Hudl2 curious charging issue -wit's end now

[#1]

Bought the wife a Hudl2 for Christmas in 2014, so it's out of warranty now . The charging port got loose (poor design -the port is at the bottom of the tablet in portrait mode, and the wife uses it whilst plugged in- battery usage is horrendous). I changed the charging port, a very simple task, but now the tablet will not charge unless it is turned off. 

I have installed an app to check that it is not simply failing to show it charging but there is no power going into the tablet. Turn the tablet off and the charging light comes on and it charges fully in a few hours. 

I have tried different leads and chargers in different combinations, all with the same result. There are two possible conclusions , first the charging port is causing something to go awry. Problem with that is that it must physically be connected correctly or it would not charge at all.

Secondly a software issue. I have done a factory restore. And deleted the cache, all to no avail. Any ideas anyone?

[#2]

I think you have to regard these cheap tablets as throwaway devices that generally cannot be economically repaired when they go wrong.  If a Factory Restore did not work then it's not a software issue.  If you move any device (laptop/tablet/otherwise) around a lot whilst plugged in to a charger then it is liable to do damage because the sockets are never very robust.

A decent tablet should have a battery life of many hours and the "horrendous" battery usage is your fundamental problem.  Accept that it cost you under £50 per year and buy a new equivalent. 

[#3]

Sounds just like a water damaged mobile. Where often though it continues to work fine it starts to drain battery power a lot faster than normal.

A sure sign is does it drain the battery even when turned off?

[#4]

Thanks RR, BnB, I'm one of those cantankerous people who hates being beaten (though often am) by technology.
I bought a new usb charging port and fitted it myself, less than £10, so haven't invested a lot. It still works fine. It's just an enigma really. To enable charging all the connections must be made. When off it charges. Switch it on and it stops charging. This suggests software unless there is a virtual solenoid internally that is 'thrown' when power is applied, which disconnects the battery from charger.
Looking online there are all sorts of problems reported with power supply for the hudl2, if I'd seen that first I would never have bought it, but the wife wanted one and being from a massive retailer I expected a high quality product. The tablet had never got wet, or been outside and doesn't drain excessively when not in use if the display is off. I've even tried a factory restore and charging in its pre-updated state with no apps installed, with the same result.
I will be getting the wife a new tablet, along with all the grief She'll give me when "it doesn't do what my old tablet did...when I pressed that it should do 'this'".... I need to do a bit of research first.
When the wife's not here I will disassemble the hudl and follow the wiring looking to see if there are any obvious loose connections or components I can replace. (I won't do it when she's around, she gets nervous since I electrocuted myself with a washing machine that was 'off'
at the wall, unfortunately the socket had been wired incorrectly and the machine was still live).

[#5]

There was another thread on this forum where the OP was complaining that his Hudl2 wouldn't charge in the car and it turned out he wasn't using the correct cable.  I have a Hudl2 and quiet often get a warning that there is not enough power to charge the battery even when operating with the charger connected. I think the display is power hungry but you can set it in power saving mode. I just switch it off and put it on charge overnight.  

On a slightly different topic I have recently had it locking up and indicating charging with the cable disconnected. I have to reboot to get it to boot up 

[#6]

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@rogadodge wrote:
This suggests software unless there is a virtual solenoid internally that is 'thrown' when power is applied, which disconnects the battery from charger.

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It's a lot more complicated than that, it isn't just 'apply power to charge', the device and the charger effectively talk to each other in some fashion and/or the device will have some circuitry upstream of the charging port. I wouldn't rule out hardware, and the fact that you have had a go at replacing the charging port suggests that something round there is the issue as it worked before and now it doesn't, but this could also be that something was shorted/damaged when the original port broke so really unless you can fully analyse/test the charging circuit and circuitry then you have a broken tablet that you will have to learn to live with!

[#7]

Thanks Lurch, this charging fault manifested itself before I changed the port, so that hasn't really changed. I have tried many leads and chargers including one of each from a friend with the original Tesco ones which still work. I am pretty much resigned to it not working again -BUT IT BUGS ME!!! 

[#8]

Thanks Peter, sorry to hear you are having problems too. It looks like Tesco made the right decision to not make a Hudl3. 

My personal tablet is a Nexus7. Bullet-proof, and fast. The only issue is that there is no memory slot- but for browsing and streaming it is fantastic! Going to look for the same for the wife, if I can get a new one.

[#9]

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@rogadodge wrote:

Thanks Lurch, this charging fault manifested itself before I changed the port, so that hasn't really changed.

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TBH I wouldn't have expected swapping the charging port to fix this so this whole thread has been a bit off track without the full story being forthcoming as this being a pre-existing issue wasn't mentioned until now.

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@rogadodge wrote:
I have tried many leads and chargers including one of each from a friend with the original Tesco ones which still work. I am pretty much resigned to it not working again -BUT IT BUGS ME!!! 

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There are many things bug me, improper use of multiple replies on forums is a big one.

[#10]

So the battery drains very quickly and there seems to be a 'virtual solenoid' inside the device?  Perhaps a fault has caused the device to be too power-hungry and the battery does not charge because there isn't enough power left over to charge it whenever the device is running.  

[#11]

TBH the charger is most often the problem not the hudl.
SHMBO has one, After (rooting it) installing an deep sleep app it has been good and works for several hours before it needs charged again.
I would install something like Ampere (play store) and see if there is actually any charge occurring when plugged in to the charger.
Did you update it to Marshmallow ? I haven't done that as I would loose root and it isn't something she needs. Have a look on Modaco (https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjjlOL0gt...) for more details.
I haven't had to change the power socket but I DID buy a right-angled long power cord for her to use it while charging.

[#12]

Is it OK to pay £50 for a gadget that has a lifetime of just 2 years?

What about Sale of Goods Act / Consumer Rights Act?

[#13]

I have already installed an App to monitor charge, and it shows zero charge when switched on and plugged in. I can't check the actual charge when switched off but it does replenish the battery albeit slowly. It has had all the stock updates and hasn't been rooted. All that's been done to it from new is some apps installed and the Tesco stick apps turned off and hidden.

The power socket needed changing as it was not holding any leads tightly enough. This was a really simple task so I don't see how I could have caused any damage, though I will be checking. 

[#14]

You pay 

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@VileReynard wrote:

Is it OK to pay £50 for a gadget that has a lifetime of just 2 years?

What about Sale of Goods Act / Consumer Rights Act?

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You pay over £1 for a daily newspaper and that has a lifetime of one day.  

[#15]

This sounds more and more like the battery is shot.