UPDATE: Line6 HX Stomp - broken USB socket - now fixed..

Beexter

As per the above - I got my HX Stomp out to update my presets and the USB port is broken. It's a bit disappointing given how careful I am with my gear.

It's out of warranty so any ideas as to how/ where to get it fixed?

I know Line 6 support is generally ace but given it's out of warranty, I be very surprised if they were able to help.

english_bob

Apparently these guys are the "manufacturer approved Service Centre".

http://www.eandm.co/

Assuming it's economical to do so they'll probably fix it if you pay them.

fretmeister

E and M are great. They've repaired my older L6 stuff before.

I'm close to Milton Keynes so I just made a call and then dropped in.

Bidley

Send L6 a message and see what they'll do.

Danny1969

The sockets they use are cheap junk and not designed for this kind of application. I'm too busy these days to do it but any competent electronics guy can replace it. 

Danny1969

Oh don't use the port in the meantime because if the +5V pin shorts to the side it could damage the unit. 

Beexter

Thanks all.

Beexter

Just as an update....Line 6 replied and suggested E & M as a recognised service centre. However, having just called E&M, the quote to just replace the USB socket is £100 + VAT!!! That includes a £60 inspection fee, even though it is clearly obvious what is wrong...

At that price I'm tempted to have a crack at repairing it myself.

rossyamaha

How far out of warranty is it? It is worth opening a support ticket on the site. You never know. 

While E&M are good at repairing stuff quick etc, I do think their private repair costs are a bit steep. 

Beexter

@rossyamaha ;; - it's well out of warranty - I've had it since 2019. I did open a support ticket and the response was to contact a service centre. I have no problem with that, given it is out of warranty but it is disappointing that I have taken such great care of the unit. I don't need to be charged £60 to tell me what is blatantly obvious - just charge me for replacing a USB socket...

https://photos.app.goo.gl/D5UqhzSCZTPVHmew5

Danny1969

It's a known issue that the socket breaks without any neglect. Some customers have reported just removing the USB cable after an update has pulled the centre of the USB socket out with it. 
  
The Relay G10 wireless was fitted with the worse quality micro USB socket I've ever seen on a device. I replaced so many I got sick of fixing them. Literally no attempt to protect the micro USB socket in the design. In a device that needs the port for power let alone firmware updates. 

The £60 charge is to cover the time it takes to book it in, get in on the bench, disassemble it and inspect the tracks / pads on the PCB. On virtually all the port will be broken on the inside and the tracks will be fine but sometimes you see the customer has had a go and destroyed the solder pads. Then you have to rebuild those and find a way to secure the port as well. 

Once it's on the bench it's a 5 min job to replace the port ...hence most of the money is getting it on the bench and disassembled. 

Beexter

Thanks @Danny1969 - is there any particular brand of USB socket you'd recommend as a replacement?

ewal

This happened to my HX FX. I booked it in to the Service Centre for repair and was quoted £390 because it also need a rear PCB replaced... I just paid to have it shipped back. It still works, just no way of updating it etc...

fnpt

The USB port in my GT1000 Core is also intermittent and I suspect will stop working one of these days so it's not just L6 with that problem.

Danny1969

Beexter said:

Thanks @Danny1969 - is there any particular brand of USB socket you'd recommend as a replacement?

Well you need to get the right footprint and pin spacing, so that can limit your options. Given the choice between a 28p socket and a £1.24 though I would always choose the dearer version, just because then at least I know I tried to get a better one. 

TE Connectivity and Wurth Electronic type B sockets tend to be over a pound, no name rebrands like Multicomp tend to be about 30 pence ... I would always buy the dearer version. 

For my own designs using USB I use a chassis mount socket and that wires to the board via a removable header. There's no issue with this as USB uses a differential pair and it's far more robust than putting the actual socket on the PCB. 

Beexter

I've ordered a couple from CPC Farnell along with some of these from Amazon so that if I do fix the socket on the Stomp, I'll leave these connected so I'm only ever plugging into the extension. I'll stick another in the back of my FM9. At least if they break, it's a quick, cheap and easy fix....
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B08D353TCY?ref=ppx_pt2_mob_b_prod_image

Bod

Danny1969 said:

It's a known issue that the socket breaks without any neglect. Some customers have reported just removing the USB cable after an update has pulled the centre of the USB socket out with it. 
  
The Relay G10 wireless was fitted with the worse quality micro USB socket I've ever seen on a device. I replaced so many I got sick of fixing them. Literally no attempt to protect the micro USB socket in the design. In a device that needs the port for power let alone firmware updates. 

The £60 charge is to cover the time it takes to book it in, get in on the bench, disassemble it and inspect the tracks / pads on the PCB. On virtually all the port will be broken on the inside and the tracks will be fine but sometimes you see the customer has had a go and destroyed the solder pads. Then you have to rebuild those and find a way to secure the port as well. 

Once it's on the bench it's a 5 min job to replace the port ...hence most of the money is getting it on the bench and disassembled. 

It's that centre piece that came out on my HD500 years ago too despite being really careful with the unit - they're rubbish.  I replaced it myself, but was less experienced with soldering and nearly cocked it up.  Thankfully it's still working!

Grumpyrocker

Some Line 6 hardware is bafflingly cheap and nasty. Recently the main control nub on my POD HD500 broke. Obviously it's way too far out of warranty to get L6 to fix it.

Beexter

Happy to report that I now have a fully functioning HX Stomp having successfully fitted a new USB socket myself - Repair cost £1.06 but that's only because I opted for a Wurth Electronic USB B socket. I could have opted for a cheaper socket costing just 23p.. either way, it's a substantial saving over the £100 + VAT & postage that E&M wanted...

I'm a complete amateur and don't have a soldering station, just a basic soldering iron. I've only ever done simple soldering jobs like cables, sockets and the odd switch. I've certainly never been near a PCB. That said, it took less than 10mins to get the PCB out, even being brave enough to disconnect the ribbon cable. Getting the broken socket off the board was the hardest part of the whole process and I had to take my time as I'm only working with a basic soldering iron and desoldering braid - I'd imagine any pro's with a hot air gun could do this bit in under 5mins but it took me a lot longer!
Fitting the new socket was straightforward but you need to take care when soldering the four small pins to the board as they are very close together. Reconnect the ribbon cable, pop the board back in the case, refit the socket nuts and the baseplate screws, job done.
To prevent having to do it again, I'm going to leave one of the extension cables I referenced earlier in the thread connected and just plug into that when connecting to a computer.

This seems to be a fairly common problem and the replacement part only costs around £1 or less. I hope this shows that a DIY repair is feasible, even for someone with limited soldering ability/ kit like myself. 

Heartfeltdawn

Did you take any pictures whilst doing the repair? It'd be a good resource to have online, a journey through this repair. 

Beexter

Hi @Heartfeltdawn, I didn't take any pics as it really is super straightforward, just a bit fiddly. Simply undo all of the nuts holding the jacks in place on the exterior of the HX Stomp (I used an 11mm socket - no need to even attach it to a wrench - they are barely hand-tight) and then undo the four screws holding the base plate on. 

Be careful as you remove the board as it is attached with a ribbon cable. Once you have the board out of the pedal enclosure, it makes life easier if you disconnect one end of the ribbon cable. Whilst I wouldn't recommend a lot of methods shown in this video (using Pledge to clean contacts?!!) it shows how easy it is to get to the board and unplug the ribbon cable: How to fix a Freezing HX STOMP? (youtube.com) The basic disassembly is from 0:58 - 1:28. Again, I wouldn't recommend using a power screwdriver as you'll likely strip the plastic threads that the nuts screw into.

Once the board is out, you just need to de-solder the six connections circled in the image below:



Pop in your new USB socket, solder the same six connections and re-assemble by re-connecting the ribbon cable, popping the board back in, attaching the socket nuts (finger tight only - they're plastic threads!) and screwing the baseplate back on. Crack open a beer and enjoy.