Super wobbly USB type B slot

Mark Day said:
I have answered your Support ticket and given RMA instructions. We'll get you back up and running quickly.
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Thanks Mark...disappointed to have to send it back...was hoping there was something I could do, but...I kept my AX8 and have a gig a week from tomorrow, so...things could be worse!
 
bdrepko said:
Mine failed a little more than a month ago. The plastic pin (for lack of a better term) in the center came out. I had to send it back to get fixed.
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It sounds like the manufacturer used a defective batch of USB ports when assembling the units. I wonder if there's any chance Fractal will be proactive and replace the ports on new units before shipping them to customers. I would hate to send mine back a month after I get it. It would probably be cheaper for Fractal to replace them in advance than paying for shipping both ways of defective units.
 
It's not FAS fault per se. I see this in that port on almost every electronic device I've ever had that uses it - printers, routers. The one on the back of my M-Audio es61 MIDI controller keyboard is loose AF. I don't get it but I've come to accept it over the course of the last 20+ years since 1.0/1.1. The only reason for it's existence is apparently to guarantee directionality in the two things being connected. Why the slop I don't know, maybe it's to ensure that even the most hamfisted user can safely plug and unplug things? BTW I read in the Wikipedia article that the minimum durability standard for everything USB prior to C is 1,500 plug/unplug cycles, whereas USB-C is 10,000 cycles. Something to think about.
 
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USMC_Trev said:
It's not FAS fault per se. I see this in that that port on almost every electronic device I've ever had that uses it - printers, routers. The one on the back of my M-Audio es61 MIDI controller keyboard is loose AF. I don't get it but I've come to accept it over the course of the last 20+ years since 1.0/1.1. The only reason for it's existence is apparently to guarantee directionality in the two things being connected. Why the slop I don't know, maybe it's to ensure that even the most hamfisted user can safely plug and unplug things? BTW I read in the Wikipedia article that the minimum durability standard for everything USB prior to C is 1,500 plug/unplug cycles, whereas USB-C is 10,000 cycles. Something to think about.
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It's definitely not Fractal's fault. I never had that problem with my II or III because I always use a rack panel with a USB feedthrough on my rig. The actual port on the back of the rack unit only gets plugged and unplugged about 3-4 times in its life. That approach won't work with the FM3, so the port on that unit will get a lot of use. :(
 
jetdriver1775 said:
A dab of super glue? Seems like an easy end user fix. Of course, that would void the warranty, so I get that part.
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If you know how to de/solder things, its actually not too bad to just change out the plug yourself. Granted this is what I did for my AX8. Not sure how much easier it is to do this on the FM3.
 
I wonder if all those connectors are on a sub board or the main board itself. If it’s a small board, that would be easy to replace. Also, I wonder if there isn’t some sort of USB extender that you can just plug into the unit and leave it plugged in and not stress the part. I’m thinking about something like one of those little thingys that Apple sells that’s only about an inch long.
 
I tried this on my Axe-Fx III, FM3, other random things I have with this type of port. All felt the same level of 'looseness'. Maybe it's just a thing with this connection type in general?
 
USB-C is smaller, and an empirically more durable port. Unfortunately, the audio industry as a whole tends to take its sweet time adopting new connection standards (both a good and bad thing fwiw). We're starting to see a lot more audio interfaces with USB-C, hopefully more instrument / peripheral / outboard manufacturers follow suit.
 
rossipedia said:
USB-C is smaller, and an empirically more durable port. Unfortunately, the audio industry as a whole tends to take its sweet time adopting new connection standards (both a good and bad thing fwiw). We're starting to see a lot more audio interfaces with USB-C, hopefully more instrument / peripheral / outboard manufacturers follow suit.
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It’s called cost, my dude, and it cuts into profit, which is a sin before the gods of money.
 
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