OK, problem solved so thought it worth sharing incase anybody else experiences the same.

I simply pulled the phone apart and fixed the problem as follows:

1) Follow the instructions to remove the facia of the C550 (these can easily be found on this forum by a simple search) - be very careful here as the keyboard connector is on the left hand side of the keyboard and connects the facia to the back of the phone and if forced you may damage it.

2) Where the power switch is at the top left, it's enclosed in some flimsy metal casing (5mm across and 4mm down). In the centre of the small metal casing the metal has been punced in to form a kind of tab which pushes the button back out. The button part which slides into the tiny metal casing had jammed against this tab - probably as the tab had weakened over time and the tab wasn't now pushing the switch back up. With a tiny screwdriver, I just pushed the tab in very slightly and the switch popped back up and now seems to work ok again.

Hope this helps.

Hi,

Same problem here, but on my SPV C550....

The power button is now slightly recessed and it's hard to get it to work. I'm sure if it ever powers down it will be hard to switch the phone on again. The warranty ran out a month ago and it's PAYG with no insurance.

Anyone any ideas what's gone wrong with it - is it worth pulling apart to try and fix?

Is there an alternative way to access the menu / switch the phone on?

Thanks

DeCert & Unlock worked nicely for me on C550.

one point though, I copied the cert to the phone before changing the registry. It then wouldn't install the cert until I deleted the cert and copied it to the phone again. So do the registry changes first, then copy the cert onto the phone.

Both Regedit and cert copied over USB cable with no problems - no card reader was needed.

An excellent tool !

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Cheers and happy PSP'ing
Michaelangelo

A modified cable is something I'd be interested in, and sounds like it would be the solution if data can get through without the power connections. I'm fairly nifty with a soldering Iron, or in this case a pair of snippers...I would just need to work out which wire to cut.....the red one ? Thanks I think I may need to get hold of the pin layout and try this if nobody knows of a software option.

Shadamehr - That's exactly what I thought a few months ago and so didn't even bother asking the question....the reason I ask the question now is because I read the following thread which suggests ActiveSync has to be installed and so charging could be software controlled...I found this hard to beleive myself, but tried it and indeed the charging light only lit on the phone after ActiveSync was installed.

http://www.modaco.com/Charging_through_USB-t231726.html

I'm aware of the memory effect (or less so in this case) of the batteries, although I still would rather not charge it from my laptop for short periods...personal preference I guess, crazy or not.

Thanks for the replies so far.

Michaelangelo

Hi,

Does anybody know if it's possible to disable charging the SPV c550 phone when using the USB cable and ActiveSync software? I would prefer to charge my phone fully when the battery is drained to prolong battery life, rather than for a few minutes whilst synchronising with my laptop.

Any help to answer this question would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Mike