Unimpressed

[megedemer]

Let me preface this by saying that I've had my NC for just under a year ago and LOVE it!  I've actually gotten rid of all but a select few actual books because I read everything on my NC now. 

Now for the problem...woke up this morning to a NC with a 45% charge after having it plugged in all night.  Tried plugging it in again and the 'n' on the charger turned orange, but the battery status was showing 'not charging'.  After reading about everyone else's charger problems on this board, the experiences that people have had calling customer service/getting the runaround, and the success people have had exchanging chargers at the stores, I decided to go directly to the store.  Took my NC and my charger in, explained the problem to the manager of the Plainfield, IL store, but was told there was nothing they could do for me in-store - they had to place the order online and have a charger shipped to me.  He made a big deal about the fact that they could only do this for me because my NC was still under warranty.  Thank goodness this didn't happen two weeks from now when my warranty would no longer be in effect. 

So now I have in my possession (for 3-4 days at least) a $250 paperweight.  All of my books stuck on an e-reader that is going to lose it's charge by the end of the day today.  I'm 150 pages into Daniel Silva's 9th Gabriel Allon book, and will have to switch to one of my four real books for the rest of the week.  I know this may now be a big deal to some, but I read about a book a day, so I would be done with the rest of the series so far by the end of the week if my NC was available to me.

Still loving my NC, but very unimpressed with the customer service that I have received regarding this issue.  So unimpressed, that I am willing to deal with the slight inconvenience of purchasing an e-book from other sources and needing to side-load versus spending any more money with BN.

Thanks for listening to me rant.  Just needed to get it off my chest. :-)

[Sewinglady51]

You can still charge your Nook Color just use a generic charger plugged into your computer.  It will charge over night.  Just takes longer, now your Nook will not be a "paperweight" while you wait to get your new charger.

[megedemer]

I tried that, but even when plugged into my pc using my phone charger the status bar indicates 'discharging.' Is it really charging even though it indicates otherwise?

[geertm]

---

megedemer wrote:
I tried that, but even when plugged into my pc using my phone charger the status bar indicates 'discharging.' Is it really charging even though it indicates otherwise?

---

The charging message is just a software message that is triggered by the NC charger. You can use any USB port or charger to  charge the NC, but the software will not show a message.

[kcladyz]

buy a kindle Fire. if you shut off the secuity settings for 3rd party downloads you can download the nook app from getjar and read your nook books on it and get a much better device. i been a devoted to nook for years but the fire was so much better i sold the nook. I may buy another nook in the future if they can make something more attractive than the fire

[efeigenbaum]

Or, better yet, just spend the money and buy one of the 7" Android tablets available.  That's what I plan to do in the not-too-distant future.

[GDJ]

It would have been nice if you had gotten a new cord or charger at the store, but it sounds like one will be mailed to you at no expense within a few days?  That doesn't seem too bad to me.

[shasi]

I had the same problem with my Nook last week also. I thought for sure it was the cord but it was not.  For some reason now when I charge my Nook I have to shut it completely off not just put it to sleep. And then plug the charger in and it turns the Nook on and it is now charging. I never had to do that before I don't know why it has changed but it works for me. Try it good luck

Sharon

[compulsiveread…]

I notice that same thing happening to my NC a lot. I found I have to wiggle the cord or try to reseat it again where it connects to the NC until the charging notice pops up. Sometimes it pops up, then goes off and I have to try two or three times till it pops up again. I would try that and see if it works. I don't always have to do that, but it does happen to me and it is a pain in the butt.

I think the major problem is that the location of where the cord connects to the NC. It's just not a good spot.

[ianstarboarder]

I find it amazing that after spending all this money on a device and full price for every book that when you have a problem with said device you are forced to spend time and gas going to a physical location just to have a rep tell you that you are "lucky" it is still under warranty. That is terrible customer service.

[eaglewomanEP]

When they sent me a new cord from CS it only took 3 days.

I have found with my NOOK to charge it need to put the cord in the Nook first then into the wall plug or it does't charge. Also when I am charging and going to use it at the same time I fold a peice of paper to fit under the plug to make it level so the plug doesn't break off.

[gnkc]

Of all the cell phones, Ipods, handheld gaming systems and digital cameras my wife and I have had over the years which have used some sort of usb or usb like cable to charge, I have never had a problem until the NC. Both my wife's and mine broke at the Nook end and had to be replaced.

Both were taken back to the store where purchased 2 and 5 months previously. Neither time could the store just replace the cord, it had to be done via cs with a 3 - 5 day wait for the cord. 

Seems like the charging cord should be the least likely area for problems to appear... 

[megedemer]

When it was sent from customer service - did anyone get an email regarding the replacement order?  Or does it show up on your account at BN.com?  I figured I would at least get an email saying that it's coming, but nothing.  Should I be worried or will it just show up later this week?

I understand that things break, and I'm not the gentlest person, but part of the reason that I bought the NC over a kindle/ipad/kobo was because of the in-store assistance.  I still love my NC, but wish I would have known that the retail stores wouldn't be able to do anything for me after I bought it.

[BruceMcF]

---

megedemer wrote:
I tried that, but even when plugged into my pc using my phone charger the status bar indicates 'discharging.' Is it really charging even though it indicates otherwise?

---

Even with the extended USB plug on the Nook charger (or equivalent), if the PC USB plug is just the minimum required amps, if the screen is on you'll only be slowing down the discharge. And with a standard micro-USB plug, it will only trickle charge.

[geertm]

---

megedemer wrote:

When it was sent from customer service - did anyone get an email regarding the replacement order?  Or does it show up on your account at BN.com?  I figured I would at least get an email saying that it's coming, but nothing.  Should I be worried or will it just show up later this week?

I understand that things break, and I'm not the gentlest person, but part of the reason that I bought the NC over a kindle/ipad/kobo was because of the in-store assistance.  I still love my NC, but wish I would have known that the retail stores wouldn't be able to do anything for me after I bought it.

---

B&N's official policy does not allow stores to replace the charger cables. They are required to direct you to customer service.

You get in-store assistance (usuall very good) for all other Nook problems.

[Irishelf]

When I called the first time for a replacement cord, the CS rep said it would go out the following day and I would get it within a week. Got no email-in fact, I got nothing! Waited a week and when the cord didn't come I called CS again. The second person I talked to said the first person had NOT sent the cord and said he would place an order for the replacement. This time, I at least got an email saying one was coming, but when I check tracking, it hasn't updated since Monday!

[tuck229]

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ianstarboarder wrote:
I find it amazing that after spending all this money on a device and full price for every book that when you have a problem with said device you are forced to spend time and gas going to a physical location just to have a rep tell you that you are "lucky" it is still under warranty. That is terrible customer service.

---

You can spend $50,000 on a luxury car, but see what they tell you drive in with a repair need after the warranty has expired. 

My son's NC cord bought the farm.  I went to the local BN and they did not give me a cord there, but rather had one sent to me.  3 days later we had a new cord.  Not that big a deal.  If you must access your library, you can do so from any computer.  I don't like reading on my computer, but it's not like you Nook library is locked away when you Nook is shut off. 

It seems like you have enjoyed your Nook otherwise, so I hope you don't let this inconvenience run you off.  Bugs with electronics is not uncommon....yes, even iPad owners sometimes have issues they deal with.

[Omnigeek]

 I guess I've been lucky as my local B&N has replaced my cord twice without question.  It DOES say something about the cord design that I've needed to replace it twice in one year but I find the fuss over having to wait 3-5 days to get a free replacement to be an interesting commentary on today's instant gratification society.

The NC and NT will charge just fine using a standard micro-USB cord (albeit more slowly than using the factory cord) so you needn't be "dead in the water" while waiting for the new cord.

[Irishelf]

Not everyone has a standard micro-USB cord- not one of the cords I have that can plug into the USB port has an end that will fit into the Nook.  And Nook owners shouldn't have to go out and purchase one.  For what we paid for the NC, we should have a decent, sturdy cord that does not need to be "babied" in order to stay in one piece!  NC's are NOT portable if you can't take the charger without packaging in bubble wrap to keep it from breaking.  B&N needs to acknowledge the fact that the chargers are a piece of crap that need to be redesigned and issued to any person who ordered a NC.  A lot of people complain about Apple, but at least when you buy an ipad, you get a sturdy charger that not only doesn't need replacing every couple of months, but can be used for more than 1 Apple device and there are Apple compatable chargers (Griffin) that can be purchased anywhere!

[Omnigeek]

---

Irishelf wrote:

Not everyone has a standard micro-USB cord- not one of the cords I have that can plug into the USB port has an end that will fit into the Nook.  And Nook owners shouldn't have to go out and purchase one.  For what we paid for the NC, we should have a decent, sturdy cord that does not need to be "babied" in order to stay in one piece!  NC's are NOT portable if you can't take the charger without packaging in bubble wrap to keep it from breaking.  B&N needs to acknowledge the fact that the chargers are a piece of crap that need to be redesigned and issued to any person who ordered a NC.  A lot of people complain about Apple, but at least when you buy an ipad, you get a sturdy charger that not only doesn't need replacing every couple of months, but can be used for more than 1 Apple device and there are Apple compatable chargers (Griffin) that can be purchased anywhere!

---

I haven't found the standard NC/NT cable needs to be babied.  I have micro-USB cords for my cell phone, cell phone dock, two external USB hard drives and bought a couple extra from NewEgg for traveling purposes (so I don't have to keep grabbing the ones from the dock or cell phone charger.

I DO think the cords could be improved since I've had one hard failure (the other replacement was just a slight crack in the plastic head which didn't affect any of its functions) but it's not "a piece of crap that needs to be redesigned and issued to any person who ordered a NC".

As far as Apple products are concerned, I've found Apple compatible chargers are at LEAST as expensive as micro-USB cables and recently had Apple replace the charger for my 15-month old MacBook Pro because the strain relief didn't relieve the strain and the cable had not only frayed but shorted (plastic melted, wired burned) -- and I ALWAYS coiled the cord and picked up the charger by the transformer unit.