what i've read on here and other sites, the laptop I have is known for this fault, user inflicted or not.

No, the charging block is the bit on the socket that is soldered to the motherboard.

ironman1

Well you have to pay £100 excess so I didnt think it was worth it. I'd rather just claim if it was something more expensive to be honest!

By the way I have just spoken to Toshiba and they said i'm definitely covered for repair this one time unless it seems as though i've dropped the machine or something. As i've said the laptop is in great condition, barely a mark on it so i'm hopeful I wont have to pay but you never know with these companies

ironman1

Even though there is no visable damage to the laptop, what are the chances of someone like Toshiba 'finding' one? If they could get away with it i've got no reason to think they wouldn't make us pay if they could get away with it. Then i've got no choice unless I pay them 40 quid to return the unfixed laptop. Great!

macman

Once you've swapped the mains adaptor and most likely found that it is OK, then you can send the lappy to Toshiba knowing that there is a fault. Both this incident and the one you have described with your PS are the same, i.e accidental damage, and therefore not covered under the manufacturer's warranty, so I fail to understand your different approach. If they do fix it under warranty, then you should consider yourself lucky.
Laptops are fragile devices and cannot withstand this type of maltreatment for long, as has already been explained.

ironman1

To be honest i'm a bit clueless about insurances and warrantys, what they do and dont cover. Thats why i've asked on here.

Toshiba have told me that i'm actually out of warranty period but providing they find that the fault is not my doing, they will fix it this time without charge. For that I cant argue.

I honestly think this is a fault with the charger or laptop that wasn't caused by us. Yeah the nephew tripped over it but for the rest of the day it charged without problem.

I've checked out the socket etc and it all looks fine, no bent or damaged pins for example.

I will be a bit annoyed if after I send it off they come back and charge us and say the fault is down to us but what can ya do?

Yeah I could take it elsewhere but then I will lose my warranty with Toshiba.

It's a lucky dip really. They could say we caused the fault or just fix it without charge. I just know they will make out we dropped it or something even though there is barely a scratch on it.

macman

You can't see the damage to the charging block from outside! The sideways stress of the adaptor pin when it was 'tripped over' has caused the solder joint inside to fail, it may not have gone immediately but the stress has finished it off. Half the laptops in for repair anywhere will have this problem.
Why if you take it elsewhere will you lose your warranty? You already said it's out of warranty.
If you want to safeguard your £40, take it to an independent shop and pay £20-£25 for a inspection, they will confirm the diagnosis. If it's the charging block, you can then send it to Tosh to fix it free under warranty, as they have already offered to do, although they are under no obligation to. Then a £100 repair will have cost you £20, which is a pretty good deal!

ironman1

Just tried a mates charger on our laptop. Works perfect. Not sure thats a good thing

ironman1

Any recommendations? should i just buy a charger and be done with it?!

gravitytolls

We also have a Satellite lappy, the charger connection wasn't working, I thought it was a loose connection within the charger and replaced it. It wasn't, it's inside, the connection is slightly loose and needs wiggling. When browsing Ebay, I've seen a couple of Toshiba Satellites claiming the same problem ('though does not intefere with the performance' ~ hmm assuming you can get it charged), so it would seem to be a fault. Our's is just over 12 mths old too.

Mind you, I have to contact our insurance company, as I managed to drop the ruddything whilst wiggling the wire to get it charging! Darn it!