[TheTrace]

What I find interesting about the battery life issue is that by far the majority people have no apparent issues with their Mojo battery after a couple of years use, yet a relatively small minority of people seem to have a problem with not just one battery but their replacement battery, too.

That's intriguing, but, to my mind, it seems quite unlikely that Chord are to blame, because the odds don't seem to stack up. Granted, not impossible, but unlikely.

If not one, but two batteries have failed in the same unit, I'd be looking more towards pattern of usage (one example could be repeatedly listening to Mojo whilst plugged-in, but before the battery has reached full charge, which might, potentially, lead to unnecessary thermally-induced wear&tear on the battery). Aside from pattern of usage, the quality of the regulation circuitry of the customer's chosen USB charger might be worth considering (although, admittedly, Mojo does have built-in protection circuitry, to handle most scenarios).

Please don't anyone jump to the conclusion that I'm trying to 'deflect' blame away from Chord. I'm simply saying that the chances of 2 consecutive batteries failing seems rather outlandish, to put it mildly. I don't think it's unreasonable to suspect that some other factor, such as an unusual pattern of usage, might be at play.

A healthy dose of skepticism is always a good thing so I don't think you're trying to deflect anything.

And the battery situation is unfortunate, though I can't say my battery ever gave me problems. Rather for me it was the USB port not working (first repair), one of my 3.5mm slots not working properly along with the USB again (second repair) and now both my 3.5mm jacks are screwed. I went a long time ignoring the issue when it was just one, two it became inexcusable.

 

[Mython]

A healthy dose of skepticism is always a good thing so I don't think you're trying to deflect anything.

And the battery situation is unfortunate, though I can't say my battery ever gave me problems. Rather for me it was the USB port not working (first repair), one of my 3.5mm slots not working properly along with the USB again (second repair) and now both my 3.5mm jacks are screwed. I went a long time ignoring the issue when it was just one, two it became inexcusable.

I can understand your frustration. I'm a Head-Fier, too, and I get irritated with some gear.

Permit me to ask you, though; are you a fan of premium aftermarket cables?

 

[TheTrace]

I can understand your frustration. I'm a Head-Fier, too, and I get irritated with some gear.

Permit me to ask you, though; are you a fan of premium aftermarket cables?

No issue in you asking lol, but I've never really ever gone into that realm. I used to question if they mattered but never purchased one because of how expensive they are. It's just a small piece of the chain to me and premium cables to my knowledge don't have much concrete evidence backing any enhancements. That's just me though.

 

[Mython]

No issue in you asking lol, but I've never really ever gone into that realm. I used to question if they mattered but never purchased one because of how expensive they are. It's just a small piece of the chain to me and premium cables to my knowledge don't have much concrete evidence backing any enhancements. That's just me though.

Haha - I'm not especially a fan of aftermarket cables, either.

Actually, the reason I asked you is that some aftermarket cables use extravagant plugs that exert even more stress upon device sockets. If you care to search this thread, you'll find I've mentioned many times that right-angled plugs can be helpful in reducing the leverage 3.5mm and microUSB plugs exert upon Mojos sockets.

 

[Zojokkeli]

A year long warrenty on a device that needed to be repaired twice already (for the same thing). Two years should be minimal for something of this price, otherwise I'd be paying for half a Mojo in repairs. Maybe I'm just cynical.

In EU we have mandatory 2 year warranty on almost everything, so it's not like Chord would design their products to fail on purpose after one year.
My Mojo turns 2 in September, fingers crossed I won't run into any problems after that. Haven't had any before.

 

[Pimsilveira]

I have sold my Oppo Ha-2 and ordered a Mojo
I hope I will be able to tell the difference between the two ...

 

[jarnopp]

I have sold my Oppo Ha-2 and ordered a Mojo
I hope I will be able to tell the difference between the two ...

The Oppo is silver with black leather, while the Mojo is black with large colored lights. You shouldn’t have an issue, but let us know how it goes!

 

[ChasingDopamine]

Hi all, just a quick question. i am considering buying a mojo via (sold and dispatched by) Amazon UK. does anyone have any experience with dealing with warranty issues with mojos purchased via amazon? seeing as they are not a brick and mortar store i am unsure how they might carry out repairs if the situation might arise. The return period is 1 month but woudl they honour a refund or replacement after say 9 months if i email them?

 

[nsolarz]

The battery recently failed in my Chord Mojo to the point where it would turn on then immediately shut down again. As I am in the US, I was directed to a third-party repair shop, which wanted $100 per hour plus $55 for parts to replace the battery, which is absolutely crazy. My chord sits at my desk 100% of the time, so I don't even need the battery functionality, as I can power it directly. So I took a go at cracking it open myself, which was very, very easy. The battery is a 7.4v 1650mAh LiPo battery, connected to the PCB by a simple connector. I spent some time trying to find an exact replacement battery online, but no such luck. Finally, on a whim, I hooked up the board to USB power *without* the battery connected, and lo and behold, works fine. boots up, plays audio etc. Again, since it sits at my desk at all times, this works perfectly for my use case.

 

[lwells]

The battery recently failed in my Chord Mojo to the point where it would turn on then immediately shut down again. As I am in the US, I was directed to a third-party repair shop, which wanted $100 per hour plus $55 for parts to replace the battery, which is absolutely crazy. My chord sits at my desk 100% of the time, so I don't even need the battery functionality, as I can power it directly. So I took a go at cracking it open myself, which was very, very easy. The battery is a 7.4v 1650mAh LiPo battery, connected to the PCB by a simple connector. I spent some time trying to find an exact replacement battery online, but no such luck. Finally, on a whim, I hooked up the board to USB power *without* the battery connected, and lo and behold, works fine. boots up, plays audio etc. Again, since it sits at my desk at all times, this works perfectly for my use case.

Can you post a photo of the LiPo cells?

 

[nsolarz]

Can you post a photo of the LiPo cells?

 

[lwells]

Cr@p! That's not much to go by. Are there any markings elsewhere?

If it's just the 8 allenheads on the bottom, I'll crack mine open and take some measurements. I'd like to measure the potential at 100% SoC on a fresh cell anyway to get an idea of what the protection and charging circuit is doing.

If Chord could point us to their replacement cell, I could probably identify or construct a replacement pack that would sacrifice some run-time in exchange for calendar life.

 

[nsolarz]

Cr@p! That's not much to go by. Are there any markings elsewhere?

If it's just the 8 allenheads on the bottom, I'll crack mine open and take some measurements. I'd like to measure the potential at 100% SoC on a fresh cell anyway to get an idea of what the protection and charging circuit is doing.

no other markings. The other issue is that there are no cell balance leads, and it is apparently an uncommon connector for a Lipo (I talked to a guy from an RC hobby shop to see if they had anything comparable). It is the 8 allenhead screws on bottom. The battery is taped to the top shell with a really sticky 2-sided tape. The PCB is mounted to the bottom plate with two small phillips screws. Disassembly/reassembly was really easy.

 

[Mython]

It's been stated many times, in this thread, that Chord did not source a generic cell for Mojo, but here it is, from John Franks himself:

We had the battery developed for only our mojo application. Done for us especially, It took Chord 3 years and many attempts to get the sheer ear thumping power density we have achieved in mojo. So I'd rather people didnt underestimate our design skills and I'd ask please don't think you can better it with a quick battery substitution as this can be risky or even dangerous.

 

[nsolarz]

It's been stated many times, in this thread, that Chord did not source a generic cell for Mojo, but here it is, from John Franks himself:

Thats perfectly fine, if they sold a replacement battery as a standalone thing. There is nothing complex about doing the replacement yourself, except that you cant buy the battery anywhere. Cell-phone batteries are significantly harder to replace, yet don't cost $150+ to do so.