Playbook got to 0% battery and now it won't turn on?

"Hi there.

Not sure if this is too late-but thought I would offer an alternative suggestion. The same thing happened to my playbook, according to a friend who works for RIM they had to recall a bunch of them for a very simple problem.

Take a look at the charging port inside the playbook, the piece inside needs to be level. You need to use a small metal object to make the piece level in the center.

This worked for me. The trick is to always keep the blackberry symbol facing upwards, if it is put down, it ruins the alignment of the piece again!

Hope this is helpful. It saved my playbook :)"

"I have a rapid charger and a regular USB charger. I let my Playbook get so low, it wouldn't turn on or charge. Since the charging system is software controlled, the playbook can get so low the software won't run to charge it. I had to ""stack"" charge it, which means putting the charger on for 10-15 seconds, taking it off, putting it right back on for 10-15 seconds, taking it off, and repeating this process about 50-100 times. The charger will charge for about 10-15 seconds before it shuts down because the Playbook software isn't taking over the charging process. Until the playbook gets enough charge to run the charging circuit, it won't take a prolonged charge. By repeating this process of ""stacking"" all of these little charges together, you are able to build up enough charger for the Playbook to run the charging circuit software to fully charge itself.

Another time, I let my Playbook get too low and hooked it up to my desktop and was told I needed to download some software to use it. I said ""ok"" and it began downloading the software which would take about an hour. The problem was the USB connection to the desktop would not provide enough power to run the Playbook in order to download the software AND charge the playbook at the same time. The playbook would just run out of power and shut down in the middle of the process. I had to hook up the rapid charger and the USB cable to do this; and it worked fine.

Hope these help."

"Both of these problems are very common because a lot of people leave their Playbook on ""stand by"" for too long and they drain down too low. The charging circuit is software controlled and if the Playbook gets too low there is not enough power to run the software to allow the Playbook to charge itself. The charging circuit allows for a 10-15 second charge so that the charging software can engage and then stops assuming the software has taken over the charging process. When the Playbook is completely dead, this can't happen, hence the ""stacking"" trick. It's a pain in the butt, but it works.

Good luck and enjoy your Playbook. I love mine.

Thomas"

to viswanath, look on the side of the playbook at the charger port, no need to take it apart, use a magnifier if needed check the middle bar in the port is straight not bent.....if it is bent gently level it with a flat thin narrow blade ie metal nail file....when you put the micro charger lead in make sure the blackberry "symbol" on the plastic head of it is facing up..... it will not charge it the other way as I found out the hard way.......hope that helps...

It is definitely the charging cable. Although the usb tips fit they are not all the same and I’m assuming you don't have the original one. If you have a few lying around try them all. When it is charging the light will definitely flash. Also when you look at the port make sure the  pin is centered. I have only two cables that will work with mine and they seem to be older. If you have to adjust the pin in the playbook use a small screw drive or something make sure it centered and keep trying different cables, the tip should fit snug around that internal pin but not necessarily around the opening.

Working under a lighted magnifier, I used a thin but rigid plastic probe on a Playbook's USB port to very gently push the connector down a little. Then I checked that the connector on the USB charger could align with the adjusted connector on the Playbook, and that a connection could be made. When I was sure, I plugged in the USB charger unit to an electric outlet and it started charging up right away. You can also charge the Playbook by using the Blackberry Rapid Charger that connects to the 3 pin charging port that is to the right of the USB port on the Playbook. However if you want to connect the Playbook to a computer you need to fix the USB connector on the Playbook in any case.