FM3 - USB plug fragile

Do you think it was because of the USB cable that was a tight fit or the USB socket on FM felt fragile from the start?

Hard to say, but I think there must be some QC issue with the socket that is used. The whole centre part just came out first time I unplugged it, I used the same cable with other devices just fine.
 
I see, thanks.
I used a standard USB cable. That cable has already been in use for 1-2 years, with my audio interface and my Kemper. And it is still working perfectly with those devices. In my case I am sure that it's an issue with the FM3 USB-B socket, not with the cable.
 
I have several USB cables. A few fit kind of loose.
One style fits very nice. That to me feels how it should fit, nice and snug.
 
I had the same thing happen to me tonight as well and with the silver usb cable provided by G66 :( I’ve emailed them to see what they can do. Only had the unit 5 weeks!
At least I can play about with the ax8 I’ve got in the interim.
 

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I had the same thing happen to me tonight as well and with the silver usb cable provided by G66 :( I’ve emailed them to see what they can do. Only had the unit 5 weeks!
At least I can play about with the ax8 I’ve got in the interim.

IMO its the silver cable they provided. This exact thing happened to me back at the beginning of July and I hoped my post on this thread would have been warning to others not to use that damn silver cable. G66 need to stop supplying them with the FM3 units. I had my unit 2 days when this happened to me.
 
IMO its the silver cable they provided. This exact thing happened to me back at the beginning of July and I hoped my post on this thread would have been warning to others not to use that damn silver cable. G66 need to stop supplying them with the FM3 units. I had my unit 2 days when this happened to me.

seems to be the case. Pity such a shoddy cable is provided with such a premium bit of gear. Wish I’d read it sooner !
 
seems to be the case. Pity such a shoddy cable is provided with such a premium bit of gear. Wish I’d read it sooner !

I actually took two pictures exactly the same as you, one showing the destroyed pins and the other with the centre pin protected stuck in the silver cable that I sent to G66. I was so upset (I'm a 50 year old man for gods sake!) but have to say G66 were great in replacing my device with a new one and a decent USB cable. I've had no issues at all now. You'd think after just one incident, they'd learn from it.
 
I'm in the US and haven't had any issues. That said, I did get a short USB extension cable that I keep plugged in just in case. More of the reason for it, though, was the fact that my right-angle MIDI cables were semi-blocking access to the USB port so it's more convenient to plug into the extension cable a few inches away.
 
Imho since this is a known issue.... rather than have peeps send their units back all the time, you`d think Fractal would replace the USB Ports BEFORE sending the FM3s out?????? Nip this in the bud so to speak. It`d sure save everyone involved unneeded grief.....it can`t add any more time to the already long wait any ways.
 
The same thing happened to me tonight. My units USB b port has become very loose and it keeps dropping the connection to my pc. I've had my FM3 for less than two weeks and I'm quite shocked as my FM3 has had very light use since I bought it. The USB cable in my case is white and made in Germany.
 
I had exactly the same thing happen to the USB port on my AX8, despite being very light-fingered... and so I am now uber, uber cautious whenever i connect, or disconnect, the USB to my FM3. Strange that such a well-built unit seems to have this recurring problem!
 
I'm probably just being paranoid, but this is what I did after seeing a few reports of broken USB ports. I found a cable with a low profile right angle USB B plug to hook to the FM3, zip tied it to my board to reduce the chances of it snagging on something and putting pressure on the FM3's port, and ran that to a USB - A to USB - B adapter on the side of my board.

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Patch bays are the saviors for these kind of things, much cheaper to replace a component in them.
 
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