HELP! New Nook is dead & I can't RMA

[ExOblivione]

Since I don't live in the US and wanted a Nook, I had a visiting relative bring me 2 units of the WiFi only version, one for me and one for my sister. The one that I got it working fine, but my sister's died within a few days.

She had charged it to max when she got it, played around with it a bit, transferred a few books etc. and everything seemed fine. She left it alone, in standby, for the next 2-3 days. When she tried it again she found it had turned off and refused to boot. I assumed that the battery had run down (since WiFi had been left on) and had her try charging it. Nothing happened, the charge light did not come on. When that did not work, I brought it over and tried just about everything I could think of.

- Tried hooking it to the wall charger and pressing the 'on' button (and holding it pressed too) - light did not come on.

- I left it to hooked to the wall charger overnight - no change.

- Removed the battery, waited 1 hour, then reinserted it and tried charging- no change.

- Removed the battery, plugged the Nook into the wall charger and tried booting it - nothing.

- Removed the fully charged battery from MY NOOK and put that battery in the non-working Nook - wouldn't turn on.

- Put the non-working Nook's battery into my Nook and tried charging - the charging light came on instantly.

Just in case someone thinks that the charger might be nonfunctional, I tried all the above with the PC USB cable too, and my Nook charges fine with either. It seems like the unit itself is dead.

Like I mentioned, I don't live in the US. I live in India. I can't just send the Nook in for RMA. What should I do? Is there something else I can try to fix it? Shipping to and fro is too costly, enough that I could probably buy a new Nook outright in the amount it would take for me to do so.

Any advice?

[xamier]

Send customer service an email and ask about it. I know they don't sell Nooks overseas but they might be able to advise you. If I moved to Europe or India with my Nook, I would expect them to take care of me, why not you too?

Good Luck

[ABthree]

@ExOblivione

Welcome! 

You've done some pretty thorough troubleshooting.  The only thing I see that you didn't note trying was shimming the battery in the non-working Nook.

Some early Nooks weren't always tight to the battery contacts, and seemed "dead" for that reason.  The workaround was to tighten the battery in the cavity with a shim made of a thin slice of card stock. 

While you're waiting for better suggestions, you might want to give that a try.

Good luck!

[ExOblivione]

I will give your suggestion a go, but I am not very optimistic. If it were simply an issue of the battery not being properly seated, the Nook still should have booted when connected to a power source (I had even removed the battery completely and tried to boot the unit directly from the wall charger). Right?

I will try it nonetheless. Nothing to lose at this point!

[Arleen1]

Actually, Barnes and Noble will NOT STAND BEHIND IT'S PRODUCT OR SALES PITCH....I bought a nook a month ago and accidentaly dropped it on its top. The screen went blank. So, I did what the sales person told me to do when she sold it to me, I took it to B & N so that they would help me with it. I wasn't expecting them to fix it for free BUT, they just don't fix it. They tell you to call customer service and then there, they tell you that they DO NOT FIX NOOKS...unless you bought the warranty AND they think it's right, then MAYBE they'll send you a new one but they HAVE NOOOOOO IDEA HOW TO FIX IT....so please be VERY careful with your Nook. I am still "grieving" for the loss of mine, it's just not right.....

[Doug_Pardee Distinguished Bibliophile]

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Arleen1 wrote:

Actually, Barnes and Noble will NOT STAND BEHIND IT'S PRODUCT OR SALES PITCH....I bought a nook a month ago and accidentaly dropped it on its top. The screen went blank. So, I did what the sales person told me to do when she sold it to me, I took it to B & N so that they would help me with it. I wasn't expecting them to fix it for free BUT, they just don't fix it.

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Try getting a mobile phone repaired. Or a pocket digital camera. The manufacturers don't fix those, either. Small electronics aren't economically practical to fix. Repair cost on a NOOK would be more than the cost of a new one. Would you really pay $200 plus shipping to get your NOOK fixed when you can buy a new one for $199 or $149 plus tax?

There's a reason that they offer the accidental damage insurance. And that other companies offer accidental damage insurance.

[orb9220]

I just don't get people that expect under $200 electronics to be covered for repair with user  damage. It cost more than what the original would cost to replace.

I always take a salesperson statements with a grain of salt. As many don't know the nitty gritty details of service ,warranty , replacement, repair. That is what the internet is for.Or having a manager or a printed document stating what it will or will not cover. Wouldn't just take a salesman's word for it.

And if I was concerned about damaging then I would have had a good protective cover and accidental breakage coverage as well. And done my homework on all that before the purchase.

.