reMarkable 2 not charging: shorted USB-C port replaced

At a glance

• Device: reMarkable 2 paper tablet
• Fault: would not charge or turn on. Before that it only charged if the cable was held at an angle.
• Cause: a broken USB-C charging port. It was held on by just two pins, and the pins inside were touching each other, which shorted the charging input.
• Fix: took the glued back off, removed the side bezel and soldered in a new port with a fine-tip iron
• Time: fixed within two hours of arriving, then stress-tested
• Result: charges again and boots normally. Charges from a standard USB plug with a USB-C to USB-A cable, the type that comes with the tablet.
• Cost to the owner: £95 in total (£40 assessment, then £55 on completion)
• Data: we never needed the passcode, so the owner's notebooks were not opened or touched.

The fault

The owner got in touch because their reMarkable 2 would not charge or switch on. For a while before that it would only charge if the cable was held at a certain angle. That pattern almost always points to the charging port, not the battery or the tablet itself. Every time the cable is wiggled to find the angle that works, the port wears a bit more.

We do not usually work on tablets, but the reMarkable is a good candidate for a repair. Its parts are not paired to the device, and a new one costs around £400. So we booked it in for a £40 assessment by post.

What we found

When the tablet arrived we tested the port before opening anything. The USB meter went straight into protection, which means it saw a short. Once the tablet was open, the reason was clear. The port was only held on by two of its pins, and the pins inside it were bent and touching each other. Months of moving the cable around to find a working angle had worked it loose and pushed them together.

Opening a reMarkable 2

The reMarkable 2 is not designed to be opened. The back panel is glued down across its whole area.

We lifted one corner of the back with a plastic tool, then worked small amounts of alcohol under the edge to loosen the adhesive. Once about a quarter of the panel was free, the rest came away slowly by hand, with steady force. No heat and no metal blades.

Even with care, prising off a glued panel can leave small marks on it. We warned the owner about this before they booked, and replacement back panels for the reMarkable 2 are not sold anywhere we could find.

Replacing the USB-C port

With the back off, two screws hold the side panel in place. Removing them lets the side bezel come off, and that exposes the USB-C port.

Because the old port was only held by two pins, it came off without hot air. We cleaned the pads and soldered the new port on with a fine-tip iron. We then checked every pin of the new port for continuity to its trace on the board. They all tested good.

Testing

On a standard 5 V charger the flat battery first drew about 0.5 A, then settled at 1.23 A as it recovered. At first the tablet sat on its "reMarkable is starting" screen. Once it had enough charge it booted normally, at 0%, and kept charging from there. We then put the new port through a series of stress tests before closing it up.

One limit remained. The tablet charges from a USB-A charger with a USB-C to USB-A cable, but not from a USB-C to USB-C cable, a USB-C power-delivery charger or a laptop. With C-to-C, the charger has to detect the device through the port's CC lines before it switches the power on. Something on that side of the board is not responding. We think the most likely cause is damage done by the old port's short, before the tablet reached us. The part involved sits under the screen assembly, and taking the screen off a tablet like this carries far more risk than the fault is worth. The reMarkable 2 ships with a USB-C to USB-A cable anyway, so we sent it back with a spare one and a note to charge it that way.

The back went back on with strong double-sided adhesive tape.

The result

The tablet charges again and works normally. It was fixed within two hours of arriving on the bench. The owner paid £95 in total and left a five-star review:

"Remarkable repaired quickly and relatively cheaply. Would definitely use Hark Tech again for anything else."

Questions about this fault

Why does my reMarkable 2 only charge at a certain angle? The USB-C port inside is worn or coming loose from the board. The contacts only connect when the plug is held in one position. If you keep using it like that, the pins can bend until they short, and then it will not charge at all. Getting the port replaced early is cheaper and safer.

Can a reMarkable 2 charging port be replaced? Yes. The port is soldered to the board, so this is a soldering job, not a plug-in part swap. The back is glued on, and the port sits behind a side bezel held by two screws.

Will I lose my notes? We did not need the passcode and did not open any files. Repairing the port does not touch the tablet's storage. Your notes also sync to reMarkable's cloud if you have that turned on.

Why won't it charge with a USB-C to USB-C cable? On this tablet it was down to damage on the board from the old shorted port. A standard USB charger and the USB-C to USB-A cable that comes with the reMarkable 2 work fine.

Got a tablet or e-reader that won't charge?

Book a £40 board repair assessment and post it in. We find the fault and send a written fixed price before any work starts. For other devices, see USB-C charging port repair.