Asus Tablet won't charge despite battery replacement

Raswan

Senior member
Jan 29, 2010
702
6
81
Hey folks,

Got an Asus Tranformer TF701T I bought my wife that has become the bane of my existence. It stopped charging, and despite it being exactly 1 month out of the 1 year warranty period Asus told me to fuck off. I've checked the charger in multiple outlets and put it in the freezer (to reset the heat cutoff switch), neither of which solved the problem. So then I figured the battery went crap, so I bought a new one ($60 on ebay) and put it in last night. Still no charging (new battery came with 38% charge, and it's slowly being drained...).

Do I just keep replacing components here? This is a really nice tablet, hardware-wise (2460x1440 screen, solid internals for a 2014 tablet), and I'm loathe to let it become a paperweight. But it seems my only remaining options are to spend $50 on a new charger, and if that doesn't work another $120 on a new motherboard (which I feel only medium-confident I can replace without breaking anything).

I've search many, many threads about tablets not charging, though there's surprisingly little out there about this 701T. Suggestions? Would really appreciate any help at this point.

Thanks in advance. I am not hopeful.
 

disappoint

Lifer
Dec 7, 2009
10,137
382
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Maybe it's the cable. Maybe it's the charger. Do you have a multimeter to test them?

You should have done more testing before throwing parts at it to begin with.
 

Raswan

Senior member
Jan 29, 2010
702
6
81
Maybe it's the cable. Maybe it's the charger. Do you have a multimeter to test them?

You should have done more testing before throwing parts at it to begin with.

The charger and cable are proprietary and run $55, same cost as the battery. Since the battery failure issue was one widely reported on this model from the beginning, I made an assumption. It turned out to be wrong. So I've got an extra battery hanging around--not the worst thing in the world.

I do have a multimeter to test the cable, but didn't think of it. I just downloaded Ampere which shows no charge is taking place, but that doesn't really narrow it down for me at all. Not sure how to actually test the wall wart/cable. Looking at some tutorials online here and it looks like you have to sacrifice a usb cable in order to test the wart? Which wouldn't tell you if the cable itself is bad or not.
 

sweenish

Diamond Member
May 21, 2013
3,656
60
91
Hey folks,

Got an Asus Tranformer TF701T I bought my wife that has become the bane of my existence. It stopped charging, and despite it being exactly 1 month out of the 1 year warranty period Asus told me to fuck off.

Out of warranty is just that. Not sure what you were expecting.
 

disappoint

Lifer
Dec 7, 2009
10,137
382
126
The charger and cable are proprietary and run $55, same cost as the battery. Since the battery failure issue was one widely reported on this model from the beginning, I made an assumption. It turned out to be wrong. So I've got an extra battery hanging around--not the worst thing in the world.

I do have a multimeter to test the cable, but didn't think of it. I just downloaded Ampere which shows no charge is taking place, but that doesn't really narrow it down for me at all. Not sure how to actually test the wall wart/cable. Looking at some tutorials online here and it looks like you have to sacrifice a usb cable in order to test the wart? Which wouldn't tell you if the cable itself is bad or not.

You don't have to sacrifice a cable, although that would be one way of doing it. You can also obtain the part the cable connects to and use that as test points you can test with a multimeter.

If the cable connects to the charger via a standard USB connector you can connect another device that uses USB power to test the charger.

You can also take the tablet apart and using a multimeter test at the power input connector on the board itself.
 

Raswan

Senior member
Jan 29, 2010
702
6
81
You don't have to sacrifice a cable, although that would be one way of doing it. You can also obtain the part the cable connects to and use that as test points you can test with a multimeter.

If the cable connects to the charger via a standard USB connector you can connect another device that uses USB power to test the charger.

You can also take the tablet apart and using a multimeter test at the power input connector on the board itself.

The last thing I have seen, and will try next. I found a decently-reviewed third-party wall ac power adapter that was only ten bucks. Should be here tomorrow. If that doesn't work I'm assuming it's the mobo, or the connection between the power port and the mobo. You know if one buys a new oem mobo it comes with all those ribbons and such?

I did try connecting a 2A usb brick/wart to the tablet cable and vice versa with a new Note 5 cable to the tablet brick, and got nothing, coming from both the wall outlet and a lower voltage USB port on my desktop. As the voltage outputs for usb bricks are somewhat different however, I wasn't sure if that was telling me anything or not. I'm not an electrical engineer and my knowledge is superficial, so I didn't know, for instance, if the tablet brick (which is variable at 15V and 5V) would output power if it sensed that it was connected to a cable that couldn't handle it, or if the tablet plugged into it's own power brick via a different cable which does significantly less V would simply not show any draw at all, or if perhaps only one but not the other between the tablet cable/brick was bad and I was learning nothing at all.

You can also obtain the part the cable connects to and use that as test points you can test with a multimeter. Not entirely sure what this means--you mean buy a new usb brick for the tablet?
 

Kartajan

Golden Member
Feb 26, 2001
1,264
38
91

Raswan

Senior member
Jan 29, 2010
702
6
81
I would try getting a USB cable to connect into a standard USB charger/ laptop/ etc. Much cheaper than the whole thing..
https://www.amazon.com/LAAGIE-Trans...46422&sr=1-6&keywords=asus+transformer+tf701t

With a 2A standard USB charger I would expect normal charging, and if nothing else it is only $7.00 to try.. (plus tax if applicable)

also, this knockoff charger --may-- work
https://www.amazon.com/BAJ®-Charger-Adapter-Transformer-VivoTab/dp/B01IV8FTW6/ref=sr_1_6?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1470846335&sr=1-6&keywords=asus+transformer+tf701t

Thanks for the link. I nabbed this knockoff after doing some looking yesterday. Alas, there are so many out there and no way except looking at pictures to tell if the tablet-end is 36 pin for sure.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GKT2VGA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

That second one looks more like a TF101 or TF300 to my eyes. what with the black tipping, even though the description clearly says 701t.

It's infuriating that Asus has dropped this tablet like a bad habit. It's got excellent internals and build quality. No reason it shouldn't have begot an era of competition with Samsung for best 7- and 10.1-inch tablets. Anyway, this charger should be arriving today to test. If it still doesn't work I'll test the power input connector on the board itself, though at that point I'm assuming the only fix is a new mobo.
 

Raswan

Senior member
Jan 29, 2010
702
6
81
Hi all,

Thanks for all the help here--new AC charger didn't change a damn thing, so I just pulled up the motherboard to check the charge point contacts with a multimeter only to discover on the underside that the connection between the ribbon that runs from the charging port to the mobo wasn't properly seated. No shit. It looked perfectly fine until you took it apart and only then did it become clear that at some point it had gotten pulled slightly out of position. Can't fathom any reason it would have happened, as everything was screwed down tightly.

Anyway, it's charging beautifully now, and my saga is over. Thanks again.

Oh yeah--the third-party AC charger I got from Amazon doesn't work. Thanks Elecbrain. Should've known by your company name you'd make nothing but duds.
 

Kartajan

Golden Member
Feb 26, 2001
1,264
38
91
Any chance of a multi-meter comparison between the real deal and the knockoff (assuming the connector fit properly)? The reason I ask is that the image on Amazon shows the same P/N as your Elecbrain one (and thus is likely to be the same Chinese OEM)

Either way it sounds like Amazon is getting a return.. And I would love to hear about if the cable I found works/ fails to work for your device...
 

Raswan

Senior member
Jan 29, 2010
702
6
81
Any chance of a multi-meter comparison between the real deal and the knockoff (assuming the connector fit properly)? The reason I ask is that the image on Amazon shows the same P/N as your Elecbrain one (and thus is likely to be the same Chinese OEM)

Either way it sounds like Amazon is getting a return.. And I would love to hear about if the cable I found works/ fails to work for your device...

Yep, initiated the return just now. The connector fit just fine, and to the eye everything looks copacetic. No idea why it doesn't work. They seem identical. Would be happy to do a multimeter comparison of the two if I could find directions that didn't include stripping the cable down to the black and red and data lines or cracking the tablet open again (this latter only because I've already opened it about 6 times and am convinced that the screen is going to bust from the abuse sooner rather than later).

I never bought the Laagie cable you linked--though it's definitely saved for later in case the original goes bad, so thanks. It's got a couple good reviews, so I'd bet it works fine.
 

Kartajan

Golden Member
Feb 26, 2001
1,264
38
91
nevermind then, I was hoping things were still laid open...

At least the root cause was found and corrected...
 

Raswan

Senior member
Jan 29, 2010
702
6
81
Yeah, I know you can measure the power contact points using a multimeter, but this baby is not at all conducive to powering up while being laid open. The interior cables are very short, and it's been super hot up here so the AC is struggling to keep pace with the outside inferno. Thus, I've been sweating like a pig over this thing trying not to drip salty man-water onto something.

Thanks again for the help. No real idea how the ribbon became disconnected at all. There are about a million screws in there and glue all over the place.
 

disappoint

Lifer
Dec 7, 2009
10,137
382
126
You can also obtain the part the cable connects to and use that as test points you can test with a multimeter. Not entirely sure what this means--you mean buy a new usb brick for the tablet?

What I meant by that was that you can get the part that the charger connects to on the motherboard, and connect it to the USB cable from the charger and use it's leads as test points to test if the charger is ok without sacrificing a cable.

In any event I'm glad to see you've found the issue and fixed it.
 

Raswan

Senior member
Jan 29, 2010
702
6
81
What I meant by that was that you can get the part that the charger connects to on the motherboard, and connect it to the USB cable from the charger and use it's leads as test points to test if the charger is ok without sacrificing a cable.

In any event I'm glad to see you've found the issue and fixed it.

Ahh, I understand now. Had no idea you could find a part that specific. Would've assumed you'd have had to buy the whole mobo. You have a site you use to secure these components? Would be nice to bookmark for future use.

Thanks, I'm glad it's fixed too.