On Your Side: Epidemic of Palm Syncing Problems

I know of at least three people (in addition to me) whose Palm M515 PDAs suddenly stopped syncing. Palm replaced the defective M515s with refurbished ones, but a couple of them (including mine) stopped syncing again. Now the company says I'll have to wait two months for a refurbished replacement. I could have sent the broken PDA for repair, but I can't afford to be without it that long. I asked to return the handheld for a refund, but the company refused.

Kalman Yeger, New York

On Your Side responds: After I contacted Palm, the company's tech support personnel called Yeger but could not determine the cause of the problem, Palm spokesperson Marlene Somsak says. So Palm offered to replace Yeger's M515 with a new PDA. In addition, the company sent him a HotSync Reset Card, which Somsak said solved Yeger's syncing problems. This piece of hardware, which Palm is testing on a limited basis, is a Secure Digital card that pops into the handheld's card slot and carries out a routine that should restore the syncing capability in some percentage of malfunctioning PDAs.

Syncing problems may have any of a wide number of possible causes, Somsak says--from an excess of static electricity to software conflicts or driver problems on a user's PC. Palm users who experience syncing problems should contact the company's tech support staff at 847/262-7256 (note: this is a toll call). A tech will determine the right course of action.